Maigs

You're young enough that you may not have the skin issues. I had a friend who in her mid to late 20's lost 119lbs over two years and didn't have the normal loose skin problem. But yes, losing the weight does not magically change your self esteem. I lost 40lbs a few years go (still had another 20-30 to lose) and didn't feel any different for it. I know I was smaller because I went from barely fitting into size 15 jeans to being able to squeeze into size 9's but my mental image of myself didn't change at all. Now I'm working so I can run obstacle course races (OCR's) because I find those fun, not so I can be thin.

I live in Lincoln now and hoping to find a local OCR buddy. I'm not very fast or strong yet but working on getting there

No. It's 5k The Hard Way I'm Nebraska.

Didn't make it to the gym today. I tried again to get up in the morning and that failed miserably. I'm spent most of the evening catching up on tax returns (I prepare them on the side). I keep thinking that one of these days I'll get basically caught up on everything but it just never seems to happen. I still haven't planned any details for our trip to Rome and that's in less than 4 weeks! I did do another 30 minute walk at lunch so I was more active today than I would have been before Now that the kitchen is functional I'm going to try to concentrate on all the non-normal things I need to catch up on. I have my list and I'm hoping to get it all done by the end of this weekend. The first OCR near me has a $10 off special for St Patty's day, not sure when it ends but I'm assuming the 17th. I'm thinking about signing up but I don't have anyone to run with. Last time I did this one (the only OCR I've done) I had hubs and another couple to run with but they either won't or can't run with me this time

I've been thinking since I hit reset at the beginning of the year that I need an alternate ego. Something where I can say "What would _____ do?", "_____ wouldn't eat that", etc. I haven't thought of a good alternate though, either as an actual character/person or even just a name that sounds like it belongs to someone kick ass (at least in the way I'm wanting, Lana Kane is pretty kick ass but not a ranger). Any suggestions?

And the weekly reckoning: Gym: 2/6 Str 2x last week. Cardio 1x but I took a 30 minute walk at lunch every work day last week so while it wasn't strenuous at all I did at least move. We did install 3 upper cabinets yesterday, does that count as an extra workout? Unfortunately it was the same day as one of my strength training sessions so it doesn't feel like a separate workout Food Tracking: 7/7. Up to 70 days in a row Stretching: 0x besides the short after workout stretch with the trainer Thursday. Should have done a thorough stretch last night since I'm a bit sore today I did manage to drastically increase my daily average steps lately. I went 8 days in a row over 10k steps when I used to hang around 6k most days.

Oh, and another thing I need to remember for the next challenge; Measurements! I've never really cared what I weighed as a hard number but If I get to my "ideal" look I will weigh less than I do now, even with additional muscle. So I track my weighted as my progress even though I know it's flawed because it's easier. I tried taking measurements before but didn't stick with it but I need to do that with the next challenge. And some before pictures! I lost 40lbs before and didn't feel like I was any skinnier for it. Even though I went from barely fitting into size 15 jeans to almost being able to squeeze into size 9's my mental image of myself didn't change. So I need a concrete before image to compare to. I actually think I have one hiding somewhere...literally I hid a file on an old laptop. Not sure if it's one we still have or not but I'll try and look

Plan of attack for the week: Sunday - Alternate workout trainer gave me (bench press, weighted lunges, rows, planks, lat pulldowns, wall squats) Monday - 30 minutes on the elliptical Tuesday - Bodyweight work (Pushups, squats, dips, reverse crunches) Wednesday - 30 minutes on a bike Thursday - work with trainer Friday - attempt 30 minutes on the stair master Saturday - Rest day I'm trying out different cardio machines because I'm mainly stuck to the treadmill and need to broaden my horizons. Done for today. I'm seeing progression on the "pulls" (rows and lat pulldowns) but I'm struggling with the "pushes" (bench press) and "holds" (wall squats and planks). I did really well with planks Thursday with the trainer so either I was worn out from the first half of the exercises or I need someone there to push me. I also did 30 minutes on the treadmill at 10% incline. I was only doing 2.5-2.8mph but I was huffing the entire time. Definitely something I need to work on more. Wednesday I'm going to the specialty running store to get fitted for shoes so hopefully I can restart C25k next week

Thanks! Twice I really want to succeed at this whole fitness thing so I need to pay a lot more attention to what works for me and what doesn't than I have in the past. So my postings are probably going to be a lot of failures, observations on why I failed, and (hopefully) execution of doing better than before. I'm so freaking excited about how the kitchen is looking and can't wait to have it done. The bathroom might not be too bad since we're probably not doing major work on the tub/shower. I think we'll probably replace the vanity and medicine cabinet and definitely the toilet but other than that we'll probably just be doing the paint and flooring like the rest of the house. I might try refinishing the tub and tile in the shower but that's still a big maybe. Need to do research first. The worst part will be having to go without the only toilet in the house for a couple of days while we paint and put down the floor (since we do things right and won't just paint around it)

I might have to steal this at least until I get better shoes and can try running again. I never liked the incline much which means I need to work on it

Well for one, in the next challenge I'll actually have goals. I looked back at my first post and I didn't have any short term goals. I don't think I'm going to add goals for this one but will continue to pay attention to what's working and what's not. My goals next time will depend on how my leveling system turns out. I might do one for each ability (Str - Do a standard pushup, Dex - Be able to touch my toes for 1 minute, Con - Be able to run for 5 minutes straight, Int - something related to learning a language, Wis - ?, Cha - ?). I also need to figure out which works better for me, Destination Goals (do a standard pushup) or Journey Goals (Strength train x times/week). Obviously if I go with Destination goals I need to set ones that are achievable in a month which might be difficult to determine. But I think those are more motivating for me since there's an end in sight. Some of my favorite Destination Goals will either take me many months to get to (pullup) or they won't have a clear "I've done it" moment (visible arm muscles) so that makes them hard to incorporate into 4 week challenges

As an aspiring minimalist who struggles with workout motivation anyway I don't find it strange at all

Things I'm learning in my first challenge that I need to keep in mind for future ones: I am not a morning person and will likely not get my ass out of bed an hour or more earlier than I have to just to go to the gymI need more concrete goals. SMART goalsI cannot do all the thingsMaking my goal "Be able to do normal pushups" does not mean I can only do pushups for the month. I can still do other things....like squats!Since I'm a D&D/Pathfinder nerd I should create a leveling system based on themSince I'm a Type A person I should have a detailed schedule of what I'm going to do and when instead of trying to wing things. Maybe make a general schedule at the beginning of the month and a detailed schedule before each week So on that note, this weekend I'm going to work on general schedule for the rest of the month and a detailed schedule for next week. And I'm hopefully going to start working on my leveling system but I need to make a character for a Pathfinder game Saturday that I've neglected given how crazy this last month has been. But work should be fairly quiet until the fall and home improvement stuff shouldn't be urgent anymore like it was this week

Worked with the trainer today. Unfortunately he didn't kick my ass like normal. I'd like to say it's because I'm getting stronger but I think it was just a light session. I did some heavy lifting on my own earlier today and loaded all the old cabinets except one into my car to donate to an eco store. Food is still not great since I don't have things like a sink or stove. But I do have counters now!

It could be a while before we get truly finished since we're doing a tile backsplash which neither of us has done, but I'll definitely post progress shots as excuses to why I haven't worked out

Note to self: If you cross railroad tracks while taking your lunch walk don't assume you can cross back on the next street over....or the next.....or the next. You might be late getting back to work because you had to backtrack three blocks. Also, try not to think about Fried Green Tomatoes when walking across railroad tracks

Progress shot:

I actually don't mind the remodeling process except that I have no idea what I'm doing. Hubs on the other hand hates it and seems to think it has to involve lots of cursing. We managed to get the lower cabinets in last night, we just have to put in two spacers tonight. It went much easier than I expected, partially because our slab is so level we didn't have to shim at all! We had to cut two of the cabinets for the water lines, but that was even easier than I was afraid (and our cuts looks sooooooooo much better than the ones in the old cabinets). You have my sympathy on the peely wallpaper Maeghaan. I'm glad we don't have any of that. Just 7 different paint colors in a two bedroom house. And not neutral colors either. Red kitchen, magenta bathroom, bright freaking blue in the main bedroom. It's all going to be grey in a few more weeks. So working out has not happened yet this week. Sunday was my rest day, Monday was pulling out the old kitchen, Tuesday was installing the new one, tonight is Pathfinder night. But tomorrow I work with my trainer so I'll at least get some work done then. And hopefully we're done with the frantic part of the home remodel for a while so I can still work gym time in around painting and whatnot. The bathroom might be a tad frantic since it's our only one but we're doing that last so I have a while before I have to deal with that

I wouldn't be too jealous We have to at least have the new lower cabinets in by Thursday morning (when our new counters are getting installed) and we have no idea what we're doing. Plus this is a <1000sqft 2 bedroom house so all the stuff that was in my kitchen (including old cabinets) are sitting in my living room making my couch completely inaccessible. It will be worth it when it's done but it's such a pain in process. I hate clutter so having my house ripped apart like this makes me very itchy.

Well plans changed and instead of going to the gym I had to work on making my kitchen go from this: To this: Hoping to get another coat of primer and a first coat of paint before bed and a second coat of paint before work tomorrow morning

Guess it's time for the weekly reckoning: Gym: 4/6 Not shabby considering where I'm starting from and that I was sick Wednesday. STR 3x and CON (endurance) 3x. Had a lot of overlap since my cardio wasn't strenous Food Tracking: 7/7 Probably don't need to update this. I'm on a 64 day streak in MFP so I think I have this one down. I am trying new vegetarian/vegan recipes though so I will have to work harder to add those meals. Most of my tried and true ones are saved Stretching: 3x I didn't put this on my first post but I'm working on this. I think some of my past injuries have been in part due to a lack thereof. I'm also incredibly inflexible, I can barely touch my toes for a second. So I'm doing a 30 minute stretching video on Youtube I've found and mostly like (and I modify the two parts I don't) and try to do that at least three times a week Next challenge I will try to have a more fun theme/layout for my tracking

Slates - New shoes would definitely just be for training! My old shoes are actually the ones I wore to my first OCR. They're also my painting shoes. They somehow survived the mudrun better than the painting . Until they fail me or I get really into OCR's I'll probably wear then for the races. I didn't think about specific shoes for OCR's but traction would have been helpful on my last one, climbing up ravines out of creeks after 5 waves of runners doing it made for some very slippery slopes. I wouldn't have made it without the helpers at the top. I'll keep this in mind if I become an OCR fanatic

I was actually contemplating this yesterday. I found a 7k OCR nearby on 5/21. I'm definitely not in shape to just run a 7k, but a laid back mud run....maybe. If I sign up in March it's $45, April is $48, and May is $55. I might just go ahead and sign up this month and do it. They say right on the website that walkers are welcome Some of it will depend on me finding good running shoes though. On that note, I need to figure out when I'm getting to a running store

On another note: Spring has sprung! Highs in the 60's-70's for the next 10 days which is perfect for bike riding. So I need to get mine off the indoor trainer and ready to ride to work again. I don't remember if I've said but work is less than 3 miles away so a great distance for a beginning biker. Also need to figure out where I'm going to store it since it's normal spot in the garage is taken up by new flooring....

Maeghaan - I've seen those and talked about them with my mom, but I'm not sure how well they work. Luckily for me my job is very laid back so I take my lunch a few minutes early and then walk during my normal lunch time. If I make it to the gym in the morning I to 10k steps during the lunch walk. I'm definitely more mobile today than I expected, probably thanks to the damn foam roller However I did not manage to get up and go to the gym before work....because I suck. Monday mornings are hard :'( So I need to go after work today and they don't have Zumba on Mondays so I guess I'm trying to run. Going to wear my old shoes to see if that helps though I think they used to kill the outside bottoms of my feet...you know, that part that runs along the arch. We'll see I guess