nogodsjustwriters

Why, hello there, again! I joined what seems like a long time ago, but my fitness program was somewhat thrown off course at the end of last summer by an injury that took a long time to heal and a major car accident at the beginning of 2015 that took time to recover from. I only really started training again a month ago. To get back into the swing of things, I actually hired a personal trainer for the first time ever, also because he can pay attention to my form which, so the physio therapist stressed, is critical. I am then finally ready to join the first challenge and, though I'm a little late to post, I did start on the 13th. My life's very busy right now, so I only really picked two goals, a fitness one and a life one. Fitness-wise, I'd like to be able to hold a plank for a mininimum of 2 minutes in perfect position at the end of the six weeks. I currently manage just about 50 seconds. I used to be able to do 4 minutes, but that was when I was at my fittest and also while not paying proper attention to form at times. In my current condition, 2 minutes seems like a good challenge and it will strenthen my core, which again is vital if I want to move to more challenging workouts in the future. Life-wise, as mentioned, it's supremely busy right now and I work a lot of hours every week in a very rushed environment. My goal here is to knock off early once a week and prepare a vegan dinner from scratch using fresh ingredients. I'm somewhat of a workoholic, so this one won't be easy. Let's see how things go... Thanks for reading and thumbs up to all other challenge participants!

That's a mean looking bike right there. I rode one of them once when I was in the States. To be honest, sports bikes ain't for me - I came off one once many moons ago and it kinda ruined it for me. I'm happy to ride more relaxed machines these days :-)

Hi there & thanks for your reply! Right now, I sadly don't actually own a bike - half the year it's too hot to ride here and the other half the traffic is too biker unfriendly. I do rent bikes every now and again, though... I used to ride a Triumph America - awesome bike, even better with a different set of pipes. Else, I'm a big fan of riding "country or task specific bikes" - I did Route 66 on a Road King. You can only really do Route 66 on a Harley, anything else just wouldn't do. At the same time, a Harley doesn't make sense in countries where roads actually have corners and you need to lean your bike more than 5 cms. :-) I did India on an Enfield - huge laugh, 500cc, one cylinder. If it breaks (and it broke frequently!), you can take it apart and put it back together again with just a screwdriver and a hammer. If I were to buy another bike right now, I think I'd buy this one: http://www.triumphmotorcycles.com/bikes/rocket/2014/rocket-iii-roadster - I rode one when it first came out. It was one of the biggest hoots on wheels I've ever seen...

Turns out you can order them online if you're in the US: http://www.house-foods.com/tofu_shirataki_online_store_lists/

Yup, this strikes a chord and is similar to my own story. I've been a vegetarian since last summer after a life-time of eating meat, a few vegetables every now and again, and hardly any fruits. Last summer, I ended up not eating much at all for about a week, for various reasons (work stress, real life issues) and eventually ended up in some sort of crisis mode that saw me sleeping essentially non-stop for a few days. When I eventually emerged from my bedroom, I was super hungry, but somehow couldn't face eating meat (even the smell made me a little nauseous), so I figured I'll try veggie food for a while. I liked it and, although I did have meat a few times in the following weeks, found that I was happier cutting it out completely. I challenged myself to try vegetables and fruits I hadn't eaten since I was a child or even never eaten before. I liked a lot of them, others not so much. I started to read more about vegetarian and vegan diets and, in the process, started to prepare more food myself rather than getting take-aways or eating out. As time went on, I felt more energised than ever before, so I obviously continued to roll with it. I'm currently vegetarian as in I don't eat meat or fish/seafood. I still eat dairy every now and again, but I'm working on reducing that to see how a vegan diet will suit me. I don't really go in for "save the world" arguments when it comes to turning vegetarian. It's a personal choice for me, nothing I expect anybody else to buy into, but also nothing I expect anybody to criticise me for.

Right... So here goes nothing then. I've been lurking from behind the sand dunes of one of the better known countries in the Middle East for a while. I came across NF last summer when I tried to find a way out of various holes I had dug myself into and at first I was like "Woot, woot?" and then "Ah, alright..." and I started to try out a few things, many of which stuck. I was never overweight as such, although I did carry excess weight, but more than that I really didn't exercise at all. I was a skinny dude who'd turned fat(ish) over the years thanks to a combination of not exercising and eating a poor diet. I also worked a lot. Last summer I was engaged in a particularly mentally challenging assignment and, at the same time, faced several real life issues which severely drained my energy. I worked all hours and lived on a diet of junk food, fizzy drinks, coffee, and cigarettes until I collapsed at my desk one afternoon. I spent the next few days sleeping and, once I was able to think clearly again, decided it's time to make a few changes. I started working out, first in the privacy of my own home, but eventually "graduating" to a small gym near my work. I changed my diet completely and turned vegetarian with a tendency to go vegan more often than not. I took up meditation. Results started to show, my confidence grew and I lost about 15 kilos in the process. I'm now the same weight I was 15 years ago when I was a student, but unlike back then, I'm a lot leaner and fitter. So why stop lurking just now? So far, the memories of last summer and everything that went on powered my workouts. A lot of stuff happened then that made me very angry - anger is a great motivator at times, but not one that should be sustained forever. I decided that it's about time I let go of the past, which is overall a good thing, but also means I need to find new ways to motivate myself to keep going. So it's good-by anger and hello NF community, I suppose :-) Other than that, as the handle suggests, I write a lot. I role play, and I ride motorbikes (mainly because, like running, riding focuses the mind). I have lived in several countries and speak a few languages more or less fluently. I haven't yet decided on which guild should be my home away from home, although for various reasons I feel drawn to the druids. I'm sure I'll find out sooner or later. In the meantime: Hello! ;-)

I had a similar issue. This fixed it: http://www.pinterest.com/search/boards/?q=vegan%20lunchbox Happy lunching :-)