athousandwords

Wow, that is a packed schedule! And congrats on the upcoming wedding! BTW, I got the 80% Paleo idea from Mark's Daily Apple anyway. I'm not sure I could ever go 100% Paleo, but I try to make sure that when I do eat banned foods, they make up less that 20% of my meal. Best of luck with all your goals!

Name: Yvonne Brief overview of goals: Consistency! - Workout 3x a week and attend kickboxing 1x per week - Eat Paleo 80% of the time - Put real effort into my portfolio Class: Ranger If you follow a specific way of eating: Newbie to Paleo! Any other piece of information you think would be useful for team creation: I play well with others? If you want to be part of a team or if you want to work alone: SQUAD! Link Love: My challenge thread

about me: Howdy. I'm Yvonne: 24, female, pixie, Ranger-class. I joined the last 28 day challenge weeks late, so I'm super excited to get in on this one at the beginning. Especially since I didn't do so hot last month. A little more about me? I live with my boyfriend and two cats in Northern Virginia. I work in IT, and am a striving web-designer. I like to run, but only when it's warm out, otherwise I stick to the most fun sounding classes my gym offers. I've been trying to "lose 20 lbs" for the last 3 years or so.... so this year I'm changing tactics. fitness: This month I'm all about consistency. Last month, like the girl with the little curl, when I was good I was very good indeed, but when I was bad I was horrid. While I know I should be setting some "lift X amount" or "run X distance" goals, for now I want to concentrate on showing up, and not letting excuses get in the way. Attend Kickboxing class 1x per week (Monday or Thursday)Complete a strength training workout for at least 30 min, 3x per week (M,W,F preferably)Eat Paleo/Primal according to the 80/20 principalchallenges? The biggest challenge here is keeping up with those 3x a week ST workouts. I tend to blow off going to the gym, but I need to fit in these workouts even if it means doing a body weight routine at home. I was relatively successful with eating Paleo last month, so this month I want to get by with fewer "cheat" days. life: As I said, I'm a striving web designer. I have the skills, but no work to show for it. This month I want to build my portfolio by finishing up an existing site and generating more freelance business (for pay or not). In the meantime, I'm going to keep applying for jobs and hope something works out. Finish Sheena's web site and line up one more projectApply to 5 jobs a weekchallenges? I've been working on this site in my spare time for about 2 or 3 weeks, but haven't been making it a priority. This month I need to finish it instead of watching TV or playing video games, but I know that will be a challenge for me.onward: As a final note, to keep up with consistency and accountability, I want to post on this thread every day. Last month's "post-whenever" strategy led to some cherry-picking instead of real accountability. And yes, this means weekends.

Yikes, I kind of got away from updating, didn't I? I think that's what a week of not going to the gym will do to you. Luckily, I didn't fall off the wagon completely! I've been diligently tracking my food and eating at least 80% Paleo. So that's good, I just haven't been posting here. To be honest it was a lot of "leftover this and that" so none too exciting anyway. Plus a LOT of eating out - all weekend. Yikes. I stayed okay on carbs (>100 for the most part) and calories (>1300) with the exception of Friday, when BF and I went out for date night. But working out.... After KickBoxing last Monday I was soooo sore. I put off my next few gym visits (ok, on Wednesday I had my gym bag packed and everything, but went shopping instead. Oof!) and then suddenly it was the weekend and a gym visit just did not fit into my plans! Excuses, excuses. I went back yesterday (no missing KB Mondays!) and did a strength training workout before KB. I'm not as sore today as I thought I would be, even though I was HURTING last night. Lots of stretching and a hot shower did a world of good. So this week I will make a point of getting back to the gym on Wednesday, dammit. And lo and behold, the 28 day challenge is actually over! Since Spezzy asked us all to grade ourselves, I started thinking about what I wanted to accomplish for the challenge. To be honest, I've always had these goals in mind, even if I didn't write them down at the beginning (why not?? no idea). Physical: - Exercise 5 hours a week. - Integrate more strength training into my workouts (sloppy goal, I know) Nutritional: - Track my food intake consistently - Try the Paleo diet and commit at least 75% Life: - Apply for new jobs - Buy a car So what did I accomplish? Physical: This was my weakest area. During the whole run of the challenge I maybe exercised 5-6 hours. Total, not per week. I started adding in more ST, but really didn't commit to it. Not to mention that goal was kind of weak to begin with. I blew off gym appointments, didn't get in 'play' exercise, and never even finished my bench mark strength tests. I went in with no real goals and accomplished just that. D Nutritional My strongest area! I've tracked my food intake every day (sometimes back-tracking) since 1/13. In those 12 days, I was in an good calorie range (1150 - 1350) for 6 of them, too high for 3, and too low for 3. I consider that a great mix and a complete success. As for the paleo diet, I made a lot of small and big changes. Aside from a few high carb days, I ate >100 carbs every day (often >75), ate a lot of vegetables, tried new recipes, and felt completely fulfilled. I learned a lot about the Paleo diet and have decided to keep on it for (at least) another 30 days! A Life: I was about half and half here. I made a final push last weekend and bought my new car (woohoo!) so that's one 2011 goal checked off. I wasn't nearly as productive with my job search as I wanted, but I did send out a few applications and had one interview. My current job performance has been pretty strong and I got a better yearly performance rating than I expected but that was 2010 and doesn't really have anything to do with this challenge, lol. C Overall grade? C- But since I started late, I'm giving myself another week to raise that grade. Here's the deal, if I make all my gym appointments this week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday), do ST for all of them (must work out 4 muscle groups), and get in some active 'play' this weekend.... AND continue to track and eat Paleo... AND send out 3 more job applications this week.... That grade will be raised to a solid C. Sound fair?

Yeah, I have a hard time going over 50 carbs unless I eat starchy foods. Weird, because I try to eat a lot of vegetables. I ate more yesterday with about 87 carbs due to sweet potatoes, mostly (see next post...). My goal is to get 50 -75, which according to Mark's Daily Apple is a good spot to lose weight but not deprive yourself of nutrients. MMMM nutella covered bacon. I would cheat with that anyday.

Haha, thanks. I'm not trying to brag (too much...) but I do enjoy cooking. That night I thought about picking up one of those McCormick Au Jus packets to make, then looked at the ingredients - hydrolyzed corn gluten, corn syrup solids, caramel color...?? But just 5 calories!! Who needs it. So I just used the run off juices from the steak I was cooking, added butter, garlic, and chicken stock, and declared it a win. And for the record, I can't stand Lean Cuisine. Even when I was "traditionally" dieting, I couldn't bring myself to eat them. We have about 2-3 in the freezer that BF bought and once in a while, when I really can't decide what to eat, I'll look at them... then slam the freezer door and eat something else instead. (usually soup, my fallback for everything. mmmm soup)

There should be a button for "Insert Image" when you're in the WYSIWYG editor (blue background). It's kind of weird and doesn't let you resize, but works. If you're looking at it in HTML view it'll say something like [Attatchment]273[/Attachment], IIRC.Are you keeping a battle log? I'll have to check it out. Mostly I've been stalking people here in the Challenge forum.

I'm in one of those terrible moods today. My car got freaking TOWED this morning and I had to call the boyfriend back from work to drive me to the lot, then pay $150. And it was for the stupid reason that I never updated my 2010 parking permit to 2011 (which was sitting in my house, next to my keys). UGH. So, short and sweet, calories yesterday: Breakfast: Eggs and Bacon Lunch: Big Ass Salad Dinner: Steak with homemade Au Jus sauce, mushrooms, and asparagus Dessert: Strawberries with Nutella Calories: 1,002 Carbs:45 Sodium: 1,334 Technically all Paleo except for the Nutella, which has sugar but no wheat. But considering my carbs are so low anyway, I'm letting it slide. Lunch was unsatisfying, so I think I'm going to avoid my cafeteria salad bar when I can help it. I tried this steamed kale dish they had, too, and thought it was pretty gross... trying not to let it taint me against kale, though, and will give it another try someday soonish. Yesterday was a rest day for workout (*still* sore from kickboxing!) but I'm going today to lift some weights and maybe do some sprinting or rowing. Tonight I'll be in the same position as I was Monday - working out til late, BF not going to be home for dinner, and no concrete plan, so I need to make sure I either figure out what to make ahead of time or just fast so I don't end up eating a bunch of crap again. Lesson learned.

Quick recap of eating yesterday: Breakfast: None Lunch: Lo-Mein leftovers Dinner: Campbell's Chunky - Hearty Bean 'n' Ham Soup and leftover Chicken Fried Rice Calories: 1,223 Sodium: 3,740 Carbs: 137 What a good example of how what we eat is more important that how much. A month ago I would have looked at a day like today and say, "Hey, I'm in my calorie range. Nice job." A little high on sodium maybe, but I did drink 10+ glasses of water yesterday, so that should cancel out. Then I'd go on my merry way. Today I know that yesterday was just as bad as Sunday, even though I didn't consume as many calories. The cause was a bout of self-pity and tiredness that set in after I came back from the gym last night. I told myself that I would fix a nice Primal dinner for the BF and I, only to find he was still at work when I got home and I had to eat by myself. Cooking for 1 sounded entirely unappealing, as did my Primal leftovers in the fridge, and so the can of soup came out. Then the reasoning that I might as well finish off the last of this Chinese food... Well, I put my foot down today and am back on track. So enough of that, I'm done with it. Last night I went to a Kickboxing class at my gym for the first time in about 2 months. Dear lord, I forgot how hard it was! My back, gluts, abs, and shoulders are sore! The whole time I kept telling myself what a great Ranger workout it was. Imagine: You're cutting through the forest, on your way to open a Demon Door or deliver a package to moutain Dwellers, when you're attacked by bandits or Hollow Men*! You jab left, right, roundhouse kick, punch down, shimmy your butt -- okay, maybe not the shimmying part, but you get the picture. Picturing my RPG Self using these skills to protect myself or just kick some ass made the workout more rewarding. And I tried harder too! When I felt myself slacking off or my muscles got tired, I reminded myself that if this had been a real fight, I'd be dead already just from that moment of hesitation. And even if it's just practice, did Harry ever not give his all in a DADA class (poor professors not withstanding)? Nope, and doing so could cost you in a real fight.** I finished off the gym with some incline rows (2 x 5) and pushups (2 x 10). I wish I had done my ST workout first, but I didn't realize how early people line up for that class! I spent about 10 min waiting for the previous class to get out so I could get a spot. Ended up not being a huge concern, so next time I'll try and get there a little earlier and not worry so much about being at the front of the line. My new goal though is to attend all the Monday kickboxing classes from now til the end of the next 28-Day challenge (with the exception of Valentine's Day!). I want to give it an honest shot to see if I can improve my coordination and endurance. *Yeah, I played a lot of Fable 3 last night after dinner **The kind I avoid like the plague, but that's beside the point

Ahh, good to know. I only scanned the reviews, but the worst ones seemed to be from people who followed the Paleo lifestyle and found this book to be a poor representation of Cordain's work: "Cordain evidently seems to have ignored much of his own research." or "Very little evidence was provided that the diet described in this book was what was eaten 20,000 years ago. Most of the argument for this diet was modern research on how ingredient X (e.g. omega-3 fatty acids) is good for you." All in all, it sounds like it isn't the best book to read in order to get an idea of the science behind the Paleo diet. And I completely live by the philosophy that you just have to move on past the bad days and make up for it the best you can. Of course, it's also helpful to recognize the patterns behind those kinds of "cheat" days and learn from them. In my case, moderation with alcohol?? Though I don't drink that often so Saturday was kind of rare form for me. But letting myself go to pieces on weekends is pretty average, and I'm hoping holding myself accountable will curb that behavior. aka: if you see post after post on Monday mornings about how bad my "weak-end" was, I'm doing it wrong....

Yep, I do the same thing. I really love Zumba and kick boxing, but will pretty much go for any class that my gym offers. And you make a good point - I also push myself harder if there are other people around. If I'm lifting on my own I'll take a few rest breaks and generally not go for longer than 20min (though I'm trying to get better), whereas with BodyPump I'm committed the entire hour. So perhaps I'll put it back into rotation, especially while I'm still working my way up to bigger lifting. I haven't even heard of Pacers! I buy my shoes at Potomac Rive Running and generally find out about races through active.com. I'll have to give it a look. Best of luck with the 5ks and the 4 milers!

This weekend was kind of up and down. Saturday was very successful, both food and exercise-wise. I had hoped to make it back to the gym, but right after I woke up I got recruited to do some "Moving Frequently at a Slow Pace and Lifting Heavy Things" - aka helping some friends move. Sure, it's not as intense as what I would have done at the gym, but about 2-3 hours of lifting boxes and walking upstairs certainly fits the bill of Primal exercise in my book! After, the BF and I went to a friend's housewarming party and I was soooo good about not eating any of the tasty-looking baguettes or drinking any beer. I stuck to red wine, and carrots dipped in hummus and guac. And it was tasty! Breakfast: Bacon, spinach and mushroom omelet Lunch/Dinner: Pork chop with cilantro pesto [see above] Snacks: Baby carrots, hummus, guacamole, cheddar cheese, red wine Calories: ~1500 Then Sunday I blew it. When we got home from the party late on Saturday, BF and I decided to split a bottle of red wine (since we'd already been drinking, you know...) and watch a movie. Which was a blast at the time, but I woke up with SUCH a hangover. Dry heaving, headache, and completely dehydrated. I reached for my usual "cure": a box of Saltines and a glass of water, and the day went downhill from there. Brunch: @Jackson's Grill: Nantucket Scramble (bacon, onions, mushrooms, potatoes, cheddar and a homemade biscuit) plus a few small appetizer biscuits Dinner: from Chopsticks: Pork Lo-Mein and 3 won-tons. Calories: ~1650 Are we seeing a theme here? Yep, that's me. Start a bad day and just let it go from there. Anyway, I imagine one day of not eating well won't hurt me in the long run, so I'm moving on for today. Uhhh except for the fact that I have chinese leftovers for lunch (plus some more sweet potato soup [above]). But gym tonight and I'll just work a little harder to make up for the weekend's indiscretions.

Jason, thanks for the reviews! I like to rent when possible and noticed my library has "The Paleo Diet" by Dr. Cordain, but the reviews on Amazon are all pretty negative in comparison to the PB or the Robb Wolf book. Any experience with this book? I think I'll probably pick up something - I enjoy reading the science. Eating Paleo "feels right", but knowing more about it is never a bad thing.

That sounds like a great idea! Is the Primal Blueprint a good investment then? I've been hesitating on buying it because he lays out so much information on his site already. I feel like it boils down to a simple 'eat this, not that' and worry the book will be redundant. At the same time, I want to support Mark because of all the great info and ideas I'm already getting from him! But I absolutely love the idea of using the remainder of the challenge to lay out a plan, and will be stealing that goal and making it my own!

Today's goal was to get to the gym and start filling in some of my ?? regarding stats. I was hoping to figure out my level for all the basic Ranger skills, but THEN... tragedy struck. Mid-squat, my pants* ripped down the back seam. And let's just say the underwear I was wearing was less than fully covering... *a hem* So, I didn't make it as far as I wanted. Though I hope Cacophony would be proud when I say that EVEN after my pants ripped, I still sat down and did the stationary row for as long as I could, because hey, no risk of exposure and I wasn't really ready to finish working out yet. I'm planning to get back to the gym tomorrow morning with some more durable pants on and finish up. STATS: 1 Mile Run: 10 min (6mph) Pushups: 15 Rowing: 1000m - this was my first time trying the rowing machine and to my further embarrassment, one of the trainers had to come over and correct me. I also couldn't figure out how to time the 500m on the machine, so tomorrow I'm bringing a damn watch! Food wise, I did great today! In fact, I think I stayed completely Paleo (though dairy was included, so um neolithic?) and avoided all grains, sugars, etc. Breakfast: Cottage Cheese with blackberries, coffee with milk and honey Lunch: Coconut crusted flounder and Roasted red pepper sweet potato soup Dinner: Pork chop with cilantro pesto, sauteed broccoli and spinach Snack: Almonds Calories: ~1350 Dang, that looks good even in print. And it tasted even better. You should be jealous, I'm an awesome cook. Seriously though, I feel like trying primal has expanded my creativity in how to cook vegetables. I've always liked veggies, but I used to struggle to think of ways to prepare them and usually just feel back on rice or pasta. Now it's like a mental stigma has been unblocked. Just knowing that I need to fill half my plate with vegs every meal has opened up an amazing number of recipes. Of course, Mark's Daily Apple has been a great resource, but sometimes just throwing a couple of spices in with some veggies has yielded great results. *Old, old pants, only worn because all my normal gym cloths were dirty. They are clearly going in the bin after this.

Hey Vic, thanks for the add on twitter! I'll be watching for any posts location-tagged with @McDonalds.... o_O

Hello from your suburban neighbor! I thought it was cool to find another NoVA person on here, considering everyone is so spread out. I live in Reston which is pretty much the boonies compared to Arlington, I know. Congrats on keeping up with the workouts! How do you like BodyPump? My gym (Sport&Health) offers classes but I found them a little too "light weight, many reps" during a time when I'm trying to lift heavier. But it certainly will make you sore! Best of luck with the basketball team!!

aka: Better Late Than Never? I'm super late starting this, but I'm thinking OMFG is something that will stick around for a while, so maybe I'm still early! In any case, I think this is a great idea and probably one of the more creative and original ways to track fitness and weight loss, so I'm excited to be a part of it. Name Yvonne Race Pixie Class Ranger Squad 3! Attributes 24 years old, 5'4" and 150lb The Back Story: Short and curvy, this pixie grew up hating anything athletic and chose to follow the path of a bard and dramatic player throughout her schooling. When I stepped out into the real wold I realized the value in a healthy life and began running, eating healthier, and losing weight. In the ensuing years, however, I lost sight of that and the doldrums of an unfulfilling desk job took its toll on my motivation and waistline. I took up the mantra of creating my own Epic Quest after finding The Rebellion and have decided to pursue a new career, change my eating habits, and level up my life. Read More:My introduction to the Rebellion The Plan: I'm trying out a paleo diet and focusing on incorporating more strength training into my fitness routine. No more endless hours on the treadmill - now my workouts will have meaning and intention. I'm quitting the calorie counting game and trying to lose weight by eating more natural foods, vegetables, and cutting out the grains and processed food. I'll be posting my progress here and look forward to learning more from all the Rebels here at NF! My Character Sheet (a WIP)

Hey, sorry about the belated reply, I had some RL challenges that kept me offline for a few days. So I'm on Squad 3? Good to know! Sandman, I'll do you all proud. Do I start my own thread on the 28-Day Challenge forum or the Battle Logs?? Thanks in advance for your patience with all the questions. One of these days I'll be a fully functioning Ranger... I hope...

It's on my to-buy list! Right now I enjoy playing Adventures and Dance Central. I can't wait for them to come out with more games (and for the Zumba game to stop sucking...) Thanks for the welcome, Wade and Kahn! I'll have to check out Savage Worlds once I find some RL friends to join in!

Hi, can I still join up? I know at this point it's more of a 20-Day challenge, but I have a feeling that OMFG will last a lot longer than a month and would love to get in on it. I just posted an intro in the 'New Rebels' thread and am in the process of compiling stats and putting together a character sheet. I'm so excited to start leveling up my skills! Also, random, but I just started re-reading this book a couple days ago. I <3 Gaiman! -Yvonne

Hi everyone, I'm Yvonne and I stumbled across Nerd Fitness just yesterday. I then spent most of the day reading almost everything ever posted, and rejoiced to finally find a community of people with a like minded approach to fitness. OMFG is what I never knew I wanted until I found it. About me: I live near DC with my boyfriend and two orange kitties (named Fred & George). I'm a computer programmer hoping to leave my job at Conglom-O and move into web development this year. I love tabletop RPGs (7th Sea and Serenity are my favorites), but am getting more into videogames thanks to Fable and the Kinect. I'm not sure what class I fall into now - maybe a low-level scout, but really if there were a 'couch potato' class I'd probably belong there. I'm hoping to add Ranger skills during my Epic Quest, and then see where my path takes me. That said, I look forward to joining the rebellion!

Yay for more female techies! I'm just joining today myself, so I look forward to seeing you around. Best of luck!