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Hey. Sorry this is long. I have a lot to say. If you want to cut to the chase, I won't be offended if you skip to the bottom. I really want to adopt a Paleo lifestyle, but I have a dilemma. A big one. The LONG Version: I live in a tiny barracks room. Yes I'm a member of the U.S. Armed Forces, active duty. When I say "tiny barracks room" think college dorm. Or smaller. I have one room key that opens to a shared bedroom with two beds. I can see my roommate's bed from my bed. There is no room divider. She has to walk past the foot of my bed and in front of the refrigerator (simultaneously) to get to her bed. We share a bathroom with a tiny sink, a toilet and a shower. There is no bath tub, since there's not enough space for one. (Our bathroom is basically a closet.) I have a small bathroom sink which is big enough to wash my hands and maybe wash some cups and silverware. Washing a pot or pan in there is out of the question as it wouldn't fit. I don't have a counter to prepare foods (even the bathroom counter has only 10 inches of counter space on each side), so I have to use my nightstand or the top of my dresser. (My hand slipped today and I got avocado all over my printer. Not so great.) I have a microwave and a refrigerator that I share with my roommate. I am no stranger to restrictive eating choices in adverse situations. I was a vegan for about 18 months in high school and refused to eat processed foods during or after that stint. Unfortunately my military career changed my food choices by necessity, as I was required to eat in a chow hall three times a day for six months. So far I've been eating my foods mostly raw, like vegetables, or finding "stupid food" that is quick to make while still being healthy. Don't get me wrong. I have changed my eating habits already but it's extremely difficult when you LITERALLY can't cook anything. I think there may be a community stove (the oven is broken) in our barracks common area, but I would have to carry all of my supplies over there to cook anything so I'd want to prepare a lot at once, maybe for a whole week at a time. I don't have a lot of time to cook anyway since I work 12 hours a day 5 days a week, sometimes more. Another problem is that I'll be going out to do a field training exercise next week. I'm not sure who here is familiar with MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) but there is no actual food in them. They provide carbohydrates, chemicals, colors, flavoring, additives, preservatives and salt. There is very little to no nutritional value in any of them and they're based on wheat products. They will be my only (ONLY) source of food for seven days while we essentially "camp out." If I can't find anything good to bring with me that will be easy to carry and last a week, I may just not eat when I'm out there. I'd rather be hungry (or "fasting" maybe. perhaps I can meditate on the standard American diet...) than saturated in chemicals, bloated and stopped up inside. TLDR: I need resources for recipes or food in general that I can live off of in one or both of two scenarios. 1) I have no place to cook food other than a microwave and can't change that for the next year. I need simple foods and/or recipes I can mass-prepare for a week (or more) at a time. 2) I will be in the field and need a week's worth of non-perishable lightweight food, or I may not eat at all. Any input is appreciated. I'm really just open to having a discussion about this because there are so many cook books and websites with dozens of recipes that would take forever to sort through. I plan on doing that eventually, time permitting, but any advice or comments are welcome.

Hey guys *waves* So I'm still not sure what's going on in my life. There are a lot of things in flux, and yet I feel more stuck than I have in a long time. So I'm just going to take it day by day, one thing at a time, and try to focus on the process again. It's November tomorrow, which means National Novel Writing Month. I have a project that I'm going to work on, so expect to see notes/comments/progress on that. I have so much to catch up on. My mental health has been shaky lately, but that means I should be relying on this community more, rather than pulling away and isolating. I'll be keeping my head above water one second at a time.

Committing to this challenge early. I think posting here can only help me, so again it's a similar goal: daily to do list. One step at a time.

Hello Friends! Last months simpler challenge was good, not a complete success but we're going for progress not perfection here. So I'm going further down the road of "doing less is more" and just doing ONE goal for this challenge. That's right. You heard me. ONE GOAL. In earlier challenges I sort of spread myself thin trying to do a lot at once. And it was necessary to see that while I COULD do a lot all day everyday, it's not necessarily the approach I want to take. And that led to some reflection about what type of goals work for me. All of my goals last challenge were mental/emotional health oriented. And process based. So I've decided that's where I need to focus at the moment. I eat pretty well (I focus on one meal at a time and it's working). I'm in maintenance right now. I exercise consistently. I'm writing pretty much every day. So I think it's the right time to focus on my day to day process. As a note to myself: This whole challenge is about process, NOT about results. With that in mind here's my goal: Goal: Make a to-do list every day. Post it here. That's it I think with challenges right now, it's about finding simple, do-able things that will help make the rest of my life better. Those habits that make everything else flow together. Exercise, meditation, posting, those are three of the big things. And I think daily to-dos will help too. It might be three things, we'll see. Part of it is letting this be trial and error for finding a way to get shit done without getting hard on myself and therefore overwhelmed. TO THE PROCESS *clinks glasses*

I'm back! And I'm trying to be more regular on the boards again. I have a lot going on with my life at the moment: the move, Camp NaNo, finishing my re-write (or trying to), exercising, trying not to be overwhelmed, finishing financial aid, sisters wedding, blah blah blah So I'm keeping this as simple as possible. That means no theme, no frills, just 3 measurable goals I can do every day. I want to get more momentum behind me. Goal 1: Meditation Meditate for 1 minute every day That's it. Just take a minute to be mindfully aware. Who can't spare a minute? Goal 2: Post every day I want to be more active here again, so what better way than to make it a goal? Visit one friend's thread and my own every day Goal 3: Something for myself Do one thing to make myself happy every day. Can be a walk, painting my nails, making art, making music, writing, playing with a cat. Anything. As long as it's done mindfully, and with an awareness that it is for me. And then post it in the day's update. That's it! I'm still cleaning and going through my house, I'll be writing for all of April and updating those numbers here too, but short, simple, sweet, and attainable. That's what I want right now Now to find everyone's threads Goal 4: Mindful Eating Refer to this post when I'm feeling snacky

Last challenge of the year, I've been off track for most of the year it seems and its time to get going again. +2 WIS-Read 6 books +3 STR Benchpress max to 60lbs +4 STA 1 set of 25 knee push-ups +2 CON clean out the extra stuff +4 DEX +15% improvement on NF flexibility benchmarks My schedule at work is up in the air and has been since July when I applied for a new position with completely different hours. I can't allow this to continue to be an excuse, so I;m just going to move forward until I hear otherwise. CampNF was a blast, but I haven't stopped moving and traveling since and now that I'm back at home with no other upcoming travels, I need to get myself back into my normal groove. My goals this year have not really been met, but I am ok with that, other things have happened and I have adjusted. Even my goals for next year are starting to look pretty different.

Hi my lovely fellow scouts, I'm back (late as per usual) with you for a bit ! When on holiday in Cornwall, I managed to break my back - at least it felt like it - while body boarding. A wave smashed my upper body down while hurling my lower body up, resulting in a very unhealthy forced back bend. Not good. I had been training back strength (pull-ups) and back bends (bridges and all) with the assassins and that, right now, is definitely off for the time being. My GP says not to worry, but when I do push ups, pull ups, or even slight back bends, I still hurt. So I'm back with you for my next great fitness goal, which is running faster. To achieve this I will 1) run a 2K-fast every morning 2) eat low carb paleo (with beans and a little dairy) 6 days a week with an obligatory cheat day 3) do some basic yoga and strength training every day after my run to regain flexibility It's not much - twenty minuts, maybe half an hour every day - but it should be enough to lose a few pounds and beat my post-race and post-injury lethargy. (Yes I did do that half - don't ask ! Another typical Nanako story ...) So, consistency it is. Happy to be here again ! PS If I feel like doing more I will. I know my running club "friends" will harass me into running more, and on top of this, I'm resolved to join the Pilot Gig Club from next week - another group of irresponsible friendly drinkers with an exercise problem ! Let's see how that pans out. PPS I forgot to say that I don't eat after 7pm (ish), which has really helped (I've been doing this for a week now).