xenabear

Out of sight, out of mind? That's been the lesson this week. I've been visiting my grandma, who is 94 and loves her family by feeding them. At home I've been doing quite well with my goal of replacing carbs with veggies. Yesterday I sliced a pepper in half and put some tuna in it, making a sort of tuna sandwich without the bread. It was surprisingly satisfying. Today I visited my grandma and she had something I used to be addicted to; cheddar cheese pretzel bits. She's never had them in her house before, I'm pretty sure someone brought them to her on a whim. Cherry cheesecake tarts, every sort of Italian cookie...it's a land of temptation. I did end up having some pretzel bits, but I didn't go overboard on them, and I purposely chose not to make my goal so strict that it would be unattainable. So having some pretzels wasn't a failure, just something to be watching out for, now that I'm aware of how strong the urge to indulge is. Still, getting to her house requires a 10 mile round trip bike ride, so I got in some good exercise. Thanks for all the encouragement. :}

Definitely working on the stretching. Driving is twice the pain for me because not only am I in one position for an extended period, but I unintentionally tense my muscles continuously. I'm very lucky to have a sister who's a physical therapist and she's taught me some effective exercises that tackle back pain pretty quickly. I like your quotes, by the way. :-)

trinity; missvague: thanks for the support! More successes than missteps so far. Yay! Didn't feel like exercising on Tuesday, but I rowed for 15min on my machine. Way better than couch sitting! Obstacle Destroyed Yesterday: I was in the car for 6 hours yesterday and didn't pack enough food. I stopped over at a rest area where there's fast food, the best place I could find was fresh city, but their salads didn't have much in the way of protein, so I got all of the ingredients that they put in the rice bowl, but replaced the rice with salad greens. It was actually quite good. My back is paying for the long drive, but I'm still going to take a bike ride. *Crosses fingers*

I saw this a couple hours ago and came on here to geek out with my fellow nerds, but alas there were no posts on it yet. If you haven't seen it, you can check it out on vimeo here --> https://vimeo.com/139407849. Don't let me down fellow nerds! Spread the geeky goodness.

Thanks missvague. I have a cat that tries to climb up my chair and over my back when I'm sitting at the table. But he fears nothing, and loves nothing more than food, any food at any time. He's a crazy little thing. I'm kind of excited that you wrote because I was looking forward to this challenge, thinking everyone would try to make sure that we're not leaving anybody out, and then was all like: Why no one haz visits me? Anyway, first day went pretty well: Made the portabello mushroom cap pizza. Came out awesome and very filling. AND I built up positive associations to get my dog to start coming when called. She'll run to the car as soon as she sees me there. So each time she runs to me, I'll ask to be just slightly further away from the car, so that's a start. Didn't get formal exercise yesterday, but did some stuff during the day that was so labor intensive I had no steam left by the end of it :/

I'm sorry to hear that you had a rough start, but there's no shame in that. Heck, getting started with anything new can be pretty stressful. I think your idea about switching up to a different class might be helpful. I know that you've been bullied before; I'm envisioning the mean dojos from the Karate Kid movies, but I know that most everyone will let you observe a class or try one for free before you make any decisions. If you're nervous, you could even call ahead and talk to the teacher, let him/her know your concerns, and how they react might tell you a lot about what they'd be like. As for worrying about having this binge, here are my thoughts. It takes our brains a while to build new connections, so in a time of stress, you fell back on an old behavior. That's not failure, that's a single event on a single day, and one you can learn from. Maybe brainstorm some ways that you could put up roadblocks between yourself and all those treats, you could try using a shopping list and only buying from what's on the list. Maybe tell yourself you'll read a favorite fanfic or book, or take a short walk around the block before you make a decision about acting on that urge. Different things work for for everyone, I'm just brainstorming off the top of my head. You're a strong person and you're not lazy, because lazy girl wouldn't even have bothered to challenge herself. It takes courage to admit you made a mistake, even on a forum. And friend, try turning those 'shoulds' into a positive statement, so that you're less likely to judge yourself so harshly. Instead of "I shouldn't be spending on junk food" you could say "I'm deciding not to buy junk food, even though it's hard for me, because that will help me achieve my goals." We have a saying in my house; "Don't should all over yourself!"

Congrats on your Masters, that's a major accomplishment. I'm seriously impressed by your goals; my hope is to work toward doing 1 pull up Regarding flexibility: I recently stumbled upon an article in LiveScience that was one of the best I've read on the topic. You can find it here: http://www.livescience.com/48744-how-does-stretching-work.html

Chris, I think it's neat that your goals are all focused on the basics, because without proper sleep all the rest is an uphill battle. Drinking less should probably help a lot with that too, since alcohol sort of gives you a rebound effect that works like having taken a stimulant, so in the middle of the night it can come back to bite you in the butt. I'm trying for a similar fitness goal, mainly just trying to get in the habit of getting on my feet each day. I haven't taken any dancing classes, but that sounds like a lot of fun. I might have to look into that now. It'd be a great way to get exercise and socialize at the same time. Good Luck!!

Hi Smyrnian! First things first, let me say that I think that your handle icon is awesome. I'm also a fanfic writer. I post to AO3 mostly, how about you?This is what I love about nerd fitness, there are people on here who I can actually relate to! Your goals are kickass . I have not done much in the way of martial arts, but I know a bit about that world through my sister who has a 2nd degree black belt in Kung Fu and has been practicing for many years. I can understand why you'd stay until you could find someplace else, even if the instructor is harsh. Maybe make a promise to yourself that you won't continue doing something during a class if you feel that it is unsafe or could be harmful for you. Then if he makes you feel belittled or harassed, you can come back to the forums for some encouragement and validation. My one observation about martial arts is that the best instructors are ironically some of the most gentle and caring people you could meet. So don't give up hope on finding someone you feel is more suited to you in the long run. Being called a liar can make you feel terrible. So let me just say that you seem like a good person, and whatever he's on you about is clearly some issue that he has with himself. About jogging, I applaud you, as I find any form of running to be pure torture. Do you have a game plan for preventing binge eating? If not, I saw that NF includes that in the renovate your BatCave section. I think ridding your home of temptations was the first step? Not positive on that. Anyway, I wish you all the luck and I'll keep checkin' back!

I'm starting this challenge with some very basic goals that will be challenging yet attainable. Nutrition Quest: Oh no, not aGrain! Transition to paleo plus dairy and legumes. (I'm keeping the dairy for health reasons and the legumes because I love them and can't really see any harm in continuing to enjoy them.) Reasoning: I've been working on making the transition to a mostly paleo diet, but I haven't set a concrete expectation for myself as of yet. So far I have noticed that I am less tempted to buy grain products while shopping when I've crossed them off my list of options. Instead of fighting 20 different temptations as I shop, I can go in making one overarching decision at the start. I also feel much less deprived than during any of my many diets through the years, so the effort to make this change will be well worth it. At this point I have eliminated foods with added sugar, and I don't drink anything caloric aside from plain almond milk. My next step is to phase out grains, replacing them with better alternatives. Goal: Weeks 1 and 2: Replace grains with vegetables at one meal per day. Weeks 3 and 4: Replace grains with vegetables at two meals per day. Weeks 4 and 5: Eliminate remaining grains and replace with paleo approved options. A= Meeting my goal an average of at least 5 days per week. B= Meeting my goal at least 4 days per week. C= Meeting my goal 3 days per week. Fitness Quest:Revival of the Fitness: Work toward planned physical activity daily. Reasoning: I enjoy exercise when I do it, but would like to make it more of a priority. Over the 6 week challenge I am hoping that I will be able to make a habit of regular physical activity. Goal: I will walk, bike, row, do yoga, tai chi, or stretch. I will also attempt the recruit workout at least 8 times over these 6 weeks. A= Doing one of these activities for at least 10 minutes per day, missing 1 or no days per week. B= Doing one of these activities for at least 15 minutes per day, missing 1 or no days per week. C= Doing these activities 3 to 5 days per week, for at least 5 minutes. Life Quest: Xena's Warrior Cry: training my dog to come when called. Reasoning: I love my pup. She is incredibly intelligent, so much so that she has learned not to come when I call her because I have unintentionally taught her that this is an antecedent to me leaving the house. I would like to help her unlearn this behavior, shaping a new behavior through positive reinforcement. Goal: Train Xena in 15 minute sessions with an average of 5 sessions per week. A= Training Xena for 15 or more minutes each session, 5 or more times per week. B= Training Xena for less than 15 minutes in most sessions, or for fewer than 5 times per week. C= Training Xena for short sessions, only a few days per week. I will update at least 3 days per week. I'm really looking forward to being a part of a group of great people helping to support each other.

hgtedo: First let me say that you had me at chevron one. I am a committed Stargate fan, though I confess Atlantis is by far my favorite. I think having such a detailed and well organized plan is one of the most important steps, and yours is top notch. All those hours spent planning lessons have paid off. I was half expecting to see "SWBAT" somewhere in your post or, I suppose, an "IWBAT." Based solely on your quest titles I imagine that you're good at what you do. When I had a stomach ailment a few years ago, I had to abstain from drinking alcohol and coffee. Going out with friends or even just hanging out and having a few beers was awkward for a bit. So instead of ordering water at the bar, I'd order something a little more interesting. Even just a seltzer with lemon or a virgin mary was more fun to drink and less awkward to order. I think that it was partly because instead of saying I'd just have water I was participating in the small social ritual that is ordering drinks. I'll be posting my first challenge thread soon as well and I wish you the best of luck with yours.

I just gave up my car and started using an e-bike. I know that's not exactly pure cycling, but I live in the foothills of the Appalachians, so having that little extra boost to get up steep inclines is what allows me to commute on it. The deal that I made myself was that I would only use the motor assistance when I neared my limit of endurance, and then only until I'd caught my breath (as an asthmatic, that's essential). So far I've noticed that my mood improves after a ride. I get this sense of accomplishment just from arriving at my destination. I see a lot more scenery, and the best part of it all might be that I see so many people smile or wave as they drive by.