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I'm in a rut. I have a history of ups and downs, and I'm in a down right now. I think what has kept me from staying mostly up is my lack of self-discipline and structure. I have done a lot of drifting from place to place, hoping to find where I belong. I have finally figured out that I must make goals, plans, and definite decisions in order to "level up" instead of subsisting and moving laterally. To help myself begin to feel better physically, mentally, and spiritually in order to become a whole and functioning individual, I have made these goals: 1. Eat a serving of vegetables daily with the option of fruit. I'm one of those bread, meat, and cheese eaters (please don't judge!). The vegetables I normally get are on my burgers. I don't dislike vegetables and fruits, I just have the ingrained habit to immediately go for my comfort foods (depression?). Maybe one day I will go paleo, who knows? 2. Get at least 15 minutes of aerobic exercise daily. This can be bike riding (weather permitting), jogging, or dancing around the house. I need to be more active and work up a sweat to get my energy levels up. 3. Limit myself to 1 sugary item per day. This will most likely translate to one 12 oz. soda for me since I've become a soda enthusiast. This means if I want a dessert item, no soda. 4. Read a book at least 30 minutes daily. I have allowed my attention span to wither away via the internet. By setting aside time to focus on reading one thing, I believe I can strengthen my concentration and improve my brain function overall. 5. Devote 10 minutes a day to meditation/prayer. I feel this is important for me to feel centered and at peace with the universe, as corny as that sounds. I really believe it will help me see myself and the world more clearly and truly. Okay, I know I should only have 4 goals as a newbie adventurer, but 1 and 3 kind of tie in to each other, and the time-specific ones add up to less than an hour, so I believe I can stick with these. They probably seem really basic, but that's just where I am right now. I can feel the potential inside myself waiting to burst out and bloom like a beautiful flower, I just have to activate it and then channel it into real-life activity. No more living inside my own head! Wish me luck, and thank you in advance! -Zelmo Swift

When 2013 began my wife and I decided to take part in a 90 day “The Biggest Loserâ€-style weight loss challenge amongst our friends and family. She was doing great at first and was on the top of the leaderboard for the first month. Then she lost motivation. She had a bad week of eating and it completely derailed her and when she fell out of the top three it’s like she gave up altogether. My wife is naturally pessimistic, which is in stark contrast to my generally positive attitude. When it came time to take our measurements at the beginning of March, she said that she doesn’t want to take her measurements and that I upset her by bringing it up (even though it’s something we had done at the beginning of January and February). She didn’t want to take the measurements because she had fallen off the wagon and was sure she didn’t lose any weight or drop any number of inches. She’s also disgusted with the way her stomach looks after having two kids within 13 months of each other between 2011 and 2012, both via c-section. She’s convinced that she’s doomed to be overweight (she actually calls herself obese, but I disagree with her self-assessment) and I find it very difficult to motivate her because she counters my attempts at motivating her by saying I’m ACTUALLY insinuating something else that makes her feel worse. For instance, I said to her that if her and I get active and healthy then it will set a good example for our kids as they grow up. She countered that with, “That means you think I’m a bad mother.†After assuring her that was not the case, she asked me for some other words of motivation that wouldn’t make her feel bad and we just went back and forth with me trying to give her some positive motivation and her countering it with what she says I “really†meant. For as long as we’ve been together I have been trying to tell her that I don’t speak in subtext and that what I say is what I TRULY mean, but she thinks what she’s going to think. I finally got one that she liked, (Workout because it’s fun!) but it wasn’t enough to get her motivated and she finally just gave up on relying on me to motivate her and half-hearted a work out. Finally, I think that seeing my continuing success and how my body is changing for the better is making her feel bad about giving up and in some roundabout way has sapped her of any motivation. Has anyone had experiences like this with their own spouse? I’d like her to get back on the horse. I want her and I to get more fit and more comfortable with our bodies TOGETHER. But given how she has reacted to my attempts at motivation I have no idea how to even broach the subject without making her feel like I’m calling her a big, fat, fatty (which is what she would think I mean when in fact I said nothing of the sort). Any suggestions would be appreciated.

hi, im fearless creek! found this site about a year ago and loved it, now i would like to become part of the community. im a 45 year old woman and have been overweight my entire adult life. 2011 i joined weightwatchers and lost 20 kg on the programm. during that time i surfed the net a lot and got interested in all things to do with health and fitness. then i decided i hated to be part of the weightloss industry and the constant game of dieting and gaining. i made an experiment out of it and tried different aproaches of healthy eating. i ended up with eating mostly unprocessed foods and tracking on myfitnesspal. i also tried paleo but changed into it too fast and got so weak after one week that i got scared. since 2012 i work out regularly and thats the part of healthy living thats easier for me to keep doing because it lifts my mood amd makes me feel strong and confident. it all started with walking a 5k. then i started running and have taken kickbox-, bodypump- and pilatesclasses during the winter 12/13. my body has changed visibly and i am really happy with this! next goal: i will run my first 5k on mai 4th. im 1,78m tall now and weigh in at 105 kg. my long term goal is to get down to about 80 kg. whats really important to me is that i build new habits and actually stick with certain behaviours. its easy for me to experiment with a new diet or a sport - i want to learn how to make it a lifesyle. right now im in the middle of starting my own business offering socialwork for teenagers. it might get pretty intense workwise once i get going. therefore i think i need the acountability this site provides by motivating me to log my progress. i still have to set my goals, but im definitely doing the next 6 weeks challenge. if someone needs a trusty sidekick ... *raises hand* as for beeing a nerd: apart from loving The Lord Of The Ring im rather un-nerdy. maybe having been a classical cellist (orchestramusician) counts?? thats all, i guess viele grüße aus berlin fearlesscreek

Hi all, I seem to have developed what could be tendonitis in my right wrist. About two weeks ago, I was doing some pretty heavy snatches for time and didn't finish in the overhead position evenly and since then my right wrist has been KILLING me! Sore in the tendon area and inflammed. Putting much weight on it or even doing more than 10 pushups causes lots of pain. I've been wearing a wrist support during the day while I'm at work and been trying to do modified WOD's. Here's my questions: suggestions on healing? What's taking so long!?! Also, any sort of upper body stuff that I can work on safely you think? I'm getting tired of box jumps, backsquats, running and situps... It's also making me sad not to be able to throw down like normal so any motivation would be helpful too. Thanks!

I just watched this TED Talk, "How to live to be 100+" by Dan Buettner, and I thought you guys might find it interesting: http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_buettner_how_to_live_to_be_100.html Dan worked with National Geographic to study areas of the world where the average life expectancy is way higher than America, and he talks about what was common amongst those communities. A lot of it supports what we work on here at NF -- eating more colorful veggies and nuts and less crap, portion control, natural exercise, and having a supportive community -- but there are other tips too. I found it inspirational. What's your feedback?

Hi all, I'm an underpants gnome and I'm a shiny object chaser. This is a brutal combo because I'm always reading about new things and wanting to try them in the middle of my current plan. Last fall, I kept reading articles about heavy lifting and wanted to try it, but I was in the middle of marathon training. D'oh! It's like I have workout ADD. Right now I'm really struggling with my motivation, as is everyone who made resolutions. I'm doubting my diet choices. I'm doubting my workout choices. I'm thinking about going paleo (note: I'm a pescetarian). I'm thinking about trying CrossFit. Everyone at work is talking about "the best way to get in shape", but most of it is crap, but what do I know? One of my coworkers is particularly condescending about my workout choices (namely, they aren't the same as hers which I did try for 6 months and didn't see the improvements I wanted). Help! I need a Jedi Council but I'm not finding it at home or at work. I'm nervous because of that "you are the average of the 5 people you hang out with most", and those people are mostly coworkers who eat a big bowl of pasta for lunch. I guess what I'm looking for here is a little affirmation that I'm doing it correctly and I need to stick with it longer to see results. Here are/were my resolutions: Back off the cardio Lift heavy Eat as healthy as possible (this means every meal contains a veg and a pescetarian-friendly protein. Stay away from white carbs, like white bread. No fried food). Do a full pushup - following the Nerd Fitness article on "how to do a pushup" Do a pullup (this has been postponed to work on the pushups first, but I did buy a pullup bar and I do one arm dumbbell rows often) Here's what my current plan looks like: Exercise MWF - Strength training with weights. I alternate upper and lower body, so one week will be M-upper body, W-lower body, F-upper body, and the next week will be M-lower body, W-upper body, F-lower body. I also alternate between 2 different upper body workouts and 2 different lower body workouts. The rationale for this is that I can work the same muscle with different exercises and then come back to a specific exercise weeks later and see how I've improved. I did deadlifts for the first time a few weeks ago and I'll do them again Friday and try more weight. I always do 12-15 reps, typically Set 1 is 12 reps, Set 2 is 10 reps, Set 3 is 8 reps. Pushup Challenge - I do them every other day and try to avoid double-ing up on chest exercises. Sometimes I'll do some random sprints for 5-10 mins after a leg workout to clear out the lactic acid. I always start with a 10 min warm up. My workouts are rarely more than 45 mins, including the warm up. Tues/Sat - Cardio. Typically this is a 1500m swim Tues with drills and an easy paced ~12mile bike ride on Sat. I'm recovering from a metatarsal stress fracture and I just got this sweet bike with clipless pedals and I'm terrified of it. Thurs/Sun - Rest. Food 5:15ish AM - Banana (pre-workout) 6:30 AM (leaving the gym) - protein shake (ON protein), sometimes with water sometimes with almond milk. I think it's ~50 g of protein. 7:30-8AM - oatmeal or toast with pb or almond butter. 10 AM - carrots, snap peas, mixed nuts (unsalted cashews and walnuts) 11:45ish - typically salad with tuna/eggs/chickpeas/tofu and half a sweet potato. Sometimes leftovers like minestrone. 3 PM - apple, orange, and some kind of yogurt-like product - always low or no fat like greek yogurt or kefir. 6PMish - I switch this up a lot but it always contains a veg and a protein, sometimes a carb, e.g. baked salmon with roasted vegs and half a sweet potato. The food has been ok but it's been a month and I'm getting sick of some stuff and struggling to find alternatives. Work has also been hard because my coworkers always want to go out to eat and then tease me when I don't want to go. And if we do go it's hard to find choices that are both pescetarian and healthy. My boyfriend is also a struggle because he loves crap like potato chips, pizza, popcorn, etc. He does rotation work so he's gone for like a month and then suddenly there are potato chips in the house and he wants to order a pizza for dinner. Ugh. He is pretty good though when I laid down the law about food, and specifically didn't offer me any popcorn the other night. Improvements I do lat pulldowns quite often. I started at 45lbs and Wednesday I did 60lbs for a set. I've also had small improvements in most other areas. I upped the weight on my squats and lunges recently, too. Pushup challenge - I've moved down to a lower incline since I started. I don't weigh myself (and honestly weight isn't the issue, strength is, so if I did weigh myself I'd be looking for increases). I do notice some changes in the mirror, but they are minor. So... am I doing it right? Do you all have any suggestions about food? Is it worth it to go paleo? Should I be working out more? Should I try CrossFit? Should I just keep going for another 2 months and then make changes if I want to? Should I be measuring my body to keep track of those small changes? Should I get a trainer? Should I get a therapist, haha. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks for reading!

Perhaps something like this exists already, but if so I havn't found it. Nevertheless, this thread is meant to contain various inspirations: anecdotes, quotes, memes, motivational/demotivational posters, really whatever you'd like to share to help encourage others ranging form the most cliche to the most profound. Please feel free to share. “Our job in this life is not to shape ourselves into some ideal we imagine we ought to be, but to find out who we already are and become it.†-Stephen Pressfield, The War of Art

Hi Rebels, I'm asking for your help. I've been receiving treatment for depression for about 19 months now. Thankfully I believe I'm past my nadir and have made great gains towards living a happier and healthier life in all areas but one: exercise. My problem is this: When I do make it to the gym or head out for a run I feel fantastic afterwards but on the dark days, the days when exercise would be the very thing that would help the most, I struggle to even get out of bed. I end up feeling frustrated, out of my depth and give up for a few months before making an effort to try again. So after hearing so much about all of you from my brother I thought I'd ask you guys how you motivate yourselves. What is your tactic for getting into your workouts on the days you'd rather do anything else? Ihadris

First time to sign up for a challenge. I've just been a little too overwhelmed here recently to post or join any of the challenges. Well, my job requires me being online all the time, and I've started out the New Year with ONE resolution (of sorts) - I want to build one good habit this year. Since I'm online all the time, I realized I just NEED to do this. No excuses. The problem is that I hate setting goals. They scare the hell out of me. It means there's an option to fail, and I really fear failure. But I realized that to develop a habit (any good habit), you have to be patient with yourself. I can't expect to be 50 lbs lighter in a month, stronger and have a perfect eating plan without starting small and screwing up a little bit. So I've already started off slowly this year -- I do something active everyday. I missed a day last week because I spend the two days prior moving and running around, and I gave myself a day off (and forgave myself for "skipping"). For this challenge, my goals are: 1. Walk at least 2 miles 6 days a week. If I don't walk, fit in the Beginner's Strength workout here on NF, or do something on Wii Fit. One "off" day a week is okay, Rachel. 2. When I'm on vacation (woohoo Cabo!), enjoy myself -- aim for 4 walks that week. Vacation is January 17-24. 3. Eat clean for at least one meal a day. This means nothing processed, ideally meat and vegetables. My Level-Up goal -- just getting through this six weeks. It's a big fear of mine that I'll just up and drop it less than halfway through. If y'all have any ideas about how I could tweak my goals, let me know. I'm starting out slow this time.

Hello rebels, My name is Michelle and I am not new to the Nerd Fitness blog, however, I am new to the rebellion! I, along with I'm sure millions of other Americans, have decided that a healthy lifestyle is going to be part of 2013 for me. I have been following this blog for about 9 months now and last summer gave "strength training" and Paleo a try. I failed. I believe one reason was, I did not fully devote myself by joining the rebellion and staying connected, and I opted to do my own exercises and not follow the Rebel Strength Guide. Two days ago, I saw a post from Staci on NF's facebook that a new 6-week challenge was starting on Monday and I knew it was time! My husband and I had decided to give ourselves the week after New Year's Day to finish up any crappy food and/or food gift cards that we had left over from Christmas. I had already (half way) decided that January 7 would be my fresh start, so how appropriate that it's the start date to this challenge! My goals for the next 6 weeks are: * follow the Basic Training Guide exactly as laid out * make my diet at least 75% Paleo * stay connected to the rebellion I am a bit of a loner and like to think I can do things on my own, but looking back on all the times I've tried to lose weight and get in shape, I know the one thing I'm missing is accountability. I also have a goal of keeping a food and workout journal to keep myself accountable. I'm excited that my husband is also on board with strength training and eating Paleo, and I am working on getting him into the rebellion! Thanks for your support!

for those of you who've never seen this. good, short read to help achieve a goal. for those of you who buy in it, Arnold Schwarzenegger is an INTJ http://www.graduationwisdom.com/speeches/0067-schwarzenegger.htm cheesy video: text:

Hello everyone! I'm not a stranger to NF, but a long time lurker and self-professed nerd. I have a hard time following through with plans, which is why I'm hoping signing up for a challenge will keep me accountable. I also have a hard time being assertive and saying 'no' to obligations imposed on me...or food given to me... I'm not overweight, but I'm uncomfortable with where I am. My goal for this year is to run 365km in 365 days and build strength. Can I have both strength AND endurance AND stick to the paleo lifestyle? We'll see! My short term goals: Go to the gym 4-5 times per week Keep to Paleo diet (80-90% paleo), which I will record on livestrong.com tracking app Do a proper weighted squat Fit into my size 4 cyberpunk dressI'm excited to meet the rest of you and good luck on your respective journeys! :-)