Eli

Hello everyone! I'm feeling much better again! I've been doing some minor hiking and since I cut out all gluten (even the sneaky gluten) I'm feeling a lot better! I've only had one headache in that last few days and it was manageable. Here's some photos of my most recent adventures!! I love Newfoundland! ...as soon as I figure out how to add photos again...

Hey! I started a new thread as kind of a "start over" on my goals for this challenge. I'm doing a lot better today but the past few weeks have been pretty tough. I only just gained back enough energy to start walking to school again and that's even been a bit challenging. Thanks for the thought and support! It really helps having all you NF to write to

Hey Turtle 21! Thanks for the reply! I'm from a German heritage as well and it HAS been difficult giving up bread. The gluten-free varieties actually aren't that bad though, but I'm trying to be a bit more on the pales diet side I used to make sourdough bread every week....sad. The smoothie is also great with banana instead of the apricot, so I'm told. I'm allergic to banana so I use apricot for the potassium

Today's update: I slept in because I was feeling really awful today. I didn't manage the walk this morning but I might try walking home this afternoon. Breakfast was another smoothie (spinach, plain yogurt, apricot, blueberry, almond milk) which was delicious! Took some quinoa-veggy stir fry for lunch along with some coffee-break coconut-flour cookies and a large thermos full of green juice (cucumber, kale, lemon, apple, celery, ginger). Feeling really weak and exhausted today; had a brief conversation with my friends over lunch which completely drained me to the point where I started to get a bit grumpy! I've been working steadily on school (catching up), taking mini-breaks every half-hour to an hour. I have had some little headaches developing all day, but the breaks seem to help. Booked an appointment with my doctor to discuss my relapse (she's been too busy to see me until now). Hoping we can figure something else out about my "condition", what ever it may be... Over all, it's not been a great-feeling day. I'm pretty tired which makes it hard to be happy. I'm not depressed or sad, but when you don't have the energy to exert, its hard to appear happy? Do you know what I mean? I'm like Winnie the Pooh's Eeyore, but I'm not sad...just slow and mopy? sigh...it's hard to explain... Here's hoping tomorrow is a bit better!

Oh, and an update on other stuff: The "crash" really knocked me down. I lost 3 pounds in a week!! That freaks me out a little bit, so I'm trying to be careful of further weight loss as well as rebound weight gain. I think the poundage disappeared during the three days of full-time sleeping I did. I'm starting this revised challenge at 132 lb. I'm really weak and have very little energy (even conversations exhaust me!). Aside from that, I'm feeling pretty good about my current body image. I really need to go shopping though, so I'm thinking a really great reward for myself later this month might be to "make-over" my wardrobe. None of my pants fit any more!! But I also want to wait and see if my weight stabilizes before jumping on the new-pants bandwagon. Today I walked to school! It was soooo difficult. I seriously considered turning back after the 3 block mark, but I ran into my friend on the way which helped take my mind off it. I eventually made it to school Had a really delicious smoothie for breakfast (blueberry, plain yogurt, almond milk, apricot, and spinach) and a healthy little lunch (black beans with cooked veggies, fresh tomato, and fresh parsley on top of basmati rice). Not sure what to have for supper yet, but it will likely involve lime poached fish (as that's the only meat I currently have). I just got back from lunch and a coffee time. Going to get back to working on school things and will probably take a break at some point to just chill out on the couch I had moved into my office. So far, the headaches are staying at bay...they're lingering nearby, I can feel them, but I'm doing ok so far today. I'm really hoping that the headaches turn out to be gluten related so I can extinguish them through diet. For now, I'm assuming that headaches = impending doom as a result of too much physical/mental activity. This weeks experiment is to determine if the rule "headaches mean stop" will result in my happiness If so, then the previous statement is likely true. If not, then I will test the hypothesis that "headaches = gluten lingering in my system"... From what I've read, gluten can linger for several months in the body!! **makes Charlton Heston-like fist shake in the air** Curse you Gluten!! Curse you!!

Hello again everyone! It's been a while since I posted. For those of you that were following my old thread, you know I've been having some health issues (recently and for the last year). I hope you don't mind that I'm starting an entirely new thread!! It just felt better to "start over". So my new goals, in light of my recent relapse, will be as follows: 1. To eat clean and gluten-free!! That means no chemicals, no boxed or pre-packaged foods, just good old naturally grown food that I prepare (cooked or raw) myself. I discovered last week that I was still eating a few things that secretly contained gluten (it really is in EVERYTHING! Rice Crispies!! who would have thought?!?!?!). Upon discovering this, I thought "maybe I will try eating gluten again". BAD IDEA!! I was soooo incredibly sick that I now have no doubt in my mind that I am gluten intolerant. And since the relapse and my gluten-eating experiment, I have had headaches again SO NO MORE GLUTEN EVER FOR ANY REASON!! 2. To pace myself in everything!! Until I know for sure WHAT is wrong with me, I really can't afford to ignore the possibilities. If I do have CFS, then I need to be aware of what I am doing and when I am starting to feel exhausted. If it's just a gluten intolerance, then AWESOME because that's something that I can manage effectively. But for now, I'm going to pace myself and see how it goes. I didn't pace myself at all last month and just went all out on everything I did (if you saw my last challenge posts, then you have some idea). The week before my relapse, I could walk the 40 minutes to school no problem but now I have trouble walking 3 blocks from the apartment. That's how much my energy has declined, and I really don't want to have that happen again. So how do I plan to accomplish this goal, you may ask? a) daily yoga routine to help transition my body back into it's previous state. b ) no more rushing!! I find that I work myself into a moderate state of panic everyday so that I rush to get ready, rush to get to school, rush to do work, rush to get home, etc. This makes it very difficult for me to pace myself because I'm constantly battling with my own worries. If I'm going to pace myself effectively, I have to manage my rushing and learn to enjoy every moment of my day. This will be a bit of a ZEN exercise as I attempt to maintain a constant state of serenity throughout my day. c) gradually working in physical activity as I feel physically capable of it (not just when I feel mentally capable!). This will include walking to school, hikes, and Ultimate Frisbee among other things. I'm going to buy some bus tickets again, and if I don't feel up to THAT'S OK! I have to learn that its OK to NOT do everything all the time. I have a tendency to push my self physically because I'm mentally sure that I CAN DO IT. This isn't a bad thing, but it's not helping me with my current health situation. If I'm going to pace myself, I gotta cut that out! Also, HEADACHES MEAN STOP! That's a new rule of mine... AND THAT'S IT!! That is ALL I am going to focus on for this challenge from now on. If I hope to get back to where I was before my "crash" (and I WILL GET BACK THERE!), I need to just chill for a bit and focus on these two, relatively simple goals: eat clean and pace yourself. That's it. Thanks everyone who posted in my previous thread! You're support was VERY much appreciated! Eli

Thanks Laura! I needed to hear that. I'm normally one of those "I'm going to do everything" people so when I was having such a great month, I got a bit carried away! That has been my biggest struggle and learning curve through all of this: learning how and when to pace myself, and accepting that it's ok to NOT do everything. That might be a new goal actually! It can replace the workout circuit and push-ups for now

Thanks Laura! I just wanted to throw this out there: when we were in the early stages of trying to figure out what was wrong with me (there are a bunch of things that go along with the headaches) we looked into chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). To be honest, I actually forgot about CFS being an option when we discovered that the acupuncture was working and I went off gluten. In light of this new batch of headaches, severe pain, sore throat, extreme weakness and fatigue, I'm starting to wonder if it isn't CFS all over again! That would mean my month of "feeling good" has been followed by a "crash", which is what I'm in now. I really wasn't pacing myself during that month; I literally did everything I possibly could, mentally and physically. Now, CFS isn't very well studied or explained and its still thought of in the medical profession as a bit "wishy-washy". I was introduced to it by a friend of mine who has been suffering from near identical issues. It's really the only thing I keep coming back to in terms of a diagnosis. Nothing else fits all the bizarre symptoms I have. So, what I would like to ask all of you is this: have any of you known anyone with CFS? Do any of you have a bit more insite into the condition that you would be willing to share? One of the things that makes me a bit sad about this, is the possibility that I might have to cross out a couple of my goals for this challenge. If it is CFS, ideally need to take it a bit slower than I have been.

Hello all, Ya, I have tried meds but they don't have any effect on my headaches. I just got back from emergency where they injected me with 3 different pain killers to try to stop the headache. It went away temporarily but I can still feel it in the background... It's the kind of pain that makes you cry. Home now, just going to continue laying in bed.

Bad news everyone! My headaches started up again yesterday and have stuck around today. The head pain just doesn't stop no matter what I take and it is coming close to a 24 hour duration now. On Saturday before the challenge started I ate a cookie (which contained gluten) but I'm thinking that might be a long shot cause. For those of you who just started following me, one year ago I started getting headaches that would last weeks. To this day we still don't know why but about a month ago I started seeing an acupuncturist and she said my headaches were caused by problems with digestion. That's why I switched to the super ultra healthy meal plan and why my diet is gluten free. The combo of gluten free plus acupuncture cured me for a while! This is the first time I've been knocked out of commission by the headaches for a really long time. So sadly, no circuit for me today I might try a few yoga stretches, but it's painful to be upright and I get overwhelminly dizzy. I just have to lay here, I guess

Ha haa! I wasn't beig sarcastic! I would have eaten 5 grill'ems at the campfire too! And potentially drank some alcohol, lol! I think your meal plan is really great! A few years ago, we started on a meal plan (not a paleo one, but healthier) which we found in men's fitness (search the magazine and "belly off diet"). It really helped me drop weight and feel capable of doing physical activities.

Oh ya, I forgot to update everyone on my starting point for this challenge: I started last challenge at 138lb and now I'm starting at 134.5lb! I took some "before photos" for each challenge but I'm not super comfortable posting those online, so you'll just have to trust me I already need to go out and buy new jeans because all of mine are saggy! It's too bad I gave my "skinny" jeans to the thrift store... I'm feeling a lot better physically. I'm more willing to do things (like run) than I was before. I like that feeling and I think that's part of why I'm so excited to keep going. It's like I'm becoming the person I used to know before I got lazy and gained a bunch of weight (got up to 150lb). My boyfriend will be back soon (he's been working out of province) so I'm really excited to do things with him again. He said he ways to go jogging! That's a big deal for me because I always want to go jogging but I'm not self motivated enough to go alone. It's also a big deal for him because he hates exercising in public or with me. I'm really excited!! I'm still trying to convince him to join NF though While I'm here, update!! Yesterday I skipped my workout circuit, though I did a bunch of push-ups to see how many I could manage in one go (for a previous post...I made it to ten!). I did my yoga and I ate healthy enough until my supper of poutine I don't eat poutine very often and I really had a craving for it which I indulged. But I did walk part of the signal hill trail before getting the poutine! So.... *blushes* Today I did my yoga and a workout circuit of 20 squats, 20 crunches, and 10 push-ups (2reps each). That nearly killed me but I did it!! I'll try again tomorrow Breakfast was "red velvet" quinoa pancakes with Saskatoon berry syrup! The pancakes were actually not bad! Just used quinoa flour, eggs, honey, real vanilla extract, two juiced beets (I used the juice and the pulp), and some baking powder. Not sure what I'll have for lunch, but I'll find something. I really need to get groceries though!

Hey Laura! I'm reading Steven Erikson's Gardens of the Moon. I'm finding it a little hard to follow; there are a lot of names! But a friend of mine suggested it so I'd like to give it a try. I like reading books in a series (though the last series I read was Harry Potter!). Is anyone reading or has anyone else read this book? My friend told me that Steven Erikson was originally the guy called to write a series for HBO (and he wrote this series) but they went with Game of Thrones instead.

Hey! Ya, the ocean walk is my best motivator! I can just make it to 10 push-ups at once if I really push myself. But I can do 3 reps of 5 if I do other stuff between each rep!

Wow! Great meal plan! Try eating an apple (gala is my fav) with the babybel; it's wonderful one bite babybel, one bite apple...so good!

Saw a minke whale!! But he was too quick for me to photograph...so I took this one instead No humpbacks yet, but will keep you all posted! Now I'm going to tuck in with this novel I haven't touched in a year, lol!

Oh WOW!! Thanks for that link! That might actually be a great way for me to get started! I'm so afraid of handstands! Thanks!! I'll try to remember to post photos of my progress this challenge I'm going on a mini hike to see if the whales are around at Signal Hill in the next few minutes. I will post a photo if I see any!

I've been super lazy since the last challenge ended!! Its so terrible, but I think it has a lot to do with being (or not being) accountable on my challenge thread! As soon as the last challenge ended, I just stopped doing things!! I still walked to school, but that's more or less because I have no bus tickets, lol. But ya, I did nothing yesterday. However, today I walked to school like a maniac!! I think I made it here in 30 minutes when it normally takes me 40! Thanks Nerd Fitness!

Hey! I don't run the signal hill trail or anything I just walk it! Walking it is work-out enough, lol! Ya, I'm a bit intimidated by the strength training but I need to start somewhere! I can currently do 5 push-ups at once (and 3 reps of that if I leave 5 minutes between). I would like to get to 20 at once, even if that's all I do is 20 (no reps)! I'm starting to get the floppy back arm thing, which I'm not pleased about ...time to work on that!

Hey! I like your goals! You are way more specific in your grading than I was, lol! I like it. So one of my goals is to do the Signal Hill trail at least once a week (through the battery to the trail, then up the giant stair case to the tower and down the hill to the canons and back through the battery). We could meet up and hike it some time if you're interested?! I make a pit stop (for about an hour) at the far east point to watch for whales Eli

Hello again!! I'm starting the new challenge! I feel really good with my results from the last one so I want to keep up with some of my goals from last time. I know myself; if I cut things out of my list of goals, I will actually cut them out of life!...so let's not do that Ok, Goal #1: to continue walking to school everyday (40 minutes), continue daily yoga stretches, and continue eating gluten-free and healthy! STA +1,CON +1, DEX +1 Goal #2: Strength training! I need to tone up a bit! Last challenge rewarded me with a few dropped pound and a heightened feeling of self-confidence in my physical appearance, but now I really need to start working on the soft flesh... I'm going to try again on my strength training circuit (from last challenge) which consisted of squats, push-ups and crunches. For this goal, I would like to be able to do 20 push-ups in one go by the time the challenge is over! I would also like to have some abs...so lets say, 30 crunches (and 3 reps) by the end. And we'll do 30 squats, (and 3 reps) as well. STR +2, CON +1, and lets throw Charisma in there as well (since this will further enhance my self-confidence and therefore my attractiveness!) at +2 Goal #3: To walk the Signal Hill trail AT LEAST once every week and spend some time sitting and enjoying the ocean, whales, birds and sky! This is something that is very relaxing and thoroughly enjoyable for me...but I just don't do it enough! Why?! I really don't know....busy life? too tired and/or lazy? Well, that's lame and I'm going to do it!! WIS +1, CON +1 Goal #4: To read AT LEAST one page of a novel every day/night (NOT a research paper, facebook update, news story, or email)! I have a book on my night stand which has been there for almost a year now...I think I'm on page 36? If I read one page (at least) every day/night over the 6 weeks, that should put me at page 78-ish by the time this challenge is over! That's not a lot, but it's a start! Maybe it will be enough to get me interested and I'll end up finishing the whole book!! (*crosses fingers*) WIS +2 Another thing I wanted to add, but may just save it for next time: I want to do a handstand!

Oh my gosh! A handstand push-up was one of the things I was JUST thinking would be cool to do! That's so cool to read it in other people's posts I actually started thinking about it while day dreaming about my goal of being an Elf Druid Assassin! I was thinking about how I almost get run over on a daily basis during my walks to and from school... I was thinking about how awesome it would be to be able to jump up, flip (in some super awesome way), land on my hands and flip back to my feet! All this to avoid the distracted driver raging past me . How cool would that be! To actually be physically capable of doing that if you needed to?! ...I mean, the almost getting run over part wouldn't be good And that's how I came to be day dreaming about handstand push-ups! Any tips? I've never done a handstand, but am thinking it might be a good goal for my next challenge!

Yeah! Levelled up!!

First Challenge DONE! WOW! To recap, my goals were as follows: 1) to start and maintain a gluten-free, paleo diet (with the exception that I am allowed to juice some of my fruits and veg as I'm allergic to them when eaten whole and raw...I'm serious, I don't get sick if they are juiced!) Amended: black beans, quinoa, basmati rice, real cheese, yogurt are allowed....so not fully paleo, but very healthy and natural! Gain +3 CON 2) to start and maintain a morning yoga schedule; 6am wake up yoga! Amended: I've added in a short workout circuit! 2 reps of 10 squats, 5 pushups, and 15 crunches Gain +3 STR, +2 DEX 3) to walk to school every morning even if its a bit cold and/or raining (40 minute walk) Gain +4 STA 4) to finish the corrections to my manuscript for publication and send it to my supervisors for final approval by the end of this challenge! This has serioulsy been a huge weight/stress on me since I received the corrections back in February...sigh Gain +3 WIS My results!!1) I did really well on my diet! I ate some cheese cake over the long weekend, which was delicious but the gluten in the crust gave me some trouble But I'm really proud of myself for keeping to the diet for the majority of my time! I like to think I did about a 95% on that one....so A minus?2) I did yoga almost every morning, which was great! I slept in a few times and had to rush to school (which means I skipped morning yoga) but I usually made up for it with some in-office yoga or evening yoga. Definitely an A on the yoga. However, I kind of ditched on the short strength training circuit but I think that was a bit over ambitious on my part. I only did it about 50% of the time, so I will give myself a C on that one. So I'm averaging a B I guess?3) Walked to school every morning AND every night!! I'm really proud of myself for that one! It's a long walk (40 minutes each way) but sooooo beautiful! I really enjoyed watching the trees leaf out this spring and watching the new flowers emerging in everyone's front yards! A+ for this goal 4) I finished my manuscript a week before I intended!! I'm soooo happy! Once my headaches cleared up, most likely due to my changed diet (see goal #1), I was able to think super clearly! It was amazing! I don't even know how I was able to function before with the headaches. So that's one more goal in the bag! A+! Ok, so what does this mean for me. Well, I lost 3 pounds which I wasn't really planning on but is still great! I learned some great recipes and started a really healthy eating routine which I can stick with and enjoy. I actually look forward to walking to school every day and realized that it only takes me about 10 minutes longer than it takes me to ride the bus....hmmm. The walk also saves me money on bus tickets and/or gas for the car. I feel a lot more flexible and just "better" from doing yoga every day! I really think if may have contributed to the disappearance of my headaches, or at least in the prevention of headaches from work stress and office chair posture. I learned that I have trouble keeping to strength training and I think it's because I haven't learned how to enjoy it? So I need to find something that I enjoy that will help me tone my body...I might join Ultimate Frisbee again this summer. And the last thing I learned is that I CAN finish something! Having the headaches really messed with my self-confidence on the intellectual front and I'm really glad to see that I still have it in me! Now I know that it was just the headaches causing me to have slow progress and poor quality of work; it wasn't "me"..."I" was still capable of producing good work, I was just inhibited by the headache pain. That was a HUGE mental struggle for me over the last year! I almost quit my PhD because I was so utterly confused. I'm really glad I didn't! Scoring!! Goal 1: +3 CON at 95% = 2.85 CON!Goal 2: +3 STR +2 DEX at 75% = 2.25 STR, 1.5 DEXGoal 3: +4 STA at 100% = 4 STA!Goal 4: +3 WIS at 100% = 3 WIS! Overall, I have graded myself with a 92.5% average. Not bad!

Here's my character inspiration board! Every time I level up and gain points, I can mark then on my chart Ps. My printer is running out of ink...