kiki

Hi vengeful pear, and thank you - I look forward to joining you guys too! I look forward to leveling up regularly until I'm good enough to jump off tall buildings into haystacks with you guys SO - this week I had ym two circus classes together because i forgot to book my classes last Monday and I didn't get my first choice of flexibility. That meant I did body conditioning on Tuesday, with my circus arts class yesterday (flying trapeze again). Tuesday was hardcore – I thought at one point I was going to throw up during the cardio, and then the class teacher said she was deliberately working on little used muscles as well as the big major ones most people use because those little muscles are the most important for joint stability and safety when you’re doing circus arts. So it really hurt! Lots of balances and moves I've never done before, working muscles I didn't know I had. I struggled with it (especially compared with the people who’ve been doing that support class for a year) and I was so sweaty by the end of it, but I picked up some really good exercises for building up the areas I’m weak in. But made it pretty clear that while I might be a pretty good cyclist I’m not great at high-intensity cardio and need to work on that. Yesterday evening was pretty good – we were practicing our trapeze swinging ready to start doing tricks next week. We’ve got our proper teacher now (she was injured last week) and she’s great – strict and she keeps us moving. She’s also really good about giving individual feedback. Unlike most of the other part of my group it looks like I’ve got a strong enough core to swing hard, but my fingers aren’t strong enough to hold onto the bar. That means that I launch pretty well, and do a nice pike at the front of my swing, but when I swing back at the middle of my back swing, I swing so hard I fling myself off the bar. So I’ve been given grip and finger excercises to do before next week so I can hold on to the bar long enough! Food wise, I’ve done pretty well at bringing lunches in until today, when we were supposed to be having a potluck lunch but everyone else forgot to bring stuff in. So I’m having to spend some of my budget to buy lunch out L But that’s how it goes I guess!

SO... I am a bit late with this post, because of computer troubles. Saturday was my first flexibility class. Most of my body is fine, usually bendy. My legs, however, are not. The class was mostly stretching with some pair work and much of the leg work involves going into a straddle. Problem is, for some reason going anywhere near a straddle puts me into a nerve stretch which I can't push any further and I can't hold for any length of time. It's not even a muslce stretch - I can handle the pain of that. It's a nerve-y stretch which means my body involuntarily moves itself out of that position. I am hoping this is simply a case of me being a cyclist (and therefore having real tension in my upper leg muscles) and never really stretching or bending previously. I'm going to keep working on it, but that was hard! Last night (Sunday) I made a whole batch of roasted vegetables and quinoa which will last us for lunch until Wednesday (success!). I'm also back on the no refined carbs thing for good now - I have been feeling super sluggish but now I've got good slow-burning food in a proper balance I know I'm going to feel good again. I'm looking forward to Wednesday (as I'll get my first star for not spending my savings!). I didn't get booked into flexibility this week, I'm doing body conditioning on Tuesday instead - so I'll be doing both classes in my Wednesday post. The best thing about this week so far is getting back on my bike to ride to work this morning! I shaved 5 mins off my previous time without even trying. Awesome!

Hi Adulthoodforbeginners So sorry to hear about your ankle - injury is a bummer. I've just started an aerial circus arts course (I'm learning circus skills like the flying trapeze) which is the foundation of the excercise part of my 6 week challenge and there's quite a lot in it that you might be able to do without using your ankle so much. Not the trapeze because you have to land on your feet when you let go, but things like the static bar or rope tricks might suit you, as you spend the whole time up in the air using your core muscles, upper legs, and arms for movement = no pressure upon ankle. And it's something you can do wearing any ankle supports you need. I'm not a professional (or anything like) but it looked to me last night like it was the kind of thing you could do without putting any pressure on a bad ankle. If you live in NYC you're pretty much guaranteed to have an instructor or school somewhere near you - if it appeals perhaps that might be a really good way to build upper body and core strength? I find the easiest way to keep healthy when travelling is to go to a supermarket and buy fresh foods that don't need preparing - i.e. I'll buy a selection of veggies that can be eaten raw like peppers and carrots, some unprepared nuts, and maybe some peeled prawns for protein and just eat it all as though it were a salad. Stops you buying those slightly curly sandwiches or eating a pizza! Sometimes i set myself a challenge to get my whole 5 a day in some sitting doing this! xx

Good for you taking this change and using it for good - I know how easy it is to get stuck in a rut at a time like that and I'm glad you're showing yourself some love to get into a better place. I also love your scoring system - I might have to nick the idea of grading myself on how well I do! Best of luck xx

Hello! So, as promised here I am updating about my very first ever circus class and progress so far. @avalon4712 hopefully this will give a bit more info on what is incvolved in a circus class! And @DarkRaven I'm thinking I might be joining you guys pretty soon if I keep up like last night - wowza but my core is feeling it this morning! SO my partner has agreed to come on board and do his own six week challenge, but because we're still on holiday this week (but staying at home to enjoy our own fair city) he's starting next week. So now I'm doing a seven week challenge - I'll record my six weeks of successes here and do one more week of measuring alongside him just to ingrain these good habits even deeper. As he's starting next week he hasn't decided what his quests are yet but he's having a think. Hooray for being Captain America! Anyway - last night (the very first circus class) was amazing. The class isn't so much aimed at being an exercise class - it's not billed as keep fit, which is part of why I found the idea appealing. It's a class to teach circus skills, and I'm on the aerial arts stream. This term is the introductory term, and we're doing three skills each for four weeks each. Last night I was put into the group for the flying trapeze! After a pretty intense warm-up (where I was glad to see I wasn't the only non-dancer in the room, unable to touch anywhere near my toes!) We went over to the trapeze. Because it was the first lesson there was a load of safety stuff to go through first, which meant we didn' get as much time flying as we normally would. We had to practice getting onto all of the positions on the platform, keeping ourselves safe up in the air, and managing the trapeze bar. Once we'd done THAT it was our chance to fly. It seems lie most of my group came to do the course because they're scared of heights, so I was the only volunteer to go first! I climbed up the ladder onto the platform (probably around 10' up), hooked myself into the safety lines, grabbed hold of the bar and stepped off the platform. And I was flying! It was amazing - as someone who has never managed to do monkey bars before, I thought I'd have to let go of the bar as soon as it started to take my weight, but I was well able to hold myself on. To build momentum, you have to kick forward and backwards in rhythm with the swing, and while I can kick forwards really well, kicking back with your legs, keeping them straight, and holding onto the bar with your hands is really difficult! It requires a load of core strength, which I'm hoping to really build up over the next few weeks. Because there's only one trapeze, we only got to have one go each at flying this week, because of all of the safety stuff. But I've got a flexibility class on Saturday to help me touch those toes, and next week we'll all know the safety stuff so hopefully I can spend a good amount of time flying. After that it's ropes, which is apparently the most difficult bit on your core muscles. I'm really excited! Doing pretty well on the refined carbs thing - had no sugar sugar, but did slip up on Tuesday by eating a pizza for our evening out at our favourite Italian. However, I wasn't hungry for most of it after mussels and salad to start, so I only ate half, and got right back on the wagon after. I was aware I was going to be eating probably not really well for tea so early that day I ate really healthily to make up (think tomato soups, roast chicken legs, salady things). Financially speaking my savings are still in their savings pot, and I haven't yet spent all of my alloted holiday money (might have some over to put in my extra money jar at the end of the week). I've decided on the jar, so I will get all my spending money out in cash at the start of the week, and at the end of the week put any I haven't spent in the jar. That way if I want, for example, to go out with friends for a meal I can't go until I've put enough in the jar to cover what I don't get in pocket money that week. Neat no? Reminds me of being a kid and saving up for a game I really wanted. Christmas and birthday money (as if I get them anymore!) will also go in the jar for nice special things. This is to stop me taking money out of future weeks' pocket money, and then not actually docking the money when I get there. Thanks all! xxxx

Hello! I'm Kiki and also a newbie from across the pond. I felt I had to join, as I'm about to start aerial arts circus training and fully expect to look a lot like a penguin attempting the trapeze when it starts on Wednesday due to a lack of flexibility and upper body strength. I'm hoping with your help I can turn into the leanest, most elegant circus penguin ever seen (although my full transformation will almost certainly take longer than 6 weeks!) My quest is pretty simple: get back to my university measurements of 34-25-35 (currently 35-27-39 3 years later), fit back into my sexeh clothes, look leaner and be fitter and stronger and an immense circus athlete. My life quest is to save £4,000 by next September so I can go on Safari in Kenya, and I'm starting small, setting myself a weekly spending limit, putting money into a savings account, and not moving the money back out of the savings account when I want to spend it. I tend to be a sandboxer because I don't like linear storylines and I get bored quickly with things I 'have' to do once I've achieved a bit. I have the same issue with fitness - I'll turn up to 2 classes for something and then never bother again, get to the stage where I can do a press up and never attempt one again, or run 5k and never run again after crossing the line. I'm hoping you guys can help me stay focussed on my goals, prod me into forming habits when I get bored, and encourage me to post twice a week to keep me accountable. I hope to be able to offer encouragement, support, and motivation to any other penguins! Also, I worked as a chef for a while, my partner is part-time paleo, and I'm a whole-food veggie so I'm pretty good with recipes if anyone is in a food rut (eating whole foods is something I am pretty good at!). Look forward to meeting you all! xx

SO. I did pretty well for the first four weeks of my journey to becoming an assassin - I cut out sugar, cycled to work every day and was losing about a pound a week and visibly redistributing weight from tummy to (particularly arm) muscles. And I was able to do a proper push up. Since then I've gone on holiday and my diet has been horrible and (although it's been a pretty active holiday) I can't do a proper push up any more. SO time to get these habits properly set. So my three targets are: - Attend every circus class (2 2 hour classes per week) which starts on Wednesday! - Prepare healthy, balanced lunches ahead of time to take to work EVERY DAY - Cut out refined sugar NO EXCEPTIONS. When I hadn't had sugar for a week and a half, I wasn't concerned. Since I got back from holiday I have thought of very little else, have snuck bits of cake from the fridge and even baked a whole syrup sponge from scratch and ate it all when I wasn't hungry, because I NEEDED SUGAR and was 'still on holiday'. It seems I can't do moderation with sugar (certainly not yet), so I'm going cold turkey. If I don't eat sugar, it's much easier not to eat sugar. Same goes for refined carbs, I actually think it was the white bread sandwich first day away which kicked me into cakeland.... Now I'm out of university and have a proper job, it's also important to me that I get a handle on my spending. Currently I just spend my salary which means I'm not managing to save. I want to go to Kenya with my boyfriend next September for Safari, and I won't be able to afford it without some serious saving. So my life quest is to save £4,000 by next September. To achieve this my mini goals for this 6 week challenge are: - Put a minimum of £200 savings into my account each month when salary is paid - Live on £40 per week or less once bills etc. are paid, to pay off overdraft at the same time - Don't take any money out of savings accounts - use space built up in overdraft for emergencies, and if it's not an emergency, don't pay for it. I've already recruited my partner, who has put together a wonderful star chart for me to track my good work with the finances, and who is going to start doing bodyweight workouts with me to watch my form and help me get strong to boost my performance in circus class. Now I'd like to get some nerdy support online, to help me set these habits in stone. My intention is to post twice a week - after every circus class on a Wednesday and a Saturday. Wednesday will summarise my first circus class of the week, how I'm doing on my spending limits (As I get paid this month on a Wednesday) and any extra successes/slip-ups. On Saturday I'll update you on my second circus class, how lunches for the week went, and again any extra successes/ slip ups. I'll keep a running total of how many stars I'm awarded for good financial behaviour too. Please chivvy me if i don't post - I also want to get into the habit of keeping myself accountable! Thanks! xxxx

I kind of agree with you Waldo - if it makes me feel bad and impairs my training, it's not healthy for me. I'm not sure 'healthy' for such complicated biochemical organisms can be pared down so easily to a one-size fits all as some of the Paleo community seem to suggest.

I'm afraid I'm british- I may have to order it from ikea as I don't think there's a target in the UK! But it's a good to if I make it across the pond.

yeah, the only think I every really crave is milk- when I was a teenager I'd drink a couple of pints a day. and I find it calms down my stomach normally when I'm hungover (it hasn't helped with my most recent discomfort much though) so I work on the basis my body likes it and it works for me.

Hooray! Maybe we can form a "we've mutated to need grains and legumes" style xavier institute...

Thanks very much LessJos - that's so helpful. The only things I can find online are about how evil grain and legumes are, so it's nice to hear I'm not the only person who responds badly to having none of them. Congratulations on your success so far, I hope it continues!

Hi LessJos - that's really interesting - sounds like the same kind of profile as me. I tolerate meat well (I don't eat it for environmental reasons so I'm allowed meat on special occasions and then i can eat all the bacon with no problems, so long as there's plenty of carbs alongside), so maybe I'm just not built for Paleo. The symptoms you describe are EXACTLY how I feel. How do you find it affects your BF% or how you look, if at all? Does it make it harder to look lean and (sorry Steve) 'toned'?

Hi dmstanford42. Thanks for your advice - I think you may be right that I've bitten off more than I can chew (hence I suppose the little steps aspect of the rebellion!) I have scandinavian family so I'm a fan of Filmjolk - just have to see if I can track some down and add that in. And I will up my carb intake and then reduce more slowly. Thank you!

Seafood might be an easier way in - like eating prawns, moving up to crayfish or crabs, squid, mussels, cockles, whelks and similar. Then you'd get used to the fresh sea-like smell of fresh fish, and the seafood taste without having to face a whole fish at once. Then include fillety fish in things you eat otherwise (paleo makes this a bit more difficult, otherwise you could do things like paella or a pasta dish, but I guess you could do flaked bits of fish in a salad or similar). Alternatively if you like pate you could use smoked fish pate (if you eat butter. Smoked fish pate is just fish, butter, and seasoning). It might be easier to eat slightly more processed stuff like homemade smoked fish pate first then work up to whole fillets once you know you like the taste.

Thanks Gobnait. The probiotic idea is a really good one. Maybe it's a too much change at once thing!

Hi, before we start, I just wanna warn people that I'm posting this because my body isn't responding well to the switches I've started to make, and it's having some unpleasant effects. Just so you know! SO. For the past three/four weeks I've switched a few aspects of my diet. I'm veggie (I eat fish) and was always pretty high carb (a wholegrain serving if not two at every meal, lots of beans, pulses, legumes as well as many tasty veggies). I've started cycling quite a lot to work (I do around 14 miles a day), and found nerd fitness (w00t), so I'm doing beginner bodyweight workouts 3 times a week. Once I'm a bit more settled in I'm going to start sprints too, and in three weeks my circus acrobatics classes start. So I'm very active. I've been largely sedentary for the past year or so, and I'm trying to get fitter, and decrease my body fat % which is currently around I would estimate 23-26%. I've got flabby bits and I'd like to lean up, but I'm a healthy weight and I'm not particularly concerned to lose weight. To that end, and because diet is the most important bit of healthiness, I've made a couple of switches in my diet. They haven't necessarily gone well. I'm experiencing some digestive difficulties, particularly first thing in the day. I feel quite nauseous about an hour after I get up at 7 (I'm not pregnant, I checked), which steadily worsens until it fades at about 9.30-10. I feel bloated much more, sometimes in the evening but particularly in the morning. I often feel like my food is sitting right at the top of my stomach putting pressure on my abdomen in a bloaty, uncomfortable, sloshing kind of way. Generally I'm uncomfortable. I've also started having a problem in the mornings (sorry about this) with needing to go to the toilet repeatedly. From being a very regular, once a day, nice healthy bowel-movement kind of gal I'm now going at least three times before I leave the house in the morning with very loose movement which are kind of green in colour. I spend the first half of the day before lunch feeling like I need to 'go', and going occasionally but not 'making' as it were. When I do, things are not healthy looking or feeling. This is not normal for me. I was previously eating waaaay too many carbs and too little protein. So I've upped my protein intake and tried to decrease the amount of carbs I'm eating. I'm not cutting out beans and pulses entirely because they're a valuable source of protein for me, but I'm limiting them to a couple of times a week. I've reduced grain intakes (sweetcorn, wholegrain pasta etc.) to once a day only (from every meal) and I've cut out bread completely. I'm eating more fish, cheese, and nuts to switch the balance from carbs to protein and fat. I've been tracking what I eat and generally it's hitting my macro goals and I'm eating a small calorie deficit to (hopefully) encourage the fat loss. My general day looks like: Breakfast: 1 egg, scrambled or poached no sugar added natural yoghurt piece of fruit (normally grapes or berries) Lunch: roasted sweet potato, can of tuna, walnuts, salad leaves, olive oil, fish sticks, small portion of cheese Dinner: 4 veg bean chilli (beans, tomatoes, courgette, carrots, chilli, garlic, cumin, made at home into tasty sauce), sweet potato wedges, corn on the cob If I want a snack ( which I generally don't) I have a handful of almonds and a couple of dried figs (no sugar added). I cook in coconut oil and dress salads with olive oil. I've completely cut refined sugar out of my diet. I've NEVER previously had any reactions to food, never had any sensitivities or intolerances. I've eaten a high-veg but also high-carb, lots of wholegrain, lots of legumes and pulses diet for several years and felt pretty energetic and always been regular and comfortable digestively. I've never felt bloated. The only thing my body has ever craved is dairy (in the form of milk) and I've never suffered any bloating or irritation from consuming it. I haven't added anything to my diet, all I've done it cut out refined sugar of all kinds, and limited my grain intake, while upping the sources of protein I've always consumed from sources other than beans and legumes. SO I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY I FEEL LIKE THIS. I'm finding myself tired in the morning especially and I'm starting to struggle with my morning cycle because I feel sick, like I need the toilet, and really tired. Is this an adjustment period to lower grain? If so, how long does it last? It's been three and a half weeks and I'm just feeling worse - does anyone have any advice to ameliorate it? please help, as i worry it's going to start messing with my training goals. If it keeps up I'm going to have to up my grain intake in response, but then I'll be eating much the same diet as previously, and given diet is like 90% of success I'm concerned I won't get the results I want. It's been nearly a month and I've seen no change in body composition, measurements, and weight (although I can now do a push up), so it makes me wonder what's stalling me here!? Thanks,

Hi PNH! I would just like to say I found your log really inspiring - you clearly struggle with motivation but you've kept going (which is awesome and something I hope to learn from). Your workout also looks pretty challenging, and I reckon at about the right difficulty gradient as when you get up to an A you add a bit more difficulty. I am just starting to do bodyweight workouts at home and I'm doing my very best to keep on top of workouts and not slack off strength training because 'i do a lot of cardio so i don't need it'. Do you find your strength stuff helps you fight the evil stairs? I would hope my strength training will help with my cycling and with the circus stuff I start in a few weeks. Anyway - keep it up you're doing pretty amazing from a newbie's PoV!

I did find it really exhausting at first BUT I'm already seeing results - I can now do a proper push up off the floor! and I'm finding the rows a bit too comfortable and my partner was completely amazed when I asked if we could get more weight for the dumbells! I'll be doing pull-ups soon :D We actually went for a ride together yesterday, which was lovely. When you go with your husband do you find much time to chat? We found we couldn't hear each other most of the time we were on the bikes, or do you stop part way (i.e. cycle to a destination?) We were thinking of making Sunday bike rides a regular thing, maybe taking a picnic when the weather's nice)

I wear workout clothes (I do wear Lycra) but we don't have showers at work, so I make the best of changing clothes, using those cucumber wetwipes you get from Boots, a towel, and fresh deodorant. As I have a shower in the morning before I set off that deals with any smell issues, and protects my work clothes from the weather as much as from my own sweat. Having said that my partner has just started cycling (5 miles each way) and he says he doesn't get sweaty, so it might be a personal tolerance thing. I also keep much cooler and more comfortable in workout gear (a proper pair of cycling shorts is essential for happy thighs in my experience). I'm London based although only recently moved down from West Yorkshire. Wouldn't have cycled while up north - too many hills!

ALSO my partner decided he liked how good I said I felt doing all my cycling, and so tomorrow we're going to buy him a bike so he can cycle to his work, 5 miles from where we live!

So yesterday for the first time I completed 3 sets of the beginner body weight workout! It's the 4th time I've tried it and I was so proud to get all the way through. Next stage, get those press ups off the floor rather than off a chair, and add some weight to my squats and rows. w00t!

Thanks minionLove - my cycle is all off-road which helps, I get to cycle along the canals. But boy do I sleep well at the moment! I've found effectively forcing myself by not getting a season ticket for train travel has been a really effective motivator. I hope you get back on your bike soon!

Hello! My name is Kiki, I'm from the UK, and I've just recently discovered Nerd Fitness. My intention is to turn myself from an elf-halfling cross into a fearsome assassin, like Sheik. I've previously started many diet/fitnessy type things but never enjoyed the focus on becoming AS THIN AS POSSIBLE, feeling exhausted, and being very weak from never eating enough. I completely love the Nerd Fitness focus on becoming as strong and as fit as possible, eating a reasonable amount of food, and being generally awesome. I am aware of a tendency to either reach a mid-goal and give up through a false sense of achievement, or just get bored of a fitness regime, so as the first element of my training I've bought a bike and I now cycle to work. It's 7 miles each way (which is giving me super-strong legs and lets me eat LOTS of healthy food). Some mornings I might not feel like it, but it costs me about £8 a day to not cycle, which I can't afford to do very often. So I have to cycle or I can't get to work. Very effective motivation, and I haven't missed a day cycling for two weeks now! I've also signed up for an aerial circus arts course, to start in four weeks' time. I'm hoping that will give my body a chance to get used to all the cycling I'm doing before building in a load more excercise. That will be four hours a week of effectively body weight training, focusing on elegant movement through the air. I'm not normally elegant or graceful, so I'm hoping this will build some strength and control into my everyday movement and stop me crashing so often! In preparation I've been doing the beginner's body weight workout three times a week for the last week or so to help me out at the start of my circus training. My goal is to be a fully qualified aerial silks performer. In terms of food, I'm pretty good. I prepare all of my own food from scratch pretty much, with a focus on good protein and veggies. I don't eat meat, however, and only a few kinds of fish, and I don't eat soy products (all for environmental reasons - hello druids!) so I have to be quite creative about getting enough protein without over-carbing. I do like beans. I'm not paleo - I've removed grains from my diet for weeks at a time before and seen no difference in how I feel but a significant increase in difficulty accessing enough calories and carbs without eating waaaay to much fat (i.e. I ended up eating loads of cheese and nuts to make up the difference. As i don't eat meat this also got very expensive in terms of the amount of fish I needed to buy). So Paleo's not for me, but I track what i eat and get a good balance of fats, carbs, and protein. As the granddaughter of a dairyman I also drink almost a pint of milk a day - it's nature's energy drink I'm putting together a Jedi COuncil IRL but I'd very much like an online support group too. Having just moved cross country and spent 3 months getting set up I'm a bit heavier than I'd like so my first challenge is to lose my extra weight and get back down to usual body size (52-54kg 35' hips, 25-6' waist), and then focus on becoming as strong, flexible, and fast as I can! I'm happy to join up in support of others, and look forward to meeting you Kiki