tideling

155 push-ups is something to be proud of! Yay for getting up early and getting to the gym!

Preparing stuff the night before is so important! When I'm really on top of things, I try to pack lunch at the same time I'm plating up dinner. Sadly, I'm not always on top of things, but that's the goal. I also usually try to keep a can of tuna and an avocado around as a back-up, so if I have to, I can just grab them in the morning and mix them up at school. Definitely agree about snacks! I always get super hungry around 4pm, and if I don't have something to eat in my desk (lately it's trail mix), I know that I'll swing by the convenience store on the way home and get candy.

I found your thread searching the "bullet journal" tag, and I identify so much for that quest for a morning routine. The mornings really do set the tone for the rest of the day. Good luck!

Yesterday was almost a bust. I fell back asleep in the morning and failed to make lunch (or breakfast) in time. Fortunately, my husband saved me from the horrors of the cafeteria. He packed a lunch and brought it to me at school during my prep period. My school is on the way to his work, so he didn't even have to make a special trip! Yay for support! During my last class of the day, one of my favorite students had a really bad grand mal seizure. It was the scariest thing I've ever seen as a teacher. After the paramedics rushed her off to the hospital, one of my colleagues gave me a candy bar because I was kind of shaken up. Then my husband found out what happened and bought me another candy bar. I am weak and I ate both of them. Then I drank a Monster. At least I logged it? Not until this morning, but still . . . I logged it. And I got my words done last night. Baby steps, I keep reminding myself. Baby steps.

Good goals! And I definitely understand showing up late to the party! I'm working on writing this month, too. Good luck with your novel!

Good for you! I have been there with losing weight and then gaining it back again. It's great that you're getting back into the game!

I try to finish 750words.com every day as a journal, but the 500 is in addition to that. I've got a number of fiction projects that I'm working on (a couple of short stories and a recently started novel). I count blog entries as part of that too. Basically, if I'm intending to post it online or try to get it published someday, I will count it under my 500 words. I have a spreadsheet I use to track my progress and projects.

I hear that! Even if I eat lunch, I've found that I need to keep something like trail mix in my desk. Otherwise, I'll end up swinging by the store for a candy bar or something on the way home.

I'm restarting my health journey again after a long, long absence. My primary goal this year is to get pregnant, and I am trying to make better decisions about my food and activity levels. I want to teach my kids how to enjoy an active lifestyle and that means I need to have one myself. But starting with baby steps, here are my goals for February: Pack my own lunch at least 4 days a week. (I'm a teacher, and if I don't remember to pack lunch, I'll default to the school's hot lunch, in which tater tots are considered a vegetable) Use my bullet journal to track what I'm eating every day. Log everything, especially the bad stuff. Do a yoga video once a week. Write 500 words every day.

I joined the forums a few weeks ago, but have fallen silent for the last week. This new challenge is a good opportunity for me to re-focus my energy, though. My Motivation My husband (Osito!) and I are going to be starting a family soon. I don't want to teach my children the same sedentary lifestyle I learned from my parents. I want them to enjoy using their bodies, to grow up with a sense of adventure and a love for movement. But that's not something I can teach them unless I learn it myself. My Six-Week Goal Two years ago, I bought a cute green dress at a consignment shop, even though it was a size too small and I couldn't zip it up all the way. Since then, it has hung, unworn, in my closet. My six week goal is to fit comfortably into that dress - and to wear it somewhere awesome! My Three Sub-Quests 1) Run three times a week 2) Avoid refined sugar during the work week 3) Do the BBWW twice a week

EXERCISE Knee is still messed up, though it's a lot better today. I am going to go ahead and rest it today and tomorrow, then try the body weight workout again on Monday and launch back into C25k next week. FOOD Breakfast: The usual smoothie, except that I gave into temptation and drank the whole thing because my husband wasn't here to take half of it. At least it's fairly healthy -- a lot of sugar from the fruit, but at least the yogurt is homemade and the almond milk is unsweetened. Snack (I know, I shouldn't have needed one after the smoothie, but I got really hungry for some reason): a handful of almonds and 2 small squares of cheddar Lunch: 1/2 chicken sausage fried up with about 1/2 cup of diced sweet potato and a handful of mustard greens Dinner will be homemade pizza and red wine. Damn, I am not putting forth the best first impression on these forums!

That's a great menu! I always pack lunches for my husband and me, so it's great to see what other people are eating. How do your eggs hold up? I love eggs, but I've never tried packing them in a lunch before. I use a laptop lunch box to force myself to get a variety of foods into my diet. It comes with 4 containers, 2 large and 2 small. My rule is that at least one of the large containers has to be full of vegetables. Usually, whenever I'm plating up dinner, I pack up the lunchboxes at the same time. My coworkers act all impressed with my lunches, but I keep trying to tell them that it's no harder than serving up two extra dinner plates. But if your roommates are cooking, that approach might not work for you. Here are some tips I use that don't involve leftovers, though: At the beginning of the week, I usually make a ginormous green salad (usually kale and mustard greens, since they hold up a lot better than lettuce), and toss some into my lunch every day. In spring and summer, I also slice up some fruit and toss it together in a bowl with a splatter of lemon juice to keep it from browning. I use whatever is cheap at the produce stand near my apartment -- this week it was apple, kiwi, and blueberries. So usually my lunch includes one large container full of salad and another small container full of fruit. A trick I learned from Just Bento (not a paleo site, but several of the meat and veggie recipes there can be adjusted to become paleo) is keep a decent stock of quick protein on hand for days when I don't have enough time to cook something in the morning, or when we don't have leftovers in the fridge. For instance, whenever I make meatballs, I double the recipe and freeze a bunch of them. I stick them on a baking sheet in the freezer for an hour or so, until they are mostly frozen, then toss them all into a freezer bag or tupperware container. That way, they don't stick together. If I make dahl (I know legumes aren't paleo, but I refuse to give them up) or a hearty stew, I ladle some of it into a greased muffin tin, freeze it for a few hours, then pop the muffin-sized bites out and transfer them into a storage bag. One or two of them is a perfect lunch-sized serving. I also prefer having soupy things frozen to cut down on the mess potential during my commute. Even though one of the inner containers of my lunchbox has a lid, spills occasionally happen.

EXERCISE I had C25K wk7 day 2 scheduled today, but unfortunately, I seem to have royally fucked up my knee with improper squat form yesterday. It was all swollen and painful by the time I got home from work. I iced it last night, and will do so again today, but I'm not going to try to run on it. If anyone has any brilliant ideas for cardio that doesn't put any stress on the knees, I'd love to hear them. FOOD Breakfast: I need to make more yogurt, so no morning smoothie for me. Instead I made a scramble (1 egg, 1/2 a chicken sausage, red and yellow pepper, onion, tomato, and a handful of mustard greens) and ate it with half a grapefruit, sliced. I am trying an experiment where I designate two containers of my laptop lunch box as snacks and eat them mid-morning and afternoon, instead of eating all 4 at lunch. I'm hoping it will lead to less crazy hunger as I finish work. This is what I have packed for today: Snack: 1/2 sliced apple with natural, unsweetened peanut butter Lunch: Leftover chicken curry and cauliflower rice (again . . .) Snack: 1/4 cup roasted almonds Dinner: Okay, so guys, I messed up. My husband and I moved about a month ago, and we still have a bunch of our stuff in his parents' garage. We went up to their town to get some of it last night, and on the way, we decided to stop by one of our favorite restaurants because we wouldn't have time to cook. So, long story short, dinner was 3 tequenos, 1/2 a steak with chimichurri, 12 fries, about 1/4 cup of roasted vegetables, and a big spoonful of black beans. Aaaand a Cuba libre and a mojito. And tres leches cake drizzled with Bailey's and kahlua because I am weak and their tres leches cake is amazing. *cringes* I didn't regret a single bite last night, but I am feeling bad about it today, especially knowing we are having pizza for dinner (homemade pizza on Friday nights is our thing) and that friends are coming over for an RPG tomorrow and there will be snacks galore. Aside from the Friday pizza thing, I feel like I cook healthy most of the time, but I just go crazy in restaurants. I don't know how to get past that.

Thanks for the advice and encouragement! Most of the swelling seems to have gone down, but I will ice it on and off throughout today, just to make sure. I'm bummed because today was supposed to be the next day in the C25K plan, but I'm not going to try to run when I was having trouble walking on it last night. And yeah, I will definitely have to pay more attention to my form last time. I suspect that's what caused the problem.

This morning I started the BBWW. I didn't leave myself enough time and only managed to get one circuit in, but even with only one set of 20 body weight squats, my right knee started twinging. I didn't pay much attention to it, but throughout the course of the day, it got steadily worse. By the time I got home from work, my knee was swollen. It hurts to put any weight on it. I am icing it now to take care of the swelling. But I'm wondering if this kind of thing is normal when you start working out, or if I should go see a doctor. What do you guys think?

Good luck, Marcus! And happy new spring to you, as well!

Hello! I am new here, too, but everybody seems great so far. Flying sounds like an excellent reward! I identify with that one a lot! My husband and I are total foodies. We always cook from scratch, but we've both struggled with weight because of large portions and too many carbs. And beer and wine. But at least by knowing how to cook, you are ahead of the game when it comes to changing your diet! At least that's what I keep telling myself . . .

YESTERDAY (3/25) C25k Wk7 Day 1 1.46 miles, 18:05 min/mile, 26.21 consecutive minutes (I was feeling good, so I kept going after the 25 minute mark) TODAY (3/26) EXERCISE First stab at the beginner body weight tutorial. I didn't realize how long it would take, so I only left time for one circuit. I was really surprised at how hard it was, too. I am more out of shape than I thought. Didn't warm up enough, either. Next time, I'll run through a sun salutation first. body weight squats: 20 (pain in the right knee . . . maybe it will go away as I get stronger?)(bent-knee) push ups: 7lunges: 20dumbbell rows (25lb): 10plank: 15 secJumping Jacks: 30It's a start, at least. Not sure if I should try again after work, or if I should wait until my next day. FOOD LOG 3/26 Breakfast: Smoothie (1/2 c. homemade yogurt, 1/2 banana, 3 frozen strawberries, handful of kale, 1/2 c. almond milk, and 1 tbs. chia seeds) and 2 cups of black coffee. Lunch: Leftovers (chicken curry, cauliflower rice, and kale salad). I brought a small portion of mixed fruit, too, but it went moldy in the fridge, so I didn't eat it. Herbal tea, no sweetener. Snack: Strawberry C Monster smoothie, three pieces of beef jerky, and a Snickers peanut butter bar (yes, I had a moment of weakness at the grocery store, when running errands took too long. You are all witness to my not-so-secret shame) Dinner: Chicken sausage, red and yellow pepper, onion, garlic, kale, and mustard greens, all sauteed together. Water to drink, then green tea. Snack: 2 squares of cheddar cheese, a banana, black tea with cream and sugar (I know, I know . . .)

Good luck with the switch to paleo! I am trying to incorporate more paleo principles into my diet, but it's hard sometimes. My friend gave me a loaf of fresh-baked bread, and it's on my counter right now, mocking me. I love the way I feel when I eat clean, but I love bread, too . . . I hope you decide to explore cosplay further, even if you're not at the point you want to be yet! I've seen gorgeous cosplayers of all shapes and sizes. It seems a shame to miss out on something fun while you are getting in shape.

That sounds awesome! I hope you post about your journey! I travel a lot for work and struggle with staying fit on the road. I really liked the idea of playground and hotel room workouts -- I feel embarrassed working out in front of my coworkers since we always share a room, but I think I need to get over it. Food is the biggest challenge for me, though. It's so hard not to go overboard when I'm eating out all the time.

Wow, that's an awesome work out regimen to start off! It's great that you have the drill instructor background to draw from. Good luck with your goals! I am in the same boat, with wanting to do the next challenge, but not wanting to wait another few weeks to get started. We can cheer each other on.

I am not running nearly that much (only about 5 miles a week), but I've been so much hungrier since I've started the Couch to 5k plan. It's ridiculous! I'm trying to at least eat healthy food, but I'm finding that i need to be a lot more proactive about keeping easy, fast protein in reach, otherwise I want to load up on carbs.

Hi, I'm Mindy! I'm 32 years old, and I live in Seattle. I'm also a huge nerd! I grew up on a steady diet of Star Trek (DS9 is my favorite), I used to play in the SCA, I love tabletop RPGs, and I've been writing fanfiction for almost 20 years. Most of my life I've been that kind of awkward, fat, quiet girl. You know the type. I lived in my head and not in my body. Looking back, I realize that, even when I realized I was drawn to physical activities, I avoided doing them because I was so self conscious of the way I looked. I've always wanted to run, for instance, but I didn't want people to see me huffing and puffing my way down the sidewalk. I managed to drop about 75 pounds in my early 20s, mostly because I changed up my diet a lot to deal with some health concerns. I cut processed food, learned how to cook, and switched to a mostly vegan diet. I even stopped drinking coffee, which is a huge deal for me! My diet experimentation continued until the doctor suggested I go gluten free. That was the breaking point for me -- I love to bake and couldn't fathom the thought of giving up homemade bread. I stopped going to the doctor and started drinking coffee again, but my diet stayed pretty healthy. Since I lived near a network of trails, I used to walk a lot, too. Typically, I'd wake up at 4 AM, hit the trail for about an hour, come home, write, then head to work. I also started taking bellydance lessons -- something I had always wanted to do, but that I'd always been too self conscious to try. In a lot of ways, it was a high point, health-wise. But as I kept losing weight, I started to play with how long I could go without food. It didn't help that there was a lot of rough stuff going on in my life at that point, and my diet felt like the one thing i could really control. Before long, I was eating about a meal a week.I looked great, but I was a nervous wreck. Finally, I broke down and started making some positive changes in my life. I moved out of the toxic roommate situation I was in, and moved in with the man I eventually went on to marry. Starting a new relationship brought its own challenges, though. My husband loves to cook, but grew up eating a fairly traditional British diet (his mum is British). Lots of meat and potatoes. Very few vegetables. Since he was happy to do most of the cooking, and since I was kind of done freaking out about my food, I ended up eating a lot of the same stuff he did. I stuck firm on avoiding processed food, but that was about all I managed. And since I had an appreciative audience for my baking skills, I started making a lot more bread and cookies. Most of our dates also involved food in some way -- meals out, ice cream, popcorn with movies . . . We both gained a lot of weight the first year we were together. Eventually, we started trying to be healthier. We ate more vegetables and I started bellydance lessons again. We made a little bit of progress. Then we moved to a small, shitty town so I could take my first teaching job, and we both backslid spectacularly. Between living somewhere that wasn't very walkable and the stress of teaching, I ballooned out. My first year teaching, I gained about 50 pounds! For the four years I was teaching, my health slid steadily downwards. Finally, I told myself that I needed to make some changes before I ended up having a heart attack or something. At the time, my husband was also getting pretty frustrated with his own weight, so he was willing to get on board. Finally, I took a huge step and quit my job, and we moved back to the Seattle area. Most of my stress disappeared when I took my new job. I stopped gaining weight, but didn't start losing it, like I would have when I was younger. I think that period of not-eating in my twenties might have really messed up my metabolism. This December, I read "Born to Run" and it inspired me to start a Couch to 5k program. I was so out of shape, that I needed to repeat week 1 three times before I could get all the way through a workout, but I got one of my sisters to hold me accountable, and I kept trying. I could only manage 30 seconds of running at a time back in December, but this morning, I jogged for 25 minutes straight for my week 7, day 1 workout! My speed is horrible, but I figure there is time to work on speed after I gain endurance. The big thing that keeps me going is that my husband and I want to start a family next year. I don't want my kids to grow up with the same sedentary lifestyle I was raised in, but I don't think I can teach them to enjoy an active lifestyle unless I have one myself. I'm trying to find more physical activities that I enjoy. My husband and I tried kayaking while on vacation a few years ago, and I'm really excited to try it again now that we are in Seattle. Our new apartment is by a bunch of bike trails, so I'm also excited to get my bike tuned up and start running errands that way. Parking is a pain in the butt here, so I am definitely motivated to bike! The scale only shows a difference of about 5 pounds since I've started running, but all of my pants are too lose now, and I've visibly lost weight in my face and hands. I am definitely healthier, and I'm happy for that, but clearly, running alone isn't going to make the weight loss happen. I went to a naturopath about a year ago, and she had me try the allergy elimination diet. I wasn't able to stick with it for the full time, but I did like how I felt when I wasn't eating wheat or sugar. She also did a bunch of blood tests, which revealed that my protein was kind of ridiculously low. Since then, my husband and I have tried eating more Paleo -- more meat, more vegetables, fewer empty carbs. My energy is noticeably higher when I eat that way, and I love it. That's how I found Nerd Fitness, while Googling Paleo stuff. I'm not sure I will ever be able to give up bread entirely, but I'm trying to find some kind of compromise that works for me. I also need to start adding in bodyweight exercises between runs. Tomorrow I am going to try out the beginner's body weight exercises here. Sorry, that all got way more tl;dr than I was expecting! Anyway, I'm looking forward to getting to know you guys, and to joining a community of people trying to get healthier.