BeckyBuckeye

Your goals sound awesome. Don't worry about them being too simple, everybody has to start (or restart!) somewhere, and you're heading the right direction.

Thanks BruteSquad! I remember your last challenge, I was already thinking of stealing some ideas from you. And I like my fluffy coffee, thank you. Thanks Jaswandi! Go Bucks! Thanks faerval! Luckily I don't have many effects from the scoliosis, occasional back cramps and mobility issues, but nothing major.

I'm voting Handmaid's Tale! It doesn't matter though, I'm so excited!

I don't like pop that much, but I'm a sucker for Starbucks, so I feel your pain. Luckily for me, they're changing their rewards system, making my already expensive coffee more expensive, so I'm not too upset about dumping the habit, haha. If you want to drink more water, I've found that keeping a bottle/cup/jug of water on my desk at work helps me a lot, especially if I challenge myself to finish a certain amount by a certain time. Thanks for the encouragement, I'm just so motivated from finishing my first challenge that I'm hoping to carry the momentum even further! Thanks Wooksquatch! I can't even manage the second one (the one with your shin against the wall, supposed to stretch the front of the hip), so I've been modifying it, but I'm looking forward to see how much it helps my flexibility.

Fixed the stat points, thank you! My math was lacking yesterday I guess. My issues with milk don't come close to anaphylaxis, but I do notice some minor throat swelling and acne breakouts. I also get really bad heartburn, which I know is digestive intolerance related. I should get a skin prick test done, I haven't had one since I was young. I try not to throw around the "allergy" label too much because I know how severe some people like your son react, but I believe I may have a minor one. Haha, I'm kind of looking forward to it because the place we like is called Cheeburger Cheeburger. The menu seriously says, "We don't make hamburgers, but we will make a Cheeburger without cheese if that's what you want." They're also famous for their milkshakes, so this should be interesting.

Working off the momentum of last challenge, I'm going to continue with changing long-term habits, this time focusing on my diet. When we last saw me, I had started going to the gym 3x/week, going to bed at 11 p.m. on weeknights and working on my to-do list. While I am proud of these accomplishments, it's now time to focus on the ick that is my diet (while continuing those habits). Onward! Height: 5'6" Weight: 161.2 lbs Waist: 33" Bellybutton: 37.5" Hips: 41" Fitness Goal 1. Complete 1 MobilityWOD every day. (DEX +4, STA+1) I have definite flexibility and mobility issues. Everywhere. I used to be a really flexible kid, but I have scoliosis, bad enough that I wore a back brace for 4 years (2001-2005). Limiting my movement made my muscles all tighten up, and while I'm happy that my brace saved me from spinal surgery, it's time to fix some of the other issues it caused. Diet Goals 2. NO DAIRY. (CON +4) I have at least a lactose intolerance, perhaps an allergy, maybe both, but in either case, I don't need it and shouldn't have it. Unfortunately, I grew up with my dad, who is allergic to eggs, milk, and wheat, but will continue to eat it as long as it doesn't bother him "too much." Time to break that habit. When BuckeyeBoyfriend wants pizza, I will get a salad or a sub, and when we go to our favorite burger place, I will pass on the cheese and get a tea instead of a milkshake. 3. Stick to unsweetened or naturally sweetened drinks. (CON +3, CHA +1) This one shouldn't be a big challenge, but here lie unnecessary calories without substantial nutrients (hello sweet tea and fancy coffee drinks). So long, suckers. Life Goal 4. Finish 10 projects from my list. (WIS +1, CHA +1) Same list from the last challenge, but I can do more than 1 per week. Plus I've added to it since making it and I want to finish it so I feel freer to do more stuff in my free time. And some of them involve spray paint, so I should get those done before winter. I also have some smaller goals that I'm not assigning points for because I would like to achieve them, but they are not my priority. Mini Goals Run outside instead of the treadmill (the treadmill kills my soul) Try a new meat recipe every week (I'm so bored with baked chicken breast) Socialize with people from this area 3x during the challenge (I have friends back in Ohio, but not really any here). I hope I'm not being too ambitious with this challenge, but I just have so much that I want to accomplish! I'm so excited!

I like your goals Artinum (can I call you Artie? Too bad, it's happening) and I can definitely relate. Especially the "Eat More" goal, which even though I'm trying to lose weight and not really focusing on gaining muscle, I've been having problems with. It turns out, when you cut the crap and sugar from your diet, sometimes that leaves your calories WAY lower than they should be. I like almonds and avocados for some extra calories with protein and fats, but that certainly isn't the only way to go. Good luck, I look forward to seeing your progress!

Hey Laney, thanks for reminding me! I've been meaning to read Handmaid's Tale or Ender's Game, so I nominate those! And I agree with you in general

Well maybe let's start by narrowing this down a bit. Are we thinking fiction/nonfiction, classic/contemporary, young adult/adult? Or any/all of the above?

I like the ones Steve put together on the main blog here, but in general, you're going to be sore, especially for the first few weeks. Stretch, drink water, eat protein after a workout to help your muscles, and keep going. The first workout is the worst in my experience, so don't think that you're doomed to be this sore forever. If you can do another workout, that was always what helped my muscles the most when they were REALLY sore. Counterintuitive I know, but I think it has something to do with getting rid of some of the lactic acid buildup. Congratulations on starting!

[ATTACH=CONFIG]5404[/ATTACH] Overall grade: C+. Next challenge, I'm planning to continue some of these goals, but shift to more of a diet focus, where I need some help.

END OF CHALLENGE!!!! 1. Going to the gym 3X/week: Skipped 3 days throughout the challenge, for pretty good reasons. Therefore, B. 2. Crow Pose 10 seconds: ~3 seconds. I didn't practice this as much as I should have, so this is a solid D. It's ok, I still made progress which is really what I wanted. 3. Go to bed at 11 pm: This was a progression. I'm giving myself a B because I've gotten far better, but I didn't follow it perfectly. 4. Finish one project per week: A! So proud of myself, I still have a lot of things to get done, but a lot has gotten done. The list definitely helped. So final stats are: STR: 4.5 DEX: 2 STA: 3 CON: 4.25 WIS: 6 CHA: 4.75 WOOT for finishing a challenge! I actually feel pretty good about it and can't wait for the next one! Is it bad I already have some goals in mind?

Good for you! Yeah, we tend to like kicking butt around here

What small woot? I see a BIG WOOT! Coming back from illness or injury can be rough, glad to see you're back!

And the summary of week 5: 1. Going to the gym 3X: Skipped Friday. More below. 2. Crow Pose: Like 3 seconds? Still not good. 3. Go to bed at 11 pm: I did it for the second week in a row! 4. Finish one project per week: Done! Actually I overachieved and finished cleaning my car, finished cleaning out my online crap (Twitter, Facebook, created a LinkedIn), and cleaned my computer files and programs. AND I actually already started my project for this week, painting the mirror. I've been having problems about the last week or so with not feeling great, especially as the day goes on. My head starts to feel fuzzy and I get tired and sleepy. I'm wondering if it has to do with me not getting enough calories throughout the day after starting to cut out the excess sugar I have been eating. I know I've been getting enough water because I'm drinking from a gallon jug at work. In general I push through it, but on Friday I was dragging pretty bad and took a nap instead. Yesterday (Monday), I did the same because I was actually starting to feel dizzy on my way home before I would normally have gone to work out. I guess I might need a healthy way to add more calories into my diet. I'll start off with logging my food the rest of this week along with how I feel. Hopefully that's the answer and it's an easy fix.

I work out at my apartment's fitness center. Pretty small, but it works for me for now. A girl and her friend walk in and straight to the ellipticals, where friend starts working really hard and she is pedaling literally the slowest I have ever seen an elliptical go besides stationary. Later I look over and see the two of them sitting/leaning on one of the machines just talking. She never broke a sweat. Really, why even bother to come to the gym? But whatever. Also saw a lady once that was running on the treadmill in a dress. One that was kind of stretchy so it bounced every step she took and you could almost see her underwear. Purse hanging on the handle of the treadmill.

A well-deserved woot!

^What RaeVynn said, plus you probably aren't eating as much sodium, which also makes you retain water. Congrats!

That's a tricky situation. Could you sit him down and explain what and why you want to change your diet? Explain that it's important to you for your health/goals/values and then ask what concerns he has. As for the gym, you can get started by acting interested for free trials. Most gyms give a free week or something for free to potential customers. Once you've run out of those though, you'll either have to invest in home weights or a membership of some kind if you want to continue with weights. There are a lot of other ways to get strength training in though, so like Animal_Nerd said, check out the beginner body weight circuit or the other free resources on the main site.

Welcome! Could you maybe go to the store with the primary shopper/offer to cook? It might be helpful for them. Another observation: vegetarian and paleo are SIGNIFICANTLY different diets, and raw is pretty easy to fit into veggie but harder in paleo (meat likes to be cooked). Vegetarian paleo is possible, but takes some serious planning and usually supplements to get all the vitamins you need. It's a good idea to decide what direction you want to go with your diet before drastically changing things, especially buying staples that could be different between them. Just do your research and pick something you can stick to long term.

It's definitely a great thing to have scheduling flexibility. Fitting a healthy lifestyle around a busy schedule is difficult, but you're doing awesome! Keep up the fantastic work!

I don't personally blame others for sabotage, I just feel obligated to be perfect and end up sabotaging myself when I don't meet my own expectations. I think it comes from my natural competitiveness and unwillingness to admit defeat. Sounds weird, but it's almost like when I fail on purpose, it's not as bad as failing on accident. When other people are watching it's even worse because then I would have to admit to them that I failed because I couldn't do it. At least that's been my experience. I'm working on it, like I'm learning to play sports that I suck at, losing, and trying to have fun anyway, but it's definitely a process. Back to the original topic, others feel that they've already accomplished something by stating their goals and so don't feel that they need to try as hard in actually accomplishing them. The whole "admitting you have a problem is the first step" is true, but it can't be your only step and I think a lot of people get lulled into post-first-step complacency.

Your weekend sounds like a blast! Glad you had fun and still managed a nice number of your goals!

You're an awesome encouragement friend!

I know that in the end it's my fault for not following through, but the fear of failure keeps a lot of people from a lot of things. Perhaps thinking of it as power would make it different.