kryple

Sheesh. It's been 17 months since I last updated this thread. To think of what I could have accomplished during all that time. Oh well, no use lamenting that. Whether I wanted to or not, finishing school and graduating was a huge priority. My TKD practice, may health, all fell to the wayside after I attained my orange belt. Funny story about that. When I had to do pushups, I did them on my knuckles which made the tester (a Master) very happy and he pointed out to his students that they should aim to do pushups like that. Little did he know I do pushups on my knuckles out of necessity; I have wrist issues. I digress. I am picking up my TKD lessons again next week with a goal to test for my yellow belt in April, but no later than end of June. I've managed to navigate the political waters at work fairly well and am in a solid position. Actually my standing is pretty secure since I was involved in a number of major deals last year. I apparently have a very good reputation throughout the organization. Now, to get my health in order. Oh and slim down too. It appears I have outgrown my TKD uniform (not in a good way). Being that I don't want to drop more money on a new bigger uniform, I have extra incentive to shape up for my test. I will participating in the 4 week challenge once I read through all the materials and get things all lined up there. Will post here again in the next couple of days.

Teirin and Ferngirl, thanks for checking in on me. I had a bad week last week. My TKD training continues to go well, but my other goals I was working on fell to the wayside. I temporarily lost my mojo due to the crappy political climate at work and my manager who is brilliant and smarter than her bosses being forced out. Actually, my entire team admitting eating they feelings regarding the situation. By Saturday afternoon, while stuffing my face with ice cream and cookies, I snapped. I said to myself, “effe this,†hopped on my computer and started looking back at what had been successful for me in the past. Unfortunately, I stopped using those tools because I got lazy. I made the choice to be lazy and well that doesn’t get a person anywhere. Since the beginning of the challenge, I’ve been winging my diet. On Saturday afternoon, I sat down and planned out 7 days worth of meals and workouts along with the other goals I had. I’m more diligently tracking my compliance. My goal is at least a minimum of 80% compliance. Sunday morning, I woke up early and did Nerd Fitness Yoga Water Series A, had a protein shake, and was at the grocery store by 7:30AM. Picked up the items I needed from my list based on my meal plans and was home within an hour cleaning out the fridge of garbage and putting all the good stuff in. I’ve found that it’s a lot easier now that I made a plan and have something to follow. This even includes dinner out with the boyfriend on Thursday night. Going back to my training, I’m improving by leaps and bounds. I’m getting faster in combination and sparing techniques and my kicks have more power behind them. The heights of my kicks are also improving. Now I just need to work on my endurance because that is my achilles hill. I have a plan for that on my off days. I will be testing sometime in October for my orange belt. So yeah, I’m back on track, which is good because I normally tap out on these kinds of things.

Luck? Doesn't sound like you're going to need it. You'll get it done. You're all grit and determination and that's fantastic. I deeply admire your dedication to keep training even as much as you can when injured. Just in case anyway, good luck on your test later this month

Thanks, Teirin. Today was another good session. I finished learning the rest of my pattern and did it perfectly the last go around. My master was very pleased. I also learned 3 sparring techniques and did my first 360 right circulating kick. My master was very impressed how quickly I picked it up. It’s not perfect as the kick itself wasn’t very high, but I have about 4 years until black belt to get it to where it needs to be. Food and water intake are going well. Lunch is my downfall, but I have a pretty good idea on how to remedy that. Reading has been going well too.

WoW player since vanilla. Just saying that made theHey Kinger, I’m pretty new here myself. Been a WoW player since vanilla and started playing FFXIV off and on since last year. Writing that just makes me feel like logging in now lol. Echoing Tanktimus, definitely start a challenge thread. I just started mine three days ago so don’t feel like if you start now you’ll be left behind. I definitely relate on the need to make changes due to medical issues. I have issues with high liver enzymes (fatty liver), I’m a diabetic (don’t need insulin yet and don’t plan on needing it), and I have some sleep apnea that has gotten better since losing just a little bit of weight. Great job giving up the smokes. You’re not missing much with the alcohol. I had to give up alcohol because of my diabetes medication, but honestly, I don’t miss it and it’s been 17 months since I’ve had any alcohol. Key is going to be consistency. I’ve found using Habitica (formerly HabitRPG) has been really helpful. It appeals to the gamer in me. If I do my dailies and to-dos, I can check it off and earn XP and gold to purchase items for my character. Of course, if you miss doing your dailies, it affects your HP so there is incentive there. Good luck to you. You can do this. What are your more pressing/immediate goals?

Have you looked into Parkour groups (meet ups) or searched for a Parkour "gym". I looked into it last year myself and was pleasanty suprised there are groups that do that and seem more than happy to teach newcomers if you need more hands on instruction.

I did pretty good today with meeting my objectives. I struggled in the beginning with the water, but by the evening, reaching my water intake goal became easier. I also had a great TKD session. We are scaling bag on the bag work due to a bruise I developed on the top of my left foot. After some exercises, we went through some of the basic one steps, did some self defense stuff, and then I was introduced to Ki Bon Hyung (my first pattern). I learned the first half of it today and did pretty well. I will learn the second half, which is just a repeat of the first half just going in the opposite direction, on Wednesday. My form is strong, but I need to stop looking down. It comes off as lacking confidence, but really it's just me overthinking. That's my overarching problem with TKD: I overthink it instead of letting my body move how it wants. During training sessions when I don't overthink, my form is good, I have power in my kicks and punches, and everything just flows. But on days like today when I overthink, I second guess and recall things incorrectly. I am reading a philosophy book on TKD and there was a chapter about "being full and empty at the same time." In this instance, I am "full" of TKD knowledge, but I need to be "empty" (aka not over think or complicate) in order to execute efficently. In short, be in the zone. Still, I'm having fun, learning a lot and am excited with each lesson.

Thanks for the welcome, Terin and whitebalance. Yes, I just checked into the Courtyard. Still working on learning my way around the forums. Yes, I am cutting out all tea. I've been brewing and drinking a variety of different Chinese teas. My urologist gave me a list of items that I can enjoy readily, eat in limited quanitities, or have to cut out all together. Unfortunately, tea, chocolate, and peanut butter are on that list. It's not to say that I can't ever have them again; I just have to have them few and far between followed by a ton of water afterwards. You're right, I had no problem putting together my goals. I have this terrible fear of living a low quality life (bed ridden or premature death). I have diabetic friends who mismanage their diabetes, in their late 40s. One is showing signs of circulatory issues. Give it a few years and I imagine he will lose both of his legs. Also, my first boyfriend, his mother mismanaged her diabetes. At 45, her kidneys shut down and she started going blind. She had to go to dialysis three times a week and she couldn't get a kidney transplant until she could prove she would better manage her diabetes; something she was unwilling to do. She died at 48. So being that I'm diabetic and prone to kidney stones (a double whammy against my kidneys), I gotta take good care of them if I want to tackle all these adventures I have lined up. Ultimately, I would like to be medication free, which both my doctors assure me can be done if I get on the right path.

Haha, everyday is a cold shower challenge for me. I have to take cold showers. If I take even a warm shower, once I hop out and dry off, I start sweating which kind of defeats the whole purpose of showering in the first place. I sweat eas (thanks dad for passing that on)

My apologies for being a little late to the party, but here goes.... Introduction: Hello, I am Kryple and this is my first challenge. I recently decided to stop procrastinating on taking up a martial art and started private Tae Kwon Do lessons over five weeks ago. Living in Florida, I enjoy going to Disney World regularly; nice sneaky way of getting in anywhere from 13,000 to 20,000 steps. I joined the rebellion because I'm not that old, but have started to develop some health issues (diabetes and kidney stones) that are starting to negatively impact my quality life and require medications to control. Main Quest: Lose 20lbs by the end of the year. Quest 1: Participate in TKD lessons three times per week. These sessions serve as a form a exercise I look forward to after work. Off days should be supplemented with resistance training or recovery. Quest 2: Lay off tea and soda for the duration of the challenge and replace such drinks with water; a minimum of 2.5 liters per day as advised by my doctor. Quest 3: Limit carbohydrate consumption to a maximum of 40 grams per meal. This will be a real challenge as I have a weakness for simple carbs. Life Quest: Read non-school related books (leisurely reading) for 20 minutes each day. I am notorious for starting books, but not finishing them unless forced to (like for school). Motivation: My doctors have asserted that with diligent work and a leaner body composition, within six months to a year I may no longer require medications for these conditions. If I fail to make the necessary changes, my conditions will worsen and only require additional medications, if not worse.