AmnestyBroyu

Thank you all for the concerns about where I am in my challenge. I'm sorry I haven't updated - this month has been terrible for me to start the challenges. When the challenge started, it was the same week as 3 extremely tough tests, which wore me out by the weekend. So my first week was not a stellar success. The next week, my grandmother went into the hospital and became unresponsive, so I was being emotionally drained from it. This week, I now have 2 tests, and my grandmother just passed away. Honestly, I have not been able to catch up or focus on my goals; it was enough just to get through each tribulation. As far as individual goals: 1). Study Habits: Unfortunately, I was not always able to keep up with these. Some of my plans put too much stress/expectations on me, so I ended up distracting myself. I'll need to re-think my strategy for organizing this better, or finding a way to balance this without sacrificing everything else. 2). Complete Take10 and do 1 meditation a day for 10 minutes: This was going well, but I ended up getting frustrated during the meditations. Sometimes, my mind was silent. It felt like I was "zoning out," instead of being mindful. Other times, while I was telling myself not to chase thoughts...I ended up chasing them faster. When I said to accept certain emotions, other emotions bubbled up to judge the emotions instead. Essentially, my mind became flustered. I'm not giving up on the idea that meditation could work, but I need to keep figuring out how to actually do what I'm supposed to do. 3.) Weight Train and Cardio: I have been doing fairly well with the weight training, surprisingly. The first week was busy, but I was able to go once. In this past week, I have gone at least twice, and I even pushed myself to make it into a circuit. Both times I got a little nauseous, but I think the nausea is from starting a much harder regimen. If it happens again, I may hold back a bit. I'm still concerned about doing the dumbbell deadlifts, as I don't quite feel the pull in my hamstrings or glutes (only in my lower back). So I may try to find a variation that helps focus the hamstrings/glutes more, since I don't want to hurt my lower back. Finally, Cardio has not been a thing. I am not sure why I have been able to push myself to the gym for weights and not the cardio videos in the comfort of my home. It may mean that I need to re-think cardio somehow. 4.) Cook a meal once a week: Every time I think "this week, I'm going to do a meal," it ends up becoming "but I really don't have the time." So this goal has been a complete failure. Overall, I understand where I could've done better, but I also recognize that I am dealing with a lot of stress. I'm doing my best to avoid "judging" or "letting things happen," but it just sucks when I was so excited to give this a try...and then have it not be a huge success. I recognize that I was able to get to the gym for weight-training and attempting to figure out this meditation stuff. I also think my studying would be better had there not been as much stress with family going on. I just know it will be a tough few weeks, trying to recover and moving forward.

Hey Anim07734, Thank you for all the advice you gave back over the Christmas break. I really did appreciate it, but things got hectic so I couldn't respond until now. I tried the workout you said, but I think I need more practice or help with form. I tried doing the barbell squats on a smith machine (without realizing it was a smith machine), so I ended up hurting while doing it. I also couldn't figure out how to do deadlifts, since all the "muscle men" were around, so I just ended up skipping that part. That was about a week ago, and since then I haven't been able to try it out again. I'm going to maybe ask for help, but that's one of the hardest things for me to do (especially if I'm being self-conscious). The dieting - that hasn't gotten anywhere yet, lol. However, I am planning to do the 4-week challenge, in which I set-up goals for cooking at least once a week. Once I feel comfortable cooking a meal, I can start planning when I can cook it (such as do I have the time before a test). Also - there was no real help with "off-season" swimming, as it discussed more for how to relax after being in competitions (i.e. "find ways to enjoy swimming again.") However, I think I can replace it with Fitness Blender videos until it warms up again. Again - thanks for the help.

So, I found this site 6 months ago, and I followed the beginner's bodyweight workout for a couple of months in the summer. On top of that, I began swimming (60 minutes) and walking my dog (40 minutes) nearly everyday. After so much effort, I was able to lose ~30 lbs with minimal changes to my diet (which was a major plus, since dieting is my biggest weakness). I felt good about myself, but personal life distracted me enough to lose my habits. Now I'm in my 4th semester of medical school, trying to find that balance for studying, dieting, exercise, and centering my mind (the personal drama really left a mark that my OCD can't let go). After some soul-searching, I found out about these challenges and decided this should be my first attempt. However, there are some rules for myself: 1. No Judgment if I fail or slip-up 2. DON'T "Just Do It" - Do all you can. Don't try to control past or future, but don't ignore them either. Let them all exist while you do all you can. 3. Find the Mythical "Fun"/"satisfaction" factor I had back in the summer 4. Discover my Class - Figure out a direction besides losing weight; get an image of my future. So here are the goals. I broke down each goal further as "guides" or "sub-objectives." Hopefully I set these up right. 1) Study Habits 2 Lectures on Week Days 3 Lectures on Friday 4 Lectures on Saturday and on Sunday Cramfighter - Adjust to schedule as necessary, but follow it's checklist every day. 2) Complete Take10 and do 1 meditation a day for 10 minutes. May increase during challenge - Already have pushed myself to 30 minutes a day in pre-challenge. 3) Weight Train and Cardio Weight Training - 2 times a week Get help with form on new exercises I’m doing Squats Dumbbell Rows/Pull-ups Deadlifts Overhead Press Cardio - 2 times a week Fitness Blender Videos Walking Dog Swimming (?) 4) Cook a meal at least once a week (Get comfortable with cooking) Eggs and Bacon - Breakfast Hamburgers - Dinner Pastrami - Lunch Fish and Shrimp - Dinner

Hey there, NOTE: I have tried writing this type of post for the past 6 months, but I get so nervous about forgetting a detail or "just not being heard" that I often delete what I typed. So I am going to try pushing myself to post this, and accept whatever happens afterwards. It isn't going to be easy, that's for sure. The Character Sheet Age: 27 Weight: 263 (fluctuates between 260 and 265 throughout week) Height: 5'9" Injuries: None known The Lore/Background Since high school, I have been increasingly gaining weight over the years due to bad eating habits and lack of activity. I have also always had a negative body image, even when my body wasn't that bad looking (looking back at high school photos and realizing this makes my current situation worse). I had tried gym memberships, Crossfit (free workouts), working out with friends, and home workout equipment. However, nothing ever made me come back. I always felt horrible while doing the exercises, and I always felt horrible afterwards. Especially Crossfit...those were nightmarish places. By the summer (2016), I was getting to a dangerous point in my life. My weight was ~295 lbs. I had told myself years ago when I passed 250 lbs. that I would never reach 300. I was about to break a promise to myself, once again. However, I found an answer that seemed so obvious, but I often-times miss the obvious. I became a swimming fanatic. It wasn't easy at first, and I got constantly winded. But after 3 months of swimming, I was swimming in the pool for an hour a day. It was the greatest feeling I had ever had when it came to fitness. Eventually, I tried tacking on the beginner's body-weight training (from this website) and also HIIT while walking my dog, but nothing ever compared to just getting in the pool and swimming. It was the first time I felt comfortable doing something AND had fun. That, to me, is the key to exercising. If I don't enjoy it, then I'm never going to adopt it. If I don't see progress, then I'm never going to adopt it. With swimming - I saw weekly (sometimes daily) improvements. As for diet - I was able to cut down on portion sizes. I wasn't able to take the next step and eliminate "bad foods" from my diet, but food is one of my "destressors." I need to eat something that has a good taste, or I'd rather go hungry (my mind says that...stomach just gets hangry). On top of that, I'm a rather picky eater. I don't like most sweet things and chocolate and I don't enjoy vegetables. To top all of that, cooking isn't something I have time for if I'm also exercising, studying for medical school, sleeping, eating the meal slowly and not inhaling it. However, even with just a reduction in portion sizes, I felt good... And I saw results. After 3 months of swimming, walking my dog, and the beginner's body-weight workout - I lost 30 lbs. I was at the same weight I was back when I was still in undergrad (close to it, at least). I was proud of myself and bragged about it to friends. I wanted to keep feeling good and have that be the driving force. Then life happened. I'm currently in medical school, which doesn't allow lots of free time to swim in the pool for an hour AND body-weight training AND walking the dog for 40 minutes. I tried to cut down on the time. However, the pool I had access to became greener than the Olympic pools and the body-weight workout just wasn't enough of an enjoyment to keep myself going. It had become the body-weight was the job and the swimming was the reward. Since September, I have not lost any more weight. It's gotten too cold for the pool (not a heated pool), and I never saw improvements with the body-weight workout. I couldn't "push" myself to go further, even after 3 months of doing it. I didn't feel stronger, and my muscles didn't show any progress, either. Because of that, I just stopped doing everything. Thankfully, I have not gained any weight back, but I know I want to get back into exercising. The Life-Goal Weight Goal: ~200 lbs. For my BMI to be "normal," I have to weigh ~180 lbs. Find a workout plan that is "rewarding," "shows weekly improvements," and "has a purpose." Weight-loss Strength-building: I don't necessarily want to become big; I just want to feel strong. Purposeful: With swimming, the purpose was to swim faster. For walking, it was to walk my dog (who has loved me for walking him ever since). For the body-weight...it just felt like "do the exercise." For me, I need to find things that have purposes in doing them besides "it's what I have to do." I don't want my goal to necessary have the perfect workout plan; what I want is the workout plan that has a purpose beyond the exercise itself. Find meals I enjoy eating and cooking Current Preparations Weight-training: Since the beginner's body-weight exercises weren't engaging me, I decided to go to a gym (free membership through parents). Thankfully, it's small and doesn't often have a lot of traffic, so I didn't get too socially anxious. However, I had no idea what free weights or machine exercises to do, so I looked up a workout routine (Google) that seemed to make logical sense. The routine called for using barbells and free weights, which I felt uncomfortable doing (since I've never done half of these exercises).. So I modified the routine with machine exercises and turned it into a circuit (sort of). The following is how that plan looks like: Circuit Pattern - Core/Back-UpperExt-LowerExt-UpperExt-LowerExt-UpperExt - Repeat 5 times with exercises from list below Core/Back - 5 Exercises Crunches: 3 sets 12-15 reps Row: 2 sets 8-12 reps UpperExt - 15 Exercises Chest press: 2 sets 8-12 reps Fly: 2 sets 8-12 reps Wide Lat: 2 sets 8-12 reps Shoulder Press: 3 sets 8-12 reps Biceps Curl: 3 sets 8-12 reps Triceps Pushdown: 3 sets 8-12 reps LowerExt - 10 Exercises Leg Press: 2 sets 8-12 reps Leg extension: 2 sets 8-12 reps Leg Flexion: 3 sets 12-15 reps Seated Calf Raise: 3 sets 12-15 reps I know Nerdfitness has a stance against weight machines, and I want to look like the badasses who use the free weights. However, the machines kept me focused on the exercise rather than my anxiety. I was already moving around the gym like an unwieldy dwarf; I needed to do things that I felt capable. I found out that my arms are noodles - I could only curl 15 lbs. weights ~ 8 times before I felt the tendons begin to strain. My legs could handle much higher weights - the Leg Press I was doing 90 on the machine, and I still could've added more. So something that adds more time to my upper arms Cardio: I've resorted to using FitnessBlender videos that require no equipment. So far, they make me sweat and worn out, but I sometimes lose the sense of purpose within it. I guess when it comes to "purpose," I mean it has to have some real-life application. Diet: I have no idea what to do here. I honestly know what I should eat, and I know how to cook some of those things. However, I'm at the point where I almost want a chef to cook some meals for me, show me how to cook them, and then let me try cooking them. I'm so picky about food that I need help easing into something healthier. I know dieting is 80% of the battle, but I just can't let go of it as easily. I need my comfort food - I just need healthier comfort food that tastes just as good. Some Ideas Boxing: A long time ago, I had a fitness trainer in high school. One of the things we did together were some simple boxing exercises. Those were the only things I enjoyed doing with him, as the rest of the time felt like "do treadmill" or "lift this weight." Recently, I've heard about a "boxing gym" in my town, and I've thought about checking it out. If anything, it might be good for getting a personal trainer again, and it might help "focus" my purpose into getting better at boxing. FitnessBlender: I have known about this YouTube channel for a long time, and only recently have I started using it. I used in in the summer as a warm-up and cool-down video, but now I'm using it for Cardio. I've tried some of their weight-training videos, but I don't really have the equipment at home to do those exercises. Personal Trainer: As I said in the boxing idea, getting a personal trainer might help. Once I'm shown how to do something, I can do it - just need someone to make sure my form isn't off. I think once someone shows me how to do free weights, I'd be fine to do them more. However, until then, I'm stuck doing the machines. I think I've cobbled together something that resembles a post now. I'm now off to Christmas shop for family, and try not to think about what I messed up in the post. I'll answer any questions or try to explain things better if I need to when I'm back. Thanks for any who read this entire post and try to help.