Ilham

My life feels empty without goals and updates and you guys .

Indeed! I have no idea if/how I'll adapt! The first winter (if I am offered a visa to stay) will be interesting, to say the least! Thanks for asking ED. I miss you guys, but I don't have the energy to sit straight at my desk and spend time with my virtual NF family. Well. I went through another third period of sickness. Three days ago I even spent a night at the hospital because I was too sick to go back and forth to the doctor's or to make different tests at different places. I was also severely dehydrated. They wanted to see if it was appendicitis (it wasn't), and make a hep A test (it wasn't). It was indeed a bacterial infection, but they had failed to identify the strain correctly the first and second time, so I never took the antibiotic that would have completely eradicated it, and kept getting sick after a couple days. This time apparently they are 100% sure of what it is, since they sent some of my peepee to some specialised lab. I don't think I've ever felt this tired in my life. I am resting right now, caught up on the many series and movies I hadn't watched in a while . I kinda still force myself to do things that have to be done before I leave in two weeks. Don't laugh at me guys, but I'm bummed about the challenge :/. I was doing good. I probably lost all my strength and the little muscle I had. QUEST 1 - DESTROY EVERYTHING 1 - DESTROY FAT - lose 2.5 kilos (20/07 = 57.7 kg - 27/07= 57.4 kg - 03/08 = 57.3 kg - 08/08 = 56.5 kg - 26/08 = 56.1 kg) - More like DESTROY MUSCLE. The last time I weighed myself I was at 56.1 kg, on the 26th, three days after the end of the first round of sickness (which was really not severe compared to the two other that came afterwards). I was feeling well and had already gone back to eating normally and all, so I think that weight was somewhat accurate. That is the last weigh-in I will consider valid for this challenge, since I must have lost a considerable amount of water/muscle by now and I am not happy about it. I don't even want to step on the scale before next week, I'm afraid of the number I'll see. LIFE QUEST KEEP GRINDING - complete 20 tasks from the to-do-list - 26/30 - thank god for the cheap taxis in Morocco, it was impossible to drive/walk, I wouldn't have been able to complete my errands.

Thank you all guys for being concerned and wishing me well (and that joke Shakeel is priceless ). But the sickness wasn't all gone yet. I went through three more days of gastric chaos and some fevers. I feel almost completely cured now, no more symptoms, but I'm weak still. The doctor ruled out hep A because I'm vaccinated and all, so that's a relief, but he's suspected a strong bacteria like a big mean strain of e.coli or something like that. I saw my brother and mother just after they've been camping in a very poor region of Morocco, I'm wondering if it's something they brought back with them. Ah well. JUST AS I AM PREPARING MY MOVE TO CANADA. I guess stress does make you weak when it comes to infections. I'll do my best to go back on track, I still have what.... a week and three days :'(. At least I did one thing right while I was at home for days and days. I took down many of the tasks from my life quests. KEEP GRINDING - complete 20 tasks from the to-do-list - 23/20 - I guess I can bump that requirement to 30 now.

So that's it. This has come to an end. I'm sorry to see no one else had updated the spreadsheet in a while. I got to my goal and even when further than expected.

I was sick with some kind of exotic food poisoning for a full week but now I'm better, thank you guys for asking. As D_R, I've already disappeared/reappeared before, I am realising I really am an all-or-nothing kinda person with forum posting. I'll update soon, even if there's no much to write about :/.

Yeah lunges. When you look at someone doing them and you think "lol I can do that" and when you try them yourself you then realise they're worse than ebola and Donald Trump combined in a 20 cm Ø anal plug. I like my hyperboles.

LALALALALALALALALALALA I'M NOT HEARING THE PART WHERE YOU SAY YOU MESSED UP A TINY BIT YOU'RE STILL DOING GREAT I DON'T CARE I'M NOT LISTENING LALALALALALALALALALALALA

Thanks guys for the encouragements and mechanical hugs --- Actually you did help a lot. I had already been on that site but was turned off by its layout, so I discarded the reading. The article is going to be helpful, it describes a pain that is fairly close to mine, and yeah, the pain is most probably related to the "unusual" pressure I put on my wrist. (Four months of a lot of bodyweight stuff, it's a lot for me, but surely unusual for my wrist, before that I only did cardio and gym machines, no free weights or bodyweight). Thanks for the tip and the encouragements .

I love how you and chord509 interact. You got over that asthma bout, now it's time to go back to kicking ass. Don't worry about your progress, the results aren't always visible on the scale, but often elsehwere, be it mentally, in the energy levels, or body measurements. "Bon courage" as we in French. I love how the two expressions go hand in hand. "Bon appetit" for food and to fuel your body, and "bon courage" to fuel your mind.

I loved reading through your challenge and the mental shifts that come with it. Many people think that getting one's life and fitness back on track is a boring task that only involves uncomfortable mechanical actions, I'd have loved to have your words in mind to quickly and simply explain to them what it is all about. You're doing great, your respawning has been more than successful, you're sticking to everything, and most importantly reflecting on each of your choices. I see you here and there in the forums, it's great to see you are active and being positive all around. I can only give you my full support for the rest of this challenge.

Quoted for truth. Writing is therapeutic. Especially now when there are so many means of speaking out, but so little people willing to actually listen to you. And it turns out NF has plenty of those people that can only be happy to hear your story. I started posting on NF after moving countries, and finding out I wouldn't fit in for religious and cultural reasons. My battle against obesity was almost already won, but I still had a pre-diabetes to fight and a good number of pounds to shed. And no one to talk to about it, no one that would take pride in what I was doing, no one to help me with it either. --- My big why is simple. When I suddenly gained a lot of weight because of a bout of hormonal craziness and insulin resistance, I was too busy not fucking up my third attempt at studying. Those were the three most miserable years of my life, both physically and mentally. I knew that to get back some of that lost spark in life, I had to get healthy again. But along the way, I understood why I kept working out despite being relatively healthy now. This is the first time EVER, that I do something on my own, for my own sake and that I succeed in it. I grew up in a house where I was told I'd never amount to much, either because the world would work against me, or because I wasn't good enough. I understood that fighting against myself during those workouts was the only way I would one day be able to actually tackle big life decisions, which I have always tried to avoid, or always taken knowing I can blame someone else for it if I fail - which always happened as a consequence.

Haha, you guys are awesome. I went, I used up all the berserker gauge. UPDATE - DAY 1 / WEEK 4 - 10/08 I'm feeling the "middle-of-the-challenge-frustration" thing coming. At least, I've done almost half, only three weeks and 6 days left. QUEST 1 - DESTROY EVERYTHING 1 - DESTROY FAT - lose 2.5 kilos (20/07 = 57.7 kg - 27/07= 57.4 kg - 03/08 = 57.3 kg - 08/08 = 56.5 kg) - no new progress to report 2 - DESTROY METAL - 6/14 lift days + 4/7 HIIT - I wasn't feeling this workout, I really wasn't. There has been a very dull, very small, almost unnoticeable pain in my wrist when I go on a push-up/bent over row position - and only then, which would never make the movements harder. Today, god knows why it was much sharper than usual, it even caused most of my attempts at push ups to fail, and my BORs really painful. I re-checked on my form several times for each movement. I don't understand where it comes from, and how to get rid of it. Any thoughts? QUEST 2 - KEEP GOING KEEP RUNNING - Add 30 secs to my warm-up routine whenever possible - Nay nay. NAY NAY. As would have said the late John Pinette. Did the minimal warm up routine today. QUEST 3 - UNLOCK FULL POTENTIAL 1 - UNLOCK MOTIVATION - perform the 4 movements of the pull-up training at least once a week - 3/7 - Done, even if the BOR were botched. 2 - UNLOCK POWER - how well I perform the 4 movements of the pull-up training - My wrist felt just fine in the hanging exercises (inverted rows and hangs). Stupid wrist. Hanging from the bar really is starting to feel better, I even started adding scapular contractions. On the last set of hangs, I tried to tuck my knees in this time. Will try to do that on all sets next time, and work my way up to an L hang. LIFE QUEST KEEP GRINDING - complete 20 tasks from the to-do-list - 16/20 - caught up with some of my fellow (and future) Rangers . --- Hard workouts call for hardcore hardcore music. That repetition is intentional: If the frontman could give me some of his back muscles I'd be happy.

I read your backstory. I have to say there are a few passages that reminded me of my own. You're a true champion, keep doing what you do, you're more than obviously awesome.

So jelly of you guys doing races and meeting and whatnot .

Shhhhhhhsh, we'll say it's blurry because you got such a good workout that your arm was shaky. Also plenty of people indulge in selfie taking during the gym, make that pump visible, look for the right lighting, and strike the pose until you got a perfect selfie. How to:

I WENT IM POSTING THIS IN BETWEEN SETS MY FINGERS ARE SWEATY. Also awesome pics haha! Happy selfies for a happy day!

I posted 30 mins ago that I was going to work out. I'm still here. I put on my workout clothes at least.

I read until the end because of the mention of cute gym bros. Any pics? Just kidding. Congrats on the new PRs!

It must feel great to progress like you do. Remember how it feels, and remind yourself of it later. Unfortunately it stalls after a while, but that doesn't mean you're not doing it right. Congrats on keeping with this. last time I checked on you, you had an ugly toe injury, I hope that's all sorted now.

ED you're always adorable . --- POSTING THIS BECAUSE I HAVE A MAJOR CASE OF I DON'T WANT TO MOVE MY ASS. AFTER POSTING THIS I SHOULD BE SETTING UP THE WEIGHTS AND PUTTING MY WORKOUT CLOTHES ON. I HAVE TO. I NEEDED FORUM COURAGE. NOW THERE IS NO TURNING BACK. --- It's a funny thing, that. Pre-workout posting to force yourself to work out. I'm imagining the real life equivalent, me opening the window and screaming that I have to work out for extra accountability. Channelling my inner Louis.

Wow at the progress in strength and balance! You're going to be doing handstands so soon! Also, pass down the congratulations to your husband, it's quite humbling!

Bulletproof coffee, I had never heard of that. Boy this forum is useful. From what I've quickly read (I have so many threads to catch up on) you're going along fine, don't beat yourself up for a workout missed here and there. Your goals are numerous, and you're doing most of what you set out to do in most of them. Winner!

My dad knows the map of the sky because he had to learn it, as a sailor. There's a ton of skills he has that I'd loved to have, most are pretty Rangery too. Knots, winds, orientation, physics, survival in the sea, cpr, etc. Too bad we've never been close so I never learned anything from him. I'm sure your kids love star gazing with you! It's a wonderful thing to share, don't stop doing that. Désolée pour ce post à moitié déprimant et pleurnichard, je voulais être encourageante en fait .

I'm sure that if I get a piece of bacon or chocolate for each squat I might end up doing 500, and get addicted to them! Like a pavlovian kinda thing. Squat = bacon, and bacon = squat. No but seriously, I wasn't going for that number! I'm not there yet, I might try for half of that, might do even less, that'd still be pretty crazy for me.