RedCedar

Week One Update: 100 Pushups program: 3/4 workouts for this week complete. I've had to do a lot more heavy wet snow shoveling than I planned lately and I've been a bit sore. Didn't finish last week and haven't started this one yet. Hoping to do so today so I don't fall too far behind. Forest Gym! .... has been covered in snow and is blocked by an avalanche terrain trap. No way I'm venturing out there this week. Did manage to get in one Insanity session in the library, but thats about it. 1/2 Defeat the dinning hall! Managed to resist most of the sweet things, and stick to my target 2 desserts this week, one in the dinning hall and the other half a dark chocolate bar I've had hiding in the freezer. 2/2 Luckily I started my challenge off with a quick clean, because I haven't thought about it since! 1/1 Pushups: 3/4 0/3 0/3 0/4 0/3 0/3 | 3/20 Forest!: 1/2 0/2 0/2 0/2 0/2 0/2 | 1/12 Dessert: 2/2 0/2 0/2 0/2 0/2 0/2 | 2/12 Clean: 1/1 0/1 0/1 0/1 0/1 0/1 | 1/6 As for the first week measurement check: Weight: 171.6 lbs Body Fat Average: 28.3% (31.1% scale, calipers 16.5 mm=25.5%) Waist: 38 1/2'â€

I'm snowed in too, an avalanche closed off the only highway out of here. Most of my workouts have been shoveling wet, heavy snow.

It took me a minute to figure out why... Now that I've seen it, I can't un-hear it!!!!

*damn double-post*

Ahhhh yes, that lovely time of year when you wait around to find out if the grant/funding will come through so you can keep your seasonal position. I know that game well. Life in a non profit can be tough. I've been lucky enough to work mostly for organizations full of passionate, supportive folks working hard to make the world a better place. It's a pretty amazing feeling, but it takes a toll. High stress, typically lower pay. I've seen a lot of social worker friends let their health slip to the bottom of the priorities list. So it's awesome you're bucking that trend and building solid habits for sustainable, long term health and happiness. Have fun at the pub tonight! Sending extra willpower your way

Sometimes sleeping all day is exactly what you need to do, but that's a good list of errands there. And you bought a guitar so you can learn to play it, that's exciting. An avalanche closed the highway I live on, so I had a bit of a snow day yesterday. Besides the two hours of shoveling snow, I spent the entire day in bed watching Netflix. Some days are more productive than others, and I'm working on being ok with that. “Today, I feel stronger, learning to live within the natural cycles of a day and to not expect too much of myself. As women, we hold the moon in our bellies. It is too much to ask to operate on full-moon energy three hundred and sixty-five days a year. I am in a crescent phase.†- Terry Tempest Williams, Refuge Good luck with the new job potential. It's so important for your work environment to be a positive one. For me, the people I work with, their attitudes etc. have the biggest impact on the work environment. If you have to make a choice, go with the opportunity you will feel most supported in. I've had really great and really terrible experiences doing work I cared deeply about with non profits. It's all about the folks in organization, and it starts at the top. A caring, engaged Executive Director/Board/Admin team makes a world of difference.

Canoe flipping was a part of a staff training day, so I wasn't planning on it being a part of my workout routine. Maybe it should be... Thanks Fishface! You're awesome too! I also love Kauai. My girlfriend and I are going for our friends' wedding and I can hardly wait! We've been saving for close to a year, didn't exchange birthday or christmas presents, put that money towards the trip instead, staying in an Airbnb hostel, and presto! Two broke grad students manage to swing an awesome trip. Now if only I could get beach body ready in time! Pushups: 3/4 0/3 0/3 0/4 0/3 0/3 | 3/20 Forest!: 1/2 0/2 0/2 0/2 0/2 0/2 | 1/12 Dessert: 2/2 0/2 0/2 0/2 0/2 0/2 | 2/12 Clean: 1/1 0/1 0/1 0/1 0/1 0/1 | 1/6

+1 for workout play!

Another punctuation I will probably never use, you do learn something new everyday! Thanks Sea Level!

Flea and Prairie, you are more welcome to share any feelings, thoughts, opinions, whatevs here! I won't kick you off my thread, no need to hide behind small font. Unless of course your opinions are wrong. Then you can leave.

So many things! Hurray for getting started! Good call easing back into exercise, I often over do it at the start of something new and burn myself out. Slow and steady is the advice I have a hard time listening too. Yaaay (?) Maybe new job! (Maybe?) This would be a good thing, right?

Definitely gotta check this powdered peanut butter thing out, might be exactly what I need for backpacking! I keep trying to think of other dessert-like suggestions for you, but most of my favorites involve chocolate. Now that's all I can think about! Nice work on the press to handstand progress!

All of both of these!!! Fishface, I think focusing on unlearning those deep-seeded ideas of food, diet, and what it means to be health is super important. Totally commend you for setting your sights on the long term goal of "being at peace with food." You're awesome, keep on rockin it!

Nice work on getting up with the alarm! I had a streak of about a week or so last challenge of not hitting snooze. It made my days feel so productive even if I didn't manage to get that much more done. Keep on rockin' it!

Thanks! I couldn't help bragging a little With lots of fleece and wool!!! The lake I live on is a reservoir so it doesn't freeze all the way. The big chunks of floating ice made for fun obstacles to paddle around/crash into. This may have something to do with it too. There is three feet of snow on the ground and last week I had to keep a shovel inside so I could dig my way out the door most mornings, but I definitely know there are worst winters out there! Trying to take advantage of all the cool things I get to do in my grad program, but sometimes its exhausting on top of all the other school work. But the light at the end of the tunnel is bright today. I just finished and printed my gianormous group project and tomorrow we present it. Then its back to teaching kiddos outside.

100 push ups program week 3 day 1 done! Right when I rolled out of bed, got to work and cranked out 67 pushups over 5 sets. (It took me an extra set to finish the last 5 reps for a total of 72). Last time around I was working on level three of the program, starting from week one. This time my initial test started me off on week 3, but back down to level two. It was damn hard this morning. I spent my afternoon in a canoe training, so I got some bonus exercise from paddling and practicing T-rescues. During a T-rescue, the person in the stern pulls the capsized canoe out of the water and up onto their rescue canoe upside-down to drain any water. Then they flip it and put it back in the water. Most of the other staff struggled to get the canoe out of the water, so I prepared for a heavy lift. When it was my turn to practice as stern, I forgot to dump the water out of capsized canoe, and yanked it still right-side up onto my canoe in one motion. The staff member leading the training called my rescue maneuver "beastly, but wrong." hahaha I'll take it! I had dessert tonight in the dinning hall, a berry cobbler with whipped cream. I found it unsatisfyingly too sweet. Maybe I'll keep it to one dessert this week. Pushups: 2/4 0/3 0/3 0/4 0/3 0/3 | 2/20 Forest!: 1/2 0/2 0/2 0/2 0/2 0/2 | 1/12 Dessert: 1/2 0/2 0/2 0/2 0/2 0/2 | 1/12 Clean: 1/1 0/1 0/1 0/1 0/1 0/1 | 1/6

Who said that, is someone there? For your information mysterious voice in the forest, it mostly looked like chocolate pudding in a fancy ramekin (sp?)

Why is this not in bold rainbow size 24 font ?!? SILVER DID A FULL TIPPY-TOE PUSH UP !!!!!!! Congrats

Wooot! Way to stay strong in the face of free tasty treats at work, and good job getting creative when your spot was taken in the gym. Off to a great start!

Good work on the two new dance moves! I think re-evaluating is a smart move. If you can already tell your goal will be too time consuming, find a more effective way to get the most for your effort. I remember being surprised at how little protein was actually in foods I had always thought of as "protein sources" when I kept a food journal a while back. I still haven't figured out exactly how to rethink protein, but one thing that has helped me hit targets is the addition of protein powder to breakfast specifically. Keep on dancin'!

Welcome back Flea! You got this. And congrats on Grad School!!!!

Max! I love your Emma Stone theme, and all the gifs! They are all sooooo good. You seem like a total badass so keep on rockin' it! p.s. I love your rubric too so I am stealing that

Yesterday was day one of the challenge, but by my actions I hardly would have known. I resisted a plate full of delicious looking chocolate chip cookies that sat in front of me for several hours, but that was about it on the diet and intentional exercise front. I did manage to be active outside for a few hours, shoveling snow and hiking uphill in thigh to knee deep powder in the process of an epic sledding adventure. Then I came home and stared at my computer for hours on end, feeling a bit down about my whimper of a start to this challenge. So I decided to do something about it. Slowly, while watching netflix, I picked up my room. All clean clothes put away, all dirty clothes in a basket. Other things like papers shoved into a pile in the corners, but still, I can see my floor. I even made my bed before getting in it last night. I never think my room being a mess is a big deal until I see it clean(er). It's kind of inspiring. I may even change my life goal to "be able to use my desk for a desk, and not crap storage". A side quest, perhaps? This morning I rolled out of bed, made it again and got to work with the initial test for the 100 pushups program. This time I'm starting from 24 solid pushups! Oddly enough my test results suggest I should start the program at the beginning of week 3, exactly where I left off the last time I attempted this program. Got an Insanity session in this evening! Whew, it's been a while. I got to the dinning hall too late for the salad bar to still be out, so no salad with my scrounged up leftovers. I did manage to resist dessert, despite the chef informing me it was my responsibility to finish the last chocolate creme brulee. Day two in the bag! And check out my shiny new rubric I stole from MaxCurtis Pushups: 1/4 0/3 0/3 0/4 0/3 0/3 | 1/20 Forest!: 1/2 0/2 0/2 0/2 0/2 0/2 | 0/12 Dessert: 0/2 0/2 0/2 0/2 0/2 0/2 | 0/12 Clean: 1/1 0/1 0/1 0/1 0/1 0/1 | 1/6

The app "Self Control" (for macs, I know there's a PC equivalent ) works wonders for me! You can set it to block certain distracting sites for a set amount of time while still being able to use the internet/email etc. For me, the timer in the corner is almost more effective than facebook or other sites being temporarily blocked. It's like OK, I've got 45 minutes, how much can I get done? Also, I don't remember where I heard this, but I'm pretty sure there is some evidence of TV essentially hypnotizing people. So if you eat /snack while watching tv, it becomes harder and harder to watch tv without snacking/eating. Good luck in the library tomorrow!