mevre

hey Erick, just had to pop in to say thanks. i've seen the D&D pictures you've posted around the forums and i've always loved them. this morning i followed one to this thread and after reading your first post about going from 25% to 15% body fat in just a few months, i have found myself newly motivated and inspired. i've been on NF since July as well, starting with around 27% body fat, and in my first challenge i got that down to 24-sih, where i've been hanging out ever since. various factors [ignorance about the "right" kinds of food, mostly] have kept me from dropping that any closer to the 19% i'm after, and lately that steady 24% has been contributing to the depression that's crept over me. but the success you've had is exactly the kind of story i needed to hear to kick my ass into gear. so again, thanks.

thanks, Xena! yeah, that's pretty much what i was thinking. i guess i'll feel it out this week and maybe make a decision after that. and maybe i won't haha.

hey, ya gotta take the wins where you can get 'em. if this is the farthest you've ever made it in a fitness plan, that's huge! nuts count for protein. pretty much anything other than quinoa is ok, i think. but if it's too much protein for you to eat, don't sweat it too much. if you're full from the veggies and just a small helping of meat, that's fine. here's this page you can poke around, too: http://whole30.com/pdf-downloads/ just keep in mind that those guys are the ones who created the Whole30, which is essentially a slightly tweaked paleo cleanse-type thing, but it isn't quite 100% paleo. god, 1200 calories??? haha i'm trying to do 1384/day and it's killing me! oh, and the no-sugar week...lol. total fail. but i learned from it and i'm doing better and keeping a healthier mindset this week.

oh, hell nah! wrapped around your arm???? mm. no thank you. haha i'm pretty sure that'd be enough for at least two lifetimes, probably two and a half. how are the workouts going? been meditating?

oh no, did you get stung?? it's never happened to me *knock wood* but it sounds like the worst thing. i've only seen the Friends episode about it. oh lord, i totally understand not wanting to get up any earlier. haha i wake up at 8 and can't imagine being awake before that...

sup, Hit Girl. how's tricks? just wanted to stop in and see how it's all going. if you're still on the wagon and going strong, that's great! if not, i'm here, and i'd love to give you a hand and help you climb back on.

thanks KoL! high five to you, too! HIGH FIVES FOR EVERYONE!!! glad to hear that they give women a shot, too, Xena. it's always a little upsetting to realize that men and women generally don't have the same potential of raw strength just because of the nature of our genetics. but i guess it's just one of those annoying facts of life that i have to get used to... oh, also! this! brilliant idea, thank you! because i do love the taste and smell of cinnamon and i think it compliments the flavor of coffee, but...just not when it's added straight into the cup. ok, this week in review. goal one: accomplished! wooooh here's a couple of otters cuddling. aww. a momma and her baby. so sweet. goal two: fail. darn. no panda picture for you. i had a conversation about this with the boyfriend and i think i might have just gotten too stressed out with being so disciplined with my food. so i've taken the past couple days to take it easier, not hate myself for [mindfully and in minimal portions] having some sweet stuff here and there. i'm going to try to do the no-sugar-added thing again this week, but i guess it'll be a more almost-no-sugar-added thing instead. it's pretty much the same, but i'll allow myself my usual small spoonful of sugar in my coffee and i'll go easier on myself for eating fruit. because i figure, hey, if a teaspoon of sugar and a handful of berries keeps me from eating half a box of Cheez-Its, there's no problem. diet has also been hard for me because i've found myself in a rut lately, and the depression from that has been creeping up on me for a while now and it has finally reared its ugly head. so i'm actively working to change the situations that have me bummed out. and finally, the last piece of this failure puzzle: i didn't use this thread to keep me accountable enough this past week. when i'm on the forums, i get pumped up. it's inevitable. there's this crazy awesome energy all over this place, and i didn't use it. so. i am now equipped to handle this next week better than i handled this past week. let's rock it! goal three: accomplished! here's a picture of a cat who looks like he's ready to step in as Matt Smith's stunt double. bow tie cat! adorable. life quest: maybe accomplished? maybe a fail? i dunno. either way, here's a tiny bunny wearing a tiny backpack! ok, so i didn't actually get outside for an hour every single day. i think i got out for an hour on...4 days? and then like 15 minutes on another day, and then 40 minutes on another, and not at all on a few... but i don't feel too bad about it. i keep going back and forth, wondering if this goal is a little too extreme. like, an hour a day! that's quite a bit! but then i think, no it's good for me, i'll thank myself later, blah blah blah. back and forth. i dunno, what do you guys think? i know that if the goal itself is getting in the way of doing what i need to do, it should change. but i'm not sure if it is getting in the way, or if it's actually getting me outside and accomplishing its purpose. maybe it's still a little early in the game and i'll figure it out more next week.

hey Ceasefire, you doin' ok? just wanted to make sure you were hanging in there.

yeah, it's really hard since i drift between several houses, most of which aren't stocked up the way a paleo house would be haha. what does IIFYM stand for? the walk was over an hour long! i think 1.4 hour. i couldn't believe how warm it was. i was almost getting too hot in just the two light jackets i was wearing. i took the exact same walk last week and the entire path was covered in ice and snow. crazy.

yeah, totally! that would be a lot of fun to have a channel for those! never thought of that before, but it is really strange that there is no such thing... ooook, well most of yesterday was great. i took a long walk and snapped some pictures! Silkie, this is for you! there's a waterfall in there, but it's hard to see in that picture. one of the dogs, being very good sitting and waiting for me. haha most of the time they would be ready and raring to keep going while i was trying to take a picture and they would pull, which tugged the leash, which moved my camera hand... so half of them ended up blurry. one of the huge 90's houses on the river. you can't see it very well, but there's also a cute little bridge in there. so that was my walk! i also ate spotlessly all day, but i was feeling [physically] empty from doing this whole calorie-cutting thing. it's frustrating to constantly feel hungry even though i know i'm eating enough of the right kind of calories. ugh. so i was doing well despite this until my boyfriend says "i got chocolate ice cream for us!" haha and i said "i'm having a no-sugar-added week! ...but really i've only been doing it since yesterday, so i'll just start it over tomorrow. ice cream time!" which really i didn't feel too bad about. but then we were on our way over to our friend's house to play Dominion [another really fun card game, Ceasefire!] and we decided to stop and get snacks. which ended up being Cheeze-Its and Keebler Rainbow cookies. ugh! so i pigged out on those. terrible. the worst part though, is that i don't ever have bad physical reactions to junk food, and so i only have these nebulous ideas to keep me from doing it again. instead of being able to tell myself "no. you know that gives you a horrible upset stomach and doesn't even taste that good." i'm left saying "no, you really shouldn't, because...bad calories. just trust me." i also kind of feel like a smoker in that i eat as a habit a lot of the time. i've gotten better about it, but if yummy snacky food is sitting right in front of me, i will eat ALL OF IT if left unchecked. because it's something to do and because processed food tastes good to me. add into that my empty tank thing from the calorie cut, and i'm left feeling very frustrated. anybody have any tips or ideas to help me out here?

did these yesterday as my workout. /suits up permission to come aboard, SIR!

sounds like the adventurer's guild would be a good fit for you. i would suggest you poke around there, check out the workout routines other people are doing, make some friends who can help you out with building your own routine. and then just pick something that sounds like fun and stick with it. [lifting, running, bodyweight exercises, etc] as far as diet goes, the advice i always give is to stock up on frozen veggies. i eat TONS of roasted vegetables every day, so it works great for me. minimal prep time, a little bit longer cooking time, but i can just leave it in the oven and do other things while i wait. if there are leftovers, they're easy to heat up in the microwave. another easy way to prepare frozen vegetables is steaming them in the microwave. with a 16 oz bag, just put it all in a microwave-safe container, add 2 tablespoons of water, cover, and heat for 5 minutes. let it cool for a few more minutes, and you're good to go! the other super easy thing i've been doing recently is crock pot stuff. i have a book of 5-ingredient recipes, and though a lot of them call for canned soups and other junky food, some don't. for example, there are several recipes for basic turkey or chicken, which you can then use in salads, as a snack, or any number of other things. good luck, and let us know how it goes!

yay! The Corruptor holds no sway over you except what you give him! very glad to hear this week is going well. keep it up! love this story, by the way. i have such a soft spot for RPGs.

my boyfriend and i always do a couples massage, and this year we're also going to make Valentine's gingerbread houses, which i am SO EXCITED about! but those aren't really nerdy... what kind of nerdy stuff is he into?

apparently this one that i was watching was the first ever world championship and it was between the U.S. and Japan. i dunno how old the recording was, so they might have done it again, or it might just be old news. but man oh man, it was intense. and it broke my heart every time someone messed up! haha i got so invested in every single athlete, so quickly! do you know if there have ever been any women on the show? i'm guessing it's one of those "women are welcome to try out but none have made it" kind of things.

dude, just found your thread and am wondering if your name is a reference to Earthsea...? because mine sure as hell is. also, great job on your goals so far! i like to do meditation stuff first thing in the morning. great way to start a day. keep going strong! finishing your first challenge feels like such an accomplishment. you'll love it!

hey Cody! congratulations on being smoke and drink free!! now, how can we help you with this diet transition? as far as the workout plan goes, what do you enjoy doing? what sorts of things would you like to be able to do, fitness-wise? [deadlift a whole lot, run really far, climb a cliff, etc.]

good day today! i came in just under my target calorie intake today [1384, i had 1330] and not a bit of added sugar. in leu of the usual teaspoon of sugar in my coffee this morning, i tried to do some cinnamon and vanilla extract, and let me tell you, it was phenomenally bad. haha i had to pour the stuff out. eugh. also, i did the mini-challenge as my workout, which was a nice change of pace. rounded out the day with some American Ninja Warrior. oh man, it's so stressful! haha i was getting too into it, i had to turn it off. that freaking double salmon rung thing, man! i can't imagine taking those obstacles on... but maybe someday.

less sugar and more exercise will pretty much always make a person feel better. also, medication can be helpful, though sometimes people get on the wrong stuff and never bother trying other stuff out. for example, there are quite a few adults who suffer from anxiety and/or depression symptoms, but who turn out to have undiagnosed ADD/ADHD. in these cases, depression medications wouldn't be helpful. true depression [just like true ADD/ADHD, etc] is a chemical imbalance. i'm not generally one for drug usage, and don't even get me started on the state of the drug companies in the U.S., but i do believe that taking anti-depressants if you're depressed is like wearing glasses if you have poor vision. no amount of pulling yourself up from your bootstraps is going to make your sight better, just like no amount of mental pep talks are going to make the chemicals in your brain go into proper balance. there's only so much that a good diet and proper exercise can do. [though, the amount that those things can do is not unsubstantial.] just food for thought, i guess. [dunno if anyone else has said this, sorry! i'm a lazy jerk and didn't read through every response...]

it's always nice when the good things compact on themselves and make your day exponentially better. especially after having a bumpy start. so glad you're feeling better!

wow, big commitment! way to go! yeah, the paleo thing can get pretty expensive, pretty fast. it sounds like you might be thinking you need more meat than you actually do, though. and that might help. each meal should have about a palm-sized serving of protein [for eggs, it's however many you can hold]. if that's not enough to fill you up, you can either up the protein serving size, eat more veggies, or have a little bit more of a healthy fat. that being said, there's no one "right" way to do it. Frank Medrano [this insane motherfucker: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFPsvF3UOdo] is vegan and insists that people don't need as much protein as they tend to think. judging by the results he's had with his own body, i would hesitate to question the validity of that statement. but again, he does what works for him. let us know how the paleo thing goes! this is a great place to keep yourself accountable. i've given up sugar for this week [and if i can do, for next week too, and so on]. we can bitch about it together.

Ceasefire, that's a great idea! baking and altruism all in one go. but for now i think the temptation would be too great and i'd end up eating some... maybe next week. Dutch Blitz is a really fast-moving card game. when we played yesterday there were four of us, which was fun, but the first time i played, there were like...12 of us. haha so it got real crazy. the fast games are always my favorite. speed, Egyptian war, that kind of thing.

oy, sounds brutal. let's do this.

yeah, pomodoros! that's a great productivity technique. good way of thinking about it. and good attitude with starting a new week! hang in there! you're right, your goals can yet be reached!

lol glad you found your niche. and remember, you can change it at any time if you discover that you'd rather be somewhere else. good job on starting your first challenge, by the way! i would have found any excuse to put it off, so it's really cool that you jumped right in.