The kids... they think I'm crazy.

I looked up when the HOA's pool opens... April 11th!  Whoa, that's only 2.5 weeks away. 

We have a solar heater for the pool, which just means that some of the water gets pumped up to the roof and goes through pipes and these thin black flat bags to absorb some sun heat.  It is generally recommended to start this a month before you want to go swimming, and it extends the swim season at least a month in each direction (seems to be about May-Sept, instead of June-Aug).  Combined with those plastic bubble covers, it can raise the pool temperature up to 10 degrees, which REALLY matters to me in spring and at night.

So I'm a week and a half late to catch the start of swim season, I guess.  I turned the heater on and went on the roof (my first time up there) to check the contraption for leaks.  No leaks, but the kids down the street saw me up there and looked at me like I was a crazy person.  I'm not crazy, exactly... just enthusiastic about mermaidhood. 

Summertime, HERE I COME!!! 

The lupine is out

This is another photo of the holiday hike... it gives me all sorts of feels to see him exploring and enjoying nature.

Picking flowers.

There was a yellow flower in his pocket at the knee, and he held the purple one for the whole walk.  I pressed those flowers when we got home.

Blueberry Pi Day

I always make a pie for Pi Day, because I love excuses to make and eat pie.

Ryan's parents were over and his dad was craving blueberries, so I decided to try my hand at my first berry pie!  I also half-assed my first lattice by using bits from a previously-broken pie shell.

I figure that a late pie is better than none... especially since this year was "Rounded Pi Day" as 3/14/16, so it doesn't have to be exact.  Happy belated Pi Day!

A St. Patrick's Day Hike.

We took Torin on a hike for the day, and once we reached the top of the hill he wanted to do some walking!  It was the first time he's done a serious amount of walking out in nature, so I'd consider this his first real hike.

A wee leprechaun leading us to his gold.

Normally he doesn't want to hold my hand, but that hill is far more steep than it looks.  :)

From now on, St. Patrick's Day will have to be a family hiking day... not just a shamrock-shaped meatloaf and green mashed potatoes day.

Another Fishie... the Motivational Bass

Well, it's been nearly a month since the Motivational Catfish.

I have a new little fishie to share... he weighs 5.2 pounds, and is a largemouth bass.

Caught in the Potomac River

In addition to the largemouth bass, I lost 2.5 inches on my waist, and various inches or half inches all over.  It doesn't look like that much of a difference, but my body fat percentage says that I didn't lose any muscle, so... that's about 11.25 cups of fat lost?! 

I utilized a few new tools to keep me on track.


Figuring out my TDEE

This is the most important part!

First, I figured out my TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) using this calculator and the body fat % from my scale.  I put my exercise levels as sedentary and zero workouts, because let's face it, I'm coming off of being ill for several months and my endurance is crap.  This gave me 1650 calories.

Then I added 400 calories for breastfeeding.  This put me at about 2050 per day... what I would need to eat to maintain my weight. 

I set my food goal as 1650, and set a hard rule to not go over 1800.  This isn't a huge deficit... it'd let me lose a half a pound per week... or more if I exercise.  In reality, I have ended up eating around 1500 most days. 


Figuring out my Macros

This is how I have kept myself from getting too hungry.  Insane hunger is always the death of my diet plans, and in the past I haven't been able to be under 1800 whilst nursing without going crazy.

You can set macro goals in My Fitness Pal, which makes the counting darn easy.

The trick to not losing muscle on a diet is supposed to be to eat 0.7-1 grams of protein per pound of lean body mass, in addition to using those muscles.  The trick to not being kill-me-now ravenous is supposed to be to eat at least 0.4 grams of fat per pound as well.  The leftovers can be carbs, or extra fats/protein.

My macro goals in MFP ended up being: 

• 50% calories carbohydrate
• 30% calories fat (~50g)
• 20% calories protein (~100g)
• 100% calcium (not including prescribed supplement), because, well, calcium deficiency
• 25g fiber, which is also supposed to help with hunger

This has been working VERY well for me, to the point that I have only had 3 days out of the last 5 weeks where I slightly exceeded my calorie budget.  I've been hungry, but not starving as usual.


Intermittent Fasting

Most people do a 16-8, meaning fasting for 16 hours and eating for 8, such as only eating from noon to 8. 

I'm doing a fasting window of bedtime to noon, which is more like a 14-10 and basically means I just have coffee/tea/water in the morning and don't eat anything until noon.  This keeps me from being hungry until I start eating for the day, and also lets me have bigger and more satisfying meals later in the day when my willpower is weakest and I want to cook hearty things for the family.

I started it cautiously, delaying my first meal by 1 hour each day until I decided noon was a good time.  I haven't experienced a reduction in milk production at all, which surprised me... so I'm just gonna go with it! 


Fitness Buddies

Uh, I could use some more!

If you're on My Fitness Pal or have a Fitbit and want a buddy, let me know!

I'm also setting up a Nerd Fitness profile, in an attempt to set up some fitness/life goals QUESTS and rewards SWEET LOOT in a way that will speak to my inner gamer.  The social aspects here seem lacking (it is still being expanded), but it shows potential.  This is partly where I got my inspiration for becoming a mermaid.


The Results

The HappyScale app has been AWESOME for motivation through tiny plateaus, accurately predicting my weight loss and smoothing over the ups and downs of water retention.  It says I have been losing at a super steady rate of 1.5 pounds per week since Jan 30th, which is pleasantly higher than expected.  This means that I have probably underestimated how many calories I burn chasing Torin around and going on the odd hike.

If I stay on track, I am due to hit my first out of the 2 weight loss goals in just a month.

My energy has increased a bit, my endurance has increased a lot, and I haven't felt too deprived.  It's been all good, so I shall continue along this path and cast a line for another fish. 

How to Become a Mermaid

This sounds like a silly post... but I am completely serious here.

I've been experimenting with "gamefying" my life through identifying goals (quests) and rewards (loot).  I'd like some of your input!


Pick the right loot

In a video game, the reward for the low-level quest typically helps you out with your future quests... this is hard to translate into real life.  

Most people get their loot first, and then attempt their quest... for example, getting lots of running gear before they start a couch-to-5k plan, then running out of motivation.

In order to gamefy it, it should be the other way around.  Using the running example, you would set ever-increasing goals with ever-better rewards, such as getting a pedometer once you can jog half the 5k, and getting running shoes for competing in a 5k event.  You'd look forward to each harder step being a little easier due to the rewards.


Pick the right goals

The trick here is to break up your main goals into lots of little ones.

Using the running example again, you could set goals of running distances, or faster paces, or consistency, or volume, or socialization/competition. 


The Mermaid Plan

I'm having a hard time breaking it up into appropriate goals or coming up with more loot that helps further my swimming goals, so I am definitely open to suggestions.  I will probably have 1-2 hours 3x/week to practice in our slightly solar-heated backyard saltwater pool, and would like to complete it within 1 summer.

140 lengths of the pool is 1650 yards, or 1 swimming mile (1760 yards or 150 laps is a real mile, but we'll go with an official swimming mile).  My brother was a professional swimmer in college, and he says a good final summer goal for me would be to do 1 mile in a day, broken up into bits.  Let's just go crazy and make it 2 miles in a day and see what happens!

Here are my tentative mini-quests and rewards:

1. Be freakin' brave about the cold and start swimming May 1st.  Reward:  get some more henna for my hair, and see how red I can go (hey, hair care is important when chlorine is involved).
2. Swim 1/2 mile (70 laps) in 1 day.  Reward:  get a swim lap counter (currently use pennies and cups, it's a pain because it prevents me from entering the zen of a constant flow).
3. Swim 1/2 mile (70 laps) without stopping.  Reward:  get out the monofin for a few minutes during each future swim, for fun!
4. Swim 1 mile (140 laps) in a day.  Reward:  plan a trip to a lake.
5. Swim in a lake.  Reward:  plan a trip to the ocean, somewhere low-danger.
6. Swim in the ocean for the first time ever!*  Reward:  get new flattering bathing suit.
7. Swim 1.5 miles (210 laps) in a day, and become comfy in bathing suit in public.  Reward:  go snorkeling.*  (already have snorkel supplies, never really used 'em!)
8. Swim 2 miles (280 laps) in a day, in addition to all previous quests.  Reward:  make or buy a functional mermaid tail.  
9. Swim 1/2 mile (70 laps) in mermaid tail in one day, to become fully comfortable in tail.  Reward:  plan another trip to the same lake from quest #5.
10. Swim in lake in mermaid tail,* don't get eaten by shark.  Reward:  Congratulations, you have become a mermaid!

Ryan photoshopped my face onto the Waterhouse mermaid years ago, but hey, now I actually have the same hair.

I suppose I could change the goals from distance to speed, or to time.  I'm not sure what is really possible as a noob.  Any suggestions?


But wait, there's more!!

May is a long time to wait to start my quest for gills, and there are other quests currently in development.

Jedi Training:  Feats of yoga, flexibility, and bodyweight fitness.  I have already begun this questline and am following a routine, but I have a freaking long way to go.  The epic loot will be making a Jedi robe for myself* (to match Ryan's) and reworking my Jedi historian costume, and probably expanding the lightsaber collection.  The ultimate reward could POSSIBLY be to get flesh-colored lekku (the head-tails for a Twi'lek) if I can find/make some that look good but don't involve touching latex. 

Centaur Training:  Travel by foot (hiking, milestones based on steps per month, etc).  Because if you have 4 feet, you go twice as many steps... get it??  Hahaha, I crack myself up.  But I mostly just want a bow and arrows (centaur-related via mythology) to be my final reward, plus my hiking boots need to be replaced before winter because of a hole on the side.  I am really looking forward to teaching Torin archery* one day. 


*These 5 things are on my bucket list.  <3