TheTempest

Thanks!!!

I think Scranton is just a little too far for me, but it might be possible. If you could give a link to that thread, or share the details here as they're developed, I'd appreciate it. Thanks!!

Hey!!! I'm in Somerset County too! I just wish we could come up with some crazy awesome fun meetup idea!!

Thanks Laureleye. Unfortunately, I hate failure & I feel pretty bad about letting myself down. I think I just took on too much at once considering my condition. My therapist recommended trying to manage just one change in my life at a time & to make that change as gradually as possible. Perhaps as gradually as necessary. I just have to make sure it sticks. I read/heard somewhere it takes 28-30 days to change a habit, bad or good - I think the habit i need to make my priority is daily exercise. At least some damn stretching! Thanks for all your support. If you need anything, either of you, you can always message me. Hopefully I'll feel up to doing the next challenge & I'll kick its ass!

So... no Jersey Rebel meetup?

Unfortunately, I think I'm going to have to give myself an "F" when grading this challenge. It was only partially my fault though: I was incredibly sick for a week. I had really bad stomach issues & I couldn't work out for a week, barely left my bed, & ended up eating my saltines IN bed, with all the distractions blaring. But after I recovered (early this week/last weekend) I didn't jump back into the challenge as quickly as I could/should have. I'm back to obeying the "no distraction rule" & I've been back at physical therapy (so I'm at least getting SOME exercise), but I haven't been to the gym this week or last week & I haven't made an effort to get my 20 minutes of exercise per day. Perhaps I took on too much at once. I'm not sure. But, I plan to get my 20 minutes in tonight & keep up with it as much as I can until the challenge ends. Moreso, I hope to continue working out everyday until it becomes a habit I feel incomplete without. How are you doing? I see you had a birthday! How did you manage with your missions during the celebration? I know birthdays & other occasions can be hard on fitness/dietary efforts.

I'm Central & a bit West. Near Edison & Maplewood in equally opposite proportions. Screw it, I'm in North Plainfield. If you wanna come stalk me, I... I don't recommend it. It's a total waste of time; I'm very boring.

I don't drink, & I've never seen Dr. Who either. At least the last one I can fix. I have it all on my Netflix, I swear! I'm just stuck up watching episodes of the original Shameless (UK). PLEASE DON'T MAKE ME HAND IN MY NERD CARD! I don't think we should set loose a bunch of rebels on an adoption center. It might scar the puppies for life.

I'm really thinking of skipping my workout today. I just have so much to do... but I'd feel awful guilty about having to mark down that I failed on my little NerdFitness grading sheet lol I've found that if I get really "hungry' late at night, I just tell myself I can have carrot sticks. That always tells me if I'm REALLY hungry or not. If I don't want carrots, then I'm just bored & not hungry. LOL

Hey! I found you! How are you doing with your Missions so far? I know late-night snacking can be a hard habit to break free of, so I am particularly curious to see how Mission #1 is treating you thusfar. Have you considered trying the "no distractions while eating" tactic?

I haven't been doing any back strengthening at the moment -- at least not lower back -- but, now that you mention it, I think it would be a good element to add to my weight-training routine. I found a webpage with all these different exercises to do in the gym (http://exrx.net/Lists/Directory.html) & there are some simple body-weight exercises that I could add to my routine. Like I said, I've been reading a lot of Steve's NF articles, & he recommends body-weight exercises/free-weight exercises to machine weight-training, so the lower-back body-weight exercises seem really simple. i've had the same problem: I'll miss a day of exercising or dieting (I do Weight Watchers to keep my calories on track b/c it's easier than actually counting each individual calorie) & I blow off the whole week. But, I've found being accountable to this forum has been helpful. I have a little chart where I mark down if I met my daily/weekly missions or not. Have you found it easier to "pat yourself on the back" with this challenge? How long have you been reading/visiting NF? Maye some of the soups would be less carb-heavy? I can see the dilemma, however. I'm not saying that I'm completely carb-free; I have ice cream & whatnot to finish eating so the temptation is forever removed (or until I go food shopping again lol). Double servings of cereal have kept me full, sometimes, but you're right ... it's so easy to overeat on carb-heavy foods. Tonight I'm going to take my Dad out to dinner for his birthday (b/c that's how we celebrate every occasion around here). I have a plan of attack & we're going to a Paleo-friendly restaurant (a steakhouse LOL), but I know where the pitfalls are - mainly, the never-ending salad bar & it's delicious raisin-walnut bread. What do you think is your BIGGEST downfall when it comes to dieting? Carbs, as we discussed, are a problem b/c they're easy & everywhere, but do you have a "trigger food" that will just set you off to eating an entire party-platter of it? LOL

Well, it was 2001-2002 when he had his 1st gastric bypass, so maybe the information wasn't readilly available at that time. The surgery was a new procedure at that time. I should start doing yoga again. It looks like the 20 minutes of dancing around like a lunatic (I include some crunches & stuff in there) isn't working. I might have to go to more structured exercise. I dig pilates too -- they're really good for building lean muscle tissue & stretching out the muscles. It focuses so much on the core, though, that it hurts my lower back a little. Saturday & yesterday were bad days - mission wise - but I'm still sticking to it as much as possible. It's good to have someone (even online someones) who I can be accountable to. Plus, I always try harder when I know I'm going to be graded, even if it's just by myself! How are you doing on your missions thusfar? It's only been a week, but it feels like this is an indication of how it will be throughout the challenge. And I plan to stalk you, for sure. You're the first person to support me & I want to return the favor. I definitely need to check out the forums & start posting more. Unfortunately, I've been totally engrossed in reading Steve's articles on here & all the great articles he links to. What are you doing, diet-wise? I'm trying to get more into the Paleo diet that I've heard so much about on NF, but it's sure hard to stop eating carbs! I was surviving on 3 bowls of cereal (with almondmilk) for about 3 months, however, so any increase of vegetables, fruit, & meat in my diet will be a big improvement. (Kiwi-face for eating kiwis every day this week!)

LOL So is lounging on a sofa & watching a Dr. Who marathon, but it's hardly a Rebel-worthy activity! You're right, I shouldn't have posted a criticism without an alternative idea. Perhaps a park to walk & talk? Play frisbee? Rebels could bring their dogs, those who have them, of course. I'm not suggesting everyone go out & adopt a dog for the get-together.

I've heard the same advice -- put down your fork in between bites. If you want to take it a step further, I've also heard (well, read) to put down your fork/spoon/spork AND take a drink of water in between bites. I'm a little suspect about that advice, however, b/c drinking liquids while you eat stretches your stomach out & that can make it harder to feel full. I know this b/c my Dad had a gastric bypass in the early days of stomach stapling surgery where they removed 3/4 of the stomach (leaving him with a stomach the size of a single thumb!) & his surgeon didn't tell him NOT to drink liquids when eating, resulting in his stomach stretching itself right back out again. I didn't know yoga was one of the disks in the P90 workout! All I heard was P90 was RIDICULOUSLY hard. I have Fusion Yoga (mix of yoga & bellydancing!) & Crunch! Yoga. But I've never managed to do either of them completely. All I've managed to finish thusfar has been Yoga For Dummies. LOL Wow... CC sounds intense! Have you progressed to the handstand push-ups? That sounds ridiculously hard! The goal is going well! -knocks on wood!!!!- I've managed to eat without distractions every day this week (although I'm about to blow that this weekend b/c I have a BBQ to attend today & I'm visiting a friend in PA tomorrow), I missed 2 20-minute workouts on Monday & Tuesday but I did it every other day, & I made sure I got to the gym yesterday b/c I knew I wouldn't have time this weekend & I did an hour on the elliptical (it sort of makes up for the 2 exercise sessions missed this week, no? No, not really). I hope to work in a few weight sessions ASAP. Hopefully next week after physical therapy on Tuesday. I have to drive right past the gym on my way home from PT, so I really have no excuse not to go in. What about you: what are your goals? Should I NF stalk you? (I just had to use the Monkey smiley. LOL)

Thanks, Vilkacis! I can't take credit for the idea; I read about it in a Weight Watchers article (at least, I think it was WW). Apparently, eating while distracted (which I think everyone is guilty of in this mult-media internet age) leads to mindless eating & keeps the eater from realizing when he/she is actually right & truly full. So far, I've realized that I'm less inclined to eat as much... at least b/c it keeps me from reading NF articles & watching TV! lol Did you take yoga classes or use a workout video? I'm guilty of using workout videos instead of going to classes b/c I'm afraid my naivety will show. Also... what is Convict Conditioning? From context, I'm assuming it's what convicts usually do for a workout & is a workout based around using one's bodyweight? Is that something you found on NF or is it from another source?