green eggs

I guess I could just not post back and then no-one would notice that I didn't hit my goals, but for accountability: Fitness 1: do the academy 1A workout every Tuesday and the 1B workout every Thursday. No slip-ups allowed. -> Well, mostly. Not always on Tuesday and Thursday, but that's OK. First three weeks I did. The last workout (which would have actually been a Friday) I did not. Reason: I worked 14 hours on Thursday and already felt rotten on Friday morning when I got up, knowing I had an enourmous workload on Friday to (it ended up being another 14 hour day). I will never ever do this again. It took me three days to recover and my body is only just starting to feel right a week later. As a consequence, I haven't worked out this week either (scared I was going to push things too far). Fitness 2: do half-hour yoga workout at the weekend. No slip-ups allowed. -> I think I managed this once. One other time I did it during the week instead. The other two times I missed it. Nutrition 3: avoid unnecessary carbs, which means bread, cake, carb-laden sides etc. Exceptions: 1 piece of cake on Saturday and bread for Sunday breakfast. 2 pieces of dark chocolate for dessert or snack. Wine to drink is OK, but no soda, juice, beer etc. 1 slip-up allowed per week (gotta be realistic) -> Again, first three weeks not so bad. First two actually really good (though the cake may have been Sunday, and instead of bread on Sunday it might have been rice Saturday night, you know how it goes, but the general principle held). Last full weekend didn't hold so much and that kinda swamped over into Monday and Tuesday, back on track Wednesday, and then the crazy work days and resulting exhaustion through me for six on the last few days. I ended up adding carbs back in on purpose because I felt so whacked out and thought that might be part of the problem. Level-up-your-life goal: 2 hours of writing a week. No slip-ups allowed. -> I think I got this the first two weeks, then life happened. So, well, not exactly "mission accomplished". Better on some goals than others.

I have a writing goal too, aiming for two hours a week. How's that goal of yours coming on?

Report-out the third One of my goals was to do 30 min of yoga at the weekend. I didn't. I did go for a 4km walk with my bf on Sunday morning and I'm debating whether that was an adequate swap. Food-wise not too bad except for the inevitable slip-up when eating at his dad's (because no choice), but that was expected. I actually almost passed on cake at the weekend, but I had promised it to myself, and so I did eat it. I also slipped up on writing this morning because I'm trying to get into the habit of writing on the train and I ended up taking a different train to usual and it was chock full and I didn't even get a seat with a tray table, never mind an actual table to put my laptop on (hey, I was lucky to get a seat). So I guess I try and make up for that at some point. So this week it would be nice if I could hit all my goals, and again do more incline push-ups at my desk instead of the counter during 1A, and more actual wall slides rather than floor slides during 1B. Oh, and keep up the momentum on clearing my desk at work each night plus switching the smart phone off at work (but those are not official goals

Report-out the second: More time on the train Wed and Thur; more writing done. Finally past the scene that has been blocking me for months. 1B workout done this morning instead of yesterday morning. That's OK. Food-wise no further slip-up, mostly thanks to pre-planning. Nearly slipped up travelling back to my place Thursday because I left just before lunch and had no lunch planned. Had a 30min stop at the railway station and scouted for paleo-ish food. Haven't done this for a while, but yup, there's a fast-food fish place which doesn't sound great, but fish done on a griddle topped with mushrooms and cheese, and mixed veg on the side, fits the bill (I've not given up cheese).

Welcome back yourself I'm enjoying the academy. It's good to have a no-think place to start with a sequence of workouts and nutrition steps to go through. Much of the stuff there isn't new to me - I put together a bunch of body-weight workouts for myself a few years ago, and also followed paleo principles for a couple of years, but it's nice to have that all in one structured place plus all the videos of the exercises in case you're not sure. Plus the workouts build on one another as you progress, which was something I was finding difficult to do when I was putting together my own stuff -> especially modifying stuff enough to help my non-athletic self start. All the modifications are right there in the Academy though Also the facebook womens group is awesome I spend 4-8 hours a week on a train, so I feel I should use that time. Can't sleep on it though, never been able to sleep sitting up.

I second this I just completed the "saving for a deposit for an apartment" bit, and it feels awesome. Will be signing our contract in a couple of weeks to buy a brand spanking new (still being built) apartment, eek. So keep at it. All that automatic saving helps a whole bunch.

That is a whole bunch of goals o.O ... are you aiming to do all of the mini-quests each day during the challenge? The rest are your over-arching goals, right, not what you want to achieve in four weeks (though that would admittedly be awesome)?

Thanks, HappyCat

Report-out the first. And a "slip-up" on the food front right there on day one: I totally forgot that we would be at my SO's dad's place for lunch. Since I am not yet ready to tell the world I am eating differently and expect them to cook food differently for me, that meant sucking up the schnitzel, potatoes, and ice-cream. It was all yummy. Since I don't eat out in this kind of situation often, I tend to just suck them up. My SO has celiac, so every has to bend their cooking for him. It feels awkward to also ask them to do so for me, since I'm not allergic to anything. Yup, I could just bring my own food, but that requires careful, sensitive negotiation with the host and an explanation of what I'm doing (and subsequent silent or not observation / judging of what I do eat, and the next time we meet of whether I'm looking any different). Urg. So just "no". I ate leftover schnitzel in the evening because it felt wrong to throw it away, but then I promised myself I'd get back on track for the rest of the week. Then followed the "slip-up" on day two: I forgot to plan breakfast thanks to starting from my bf's place rather than mine. It's a two-hour train journey to work and my weekday abode every Monday and usually I will have something in the fridge to take with me. Forgot. Bf's fridge is mostly empty, other than more schnitzel. So I had to make do with what the restaurant car on the train was giving up, and took the greek yoghurt with Muesli and an apple. Not the worst choice, but Muesli is of course carbs. The rest of the day went pretty well, and I did some writing on the train towards that goal (I'm trying to get into the habit of writing on the train). Also did my 1A workout this morning as planned.

So having skipped NF for long enough that I hadn't even realised that the 6 week challenges had changed to 4 week challeges, I'm back and have joined the academy. Though I'm running around there as a druid, I'm registering as a good old beginner rebel for this challenge to get back on track. Goals: Fitness 1: do the academy 1A workout every Tuesday and the 1B workout every Thursday. No slip-ups allowed. Fitness 2: do half-hour yoga workout at the weekend. No slip-ups allowed. Nutrition 3: avoid unnecessary carbs, which means bread, cake, carb-laden sides etc. Exceptions: 1 piece of cake on Saturday and bread for Sunday breakfast. 2 pieces of dark chocolate for dessert or snack. Wine to drink is OK, but no soda, juice, beer etc. 1 slip-up allowed per week (gotta be realistic) Level-up-your-life goal: 2 hours of writing a week. No slip-ups allowed. Loot: 1 hour private lesson with my ex yoga teacher to set up a new home work-out.

I'm failing on 1 and 2 at the moment (though the other stuff is more or less habit). Just too tired. (Yes, too tired to put my alarm on the other side of the room...) And food prep is sorta meh. Half-managing it. On the up side, I joined the NF academy. Have a business trip coming up starting Saturday, so I won't be making a substantial start until I get back, but it's a start.

Some of the nudges that have worked in the past and I'm trying to incorporate: 1) don't put the alarm clock by the bed, put it on the other side of the room 2) put the yoga mat out at the end of my bed 3) have healthy food in the fridge, prepare stuff in advance, and leave a note on top of my work/travel bag reminding me to take it 4) use a shopping list (less to stop me buying "forbidden" stuff because banning stuff completely totally backfires on me, mostly to make sure there's plenty of veg and healthy stuff around so that I always have a choice) 5) sparkling water and a wine glass to drink it from by the sofa have helped cut my evening wine consumption Yeah, I am not a morning person either, but by the time I get through work, cooking, guitar class or practice of an evening I have zero energy for exercise. By that time of night it takes a fair amount of will power just to cook/eat healthy, which is also where cooking in advance helps. I have my wits about me enough in the evening though that I can put the alarm clock, yoga mat and food notes in the right places otherwise I'd never get out of bed on time in the morning or do any stretching. So I use my evening-person-ness to kick the not-a-morning-person side of me's butt...

Hey Evicious, thanks so much for taking the time to tell me your story. Glad I'm not alone with that worry. Right now I'm just waiting to see if he notices I'm doing anything different Then I guess I take things from there... Anyone else have the same thing as me with measurable goals backfiring? Or am I alone on that?

There's a respown guide? < raises an eyebrow and goes off to look >

I totally get that, I think a lot of people feel the same way. Maybe you could ask your roommate to help you out / show you the ropes? Or if that sounds scary, how about you ask at the gym if there's a personal trainer who could show you the ropes - even if it's just one session with that person to learn how to use the equipment properly?

This is excellent advise. I don't know if it was useful for the original poster, but it was certainly good for me to hear this again. Thanks!

Hey I seem to boomerang here. Back for maybe the third time, I've even successfully completed some 6-week challenges in the past, but I seem to backslide... Over the last year and a half the weight has crept back up again (mostly because I started eating carbs again, a few at first and then more and more. Plus: wine), and I'm no longer doing the body-weight workout stuff I was doing at home. So I know what I need to do, I know the theory, I know what works for me, but it's so frickin hard to get started again and make it stick. One of the reasons is that (this is going to sound weird on this site) is that setting goals often backfires bigtime, because I beat myself over the head (figuratively at least :p) when I don't achieve them. Then my motivation sinks, and ... well it's kinda a self-perpetuating cycle. Thing is that I've known this for years and I still get caught in the trap. So... tips? My current tactic is 1) set myself very very very small "goals", 2) try and spark habits rather than stuff I have to remember to do, and 3) use "nudging" tactics to do that, so... My only fitness goal is to get out of bed in the morning and do a single stretch. If I do that, goal achieved. Sometimes it sparks more... To remind myself to do this, my yoga mat is out on the floor at the bottom of my bed, and I do the stretch (or the longer routine if it comes to that) in my pajamas. Foodwise, I'm avoiding carb sides and trying to not snack, though I am allowing myself sweet stuff for dessert, otherwise I'd go nuts. To help with this, I'm cooking extra on Saturday or Sunday when I have time, so that when it comes to Monday lunchtime (often stressed with no time to cook and the temptation to hit the fast food or chocolate) I have something healthy I can re-heat in the microwave. Ditto for Monday evening (my Mondays are very full :D). Monday seems to set me up for the rest of the work week, so that seems to be going well so far. Also, I'm not weighing myself, because if I do that it becomes a horrible horrible rollercoaster of "not good enough" everytime the scale fluctuates even a bit upwards. My biggest loss was achieved (several years ago, and most of it I've managed to keep off) during a time where I didn't even have a scale. As such, I have no idea how much I lost, but it was a lot easier on my brain. Thoughts? The last thing that's always spinning through my mind is that I worry that my boyfriend will think that if I start obviously exercising and dieting I'm trying to spawn him on to something. He's gained some weight over the last year due to a serious knee injury, and I know he's feeling kinda down about that. At the same time, for various reasons, he's not in a position to start an exercise program himself right now, all of which I understand, and that's fine (though it concerns me longterm). I don't want to seem like I'm "nagging" or passively-aggressively trying to get him to do something. He has to figure that out for himself. I may be overthingking that part, but it does concern me. Anyone been in that situation? Thanks for any feedback you can offer.

I hear you. It's all Christmas cookies and chocolate around these parts. Maybe you can eat just one roll and be done with it? (then again if that were me, I'd eat one and then the lot )

Sounds like things are going well, Waanie. Good job!

Yoga rocks. Beer does weird things to my stomach in my experience...

Yoga rocks. Beer does weird things to my stomach in my experience...

Hey Kiazi, how are things? I've been away from the boards travelling so haven't been able to catch up earlier. Hope everything's OK!

Thanks Eve

Thanks Nusuth. It was scary, but worth it!

Hey everyone. Thanks for the comments I haven't visited in a while because I was travelling again - spent a week in New York. That was a very indulgent holiday. And I saw five musicals and an opera in six days He has asked me to cancel some training sessions (me as trainer), and I understood his reasons for doing that, but the basis for his decision came from a meeting he was in at the time I sent out the e-mails. If I would have known he was discussing four (!) topics I was working on at the meeting, I would have waited before sending out the mails. anyway I cancelled the training a because ai did understand his reasoning,, but he understand why I was upset and promised to let me know in future when he has meetings on his agenda on topics which concern me. I got the message, yes, and enjoyed it and the rest of the day at the spa