Seven

The house is from 1906 so no garage and tiny rooms, but we do have an attic that might workout. :-) Thanks!

Epilogue: Yes, I did the September 14 run, and tomorrow I have a REAL actual race for 5.5 miles and next weekend a 5K. I'm running well and without injury. I'm a little sore. I put in a lot of miles per week. I run every day. I realized that for me working out every single day wasn't an option, it was what I had to do to maintain my health and consitency. If I'm sore I cross train or walk a long way. I walk a lot. I started out walking a mile. Sometimes I walk eight miles. My diet is a mess. I'm have a Coke for breakfast again. *sigh* I can't get a handle on it so now I have a nutrition coach and plan through medifast that I starts this next Tuesday. So the plan is in place - only time will tell if I can stick with it. So it has taken me longer than six weeks for my adventure - and the weight loss will take me roughly a year - not six weeks as I think I first had as a goal, haha - I didn't really 'get' it. I've decided to change my designation to 'Scout' if I ever start a good routine here again because I'm definitely a runner - I love to run. I'm on some meds now that are weight gain but my doctor says they are not having that effect on my metabolism and I'm okay now. My blood pressure was very good this time at the doctor and the swelling was gone but I still have a big checkup coming up on October 2nd. Cheers everyone -- here is to doing good in tomorrows race!

My husband's b'day is Oct. 5th and I wanted to order him some weights from Amazon (I don't live local to anything...) anyway - our house won't fit a full weight bench and bar like he would like. (He did lifting in high school) -- is there an alternative space saver to look at? I've been considering free weights, but he seems to like weights on a bar.... He writes gaming software - software you probably know or have heard of - he's a very special geek and I want to do something nice for him! Any b'day ideas welcome. He's 31, rather rotund with a desk job and is trying to get his health back. I'm trying too - but I haven't done many weights since I hurt my shoulder in the gym. My shoulder is finally better and I'm thinking of doing some light hand weights to go with my running routine. Cheers everyone!

Epic Week #5 Success! Today sucked less then usual. I usually can't move out of bed for an hour thinking - "Oh' God Oh God Oh God Oh God" and grabbing handfuls of pills to negate the side effects of my medication. But today only a smidgen is in my system and I woke up without the need to vomit! YEAH! And after a little while I went outside for a two mile run. YEAH! I actually ran a fair amount of it despite my 25lb weight gain due to the meds. After being in bed for weeks and suffering so many setbacks - to get out and RUN. Wow, TREMENDOUS!! WIN!!! So the deal with my doctor is I'm going to take appropriate supplements, eat RIGHT, and work out every single day without fail and try to stay on top of my illness. I was really shocked she agreed with me, but I guess having me bed ridden isn't a very good ideal situation either. She had wanted to send me to a specialist for odd swelling and I showed her how it was almost gone now that the medication was leaving my system. My blood pressure was down. My weight had dropped three pounds thanks to the being sick daily. I HAVE TO HAVE the self discipline to get work out everyday and eat right. Eat lots of vegies and stuff that I'm not used to eating. I have to hold on to the memory of what it is like not to be able to get out of bed and go anywhere and how badly being sick sucks. I'll still get ill from time to time. I know that and it will suck. But this means everything to me. My goal: September 14th zombie run I don't actually live anywhere near where my friends are going to race so I'm going to go out and virtually complete this 5K zombie style. I have a big post-it note up reminding me. This is my only goal for right now. I wish I knew more of where I was headed with my healthy ambitions and what my plan was - but with brain damage it's not like I would remember the plan anyway. I need to make a board or something that I can keep track of my day to day. I'll have to figure something out or I really will forget. I'm surprised I've remembered Nerd Fitness this long. I kinda wonder if this six week journey has been a waste - I guess I did finally stop gaining weight - and I finally completed my home gym and solidly have the motivation now to keep up a healthy life style because being sick really does suck. Goal for my final week: Don't miss any days - work out, do your physical therapy stretches, be active, take your supplements.

Week #4 Checkin I feel terrible. I feel like I've gone ten rounds with Mike Tyson after giving up in the first ten seconds of round one. I'm off my med and onto another one. At least I stopped eating non-stop. The new one even makes me feel a little queezy so I don't want to eat much. It also costs $1300!!! So when my health insurance drops out on me after the first of the year I'm screwed. I'm going to try to save up money now. If I had just gotten my disability in or something maybe I could have gotten some help with it. Damn. Anyway. One of the side effects is tardive akinisia and it makes a person restlessly agitated and feeling like a shark on the bottom of a tank - always needing to move. This might sound good until you think about times its nice to rest in your favorite chair and watch tv or SLEEP. I feel so hopeless right now. I'm in a fight with my doctor, she didn't believe me about the side effects of the last drug despite the fact it made THE FRONT PAGE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES as a bad drug that was over prescribed and it described side effects like apathy and withdrawal which I had described to her. I live in a really remote area or I would find a doctor who I got along better with. I wake up and just want to throw myself out a window. Its a feeling that passes with time, but each morning is total hell. Enough Whining I'm going to get a rowing machine for my arms and back. I like to row. I like rowing machines. Presto. I've been stretching every night. I've been walking every day. I'm easing into Paleo and have been reading Robb Wolf I think it might be impossible for me to get to where I want to go until my health problems are nailed down and that's very depressing but I think I'm closer now - I hope. I want to commit to so much but I'm in denial, the truth is some days if I get out of bed I've done a good job.

Week #3 Check In I haven't road my bike yet but intend to walk here in a little bit. I walked a lot yesterday. My health isn't doing so well. I'm having trouble with the meds I'm prescribed. I'm cutting back on the one that makes me gain weight. I intend to quit it but my brain is dependant on it and it won't be easy Lots of side effects to that drug. I just was done with meds and doctors - sick of it. There are so many side effects. So ideas for the week - find a naturalpathic doctor to take my case? Maybe. I need diet / exercise / supplements to be well and right now all three are lacking in my life and I feel so sick all the time and out of it, it's tough. Go sugar free for the week, or mostly - it's hard to be a purist in that area but anyway - cut way down. Weight was 181.5 on the scale. None of my clothes fit me anymore and I'm so bummed I'm not making more progress. Been having wicked anxiety that doesn't ebb and taking a hellified number of pills to try to deal with that. Thanks for the Paleo recipe link - I'll look into it. It's hard for me to focus right now, I feel pretty horrible but I'll keep going. Peace.

Week #2 Fitbit scale says I'm 179.5 - down four pounds from last week. I bought a Mongoose bike for trail riding but it's not put together yet. Purchased two books on Primal eating - read half of Primal Blueprint 21 Day. Oi' another elimination diet great. I think I've picked up a few things from it the book however. I also purchased Robb Wolf's Paleo book which I haven't read. I tried out Weight Watchers online but couldn't get the hang of recording my food. It always seemed to give everything too many points. I only was allowed 28 points a day and I would have a meager breakfast and use up half of my points. Since there was no way (besides starving) I could ever acheive the points.....well, it just wasn't for me. I know girls who go okay on one meal per day but I have low blood sugar and I'm a bear when I don't eat something even if it's just an egg or a bit of oatmeal. I ordered a green band to help stretch out and have been doing minor stretches to get my hamstrings flexible again to ease the pain in my feet. I moved out of my office in Astoria and back home to the country so I'm no longer next door to Mcdonalds which was becoming my go-to spot for breakfast and lunch. This change alone might help restore my waist! I miss being in town though and seeing my husband for lunch. It's kinda lonely out here in the middle of nowhere. Well here I go to week #2 -- I'm not sure how I lost weight this week, could be just water or something but it was infinitely nice to see the scale drop. I bought a bracelet that says, "Just Run" - I love running. I can't wait to be trotting back out on the trails soon. By reading the Paleo books etc. I'm not going to kill myself and go for insanity - I'm going to trundle along happily listening to my tunes and letting my legs carry me down the road easy and steady, no more sprinting for awhile. Until week #3! May The Force Be With You!

I'm realizing how badly I suck as I count the calories and fall to bad carbs -- soooooooo -- why not let's go Paleo :-P I've never stuck with a diet in my life but it's pretty compelling and the results people post are miraculous. Will it still work with me taking weight gaining medications though.....??? I have no idea but I think I should give it a try. Do you have any books or recommendations for going Paleo? I signed up at Mark's Daily Apple and am looking at some books on Amazon, I would appreciate any links for helpful information. Cheers

Thanks all ((HUGS)) I'm eating fruit and nuts as snacks now and cut a thousand calories out of my diet. I'm still at over 2,000 calories but this is week one. If the hunger thing keeps up I'm going to talk to my doctor about any medication options to suppress my appetite, I hate to go that route but I also don't want to be a 250lb diabetic reading Running Times and remembering the good-ol-days.

The demise of the last 6 week challenge - to run every other day - ended abruptly in a frustrating injury to both feet. Plantar Fascititis. Week 1 : This Time I Will Not Be Stopped Right. Here I am again. Last challenge sucked for me after I injured myself and was told not to run. I was then put on, "a weight gain medication" for other reasons. So um' okay guys since last challenge I've gained 25lbs. *GASP* Yeah no shit. 25lbs. So my goals: In six weeks lose 25lbs down to 160 - I thought I was big then - Ha! Run again. I don't care if my feet fall off, I'm working out and I'm not going to stop. STRETCH, stretching and making sure I'm limber seems to be one of the pivotal steps in helping my Plantar Fascititis from becoming seriously dehabilitating Track calories Because of the medication I'm hungry all the time. It never ends. Im nervous, anxious, and hungry. My brain malfunctions without my meds though and it can be dangerous and scary and I've tried a lot of med combos this year and I've only found one that helps but I'm paying a terrible price. I eat until my stomach really hurts. I eat an unbelievable number of calories. Seriously - I don't even mean to. Yesterday I ate two large caramel frappe's from McDonalds for instance at 750 calories each. Those were snacks. Is it possible to strong arm appetite? I don't know. I hope so. I had to take some medication for my nerves today which makes me exhausted and it's hard to work out - also I'm starving. I also skipped caffeine today, I'm going to try to live without it. Seriously every bit of research and knowledge I have says I will 99% likely FAIL but I have to try. My office is right down by McDonalds so I'm moving back home to work. My office will now have a treadmill and elipitical in it and copies of Runners World. I'm so stinking hungry :( *sigh* I sometimes have 1500 calories at breakfast, so it's crazy, it's out of control and I tell my doctor and she says to join Weight Watchers or get more exercise. I don't know if I can keep in this medication if I keep blowing up like a balloon. Nothing fits right, I look bloated, weird and scary. I want the old me back. I'll check in weekly. Today fitbit scale says I'm 183.5 I'm 5'7" tall age 38 Loves to run and workout but also a bookworm and spends a lot of time at keyboard. Thanks everyone

My Character Stats Current weight: 176 Current Condition: Piss Poor Injuries: Limited mobility in shoulder. Plantar Fascitiis in both feet particularly right. DIet: Slightly modified Paleo started back on: 6-26-13 Other Stats: Female, Age 38, Height 5'6", Graphic Designer Bonus Features: Lives in state park with lots of trails (bummer - can't walk very far at the moment it hurts!) They built a complex gym of bars across the street from my house A WWII fort with a ton of stairs is a couple of blocks away great for fun workouts I own a professional gym treadmill and elliptical - not cheapo equipment, the good stuff I own balance balls and weights Dragons looming over me: I work beside McDonalds and I like their food because it's cheap and super easy My Four Goals Master the beginner Nerd Fitness workouts A & B Workout 6 days a week 30 minutes per the workout book suggestion Eat mainly Paleo with lots of vegies, if my new medication makes me want to eat a horse talk to my doc Lose ten pounds (be active on the forum and make friends)

I started my running really well but then developed plantar fascitiis - a malady of the foot so bad it requires THREE I's. It really hurts to walk and I still have my injured shoulder from the gym so I was out of ideas for awhile. Maybe the universe just didn't want me to work out. As my fitness lagged I felt worse and worse, then there were medication changes in my life. I took three consequetive pills that were known as weight gainers that were actually prescribed on the side for people who are anorexic or otherwise too darn thin. I started gaining weight like there was no tomorrow. I was hungry 24 hours a day. My breakfast went from a modest couple of eggs or Irish oatmeal (no sugar) to McDonalds - sausage and biscuit with a large frappe. About 1200 calories. I just couldn't seem to stop. It has been surreal. I know what you're thinking - "if I was in your shoes on that medication I would work out all the time and eat right!" Well the nature of the medication is to make you insatiably starving. I tried - I had the same belief going in. I could handle it. It would be fine because I ate well. So life spun out of control. My beloved running gone. My waistline GONE. I don't remember ever seeing fat in these spots before. Gross. I spent last week getting new 'fat' clothes because nothing fit anymore in my closet. What a horrible moment. Yeah stretch pants, goodbye jeans. But something happened to me. My husband dragged me out for a walk (after McDonalds of course) and I noticed a Curves fitness on our route. We walked about two miles and my feet were killing me. The Curves place was only a three minute, four block walk from my work so I went in and tried my free week there. I hated it. I won't go into the negativity but I realized that I always read Nerd Fitness article and cruised the forum and I knew a whole lot about fitness and diet now. So I purchased the Rebel Fitness guide and have gotten started learning how to workout the right way on my own. I'm also off the weight gain meds as of today so started back on my diet and did not so bad, not great but a heck of a lot better then usual. I talked with a marathon runner today who had in the past, the same foot issue and she advised me against running on it and had a lot of great advice. So I know I'm going to get better but it will take time. I purchased some special shoes from KURU and they feel okay, not as great as I had hoped. I'm going to be on here a lot more as I take on this challenge to right myself and get back on track. Whew. It's pretty daunting, but that's the point of being an adventurer right? Cheers

I'm on my fourth challenge and my ideas have gone from ellaborate to really darn simple! Run/Walk every other day for six weeks. That's it. It's not very fancy I'm in a Robotech phase right now because I'm working on restoring some old Robotech graphics so I'll call it the Robotech Challenge I love that show.

Sleeping! and um' becoming Obese... I'm finally sleeping, in my own bed, all night, unconditionally. The rub is the drug I'm on makes me HUNGRY, to the point it is known as an "obesogenic" to the point doctors are suggested to prescribe Metformin at the time of giving this particular pill. I've been dropping 1-3 pounds per week, but last week on the same diet I gained three, already. Luckily I have some wiggle room to gain back up to what I was I guess and my doctor says it's for a short term until my moods and body can be stabilized and then we'll try a different solution. I'm on THREE WEIGHT GAIN DRUGS. Holy crap batman. I've been praying about losing weight then I end up on three drugs that cause weight gain and suddenly realize what Christians talk about being tested and all that. Luckily I'm not too Biblically inclined and realize that a lot of drugs cause weight gain, and very few cause you to become skinny, fit and ultra sexy right? It is what it is. I've had lots of good suggestions sent to me about sleeping, and trust me, I've tried all of them + some. My brain malfunctions though, and no amount of meditation and blocking out blue light and sleeping in a cool dark room with ear plugs seems to counteract it. After not sleeping for six months - I'm just grateful for the meds. Not just to snooze, but to feel that comfort of curling up with my mate and having an arm around me all night. Good News They just built the best jungle gym in the park outside the house. It has all kinds of bars on it. Even though I have a bad shoulder and rough back, the fact the bars are at all different heights should help and it looks like fun. Fortunately I have a 12 year old son to go work out on the bars with. If you can call it working out because it's mostly fun. I have an iphone app I've mentioned a lot called, "Zombies RUN!!" If you haven't tried it yet - it's a great $3 investment, and I think they have a free version too. I get to listen to my favorite music tracks, then there is the story line of helping your township and you pick up items as you run and sometimes get ambushed by hoards of zombs! RUN!! RAR!! You can share your runs online too if you want. Some phones make it work with treadmill, but my older phone doesn't. If you're just starting to run, it's okay you can walk the whole time then give it a good go when the zombies come and get a little bit of running in. It doesn't take too much to evade them - just enough to be a really good time. https://www.zombiesrungame.com/ Mother's Day 10K I plan to run a 10K for Mothers' Day, since there are none near me I'm going to go out myself and make it happen. I wish I wasn't gaining weight or eating so much right now, it sure sucks when I go to run - I feel those extra pounds for sure. I bought my own Mothers' Day stuff - new Merrell flats, but these are nice for going out. A Victorian steampunk coat that is oober awesome, and a slouchy hat. Thank you eBay for having eccentric items for my wardrobe. I hope I won't gain too much weight that my new coat won't fit. That would suck. My brain if vetoing my wil power over food right now, but I still listen to advice on how to manage food and meds. I go out to eat a lot but watch the calories and usually don't drink pop. So a Mcburger is 250 calories, where as my PB&J is 500 - so I don't feel too bad doing either. But today I've gone through a sausage and biscuit, medium smoothie, and starbucks grande mocha. *sigh* oh, and a snack pack of nuts..... That's about the calories I used to take in PER DAY. And I haven't hit lunch yet - for lunch I'm invited out to eat pizza. I walked a mile yesterday to get a candy bar and came home and made sugar free cookies - and there is so much denial my brain can concoct about my eating. Previously I just didn't get hungry, I woke up feeling depressed and nauseated and I didn't eat. A snack pack was a pretty good meal. I need to come up with a good strategy soon or the weight will really be a problem. My body is used to working out, I simply don't lose weight like that anymore. When I first stepped on a treadmill and freaked out my metabolism - I dropped weight like a rock - but after a year or so my body just didn't care how much I worked out it stayed the same weight unless I modified my diet. I've been working out for five years now fairly regularly but not a true gym rat or inspiration, I just work out in a mediocre way I suppose I would say. One of the meds I'm on makes my blood sugar high so my body is always hungry. I wish I had better self control. My Dad is diabetic and has lost over 30lbs watching his sugar and fat intake. I need to do the same but my brain always goes..."sure we're going to do that - TOMORROW. Now go get me candy." The Pink Hair The Pink Hair of this gladiator is actually going over pretty well. The tourists seem to like it as they cluster along the sidewalks from the cruise line busses. I'm very 'local' haha. Little girls stare at me and their parents explain how they keep wanting colorful hair too. LOL. And cool still is no one knows I'm almost 40. I did have it professionally done with good results. The Gladiator I fell pretty hard on my butt with my health but it has opened my eyes up to seeing how a lot of people struggle with their health a lot worse than I do and a reality check to my situation. Luckily my doctor said I was okay to run and keep running, no apparent damage to my knees or ankles, that's fantastic. I filed for disability, which has been a big mental hurdle for me. I'm 38 and disabled - seriously, already? That's depressing, but it's a step in the right direction. I now feel like I can work on my fun gaming poster projects at 7hunters.com. and some of the stress of having a real job might get put off indefinitely. When I was at my very worst I propped up on the couch and told my husband - "lets make a video game, I'll do all the graphics work and most of the story plot. We just need to find an engine and you can build it." He's a programmer and made enhanced steam among other things. I've worked with game design before and have been published (a long time ago). So I'm working on a video game with heroes Nikola Tesla and H.P.Lovecraft and they'll be traveling through time taking out prophesies designed to make Thomas Edison and immortal dick head. So Gladiator acheivement: Being sick but still setting goals for myself. Being sick, over eating, but realizing it upfront and trying to make plans around it. Joining a church and making friends because I'm so shy it's super hard for me to be social. I really like the people there and am learning a lot. They're more zen then hell fire, I don't really like negativity in my life and in the past churches I've been to had a real bad pushy vibe. I bought myself some Mothers' Day goodies which I can't wait to get in the mail. Next Up: I haven't been grocery shopping or doing our meals due to my health so that's my next goal - get back in the saddle and try to figure out how to eat while on these obese making pills.

The Update First i'm reading an awesome mystery novel, "14" - I'm extremely picky about books and this is nerdcore worthy I'm still on my diet although some sugar slips in every now and again, definitely nothing like before. I've lost around 8-10lbs in the last month. I don't really look any different. Hmm. I almost was run over a million times trying to cross the street - if only I was a scantily clad gladiator! Man, those trucks STOP for sixteen year old in mini-skirts. I wear baggy clothes and have pink hair and am 38 - they're out to kill me. I'm getting off a lot of prescription meds. One, a "sleeping pill" wasn't really for sleep - it was one of those scripts that is off label or some crap. Anyway it was an antipsychotic and I just abruptly stopped taking it. Guess what happened?! I went crazy. I'm an artist, being emotional and freaking out and totally weird is part of my identity, but I woke up on a Tuesday morning and as the world came into focus - I flipped out. I can't really describe just how horrible something can feel that's all in your head and you know it's not real ... bad trip. BAD trip. My stoic partner in crime who is usually utterly tuned out of my moods was worried. That's a bad sign, he's Mr. Brightside. He took off four days of leave (then there was the weekend) to be with me. Actually I don't think anyone in the house left me alone. If they were in the living room I was on the couch. BUT -- I still walked every single day and I stayed on my diet except the one day there was no food in the house and I ate Little Debbie for supper. My Jase, he would take me for short walks in the sunshine trying to get my head back on stragiht. I went to the doctor Saturday and she said I was through the worst of it (a different doctor then who had prescribed it in the first place). She said if I went into any other clinic they would probably pop me back on a lot of meds so just try to let it pass. CT Scan and my Left Side My spine is deformed it turns out, "these things happen" - but the deformity and problems with the spine are not the cause of the pain and problems with my left shoulder/arm which doesn't have a full range of motion and hurts all the time. More quess work and cortizone shots. I've had enough of doctors lately so I think I'll just live with it for awhile. If a ton of x-rays, a cat scan, cortisone shots and physical therapy can't figure it out --- oooooh bother bother bother. Exercise My 80 minute regime was too set in stone and I needed more fluidity. So even when I feel crappy (and the last ten days I've felt like hell) I try for a two mile walk. Today I went outside and put in 4.6km run. I also try to get in some extra walks like with my kids to the store. Everything Else I've been in a creative slump lately. I need to be creating new and cool things in the studio but I can't think of anything. The whole scare of going crazy for a week sucked and I've just been focusing on finding good supplements and a new plan of attack. I keep thinking I could really use a cup of coffee today (BAD ME!!! NO!!!!) I have one more med to go off of - and it is a biggie: Lithium. I have bad kidneys, why the hell am I on Lithium? But now I'm really scared about it after the bad episode. A lot of people have told me that I can't cope without life unmedicated (although I only was prescribed pills two years ago and I'm 38...I did okay for a little while obviously...not 'normal' but I got by and taught college and made STUFF.... I'm out to prove that with the right diet, right exercise, right supplements that a person can live an acceptable life - albeit maybe not perfect - without really toxic meds. Maybe that is a little crazy :-P

I have the Zombie Run! Phone application and really love it :-P It's fun to run from zombies - very motivating! 5K's are fun, I think you'll do brilliant

Seven is Back and She WILL be a Gladiator. Change is often tedius and boring - so what do I write? I've been working my ass off, slowly to make changes that will get me well. Snapshot: I'm 38, female, I run the web site 7Hunters restoring game art. So far: quit caffeine three weeks ago. Quit sugar two weeks ago. Had my stylist put in amazing purple / pink highlights lolz - I love living in the Pacific Northwest. People are so nice about me looking freak'd'ified Found a new doctor, had a ton of blood work done. Doctor is helping me get off of my long term medications and replace them with healthier options. This entirely relies on me being able to follow my diet, exercise and treatment plan. It isn't easy like a pill. She's monitoring my diet, exercise, sleep, and mood. Started on supplements I had a Catscan of my spine done - I have limited range of motion in my left arm and a lot of back pain. Waiting to hear back results. I have to take things a little easier then going into a lifting regime for example. This Week: Work out 80 minutes per day. Workouts change up with some Pilates, Swimming, Walking, Like I said about the CT scan - I'm not up to intense workouts so I'm trying to get some time in at lower intensities. I want to work out seven days a week so I couldn't make all those memorable workouts anyway. Maybe I should just call it "general basic exercise". (I love to run, but I have to be careful. I'm getting injuries and not healing.) The Gladiator I want to be a lot more active in my life. It's not enough to sit behind a computer all day. My kidneys were in trouble - I cut out sugar and had my blood work done and wallah, the creatinine score had dropped :-) No more running to the loo every five minutes either. In the past few years I accumulated a lot of daily medications I take. I want done with the perscription insanity. I'm slowly going off of them. I rather live healthy and use alternate therapies. I'm going to be a gladiator because it feels like a good transitional occupation from artist. About quiting sugar: It's really not that bad. The first five days are tough, and after two weeks I still have bad brain fog because my sugar is low. I hope the brain fog will be gone for good by the end of the six week challenge and I won't look back. When I get stressed out it's a lot tougher to say no to sugar. I'm hypoglycemic, have issues with my kidneys and am pre-diabetic -- I needed to cut out sugar. Have you quit sugar and if so did you have brain fog, dizziness, nausea ect? Have a tremendously awesome kick ass day!

I was surprised to find out, I don't eat much. I mostly just drink dairy. Weird. Okay so I'm cruising along on the diet trying to figure out what to eat everyday. My treadmill came in, and lol, I know how much Steve LOVES the treadmill, but I have bad shoulders. I don't know how I ended up with bad shoulders - it's not like I worked in a coal mine at some point with a shovel and I'm not even 40 yet... But I end up in a lot of pain for days after free weights. I keep trying them thinking, 'this time it will be okay' and of course it isn't okay. But my Precor treadmill is great. I live in the rainforest where it's winter right now and believe it or not it's rather uncomfortable outside. I know the many venemous attacks against the treadmill people - but watching tv and putting in a couple of miles really isn't so bad. In the summer time I hit the trails then the allergy mediation. Now that I'm untethered from the gym I can wear anything I want to when I work out. I can listen to anything, watch anything and afterwards have my very own shower AND customized changing room where all my clothes are. Wow. So not going to apologize for the treadmill. I'm going to have to think about how to transition off of a liquid diet or make it healthier. Or just make peace with my diet and exercise and realize I will never wear spandex and that I will always be mediocre in the gym but a darn good nerd. I absolutely rock as a nerd. If nerd was fashion I would be hot. If nerd was a sport I would be doing triathlons while writing a theoretical science thesis in my head. If nerd was cool people would go out of their way to talk to me. I wonder -- do you ever out grow nerd? Do you get too old? I'm about to turn 38 and my kids think I'm very uncool, but I am wearing Assassin's Creed dog tags right now and just finished a graphic poster for NES Legend of Zelda and day before yesterday a watercolor Star Whale. I know a ton about retro gaming, watched Doctor Who religiously since I was 8, Star Trek? You know I've got that covered. I have a gaming LIBRARY. I write a nerd blog. It's just one of those things I'm actually pretty good at, now if there was just some way to recoup that into tangible rewards in life, like maybe some land in Tahiti and too much attention because my butt is so awesome looking...yeah, that would be cool. Today Anonymous took down a major web site and I rejoiced. See something is just wrong with me. I think Julius Assange should be a national heroe. *Sigh* I'm such a complete nerd.

Taking The Stand. I knew that one day it would finally click for me. And today was that day. A day of clarity, like the first sunny day after it has snowed and flurried for two weeks. That day you go outside and the sky is that pure blue and you feel it in your bones. That was that day for me. Two people close to me in my life are dying because of their weight. And myself, everyone around us -- I don't know --- I don't know. We just 'loved them anyway' and we just gave a blind eye to the pies and the Kit Kats you know. We cared but ... it was like the weight wasn't going to hurt them. Then the weight starts killing them. And starts eating away at them, not the other way around. So today - to my diabetic friend who just can't do the diet -- I said -- I'll do it with you. I'll do it WITH YOU. You're not alone. It's not frickin' going to hurt me to go without sugar. But it will save his life. And maybe, maybe I can bring these changes to my family, to my friends, to other people. I know it's ludicrious right, but I said - I changed today. My son who is overweight, I'm getting up early and fixing him a Paleo breakfast and teaching him to run on a Precor treadmill I just shelled out a cool 2k for. No excuses. I put up that kind of cash for something I'm going to make sure it gets abused. I've been the underwear gnome, I've collected YEARS and YEARS of diet and exercise knowledge never content with what I knew, never following through with phase 2. Well phase 2 is here and I'm going to help everyone I can in my family and maybe beyond. One of my best friends who has motivated me, she started half-marathon running at over 200lbs. She didn't let it stop her. I thought I was too big to run and she called BS on me. So maybe if I'm half as motivational as she is in my life I've done something great. Time of phase 2. Time to take all the crap I know in my brain and turn it on. Rar!

Week 3 For week 2: Met going to the gym goals. My underwater nano ipod, waterfi works amazing. For week 3: Try to have a healthy breakfast 3x per week, M W F, or more and healthy snacks. Workout 3x per week at least 30 minutes per workout. Status: Still not in a routine. I just don't have any oomph but I have problems with depression particularly during the winter. It's hard to see outside the tunnel of grey. To be honest it's hard to do anything and I closed my online store and just feel lost. I just have a black cloud following me around. It can't last forever. I'm thinking of buying a good treadmill. Currently changing out, showering, bringing ALL my stupid crap to the gym is an obstacle to me getting there in the morning. I head out in my workout clothes and FREEZE my butt off. There are a lot of negatives surrounding my workout routine, so I'm wondering if I purchased a quality treadmill that I could run at home and have longer more productive workouts. But, you know, how many people buy workout equipment and never use it? Like - everyone. It's a lot of money. I found a Precor for $1,600 on Amazon. I looked at used ones locally but they run over 1,000$ and many come from gyms with a lot of miles on them. I like the Precor brand because of the warrenty and I think I could run on one. A lot of the treadmills are just not robust enough to run on. If I can't run for 45 minutes on it, it's worthless. Anyway...just thinking here. My arthritis is really bad. I don't know if I should be working out, if I'm destroying what's left of my joints or what. I need a better doctor, I can't get answers. The pain wakes me up several times during the night. I can't carry anything up my stairs. I have trouble going down stairs. The pain in my back never lets up. The pain in my shoulder actually kicks in so bad during my runs at about mile two I have to walk. I keep telling them -- LOOK THIS IS SERIOUS. And they kind of laugh it off because of my age and tell me it's my posture. Well, that's bull. Lots of people sit at a desk but they can walk down a flight of stairs. How in the world I still can go out and run is a miracle. The better doctor is two hours over mountain passes that require chaines. I drive a Prius. We don't even have snow down here on the coast. It's just hard to make it to Portland this time of year so I'll have to wait until spring because I know that there will be a battery of tests and lots of appoints. Story of my life. I'm already on six prescription meds. Ironically I can't take arthritis medication because it interacts with my other meds. TMI -- okay there is my dark cloud. But just one thing at a time. Gym 3x per week. Healthy breakfast 3x per week. Like Steve says, dirt simple goals.

Hi Rhyme, Anyway you could save up for a treadmill or join a gym? I know those are big investments but mother nature isn't kind. How about throwing in a couple of short jog segments on your walk? (I'm a runner so I would say that ;-P) Good luck on your quest. I think you can get to your goal no problem.

Thanks Rhyme for posting in. I need to post in more to other people's threads because I do like to read them, always learn something new, and hope to make friends but the clock runs out on me. Today I have a bit of a rant I guess. DIET. I hate being and looking middle aged, especially after being scrawny my whole life. I hate being big - I've worked out fairly consistently for four years but I don't like to tell anyone that because they'll look at me, see my pudgy middle aged 'Mom' look and not believe me, or think I sluff off at the gym. I ran 3 miles in 33 minutes yesterday which isn't bad considering. I'm an underpants gnome who has tried so many, many, diets and sometimes they work for a little while but most are built around a gimmic that I can't keep to or doesn't work well in the real world. My weight bounces back effortlessly, to take it off takes weeks. I research and read the books cover to cover and get excited only to fail after a couple of weeks (or less). I look like my Mom and Grandma and I have to wonder if my efforts to get 'fit and trim' are futile. I'm really discouraged today about the weight loss thing, the scale keeps going up as I cut out bad foods and try to make small modifications wherever I can to improve my existing diet. But the weight keeps popping back up like balloon under water trying to reach the point it always reaches, 175. I was down to 159 before the holiday depression. Now I'm 166. Up it goes. It sucks. It really, really, really sucks. I want to look like all the work I put in. END RANT :-P

Week 2 Dedication: I'm not Afraid, by Eminem Week 1: 2 times to gym, 2 hours. Started diet cleaning. Went to pool, but it was closed - cold/chlorine. Cancelled most appointments and set my schedule down in stone with everyone. Week 2: Rinse and repeat

Mini challenge finished. Worked out all my appointments GOLD STAR!! Last challenge I had trouble with my left shoulder, since then I found out that I have arthritis in my back and joints, but my back is what caused the damage to both shoulders (although just one REALLY super hurts). I'm in physical therapy twice a week now. To help things along I'm going to join the pool again. I purchased an underwater ipod - how cool is that right? I can't wait to give it a go. I have three doctors I see at the moment and each of them says I have to get back to my workout routine (and get well) so that's all boring right? Instead of my half-marathon dreams I'm going for 30 minutes 3x per week for right now. I read what Steve said about setting little goals you can do. Obtainable and kinda easy for you. My elliptical is right in front of the tv. lol. Good time. I guess I was getting sick last challenge and just didn't realize it and my world kept shrinking as to what I could do and I wasn't picking up on it. I finally had to close my online business for awhile and restructure my life, get a housekeeper, have people help me cook and do laundry. etc. Have you ever crossed a threshold and known that your life is never going to go back to the way it was? That you'll never quite be the same? That suddenly there are limitations and you wonder, wth? I've been sick and sketching. I found an abandoned sketch book in my bedroom and I just started filling it up and I realized -- yeah this is what I'm going to do now. Sketch things and run. That's all that matters work wise, I just have to let everything else go. Just get well, just work at sketching and trying to eat that one healthy thing per day and work out a little bit. But all the complicated life stuff, all those plates I had spinning in the air - everything that HAS TO BE DONE...it's not getting done. It can go away now. Have sketch book and underwater iPod -- gone adventuring. Sorry real life. Below: My Cat Neelix

My six week quest is 1.) to eat healthier by referencing the Sparkpeople diet guidelines for one meal per day. 2.) Work out three times a week for 30 minutes per time and work my way up to 60 minutes per workout at least four days a week by the end of the challenge. 3.) Set a mini challenge for myself each week to complete. This weeks quest is to leave the house sometimes and keep my doctors appointments. I don't know where all my apt. cards are. There are 4 or 5 appointments and I'm so out on medication at the moment I don't know where I'm supposed to be when. I'm in Wonderland on these big pink pills, which I guess I'll have to stop because as nice as it is to space all day long I can't get anything done. They're supposed to be going for two weeks and I think I'm on day five.... So hopefully there isn't any appointments today.......maybe I'll learn to deal with the pink pills, the coffee isn't working. That's my mini challenge. It's all I can muster this week.