Surakha

I always think of that rune as a rune of movement and change, but specifically one of ADVANCEMENT, like promotion, or empowerment, vs Radho which is more movement like a journey, or travel . I hope this week finds advancement for you, away from sickness and stress!

Nice. I have been heathen for 15 years, and tend towards the Anglo-Norse myself. I cal myself a revivalist- I like to use the existent history and cultural context tor try and understand the worldview of our ancestors and then reinterpret it in the modern context. I am also a Freyjadottir nad am currently slowly dipping my toes into seidr. Wow, I was just catching up on your week and holy smokes, what a pile of unforeseen obstacles. Obviously, you are amazing wrangling your goals, supporting your wife and managing all those sick kids.

Hey there Ms. Summers, its been quiet on the slayer front for a few days- How are things? I hope all is well and you are making those goals!

Hey thanks for cheering me on! Also: how do you get the progress bars in your sig? whenI plug in the bb code it just gives me back gibberish.

Hi guys! I am sorry I have been so quiet. things have been MAD busy. The week definitely started rough because of the crazy rain. Half of my town is flooded, all the ponds and retention basins and streams are bursting. After 2 days of skipping walking because of the downpour I got fed up and when I went to Menard's to run errands I got myself a big cart and I just walked around that obnoxious box store for 10 minutes before grabbing my list. I still have not managed to clear enough of my garage to set up the workout space properly, but that is on the menu for this weekend. Food has been going very well. We had one off plan moment on Tuesday and another this afternoon because we went to see Civil War after my presentation and I had not eaten all day. I miss my city movie theater- they actually had things like fizzy water and non-carby snacks. Oh well. Even so, I snuck on the scale this morning and I have lost 5 pounds so far. I'm hoping to make it 6 by Sunday's weigh in. I had hoped to get more fiction up in here this week but so busy! I was presenting on the updates to the DSM-5 from the IV-TR and it was kind of a last minute favor for a sick friend so I was not as prepared as I like to be. Now I am off to do the paperwork I missed getting ready. woo!

I feel you. That was my Tuesday night. It feels so discouraging in the moment but hey, habits are not built from one decision.

How about swimming? It is good full body cardio and if she adds in something like the TRX she would be golden. Also something like Pilates that is low/no impact might be a good thing to try. My ex had two bad ankles from a series of unfortunate sprains and was able to complete a Pilates workout without pain

A point of note: when you go on estrogen and your numbers balance you will naturally lose muscle mass. I don't have statistics at hand but my wife lost almost 60 lbs when she went on t blockers and went from a size 14/16 at 6 ft tall to a size 6. She was doing basic cardio 5 days a week and 3 light body weight strength training days. Now, the women in her family run lean, and she is built very much like a tall version of her own mom. Looking at the women in your family might give you an idea of how that first year might impact your muscle mass.

They are my favorite protein for lunches. I love eggs and could eat them every single day, and scotch eggs are delicious and filling. I have been eating one of those and a salad pretty much every day since we started paleo again.

She remembered freedom in her body; a silken flow of movement, muscles oiled and tendons of whipcord and straight strong bones. She remembered the burning heat of a change, like running full out towards a break in the trees, heart pounding and body singing, breath fast in her throat before bursting into light and joy. For Ebon, each moment of transformation was a miracle. Now, she lay in the dark, bound in chains of iron, skin burning with the dark fire of the metal's corruption. Her body was nothing, a mass of pain and weakness and wounds that made her writhe even as she fought for stillness. She was locked in human form, blind and deaf to so much in this dark place. Over and over again she sent her mind outward, seeking sky. ----- My body feels like a prison sometimes. I remember what it felt like to be an athlete; I played soccer on a state team as a kid, I rowed crew in high school, ran all through college and did competitive horseback riding, rock climbing, and fencing. I was a dancer for 10 years. Now I can barely touch my toes and climbing a flight of stairs winds me. I feel trapped in my flesh sometimes and scared to even try to get better because it looks like Mount Everest to climb back to where I was. At least today it is not raining and I can walk outside. Priority one for this weekend has to be getting or gym set up in the garage. We have a rowing machine, an Olympic bar, various hand weights just sitting in a heap. My wife plans to build us a squat rack with pull up bar and I am trying to find a lightly used weight bench and more weights. Soon there will be no excuse for skipping a day. Now I am ready to head home from work and I feel totally beat. All this crap is WAY harder in your 30s than your 20s.

your theme is awesome and your goals are great too. I am also looking to lose like 200 lbs. *following*

It is raining in Chicago today and I realized I need to find a walking substitute for rainy days. Here's hoping it holds off long enough for me to squeeze a walk in after work. I am grumpy and hungry. I forgot to grab protein when I packed my lunch and my arugula and romaine salad was delicious but not satisfying. I guess I will spend the rest of my work day daydreaming about scotch eggs

This seems amazing. *following*

Day one over and done. I have had an extremely productive day of working on chores and paperwork and I feel very hopeful about this challenge. I am heading upstairs now to cook dinner (3rd whole 30 meal of the challenge, yeah!) and after that, I will get my yoga in before my shower. I woke up sore as hell today because I slept in some sort of weird pretzel shape and my hips were not pleased with me. yoga will definitely help. I plan to do Jen Hilman's Yoga for Back Pain. I really enjoy her style. More detailed updates as the week progresses. I plan to do one long story update at the end of the week, and maybe one or two short blurbs midweek. I need to setup a tracker sheet too and find a good spreadsheet for weight loss tracking. I am feeling really good and positive about my day 1!

thanks so much for the kind words! You know I didn't really think about it but you are right, just staying current with my updates will take care of a lot of my creativity goals. I will have to do more poetry and such to make up the rest of it. Woohoo for day one!