athousandwords

I had to look these up because I've never heard of them, and they look uhhh tough. 😅 Awesome goal, though! I started working on my skincare about a year and a half ago - also super basic - and it's been surprisingly effective! Can I recommend adding a moisturizer with sunscreen in the morning?

Welcome to the Rebellion, we're so glad you're here!! Looks like you've got some great general goals to strive for. I especially love the idea of therapy through play and art. ❤️ Some of us find it helpful to come up with how we'll be tracking our goals, in order to stay accountable. Like, what's your goal for wisdom work – once a week, or try each one out once during the challenge? I definitely think coming up with a regular schedule can help you succeed!

I have yet to find the secret of good frozen dinner. If you ever figure it out, please share! Most of what I've tried has turned out mushy and inedible. Hooray! That sounds amazing! ❤️ I think now you need to share the fruit bowl, yes?

Welcome back! I was just nostalgically reading a bunch of old NF posts and kept seeing your name pop up on my threads. I love having old friends back - it makes me feel like no matter how much I change or struggle, NerdFitness is like my hometown. Sometimes we want to avoid it because it reminds us of who we were, but if we're very very lucky it's also our support bubble that we can fall back on when we want to be the best versions of ourselves. SO important! Love your challenge goals. I wish you all the best on finding out the best career and fit for yourself and getting into a job that you want to show up for everyday.

Whhhy is owning our own strengths so hard?? You're 100% right and we should be blasting it from the mountaintops. So: I am fantastic cook. I'm really good at cooking paleo/primal foods that don't taste like crap. Follow me for recipes, pictures, and one surprising ingredient that you should be cooking with...! Oop. Took it too far.

Y'all - hold my hand. I'm doing something a little scary this challenge. I'm going off-roading. I've spent the last couple days rereading my old NF challenges (which was a fun trip down memory lane) and realized that while I've done some kick ass challenges over the last 8 years, I consistently fail once I fall off the boards. And while I love the NF boards, I don't want to spend my whole life always replaying the same game: doing weight-loss challenge after weight-loss challenge. I want to win the damn game and do new things. Once upon a time, I thought that meant 1. Get to my goal weight, 2. Profit?? but I'm realizing that the challenges I do here on NF are challenging... but unsustainable for long term. I need to build organic habits and set up systems that don't come crashing down the minute I take a break. Instead of starting anything particularly new this challenge, I'm going to set myself up for success by focusing on the big things that really help: meal planning and intentionality. For possibly the first time ever, I'm not doing a paleo/primal/grain-free challenge. Instead, I'm building up my recipe book with healthy recipes (and ok yes, those tend to be paleo/primal/grain-free for me personally) and let meal planning guide my diet. That's the scary part. I worry that I'm going to binge eat and go to donut town the minute the restraints are loosened. But letting go of the diet mindset is probably the only way I'll ever really get long term success. I am going to keep myself accountable by posting more often here on NF (plus I'm kind of an awesome cook, and I want to share what I make!). Meal Plan and Share - Meal plan 6 healthy recipes per week - Add 5 recipes per week to Plan To Eat - Log meals on NF challenge thread 5x per week – ideally with pictures! I'm also going to keep running – but that's it. Rule 6 of the Rebellion is: We Don’t HAVE to exercise, we GET to exercise. And I realize I've been putting myself in a box trying out video workouts from home and ST exercises that I don't really enjoy. I'm never going to want to do that long term. For 2022 I have a goal to find some kind of active hobby I enjoy (in addition to running) in order to cross train and working more activity, but for now – when it's cold and dark and I just want to hygge and hibernate? – I'm going to take a step back and focus on what's sustainable. Run - 1 long run (Starting at 45 minutes and adding 5 minutes each week) - Run 5k 2x per week I'm going to take the habits that work and keep doing them – no point quitting something that works! This is a compilation of little habits I've been fairly consistent at over the last 3 challenges. My goal is to track here, rather than Habitica, since I'm going to be posting meals anyway (right?). Continue Healthy Habits - IF 16/8 5-6 a week - Drink 8 glasses of water daily - Floss daily - Limit alcohol to 2x a week Finally, one of my big goals for the upcoming year is to read more. I want to keep up with my monthly Book Club, I want to finish the books I've started, and I want to knock some books off my to-read list. For this challenge I'm reading Atomic Habits, which is something I think will help a lot in the year going forward, as I make healthy living more of a habit instead of a diet. Read - Read November Book Club pick, Talking to Strangers - Finish The Starless Sea - Finish Deep Work - Read Atomic Habits

Welcome back Conquius! Your story is amazing - seriously, we stan! I have a one-day-epic-quest goal to hike part of the AT, but I can't imagine setting off for a continental bike tour! 🤩 I always call NF my happy-get-shit-done home. No matter how many times you reboot, the community is always here to welcome back a rebel and cheer them on. Best of luck with your 5-week challenge, I'm sure it'll be epic!

Welcome! I've never heard of MoveNat - but it sounds like it fits right in here! I'm glad to hear you're joining the next 5 week challenge, I think you'll find they are super motivating and fun. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions or stumbling blocks while writing up your challenge goals!

Possibly both...? There were some things I found a little too easy (jumping jacks, planks, dumbbell rolls) and others that were hard (walking lunges, push-ups). I definitely could have leveled up some of them, but I don't have weights to change the intensity and I didn't really want to just increase the sets/reps – I think that's where I found it too repetitive. This challenge I did a lot of the video workouts from Peloton and found that they were more engaging. I think I pushed myself harder and tried things I normally wouldn't. I did a couple bodyweight workout vids that were similar to the NF BWW and then some new stuff like pilates. But I do think I'd do better if there were goals to work toward, like your push-ups example. Just picking random videos every time isn't as motivating.

Following! Oh wow, this is intense!! Good luck!

The BBWW is a really solid recommendation - I actually did it twice a week during my last challenge and was trying to mix it up this time because I got a little bored. I may go back to doing it along with some different workouts. Still noodling around on it!

CHALLENGE WRAP UP! This challenge ended how it began - with everyone in the house getting sick. 😷 Thankfully just a head cold, but it kept both kids home from daycare, and DH and I were exhausted. I took some much needed rest and let the exercise goal go by the wayside, but still kept up with diet. So while it wasn't really the best end to a challenge, at least I'm still here kicking. Here's the final spreadsheet, though it's one of more more incomprehensible ones. Suffice it to say I did pretty well for weeks 2-4, and definitely took a nosedive on week 5. Lessons Learned Only allowing myself 1 primal meal per week is hard - but I can do it! I definitely went overboard while at the beach, and it took some time to wean off the grains/alcohol/sugar, but by the last 2 weeks of the challenge I'd cleaned up my diet significantly. That said, I would like to give myself some more flexibility. I liked how my family is eating more vegetables and non-grain options, but I miss eating my husband's sourdough baking and some of my favorite take-out indulgences. I'm still struggling with sugar. I gave myself waaay too much flexibility with sugar/chocolate this challenge (hey, it's not a grain so it doesn't count... right??). And my brain definitely took advantage of it. I don't think next challenge is the right time to tackle this (hello holidays) but maybe come January I'll try to be a little more strict about subduing the sugar dragon. It's ok to rest. This was just a consistent theme that kept coming up in this challenge. I have to remember that I'm not 25 and child-free anymore like I was the last time I was on the NF forums. My challenges now will look different than they did then, and they'll look different than other rebels'. It's okay to go at a pace that works for me – the goal is sustainable healthy choices for the long term, not a flashy challenge. I still don't know what exercise I enjoy. Running is good. Running long distance while listening to a podcast is good. Interval running? Kiiinda hard, kinda sucky. Everything else?? I just don't know. Toward the last couple weeks I tried out pilates and some yoga, but I think I need some strength training for the sake of my knees. I think this will require some more experimenting and tweaking. But it's okay to not have it solved – again, I'm looking for something I can do for life. Meal Planning is important! I came to this realization a couple weeks ago - meal planning is the #1 predictor of success for me. I am so much more successful with a solid meal plan, plus we save money and time. Right now, we're trying out a spreadsheet-based solution to make it easier but it still takes a lot of time and energy. I think I'm going to trial Plan to Eat and see if that makes life easier. Stats Updates It's been a while since I've posted stats, so here's some fun numbers! Since I rebooted on NF in June, I've lost over 11lbs. I lost about 3lbs during this challenge (though I gained and lost again during and after the beach trip). I started this challenge running a max of 30min, or 2.7 miles. I'm currently up to 45 min, and 3.8 miles. Best Wishes, Warmest Regards All that said - I'm taking off Week 0 between challenges and getting some proper rest. I'll still keep up with running (I already ran 30min this morning) and mostly primal-ish (ok, I also already ate tortilla chips this morning) and will work on figuring out what comes next during what is sure to be a stressful holidays challenge!

Congrats on a great challenge and hitting your goal in weight! Looking forward to following next challenge!

I think 80% is a really good success for a 5-week challenge. It's hard to run at 100% for over a month straight, even when you set achievable goals. Doing 80% - and sticking around - is so much better long-term than being bummed out by less than perfection and disappearing. Congrats on a successful boss battle of making through all 5 weeks, and looking forward to following your next challenge!

Maybe give a look at My Body Gallery? You can search by height and weight and see non-edited, non-model pictures of women at that size. Should be easy enough to search for your height and goal weight. That said... I totally support rocking a healthy lifestyle and trying to get to a body composition that feels comfortable and makes your clothes fit well! A number on the scale can be misleading; how you feel is the most important thing. ❤️

Welcome @ArcticEngineer! That's a great start! I find that habit stacking really helps me get started with a new goal. Figure out something you do every day without fail and add your new activity habit on to it. Maybe it's walking out to get the mail - and going for a 10 min walk while you already have your shoes on. Or maybe it's doing 5 wall-pushups while you're waiting for your coffee to brew. Whatever makes sense to you. I definitely agree - check out the 5 week challenges! They're the perfect bite-sized amount of time to make some positive changes and track them in a way that actually feels doable. Plus tons of support on the boards! The current challenge ends this week, but you can take a look at the link Tateman posted to get an idea of what to do. Then next week is a break (Week Zero) but a lot of people start posting their new challenges early. The next challenge should officially start on 10/24.

Woohoo! You made it to Week 5! In the home stretch now! 😁 Yeah I honestly had to stop reading at night for this reason! My ADHD won't let me stop when I'm in the middle of a good part and then, whoops it's 4am! Doesn't work so well when you have tiny, insistent alarm clocks crying at 6:30. 🥴 Sounds like a great goal! That's basically where I was at the beginning of summer - walking consistently, about 5-8k steps a day. My first challenge back on NF (in July) I decided to start the Couch 2 5k, and now I'm running 4 miles. 🤯 I'm sooo not a runner, so I feel like if I can do it, you definitely can!

Week 4 Recap Well the longest challenge ever continues with... a pretty good week? Running: I deviated from the plan a little bit and did a second long (40min) run on Friday instead of interval training. I just wasn't in the mood to sprint. I also finally bought new shoes so hopefully that means an end to the knee pain. 🤞 ST: Tuesday I did a pilates workout which was real intense (in a good way) and on Thursday I tried to find a yoga video on the Peloton app, but they all needed yoga blocks in an apparently crucial way and I don't own any. So I ended up wasting a bunch of time and then did a very short yoga video, which was annoying, but I guess it checks the box. And again, just completely skipped that third ST - although I think maybe sanding my mailbox post for an hour on Sunday should count, because my arms were tired! I also walked in a 4 mile parade on Saturday, so it's not like I'm slacking on weekends. Fasting: Still going pretty good here - used my 1 day off for a "movie sleepover" with my son. We ate junk food past his bedtime and watched Hotel Transylvania and slept on an air mattress in the basement and it was loads of fun. Even managed to stay paleo and just snacked on beef jerky (ok and a few M&Ms) while my husband and son ate popcorn. 💪🏼 Primal Meals: Seeing a lot of improvement here, though I'm still probably eating a little more sugar than I should (looking at you, M&Ms). I'm letting chocolate skate by since it's technically not a grain or legume and I'm not being super strict anyway. I think this is going to continue to be a problem through the holidays, buuut honestly my diet is a lot cleaner and more veggie-focused than it has been in years, so I'm not going to stress too much. Anyway - used my cheat meal this week to get really good wood-fired pizza at a local restaurant and it was delish. But we've also been cooking some great food at home and I'm managing to make some tasty, primal substitutions for grains that means the whole family eats a little healthier (since I refuse to cook more than one meal). Finally, finally in week 5 and I'm looking forward to setting some slightly more realistic goals for the next challenge. I know I wanted to tighten things up after the beach but I think I'm looking for a middle ground where I can still improve myself and not feel deprived or overworked.

I've been wanting to read that one - glad to hear it picks up. I think I've read her other series, The Inheritance Trilogy, though it's been a while.

I'm the same - seeing the # once isn't enough, I need to be hitting it or under for a few days before it counts!

Welcome back! October has a get-things-done-before-the-holidays kind of feel to it, doesn't it? Good luck with the academy, I hope you update us over here on the boards too!

Yup, your turn! Get yer turkey trot on! I've got a pork shoulder in the slow cooker and dinner's at 6!

I just registered for a 5k on November 20th! It's quite far away, but also it's a cross-country run with steep hills, so I think I'll probably need the extra time to practice. I'm also considering a Superhero-themed 5k in late October with the family. There's a Tot Sprint (2-5 years old) too - and my 4 year old has been on a real Spiderman kick so he'd love it. Plus that one's a road race, so it would be a lot closer to how I normally train. And since I'm here, updating mid-week (!) I thought I'd share some tasty primal/paleo dinners we've made in the last couple weeks: Roasted zucchini/summer squash with marinara and meatballs I can't stand zoodles, but diced and roasted with some olive oil and seasoning, buried in pasta sauce? :chefs-kiss: Perfection. I make regular pasta for the rest of the family, and they just have zucchini on the side Roasted spaghetti squash with shrimp, broccoli, and diced tomatoes in alfredo sauce Seeing a theme here? Yet another dish that I make pasta for the fam - but they mixed the spaghetti squash in too The sweetness of the spaghetti squash works really, really well with the rosé sauce Smoked pork belly in lettuce wraps with pickled cucumber and onion salad, drizzled with ginger soy sauce My husband smoked a pork belly for 6 hours and it was melt in your mouth good Also I love this cucumber salad with everything, but especially BBQ Pork chops with roasted apples/onions/sweet potatoes I sear the pork chops, then set them on top of the vegetables and let everything roast in the oven. Tastes like fall. 🤤

Hey just wanted to check in and see how you're doing? How's M? You've had some pretty intense events in the first couple weeks of this challenge between sleep deprivation and M's health and work stress. I know that's when most of us just say "F*** it - I'll try again next time." Just wanted to say we're here for you and I hope you come back and give us an update either way! Plus we want to see how that painting is going!

That hiking picture is so beautiful! I love those candid shots of motherhood. ❤️ And I love the stories you shared of your friend. I know you're worried, but I think it's amazing for her to have someone to look up to - you've kept up with your kettlebell training even with two kids! I'm sure she's looking at you as a role model of how to stay active and competitive through parenthood. And it's lovely that your kids will be close in age. In just 2-3 years, all the little ones can run around the yard while you lift!