skatrek47

Hey MM, I really like your goals - the desire to help yourself & others is pretty darn motivating! And starting NOW is the best you can do for anything! The C25K program is quite good. I did it in last summer/fall and when I started, those 60 second jogs were so hard! And I really dreaded that first 20 minute run! It took more than 9 weeks but I made it & felt amazing... I need to start running again, but think I'll wait until the single-digit temperatures go away! Good luck, I'll try not to bug you too much but look forward to your progress updates!

Looks like you had a great first challenge day! I'm sorry to hear your job & teachers... I usually tell myself "The Wheel of Fortune turns & turns" when I'm in an unhappy place as reassurance things will get better. Hope your second day was good too...

Haha, I moved to Cleveland last year so I should probably get used to disappointment Yea, I'm not sure about the calorie calculator - I've lost weight using it before but can't remember if it actually worked out to what they come up with... but what do they say? "Measure it and it will improve"? Sounds about right!

Your travel plan sounds amazing - have fun! I'd love to travel but I can't remember where I parked my TARDIS (and there's that job thing too )

Hey Chris & Bekah, thanks for the invitation! I think the Druids sound like a good fit for me - but I haven't really noticed any changes yet. I've been reasonably flexible and had some really good in-person yoga teaching in college so I think my technique has a good foundation. Most of my practice involves DVDs these days though! Did yoga again today (it's "easier" than the BBWW from my prior experience, pushups are my downfall!)... as far as diet goes, I had salad for lunch... funny story, the grocery store was OUT of everything except like 5 packs of spring mix yesterday, seems like others have the same idea for the New Year? Unfortunately, alcohol is clearly a trigger for me since the glass of wine I had lowered my inhibitions just enough to break into a box of cookies I have leftover from Christmas :-/ I did stop myself though instead of just eating the whole box! And the public / accountability part of this challenge is helpful since marking "no" to exercise or going "over" calories was sooooo tempting but I knew I'd have to come here & write about it... so I thank this community!

Hey Kaye, I tried a personal trainer a few years back... it got expensive so I didn't keep it up, but he definitely did help getting me started with good exercises & motivation, I hope it works for you too. As far as ED goes, I really do applaud your approach - as a pediatrician, I've seen many boys and girls who struggled with not knowing their numerical weight and it sounds like it's the same for adults... it's super courageous of you to take this on! Finally, I'm not trying to sell anything here and don't know if protein powders go against the NF grain (anyone remember Steve's April Fool's post last year?) but I feel like I've had good success with teraswhey - it's organic & not full of crazy ingredients, the vanilla one's pretty tasty and has a bunch of protein, and a glass made with skim milk can get me through to lunchtime. Just a suggestion... And I wish I loved vegetables as much as you do!

Hey, those are some great goals - what exercise challenge are you and your daughter doing?

Congratulations on the 15 pounds already, that's a huge accomplishment! I also enjoy football & TV marathons (plus the snacks that go with them)... it's a dangerous hobby! Hope your ankle feels better during this challenge! And I'm sure you've heard of it, but MyFitnessPal is a great food logger, the barcode scanner is easy to use & the database is huge.

Okay, here we go - I've done yoga 2 of the last 3 days, was under calories today (but none of the days before ), cleaned the house yesterday, and went to church this morning (5 in a row so far). Off to a good start, but 42 days to go! Also, I should've put something in about social calendar & events (an ongoing problem for MUCH longer than 42 days)... argh, there's never enough time!!! Made a spreadsheet with conditional formatting so I can tell at a glance how it's going... I'll try to post when there's actually something to look at!

Hey Companion, sounds like you're already a pretty BAMF to me! I really like your master goal... and the general Whovian nature of your post (I'm on season 3??? )

Introduction Trying this out again, last time I posted once then gave up! I'm a physician-scientist & can usually find some reason I'm "too busy" to eat well or exercise (like being up for 24 hours!)When I was growing up, I was "husky" and was never very physically fit and have typically had an unhealthy relationship with food (it's a "reward" & I can blow through a box of Cheez-It's by the end of a Big Bang Theory episode!)I've weighed as much as 203lb and was down to 168lb many years ago (thanks elliptical!) but am now about 190lbMotivation I've had a whole lot of life changes recently and am on a quest to make myself "better" both for myself & for a girl I'm seeing . I'm 30 years old & although that's not "old," I want to make sure I live the rest of my lifeTeddy Roosevelt's "Man in the Arena" quote (in my signature) is the underlying motivation in my life right now - I'm tired of hiding & saying "I'll do it later" & being complacent!!!!Main quest To improve physical fitness: to get back to a middling-BMI (170lb = 23.1) by the middle of the year (like three to four six-week challenges?)Workout 5 days a week: alternate the "Beginner Bodyweight Workout" here on NF with a Namaste Yoga (only 22 minutes!) workoutGrading: A = 30+ workouts, B = 18-29 workouts, C = 12-17 workouts, F = <12 workoutsEat less: net 1830 calories a day (per MyFitnessPal to lose 1.5lb/week)Grading based on average number of calories/day over the 6 week period: A = on target, B = 2080 calories/day (per MFP to lose 1 lb/week), C = 2330 calories/day (per MFP to lose 0.5 lb/week), F = >2580 calories/day (per MFP to maintain current weight)Try to cook more (I'm already a pretty good cook if I do say so myself!) - one-dish pasta dishes are usually my go to (I know I know, but I can't commit to doing Paleo - it feels like too big of a change... maybe one day) and this way I can also avoid processed, artificial food!A big help towards achieveing this is to not eat anything after dinner - snacking in bed while reading is a no-no & "easy" way to cut down on calories!Life Side Quests To improve spiritual fitness: grow closer to God & incorporate faith into my lifeI've been going to weekly mass for a few months and want to continue thatContinue nightly prayers & saying grace at dinnertimeWork through The Purpose-Driven Life - it's a 40 day journey which fits nicely into a 6-week challengeTo keep a clean homeI've been pretty good about doing a top-to-bottom cleaning every two weeks, but certainly need to do better than that...It can only help my social calendar & with two cats, it's necessary!Clean all the rooms on a weekly basis: two bedrooms, kitchen, bathroom, living room, dining room - maybe one a day? Or vacuum/dust on one day then mop on another, tackle bathroom on its own day? I'll figure this out as I go...Plus cleaning counts as cardio! (the harder you work, the faster it goes!)My username comes from my former obsession with ska (which I am now over) and Star Trek (which I still get excited about) Atrribute point allocation pending...

This challenge came just in time! Even if I'm a day late, I decided about 5 days ago that it's time for a change... taking Steve's advice, I started off by taking pictures & was really motivated to do something! Measurements 195lbs and 6ft (BMI 26.4) 16.9% body fat Chest 39.75in Waist 40.75in Thigh 24in Calf 17.25in Upper arm 12in Forearm 10.5in Neck 14.5in I haven't worked out in awhile (and in school, my dorm had a gym downstairs so a workout was easy) & have become complacent with my diet tracking (I love My Fitness Pal and was pretty motivated with it before). I'm a pediatrician-in-training and so that whole 80-hr-work-week thing has made non-work "life" a bit of a challenge! I used to be a "big kid" in school & was never very athletic and had been up to about 203lb at one point; in med school I was able to drop down to 168lb at the lowest and was able to fit into "skinny jeans" and really felt great! Obviously I'm rapidly heading back to towards pre-med territory and all those nice clothes I bought a couple years ago don't fit so well anymore... I'll probably end up posting more "personal info" here at some point, but it's better to aim for "something" at all instead of trying for "perfection." Main quest: to lose weight and fit comfortably into my old clothes Quest 1: workout 3-4 days a week Grading: 4 days = A, 3 days = B, 2 days = C, 1 day = D, 0 days = F Quest 2: net 1740 calories a day (as determined by My FItness Pal) - I'll take comments on this! Grading: at/under goal = A, 100 calories above = B, 200 = C, 300 = D, 400 = D, >400 = F Quest 3: take the stairs & park far away from the entrance whenever possible Grading: all stairs = A, taking elevator once a day = C, taking elevator twice a day = F (I only have two real occasions to take an elevator up during the day) Life Side Quest Pay $800 towards credit card debt I've always been a Star Trek fan (ask my parents how annoying it was for their 10 year old son to rush home so he didn't miss an episode of Voyager!) and Captain Picard is my personal hero, so let's make it so!