keliswicked can't think of an interesting topic title

[keliswicked]

This is the challenge I know I will complete.

 

 

Goal 1: Hit the gym 3 times a week

• Planning to go Tuesday, Thursday and Saturdays
• Follow my present strength training schedule
• +4 STR

 

Goal 2: Be active for an averaged 30 minutes per day (210 minutes per week)

• Easy for first two weeks (walking to and from work is an hour in itself), but then I'm going to be driving to a new work location and I'll need to find time and ways to keep myself active
• Walking and playing tennis are the two main ways I'll be active
• +3 CON, +2 STA

 

Goal 3: Intermittent fasting - one day a week (bonus points for 2 times a week)

• Intermittent fasting sounds like a smart way to keep calories down
• My goal is to fast for 1 day a week (probably Monday or Tuesday depending on if I want to work out)
• +2 CON, +1 CHA

 

Goal 4: Learn 10 new Japanese vocab words a week and one new grammar lesson

• Each Friday I will quiz myself on 10 vocab words and Tuesday on a grammar lesson
• Grading: If I grade myself on each day religiously, I'll get a C. If I get most right, I get a B. Almost all right, A.
• +3 WIS

 

For the first three goals, the grading scale will go by how many times I achieve the goal per week.

    All 6 weeks - A, 5 weeks - B, 4 weeks - C, 3 weeks - D, 2 weeks or less - F

 

 

 

YAY!

[Chauncilay Lucy]

Good luck at your endeavours.  Your Japanese vocab goal sounds particularly interesting. 

[Tateman]

Good luck with your goals.  What are you doing to learn Japanese?

[keliswicked]

Hey! I'm self-teaching Japanese using this website mainly: http://www.learn-japanese.info/

 

I find it very instructive.  The hardest thing is trying to sound things out without anyone to correct me, but I just follow the rules they supply and listen to the voice samples. I'm more concerned with reading and writing anyway, which is straight forward enough.

 

The first thing I had to do was learn the Hiragana letters, which I have memorized.  I'm working more slowly on the Katakana letters. I work through the grammar and learn those vocab words used as I go, then supplement it with 13 simple words a week.  I'm doing everything in straight Hiragana with some Katakana right now, like a kindergartner haha. In a few weeks I'm going to start learning the Kanji symbols for the vocabulary that I know. 

 

(Hiragana is the closest thing to our alphabet, Katakana has all the same sounds but different symbols and is used for foreign words and other things, and Kanji is where one symbol represents a whole word)

[keliswicked]

Update #1 - Monday, June 3rd

 

I took my measurements yesterday to get a starting point and something to compare to at the end of the 6 weeks:

Waist: 33" (natural waist)

Hips: 40" (widest part of hips)

Chest: 43" (measured under breast line)

Thigh: 25" (used top of left thigh)

Bicep: 12" (biggest part of right bicep)

Shoulders: 41" (widest)

 

 

I'm not as fit as I'd like to be but that's why I'm here!

 

 

Yesterday and today were rest days for my strength training, so I'll update about that tomorrow.

 

I got double my activity goal in yesterday and today, yesterday by playing an hour of tennis and today by walking to and from work.

This is going to be an easy goal for two weeks, then become incessantly hard (see my battle log for details).

 

I decided not to IF today because I barely ate yesterday. I'm trying to reach at LEAST 1600 calories today so that I can IF tomorrow.

 

Tomorrow, instead of testing myself on a new Japanese grammar lesson, I'm reviewing all the lessons I have done so far.

 

 

Basically a boring update, but wanted to start off on a good note!

 

Cheers!

[Tateman]

Sounds like a good start so far.  Thanks for that link.  I might have to poke around it a little

[Rhyme]

Haha, I always love seeing Katakana -- it means I can probably figure out what that word is, not so much with Hiragana or Kanji! Goal #4 is sure to be fun.

 

For IF, do you have a time window in mind? Or are you fasting the entire day?

[keliswicked]

Haha, I always love seeing Katakana -- it means I can probably figure out what that word is, not so much with Hiragana or Kanji! Goal #4 is sure to be fun.

 

For IF, do you have a time window in mind? Or are you fasting the entire day?

LOL yeah unless the Katakana word is derived from a language other than English >_< That's why I'm learning Hiragana vocabulary slowly and surely. I could probably learn 200 vocab words this week and remember them all for about a week (I did that for Spanish) but then I'd forget them! I basically am ignoring the existence of Kanji for a few weeks still, then I'll be starting with the kindergartners Kanji symbols =p For such a straightforward and reasonable language, it sure is hard to learn!

 

In terms of IF, my time window is from dinner one night to dinner the next night, thereby skipping just breakfast and lunch.  I usually eat breakfast but it doesn't kill me to skip, lunch is the harder of the two but if I need to eat I will.

 

Today is my IF day and I just did a workout and honestly I felt great.  Mostly because I just felt lighter for the pull-ups which is IMO the most important part of my workout, so I was happy to have a lot of success on that front.

 

Thanks for the comment!!!

[keliswicked]

Update #2 - Tuesday, June 4th

 

Goal 1: worked out today, so that's 1/3 workouts for the week, next two will be Thursday and Saturday

 

Goal 2: again reached activity goal today with walking to/from work, 180 minutes for the week so far (I include Sunday in my week)

 

Goal 3: welp, I made it through the morning and a workout but at lunch I felt like I really needed food to make up for what I burned.  I'll probably try to fast again this week, because I know this is going to take some time and practice

 

Goal 4: I reviewed 3 lessons of Japanese grammar and got a 4.5/6, 7/8, and 6/6 on each review.  There's one more review I want to do before I jump into new lessons, so I'll update on that when I get to it.  Going to study some vocabulary now!

 

 

 

I had a really upsetting morning when I stepped on the scale after my workout and found out I weigh 171lb.  That's far more than I thought I weighed, and I honestly feel like I don't look that heavy.  I'm trying to move past the disappointment now and just look at it as a starting point.  I also took a picture on May 25th and have the measurements from two days ago to use and judge.

 

As always, comments and critiques welcomed!

Cheers!

[vostastic]

Oooh, good luck with the Japanese! I'm working on learning some basic Korean for my upcoming trip to S. Korea in October. It's just for a week of vacation, but I'd like to not be 100% lost, you know? Keep up the great work!

[Laureleye]

You're back for another challenge!  I like your goals.  I've got a friend going to Japan later this year, I'll have to forward the link you provided to him. 

[Nara]

ã“ã«ã¡ã‚ï¼ Man your already on the ball~ and your challenge goals seem exciting! ãŒã‚“ã°ã£ã¦ï¼You'll be the fitness burning nihongo talkin' winner of the sushibowl cup in no time *o* VIVA LA CHALLENGE!

[keliswicked]

Oooh, good luck with the Japanese! I'm working on learning some basic Korean for my upcoming trip to S. Korea in October. It's just for a week of vacation, but I'd like to not be 100% lost, you know? Keep up the great work!

Thanks!! I don't know anything about Korean, but I do know how frustrating it currently is to relearn words like "chair".  (It's "isu" in Japanese).  Hopefully some of the phrases or words you can pick up on will make your trip extra enjoyable =)

 

You're back for another challenge!  I like your goals.  I've got a friend going to Japan later this year, I'll have to forward the link you provided to him. 

Feel free to also forward me to him, to stow away in a suitcase. =) and yes I'm back!! I've let myself go long enough and am now determined to get back to the place I want to be =)

 

ã“ã«ã¡ã‚ï¼ Man your already on the ball~ and your challenge goals seem exciting! ãŒã‚“ã°ã£ã¦ï¼You'll be the fitness burning nihongo talkin' winner of the sushibowl cup in no time *o* VIVA LA CHALLENGE!

 

You're just wonderful =)

[keliswicked]

Update #3 - Wednesday, June 5th

 

Goal 1: day off

 

Goal 2: 90 minutes of activity today plus 30 minutes of walking to work - 300 minutes for the week

 

Goal 3: day off

 

Goal 4: day off

 

 

wow that was was dull but wanted to post anyway!

[Chauncilay Lucy]

Holy Crap! 300 minutes sounds like a lot. Keep it up! :-)

[Nara]

 

Update #3 - Wednesday, June 5th

 

Goal 1: day off

 

Goal 2: 90 minutes of activity today plus 30 minutes of walking to work - 300 minutes for the week

 

Goal 3: day off

 

Goal 4: day off

 

 

wow that was was dull but wanted to post anyway!

 

MORE TIME FOR PARTY HARD. -throws confetti-

[keliswicked]

Update #4 - Friday, June 7th

 

Prepare yourselves, this is going to be a big one (in terms of my other updates of course)

 

Thursday, June 6th

 

Goal 1: Worked out again today so that's 2/3 workouts for the week!

 

Goal 2: Added 30 minutes of cardio, total of 330 for the week

 

Goal 3: Still trying to achieve a full IF, but it's hard when I'm short on groceries

 

Goal 4: Nothing to quiz/test

 

 

I realized last night that I'll be at my boyfriend's parents' house this weekend and not able to go to the gym and complete my third workout!!! I was so upset.  Then I decided that I would just go tomorrow (today) instead!

 

Friday, June 7th

 

Goal 1: Went to the gym today, and since I did a strength workout yesterday and didn't want to overexert myself, so I did 20 minutes on a recumbent bike and then completed 3 circuits of the BBWW!! I was able to do every rep but man did it hurt.  The hardest part was definitely the push-ups for me.  I did the rows at 25lb and they were rough but completely doable.  So yay, 3/3 workouts for the week!!

 

Goal 2: Added another 30 minutes of cardio to make it 360 minutes for the week

 

Goal 3: I FINALLY ACHIEVE AN IF!!!!! I didn't even realize it until about half an hour ago when I said hey, I haven't eaten anything since 1 o'clock at lunch yesterday... I haven't eaten anything in 24 hours!! I was so proud of myself.  I'm eating an Activia yogurt right now just to hold myself off until around 5pm when I'll eat dinner.  So I achieved this goal for this week =)

 

Goal 4: 12/13 on my vocabulary test!! I messed up the Hiragana for "ka" and "ke" so "shell" was misspelled, but still a damn good job on my part!

[keliswicked]

Quick update: next week's vocab words are: pond, umbrella, leg, octopus, bamboo, mouth, axe, money, nose/flower, person, ship, star, tooth/leaf, bone, to arrive, to begin, to do, to know, to read, and to say

[Tateman]

Great gob!  I am only using 15lb dumbbells right now.  I'll get to 25

[Foxfinding]

 

 a damn good job on my part!

 

Yes indeed! Way to go. Rock on to victory. Heck yeah. *throws confetti for you*

[keliswicked]

Thanks for the encouragement guys!

 

P.S. Fox59, I absolutely love the quote in your signature about starting today.  I think it's so relevant to every person and it's been in the back of my mind since I read it. 

 

 

 

 

Update #5

 

Saturday, June 8th

 

Goal 1: Already completed my 3 workouts for the week! 

 

Goal 2: 2 hours of tennis (and paid the price with a wicked sunburn)

 

Goal 3: Already did my IF for the week =)

 

Goal 4: nothing to grade, BUT I did discover that since I've been drinking an overabundance of water, it's helping my health and comfort level in unexpected ways! For example, I got that wicked burn yesterday.  I didn't even feel it, just saw it a few hours later.  Now, over a day later, I have yet to feel any discomfort or tightness in the burned areas, which I sincerely believe is because I'm staying hydrated so the skin isn't drying out like it normally would.  In addition, I was lightly drunk last night, went to bed around 11:30pm, and was up at 6:30am with no problems, and felt great. I really believe that keeping hydrated is improving my overall well-being.

 

 

No update for today (Sunday) because I never do anything on Sundays and today was the same =) But I will be watching the Tony Awards tonight and then the season finale of Game of Thrones!!!!

[Tateman]

nice job

[Foxfinding]

But I will be watching the Tony Awards tonight and then the season finale of Game of Thrones!!!!

 

YES! I love the Tony's! That seems like a truly superior way to spend an evening off. I have to wait until tomorrow to watch it online, but I think the Tony's might be my favourite award show. Theatre people are just so adorkable. I love them.

 

Also: The joys of hydration are many and wonderful. It's amazing how much drinking water improves one's life.

[Chauncilay Lucy]

Quick update: next week's vocab words are: pond, umbrella, leg, octopus, bamboo, mouth, axe, money, nose/flower, person, ship, star, tooth/leaf, bone, to arrive, to begin, to do, to know, to read, and to say

 

Quite an interesting array of vocab words.  I wonder what kind of sentences could be created to include all of those words?  

[keliswicked]

nice job

 

thank you!!!!!

 

YES! I love the Tony's! That seems like a truly superior way to spend an evening off. I have to wait until tomorrow to watch it online, but I think the Tony's might be my favourite award show. Theatre people are just so adorkable. I love them.

 

Also: The joys of hydration are many and wonderful. It's amazing how much drinking water improves one's life.

The Tony's were enjoyable =) not one of the best shows, but NPH was great and there was a Phantom song, so overall I was satisfied. Plus, Cinderella. Always a winner.

 

Quite an interesting array of vocab words.  I wonder what kind of sentences could be created to include all of those words?  

Haha I never considered how weird these words sound together, but the way I pick words is by working through the main "alphabet".  On the website I reference, they teach you each of the characters and then some basic words you can create using the characters you have learned.  So, in a way, all these words are very "easy" words, or at least they're short.  I already know the whole main alphabet, but it's good practice to go through it this way =) I can see why the choices of words would be weird otherwise!