Kath

Okay, time to play a bit of catch up... Week 2 Day 1: Not much to say, I went to the zoo the day before so I was pretty tired from the walk-a-thon. Other than that, dailies met! Calories consumed: 1,313 Carbs: 13g net (4.5%)Protein: 82g (28.6%)Fat: 85g (66.8%) (Full food info here.) Steps: 5263 Week 2 Day 2: Still super tired and sore for some odd reason. But I met my goals, besides a few extra calories. Calories consumed: 1,507 Carbs: 22g net (5.9%)Protein: 70g (18.8%)Fat: 125g (75.4%) (Full food info here.) Steps: 5728 Week 2 Day 3: Tiredness and soreness reveals itself to be the evil doings of shark week. Probably won't get a ton done on the work out side of things as shark week wipes me out, leaving me a curled up ball of pain. SIGH at least it will be out of the way and the rest of the challenge will go by smoothly. Ish. Calories consumed: 1,477 Carbs: 13g net (3.8%)Protein: 84g (24.4%)Fat: 110g (71.8%) (Full food info here.) Steps: 5858 Week 2 Day 4: Today was a lot of blah. Didn't quite meet my step goal (super close!) and I basically felt like I could use a nap the entire afternoon. But, in good news, I have lost another 2 pounds! Woo! Calories consumed: 1,460 Carbs: 12g net (3.3%)Protein: 131g (36%)Fat: 98g (60.7%) (Full food info here.) Steps: 4895

Thank you everyone! Your feedback is so appreciated. :') Will do a post tomorrow with how my week is going, but I've been feeling pretty run down these past couple days. Both emotional and physical stuff is happening. I might be moving way out of state this summer (to Missouri??? half-way across the country???) and lucky me, shark week started today. So far been doing alright with challenge stuff though, just been too preoccupied to do write-ups. Sorry for the radio silence this week so far!

Dungeon Room 1: Mushroom Mayhem! Mushrooms were not an uncommon sight for dwarves – after all, they thrived in the dark and damp. So Kath was unsurprised to see one deep in the tunnels. What did surprise her was the fact that it moved. (As menacingly as a mushroom can move.) Part of her laughed, surely fighting off a bouncing mushroom was child's play to the warriors she knew. One good squash under an iron boot would rid her of the problem. Her gear was of lesser make though, and it was quite a big mushroom. That's when she saw it. Two more mushrooms creeping out of the dark, making soft thumps as they drew nearer. Is was then that Kath drew her axe, holding the old thing in front of herself warily. Still, what was two more mushrooms? They were barely sentient, and looked easy to cut through. Suddenly, one lept forward. It opened it's strange mushroom-y mouth and bit Kath right on the arm. The arm in question did have a leather vambrace protecting her flesh, but the bite hurt! “Ow!†She exclaimed loudly. She instantly regretted being so loud. Her cry echoed down the tunnel, and she heard something stirring. Kath felt like running away as she realized that her noise had attracted more mushrooms. Two more thumping creatures joined the fray. 5 mushrooms, she thought. How can you expect to save the princess from the clutches of the goblins if you cannot fend off 5 mushrooms?! With a gulp, she lunged forward with her axe, hoping to catch the mushrooms of guard. The mushrooms did not seem surprised. Truthfully, they were not capable of being surprised, unintelligent as they were. With a mighty swing, she brought her axe down on the mushroom that had bit her. It made a horrible squishing noise. Her axe sank deep, though did not make it all the way through due to her lack of strength and the fact that the axe was quite dull. Still, the mushroom gave a twich, and was dead. While the other mushrooms did not have a clear understanding of what was going on, they bounced a bit more warily now. Kath breathed heavily, wondering which to go after next. With some effort, she yanked her axe out of the dead mushroom, turning to see another mushroom jumping at her hungrily. She held up her axe to defend herself, and blinked in surprised as the mushroom threw itself onto her blade. She made short work of the others, realizing that although they were dangerous, they were more stupid than sinister. After the battle, Kath realized her breathing was labored. The axe she had was heavy, and she was not used to twisting or lunging. She was hot, achey, and all of the sudden very sad. Fighting mushrooms should not of been hard, yet her body still felt like she fought a small horde of goblins. It was at that moment she knew she was not the warrior she blindly hoped she was, at least not yet. She had a lot of learning to do. As she brushed mushroom gunk of herself and wiped her axe, Kath noticed something was sticking out of one of the mushrooms. It was a piece of parchment. A map! This find lifted her spirits. At least now she knew which paths led out of the tunnels and to the surface! Though there were many rooms between here and there... Week 1 Summary: Quest 1: Work out 2 times a week. Though originally I strived for 3 work out days, I realized my limitations. COMPLETED! 2/2 Grade: A Quest 2: Stick to my macros. Although there was 1 occasion where I flubbed 1g of carbs, the average was on point. Good week, COMPLETED! 7/7 Grade: A Quest 3: Walk at least 5000 steps per day. There was only one day this week that I did not reach my goal, and that was because of my volunteering. I will plan better this next week. COMPLETED! 6/7 Grade: B+ Life Quest: In bed by 10PM, awake by 8AM. To be honest, this quest I've been a little flexible with. While I have not STRICTLY adhered to the bed time, I have been making sleep a priority. I get around 9 hours average, and am awake between 8-9AM. I will try to be more diligent about this. COMPLETED! Grade: B Whew what a week! I would type of today's progress, but I am super tired. (Went to the zoo, walked forever, stayed within my macros and all that good stuff.) Thank you for all of your continued support everyone!

Mini done!

Mini-challenge #1: Let's Get SMART Are my goals: S = Specific M = MeasurableA = Attainable/AchievableR = Realistic/ReasonableT = Timeous Is your overall quest achievable (over a short or long period of time)? Is it reasonable? Totes, and by totes I mean yep achievable & reasonable. Ish. I will explain in the answer below... Do your 3 quests all build towards your main quest in little ways, or are you taking on too much? Do your quests have sub-quests or is it just one thing to focus on? They do - all very structured health goals! But I think I am taking a bit too much on with doing the 3x a week workouts along with my walking challenge. I am super beginner n00b work-outer. See answer below for more details. Are your main goals realistic? Can you scale them to smaller steps to fit your life better, even if it will make it take a little longer to achieve them? As someone who is going from sedantary life to super active life, I think I need to scale back to some baby steps. Working out 2x a week surely won't be as effective as 3x, but I can work up to that. I don't want to overwhelm myself and quit altogether... which has happened. My other goals though - food, walking, and sleep seem pretty realistic. Are your goals able to be measured and tracked? What will you use to track them? My phone mostly. I have an UP Jawbone MOVE (a pedometer wrist thing) that has apps that work with it. Including: My Fitness Pal (for food) and RunKeeper (for walks). The MOVE itself also tracks my sleep! How are you grading your goals? Are they pass/fail (“every dayâ€, “not even once over the six weeksâ€)? Is there a reward for the effort, or are you only grading yourself on whether or not you “lose the weight†or “run the distanceâ€? My "grading" will come at the end of each week, and I think I will base it off of percentages. (90-100% for As, 80-89% for Bs, etc.) It will be based on how close I am to my goals, though there might be exceptions if I did something alternative that works for my goal. What is your plan for continuing/altering/grading those goals if you become ill or injured? As I mentioned above, I would try to do something alternative that works to my benefit still - though my grades might take a slight it if I am REALLY down for the count. Did you take into consideration any special occasions (Labour Day, Independence Day, birthdays, anniversaries, etc) that may occur during the challenge? What modifications do you need to build into your goals for those? Yep. This isn't really a problem for me. Do any of your main goals conflict with each other? Will one goal make it hard to do another? Doing the walking on top of the workouts was a bit much, but I resolved that by scaling back the number of workouts per week. Do you already have the time in your schedule to actually complete the goals you’ve set? If not, what are you planning to do to make time for them? Yes I do! Are you trying to build multiple habits, or is all your energy focused on your main quest? Both? They are multiple habits, but they all contribute to the main quest!

Holy moley thanks for the replies everyone! Sorry I'm a slow updater, my procrastination when it comes to writing things is legendary. @TansyPants: Thank you so much for the support! "Lifting taught me that ALL bathrooms should be equipped with those hand rails." A THOUSAND TIMES YES. I hope it gets easier. I'm going to write about it more in my mini-challenge (that I will post after this post) but I am thinking of reducing my work out days to two times a week. Simply because my body is mush and in the Nerd Fitness Academy they said 2 or 3 is fine - whatever works best for where you are at kind of thing. I think I overestimated my state of fitness! @petefeet: Yeah, now that I know they are so hard for me, it's definitely something to work on! I would love to improve my leg strength and balance - both of which are tested with lunges! Not saying I nearly fall over or anything. (I'm graceful, I swear.) @tae: Thank you! Yes, we can do it! @rabeck: That was me! 3 days of recovery - the struggle was real hahaha. Hopefully with continued work my recovery time will be less. @Luciana: Thank you so much! Day 4: Still was sore from exercising, but I managed to get in my walks! I also when a tiny bit over my carb limit because my mother made spaghetti0 (with squash, not noodles) and I felt bad refusing. Sleep was odd, went to bed at a decent hour but woke up wide-awake at 6AM. Curse you springtime sun! Calories consumed: 1,473 Carbs: 21g net (5.8%)Protein: 103g (28.2%)Fat: 107g (66%) (Full food info here.) Steps: 5973 Day 5: Work out day! I am doing the beginner's bodyweight workout (level 1) from the fitness academy, and even though my form... lacked (push-ups and squats man) I made it through all the sets! Definitely going to try slowing it down and working on my form more. This work out felt better than the last, or maybe because of the first workout my body was reminded hey, you have muscles ya know. Did my walking too and slept like a log. Calories consumed: 1,332 Carbs: 18g net (5.4%)Protein: 73g (21.9%)Fat: 108g (72.8%) (Full food info here.) Steps: 6123 Day 6: So on Saturdays I do my volunteer work at the animal shelter, so unfortunately I had less time to go on my walks. This caused me to miss my 5000 step goal - but on the bright side I was standing a ton, lifting cats, and cleaning cages? Exercise-ish? Also good news - 90% chance I'll be going to the zoo tomorrow, so LOTS of walking to make up for it hahaha. Plus sunshine. And otters. Tomorrow will ALSO be my first weekly summary post which will include a story update! Yay! Calories consumed: 1,229 Carbs: 19g net (6.2%)Protein: 65g (21.3%)Fat: 98g (72.4%) (Full food info here.) Steps: 3278 I'll try posting this tonight, but I'm going to be doing my mini-challenge before the week is up...

@mehc012: Thank you so much! That script is SO useful! @Raxie: Aw thank you! I figured I should get used to walking in the rain - I live in Washington. LOTS of rain here haha. If I didn't go out when it rained, I would be skipping a lot of walks. @petefeet: Thanks! Day 2: I exercised yesterday! Did the recruit workout (plus warm-up & cool down) from the Nerd Fitness Academy. Oh man, do you ever forget how totally out of shape you are and then you do something and it's like WOW. MY BODY HURTS. WHAT IS THIS? EXERCISE? So I made it through 2 sets, and couldn't get to the 3rd because my legs literally became jelly. (For the record, I hate lunges.) It made me disappointed that I could not push myself further, but you have to start somewhere I guess. Calories consumed: 1,454 Carbs: 12g net (3.3%)Protein: 113g (33.1%)Fat: 65.6g (73%) (Full food info here.) Steps: 5853 Day 3: Because of my exertions yesterday, I was SO SORE today. Going up and down stairs, sitting, getting up from sitting... my legs have remained in a jelly-like state. I did still manage to do my walking today (yay) and it was GORGEOUS outside. Like, sun shining birds singing gorgeous. I'm sort of dreading working out again tomorrow, but I will do my best! Also, sleep pattern for my life goal still going strong! Calories consumed: 1,253 Carbs: 18g net (5.9%)Protein: 85g (28%)Fat: 89g (66%) (Full food info here.) Steps: 5972

@Mecho21: Thank you! Yes, so far I LOVE keto! I gotta say my favorite meal usually consists of a spinach salad topped with lots of bacon, a hard-boiled egg, blue cheese dressing, and maybe extra cheese for good measure. That, or sausage and cabbage. Mmmm... My meals vary though. I do have a MFP to track my food though. (Keep in mind I've been trying to start intermediate fasting, so some of my meals can be pretty high-calorie - but still within my "budget" for the day. Also, ignore yesterday - it was my dad's b-day party!) @SevenofSeven: Thanks! That's cool, usually I have a hard time finding people with the same body shape. (Lots of pears and hour-glasses out there haha.) @azotus: Thank you so much! Day one went really well! Went on two walks (one in the morning and one in the afternoon, despite the freezing rain) and stayed within my macros. I am going to start my 3x a week exercise tomorrow, and I plan on going to bed on time tonight at 10AM. Calories consumed: 1305 Carbs: 12g net (3.6%) Protein: 77g (23.4%) Fat: 107g (73%) (Full food info here.) Steps: 6105 I am pretty proud of my first day, woo!

I just realized I forgot to respond to you all - so sorry! Had a busy weekend celebrating my father's birthday. (Had a Game of Thrones marathon and party today - so much fun!) @Petefeet: Thank you! Yeah I'm finding that if I look at my life more like a story, I'm more excited to try new things and grow. @JMitch: Thank you so much! I plan on updating the "story" once a week, probably on Sundays to do a weekly re-cap. @Raxie: Thank you! That means a lot to me, you are very kind. @Terinatum: Thanks, I am looking forward to it haha. Already with the 11-ish pounds I've lost I feel more energized - I am looking forward to further progress. Anyway, just thought I should emphasize here: I will try to check in every day here, at least to say how my day is going/if I am on track, but my MAIN (story) updates will be once a week with a summary of my progress/story updates. I am looking forward to the story bits because each week will be a different part of the dungeon, leading up to the boss before I reach the surface & out of the dwarven tunnels!

I think you are awesome for bouncing back! (And it's not even a big bounce... tiny bounce! Totally workable bounce!) I know that feeling though - I've been battling my weight since childhood and it's had MANY ups and downs. But I think your plan sounds great, and ooh swimming and hooping! So much fun. I wish you luck on your journey!

Hello Patrick, I think it is awesome that you benefited from the weight training in ways you didn't expect - and that you enjoyed your run! It's great when you can find an activity that is both good for you and enjoyable as well. How do you plan on tracking your food? There are lot of great apps out there for doing so if you have a smart phone, otherwise I'm sure there are websites that can help out with that. Good luck on your quest!

Hey Klara, your goal is great & I think you are making excellent progress so far. I think it is wonderful that you have friends who support you and want to run with you - that is always fun. Your S7 project sounds really interesting too, I wish you luck and a burst of creativity haha.

Thank you all for your encouragement! @Blaidd: Yeah I was thinking of setting myself up with the adventurers once my first challenge was over, thank you for the tag and advice! @Luciana: Thank you! I've been sort of aspiring to stick to them in the past week or so, but I need to be more diligent. That carb macro is killer! Protein isn't too hard for me, considering I just got dehydrator and plan on making some yummy homemade beef jerky, mmm. And haha yes, I was tempted to call myself a halfling (hobbits are my first love) but I am a bit taller (5'4") sort of dwarf shaped (boxy/square) and I prefer to be in dark enclosed spaces (like tunnels... or bedrooms with computers...) - so, dwarf it is! (I'm also super stubborn, temperamental, loyal, and I love a well crafted beer.) @Salivanth: Thank you! Yeah, when I was gathering the pictures I got a sudden wave of nostalgia and the urge to play Zelda on the NES. T_T @Klara: Aw, thank you! I signed up for Nerd Fitness a little over the half-way point of the last challenge, so I have had a little bit of time to plan things out. (Didn't want to jump in so late - I wanted the give the challenge a full go!) @shaarawy: Thank you so much! Yep I find that when I actually plan my meals I do a MUCH better job of sticking to my goals than if I just wing it. Good luck on your protein goal!

Rats, slimes, and starter gear ahoy! Hello all, my name is Kath and this is my first challenge. I joined Nerd Fitness because I am at the heaviest I have ever been in my life. (Well, I was. Since I've been watching what I eat for the past couple weeks and following the basics of the Nerd Fitness Academy, I've gone from 260 to 249!) Anyways, what motivated me to get into Nerd Fitness was that for the first time I was having trouble getting up from the floor – which is both embarrassing and terrifying. I have found myself looking at buying clothes yet another size bigger than I previously bought, and let me tell you… plus size clothing isn’t getting any cheaper. I am also concerned about my health – I have headaches all the time, my knees are achy, and at 25 years old my body feels very weak. I want to be able to move, to explore, and to feel my age! The most important reason for doing this though is my mental health – I have struggled a lot with my anxiety and depression in recent years – to the point where it is seriously effecting my life decisions. Whether losing weight/exercising can resolve all my problems or not, I can’t say, but heck it certainly can’t make them worse! I think if I get in better shape and shed some pounds, I can only feel better for it. A Challenge begins... The day of the great proving had come – a day where potential dwarven warriors proved their mettle by fighting in a huge aarena. The greatest warriors would then be chosen to join the King’s army – a position of great honor. Kath, however, was no great warrior. In fact, she came from a line of portly artisans & tinkerers. She had a dream though, to be the best - to be the winner of the proving! So, she scrounged up what pitiable gear she can find and headed off to battle. Fate had other ideas it seemed… As Kath approached the proving grounds, she noticed a crowd had gathered out front. Curiously, she listened to their murmurs. “The proving cancelled?!†“Is it true the princess was kidnapped?†“I can’t believe it!†Shoving her way forward, Kath saw that a large scroll was posted on the heavy doors of the proving arena. “Until the return of Princess Runa Stoneheart, daughter of King Branson Stoneheart II, the proving is cancelled. The hero that sees to her safe return from the clutches of Gurgnott the Goblin King will be greatly rewarded…†Kath’s eyes scanned the parchment first in concern, then in excitement. This was her chance! To go on a real adventure! To prove to everyone she had what it took to become a warrior. Surely others had the same idea her though, she thought. Looking around she noticed a distinct lack of the usual fighters and soldiers she knew. Curiously, she tapped on an older dwarven man’s shoulder who was near her in the crowd. “Um, excuse me, where did the fighters go?†She asked, fearing the answer. The older dwarf snorted. “They left early this morning, as soon as the news was posted. There was quite a stampede. Poor sods, if they had only taken a moment to organize their efforts they would have a least a glimmer of hope at making it past the goblin army… where are you going lass?!†He exclaimed. “I need to catch up!†Kath yelled over her shoulder. “They've probably reached the surface by now!†The old dwarf shook his head wearily as he watched her run off. As Kath made her way outside the city gate and into the tunnels that led to the surface, she felt a pang of regret. She hadn’t said goodbye to her family… but they would surely understand. Especially when she returned home victorious with a princess in tow! Eventually her quick pace slowed down to a cautious walk. She had never been this far into the tunnels on her own before. It was quiet and extremely dark – though due to her being a dwarf, she could see fairly easily. In fact, she could see shapes looming in the shadows. Making it to the surface wasn't going to be as easy as she thought… Main Quest Develop a healthy and active lifestyle that results in weight loss, muscle gain, and happiness! This might sound vague... let me specify what I mean: 1. Change my diet to promote weight loss – as a lifestyle, not “lose pounds fast†fad diet. (This includes both food & drink.) 2. Work out during the week and up my daily activity to help create a manageable calorie deficit. 3. Make my health (mental & physical) a priority. And with that, let’s move onto quests! Quest 1: “Move around with the WASD keys, click to attack the enemy with your axe!†Work out 3 2 days a week. I currently work out 0 days per week. 3 is the recommended starting amount, and sounds totally doable in my opinion. EDIT: Changed to 2 days a week. I’ll probably be trying various NF workout routines from the Academy (recruit, bodyweight, dumbbell) and other ones I find fun on the site. Given my weight and lack of activity, I will start with the beginner exercises and progress from there. Helpful quest items: The Nerd Fitness Academy, work-out equipment Quest 2: “Take red potions to regain your health!†Stick to my macros. 25/F/5'4" | CW: 249 1500 Cal intake per day 20g Net Carbohydrates (try to stay under - MAX 25g) 88g Protein (try to meet) 119g Fat (don’t need to meet, but try to stick to the percentages below) OR about 72% fat, 23% protein, 5% net carbohydrates I’m doing a keto based diet, which worked really well for me before. I just didn’t stick with it because of an ugly depressive episode/lack of planning. This shouldn't be TOO difficult, considering I am doing this with my mom, so we should have proper foods stocked. This doesn’t mean “eat lots of processed fatty foodsâ€, this is sort of a keto/paleo hybrid. Going to trying making most of my food from scratch and sticking to wholesome veggies and meats as best I can alongside good fats. I will update my macros monthly, so expect them to change around week 3. Helpful quest items: My cellphone (the My Fitness Pal app) Quest 3: “Using the dungeon map, navigate your way through to the exit!†Walk at least 5000 steps per day. I know that is the average for adults, but I am a super inactive person. My average is anywhere from 400-1000 steps on a regular day. So I’m going to take walks and get my steps in there. Eventually, I will move this number up (probably on another challenge) but for now getting to 5000 would be a big win for me. Plus, I just bought new minimalist sandals, so I gotta strut that new footgear! (In fact, I would love to do the whole ‘Walk to Mordor’ quest for my next challenge! With the minimalist sandals it would complete the hobbit experience.) Helpful quest items: Jawbone UP MOVE fitness tracker, my cellphone (the Runkeeper app) Life Quest: “Make sure to rest between fights to regain your STAMINA - never go into battle fatigued!†In bed by 10pm, awake by 8am. Given that I am unemployed/dealing with mental health stuff right now, it’s difficult for me to have any semblance of schedule/regular sleeping hours, so this is something that I think will bring order to my life! Plus as I start working out I’m going to need all the sleep I can get. Helpful quest items: Jawbone UP MOVE fitness tracker, my cellphone (alarm clock & white noise app) Motivation: I want to love myself enough so that my family doesn't worry about me. I want to feel free and empowered. Also, you know, I want to start my grand adventure - become a hero & all that jazz.

Yeah I just saw that, and I'm a little worried. It's going to be my first challenge ever and I don't want to overwhelm myself with too many tasks to keep track of. (One thing at a time and all.) I will still be walking, but I think I need to back out of the challenge unfortunately (sadface) UNTIL NEXT TIME hahaha. I will still pop in though and root you guys on. Rack up those miles!

Sign me up! I would love to work on walking more. Currently, I just take casual strolls around the neighborhood, but it would be fun to have a goal to work towards. I'll use a combo of my pedometer (Jawbone MOVE) and the Runkeeper app to keep track of my miles.

Thank you for all of the great ideas everyone! Yeah, I'm debating whether I should just make a sort of "digital" binder (keep all my info on my computer) or take the time to make a hard-copy. I will see how motivated I am hahaha.

Oooh I've seen those. There is actually a low-carb pad thai recipe that uses them I've been meaning to try, yum! (Noodles, my weakness!) T_T

Congrats on your marriage! I'm glad you hear you're recovering, and your wife sounds like an awesome source of support. BTW it looks like you honeymooned in Skyrim, haha! Beautiful shots.

Saw a cat peering at me from inside someone's garage. Cat sightings make me happy, it's like the Where's Waldo of real life.

I don't go to the gym, but for workouts etc. I like to listen to power & speed metal. Dragonforce - Through The Fire And Flames Amaranthe - Invincible Within Temptation - Iron