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My Story Continued: A year and a half has gone by since the rebels of Nerd Fitness last saw my face (posts), but I have returned. When you last saw me, I was returning to a better place after 4 months in a dangerous world. I was positive. Making strides to improve nourishment in life: mentally, physically, emotionally. But there was a darkness on the horizon, an evil yet to be determined (diagnosed). The darkness is now clear. The evil had a year to take it's toll on my body and mind. Then a year more to ravage my inner being. I feel myself breaking, but I will not give in. This is my last push to fight back and become the assassin I truly am. I have new obstacles to manage, new reasons to fight, and more to work for than ever before. So here is my quest. Full Story: So, I am coming back to Nerd Fitness. Last time I was here I was doing well but was in the process of being diagnosed with endometriosis. Turns out I had a 15lb cyst growing on an ovary which led to getting a pregnancy like belly. This put pressure on different organs and things which caused pain during working out so I had to stop in order to make sure I didn't rupture anything by accident. Had surgery, started a special birth-control like pill to stop cyst regrowth, meds gave me weight gain and mood swings (not nice). At follow-up with doc a year later we decided that I should try no meds for a while to see if I can get my mind and body back on track WITHOUT the cyst growing again. Deadline to find out if I can do it: January 15th, 2016 = ultrasound day. Good news is I am out of the stressful job I had and into the one I liked. I am full time now (I get vacations and sick days!) and on a great career trajectory. I also started blogging. It is a craft and food blog though I truly considered doing a gaming vlog channel instead! My husband and I moved into a larger, nicer home and no longer have a roommate. We are getting married in the new year though we are already commonlaw. So why am I back? Because I need to write my plans somewhere other than a notepad. I need to be held accountable so that I can get consistent. Consistency is my downfall especially with the busy life I try to lead (not well). So here is my plan/quest. The Return of Emlily Main Goal: Return to post surgery state by January 2016 Food Goal #1: Eat 5 servings of fruits or vegetables a day Fitness Goal #1: Walk 5000 steps a day (tracked with my Fitbit or other device) Life Goal #1: Keep one room in the house to my peak standard *The food, fitness, and life goals must be kept for 30 days straight. Once this happens I will award myself points equal to 10 times the number of goal they are. Once I max out the bar below, I level up. My own take on the RPG system. Level 1 0%0% Food Goal #1: 5 Servings of Fruits/Veg for 30 Days 13%13% Fitness Goal #1: 5000 Steps for 30 Days 3%3% Life Goal #1: Keep a Room in Peak Shape for 30 Days 3%3% Stats (Current / Goal): 210lbs / 195lbs Size 16 / Size 14 I plan on posting pictures soon. You can see some from pre/post surgery on my blog (over a year old now). Again, because my busy life I just don't know how often I will be posting. When I first started on Nerd Fitness back in 2012 I spent more time here than actually changing my habits and I don't want to fall into that trap again. So 2x is what I am planning on.

So, I've got a big butt. And because of my poor posture over several years from sitting on the side of my bed or leaned over a desk playing video games, I've got something called a "Lower-Cross Syndrome" that makes my butt look even bigger than it already does, and makes it a bit more difficult to get proper form when doing things like squats. What are some exercises that people recommend for solving this issue?

G'DAY FELLOW REBELS This is like the (calculate that) time I respawn, but with good reason, apparently. After 2 years of continuously struggling with my health and my GP telling me it's all because I'm "psychologically unstable'', I was fed up with it and decided to go to a private clinic abroad, with all the results from lab tests from the past few years. It paid off. Not only did they find I tested positively for Lyme disease OVER A YEAR AGO (can you imagine my GP just overlooked that...) and still do, but they also discovered my T4 levels (thyroid hormone) are way below the minimum, let alone for my age. These 2 things can perfectly explain why I felt tired all the tileHad continuous headachesSkipped school because I felt depressed or sickFell ill all the timegained weight despite being on a starvation dietmy hair fell outmy nails were brittleMy skin was super dry, despite applying the most expensive lotions or creams..... In other words, I am not insane or psychologically messed up, I just had medical conditions. I'll have to take a lot of antibiotics for a month, and take hormone pills for the rest of my life, but if it brings me closer to health, I'll happily take them. They found other really depressing things, on which I may elaborate later, but I don't think a fitnesswebsite is the place for it. They will definitely influence my progress, but I'm confident they won't stand in the way. Because of all the medication I need to take now, they put me on a very strict diet, which is basically a modified paleo diet, so there shouldn't be too much trouble there, I hope. I'm not really allowed to do any vigorous exercise for some time either, but I can stick with long walks and yoga every day for now! Finally, I feel like I'm getting somewhere. I feel like there actually MAY BE a solution to this ''hopeless case''. I may not directly shed the pounds I gained because of my hypothyroidism, but that's not my primary aim. I want to get healthy, I want full, healthy, vibrant hair. I want the twinkle back in my eyes. I want the motivation to ace my calculus classes back. And I will get it all back. I may rely on pills all my life, but I will not let that depress me. I still have my life goal of climbing Mount Everest, then settling in Nepal and founding a charity for science education for Nepali children in remote areas, and I will achieve it one day. But for now: chicken wings, avocado and hella Hatha Yoga.

Greetings! Looking for a bit of diet help here. I have a disorder that makes it tough for me to consume meats and vegetables without choking on them. With any luck this will improve over time, but until them I'm hoping to find a healthy/rounded diet consisting of liquid/soft foods. Right now my ceiling seems to be salads and cereal as far as solid foods go. Currently I'm living primarily on Boost "nutrition" drinks and protein granola bars, please help me!

Hi all, Long time reader, first time poster. For the last decade or so I have suffered from a disorder that I recently had diagnosed as Eosinophillic Esophagitis (EE). Docs mostly just want me to drop weight and limit intake of "bad foods (chocolate, spicy stuff, alcohol, caffeine) while I wait to see if the symptoms return. I've read in a few places and talked to some folks about the potential for foods being the cause of this problem, figured the internet/this forum might be a good place to see if anyone happens to have any knowledge to impart. Does anyone happen to know of specific foods I should avoid to help things improve?