paulradcliffe.me

Diving into F45 Challenge 30

So, it turns out I did so well in my first challenge with F45 live, that I won some prizes! I will wear this swag proudly!

It’s, Monday, January 18, the start of F45’s 30th “Challenge” and I’m all-in again. I don’t know when my long-term disability insurance provider and employer will send me back to work. So, I’m going to act as if every month is my last and give it 145%.

My big goal again during this 45-day challenge is weight loss. I plan to achieve it by meeting and EXCEEDING the tracking guidelines in the F45 Challenge App. I will explain:

Track: EAT “Followed caloric build (BMR)”

I will track all of my macros and calories for the whole 45 days on MyFitnessPal. This might be really, really annoying, but I feel it’s the best way to keep myself accountable. After a few days I’ll be repeating meals a lot, so I don’t feel like it will be that bad after a while. Tracking this diligently should keep me honest and conscious of what I’m putting in me.

I do cook almost all of my own food, and I have many, many recipes I will share eventually on this blog.

Track: TRAIN “Workout 30+ minutes”

I’m not going to do an F45 workout every day. I know some people can but that will break me. I’ll stick to 2+ per week, maybe I’ll get up to 4 or 5 F45 workouts done in a week. On “off days” I will do stretching routines like F45’s “Calypso Kings” or go for 30 minute walks.

Track: WATER “Drink 2L+”

This one isn’t two hard for me. I have a 750mL contigo bottle I carry with me just about everywhere. If I empty this twice in a day, and have 500mL of water with my protein shake concoction, I’m already there. I usually go through almost the whole 750mL during an F45 workout! I have to make sure I drink early and often, because I don’t want to go to bed with a full bladder.

Track: SLEEP “Quality sleep 7 hrs+”

This might be the most simple, challenging, and most valuable thing I can do for myself. I’ve noticed that my most successful weight loss has been when I get lots of sleep. I definitely feel less hungry when well-rested, and my body will have a chance to repair from workouts, and metabolize my excess fat. Good sleep helps mood and overall health so much too.

And my plan is to EXCEED this with a target of 8 hrs+. And I’m not going to include naps. If I’m managing my time and energy well I won’t take naps, and I’ll make productive use of the time I would have or could have napped. 

I get up at the same time every morning to get my daughter ready for school. So that fixes what time I need to be asleep, and by extrapolation what time I need to be in bed. I’m planning to read for about 30 minutes each night (with phone off) to get me in a sleepy mood each night. 

The sleep is the biggest challenge because, ironically, I feel like it requires the most work and sacrifice. To shut down by a certain time each night means sacrifice. A lot less Netflix, Disney+, and random time wasted on Facebook and Instragram. And, more importantly, no more late nights. Usually, I have some time to myself after my daughter falls asleep. I use that time to do personal things like blogging, or painting Warhammer models. But doing those personal things often goes WAY over the time I expected. I’m going to make a rule for myself of a definitive “time to sleep” line, and “no more than 1 hour” blogging or painting Warhammer at a time. That’s gonna be rough, and it means some nights I won’t have any personal time. 

So, I’m all in. Gonna EAT, TRAIN, DRINK, and SLEEP myself to a better me in 45 days.