Kat Savage III

Hey NF! Darryl's pictures for the Create Your NF Character are amazing but I'd love to see more ethically diverse looking characters added to the program too. Any plans for more character options in the future?

Hi there! Any other rebels out there donate blood at local blood drives? I try to do it four times a year but find that it really drains both my energy and willpower to workout for a few days/a week after I donate. Though energy levels usually dip only in the first 24 hours after donating, I've found that sometimes the aftereffects carry into the next week, derailing my workout schedule. Donating blood is something I'm really passionate about and don't want to stop, but was wondering if any rebels out there have found a good way to recuperate from the donation and still maintain their current workout schedule. There's also the issue of eating healthy after a blood donation. Every phlebotomist I've ever worked with says to eat sugar after a donation (to help replenish your energy) but as someone who doesn't eat candy/cookies/even much fruit I'm wondering what other rebels eat after they donate? Thanks!

Chili was always a staple food around Halloween growing up. Now that I'm transitioning to Paleo I'm glad this thread exists as I want to eat healthier but still enjoy some of my families' holiday traditions. Excited to try out some of these recipes!!

Oh, I'm so glad this thread exists. I struggle with this all the time. If I end up near the food table it's usually inevitable that I end up eating more than I wanted to. Here's what helps me with avoiding that scenario: --Don't go near the food. It helps to eat beforehand, but I find myself making excuses to go near there anyways, even if I've eaten. Pretend like the food is nuclear waste and you have to get away from it in order to avoid radiation. --If it's a potluck or something that means you have to bring food, bring something healthy that you know you will love (even if no one else will). That way you have something to snack on while everyone else can take the cookies, cake, etc. --If you do decide to eat something unhealthy - and there's nothing wrong with that - it helps me to put on "blinders". IE, if I start at the beginning of a buffet table, I only look at the plate in front of me and no further. Heck, I'll even pretend to not see the rest of the table. This works because I can't miss what I don't know is there, and if I don't see something, I won't grab it. Basically, pretend you've got horse blinders on, like in HIMYM. What you can't see won't hurt you. --Know my limits beforehand. If I go in with a plan I'm more likely to maintain control than if I went in without one. "I'll only have one cookie and that's it. Once I'm done, I'm done." --Recruit your friends. Tell them you want to avoid the junk food and you'll do something embarrassing in front of them if you eat crappily. --Time yourself in between visits to the food line (I can only visit the food after every hour, or when I drink three glasses of water). Take five deep breaths when you start a new plate/food.

Hi OKflyboy, Welcome to the Rebellion! Glad to have you, and sweet character! Holy cow, you are a cancer survivor? Congratulations, man! I don't know much about survivalism but your goals make it sound really cool. I know I'd like to have you around when the zombie apocalypse happens! Kat

Great topic, fire00f1y! Before I get into my smaller rewards I think it's helpful if I say what my smaller goals are. These are the things like working out on a weekday, doing my finances once a week, not using salt at dinner, etc. To me, smaller goals are routines/habits that you have and bigger goals are things you are trying to accomplish (do a handstand, travel to Turkey, etc). Like you, I'm not so hot at finding good rewards for smaller goals, but here's what I use for rewards: --Get to read a chapter of a book I'm reading (usually fiction, so it's less work and more fun) --Get to check social media for 5 minutes --Get to figure out a new recipe to try that excites me --Get to do something relaxing like lighting a candle or visiting my apartment's hot tub --Get to do something fun, and that I enjoy, like 15 minutes of swimming, walking or shooting pool --Get to read an inspiring article/motivational post that pumps me up. I lump reading NF articles and visiting the forums in this category --Get to listen to music for 10 minutes (helps when I'm studying or doing something that involves concentration) Hope this helps! Kat

I am so happy this thread exists - I didn't realize other people thought about this stuff too! Generally, I'm trying to downsize my life and get rid of clutter. To that end, I've had to make the tough choice of getting rid of books that I no longer care about. The part of me that wants to see my house transformed into a library cringes when I do this, but I've found that having a cleaner work and living space really helps clear out the mental clutter. I used to buy books as a treat to myself (both nonfiction and fiction) but lately, I've converted to someone that borrows nearly all of my books. I have memberships at two different libraries and use them both to borrow ebooks (and occasionally real books, only because they take longer to get). Sounds old-school, I know, but libraries are really great resources and often enough they have several copies of the book I'm searching for. The only downside to this method is that sometimes you have to wait a while in order to get a new book (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child) but so long as you have things to read in the interim, it's not so bad. Plus, ebooks are great in that you don't have to physically return them - once your borrowing period is up, they automatically get returned for you. Libraries also have great audiobook selections.

Hey Daflyboy84, I started running this summer after telling myself for years that I wasn't fit enough, wasn't fast enough, or couldn't do endurance races. I'm certainly not the best runner out there, but after a few months I'm ready to run my first 10K in a few weeks. Looking back at the beginning, it's hard to say what finally prompted me to start but here's what worked for me: -I signed up for a race before I ever ran a foot. I did this because I wanted something fun to look forward to and knew that it would help serve as motivation to keep going. The distance of the race doesn't matter at all - I just think you should pick something that excites you or is something you want to do (ie, a marathon). Things like the Color Run are great for getting people pumped up to run without having to train for an extremely long race. Heck, you can even just go watch one - I've found that the energy at these races is so catching that it motivates a lot of people to start running. -Pick a program that can ease you into forming a running habit. Since I had never run a race before I Googled training for beginners and found Disney's Half Marathon training website. Although they offer training programs for longer races like half and full marathons, the programs they have are wonderful for beginners and you can adapt the programs to be for something smaller, like a 5K. Here's the link http://www.rundisney.com/training/running/ to the site. Honestly, I found other training programs out there for beginners, but this was the one that had the most training time (most weeks between starting and actually running your race), so I felt comfortable being able to take things slowly. They also have a great "run-walk-run" mindset that lets you run for 10 seconds, walk for 50 seconds, then run for 10 seconds (or adapt it to whatever your pace is), so it's nice for beginners. -It's cliche to say, but even if you are running slowly, feeling self-conscious and worrying about what other people think while you run, just know that no matter what your pace is, no matter what the distance is, you are still lapping everyone on the couch. Progress, even if it is small, is progress. Finally, you got this.It sounds like running was once a passion of yours, and I know you can get back into it. Best of luck!

Steve has a pretty long workout playlist on Spotify. I think it's worth checking out, for sure. Things I listen to when working out: Besides popular dance songs/Top 40 songs (they have good beats) I listen to the Avatar: The Last Airbender and Legend of Korra soundtracks. Agni Kai and Firebending Training make you feel like you can do anything. The LOTR soundtracks are good too, and "The Kraken" from Pirates of the Caribbean is swell for making you feel epic. Also, "Is She With You? Wonder Woman Theme" from Batman vs. Superman is killer. Also, depending on how intense your workout is, you can always listen to audiobooks. When I was doing my walk to mordor I listened to a few audiobooks/podcasts. These are great for when you need a switch it up.

Hey Sweet Xana, First off, the fact that you are posting on the forums seeking advice shows that you want to improve. In my opinion, being willing to change your life, mindset and habits is the first, and one of the most important, aspects of leveling up your life. Since you have shown that you want to change, I'd say you are already well on your way towards beating your boss I think Stellakin hit some really great points but I'll throw in my two cents as well. --Having friends/a support system/masters/NF rebels at your back, who have you no matter what, is really, really important. Whomever you surround yourself with, whether they be positive or negative forces, impact so much of our lives it isn't even funny. (Honestly, it feels like the Force. You can't necessarily see it, but people impact you whether you feel it or not). Ever wonder why some runners hit PRs when they run races, but not when they just run around the block? It's because they can hear the roar of the crowd cheering them on, and that positive energy spurs them to great speeds. The same is true for whether you want to improve your finances, lose weight, leave bad relationships, etc. Surround yourself with people who love you, want the best for you, and will challenge you to do your best. It also helps tremendously if these folks are also trying to level up their life in some way - then you don't have to spend so much time explaining why you are changing your own habits. They'll just get it and support you from day one. --As a perfectionist, I hate to say this, but nothing in life will ever go exactly the way you want it to. It sucks, but in my experience, it's the truth. On the bright side, that's what makes great stories! I'd be one boring story if all the characters acted morally, never acted out of step and did everything perfect. We're human and we slip up - the only mistake you can ever make is thinking that you can never improve and not trying. Even if you fail a thousand times, if you get back up and try again for the one thousandth and one time, you are still succeeding. --From your post it sounds like you may be trying to change too many things at once. (Just my understanding, I could be wrong). If you're anything like me, you want to try and change all your bad habits all at once. (All the things!) Try instead to just change one small thing at a time, until you feel comfortable with the change and its easy for you to. For example, if you want to stick to a budget, your one thing could be sitting down every Monday night (or whenever works for you) and record your receipts. That's it. That's all the change you do for the week. Repeat this until it feels comfortable and you are doing it regularly. Then move onto your next goal. --Keep a folder of stuff that motivates you/makes you happy. I have a folder on my laptop called "Hey, It's Gonna Be Ok" and it's full of moments that make me happy - like pictures, letters from friends, inspirational articles from NF, Instagram quotes, etc. You can make one to remind yourself of all the times that you have succeeded at something. This'll help when you feel like you've fallen from the path and can't find a way back - but you'll prove to yourself that you have in the past and so you can do it again. --Finally, it could be that you just haven't found a method that works for you. Let's take working out for example. I don't know what your routine is at the moment, but maybe whatever you're doing doesn't excite you. Fitness doesn't have to be boring, so I encourage you to find something you really love doing. Maybe that's playing hockey, weightlifing or swing dancing - whatever it is, it'll feel like fun when you do it, rather than a chore. One last thing - it's perfectly fine if you find that you have to respawn. Everyone has done it. Heck, even Steve did it a few years ago when he realized he was putting work above his fitness life - and in his words, that was ridiculous since he runs a fitness site! Respawning doesn't have to mean you failed. It can mean that you simply found a method that didn't work for you, and now you're moving onto a new method. Whew. Like Stellakin, didn't realize I wrote so much until the end. Hope this helps, and let me know if you have any more questions!

Hi Brandy! I just completed CNF 2016 too and decided it was high time I joined the forums too. Glad you had an awesome time at Camp (I sure did) and nice introduction to the community! The gym you attend sounds amazing - it sounds like those trainer led sessions will definitely help you get where you want to go. Kat