AlexandraSian

Well, this is my THIRD challenge, and so far I have yet to successfully complete the 6 weeks of the challenge (my definition of completing a challenge being to continue to update on the forum throughout the 6 weeks, regardless of how I’m doing with my individual goals.) I refuse to give up however! I’m going to keep trying to improve no matter what! I’ve spent quite a lot of time recently on the NerdFitness blog, re-reading Steve’s posts and thinking about what I want out of life, and how I want to level up, and what’s important to me, and I feel that at this particular moment in time, the area that most needs levelling up is my life, rather than my fitness and diet, so I’m going to allow myself one diet goal, one fitness goal and TWO lifestyle goals. So my challenges! 1) Fitness challenge: I really need to improve my flexibility for kickboxing. Although we do stretch during the class, I don’t do any stretching outside of kickboxing, and that, coupled with the other classes I do during the week and the fact that I sit at a desk all day for work, means that I have really tight hips and legs, and I need to spend attention to stretching and limbering up! I have to spend 15 minutes every day either stretching/on the foam roller. This does NOT include stretching during any class. A = 38 or more B = 33 – 37 C = 28 – 32 D = 23 – 27 E = 22 or less A = 2 Dex 2 Sta B = 2 Dex 1 Sta C = 1 Dex 1 Sta D = 1 Dex E = Nothing 2) I really want to reduce my body fat percentage significantly, and I have a pair of calipers that I can use to measure my body fat, but I don’t want to make this be my challenge as I don’t have direct control over my body fat. So, I’ve decided to limit my carbohydrate intake to 100g or less a day. I use Livestrong.com’s myplate to make note of what I’m eating, and can measure the carbohydrates. I’ll be interested to see what keeping my carbohydrates relatively low does to my body fat percentage, and will make sure to take note of my body fat % on a weekly basis. A = 38 or more B = 33 – 37 C = 28 – 32 D = 23 – 27 E = 22 or less A = 2 CHA 1 Con B = 1 CHA 1 CON C = 1 CHA D or E = Nothing 3) Okay, now for the first life goal. These life goals feel very personal indeed, and I did some debating with myself about how much detail to go into, but I want to make sure that I am as accountable as possible, so I’m going to go all out on here. I was reading the blog post about grit (http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2013/04/29/the-1-trait-that-determines-long-term-success/#more-18578) where Steve talks about the “identity†you WANT to have, and I decided that I wanted to try to write myself a kind of manifesto that I can read daily about the version of myself that I want to be. I’ve decided to spend the next 6 weeks reading that manifesto every day, and making notes at the end of every day about how I stuck to my “new identityâ€. I’m hoping that this will push me to move out of my comfort zone and hopefully boost my confidence! Okay, in the interests of accountability, I’m going to include my little identity manifesto here: 1) I believe in working hard and playing hard. 2) I believe in pushing myself and scaring myself daily. 3) I believe in improving myself just a little bit day by day. 4) I believe in seeing beauty everywhere and focussing on the positive. 5) I believe every failure is just another opportunity to improve. 6) I believe that as long as I am proud of myself, no one else’s opinion of me matters. 7) I believe I am my own hero. Each day I need to give a little diary account of how I stuck to my manifesto. I’m not 100% happy with this way of measuring my success at this challenge, but I’m struggling to find a better way of doing it, and as I feel that it’s really important to me at the moment to look at myself in the light of the “identity†I want, I’m going to stick with it. If anyone has any suggestions of improving the way I measure this goal, I’d be really grateful! A = 38 or more B = 33 – 37 C = 28 – 32 D = 23 – 27 E = 22 or less A = 2 WIS 2 CHA (as I’m hoping to improve in confidence, which will boost charisma!) B = 2 WIS 1 CHA C = 1 WIS 1 CHA D = 1 WIS E = Nothing 4) My second life goal is one that is specifically targeted at pushing and scaring myself daily. There are many things that I really want to do with my life, but that I’m too scared to really work at (I suppose I’m scared of failure!). I really want to try to get a better job in publishing (I’m currently an Editorial Assistant) but I don’t work on my editing and proofreading skills enough. I also have always wanted to write and used to write a lot when I was younger, but loss of confidence meant that I stopped. Again, I think I’m frightened of realising that I’m terrible at it! Finally, I have a sewing blog that I really want to work on and improve, but I since I’m such a perfectionist it can be very difficult for me to hit PUBLISH, as I always think the post can be improved! Each day this month I want to spend 30 minutes working on one of these three things: a) editing and proofreading creative writing c) my blog. A = 19 hours or more total B = 17 – 18.5 hours C = 15 – 16.5 hours D = 13 – 14.5 hours E = 12.5 hours or less. A = 2 WIS 2 STA B = 2 WIS 1 STA C = 1 WIS 1 STA D = 1 WIS E = Nothing. At some point I need to go back and look at how I actually did with my previous 6 week challenge, as I did carry on with some of my goals, even if I didn’t carry on updating about them on the forum. I’m actually really excited about this new challenge, and I’m determined to try and keep up my accountability and recording for the FULL 6 weeks!

I second AngelBlaidd! Don't feel bad about having a moan here, that's what a support system is for! A problem shared is a problem halved after all!! There could definitely be something else going on with the kids than just your class, especially if it's a totally new behaviour - no one lives in a vacuum after all! I remember when I taught (Parisian teenagers when I lived there.... UGH) that there was a period of time when my favourite class just behaved so badly I actually had to ask them to leave because I was not willing to teach them when they behaved so badly. It turned out that quite a few of them were panicking about not being able to pass their next English exam (something to do with the marking system) and rather than buckle down and study, they went the other way. In the end we managed to get to the bottom of it, but that didn't help me for the month or so when things were really bad! I really hope the class gets better for you! Try not to let it get you down, though, none of us are perfect! And if it's better next time, you levelled up again! Am feeling you on the cruddy day though! Yesterday sucked for me too!

Wow. It's been a week since I last posted here, because to be honest, I haven't really had that much to post! But today, I'm so proud of myself that I feel like I have to post SOMETHING. It's been a pretty crappy day from the start to be honest, and all day long I've been madly hungry (although I think most of it is more craving sweet stuff than anything else). I really wanted to treat my boyfriend to an indulgent meal to congratulate him on getting a promotion at work, and although we decided to go out at the weekend, I told him I'd buy him whatever he wanted for dinner, so we went to the shop and I bought him a chinese ready meal (what he wanted!) and figured whilst I was there, I'd get myself a bit of an indulgent meal as well, since I'd had such a crappy day (including realising that I'd left my lunch at home and spending half an hour going to each 'eatery' at the university where I work, trying to find something for lunch that didn't contain grains or pulses... not happening!) and was REALLY hungry. I couldn't find a single thing in the 'ready to cook' aisle that didn't have breadcrumbs, rice, chips or pasta. I was SO CLOSE to breaking down and just getting whatever I fancied, but, I think I was so angry and frustrated with the shop because they couldn't offer a single 'meal' without putting some sort of starchy carbohydrate in it, that I refused to break, and in the end I bought myself a carton of butternut squash and bacon soup and ate that instead. It might not be the indulgent meal that I fancied, but it was quick, pretty nutritious (for a 'ready meal'!), filled me up nicely, and I still have enough 'carb allowance' (I'm trying to keep my carb intake at around 100grams) to maybe have something sweet later. I can't BELIEVE how much stuff in the supermarket centres around bread or wheat or oats or pasta or potatoes! It's odd that THAT more than anything, stopped me from caving to the carbs!

Oh my goodness that's AMAZING!!! Congratulations! I'm doing a Chandler dance for you! WINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNER!

So, I went to a Zumba class at lunch today with a work colleague, and whereas normally that would really perk me up and get me ready for my Wednesday kickboxing class, today it totally tired me out, like COMPLETELY. I don't know if it was that I hadn't eaten enough or something, but it wiped me out more than I've felt in a long time, and on my walk home from work, I had to admit that there was NO WAY I was going to be able to get through a kickboxing session. Soo.... I was feeling pretty crappy when my boyfriend went off to kickboxing by himself, and I was thinking about how I'd already had a total binge on Monday, and then didn't take any of my measurements yesterday because I was so worried about how my Monday night binge would have affected them and now here I am slacking and not kickboxing tonight. BUT - I decided that rather than wallow in self-pity, I just had to face my measurements, so I got out the measuring tape and my body fat calipers and.... I've lost FOUR INCHES overall in my measurements and and my BF% has gone down by 1.5% YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!! This cutting down on carbs thing REALLY seems to be doing the trick. MADE MY DAY. Now I'm off to have (ANOTHER!) protein shake - there were NO meat options left at the deli by the time I got there after Zumba!

I think the hardest year of my life was after I finished my undergraduate degree and moved back home! I found it really hard, and felt a bit directionless, even though I had a job. I felt like I was backtracking, and found that my mum and I were bickering and arguing, which is so strange because normally we're like best friends! It wasn't until I got accepted onto my MA course that I felt like I could relax and enjoy myself because I knew I had a 'plan'! So glad you're feeling positive and happy!

Another (minor!) win! 2 of yesterdays triple chocolate cookies were in the house when I got home, and I was THIS CLOSE to nomming them because I'm always hungry after work, but instead I suggested to my boyfriend that he might want them, and when I came back into the room, they were gone! I'm having a delicious protein shake instead!

Thanks! I'm really pleased I didn't let yesterday bum me out too much, because I feel great again, and am just not too bothered about having a small slip up one day! Yeah, definitely need to watch this after work! It sounds like it's just what I need to hear at the moment! I just have to say TODAY IS GOING SO WELL! On Tuesdays I go to my pump class at lunch time, and one of my goals for this challenge is to record my weights for each session and try to up at least one stat (either by weight or rep). Since my arm is a bit iffy, I figured I'd up my weight for squats, which I did, from 12kg to 14kg, and then carried on with the rest of the class as normal, but when I went on to my phone to record the weights on Evernote, I realised that I'd managed to up my chest, bis and tris from 7kg to 9kg (because I'm an idiot and I can't count!!!) AND I DIDN'T EVEN NOTICE. YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!

Dude, this is awesomesauce, you are doing SO WELL! That 'strong man' compliment is the best! I think a lot of girls are scared that if they put on muscle, they're either going to look all ropey and sinewy (like Madonna!) or turn into a total beefcake, but having muscles is great! I love knowing that I can lift that box of books that other girls insist is too heavy, or even something as simple as carrying a load of shopping without complaining that my arms ache! Muscles really are the best! But seriously! You need to get yourself a leopard print unitard!

Hi, I'm super late but I'd LOVE to join this group if possible!? My life goal for this challenge is to try and get out of bed ON TIME, so that I actually have time in the morning to get sorted before I have to rush out of the house to work. I used to get to work for 8 and now I'm lucky if I get there for 9 most days!

Hi Ems, thanks for the welcome back! I definitely feel like I need it today! Yesterday I fell off the wagon so hard, I saw stars! When I got home from work I spent AGES prepping a super delicious sounding meal from Nom Nom Paleo (was trying to treat my BF, who is just so lovely and supportive all the time, and never complains about the lack of starchy carbs in dinners or anything), got it in the slow cooker, and left it for 4 hours as suggested. But when I went back to check on it four hours later (and MASSIVELY HUNGRY by this point) the sauce was totally burnt and separated and it just looked... absolutely AWFUL. It was just the icing on the cake of what (I thought) was a really awful day, and I broke down and ordered curry for us (with peshwari naans and a prawn puri!) and busted out some triple chocolate cookies and ice cream! D'oh! Almost straight away my stomach complained about all the carbohydrates! Anyway, I really DID enjoy the meal, and today I got up, put my big girl pants on, and sorted out breakfast, lunch and snacks so that I'd stay on track today. This is quite a big thing for me, because I'm such an 'all or nothing' person that normally, if I fail a day I just think 'oh that's it! I've ruined it now, I might as well just eat whatever!' But NOT this time!

This challenge has been such good timing! I sew, and knit (and crochet) and even have a blog about it, but recently, I've been more preoccupied with how all the other bloggers seem to create items so much more quickly than I do, and I've been thinking that they're a lot more skilled than me! So, since last week I've been making sure to spend at least 15 minutes a day just creating something because I enjoy it, and it relaxes me! I've finally got around so cutting out the pattern pieces for a shirt for my boyfriend, something I've been meaning to do for 6 months! I even spent time painstakingly hand sewing tailors tacks into the pattern pieces, and honestly really enjoyed myself! It was a nice reminder that I'm so much happier in myself when I'm not comparing myself to others!

Hi, I'm really interested in how you've looked at how to get your body fat percentage down... I'm trying to decrease my body fat percentage, but I haven't actually put this down as a challenge, because I'm not sure how to make sure this happens! I've reduced my carbohydrate intake and upped my protein, pretty much as you have for your first challenge, and am making sure to do anerobic/aerobic exercise and 'heavy' weight lifting (deadlifts, weighted squats, etc) but I was wondering if you're doing anything in particular to ensure body fat loss?

Good luck with your goals! I'm currently trying to cut sugar and sweet things out of my diet, and it's proving really difficult! I also started this challenge late, but you're right, it's definitely better late than never! I find that if I make my goals measurable, and then have a spreadsheet where I can document whether 'pass' or 'fail' a particular challenge on a particular day, I'm a lot more likely to stick to the challenge, so that I can tick that day off as a 'pass'. I mark my pass days in green on a spreadsheet, and I take real delight in seeing a lot of green days!

Hmmm…. Well, it already seems to me like my limiting sugar challenge is going to be the one I will struggle with most at the beginning! Yesterday I really struggled without any kind of sugar intake after work, and found that I was really grumpy and desperate for a snack before dinner. I ended up scrambling some eggs and eating those at about 6pm, since I knew dinner was going to be later than usual, which did help for a little while, but even after dinner, when I was most DEFINITELY full (salmon steaks and a TON of steamed veg) I felt ‘hungry’ for some fruit, or something sweet. In the end, I managed to fend off the sugar cravings with a cup of rooibos tea (no sugar or sweetener or anything) before bed (so perhaps it’s the habit of having fruit after dinner). I did notice that I felt VERY hungry this morning, which is unusual for me! Normally I have greek yoghurt for breakfast with some agave nectar, but today I decided to have the yoghurt on its own, and it was definitely nice enough to have without any kind of sweetener, so I don’t think I’ll bother with the agave from now on! I don’t think I really realised just how much sugar I was eating a day, because I just thought ‘it’s fruit, it’s good for me!’ which might be true, but it certainly isn’t helping me lose fat if I’m eating 500g of pineapple in one sitting!!