Cephalopod_Dreams

*waves* Hi, again. I dropped off the wagon for a little bit but no one noticed so that's ok Also I haven't actually gained any weight. I'm 10 stone 2 lbs, which is about where I've been for the last 3 - 4 months regardless of exercise or eating habits, so screw it. A combination of general illness, painful physio after my accident and general relationship stress kept me away from karate and being less mindful of my food. It's not just NF, I even ended up abandoning Habitica again and I love that app! But I'm back now: karate yesterday, pilates today, the addition of protein shakes to my diet (yay for potions!) and I've even joined an IRL friend in committing to learn a new language via DuoLingo - Hooray! Let's see how long I can keep this up before completely burning out again. ALSO I only just realised that I can follow people on here and I dont have to hunt down their latest post and follow it each time, and then inevitable lose track of them at the end of each challenge. I am an idiot, but hopefully I can fix that.

Hey sweetie, I saw your post on the NF Women's FB page so I wanted to drop in and say hi! I'll be following your respawn so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you.

I feel like I'm falling off the wagon. I'm trying to stay focused and positive, but I still haven't made any progress in strength or weight. Maybe I'm just not trying hard enough? I feel miserable, and all out of energy to try again. Maybe I'm just doomed to stay chubby and unhealthy.

Time for a belated challenge summary: OK, so I kinda dropped off the map a bit. But since no one seemed to notice I guess that's ok. Quest 1: Go to Karate twice a week. I am committing to staying for the whole of each lesson (1 hour 45 minutes per session). Goal: A = 3 lessons a week. B = 2 lessons a week. C = 1 lessons a week. Reward: A = +2 Str, +2 Dex, +1 Sta. B = +1 Sta, +1 Dex. C = +1 Dex RESULT: FAIL I just didn't manage this. I went 3 times in the whole of April. And truth be told I feel pretty shitty about that. Quest 2: Strength training twice a week. This can be at home, but ideally will take place at the gym. It's the SIXTH challenge where i've wanted to focus on strength and it's time I got serious about it. The plan is to strength train after my pilates sessions. Goal: A = 2 gym sessions a week . B = 2 sessions a week (home/gym). C = 1 session a week. Reward: A = +2 Str, +2 Sta, +1 Dex,. B = +1 Sta, +1 Str. C = +1 Str RESULT: FAIL I didn't so this either. A couple of times I managed a short strength workout after pilates, but nothing consistent. I'm still not able to lift any more that I was in February, and I'm no closer to a push up or a pull up. Quest 3: I haven't lost a pound since I joined NF 6 months ago. Obviously I need to track my diet better, as I'm pretty sure I have no good idea of what my calories or macros are. I am really really nervous about this but I've downloaded My Fitness Pal and hopefully that will give me a good place to start. Goal: A = 7 days a week . B = 5 days a week . C = 3 days a week. Reward: A = +2 Wis, +3 Con . B = +2 Con, +1 Wis . C = +1 Con RESULT: +2 WIS +3 Con I still haven't lost so much as a pound, but I tracked everything I ate for the whole month. It's helped me realise that I eat too much fat, don't eat as much protein as i thought I did and I have 'treats' way more often than I thought. Unfortunately I also ended up having a bulimia set back for the first time in years. Damn but food makes me feel back about myself.

1500 on non exercise days, 1800 on exercise days. Aiming for 30% protein, 30% fat and 40% carbs

I think I recognise more than a few poi moves in that dance I'm feeling inspired to go home and see how that might work.

Thanks for the hip routine share I will be looking in to that

I went back to karate on Monday. I had a couple of weeks off as I was getting demotivated and depressed, so I went back to karate on Monday, pilates and lifting on Tuesday and karate again tonight. I had a nice chat with the ladies on the Nerd Fitness facebook group this week. I'm still unhappy that I'm not losing weight or gaining muscle; my lifts aren't improving at all and I feel like I'm banging my head against the wall. But the ladies were really helpful, and some even suggested that I might not be eating enough calories! I don't know about that though as I think my weight is going up, which means I'm gaining fat as if it was muscle my lifts would be improving. I need to set aside some time for myself to go over the nutrition module and see what I can change. Tuesday's gym: 2 sets 10 x squat - 10 kg 20 x dumbbell row - 10 kg 10 x overhead press - 10 kg and: 5 x assisted pull up 40kg assist 5 x assisted chin up 40kg assist 5 x assisted dip 40kg assist 5 x assisted pull up 35kg assist 5 x assisted chin up 35 kg assist 5 x assisted dip 35kg assist I tried another set at 35 after a rest but only managed another one with very bad form so I gave up.

OMG solo holiday? That's awesome

I'm sorry to hear about that honey, sounds like he was picking a very silly fight. Serious props to you though; there's no way you should grovel for someone who keeps messing you about like that *hugs*

I made it to pilates! But I had another session on Thursday that finished 20 minutes before my karate session, so I didn't make it to karate. I have however managed to track my food intake every day! and I've stayed away from coffee and reduced my alcohol intake again. So these things are good! I'm having a super stressful time with my insurance company, who screwed everything up and have left me over £2000 out of pocket. It's awful and overwhelming and I hate it, so keeping my focus on other things is hard. Thankfully I have these two to look after me.

I was late to this challenge, but awesome news on the job front! I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.

How is the handstand workshop going?