Quarkle

Yep! Did a hundred squats yesterday. Today I require 10 minutes of advance planning before getting up from my chair But that's sign of improving strength. I couldn't have done it 20 days ago.

Thanks! Right now, after yesterday's class, everything hurts. Everything. Muay Thai is a form of martial arts. Training is very intense and involves a LOT of conditioning. Thank you for the encouragement

Am a beginner. Just started class again today after a 6 month gap. Really missed it and couldn't wait to get back.

Update (1st April) Was traveling for the past few days and couldn't update because for some strange reason, the NF website isn't accessible from my phone. Room cleaning has progressed up to ~50% Have planned out meals for the following week and only ordered groceries for that. Vegetables are ridiculously cheap where I live and I can now see how much money meal planning would save in the long run. A kilo (2 pounds) of tomatoes costs me as much as a small candy bar. Ordering in costs ten times that at a minimum. Starting Muay Thai classes tomorrow after a gap of 6 months Quest to wake up early hasn't been very successful because of erratic traveling. Going cold turkey and waking up 5:30 am this week. Won't be fun but luckily I don't have much work at my office this week.

I've also been trying to journal but haven't started yet. This makes me feel better!

Day 1: #1 Slept in till 7 am and woke up groggy. Had gone to bed early yesterday but couldn't fall asleep. Looks like I'll do better today since I'm tired out from working out and already sleepy at 9:30pm #2 Didn't find time to journal since I got home late from work, but do have a meal plan laid out for the next 4 days. #3 Did some cleaning over the weekend. The mess is too much to clear up in one single day, so I'm tackling it bit by bit everyday. Also less likely to procrastinate it this way. #4 Did one set of the Beginner Body-weight Workout. Taking it slow to make sure I don't hurt the surgery site on my abdomen. Feel wiped out enough to get a good night's sleep. Will try to get in some stair climbing in the morning.

That's a smart idea, thanks! Yeah, I end up ordering in, or eating carby stuff like pasta since they are non-perishables. Thanks! I'll keep these in mind.

Hello! I've been a silent member on Nerd Fitness for a while but never completed a challenge, hope to change that this time around. I really need some discipline and motivation. I fall into the old trap of trying too many things and getting nothing done. I was doing fairly ok on fitness till a five months ago because I was going to Muay Thai classes. A couple of months ago I suddenly had to undergo surgery for a tumour and had to lay low. Its been pretty miserable, physically and mentally, because I was all alone for the whole thing, depressed, worried sick by medical googling (big mistake, would not recommend) couldn't eat healthy because my system was thrown off kilter by antibiotics, and till very recently had terrible car sickness too. My stamina is shot, my room looks like a hurricane has been through it, and in general, I've become a mess. I really am hoping to start back with my Muay Thai classes come April, but I fear I'm not strong enough. This challenge is all about getting organized and getting a proper routine back, which is the key to regaining my health. Main Quest: Get organized, all around. First two weeks are for getting things in place, and the second two weeks, after I begin my classes to keep up the momentum. How I hope to go about it: Sleep and wake up at the same time everyday consistently. Currently I wake up around 7 am, but need to be up by 5:30 from April. Have to ease into that slowly. Also, no sleeping even on the days I don't have classes, because I learnt recently that it messes up the body clock. Get started with bullet journalling and learn to meal plan. The major reason for unhealthy eating is not knowing what to cook on a certain day and/or not having groceries ready for it. Clean up room. Keep it that way. Till classes begin, do the Beginner Bodyweight Workout 3 times a week and climb stairs the other days. Eventually, my aim is to reach a goal of climbing 100 floors in a go. Unlike my previous attempts, I am aiming to post here everyday, so I get some accountability. Hopefully this is simple enough and achievable for this challenge. I'm open to any suggestions and advice on you folks might have. Cheers!

What's MFP? I'm not familiar with that phrase. That's a good idea, I usually never exceed 2 teaspoons a day, but reducing it fraction by fraction seems workable. Thanks! I'm 26 years old, female, height 5'3", weigh around 80 kilos (175 pounds). Most of my weight gain was in grad school, and when I was inactive for a couple of years following a serious leg injury. Right now, since the last few months, I've been going to Muay Thai classes 4 times a week, a total of 9 hours/week. Thanks for the advice, I'll give it a try. Dairy substitutes aren't really available here since lactose intolerance is pretty much unheard of, where I come from. Caffeine has no effect on me, and I'm not dependent on it, so I generally have a huge variety of teas/coffees depending in my mood that day. Streamlining that should be easy. I usually eat multigrain bread and am considering substituting white rice with brown rice. That's an excellent suggestion, I'll keep an eye, like you said. And thanks for the link!

That's interesting, didn't know that could happen. I'm not on any medication at all, since my PCOS isn't very severe right now. Will definitely look into that though.

So I'm one of of those sad people who can gain weight by merely breathing. I have always been a healthy eater (except for a couple of years in grad school). In fact I currently eat the same amount of food I used to eat as an underweight 5th grader and yet, the weight stays. Note: Indian vegetarian, have PCOS. I'm admit I not a total fanatic while dieting, do have desserts occasionally, but am still at a loss as to how I can physically be overweight at the kind of food I eat. I eat around half of what most women of my age eat (I'm NOT starving myself, my appetite has always been that way). Most advice I see is simply not applicable to me since I eat healthy by most people's standards, never binge eat etc. Any help, opinion is welcomed. Just for an example, here's my food consumption over an average day: Breakfast: 2 slices of bread+1egg+half a glass of milk in the form of coffee/chai with sugar OR muesli with milk+honey+black tea OR 2 slices of bread+hummus+chai and 1 banana Lunch: 1 whole raw cucumber/carrot/tomato/onion+ a cup of boiled rice + cooked vegetables + half a cup plain yoghurt + half a cup salted buttermilk + small piece of dessert (occasionally) Tea: 1 skimmed milk latte/chai with sugar Dinner: Varies a lot, usually 2 teacups of boiled rice with vegatables or lentils, occasionally 3 slices of bread with 2 scrambled eggs Alcohol, 3-4 drinks, once in a month, neat, no cocktails

So report for 29th Aug and 30th Aug: 29th Aug (Monday)... Went out for a run after years (leg injuries). Mostly walked, few runs in between. The Zombies Run app is fun to use Total of 4km. Need to buy a better knee support. (I have knee injuries) 30th Aug (Tuesday)... Woke up at 5:45am. Attempted to move limbs. Nothing. Looks like my muscles have risen up in protest and joined up a rebellion of their own. Dozed off again. Have to make up for it tomorrow.

Weekly notes (21-28 Aug) Week 1 - Started the challenge 3 days late on Wednesday since I unexpectedly had to travel. - Went to the gym twice, 2km walk and a midnight swim over 4 days - Got out of work late all week so couldn't walk home. - Finally understood the wisdom of fellow Rebels about laying out workout clothes the previous night. Wasted half an hour one morning fumbling around for workout clothes in the dark. - Tried cooking a dish I haven't made in years. Corn kernels and peas in a coriander-mint-coconut milk gravy. Didn't get as much done as expected but waking up early is getting easier by the day. So yay, progress!

Will do, thanks! Thanks a lot for the encouragement!

Same here! I'm respawning after 2 years too! Good luck!

Sooo. I'm a 26 year old nuclear engineer. I was pretty active on NF a couple of years ago. And then struggles in my personal life took over and I completely let go. A few months ago I moved to a new place and job. The last few months, I've been sad, anti social, losing interest in everything except work, basically stuck in a rut. This is my attempt to go pick myself up, back to what I was before, wholeheartedly full of life. And the first step to feeling good about myself is fitness. Earlier there was the legit problem of finding nearby places to workout or run. This time I should have no excuses whatsoever since I am lucky enough to have a gym in my apartment building (no membership fees) and a lovely forested running track around a lake right across the road. Whenever I've made plans to level up before, I tend to plan too many things at once and then fizzle out. So this time, I'm going to keep it as simple as possible so I can stick to it. So without further ado: DIET: Eat atleast 2 raw fruits/vegetables everyday Cook something entirely new atleast once a week to keep things interesting I am already doing decently well when it comes to diet so don't want to pile on too much. The only way for me to ensure I eat healthy is to have more time to prepare food (see Life Quest) EXERCISE Workout atleast 6 times a week (Running/Gym) Walk home from work atleast 3 times a week (3km/2miles. Saves cab expenses too) Mini Quest: Quit procastinating about finding nearby swimming pools. Find one and get a membership ASAP. (Added bonus: Swimming gives me mindspace to solve work problems.) LIFE QUEST Wake up at 5:45 everyday, no snooze. Non negotiable (Exceptions: Illness, period, partying the night before). Aim to head out the door by 6am. This is the single key to success to all the other quests. Waking up early means I get time to workout, going to work early means I can come back early enough to cook a proper healthy meal. Using this challenge to make it a solid habit will also will also free up time to do more things later on. Learn atleast one new science thing everyday (either read a chapter from a book, or a TED talk/youtube video) Generic: Aim to spend lesser time on laptop than I currently am. Bonus points for finishing a book or creating something. Unlike last time, I'm going to try and post my progress on this thread everyday, as some accountability. Here's to respawning and living it up!

Same here! Was active 2 years and then disappeared. Now trying to get back. Good luck!

Ok so this is a very weird question but could think of nowhere else to post it. Has anyone successfully done pull ups from a door? I don't have access to a pull up bar (or something similar) anywhere, so after watching a couple of videos of guys doing door pull ups, decided to give it a try on my bedroom door. Only to find that my boobs get in the way big time . Can't even manage a dead hang. Anyone ever faced the same problem?

I'm not sure what assisted dips are... I am doing dips with my hands resting on a table behind me. And my legs stretched out, heels resting on the floor. So I guess they are assisted dips then?

Thanks! Doing them on an elevated surface helps

I'm just re-starting with bodyweight exercises after a gap, but have never really done tricep dips before. I do tricep dips using a table that comes up to my hip. I am finding tricep dips really painful to do. Not the usual burn but really painful more like a pulled muscle. I found it weird since I have decently good tricep strenth. Have mostly done tricep extensions in the past with no problem at all (can currently do them with a 20pound/ 10kg dumbbell), and swimming with hand- paddles. Any alternatives or suggestions?

Am claiming: Side reclining leg lift Melting heart Bow Pose Unfortunately unable to upload pictures since I'm alone at home

Am claiming: Side reclining leg lift Melting heart Bow pose Unfortunately unable to upload pictures since I'm alone at home

27th April Update, First 2 weeks (upto 26th april)- counts Quest 1- 4 times Quest 2- 2 times Quest 3- 4 times (aerobics) +1 STR for Mini Challenge 2

Great! The Mini Challenge really got me going What are you writing a paper on btw?