ShortyCake

Another weekly update! I ate out three times this week because of my husband's birthday. And one day where we worked late and had literally nothing to eat in the apartment. But then, when everyone wanted to hang out over the weekend, I cooked instead. This week is going to be rough, though, because there is a stomach flu going around in the school. It's rough, and it's looking like I'm already incubating it. I managed a couple of long walks last week to push myself through into workouts. It's getting stupid cold here, though, so it's harder to pull myself out of the apartment. This weekend the Korean government sent out an emergency warning telling people not to go outside because of the cold and the wind chill. It's awful. I'm still trying to pay more attention to how I'm eating and how much I move, but winter makes it just that much harder. I also found out that my scale is wonky and won't measure my weight accurately, so I need to figure that out too.

It's way colder here! Back in Georgia, it's currently high 50s for temperature. Right now in Korea, the high is 7. T.T It makes it so much harder to workout and find the motivation to work out.

Weekly update time! This week was a rough one. My grandfather passed away on Tuesday and I hadn't been able to talk to him in a long time because of the time zone differences and being on the other side of the planet. I managed a small accidental workout on Thursday because I had cases of water shipped to my school instead of me apartment, so I had to lug 12 2 liters of water half a mail to my place. It tore up my shoulders a bit and also made me realize that my heart murmur may limit me more than I thought. I'm going to find a doctor to speak with and post in one of the forums here, but it was rough. I felt like I was about to pass out. I'm worried it will limit my workouts and what I can actually physically do. In other news, hit my water goal every day, used less sugar, and didn't eat out once! Mission accomplished there! And soon, I'll be getting dressed and going out to go geocaching. Then we'll be going to the local electronics market to purchase some gaming controllers for some new party games we've purchased. I feel like I'm on track, even though I barely got in my workouts this week. It's been a rough one, and I just want to focus and get back on the horse.

First week update! I ate out twice yesterday. Once was planned, the second one was kind of an accident. I got stuck out with friends and was hungry, and it would have been so long to get back to my apartment I would have been starving by then. But luckily, I just nibbled on some chicken soup and sesame leaves. I also didn't drink very much, although everyone else was taking shot after shot, so I don't feel too bad. I've decided to count last night towards this week's eating out. So now eating out until next Sunday! I worked out several times this week, and walked a lot yesterday as well. I went out and visited one of my favorite areas in Seoul to do some shopping and people watching and it felt good to get out. I was exhausted by the end of the day though. lol I've also been measuring the sugar in my coffee and have been cutting back on that. I just purchased some new (delicious) coffee beans, and the coffee is so smooth it doesn't even really need sugar. I'm hoping that will help in my quest to cut back on added sugars. I think I'm doing pretty well so far. Here's hoping I can keep it up!

Update on the first four days! I've made my meals every day so far and it feels great. I love eating my delicious leftovers for lunch while others hunch over their fast food. Or bread. SO MUCH BREAD IN THIS OFFICE! I had a bit of cake today since one of my students had a birthday party, but I mostly ate the fruit that his mother provided and I feel like it was good. I made a good choice to not eat lots of cake. Just one thin slice. I've noticed that I'm not doing as good on my water intake lately, though. That was my last challenge, and I think I'm going to tack on my water to this one as well, just to make sure I keep it up. I also can't wait to go geocaching this weekend. And I'm looking forward to trying out some new workouts as well. I've only worked out once this week because I woke up late one day, but I'm going to catch up tomorrow morning and get right back on schedule. I want to try something that sparks me. Something that I want to get out and do and that I enjoy doing. So far I'm not having much luck, but I also haven't tried a lot. What do you do when you're bored of a workout routine?

Haha, that's impressive! My Sanctuary has lots of lights, and plants, but that's about it. Good luck on the challenge!

I use an app with a website for geocaching. After poking around a little bit, it seems like there's quite a bit to do here in Seoul, which is fantastic! I'm looking forward to this one in my area that takes you to tons of famous Gangnam landmarks.

This is my second challenge, and the first one where I've found a guild that I really want to join. I was bouncing between Rangers and Adventurers, but I rather like the new Adventurer's description. I love getting out and exploring the area around me. Trying out new things is what I'm game for, whether it's working out or geocaching. I live in Seoul, South Korea, with tons of hiking trails and new things to find. For this new challenge, I'm going to work hard on doing a better job of completing my quests. Last time, life got in the way. It was a hard challenge and one that I wasn't prepared for. But this time around, I'm ready! My goals are: Eat out only once per week. This is going to be tough here in South Korea, but I need to get on the ball with planning my meals ahead and cooking at the house more often. No more McDonald's McDelivery!CON +2, WIS +1Cut back on the sugar in my coffee. I've been getting a lot of unnecessary calories and sugar the start of my day from this, and it has to stop. I pay lots of money for delicious, fresh coffee beans, and then I kill the flavor because of my sweet tooth. It's time to start getting serious about this one!CON +2Work out three times a week. This is the hard challenge this time around. I've been supremely lazy lately and just haven't been working out at all. I feel weak and awful and I know it's because I've been so lax about this one. When I cook, I have the diet part of this under control. It's the fitness that wreaks havoc on my questing. So I'm going to get back into strength training and trying out new workouts to figure out what I like best. Maybe workouts at home since it's so cold here in South Korea right now, or maybe going out and getting my hike on. There's tons of mountain trails near my city, so I definitely need to get into that. It's just going to be hard to fit workouts into my exhausting schedule. After teaching kindergarten all day, I usually just want to go home and crash in front of the TV for the night.STR +3, WIS +1, DEX +1Get out and explore on the weekend instead of sitting in and playing video games. This is going to be hard now that I'm addicted to WildStar (an mmorpg). But I'm going to stick to gaming at night and exploring my town during the day. I want to pick up geocaching again, since I haven't done it since I left the United States. I really enjoyed it back then, and I want to see what kind of things Seoul has to offer.CHA +2, DEX +1It's not a lot, but I figure that it's a good start to 2016. Let's get this momentum rolling!

I'm creating a new topic because the previous topic was well over a year old and the owner of the thread no longer resides in South Korea. I didn't want to hijack or resurrect a zombie thread. I currently live in Seoul, South Korea and would love to have some friends to help me level up. Whether that's through working out, social meet-ups, or just to know who's kicking around in the ROK. I'm here for the foreseeable future (just got a new contract with my company) and should be in Seoul for quite some time now. If you're interested in meeting up, let me know. I'd love to know who else is around the area.

For the past two months, I didn't weight myself. No particular reason. I could tell I was gaining, but I lacked the motivation to be able to change anything. I stopped working out. I started eating more. I started putting more sugar in my coffee. Basically, I was taking hit after hit after hit. And all of it was blowback damage from my own attacks. Now that I know how much weight I put on (seven pounds), I need to get my head back in the game. I've already started weaning myself off of excess sugar. I'm going to try cutting out the bread next. It's hard here in South Korea, especially since I don't have much of a support system here, but I'm going to try. If I can workout on my schedule (every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday morning), I'm going to treat myself to some new workout shirts. My crappy little tanks aren't cutting it anymore. If I can get back in the hang of eating normal portions, I'll celebrate mentally--Not with food! I need to jump back into battle. I may have fallen to the side for a bit, but the boss awaits. Somewhere farther down this quest line, the boss is waiting for me. And I need to be ready. Wish me luck!

It's been long couple of weeks and I'm desperately in need of any update. First of all, my goals. I've been hitting about 70% of my water goals. Most days are 100%, but I slip up on the weekends because I'm usually out and about. I've been eating out a little bit more than twice a week (mostly because I spent a whole day at an amusement park), but we've been good about not abandoning our planned meals for spontaneous nights out. I haven't been working out much, but I'm finally on medicine for this ridiculous "cold" that I have. The doctor was worried that if I'd waited any longer to see him, I might have gotten some lung problems to go along with the hacking cough and stuffy sinuses. Now that I'm on medicine, I'm feeling so much better. I think I'll start up my workouts again tomorrow, since today was a friend's wedding all the way on the other side of Seoul. This definitely isn't the best my challenge could have been, but even with everything being thrown at me, I'm definitely trying more. No more afternoon kimbap because I'm too lazy to heat up lunch or go back to the apartment to pick up our lunch box. No more spontaneous trips to the new waffle place down the road (that's way too expensive anyways). I can't wait to see how things go for the last little leg of the challenge!

Last week went pretty well. I managed to hit my water goal 5 out of 7 times. I only ate out twice. And I limited myself at a party. I didn't drink nearly as much as everyone else, and I didn't feel bad about myself the next day. When I weighed in, didn't weigh much less, but I also had a bit of period bloat going on. I didn't work out, though, due to a severe cold that's been rattling around my office for several days now. I'm feeling a bit better this week, so I'm hoping to squeeze in a few workouts over the next several days. I'm also a little stressed because right now my husband and I are debating if we want to continue on with our current school and sign a new contract or if we want to look for a new position in Seoul. I'll update later on this week with more on my progress so far. I think I'm doing alright for the first week, though.

Day one and two, checking in! I went out to eat for my first of two times this week. Between work and my Korean class, I never have time to run home and get myself some food. I made sure to get something pretty healthy though: a Vietnamese style bibimbap, or mixed rice dish. Grilled chicken, a bit of rice, and a mountain of vegetables. Super delicious, super cheap, and one of my favorite things about living in Korea! I'm also well on my way to meeting my water goal. I didn't think it was possible, but with those attribute points looming over me, I'm already at 70% and I still have several hours left in the night. Yesterday, I drank 1.8 liters. Tonight I'll be sure it's two!

My name is Jessica and I'm a D&D nerd in Seoul, South Korea. For ages, I've been overweight. It's always been a struggle to get healthy, and Korea makes it even more difficult. Drinking is everywhere, all of the food is rice and meat based, vegetables are expensive. But in the end, it all comes down to me. Down to my seriousness about getting healthy and fit and feeling better in my own skin. Right now, when I look in the mirror, I see myself at 160 lbs and totally unhappy with how I look. I've lost 25 lbs already, but I still feel flabby and useless and weak. I want to change that. I want to be strong and healthy and not end up panting every time I crest the hill near my apartment. I want to be able to play with my kindergarten class without breathing heavy. I want to be able to lift the tables in the classroom without my arms shaking. It's not about getting skinny anymore...it's about being healthy, and strong, and sexy. Over the next six weeks, I hope to challenge myself like never before. Main Quest: Lose the last few pounds of fat that I haven't lost already, that are hanging around no matter what I do. I want to look in the mirror and say, "Damn! I look fantastic!" I also want to fit into all of the adorable clothes that I find here in South Korea, which would mean getting slimmer and more toned. I want to be strong and healthy and sexy. Specific Quests: 1) Limit eating out to twice a week - once for lunch, and once for dinner. And when I do eat out, I need to choose healthier options rather than getting the first fried thing that catches my eye. 2) Drink more water. Get in a solid 2.5 liters every day. Well...liquid....whatever. 3) Workout until I sweat at least three days a week. I want to do strength and interval training. I need to get my heart stronger (I have a heart murmur that limits my workouts a bit, but according to my doctors, my heart is a muscle that I can strengthen until I don't have symptoms). Motivation: All of the wonderful clothes here in Seoul that I don't fit into. Looking in the mirror and being happy rather than depressed. That warm feeling in my chest when I've accomplished something. Race: Firesoul Genasi - Hot headed, ambitious, will do anything to win. Class: Adventurer Stat Points: 10 up for grabs 1)CON (3) + WIS (2) 2)CON (2) 3)STR (3) Right now, I'm a super basic recruit, but I feel like if I have a team to hold me accountable, the sky is the limit.

So, hello! My name is Jessica and I'm an English teacher in Seoul, South Korea. I've lost 25 pounds so far, but I've hit a plateau. After doing lots of research (something I'm exceeding good at), I think it might be because at this point, I need to start building muscle and losing the last vestiges of my fat. I've always struggled with motivation. When I'm into something, I burn with a fire brighter than the noon sun. But when that heat dies down, I'm usually left as nothing more than a pile of cinders. I'm hear to keep that glow going by finding some community, some support, and something nerdy to keep me going. My nerdoms are books, Dungeons and Dragons, some video games, linguistics, and geeking out over Asian skincare products. Right now, my struggles are eating healthy in Seoul, where it's cheaper to eat out than to buy groceries (generally speaking), where rice is served with every meal, and where all vegetables are cooked to within an inch of their life. I'm also having trouble with finding friends who don't mind my occasional pitfalls and reboots. I need people who tell me to keep hoofing it, even when I'm moping and whining and making excuses. All of that ends today! I need to take control of this thing. And if it means centering my fitness life around leveling up a version of myself, well...That's a great f*#$ing idea. Maybe it'll give me the kick in the pants I need to keep going when the going gets tough. For those that choose to fight with me, I bring great strategy, excellent research skills, and unbelievable planning capabilities. No, seriously, I'm a bamf when it comes to lists and organization. Any party members interested in joining up with this hothead with motivation issues?