BigJ

I track every day: JillianJ1016.

This is me! My friends talk about having cheat days or eat a small piece of chocolate but I can't do that it just makes me want more. I just try to eat a healthier version of what I am craving. If I need something sweet I'll try fruit or if I need something salty I'll try some bacon or something else salty but not filled with artificial stuff.

I'm glad someone asked because I was wondering about my ankles too. I figured if it didn't hurt it was probably fine but I like having the conformation.

I know my brother has trouble finding jeans that fit over his thighs. I think he found jeans that worked at Kohls, not sure what brand though.

About two years ago I lost around 50lbs by exercising religiously and tracking everything I ate. I have since gained it back due to being unhealthy mentally. I really think tracking helps as long as you are doing it correctly. It wasn't that I found it difficult to do but because of my own issues it was leading to anorexia for a while. After I stopped tracking I definitely gained some weight back. Tracking helps but you have to make sure you are eating enough and to be honest when you eat too much. I found that on the days where I ate badly it was very difficult for me to track and eventually I just got into the habit of not tracking and it lead to me eating worse. Now that I am in a better place mentally I am getting back on track but it would have been much easier if I hadn't gotten off track in the first place so my advice would be to keep trying, keep tracking and eventually the motivation will come back and you won't have to start from scratch.

I am a henna artist (body art) and while I haven't done my hair I know quite a few ladies that have and the general consensus is do not do your eyebrows. It works for some and not for others. The most important thing is to make sure you are getting 100% natural henna without any added hair dye (a lot of that boxed stuff with have hair dye in it as well).

I haven't posted in a while. School is kicking my butt right now. I haven't really kept up with the strength training at all because I tend to do that in the evening and cardio in the morning and I just make so many more excuses for reasons not to do the strength training. I have basically been eating the same amount of calories (1550 to 1850) since I started trying to lose weight and it seems to be working for me. I did get the number from Sparkpeople.com if I wanted to lose 2 lbs a week. I have mostly kept up with the cardio but there have been some days where I have been just too lazy to do anything. I have lost 6 lbs since the start of the challenge so I am feeling that I am doing pretty good so far. My real goal is to be around 200lbs by Christmas but I am just focusing on one day at a time right now.

My first day went pretty well. I did 30 minutes on my elliptical, I managed to eat in my calorie range (it was pretty hard to get it high enough today), and I barely remembered to brush my teeth before bed time. I will be strength training tomorrow so that didn't happen today.

This is my second challenge with NF and I am ready to go. My starting weight at the beginning of trying to lose weight was 254lbs and at the beginning of the first challenge it was 242lbs and right now after the first challenge finished it is 230lbs. So 24lbs gone overall. Starting weight: 230lbs Height: 5'4" Diet/Fitness Goals: 1. Do 30 minutes of cardio 6 days a week. Because in my last challenge I required myself to only do 10 minutes of exercise a day I kind of slacked off near the end because of stress with school and work. At least this way I know that I will get plenty of cardio in. +3 Sta, +2 Dex 2. Do strength training 3 days a week. I really wanted to focus on strength training in this challenge because it definitely was not a priority last time and I know it is important. +3 Str, +1 Cha 3. Eat within my calorie range of 1550 to 1850 calories a day. I don't really have a problem with this too much other than eating too little but I couldn't think of anything else to do for a diet/fitness goal. +2 Con Life Goal: 1. Brush my teeth and use mouth wash before bed. I have problems with remembering to brush my teeth before bed and I have heard that that is the most important time to brush because with your mouth being closed all night you can get cavities easier. +2 Wis, +2 Cha Starting Character Stats: Class - Adventurer Race - Pixie Str: 4 Dex: 4.5 Sta: 5.75 Con: 6 Wis: 5 Cha: 3.75 Let me know if you have any thoughts or helpful tips!

I'll admit that the tracker can be frustrating at times but for me it is easier to use than others I have tried before. I don't get on the forums there that often mainly just the ones within individual teams. The thing I do most is go and read people's blogs and see how other's are progressing, it is good motivation for me.

Hey I just wanted to know if anyone else here uses Sparkpeople to track their nutrition and fitness. I checked to see and it doesn't look like there is a Nerd Fitness Sparkteam yet. If anyone wants to be my friend on Sparkpeople my login is BigJ1016. Edit: I think this may be in the wrong forum but I wasn't sure where to put it.

Here are my results:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]5395[/ATTACH] Here are my stats.

Wow I can't believe it is the last day of the challenge already. I am feeling really good about how I have done. Not perfect but really good none-the-less.

Yeah school is already kicking my but this semester and I know that next will be even worse. I have decided that I am going to tell my boss that I have to cut down on my hours or give two weeks notice. I really hate my job so in some ways this feels like I have been set free but in others I worry because I don't know for sure if I can find another job that will work for me while I am in school.