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Your grandmother sounds like an amazing woman! My mom told me her grandmother was the one that got down on the floor and taught her how to do a somersault. I hope I am fortunate enough in life to be a healthy old lady someday! I did find something! In fact, I did laundry tonight and paired all the socks...I will have to post a pic of my final "pairing"

I woke up late today, and the rest of the day was downhill. I got a banana and bottle of water in between my morning meeting and my first class. That wasn't nearly enough to tide me over, so I ended up getting 2 cookies and a vitamin water before class #2. Yuck. I mean, yum, but yuck. Can we say sugar!? After class #2, it was late enough in the day that the lunch rush was over, but since I didn't have quite enough time to walk clear down to the soup/salad store before my third class, I stopped by Subway. I had a six-inch BLT and LOADED it with veggies...so not horrible, but the chips and Dr. Pepper that accompanied were not exactly great. But that wasn't the end...after all my classes were over and I finished running errands for my boyfriend, he had pizza waiting at home for me. -sigh- I also didn't do anything additional fitness-wise today...although the 6 flights of stairs I have to climb twice every Tuesday and Thursday ought to count for something, right? I plan to stop being out of breath after climbing them by the end of the semester. How will I make tomorrow better? By planning ahead. I will have strawberries and eggs (with bell peppers and onions) for breakfast followed by a drive into town for two classes at the studio ("belly at the barre" and "cymbals & veils"). Back north to meet a friend for soup and salad, followed by a trip to the grocery store. My menu for the rest of the week is already planned, as is my grocery list for tomorrow. I plan to succeed!

Food diary today: Breakfast...strawberries, cherry tomatoes, two fried eggs Lunch...Moe's Dinner...jicama chips (new recipe: yumm!) Didn't do anything out of the ordinary for fitness today. Will have to find something fun tomorrow!

So glad you made it through your cleanse! I've been thinking of doing something similar to...in effect...reset my "hunger signals." I think I have become a bit of a food addict, and I want to be the one that's in control! Today, I consciously steered myself to water in lieu of crystal light. That didn't hurt a bit. Maybe I do have the willpower to ward off some of these cravings!

In looking at all the amazing recipes I have in my collection (as well as a bundle of them I've found this past week online), I've decided to alter my plan just slightly. I'm going to take Chanda's advice and have the glass of water a bit before my meal, then give it 20-ish (maybe 30) minutes to settle, which is about how long it takes to cook most meals. I also have decided not to necessarily start with a full serving of both fruits and vegetables prior to every meal, but to at least incorporate them into the meal. That having been said, my lunch today was a little low on veggies and completely lacking in fruits. What a way to start a challenge, eh!? But I went to the grocery store tonight and bought a few things so tomorrow can be different. The other change I have decided to make is to the miles per week. I have found room in my budget to join a studio locally that offers a TON of fitness classes at an incredible price! I am going to take advantage of doing what I enjoy in order to find my fit body underneath these layers of chub. So the alteration is as follows: one hour in the studio will remove one mile from my mileage requirement. Yes, I realize that's not a perfect trade, but it will work for me. And that's what this is all about, right!?

To cure my ice cream craving, I mush up a banana then put toppings on it as if it were a sundae. I top it with mostly fruit (usually coconut, berries), maybe a few nuts. I bet you could also put just a little cocoa powder on this to help with the chocolate craving...the bananas taste sweeter when they're mushed up.

Dani, great question! This is a combination of strength and flexibility, and there are several steps that can be used to mark progress. I have to preface this with a mention of safety...do use mats, spotters, and lots of stretching in learning new exercises like this! First thing...get your backbend down. Here is a page with a bunch of stretches. Once you can go into the "wheel" pose (a.k.a. "bridge") from the ground, stand with your back to a wall, a few steps out, and walk your hands down the wall into the pose. This mimics the motion for a backbend. As you progress, get further away from the wall until you can get into a backbend without a wall. This is where I currently am, so I'm moving onto the next step. From there, I feel like there are three parts: flexibility, strength, and confidence. A back walkover is easier to do if your hands are closer to your legs, so when in your backbend, push with your legs to stretch your back, pushing your stomach towards the sky. Work on minimizing the distance between your hands and feet. This is the flexibility aspect. With regards to strength, there are several target areas. From a backbend position, do single leg lifts. Work to lift your leg high and hold it. This is also great for working into standing splits. Also, like mentioned before, push with your legs. You can hold or pulse this (slowly, don't bounce). Calf raises in this position are good as well. Also, work your arms by lowering in and out of this, as if you were doing pushups. Finally, confidence. Start by facing a wall and doing handstands against it. Pay attention to what it feels like coming down. Next, lay on your back on a bed, hands on the floor "above" your head. Simulate a back walkover from this position. I see the next step as standing facing the wall. Do a backbend, then walk your feet up the wall to kick over. And just so you're aware, this is NOT a plan developed by an expert, it's just something I put together. I also plan on going to an "open gym" when I get the chance to work on this with a coach. In the meantime, do you want to be my virtual training buddy for this endeavor? If so, where are you at in the process? Can you do a bridge from laying on the ground?

Ooh, I totally fell off the wagon with this, due in part to a respiratory infection...but getting back on. Which means I do need goals for the rest of the week. I think I'll keep the same ones: paleo breakfast, daily movement, daily logging. I've also selected my four goals for the next challenge (you can find that log in the Druids forum under "Challenge Accepted": 1. Start each meal with one serving of fruits, one serving of vegetables, and one glass of water 2. Do a back walk-over 3. Walk/run 10 miles a week 4. Build a resume

@Maledictus: If I had a game system, I'd be all over dancing games. I've played them with friends and love them! Maybe I'll use something like that as a reward for completing a challenge or something... @FyreFlies: The studio I'm hoping to join (still waiting for that next paycheck) does have belly dance, which I'm so excited about! If you want to dance together on Skype sometime, let me know!

Ok, so I know the current challenge isn't officially over and tallied, but I wanted to set out some goals for myself, as I'll be joining the next challenge. Here are my big four: 1. Start each meal (yes, this includes breakfast) with -1 serving of fruits -1 serving of vegetables -8 oz of water 2. Do a back walk-over (this is my motivation for joining the Druids for this challenge) 3. Run/walk 10 miles a week 4. Build a resume I know, this seems fairly simple, but I don't want to over-commit for this first challenge. Baby steps will work me into a new lifestyle rather than fad-dieting. And with my birthday being near the end of the challenge, I think I will combine the celebration with my level-up! Here's to living!

Stelmer! We have a shared goal for this challenge. I'm planning to walk/run 10 mi a week as well!! I'm gonna be checking in on you to make sure you're keeping up (and please do the same for me).

Oh that's so super-nerdy. How long did you say your low-mobility? 6-8 weeks?

Are you able to perform exercises on your back as long as it's supported? For example, sit-ups may be too much strain, but something like bicycles or leg lifts, even if you have to keep your legs a little higher, would still provide some core work while keeping your back in a safe zone...?

Thanks for the encouragement guys! I haven't actually taken any burlesque-specific classes, though the pole studio I went to did offer floor/chair exotic lessons. I do like the satirical aspect of burlesque, and I began developing my own character in my head: "Lady Caprice" is a prankster, similar to Harley Quinn, dancing to goofy, unexpected songs like "I Am Not a Whore" by LMFAO. I do have a few DVDs - the first one from the Pussycat Dolls, the full set from Alethea Austin, as well as a few others. I'm looking to build my collection even more in the future. Maybe one of these days we can do a dance workout together over Skype!

Day 1: Goal 1: Making the decision late in the day to have paleo breakfasts, I had an awful breakfast of milk and ginger snaps. I don't think I actually ate again until dinner. I had a chicken breast sautéed in EVOO with peas and corn on the side. Only after I had eaten the peas and corn did I notice that these vegetables are NOT paleo. Now I know. I also had some more milk and ginger snaps. I have also been fighting a respiratory infection, so I had several pieces of hard candy, which did in fact help my throat, so I'm not at all torn about that. Goal 2: This afternoon I did a minute of planks (15 sec front, 15 each side, and another 15 front) followed by a walk. I had intended to throw a little jogging in there, but with this junk in my lungs, I wasn't quite ready for that. I ended up walking a total of 25 minutes. I had also intended to do a few pushups but forgot. Goal 3: Logged. My grade for the day: B-

This is the moment where my journey begins. I am shooting for three goals this week: 1. Daily movement I don't care what it is, I need to get off my carcass and do something. Most of the time, that will be dancing, since that is my passion. But even if it's not dancing, I want to get in the habit of moving. 2. Paleo breakfast I'm going to start one piece at a time. For the rest of the week, I will be having a paleo breakfast. A simple 2 fried eggs and 2 pieces of bacon. Heck, I may change it up a little and boil some eggs too! 3. Daily logging I am sooo bad with accountability, but this is gonna happen! It may be as simple as a picture of every meal with a pass/fail as to whether it is paleo or not. Or, it may be a verbose account of the glorious concoctions gracing my palette, complete with recipes (yum)! So those are the three goals for the week. I think that's a reasonable start.

I absolutely LOVE dancing. It's ironic, because growing up, it was strictly forbidden in my family (<-- preacher's kid). And we were too broke for me to take gymnastics. But that was what I always wanted to do. Well, I finally started taking swing dance in college, clogging followed after that, and then a few years back I started pole dancing. Yup, I'm a rebel! So while I have a little bit of training here and there, I want to get back into shape, and I'm going to do by eating right and DANCING. I've begun looking around, and I have found a few locations with lessons that look like they'll fit in my budget. And while I don't want the stereotypical ballerina body, I do want to slim down. I want the body that I will get from dancing. What that means to me is a little less fat, a little more muscle, but keeping a few of my curves. My initial goal is 25% body fat. I think I was there a few years back, and that looked right for me. And just to remind myself, all I'm going to do is eat right and dance. That's my version of cross-training...a little break dance here, a little hula there, sprinkled with some pole dance and maybe even some aikido or gymnastics to top it off. Just the things I want to do! Getting fit was never so fun!

Wow! Great job with the goals. So nice to meet a fellow dancer I think I'm going to join you with a mini challenge, though I'm just getting back in the workout routine. Yoga totally isn't my thing, but I'll do a set of planks totaling 1:00 (15 sec middle, 15 sec each side, 15 sec middle) then 20 pushups (starting with real ones, but I'll probably end up on my knees). Lastly, I'm going on a self-paced walk/run. I think today I'll go 30 minutes. I was going to set an alarm to do it in a bit, but there's no reason I can't get off my boo-tay right here right now! Thanks for the inspiration

My fitness routine is comprised of pole and exotic dancing. I just take it as a compliment when a guy asks, "Can I come watch?" (as if his question is oh-so-original!) I just politely smile and say, "How about you walk into a police station naked? Then we can talk!"