Everyday Systems

Well, I wasn't going to post here at first, because I thought it was silly, but I decided that I was already being silly by swinging a sledgehammer around my living room, so I'd might as well go the whole nine yards. After all, a little accountability never hurt anyone, and if it'll help...

And on that note,

Day 1: SUCCESS!
Other comments: Actually, it wasn't that hard today, girl scout cookies calling me all day notwithstanding. It may not stay so easy, though; I teach community college classes in the evening, and on some days that prevents me from eating dinner until 11:00 PM. To adjust for this, I generally eat lunch very late, but there's still a BIG gap between 1:30 and 11:00. Perhaps eating breakfast would help with this too; I skipped today. Also, I don't think the huge plate at Applebee's for dinner really counted as "a single serving," but it was just one plate, so I'll count it for today. I probably should make better choices, though; but it is difficult when eating on a screwy schedule...

Shovelglove (I'm going to log this as well; I'd like to get in the exercise habit):
Shovels - 40 (each side)
Churn Butter - 14
Chop Wood - 15
Flip Lever - 8

Welcome Opus!

If you keep Shovelgloving look forward to being a Magnus Opus!
Huh huh huh....

But seriously,

Good luck and enjoy!
Silliness is part of the enjoyability factor...

I can't imagine anyone ever giggling whilst doing Atkins or The Zone!
LOL..

Peace, Love, and Shovelglove!
Deb

Welcome! I'm new too. Sounds like you've had a great start.

Trust me, this isn't nearly as silly as my belly-dancing DVD. Now that's silly (and a little wrong).

Hey Opus,

Welcome to NoS. Don't forget, laughter is also healthy!

C.

Wow, people do read these things. Neato! Thanks, everyone!

Day Two: FAILURE? Maybe. I think so. Pathetic to fail on the second day, but it is what it is. And here was the issue... I have terrible time issues. So much to do last night, I grabbed a quick dinner, which meant pizza. Which, unfortunately, meant three slices of pizza and a rather largish side salad. More than I needed certainly, and it took two plates to hold it all, so I think it violates the no seconds rule. Oh, well, better luck next time.

The shovelgloving is fun! I mean seriously fun. Three days isn't enough to tell, but I think I may stick with this. But... am I supposed to be this sore? My arms are kind of sore, and my stomach is a little, but my lower back is not happy. Am I doing something wrong?

Also, I've been told that if you are lifting weights, you shouldn't use the same muscles every single day. Is this supposed to be an everyday thing? Because, ow.

But, besides the pain, it is fun! And it feels not only like strength training but also aerobic. I'm not doing a full fourteen minutes yet, but I am getting through a whole set of:
Shovel - 50
Churn Butter - 20
Chop Wood - 20
Flip Lever - 20

Woo!

hi and welcome. I'm new here myself. I told my boyfriend about this site, and he immediately went out and bought a sledgehammer. He's loving it too.

As to the lower back thing, I'm not sure you really want to be feeling pain there. There are some pretty fine muscles etc in that area which I don't think you normally want to overtax. Have you checked on the shovelglove board? I used to use a backbrace when I worked in a warehouse. I wonder if one of those would help. [/list]

lift with your LEGS, don't bend with your back. That goes for good shovelling technique too

You might want to try a few days of doing 14 minutes with a broomstick, and really concentrate on the form of the movements, rather than how many / how heavy / how fast. Really imagine that you have a load of snow on the end, really imagine tossing it onto a pile by the side of the street and so on. When you've really got the movements going correctly, then you could add the weight back in.

As for lifting weights, the Shovelglove is a work analogue, not some "weight training" thing where you concentrate on the muscles and not on the movement. Many of our forefathers used to do this kind of physical work all day every day and they didn't get into trouble because they didn't "take every other day off". That said though, you need to take it very carefully, especially at the start. If you're sore, skip it for a day and do something else for 14 minutes instead.

Good luck and be careful.
C.

3/8 - Day 1B: SUCCESS! No funny stuff, either! Yay, me!

Thanks for the shovelglove thoughts; I read through some of the posts on the shovelglove board, too. I was trying, as was a lot of people, to do it at the pace that Reinhard does in the videos. My idea of "taking it easy" was to not go for the whole 14 minutes. What I should have done, I think, is gone slower, bent my knees more, and at least started the habit of doing something for fourteen minutes each day.

In an attempt to make some of the hurting stop, I took the day off from shovelgloving this morning. I'll start up tomorrow again, and actually take my time.

3/9: FAILURE - I have no willpower when I eat with someone else. Alone, I can stick to my guns. Sharing dinner with another, and I am having appetizers and desserts and so on. Perhaps I need a "lose weight by becoming a hermit" plan.
3/10: S-DAY - I was sick. Interestingly, I think it was last night's dessert. Either way, I barely ate anything all day. Or moved.
3/11: S-DAY
3/12: S-DAY

With as many failures and S-Days, I think it's time to start over. So,
3/13: Day 1 - SUCCESS! Yay me!

Also, I fell over something on Sunday, twisted out of the way so as not to land on and crush the cat, and hurt my arm pretty badly. No shovelgloving for a few days, then. I'll mention it when I'm back at it.

3/14: Day 2C - SUCCESS! That is all.

good job.

Thanks!

Day 3C: 3/15 - SUCCESS!
Day 4C: 3/16 - SUCCESS!

3/17 - Day 5C: SUCCESS!
3/18 - Day 6C: S-DAY
3/19 - Day 7C: S-DAY

You know, once you really commit to this diet, it is really easy to stick to. This is great! And it's funny: You really get to feeling good about yourself for being able to control your portions and make better choices (no sweets!) and there isn't a whole lot to it.

3/20: Day 8C - SUCCESS! And I even ate on a screwy schedule because of work and still was able to stick to my guns!