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SEIZE THE DAY! Alrighty, Princess Heather is back in action! I have been MIA around here for the past few weeks, and it was due to me being in a bit of a funk and also lots of life happening. I have been promoted at work, from office manager into a sort of project coordinator, responsible for overseeing several ministry teams and being the point person for outreach and service projects for my church. It's a fun environment, and out biggest service project(s) of the year happen at the end of September so I've got lots going on for that. We are also in the midst of TTC, and keeping healthy for that is another major priority, leaving less and less time for internetting. Which is also at odds with a blogging project I'm trying to get off the ground. For anyone who was following my last (pitiful) challenge, I more or less accomplished all my goals with reading and with workouts, but food was a bit more elusive. Still trying to reign that in, but I know it's miles better than my diet was 3 years ago that I need to just keep trucking and not worry about being perfect. Goal 1: Quit being a hater... to myself I give myself way too much grief when I'm not perfect, which is of course all the time because perfection doesn't exist! I'm always fluctuating between being content and being critical, and while I've been making progress on this over the past 3 years especially, I want to make this a goal this time and hopefully improve my self talk habits and tip them towards contentment. Which I have to remind myself, is different from complacency. It's not about accepting me as I never bothering to improve again, its about making sure to be happy with how things are in the moment. Measurable goal: Post one thing each day that I'm happy about in my life, because there is always SOMETHING to be happy about. Goal 2: Come at me bro (science) Just kidding, though I love me some Dom. I've been struggling ever since I effectively took a semester off from lifting in the spring. I was so swamped with finishing my graduate capstone that I lifted maybe once a week if I was lucky, and it wasn't really with any direction or program. I've been trying to get restarted since, without really doing any tracking and without really ensuring proper protein or carb intake to fuel and recover... it's just been a mess. And no results. So I am going back to basics, and redoing New Rules of Lifting for Women. I had really great success with this the first time, and I expect that I can progress through it faster that I did the first time. This will give me a direction, and something to track, and a good new foundation for being strong. I just want to regain my BW squats by the end of the year, which I feel is not out of reach if I'm training with purpose. Measurable goal: Lift 3x Weekly Goal 3: Deal With It.... and do a Whole 30 This goal will start on September 22, and go to October 22, so ending right before the challenge ends. I will be a teensy bit lenient with added sugars in things like organic and clean BBQ sauce (for bbq pineapple crock pot chicken), but more or less will follow the protocol. I have been back on the juice (caffeine) and I'm already weaning off that again, and I have been SUPER tired and I think its a result of being too low on carbs when I'm not eating crappy ones. Carbs are easy to get when you binge on gummi bears, but harder when all your carbs some from carrots and brussels sprouts. Whole 30 is okay with potatoes now, and I will allow white rice smothered in coconut oil in case of emergency... which makes me think I should keep rice in my office's fire extinguisher box. Measurable Goal: Finish Goal 4: Publish something on my fledgling blog I have a blog that I have like 5 incomplete posts for, with nothing whatsoever published. I want to post at least one thing each week of this challenge, regardless of length or content. That's only 6 entries, not insurmountable. I have some pics of meal prep already, nothing unique but I have to start somewhere. Measurable Goal: 6 Blog Entries BONUS: Get a logo made by my design type friend.

New Jersey Nerd Fitness Meet-Up on August 9th, 2014!! August 9th, at Duke's Farm in Hillsborough. We'll be geocaching! Check out the details here: https://www.facebook...33859819957774/

I am cutting out the flashy bells and whistles and just going at this challenge. It will be harder, since I am out of the country for 8 days of it, but I want to do this. MAIN QUEST: Reset myself so I don't burn out and can make a real life change in 2014. Goal 1: Go to yoga at least once a week. I don’t even care where. Go to Alison’s class. Go to the gym. Go to Tula in Saint Paul. Just… find a class and try it out. Goal 2: Stick to the new meal plan. This sadly means no beer Monday – Thursday. Try to make breakfast, lunch and dinner 400 calories each and make sure you sneak a 100-150 calorie snack in twice a day. Five smaller meals total. FILL IT WILL GOOD THINGS. Yogurt, veggies, fruits... nothing processed. Goal 3: Clean and rearrange the kitchen and the craft room. Two rooms, six weeks, you got this. Life Quest: Make something from scratch each week. Almond butter, yogurt, a craft project… Create. Fitness Side Quest: Start the Couch to 10k in preparation for 2014’s running season. Go slow. Take it easy. No pressure. Try for twice a week, but listen to the ankle. It will say when to stop. Grading: Did I go to a yoga class? 1 point (6 available, plus extra credit) Did I use c210k? 1 point (12 available) Did I make progress in the kitchen/craft room? 1 point (5 per week, 30 available) Did I make something new? 1 point (6 available) Total points: 54 available Points earned:

THE JOURNEY CONTINUES... Installment three. MAIN GOAL. Lower bodyfat percentage. ADDITIONAL GOALS FOR THIS CHALLENGE. Stick to personal trainers 21 day Paleo meal plan. Blog about it. LIVE IT. Work out 6 days a week in some fashion for at least 30 minutes. Drop the self-depreciation. Seriously. LIFE QUEST. One craft project a week with my children. One main craft project for myself for the duration of the challenge. MOTIVATION. This weird and oddly humbling feeling that I discovered whereby it's okay to live in the moment and not sweat the small stuff. It's given me so much more momentum than I thought it would. BEFORE STATS.

Okay, so maybe that's a bit dramatic. Basically, I'm continuing the simple goals from last challenge, with a bit of refinement. 1. Eat Well Hubby is doing Whole30 (voluntarily) (what?!?!?!) so I'm being supportive and doing it too. I do need to re-slay my sugar dragon anyway, since I went a bit off the rails over the course of December. I'm not going to be overly obsessive in completing a Whole30, since that way madness and self loathing lie (and I fought that pretty successfully last time), but I do see a lot of value in the program and attempting it is a good way to get back on track. So meal planning, no counting, no macros, just intuitive eating of only the good stuff. 2. Be Active Goal is 2 lifting sessions, 1 running session, 1 yoga session, and assorted mobility. I've been feeling just generally uncomfortable, and I really think its a combination of slouching, inactivity, and zero mobility for a few months has taken its toll. I feel like body comp is going in the right direction, despite eating all the (terribly unhealthy) things, so keeping active and varied with an emphasis on good solid lifting session is all I need for now. 3. Be Nice to PrincessHeather I'm about to start my final semester of my MPA, so I get to do a crazy big research project. I have the nonprofit picked out and the blessing of their executive director, and my project will center around gathering survey data of their clients (people with varying levels of developmental disability, from ages 6 months to elderly), and I will need to have a full prospectus of how I will proceed by the end of January. So the first part of "be nice to Heather" is to just hold it together, not panic, and get the first major chunk of this thing done. Part two of "be nice to Heather" is to continue job hunting. My work is making me nuts, it's a company wide systemic problem that we don't hold managers accountable for anything so turnover is attrocious and I just hate the merry-go-round feeling of being the poor HR schlub who tries to stop the revolving door. I've also become really convicted that my calling in life is to help the disadvantaged, and want a career that helps me focus that feeling into action. I've put in approximately 10 job applications at nonprofits around town and got my first interview call today, so I'm off to a good start I think. It's out of my control to a certain extent, but I would love to have a new job by the end of this challenge. Starting Stats Weight: Waist (natural/belly button): 30/34 Hips: 40 Thighs: 23 each/37 around Calves:15 Biceps:10

Simple enough challenge to start the new year. Boop! Main Quest: Be a noticebly better chammy by my birthday (Feb 26th)! Goals: GO to crossfit. It doesn't matter how many times, just fuckin go. GO to class. Every session, unless I'm really just dieing. GO to work. Every shift - if the spice shop does in fact put me to "on call" without regular hours, find another part time job.

Hey there everybody! Sorry if you've been seeing my posts all over the place today, but I'm trying to get involved with the community, cause you're all awesome! Here's my epic quest, that will span many years!! The Quest: Join a special operations unit in the militaryServe 4 years in the American militaryGet a full back and/or chest tattooBecome an official member of the American militaryObtain the mythical item called "Girlfriend"Travel to a different countryPet a penguinDo 100 Push Ups in 2:00 on an official PT testDo 100 Sit Ups in 2:00 on an official PT testRun 2 miles in 12:00 or less on an official PT testGo to military Basic TrainingGo into combatSome might think that last one isn't really a good goal, but oh well! These obviously aren't in order, but I'll be adding more to it as I accomplish these goals! Hope everyone had a happy new year!

Am I the only nerd running in the marathon?