Bedouin Mariner

Week 1 Recap: Spent the past day very active, moving around for hours at a time. And the fasting and exercise has paid off! Made significant progress on the scale and, while weight isn't everything, I feel a little leaner. Still need to make the gym more of a priority in terms of my schedule. Would help if I had a workout buddy, but then I'm bound to someone else's schedule. Long distance accountability and self-motivation will have to suffice. Thanks for the welcomes and encouragement! Here's to the next few weeks!

Days 4 & 5: 1. Gym didn't happen days 4 & 5. Managed to do some body weight workouts at home, and put the stability ball that serves as a desk chair to use as exercise equipment. Realizing the struggle between maintaining a social life with friends who don't exercise (or do so sparingly) and being fastidious about fitness myself. 2. Finding ways to be more active outside the gym. Walking at work more. Being more active at home, whether through chores, spontaneous push-ups, or walking around the neighborhood while on the phone. 3. Fasting has gone well. Had to eat lunch 30min early on Day 4 - too hungry and started losing focus on anything but food! Haven't been eating the healthiest food (hard to avoid ice cream at a birthday party), but total intake is remaining low because I've limited the hours. And while I generally avoid hard rules in fitness, the times of 12pm and 8pm have become law for me.

Day 3 Notes: 1. Sore all over arms, shoulders, and core from past two days of circuit training. Going to do some housework involving moving furniture and boxes, then go for a run. Or maybe I'll end up at the gym any way. Feels good afterward, and don't want to break the habit already. Maybe just focus more on legs (lunges, squats, etc). 2. Enlisting the support of friends and family in my intermittent fasting attempt. They're being very helpful and supportive (whether distracting me pre-eating period or fitting in meals and snacks before it's too late). I've found that I'm more likely to get support when I describe it as an experiment rather than a diet. When the "D-word" comes up, people are usually supportive in the you-don't-need-to-do-that kind of way. But if it's an experiment, I think peoples' curiosity wins out - they want to know what happens when someone doesn't eat during 16 hours of the day.

Day 2: 1. Hit the gym late again. Seems to be the best option for my schedule. And even though I'm tired beforehand, I think of what I'd have to post on NF and think, I must do this. Call it vanity or call it accountability. Either way, it's working. Lesson of the day: Breathing is important! As I'm doing circuits that quickly switch from cardio to lifting weights, I'm learning how to control my breath, when to exhale/inhale. There's definitely a difference between exercise while breathing correctly, and exercise when trying to catch my breath. Maybe someday down the road I'll try yoga to develop breathing skills some more. (Sounds funny, "develop breathing skills" - I mean, aren't we born with those?) 2. Haven't found a way to integrate cardio during the week yet. Trying to walk around more at work , but can only do so much. Will definitely need to get the bike out during the weekend. 3. I'm getting more used to intermittent fasting. Well, my brain is. My stomach still rumbles in the morning. Sugar-free gum as helped, as has water. But the best distraction has been work. So fasting has made me more productive in the mornings. And I think it's keeping my calorie intake lower because I'm eating less overall, but I haven't been tracking. Need to start that.

Hello to you, Cici! (what a great username!) Good luck in the next few weeks. And yeah, I'm looking at it like an experiment to figure out what works for me and what needs to be adjusted. I'll be following your efforts!

I'm calling this Day 1. A few things I've learned so far: Intermittent Fasting can be tough, but I love it so far. I ate too early on Sunday when a friend invited me to breakfast, but I was able to push it back as late as I could. Today, being a little hungry helped me stay alert and focused on work. I was a little worried I might be sluggish without breakfast, but not any longer. I may have to rethink my schedule. Had planned on going to the gym immediately after work and before dinner, but had meetings that ran late today. Ended up eating dinner, then had to wait to digest a bit before the gym. I've had periods of going to the gym in the morning, but meetings and recovering from travel derailed that pretty quickly. I guess late evenings will just have to be the way to go, and I'll have to be disciplined about going even though I'm feeling tired at the end of the day.Made a commitment with a friend today to be a partner in improving our fitness. Won't be an exact match because are levels and goals are very different, but I expect having the mutual support will help.

Thanks for the welcome! And yeah - I know what you mean about the difficulties keeping a consistent workout schedule. Keep up the hard work - you're success is awesome!

Thanks for the welcome! Almost every day I do some core - usually crunches w/ a stability ball, plank variations, and leg lifts. I'm also lifting for arms, leg, back and chest, and I do lighter free weights at high reps, focusing on getting form right. A guy at the gym has got me to do a lot of lifting while standing on a bosu pad, which makes a HUGE difference. But my favorite activities by far involve the medicine ball. Throwing it against the wall or ground, holding it out while doing squats/lunges... I love it. There's one called the soccer throw - (1) lift the ball above and behind your head; (2) with a slight bend in the knees, contract your abs and whip the ball into the ground; (3) catch it on the bounce; (4) repeat. Something about the rhythm of it that appeals to me.

(I realize I'm joining this halfway through, but figure I'll start now and hit the next challenge running.) Main Quest (timeline ≈ 12 weeks; deadline: July 20, 2014.) Lose weight and fit into old clothes. GoalsGym 5x per week for HIIT. Weights, cardio, and bodyweight exercises are all used.Introduce fun cardio in free time. Now that the sun is out longer, I'll jog on trails, use my bike for nearby errands, and go for a swim every time I take the boat out (which is hopefully 2 days a week!!!).Change my eating. This will be the toughest one (see Obstacles in my Introduction). After reading about Intermittent Fasting, I'm trying it out. I've been at it for two days now, and I think it's manageable. I'm going to limit my eating to only between noon and 8pm. The hard part will be avoiding donuts during those hours!!Motivation I want to earn the title of athlete. I've been athletic, been in shape, and completed races. But I've never been an athlete, someone who disciplines themselves, pushes for growth, and strives for improvement. Oh, and I'd like to be able to wear some nice clothes that have become a little too snug in recent years. Stats To make measurement easier and track progress, I'm going to keep it simple and just track weight and waist this time, with the plan to track more variables in future challenges. Current weight: 185 lbs. | Current Waist: 34 inches Goal weight: 170 lbs. | Goal Waist: 32 inches I'll use this thread as a log of my work for the next few weeks, and then transfer my updates to the next challenge thread. Stay tuned!

Hello everyone. To tell you about myself, I'll tell you about my name: Bedouin: Not ethnically so, but my life has some resemblance. I live in the desert. I frequently move on to new opportunities; a modern nomad. And I appreciate the importance of poetry, music, and dance. Mariner: I'm a sailor and have been on the water since a child. Sailing and kayaking bring me to a rare state of peace and satisfaction. I love being both on the water and surrounded by rocky/sandy terrain. Or hiking through cacti and boulders to see, from the top of the mountain, a shimmering lake. An oasis. The heat. The colors at sunset. Dry and wet. It's all one beautiful contrast. Fitness Past: I'm a fairly lucky guy. I respond well to exercise and diet, and generally see results early on, regardless of whether I'm trying to lose weight or gain muscle. I have no health or medical issues and can play sports well enough. But this has made me lazy. I'm now getting older, and my ability to transform my body quickly is waning. Muscles now ache and I get winded earlier than ever. While physical activities came naturally in the past, now is the time where the rubber meets the road. For me, this isn't so much about my body. I'm here to transform my mind. My will. The motivation to push and struggle and achieve, even when it's not easy. Looking forward, here's what I've got: Assets: Supportive friends. My friends are active physically and, unlike me, they started out of shape and overweight and have worked hard to earn where they are today. Gym. I'm a member of a local gym with quality owners and excellent resources that I haven't even fully tapped into. Confidence. I've been in locker rooms and on playing fields before, and I'm comfortable exercising with others around. Obstacles: Donuts and pie. Seriously. ("My kingdom for a cruller!!") Roommates. They're good people, but they're commitment to health is more along the lines of "we're all going to die, so might as well eat what I want while I'm here." House is filled with junk food and they'll prepare burgers or pizza for dinner (which I can either accept, or spend time making my own meal). Schedule. Work and other responsibilities keep me very busy. And I have to travel a lot. Several times a month. I've learned to eat healthy on the road, but it's tough to workout when exhausted from travelling and the suitcase needs to be unpacked, laundry done, etc. I'll be joining the current challenge, halfway through, and will have my goals and motivations posted there. For now, I'll say that this nomad is setting up his tent in the Rebellion's camp. There's no time like right now.