HandSewnMama

So I just figured out that at least part of my sickness right now is heartburn, which I've never dealt with before, so I need to figure out what to do for that to prevent further puking. Preferably before I fly to Nashville for a conference Monday. Yay. Update for yesterday/Tuesday: Water--1.75 of 2.5 bottles (includes a cup of milk) Meal-- my husband made me red beans and rice (protein, veggie, rice) and I ate that twice 5+5 -- did not complete

Hello everyone! I'm bagpipenebula (name taken from my love of Scottish Country Dancing/all things Scottish and astronomy/astrophysics/physics); I'm 26 years old from Maryland. I've done a few challenges here and there over the last several years. I'm coming back at the moment, and in the Rebels Guild, because I'm pregnant and it's currently kicking my butt. My first trimester was quite difficult -- very bad morning sickness, I lost 15 pounds, and practically no exercise of any kind because I just wasn't getting the calories. I'm in my second trimester now, and though my morning sickness is still here, I want to give my baby the best chance. That means exercise, food (I have to gain 30-35 pounds, that's scary when I'm still throwing up, plus nutrition is important), staying hydrated, and figuring out what kinds of stuff we need to get for when the baby's here in April. I'm choosing goals that I think I can do now, that are slightly stretching from my current state but shouldn't be too difficult, though I'm hoping I'll be able to extend them further in upcoming weeks as, hopefully, my morning sickness goes away. So, onto the quest! Quest: Healthy Pregnancy, Healthy Baby Mini-Quest 1: 2.5 water bottles a day of water This is the hydration quest. My water bottle is just under 4 cups; 2.5 water bottles is about 10 cups, which is the goal for pregnancy. Mini-Quest 2: 1 nutritional meal per day This is the food/nutrition quest. One meal a day of healthy foods is better than my current average due to morning sickness, though I'm hoping I can increase this to two shortly. Mini-Quest 3: 5 minutes yoga + 5 minutes intentional movement This is the exercise quest. 10 minutes intentional exercise is more than I've done regularly since I got morning sickness. 5 minutes a day will go to pregnancy-safe yoga, 5 to some other kind of intentional exercise (strength training, walking, stairs, dancing, etc.). Walking to/from the car, around work, etc don't count for this. Mini-Quest 4: Make a list This is the lifestyle challenge. Start to figure out what kinds of stuff we need to get for the baby -- bottles, strollers, wraps, clothing, who knows what all else.

I CONQUERED THE 30 LB PRESS! WOOT! I had the same problem with squats today, so tomorrow I'll try to figure out how to video it. Official challenge goals: 1. Eat 120 g protein or more in a day, 21 days out of 28. This'll allow me to make a big step, but hopefully without overwhelming me. It also will allow me some wriggle room the last week, when I'll likely be working five 12 hour shifts, and help me figure out how to continue a high protein diet during the upcoming peak season at work. 2. Add two yoga poses or stretches a week (or eight total) to cool down, rest day or daily yoga routine. 3. Read through the squat, deadlift, press, bench press and barbell row (in the accessory lift section) sections of Starting Strength by the end of the challenge. Work through recommended practice exercises as I go. 4. End each day with a clean sink.

ADVICE PLEASE! I was doing my squats today (65lb, heavy for me) when my neck started hurting. I stretched it a bit between sets, but it hurt so bad that I stopped in the middle of my third set, given that I don't want to wrench it too bad and screw it up. Any idea what I could've done to it, how to prevent it or how to make it better?

The 25lb press worked fine. Still feels heavy, but I could do it. Most of the time I get enough rest, I think (though today I'm really struggling to get the energy up to work out, given that my husband's on a trip for a few days and left me without him for the first time in a couple of years and I could barely get sleep last night!). I'm under the impression that most people could benefit a lot from yoga. I know I have already, with reduced back pain, so I'm excited to find out how else it can help.

It's damn hard to get over the "everybody hates me, everybody laughs at me" mindset, especially if there was a point in time when lots of people did laugh at you. I've found that it helps to remember that most people are too focused on how they are looked at to spend much of any time worrying about you! I wish you fair fortune in your quest. Those sound like good goals to focus on.

So, on my first day of tracking protein, I managed to hit about 130-135 grams of protein. WOO! Higher than I thought I'd manage, but a big protein shake helped a lot, as did six cheddar brats split between lunch and dinner. Hopefully I'm not eating excessive amounts of calories, but for now, I think I'll just worry about the protein. I hope this'll help my overhead press out tomorrow. I'm dropping down to a 25 lb 5x5, since three workouts in a row I failed at 30 lbs, each time worse than the last! Hence why I began to suspect I needed more protein. Thanks! I'll look into that on Tuesday, which is my next rest day.

That seems awfully high, but then, I've never really focused on protein intake before. I'll see where I end up this week, and try to get a game plan for making that happen It seems to be hamstrings, hips and shoulders more than anything right now. (Yay, spezzy's giving me advice!)

This is not my first challenge, but my first as a warrior (who knew I'd love barbells?) and my first with an already established exercise routine. I'm on my sixth week of Strong Lifts, and also my sixth week of doing a little yoga every day. As for the challenge: I want my goals to help me in all the ways that support my workout and strength gains. So, to that effect -- I've recently come to the conclusion that I need more protein to grow my strength, so that'll be one of my goals. Another will be working through Starting Strength (my loot after four weeks of workouts) to ensure I've got as good form as possible. My final workout goal will actually be regarding yoga--I have a brief routine I do each day, primarily to stave off back pain from my manual labor job, but I want to add more for my off days to help recover from my workouts. My life goal would be something involving dishes. I'll specify these goals more this week. So, my questions for you: how much protein should a 5'7", 145 lb, 23 year old woman wanting to add strength, but preferably not too much weight (some is fine, but I'd definitely prefer to lose fat and add muscle, rather than just add muscle), eat per day? And does that amount change for workout days and non workout days? And do you have any preferred or recommended yoga poses for recovery or aiding in strength gaining? I hope y'all can give me some advice to guide me!

How warm is the area you rise in? If it's not earm enough, it won't rise much Sent from my SCH-S968C using Tapatalk

It happens to all of us. A couple weeks after I was diagnosed with Celiac, I ate a fortune cookie, and didn't realize until my body took a nap. And it's been a year and a half, and I still screw up sometimes. Sent from my SCH-S968C using Tapatalk

Though I dropped out of the last challenge early, I'm ready to come back and continue working on getting over my depression. I'm getting antidepressants soon (quite possibly tomorrow!), so that will be there to help me on my way, and I just need to put in the effort to improve without overstressing myself. My lack of concentration and ability to stay focused, as well as my mood, are working against me. With that in mind, I'm keeping things simple this challenge. Easy, simple things to do each day, and only three goals. Goal 1: Move. I'll try to exercise or move somehow every day--stretching, walking, biking, bodyweight exercises; anything and everything counts, because it'll improve my mindset. STA: +1, CON: +1, WIS: +3 Goal 2: Smile. Do something every day to make me smile. Highly encouraged activities: read; dance; draw; build things; make things; get out of the house and do anything. Other potential activities: Look at gorgeous, cute, funny or amusing pictures; read the "positive" tags on tumblr. WIS: +5 Goal 3: Protect. Take a multivitamin every day, and take my antidepressant every day after it's prescribed. CON: +5

You've already figured out how to change your signature, so do that; then select the text you want to put in (generally "Battle Log" and "Challenge 1", but whatever you want), hit the link sign (it looks like a chain link; next to the numbered bullet list button), put the URL in, and there you go

I missed yesterday, so here's two. 6. I an eager to share my knowledge. 7. I will never insult people. I may not like their choices and actions, but I never disparage the people.

Aww, thanks! I'm taking a combinatorial game theory course on Coursera, and this week was just a couple simple games. The professor posted some problems to work on (and I could always create more, if I get bored). At least the problems that I've looked at so far, it's possible to figure out--alone, no opponent required--what moves are and aren't optimal for each player, and who will win if player Left or player Right goes first (assuming both are playing optimally). It took me only a few minutes to learn how to play; depending on the problem, it takes me a couple minutes to awhile to figure out who's going to win.