MSU Fan

Well, that's all you can really do - you'll survive the week and bounce back stronger! Good luck!

I love it when I got down a belt hole - its so hard to see the physical gains (losses?) sometimes, but that is an easy daily reminder you are winning the fight!

Keep it up! Sorry to see you got sick - that is such a bummer.

Sorry to hear about the car, but hang in there. It sucks when the free weight section gets busy - just crowded and you're always looking for a certain weight (that's never there!). Just keep it up and you will definitely see the gains. As for the 5k, well, if I can do a in 50 mins, I'm pretty happy, so your 35mins is spectacular!

Welcome! It would seem that you are already on your way since you have an active lifestyle. That will help immensely, but remember that this is all about building new habits, so focus and you will be fine. Cutting out caffeine is a hard one for most, so I would try to make that a progressive change. It's quite possible there could be some minor withdrawal symptoms if you change it fast (I don't know how much you drink now, so that's a tough one). As for free weights, I think a lot of people like the stronglifts 5x5 program, but there are literally tons of free weight routines. I would start simple and work your way up adding new types of workouts. Don't go overboard on the amount of exercises or the weights, and concentrate on form - its much better to do less reps with a better form than more reps badly (not to mention the increase in risk of injury). Now, as for your life quest - it can be done. I have no CC debt. I have some CC accounts at various locations like Lowes, HD, etc, but I never use them. I pay cash/debit card everything (within reason). This one takes focus and a much longer term plan. It really HELPS to layout that plan on paper and then actually track it. Every month when you pay your bills make sure the numbers in that excel file, or in the app, or wherever you plan to track it, make sure they match. If you use an app or online tracker, they are usually pretty good about telling you when you pay things off if you increase your amount per month, etc. Also, it really helps to just cut the card up. Prevents "accidental" increases along the way. My wife and started out doing Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University, and we have hybridized that a bit along the way, but still foundationally follow that. It can work very well if you follow it and are dedicated. Believe me, there is peace and freedom in having very little debt. Just remember - you can do it! And ask for help if you are feeling challenged. We're a community of dragon slayers and dingus finders. And like every MMORPG, team work helps. Good luck!

Veggies are pretty easy for me - I love most veggies, although not necessarily straight. I liked steamed veggies, and I don't even need sauce. I would say that I am fairly partial to tomatoes, carrots, broccoli, potatoes, peppers (of all colors). Not a fan of brussel sprouts or cauliflower, or eggplants. Celery is pretty much useless to me for taste. Asparagus is a good one too. As for the working out, I was deliberate on the days of AB workouts, but not cardio - I was all over the map. One day I would run in the AM, another day I would take a 30 min walk at lunch. Just whenever I felt motivated. I didn't usually get too sore for the cardio stuff, but the AB workout would definitely leave me sore. My week schedule wants to look like this: Monday cardio (walk) Tuesday AB & cardio (walk) Wednesday cardio (run) Thursday AB & cardio (walk) Friday cardio (run) Saturday AB As long as I am seeing progression, I'm happy moving forward - it's just disheartening that on Saturday I had pain and I couldn't do nearly as many pushups. But it will get better, i'm sure.

Yes, it is a big win. Keep up the good work!

Keep it up. 100 burpees - good goal. As long as you see progression, that's important. Just remember to not be hard on yourself if you miss a goal, but work toward improvement.

Ok, semi successful week in the books. Not the best start, but hey, room to improve right? Let's start with healthy veggies - I would be stretching to say I had 3 meals of healthy veggies. Just a bad week for meals - we didn't even eat dinner on Friday. Anyway, I need to come up with a menu that features veggies more prominently. That's my goal/home work for this week. Angry bird workout 3x per week. I'll say 2.5x was accomplished. I seriously just gave up on the third workout as I was, for some reason, completing way way less than the other 2 workouts. That was disappointing. Plus I was getting a fairly nice pain in my left knee that I had no intention of pushing. I'm going to keep on the attempts this week and really see if I can get all three in. Other than my third workout, I have seen very good gains. I've gone, in about 6 AB workouts from doing "20" squats to doing 100+, and I've moved on to the overhead squats routine (this was producing the knee pain). I've gone from about 14 push ups in 2 sets to 36 in 3 sets. I can do 2 mins of planks in 2-3 sets. My core strength is ridiculously terrible. As for the rows, I have not been doing those as the availability of material to do it with is hampering me. I got an empty gallon jug that I plan to start as my "weight". Cardio 5x per week. I got 3 of those in as well. I feel pretty good about that as I saw good walking speed gains. I really have to start doing the interval training to improve though. Week 2 improvement, eh? Not the most inspiring week 1, but I started - that's the important part. I didn't see any weight improvements, but I can already see a little more definition in my neck/shoulder/chest area, so that's pretty cool. Week 2 here I come!

Holy good Lord OW. I'll save that one for the to do list. My respect level just jumped about 7,000 notches. Good luck with that. Also, good results for the week. If it helps you focus to do it better, just remember that studying is exercise for your brain. Keep up the effort and it will pay off.

I use myfitnesspal as well, but I'm not terribly consistent. I didn't get into anime too much, but i liked the more carton networky stuff like dragon ball z, samurai x, inuyasha, etc. MSU Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

Welcome and good luck. I'm new here too, and I know that wall you hit as well (i'm 33 and overweight). Read up on Staci (Spezzy) on the blogs - she's in IT and made a life change as well - very inspiring. Remember that small changes are key, but don't overshoot on the goals. Going cold turkey is challenging, and food has a mental addiction to it (I'm referencing your liquid calorie goal). Try to phase it out if possible. Like Steve K says in one of his blogs, just reduce until its gone. It may slow your progress at first, but it will make keeping it out easier in the long run. For the workouts, are you planning on going to a gym/fitness trainer/at home? All ways can be successful, so use what works best. Ask for support or help if you need it (because we all do at some point). You can be successful, just like in a video game, if you just keep at it. Ever die when you got to a boss almost immediately? The next time you approached differently and lived longer? Eventually you developed a strategy to beating the boss and won...think of improving your health similarly. You don't get the results you are liking, push on and adjust. Good luck!

Hey, we're all here for you buddy. Keep strong, ask for motivation if you need it, and keep the long term goal in mind. It's hard, and many people fall off the band wagon. Well, get back up and try again if it happens. You have reachable goals and tracking is key, especially for the food. If its ok, what kind of digestive issues? There are a ton of people here that I am sure can help. I'm the other way, I digest too much (overeat!). Just remember, this is a community, and everyone supports each other. Also, everyone thinks that swamps are dark and scary - but swamps are a vital function of an ecosystem - they do the filtering - much like your liver. When things leave the swamp they are clean and renewed - use that as focus. Good luck!

Hey, welcome and good luck - I love the goals - realistic and audacious all at the same time! And to quote one of my favorite movie lines of all time (from "The Princess Bride") - "Have fun storming the castle!"

Congratulations! It's always great to make a noticeable difference!