Ainsley

Thank you! 🥰 A wee update: I had a great time but have been dizzy ever since I got off the last ride - its been two days now! If it lasts another couple days I might worry about it, but for now I'm just trying to stay hydrated and to not knock things over too much, haha. I'm having a hardcore period too, and have been off to a rough start - but that's okay! I'm off tomorrow and plan to meal prep for a couple days to try and help spread my calories across the day to combat the hunger and cravings. Not going to let a tough start ruin my challenge! 😁

Thank you, all! I really appreciate the little bit of extra motivation! 🥰 A little pre-challenge update. I've been doing really well with my goals, even before week one. Its been a bit of a tough week workwise although the worst of it is over, woohoo! My younger brother is visiting all the way from home from Saturday evening until Monday evening and whilst I'll still be careful with my diet on Saturday and Monday, I'm going to let myself have a one-off treat day on the Sunday so we can make the most of showing him the food my city has to offer, and also as he may worry if he spots me calorie counting quite intently (last we lived in the same country, I was a teenager and suffered quite a bit with disordered/limited eating). I'm really excited for this challenge - and for my next aerial hoop class this Thursday! Here's to coming out the other end of this challenge as a level 1 adventurer. Then I can perhaps turn my sights to which "class" it would make most sense for me to join, hm...

Valiant goals! Best of luck this challenge! 😁

Welcome back! I'm also an old player from around that time frame returning oncemore on a new account, haha! Are you planning all of those goals or some of them for this 4wc? 😊

That's the plan! Want to build a good foundation for future main quests, haha 😄

Ayyyyy, we're glad! Also, I love your challenge goals! I could probably take a lesson on the online shopping front too 😜

Lets just say I rolled a d20 on the death saves that incurred from my previous challenge's failure 😉 And alas, I'm back! Last time I jumped straight in on my challenge from point 0, with my end goal in mind but not an idea about how I'd find myself best exercising, or on what diet I'd be changing my eating. And I lose momentum as I realised I wasn't achieving my 5wc goals, but I was enhancing myself in completely different ways that I felt way more motivated in. To put it metaphorically, I cast firebolt in an enclosed area and went down at level 1 in my last challenge. So, having taken those weeks to work out my game plan and improve my lifestyle without the 'sidequests', I'm coming back with better short-term goals in mind! Quest One: Good Things Come In Small Packages Eat 1600kcal or less, 5 days a week. I'm already achieving this one but consistency is key! Quest Two: Learning the Lingo Learn 2 new BSL signs a week Quest Three: Home and Hearth Do a chore or a sweep around at least 6 days a week Allowing myself a point buy here where if I'm out on an evening after work, I can do more on a day off and 'make up' for a lost day (since, well, the results will be the same) I do plan to feature a fitness goal in the next challenge but with Covid restrictions extended in my area, my aerial hoop and pole fitness classes will only be every 2-3 weeks for now. But soon they'll be frequent enough that I can challenge myself with them, for sure 😋

Ahahaha, welp! Thank you for correcting me there! I like the idea of a week 0 😄

Hiya, welcome back! I did the same; was active a few years ago and just recently returned with quit a different life than I then had, haha! Not sure if fitness classes have reopened in your corner of the world but as somebody who struggles with the motivation on the working out front more than on the dieting front, I found that signing up for real classes helped, if you haven't found that already! 😊

Following as I'm in the same boat! (Minus having tried Reddit. I'm going to give that a go today, I don't know why I never thought to since I'm in a bunch of gaming sub-reddits already) I haven't given it a go but perhaps there are Discord groups? I'm not sure where you'd start looking for those but the idea just came to me. Best of luck! 😊

@alanna Ah, I'm very late to respond to this but I just wanted to say thank you for such a complete response! I've actually since gone onto a calorie counting diet on a deficit and after about 3 weeks, its going really well. I'm finding myself motivated - and happy to be able to pat myself on the back on the daily by actively tracking something so often. Doing something about it, albeit small, has made me feel infinitely better about my body too, regardless of results. I'll stay alert but am glad to report none of my old disordered behaviours or thoughts reappearing! 😊

12/06/21 Thank you @Fairly_Bouncer! 😄 So I did my first Aerial Hoop class, ah! I was surprised by how nervous I was. Thankfully its an intimate class and they were all really lovely. Liam, our tutor, threw me straight into the deep end, no easing in at all. Turns out a lot of it came naturally (and I've gotten a pretty great photo of myself suspended in air doing the Gazelle pose!) but I have tiny noodle arms and so the hardest part was maintaining the upper body strength required for holding myself onto the darned thing! Classes have limited numbers until lockdown restrictions lift further in my area but I'm booked in to go again in a couple weeks and when regular class numbers can resume I'll be there weekly, for sure. I'm even planning on attending pole fitness too, since I had so much fun on this! Only thing is I spent the entire next day proud at how much I wasn't aching... right up until the 24 hour point hit. Suddenly, it was like I'd been hit by a truck - coincidentally, I have the bruises to match. 😂But worth it 😈 My eating is going so well. Better yet, I'm rarely going hungry and am feeling better within myself too, despite being on a deficit (perhaps slightly more of one than I need, I'll admit, I'll probably increase the amount of calories I let myself have soon). I've also found an amazing lactose-free cheese alternative that I actually like more than regular cheese?! Plus its lower calorie than my other dairy-free alternative. I've been blessed by the Dairy Gods. Non-fitness related but of the two D&D groups I'm currently in, one has slowed down recently with scheduling conflicts but is finally back on track and we've gained a new member. A tiny part of me wants to switch characters just because I've had a couple fun ideas since last session, but I will stick true to my variant human barbarian for now 🤭 I've also got a one-shot planned with just me and my girlfriends from my last job; most of us have played at least one session of D&D although we've never played together. And best of all? We're doing an evil campaign! We'll be writing up criminal characters. I'm extra inspired to after reading the Six of Crows books recently, too. All very exciting! Speaking of excitement, bring on the next 4 week challenge! (although I still go to type/say 'six week challenge' every. damned. time.) I feel I'm better equipped this time, and have more of an idea of which class I'll go into afterwards too, although time will tell! I'm struggling to find a gym that suits my needs/schedule, but have had a thought to find a running buddy for safety and accountability instead maybe? Shall be seeing if anybody fancies trying couch-to-5k with me. If only there were some NF Rebels in my city!

08/06/21 I remember, when I last did Nerd Fitness in my late teens, finding great success by envisioning my "fantasy alter ego" if you will. I imagined myself a wood elf ranger and worked on a vegetable/fruit heavy diet with lots of cardio to achieve the build - but also abilities - to match. Now that I'm back again with slightly different goals and as an avid D&D player, I'm really starting to think its worth a go, for fun if nothing else; an extra splash of motivation on an already upwards journey towards where I want to be. I'm going half-elf since I've the slight build and as a little nod to my duo-nationality. As for class... rogue ? I want to work on my acrobatics by doing aerial hoop, pole fitness and other similar classes as more open up. I also want to work on jogging/running long distance. My diet is already veggie but I'm concentrating on calories lately which is a fun challenge. Looking at what I want to do and achieve as 'proficiencies' adds another level of fun to it. As well as the STR, DEX, CON etc system maybe I should work on mini proficiencies in things like 'language' (for sign language), 'acrobatics' for aerial yoga, etc? Just a little thought! 😋

Hiya, guys! So I'm starting a battle log to keep track on my health, fitness and goals! The day I signed up I immediately jumped into a 6 week challenge but missed the mark on my goals a little; I've found myself doing remarkably well where my eating is concerned (an area I didn't concentrate on much in my challenge) so I've decided to forfeit this first one and just track here where I naturally seem to be motivating myself, so I can better adjust my goals next time! For now, I'm eating on a slight deficit and finding it really easy; I've missed tracking calories and getting an instant sense of satisfaction when I can see I've done well. I've also signed up to some fitness classes since I'm discovered I find it less enjoyable exercising on my own. Here's my current steps forwards, my level one entry into adventuring, if you will: I've signed up to Aerial Hoop and Pole Fitness classes so I can be more like the nimble-footed circus-rogue I've always dreamed of! First class is this week - I'm excited, and a little nervous! I'm eating on a slight deficit and keeping it healthy and green! I've not got much to lose but I'd like to get back from a size 6 to more of a size 4. I've decided to try couch-to-5k to try and regain my stamina. Step one is finding a local gym with plenty of treadmills or planning on safe routes to do it on. My goals for future challenges / when I feel I have spare motivation to go around: I'm learning BSL signs here and there but would love to commit to learning more intensely in the near future. To have committed to couch-to-5k once I've built a plan, and perhaps incorporate it in my next challenge. To find more recipes for healthy low-cal veggie dinners! I have a few go-to's but could do with expanding my culinary knowledge. Anyways, wish me luck and thanks for reading, everybody! 😄

Hiya, guys! So a few years ago in my late-teens I suffered with disordered eating, namely, eating 700-800kcal a day, purging, etc, being quite underweight. Its been a long time since then or at least, about 5-6 years, and I'm just a regular adult who has always been petite but who has the tiniest bit of squish/body-fat after lockdown that isn't normal for me and that I want to get rid of - its making me feel really unhappy in my own body. I've tried since making better choices by starting to have salad for lunches at work and still having whatever the S.O makes for dinner, normally healthy-ish anyways. But without a way to really track what I'm doing I'm losing motivation fast and am not sure I'll even see results. I know that calorie counting works. I spent a long time doing it. But I've also spent many years slowly trying to forget how many calories are in every food, to not associate my morning coffee with a probably quite high number, etc. I'd make sure to have a sustainable goal and nothing like I used to. The pro side is that I know calorie counting works and its been a few years. But I'm worried about the what if - what if I undo a few years of work and start to feel guilty/obsess over numbers again? Once you know them they take years to forget and that's only if you're so lucky,' yknow? How can I ensure I do it without opening up old wounds? Is there anybody here with a history of disordered eating who managed to diet in a healthy way later on? I'd love some insight here. Thanks guys