nemo

Thanks guys!! Your support throughout the Challenge was a great help to me and really kept me going through some tough moments. I'll have to have a think about the next Challenge to see if I can come up with some good goals! Good luck to all of you!

So, it's time to wrap up! That was a really good Challenge and I'm glad I stuck with it for the 6 weeks. I feel I've learned a lot about myself and about what works for me in terms of health and fitness, and I'll definitely be taking part in more Challenges in the future! Grades!! Goal 1: Get my diet on track - I'm really happy with the progress I made on this goal. It wasn't a perfect 6 weeks in terms of food, and I had a few slip-ups but overall I think I did really well. As a person who used to subsist mainly on carbs (and often of the sweeter kind), I've made huge changes. Of course, it hasn't all happened within the last 6 weeks, it's been a gradual thing in my life for a while now, but having the parameters of the Challenge certainly helped to motivate me on this one. I used to eat several biscuits/cookies a day, I'd have sugary cereal or white toast almost every morning and anytime I felt like a "treat" I'd indulge (and of course it's not really a treat if you do it several times a week!). Every main meal was built around carbs + meat and sometimes vegetables were completely ignored. But in the last 6 weeks, a lot has changed. I haven't eaten a single biscuit! I had chocolate once or twice (one of those times did involve a LOT of chocolate, though) and I've only eaten cereal or toast when I had no other options, like when I was in my bf's house and they were out of eggs. I think I could count the number of times I've had pasta on one hand, though rice might take up two hands Making these changes has not only been easier than I expected, but I also fully intend to keep this new diet going long-term! I've noticed on the occasions when I did eat things like chips or cereal that my body really didn't react too well. I felt bloated and sluggish and uncomfortable, and I can't believe I never noticed feeling that way before! Introducing lots more fresh fruit and veg into my diet has helped me to feel energetic and healthy, plus I've learned lots of new tasty ways to prepare those foods to make them more interesting! Moving forward, I intend to keep avoiding these same foods and maintain the diet I've developed over the course of this Challenge. From now on, a "treat" will really be an occasional treat! Grade for Goal 1: A-. I did really well, but not perfectly. I'm really happy with the outcome of this goal, which is why I'm giving myself such a high grade. I don't really care about the details and percentages on this, I believe I deserve a pat on the back! Goal 2: Complete 15 full push-ups in a row - My best was 6 in a row by the time this Challenge ended. I could have worked harder on this, my routine did falter and fade out towards the end of the 6 weeks. I am happy to have made progress and I always look forward to push-ups at boot camp to see if I can beat my previous record, though my results did vary quite a bit in the 6 weeks. This goal may be revisited in future Challenges! Grade for Goal 2: C+. Must try harder! Improvements were made but not enough. Points given for effort, points taken away for effort dwindling at the end and for not reaching the initial goal. Goal 3: Follow the advice from my physio - Again, effort dwindled towards the end of the Challenge. For the first 3 or 4 weeks I was almost at a 100% record but after that, I suppose I let it slip down my priority list. My knees and hip have definitely improved, I don't feel anywhere near as much pain as I used to but it hasn't gone completely. I need to keep an eye on this and keep working on my strength, flexibility and stretching. Grade for Goal 3: B-. I started strong but let things slip towards the end of the Challenge. I'm glad I finally went to the physio and got my knees looked at and I know I'm on the right track towards full recovery and future improvements. High grade for initial effort and for lessening in pain, minus mark for letting this slide at the end. Goal 4: Pass a driving pre-test within the 6-week Challenge - Well. First, the positives: I booked my driving test, I got out in the car more often and my confidence on the road has definitely improved. Then, the negatives: In the sort-of pre-test that I took, I would have failed, my driving isn't really at a passing standard yet, and I never took the actual pre-test. While I'm glad that this goal pushed me to get out driving more often and made me finally book my test, I'm not happy with the overall results. I should definitely have done better. Grade for Goal 4: F. While I did get some benefits from this goal, I didn't even organise the pre-test, let alone pass it. So regardless of the progress made, I failed on this one. However, the test is still coming for me so I still have time to improve!! Overall Grade: C+ Measurements! My pre-Challenge measurements are in regular font, my post-Challenge measurements in bold. Left thigh: 21 in 20.5 in Right thigh: 21 in 20.5 in Hips: 36.5 in 36 in Waist: 30.5 in 30 in Bust: 34 in 34 in Left upper arm (flexed): 11 in 10.75 in Right upper arm (flexed): 11 in 10.5 in Which is an overall loss of.... 2.75 inches!! I've also lost about 1kg in weight, give or take. I don't know if I've really lost any body fat. Either way, I reckon I'm on the right track! Good Challenge, here's to the next one!!

Thanks for the support! I don't really know how the comments were intended but I'm trying not to think about them and just do my own thing. We're always gonna come across people who don't understand our choices and feel the need to criticise, whether their intentions are good or bad. I'm not perfect either! I might try your idea of challenging them next time though

So! At boot camp on Tuesday evening, I did 6 full push-ups again!! Really happy with that. I'm gonna try and beat that tonight, though my shoulders are kinda stiff so we'll have to see how it goes. We have our old instructor back and she's really tough, didn't give us any breaks even though it was really hot on Tuesday evening. My glutes and shoulders are still feeling it! I had Pilates yesterday and it was a nice stretching workout to complement the boot camp. My abs have always been a problem for me, both in terms of strength and appearance. I am really self-conscious about my mid-section (and criticism from people who should be supporting me certainly doesn't help) so I enjoy doing a workout that concentrates so much on core strength. I also went for a long drive with my dad yesterday, which went well. I still haven't got a date for my driving test yet, but I think I might get it in the next week or two. Eep! I might update again later or else tomorrow, depending on how tired I am tonight!

Hello again! Well, I'll be honest. This past weekend didn't quite go according to plan. It wasn't the worst but it certainly wasn't the best either. But it's done now! I went for an hour-long drive today, which I was happy with, It went well, but I still don't think I'd pass a driving test if I had one tomorrow, Luckily I have a few more weeks to get ready for mine. I did my physio today because I didn't do it yesterday. It went fine, no problems to report. Hopefully a couple more weeks and I'll be pain-free. Push-ups. I haven't done any all weekend. This goal will not be met by the end of the Challenge, but I'm still gonna try my hardest to get a PR. Let's finish on a high!

Thanks! Yeah I like the contrast of the boot camp and the Pilates. The boot camp is so intense but it's only twice a week and I wanted to add another workout of some kind. Pilates will hopefully keep me active without wearing me out completely!

Update.... It's been a while since I was here, and part of the reason for that is because I haven't been doing super well so far this week. I haven't done push-ups (outside of boot camp) since Sunday, I missed my physio yesterday and I haven't been out driving in several days. I also just ate some apple pie that my mother made today. I can't really say I regret the pie. Push-ups: Like I said, I haven't done my knee/incline push-ups since Sunday. In boot camp on Tuesday, I managed a total of 4 full push-ups. Big drop since last week, I don't know why and that's quite frustrating. I did 4 more full push-ups this evening in boot camp as well. I will definitely do an arm workout this weekend because I really want to make some more progress on this goal. Physio: I got lazy. No excuses really. My knees still hurt, you'd think that would be incentive enough but apparently not. I won't miss another day of this. Driving: No excuses there either. I haven't needed to drive, so I haven't done it. I should be doing it purely for the sake of it. Diet-wise, I've been pretty much on track. I had that pie just now, and I ate some pasta yesterday. I'm not going to beat myself up over diet things unless I go overboard, I know I've made really big improvements over the course of this Challenge so far and I want these changes to be long-term. And in the long term, I know I'm going to be eating pasta and rice and bread and desserts from time to time. As long as it's an occasional thing then as far as I'm concerned I'm doing well. It might take a little longer to cut down on my body fat percentage this way but I'd prefer that to a more restrictive diet and the low self-esteem that would accompany any "failures" with that. I went to my first Pilates class yesterday, and I really enjoyed it. I was a bit apprehensive at first but I got into it and enjoyed the stretching and core work, especially after doing a lot of running at boot camp the previous night. It was a small class and the instructor was able to come around and help us all individually. I would love if this class helped to really strengthen my core and help my flexibility. So I guess you could say it's been a week of ups and downs so far! I'm hoping to end the week stronger than I started it. I'm working tomorrow morning but I'm free in the afternoon so I'll do my physio and go for a drive then. I don't think I'll be able to do anything exercise-wise on Saturday but hopefully Sunday I'll be able to give my arms a workout and do some more physio. My Beast has been snoozing this week, but not anymore.

Thank you!

Little update once again: I went for a run/walk yesterday morning, I'm not sure of my distances this time but it was roughly 4 and a half km all together, and mostly running. It was a great way to start the day, I was awake early anyway so I said I might as well use the time well! I felt like I was a step ahead all day because my workout was done so early. Good day. My latest push-ups stats are as follows: 20 reps - 12 reps - 9 reps. This time, for variety's sake more than anything, I did incline push-ups rather than knee push-ups. Judging by my results, I'd say the difficulty level is about the same. I really want some biscuits or chocolate this evening. I'm kinda hungry so I might have a banana or something to distract from the sugary thoughts!

Woohoo! Thanks for the encouragement No I haven't been to Pilates yet, I'm starting on Wednesday. Looking forward to it! I'll keep you posted on how it goes

Hello again! Quick update here: Last night at boot camp, I did 6 full push-ups in a row!! And then, in the next set, I did 3 more!!! Woohoooo! Part of me doesn't really believe that this happened, I feel like if I tried it again I wouldn't be able to do it. But it did happen, I was there! Today is meant to be push-up day but I might rest and do them tomorrow instead. My neck/shoulders are really stiff & tight today and I have a heat wrap on at the moment to try to relax the muscles. I'll see how I feel in a while but I reckon I'd be able to give them a better shot tomorrow. I did my physio work this morning, my knees are a bit sore after boot camp but they're improving. My hip feels good, no more problems there so far, so hopefully that will continue!

Updates: So I'll start with yesterday - I went to the physio in the morning and sure enough he said it would be our last appointment (all going well). He told me to keep up the exercises & stretches, but perhaps just every other day. But I'm on the right track so hopefully I'll be at my best in no time! I had boot camp last night too, and Beast Mode was fully engaged. I pretty much felt like I was going to puke for the whole hour, but I didn't! The only downside was that I tried to do a full push-up and failed, so ended up just doing knee push-ups instead. But other than that, it was a very tough workout and I gave it my best. I feel good about that. This morning, I had a driving lesson with my instructor, which went okay. He said if he'd been an examiner I would have failed, which is not good, but it's obviously something I need to put more work into. I think I've developed some habits that I need to nip in the bud before my test. I need to work on my observation, speed around corners and I need to use the handbrake more. Simple things really, I just have to drill them into my brain!! I also did my knee push-ups today, which went like so: 20 reps - 11 reps - 8 reps. I'm still not happy but I'm getting there. I'm starting to worry that this goal won't be met by the end of the Challenge, but all I can do is my best I guess. I'll keep at it and hopefully my arms will get into gear! Diet-wise, I'm doing well and enjoying it. It's easy to keep on track of food when you have as much free time as I do currently (I work freelance, so it's not regular hours) but I know it'll be much much harder to follow this diet when I'm working full days. I'm gonna have to make sure that I don't get lazy and try as hard as I can to keep on track. But for the moment it's going great, I'm enjoying the food I'm making and I feel healthy. Win!

Thanks! It's tough sometimes to keep your momentum up but when you start to make progress it gets easier. Plus we're in the final stretch now so it's time to kick it up a gear!

Update time once more! I went to bed early last night and put the shortcomings of the last week behind me. Got a good rest and woke up this morning feeling good. I got up and did a quick workout - warm up, then intervals with a skipping rope, then my knee push-ups and finished with a 45-sec plank. My push-ups went like this: 20 reps - 10 reps - 6 reps. Not happy with that at all but I guess that's what happens when you let workouts slide. By the end of this week I hope to be at least back to 40 reps in total, hopefully pushing a little further. I'm getting my diet back on track too, had eggs for breakfast and I made a delicious chorizo & chickpea soup for lunch. I'm making dinner later too for my parents & bf, and I'm making rice for them but not for me. I'll stick with the bell peppers & broccoli, and I'm totally happy about that. I have arranged a driving refresher lesson with my old instructor for Wednesday morning. I've been totally slack on this goal, though I have been driving I have developed bad habits and I very much doubt I'd pass a test if I took it today. I'll see what my instructor says on Wed and then work on his feedback. Tomorrow morning, I have what might be my final appointment with my physio. I definitely feel better now than I did before I started, but I still have a way to go. My hip is a lot better, almost no pain there anymore, but my knees are still problematic. It has helped me to feel more in tune with my body and to understand how it works and what it needs. It's also made me want to get into better shape as regards my flexibility and core strength, and not just for vanity's sake! I want my body to work like a well-oiled machine, with fluidity and power and stamina. It's a long-term goal.

Thanks, Harmless New week, new start!

Beast mode buddy!! You're doing really well, and down 2% body fat already! Great work on the pull-ups too, I couldn't even attempt one yet but someday I will. Keep it up and remember that nothing beats the beast...

This weekend has been pretty much a total wash. Diet was all over the place - I still haven't given in to the sweet foods but I had chips with dinner two days in a row, plus white "high fibre" toast last night when I came home. I was out drinking last night with my bf and his friend, I got quite smashed and my body really doesn't like me today. If anything, this has made me want to redouble my efforts for the last 3 weeks of this Challenge because eating crap food makes me feel crap and my body deserves a higher standard of fuel than some of the stuff I've given it these past few days. I didn't do my physio yesterday either, and my legs feel really stiff. I'm gonna do it as soon as I've finished this post and before I leave for work. I signed up for that Pilates class too, and I'm quite looking forward to it. I like the idea of having greater flexibility and stability, plus having a third workout scheduled into my week gives me no excuses to slack off. I haven't done any push-ups since Thursday night either, I can't believe I've let almost three days slip by! I'll try to get them in tonight but if not then tomorrow morning. I'm gonna do a workout of some kind tomorrow morning anyway to start getting my momentum back. 3 weeks to go, 3 weeks in beast mode. Who's with me??

So I tried a few full push-ups last night at boot camp...and I managed 4 (I tried a fifth but that's when my arms gave out, so I'm not counting it). I'm quite pleased with 4 though, it's definitely something to build on! I reckon I'll keep up the habit of doing full push-ups in boot camp while maintaining the knee push-ups in my own time. Speaking of which, I didn't do them yesterday so I'm gonna do them today or tomorrow. The reason I say that is because my body is pretty wrecked after last night so I'm considering just taking a rest day today. I'll see how it goes. Diet-wise, I'm doing well enough. I had porridge for breakfast yesterday because we were out of eggs, and I had a flatbread with dinner. Today I had eggs and a smoothie for breakfast, and pasta-free lasagne (there was a small lasagne made for me so I just peeled off the pasta layers and ate the meat & tomato sauce) with an apple & peanut butter and a yogurt for lunch. I'm not sure what dinner will be yet. I'm thinking of signing up to a Pilates course later today. I've thought about trying it for a while but I got a special offer from a place in town which is making me consider it seriously. I think it'd be good for my overall stability and flexibility, and would help improve my (terrible) posture and core strength. Seems like a good idea, no?

Update time!! I have managed to avoid sweets, though I have had some bread over the last couple of days - wholewheat yesterday, some ciabatta today. I have to get back to planning my food properly so that I don't end up making bad choices. I'll be interested to see if this change in diet has much effect on my measurements by the end of this Challenge. Knee push-ups today: 20 reps - 11 reps - 10 reps. I might try to do some full push-ups in boot camp on Thursday, just to see if I can. Perhaps that might help to push my strength up a little faster, or at least I guess it's good to challenge my body in different ways. Still doing my physio, though I find it hard sometimes to motivate myself to do it. I know I still have lots of work to do, I know it's working, and I know I want to get my body working at a balanced and optimal level. I think I'm going to start doing it first thing in the morning before I have breakfast so that it's done early and I don't have to think about it. I can't believe we're over two weeks into this Challenge already! It's great that everyone seems to be doing really well and really making progress towards their goals.

Aww thanks! Yeah sugar cravings are the worst. I have such a sweet tooth as well. I know I'm not giving up sweet foods forever but I want to make it more of an occasional thing, a treat once every two weeks for example rather than something I have a couple of times a day. I want to develop some level of control over my sweet tooth! Man of Steel is good, like I said I found it a bit too long with slightly overlong action scenes, but overall it's enjoyable. And Henry Cavill is very pleasant to look at for two hours. Thanks Aerandir9! I know I'm making progress, but sometimes I guess it feels like that progress is so slow it's almost negligible. But I know that all progress counts, no matter how slow or how minimal! I have some knowledge of the routes that the test can take in my area but I haven't really explored them in a while. Good advice though, I'll definitely do that this week!

So! I went to see "Man of Steel" with the bf yesterday (I really liked it, but it was too long) and I didn't have any cinema food. Win! Before I went out, I made Piri Piri chicken with corn on the cob and steamed broccoli with Asian dressing for my dinner, and that kept me going for the whole night. Today didn't quite go to plan - I didn't have time to work out earlier because I was making a family dinner for father's day, and once that was over I just felt really exhausted and dehydrated so I'm taking it easy and trying to get as much water into my system as I can before bed. I'm planning on going for another run tomorrow morning, so hopefully I'll feel a bit more energetic by then! I've done some driving over the weekend and I'm feeling quite confident with it. I still haven't got a date for my test. Right now, I'm in the middle of a massive sugar craving. I'm hungry even though I've already had a healthy snack, and I just want more. I'm not even sure what exactly I want, but I know it's not something healthy. I want cake or something. The good news is that there's no cake in my house and I'm definitely not gonna go out to get some. I just need to drink lots of water and distract myself and hopefully it'll pass soon. Aargh.

So yesterday was kind of a write-off - I was out and about all day, so I didn't get my physio done. I also didn't have a big enough lunch because I didn't have time, which meant that I went to my friend's for dinner already famished. Bad idea. She made a delicious jambalaya, of which I had two helpings. There was a huge amount of sweets and chocolate for afterwards, and that was my downfall. I could have eaten even more than I did, if I'm honest. Put a lot of chocolate in front of me and I will eat it. Anyway, the end result was that I felt a bit sick and bloated and generally not good. So this morning I got up and went out for a walk/run, which went like this: Walk: 0.7 km Run: 1.05 km Walk: 0.21 km Run: 0.8 km ...at which point my hip strain felt quite tight so I walked on home (a further 0.88 km). Which gives me a total of 3.64 km. Better than nothing, but I would have liked to do a lot more. Anyway, I came home and stretched, and then moved on to my push-ups. Knee push-ups: 20 reps - 11 reps - 9 reps. I seem to be stuck around these figures but I'm hoping perseverance will pay off. I also did my physio after all this was done, and I managed to get a 2kg weight to attach to my ankles. My hip was still acting up so some of the exercises were a bit sore to do. I think I might try to rest it for the rest of the day, and possibly do a proper workout tomorrow morning if it lets me. I might go to see a movie with my bf later today, and usually we would share popcorn and Coke in the cinema. Today, I don't think I'll have any - partly because I ate enough junk last night, but also because I need to get back on track with my diet. I always feel bloated and thirsty and a bit blah after eating cinema food, but it's easy to forget that when the smell of popcorn wafts through the air!

Hello fellow Rebels! I'll start with yesterday - breakfast and lunch were good, but dinner was a carb-fest (included chips and rice) and I shared a bowl of popcorn with my boyfriend while watching a DVD. As for today, my diet's been pretty good - porridge for breakfast, which wasn't ideal, but I guess it could have been worse. Dinner was Moroccan lamb with chickpeas, apricots & tomatoes. And post-boot camp snack was Greek yogurt with blueberries. Now, I face a bit of a diet problem tomorrow. I'm going to a friend's house for dinner and these get-togethers usually involve a lot of junk food. Tortilla chips, peanuts, jellies, cupcakes, chocolate, the whole shebang. All of this obviously goes completely against my first goal. I thought about resisting all of it, I thought about giving in and having a "cheat" night, and what I've decided is to take part but with moderation. I'll monitor my intake and maintain my self-control. I am a little worried that it'll send me on a sugar binge but I guess this is a bit of a test to see if I can control myself, have some junk food and then move on without this being a huge setback. I hope?! I'll report back on Saturday to say how it went. I'll also probably add in a little extra activity this weekend to try and make up for the extra calories. Knee push-ups today went as follows: 20 reps - 7 reps - 8 reps. My total has gone down a bit, and I reckon that's because I did these push-ups as part of my boot camp and my arms were already tired. Usually I do them separately from the boot camp but I didn't today. Physio is all done, I haven't managed to find decent ankle weights yet. I had to renew my learner's permit, which I was hoping not to have to do, but time is running out and I still haven't got a date for my driving test.

So! Yesterday was spent looking after my bf, cos he's sick (read: watching 300 and Game of Thrones together) but my diet was pretty good. I did eat some bread with dinner but other than that it was all meat, eggs & veg. I didn't really do any working out of any kind yesterday. My diet today has been okay too, breakfast was pretty bad (Cheerios, bacon & toast) but I had fruit & Greek yogurt for lunch, plus a teaspoon of peanut butter cos I wanted it For dinner, I made aubergines with tomato, garlic & thyme and had that with steak. Yum. Later I will probably have more Greek yogurt & blueberries before they go bad! Push-ups day! Today went well, here are my results: 20 reps - 11 reps - 7 reps. I'm so getting there. Getting excited about being able to do real push-ups like a badass soon. I had my second appointment with my physio today. He said everything seemed to be improving and to keep up with my exercises & stretches to build up more strength where I need it for stability. I have to source some small weights to attach to my ankles in the next day or two to increase the resistance and build strength in my quads. Another appointment booked for two weeks' time. As for my driving goal, it's kind of fallen by the wayside a bit. I really need to actually practice more. I think I might text my old instructor and see if he can take me out sometime this week or next. I might drag my dad out for a bit tomorrow morning as well if he's available. I have my boot camp class tonight, so I'm gonna give that my best effort to make sure I get the results I want. I have a feeling it's gonna be a tough one, our old instructor is taking us tonight for whatever reason and she's pretty tough! Wish me luck!

I love your goals! And your whole gym routine sounds awesome too. Well done on braving the scary weights room, I'm too chicken to do that just yet but I'm hoping someday I'll get there. It sounds like you're really on top of things and making great progress. I've just started reading HGTTG, and I'm loving it so far! Can't wait to get a few more chapters in tonight actually... What are you hoping to study after the summer's over?