Shortkaik

Hey guys! I'm 26 and recently married, with two pre-teen stepkids living with us (half the time.) My main challenge right now is managing fitness, healthy eating and family. I just can't seem to find a proper balance, and I'm looking for a mom-type buddy who I can talk about these challenges with. Not of my RL friends understand as they are neither married/partnered nor have children (let alone two girls going through puberty, eek!) Anyway, PM me if you'd like to talk about kids and healthy eating and managing family time with fitness time!

Welcome, also from Canada! Nutrition is really important. If you're not able to really work out right now, just focus on getting that straight. Then you can add additional exercise when you can. Sometimes it can be overwhelming to try to change everything all at once, especially with a baby to deal with as well! Good luck!

Yay! Well it sounds like things have been pretty busy for you lately, it takes time to settle into a new job and a new living situation. But it's good that you're ready to get back to it. I'm in a similar situation - I spent about 2 years losing 30 pounds (not nearly as impressive as your almost 100!) and in less than a year I put it all back on. I've found while my pants are getting tighter, my confidence is slipping away. Not cool. So I'm totally with you - leave it behind and get back to it! Good luck!

I love learning to do new things. Two years ago I learned to knit, last year my big thing was cake decorating. I went from spreading storebought icing with a butter knife to making my own 3-tier wedding cake in about a year. Tiered cakes are totally an engineering project on their own, btw! Currently my husband and I are busy learning how to make our costumes and the costumes for the kids. I've had to learn how to really sew (more than hemming/fixing) including designing my own pattern and he's got this crazy papercraft/fibreglass/bondo helmet project in the works. We're still figuring out how to make Lily her Portal Gun for her Chell costume... I never would have classified myself as a maker or a DIYer but I do like creating stuff, and I especially like the adventure of learning a new craft!

The one time I had a period that wouldn't stop (lasted about a month straight) it was while I was doing a Whole30. Have you changed your diet as well as your fitness plan? Have you lost a lot of weight recently? Those are some considerations as well, but again... probably worth seeing a doctor if it persists.

String cheese! That sounds like a pretty good idea. Although I think the kids would eat it all before I got my hands on it... Wheat tortilla with almond butter sounds like a better option than white tortilla with nutella! Or even some natural peanut butter. Yogurt and granola is a breakfast for me once in a while (although I tend to overdo the granola)... but is a difficult snack to eat while driving.

I know a lot of people prefer not to eat within 2-3 hours before workouts. However, I work out in the mornings. I'm in the gym about 45 minutes after I crawl out of bed, and 20 of those minutes are spent commuting. My options are eat 30 mins before workout or eat 10 hours before workout. I discovered long ago that I perform much better in my workouts if I've eaten first, but just a snack because otherwise I get cramps while working out (usually involves some running.) I then have my real breakfast after working out, usually oatmeal or hard boiled eggs and carrots. I have never really had a good plan for my pre-workout snack. I've tried bananas/apples, but then I've got this stupid peel/core that I have no where to dispose of. There have been times that I've grabbed a flour tortilla and turned it into a nutella roll-up. I don't want to resort to that, it's definitely counter-productive! I'm looking for suggestions for a quick, portable, healthy pre-workout snack, something probably 100 calories or less. Portable because I tend to eat it during my drive or while, and also quiet because I can't be running the blender while my family is still sleeping at 5:30 in the morning!

Oh man! This thread is gonna make me tear up. :') So I'm a step-mom of two girls, aged 9 and 11. I've been living with them every other week for the last 2 years or so and just got married this past summer. Becoming an insta-parent has been a real challenge, but has also been super rewarding. 1. One day earlier this year, I was doing some baking with one of the girls (8 at the time). Just out of the blue, she said, "I can't wait until I get to call you 'mom' after the wedding!" 2. Also the family vows part of our wedding ceremony where we did a, hm, is there a name for it? Hand stack? "All in"? Anyway here's a picture, you'll get the idea.

I like the idea of this, but I don't do it, just hasn't been feasible for me. We're usually 4 people (two kids - one of which often eats more than I do!), so cooking enough food to feed the whole family for the whole week is just too daunting. Most nights I try to make a bit extra for dinner so we have leftovers for lunch the next day or two, but sometimes it's hard to predict how much everyone will eat! I would like to prepare some emergency lunches for those cases, because usually I just end up with fast food or an expensive prepared salad. We've actually been rather enjoying going to a freezer meal prep place. Basically we pick 6 meals from their list, go in once a month and they have all the vegetables/ingredients prepared and we just measure and mix them and put them in a bag to bring home and keep in the freezer. We actually just did it yesterday and prepared 6 meals in about 30 minutes. So awesome. The best part is we don't have to do prep or cleanup! I would highly recommend looking up one in your area and seeing if it's something for you!

Here are the resources I've used for French and Italian. I'm really bad at languages but at least they make it a bit fun: LiveMocha - this lets you get in touch with other people, and has very well laid out lesson plans. You can earn points to access lessons by 'marking' other people's answers to some questions (in your native language.) You can also pay to access extra lessons (I bought their 1-month unlimited for $10 at the time I was using it) Duolingo - This one is pretty good for learning vocabulary, and depending on the language, it also gives you a chance to practice translating real articles. It's free, and there is a mobile app. MindSnacks - this is an iOS game that helps you learn almost purely vocabulary by playing mini-games. It's fun and good for learning some basics like numbers, months, etc. But as to what the others have said, a tutor is great and learning through practice is best. Speaking it really teaches you to use it best. I can read french fluently but I cannot speak it for the life of me, since I just have not had the guts to practice in the real world! What languages are you interested in? I would like to get better at French with some real practice... my kids started French immersion the last couple of years and I feel so bad when I cannot help them with their homework! @Duality, maybe you could give me some help?

Man, I need to do more caching! I have not really had any funny encounters. My husband is like Jitters, 'who cares if anyone sees us?' In fact, he WANTS people to ask questions so he can get more people interested. I, on the other hand, prefer to be a bit more subtle. The best story we have is that we searched for a cache for a while and then gave up and started walking away - only to be chased down by a little kid (about 8) who had hid the cache with his parents and was watching us search from the window. He brought us back to GZ and played hot or cold with us until we found it. Too cute!

I like my face, in general. There are bits of it I'd pick on (those darn under eye circles!) but generally, it's a well proportioned, highly expressive face with pretty great teeth. I kinda like staring at myself in the mirror. I would totally flirt with that pretty chick (ok, maybe I've flirted with myself in the mirror... whatever!) Now, if you'd asked me about 10 years ago I would have hated my face - I had horribly annoying acne. Luckily it seems to have gone away on its own accord the last 4 or 5 years and the damage it left behind isn't so bad other than some largish pores. I have a love-hate relationship with my calves. They're pretty muscular - I love when I look in the mirror while working out and I can see the defined muscles at the back. But I hate them because they're giant and I have a lot of difficulty getting boots that fit, and my shins are super banged up because I haven't found any soccer shinguards I can do up properly!

I'm on goodreads! Anyone else here a slow reader? I'm not dyslexic or anything (that I know of), but I always seem to read "aloud" in my head. If I try to read more quickly I usually miss half of the things and have forgotten them by the next page. I also tend to fall asleep after every 3 or so pages. It's really frustrating but I'm trying to read more and more! There are so many great books out there!

I actually learned the best way for me to meditate in a university class I took about Buddhism. For the first few minutes of the class, the professor made us all practice mindfulness, with a few methods suggested. What works for me is to sit and relax, deep breathing, but not counting or anything. I let my mind wander, acknowledge thoughts that come up, and then immediately let it go past. In my mind I imagine it sort of like going for a walk down a path in a forest - as you're walking, your eyes tend to wander and you'll see things and think about them briefly - "oooh, look at that cute bunny!" but then you look forward and continue on the path and forget about the bunny, instead of stopping to stare at and over-analyze the adorable bunny. This kind of meditation/mindfulness helps me personally because I often get stuck on ideas or tasks to the point where I can't think of or focus on anything else. It helps me realize that it's ok to just move on. I hope you're able to find something to help you relax! It's really true that it's all a bit different for everyone.

It seems like every time I make up my mind to get back into it, ready to do a Nerd Fitness 6-week challenge again, I jump back on the site and find it's a week before the end of the current challenge! D'oh! I don't really want to wait a few weeks to get started, for fear of losing that motivation that got me back here, but jumping in at the last minute seems silly. Anyway, I guess I just wanted to express my desire for a place to have 'unscheduled' 6-week challenges!

I got a vacuum sealer for Christmas a couple of years ago and it's really great for freezing meats and such! You can get a decent one for about $40. I buy meats when they're on sale and seal them up... it's the air exposure that causes things like freezer burn. I mean, things won't last indefinitely but they'll last longer. Health standards for things like how long stuff can be frozen are very conservative, especially if you've got a deep freeze that doesn't get opened as often as the one on top of your fridge.

I also have found myself often having packaged oatmeal at work - but I buy the regular, unflavoured ones. They don't have any sugar. Instead, I keep a shaker of cinnamon at my desk to put in for flavour - sometimes I'll bring in some fresh or dried fruit and nuts (mmm, raspberries) to add as well. If I really feel like I need some sweetness to it, I'll add a little honey or even a packet of sugar from the coffee station - but at least this way I can control what goes in.

I'll second Bossypants by Tina Fey! I listen to a lot of audiobooks, but it's one of the few that I would recommend the audiobook over the real book for more than just convenience. It's so much better to hear it read in her voice! Thanks for all the suggestions everyone... when I run out of audiobooks I find myself not working out as often. Need more!

Hello! Some of you may remember me. I was a regular around here a while back (2011?) and have been on-and-off the forums for the last year or so. I did a few challenges, but gave up on them when I felt like they were getting too complicated (race, class, skill points, gah...) and too big (I couldn't keep up with everyone's challenge threads, and it seemed like no one was trying to keep up with mine either). So, my story at this point: I was overweight most of my life, and then started getting really into fitness and healthy eating a few years ago. In 2011/early 2012 I was at my best, lifting 3 days a week and even tried a Whole 30 month, which went very well. I'd dropped down to an approximate goal weight and was just working on losing some more fat and building strength and enjoying fitness. Somewhere during the summer, though, I suppose you could say I fell off the bandwagon. I was getting stressed out due to relationship issues (kind of good ones - I was getting impatient for a silly ring on my finger). It was making me lazy about exercise and diet. And then... I got that ring! Huzzah! I'm engaged to be married at the end of August. And so all fall and winter I celebrated my happiness. And it was making me lazy about exercise and diet. I was pretty determined to get my act in order starting in the new year. And then I discovered that I've got this mysterious passion for cake decorating. I've been taking courses every week and I've probably baked 15 cakes (in various forms of layers and stacks) and whipped up 50 cups of various icings since the start of January. It's fun. Unfortunately, I have eaten a good portion of those as well. So now I'm here again. Getting my crap together. I doubt I'll get to the level of activity I was at a couple years ago, because I'm working earlier hours and busy with decorating cakes and planning a wedding. But I'm up ~15lbs from where I was the most comfortable with my body, and I want to return to that. I don't really have a plan right now. Stop being so lazy, I suppose - and I'm going to try to focus on keeping my food under control, and not being so easy on myself. Because that doesn't require as much time as 3 extra days at the gym! Sorry for the long post... I think I needed to say all this for myself as much as anyone else.

Week 4 Day 1 Update Not off to a great start! This week is going to be rough. I had 2 treats: A beer, which I promptly forgot I drank, and then 2 Chinese pineapple cookies. I have 2 cakes to bake this week, so there's going to be a lot of sweets around and taste-testing of icing. Going to try not to overdo it!

Week 3 Day 5 (Friday) While I did end up having 2 beers, total, I would call Friday night a pretty good success! I resisted the "free" slice of (probably nasty) pizza. And I danced for a solid hour. Par-tay! I wouldn't consider dinner a 'treat' because it was super ultra thin crust pizza, with pretty healthy toppings (artichokes, spinach, mushrooms, etc... mmmm....) Week 3 Day 6 (Saturday) I had a pretty serious treat. We went to McDonald's for lunch. Guilty pleasure! But that was it. Didn't find time for a workout - it was a really busy day! Week 3 Day 7 (Sunday) Uh oh, D&D day! That means treats galore. And I did go over my limit. I helped polish off the potato chips as well as partaking in a slice of McCain coconut cream pie. tsk tsk! I also didn't really work out. I spent the morning cleaning the house, but didn't work up a sweat or anything. Week 3 Summary 1. (Fitness) Exercise 3 or more days each week. (2 STR, 3 STA) 2/3. This time I missed my soccer game because I forgot my gym bag at home. Fail! It seems that I can find time for 1 weekend physical activity, but I'm having trouble making time for a second back-up on the weekend. 2. (Diet) At most 1 'treat' per day. (2 CON, 2 WIS) 5/7. Monday: Beer Tuesday: Piece of cake Wednesday: Cupcake Thursday: Sweetened toast Friday: 1 cookie at work, 2 beers in the evening Saturday: McDonald's Sunday: Potato chips, slice of pie 3. (Diet/Life) Add 1 new recipe to my "Recipe Book" each week. (1 STA, 2 WIS) Super duper success! Added 3 new recipes to my book: Panko-crusted Salmon, Salt & Vinegar roasted potatoes and my favourite, the best thing ever: 4. (Life) Deal with and organize scattered paperwork. (3 WIS) Success! I spent some time this weekend opening my pile of unopened mail and sorting through some of my papers - recycled a big pile of old letters and manuals for things I no longer own.

Week 3 Day 2 (Tuesday) Treat for the day: a piece of cake at the catered lunch during my presentation at work. Well, two halves... half a slice of cheesecake and half a slice of tiramisu! Workout: My fitness class went WAY better this time, thankfully. Looks like coming down with the flu is what had me failing it up last time. It was a good workout! Week 3 Day 3 (Wednesday) Treat: Cupcake from my cake decorating class! Yum! Week 3 Day 4 (Thursday) Treat: 2 slices of toast, one with cinnamon spread, one with maple butter. Workout: I was supposed to play soccer - but I forgot my gym bag, ugh! I'm going to try to work out somehow on Sunday to make up for it. I'm a bit worried about today (Friday). We're going out on a date tonight, which includes dinner (Napoli pizza place!) and going to this psytrance party at an indoor amusement park thing. There will be drinks and snacks available. I'm pretty sure I won't be able to pull off the "one treat only" today. Maybe I'll try to limit myself to just one drink or snack at the party, plus dinner. BUT I will probably be doing a ton of dancing and running around tonight, so that's something, at least!

Week 3 Day 1 (Monday) Pretty good day. Had healthy meals and then FINALLY, after like 2 weeks, I was finally able to enjoy a nice, light, beer after dinner. That was my treat for the day and it was wonderful!

Week 2 Summary 1. (Fitness) Exercise 3 or more days each week. (2 STR, 3 STA) 2/3. I missed my fitness class because I was still kinda sick, but I went skating on Sunday. I should have found another day to hit the gym, but I failed at that. 2. (Diet) At most 1 'treat' per day. (2 CON, 2 WIS) Success! My cake decorating class is taking up most of my treats, it seems. I miss BEER! Monday: Cookie Tuesday: Out for dinner (drank a Belini!) Wednesday: Slice of cake from cake decorating class Thursday: Same Friday: Same Saturday: Handful of chocolate (about a chocolate bar equiv.) Sunday: Scones for breakfast 3. (Diet/Life) Add 1 new recipe to my "Recipe Book" each week. (1 STA, 2 WIS) Success! This recipe is a combination of this one and this one. I think I'd like to try it with the dill, but we didn't have any. 4. (Life) Deal with and organize scattered paperwork. (3 WIS) Success! I gathered all my papers in one place and bought a portable filing container. Next week, the sorting begins!

Week 2 Day 2 Update I missed my fitness class because I didn't want to spend $7 to cough through a whole class - will have to make it up later in the week! My treat for the day was going out to dinner. I didn't eat any one particularly horrible thing, but I had pasta and sweet potato fries and a few sips of coke.