MadMadam

Hello rebels and renegades, I'm returning to the fight after a few years away. In that time, I started a few more battles - one with school (I'm in my last year of law school as of next month), one with work (started a great new job), one with geography (I moved, and am getting ready to move again), one with the pandemic, and some smaller ones with family (lots of loving but misguided situations). As a result of all of that, my health and fitness went down the drain. I gained almost 30 lb. I'm back because I really need some help and motivation to get me on track. I know I'm unhealthy, and I also know I would like to fit my clothes again. Since we're packing and I'm about to be back at school (and lol, I'm about to take a weeklong trip to see my coworkers), my options are limited to what's still usable in my house 2-3 days a week. I have a lightweight treadmill and good running shoes, lots of exercise clothes, some free weights, a yoga mat and blocks, and a rowing machine (that may not be available after next month). Looking forward to getting back to a healthier lifestyle. ~*~ MadMadam a/k/a Layla ~*~

Progress update. I had to take a week off of bodyweight workouts because I was staying with my mom in the hospital unexpectedly (she's okay now) and missed out on doing planks and burpees for HP PvP as a result as well. But the hospital time actually racked up a ton of steps for me and I knocked goal #1 out of the park each day I was there. Then, yesterday was my birthday (woot level up!) and we went rollerskating and dancing Sat/Sun. Lots of movement there too. I FINISHED MIDTERMSSS which means that yes, I did get my course assignments done before Saturday each week... and this week I have to triple-down on them because of our trip which starts on the 16th... so lots of work ahead, but I'm up to the task.

@Endor does this include kms from yesterday?

Many apologies to my fellow snakes. :/ Long story very short: I haven't been following because of that week in the hospital with fam, and after that I had midterms and my birthday during which I rollerskated and danced (that must count for something, lol!). If I'm correct we're starting pushups now? I can handle that.

Hey @Endor - mea culpa. I was with family in the hospital all last week and did not focus on NF at all, so no planks here.

It might take more than 3 to buzz, lol. One energy drink doesn't buzz either. :shrug: I'm one of those oh-so-lucky people with higher tolerance for caffeine who can drink espresso in the evening (I don't, normally) and still fall asleep at night. But maybe gradually cutting down is a good idea regardless. Substitutions are a good way to do that!

I haven't! White tea doesn't hurt, but its effect is negligible. I do have green tea. Maybe I'll give that a shot some morning this week.

Yes indeed. Sugar hasn't been a weakness really, but I do have energy drinks often (about 4-5 8-oz cans per week) as a substitute for coffee or black tea, which I'd honestly rather have. Reason being that I have recurrent nausea and gut issues which coffee and tea tend to exacerbate, so if I'm having a bad gut morning and want caffeine, the energy drink must prevail. :/ I'm hoping that the healthier I become in general the less caffeine I'll want anyway. Sent from my SM-G935P using Tapatalk

I was pretty down-for-the-count yesterday, but got in another short walk regardless, which I call a "win" since it was also freezing outside. lol! I will do more today - but in looking at the HP PvP sheet, I am amazed at some of the distances already logged! I count myself "active" if I make it a mile in a day... really need to up my game.

For me, it's inevitably when I have a big activity happening. Wedding? Check! Travel abroad? Well, hello Aunt Flo, glad you could join us. Big job change oorr maybe midterms happening? Here's some PMS to help you distract yourself! I think it's mostly to do with strenuous activities. Usually when traveling, we're walking a lot more than on normal days and doing a lot more, even if not crunched for time. 20,000 steps in a day instead of 3,000. That's pretty huge. And strenuous can be physical or mental/emotional; any major stressor tends to kick off my cycle. ...seriously. It feels like every time, which isn't really possible, but it's just the worst. I am not on BC at the moment, in fact quite the opposite - we are trying to conceive and we're fairly late in the game (no kids, nearly 39 years old). BC at least helped me predict when it'd be the worst and lessened the related cramping. Wheee so much fun. Uteruses ARE ridiculous.

Wolfman, I've got the same problem with bedtime. I'm naturally more of a night owl, and I'm trying to make myself hit the hay at 10:30... pshaw right. :/ What are you doing to try to help with going to bed earlier? Love your goals. I'm doing Duolingo German so I can understand more of what's happening around me on my upcoming trip. I intend to stick with it after the trip as well. Languages are awesome.

I just found this quest, and I'm in! Just leaving Hobbiton. Hopefully I'll have some great adventures on the road.

Update: Walked last night, 2.8 km (1.74 miles). It's not a marathon, but it's a start. Did not get coursework done as I'd forgotten that I had a previous engagement which required me to be elsewhere, so I'm doing it today. After reading another first-timer's thread I decided to add a "bonus" goal on to my 4: Schedule and commit to regular times for study and writing, minimum 1 hour/day during weekdays I'm still going to be doing schoolwork as I can during the day, but I need that time blocked out so I can specifically focus on ONLY schoolwork.

Good luck to you both! I love your goals, Jakosaur. I'm also in virtual school while working and it's largely self-paced with the requirements of weekly assignments and scheduled exams. I'm really bad at scheduling chunks of time for it, and try to just work at it when I have spare time during the day or in the evenings. That should've been one of my goals; maybe I will throw it in as a bonus objective. Meditation is a great way to focus. I love that you're giving yourself incentive to meditate by allowing the total time to be split up over the week. That's super smart.

Very much. I don't want to say the exercises are "easy", but they are accessible to any level - in Rising Heroes they have you identify your "starting" positions for things like push-ups and squats so that you can work your way up, and you can use any modification for the exercises in the workout. It also FEELS great. I breathe heavily at points and sweat a bit, but that's a good thing! I don't get much movement during the day otherwise, and I can do this wherever I happen to be.

Okay. Whittling down challenges for this 4-week stint, I've chosen: Walk at least 5x/week for 20+ mins/day. - this is top priority because of my upcoming trip. Increase water intake to 3 liters/day. Follow Rising Heroes bodyweight workouts 3x/week (25 - 30 mins each). Complete weekly course assignments prior to Saturday each week. Yesterday was a lot of desk-time and very little else for me, so I didn't exactly start on track. So far today, I have: Completed a basic bodyweight workout (incl. warm-up and cool-down): 28 mins Worked on practice essays for courses I am planning on taking a walk directly after work (in about 20 min) Water intake is about 1.5 L thus far. I still have coursework to do tonight, but that will be after walking.

I love this so much. Hi! Walking happening tonight, after I wrap up some work. Already did bodyweight stuff today, so feeling rather beast-modey and should be able to knock out a couple of miles despite the freezing here in WNY. Embodying a House trait, no?

Marking my own notes here, as even though this challenge is over, I wanted to note where I stand. I totally failed at morning, this morning. I work from home - but that still means I'm expected to be online and functional from at least 9:00 to 18:00 every day. My goals were to go to bed earlier, not read for as long, use alarms, and drink water before bed. In actuality, I went to bed earlier by about half an hour, but still read until 00:30. I set two alarms, but after the first went off, I disabled the second and went back to sleep. I sipped at some water, but didn't drink that much. I actually got out of bed at 9:45, so I'll be working late. I will do better tonight!

Oh, wow. Thank you, lol. I guess I misunderstood the "larger goal" part I'll narrow it down before we start on the 19th!

@Hazard, excellent! Thank you very much!

Hi @Hazard! I just came back to the forums today and posted my 4-week challenge, but I noticed it's saying Feb. 12 - March 11. Is there a new challenge forum where I should re-post? Many thanks. Infinicca

A wild Infinicca appears! Greetings and salutations, friends. My name is Infinicca, regenerating/respawning after several years off-site. I was formerly here under "Nicca", and was sort of a lurker/occasional contributor. In the time since, I've been up and down again. I had a bad illness which hospitalized me a couple of years ago, lost some weight, and then gained it all back and then some because I could eat again. I work from home and am also studying from home for my *gulp* law degree, and recently I've realized that I'm into the danger zone... I'm often tired, don't eat well, and sit in a chair for 12-14 hours/day. Something's gotta change. So after seeing the scale tip dangerously high one day, I decided to return to NF... and I joined Rising Heroes. I'm just a week in, and already feeling like I'm "doing" something (even though I've only just begun). I thought I'd add a 4-week challenge on to that for extra motivation, so here I am! GOALS: Lose 6 lbs. over these 4 weeks. (My long-term goal is to lose between 35-40.) Cut out mindless snacking. Exercise regularly. Wake up on time and with energy. HOW-TO: Lose: Exercise regularly (doubling up goals!). Cut out sugary drinks as able. My illness was gut-related and so I switched from coffee to Red Bull, and didn't give up the RB even when going back to coffee. (I say "as able" because I do get gut flare-ups on occasion which might prevent me drinking coffee for a time, so really I hope that I eventually won't need as much caffeine to function.) Log food intake and discover/edit habits. Cut out mindless snacking: Pre-portion midday snacks. I don't usually eat large meals and tend to "graze", especially working from home, so if I pre-portion I'll help avoid grabbing a handful of trail mix without thinking. Select healthier options that will keep me feeling fuller. That trail mix has a lot of added sugar. Drink more water. Log food intake (doubling up!). If bored (which is often when I snack), train myself to get up and do jumping jacks instead of reaching for something to eat. Exercise regularly: Follow NF Rising Heroes challenge of 3x/week full Basic Bodyweight Workout (incl. warm-up and cool-down). Walk at least 5x/week for 20+ mins/day. I need to be ready to walk at least 10,000 steps/day come April 16th. (I'm traveling, and there will be a lot of walking.) Make a schedule where I walk away from the computer/desk for at least half an hour and DO something. Wake up on time: Start going to bed at least 20 mins earlier. No more "just one more episode" Netflix nights. Stop spending hours reading until I pass out from eye exhaustion. (Example: I go to bed at 11:30, but fall asleep after 1:00 because I'm reading.) This can probably change if I go to bed even earlier and when I do start working out more, because I won't have energy to stay awake. Set an alarm and actually use it. Set multiple if necessary. Drink more water before bed. Wish me luck!