Neila's Journal

[neilarey]

New Year, New Log! Happy 1st of The Month! Happy 1st of the Year!

Exercise:

Morning Workout Part 1:
Exercise of the Day
7 Ninjas Workout (2 ninjas, the rest got me probably), video recording
From the Ashes Workout (1 set), video recording
30 minutes stepper (setting #20), fasted steady state cardio

Morning Workout Part 2:
Clean & Press Workout (5 sets)

Evening Workout:
60 minutes walk on the treadmill / planned

Food:

Breakfast: two tortilla wraps with mashed chickpea & avocado filling, two smashed potatoes with pickles. 22 g protein
Lunch: roasted pumpkin & broccoli with mustard yogurt dressing 19 g protein
Treat #1: one cinnamon roll cookie with tea
Treat #2: two medjoul dates with carob chocolate (30g) with coffee 5 g protein
Dinner: creamy chia tofu with kiwi + apple slices 48 g protein

Total protein today: 95 g (I am a bit short)





Sleep Score: 75 (good) I am feeling a biiiiit grumpy today It's nothing big, I just find myself redirecting my instant reactions / thoughts. I have to work more on staying upbeat and positive, it's not effortless today. Although I went to bed at 10PM as planned and I fell asleep fairly quickly, my sleep quality was not so great. The fireworks woke me up at 12 but I am pretty sure I was only awake for like 15 seconds. My best guess is that I got overtired yesterday and I am still recovering.

I am working all day today. I've got lots to do! I'll take a break at some point and remove all of the Christmas decorations. When do you remove yours? I do it band-aid style. The holidays are over and I am focusing on getting stuff done now That Christmas tree is flying off the 5th floor today!!!


I also re-shuffeled my macros this morning. I am going to give this split a try: 110g protein, up to 300g carbs (less is better) and up to 62g fat.
I will try to stick with 2200 Calories budget per day but I'll see how that goes first.

I am using cronometer to track my macro and micro nutrients so I don't end up malnourished honestly, if I could get away with it, I would just eat bread, peanut butter and popcorn all day every day. Instead, look at me being all responsible, adulting and stuff.

I have a lot of things I want to accomplish this year. I set my vision board as my lock screen on my phone, tablet and laptop. There are personal goals, professional goal, some mental health goals. And although some are quite challenging, it's all doable. It just takes work. 2024 was a good year for me but I didn't set many targets. I just wasn't ambitious enough. I realized that deep inside I was afraid to ask for more - from myself and from the Universe. I am going to see what happens if I do.

Maybe my problem is not being ambitious enough


That's all for now! This is my first entry for this year. I'll probably come back with more updates later. As I mentioned in my old log, one of my goals is to check in here every day.

How is everyone feeling today? What are your goals / hopes for 2025?

 

[NightWolf714]

Happy new year! Looks like you're off to a good start!

 

[FlowersandPetals]

Happy New Year!

Fitness goals: finally get rid of this menopause (potato chips?) belly . I don’t have a goal weight, because muscles are heavy too! Start eating smaller portions and cut back on the chips- my biggest food weakness.

Finally move out of this apartment and learn how to make socks with my knitting loom kit I got for Christmas.

 

[JCU]

Happy New Year!

I hate the societal expectations of the New Year, so I wait until late March to see how things are and recalculate then. I find it's much easier to focus on change as the seasons start changing again!

 

[NancyTree]

Happy New Year & Log!

 

[Laura Rainbow Dragon]

How is everyone feeling today?

Blessed.
Hopeful.
Determined to stand strong in the face of the scary things.
Determined to do what I can to be the change I want to see in the world.

 

[Syrius]

How is everyone feeling today? What are your goals / hopes for 2025?

Today, I am exhausted. Terrible sleep. But still optimistic about my goals for the year. I am ready to face the new challenges on the horizon.

 

[ibd warrior]

Happy new year!!!
This is so inspiring
I am new here so I am going to introduce myself soon

 

[TopNotch]

All Christmas decorations were usually down by 12th night. Bad luck if they are up later, so superstition says. But this year, by myself, they came down on, I think, the 27th.
You're adulting? Hey, I've got to try some of that for myself since you're setting the example! And you're telling me that a diet of bread and peanut butter is not good?

 

[PetiteSheWolf]

Happy new year, Queen Bee!

 

[neilarey]

Exercise:

Morning Workout:
30 minutes stepper (setting #20), fasted steady state cardio
Second Spring Workout
Cowboy Workout, video recording
Exercise of the Day x 2

Evening Workout:
60 minutes walking on the treadmill

Food:

Pre-workout: spirulina protein shake 10 g protein
Breakfast: oats with yogurt and blueberries (x2 blueberries, x2 yogurt) 29 g protein
Snack: 200 g tofu, sliced 27 g protein
Lunch: broccoli gratin 19 g protein
Treat: one fig cookie!
Snack: air-popped popcorn 13 g protein
Dinner: creamy chia tofu with oranges & apple slices 30 g protein

Total protein today: 129 g



I woke up at 5AM today so I had time for meditation and gratitude practice before walking the boys. I also made a carafe of lemon and ginger tea ~ 1lt and drunk it as I was getting ready for the day. I had to get all of my morning exercise done before 9AM today (other team members booked the gym after 9). So I did fasted cardio to warm up first, had a small protein shake, then did my DAREBEE workouts and the exercise of the day.

I took a break before lunch and baked fig cookies. I had ONE. I am proud of myself! I am trying to include some type of treat to go with my tea or coffee every day now. The goal is to teach myself not to freak out over snacks and stop feeling like I failed the day just because I had a cookie or some chocolate. I don't know if this will work yet but I am trying. It is especially difficult right now because I've gained weight over the holidays and it's driving me nuts. I just want it gone, tomorrow at the latest The fact that I know better doesn't help that much so... I need to show myself that I can get and stay fit while having small pleasures in life, regularly. Otherwise I end up in a cycle of dieting then binging, over, and over, and over again. It is hell. I don't want to live like that because it's not funny anymore. Baby steps...

Speaking of, I listened to a good podcast today while working: "Dopamine Expert: Doing This Once A Day Fixes Your Dopamine!" with Dr Anna Lembke. I read her book "Dopamine Nation" when it came out, and I loved it. So when I saw the podcast with her in my feed, I figured it was going to be good, too. And it was! It was a very good listen. I too had a minor addiction to romantasy just like her so I could relate to that one even though it's so niche. It was a minor thing for me, though, my real problem is with food. It isn't something you can just stop doing or give yourself a break (even though I even tried that). It's a very long, very painful process that requires daily (and sometimes hourly) work. And no, just admitting you have a problem doesn't help all that much. Some days are good, and then there are DAYS.

Today... is a good day

Work wise... it's been a long but a very productive day. After 6 hours of non-stop work my brain started to melt so I took a 30 minute break, had some popcorn and watched the beginning of Wicked. It was a nice little break. Another 4 hours or so and I am done for the day



See you all tomorrow!
I hope everyone had a good day

 

[Lady Celerity]

Kudos for only having one cookie! I think it's important to leave room in our diets for occasional treats. After all, who wants to live in a world without chocolate?

 

[WolfDreamer]

Your meals look delicious! I'm also glad to see that someone else likes to x2 the yogurt and berries in their oatmeal. Off to a great start to the year!

 

[neilarey]

Exercise:

Morning Workout Part 1:
30 minutes stepper (setting #20), fasted steady state cardio

Morning Workout Part 2:
Battle Maiden Workout
Exercise of the Day

Evening Workout:
60 minutes walking on the treadmill

Food:

Breakfast: oats with pineapple + carrot salad 12 g protein
Lunch: zucchini with peas, smashed potatoes, roasted mushrooms (used the BBQ) 16 g protein
Treat: two dates stuffed with black chocolate (no nut butter) with my coffee
Snack: frozen yogurt with blueberries 16 g protein
Dinner: creamy chia tofu * with oranges + apple slices 47 g protein

* added extra protein powder

Total protein today: 91 g



I woke up at 5:20 AM and it took me 15 minutes to get out of bed this morning. It was so cold! I don't do so well with cold. Cold plunges? NO THANKS! I can do saunas no problem though. Once I was up, I made some tea, meditated and did my gratitude practice. I had an appointment at 9AM so I had to move everything by 30 minutes in my schedule. I did the second part of my workout when I came back. At least my sleep score is EXCELLENT today 87!

I did lots of admin stuff today, some work for DAREBEETS but nothing major was accomplished I like to get major stuff done or I don't feel like I am being productive enough. This is a note to self: minor stuff is also important. Attention to details, Neila!

Two things wreaked my mood today: talking to our accountant (3rd of the month is when we pay our bills) and, I don't know what possessed me, I checked my weight and body fat. After a coupe of hours of death and despair, I bounced back I refuse to be defeated or feel down... for longer than a couple of hours that is

The day picked up after I had my second coffee. I had the pep in my step again. Listening to upbeat music also helped.

I am also thinking I should create variety with my daily treats. Having the same thing every day will give me smaller dopamine spikes = less pleasure. I should be more creative in this to truly feel like I am treating myself without resorting to larger quantities. I also started planning my meals using chronometer every day after breakfast so I hit all of the micronutrients for the day. I add meals I can make / feel like to the diary and see how I can adjust or shuffle them. It's actually a lot of fun, sort of like a game. Being plant-based often requires you to be creative since you need to eat a large variety of food (money-wise, storage, cooking time and techniques etc). I enjoy it

I got a few hours of work left in my day, then my evening walk, then (possibly) a 20-minute sauna session and then sleeeeeep.

I hope everyone had a good day today! And thank you for stopping by

 

[neilarey]

I'm also glad to see that someone else likes to x2 the yogurt and berries in their oatmeal.

Everyone I know always goes on about the size of my meals ... And I don't understand suggested portions sizes. Are they for ants?

 

[neilarey]

After all, who wants to live in a world without chocolate?

Sociopaths.

 

[wjs]

And I don't understand suggested portions sizes. Are they for ants?

Come to the US for a while, you won't feel that way anymore. Even so, I still often double* portion sizes to have enough to actually fill me. Fourteen M&M's are just going to make me want more. >.>











*Or, y'know, just eat the entire package of vegetables in one sitting, because the whole bag was just steamed in the microwave. Quad veggies for the win?

 

[Syrius]

*Or, y'know, just eat the entire package of vegetables in one sitting, because the whole bag was just steamed in the microwave. Quad veggies for the win?

Hey, me too. "These are my veggies, go steam your own!" I'll eat the whole bag!

 

[Maegaranthelas]

I don't know what possessed me

My brain does this when I am feeling stressed.
"Oh hey I notice you are on the precipice of feeling bad. How about we think about things that will DEFINITELY make you feel bad?"
See also: "I notice you are trying to get an early night. That's so sweet. CATASTROPHISING TIME!"
Brains are such trolls

 

[wjs]

Brains are such trolls

Precisely true. Mostly to oneself*.














*I speak from experience, after all.

 

[neilarey]

Day 4 of the new year! Day 4 of making better choices. All I want is to be 1% better today than yesterday


Exercise:

Morning Workout Part 1:
30 minutes stepper (setting #20), fasted steady state cardio

Morning Workout Part 2:
Hunter Workout (recording)
Hunter Plus Workout (recording)
Second Spring Workout (5 sets)


Evening Workout:
60 minutes walk on the treadmill / planned

Food:

Breakfast: oats with bananas (x3 yogurts & protein powder) + a cup of frozen blueberries 49 g protein
Lunch: green bean gratin, two tofu fillets (Taifun, Japanese Style), three smashed potatoes + pepper sauce 46 g protein
Treat: 20 g white specialty chocolate by Benjamissimo with my coffee
Dinner: creamy chia tofu with kiwi + apple slices 31 g protein

Total protein today: 126 g



I woke up at 5:50 AM today, washed my face and Gua Sha-ed the hell out of it. I didn't have a lot of time but I squeezed a 10-minute meditation in before hitting the shower. One of my goals for this year is to level-up my self-care because up until now it was the I-don't-care, and it shows. I'll be 40 in a year and I would like to begin a new decade of my life in a better condition overall. So, I am doing all the things and I am making it stick. Technically, I started a few days before the new year but I started counting from January 1st. I once set a goal to run every day for a year, rain or shine, and I did exactly that. That was the year Covid hit and I still did it. So I know I can do difficult things if I am stubborn enough about it.

Training wise, I switched from the Just Walk Challenge to the 12.000 steps a day challenge. So far I am keeping up with it. I realized that I won't be able to walk for an hour every evening and, since it's something I want to stick with for the rest of the year, I'll count steps instead. I could do it for a month, maybe, but a whole year... unlikely, my lifestyle changes every season so I am going to stick with the step count.

The Mindset Mentor, one of my favorite youtube channels, posted this video today:

Loved it. It goes with my new 1% better every day mantra.

It's after 4 PM here now so I still have about 4 hours of work left. Today I am just grinding. I have a million little tasks that need doing. I ate all the big frogs this morning so I am left with more exciting and creative stuff now. I am going to put some nice music on and enjoy the rest of the day, grinding away.





Long live the Hive!!
And thank you for stopping by

 

[princess_sarena]

I took a break before lunch and baked fig cookies

I really want to try the fig cookies recipe but with gluten free flour! I was looking at it earlier and making secret baking plans, because I love fig cookies but they're ridiculously expensive to buy gluten free... we'll see how (or if) it goes!