Steppinon D'Arrows stepping on the path

[Steppinon D'Arrows]

Not quite sure how to do this.  I thought it started today, not yesterday. Oh well...

 

Okay, going to start.

 

My main quest is to get to a healthy weight and be fit enough for my future which will hopefully be in a job as a prep cook and for being a better cosplayer.

 

To do this, I will stay on Weight Watchers and start by slowly losing ten pounds, although I plan to lose fifty or so.

I will also keep up a regular exercise routine that will give me strength and energy to last for a long time. (CON, STR, STA)

Thirdly, I will study hard in my classes and do my best in whatever task I need to perform. (WIS, DEX and CHA)

 

My life side quest is to finish my project for Front-of-the-house class. I really hate those sorts of things and I'll give myself some wisdom and willpower for finishing it. Charisma as well, if I do well in the oral report.

 

My fitness side quest is to get skilled in DDR enough to do five "feet" songs easily and comfortably. Yeah, I'm not that great at DDR yet, I can barely do four "feet" songs, but I'm getting there. (DEX and STA)

 

I'm doing this challenge to be a better person inside and out.

[metal_weaver]

YEAH for DDR related questies!!! I was just getting into 5-foot difficulties when I stopped (as a teenager). SO miss it. I can still shred quite a few 4-foot difficulty songs. Aaaah... the flashy arrows. *daydreams*

... *5 minutes later* ...

Oh, erm, sry 'bout that...

 

SO! Looking forward to hearing what you consider a "regular exercise routine". C'mon, you can be more specific than that! Let us know your plan so we know what to hold you accountable to.

Also, just out of curiosity, what classes are you taking? Makes me wonder with the + to DEX.

 

Subbed for sure - can't wait to see you tear this thing up!!

 

GO ARROWS GO!! *dons the pom-poms*

[Carly Rae Jepsens Warlock]

He yoooo! I be hiyooooo-ing you!

I mean—welcome my friend! Welcome to NF! First step into a healthy way of life; check! Congrats, bud!

You can do this if you will it, my friend! Starts are always hard but once you get into the rhythm; nothing is impossible

And as the person above puts it, you need to be more specific! Generalised goals and motivations won't help you in the long run because working out is a long term thing and something this hard and long term should be fun to do, right? plus it'll help you choose an appropriate guild/sect

Anyway, I will be here to help you in anyway I can! Plus, motivating you every step of the way!

Let's do this! Good luck, my friend!

(P.S: Be strong, be brave and be awesome!)

"This message was brought to you by my fingers which were activated by the electrical signals sent from my brain through a network of nerves and ganglia".

[Blaidd]

DDR rocks!!  Even when i was a dancer I couldn't get it down.  Hahaha.

 

You might notice that i've added an Adventurers' tag to your thread.  This isn't to pigeonhole you into particular guild (although you mentioned it's your ultimate goal), but rather to bring one of their ambassadors here to offer you encouragement, support or advice.  Your goals this challenge fit well with the overall spirit of their guild and you are more than welcome to pop into their Tavern and introduce yourself to them.  You are also more than welcome to pop me a message anytime. 

 

Good Luck

AB xx

[Raidne]

Hi!  I'm Raidne.  Just thought I'd pop in and see how things were going!   

[Steppinon D'Arrows]

Hi,

Just noticed some of you posting in here.

Okay, to answer you guys, when I say "regular" I mean it as in time, doing at least something a few days a week, if not most every day. I'm doing alright in that respect, I think, though I probably should work on strength building a little more than I am.

I'm taking culinary classes so I'm working on learning knife skills and handling plates and ingredients as part of that. That's where the +DEX comes in. Don't want to cut myself, do I?

 

Thank you, metal_weaver and Blaidd for encouragement with my fitness side quest and thanks to all of you for the support. I'm getting better at four feet songs but I'm still not five feet material. Those 1/8th arrows can be brutal and there's this one song with all those freeze arrows that seem to overlap others so I'm having trouble with stepping on one without losing another. Also, my dance pad is a bit widely spaced so it's easy to lose my place while dancing. Still, I've done "Gamelan de Couple" several times on light mode with a full combo of 149. I just need to work on my timing itself in order to get higher than an A*. I love the Captain Jack songs and the instrumental ones, as well as ones based on classical tunes (such as "Dream a Dream", "Speed over Beethoven", etc.)

By the way, has anyone else noticed how much "Polovtsian Dances & Chorus" sounds like "Stranger In Paradise" from Kismet? That's because they have the same source. Nice bit of trivia, that.

 

On my front of the house class, I just tested out on Kiosk today, so that's part of it complete.

 

Also, Blaidd, I don't mind that you added the Adventurer's tag to this. If you thought that it was the right thing to do, then I trust your judgment. I'm still so new to this. I was thinking about being an Adventurer or Assassin once I completed my first six-week challenge.

[Steppinon D'Arrows]

I'm doing better. Yesterday, I got through "Burning Heat" with a C on Standard and a AA* on "Gamelan de Couple" in Light. My legs are looking better than they've been in a long time. Four feet songs are getting easier but I'm still having trouble on "Dance Dance" and "Gekkou Chou". Also, diagonal jumping (a vertical and horizontal arrow simultaneously) isn't easy.

 

I also got some work done over the weekend on that project. It's coming together but it's still very basic. I have to finish by October sixth so I'm getting all the homework I can do at school done so that I can concentrate both on that and on going out with my friends.

[Carly Rae Jepsens Warlock]

Great progress, bud! Keep up the good work!

This message was brought to you by "my five fingers and co."backed up by, "the jolt of electrical signals from my brain speeding through a network of nerves and ganglia".

[Steppinon D'Arrows]

Got my project done and presented, sort of. I give myself a D for effort. I got most, if not all, of the necessary information but I did not present it well and it wasn't very pretty.

 

Still working on testing out of this part of my culinary course. Almost done, still have a few things to do and I hope I do them before the weeks are up.

 

Four feet songs are getting easier and I'm getting a little stronger from using my backpack for dumbbell rows. (It's got heavy books in it.)

 

Losing weight, however, has been challenging for me. I've kept the same weight for a while now, as I have given in to temptation sometimes when I've been out with friends...At least I didn't gain,...right?

[Steppinon D'Arrows]

Getting better at five foot songs. Completed "Dance, Dance" on Light with an A, finally!

 

A Publix scale I tried that I don't consistently weigh on (I use another one) says I lost two pounds but I won't believe a word of it until I see it on my regular scale. Zero point meals for one meal out of three are awesome.

 

Tried a weights class and overdid it.  Going to start with five pound weights instead of ten next time I decide to go.

 

I have two more things to do next week and then I go to the next culinary course.

[ErikaisEpic]

Way to go on everything thusly. I get dieting can be really hard sometimes, but if you remember your motivation for loosing weight you will have a higher tenacity to avoid the seduction of food That sucks you overdid it. Do you think you pulled something? But I am glad you are still trying and learning from mistakes. I like the idea of becoming OP at DDR for exercise. That is a really cool way to do it! Keep on going, you got this.

[Steppinon D'Arrows]

Thank you for the encouragement, ErikaisEpic!

 

No, I didn't pull anything, but my blood sugar must have dropped way low because I felt a little nausea and shaky. Good thing the place was having a special where they gave out some free nutrition bars and the tiniest bottles of water imaginable. I needed that because having that happen really scared me.

 

I'm going to bring a big bottle of water and some sort of snack with me also, when next I go. (It might be next Tuesday, if I feel up to it.)

 

Actually, I just weighed myself on my regular scale today and that scale turned out to be correct. I've lost another two pounds! Yay!

Substituting fruit for ice cream sometimes was one of the better choices I've made this past week or two.

[ErikaisEpic]

Ice cream for fruit is a good one. Both are still sweet but one is way, way better for you. I hope you do get to push yourself next Tuesday. I will be doing the same thing strength training. 2 pounds is great! Keep on pushing forward you are doing really well so far.

[Steppinon D'Arrows]

Thanks!

Just tested out of Front-of-the-house. Hot foods, here I come, I guess.

 

Completely pigged out at an ACF meeting yesterday, but I went to bed early, did some DDR in the morning and plan to go to that weights class again today.  Hopefully, that will make up for such a bad slip-up but I can never tell with these things. I'm still keeping track on WW the best I can.

 

...Maybe my new class will be more physical so that I can pack some more exercise into my day? I hope so. 

[Steppinon D'Arrows]

Good things about yesterday:

 

Went to weights class and learned on my own after someone mentioned the term about "hypoglycemia". Maybe going twice as fast as the instructor wasn't a great plan.

 

Bad things about yesterday:

 

Learned that I had gained a pound. Yes, I hadn't gone #2 before weighing, I was wearing baggier clothes than usual and it's my "time", but that really shouldn't matter, should it? Should I really think of it as "water weight" or should I change my signature to account for that pound?

[Steppinon D'Arrows]

Did some stuff for Front-of-the-house at school and kind of went off DDR and I'm getting back onto it. I'm also trying to do a bit more weightlifting and working out with some of that "beginner's bodyweight" thing. I'm also learning to manage my energy. No more zero point meals, for now. They aren't working out.

 

Doing several DDR courses (4 or 5 songs per course) one by one in a row tires me out. I need more endurance. Those were mostly all 3 feet songs.

 

Tomorrow is going to be an experiment in tasting with Store Bought Mix Red Velvet Cake vs. Homemade Red Velvet Cake. I'm bringing a light lunch and eating a light breakfast to make up for it. Also, I will be going out with friends. I am determined not to let this set my diet back too far.

[Steppinon D'Arrows]

Aaaaaaaaand I'm officially done with Front-of-the-house! Let's give me a C, since that's mostly what I got on average on my tests (Bs and Cs) and I think I should have studied more.

 

Ate a light breakfast and I'm having some of those yam (shirataki?) noodle things (and some homemade tomato sauce with veggies and butternut squash to go with it and fruit for dessert) for a zero point meal for lunch since I just had two slices of Red Velvet Cake and some Columbian coffee (sans milk/sugar) so I'm going to be pretty energetic and still keep my diet. Maybe zero point meals will work if I just make sure to get enough carbohydrates? It could be I just wasn't eating enough of the foods I was needing/having.

 

I just got dismissed but I'm going to stay just a few minutes longer to check out the school's knife set. I'm going to need a Chef's Knife, at the very least.

 

This weekend, I'm going to look into that and maybe weigh myself. I haven't done that in a while.

[Steppinon D'Arrows]

Taking it slow today and doing very well on points. Apples help with cravings.

 

Did some DDR and got some new records on the Nonstop mode in DDR:Extreme. The records really motivate me.

 

My breakfast today, egg sandwich on whole wheat bread with spinach and a little cheese and small chicken sausage with a side of red cabbage stuff with an apple was only six points and it was filling enough to last a couple of hours before I needed to eat another apple and some carrot pieces.

 

I might or might not get back to 163 before Halloween but I'm relearning what got me there and what will help me lose more so I'm proud of myself. I will try to order sensibly if I go out with one of my friends tonight.

[Steppinon D'Arrows]

Correction: seven points. One whole egg is two. Just looked it up.

[Steppinon D'Arrows]

Got it! 163! Yay! My next mini-goal is 161 and then 158.

 

Started in hot foods today with my brand new chef's knife and it was fun. Aside from lunch break, I was on my feet all day. I did accidentally cut myself a little when I was cleaning, as my knife was very well sharpened, but my teacher says everyone does that on the first week. I was one of the few fully prepared for the class and it really paid off: I got to mince the garlic and chiffonade the basil! That was awesome! I saw two of my fellow students using orange-painted santokus like the ones I saw at Old Time Pottery. They're pretty and all, but wouldn't the paint chip off and go into the food eventually?

 

I only have two regrets about today: I forgot which was a spider and which was a skimmer and I shouldn't have tried the coconut shrimp. I don't do well with shrimp. I'm not allergic where I'm swelling up or breaking into hives but...maybe it's an intolerance? Either way, I'm not feeling 100% today and it showed, my classmates kept asking if I was okay. They're really nice.

 

Having leftover lasagna tonight. I didn't overdo it yesterday, which I was proud of, and I plan to be just as conscientious today. Only one cup of lasagna is enough.

[Steppinon D'Arrows]

Okay, just figured out the six week challenge ended days ago.

God, I'm an idiot!