aranona

Thanks for the tip! I'll be sure to stay extra motivated that week.

Hmmm...That's a good idea. Plus it will help keep me accountable.

Great goals! I had a sleep goal in the previous challenge. My recommendation is to start getting ready for bed 30 minutes before you actually want to be in it. Also, the acountabilibuddies sign-up is here. Good luck!!

This is my second challenge. Woohoo! I learned a lot about myself and my habits during the first challenge. I plan to continue eating primal breakfasts most days per week, going to bed by 11pm on weeknights, and will track my food & activities using a spreadsheet. I’m still exploring how fitness fits into my everyday life (hence the adventurer classification), but I’m thrilled to have found healthy activities that I truly enjoy. EDIT: After reflecting on my goals (mini challenge #1 -- thanks Hira!), I've realized that my goals for this challenge are far too ambitious for my life & work schedule right now. Thus, I'm going to eliminate one goal and complete the rest of this challenge with only 3 goals. I've decided to eliminate my snacking goal as that is the goal I'm least passionate about right now. It's definitely something I plan to revisit in the future. Goal #1: Walk to/from the metro stop (1 mile) at least 6 times per week It doesn’t add very much time to my commute (only slightly longer than taking the bus) and it’s great exercise. Now that it’s finally warmer, I have no excuse for not walking at least some of the time. Attributes: +3 STA; +1 WIS Grading: A = Walk 6 times B = Walk 5 times C = Walk 3-4 times D = Walk 1-2 times F = Walk 0 times Goal #2: Healthy snacks (90% of snacks each week will be primal) Through tracking in the last challenge, I learned that the days where I exceed my RDI generally were the result of eating junky snacks. I don’t generally have problems eating well at meals, but snacks are my downfall. I want to change that by focusing on my snack habits and switching to fruits and veggies. I will track this using my GoogleDocs spreadsheet (to be linked later). Attributes: +3 CON; +1 STA Grading: A = At least 90% of snacks are primal B = At least 80% of snacks are primal C = At least 70% of snacks are primal D = At least 50% of snacks are primal F = Less than 50% of snacks are primal Goal #3: Run 3x per week in preparation for June 8th 5K (using C25K) Running a 5K is on my bucket list. This goal will be a challenge because I haven’t enjoyed running in the past. I’m in much better shape now than I was the last time I started Couch-to-5K, so hopefully it will be a more positive experience. Attributes: +3 DEX; +1 STR Grading: A = Run 3 times B = Run 2 times C = Run 1 time F = Run 0 times Goal #4: Quilting projects Learning to quilt is one of my 2013 goals and I’ve made great progress on this goal through joining a guild and taking workshops. Now this issue is that I have a long list of projects for myself and other people (mostly others). I need to spend more time on this new found hobby to improve my skills and get some of the projects finished! Attributes: +2 CHA; +1 WIS Grading: A = Complete 3 projects B = Complete 2 projects C = Complete 1 project F = Complete 0 projects **Note: Ultimately I want to do the grading based on project completion of the entire challenge, but I’ll probably set-up a effort-based grading system using time goals each week.

Final Challenge Summary Thank you to everyone who dropped by my thread and followed me during this challenge. I really appreciated all of the advice and support!! Goal 1 – Primal breakfast Grade: A- (91.7%) Attributes earned: STA +2; CON +1 I did really well with this goal and it was easier than I expected. The biggest challenge with this goal was making time to eat breakfast on the weekend. I usually workout in the morning and then take a quick shower before DH and I go out for lunch. The weeks were I received a B were generally due to this. I plan to make this a permanent change (at least for most days). Goal 2 – New workouts Grade: C (75%) Attributes earned: STR +2.25; DEX +0.75; CHA +0.75 This goal was sometimes challenging because of the number of workouts I planned for each week. I was very successful when DH was travelling and life was cooperative (e.g., no company, not too many activities in a given week). I was glad to try the BBWW, but I’m happy with the amount of strength training I receive from Jazzercise (and I’m planning to go more often), so I don’t plan to continue this 2x per week. I still should spend more time stretching, but I’ll have to think about how to better incorporate this into my schedule. I’m starting to shift my workouts to the morning to free up time in the evening, but it’s still a challenge to fit everything in. Goal 3 – Track food/drink consumption & exercise Grade: C+ (79.2%) Attributes earned: WIS +2.25 I learned a lot from tracking. I tend to eat well during the day and I do well on most days and I’m fairly consistent with my caloric intake (without adjusting anything other than breakfast for this challenge). The few days where I overshot my caloric intake resulted from too much snacking in the afternoon/evening. This will be one of my goals for the next challenge. Goal 4 – Bedtime Grade: C (75%) Attributes earned: STA +1.5; CON +1.5 I improved during this challenge, but this will always be something I struggle with. That being said, it was really helpful to make it a defined goal and I plan to continue my efforts to go to bed by 11pm on weeknights. Mini Challenges I completed four of the mini challenges (1, 2, 4, 6) and earned the following attributes: +1 WIS, +1 STA, +1 CHA, +0.5 CON

Welcome mouse! I hate running too. I'm running a 5K race just to be able to say that I've done it, but otherwise I avoid running. Check the BBWW for some basic strength training -- you can do it at home in your living room and it hardly requires equipment (only a gallon milk jug). Hope to see you join the next challenge!!

Thanks GoodDoug! Week 6 Grades. This week was a bit mixed. I definitely had some successes, but life got in the way a bit with everyone but me being sick. Primal breakfast - A I followed this goal for 6 days. Workouts - C I completed some of my workouts. Tracking - C I only tracked for 3 days. Oops. Bedtime - C I went to bed on time for 3 days last week. This has been a really interesting 6 weeks. I've learned a lot about myself. I'm really proud of my breakfast changes and definitely plan to keep those up. I've seen areas where I can definitely improve and I'm already thinking about goals for the next challenge. Will do a more comprehensive final post later.

Thanks Elastigirl! Form is definitely the most important thing Oooh...I'm probably guilty of having a really rigid leg. I have a tendency to lock my knees, especially if my hips are tired. Thanks MasterOfCows! I love your user name, btw.

The challenge got away from me a bit on Monday. I've learned that I need to keep Sunday late afternoon/evening open so I can prep for the week (chopping food, laundry, etc.). Otherwise, I start of the week behind and have trouble balancing everything. Good lesson for the future. Yesterday was great. I completed all four of my goals for the day. My new shoes are supposed to come today (the original pair I ordered didn't fit, so I exchanged them), although I won't get to use them until tomorrow. DH and I are going to a concert tonight.

Thanks Bekah! I can't believe were in the last week of this challenge! Hope you are all having a great last week

Thanks GoodDoug! It feels great and the best cure for soreness is walking (at least for me). Week 5 Grades. This week was fantastic! I got back on track, increased my plank time & number of push-ups in the BBWW, and generally felt great. Primal breakfast - A I followed this goal for all 7 days! Workouts - A I completed all of my new & old workouts this week! Tracking - A I tracked all of my food/drink consumption for 6 days last week. I chose to skip yesterday (Easter) because it would have been a huge pain to track the buffet. Bedtime - A I went to bed on time for 6 days last week. Here's to a great week 6! I can't believe it's almost the end of the challenge. It's flown by.

Go for it!

Of course! I think you're technically not eligible for the prize if you start late, but leveling up it's the more important part anyways.

Welcome to the rebellion! Your goals look great! You'll find a very helpful and supportive community here. Definitely check out the 6 week challenges as a way to give yourself some accountability (and to gain attributes for RP). You can even join the current one for the last week.

Hello fellow rebels! My questions are about side lying leg lifts... I can only do about 10-12 before my muscles basically cramp up and refuse to move. I primarily feel this exercise in my knee flexor and hip adductor. Also (possibly of note), I'm still improving my core strength (it's on the weak side) and I have fairly inflexible hips and very tight hamstrings. My questions are: 1) Is it normal area to feel this exercise in the knee flexor? 2) Regarding form, I know you're supposed to keep your hips stacked, but are there any other form checks for this move?

This week is going well. So far I'm 100% on all my goals! Super sore at the moment though from getting back on track with the workouts...going to do some stretching/yoga tonight. But best of all, it's Friday!!

I'd recommend the beginner's bodyweight workout. It has a good mix of some of exercises that will strengthen your legs, upper body, and core. It also includes some of the exercises you listed above. Also, look through the free resources and consider joining the Adventurers group in the challenge. Welcome!

Very cool! I love the colors! You might want to look into Etsy.com as a possibility for selling online. That's where I would search first if I was looking for something along those lines, although I honestly have no idea how selling things there works or what the commission structure is like.

Just checking in! Are you feeling any better?

Glad to see you back Bekah! That's good you revamped the challenge as needed. There will be plenty of challenges in the future to achieve all of your goals You can definitely rock the last two weeks!! You don't have to answer -- because I'm just being nosy...what are you thinking of making and selling?

Just checking in. You're doing awesome!!

Thanks for all your support Wiri. Hope you're having an awesome week!

Good news to report: I did FIVE real push-ups this morning with each of my 3 sets of the BBWW! It feels great to be getting back on track after my slump in the middle. Hope you are all having a fabulous week 5!!

Thanks Wiri. I think you're right -- I'm just a stickler for the rules...even when I made them. I'm definitely getting back on track this week. Monday and Tuesday were both good because I completed all of my goals each day. Today is off to a great start. I did the BBWW this morning...after convincing myself not to be a lazy ass and sleep longer (I'm always glad after I workout but sometimes it's so difficult to find the motivation). I did FIVE real push-ups this morning with each set!! And I held my plank for 35 seconds. Tonight I'm going to jazzercise and then I'm going to buy myself some new sneakers and eat sushi. Really looking forward to tonight!

Thanks Hira! You definitely helped me feel less guilty about my time crunch this week and I was able to keep the momentum going pretty well, I think. I do like primal eating. I only follow it for breakfast, but I've been trying to reduce grains in my diet overall. I feel better when I eat less grains, particularly refined ones. Eating a breakfast with higher protein and fat content helps keep me full until lunch. The BBWW is totally new for me -- I haven't done anything (calisthenics, push-ups, plank, etc.) like that since HS, and even then I didn't have any upper body strength. I'm definitely seeing improvement in my upper body strength. I'm very pleased that I can do 4 push-ups in each set of the workout. On my first attempt, I fell on the floor trying to get back up. Thanks for your support! Week 4 Grades Primal breakfast - B I skipped breakfast one day because I wasn't feeling well and went out for oatmeal on another with my mom, so I only followed the goal for 5 days this week. I was pleased that I was able to follow it when we went out to a restaurant for a late breakfast on Sunday. Workouts - F C I didn't have any time to formally workout this week, but did LOTS of walking for sightseeing. I'm happy that I was moving, even if it wasn't focused strength-building exercises. Revised to a C because I did so much walking and should give myself some credit (thanks Wiri!) Tracking - B I tracked all of my food/drink consumption for 5 days last week. Tracking for eating out at local restaurants is hard (tracking for Chipotle and the like is fine). Anyone have tips? Bedtime - B I went to bed on time for 5 days last week. For this week I'm going to focus on improving the workouts. I have everything scheduled in my calendar and should be able to get easily back on track. Our company is gone and DH ended up having to travel this week, so I'm by myself this week. I had my primal breakfast today and plan to do some yoga tonight. Here's to a great week 5!