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LEVEL 0: Inaugural Battle Log Entry achieved! We need badges for this stuff, lol. Started the Angry Birds workout after a 15-minute warm up walk/jog earlier this morning (around 12-midnight) at 24-hour fitness. Though I've read Steve's email articles about being able to do all natural, gym-free workouts at the park, it just doesn't sound like a good idea after getting off of work at 1AM. I also have to be courteous about any Zumba/kinect/P90X workouts at night since I live in a small apartment complex. I may consider morning workouts, but I am nocturnal and usually don't go to bed until 5AM. This is open for alteration in time too... I did happen to see a list of morning classes, which would give me motivation to get out and lock into "zombie" mode since all I'd have to do is get out of the car and follow whatever the instructor is saying in class. EXCUSES, EXCUSES: If I get these out here, then someone will be able to chime in on how to make it so they're not excuses. I'm currently on a swing shift (M-F, 3PM-11:30PM) and have a lot of new hires, so training is amounting to overtime past midnight. Thursdays, I clock in at work at 9:30AM because I do choir stuff with the spouse at 7PM. Every other month, I'm also interning at the lab in the effort to earn my CA MLT licensure (so in October and December, I will be doing 16-hour shifts... I do not how how to fit working out without short circuiting myself during these months). The plan: continue the every-other-day Angry Birds Workout. In between, do light cardio/swim/something at the gym to get the most out of the membership. Just being able to set a routine will be good enough for now. I don't want to mention any more on the plans, other than to log what I did every day. In conclusion, the objectives are: Continue the every-other-day Angry Birds Workout until I 3-star the last levels. I am using the spreadsheet listed on Steve's blog entry. Go to the gym on a daily basis, even if it's only for 30-minutes. My form of keeping on track is to use the Yelp check-in: quiktekk.yelp.comThey say it takes 40 days to change a habit. Once I'm able to perform these two goals successfully for 40 days, I will move onto Level 1 and update the objectives (if necessary). For all I know, I might still be struggling to complete these in October (especially with the internship).

I don't know how many "Hi, my name is Vanessa, and I'm new here" posts I've filled out. With some grit, this will hopefully be the last one, since I plan on sticking to getting and staying healthy. I've been battling the whole weight loss thing for awhile now, and like many of us here, started some program, only to bail out at the site of the first obstacle or interruption. This is extremely frustrating, since I seriously considered military life in high school, was awarded a 4-year army scholarship after graduation, had spent a year training with Army ROTC's Ranger Challenge team, was given 2-months time to meet the height/weight/BMI cutoff, only to lose out due to a tape test. I think this is the first time I've readily admitted it. I am horrible at sticking to any routine and am lucky to just make it to work everyday. Sad, I know. We just recently had a heath and fitness screening at work (note: I work in a lab and am on my feet/briskly walking around instruments for 9-11 hours for 5-6 days of the week). After getting the results, I realize that I haven't improved much from last year and am in need of help in just leading a more active lifestyle. Here's my stats from Friday (8/30/13) with the optimal goals set by Provant - the health screening people: Measurement / My Results / Optimal Score Total Cholesterol / 125 / <200 mg/dL HDL Cholesterol / 56 / >60 mg/dL TC/HDL Ratio / 2.2 / <3.5 LDL Cholesterol / 58 / <130 mg/dL Triglycerides / 56 / <150 mg/dL Glucose / 87 / <100 mg/dL fasting Blood Pressure / 132/86 / <120/80 mm Hg Body Fat Percent / 34.8% / 21-32.9% for F/20-39y.o. BMI / 32.7 kg/m2 / 18.5-24.9 kg/m2 Waist Circumference / 37 in. / <35 for women Hb A1c (diabetes screen) / 5.3% / <5.7% I'm not far off, but honestly, I know I could be more fit than what our insurance premiums dictate. My goal is to be able to complete a half marathon before I'm 26 (giving me a little under 13 months until my next birthday), and a dream goal of participating in a triathalon before I turn 30. Unfortunately, there's no Couch-2-Triathalon app. Hopefully, working towards these goals eliminates fixating on numbers above. For starters, I recently sprinted/jogged/walking the Color in Motion 5K two weeks ago in San Diego... in Vibrams! I'd like to get that same "YEEAAHH! I COMPLETED SOMETHING!" feeling again and again. As for things I bring to the NF table: I enjoy sharing my day and listening to others share theirs... I'm extremely talkative on the interwebs, but in real life am quiet and enjoy listening to people. This often is mistaken for being anti-social... it's just my inner nerd being introverted, 'sall! I'm open minded to the point of being gullible sometimes, but this makes for a fun workout partner that likes focusing on the goal without judging. Anywho, now to start sifting through the boards and finding the "starting line"... let me know where I should go first!