everanything: it's time to begin.

[Merrin]

So, hi. I'm nervous as, but really excited. I made an effort 5 years ago to get in shape, but it didn't work out. I didn't have a solid plan, or much support. I can tackle part 1. I'm hoping the forums help with part 2.

 

I've been around a size 10/12 for the last few years, ever since having a full-time desk job. I used to enjoy dressing up, but my nice shirts and dress pants stopped fitting and I didn't want to buy new ones. I hide in loose sweaters and hoodies and jeans. I don't like it, and I want to change.

 

My inspiration for my first quest is Sailor Moon. (I'll do some silly theme some time.)  I've loved it since I was small, and SMC has only brought back the nostalgia. Makoto/Jupiter has always been a personal role model for me: a bit shy, a bit intimidating, a love of food and sewing. She came to the game with natural strength, but the Scouts helped her learn how to hone it, and how to value herself. Starting my first thread is the beginning of my character arc. It's definitely like transferring to a new school.

 

Main Quest: Lose 1-2 pants size. I may also try to reflect this with inches/pounds lost.

 

Subquest #1: Bodyweight! I've tried it a few times and the beginner level has been a great challenge so far. Aiming for 4x/week. I do have to modify the pushups into dips, due to a bum shoulder.

 

A: 20x, +2STR. B: 18x, +1 STR. C: 16x, +.5STR.

 

Week 5: 11/18

 

Subquest #2: Stay Active! I need something to keep me stretched and limber between bw circuits. I'm only aiming for 2x/week on this, with options for club nights or Ingress adventures on other days.

 

A: 12x, +2STA. B: 11x, +1 STA. C: 10x, +.5 STA.

 

Week 5: 9/10

 

Subquest #3: LowCarb/ModPaleo. I know how my body needs to be fueled, and straight paleo cannot sustain me. However, I overdo carbs a lot (every meal, plus snacks.)  I'm aiming for LC/MP meals twice a day, INCLUDING my weekends. On my days off, I don't eat well....at all. It's bad. Just so bad. Each good meal is 1 point. {42 days=9 points handicap.}

 

I am also trying to minimize sugar as much as possible, aiming for 30g/45g/60g per day. Each day that I do so is 2 pts, 1 pt for the next goal, and .5 for the lowest. { 12 A days, 22 B days, 8 C days.)

 

A:  75 points, +1CON, +1STA. B: 70 points,  +.75CON,+.75STA. C:  65 points, +.5 CON, +.5STA.

 

A: 50 points, +1CON, +1CHA. B: 40 points, +.75CON,+.75CHA. C: 30 points, +.5 CON,+.5CHA.

 

I'm aware my points system looks slightly insane, but I like numbers and a range of goals.

 

Week 5: 66/34

 

LifeQuest! UPDATED as 3/23. Stick to weekly paycheck budget. Keep up with incremental savings.

 

A: Budget and savings both accomplished, +2WIS. B: Budget accomplished, +1WIS.

 

Motivation: I want to feel more confident in my cosplay. I want to fit into my nicer clothes again. I want to be stronger than I already am. =D

[CyclingMimi]

I used to watch "Sailor Moon." I wasn't small, but who cares? haha

 

All the best on your goals. I'm also going to be doing a body weight workout - the Angry Birds one. We can do this!!

[Merrin]

We can totally do this! I actually haven't checked out the Angry Birds one yet, it might be a good rotation if Basic starts feeling boring.

[sam urai]

if you already do cosplay, you are far more confident than me. maybe a futur challenge

i start a paleo diet two month ago and that s what brings me to nerd fitness web site.

it works for me : about 16 pounds lost

best wishes for your challenge

[Merrin]

Mini Challenge #1:

 

Is your overall quest achievable (over a short or long period of time)? Is it reasonable?

 

I think 1 pants size lost over six weeks acheivable, and reasonable. If a 'safe' amount is 1-2 lbs, then 6-12 lbs total could be a pants size.

 

Do your 3 quests all build towards your main quest in little ways, or are you taking on too much? Do your quests have sub-quests or is it just one thing to focus on?

 

All 3 quests contribute towards the one quest. Daily activity and healthy eating don't feel like too much for me to adapt. One quest does have two parts, but they both aim at cleaner eating. Building lean muscle and a more flexible frame should trim me up, as should improving the fuel I put in my body.

 

Are your main goals realistic? Can you scale them to smaller steps to fit your life better, even if it will make it take a little longer to achieve them?

 

I'm not sure if I'm missing something on 'main goals'. If it means the goals for each mini-quest, then yes, they're realistic. It's activity I have done before, and eating choices that are relatively easy.

 

Are your goals able to be measured and tracked? What will you use to track them?

 

I can measure approximately the amount of grams of sugar I consume each day. I'm looking into any sort of app to help with this; if not, I do have a day planner to keep a tally. I'll also make check/plus marks for the days I complete the exercise needed. I'm going to use a Battle Log to track meals and workouts, too.

 

How are you grading your goals? Are they pass/fail (“every dayâ€, “not even once over the six weeksâ€)? Is there a reward for the effort, or are you only grading yourself on whether or not you “lose the weight†or “run the distanceâ€?

 

I'm using an A/B/C system, as adopted from the template. I realized from this I do need to also put in some sort of point system to average out the grades, ie if I get mostly Bs with the sugar grade, but a few Cs and a few As, then it would obviously average out to a B. I'm trying to think of a reward for each goal that relates to said goal. I want to believe that 'the reward is the work' but a shiny carrot never hurt anything.

 

What is your plan for continuing/altering/grading those goals if you become ill or injured?

 

Illness is more of a risk for me, with spring approaching; my sinuses were already bad once this year, and I want to comfort eat with lots of sugar and processed glop. If I begin to feel ill, I will pre-cook several meals while well, so that I have something good to reach for when I'm sick. I will reduce the circuit days to only walking, and the yoga days just to stretching. If injured, it depends on the injury. I know of several yoga and circuit routines that can be adapted with an injured wrist or ankle.

 

Did you take into consideration any special occasions (Labour Day, Independence Day, birthdays, anniversaries, etc) that may occur during the challenge? What modifications do you need to build into your goals for those?

 

Yes! I do have an anniversary in March, but BF likes paleo too, so hopefully we'll go somewhere with steak. Or lobster. Mmm, lobster. I do have a hockey game or two, and I always get J&C's; I need to not do that, because soda is bad, mmkay. I will plan ahead of time to eat a large snack if the games will interfere with meals. I will allow for wine or beer possibly, or plan out my sugar units on game days. None of the game times will get in the way of any normal exercise.

 

Do any of your main goals conflict with each other? Will one goal make it hard to do another?

 

Nope.

 

Do you already have the time in your schedule to actually complete the goals you’ve set? If not, what are you planning to do to make time for them?

 

I have more than enough time. I'm guilty of the 'but when could I possibly ever work out' but then I'm playing 3DS for two hours. So, I can cut down on things like that.

 

Are you trying to build multiple habits, or is all your energy focused on your main quest?

 

Mine is a bit multiple-habit. Some sort of daily activity needs to be part of my routine, along with kicking my sugar addiction.

 

+1WIS!

[Merrin]

I'm at work and I can't figure out how to do gifs or pictures, darn you double post!

[Merrin]

if you already do cosplay, you are far more confident than me. maybe a futur challenge

i start a paleo diet two month ago and that s what brings me to nerd fitness web site.

it works for me : about 16 pounds lost

best wishes for your challenge

 

Thank you for the upvote on my confidence, it's very sweet; I just want to be more confident and more daring in my outfits in the future. I'm really glad to hear paleo has been working for you, I like it and I'm really optimistic.

[jkiley]

Keep with it, and with some help from the rebellion you can do it.

[Merrin]

So, I suppose this is the best place to put these. Measurements as of today, since I was near a scale.

 

Height: 5'10''

Weight : 194 (Yikes.)

 

Bust: 38.5

Waist: 40.5

Hips: 43

 

That might be the heaviest I've ever been, or darn close. I knew I had gotten pudgy, but it didn't seem that bad. 

[Merrin]

Updated my daily food goals and weekly workout goals with point totals, to make it easier to tabulate each day, and near the end of the challenge. I'm still trying to think up tangible goals.

[Larnlou]

Haven't seen Sailor Moon for years.  She's an awesome role model!  Good luck with your Challenge 

[Merrin]

Haven't seen Sailor Moon for years.  She's an awesome role model!  Good luck with your Challenge 

 

Love and justice and girl power! What's not to like? Thanks for the encouragement!

[starsapart]

Welcome to the Rebellion!  With the bodyweight work you're doing, you've attracted the attention of the Assassins' Guild.... but don't worry, I'm here in a supportive capacity!  Even if you ultimately don't join us, we'd love to help you along on your journey, and there are a lot of people working on goals similar to yours within our black-clad ranks...

 

If you think you might like to check us out, I hope you'll come by the Assassins' Den chat and say hello!  We're very welcoming killers-in-black, really.       You can also check out the Assassin Guild Info & Announcements for more info about what's going on with the guild.  Pretty soon, we should also have our Assassin Phonebook up to date as well, which will allow you to find people who are working on similar skills to yours.  And though we may be the bodyweight guild, we're also a guild of extreme variety - we do a bit of everything!

 

Additionally, if you like what you see, I encourage you to go introduce yourself on the Level 1 Assassin Initiates Q&A/Chat thread as well!  There are a lot of fun people hanging out as they consider whether to join us - and you can make new friends, ask questions of guild leadership, post awesome gifs (we wouldn't be Assassins without gif parties) and more!  I hope to see you there soon.

 

If you ever need anything, feel free to PM me or catch my attention by quoting one of my posts.  Otherwise, I or one of my colleagues will be stopping by to check in on you and celebrate your successes as the challenge goes on.  Now get out there and crush those goals!

[Merrin]

Welp, I definitely lost to the Sugar Dragon today. Some serious critical hits. But today is a new day!

[Merrin]

Also, I cleaned like a maniac yesterday.

[Amdhiel]

I'm at work and I can't figure out how to do gifs or pictures, darn you double post!

 

There is a picture button on the formatting bar that you can use to add gifs and pictures. You just need to copy the image address and paste it into the pop up window.

 

How has the rest of you week gone?

 

[Merrin]

There is a picture button on the formatting bar that you can use to add gifs and pictures. You just need to copy the image address and paste it into the pop up window.

 

How has the rest of you week gone?

 

 

Eeee my first gif present is pandas! Yay!

 

The rest of the week went pretty well, honestly. Dinners could've gone a bit better, since it's my non-paleo meal, and more than being non-strict, I cheated a bit more than I should've. I learned I hate having to cook after my workout, but I want to workout as soon as I get home before I get sucked into a book or a game, but then if I cook as soon as I get home, I want to eat, and then my tummy is full so I won't work out for a while, so then the night gets away from me! GEEZ! What works is if I cook enough on non workout days to have leftovers. I am in love with casseroles again. BF has been super helpful about this, too, including being the voice of reason when it comes to the Sugar Dragon.

 

I don't want to be overly optimistic yet, but I may have lost an inch of my stomach already. I'm really liking the BBWW, and low impact stuff on alternate days. My weekends will probably still be a challenge for the next few weeks, til I have a more 'responsible' routine for those days.

 

I jumped in on the No Soda PVP, which should help with the sugar problems.

[yygsdragon]

Hey! I love sailor moon too my favourite has always been sailor mars. I find it hard to go fully paleo, I'm asian and can't really eat with family or friends if I can't eat rice. Weekends are tough, maybe find an acountability buddy to help? Good luck! 

[Merrin]

Hey! I love sailor moon too my favourite has always been sailor mars. I find it hard to go fully paleo, I'm asian and can't really eat with family or friends if I can't eat rice. Weekends are tough, maybe find an acountability buddy to help? Good luck! 

 

I have a terrible problem with pasta. And if I eat with my inlaws, it's hopeless, everything is bread and lasagna and stuff. I've got an accountabilibuddy in my BF, who is home in the afternoons from school. I haven't found an AB group on here yet, but I'm hoping the recruit threads keep me on track.

[Merrin]

So, good news is that there are leftovers from yesterday for tonight's dinner, so my fit about eating vs working out vs slacking etc etc won't be a problem.

 

Thinking back to Sunday, why is it so hard to work out when depressed? I tried to use the self-hatred as fuel, thinking "Hey if I'm fit I won't feel like this as often" but it didn't work. I just made myself do it.

[Merrin]

I lost an inch off my hips and my waist. BOOOOM. 

[Merrin]

Mini Challenge #2: Following Trewest and Cirrus. Updated my signature a bit.

 

+1 CHA!

 

Also I found sugar free red vines at the drug store. Huehuehuehue.

[starsapart]

Wooooohooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo on the inches lost!!!!! :D :D

[Merrin]

Wooooohooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo on the inches lost!!!!! :D :D

 

Eheh, yes. It was surprising to have that result after only 1 week. Maybe this won't be so hard.

 

Although I am feeling off track from missing a workout, and having a bit too much sugar besides, because dizzy spell= sleep because anxiety which also= lots of sweets and just badness.

 

But! I'm going to hit the health food store to make lots of awesome paleo food for the week.

[starsapart]

Have fun cooking delicious things!