Acupunk

Haha! I can certainly say that variety really makes meals so much more fun and you actually start to get good at learning what sorts of food combos work best for you and for different dishes! Seriously - tahinni was the game changer for me!!! It’s super tasty and very versatile. It can be a little bitter but when you add kosher salt, cracked black pepper and a splash of good cold pressed olive oil to it plus a nice blitz of garlic - this is where I cue Beethoven’s fifth symphony music right now (it was fifth right? The song from Die Hard was what I was hoping to reference though I probably did that badly ) .

Wow bud! That’s quite an extensive list! Mine was more protein specific but hey I’m still standing and you will be too! (And forget celery for the soup - you can tons of flavour from onions man!! You may be a bit windy but heck, onions and scallions are a great flavouring combo especially when you add carrots or even pumpkin / squash to the mix!) I try to make sure I get protein in my day and I like using vegan protein shakes to start my day off right. It helps to have one of these for my line of work (I work with customers and can’t always sit and eat so this is a great way to sneak protein in). These are two brands I’m currently using. 1. Four Signatic Superfood Protein (repair with protein and mushrooms) 480g / 16.7 oz - theres 120 cal in a serve and this is vegan and doesn’t have soy in it! 2. Sunwarrior Protein Warrior Blend (I have a box of single serve satchets 25g / 0.9oz a pack and it’s a box of 15 satchets) 16g protein, vegan and again no soy! I try to get some healthy fats in my daily intake too just to add variety and make sure I’m not bored. I can’t have nuts in my household so I’m hearing you about the peanut part (my nieces are allergic and I haven’t bought peanut or almond butter in yonks!). I love tahinni and sunflower butter for that reason. You can blend tahinni into a nice salad dressing and use that as a base (with your favourite olive oil and garlic) for pasta sauces (you can get some good gf pasta to toss that in and add your favourite green rapini and extra herbs in it!) or dressings for both cold and warm salads! I eat kale and brocolli salads a lot with that dressing. You can add it to grain bowls (one part grain - I like kasha and quinoa - one part root “yam like” veggie, two parts leafy greens and sprinkle seeds and add micro greens to it! Voila! Meal for champions!!) if you can eat nuts for protein then experiment with walnuts and pecans for extra texture (you can do a quick fried rice with these amazing nuts!). I can’t but I substitute sunflower and pumpkin seeds!! They are awesome powerhouses! And I use them in baking! ive had to add some fish back in my diet every so often when I eat with my family (they worry I’m going to disappear if I keep “eating just rabbit food”! ) so if you add some good fish every once in awhile that can add some variety. and again the humble black bean! I pressure cook mine (and chickpeas!) and freeze packs of these babies in the freezer and then whack them out for my soup base or use them in vegan based (and for sad me - gf free wraps) enchiladas with vegan cheese and avocados and a ton of sweet potato chunks and cilantro! I hope this helps! I really really relate to you because I was about to go berserk when I cut out so many things! All I can say is when you start eliminating this stuff you won’t crave them so bad!!! Just make sure you get enough variety!! I’m still working on this part because I can fly through a day and wonder “damn! Did I eat my meal yet?” I have to set food reminders! You got this!!! Check in and let us know how you’re doing!

Oh man do I feel your pain! I was diagnosed allergic to wheat, gluten, dairy and eggs at the start of the year so it’s been crazy trying to get nutritious and non irritating meals going on a regular basis! I do a lot of broths. I use broth as a soup base for noodles and grain bowls and sometimes in my stews. Mainly veggie based. You can do a nice onion, scallion and garlic broth as a starter broth and incorporate different veggies and mushrooms for different tastes. Although tomatoes are nice, you don’t have to add tomatoes to your broths for flavour if you have carrots, celery and potatoes! These pack a lot of flavour to the basic onion broth already! I do smoothies (plant based mainly) with sunflower butter and coconut oil for my fat and protein needs. I use oat milk and coconut milk for the liquid component of the smoothie. Are you pescatarian? You can always throw in fish a few times a week (or seafood) if you need more protein (and if soy is off your list). Don’t forget beans!! They are good to include in your meals too and are great in stews (like Tex mex style chilli, soups, salads or grain bowls). I love chickpeas and find black beans amazing for flavour! Tahinni is a great sauce and spread and don’t forget to add sprinklings of sunflower and sesame seeds to things for crunch, texture, good fats and flavour! I’ve been playing around with these combos for almost a year now and I still haven’t quite gone completely bonkers! It’s new for me too (especially since I used to depend on eggs, bread and dairy because I wasn’t a huge meat eater in the past) but I am having fun experimenting. Good luck with finding something that works (it looks like there are some great ideas here though!)!!!

I have heard a ton about this film and I’ve seen snippets of it on the internet. It looks pretty epic actually! It’ll be on my “to watch” list! Hope you enjoyed it and learned a lot?!

Heya thanks @gabrielle_of_poteidia!!! I was feeling extra at just being able to do one! I’ve challenged myself over the last week with a seven day push-up challenge (3 pushups everyday before a cup of coffee) and guess what? I did it!! Because I felt so good I even grew the courage to make it to the weight room at the gym today to do lateral pull downs! Ok I had a friend venture there with me but it’s a start! Aww thanks - I loved the words myself and thought it befitting of a profile picture

Its been ages since I've been back here! I have one teeniest tiny woot to post for myself - I DID MY FIRST DAMNED PUSHUP (full body) YESTERDAY! I actually attempted and survived THREE! I tried to replicate that again today and found, I didn't blow up or melt away and managed all three again! Wow it feels amazing to know that Captain Chicken Wrists can do a full body pushup! That's all I wanted to woot out today. Hope everyone's finding their personal woot moments and feeling amazingfantabulastic!

@Adash5000, thanks! I wasn't sure at first when it dawned on me the 4 weeks were over! Hahaha I was thinking yeeeahaaahhhh I cracked the Level One guild challenge and my silly brain was like, bring on Level 2! I like that your choice of guild!! May you do well with your secret Assassin training and be rewarded with amazing moves, stealth techniques and cool gear (in black of course!!). I'm thinking about the Scouts. I already love running. I just want to do better things with it. It helps me mentally too so there's the Druid overlap for mental health and mental strength. Rangers are also on my list for endurance with functional strength (to which I hope I can add quick spurts of explosive movement to). I wish you positivity and a lot of good vibes!! I'll try and check in on the Assassins threads! Go get them!!!!!

@m rips Saw your choice of guild on a thread - assassins? ohhh too cool!! I haven't chosen one yet but congrats on your choice. Time's a ticking' and I need to find a family of warriors to run alongside.

@Adash5000 OMG OMG! I'm so excited for you!! You're motivating me just from hearing you to 1. get to sleep earlier (something I am struggling with now but trying hard to work on) and 2. choose a guild (though this is something I think I need more time with still). I'm so glad you found that sleep was a big help with food cravings. I was reading something about the leptin and ghrelin balance that comes with sleeping well and which help to keep food cravings down because your brain feels satiated and doesn't stimulate appetite. Well done!! And hey, you stuck to a lot of things that you said you were going to do. Don't forget that you're at the beginning and in most martial arts practices, beginners mind is the place where most seasoned warriors want to be because it isn't weighed down by things...it's a clean slate and fresh. High five and a fist bump!!! <--- there was no assassin emoji so I guess a ninja one will have to do!

@Cynforgiven !!!!! I’m dying bwwaaaahahahahahahahaha!!! I haven’t heard these songs but NOW I MUST HEAR THEM!! I am Cow! Oh dudette you kill me!!! Hahahahaha! I had such a crappy week this week and your post just put this bigass goofy smile on my face again! Thank you!!! . Hey I use Spotify for my workouts too! I sometimes (ok don’t judge) play old school stuff like “Peaches” by the Presidents of the United States of America! It’s such a riot (if you ever see the video there’s a scene in it with ninjas in a peach field!! It’s nuts!!). Ok now you know I’m am THE super geek! I need to add some of these songs to that goofy playlist now! On a woot woot note however, I must congratulate myself for getting my self out of bed early at 6am to do a 25 minute run and planks - even though I’m seriously PMS-Ing and dying for a cupcake! I ended up getting an oat milk misto instead for my treat and now am feeling pumped!! Aww man thanks for that laugh!! Hugs from sunny (it is sunny today here) Toronto!!!!

@GoodDoug, I certainly hope so!! It's probably true. I see a lot of folks just staring at their own reflections while they pump whatever weight they are pumping. Maybe they won't notice the flyweight enter the section.....that's certainly a thought I can take and use when I get scared to go past the weights. I'm lucky at my gym. Its co-ed and there are women there training so I'll go in when one or two women are there so I won't feel so alone. It'll be worth the effort. I'm seeing gains already. I went shopping for new clothes because my old t shirts and pants are (I still am pinching myself) too droopy to wear now. I set myself back $80 worth of new clothes but man do I feel good! I even gathered up 2lbs worth of old clothes that I cant wear anymore for the charity bins and did a mini closet cleanup. Hahahah - good point! There probably will be more distractions from the classes going on than for anyone to notice what I'm doing with the dumbbells. Thank you for that pep talk!!!

Augh...."meant" and not "leaned". This t-rex needs new arms.

oops - I leaned "lived" and not "loved"....this dinosaur also can't type very well. Its the t-rex arms and fingers!

@Adash5000 omg I just realized that this was a case of thread-jacked commentary! I guess we nerds are such enthusiastic commentators and supporters! In all seriousness though - thank you for helping me notice this! I will be more mindful of where the threads start! Hey, regarding the setups and back health, good for you man! I haven't done a sit up before...I don't think (properly?). Though you can't see it, here I am applauding you for doing that! You biked to work? That's too cool! I live an hour and a half away from both places that I work at so that wouldn't be very feasible for me to get to work that way but if I loved closer I probably would bike....that's actually a fear of mine - biking. I'm terrified on getting on a two wheeler because I fell badly in one when I was 13 and haven't gotten back on again in - oh man, I'm a dinosaur - decades!! You've come so far Adash5000!! Week 4 is almost at a close but wow, I am so impressed by what's been accomplished. You can only go further up from here!!

@mmead0105 - OH mama!!! You have me dancing like a fool now!! I'm going to buy a carton for the work fridge too hahahah! I got me a box of flax cereal waiting for some coconut-almond pizzazz and coffee is never gonna be the same from here on!! WEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!

@WildSonja, you have now become the official Ninja of Clean!! I like this attitude towards cleaning - I sometimes overshoot in my enthusiasm and end up falling short of epic clean only to be disappointed and I end up un-friending Mr Clean for yet another week. Its a great unit of measurement and you can do them incrementally! Nice Hope that shoulder comes along and you start working through the twinges and aches....sometimes it just takes a little body awareness and adjusting the day's activities before you find that balance of just enough movement to keep things limber and just enough rest time to allow for healing. Add a little TLC with Epsom salts, heat pads and arnica and you will have a fully functioning shoulder!

@Cynforgiven, haha!! You are indeed the battle cry for me! OK, when the sign ups start, I'll let you know when I sign my name and soul on the dotted line....you get cool gear for it too so I'll show you the loot when I get it (bandanas, badges and t - shirts - mostly PINK stuff which I love!!). Its all for a good cause so it'll be awesome (it raises money for cancer - I think breast cancer awareness) for everyone involved! Oh man....don't they organize cool stuff in Louisiana? I guess yeah maybe in the cities....its all good! I guess you can always construct your own obstacle course. I don't have one but sometimes I do what I call "People dodging" in the subway. Toronto's subways are always crowded and full of impatient people in suits and they walk in odd ways so I "dodge" them when they stop in the middle of a walkway or walk too slow but there are like a "zombie-horde-full" of them and I'm walking against stream. Gauntlet thrown down and challenge accepted!!!!!!!!

@mmead0105 I FOUND IT!!!! It's Silk - coconut and almond!!! I can't show you the funky chicken but I definitely did one hahaha!! I still haven't tried the pea milk yet. Maybe its the bottle it comes in - it looks a little pre-fabricated so I decided to skip that. But wow....there is something about the coconut in there that makes my heart sing!! YOU my friend - are a GENIUS! Thank you!! !

@Nateh19, Isn't this the best part of working out or doing a healthy activity that you love doing? That's what I found when I started running. And now I'm adding back gym sessions because it just feels good to be healthy and to be able to have the ability to move and to learn new things everyday! I'm always humbled and in awe of the things I didn't even know I can do each time I wrap a run or a session up. Wow! You're doing amazing!! Thanks for the update!

@GoodDoug, thank you!!! OMG I can tell you that weight room made me feel like I was doing a massive entrance exam in high school or college all over again! I nearly dropped the weights on my foot because my palms were so sweaty! Haha good one about not looking at a mirror or anyone else - I had a mirror near me though lucky for me I was graced by a view of an aerobics rooms with people in there doing a class (eyeball emoji) instead of my own reflection in the mirror! I probably, in hindsight, will use the weights during a less busy time! I am learning how to do them better at home - away from the crowd so at least if I am "caught" in a "situation" at the weight section of the gym next time, I'll look at least like a "seasoned" beginner . I like my new superpowers! They are now stemming off into good before sleep habits - such as no doritos or frozen yogurt in front of the tv before bedtime! Thanks for the encouragement my friend!!! Last week to make things rock!

OMG I just realized I was supposed to post updates here. Hahahaha! I think I'm in week 3 now (as the final week before April 14th is next weekend isn't it?) So far I think I'm progressing along and impressing myself with the fact that I haven't quite disappeared in smoke or had limbs and appendages fall off in the pursuit of health! 1. I am now down to 131 (I'm not always convinced because I still check the dial on the scale to make sure it is in the 130 zone instead of where I expect to see it in the 140 zone). Started off 4 weeks ago at 142-sh to 144lbs. 2. I was too chicken (seriously beyond normal fear) to enter the eight room of the gym. I did venture there, nearly peed in my pants and decided that I would "steal" the 5lb dumbbells to use while hiding in a corner somewhere else! I did 3 sets of lunges away from everyone else. And lived to tell the tale. 3. Im inspired by amazing people I have met here who have shown so much support and am doing more research on how to better use weights and body weight at home now (before I venture back into the weight zone in the gym). 4. MY PANTS ARE TOO BIG FOR ME and I can now wear my old jeans that I couldn't have hoped I would've been able to have squeezed into even 5 days ago! 5. I eat better and now have powers to withstand sugary drinks, treats and crispy potato chip and doritos-like treats. 4. I can do wobbly but getting better half pushups (I went from doing 5 a week to now doing 3 sets of 8) 6. Tried my first set of renegade rows today! Did 15-20 of them - falling over each time but laughing at myself because it was actually fun! 7. I clocked myself and found I was able to cracked my first 10 minute mile (OK maybe the fact that I thought I had parked illegally at the parking lot of the park - bad puns - and had to scramble to get back to the car to move it!) One more week to go! And I am never looking back after this. btw thank you each and every one for your encouraging comments and really helpful suggestions! It always helps to have friends, fellow nerds and health questors on your side during your journey

@Hazard oh man I’m so sorry!! I boo boo’d that! Ok! Will do!! Now let me work out how to move this post (or delete it if I can’t move it). Thanks for letting me know!! (And thanks!!!!!)

post in progress of being moved to the correct place

@WildSonja Hahahahahahaha!!! I had a good laugh at this! That sounds like a pretty awesome superpower! I wish I could see less dirt and fewer specks of dust on things. I might need to get a blindfold for that in my case (especially since I see insects - EVERYWHERE! and they always seem to know that I'm terrified of them!!). Hey laughter is the best medicine for so many things! I laugh at myself when I do crazy things and wonder "how the heck did I get here and do that??". Hey you're right...things could be worse. Potato water boiling over is certainly better than tomato sauce boiling over! Sending over good vibes for the weekend!

@mmead0105 SAY NO MORE (and be still my restless stomach!!) - Half and Half?! Oh I’m doing my funky chicken game win dance now!! I need something with substance and also no sugar and this may be my ticket to better unsweetened coffee! Right now my coconut milk (I was getting worried about too much coconut cream because I’m addicted to that stuff) has 2g of sugar in it and I do drink it uh 2 (ok maybe 3-4 if I work out a little more) times a day. Let me see!! If I see it I’ll let you know. I’m wondering if it’s Silk? I hear there’s a pea protein milk that’s Whole Foods sells that supposedly tastes like the bomb.....Ripple I think?! Thank you!!!!!!!! Now my next new challenge is to find that plant milk!!!!