StarlightSmiles

Happy. Ran 3.81km in 30 mins.

Yeah that was the problem. I think I just went a bit overboard. All good now and ready to rock day 2.

Best of luck. Your reasons to get fit are admirable- GO DO IT FOR YOUR SON! Working out with your wife should help you both get on track and stick at it. I'm rooting for you ~Sophia

Hope your first day went well!

Update: Just threw up everywhere. I guess this challenge will also help me to learn some of my body's limits. It obviously can't handle the extra 500 calories at this point.

Day 1 is complete!!! First of all here is an outline of my food intake for the day (not including cups of tea or glasses of water): Breakfast 2 weetabix 134kcal Snack Ham and cheese toastie with salad 320kcal Latte – 135kcal Lunch Tuna and avacado salad (with lettuce carrots and tomatoes) 270kcal magnum ice cream 240kcal Dinner ½ bacon and cheese quiche 220kcal Broccoli 34kcal Tagliatelle 260kcal ½ tin of chopped tomotoes 44kcal Glass of orange juice 67kcal Desert ¼ pot of greek style yoghurt 147kcal (with tablespoon of manuka (15+) honey) 66kcal Other Strawberry complan nutrition shake with tablespoon of protein shake, tablespoon of L-Glutamine, semi-skimmed milk and a handful of blackberries 360kcal Total: 2293 kal I've increased my daily intake by about 500kcal today I think. After eating dinner I feel like I'm going to explode. My stomach is making really strange noises and actually hurts to touch. Presumably I'll get used to the increased intake though. Managed 3 circuits BBWW which was fine. I think I'll introduce weights when doing the lunges next time as I found them really easy. ~Sophia

LET'S DO THIS!! I'm printing this off and sticking it on my desk so if there's ever a day I feel unmotivated I can read through all the health benefits of exercise and be inspired. Good luck on your first challenge everyone. ~Sophia

Thanks both. I'll be trying my best.

I absolutely love the film - especially the music. It's just so touching. I can't draw a thing so I envy people who can draw. :3 Hooray exercise buddies

Hey Melonia, I also overdo it with carbs and don't eat enough protein. It's my first challenge too so hopefully we can keep each other on track. Best of luck! ~Sophia

Hey Xena, Good luck on your goals!! I'm Sophia and it's my first challenge too so maybe we can help each other stay on track a bit. I absolutely love your cartoon! XD It seems like quite a few of us girls can't do proper push-ups yet so it'll be really cool to see how much we all progress in the next six weeks

So it's time for my first challenge. I've been lurking in the forums for a while now and it's finally time to participate. I've been thinking about what my goals should be and I've decided that I want to provide myself with an all-round fitness basis on which I can build upon during future challenges. Goal 1 - Increase Endurance At the moment I get puffed out really easily. If I walk up a steep flight of stairs I'll be out of breath. If I run for more than a couple of minutes I'm pooped. So I'd like to be able to work on my stamina and endurance over the next six weeks. I aim to do this by running. I want to do interval training three times a week (walk/run/walk/run) in order to increase the distance I am able to do in a 30 minute session. My current best is 3.80km in 30 minutes. A = 0.6km+ increase B = 0.4- 0.6km increase C = 0.2 - 0.4km increase F = <0.2km increase Goal 2 - Start doing the Beginner's Body Weight Workout My second goal is to start doing the beginner's body weight workout. I've never really tried doing a body weight circuit before so this is a new experience for me. I will start in week 1 by doing 2 circuits three times a week but hope to increase this to 3 circuits three times a week by the end of the challenge. A = Complete all 18 sessions B = Complete 15-18 sessions C = Complete 12-15 sessions F = Complete less than 12 sessions Goal 3 - Eat 2200 calories/day. My third goal is to do with my eating habits. I worked out my maintenance on a calorie calculator (Absolutely no idea how accurate those things are) and it came out as 1835 calories/day. I am currently 50kg and 5"4. My long-term aim is to get to 54kg. I don't think that this will happen in six weeks but my aim for this challenge is to eat 2200 calories/day. A = Average of 2050-2200 calories/day. B = Average of 1950-2050 calories/day. C = Average of 1800-1950 calories/day. F = Average of less than 1800 calories/day. Motivation In the winter months I usually get ill with colds/viruses/infections and tend to feel rotten. I also have very low energy levels generally (In the process of getting diagnosed with a sleep disorder) I find that exercise helps me to increase my energy levels a bit. I hope to manage to stay well this winter and I'm sure exercise will play an important part in helping my immune system to cope. Good luck with your own challenges guys!! ~Sophia.

Hi I'm Sophia, As an avid video game and anime fan this seems to be just the fitness forum for me. I'm 20 and from Cardiff in Wales. All my life I've been told that I'm 'underweight' or 'skinny.' After finally getting fed up with such comments I decided to start going to the gym and lifting weight. Over the last year I have made progress but, as I was ill for alot of the year, I was unable to make as much progress as I'd like. I think another reason that this happened was that I wasn't following a structured exercise plan and have been a 'lone wolf' when it comes to exercise. This is why I've joined the forum. I'd like to be able to talk to people who have a similar desire to improve their fitness and to have people to help spur me on when I feel demotivated. As mentioned above, I love video games and anime. I'm also in university at the moment studying a degree in Classics. (To those who don't know it's a mixture of Ancient history, philosophy, literature, Latin and Greek) I enjoy yoga and tai-chi and, when at university, I attend a weekly class for each. The quote in my title is from Full Metal Alchemist. I think it really encompasses the idea that if you don't get results if you don't put the work in. I'm ready to put in the work. I'm ready to give it my all. BRING IT ON!!! I hope to get to know you guys better ~Sophia.