Thelge

I know it's past the end of this challenge. I wanted to put up how I did for my own reference. Quest 1: I did not manage to do a full pull-up but I did manage to graduate to banded pull-ups. Quest 2: I can still do my 10 full push-ups. Quest 3: I have bread on rare treats but I've cut it out of my regular diet. Quest 4: I don't even eat rice now. I'm solely on meat, veggies, and fruit. Though that isn't to say I've been a saint with food. This last week I indulged in some Halloween candy. But, I've been able to redo my attitude around it. I didn't beat myself up. I didn't wallow in pity. I knew that I was indulging in a treat and that after Halloween I'd be right back on track. That has proven true. I brought the extra candy to work and I haven't touched it. It's being eaten by coworkers. My overall weight goal is so close I can taste it! I only have 2.5 pounds to go to lose that initial 13 lbs I gained back. I haven't been weighing myself every two days like I used to either. I maybe weigh myself every few weeks when I'm curious. Now that I'm working past the Halloween candy I'm sure I'll knock off that last 2.5 pounds quickly. After that, I'm moving my goal to another 10 lbs as an overall long term goal.

Wow! This six week challenge is going by fast. I feel like I've watched it fly by the last half. My healthy eating took a hit these last two weeks. Part of the way I love to experience vacation in a new location is to sample unhealthy foods. I had three days in Estes Park one week followed by three days in Washington DC the next week. Even though my eating wasn't the best, my walking took off. One day of walking around DC gained me 30,000 steps. The next day was 25,000 steps. As I'm returning to my work routine, I'm getting right back into my eating routine. I'm set to go to the gym and do my weights routine tonight. I'm hoping to reach my goals still by the end of this challenge!

I made good progress on my side quest this last week. I brought out my Arabic books and brushed up a little. Then I got an email for the Arabic Meetup in my area. I used to attend every Saturday morning a few years ago. Then, when my boyfriend and I started dating, I tended to skip more and more meetups. I attended this last Saturday for the first time in 2 years. I had a wonderful time. I missed the people there. I was surprised how much I remembered. There was a lot of dormant Arabic in my brain. Seeing how happy I was practicing Arabic again, I am motivated to go back to it as a regular part of my life. I have not had any bread in at least a week. I only had rice one time. I'm adjusting to it, but sometimes I feel like I'm jumping in too fast. It's been a few weeks but I'm still adjusting to fruit being my carbs. I find that I eat a lot of it still. My body does not like low carbs. It's been okay with me replacing my empty carbs with fruit, but I still get sluggish. This weekend has been a lazy one for me. I have been mostly sitting, hanging out with friends. I'm hoping to jump back into my 3 times a week workouts this week. My boyfriend and I took a week of vacation. We are going to a trip in the mountains. This will mean more outdoor walking and hiking but also more vacationy snacks and treats. A vacation staple of mine is milkshakes. I always have to have at least one milkshake to feel like I've started vacation. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to have one this week. I know I'll need to pick and choose my calorie indulgences ahead of time so I don't just end up face first in a vat of ice cream or a bottle of wine. Looking forward to week 4. Good luck to everyone else out there!

Hi! Thanks for the good luck wish! I hope your week 4 goes well. It looks like you're doing well on your quests. I do appreciate the Nerd Fitness "woots."

Chicks/guys dig scars. Better watch out, though. That bed has a taste for human blood now.

I like the idea of checking in more often so here I go. I did my Nerd Fitness level 1 barbell workout last night. It felt much harder than Monday. I think I may not be eating enough right before my workout. I use my lunch hour to walk in a park near my office every week day. This leads to trying to eat at my desk before or after my break. I feel like I'm eating plenty at the time, but when I go to work out, my energy is gone. When I got home I ate some mashed sweet potatoes I had on hand and I started feeling better. My daily meals usually include breakfast, a morning snack, lunch, sometimes some vegetables in the afternoon, and dinner. It seems like I will need to add a heartier afternoon snack on lifting days.

Thanks, ffffffinn! This is my first challenge so I tried to pick realistic goals. I had a moment in the gym where I finished my 10 push-ups and expected the "Achievement Unlocked" banner to appear over me. The other people in the gym didn't even notice! /sarcasm.

I just caught up on your intro and this challenge so far. It was interesting to me to read so many similar challenges shared by other people. We tend to think we are all alone in our struggles, but then we discover so many of the people around us feel the same way. I share your love with unhealthy food. I'm trying to get into Paleo like the Academy suggests. The food aspect is what always side tracks me when I fall off the "fit" wagon. Resisting the junk food other people are eating around me is a big struggle. I share the habit of morning internet and that's something I've been trying to cut down on as well. I'm happy for you that you are getting back into your fitness goals! Starting (and starting over) are hard. It's always best to remember how great you felt at your top fitness-wise. Keep strong. You've done this before so you know you can do it again. Any misstep is just one step out of your journey. P.S. I hope your daughter is okay! That would make me eat pizza too.

Hi Trawlerman. I was just thinking to myself that I needed to update this and then I saw your post. Thanks for checking in! Here are some updates on my goals. In my Main Quest I've lost 5 lbs out of the 13 lbs goal. I used to weigh myself every time I went to the gym. Now I weigh myself every few weeks when I'm curious. The 5 lbs drop was quite a pleasant surprise! Quest 1: I tried a regular pull-up last night and I was just about able to get there. I'm much closer than I was. For now I've been doing exercises with the Smith machine to work on my pull-up muscles. Quest 2: I completed this quest last night! I made it through 10 regular pushups straight. I have only skipped one workout day of my 3 per week schedule. On that day I made sure to do a few pushups at the very least to keep at this goal. Quest 3: I have only eaten a bread product three times since the beginning of the challenge (about once a week). I tried to jump in and eat it as little as possible. Two of the three times were planned ahead of time as special treats (pizza at a favorite vacation restaurant for example). Quest 4: We're in the middle of week 3. I haven't even had much rice. I've had rice a couple of times since the beginning of the challenge. Life Quest: Sadly, I have not practiced any Arabic since the start of the challenge. I am making it an immediate goal to study this Thursday.

Thanks for your kind words, Lilith! That's exciting that you're moving to Paris. How long are you planning to stay there? I've already cut out white bread except the occasional baguette at Panera. My go-to lunch was turkey sandwiches on wheat bread so I just need to reinvent that meal.

Introduction: Thelge is the name of my first D&D character. I was a male half-elf Ice Priest/Warrior. In real life, however, I am a 5' 9" 31 year old human female. I work at a desk 40 hours a week so it is important to me to be active outside of work. Sometimes I have a busy schedule and I prioritize other activities over my fitness. That is when I notice a decline in my overall happiness and energy levels. And I say enough! I would like to eventually join the Ranger Guild. I'm already pretty strong. I would like to be more flexible and add some endurance as well as continue to become stronger. I'm new to this website but not new to fitness or weightlifting. When I started my desk job I gained about 30-35 pounds which put me around 195 lbs at my heaviest. I began lifting weights and watching what I ate. I dropped about 20-25 pounds over a few years. In the last year I gained back 13 pounds of what I lost (bad food is so delicious!). I'm currently at 183 lbs. I'm determined to drop the 13 pounds and get back to 170 lbs. I'm excited to switch up my workout routine and follow the new barbell workouts through the Academy. I consider myself a very social nerd. I love to collect languages. I speak English and French fluently. My Spanish level is intermediate. I took a year of Arabic. I'm currently addicted to Duolingo and practice German and Italian there. I have made many new friends through Geek Meetups. So, since most of my nerdly interactions are in person, this is embarrassingly my first time participating in a forum. *shy wave* Hi! Main Quest: Lose 13 lbs and get stronger. Quest 1: Do at least one unassisted pull-up by the end of 6 weeks. I'm totally new to pullups. I've always used the Lat Pulldown machine at the gym. To do this I will make it to my workouts 3 times a week. Quest 2: Do 10 full pushups by the end of the challenge. I can do about 3 before I have to switch to knee pushups. Quest 3: The first three weeks, limit bread to twice a week maximum. I'm already working on this so I'm hoping this will not be too scary. Quest 4: After week three, no bread. Limit rice to 3 times a week. Life Quest: Practice Arabic once a week. I took a few semesters of Arabic at a community college. I haven't worked on it in 2 years. Fun fact: Thelge is the word for ice/snow in Arabic.