Keladris

Thanks for this. It's deffo food for thought (pun intended). To really have that 'fit' shape you gotta sacrifice things. It makes me wonder where my preferred level is really... I definitely don't think I could maintain the 'athletic' diet forever. I also really can't do 60mins a day of exercise! My currently 5 week challenge is to walk everyday Mon-Fri , and then extra exercise 3-4 days/week feels doable, but not more than that. I wanna do other things like socialise, play music, do acting classes, play videogames! I do still want to lose some of this bodyfat, but I really don't think the 'ripped' look is my priority. Mostly I wanna be strong enough to do my dancing well and support my body in day to day life. Right now I really wanna eat junk food! The cravings a real!

Bahh I'm up 1.5kg. Could be the pizza last night 😮 I'm realising that the first half of my weightloss was the easy part. I got to really watch the little things now and really be consistent. Feels like there's less room for error (and less room for chocolate covered almonds in the evenings...) Although my goal is 5kg, I'd be very happy with 3kg, that would put me at 74kg which was my original goal weight.

Oooh I wanna see! I love street art, it really brightens up the city

Deffo love this idea for something to work towards, that would be a lot more ambitious walking-wise than I thought I could be! Yas! That's my boy Sprite. He's retired now and living back home in the UK. I haven't ridden for a few years but desperate to get back to it. Hopefully this year! Cos they are barefoot sandals, they actually offer basically no support. The whole point is they are supposed to flex with your foot and allow your feet to move naturally. You're right though, feets are important for the dancing! Will make sure to take care of em. @Epsilonte omg that meme is everything! Here is today's pic! It's a ihll used to sledging in winter, but in summer looks like the barrow downs. My butt is starting to hurt... Does walking do that?

You're not wrong for like 7 months of the year... This false spring we're having is giving us temps of 16-20 Celsius so for now I'm alright, although looks like snow is inbound again next week! In the summer it actually gets super hot, up to the 40s even. Ooh this is an interesting idea. We do have a few good walking spots in the city, some nature parks and of course, Mont Royal. I'm planning a 2 hour walk at some point around there. But it'd be cool to go north to south and see the river on both sides of the island, I think it'd take 4ish hours depending where I'd do it. North East/South West (I guess you'd call that the length?) is 55km!

Just a quick 3km today. Beautiful sunshine again. My body seems to be feeling the extra exercise already, especially my feet since I'm wearing my barefoot sandals. Here's a mural from a nearby park: Bonus pic! Snow is almost all melted, but knowing Montreal we'll have another storm before summer truly arrives haha. Actually my feet got kinda wet in my sandals... Ooooh *shuffles off to check mini-challenge*.

Oh it's not me! I just grabbed that from google for a refernece. God a long way to go for middle splits... But here's my latest front split. I finished the 30 day challenge and deffo mad progress:

I know it is 0 week, but figured I'd start as best I can. Might not be superrr strict on the every day thing for this week, but use it to warm up to my new habits. Day 1 ~4km walk (I've realised my step tracker isn't very accurate...) around my neighbourhood. Picture is of the new development for the university here, which is a beautiful big glass building. But currently surrounded by empty space cos it's still a work in progress. I LOVE the big blue skies we get in Montreal.

Ok so my goal has been thrown off a bit since this morning I weighed in at 77kg! I have spent the last few weeks fluctuating between 78 and 79, and thought I'd hit a plateau and then woosh... So, losing 10lbs would get me down to 72kg. I have no idea if I want to go that low, I have never been that weight as an adult. But I'm also well up for losing fat and getting as health/slim as I can, partly out of curiosity.... I think I'm going to put 10lbs/5kg as my goal, but I might decide halfway through that I just want to maintain, depending on how I'm feeling about my new body Waist is currently 29inches and hips are 41inches (still so happy about the loss after the last 10 week PVP) . I'd like my waist below 28 and ideally hips below 39 since that would put me into 'medium' clothes sizes (size 12 uk/size 10 US). Maybe the last half of the PVP will focus on body composition more than weightloss per se, we'll see!

Also jumping in on the shoe issue... I just bought a pair of vivobarefoot shoes. Bit the bullet and spent the $$$. Since you've already done some running barefoot, maybe they're worth looking into? Also welcome! I like your goals and plans, I hope it goes well

Swift recovery to you! I agree with Tankimus, healing is always worth it. Also yay for Spanish! I'm having lessons at the moment so that one day I can have a proper conversation with my partner's family...

Well done for seeing it through, definitely a wobbly time. I am still envious of your pistol squats... Will have to figure out how to get those one day!

In many ways, this winter had lasted years. Keladris had needed time to heal, time to hide away from the world. It was against her nature, but her spirit and her body demanded it, and so she had reigned in her thirst for adventure in search of rest. But, as the new year dawned, she found herself ready. Regaining her strength, it was time for her feet to find the road once more. ---------------------------------- For a while I was pondering a whole host of goals and figuring out a theme for it/and RPG system but, in the end I think "keep it simple stupid" is the way to go. My first two challenges have been really successful, all in all. But the thing I haven't been able to get to stick is walking. So I'm making that my one and only goal for this challenge! Of course, I plan to maintain all the good stuff I've already built up (dancing 2-3/week, strength training 1-2/week, getting my veggies and doing my stretches so that ONE DAY I will get the splits). But for the challenge, I'm going to make it my mission to go for a walk Monday-Friday. Every morning as soon as I'm awake. Doesn't have to be far, although I find once I'm out I do tend to do at least 30 mins. For tracking, Imma post a picture each day! I like the added challenge of finding something different to photograph, will help me to explore. I'll also be posting over in the Walk to Mordor PVP. And I'll be listening to the LOTR audiobook as I go My whys: I work from home and because of COVID, my daily steps tend to be very low unless I make walks a priority. My weight loss has also stalled slightly, and I think it's time to get some extra daily movement to support the dancing and strength training. PLUS the sun is making an appearance after the Canadian winter, and I want to be ready to go on a hike as soon as we're allowed to travel out of the city. Besides, what's a bard without a little adventure and exploration?

Definitely! It's a new experience for me, we don't have many woodpeckers back in the UK, so it was a nice surprise. I love the sound they make Week 5 reflection Wow this challenge went by real quick! Overall, I'm very very happy with the results. My rainbow diet tracking wasn't where I wanted it to be, but regardless, having the intention has definitely meant I'm getting more veggies in, and I'm certainly thinking about colour when planning meals. Even if I don't have the excel sheet to prove it... Here are my splits photos: Brave taking my hands off the floor on this side (other side my old knee injury didn't like it too much) Hence the manic face... Throw back to week 1 to show progress (it's actually clearer than my week 0 pics😞 My form is wayyyy better and I'm closer to the floor than I was (tape measure says 3cm but I swear it looks like more than that). I'm not 15cm from the floor. Plus I kinda look forward to it now rather than dreading the pain! And here is my straddle: Which is miles better than where it was: From heel to heel I'm now at 177cm, I started at 160cm! And I'm reaching forward a lot more too. So, flexy gains I am supperrr happy with. I only missed 1 day of the 30 (although I did repeat a couple of days from the challenge itself). Week 5 workout also left me feeling like a boss, with energy to spare! I've actually just done my first week 0 workout which involves more exercises and a significant jump up, but my body seems up for it which is awesome!! I didn't manage my walks hardly at all, so I'm going to make that my main focus of the next challenge. Especially now the weather is improving. Thanks to y'all for following, this forum reallyyyy helps my motivation. Onwards and upwards!

MAXIMUM HYPE! I'm going for 10lbs but will take 12 if it comes. Also will be weighing in kilos, it just makes more sense to my braaainnn. Wow, if I'm successful, I'll be at my target weight (74kg/163lbs) and healthy BMI - exciting! I'd also like to see what is under the fluff and hopefully there'll be muscle... I'm also wanting to lose weight so that I can do ballet and bodyweight training more effectively. I want to be able to fit into 'medium' clothes and prove to myself I don't have to be 'large' my whole life. WHEN I hit my goal (positive attitude ftw) I'm going to buy myself a fancy new leotard for dancing. Will weigh in tomorrow before I've eaten anything!

Just thought I'd stop by and share this pic of a woodpecker I saw while out walking today! The sunny weather is really calling me outdoors Deffo want walking to be part of my next challenge. This pic doesn't quite capture it, but it was a beautiful clear day today, and could see the mountains to the east of the city. There is something about a horizon that just makes me feel very free.

I fell off the wagon and seem to have stayed behind in Hobbiton... They just really know how to throw a party there. But, the weather is clearing so what better time to head on out of the Shire? Going to be making walking twice a week part of my next 5 week challenge. I'm in aw of those of you getting out every day, I struggle to find the time/motivation when working from home.

Week 4 reflection My tracking of my rainbow diet wasn't great for week 4 - I only actually tracked for 2 days! But I was definitely thinking about it every day. I was actually focused on eating up leftovers since we skipped a food delivery, which funny enough meant I ended up eating more colours. I missed a flexibility training one day, although my spreadsheet didn't save so I lost track of which day I missed. I was just too tired, I think it was the right decision to skip. I picked it right up where I left off the next day, and the improvements continue! Did my strength training earlier in the week, which meant I also got one in on Sunday. So I'm hoping for this week I'll have 2 workouts to track. Definitely got my strength back after shark week, and I'm doing that gradual but progressive overload thing but always making the workout a little harder than the last. One day, one day I will get a pushup on the floor... My balances were much better in ballet this week, I've been practicing a little bit each day and figuring out how to have strong legs and even out my pelvis. We also finally got out the house for a walk... I've realised I've been slacking on the whole 'get outside once a week' thing. Spring is slowly slowly on its way (we never really get much spring in Montreal anyway, tends to be like a week and then SUMMER) which is tempting me outside. Can't believe it's week 5 already! Will have to think up some new goals. I'm thinking something around balancing, both in terms of dance and body, and mind too.

My weigh in this morning deffo had me under 79kg but not quite at 78kg... It's an analog scale so hard to be precise! But I deffo hit the 10lb/5kg target so yayyyy! I also lost 2.5 inches off my waist and 1 inch from my hips which feels like a huge accomplishment. When will we start the next one? 😮

I think I might re weigh-in tomorrow for final weigh in... I had a bit of a greedy weekend, including pizza and alcohol so I'm wondering if tomorrow my body will have readjusted haha. Today weigh in is putting me up half a kilo again... Either way, I'm happy cos I'll still have made the 10lbs/5kg target!

More gifs for the gif gods. But also to show that sometimes you gotta fail and try, try, try again! And sometimes, you just gotta cover up the failures with a fancy finish... Also - new proper ballet outfit!! I feel so fancy xD

More dance gifs! I love making these haha. Learnt some actual choreography in jazz class yesterday! Excuse the concentrating face haha.

Ahhhh that's embarassing! It was supposed to be on my challenge thread, not yours!!! I have no idea how that happened... But yes, that's me haha. I shall now shift that gif over to my own thread and stop hijacking yours!! As for reading, I have a friend who writes 40k novels and I've always meant to read one, so working on that for the time being. But I also have a host of books on vikings and also sci fi books I bought last year but haven't read (including Dune, which is a beast!)

Oh yessss, that's the trouble I'm having. Eating a deficit AND getting enough protein. I ended up buying some pea protein powder to help me out and eggs are my friends! Ideally I'd eat more protein cos I really want to be strong and support my muscles, but I just can't at 1800kcal/day. As for the taking a break thing, I have no idea how to decide when to do it! I'm kinda just going on what my gut (pardon the pun) tells me.

Looks like you're off to a great start! And welcome to the forums. I'm only on my second challenge myself but I freakin' love it here. I really want to read more again, you're inspiring me!