Valkyrie Embarks Upon A Path Unknown

[x Valkyrie x]

Valkyrie lay in the woods, comfortable in the familiarity of her surroundings. The leaves she lay on were soft as a feather down mattress, and she lay there for as long as she could remember. Now and then, she attempted to get up, but her limbs felt heavy, her head was muddled, and every time she settled again into her comfortable bed of leaves, unaware of the vines and roots of the darker things in the forest that had begun to wrap themselves around her body as she rested, utterly deaf to the sounds of the creatures which lay in wait for her. These creatures were Sloth, Complacency and Doubt.

 

Suddenly, she opened her heavy eyelids and saw the snare for what it was, the creatures threatening only in their insidiousness. With a cry of alarm, she ripped her arms and legs free of the unkind foliage and staggered to her feet, weakened by her prolonged immobility. The creatures stood at bay, watching her with hungry eyes, but unwilling to advance upon her while she faced them. Determined, Valkyrie sized them up, then observed her surroundings with new eyes.  Her previous bed of leaves was a moldy patch of mulch, where nothing could grow. To her left was the path she had wandered down to end up in this place, that she realized now was the creatures' den, a path that went in endless circles. The ground on this path was dappled with sunshine, clear of obstacles and debris - but full of deadly pitfalls, which led her every time back to this place, and a smell of decay permeated the air. To her right was a path that led...where? Surely away from this place! The ground was gnarled with roots, the sunlight strained to break through the old growth, but the air smelled fresher in that direction, somehow. As though, perhaps, a fresh water spring might be just beyond the thicket. Valkyrie knew one thing: she could not continue the way she had if she wanted to arrive someplace different. Valkyrie embarked upon a path unknown, a path less traveled, and that would make all the difference. 

[x Valkyrie x]

This is my first official 4 week challenge! I started my goals back on the 3rd, when I first joined NF, so I've had a bit of a warm up for this challenge. Now I'm ready to embark on this path, and arrive someplace new! 

 

I've always been a pretty healthy weight, though I fluctuate between healthy and slightly overweight, and right now I'm on the slightly overweight spectrum. My goal isn't to be skinnier. Maybe it's kind of sad, but I don't think I could ever be "skinny" enough to feel skinny enough, if that makes sense. I have my Grandma's Italian figure; a flat stomach is probably not in the cards because that's just not my body shape. I'm trying to learn to be okay with that. 

 

 So my goal is to feel STRONG, to be ABLE to do stuff, and to have lots of ENERGY! I figure if I clean up my diet and increase my exercise, I can't help but look and feel better.

 

 

My Objectives: 

1. Bike Tune- Up (Ok...this one is going to be done like the day the challenge starts, because I took my bike in today...but I'm counting it anyway!)

2. Drink 100 oz (5x20oz cup) H2O daily 

3. Exercise 5x >20 mins weekly 

4. Bullet Journal daily

5. Calorie intake: 1250-1450 daily (I count calories a bit loosely, the main thing is to track my food to make me aware of my choices, and to try to make smart choices to keep me within a reasonable caloric range) 

 

My Enemies:

Sloth: Laziness is my #1 foe. I am a naturally lazy person, especially when it comes to tidiness and fitness. 

Complacency: I pride myself on being someone who decides they want something to change, and then does something about it - except when it comes to my fitness level. Somehow, it's always been ok to just stay the same. No more. 

Doubt:  I give up when I could keep going because I give in to the voice in my head that says I can't do it. I don't try team sports or new activities in public because of social anxiety. Negative self talk and lack of mental toughness when it comes to exercise are challenges for me.

 

My Weapons: 

Bullet Journal Quest Log: 

   - Here I will track my exercise, water intake, and bullet journaling. When I made it, I hadn't added the calorie counting goal, so I think I will just add a symbol to put on top of one of the categories to symbolize if I met my goal or not each day.  

   - I've incorporated a 3 Life system, so that if I mess up, if I slack off, if life happens, I'm not immediately out my XP. Cause it's all about that XP! 

Meal Planner: 

   - First of all, my mom made this for me. Because she's a genius, and I have no patience for drawing lines with a ruler, but I wanted it to be cute. 

   - This is a REUSABLE weekly planner (thank you, Pinterest!), you just throw in a sticky note and there you go! It gives me a place to know, at a glance, what I need to get out for dinner, what I should make ahead of time, and helps me remember what groceries/left overs I have in the fridge, so less food goes wasted and less take out pizza gets ordered. No excuses for take out when a meal has been shopped for and scheduled! 

Strava and Google Fitness:

   - I will track my calories with the Google fitness widget to help keep me honest about my caloric intake. 

   - Strava is my favorite for tracking running and cycling, both of which are going to be incorporated into my fitness regimen. 

 

I'm ready for whatever this path throws at me!

 

[iatetheyeti]

Welcome to the Rangers  

 

Looks like you've got a solid set of goals, and I like the enemies/weapons breakdown. Also:

 

4 hours ago, x Valkyrie x said:

So my goal is to feel STRONG, to be ABLE to do stuff, and to have lots of ENERGY! I figure if I clean up my diet and increase my exercise, I can't help but look and feel better.

 

This. Definitely this!

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Welcome to the Rebellion and to the Ranger Corps. You are wise to focus on fitness instead of appearance. One of the quotes we like around here is "appearance is a consequence of fitness."

[Maggie-Miau]

Hey Valkyrie! I love your journal- so cute!

 

Also way to go on the attitude toward fitness vs. appearance!

[bker1370]

Following along mini-mate

[x Valkyrie x]

41 minutes ago, bker1370 said:

Following along mini-mate

Ditto! We will crush the Horde! 

 

44 minutes ago, MiaulinTheCat said:

Hey Valkyrie! I love your journal- so cute!

 

Also way to go on the attitude toward fitness vs. appearance!

Hehe thanks, my instant gratification monkey likes coloring in the chart every day!

 

2 hours ago, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

Welcome to the Rebellion and to the Ranger Corps. You are wise to focus on fitness instead of appearance. One of the quotes we like around here is "appearance is a consequence of fitness."

I like that too! 

[Elastigirl]

Welcome!  Nice challenge. Tell your mom the meal planner is super cute. Maybe she can make one for all the Rangers?

[x Valkyrie x]

1 hour ago, Elastigirl said:

Welcome!  Nice challenge. Tell your mom the meal planner is super cute. Maybe she can make one for all the Rangers?

Haha I'll put the order in

[whitedhairedwolf]

This looks great! I'll be following along with your first challenge

[Rurik Harrgath]

In honor of your username and first Ranger challenge, allow me to share my favorite Valkyrie art with you...

 

 

She's my guardian angel for whenever I deviate from the Path to Glory (or renege on my NF goals). 

[x Valkyrie x]

That is brilliant Rurik!! There is a place in Valhalla for heroes such as you!

[Maggie-Miau]

On 7/13/2016 at 10:36 AM, x Valkyrie x said:

 Hehe thanks, my instant gratification monkey likes coloring in the chart every day!

 

Seconded with extreme vigor. I love filling in charts, getting the proverbial gold sticker. It's a great feeling. :3

[x Valkyrie x]

Off topic book chatter: I love reading so much! I've just started the Sword of Truth series, by Terry Goodkind. I know, from hearing parts of the audiobook while being driven around by my brother several years ago, that it's gonna depress me and make me mad, but that it's also a great story. 

I think the last fantasy series I was reading was the Way of Shadows by....I forgot who, Brent Weeks? and I think I'm on the last one, but now it's been so long, I'd have to reread them to know what was going on. 

That's the only downside with series books, especially fantasy beause it seems fantasy authors are way meaner to their characters;  if you read them all in a row, burnout may occur, but if you take a break, you have to reread to know what the heck is going on! 

 

I'm also deciding if I'm gonna go for a

walk this morning, or just read or play skyrim...I feel like Sloth (and Obsession, a creature that is capricious to say the least...) are tempting me...guess I better put my shoes on and go for that walk.

 

 

[Wild Wolf]

Awesome looking first challenge! Welcome aboard  

 

1 hour ago, x Valkyrie x said:

I'm also deciding if I'm gonna go for a

walk this morning, or just read or play skyrim...I feel like Sloth (and Obsession, a creature that is capricious to say the least...) are tempting me...guess I better put my shoes on and go for that walk.

 

It seems you have the weapons to battle these foes, so I say take up arms and slay away, Valkyrie!

 

 

Wolf

[x Valkyrie x]

20 minutes ago, Wild Wolf said:

Awesome looking first challenge! Welcome aboard  

 

 

It seems you have the weapons to battle these foes, so I say take up arms and slay away, Valkyrie!

 

 

Wolf

 

Thanks Wolf! I walked for 30 minutes, and listened to Tunnel in the Sky by Heinlein, thus combining exercising and reading, resulting in a win-win!

 

[Tova, Warrior of the Wilds]

Love this! Definitely following!

[x Valkyrie x]

GUYS!! I just watched this show about Spartan races, it's like a mega  Spartan obstacle course competition and it's amazing! So I looked into the Spartan training, and there's a couch to sprint training program! 

 

I'M GONNA DO IT!!! That will fulfill my 5 days a week of exercise, and it combines cardio and strength training in a really functional way. I like it!!!

 

AND it's a 5 week program, so it fits pretty perfectly for my challenge schedule! 

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Spartan races occupy a rather special place in the heart of the Ranger Corps, you will find yourself in good company. 

[Aegir]

Great challenge goals! It's nice having another challenge newb around for company.

What's a bullet journal?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

6 hours ago, Aegir said:

Great challenge goals! It's nice having another challenge newb around for company.

What's a bullet journal?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It's when your ammo records it's thoughts and feelings each day.  

Seriously though, it's a different way of journaling: http://bulletjournal.com/

[x Valkyrie x]

38 minutes ago, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

It's when your ammo records it's thoughts and feelings each day.  

Seriously though, it's a different way of journaling: http://bulletjournal.com/

*gasp* is that your journal, Tank!? <3

6 hours ago, Aegir said:

Great challenge goals! It's nice having another challenge newb around for company.

What's a bullet journal?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

We shall be victorious! 

As Tank said, it's a different way of journaling. For me, it's a To-Do list meets planner meets journaling space, meets tracker of every conceivably trackable thing. Because of the way it's organized, it's flexible enough to be whatever you want it to be all in one place. I write personal journal entries, made a meal plan and my quest tracker, track my savings and made a budget, mafme a cleaning schedule and it's all really organized and helps me stay on top of things. I LOVE IT! it's a bit of an obsession at the moment...

[Maggie-Miau]

1 hour ago, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

It's when your ammo records it's thoughts and feelings each day.  

 

"Dear Diary, mamaaaaaa.....I just killed a man.."

 

I love that "Pay It Forward" section in the journal! That's a neat idea!

[x Valkyrie x]

@MiaulinTheCat @bker1370 @Tanktimus the Encourager

 

Hey Guys! So, our mini challenge is lunges. Any idea how many we want to be aiming for singularly or collectively? Go Alliance! Climb the mountain!! 

[Maggie-Miau]

11 minutes ago, x Valkyrie x said:

@MiaulinTheCat @bker1370 @Tanktimus the Encourager

 

Hey Guys! So, our mini challenge is lunges. Any idea how many we want to be aiming for singularly or collectively? Go Alliance! Climb the mountain!! 

 

All of them! Joking aside, since I don't see anything about a set minimum required to 'win', I'd say everyone should probably just Try Their Best?  Do we think we can get at least 250 each, perhaps, since there are four of us? Not all at once, but over the course of the week? (feel free to shoot down that suggestion and burn it with fire, of course)