Marbres

Minor understatement here :-). You did great! Are you feeling any changes in your body/fitness level yet? With how great you're doing this week, I can't imagine you're not feeling the effects!

I really like the advice you're giving in these posts, it's a learning experience for you and your audience. Let us know how you do on the treadmill!

I know this sucks at first, but look at it another way: you're getting into shape, so a 10 minute walk is too easy for your body! Try increasing things slowly: how about a 10 minute power walk? Or 5 minutes of walking up and down stairs?

Even if you're not getting perfect scores everyday, you're still making a huge change in the long run! I agree that you're heading in the right direction. Keep it up for the next week and a half (which I'm confident you will)!

A quick bedtime tip: find the most boring article you're supposed to read for your Master's dissertation (and have been procrastinating about), and read it in bed. It's a win whether you fall asleep or not!

I'd love to see a picture of that tattoo, if you feel like sharing! Your body will come out of this challenge changed in more ways than one!

How did you enjoy the sprints? I've found that I get a natural high after running/sprinting for a while. Congratulations on the weight loss!

I really liked reading about what's working for you; do you think you could share what you've found not to work? About the weight loss: plateau-ing is a - insert bad word here - on your mind. I think you're on the right track making small changes in stead of switching your routine around completely. Have you done any measurements aside from weight (waist circumference, etc.)? Or maybe your clothes are a little looser?

You're doing great! As for the calorie goal, there's still a week and a half to go for the challenge. You can do this! Especially with all of us cheering you on.

I'm curious: how close are you to achieving your end of challenge goals? From the amount of excercise you've accomplished, I'm guessing really close!

That's fantastic news! You'll be getting a regular workout for at least a year, which is the best present you can give yourself. And congratulations on getting Mizorex on board! I guess he's being more supportive now?

Looks like we're both letting the diet part slide a little bit this week. Let's make a pact to stick to it until the end of this challenge! As for lunch, I find it easier to plan this for the whole week, and then do my grocery shopping accordingly. Or if you can't plan that far ahead, try having some healthy yet frozen/canned foods around (though they're not easy to find). Still a week and a half to go, I'm confident you can kick this challenge's butt!

Body weight circuits are great! You can do them at home, so no excuses for not working out. And you can adapt them to your fitness level quite easily. I'm glad to read your diet is going so well that you're considering taking it to the next level already. Keep up the good work!

Another update, but this one is less positive than the previous ones: I had a major setback in my diet goal. I really feel like I'm letting people down, but I guess what this challenge is for: keeping me acountable. I'll do better for the rest of the challenge! Fitness Quests: Increase difficulty level of workouts twice a week: I've upped the difficulty on my arms and legs workouts, and arms day is getting near to impossible. Legs day is also reaching its limit, so I'm curious to see how much more I can take! Do not skip more than 2 workout sessions: Still no skipping this week. Diet Quests: Do not cheat more than once a week: I only cheated once, but it was a gigantic cheat. So this quest is officially a fail. For some reason, I decided to have about 1,000 calories worth of cookies on Wednesday evening when I was home alone. Still not really sure why it happened. I'm going to prevent this in the future by brushing my teeth straight after dinner. Try 2 new foods every week: Recipe for a delicious ratatouille-type dish below! I also added yellow turnips, which I've never eaten before. Level Up Your Life Quests: Complete my wedding invitation: With the printer installed, making drafts and checking if they're okay is much easier. I think I should have a draft that's ready to be reviewed here by the end of the week. Looking forward to your input! Submit building permit request: We've got an appointment with our architect for the end of May, so timing will be tight! We're almost decided on what facing brick to use, just need to compare some prices now. Conclusion: This week counts as a major fail, especially since the diet quest wasn't very hard in the first place. Any tips for getting back on track are more than welcome. Bonus for people who actually want the details: My current workouts: Arms day: 3 reps of the following circuit, followed by 15 minutes of running in the evening: - 18 push ups - 18s of making tiny fast circles with my arms extended to the side - 18s of the same but backwards - 18 tricep dips - 30s plank - 15 back excercises Legs day: 3 reps of the following circuit, followed by, followed by 15 minutes of running in the evening: - 30 squats with knees together - 20 walking lunges on each side - 30 squats with feet apart - 20 times bending one knee (leaning to the side) with feet wide apart, repeat on each side - 15 abs excercises Ratatouille recipe: 1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips 1 yellow bell pepper, cut into thin strips 1 zucchini, cut diagonally into thin, long slices 2 carrots, cut diagonally into thin, long slices 1 large yellow turnip, cut into thin slices a handful of pickles (stored in vinegar), cut into thin slices a splash of vinegar Just stew these in a pot until the carrots are done but still have a little bit to them. You can eat this with any kind of meat.

I say try to avoid it, but don't beat yourself up if you don't manage to. Some strategies: get take-out that's healthier (healthy might not be possible, but healthier is something at least), ask family/friends if you can dine at their house, make a pact with Mizorex, ...

It's all about taking small steps, so if diet soda can wean you off regular soda, just start with that. You can quit diet soda for one of the next challenges :-). Fantastic workout in the gym! Do you plan on making that your regular routine?

I had the same problem yesterday, and I'm going to try something that worked in the past: brushing my teeth after dinner instead of waiting until I go to bed. I don't like brushing my teeth for some reason (even though it only takes 5 minutes), so the prospect of having to brush them again if I eat something is usually enough to keep me from post-dinner snacking. Great job on the rest of your goals!

Great job! Keep that up and you'll own it this week!

At least it was a sandwhich, so the peanut butter was limited to a certain amount. You can do it today!

This will be my inspiration for the rest of the challenge. I'm in awe of the changes you've already made to your body, can't wait to find out how you experience the next few weeks!

Don't let that bump in the road get you off track, we're all rooting for you! And have a fantastic spring break, of course :-).

Fantastic streak you've got there! Use that momentum to get you started on the next challenge (since I have absolutely no doubts that you'll own this one), and you're that much closer to your goals!

I'm very impressed with you challenge so far, you're nailing it! Congrats on getting rid of cravings!

Great comeback on Thursday! Looks like you're back on track. I'm not going to push you into talking about it if you don't want to, but why the depression? You're doing fantastic!

@fleaball: If you have any recipes you'd like to share, I'm all ears! I need to keep up with my 'trying new foods' quest. @bambooroo: I'll be in Florida this June/July, but I'm guessing that's a bit too far away for me to stop by. Thanks for the encouragement! @GothicBeeza: I tried to make my quests small enough so they would be easy to stick to. I haven't really had trouble with it so far. @beatrix: Thank you! I'll try to maintain that progress during this week. @petefeet: If you have any recipes you'd recommend, feel free to share! My progress: Fitness Quests: Increase difficulty level of workouts twice a week: I've set the baseline for arms and legs, and will be upping the difficulty on arms day today. I'm still not sure how I'll manage this, but a quest is a quest. Do not skip more than 2 workout sessions: Still have not skipped since that first day. Diet Quests: Do not cheat more than once a week: I did cheat yesterday, though I claim mitigating circumstances. After my volleyball match, the canteen offered us a plate of cheese and fried chicken for free. How am I supposed to turn down free food? Try 2 new foods every week: I made my fiance a sauce to go with the grilled chicken, and I did have a taste myself. However, since it was only a sauce, completely out of bounds for my diet, and I only had a taste, I'm not counting this one. So still 2 to go this week. Level Up Your Life Quests: Complete my wedding invitation: We've bought a brand new printer, so printing out drafts should be easier. I plan on making a new draft today. Submit building permit request: We're going to check out a show room for facing bricks today, and are going to contact our architect for an appointment. Conclusion: Okay, but not great. I need to get over my fear of wasting food (so I can refuse free food, or throw leftover that are about to go bad away instead of eating them).