butchjax

Sometimes the signals from body to brain are crossed up so you can't trust them. Since you tend to binge on things it seems that is the case. I suspect your vitamin and nutrient balance is totally out of whack. I recommend a doctor who does functional food analysis (can't remember the real term). Also experiment with a few safe supplements. Try a good b complex and quality fish oil as they are important for brain function. That might help you get better cues from your body. And try the green smoothies. Oatmeal and dried fruit provide very little nutrients actually. So you aren't addressing any deficiencies by adding them. Does that make sense? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - Please forgive typos

If you ease into it and strengthen your feet the arch won't fall. Don't just start running or lifting like normal in minimalist. There are lots of good articles with guidelines to transition. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - Please forgive typos

I wear Lems shoes and love them! I ran in them without problem and they are more comfy than 5 fingers. They cost around $100 but they last. Check out their website to see if there's a distributor near you to try them on. Or just try them. They are awesome. :-) Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - Please forgive typos

That's my goal. Making it formal takes just a bit more time and energy than I have at the moment. lol So I'll evaluate at the end of this challenge, hopefully updating each week. This is a natural extension of my prior goals anyway. If I do well I'll add the points. ;-)

I haven't set up my challenge this time because, life kicked my ass. lol But, Here's what I've been doing. Yoga 9/18 1hr 10 min + 5 min meditation 9/21 1 hr 10 min + 5 min meditation 9/22 30 min (home) 9/25 25 min (home) 9/28 50 min (yoga 4 fertility dvd) 9/29 1 hr 9/30 1 hr 15 min Personal Development Every day I listen to some Access Consciousness podcasts. This reinforces what I learn and helps me clear different things every day. I also read Friendship With God from time to time. I got a little off track with this, so I'm refocusing on it. Pregnancy Preparation I've started taking my prenatal vitamins, and refocusing on my fish oil and vitamin C. I started this last week, since I had to wait for them to arrive, but I have taken them properly 5 out of the last 9 days, and am getting better at it now. It helps having a good motivation. I also take my iron, zinc, and thyroid medicine in the morning. Cooking I've significantly reduced the food we buy already prepared. This is easier because we have a very stocked freezer/pantry and we move in 3 weeks. I don't want to see the food go to waste, nor do I want to spend the money. According to Lift I have cooked or ate leftovers 12 out of 16 days! Other Fitness Last weekend I went for a half hour bike ride since the weather was so awesome. But then the next few days my plantar fasciitis flared up so I had to rest. And then my wife was sick so I had to stay home and monitor her, which is why I only did home yoga. But, what matters is doing what I can. Moving Prep I worked my ass off yesterday cleaning at home to prepare for the move. With only 3 weekends before the movers arrive it's important to have these big days. So that is my final 'life goal'. One of those is to reduce the unnecessary stuff we're bringing. I'm finding homes for things, selling what is sellable, and then organizing what I can. I guess that's not too bad a summary. I thought I was farther behind with the challenge, but it's only 2 weeks in and I am continuing similar targets from last time.

I'm struggling, and don't have time for a real update, but I wanted to mention that I'm not going to level up on this challenge. However, I am going to take experience points. At this rate they'll be half the amount I set out to do. The reason for this is I'm still actively working toward the goals, I just can't meet them yet. It's kind of like playing SW:TOR on free vs paid. You may do the same amount of effort but only get a fraction of the points in free. lol So, I'm on free right now, and that's ok, because I haven't given up.

I'm being challenged a lot, but at least I found time to update my challenge thread last night. This week my personal mini challenge is getting sleep worked out!

This weekend the struggle has been with pain still. The guides are concerned because it seems to be ligament inflammation since it feels better after a half hour in the pool. Based on this tiny insight I'm making a new strategy. First, at yoga I eased off a lot! I rested when I needed rest and only pushed to the point of discomfort instead of super challenging. Until the pain eases up I think I have to do that. I have learned about the powerful anti-inflammatory properties of turmeric and had some in the house for my wife. We haven't had time to have her try it (don't want to add too many new things at once) so I decided to give it a try. I have to experiment with the dose but since it doesn't require too long to feel the effects I will be able to see how much it helps soon. And I went swimming again today. I do a lot of stretching and floating, along with some swimming. After 30 minutes or so I feel pretty darn good! And now I have two anti-inflammatory patches on my back and ankle to hopefully speed this along. One thing that I've learned while swimming is I have no endurance. Getting to the end of the ~40 foot pool is a stretch unless I'm on my back. So today I decided to try to relax more. Swimming is very stressful for me, so this isn't a minor challenge. It was helpful though. I'm challenging myself to realize just how little I have to work. Heck, even in boot camp swim qual was terrifying and challenging. I barely passed the second time through the survival floats. I'm pretty sure I couldn't remember how to do them now. In time I need to re-learn survival swimming, but just enjoying recreational swimming would be nice.

1. Yoga (+2 str, +5 dex) Summary: Attend class 3x per weekAttended last saturday, sunday, wednesday. 100%Also today (new week). 2. Stretching (+3 dex)Summary: 2x am, 2x pm at work. Non-yoga days stretch in the evenings This is very challenging due to my new work assignment. I set the goal before I know what it was going to be like, so I have to keep working at it. Last week I stretched 2-3 times a day at work. So I'm giving it a 50% for last week. I didn't stretch as much as I'd like at night either. 3. Healthy Eating (+3 con)Summary: 5 healthy dinners a weekThis last week I remember making catfish and salads and meatloaf and indian stir fry. And the other days I still ate well. I need to document it better in the future, but for last week I completed this goal. Side Quests (+2 wis)Since we're in the midst of paper pregnancy, I'm doing a lot of research and preparation for adoption. Therefor my side quest focuses on that. It's a constant movement toward this goal of adoption which includes:1. Completing the home study this month2. Reading about parenting, foster care, adoption, and autism among other special needs3. Researching the requirements in Colorado for adoption and taking any initial steps. This week I've started another new book - The Happiest Baby on the Block which has useful information. I don't agree with it all, but I can see how he came to these conclusions and look forward to testing out the techniques. The home study is still in progress since the lawyer and social worker have to research how to do the home study so it works for colorado. I doubt it will, but we'll see. And it looks like getting certified to adopt from foster care is a lot of work, but I need to talk to people directly. Life Goal (I forgot what I wanted for this lol)1. Declutter. I did a little every day and it makes a difference!

Thanks everyone. Today I didn't go to work, instead getting our background checks done. I could go in now but I don't have anything to do, I have vacation to burn, and I am tired. So I'm going to start on some gentle stretching now and regain some energy. Then I can clean and take advantage of this extra time. We're trying to get tickets to see Wicked tomorrow which will eat up the whole evening that I'd otherwise spend cleaning. I better do all that tonight then. :-)

Other goals I haven't added yet, but might experiment with, include meditation and running. But I need to get my body healthier before running because it aggravates my back just enough to throw me off.

I just created my challenge thread and updated my signature. Here it is for simplicity: http://nerdfitnessrebellion.com/index.php?/topic/34996-jaxs-2nd-challenge/

Building on the last challenge, I expect to do well with this one as well. Though, I also know it will be a challenge because I will be travelling for 2 weeks during it. I'm trying to keep that in mind as I set my goals. And, I'm not sure about this new format. Main Quest: Pain-free movement Right now, many things hurt. It hurts to sit, it hurts to lie down. It simply hurts to live. I don't want to keep hurting. I want to be able to hike and bike and raise kids with a healthy body. but to expand my physical activities I have to get the pain under control by addressing the causes. My goals will focus on that. Tasks 1. Yoga (+2 str, +5 dex) Yoga has made the largest improvement in my life by far - as long as I go often enough to the right classes. Ideally that is 3 classes per week. I can easily make the saturday and sunday classes, so that leaves just one class during the week. That depends on my work schedule. My goal while I am home is 3 classes per week. While travelling this will have to be on hold unless I find a place to use temporarily. If I can find a good dvd that can be a substitute. And I will do what I can at home from the youtube videos from my teacher. Summary: Attend class 3x per week 2. Stretching (+3 dex) I know, redundant. But just yoga class isn't enough. I need to stretch during the day at work and on days I don't go to class. So, during the day at work I will stretch a minimum of twice in the morning and twice in the afternoon in my cubical. I'll track it using lift (using the comments) I got out of practice with this practice so I have to make it a goal and focus. I will also track my non-yoga day stretching Summary: 2x am, 2x pm at work. Non-yoga days stretch in the evenings 3. Healthy Eating (+3 con) Pain is strongly influenced by diet. Therefore my goal is to eat a healthy meal 5 days a week (trying to be realistic). Whether that is cooked or bought is less important than the quality of the food. The ideal is to cook, for my budget and satisfaction. But reality, especially while travelling, dictates the flexibility. My breakfast is already healthy (2 eggs scrambled with mrs dash garlic and herb mix and a touch of salt, cooked in the microwave and put on toast with a little garlic and herb goat cheese). My lunches are ideally leftovers, but when they aren't they are also with the goal of health in mind. My focus will be on dinner though. Summary: 5 healthy dinners a week bonus: Strengthening (no points unless I really take off with it) This is the bigger challenge. I'm not sure what strengthening to do that I can realistically make work. However, my wife is going to start using the recumbent bike in the fitness center so I will come up with a routine then. There are free weights and a few machines. I know this is supposed to be specific, but I don't know how this is going to work yet, between my work schedule, cooking, and yoga. Therefore, I'm going to put this in as an experimental task. See what works, and then build on it in the next challenge. Summary: Experiment and see what works and is sustainable Task Summary: I will do some sort of stretching every day between yoga class and home stretches. I will eat as healthy and naturally as I can. And as we figure out scheduling I'll add the strengthening in the fitness center. Side Quests (+2 wis) Since we're in the midst of paper pregnancy, I'm doing a lot of research and preparation for adoption. Therefor my side quest focuses on that. It's a constant movement toward this goal of adoption which includes: 1. Completing the home study this month 2. Reading about parenting, foster care, adoption, and autism among other special needs 3. Researching the requirements in Colorado for adoption and taking any initial steps. This isn't actually a challenge, it's what I've been doing for months, but I want to make note of it since it's such an important part of my life. Life Goal (I forgot what I wanted for this lol) 1. Declutter. Every day I need to do just a small amount of cleaning to maintain and get through the detail chores I want to do before we move and adopt. For instance, last night I cleaned the microwave, finished the dishes, and cleaned up a corner of the bedroom. None of these was big, but they're easy to put off. I look forward to seeing how this all plays out.

I'll be there, just need to think about the directions we were given in today's blog post - our big life mission thing, and goals that support it. It's what I've been doing, just need to figure out wording and such. Then I'll have a new challenge thread.

I'm still trying to catch up with life so I'm not even thinking about it. Though I have a few areas I'm planning on.