Pathfinder

I like both of these ideas. I'm leaning towards less frequent goals like "make a new paleo meal once a week" or small lifestyle changes like "stretch twice a day."

Thanks guys. I'm debating the next challenge, starting to brainstorm possible goals. But I'll be graduating college half way through and all over the place for the last half of the challenge, so I'm not sure whether I want to take that on. Maybe I'll set some really simple goals.

It's been a struggle fest. I think I'm hitting 50% completion on all of my goals this time around. :/

Did you read the Momentum article on the blog? I thought it was really cool, and seems relevant. Also, is thread-jacking really thread-jacking if it's invited?

Thanks! And yeah, but I'm always skeptical if I exercise and don't work up a sweat... Especially if it's fun! How's it going for you? How are the goals?

Good news: I've actually been pretty active over the past couple days, without even trying to work out. The weather has been AMAZING, so on Thursday I went on a long walk with an old friend of mine. Then yesterday I went to a formal dance and danced nearly the whole time. Neither of these are incredibly aerobic activities, but I think they count as exercise. I'm still planning on doing the BBWW today before bed (it's a great excuse to watch An Idiot Abroad). I've been carrying an empty water bottle, but I guess that counts. And I've been meeting my protein goals. I ran into an acquaintance and learned they have Crohn's, and they talked about how blood sugar spikes made them tired ALL the time. I sleep too much, and I'm wondering if that's why. Until recently I've been letting myself crash before eating. Over the past two days I've been trying to preempt that. Yesterday I didn't do an hour of work, but other than that it's been hard to avoid working, so I'm not too worried. I'm planning on getting a few hours done today. I've also landed a job, so that search is over! Yay!

OMG I didn't know Aerosmith did a version of that. *Googles*

Well, I'm back in the saddle! I met all of my goals yesterday - including doing the BBWW while watching the first episode of An Idiot Abroad. There were no bad decisions involved in that activity. That show is hilarious.

Thanks, Barfly. It's really great to have you guys around. It makes the struggles less... struggly.

Welcome back!

O.o That is TERRIFYING.

*highfive*

Ok, Barfly, HERE'S the rant. I'm back. I would try to sneak back in like a ninja, but I'm not an assassin (yet). So first, here's what happened last week: I went home. I drank a lot of coffee, and not very much water. I didn't eat enough protein and I crashed a lot. I didn't exercise, except for a walk on Monday. I felt guilty and kind of never wanted to come back on the boards to show my little goal-failing face (overreaction, I know, but I'm really good at that). And then I came out of my bi-monthly existential crisis and cowgirled up. I realized I hadn't hurt anybody except myself by skipping a week of challenge, and I'm still better off than when I started. No NerdFitness gestapo was going to come after me, and probably everyone's had the same thing happen. I also realized it was probably a little much for me to expect to complete a strict regimen like 5k training when I don't even have a normal routine or a "standard day." And I read an interview from Stephen Amell (Arrow) talking about how hard it is to get to that level of fitness, and how he just took two months off from doing ANYTHING between filming seasons. Anyways, I'm back and over the whole self-loathing pity party that was last week. So here's what's going to happen: The goals are staying the same. But that's exactly it. I'm not going to force myself to do 5k training when that WASN'T the goal. The goal was to exercise for thirty minutes three times a week. I'm going to focus on meeting that goal, whatever it takes. Same with protein and water. I'm going to make it easy by carrying the same bag every day, which will just happen to have my water bottle and a bunch of almonds as permanent residents. And then I'm going to finish. From what I understand, that's what Level 1 challenges are about - getting through the first one. The stat assignments here for level 1 make it look like you level up to 2 regardless of how well you complete your goals, it's just the stat points that are different. I think that's great - it's like a tutorial, where it's more about learning the ropes and persevering than getting everything right on the first go. (Tell me if I'm misreading the rules. I don't want to be a noob and level up if I don't deserve it.) And then I'm going to join the Adventurer's guild, because I'm not physically capable of most Assassin skills yet. And then eventually, I will be the world's most accurate Fem!Arrow cosplayer EVAR (SALMON LADDERS!!!). Or just be awesome. And run mud races. *Whew* There is the promised rant. I'm done.

Holy cow I needed to read this this morning. I'm going to try to do that, and maybe make some little print-off sheets with check boxes or something so I can keep track. We're gonna be awesome, Guzzi! We just have to keep on keeping on...

Hey! I wanted to pop in and say congratulations on the weight loss! I saw your progress bar hopped from 11 to 12%. Keep on keeping on, rebel! You're making headway!

Wonderful! It's literally the only thing that gets me running. And they're such a great company - I've had to use their customer service, and they respond quickly and with personal emails instead of generalized replies. When they put new games/seasons out, at this point I'm just like, "Shut up and take my money!"

3/10/14 I actually DID exercise. I started feeling better later in the day and went for a thirty minute walk with a friend to catch some air. 3/11/14 Met my new 1 hour quota for work - I interviewed for a permanent position! The interview went really well... here's hoping everything else works out. I should know in a few weeks. Met the protein quota, but didn't really eat responsibly. I was crashing for a good portion of the day. Trying harder today to keep my blood sugar up. TECHNICALLY had my water bottle with me all day, but didn't use it much. So I guess this counts... No exercise. 3/12/14 I'm going to the gym with the family. There's a track across the street and it should be nice enough outside to do a 5k training. That's the plan. I've been riding the struggle bus this week about feeling committed to my goals. I guess I'm over the honeymoon period and am realizing how much of a gap there is between reality and my dreams. I'm going to try to push through this mental block (what I was planing to battle with this challenge anyways, so be careful what you wish for ) by any means necessary so that I can hit the point were I start seeing results. Then I should feel more confident about this.

Funny story about that: I had a friend who had their Facebook hacked, and the person posted a status saying they were pregnant. That took quite a bit to clean up...

3/9/14 Three servings of protein, no exercise, kind of halfsies on the water bottle? One hour productivity. 3/10/14 Not so much on the water bottle so far, but I've been home almost all day. I'll get a glass of water. One serving of protein down, three to go. No exercise - I'm not feeling well today so I'm taking a rest. I'll probably run tomorrow morning, weather permitting. And now to talk about the life goal. Something BIG just happened in my life (don't worry, it's really good!), and I think that adjusting while pushing for four hours of hard-core productivity outside of class will be a little daunting. I'm going to scale it back to "at least an hour." This makes sure I at least visit my (school)work every day, while leaving me lots of flexibility for adapting. (FYI not pregnant or getting married. Nothing that cool, just a big change for me.) Soooo... yeah. I'll check in later.

I hope so. I think I'm going to end up swapping out my life goal, though. It would be saner to ease into it.

Do you know if they're planning on a season 3? I'll have to try that out. I didn't realize it had already been released! The goal is to run a mudder, so I need to do the running, but walking would be awesome for down days/lunch breaks.

Wow! Look at you battle-hardened rebels! Next time I'll be sure to stay around for the picture. ;b

3/8/14 I ran (as seen in previous posts)! This is officially the furthest I've gotten in 5k training, and also 3/3 for exercise this week. I had water with me all day, and ate protein four times. I did ZERO productivity. Time to try again. Today: I'm planning on counting emptying my email as productivity, because I've missed important work and school stuff because I'm overrun. So that's the goal for today. I might also work on an important project for school.

Thanks! When I know I'd have to own up to it here, it's almost easier to exercise, even when I don't want to, than to let it slide. :b You Zombies, Run too? I love that game!

Thanks, Guzzi!