mevre

if you're eating more oily or fatty foods, that might have something to do with it. i almost never moisturize my face, but in the winter my skin gets so dry that sometimes i do, which in turn sometimes results in a zit or two. but of course this is all assuming that the "spots" you're talking about are pimples. adorable.

too cute! haha yeah, i feel like that'd be a big perk of having little kids - you get to dress them in the cutest clothes that you can't wear. welp, had a huge plate of broccoli and cauliflower with a couple fried eggs for breakfast, i shoveled the snow on our sidewalk and did dishes, and now i'm listening to an interesting classical arrangement inspired by Joan Baez songs while doing some work. and then i will do my wonderful parkour training and probably walk the pooches. maybe. if the snow isn't too much of a deterrent... we'll see.

hell yeah, man, you did some good work! good god, i would hurl if i tried to run right after breakfast. haha but i'm glad it works for you. see, i wish i had friends to play tag with! they're all too busy or too grown up or something though. i'm glad you had a good start to your challenge. keep it up!

hurrah! always love to meet other ladies who want to kick all the ass. pretty much all the advice you're getting so far is dead-on. the "right" workout to do is the one that gets you excited and constantly pushing yourself to do better. find people from the warrior's guild and pick their brains - they are all about the heavy things. [i will echo some advice from above though, and say again that form is crucial.] as far as diet goes - yes, you are going in the right direction. even just cutting out juice and soda is huge. keep reading and learning what's healthy and what's not, and make the changes that are right for you when you can. also, Timmy alluded to this, but be sure to check ingredients on the things you're buying. some products have amazing amounts of sugar snuck into them. anyway, continue making the changes at your own pace. some people can do huge all-in-one-go changes, most need to take small steps for the changes to stick. whatever works for you. i will say this though: vegetables. eat a lot of them. cutting down on the carbs will also help you drop weight. welcome to the rebellion, Spectre! we're glad to have you with us.

thank you kindly, missrebecca! also, you're dressed as a panda?? stay tuned for more adorable pictures! [and maybe some more adorable gifs if GifQueen Ceasefire decides to spread some more gif love ] another perfect day! well, i guess it's still a little early to say for sure that it's been a perfect day, but i'm pretty sure dinner is in the bag. i worked out this morning and was outside for at least an hour, sooo yeah. good stuff. gosh, don't you guys just love that beginning-of-the-challenge energy?

lol Starpuck, you're so spunky! i love it.

this must be going around or something, it's the same for me too. bleh. time to have more fun. good call on keeping things simple. life always seems so much more pleasant when things are simple, doesn't it? looks like you're doing well so far! keep it up!

nice, clear-cut goals! i'm with you on the shopping spree, too haha. the only things i really want to splurge on are workout clothes, stuff to keep me warm on runs in the winter, stuff like that. go figure. agreeing with everyone else - don't sweat the stuff that you can't change right this moment, and definitley a good call on taking time out for yourself. plus, if you're relaxed and happy, everyone around you will be too, so really your you-time is to everyone's benefit!

sounds like you've got it pretty well figured out. good on ya! i'm feelin' ya on the gardening thing, too. i never seem to do as much as i want to out in the yard... anyway, it's amazing how good for the soul it is to be in the dirt. keep us posted!

man, i don't think your goals sound boring at all! in fact, i think they sound wonderful. what kind of novel are you working on? is it your first? will you self-publish? [sorry, i'm kind of a HUGE book nerd... feel free to ignore me if the deets of your novel are on the DL or anything. ]

lower bodyfat, explore life.

dang, good point! i will edit that right now. thanks for the tip! and for the pun. i'm a sucker for puns. no kidding! Willow [and Alyson Hannigan, i guess] = freaking adorable. and the best part is that Lily of How I Met Your Mother is also adorable. the girl crush continues!

nice! looks like you know where you want to go and you've got a clear idea of how to get there. that's great! you've put quite a bit of responsibility on yourself, though, which shows that you've got a can-do attitude and a lot of beginner's zeal, which is awesome! but if it runs out, or if you find yourself tired of always trying so hard, don't be afraid to go easy on yourself. focus first and foremost on making the most important changes and forming the most important habits. if you're physically and emotionally exhausted after that [you're only human, after all. unless...you're something...more ], i'd say it's ok to give yourself some slack and maybe edit out a few of the side quests. but if you aren't exhausted, great! you can complete ALL FOUR of your side quests [what?! who does that??] and i will eat my words happily. so. how'd your first day go? by the way, i'm totally stoked whenever i find someone else who's training for parkour. it doesn't seem like there are a whole lot of us newbies out there in NF land.

diggin' your theme! especially the rock climbing! i wish i could go bouldering at my favorite spot, but it's a bit too cold and covered in ice at the moment... keep us updated on the books you read! i always love a good book chat.

OMYum! seriously getting hungry looking at that post. as long as you keep eating like that, with all those veggies and those correct proportions, you should be seeing results in no time. also, that's an adorable teapot.

k, if anyone feels like walking me through this whole TDEE/BMR thing, i'm a total scrub and would like to figure it out once and for all. i went to the website Duality posted [this one: http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/] and chose the "Katch-McCardle" option. i'm currently 118 pounds, 24 years old, female, 5 foot 2, around 24% body fat. i don't care how much i weight, but i'd like to get around 19% body fat. in the activity selection bit, i put in "6 times a week." my exercise life is as follows: M/W/F routine - box jumps for 2 minutes, 30 seconds rest. plank for 2 minutes [in chunks for as long as possible], 30 seconds rest. mountain climbers, rest. burpees, rest. walking lunges w/ weight, rest. pushups [sets of 10, then 10 seconds rest] rest. sprints. done. plus a warm-up and cool-down, of course. then T/Th i do the Tabata protocol for HIIT, and i have at least one [fairly leisurely and often pretty short] jog a week, with other various walks thrown in most days. did i pick the right activity level option? when i enter all that info in, it says that my TDEE is 1884. which means that i should be eating around 1384 cal/day? does this sound right?

yay! sounds like a wonderful start to your journey so far. glad to have you, hope to see you around more!

man, it's only the first day and i'm already getting antsy waiting for a mini challenge!

i'm thinking i'll dress as Buffy next Halloween... mini skirt, belly shirt, and tastefully glittery makeup. oh, the 90's.

hurrah for good, calm days! i feel your pain with the sugar cravings. i did a whole30 during my first challenge and the SECOND it was over, i busted open a pint of Ben & Jerry's. i know that the people who wrote It Starts With Food say to either eat something fatty or drink some herbal tea when you're having sugar cravings, but to never eat fruit when you're looking for sugar since it only keeps reenforcing the habit. but you made it through the day! well done! p.s. here's a tentative road map of the common experiences and reactions to doing something like the whole30: http://whole30.com/2013/08/revised-timeline/ can't wait to see how this challenge ends up for you! you're off to a great start!

bahaha ooohmagod. otters. and thanks for stopping by, Mikroftt! i was indeed outside! had a wonderful day walking the dogs by the river, then drinking tea with a good friend, and then taking another walk in the wetlands. plus i cleaned the house and worked out. damn, i'm on fire! i've decided that for each week i keep to my goals, i will post a cute picture of the appropriate animals. since i don't really like having a grading system and it ends up being more stressful than anything, this will be a good way to keep track of my progress. plus then you all get to see cute animals! yay! [maybe this can also be motivation to help me stay on track, eh? ] now i'm off to do work-things and maybe watch some Buffy. if i can keep having days like this for the rest of the challenge, i will be in business!

Ceasefire! love, love, love the Adventure Time gifs! [lol big surprise, right? ] and also seriously loving the simplified goals. loving yourself, loving your family [through quality time] and loving your life. that's what it's all about. i'm gonna agree with Alex here and say that vinegar is a pretty minor concern, especially given the small quantities you'll probably be using. however, i do understand the impulse to be 100% perfect on a cleanse like this, and i commend it. but as long as you're eating mostly vegetables with appropriately-sized portions of protein and healthy fats, and are going easy on the fruits and carb-dense veggies, you will see results and feel great. excited to follow you on this challenge! yay!!

you're an animal, too. ooook, so after a pretty lackluster finish to the last challenge, i'm getting myself back in the game. the sun has been shining again and the winter gloom feels pretty much broken, so that helps a lot! spring time, here we come! main goal: 19% body fat i think i'm around 24-ish percent currently, judging from pictures and various online calculation tools. i finally have figured out exactly what to eat and not to eat, what to do and not to do, etc, to reach this goal, and i am very ready to get to that point. here's how i will do it. 1. channel the otter - WORK HARD! [parkour training M/W/F, HIIT T/Th, 1 jog/week] when i started writing this thread, i knew what i wanted it to be called. but as i started composing it, it occurred to me that i could relate each of my small goals to a different animal! pretty dorky, i know, but it promises lots of cute animal pictures! so, for the exercise segment of my goal, i'll channel the industrious and hard-working otter. look at that adorable little guy go! awwwww. way to go, otter. you work hard, and you play hard too! *ahem.* right. so. i have a routine that i've been doing for parkour training and i love it right now, but it might get boring in a few weeks. if it does, i'm giving myself the freedom to pick any routine, as long as i'm doing something. ditto for HIIT, though i have been loving the burpees lately. yay burpees! and for some reason, i've also been loving the chilly jogs, so i haven't even been having to force myself to run, either! hurrah for being set up for success! 2. channel the panda - eat all the vegetables! this is easily where i have the most trouble. i'll eat super clean for a month or two and then totally fall off the wagon. it's sort of a "two steps forward, one step back" kind of situation: i'm still making progress, but not nearly as fast as i could be if i weren't sabotaging myself via my diet. so i'll take a cue from this cuddly bear and eat my salad with a smile on my face. EDIT: at least 80% of every meal will be veggies. [thanks, GoodDoug!] 3. channel the cat - explore new things! this is my first year not being in school, i don't have a "real" job, and i'm feeling kind of lost without somewhere to go and a schedule to keep every day. i mean, i love the freedom, but it's been sort of overwhelming as of late. it doesn't help that my friends are very busy as well as fairly flakey, in addition to also living sort of far away and/or being out of the country on a surprisingly frequent basis. so, in order to keep the winter dulldrums from eating away at my soul any more than they already have, i'll do at least one thing a week outside of my house that gets me out of my comfort zone or interacting with new people. life quest: channel the wild part of my own heart - enjoy the outdoors! get outsdie for at least an hour a day. 'nuf said. now all that's left is to do it! let's kick some ass! rawr!!!

i would say to jump on a treadmill or stationary bike, if you have access to one and a way to play netflix while out and about [phone, tablet, whatever]. but you could jump rope, do squats, do jumping jacks, and any number of other activities like that, too. finding something without head bobbing might be hard though...

agreeing with pretty much everything that everyone has said so far, though i would add to LIberator's latest post that it's healthy fats you want to be eating, like avocados, coconut, high-grade olive oil, etc. fats from fast food do not count. and yes, diet is at least 80% of a person's health, if not more. in order to get slim, the unavoidable all-encompassing basic truth is that you have to eat a caloric deficit. so, if you're getting full from high-quality meats and large servings of vegetables, you're pretty much guaranteed to be taking in fewer calories than if you're filling up from bread and sugary foods. and - bonus! - you're getting more minerals and other health perks! there's a whole lot more detail i could give about each of these groups, like carb-dense vegetables and the high sugar content of fruit, but suffice it to say that if you're working out however is fun for you, eating more veggies, enough protein [start with a palm-sized serving for each meal] and healthy fat, you'll see results. a quick word on your body shape: target exercises which are aimed at a specific body part [situps/crunches and the movements that most exercise machines have you do are the first that come to mind] do not usually make any sort of visible difference unless your body is already slim and toned. for everyone else who is not yet below 20% body fat, i highly recommend full-body workout moves like deadlifts, squats [go all the way down!], pushups, and pullups. [if this sounds interesting, check out Steve's basic body weight routine and see what you think!] aside from shaving the excess fat from all over, your body is what it is. so you have muscly calves, so what? they're powerful! they get you from place to place! they help you out every day, and they should be appreciated for what they are. in my humble opinion. again, Liberator is right, your body shape is just genetics. there's only so much you can do. but you will always feel better [and probably look better, though that should be secondary] if you're healthy. and the confidence that you get from knowing that your body is strong and finely-tuned is priceless. now, get out there, and go get 'em! rawr!