ShadowSilk -- BLUE VALKYRIE WILL NOT DIE.

[ShadowSilk]

So who out there remembers Gauntlet?  "Blue Elf is about to die."  "Red Warrior needs food badly!"

 

Well, Gauntlet had four characters, if you don't know.  The Warrior, the Sorcerer, the Elf, and the Valkyrie.  Warrior was strong and had good armor but was slow.  Sorcerer had magic, very little armor.  Elf was fast, very little armor.  Valkyrie wasn't as fast as the Elf, but faster than the Warrior, stronger than the Sorcerer, and had half-decent armor.

 

Right now, AT BEST, I am the Sorcerer.  Very little health, very little strength, and not as fast as the Elf.

 

My goal is to be the Valkyrie.  Faster than I am, stronger than I am, more able to handle damage than I currently am.

I'd like to be a multi-class character eventually, Assassin/Monk.  But in either case, I have to be stronger, faster, and just all around BETTER.

 

So yesterday I walked approximately 1.15 miles in 24 minutes.

Today, 9/5/13, I walked half a mile for a warm up, then did two circuits of the NF Playground Strength Training.  I couldn't do three.  Then for cool down, I walked the second half of that mile.  I did all of that in approximately 44 minutes.  (I know because I posted on Facebook that I was going to do it, went and did it, then checked my FB when I was done for time.)

 

Came home, had four scrambled eggs and two pieces of WW (no HFCS) toast.

 

I appreciate any and all replies!

[ShadowSilk]

9/6/13

 

Due to coughing up green sludge, which is not my mutant power, it's just something I do from time to time, I only walked half a mile today.  However, I did walk.  And then I went shopping, which included more walking.

 

Breakfast today was scrambled eggs with salsa, and the last leftover chicken leg from last night.

 

Dinner tonight is chili dogs with tater tots or fries for everyone else.  For me, it's going to be chili with hot dogs cut up into it. 

I'm planning on baking the tater tots/fries anyway, which will make the family say, "Hmm.  Apparently mother is relatively serious."

 

Still looking for a decent capoeira DVD or something, as there are apparently no classes in my area.  *Sad Monk*

[ShadowSilk]

Today...

 

While I was walking my mile, I stopped three times and did ten lunges, ten squats, and ten incline pushups, one for each spot.  I plan on doing this for two weeks three times a week -- I walk a mile a day -- and then the third week, try for doing it twice per mile.

 

NUTRITION:

 

I'm going primal, at least 80% primal, anyway.  I had a piece of my daughter's birthday cake last night, but still stayed under 100 grams of carbs yesterday.  The plan is to stay between 50 and 100 grams of carbs daily.  I may never hit ketosis full blast -- in fact, I doubt I ever do -- but by being careful and reading labels, I should be good.

 

 

 

 

[ShadowSilk]

9/10/2013

 

So today's a pure walk day.  2,467 steps in 21:56.  So the track I usually walk on is 4 and a half laps = 1 mile, and I always walk five laps, because you know, WTF is the point of NOT walking five laps there?  I think that that works out to 1.10 miles -- that's what someone said, anyway. 

If I'm not mistaken, I've taken ten to 20 seconds off of my time.  Getting there!

[MaxCurtis]

I am going to follow this battle log because you talk about food and I love food.

 

Also, because assassins have each other's backs. Keep walking!

[ShadowSilk]

OHAI I haz a follower?  COOL.

 

All rightie then.  So today was walk + bodyweight circuits.  I DID THREE!  I DID THREE!  I DID THREE!  bu they were only 5 rep sets, BUT I DID THREE!  Which is hella more than I could have done last week!  1.10 miles walked, stopping to do 1 set of five squats, five incline pushups, and five lunges per side, for three laps.  W00T!!!

 

Also, breakfast.  Breakfast is an omelet with zucchini, broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower.  (And ham.  Lots o' ham.)  I made a huge one, gonna split it in half and eat some now, some for lunch.

 

I have evaded fast food for a week.  I am ELATED.

 

You have to understand why.  I drive my daughter to and from her school.  Her school has several fast food places -- not near it, exactly, and not on the way, exactly, but close enough that it doesn't take much to detour and pick up...screw it.  I'll tell the truth and shame the devil.

 

My usual order at the McD's near her school WAS a 20 piece chicken nugget, two double hamburgers, fries, and a medium soda.  And yes, I could eat it all.  And yes, I did that several times a week.  It's a bloody WONDER I'm only 240 pounds.

 

So then my fellow assassin...what kind of workout do you do?  I'm starting the Zombies, Run! C25K program not next week but the week after.  I'm in such horrible shape, I've got to peel off some of these pounds before I can start any sort of assassin-ish training.

[MaxCurtis]

Haha, you're so great. Good on you for avoiding fast food! I couldn't go cold turkey like that, had to wean myself off of it, one bad habit at a time. I'm nowhere near the paleo everyone around here seems to worship, but taking steps in that direction!

 

I do weight machines for legs and arms and a bodyweight circuit. Day one: legs, day two: arms, day three: circuit, day four: rest, rinse, repeat. I can't even do pushups or pullups or squats properly because my limbs are so weak and wobbly, so the weight machines are to build strength and once I'm stronger I'll transition to pure bodyweight work. At least, this is the plan!

 

I am so friggin excited about the next challenge! I wrote it in my head last night when I couldn't sleep and am compulsively refreshing the page to see if I can sign up yet.

 

Are you doing the zombies as part of your next six-week challenge?

[ShadowSilk]

oooh I hadn't thought about that...

 

Maybe?  Don't know yet.  I know the last time I tried to do C25K, I couldn't get past the first session, because I was in such horrible shape.  I'm still in horrible shape, but that's changing...

 

I'm doing primal, not paleo.  It's a little different in that it allows for dairy.  My goal is less than 100 carbs daily, and so far, I am kicking ASS on that.  I'm being careful of what carbs I choose, for the most part...but hell, birthday cake.  My kids' birthdays are exactly six days apart, so there's STILL birthday cake left over right now.  I chose last night to have a small piece.  I can CHOOSE.  That's the thing.  I am taking my power back over food.  Food is still good, and I still enjoy it, but I am CHOOSING my battles. 

 

Oh, I also cut out the powdered creamer and am trying to get used to half and half in my coffee.  So far, not liking it much.  It's an acquired taste, I guess, which is weird because I used to drink milk in my coffee when I was young, then I got hooked on the powdered creamer. 

 

My son plays football and has a game tomorrow, so I'm making pasta for the rest of the family.  I have to figure out what I'm having, because I can only eat so many eggs in one day...*sigh*  poor me, I guess I'll just have a stir fry of some sort.  hmmm....sauteed chicken and steamed veg?  Works for me!

 

Max, do you have a battle log that I can follow?

[Erick the Red]

You are doing really well starting out.  Just keep up the daily small efforts and watch what you are eating and you will make great progress.

 

I probably follow an 80% primal/paleo diet.  I only splurge about once per week, but I have been tracking my food pretty closely and if I eat the right kinds of things (meat, eggs, vegetables, a few fruits and berries) over the week it can all even out.  Our family has found that just cutting out the typical dinner carbohydrate fillers (potatoes, pasta, rice) makes a big difference. 

 

I use an application on my phone to track food caled my fitness pal.  It has a website too.

 

Good luck.

[ShadowSilk]

Hi there!
Yeah, I'm looking to ride at about an 80 to 90 primal diet myself. I need to educate myself more about it, though. I tried sweet potato for the first time last night...meh. I'm not that fond. I tried zucchini, too, and I liked that.

Thanks so much for the encouragement! I appreciate it so much that you guys said hi and are commenting and following!!

Also, Erick, I'm using myfitnesspal as well.  I'll link it tonight.    I'm keeping a sharp eye on my carbs and trying to keep them under 100 daily for weight loss. 

[ShadowSilk]

SO....

 

Today I shaved 33 seconds off my time.  Down from 22:43 to 22:10.  YAY!

Today was just walking day.  I have sausage frying for my breakfast as I speak.  So breakfast -- and dinner, yeah!  is going to be sausage and eggs, breakfast for dinner.  My fallback whenever I can't figure out what else to make. 

[Erick the Red]

Good job.  Just keep at it.  I have found that there are too many people, both in the general community and here at Nerd Fitness, that start strong but fizzle out after a short time.

 

There have been many, many people I have seen show up on these boards, be very active for a few weeks, and then never come back.

 

If I knew that they were getting healthy and feeling better about themselves, this would be all right.  But I get the feeling that is not what is happening.

 

This comes from Mark Twight, who was the exercise trainer for the cast and stunt crew on the movie "300":

 

"Modern man is conditioned to expect instant gratification but any success or triumph realized quickly, with only marginal effort is necessarily shallow. Meaningful achievement takes time, hard work, persistence, patience, proper intent and constant self-awareness. The path to such success is punctuated by failure, consolidation and renewed effort. It is wet with the tears of emotional breakdown. Personal reconstruction is art. Discovering one's self, one's talent and ambition and learning how to express it is a creative process so may not be rushed. What's the hurry? Pressure to succeed according to a particular timeline comes from outside. If the goal is selfish self-improvement there is no schedule, no deadline. One's rate of progress is influenced by the intensity used to address the task. Hard, intelligent work speeds us along the path. Neurotic obsession and compulsion may steepen the trajectory but usually lead to illness and injury. In the end, the process takes as long as it takes -- you can't push the river. We are in it for the long haul and demand the same of the athletes we train."

[ShadowSilk]

Believe me, I know, Erick.  I'm usually one of those people.  Start great, get derailed at the least little thing. 

Last night, I ate two pieces of the chocolate birthday cake, at 11:00, after arguing with myself for three hours over whether I was hungry or not. 

Usually, that would have been the derail.

Not today.  I may have to either postpone or not do my workout tomorrow at all, as there are personal things going on...stupid things.  That will not be a derail.  I will not let it be a derail. 

[Erick the Red]

I ate an obscene amount of food in Monday and Tuesday of this week.  And to make sure that it was not a "derail", I tracked every calorie of it.  So now each day that I eat well, I can see how the average for the week is brought back closer and closer to where it should be.  Maybe by the end of the week there will still be red peeking out over the line that marks my goal, but it would not have done me any good to give up on my goal.  And I bet that if  Iaverage things out over the last few weeks and over the next few weeks, it will average out to be just fine.  But iw would not have if I had given up and stopped trying.

 

We have a baby due at the end of htis month.  Anyone that has had newborns in the house knows that there will be a few weeks of less-than-ideal conditions for self improvement activities like working out and sleeping.  So I am trying to figure out how I can build in alternate activities to my goals for this next challenge, so that I don't just give up on the occasions that it becomes impossible for me to make it to the gym.

 

I don't know if any of this is helpful.  I'm just a non-athletic guy who is trying to have a productive mid-life crisis instead of a destructive one.

[MaxCurtis]

Hey, sorry for the long silence on here! I've been out of town and when there is beach, there is little interneting. 

 

My battle log is here: http://nerdfitnessrebellion.com/index.php?/topic/36436-max-vs-lyme/

 

Good on you keeping on keeping on!

[ShadowSilk]

Erick,

 

babies are hard.  I know, I've had two.  Thing is, you can do it.  Get one of those swaddle/cradle things where it wraps the baby next to you and go walking.  Note I do not say running, I do not say weight lifting, but walking.  No, it may not be what your goals are, but it is movement, am I right?  Better than sitting on the couch, right?

 

Max,

 

No problem, beautiful!  Beach is good!

 

And now for the awesome...after about a week and a half of walking (almost) every weekday, and eating primal...I'M DOWN FIVE POUNDS!  Five!  Totally blew my mind, let me tell ya!  I expected at best a pound, maybe two, but FIVE??? 

 

SO STOKED, y'all.  So stoked and so proud. 

 

I am having husband help me take my measurements this week so I can use that as a tracker as well.  I start my first challenge tomorrow!!!  Here is the linkie to the challenge thread -- http://nerdfitnessrebellion.com/index.php?/topic/36583-shadowsilk-begins-to-move/ -- and I'd love to get you guys' links so I can follow you and cheer you on!

[ShadowSilk]

9/16/13

Walked my 1.10 mile.

Did three circuits of:

6 squats

6 lunges

10 incline pushups.

 

Ate four pieces of bacon and three hardboiled eggs so far today.  Probably going to have steamed asparagus, carrots, and some nice chopped bell peppers tonight with a big hunk of ribeye.

[ShadowSilk]

Ham for breakfast...1.10 miles walked in 22:07.  Getting better!

[ShadowSilk]

3 sets of 7 reps -- lunges and squats

3 sets of 10 reps -- incline pushups

1.10 miles walked.

 

Bacon and eggs for breakfast.

Not really sure what's for dinner yet, as I am making pasta for dinner for everyone else.  Probably chicken and veg.

[ShadowSilk]

HOLY GODS!

 

Did my walk in 20:54!  That's a full minute, more by just a hair, I think, less than on Tuesday! 

*does happy dance*

[ShadowSilk]

After the awesome of the morning walk....

 

 

This afternoon, I had to go to the store before picking up my daughter.  The store is incredibly close to the fast food places that I used to frequent.  At the store, I picked up what I needed for dinner, no problem, but wanted something sweet incredibly badly.  I went to the candy aisle, found a 70% cocoa bar, had it in my hand...and put it back.  I didn't need that.  I also wanted to go by the fast food place, and didn't. 

 

BOOYAH!!!  IN YOUR FACE, HAMBURGLAR!!!

[ShadowSilk]

Not such an awesome day today.

I woke up with a headache. I briefly considered not even walking, just taking Katie to school and coming back home, but I went out to the track anyway. Got my warm up lap in, started to do my bodyweight exercises, and just -- my lunges were wrong. I have a problem with form on lunges, and I know it, and usually I try and correct (constantly). Today, I just couldn't/didn't want to deal with it. So instead, I finished my walk, and let the rest of the bodyweight exercises go for today. I didn't time it because I was going to do my bodyweight stuff.

The good part is that I got the walk in. I didn't just say "not today," and not even try.

[MaxCurtis]

Good job on going to the track anyway. That's hard to do on days you don't feel well. 

[ShadowSilk]

Started the Zombies, Run! C25K today.  Here's my profile on ZombieLink.  https://www.zombiesr...com/SherriBean/

 

I'll put it in my sig, too.

 

Tired.  I know I did more than a mile in 36 minutes, but not sure how much more.