JDowntrotter

Thank you everyone for your words of advice. I appreciate the time you took to respond. I'm taking it one day at a time and trying to focus on staying active and I'm thinking a lot about how to avoid these types of situations in the future. I'm doing my best to stay positive. Your words have helped a lot, and I've decided I'm not going to let this hold me back. While I still don't feel 100% and won't for a while, I know I'll get there, and I'm taking this as a huge learning experience. I noticed I started drinking alcohol more once I started my job 2 years ago. It's very entertainment based and people are always partying, and a lot of the staff has that "let loose" attitude. While it's been fun, it also seems to have had a bad influence on me, and I'm seeking employment elsewhere now to see if that will also help. I'm thinking something more healthy, like a state park or fitness/recreation center. A place that will align with my goals and help keep me on track, as well as hopefully meeting people with that same interest.

This is actually really hard for me to say, and I debated on posting anything at all. But here goes... So...I'm not sure how to respawn at this point. I really messed up bad. So I guess I'm looking for advice. I was really excited to find these forums, and I started eating better and keeping tabs on my activity. I haven't exercised in a long time, so I thought I'd start with something simple - just making sure I went for a walk everyday. I've been doing that for about a week, and that's been good. But in the past, I've had bad alcohol problems where I'd drink to get drunk, and last month I blacked out at a concert I went to with a friend and was just not being responsible at all. My boyfriend and I went through a really bad week because of that and had a really long conversation about trust issues. So in result of that, I made a promise to him that I'd only drink if he was with me and if I had his permission. We figured it'd keep me in check. Well. Yesterday I was at an outing with friends, and there was alcohol. I was being pressured into drinking some, and I kept saying no, and then I broke and finally took a can of beer just to keep them quiet and I was just holding it, to make it look like I was drinking even though I wasn't. But then I ended up drinking some, and when I realized it was half empty, I threw it away. I felt awful for breaking my promise. The rest of the night alcohol was being pushed on me but I said no. And when I got back to my apartment, I texted my boyfriend because we made plans to talk when I got back and I was letting him know I was home. I told him what happened, and when I called him he said he can't trust me anymore. He broke it off with me. And I just don't know what to do. It sounds...petty. I know. But we've been together for 8 years, and finally, finally! we were going to move in with each other. I actually had mailed my notice to my landlord earlier that day that I would not be renewing my lease. And I even have a job lined up in the city my boyfriend lives in. I was going to be moving in August. Now I don't know what to do, or where to go. All because I couldn't say "no". And now, in result of that, I have no motivation to do anything else. I don't want to go on my walks or anything. I feel really lost. tl;dr: I'm an idiot and I don't know how to fix that.

I found a small, hole-in-the-wall bookstore today and was super excited to find a Greg Iles book I haven't read yet! It's called Third Degree. I read all of this other books in the local library. I love a good suspense/mystery/thriller!

I don't think anyone mentioned the Vlad Taltos series by Steven Brust yet. They are short, quick reads, but recommended. It might be a little confusing on which to read first. I started with Jhereg and loved it. It has action, it has humor, and (depending on the book, some have more, some less) it has politics, though not as crazy and complex as GoT.

I'm following this. You are amazing. I've never tried paleo, but I want to start, and this is making me actually eager to do it.

Me too, rybo. If there is another meet up, I'd be down. I'm starting new again on getting back into shape and I don't have a concrete plan of action yet. It'd be a good motivation booster to talk to some local NF peeps.

Thanks. Yeah, I don't want to be hurt either! I'll look into the body-weight training, thanks for the tip. And of course I'll make sure I get a go-ahead first from my doc

Hey, it's nice to meet you. I feel you on some of these struggles, especially when it comes to food. I'm the worst cook because I'm so lazy. Maybe if we come upon healthy recipes, we can share with each other, and maybe even take pictures of the cooking results to help keep us on track. Just a suggestion - no pressure or anything! I actually don't even have the internet right now and have to go to places to connect onto free wifi, so I'm not very available all the time online. I also feel you on the drinking. You'll get there though, one way or another. Just the fact that you acknowledge it is a great first step. Alcohol is a big part of my current job, and since I started working there I went from rarely drinking to drinking a lot. And then I found I enjoyed the tipsy drunk feeling, and it got worse where I felt I had to be drunk to have fun. I finally hit my low at a concert a few weeks ago. I remember the first two songs and the very last one. Everything in between is a complete black out. And while trying to get home, I almost got raped. It scared me really bad, and now I don't touch a drop, even when being offered drinks after my shift is over. I hope to keep it that way, or at least learn "in moderation". As for a form of exercise, maybe try something completely different? I'm no expert at any of this being a newbie myself, so there's a good chance this is me just talking, but maybe exercise with a touch of adventure will kickstart you into something you like. I for one want to go to a wall climbing gym. I'm scared of heights, but it sounds so much more fun than sitting on a bicycle. I'm sure there are a lot of people here that will be able to give you great suggestions and tips to try. I know I'm looking forward to them as well! Best of luck to you on your journey!

Hello! The Dragonlance series and Tasslehoff Burrfoot in particular inspired my RP character, Juniper Downtrotter. I haven’t played D&D but I play something similar with my friends and that’s how Juniper was created. I picked his name for this community because Juniper is an extension of myself, and I’d love to be in the shape he’s in. So with that said...you can call me Juni and I’m super psyched to be here!! I've been on a quest for a long time to get back into better health, and man, I've failed over and over again because I'm easily distracted and lazy. I've joined gyms, I've tried tracking my progress, I've tried DVDs, and apps, and programs. None of it stuck and it always felt like a chore. But this time it's different because this time, I'm actually excited! I've never been much of a forum poster on any social media stuff, but I've read through the NF website and so many forum posts and all I kept thinking was, "I can't wait to get in on the action!" So here I am! I dig the race/class thing. I stand at a proud 5’3†so I’d say I’m wood elf material, maybe even a kender, or perhaps some strange love child developed between the two. I fall into the scout category currently, but I’d love to branch off from there and explore the rangers or the assassins. Hell, maybe even the warriors! There’s something about being small and powerful that just sounds so damn cool. I’ve played around with martial arts before, but classes are too expensive for me. I love trying anything and everything! Recently I’ve been trying to convince my coworkers to go to a wall climbing gym with me. My goal is to train to get back the endurance and speed I used to have. I also want to try weight training. I don’t really know anything about it and have always stayed away from it due to a heart medical condition. My doctors have told me I’m not allowed to strain myself or I could cause severe damage, so I’m hoping to find ways to build myself up overtime, slowly and safely. I do want to become stronger! I also have a goal where I want to train myself to eat slower. Now, fitness aside, here’s a bit more about me... I grew up on video games. I’m currently playing Okami on the PS2 and The Night of the Rabbit on Steam. Top favorites are: 9 Hours 9 Persons 9 Doors, Final Fantasy VI, both The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past & Twilight Princess, Donkey Kong Country, and Spyro the Dragon. I enjoy tabletop gaming quite a bit. My first introduction to roleplaying was HeroQuest and then DragonStrike. I used to play with my mom and my brothers when I was young. They were the ones who also introduced me into the fantasy genre and had me read The Lord of the Rings and the Dragonlance series. Even now, 20 some years later my brothers are still looking after me and made sure I read Game of Thrones, which we also play online together via Vassal. We’re always looking for more players, so if you're interested, please let me know! We mostly play on either Friday or Saturday nights, depending on our availability. I love reading, both normal books and comics and manga. I’ve cosplayed as Kite from .hack, a panda, a moogle, and as Gabumon from Digimon. When I reach my fitness goals, I want to cosplay as my RP character as a reward! I watch anime, I do artsy stuff with paint and pencils. I met my boyfriend while playing World of Warcraft (he was my GM to boot) and to top off my nerdyness, I am in the beginning stages of teaching myself Japanese. Thank you NF for being a community I feel at ease in. I hope to make friends during my stay! It’s already a goal of mine to go to Camp. Finances don’t allow this year…but maybe 2016! And now to kick things off, I am tagging along on the Walk to Mordor! I ordered myself a pedometer, and it should arrive this Thursday!

Yaay color runs! They're so great, and congratulations on running almost all of it! I did a 5K last summer called Run or Dye, and I totally died. I'm working on getting my endurance back so I can do better on my next one. Have you looked into the Glow Run 5K? I want to do that one next, it looks super fun!

Hi KB! I've read both, and both are very good reads. One very important thing to keep in mind is that The Lord of the Rings is a finished trilogy and Game of Thrones isn't completed yet. There are 5 completed books out of a planned 7. Game of Thrones has a lot more characters and a lot of scheming and backstabbing and certain characters have beautiful character development. It has fantasy elements in it, but it is not a fantasy world. One really cool thing I like about it, is that each chapter is told in the perspective of a different character. Though be warned—that also leave you in for a lot of cliffhangers! Lord of the Rings on the other hand, has less characters to keep track of, and there is a clearly defined "good" and "evil". Not that that's a bad thing! I really enjoyed the trilogy, and found some sections to be quite funny, especially the rivalry between elves and dwarves, while other sections are really emotional. The LoTR is most definitely a fantasy world so you'll get to meet all sorts of cool creatures. And actually, I'd recommend reading The Hobbit first if you haven't already. You don't need to, but it's a nice opener to the world. I'm hesitant to say too much about either story, because I don't want to accidentally give anything away. When it comes down to it, I'd say go with the LoTR since it's completed.