Weazley

Good luck! Can I ask what you were volunteering for? Sound amazing to be able to go overseas and do that!

Wow thats a good point Ronin. I never really considered it. There isn't so much a target in mind - i just want to have better/higher quality and also longer in than what I am getting at the moment - which has just had a brief setback of its own. My parents are meant to be moving house (today!!!) and got a last minute phone call yesterday saying that the deeds to the new place hadn't come through and will be another week. But.... they still have to move out of their old place today. Now its been okay because they have moved into my sisters apartment in the meantime (she's outta town for work for the next month) and got storage for the bulk of the stuff but they couldn't take my cat Pippin (yes named a la Lord of the Rings!) with them - so its living back with us for the next week, rather than original 2 day plan while they got settled, and he is not a happy camper. He is used to being outside most of the night, and hence he is going crazy at night. The last time we had him while my parents went on holiday he would be waking us up crying 5 - 6 times a night, scratching on doors, meowing, causing absolute ruckus. He also started eating food like nobody's business. Don't know if it was the boredom, stress, or if he needed to be wormed, or if he's actually sneaking around the neighbourhood stealing food when at my folks place, but he was eating easily triple what he normally does, but he's barely picked at his food this time around, so not sure. Another blip in the sleep habit (but you know, nerd cred here) went and saw the Iron Man 3 premiere/midnight launch last night/this morning. So didn't get back home til 3am. And then had the cat wake me up twice between 3am and 7.30am (when I had to get up for work). Just ignored him and went back to sleep, but still would have been nice to get more solid sleep seeing as i barely has 4 hours of it! Hope its not as bad tonight with him.... 19 - 11.50pm | 3h 52 / 7h 50 (58%) 20 - 1.00am | 2h 51 / 6h (53%) 21 - 11.00pm | 5h 23 / 9h (64%) 22 - 11.55pm | 4h 13 / 7h 35 (61%) 23 - 12.05am | 4h 39 / 8h 40 (58%) 24 - 3.08am | 2h 27 / 4h 30 (60%) Walking: Week 1 Average: 8226 steps Total Average: 8300 So doing a little better than my normal, but really need to step up my game. LNS - Still aching down my sides from my first attempt. Going to go either tonight - or tomorrow, depending on how the weather holds up for my next round of sprints and chin ups. IUOO - Did my 4 earlier in the week, although only managed 3 today. Haven't done any knee push-ups either as of yet. ROONO - Sprinting went well, although was distracted by phone calls (twice! argh!). Was remarkably good and although my sprints and recovery were hard, certainly got it out of the way quicker, and actually did enjoy it a lot more. I might need to find a new park to train in though, as the one I did last week has a lot of potholes and branches and other stuff that is hard to see in the evenings - even with all the lights! Cheers all for your support!

Awesome start - you have to remember that you are a million miles ahead of people who haven't even made that first step off the couch! And I would like to give my eternal and everlasting thanks for introducing me to the world of shakshuka. I had no idea such a thing existed and I am sooooo having that for dinner tonight. Its like all the things my partner likes (poached eggs, spicy stuff - optional side of bread) with all the stuff i like (easy, primal). This could be a game changer. Anyway, stay strong and carry on - sounds like you're going amazing!

Thanks ARock10, accepted. Also didn't get to do my 4 on the bathtub, could barely get out 5 on the counter. I suppose training for two upper body strength goals at once, while complimentary is also not easy!

Thanks everyone! Went out last night for sprints/chin up practice as promised. Whoa do I hurt this morning. I managed to do: - 1 hang drop (i think thats what they are called) with a pull up grip - 2 hang drops with a chin up grip - 5 inverse pull ups on the higher bar - 3 inverse pull ups on the lower bar and - 1/2 min hanging on the bar I then went and did a sprint using runkeeper. Its a interval workout I added in with 1 min of steady combined with 15 seconds all out, repeated 4 times, with the last steady period being 2 mins rather than 1. Was as red as a tomato afterwards, but felt really good. And proud

Another Aussie rebel here from Sydney!

I'm attempting to grow some plants for the ...well second time. My first lot died due to my old balcony getting full sun all day all year, although also really sheltered so wouldn't get any wind or rain. The soil just dried out like you wouldn't believe and the only thing I could keep going was a desert friendly plant which needed minimal water and the only thing that got to it was the cat who liked to rub up against and chew the spiny long leaves. The herbs all died off one by one (coriander was the first - and an absolute B- to grow I might add, so my first recommendation to newbies, don't try and grow coriander) with sage being the most hardy. This time complete opposite, got a balcony that doesn't get any sun. Maybe an hour or two in the early morning, but then nothing. Its completely not sheltered from either wind nor rain, and gets heap of both. Everything is having a hard time growing. I had brief success with peas and pumpkins (bf bought me seeds, despite not being a fan of peas and not having really even room for pumpkin) but after I went on holiday, came back to find that neither partner nor roommate had watered them, and they didn't make it. I originally struggled with the carrots, but after separating them they appear (on the surface at least) to be doing well. Tomatoes were easy to grown, but a slug/caterpillar got at them and decimated all of the young plants (about 30 or so 15cm tall plants spread across different pots) Now left with about 4, and they're struggling. Onion and garlic both died almost instantly, although getting fruit of the chilli plant! (although haven't tried any yet, and they are very tiny). Capsicum went fantastic, and then forgot to replant it from its seedling tray and lost it all. Recently planted some mini capsicum from the last time we ate them (yup started them off kitchen scraps, which i'd also done with the original capsium, just because there are so many seeds!) and will see how they go. As for my herbs - my chives have gone amazingly! Can't stop them - getting plenty for our needs. The rosemary is going well - but not fantastic, seems to be better the more regularly we use it. My basil has been a bit of an up and down scenario, (had three pots... now only 2, and seems to be growing straight up in a long stem, its not bushing out at all!) but has for the most part survived. That was the only herb that I've grown from seed. I also think the caterpillar got to it too - the greedy thing! I've only just recently planted some Thyme, but haven't killed that either yet. I also heard the other day that if you are wanting to grow flowers, pansies are pretty indestructible. Which I wouldn't have expected. Anyway happy growing!

Welcome to the site! My recommendation for cutting out the soft drinks (as I call them here!) was to move on to something that replicated, but was much better for you - sparkling mineral water (also known as seltzer I believe?) its gives you the same feeling in the mouth, but its basically carbonated water. I drink a lot of normal water and coffee too (could be good for the caffeine hit, depending on what your 'poison of choice' is). Excited to see how your progress goes!

Thank you! I had already looked into both the Nerd Fitness and the Mark Sisson guide's but hadn't heard of Al Kavadlo until now! ...and it looks like a fantastic resource, and I'm already learning something from it - again, thank you! Walking - going okay. Not as good as I would have liked, but seeing as I was a little late joining the challenge, probably to be expected. At the moment for the three full days, I'm on an average of 7246 steps, however I've just found out I've been "volunteered" for a fundraising barbeque on saturday, and imagine I'll get quite a bit of steps then! LNS - done some reading, but haven't put anything into practice as of yet. Was busy last night, but hoping to get spriting and chin-ups in tonight at the park after work. IUOO - After doing two yesterday on the side of the bathtub, I hit a new personal best of three today - and I'm going to go for 4 tomorrow. Did the other 7 from the set on the counter top - and they almost seemed ridiculously easy. I'm thinking I might also start some knee-pushups as another way of incorporating the full range of motions into practice. ROONO - No change as of yet - see above point about tonight. Sleep - Not doing too bad on this point either. Was in bed before 11 last night (shock horror!). All though irritatingly, even though I'm getting more sleep, I'm not necessarily getting better quality sleep. So details for the last few nights: 15 - 12.30am - 3 hrs 59 min Actual Sleep Time / 7 hrs 30 min In Bed (64% efficiency) 16 - 12.40am - 4 hrs AST / 7 hrs 15 min IB (72%) 17 - 12.11am - 4 hrs 17 min AST / 7 hrs 49 min IB (59%) 18 - 10.44pm - 4 hrs 55 min AST / 9 hrs 16 min IB (55%) But hopefully with some exercise tonight I'll be out like a light by the time I hit bed!

This is my first foray into the ways of the ranger. (Stranger Ranger!) Having started off adventuring, I soon discovered that I truly was a master at none, and so began my life as a jack of all trades. That is why I have taken up the platypus as a symbol/mascot for this challenge. One, because we're both aussies! Two, they are fantastically diverse bits of everything creatures. Perfect for a bits of everything me. Speaking of which, I think diversity is healthy, and anything that gets put in front of me as a challenge is fair game. My challenges - personal, professional and otherwise have all made me who I am and I want to push myself further and take on new challenges. I think in the past I have always pushed my goals way too far ahead of my abilities, and this time I want to set more manageable and achievable goals. Walking Rangers need to do a lot of walking. Walking is definitely an achievable goal. I normally hit somewhere in the range of 6000 - 7000 steps a day. I count this using my fitbit (which has become an extension of my being). Day to day, I know I am not always going to hit my 10,000 steps - so my goal will be to hit 70,000 per week (so, a 10,000 average) over the course of the 6 weeks. Walking is man's best medicine. - Hippocrates Skills Ranger survive in the wild because they constantly learn new skills, improve upon their current ones and replace old ones with more effective ones. So in skilling up, I am proposing the following three goals: ...Learn a new skill - Chin up Platypi are not good climbers, but that's not going to stop me. However - first things first is to build some upper body strength, and to do that I want to do a chin up. Yep. Just one. If I can get a pull up out, all the better. Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid. - Einstein ...Improve upon an old one - Push Ups I have had a love/hate relationship with push ups. And I want to do 'proper' ones - and never look back. At the moment I have been doing 5 - 20 incline push ups against my bathroom counter before getting into the shower each morning. My first 'half' challenge is to get to the same number of push ups - at a lower incline. I want to move from the counter, to the bath, with the intention of then progressing fully into full push ups. The only pushup you won't be able to do is the one you never do. - Gwen Ro ...Replace old ones with new ones - Running/Sprints In my past, I have done a lot of running. But I've now found more and more, that the idea of even trying to get 30 minutes so 'go for run' involves a 30 minute run, oh and 10 minutes at the start getting ready/changed, 5 minute walk to get to the park, 10 minute cool down, 5 minute walk back, all while trying to fit in dinner and.... its just not working. I haven't run/jogged etc in months. I need to find a more effective way of getting in some activity - so while I'm actively looking for suggestions, my plan at the moment is to get into sprinting. Yeah it'll still take me half an hour to get all the walking prep etc out of the way - but if I can get 10 minutes of sprinting and have that be as effective as 30 minutes of running, I can see myself more likely to keep it up. By changing nothing, nothing changes. -Tony Robbins Recovery I must accept that I cannot go on forever. There have been to many times where I have pushed myself too much. I've let my health suffer, my relationships suffer, and my sanity suffer. There has been too many 12+ hour days at work, too many 3am I'm still up's, too many sorry I'm really busy at the moment's. I want to learn how to take a step back, calm myself, recover properly. So my first step towards that is getting more sleep. And better quality sleep. So for at least 5 days out of the week, I want to be in bed by midnight. I can't help it when I actually fall asleep, but if I can get into the habit of winding down when I need to rest, I'm hoping the rest will fall into place. The amount of sleep required by the average person is five minutes more. - Wilson Mizener Can't wait to take this journey with you all, and succeed as we continue.

Wow. Can I just say congrats on the three push ups (x 2 sets!) That's really inspiring. I'd love to work up to that - and I have no doubt you'll hit your goal by the end of the 6 weeks!

Hey Kingclumsy, Found your post on myfitnesspal and thought I would check your post out. I think they are some good rounded goals, and with exception for your life goal, I think they are SMART ones too. I would recommend having a bit more of a time or specificity around them. I will tidy up for at least 15 minutes at least 3 times a week. Sorry to hear that yesterday wasn't so good. Although sounds like your other half is awesome and going to keep you on track!

Made these the other night. Yummy. http://blog.stuffimakemyhusband.com/2012/05/single-serving-microwave-brownie.html Personally I used a whole egg, doubled the rest of the ingredients, except the baking soda/bicarbonate of soda which I omitted altogether.

So In Summary... I lost half (4.85kg/11pounds) - B, because I still consider this a health and substantial drop (+1 Con, +1 Cha) I did 6 bodyweight strength exercises over the 6 weeks, 5 cardio workouts and hit over 10k steps 12 times over the 6 weeks. So less than half my target, and I thought I had set the bar low - but at least I did some, and realising that I did so poorly is a bit of a wake up call. In fact, aside from one a few days ago, I hadn't done it at all for about 3 weeks (although before that, the first 2 weeks, I was staying on target.) C (1 STR) The idea was to have 2 alcohol free days per week and I only managed 3 in the whole 6 weeks (and yet 5 just in the 3 weeks preceding the challenge). I did have another 4 days which I only had a glass of wine. So a bit of a fail on having a few more days off alcohol. However I have gone from an average of 32.3 drinks per week, to 27.5. Which is still way to high. It also doesn't help that I still go out drinking after work on fridays, which always seems to skew my rest of the weeks results. Also with the Melbourne Cup on, I had a day at the races (So much fun!) which was basically an all day drinking session. I'm also still way over recommendations for alcohol intake for Australia, but I think that its promising that I am cutting down, and will continue to work on reducing it.Its annoying that I still have yet to find anything that is a suitable replacement. I drink water, black coffee, sparkling mineral water and wine - thats it. I want to find an alternative to all of those that means I can drink something that's pleasant and has flavour, and have it not be alcoholic. Although stroke of genius just hit - i could use Bitters in with sparkling mineral water and a squeeze of lime (a long time ago in a life far far away used to have this with sprite). Might give it a try and see if that soothes the taste buds. (Also: why couldn't I have though about that 6 weeks ago!) So a C and (1.5 Con) - Have 4 lots of progress pictures - just realised I haven't done one in the last 2 weeks (aka at the end), and will do that when i get home. - This will be my 11th update - nowhere near the minimum 18 required. - Stopped tracking about halfway through the challenge. Realised I was pretty much on target macro and calorie wise and didn't see any need in continuing. Will probably still do it every few months just to check I am still on target. - With the exception of dropping the recording of my calorie intake (and also my carb intake in grams alongside it) I have continued to record everything in my spreadsheet. ... hmm bit more hard to guess this one. I'd say a C and (+1 Con, +1 Wis)

Eek! Been a while since my last update! Well, the end of the weigh in competition was at work today - and I weighed in/out at 72kg exactly, a total loss of 4.85kg (or 10.7 pounds) over the 3 months, a 6.25% weight loss! And although it is still 5kg off my goal weight, I am really happy with my progress. I'm now in the 'healthy' BMI range also, which I haven't been in since March this year (after my surgery). But super super happy!

To be fair to the author - most journalists don't get to write their own headlines, thats a job for the editor or sub-editor.

I'm worried too - I love me some Star Wars - but the clone wars stuff was purely aimed at kids and I just couldn't keep watching/stomaching it. A reboot almost seems like sacrilege - I mean to me - Star Wars (at least the original trilogy!) is not just a classic, its a defining, seminal moment in cinematic, sci fi and storytelling history. And I think a big part of that is because the characters are so iconic - and the actors who played the characters made them so. I'm not sure how I would feel about them being interpreted by another director, actor, studio or script. But in saying all that, I've always believed in my heart that the thrawn trilogy was the forgotten star wars trilogy that should've been made. I'm prepared to give the benefit of the doubt - and my curiosity for the time being.

Haha bravo sir! Saw this at work, but you've got my 10 pledged for when I get home.

Wow, I've never heard of her before but that program seems ... very comprehensive. I can also see why people say to her "How do I get your body?" - she looks amazing! It seem very gym orientated, and I know that she says "Women tend to under-eat" but the amount of food she is asking for people to consume - and at such regularity - would both be quite some leap for some people. The idea of having a dozen egg whites every day - *shudder*. But if you think its do-able I think - Why not? Also if you are worried about not sustaining progress after - I mean the saying goes... it takes 45 days to get into a habit. I think carrying on this way for almost double that would get you into a pretty good routine. Also: I wouldn't say that this is low carb - it seems like there is a starch in almost every meal...

Can I make a suggestion? Motorcycle jeans. Most of them are woven with kevlar, and if you want something stupidly resilient these things are the way to go. I've never really found a problem with them being too long. They are thick though... and sometimes a bit heavy/hot. So might not be the best for summer. And not sure if you meant work jeans or work OUT jeans. In which case, disregard as these are not what you want to be exercising in!

Thanks shoobie - yeah been stretching my back. Been getting sore right up the top (well neck) and also right down where i had the LP. Don't know if its made any improvement on the leg cramps - that happened on one really bizarre night, but does help with the neck pains. My arms have been going on and off numb as well - GP thinks that also a knock on affect from the virus. Have the night to myself, so going to attempt some very light bodyweight circuits. No trying to push myself. I hope I feel better soon too. But the overall opinion of everyone I've seen is that this might take weeks or even months to fully clear up.

Its been another rough patch on this journey. Admitted to hospital last weekend in unimaginable pain. Various tests done (including a lumbar puncture/spinal tap - ouchie) and can't figure out what was wrong "Probably a virus.... here's some pain medication, come back if it gets any worse". Well hasn't been getting worse, but not really getting better either. Been getting these severe almost migraine-like headaches, and all sort of weird other symptoms like light sensitivity, leg cramps... GP thinks its a knock-on affect from the flu a week or two ago. She also thinks it could take weeks to get over it. I've never experienced anything like this. Cardio and strength stuff has obviously been non existent this past week. Too much pain. Also, feeling light-headed + exercise = not a good mix. Been trying to walk when I can - but yesterday for instance, that left be curled up in a ball on the bed at 6pm, all the lights off, in massive amount of pain and not been able to eat anything except for a few nuts and water. Its not even going to bed early gave me a good night's sleep either. Feel really 'fuzzy' today as well. The only progression towards my goals that was successful was a small drop in weight, and lots of no alcohol days - and add that I haven't really felt like eating either... Of course, I have fallen behind with tracking progress on - well everything really, but I genuinely feel like I am getting the hang of what my body needs food-wise, and although I'm not particularly seeing enough progress picture wise, I'm thinking that a week to week change is too much pressure anyway. Obviously also falling at the way-side is updating on NF, but spreadsheet updating (aside from a small gap last week) is keeping me accountable and is on track.

I know this is silly, but I reached my 2000km 'lifetime' distance badge on my fitbit. I've been walking (and walking) since November last year, and despite some ups and downs I finally made it. I know its just (mainly) walking. Doing a little bit of research it would take "The Average American" a year to do around 1500km. So I'm happy that i'm doing a little better than the norm! Some random stats collected: Highest Daily Step Count: 22,317 steps on June 02, 2012 Furthest Daily Distance: 16.69 km on September 27, 2012 (The reason they are different is because I went for a run - so more distance, less steps!) Of course, now I've got a new goal - 3000!!!

OMG *facepalm* Ever since I first saw the idea of the jugs I was like "Well, can't get juice or milk that size here in Australia, I'll just find some other alternative" - but of course we get those massive things of water *another facepalm* I walked past some in the shop even today. I feel like such an idiot - Thank you!