Shukar

Alright, so I'll be blunt about myself. My challenges of late, and the daily life that's gone on alongside, have been pretty awful. I've barely been doing anything active, I've been eating like crap, and just generally not taking care of myself. That's gotta change because it's ridiculous that I've let it go on like this. I deserve better treatment than I'm getting from myself. So it's about time I did something about it.

So, who am I (other than lazy)? I'm Shukar, I'm a Scout, I've been here a long time and have learned a hell of a lot in the time I've been here. I've also met some great people, some of the best friends I have have come through NerdFitness. I work too much and spend more time than I'd like driving around for said work which tends to be an excuse to eat junk for lunch. Not likely to be solving that super soon, but babysteps. It's good to know the starting conditions.

So what about those goals?

1) Get moving

The first goal is also the "simplest", run, lift, and generally move more. This is gonna take a couple of factors. First, move at least 60k steps a week. Walking, Running, anything my FitBit counts as steps counts for this. Second, go for a run every week. Doesn't have to be long, doesn't have to be pretty, does have to be a run. I enjoy running but I've been making excuses for why I can't fit it into the schedule rather than making my schedule fit it. Thirdly, lift some heavy stuff. Partly that's gonna be me, daily squats have been ongoing for more than 2 years now but the pushups have been intermittent and I should get back to handstand work as well. The other part is gonna be that I want to have at least my first lifting session of the year happen during this challenge. More is nice, but beyond the scope of the goal. 

So to sum up: 1) 60k steps a week, 2) 1 run a week, 3) more daily bodyweight work, 4) lifting weights once this challenge

PS: and yes, this goal is probably more complicated than should be in a single goal but all the things just seem like they should be so easy for me to actually do that combining them shouldn't be the worst thing to do.

2) Plan what I eat

My eating works out way better if I make a meal plan for the week and stick to it. So this goal has two parts. First, make a weekly meal plan for dinner each night; doesn't always have to be making dinner at home, my current week usually includes a "dinner and a movie" night out with the mrs. and that's fine but it still goes on the plan. Secondly, I need to stick to the plan. Out of 5 nights I need to make sure I hit the plan targets at least twice a week right now; that'll change with time but 2 is a good number to start with. 

So: 1) make a weekly meal plan, 2) make sure I hit it at least twice a week.

3) Post here regularly

Yes, this is in fact a fitness goal because I'm fairly sure it's not a coincidence that when I stopped posting in my threads daily my results went downhill quickly. So post at least 3 times a week here so that I have some accountability going on to people who can help make sure I stay on track. 

4) Get my finances in order

So right now the wife and I have a fair bit of outstanding debt. We want to move out of this apartment and into a house at some points, and get a dog because dogs are awesome. But that's gonna be hard with a big pile of debt sitting around. We've already started making some big steps in the right direction here, we're solidifying a budget to stick to, we've moved the biggest chunk of our credit card debt to a card with 0% interest and will be paying it off before that promotion ends saving us a good chunk of interest in the process. As I am prone to doing I have been making a spreadsheet to track debts, APRs and all the other relevant information that I can easily update, and I added a tracker for monthly balance for each entry so I can watch how the numbers will decrease over time. So long story short for now, by the end of the challenge I want to have a number that I can at least semi-firmly point to as when we'll be out of any substantial debt. So far my off the cuff info is suggesting 2 years or less (with the exception of the car loan which will be the last thing on the list due to the low interest rate).

So there you have it, move more, eat better, post more, crunch the numbers.

Bis Morgen!

Looks like a good plan.

Watched a lot of Star Wars and the first 4 episodes of The Expanse series myself, plus the usual podcasts.

Ohai!

A wild Catspaw appears!

I've done some rucking and enjoy the challenge of it, even ran a local 4.2 miler with a 4-brick ruck on. Best thing I've got from that association is some really awesome bags for traveling but that starts to feel like a sales pitch.

Woo finishing better than expected!

As predicted, finished both the 10k and the half. Spent a while longer on the half than usual but finished feeling pretty good despite the walking.

If I actually, you know, trained for it I'd have done even better, the pace we averaged for the first half would have put us nearby to our PR, so there's a decent fitness base there that just needs some improvement.

As far as goals for the week definitely did more running, didn't do any lifting yet, and ended up playing meals mostly by ear. So definitely have work to do.

Yup, still doing those. Gonna be interesting since I haven't done any running in weeks, but I'll finish them anyway.

So, running a bit behind this challenge. Work/Life has been both out of balance, and crazy of late so I'm a bit behind getting this up here. As such, I expect it to be abbreviated. 

First, the intro. I'm Shukar, I'm a Scout, technically one of the guild leaders on hiatus currently as I get that whole work/life thing straightened out. Running is my thing, it's what I really love doing and would feel broken up about if I couldn't do it any more. But it's not all I do, I also like doing the strength training, and sleeping. Currently having difficulty getting in enough of any of them. That's where the challenge comes in, helping me do the things I enjoy more regularly.

Goal  1: Run more.

The first goal is simple, run more. Right now, I'm not really running much at all so "more" just means go for a run already. As the challenge, and likely the next couple challenges, progresses the value of more will obviously change, but the goal is progression and getting out there.

Goal 2: Pick stuff up, put it down.

Likewise, simple goal for now but progression and consistency to be the key. Right now I'm barely moving any weight being my own bulkiness, that needs to change. Squats and Deadlifts (heck yeah deadlifts) are my thing so probably a good bit of those in my future, should probably Bench or Press to complement that, but I don't have a bench right now so that'll have to wait.

Goal 3: Eat some real food.

Less fried junk, more veggies. Continue prepping meals ahead to cut down on excuses to go out when things get rough. Make good choices about what goes into my body so I can get better results out of it. Fundamentally it's not that hard, but that doesn't really make it easy either.

So there's the goals, familiar yet somehow still a challenge, and full of room for expansion. Time to get to work.

I'm the spirit of buffalo things: http://feistyfrugalandfabulous.com/2013/07/loaded-baked-potato-and-buffalo-chicken-casserole/

It's so good, but it makes a crapload of food every time I've done it. Bonus: also good with sweet potatoes.

It's on the calendar!

On the one hand, you don't even have goals yet, on the other, I don't even have a challenge thread yet.

Hi there, I'm late to the party but it looks like a good one.

Oh man those plantain nachos are awesome and I want them now. Thanks.

I have a suggestion for the salt thing actually, electrolyte tabs! I like nuun for after runs and stuff but it should work for your eating "too healthy" issue too. Potassium and some magnesium and stuff with a little flavor and no sugar. Plus, water that has flavors helps a lot of people drink more water each day I hear. 

Also, hi.

And here I assumed you'd be in your bunk. You got this!

Aw, heal up spezzy. 

Hey! Good luck with your upcoming gym battles.

Woohoo beardliness and being back!

Subbed because getting back at it is also what I'm trying to do right now. Also, you're a cool dude.

Subbed for awesome, and because it'll remind me to run into you at the race. 

Just saw this movie the other week, good story, good theme, good luck. 

Welp, this challenge came and went and I didn't do so hot at it. But eh, live and learn. Onward to the next challenge, and only a bit late.

And now it's on the calendar.