DirtyLittleSecrets

Hmm, when I start really craving red meat sometimes it's because I'm low in iron. I try to think of all the things that might be associated with the thing I'm craving and then try to get them from healthier alternate sources. Usually it works pretty well. Glad to see you're trying to keep doing your workouts with the DVD's. Once you find something you're interested in that want to stick with it will be much better

16/01/14 Completed the second mini challenge as my workout and rowed 3500 meters today. I'm helping a friend with her practical exam so I'm staying later at the school then heading to work. After that I get to see my boyfriend so I packed a lunch as well as a dinner to get me through till 8.

Thanks guys . I love this challenge so far and I'm really enjoying it. Rowing is definitely something I am glad I took the time to learn proper form for. 15/01/14 update: Rowed 7500 meters today before my shift. It's an active recovery day so I took my sweet time and completed it in 45 minutes. Just enough time to fit in a shower and a Greek yogurt before work. Didn't eat at the school cafeteria, brought a snack and a mini dinner to work for my 5 hour shift. Fritattas are made for tomorrow morning and a lunch packed for the small break I have between class, helping my friend with her practical exam, and work.

I actually had one of the regulars at the gym I work at compliment my squat form the other day. He went about it in a very nice way and was a complete gentleman. If a gym is busy (as it often is the case around this time) I find a lot of people are asking to sub in between sets and that's awesome as long as the sets are courteous and done in a reasonable amount of time. I'm also the girl that deadlifts between her bench sets. He sounds like he just likes the gym to himself. I'm wondering where you got 95 grams of protein as a baseline? I'm a little bigger than you albeit with a little more body fat (20%) and have been doing really well with my protein at around 60 grams. I was eating 80 grams for about a month to see if it made a difference and found it didn't matter once I started cutting it back. That being said I always have a source of protein with my meals and my snacks are usually a smaller protein/carb combo. Interesting challenge! I'll check back to see how your doing :-)

I love your work productivity goal. It really makes me think about how much work I put in each shift versus skirting around doing nothing. Looks like you're doing well so far, keep it up

Cravings are completely normal if you're switching up your diet and working out as well. Your body is just trying to normalize it's weight it's used to, try to power through it as well as you can. Good on ya for going out to the band! Getting the nerve to talk to them takes awhile, I used to be terribly shy about it but my best friend got me out of my shell (if she wants autographs she knows I'm ballsy enough to go get 'em). Keep your chin up! Sometimes the best success is just carrying on when you don't wanna.

Challenge summary: Consistently training for exam New rangers met: 1. Harpy Heather 2. JenniferStark 3. Chelkie 4. Otter905 40/40 Burpees 40/40 Mountain climbers40/40 Squats 40/40 Jumping jacks40/40 Push ups2/2 Minutes of get ups

Hey just checking into your challenge for the mini-challenge (and I think you're cool). I'm really impressed with the realistic weight loss goal you put up this challenge. A lot of people have a hard time not focusing on losing a lot of weight but doing it slowly helps you keep it off longer :-). The sleep thing might be linked with how much you're eating. When I'm not reaching how much my body needs to eat (which is fairly often since I HATE counting calories) usually waking me is like waking the dead, just does not happen until I'm good and ready. Since I need sleep so much I'm trying (with great success) to make a little ritual before bed for myself. I'm using SleepCycle on my iphone (I love it) and it tracks things I do before bed that help me sleep. So far eating my dinner later on in the evening or having a bigger snack before bed help, having my shower right before bed, having a tea and having worked out that day. All those things are linked with me having the best sleeps so far. Active recovery is huge! It helps bring new blood to your tissues to help repair them . I do foam rolling, yoga, light rowing days, elliptical or other fun activities like skating or cross country skiing at my own pace. My friends love it because it's a day they can be physically active with me without any pressure. Good job on your challenge so far, I know you'll do great!

Update so far: Goal #1: Row, row, row my boat 8th: 4750 meters 9th: 5000 meters 10th: 5000 meters 11th: 7500 meters 12/13th: N/A 14th: 11250 meters Total: 33500 meters To go: 66500 meters So now I have to row just under 4000 meters per day to reach my goal. I've substituted rowing for running this challenge since if I tried to do both forms of cardio I would be over training and frankly burning far too many calories. Goal #2: Tighten my belt time Since coming back to school I've have had one meal (breakfast this morning) and bought 5 teas from the cafeteria. Making some vegetarian food tonight that I can pack for my lunch tomorrow (which is important since I have an early class). Also switched my morning tea from a sugar and milk laden English breakfast to a green tea sans anything. Going to ask my boss if I can bring in a kettle so I can make teas at work to try and cut down on Tims runs. Goal #3: Pull myself off this plateau. Did my pull up training (assisted with a band but putting a lot more emphasis on the eccentric movement so it's cut the amount I can do in half) and assisted dips today. Played around in the gym doing some movements for my new functional interval training class (F.I.T for short) and enjoyed the movements so far. Since getting back into the swing of things my training days have been pretty regular and today I had one of the more experienced guys at our gym compliment my squat form. Since I had just toned back my weight to ensure proper form I was pretty happy .

Glad to see you're back .

Main Quest Be able to complete the Marines Physical Fitness Test with maximal scoring. 100 sit ups in 2 minutes, 8 pull-ups and 4.82 km in 21 minutes (4:20 minute kilometer). Challenge Goals Goal #1: Row, row, row my boat DEX: 4 STA:1 I'm great at starting challenges late this month! At our local box they're having a virtual contest to see how many meters they can row compared to others online. I decided to follow it along in my own way and participate as a silent member. The challenge is to row 100,000 meters by the start of February. Since I started late I need to row 4,347 meters per day to meet the quota. Goal #2: Tighten my belt time CON: 2 WIS: 3 I want to bring a lunch to school everyday and try cut down on the amount of food I buy at the cafeteria. I didn't get as much OSAP as I thought I would so I need to keep my groceries under $25 per week and my entertainment funds under $25. I can do this, it's not giving into being lazy and packing a lunch. Goal #3: Pull myself off this plateau. STR: 3 STA: 1 Still working on pull ups, trying to get one unassisted before the end of the challenge. The arm routine I'm doing now has seen some great results so paired with the rowing and continuous work on them I'm hoping to make it there. Side Quest: Complete Marine PFT again WIS: 1

Whelp, I completely went AWOL and enjoyed my holidays at home without completely falling off the wagon. Did really basic bodyweight workouts while on break. Main Quest Be able to complete the Marines Physical Fitness Test with maximal scoring. 100 sit ups in 2 minutes, 8 pull-ups and 4.82 km in 21 minutes (4:20 minute kilometer). Fitness Goals 1. Consistently complete workouts: STA: 2 STR:2 Well, I completed most of my workouts and runs but didn't follow the specifications for my runs (either didn't have enough time or didn't feel like it for some, it was a nice goal but not very achievable for something I would do lol). My heart rate is getting better, same with stamina and strength so I'm going to give myself half marks for this one. STR:1 STA:1 2. Pace work; DEX: 3 STA: 1 Do not pass go, do not collect any points. Fail 3. Arm Yourself! STR:2 STA: 2 GUYS, GUYS, GUYS! I have muscle . I've made some pretty big gains in terms of forearm strength as well as bicep size. My callouses are coming along nicely although I plateaued on my pull ups. Working more on negative movements and building up my shoulder strength. Success in my books! STR: 2 STA:2 Sidequests: Clean my room and get internet connected. Done, bam. CHA: 1 6 week hard-hat challenge: Core strength. STA: 2 Did it for a week. Completely forgot about it once exam time hit.

How did my approach to the Turkey Day massacre go? Our oven broke Sunday so we're having it this evening, hope you had a good one :-)

Decent grades up there lady! Glad to see that Turkey day didn't totally toss you off track :-). Onto week 4!

Get on your planning young miss! I think it still counts if you get a couple completed in the next two weeks lol. As for workouts, you're trying and working with what you've got right now. If you do manage to get yourself up and moving it will help alleviate some of those horrid first/second trimester feelings you're currently facing.

Stretching is so so so important and often overlooked. Did you know Olympic weight lifters are the second most flexible athletes besides gymnasts?

Good luck with asking for the promotion! Sometimes you have to make tough calls, even if you like your current job or employers sometimes needing a bigger challenge or making more money is a better trade off. Hope the kitty starts feeling better :-(

Pretty much, that's why I love calling prior. It shows you're interested in the position and helps to get names correct, etc. Well....love is a strong word, I prefer before sending an e-mail. You're doing well so far :-). Your body will tell you what you need, try talking to your doctor next time you have an appointment and see if it's something they have a suggestion about or could know possible causes of the dizziness. If you have to do light, light weights at a slower pace, that's better than nothing and a chance to work on your form.

Yeah, I'm questioning my ability to move up to the first class in 4 months. All we can work for is improvement and now we have a better baseline to work upon

It's hilarious. I suddenly feel so much sexier/taller and somehow awkward like a newborn deer. Oh yeah? I'll head over and compare notes *hilarious* Thanks! Well.... Here are my results! Sit Ups: 70 3 Mile Run: 30:54 Flexed Arm Hang: 26 Points: 136 Class: 3rd So....I have quite a ways to go to get to my goal. I'm pretty happy with how much progress I've made in my running lately and think the program I have right now is really helping. Flexed arm hang was interesting, it was my first time doing it. Pretty happy with that score but I didn't want to ask to do it again since I grabbed a gym random to keep the score for me. Not happy with it overall but it's a starting point. Did the testing today since yesterday I had to do practical exam testing and I'll be fitting in my workout tomorrow. To get into the second class I just have to hold the flexed arm hang for 10 more seconds (some practice should make me able to crank that out no problem) and the sit ups I was trying to maintain a steady cadence but realized I needed to speed up after the first minute since I only completed 26 in that time. That's something I can be proud of and the running will just get better. I'll be doing the test again at the end of the challenge to see if I can move up the ranks a little more.

Thursday was my third weight lifting day. I was supposed to do my run but figured since I was working a serving shift (helping out at my old job, they had a huge banquet going on and needed help) I decided it might be better to just do the shift as my run. Today I did my third workout. Decided to see if I could start doing the push up trainer with regular ones. Completed a set of 2-3-4-3-1 and 3-4-4-3-2 without too much difficulty. Pretty happy with what I did, my long run was an hour and covered 5 miles. Tomorrow I'm going to do the Marines Physical Fitness Test to see how I compare.

Starting to think I strained my hammies. Still have a twinge of sore, but not enough to stop me today! I'm using the barbell for front squats now, still not adding any weight but that's more than enough fo my forearms. Did 80 sit ups in a row tonight, so 20 off of my goal. Once I get to 100 I'll start improving my time down to two minutes. Pull ups are going well, did 7-6-5 with the purple band. I'm happy with my form, the first three feel like little effort and the others Are still holding together pretty well. Run pace on the treadmill is down to 10 minutes. Today was a steady state training day so I was supposed to be below 155 and over 125 for my heart rate range. 6.0 mph was too fast to keep my heart at that level, but I could have run like that for quite some time. Now I'm just making chocolate chili in my new heels (boyfriends Christmas party is approaching and hose bad boys need to be broken in!) and relaxing. Life is good <3

This weekend is perfect! I just didn't know how early you wanted to do it!

How is compiling your data coming along? I wanted to see if you've given any thought to your life side challenge What weekend would you like to do the Marine Corps Fitness Test? We should probably each set a date a little while before the challenge end (fourth or fifth week) to give a little time to play with and get it done. I'm aiming for Dec 7th.