Harihead

Yikes about the knee. I hurt mine in Tai Chi. Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation worked for me, but it took time. I swim, which is a gentle non-weight bearing exercise-- but I realize not everyone has a pool. I cycled one day and my knee was not ready. Interesting about the French. I keep trying to learn, but without practice it slips away. Good luck to you!

My challenge thread is up also. I'm feeling a bit scared-- so it must be a good one. March on, Brigade! We shall be victorious, or at the least tell a tale worth hearing. March on!

Happy and eager to begin Challenge #2. I joined NerdFitness about halfway through Challenge #1, so I am starting a new thread in the Level 1 forum to complete my requisite six weeks at "newbie" level. Main Quest: Return to my "Work at Home" level of fitness My eating and exercise routine went to pot when I had to give up my home business in 2008 and start working in an office. I gained 65 pounds over the years. Since starting NF, I've lost 10 pounds. Plenty more to go! I've purchased calipers, but I don't really trust I know how to use them correctly. My readings vary wildly. So I will continue to use pounds as my measure (but with infrequent weighings). Fitness Round-up: Status I have been really regular and disciplined about my exercise. I haven't missed a day of cardio since my pool opened May 24. Most mornings I swim for 30 minutes before work. If I can't swim, I hike or bike instead, but that's only accounted for 5 days. If I'm home, I swim. It limbers me up for sitting in front of a computer all day. Since joining NF, I do body-weight workouts 3x a week. I haven't missed one yet. I will continue doing them, but for challenge #2... Fitness Challenge #2: Do a proper lunge I can't do one. When I started, I couldn't even get my knee to the floor. I can now do that, but only as an assisted lunge. For Challenge #2, I want to do a proper lunge during my workout. Health Round-up: Status I discovered during the last challenge that I have adrenal fatigue, which affects many of my dietary choices. I still like going full-contact paleo, but I've had to modify my initial food choices. So far, I've cut out all the but the occasional serving of grain, cut my coffee intake by half, and stopped using Stevia. The challenge now is to work in more carbs without gaining back weight or spiking my blood sugar. Health Challenge #2: No more than 1 serving of dairy a day Cheese is my great weakness. If I continue to omit cheese, I have to feel I'll be the gainer in the long run. I do occasionally use butter to cook with or eat lobster with. I also want to be able to eat the occasional yogurt or cheese. But the goal is to have no more than 1 serving per day; many days I expect to have 0. Life Quest: Status When I had to go back to the office, I lost a great deal of fiction writing time. My work has truly suffered through neglect, especially this year. I'm determined to work writing back into my life. Life Quest Challenge #2: Write 2 hours a week It's really hard to come up with a good measurement here. I need "think time" to come up with a story. I want to pick a goal that is achievable. I can't measure in stories, because they vary in length. I have done hours/day and it results in my writing crap. However, if I can get up some sort of momentum, I should be able to get the ball rolling again. I hope 2 hours of writing will get me going again. There's research and prep that goes around that number; I need 2 hours of actually producing or editing fiction. I think this is achievable. It will certainly be challenging, which I suppose is the point. Good luck, fellow questers. May the force be with you!

Hi, Tearose! I poked around the forums and found how to add the code. 1. Go to your Profile 2. Edit Profile and then Edit Signature 3. Either use the little icon to insert a bar and edit it, or just copy in the HTML code, since it's super easy (see below). 4. You can pick any common color (just type it in) or use the preset colors from the list. 5. Type in any text for your progress bars; add as many as you like. 6. During the challenge, I periodically update the value for my % complete. Just repeat steps 1-3 and type the new number. Example code below. Replace the leading < with a [ for each command (I can't post both brackets because the forum will just format it). If you want, you can just copy and paste the following into your signature, and type in your own text to customize it; depends on how comfortable you are with code. I added a divider (that's the <hr] bit). <hr] Main Quest: <progress='purple']14[/progress] Reduce fruit/dairy:<progress='red']85[/progress] Strength 3x week: <progress='green']100[/progress] IF/No Stevia: <progress='orange']100[/progress]

This sounds like my whole last year. It was brutal. Way too overcommitted, had things thrust upon me, and my exercise and eating went to pot. Now that summer is here and I'm relieved of the never-ending deadline/meeting cycle, I'm super committed to my health. I have been acing my exercise (never missed ONE day in 2 months) and pretty well acing my food. I allowed myself some indulgences on my vacation, but kept them limited and reasonable. I will definitely tune my goals for the next challenge. For one thing, I found out I have adrenal fatigue, so I have to adjust both diet and exercise for a while to let that recover. But that's okay, I scoped out the info and I have everything I need to replenish. I am super enjoying summer without killer deadlines. So I am annoyingly cheerful. How's everyone else doing?

Hi, Greenleaf I joined NF mid-challenge. Am I still Level 0 until I do a new challenge from the beginning? Cheers! HH

Thanks, Forkboy! I love to hike, so it was a nice way to integrate my strength routine with something I love. I like to do yoga and Tai Chi outdoors also. It just feels more natural, soothing and energizing at the same time.

Thanks, Chris. I'm really looking forward to it.

Hey, thanks, Forkboy! I'm in a good space right now-- attitude is great, determination is super high, with the patience of knowing I have a long row to hoe, but folks who will help keep me on track for when the stressful times that got me into this mess come back. Also, going to Camp Nerd Fitness is a huge boost. I have to be on target for at least 2 months, because I want to do as many activities as I can fit into that long weekend. I pulled myself back from the brink, but I'm far from my personal best. I'm all about getting back there, before it's too late. Cheers!

Still cranking along. Very proud of myself for continuing my strength workouts even in the wilderness. Food went a bit to pot during vacation. Not really over indulging calories-wise, but eating grains and more fruits than I should have. Immediately got back to hard-core paleo upon my return and am regaining the lost ground. I'm in for the long haul, so not stressing about it. Que sera. If anyone drops in, here's a big thumb's up to you. Cheers.

Hi, folks! I got back this week from my vacation on the Western slope of Colorado, Grand Mesa area. It was beautiful! I had bunged up my knee in Tai Chi last month, but I've been nursing it along and I went on some pretty good hikes without pain. I also continued to do my body weight workout in the hotel rooms or in the great outdoors. I get dirty doing the plank in the dirt and it's hard finding a rock the right size and shape to lift, but it is certainly doable and makes me proud. I'm glad to be back. Still hanging out with my sights set on the long-term goals. Hope everyone is well! HH

Thanks for the research, Kaylya! I must have found the info on a different site (I've been reading a lot). And good point, JPrev, about the water in food. I'm one of those who doesn't like to drink with a meal, so swallowing water afterward feels awkward. Thanks for your advice!

Excellent! I will try this today. Thanks for the encouragement, Chris! I figured the Rebellion is all about doing fitness intelligently, so they wouldn't mind a change in goals. 4 more days, and I go off on vacation. I'm looking forward to the break. I'm encouraged because I spent all day the 4th at a party, and did not overeat and was not tempted by bad foods. I feel so much better on my paleo diet, I really don't want to cheat. I hope that continues! I pulled out an old book on stretching titled, "Stretching". by Bob Anderson. He's got the 30th Anniversary "Stretching" edition here. I've been doing a full stretch routine for 3 days now and I feel like a new woman. The short post-workout stretch wasn't enough for me; this longer routine (20 minutes) is apparently what I need to relax my muscles. The good news is I feel even better, and that sharp neck pain is going away. I took time to stretch before my strength routine yesterday, and my muscles loved it-- going through the motions with less strain and much more ease, and no tight neck after finishing. This has been a real learning experience. I'm so glad I found this site!

Hello, there! I'm wondering what the Rebellion thinks about taking supplements after a meal. I take a daily probiotic that states, "Take daily after a light meal." However, I also read elsewhere on Steve's blog that it's not good to drink water with a meal, because it dilutes the stomach acid, which we want strong for best digestion. What's the way out of this conundrum? 1. Take the probiotic some amount of time Before the meal and let the water absorb. 2. Take the probiotic some amount of time After the meal when water is okay but I haven't lost the food boost. 3. Take the probiotic With the meal and just drink a small amount of water. I'd appreciate any advice! Cheers, HH

Thanks, Forkboy! For the lacrosse ball, do you just hold it in your hand and rub? I tried the foam roller and it felt great-- except I got my hair caught under the roller! Swampling, thanks for that video! I will use them all. I'm working more stretches into my routine and it feels great. Why didn't I join this site years ago?

Thanks, DarK_RaideR!

Hello! I really enjoyed Steve's 5 introductory emails. I have a question, though: > Did you give the beginner bodyweight routine a try yesterday? If so, you gained +1 STR. That's easy. I see STR in everyone's character profiles. But I don't know how to answer this: Did you follow through with the other quest - your tiny change on your diet? If you did, congrats! +1 WILLPOWER for you. I don't see a WILLPOWER stat. I'm an oldtimer, and we used to roll up characters with dice. I don't know how it's done these days. How do I set up a character on this board? I've read through the intro stuff, and just can't find it. Thanks!

Checking in-- Here's what happens when you make up your challenge markers before you get the results back from your fancy-dancy blood test: you gotta change things. Apparently IF is not the thing for me at the moment. I have adrenal fatigue, a natural outcome of the monstrous stress I'd been under all year. The good news is that I can adjust my diet to compensate. I spent yesterday doing that research and making up a new shopping list. I'm including cocoanut oil capsules whenever I have fruit as a snack (1/day). I'm also adding in more starchy vegetables (no grains) to keep my carbs from going too low. The doctor put me on licorice, but I got a few extra supplements because I want my fatigue to GO AWAY so I can body slam my goals again. I'm also supposed to cut coffee, but that will be too much for me to take on all at once. I'm going to finish out my current challenge with this AF-optimized diet, and then come up with appropriate challenges for next time. So, to summarize: Diet: I'm absolutely kicking butt here. I've never been so diet-conscious in my life, and it shows (in a good way). Exercise: Not quite so kick-butt. I'm weak! I'm following the program, doing my 3x/week training, but it's a challenge. The muscles in my shoulders are particularly tight. I need some good stretches. IF: I loved doing this the 2 times I did it-- just didn't eat Tuesdays. But this is undermining my AF recovery, so it has to go. Instead, I'll change this one to removing stevia from my diet. It has the beneficial effect of having me drink less coffee, which will prep me for the next challenge. Folks, I'm loving the stretches. What is your favorite shoulder/neck stretch? Happy 4th!

Hi, Brigade! First, I've made dynamite progress. I can't believe it. I'd be "stalled" for about a month, join this website and I lost 3 pounds in one week! So I'm rocket powered. Swampling, thanks for the info on the lunges. I think I must be doing everything wrong, but I'm pretty sure the root cause is that I've been sitting in a cubical for years and simply forgot how to move correctly. Don't worry, I haven't given up! I'll try my strength routine TODAY (Yay, a Strength day!) holding a rail, and see if I can achieve proper form. No worries about the probiotics, but thanks for taking a stab, Forkboy! It turns out my bloodwork shows adrenal fatigue, so IF is not recommended at this time. Bummer, because I really liked it. Anyway, I have a new diet tailored for my particular problems. It's very energizing. Thanks, all, for being here. I'll put more in my 1st challenge thread, if I can find it. Things move fast here, and I can't check in every day. Cheers!

Hi, folks A couple of questions: 1. If I'm fasting, what do I do about my daily probiotic? Do I skip it that day? Eat something very small? 2. I can't do a complete lunge. I get my knee as far down as I can, but it's not to the floor. What's the best way to do this-- just keep working it until I can touch, or is there another way to do this? Thanks so much! HH

You know, I feel it! AshPS, thanks so much. NERDS RULE! And Minions are ponies. Very cute, Lullaby88!

Lullaby, thank you for your very kind greeting! I will definitely look up the guild-- um, might not be for a night or two, as I have 2 jobs and my next free evening is Weds. This has been my life all year, which is why I packed on 15 pounds this year alone. But it's so wonderful to have encouragement-- and people who care if I succeed! Thank you. Oh, good GRIEF! I look even worse than I thought-- and this is after 6 weeks of daily swimming. O_o Anyway, yes, I'd say they are motivating! In other news, I calculated my Main Quest this morning, and was shocked to find I'm already 9% of the way there. Whahoo! Yes, I know I've been going at it steadily, but it felt as if I was making no progress. It's encouraging to see that I am. And now, with all this support, I CANNOT FAIL. I am the AWESOME FITNESS NERD and shall rule the non-Paleo minions with a benevolent wave of my hand. Ah, the power! Sorry, I need to sit down and breathe into a paper bag. Cheers, y'all!

@ shaneshu87 - I started really late, too. Awesome progress on your own! I've been progressing on my own for the last 6 weeks, so it was really encouraging to run across a community that would support (and care) what I was doing. 6 pounds down but I decided to make a stranger of my scale. It's time to cool that relationship. On the other hand, I'm recording my vital stats so I can gauge my progress. It feels really good to be here. Hi, everyone! *waves*

Yay, my brigade weighs in. Thank you so much! In all seriousness, I already feel mighty. That was the weird thing about my first Tuesday fast last week. I felt really STRONG. Like, I'm in control of my destiny, master of my domain! Well, in control of my destiny, anyway. It's not in my goals above, but I'm also taking a "before" picture and getting the vital stats down. I will weigh-in once a week instead of daily. THANK YOU, DAI-GURREN BRIGADE!!! The awesomeness around here is fab. Cheers! HH

Thanks, Swampling. Day 2 and still going strong. I'm a prodigy! Actually, I've been doing this for about 6-7 weeks, but only stumbled across Nerd Fitness yesterday. It's very nice to have a group to talk to about this; my friends and family were getting a little tired of the progress reports. I just got my second inspirational message today. Do I have to do something to keep them coming-- respond or something? I'm happy to get them, but I don't want them to stop because I don't reply. Being excellent on the dairy front. Fruit... I want to use up my fruit rather than rot it, but I'm definitely cutting back. Also, that's what coworkers are for. Thanks so much!