xenophonica

Confessions : I'm struggling. Found myself at a gaming convention this weekend (read : diet of chips and soda) AUGH DIDN'T I JUST TALK ABOUT THIS. *sigh* Recollecting. Today is a new day. A struggle I'm realizing I have a hard time fighting is that while some members of my family would like to go paleo/primal they're not dedicated to it. I hardly EVER buy things outside the paleo/primal lifestyle, but I have a hard time resisting when others bring it in. I know this is an issue of MY willpower, I am in no way blaming anyone else. But, I am thinking that I need to designate a corner of the fridge, and a pantry, for myself. And just like, NEVER look in the others >.>

Oh its quite delicious. And it has worked so far today! I'm really thinking about giving the last 3 cans to my neighbor.

So except for one area, I did pretty well in week 1. My downfall? Soda. I am usually so good about turning the stuff down (I don't really like it as much as I used to) but I have a problem. When it is in the house, I drink if. If it was intended for me I drink it. And I binge on it. It is my number one weakness. I allowed someone to buy a 12 pack for me and it has been a struggle. I'm the kind of person that can moderate some things and I live by the law of don't deny, just moderate. But I can't do it with soda. I become an awful caffeine foaming monster. That being said, I've already killed most of the 12 pack of cranberry sprite that I bought. I moved it out of the fridge last night since I despise warm soda, but it is rough. My only control with the stuff is to not have it in the house. *sigh* but, I will not let it defeat me. 1 box of soda won't ruin these 6 weeks! Doing some meal prep with my mom today, and then my little family is going to go out on the property to hack up some firewood

Thank you! I sure will I definitely need some accountability. I have about a million things to do on a daily basis and sometimes I just need some encouragement and reminders haha It is certainly the easiest way to get some activity in! I used 1 can of tuna (albacore, but it doesn't matter really) 1 egg (binder) splash of lemon juice dried dill salt/pepper finely chopped red onion finely chopped mushroom just heated up some olive oil, used my hands to roll the mixture into balls and placed in the skillet. I squeezed the mixture a bit to get out excess liquid and it held together pretty well I love spaghetti squash - I'm planning to grow some soon. Do you have the space to grow them from seed?

Hello! Hoping you'll have great success this challenge!

I like that you're taking that moment as motivation, and that you have some friendly competition going on! I'm an artist, so the idea of swapping trade for trade as friendly competition sounds awesome. I should try that for one of the next challenges!

I like your goals! I'll be watching ya I also slip a lot with water in winter. I'm using a particular glass to help me, but some days it is just rough!

You've got great, realistic goals. Wishing you the best!

Yesterday, I spent a good chunk of time outside, and used it to further teach my little one to ride his tricycle. We also played baseball (aka MOMMY GO GET THE BALL!!!) which certainly tired me out. We'll be going out after his nap today since it was pretty chilly this morning, but we are going to do some similar stuff. I planned ahead this morning and created my lunch plans (and dinner, for that matter) while I was eating breakfast. I made clean tuna cakes (first time making tuna cakes without bread crumbs) and my goodness they are amazing. My planning also enabled me to get a spaghetti squash in the oven. My house smells amazing, in case you're wondering I finally have the time this afternoon to look through more threads, and I'm excited to be a part of the adventurers guild!

Had a crazy day yesterday, so here is the official starting goal post for my thread NF Challenge November 10 - December 21 2014 Main Quest Become more active - fit it and develop better exercise routines to facilitate my weight loss journey. Focus on food choices and experimenting with what works with my lifestyle. 1 STR 1 DEX 1 STA 1. Involve my kid - I don't have the luxury of a gym membership to get away so I need to find some options that I enjoy that I can employ with the kiddo around, including cooking/food prep. 2 CHA, 1 WIS 2. Better planning - I need to get over the idea that I can't eat certain things, but that I need to balance those things with exercise. Energy in, energy out! 1 WIS 2 CON 3. 80% Primal diet. I wouldn't say that I have a severe gluten allergy, but I certainly feel like dragon poop when I eat too much. I do implement cheese/yogurt into my diet. 2 WIS 1 CON Life Quest Get my Christmas gifts done in time! (crafts and paintings) 1 DEX Diet/Fitness Side Quest Hit 260lbs by the end of this challenge (current : 268.8lbs) 2 CHA My Motivation To feel good on the inside and outside, and to be a better mom. My son and my husband make me want to be the best I can be

Hello, Adventurers! I completed my first full 6 week challenge as a newbie (link in sig) after a failed attempt almost exactly a year prior. I'm looking forward to this next challenge and I'm hoping to be more active on the forums and make some new friends on this challenge. I think that part of reaching out is exposing your weaknesses as well as your strengths, and I'm hoping that by sharing these that maybe I can help some, and GET help from others! Quick intro : 26 years old, mother to a 3 year old, married to the love of my life. I'm an artist (tattoo, paint, ink), crafter, and tabletop gamer. I own my own business (a tabletop news/reviews website) and I am a homesteading wannabe. I love to cook and do food prep. I've got a 3 acre garden in the works with my mom. I'm learning to fish. We recently moved to Texas from Indiana. I used to say I struggled with my weight my whole life, but in reality, its been about 12 years. I was at a healthy weight until I was 14/15 and got involved with an incredibly unhealthy relationship which turned into an unhealthy lifestyle, even after I ended the relationship. I gained 100 pounds in the matter of 3 years and I've struggled since then. My self esteem flipped upside down lately (in the good way!) and I really committed to changing myself. I've done WW before and lost about 50 but gained it all back because I was focused on points and not on real nutrition. I aim for a 90% paleo/primal diet. I don't feel guilty when I don't stick to it because no one is perfect, however I try to avoid it because my insides now REACT to it! Yeesh. I am currently 268.8lbs with a goal of 180. MY STRENGTHS 1. coming up with recipes on the fly 2. getting the most out of *insert food item here* 3. general creativity 4. making strategies for achieving what I want MY WEAKNESSES 1. laziness 2. working in exercise with a 3 year old 3. making that negative nancy in my head shut up 4. reaching out for help when I need it I'm looking forward to what this challenge has to hold!

Things have been crazy in my household, from trying to prep for a yard sale, changes with my business, and so much more. Things are finally falling back into place, but the only thing I've not yet mastered is time for exercise. I make plenty of time for pinterest, and I need to reduce that time (that I obviously have) and drop at least 20-30 minutes of it into some exercise. I've been stalking the forums without really getting involved much, but I'm hoping to start spending more time on them in anticipation of this next challenge. The first time I tried challenges on this site, I didn't even make it 2 weeks. I'm really proud of myself for doing the full 6 week challenge, and I want to improve on it by being on my game for the second one. I've got a long way to go but I know that I have what it takes to get there.

That frittata sounds tasty!!

About to finish my first challenge (link in sig). I've lost about 8lbs in these 6 weeks, and my next challenge will focus more on fitness and less on diet because I'm pretty certain that I'm finally on a good track there. I am on a mission to lose 100+lbs, though in the end, the number isn't what matters to me. I just want to be healthier for myself and for my family. I'll be joining the Adventurers, though I think that I may eventually end up in Assassins or Warriors. I'll try to post an update daily in here, and if not, I'll cover the days I miss

I've done some serious re-arranging in my life, perhaps a bit late into the challenge, but it will make the next challenge very interesting. I've set up some bodyweight/weight/walking regimes that will be very easy to fit into my schedule as a homeschool mom, housewife, and game blogger. I wish I had done this at the beginning of THIS challenge, but these 6 weeks (and reading others' challenges) has helped me keep a good eye out on what I want to do and how to best go about it. Pretty sure I'll be joining the Adventurers as I've not commited to one type of fitness yet, though I'm thinking I'll end up as some kind of Warrior/Assassin combo, but we'll see how that goes in the future. Anyone else I can expect to see in Adventurers?

Yes, thank you Blaidd!! I think I'm going to plop myself into Adventurers for now I want to get into heavy lifting and more body weight stuff but I also just love walking and swimming and the sort. I'm all over right now These 6 weeks really did go by fast!

Gah - for some reason I didn't get the notifications from this thread for the last week! I made a few new meals but don't have photos I tried making sushi! It could've been wrapped tighter but it was good! I also tried rabbit. I didn't cook it but it was something I've never had before. It was interesting, but I don't think I'll be revisiting it

I also hope Blaidd is doing well. Maybe we are supposed to make our own mini dungeons? This week was kinda hectic emotionally but I managed to really only lose focus for half a day, and thankfully had the sense to reign myself back in for the day. Feeling good How's everyone else?

Thank you very much And yes, it is. I feel much better. It is like being reunited with a good friend Forgot to post this! I lost 3 pounds this last week and an inch overall. Happy days!

Hey! Oh my gosh, so crazy. I am happy to have my things, though. And yes! I've made time for my art and have been doing some small pieces for the last few days! Ihaven't done formal exercise since I am hauling boxes all over the place. My birthday is today but we celebrated on Saturday! Went to Joe's Crab Shack and it was so good. Crab legs and shrimp for this lady!!

Wahoo, level up! I weighed in this morning at 271.8, which is a 2.2lb loss! Huzzah! I'm also doing weekly measurements. Last week I did lose a total of .5inches all over. Not much, but it was comforting when the scale said .5lb loss. This week reported and overall 1 inch loss! This week's challenge (posted in dungeon thread) made me realize that I need to better schedule time for me. We moved here a couple months ago but have been waiting on the rest of our stuff to arrive. It is supposed to come on Wednesday. I think I've been using the fact that I don't have most of my art stuff here as an excuse to not do anything. I have perfectly good hands and a sketchbook laying around. My excuses are CARP.

Lost 2.2lbs this week! Huzzah! I'm sorry you had a rough week. Life can really get in the way of our own goals. I hope things calm down for you soon and that you'll be able to refocus!

Goal allocation Q1. Track my food. +3 CONQ2. Do some activity. +2 STRQ3. Take time for myself. +2 WIS / +1 STALQ. Sketch Daily. +1 WIS / +1 CHAMid-challenge summary Q1. Tracked all my food! 100% AQ2. I've done activity and fit it in where I could, but need to put more priority! 88% BQ3. I stil struggle with this. I've done some daily, but not a full 30 minutes through the day. 72% CLQ. I nutured my artist side a few times throughout the challenge, but it falls to the wayside. 66% DChallenge allocation Q1. +3 CONQ2. +1.8 STRQ3. +.5 WIS / +.6 STALQ. +.5 WIS / +.5 CHA+1 WIS from last week's challenge. And I have to agree with Minna - this was a great way to see where I'm at. I feel confident in my food tracking/consumption, and really need to focus more on taking care of myself and my art. It is a great wake-up call, and I'm going to start making some adjustments to my schedule to make time for me

Week 3 was great as far as fitness/exercise goes. I got caught up in life a few days and went a bit over on food, but I was accountible and recorded everything. It helps me see trends such as what foods I eat too much of, what I eat that leads up to bad choices, etc. It is very insightful! I'm excited for week 4!

1. Pinpoint the quest in your journey that is giving you the most uphill (or one that you're struggling to achieve) Setting aside time to commit to exercise. I am a morning despiser that really wants to be a morning person. I need to get up early (before my 3 year old drains my energy by 9am) and set aside time. Or establish a time that my family knows about in advance so that I can focus only on my fitness. I got an awesome weight set from craigslist last week and haven't been able to play with it! 2. Search through NF (forums or articles) to find one that is able to offer some assistance This made me re-evaluate what I'm doing. I feel that I finally have the determination and the resources, I just need to change my habits. When my son is napping, I need to do something to better myself : prep meals, watch a show and do some exercises, go sit out on the dock. Something besides draining my time away on Pinterest or Facebook. 3. Apply it to your challenge (no collecting underpants here). For this upcoming week, I am going to put into motion one of two things. I will either A. Set an alarm and wake up with purpose. Get some breakfast and some movement in before the household wakes up. Or... B. Let family members know that an hour block of the day is me-time, and I will use it for the same reasons.