sarahlp

Ugh. I wrote a whole update and then hit tab + backspace (it was an accident), sending me to the page I was on previously and erasing everything I had just typed. Why does it feel like there is no proper word in the English language to describe how that feels? Damn. Okay, well the gist of my post was that Week 3 has gotten off to a great start, and that I've already walked/jogged 1 hr 20 min total (2 hr 40 min left to go, and it's only Monday). I ate a cupcake at work today (boss' birthday) and time is just flying. I talked about how I'm trying to turn my negative thoughts into positive ones and how that's easier said than done. And I talked about how I truly am naturally negative but accentuate the positive when I'm out in the world because I never want anyone to see just how negative I can be. Defense mechanism alert. One thought I typed that I want to repeat (just so I don't forget) is this: I don't want to be a no person - a negative negative. I want to be a positive positive - the embodiment of "yes." And I'm sorry that last sentence doesn't make sense. It made sense in my other post. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Ugh. Okay. Signing off.

Pic-sha Time! Front: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B8VmpgbH0gjpSHRnbm1ScXFJN3M/edit?usp=sharing Profile: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B8VmpgbH0gjpT24wOE1IRWVBTVE/edit?usp=sharing Goofy: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B8VmpgbH0gjpZVhhRkRPMEg5Skk/edit?usp=sharing Weight (as of Thursday, June 13 - evening): 161.4 Hope you're all having a great weekend! Rave on, Sarah

Hump-Date! Hump-Date / Noun / Definition: A silly combination of the phrase "hump day" and "update." An update that is sent out only Wednesdays (otherwise known as the middle of the week or "hump day"), not a date where the physical act of humping occurs. This week has been so much better than last week. I keep thinking back to last week and just feeling so much better to be here in this head space. Feeling much more balanced and healthier overall. When I was walking today I thought about how I feel like in so many ways I am taking back control of my life. Well, as much control as any of us can have. If you scroll up to my initial post, I had to edit my goals a bit. I am running into some scheduling issues with my gym (they only offer 2 types of classes a few times a week - not exactly "full service") and can possibly only attend Zumba on Thursdays at 6:30 PM. Which leads me to my next question... What is it like to take a Zumba class? I have no idea besides what I've seen on infomercials and to be completely honest, I'm not exactly feeling very extroverted these days. I am coming out of my shell, sure, but something about Zumba is very intimidating for me. If you have any opinions on the topic please share. Also! Very exciting - we joined a bowling league! It's on Tuesday nights and so much fun. Last night we bowled for 3 solid hours and today my right arm and right leg are sore. Score! Extra calories burned! I walked for 40 minutes this evening and have one more hour to walk this week. I am hoping to knock it out tomorrow after work! Current Standings This week's dinners: MON - Grilled Chicken + Veggies >> turned into >> Baked "Fried" Chicken Strips + Steamed Broccoli & RotiniTUES - Ground Turkey Taco Salads >> turned into >> My fave salad from Moe's - the "Close Talker" with no shell, romain lettuce, grilled chicken, brown rice, black beans, cilantro and their Fat-Free Southwest Vinaigarette (So delicious!)WEDS - Veggie Pasta + Tomato Sauce >> turned into >> Velveeta Skillet MealShrimp ScampiExercise so far: SUN - 2.1 mi walked/jogged (1 hour)MON - walked 20 minutes (in the rain!)TUES - bowled for 3 hours (bonus!)WEDS - 2.1 mi walked (40 minutes)Areas of improvement: Actually sticking to my meal plans... Maybe I should start counting only the meals I plan and then we follow through on?Not indulging at work. This one is so. freaking. tough. No one where I work is interested in ANYTHING healthy. I am the odd person out 1000% of the time.All that being said, I know I am doing good because I am focusing on feeling healthier and not "skinnier." There is a difference! Especially for those of us who are so easily triggered by numbers on a scale, pictures in magazines, etc. Hope you're all doing great this week, too! Rave on, Sarah PS - I know I need to weigh in and take pictures of myself soon. I will get this done, pinky swear!

Quick Sunday night post! Read: I have to finish this post before my boyfriend finishes his round in Call of Duty: Black Ops II so that we can finish the last 20 minutes of Cocktail (don't judge - I love Tom Cruise pre-constructive surgery) and THEN start the Game of Thrones finale! Epic night, I tell you. Epic. So, after my post on Friday night, I woke up on Saturday with my head feeling a bit clearer. I spent some quality time with my journal and made some huge breakthroughs yesterday, the main one being that my mental health and physical health are directly linked. For so long I've been treating "my body" separate from "my mind," when really, they are very much intertwined. I started off by making a list of ways that I break my own heart. This list included things like when I devalue myself, pick my fingers, when I don't express my feelings, and when I allow myself to be removed from the world (to name a few). Calling out these negative actions really made me think of them in a new way, and through writing I came up with a game plan (of sorts) of ways I can counter these compulsive thoughts/behaviors. I took a page in my journal and split it down the middle to make two columns, the column on the left being the "When I'm feeling..." section and the column on the right being the "I need to..." section - an action-based list of things I could do to help myself feel better. It sounds simple, but it really worked for me. When I'm feeling anxious/restless, I need to talk. When I'm feeling melancholic/lazy/unproductive, I need to go outside, take a walk, or complete a simple task. When I'm feeling ugly/fat/gross, I need to remind myself that diet/exercise is a means to a healthy mind, not just a healthy body, and focus on the measures I am taking to make good changes in my life (like this challenge, or all the water I'm drinking). I can't tell you how much clearer I have felt today. It's been great. Shelton and I made a dinner meal plan for the week with the healthy food we bought today and spent an hour walking/jogging this evening. We did 2.1 miles and it felt great! We mapped our walk and I'd like to do it Mon-Thurs after work every day this week. My new motto is BABY STEPS. Really honing in on little changes I can easily make, because we all know that little things make a big difference. This week's dinners: Grilled Chicken + VeggiesGround Turkey Taco SaladsVeggie Pasta + Tomato SauceShrimp ScampiExercise so far: Sunday - 2.1 mi walked/jogged (1 hour) Hooray for feeling better about this week! Good luck everyone! Rave on, Sarah P.S. Shelton finished his Black Ops round and moved onto Netflix. Oh well! It's so easy for me to get carried away chatting

Thank you so much! I will definitely add it to my wish list and order a copy asap! I get paid Friday so I think that will be a nice treat for myself! I really appreciate your response and encouragement. Means the world!

Is it just me or did this week fly by? As I sit here thinking about the past week and half-watching Friday Night Lights (I am feeling homesick for Texas) I am reminded that opportunities not spent changing can be considered as missed opportunities to some. Sometimes I feel like there are two halves to myself - the empathetic side of me and the overly-critical. It's probably not hard for you to guess which voice is louder in my head... Week 1 is wrapping up quickly, and I can see where I fell short this week. I didn't meal plan like I intended. I didn't spend three hours outside (I only logged 1.25). I didn't go to a gym class. I know you don't know much about me, but one of my defining characteristics is my ability to distract myself. I craft. I read. I blog. I get caught up in TV shows. I search aimlessly for myself instead of taking the time to learn how to be at peace with myself. I pick my fingers. I eat. I sit. I spend hours on Pinterest. I feel sorry for myself. And then I mentally beat myself up. In the past, I've even used dieting and exercise as an escape--a means to an end I wasn't even committed to. (Not exactly the best route to a "healthy" lifestyle.) It's a vicious cycle that I am trying to break. And it's not easy. I have been living this way for a long time, and now that I recognize it you would think that it would get better, but the opposite is happening. Now that I know my tendencies and I'm not distracting myself, all I feel lately is off-kilter, like I don't know who I am. And this mentality affects just about every aspect of my life, especially my motivation when it comes to working out and making good choices for myself. So, what am I saying? I guess what I am saying is that it's hard to make my own way. It's hard not to compare myself to others. It's hard to find MY path. I just know that once I find my stride, and I can fully appreciate this journey, that it will be worth it. That's why I'm going to keep doing the challenge, because I can only go up from here, and it's okay if I don't get an "A" the first time around. In so many ways I am starting at Square One and I don't think I realized that until a few days ago. I hope that my tone and my posts in this forum are appropriate. I really am an Adventurer in every sense of the title - just trying to figure out my place. Rave on, Sarah

Hello, world! Time for a mid-week update. On Sunday I started out so hopeful, after I submitted my initial post I even went outside and took a 30 minute walk! Later on that evening though, I began to feel incredibly sick. No fever, but intense nausea that I was plagued with all throughout Monday and Tuesday. It was horrible - I've never felt anything like it. I am still feeling a little under-the-weather, but my appetite is finally coming back to me. I've been drinking copious amounts of water, which is great, but feeling so crappy definitely hindered my progress this week. Side note: The most recent episode of Game of Thrones. Oh. My. God. I am so glad that was not the season finale! What do you think will happen next week? So, this week I still have to exercise outdoors for 2.5 hours and attend one gym class. Now that I finally have my energy back, I know I can get it done. ***My NerdFitness Challenge Tracker Google Doc has been updated with my as well, feel free to check it out!*** I hope you are all having a good week - hopefully a more successful week than me! Rave on, Sarah

Hi, ArkhamWhore! I think the concert will be an obstacle because it's an opportunity for me to over-indulge (beer, stadium food, late night dinner, etc.). I'm hoping I won't feel too tempted though. Random question - do you play Arkham Horror?

Hi, there! New nerd here. My name is Sarah and I am 25 years old. Most of the time I feel much older than that, but let's be honest, in the not-so-distant future I will consider these years as some of the best in my life - if not the best. That's why I am doing this challenge - to continue to push myself in the hopes of unveiling a better understanding of myself and my purpose in life. There are two good, big things I have worked hard to achieve in my life: 1) My relationship with my boyfriend, Shelton, who loves and supports me unconditionally. 2) A fun job in a challenging industry where I feel constantly engaged. I feel like these are good, big things because they encompass two main things that people often search for: love and stability. I, myself, have searched for them in the past and through a series of rather interesting events, manifested both for myself. So, while I am fortunate to have these good, big things "figured out" (so to speak), I still feel the desire to live a fuller, healthier life. And that starts from within. All that being said, there is no doubt that my journey continues to evolve in life, and that in the process, I evolve as well. That's why I am proud to categorize myself as an Adventurer and take on this challenge. It comes at a rather serendipitous point in my development, as my life has often been measured in summers. And I'm really excited about this summer, because I finally feel the drive to reach a new level and to use the NerdFitness community to my advantage. So, without further adieu, here are my four goals for my inaugural Six Week Challenge and how I plan on holding myself accountable. sarahlp's Summer of Change Health Goals Go to one gym class a week. (Stamina 5)Currently I pay for a gym membership, but haven't used it in two months. This bothers me.My gym offers evening classes on weekdays and morning classes on Saturdays. I can make time to attend at least one.Accountability: Upon arriving at gym, I will tweet my thoughts/location/plan using the hashtag #summerofchange.UPDATE (6/12/13) - So... my gym is currently offering two classes right now: Yoga/Pilates @ 8:15 AM on Thursdays and Zumba on Tuesdays and Thursdays @ 6:30 PM. The Yoga class is out because of my 8-5 job and Tuesday nights are out because we joined a bowling league (so fun!). The counselor I'm working with only stays late on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so I'm going to have to switch my Tuesday sessions with her to Thursdays now, and my ideal time to meet would be 6 PM. I don't really know how I'm gonna make this goal work, but it turns out the counselor and gym are on the same street, so maybe if I can meet the counselor at 5:30 PM I could make it to Zumba each week at 6:30 PM. Also... not to sound like Debbie Downer, but I really am not excited about Zumba at all. So, that doesn't exactly help my motivation. Has anyone been? Is it that bad?Be active three hours a week outdoors. (Dexterity 4)It's summer! My favorite season! I should spend more time outside sweating.Activities include: walking, jogging/running, swimming, playing with dog, etc.Accountability: As I play outside, I will Instagram/tweet pictures of fun things using hashtag #summerofchange.UPDATE (6/12/13) - I realized that I really don't like walking/jogging with my phone in hand. I also don't like slipping it in my waistband or bra, because then it gets all sweaty (cute, I know). I will keep myself accountable for this goal by logging my times in my Google Doc. That seems to be working much better! Also, who has time to Instagram when you're trying not to get run over by crazy people?Plan four healthy dinners a week, on Sundays. (Constitution 3)When dieting I have always been good about eating healthy snacks/meals during the day, but have to work extra hard when it comes to evening meals/snacking.Accountability: At the beginning of each week I will set out a dinner meal plan for the week, and post an update in this thread and on my personal blog, sweetandsavorylife.com.UPDATE (6/12/13) - I have decided I am taking a break from blogging and just focusing on the basics: me, my health, work, this challenge, etc. I will continue to post my meals weekly here though! Life Goal Begin attending weekly counseling sessions. (Wisdom 3)​This is personal need of mine, one that I really can't sum up in bullet points. At times I struggle greatly with keeping my emotions in check and in an effort to live a happier life I have decided to talk to a counselor to get a better understanding of my compulsions and feelings.My first appointment is set for June 18, with subsequent appointments to follow.Accountability: I don't plan on sharing with anyone really that I am doing this because it does feel so personal. But, I journal daily on my current emotional state, and as I learn things in my sessions I will share them here in this thread.***Extra measures of accountability: NerdFitness Challenge Tracker Google Doc. Feel free to take a look!*** Foreseen Obstacles to Overcome - Game Plan(s) Needed! Zac Brown Band Concert - 6/21Destin Trip - 6/29 to 7/5Coming Soon Current WeightPicturesOkay, guys and gals, I think that about sums me up for now! I really am so stoked about these upcoming weeks and can't wait to engage with this community! Rave on, Sarah