week two check in!

[spezzy]

so, two weeks are over!

as we find ourselves at the beginning of week three - how's everyone doing? any challenges you didnt expect? what about big wins?

i've been insanely busy with moving and work, but somehow managing to keep it all together.

my biggest challenge so far?

[bananandrea]

So far this challenge has been an epic fail for me. I am working on trying to get back on track. Ate breakfast today... bacon.

Finally got my pullup bar in the house lol. Room is clean... but mostly cause everything flooded so I HAD to get everything out of there... about it really...

BUT! It's only halfway through right? I totally have a chance to turn this around.

NINJA POWERS GO!

[Denny]

Challenge have worked great for me so far except my attempt to eat less pasta and such. I hit another unexpected turn of events so my wallet is running on fumes for the rest of the summer and sadly pasta is one of the cheapest dishes you can get your hands on.

Otherwise I'm doing great! I'm stepping in to next gear of training tomorrow morning.

[theanne]

Diet

Goal: Bread 1-2 times per week only

- Failing at this one, I am at 3-6 times per week. Mostly due to Subway, and this last weekend: mexican food and pizza.

Goal: Stick to macronutrients weekdays, slack on weekends

- Doing about 75-80% on this one, mostly having trouble mixing and matching foods to meet the goals. I'd say A- for the effort I'm putting into it - daily tracking, meticulously trying to make what is available to me work. Also had to re-calculate my macros in the middle of last week.

Fitness

Goal: Lose 12lbs of fat OR 3-4 inches around abs

- I am down 2 pounds, and 0.5 inches around the abs. I seem to have gained strength in the meantime (especially shoulders).

Goal: Run 5 miles straight

- I haven't yet attempted a long run, so I am not sure how long I would last. I'm going to start running weekly with a co-worker once a week.

Goal: Complete a full pushup

- I can now complete 2 sets of 10 chest-to-the-floor knee pushups (my form was not so good before). Next step: 1 full pushup. Thanks to Alethea I now have progressions I can work on.

Goal: Stick to my fitness schedule, no excuses!

I've been sticking to my workout schedule if not exceeding it. I've narrowed my focus and invested in a pullup bar, barbell and dumbbell set, and got a free weight bench.

Level Up Your Life

Goal: Finish paying off credit card

- DONE

Goal: Pay extra $1,000 towards auto loan

- Working on saving this up.

Goal: Do 1 freelance job at a higher rate than ever before

- Am trying to get a certain client right now. Also, I am now working on a legit business plan for a company I would hope to launch sometime next year so I'd say I'm focused on being successful in this area.

[Alethea]

Goal 1: Yoga 10 times a week

First week was a fail due to sickness and circumstances, but I think I hit 6 which aint nothing to sneeze at.

Second week - BOOYA BABY!!

Honestly, I wasn't sure 10x a week was even possible. I have proved that it is, and I feel amazing.

Goal 2: Tai Chi 2x weekly

Week 1: missed 1 day due to obligations (obligations trump hobby classes, unfortunately)

Week 2: missed 1 day due to cancellation.

so.... win by default?

Goal 3: Pilates 2x a week

Week 1: Done

Week 2: done.

This really is the perfect suppliment to uber-yoga.

Goal 4: Bike lots

Have not touched my bike in 2 weeks. 2 weeks!! I am shaming the Biking Guild.

Life: Take Care of Business

I may only be sleeping 5 hours a night, but my duties are done at both my jobs, my laundry is put away, my house is clean, my bills are paid, my self is fed decently, and I have spent time with my family, lover and a few friends. I even gave my cat a bath. Though that was less business and more entertainment. I am a cruel pet owner.

Overall: I kinda feel like a limber zombie. Kidding (not really), I do feel absolutely awesome. I think I feel better now than I ever have in my life. I've been stronger and faster, but I feel WELL, and balanced, and light on my feet. I am very happy. The only thing I regret is my lack of biking time. Heck, I'm going to go for a quick spin right now.

[Brometheus]

Yeah, week 2 is almost over...

Diet: Better. Finally got all of the bad stuff kicked to the curb. Not really following the ratio's I set up, but I'm eating paleo foods...so woe is me, wah wah *cries*, and such. Not really I'm doing good, feeling better, and am okay with where I'm at

Workouts: Okay. Week 1 did 2 out of 2, So far I've done 1 out of 2. But I'm doing one more before the day is out, so I'll still make it! Did 1 set of sprints (finally!), so it's nice to make some progress.

RELAX: Yes, I am relaxed. Just got my blood pressure checked and it's 130/82, which is the best it's been, ever! So score one for my diet! I also have been on vacation, so I got through about 18 books in the last 10 days. Which was nice

The bad stuff? I found out I was allergic to fish oil, which has been causing some redness/acne on my face. It's going away since I kicked it to the curb, but my doctor asked about it. I mentioned it, and then said I was going to eat some fish each week and she freaked out. So she wants me to "eat lots of flaxseed oil and stop eating meat. Oh, and avoid fat." Note to self: don't ever mention food, fat, fish, beef, saturated fat or other stuff to my doctor (naturopath). So I guess I need to go buy a book or two and give them to her.

[Brometheus]

my biggest challenge so far?

That's a lot of ice cream! Do the calories count if you do crossfit?

[gr4nt]

Let's see here:

Add 10lbs to Overhead press <--- Haven't been keeping track of this, but hopefully the bit of strength work I've been doing has been working

Get a Muscle-up <---- !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! JUST GOT ONE TODAY AFTER THE WOD TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm excited if you can't tell. Maybe some more exclamation points will help clarify !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Get 1-mile time below 6:00 <---- haven't retested this yet, but been working my speed and endurance, so I'll retest in another 2 weeks

As far as diet, been pretty good except for an early morning Del Taco/McDonalds binge last tuesday. And they brought toast with my steak and eggs yesterday morning even though I said "no toast," but hey, they made it so I ate it. Come on, there's starving children in Sri Lanka.

Budget's good, and I've had 8 adult beverages in the whole two weeks. Would like that to have been less, but it's a good start.

As far as writing, I think I'm at 1,000 words for the whole two weeks. Only 9,000 short of my goal. . . . crap!

[spezzy]

BUT! It's only halfway through right? I totally have a chance to turn this around.

not even half, a third!

I even gave my cat a bath. Though that was less business and more entertainment. I am a cruel pet owner.

I have a cat if youre looking for more entertainment!

Get a Muscle-up <---- !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! JUST GOT ONE TODAY AFTER THE WOD TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

YES!!!!

[Jax_BabyJeep]

Fitness:

•RSG BW rank one (take two!) - 95% goal I think, skipped one workout after a long day in Orlando

•Walking, biking or swimming etc 2x a week - eh.. not doing so great on this one so far

•Get to 190 lbs, currently 200 - losing still ! =)

•Attend at least 1 zumba class in the gym (eek! I work out better solo for the most part and the thought of getting in a large classroom... Ugh but I WILL do this!) - crap... fail so far on this too

Diet:

•Continue on my Paleo/Primal-ish path - doing decent imo

•Track daily food & water intake, exercise & BP - doing excellent! lol

•Add to my recipe box only paleo or primal recipes - oops.. I forgot

•Try new food(s): 1 new food = C, 2 new foods = B, 3 new foods = A - Hmm... oops again *sigh*

Life:

•Make a 97.5% quality or better on my first month review - haven't received yet

•Self proclaimed pack rat - I need to unload AT LEAST two bags out of my possession. This includes going through my clothes and toss/donate anything that is too well worn or doesn't fit and/or I never wear - tossed out two small grocery bags of garbage... but haven't gotten any farther

•Upgrade the Jeep - in talks with friends for a 4 inch lift (she has a 2") and 33" tires (currently on 29s.. lol) - time to stop talking and get it done! - Tires are purchased and sitting in friends garage AND in talks to purchase lift

[Seabright]

Fitness:

Goal: Walk or Walk/Run 3 x per week.

- Um...not so much. Bailed on the idea of running the 10K, because I really really do not like running. Will walk it instead and have a much better time. Not doing walks regularly, though, and that has to change. Need to do better here.

Goal: Body Weight Brigade Workouts (RSG) 2 x per week.

- Went back up to 3 x per week, since I'm not trying to do the run. MUCH happier! I just enjoy this so much more. On track! Yea!

Goal: Build up to 4 sets of 10 25 lb one-arm rows by end of challenge.

- Just did 4 sets of 15 17.5 lb rows. Leveling up to 20 lbs tomorrow. On track.

Goal: Build up to 4 sets of 15 regular push-ups by end of challenge.

- Just did 4 sets of 10! I never thought I would ever be able to do this many! On track.

Goal: Build up to 4 sets of 10 close-hand push-ups by end of challenge.

- Am at 4 sets of 6. Moving forward on this one slowly. On track.

Specific way of eating:

Goal: Paleo here to hell and gone, including gig days.

- Only one disastrous McDonald's meal last week. On track.

Life:

Goal: Select 30 songs to work on for eventual 2-set duet show with husband. (Long-term related goal: CD and gigs.)

- 37 proposed songs on the table. A few already swapped in and out. Closing in on the final choices. On track.

Goal: Practice either bass (slaps and scales) or guitar (flat-picking) 15 minutes, 3 times per week. Gig day does NOT count as practice day.

- What's my problem with this? I think I've practiced maybe twice. Need to do better here.

Goal: Do my freakin' vocal exercises 5 times per week (week days).

- Finding ways to sneak these in every day and weekends, too. On track.

Goal: Be able to do 180 degree turn-backs against the fence up to speed, fearlessly. No holding on to the horn!

- Great lesson yesterday. Starting to be much more comfortable at speed. Did some baby turn-backs to work on form. On track.

[citabean]

One word: AMAZING!

(My Summary from my thread)

Week 2 Summary:

So this morning I did all of my measurements. To say I'm excited and inspired by myself is an understatement.

Vitals:

I've lost 9.6 pounds since I created my goals for this challenge. Yep, nearly 10 pounds in two weeks. I'm amazed by that. I've also lost 6.75 inches in my overall measurements.

Diet Goals:

• 95% Paleo - Met without issue. Realized yesterday that I'm not craving carbs anymore. AMAZING feeling. I'm also not stress eating, also AMAZING.
• Diary 2x per week - Cheese is a weakness. I think I counted up six servings of cheese this past week…
• Fruit 1x per day - Done! This one I thought would be harder, but it's not too bad at all.

Fitness Goals:

• RSG Dumbbell Workouts Rank 1 4x per week - I've continued to blow myself away with this. Nearly every time I workout I'm increasing the amount of weight I'm lifting or my form on push-ups, etc.
• 2 Hours Cardio - I biked 2 hours in one stint, that counts, right? Heh, my total for the week was actually 2 hours 26 minutes… 23.79 miles, for biking. I also did a walk this week coming in a total cardio time of: 3 hours 17 minutes, 26.45 miles. Nice!

Life Goals:

• Pulling Basement Tile - No movement on this. I'm going to start the final stretch of removing the tiles tomorrow evening then talk my parents into buying me the paint I need so I can start that this weekend.
• Budgeting - This is going to be in the process of being reworked. This past weekend, I made the decision that the relationship I was in was having a negative effect on myself and my son. The boyfriend will be moving out of the house so things will be changing in the next couple of weeks. I'll be looking at all of the budgeting stuff, cutting out amenities and reworking the budget.
• Explore 3 New places - I'm counting my walk to Buckingham Fountain as exploring a half a place. While I've never really been there to enjoy the city from that angle, there isn't much to do at the fountain. I want to explore places that let me spend more than a few minutes enjoying them. SO I'm at 1.5 places explored.

Overall:

Like I stated in the beginning, I'm excited and inspired by myself. I realized yesterday that I've not been emotionally eating through the relationship drama. That is HUGE in my book. I'm excited for the next 4 weeks and to see what they bring.

[Junglizer]

I'm doing badly. But I got a crap ton of food this week at the store. Did most of my dishes, just need to clean my place up.

[Crooked]

Thanks for starting this thread! I feel like I've been doing ok on this challenge, but it's good to recap and confirm.

Food/Fitness Goals

Resume my 90-ish% paleo pescetarian diet - except for Greek yogurt (which was one of my exceptions), I've been eating paleo every day this challenge.

Get my carb percentages into the teens/below 80 grams - I had a couple days where I was a smidge over 80 grams, but I think my carb percentages have been in the teens every day.

Get a kipping pull-up and get to a skinnier band on my dead-hang pull-up - mission accomplished! I got a kipping pull-up and went to a skinny black band on my dead-hang pull-up. I'm having some shoulder issues now, so I'm resting and I might backslide, but for now I feel pretty good about this goal.

Improve my deadlift 1RM from 185 lbs. to 210 lbs - I got my 1RM up to 195 last week. Since I can't do upper body work till my shoulders heal, I'm planning on working deadlifts and squats and hopefully getting over 200 this week.

Go to Crossfit classes at my new gym three times per week - done and then some.

Start doing the MWOD at least three times per week, working from his earliest videos to get used to them - have not been doing this. I'm not going to beat myself up over this, but I do need to start making more mobility time in my evenings. It might work to look up an MWOD at home and then do it at the box after my WOD.

Life Goals

Get rid of five bags of trash in my room and reorganize what remains - 40% done (two bags)

Get eight hours of sleep per night whenever possible - I've sort of stagnated at seven. I need to start prepping for bed earlier.

Examine my finances and set/stick to a monthly budget - I've paid off my credit cards. This weekend I plan to look at where my money is going and draw up a budget.

Start reading for pleasure after I take the LSAT next Monday - last week I read A Confederacy of Dunces. This week, I am 20% into The Shadow of the Wind.

Find a yoga studio that works with my schedule and finances - I found a yoga studio. Next up: actually attending class (this Sunday).

Start watching my Netflix or cancel my subscription - I watched one movie this weekend. If I watch four more over the course of the challenge, I will keep my subscription. It is likely that no matter what I will reduce my number of DVDs to one at a time.

Learn to ride a bike - not yet!

Overall, I think I'm doing pretty well. I need to stick with the MWODs, go to yoga, watch more movies, figure out how I'm going to ride a bike (maybe I can borrow my younger brother's) and work on budgeting, but I think I'm on track. I don't think my body fat has changed, but I'm going to try to get that measured soon so I can have something of a baseline. In the interim, I took "before" pictures and tape measurements, and I will do so every three weeks.

[Kain]

Two Week Review

Starting weight: 212lbs Currently 205lbs

Height: 5'11"

Fastest mile: 7:56

The Blueprint

Fitness:

Run a 7:30 mile Honestly haven't been too concerned with this as I am increasing my endurance through Insanity

Continue with Insanity workouts and complete the "Fit Test" with greater scores I did my 2nd Fit Test and murdered my original scores. Check out my challenge page for more details

Drop below the 200lb mark Currently at 205lbs. This should be easy now..

Win Biggest Loser challenge at work and donate money to Japan/Wife I am going all out this week and looking to drop below 200lbs to win next week. I am currently at 17.03% lost. I hope the final push this week will elevate me to the win

Finish a 5k with my Vibram Five Fingers My race is this Saturday. I plan to run a bit more this week in them. At one point during the challenge I ran over 2 miles with them. Shouldn't be too hard to do

Diet

Mostly Paleo, not interested in counting calories I have been sticking to this very well. Got a stand up BBQ so I have been making delicious meats!

Drink only once a week, if at all I have been doing about twice a week. None this week though

No grain at all I am almost positive I have had no grains. Feel great

More fresh fruit/veggies I have been getting more fruit. I haven't varied my veggies too much but can eat almost a bag of frozen broccoli a night

Level Up

Return to Mt. Hebo and get to the top (was restricted due to snowfall April 30th) - Complete 06-04-11 Finished this! Pics in my challenge

Work on budget - Save approx $200/month We have been making less random trips to the store, but we are also going on vacation and my wifes birthday is coming up. I have also lost so much weight that I am having to buy new clothes

Beat FF4 without sacrificing workout time or sleep Have been doing a half hour to an hour every night when I can. I should be able to beat the game by the end of the challenge...been leveling up nicely lately.

So far so good. Insanity has really been shaping my body nicely in only two weeks. RAWR!

[bildungsroman]

I've had far too much freelance work (good) and not nearly enough sleep (bad) so far, so I've decided to split my challenge into two halves: the first half I'll continue working on my leveling up my life goals (getting more work, learning more stuff to get more work, finishing a huge job due this week), and then the second half will be all about starting up strength training again, sleeping and eating right (nearly a week of 18-hour workdays do NOT help with that), and trying to maintain and hopefully improve the muscle I gained last challenge.

Future challenges will involve me attempting to distribute my freelance jobs more evenly throughout the month, for the sake of my health and my sanity...

[MythicalMagpie]

Two week check in, progress in blue! It's been rough...especially when my weight loss plateaued really hard...and has stayed there.

Diet Goals:

• 100% Paleo 5 days a week! Not going so badly, I've been 100% paleo at least 5 days a week!!
• Lose ten (+) lbs. (I am at 208 as of this morning) Struggling with this, my weight loss has stalled at 205...and stalled hard.

Fitness Goals:

• Workout 3x's a week according to my modified Starting Rebel Strength Routine. I've been to the gym at least 2x/week, with additional sprint and endurance exercises at home 1x/week
• Rehab my elbows and wrists Lots of progress here, with grip strength and elbow strength.

Life Goals:

• Finish my Dedicant Study Program - Not tons of progress yet here,. gonna try today to crunch some out!
• Create a business plan for new charity project, collect goods. Coming along smoothly.

[lwow]

Winning.

I am doing really well at keeping up with my morning workouts, I haven't missed one when I wasn't on the road which is my goal. They are clearly doing a lot for me too. Additionally, now I am getting up early enough to get some housework in before I head to work. Dishes and laundry and whatnot, great side benefit. Also my boyfriend decided he wanted to get in on all of this so he is a great workout partner and has been paleo for 4 days so far. It really helps to have someone on my team, especially because he is the good cook in the house.

As of last saturday I had lost another pound and my measurements are doping still. I should do an official measure soon and put it in my tracking sheet.

For smaller good things- I finally got a NF shirt, it should be here soon. I am so overexcited to wear it. I need a new avatar 'cause now I don't have those stomach rolls in this one and I found a pair of shoulder muscles, so that is sort of a goal now. At least an update to my tracking photo.

I registered for a run at the end of September, the dogfish (yes, as in the beer) dash. I did it last year and it was a blast. I am planning on taking it a little more seriously this year and get my time down closer to 30:00

Lastly on good things, in the last few days I have become re-motivated to go back to school for an MBA. It will be a lot of work simply to get in a school (essays, GMAT test, interviews, possibly a calculus class) let alone being a part time student with a full time job, but I do think it will be worth it in the long run.

Now for the, well let's say "needs improvement", areas

I need to cut out weeknight alcohol and take it easy on eating nuts

I haven't really done much after week 1 for draw/paint goals, although I did put together a bookshelf last night which was a fun little project

[67alecto]

Signing in from Mobile Bay, halfway into my vacation.

My goals for this challenge were to bike 200 miles, continue strength training, and upgrade my jeep.

I haven't been able to bike (apart from about .5 miles at the Mobile Exploreum Body Works exhibit which had a stationary bike that estimated how long you would need to exercise on it to work off a 600 calorie cheeseburger ), but before I left for vacation last week I was up to 50 miles. I plan to dive right back into that once I get home. Definitely missing it as I see all of the people biking down here.

For strength training, at the hotel on Saturday morning I did 75 prisoner squats and 75 reverse crunches. Since then, I've been swimming every day for at least an hour at a time, plus fooling around with my kids doing things like chinups and pullups on the pier (water is about waist height, so it's a bit of an assistance on the 8' pier), carrying both kids on my back as I walk around in the water, and so on. I also swam out about 50 yards from the pier and then swam back...definitely a workout and I stopped just before a cramp started in my hamstring. We've already caught and cooked our first batch of blue crab, and all of the local produce and seafood is fanstastic as usual.

For my jeep, I've put in a locking underseat storage box which has already come in handy for when I want to store my wallet or gps at the beach. Right before we came down here, I also removed the tow hook and installed a 2" trailer hitch. When I get back, I'll be looking at a hitch-mounted bike carrier. My first upgrade upon my return will most likely be headlights - the stock ones are too dim at night. First headlights, then KC lights down the road.

[Anivair]

Hit my 200 pound squat goal and my 300 pound deadlift goal already. Rehab is going well. the Physical therapist gave me a clean bill of health. Now to chill on the shoulder for a week or so before beginning starting strength in earnest.