sereneIrina

Update: I'm not sure if it's because I'm doing my own thing and actually getting thinner (expected it, sure, but not so noticably if that makes any sense), but now my sister and brother-in-law have decided to actually make use of the benchpress that is currently rusting in our basement. They're actually going to strength train! We'll see how long I can keep them honest, though; they tend to get a little wishy-washy when it comes to stuff like sticking to a routine. Hell, I'll probably point them in this direction! XD Everything else is going well enough, I suppose. Totally lost an opportunity to chime in on what goes in the grocery cart, though. That was my bad. Predictably enough, my folks went and piled the most processed crap into the cart, a few scant fruits and vegetables poking their heads out from beneath the mass of sugar, salt, and fat. And meat! Loads of it, though none of it is really paleo, as it's from grain-fed animals. Still, better that than some incredibly sugary cereal. Is it just me or does following a largely sugar-free diet make anything like Cinnamon Toast Crunch painfully sweet? Whatever the case, I'm all for it; pain is an effective deterrent. 'Sides, cavities suck something awful. :< As for Athena and my studies of taekwondo, they're the same as ever. Got the first form down pat. Maybe I can film it and post it when we get closer to the end of the challenge. That'll be neat! But now I need to add something in order to spice things up. Perhaps it's time I returned to strength-training or something. After all, I can't lose to my sister! >

This looks...difficult yet doable. I'll give it a shot and report later!

Cripes! I haven't updated in almost a week. But everything's going okay...ish. Sadly enough, it's become quite the accomplishment to finish the day 50% paleo and I think I've found out why: my mother. She confided in me yesterday that, while she thought it was great that I was doing something about getting fitter, she didn't want me to be as thin as I was last summer. And this is coming from someone who had been pressuring me for pretty much my entire life to try this diet or take these pills to lose weight. I flatly told her that being thin wasn't the goal, being fit was. And I think that just went over her head. It's like she doesn't trust me to do right by myself. Aside from that, Athena and I have been walking a LOT. She still scrambles to jump at the cars as they pass us by, but she's stopped barking at them at least. Athena is rather devious, if I do say so myself. She's gotten used to conserving her energy while we walk the side streets, only to unleash it at the busier sections of our route. Also, she seems to be triggered by big, red trucks. Go figure! I think I've gotten the first form down for my taekwondo challenge, though I still have to look at myself and my posture. I always feel as though my forward stance is a bit twisted to the side. And then there's my level-up quest, getting a job. I've sent out a few more applications just in case, so here's hoping! That's all I've got for now. I'll be sure to update more frequently; it's like the days are just flying by!

Thanks, arwen! Also in my favor is the fact that my mom works a lot; cooking for her is just one of the ways I can give her a break. ^^ SirRebreal (I see what you did there), I write down everything I eat in my journal. I used to have the myfitnesspal app on my iPod touch but one paddleboating accident later, I was left with no iPod. It was a sad day for everyone, including the paddleboat. And thanks for the tip, Chef! I'll give it a go once I get my hands on some more sweet potatoes. Yesterday was day six, which went rather well all things considered. Athena got to go out for 75 minutes, my day was about 45% paleo despite the potato salad at our impromptu barbeque, and I've got about a quarter of Kibon El-Jon down pat. Lots of low blocks and punches, I'll tell you what. My forward stance could use some work, though; it's less "forward" and more "Street Fighter sideways". There's still five more weeks, so I'll not fret yet. Here's to an awesome week two!

Thanks, Kiaise! I'll keep that in mind; it's a bit of a gnarly beast, to say the least. XD So, day four, and Mom's decided to make me a snack. Why? 'Cause she wants to spoil me, make up for the time she's lost while I was away at university. So, she takes the sweet potatoes I had stashed in the pantry...and candies them. Don't ask me why she has a food philosophy that's the complete opposite of mine. She just does. Oh, well. They were damn tasty. Maybe I should make sweet potato chips for her next time to show her that not everything needs sugar to make it taste good. Everything else seems to be spot on, though. Athena's grown to expect me to take her out for a walk first thing in the morning. Same goes for all of the other dogs in the neighborhood, however, as they've taken to standing as close to they can to the sidewalk just to bark back faster. It's funny until you realize that walking around at six-thirty in the morning is bound to wake up a neighbor or two. Yikes!

Alright, day two and I'm in pretty good shape! It looks as though my main quest'll be over before this challenge (not that that's a bad thing or anything XD) as I've managed to snag a phone interview thanks to my sister. Here's hoping! Taekwondo begins later today. I think we're just going to spend the first couple days working on forms and stances, which is how it should be, nice and easy~ I've still got time and, if all else fails, I'll just study ahead by myself. Just id'd my boss monster when it comes to Paleo: my mother's homecooking. It's so good! But she's one of those people who insist that grains are an essential food group and I'm just facepalming. But no matter. I've just got to keep fighting, yeah?

I cosplayed once and I really, really enjoyed it! I went as Hanataro Yamada and I even managed to find the Squad 4 bag at Fanime. Didn't go this year, but I can't wait to go for the next! While it's not the main reason why I want to get fitter, being able to cosplay and just being more comfortable in my own skin is definitely motivating me.

A bit of a head start, eh? Not that I can blame you; I'm so excited that I want it to be tomorrow already! Great job so far, btw. Here's to a kickass six weeks! >

Sounds like I could learn from you, Erialo! By the by, I've used myfitnesspal before to great results. I managed to lose about 70 lbs in a year without exercise, which was great! ...Until a paddleboating accident resulted in my iPod touch getting dunked into the river and it all went downhill rather quickly. :S

Howdy! Your goals seem pretty SMART to me; they're pretty similar to mine and it's my first time taking on the challenge too, so you're golden.

Wow, thanks everyone! I'll do my best to make the Monks proud! Yes, Athena's a purebred pup. She's a lovely walking companion, really. I just wish she weren't so taken by cars...or other dogs...or anything on the other side of the street. 0-0 But, hey, at least I'm not the only one who'll benefit from walking everyday; she seems to really like it too!

Howdy! Now, I've been subscribed to Nerd Fitness for a while and even managed to go Paleo for a while. And I say "a while" because I've kinda fallen off of that horse; it's not that easy to dictate what's on my plate when I'm not the one shopping for groceries anymore now that I've graduated from college and moved back home. So, here I am, ready and willing to give this challenge thing a shot! Here's my list of side quests, so to speak: Walkin' the Dog: Sounds easy enough, yeah? But don't be fooled; a six-month old German Shepard ain't nothin' to f*ck with, especially when all you've got is busy streets full of cars she loves to chase! Holding this overeager pup back for at least 15 minutes a day for all six weeks will count as a C in my rubric. What's at stake: +1 STR, +2 STA, and +1 CON.Going Paleo (again): I've done it once and, dammit, I'll do it one more time! But, rather than scramble up that horse all at once, I'll be using a food journal to track down everything, aiming for at least 70% Paleo for six weeks. Points up for grabs: +1 STA, +2 CON, and +1 WIS.Martial Specialty - Taekwondo: Every monk's got to have at least one martial art in their arsenal and, luckily for me, I've got access to taekwondo classes. It'll keep me busy, get me in shape, and keep me away from the fridge, which tends to be ransacked by yours truly whenever there's nothing else to do. A C means that I can at least perform one of the forms from memory, but the more the merrier! Rewards: +2 STR and +2 DEX. And then here's the main quest: Hired!: Graduation's great and all, but what comes next? Getting a job, of course! Even if it's not the job I went to school for, I'm going to need those gold pieces in order to pay back my student loans, yeah? So, let's get busy! I've already gotten a head-start with the job-hunting, so I should have a job lined up before these six weeks are over. As for stats, it's +1 CHA and +2 WIS upon completion, though this will follow a pass/fail rubric rather than a percentage letter grade. And there you go, everything that I will definitely accomplish by the end of this challenge. I'm pretty excited!