Geojaxon kills rats in the Tavern basement with a stick.

[geojaxon]

Hello everyone, 

 

    I am pretty new to NF only been around for about 2 weeks so far but I have been going throught the steps slowly. Already I have cut out soda and started walking on my breaks at work. I am a little worried to start a challenge so soon but I don't want to wait around until next year to get into the action.  I am level 0 so I grabbed my stick and I am ready to squish some rats and get my first level up. 

 

      I am pretty out of shape. I was in the military when I was younger and that is what pushed me away from working out.  I guess being forced to workout is why I have not done any fittness really since I was discharged.  I slowly balloned up to about 270 after the military and 2 years ago decided I had to make a change. I switched from drinking beer to Whiskey, after sticking to that for a year I had lost almost 40 Lbs. (yea I was drinking that much beer!) Its been another year and at the begining I had lost even more, but  in the second half of the year my oven has broken pushing me to eat out pretty much every meal, and I have shot up to 245. I am ok with having a beer belly, I really dont care that much how I look.  Now I am getting pain when I do simple tasks. I have pressure on my chest anytime I do anything too physical. I am NOT okay with that, time for a change.

 

     I have decided to get on track and start on a path to keep myself in good condition. I really care how this is going to make me feel and don't really care about how I look as much.  I am looking forward to showing that I can keep track of what I do workout wise and keep going even if I mess up here and there.  

 

    I have added a side quest to Meditate 3 times a week so that I can build focus in my life. So far I have only tried this a couple of times but already I have noticed it helping me elsewhere in my life. 

 

My plan is to get used to making good choices about what I eat, sticking to a workout schedule, and taking 30 minutes for myself each week to meditate.  I am going to be tracking each of my goals here in this thread weekly and using coach.me for the daily reminders. 

 

 I am going to do the following in this challenge:

1. Stick to my chosen diet NF level 4
   1. no soda (23 days so far!)
   2. 2/3 vegies per meal
   3. 1/3 protein
   4. bread/pasta 2 times a week
   5. start trying to eat fruit (I don't like most fruits)
   6. track everything I eat on evernote
   7. Mindful eating
   8. eat breakfast every weekday
2. Strength train 3 days a week using the NF Bodyweight brigade workout plan
   1. get better every workout
   2. dont skip cooldowns
   3. PT extra on shoulder (injury from motorcycle accident)
3. Walk 2 days a week at the park near my house (1 laps)
   1. Stretch afterwords 
4. Meditate 3 days a week in the backyard after work
   1. 10 min per session

 

 

I am posting my begining mesurments and weight and will update much better mesurments after the challenge.

 

Biceps: 
R - 13.5
L - 14
Chest: 46
Stomach: 50
Thighs: 
R- 26
L- 25
Calves:
R- 17
L- 17
Neck: 16.5

Weight: 232  (Pre NF weight 244.4)

 

Edit: today is the start of the challenge so I wanted to get a starting point. I weighed myself and was very surprised that even before starting the challenge I have lost some. (Must have been all that soda I was drinking)

[Blaidd]

well done on the work you've done so far and what you've achieved. 

 

You might notice that someone has added a tag to your post.  This is not to box you into a corner but rather because your goals or lifestyle have links to the guild you've been tagged and we'd like to bring you to the attention of one of their guild ambassadors. These ambassadors will be able to offer you advice, encouragement and support on your goals.  You don't even have to wait around for them to come introduce themselves to you, you are more than welcome to pop into the Adventurers' board and introduce yourself to the guildies there. I am also around to answer any questions that you might have so do not hesitate to PM me.

 

Good Luck with your challenge

AB xx

[breebles]

Leaving the military seems to be a downfall for most. Both of my brothers ballooned shortly after getting out as well. The one is now roughly 375 and struggling to lose it, so definitely get on the ball now before it's nearly impossible!

 

My only advice right now is to be mindful of your first goal - "sticking to my diet" is sort of broad. It's good that you're tracking "no soda" but if that's not the only thing you're doing, try to narrow it down a little more. Every diet has slip-ups and if your goal isn't something you can actually track, you might find yourself discouraged quickly.

 

Good luck!

[Boots610]

Congrats on the weight loss and ditching the beer.  Good luck in the upcoming challenge!

[Koaladle]

Awesome progress so far! I'm happy to hear that you're making a positive change. 

 

Transitioning out of the military is a weird, uncomfortable process, so I definitely understand where you're coming from. A lot of us, for lack of a better word, rebel against the lifestyle we had to live while we were in. Unfortunately, it's often in unhealthy ways. However, most of us seem to get back into focus and take care of business. :-)

 

It's great that you're using the NF programs to keep yourself on track! You can definitely succeed in your quests. Good luck!

[geojaxon]

Thanks everyone for the support, I feel really lucky to have found this place. 

 

 

 

My only advice right now is to be mindful of your first goal - "sticking to my diet" is sort of broad. It's good that you're tracking "no soda" but if that's not the only thing you're doing, try to narrow it down a little more. Every diet has slip-ups and if your goal isn't something you can actually track, you might find yourself discouraged quickly.

 

I have gone back and updated my Diet goal to make it a little more specific. My wife is also going to help me with a better written out plan this weekend when we get to spend some time together.  I know that my diet is going to be the hardest part of this process but I got modivated last night and threw away all the candy and unhealthy snacks in my house. from here on out its going to be only healthy food.   

 

 

 

Transitioning out of the military is a weird, uncomfortable process, so I definitely understand where you're coming from. A lot of us, for lack of a better word, rebel against the lifestyle we had to live while we were in. Unfortunately, it's often in unhealthy ways. However, most of us seem to get back into focus and take care of business. :-)

 

 

This is exactly the reason I have not shaved in years! haha 

[breebles]

Your diet plans sound a lot more concrete now! Good luck!

[Koaladle]

 

This is exactly the reason I have not shaved in years! haha 

 

My Handsome Husband and I met a couple of weeks after he got out of the Navy and already had a beard at that point, so I've never seen him clean shaven. He trims his beard only to maintain a shape, so it's become quite formidable. BEARDS!

[jrosto]

Hi geojaxon, welcome to the Rebellion and to Day 1.

 

I know what you mean about that post-military weight gain.  I was 13 years in, mostly on submarines and sub support.  Granted, us sub sailors aren't the most fit of the active duty military, but we did still have to meet the minimum standards.  After getting out I reached 289 lbs.  I was happy, but dang that was a lot of weight to carry around.  Getting rid of that weight is probably the most awesome thing I've accomplished.  And yes, it feels great.

 

It looks like you have a very squared away and doable challenge ahead of you, it's going to be cool following along and reading your successes.

 

I highly recommend that you log your workouts.  A couple months down the road, reading through your journal might surprise you at just how much progress you've made.  For my body weight stuff I just use a simple notebook and jot down sets and reps.

 

As you can see by my avatar,  I'm one of the Assassin ambassadors.  Let me offer you our official invite to come check us out.

 

Here is our recruit thread for Future Assassins, and this is where we keep all the important guild info.

 

This is the Den where all the Assassins hang out, usually with ridiculous gifs.       Sneak on in and say hello (or lurk, you know whatever).  The Assassin phonebook is a cool place that we keep updated with who is working on what.  You can check out their threads or ask questions.

 

Here is the Assassins' Scullery food chat thread.  It is full of good Paleo, Primal and conventional recipes.

 

I'll be following along, so please ask any questions you come up with.

 

Again, great job at getting started, you are going to rock this.

[jrosto]

Forgot to mention that I really like the title and theme of your challenge

[geojaxon]

First day is completed!

 

I have decided to change the number of laps at the park for my challenge. Today I went and did one lap and it took me almost 50 minutes so two laps won't fit into my schedule until I start running and get the time down so I can do two laps in about an hour.  I have really stuck to eating what I should so far. (GO ME!)  I did most of my meal prep on Sunday so for the rest of the week it's easy to just grab what I need and go. I think for me this is the most important part for me to eat well. Make it easy and I can do it. I think it might take a while for me to get used to eating 3 meals a day. I have only been eating 2 for a long while but I have enjoyed my simple breakfast so far. I make a microwave omelet each morning. I start by cracking some eggs into a bowl and mix in some mushrooms onions and some bacon crumbles then nuke it for about two minutes and I have a super easy breakfast. 

[Koaladle]

I also had to tweak my goals! I'm glad to see some company in my boat.

 

EXCELLENT JOB with your fooding! So far, so good!

[geojaxon]

Wow the second week is much harder!

 

 

    I am still on track after this rough monday but after how last week went I thought this week was going to be even easier but I was way wrong.  I didn't get as much of my meal prep on sunday so I hope to catch up later tonight after work.   My workout today was my first real issue.  I was warmed up and starting my lunges and after only a couple I started getting a sharp pain on the top of my left leg. I tried one more lunge and it got way worse. I replaced the leg exercises and finished a modified workout and my leg is still sore 5 hours later. I hope by Wendsday that it is feeling good enough to continue with my regular workout. I also messed up and forgot one of my meditation sessions last week. I am going to make sure I do them right after dinner each night this week so it doesnt get forgotten or skipped this week. 

 

      I am making progress but I am starting to lose my modivation a little, I am just going to keep following the simple steps I have layed out and keep going.  I could hear thoughts in my head starting last night trying to figure out some excuse to sleep in and skip my workout but I willpowered myself out of bed and started working out as soon as the alam went silent.  I got it done today and tomorrow is my walk, so that should be easy.  I weighed myself today so I can have an idea of my progress and was pretty suprised to find I have lost about 4 Lbs in the last week. I think that is a pretty great start to the challenge.  I am going to keep this going and be proud of every rep and every bite of my new lifestyle from hear on out. 

weigh in: 228  (only 28 Lbs to Highschool era weight!)

[Koaladle]

This is all about starting the healthy habits! You're going to trip up sometimes, we all do, but the important thing is to let go of that and try again. :-) Plus, look at all that improvement already! You're doing a great job, so remember to be proud of your progress every day.

[jrosto]

There was a stretch of time when I had to talk myself into doing a body weight workout.  I would literally stand there before my first squat coming up with tons of reasons why I really did not have to do the exercises that day.  Once I did that first squat, the rest was easy.  I'm soooo happy that the exercises won on those days.  A simple mantra that I learned on another site really helps me.

 

Repeat until strong.

 

That's it, 

 

I hope your leg gets to feeling better quickly.  Did you lose your balance or twist it at all?

 

We are off to Week 2, you got this.

[Koaladle]

How has week two gone for you?

[jrosto]

Hi geojaxon, how has the rest of Week 2 been?  Hopefully things are working out well for you.

 

Off to Week 3

[Koaladle]

jrosto keeps beating me to the punch, but I'm back to hear about the week, too! Good luck on week 3!

[geojaxon]

Started week 3 today.  I was able to get most of my meal prep done last night so I should be good for the week as far as eating goes.  Last week was ok I missed a workout on Veterans day and ate way too much good free food, but me and by 2 vet buddies had a great day. I finished out the week and over the weekend only had one meal that was bad.  My weigh in today was ok 227.6.  I am still going in the right direction but i think the free food kept that number from being lower.  My work shirts are starting to fit better already too. 

I still have no idea what happened to my leg last week. I skipped my workout on Vday but the next time there was no pain where it hurt so bad before. whatever I did healed itself in 3 days and I am good to go. 

 

 

Weigh in: 227.6  (I don't think I have been in the 210's for years. Getting close!)

[jrosto]

Glad to hear that your leg has healed up, and thanks for your service.  Sounds like you have a very enjoyable Veterans Day, as did I.  My grandson's ROTC does a nice Veterans Day Parade and Review to honor Vets and it is always very well done.  I met a WW2 Vet who served on a Mine Sweeper.  Now that was tough duty.

 

Good job on the meal prep, that always makes things easier during the week.

 

Here's to an awesome Week 3. 

[Koaladle]

SO CLOSE TO THE 210s! WHOO!

[Mr_Willes]

Hope you survived week 3 and are going strong in week 4. Check in and let us know how you are doing.

 

Even if you are struggling with things, week 4 is the hardest week of the challenge. So get some support here, we are all struggling at times, but together we'll pull through!

[jrosto]

Hey geojaxon, just checking in to see how things are going for you.  Hope you are having an awesome holiday week and are busy having a great time.

[Mr_Willes]

Hey hoping you will check in let us know what is going on, even if it is near the end of the challenge, you're worth it!

[geojaxon]

 

Hey everyone it has been pretty busy for me the last couple of weeks.  I had written a post last week but never found the time to post it. Today work has finally slowed down so I have a chance to rework that post and let you all know what I have been up to.  

 

Food Wise: 

I am still doing pretty good on what I am eating during the week.  The weekends are not so good though.  My wife keeps suggesting we go get food rather than cook and I have not been strong enough to resist. I had originally planned to eat out 2-3 meals a week and cook the other ones. Now it's more like 4-5 meals out and they are all  concentrated on the weekends. This keeps pushing me back but at least week after week I am still going in the right direction.

 

Workouts: 

I have been discouraged to do my workouts due to the weather here. I find it really hard to get out of bed to work out when its 30 degree weather and the only place I have to work out is the backyard.  I still am walking every workday though and aside from not doing my workouts I have been still going in the right direction.  I need to find a warm place to work out and then it should be easier to complete.  

 

Mentally: 

I have not been remembering my Meditations either and I have been having troubles keeping my spirits up.  On Friday after work I kind of self-destructed and drank way too much alcohol and spent all Saturday regretting my decision. I have been trying to figure out how to  kick myself in the butt and get motivated to get the rest of my life in order. It seems that every time I focus on something that I want to change or work on everything that I was doing fine with starts falling apart and I have to choose between working on that or keeping the other stuff I had already worked on in check. 

 

Thanks to everyone on here for being the reason I am making another post and not just giving up like I would have done without NF to support me.

 

 

Weight as of Friday 12/4/2015 

              219.2 LBs