leikela

Hmmmmm.....an OK week. I ate chicken twice, and beef stroganoff the rest. Exercise. Walked everyday but 2 because I got home late. Still should've gone!! XBX same. Every day but twice. Technically starting week 3. Here's where the motivation slides.

The meal prep worked great, and the veggies & chicken tasted delish together! Who knew?! It's Sunday, so meal prep again today. I added more fruit into the mix as well. Just an apple at breakfast, but let's keep the doctor away. Unless it's The Doctor. Then I will be going with him. Found a magnesium oil/lotion online, so waiting for that to come. I've heard and read that your body only absorbs as much magnesium as it needs from the lotion, as opposed to pill form. Too much magnesium=diarrhea, so no thanks. Plus, it's supposed to be beneficial for sleep, and my sleep has been crappy lately. Trying to get some kind of bedtime routine going. Work in progress. Exercise. Good. First full week back teaching. Always a challenge to get back into a home routine. But I've been great at walking in the evening. This week I'll build biking into my schedule. I am not a schedule-y person, so we'll see how that goes, too!! personal challenges for the week: bike 4x, walk 5-6x, XBX daily; eat prepped meals, fruit for snacks, log food into MFP!!

Sorry I didn't get back to you right away! XBX (10 best exercises) is a 12 minute exercise program designed by the Canadian military in the 60s. This is apparently the only exercise Helen Mirren does. I try to use it as a warm up before walking or biking. Here's a summary: http://www.womenfitness.net/top10/xbx-plan/ Here is a pdf of the full plan, with charts: https://csclub.uwaterloo.ca/~rfburger/xbx-plan.pdf Some of the language is antiquated, but the program works.

Well...I hope I'm doing this right. Looks like I use this as my blog central, and just add posts from here. Yes? Yes. New to NF, so still learning, but so far so good. I like that there are excellent articles, and what looks like an excellent community. I hate/need accountability, soooo a true Rebel in many ways. But you know, sometimes you really do need to level up your life and really truly play the game. I'm working on dealing with the disappointments in my life (and then doing things DIFFERENTLY) instead of shoving them way down and ignoring them. Sigh. Adulting Fail. Since Christmas I've lost 35 pounds. 25 more is my goal--I think. I weigh less now than I did in Junior High School, so this is new territory. Size 10 is nice, though! But I still see myself through my old eyes, and my brain has yet to make the adjustment. Which means the self-conscious "no, you shouldn't be seen in public" thinking is still there. Yuck. My daily goals are pretty consistent: walk/bike/XBX 20-30 min on the bike, 30 minutes walking, 1 or 2 rounds of XBX. I fall down when it comes to food. So that's been my focus since joining NF a week or so ago. I have been sucking up my despisal (maybe not a word, but I teach English, so it's allowed :)) ) of salad, and eating salad w/ egg &/or chicken. I made 5 prep meals for the week ahead (and the veggies do not look great. I'll pretend it's bread). So I'll be paying careful attention to how I'm feeling as the week goes. Wednesday will be the most challenging, I think, because I teach in the morning, then have the afternoon off and go back for an evening class. And even though I almost never drink pop, or eat junk food...there are two vending machines right outside my classroom door. OK, will check in Tuesday.

Welcome! Good for you for kicking yourself in the butt and getting started!

lol I used to be a regular gym rat in uni, but over the past 10 years its been walking, some zumba, stand up paddleboarding, and a body weight program called XBX. I should definitely add weights back in! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Oh yes, there will be training. Starting out w/ an empty backpack, then slowly filling it to its regular weight. Slow start, 3-5km, building up to the average 20km day. Some days are more, some less. Plus weight lifting to increase core strength. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Friends of mine have taken about 40 days to complete it, walking. They next plan to do it on bike. I actually teach 3 semesters (year round), so I would have to take a semester off--which I'm fine with doing. I'll get there...eventually. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I used to live in Japan--worked in Nihombashi, lived in Myoden! Miss it so much! Good luck! -Rachel Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Hi all! What a neat idea for motivating strength & fitness! I really really like the idea of "Levelling Up My Life!" Since Christmas, I've lost about 30-35 pounds. I have about 25 more to go. This midway point is usually tough for most people, so I knew I needed some kind of plan to push me to doing better. My biggest grrrrrr is nutrition. This is what I really need to get on track. Exercise is something I'm pretty consistent at. I walk and ride my stationary bike daily. I also do some body weight exercises daily as well. I don't think I'm in great shape, though--When I did Steve's first circuit workout, I could only do it once. Soooooo I'll be doing that until I can do 3 circuits easily. Quick facts: female, Canadian, 36, teacher, single, no kids, NOT a gamer in real life, but definitely a nerd. One of my dream trips is to do the El Camino in Spain (a 750km trek), so I'm definitely an Adventurer! Looking forward to getting to know the group here!

Yes, Canadian here, too! From southern Alberta.