SocialNeutrino - birth of a star

[socialneuitrino]

Very excited about this challenge... As you can see from the picture HERE: I have a bit of abdominal fat: I am a bit of a boozer and a party animal (although still a total nerd). Not only that I have skinny arms as I haven't worked out the past.

 

My main quest is to reduce my body fat percentage and to become noticeably fitter in the process. As someone who has quit smoking, my cardiovascular efficiency is not where it should be. I want to be faster and stronger.

 

Over the next six weeks this means I will do the following:

• I am scheduled to run a 10k in September. I want to be able to run a 10k in six weeks in under 55 minutes. I will do this by running at least 3-4k twice a week.
• I will eat 4 days a week of super healthy eating (low-GI, grain-light, protein-heavy meal days), and will record this by keeping a DAILY food diary.
• I will learn how to lift by following instructions on this site, and on the net, and develop a strength work-out that is manageable but challenging.

My motivations for achieving this are explained in my main post HERE but to summarise: I am quitting smoking, and I don't want to gain weight. I am by no means disgusting, but I've let myself go in the last few years. When I was 18 (9 years ago) I cycled from Vienna, Austria; to Bratislava, Slovakia; and then to Budapest in Hungary in just over a week. On a terrible bike with only one gear.

 

Now I get tired walking up the escalator sometimes!

 

My life quest is to create budget as I am moving house, and I have just paid of my credit card by getting a low interest loan. So I want to make sure my finances are in order.. I will set a budget and see if I can stick to it for the month of August.

 

LET THE REBELLION BEGIN!

[socialneuitrino]

I've just been reading everyone else's goals, and everyone seems to have SMARTer goals, so I am probably going to change these before Monday!

 

Any feedback on where I can add more detail would be welcome.

[ArmyGuy35T]

I am new to this site but here are my suggestions and I hope others can chime in to help me learn.

 

On your main quest, set a goal. Find your current percentage, and set a real number for loss. You want to have real goals and not just Ill lose some sort of mentality.

 

I think a more realistic goal for 6 weeks for someone who doesnt work out at all would be a 5kin under 27 - 30 min. I think it would reduce chance of injury and a 5k in and of itself is no easy task.]

 

Your eating habits is a good goal. Maybe instead of somedays eat better and others do whatever, start by doing things like cutting out soda, or processed grains. My fear is that you can eat healthy every day and then eat really bad the inbetween days and it will make eating healthy null and void. Work on small changes that will add up over time.

 

Since you have not worked out in the past, I would push for body weight work outs. It is safer for newbies and much easier to get into. The beginners body weight work out on the site is good. Set a goal with that workout number of reps or time. Pull ups and burpees are great excersises and take extra weight.

[cavemom]

Your cycling adventure sounds amazing!  My husband has tried (and failed) to quit smoking for 13+ years.  He has currently quit for a few months, so hopefully it sticks this time.  So what I'm trying to say is I've seen firsthand how difficult it can be to quit smoking, even if I've never been there myself.  So good for you! 

[UnterDennis]

Seems like we have similar main quests - I agree with ArmyGuy that it's best to have a specific, quantifiable amount that you want to lose, and also echo his thoughts on body weight workouts - BBWW is great, and I know a lot of people have done well on the Angry Birds workout as well. Good luck to you - I quit smoking over 15 years ago and remember how tough it was - it only started to get easier after about a year. Anyway, looking forward to following along with your quest!

[Ishbel]

Hi there!

 

How is day 1 going?  I have added links to the group thread so it is easier to find each other.  See you over there!

[bluekiwi1]

Hope things are going well for you!  Have you thought about maybe adding a grading scale for your goals?

 

Good luck with Week 2!