Nephaisys

You are by far my favourite nutter. This sounds like such a fun challenge! I'm RUBBISH at hills so it's amazing you're tackling this head on. So do mermaid astronauts swim through space? Do they have a Sponge-bob-esque bubble helmet?

Yesssssssssssssss LadyWitch, I'm sooo excited! You're properly my inspiration for wedding-y stuff. Can't imagine how excited you are! Anything I can do (remotely) to help you prepare? Lots of pictures please, can't wait to see all your hand-made shineys!

Wait, you gave your wife a mi nature figure of you? Modest. So I'm joining you in the rangers. Because I noticed doing OCR's requires, yannooo... strength and things. And your race list looks like it's going to hurt. In the best way possible. Is there a record for who's done the most of these this year? If not... totally needs to happen.

Wait wait, they have a new app? The Walk? What is this witchcraft?! Hellooooooooooo! How's skiing? I don't mean to be copying you, but we're totally doing the "simple" stuff this time around! Should point out, genuinely, this is the stuff that leads to palatable, consistent change. Proud of ya! Pull ups are an amazing goal; what are the smaller steps you're taking to get there?

A buddy of mine has a brilliant saying. So that's it. This is me. Keepin' it simple. Also, I've done something stupid. Really stupid. After stuffing my face and "eating like a bachelor" (cheers Rogaecia!) for the last 10 days, I've set myself some huge goals for this year, all for charity, mind. These goals I've set myself will genuinely push me, my strength, my cardio, and the squishiest muscle of all, my brain. So keeping it simple. Three goals (and a generic to-do list, which are all one off things that I can't neglect) Eat all of the (right) things. Good news! I've eaten all of my Christmas chocolate (phew, finally! Someone had to do it). Whole 30 was brilliant for me before Xmas, so I'd like to do it again, but this time, for the duration of the challenge. This includes 4 liters of water per day. The whole thinking about what I eat before I insert my face works well for me. (WIS - 2, STR - 2) A: Whole42 complete. B: Whole42 complete, with less than 6 off plan deviations. C: Whole42 complete, with less than 12 off plan deviations. F: Anything less. Move moar. I have my first 5k in 16 days. I "finished" my Zombies, Run C25K on the last day of the year. I wasn't very good at it. I can cover 5k with a walk / run in about 40 minutes, but I can't cover the whole thing in one long run (three 10 minute runs, with 2 minutes walking in between, so not far to go). I've also got obstacle courses, endurance walks, bike rides, the LOT coming up in the next 12 months. (STR - 2, STA - 2) A: Work out an hour a day, 5 days a week (combination of cardio, and strength). B: Work out 45 minutes a day, 5 days a week (combination of cardio and strentgh) C: Work out 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week. F: Anything less. Money matters. Last challenge, I failed to budget. It has totally kicked my ass this January. Payday is still FOUR WEEKS away, and I'm already down to my last £200. Boo. So, I need to budget. And quickly. I'm choosing to take this life-lesson on the chin, and roll with it. So along with my fellow Ninja Bastards, we've made a pact to not eat out, or get take-away. So that will help massively. I want to reduce the amount I consider "disposable income" and increase the amount I save per month. I also have everything I need in my life. So the rule for this challenge is: if I buy something, I donate something. I'm enforcing a strict "one in, one out" rule. This should curb my spending and make me consider before I buy something. (WIS - 4) A: Budget created. Aware of monthly disposable income. No take-outs / restaurant meals. Anything purchased is a direct replacement for something else. B: Budget created. Aware of monthly disposable income. No take-outs / restaurant meals. C: Budget created. Aware of monthly disposable income. F: Anything less. Generic to do list for this challenge. There's a bunch of stuff I just need to nail but have been putting off forever. I don't have to do all of these, and most of getting these done are rewards in themselves. I will allot points to this dependent on %age complete at the end of the challenge. My list and my progress can be found here. (CHA - 2, WIS - 3) + HUGE stress reduction.

Please do not read the following transcript without opening this very important YouTube video below It's 6am as the sun streams through your blinds and on to your dewy morning skin. The usual morning routine begins, perhaps with brushing your teeth, or perhaps with practicing some funky tai-chi on a mountain with a snake (like that woman in that horribly remade movie, Karate Kid). Whatever. The way your morning starts isn't important. You go about your sneaky business. Lurking in the alley-ways (not at all creepy). Traceur-ing to work. Pole-volting your boss. Adeptly eating with chop-sticks, when suddenly a shadowy figure appears in your line of movement. Breaking your chi. Ceasing your flow. Preventing your passage.... basically, you stop. You can't quite make out the figure but she looks old, but not fragile. Strong and lean but not bulky. Her skin glows is radiant but withered. She clearly has some stories to tell. You pull your best ninja pose and prepare for battle. The woman calmly pulls a scroll from within her robes and tosses it at your feet. You look down at the paper for a split second, and return your gaze to her direction to see her gone. Disappeared. Missing. Dissipated. No longer there... I guess is the general gist. Not even in a puff of smoke or anything. Just ... gone. You pick up the scroll and unravel it between your hands. Aren't hooded figures annoying when they deliver vaguely coherent haiku's? Notes and Challenge for the SNB's. This challenge, for us - is all about community. Helping to improve our own, internal Stealthy Ninja Bastard Community, helping the wider NF community, helping our own, physical, local communities, and finally, saving the world (just kidding, those last two points are pretty much the same thing). In that order, too! So, Stealthy Ninja Bastard Community Improvement. Most of us have, via the Facebook page, agreed to (ahem, using Aisle4B's word), go almost "Freegan". Eating what we have in our house, and choosing for the length of this challenge, not to eat out, not to get take-aways, and generally use what we already have in our house / cupboards to eat / drink. So your mission this week comes in three small parts: Post an ingredient you have lots of in your house, but don't really know what to do with (for example, I have about 6 avocados in my fridge)Reply via this thread at to at least one other member with a yummy recipe - not necessarily one you've tried, but one that looks and sounds delicious (please note! Because we're all doing slightly different diets, any recipe that's recommended can be tweaked to suit individual needs).Post a picture of your newly created delicious meal. Because food porn, ammiryte? You can find Aerie's Challenge Here. You can find Aisle4B's Challenge Here. You can find Ceasefire's Challenge Here. DChristian doesn't have a thread yet You can find LegoLady's Challenge Here. You can find Neph's Challenge Here. You can find Peggysr's Challenge Here. You can find Primeval's Challenge Here. You can find Rogaecia's Challenge Here. You can find Sabrinamari's Challenge Here. You can find Sicil's Challenge Here. You can find Starpuck's Challenge Here.

Alright, alright bastards, settle Ye bones! Thread will be up before the challenge starts Monday!

Really? 18" in 12 months doesn't feel like a huge amount... then again, no idea what a "normal" amount is. I'm frustrated - I see the likes of Tateman losing like a bajillion lbs, and I know mine is just slows... but progress is progress, right? In the greyed out picture, I was wearing a horrible, ill-fitting bra that pretty much squished my bewbs. I thought it made them look smaller. Now I see, it was just dumb. I've managed to retain an "F" cup though... two cups away from that illustrious DD size the Playboy Mags told me I should aim for. I will let you know! January, I'm either doing a 5k or a London to Brighton Walk - can't find anyone foolish enough to do the walk with me at the moment, so might "just" have to be a 5k!

End of challenge End of year report So I pretty much bowed out of this challenge. Mr. Neph had his operation, leaving him bed-ridden for a few weeks, meaning I was playing nursey. Helping daily with physio. Cooking meals. Running a house and keeping a job. It's been tough. I did keep up with good behaviours. I've been eating (pretty) well, and maintained my training. Hell, I've even been able to correct the way I've been walking! Not too shabby for what was - pretty much a bow-out mid challenge. I'm calling this one a partial success; considering myself a level 3.5, with the plan for another half challenge first thing next year. And that's all you're getting for a end of challenge write up. I want to do an end of YEAR write up. The Journey So Far. So I uploaded this to Facebook. It elicited a huge response. That right there... is what 90lbs doesn't look like. The photo on the left I reckon I was probably about 310lbs. A UK size 24. The difference between them? Two years of work. No where NEAR as quick as I'd of liked, but I'm comfortable the changes I've made, are genuine life style changes, and not just... fad diets. Prior to these two years, I'd make the blanket statement that I "hated all exercise". That's simply not true any more. This year: On January 6th, 2013, I weighed 261lbs. As of today, pretty much a year on, I'm 40lbs lighter than I was. So I've lost less than 1lb a week. But those individual, 0.5lbs per week... partial pounds and minor losses all mount up. Similarly, on January 6th, my waist was 40", my bust was 48", and my hips were 52". Today, those measurements stack up 34", 43" and 45" inches respectively, meaning over those three areas, I've lost 18". That's about 27% of my total height gone from my circumference. This is what that loss looks like. I make no apologies for my obnoxiously pink bra. I've learned so -so- much over this year, it's been unreal. And I've probably learned more in the last 6 months than I have over the entire course of this journey, and I'd quite like to share some of these learnings with you. #1: There's no magic pill to weight loss. However the age old advice you've received is probably the best advice. You just need to commit. Good advice: "Drink 8 glasses of water" Neph's response, early 2013: "But I don't like water and there's no way putting more into my body can help me!" Good advice: "80% - 90% of weight loss is diet" Neph's response, early 2013: "But that doesn't matter. I can just work out more." Good advice: "Move more. Even if it's just a short walk on your lunch break" Neph's response, early 2013: "No way that tiny amount of cardio can do anything to change my situation." I am drinking more water than I have in my life. I keep a 1l bottle on me at all times and make sure I fill it up at least 4 times in the course of a day. I used to count calories religiously, meticulously. I now see calorie counting as an excuse for poor eating... I started to think this when I accidentally started Whole30 in August / September time. It totally changed the way I view and eat my food. All of the principles have stuck with me, and in 'Real life' I stick to them around 80% of the time. I haven't eaten bread, white carbs or any dairy in about ... 4 months and I honestly don't miss it. And moving. I've always walked. But seriously, over the course of this year... I have walked. This is the total distance I have walked since March... minus about a month when I was without fitbit. All those little lunchtime walks. All that ... not getting a cab to or from work. All that going to the toilets on the OTHER side of the building instead of right next to me. It all adds up. Almost 2,000 km, or close to 4 miles a day. Just walking! #2: The muscle between my ears is the most inconsistent one in my body. Despite all the numbers going down. Buying clothes off the peg in "normal" shops. The pictures I post above... I genuinely can't see the difference. Please don't think of this as a plea for compliments, or ... praise or anything. The fact is, no matter how hard I try, I can't see any difference between how I look now, and how I looked in 2012. People tell me that I've changed physically so much, but I just can't see it. I'm not sure how my personality ...fits... into this new body. More on that a little later. Back in June, I started Zombies, Run! Couch to 5K. That was my week 1. I covered about 2.5 miles in the 30 or so minutes of the program. That involved 15 seconds of running. Which at the time, I was convinced would give me a heart attack. I've quit half way through, I've repeated weeks, but I've stuck with it. Today I started week 8, which involves a 20 minute free-form run. I couldn't run the whole thing, but I did manage 16 minutes running interspersed with 4 minutes of walking. Added to the 3 x 5 minutes of free-form running (of which I run the whole thing), I ran for over 31 minutes. I cannot believe how far along my running has come along. My brain thought it was inconceivable, but I did it. #3: This journey is way more fun with company. So I've been a bit of a flake these past couple weeks. But I've met some of the coolest people in my life over the past 6 months being a member of this forum. All of my buddies in the SNB, who I am constantly amazed, surprised, and supported by - whilst being inspired by their efforts, their focus, their passion and humbled by their... well, just them. Tateman and Apfelstrudel for just being brilliantly strong, courageous people. LegoLady (who's somewhat dropped off the planet for some) who I'm *pumped* might be coming to see me from over the pond next year, Maladictus for just being a goddamned badass... in fairness I could just make this a paragraph detailing all the cool people on this forum. But then it would be pretty much a list of all the people on this site. Thank you. Whoever the hell you are. Thank you. I know I've not given nearly as much support as I've received. I'll re-address this in the next challenge. So... on to Next year. I have some cool stuff lined up. I will be back for the next challenge, and I have a better format to help keep me on track. In business, when we try to create improvement, we focus on improving across 4 areas; Quality, Cost, Delivery and People. The idea being, it's really easy to improve one area, whilst significantly damaging the others. For example, I can improve the quality of my life by buying a home gym, and by eating nothing but chocolate. But then the 'cost' of my life would suffer (my bank balance would take a hammering), as would my 'delivery' (which in this instance means "health"). I might neglect people. I might become so self absorbed that I'd lose the people I care about. Basically, you don't want to improve in ONE area whilst sacrificing any of the areas. I (think!) I'm going to likely move over to the druids for my next challenge; I see that as much about spiritual and emotional growth as much as I see it about physical improvement. To improve the quality of my life, I'm going to seek out a Cognitive Behavioural Therapist who can help me come to terms with my own weight loss, and help me see what is actually in the mirror and hopefully smash this body dismorphia once and for all. The "Delivery" of my next challenge will obviously be around training for my triathlons. And the people... I want to help support people here as much as I feel supported. Not quite sure what that means in terms of a goal though. ... And the big reveal.... So for a while now, I've had a secret, and it's been burning a hole in me trying not to tell people... so I've kind of let slip ... quite a bit. A few weeks ago, I contacted my favourite Charity with a proposal that stated I'd do one thing out of my comfort zone a month for a year. Twelve events. Twelve opportunities to raise some brilliant money for a brilliant charity. I told the lady my story, about my journey and my story and a little about the community of folks I'd met over here. The details we've been working through have been that she wants to write an article about me, and get me a regular column on their monthly newsletter / magazine. I'm excited about it all! I still have a few months that don't have activities in which is making me a little nervous, (so I'm sure I'll be leaning on this community for ideas and support!) but I'm looking forward to challenging myself in a way I've never been challenged before. I'm also excited by the prospect of being able to do some good work to help a thoroughly deserving cause. I will of course post more details when I have them. So, with all that ... I can't wait to be back. In the mean time, I wish you all the luck, love, joy and festive spirits the season brings. I can't wait to keep rocking on this journey with you all. Here's to a brilliant 2014.

I love you guys <3

Just so I'm correct, that's either 6pm - 7pm or 7pm - 8pm my time, yessss? Can do either, personal preference would be 7pm - 8pm though! 'Cited. You gals are awesome <3

Loving this. I know no moves though. Unless you wanna learn to do a... SCOTTISH JIG! Boom! Just putting it out there...q Sent from my ST25i using Xparent BlueTapatalk 2

OMG. AMAZING idea. Doodle poll completed, would it by skype? Video? I'm excited / intrigued!

Nothing wrong with that. Accept where you are and work it. If it takes you 60 seconds to climb the stairs this week, aim for 59 seconds next week. Everyone has a baseline of where they're starting from. Own it. Sent from my ST25i using Xparent BlueTapatalk 2

Sort of - Milton Keynes way, about half hour north of Euston :-) Sent from my ST25i using Xparent BlueTapatalk 2

No but seriously. I walk duck-footed 100% of the time. Plus, damn dem shoes. I haven't announced it! I will by the end of this challenge. I have one person I need to speak to, and she only works Monday 9am - 1pm, which pretty much clashes with my diary every week. I can't confirm until I've spoken to her - everything hinges on one conversation. But I promise it's really good.

This week, I've discovered I'm hot. Somehow, in amongst this whole 30 malarkey and working out like a mo'fo', I've dropped about 2 dress sizes. Literally. In the last two weeks. It's not showing on the scales, but eh. My boss gave me feedback about being the most confident he's ever see me, and all of a sudden, I'm getting attention from guys.... don't get me wrong, nothing is happening past recognizing that it's attention I've not had before, and it makes my fiance... strangely proud to have a hottie on his arm. This is incredibly alien, so I'm dealing with it by drinking beer and eating cake. It's my birthday in 10 days, so evenings out with buddies are increasing in frequency. Eh, life is good. I can now comfortably go into those posh shops in London, and grab something sized 16 off the hook and it'll fit (apart from trousers, 18 in that department, but what can I say ... baby got back.) For those that read trashy magazines or newspapers, it was announced that average British female is a size 16 top and bottom. This means - for the first time in my life - I am half normal. I am completely average from the waist up compared with my fellow English women. I like my side profile for the first time in my life. I can see my figure. I can see my hourglass shape. I can feel my ribs and hip bones... who even knew I had them?! That said... I'm quitting this challenge. Well kinda. I'm going to continue with my healthy whole30 eating, and with my triathlon training, but everything else can jog on. Figuratively. Despite feeling good in myself, everything else on my challenge just feels like a chore. I'm suffering from burnout and I'd rather focus on doing a couple things right, than trying to spread myself so thin. And eh.. it's Christmas. So I'm dropping my peripheral goals - all the ones that aren't Triathlon or food related. And I'm adding one new goal. #3 Learn to walk When my dad was little, he had calipers. Yes, them. No, that's not my dad in pants. Anyway. I've been self conscious for a while now that I walk like I should of had calipers. I walk like a duck, my left foot pointing to "11 o'clock", and my right foot points to "1 o'clock". Look around at how other people walk, seriously. All other people walk with their feet straight. It makes me look 'wider' than I should, I've been told it also puts a strain on my knees, even though I can't feel it yet. It also means I make this comedy slapping noise with my feet when I walk. Plus, it means I do this to shoes. That's the heel of my favourite boots. My left boot to be precise. For those can't see anything wrong with that, lemme give you a hand: That's right mathematicians and shoe-lovers alike, I have literally walked away about 10 degrees of my heel. But only on the left side. All my shoes look like this by the way. Getting them re-heeled is expensive, and when they get this bad, I can't wear them because I almost topple over. Anyway, woe over. I want to spend the rest of the challenge making a conservative effort to walk with my feet pointing forward. It genuinely takes a lot of concentration. But I brought a new pair of boots last week that I completely love. And I don't want to keep breaking my damn shoes. How am I going to measure it? Not sure. I reckon making a conservative, conscious effort for 30 minutes every day to twist my feet in when I walk (interestingly, twisting my feet to walk 'straight' mean my knees point inwards). But I've been reliably informed that giving it concentrated effort means they sort themselves out... it just requires re-thinking about the way I walk. And now... mulled wine.

Willing to listen to life troubles though may be slow to reply due to time difference and London Underground signal! Hope you're ok... Keep smiling! Sent from my ST25i using Xparent BlueTapatalk 2

OMFG. Cook for me? <3 It does suck, and she only wants the best for me, even though it's a miss-guided attempt. My mum has always been big. All my family is all big. She was horrified to learn I didn't have a microwave. I eat loads. I just eat the right things. The trouble is she's so absorbed in her own little world, she can't see past microwave meals and chocolate biscuits.

OMG that video might of changed my life. I promise - this whole30 thing? Gets easier. Day 2-3 I crave sugar endlessly. Once those days are over though... I can skip the stuff without feeling like I'm missing out. How was Thanks Giving?

How was mec-i-co? Want pix, dammit!

Arg, what an arse. Are they likely to find who broke in to your car? Since it was low value I assume it's more of an inconvenience than anything. How did it go with your manager? That's like the best way of training people, he's confirming your knowledge, promise if you just be yourself, it'll be fine. Sometime I get so het up about not looking stupid... I look stupid. It's effective way of training as well, because at least he can coach you if you don't get it quite right.

OMG Primeval you're like my running super hero. I can't believe the miles you cover, it's unreal. How long have you been running for? As for the job stuff, it's easier to find a job whilst you have a job. Prioritising is a brilliant idea and will help you establish what you need. Is your current job so bad currently, despite all it's flexibility?? What's making you want to move on?

#Week 3 Stats# 43 36 45.75 Height: 5"7' Weight: 224lbs (this weeks weight change = -5lbs) (this challenge weight change = -7lbs) (total loss = 78lbs) Bust: 42" (this weeks bust change = +/-) (this challenge bust change = -2") (total loss = 15 ") Waist: 35" (this weeks waist change = +/-) (this challenge waist change = +/-) (total loss = 19") Hips: 45.5" (this weeks hip change = +/-) (this challenge hips change = -0.5") (total loss = 12.5") #1: Fundamental Fueling. Not a huge amount to report - I've been doing my second whole30, apart from one doughnut yesterday. Because I've always been 'big' as soon as I started slimming, mum worries I'm getting too thin. She couldn't grasp the concept I wouldn't have a sandwich for lunch because of the bread, and instead came home with a few slices of chorizo, and cooked up literally an entire plate of scrummy vegetables. I told her I was eating better than I ever have in my life. I gave her the whole 30 shopping list. She started to cry for fear I was starving myself. I ate a doughnut in front of her just to placate her. It was stale, and hard and pretty tasteless to be honest; so not that worried about slipping - besides, that can be my one slip for this week. A: Doing Whole 30 with minimal slips. #2: Manic Movement. Sucking at this one. Kind of. With my treadmill here, I've discovered a genuine passion for running. And the thought of swimming or cycling at the moment makes me feel 'eh' I'm getting good at this running stuff, I've run for 140 minutes this week, covering just over 10 miles. No cycling and no swimming. But to be honest, I'm not fussed. I'm still over 200lbs, so as long as I'm active, I'm not prepared to mark myself down, because I pretty much get an A for effort. Might need to think how I re-grade this one. A: For effort... but didn't really cover my cycling or swimming. #3: Perfect Practices. Still drinking my water prior to breakfast, but not getting as much water as I'd like. Loooots of stretching done this week. A: 1 liter of water, prior to breakfast 5 days a week, and 25 minutes of stretching per week. #4: Money Matters. Still not done my budget. Brought stuff. I've messed this one up at the moment. F: Because... bleugh. #5: Do it like a Dude. Winning. Done a BJJ class this week. Got my ass handed to me. It was fun, looking forward to going back next week! Couldn't do a kettlebell class, so I took it into my hands to do a kettlebell class in my living room. A: 1 liter of water, prior to breakfast 5 days a week, and 25 minutes of stretching per week.

I love your thread. Firstly, although I read on your other thread weights were and ogre thing, it's also a feminine thing. Lifting weights is by far the quickest way to shred pounds. I've dropped nearly 90lbs through lifting and running. It also stops excess skin being left post work out. Look for threads by Spezzy on this site (Staci). Don't buy small weights either - they're only going to give you a basic cardio work out (Amazon - the shopping site - sell coloured, vinyl kettlebells in all colours that are cute.) Second - check out a book called 'it starts with food'. Completely changed my eating habits. Third - if you can get your hands on one - get yourself a fitbit. Guaranteed to help you move more, climb more stairs and get you motivated. Not a shameless plug but check out the website and if yoy want one - I'm selling mine. Fourth - I love your spirit. The way you express yourself, your language, your creativity, all are simply beautiful. I'm not a councillor, I'm not a therapist, but if you ever want to talk I'll always listen :-) Keep going, you shiny little princess, you! Sent from my ST25i using Xparent BlueTapatalk 2