cozwolf's struggle with...everything

[cozwolf]

Hey everyone!

I've been following nerd fitness off and on for a few months. I really want to start eating better and exercising but I've run into the same road bumps every time I try. First off every time I try and eat healthier my cravings for junk food sky-rocket, especially ice cream (Phish food!) Anyone have some advice for kicking the cravings and keeping focused?

Also along with trying to eat healthy I'm finding it difficult because I just started an internship. Essentially I get sent out somewhere for 2-5 days a week (camping and driving) and it's proving hard to find food that is easy to make and healthy for me. I'm dabbling in primal eating but it's tough when you are on the road. Any suggestions?

Thirdly, exercise...yeah not sure what to do there. When I'm off working all week by the time I am done I am too tired to do any exercise. Then once the weekend (or time off) rolls around all I want to do is relax. In high school I did sports all 3 seasons. I ran cross country (one year) and then did Alpine skiing all 4 years and track for 4 years. My sophomore year I was in incredibly good shape, I did all 3 of those sports and I was training for my black belt in National Karate.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]4671[/ATTACH] (I'm on the right)

Since then I have gained some weight, nothing very significant but I've definitely lost my flat stomach and I'd like to get it back and regain the muscle tone in my upper body. I'm thinking about getting back into running but I'm not sure after reading so much about chronic cardio.

Any help is appreciated!

[Red1263]

Hmm... your situation is rather interesting... WELCOME TO THE REBELLION by the way!... So my best guess is to try to find out as far ahead of time as possible, where you're going to go that way you can try to plan your meals, either buying groceries and making them, or by trying to find the healthiest restaurant and planning on eating there. I'm certain you can find time throughout your schedule to work out, even if it's just 15 mins. That's a bathroom break, honestly. You can find quick exercises to do if you look through the NF articles, ie. The Hotel room workout. Also try to find out what you want exactly and how exactly you want to get there. Make it as specific as possible, the greater the details the better. Also in terms of kicking your addiction to ice cream and junk food, the best method is often to throw out/completely isolate yourself from said food. Therefore, it won't be there for you to munch on them. I recommend checking out the Adventurers guild unless you've already decided to stick to a particular form of exercising, be it running or lifting, etc. See you around!

[cozwolf]

Thanks! Yeah I'm trying to figure out what exactly my goals are right now. It's nothing as easy to pin down as lose 10 lbs. As far as work goes we're finally getting a pre-planned schedule starting (hopefully) monday! Thanks for the tips on quick workouts, I'll be sure to check them out. Adventurer guild huh? Sounds perfect! I love adventure!

[cozwolf]

Here's starting photos:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]4685[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]4687[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]4686[/ATTACH]

Goals:

1. Flatten stomach

2. Gain arm muscle (I'm not a big fan of lifting, it's never worked in the past but who knows)

3. 80/20 primal

[Waltron]

I find a really useful way to kick a bad eating habit is to cut up some fresh veggies and put them in the fridge for those late nights. When you get up to grab a snack and you instantly gravitate towards the easiest stuff to make/eat (which usually ends up being ice cream or cookies etc.) I see a plate of pre-cut veggies in my fridge, grab some dip (small indulgence) and I'm set. There is nothing as good as a guilt-free munch!

[Red1263]

Here's starting photos:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]4685[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]4687[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]4686[/ATTACH]

Goals:

1. Flatten stomach

2. Gain arm muscle (I'm not a big fan of lifting, it's never worked in the past but who knows)

3. 80/20 primal

Ok those are great goals!

1. Mostly diet (like 80%) and the rest is exercise

2. If you're not a fan of weights and whatnot, you can try body weight exercises, ie push-ups, pull ups, etc.

3. I recommend checking out the Tavern for advice about those, heh, I'm no where near able to have a good diet.

also, I can't see the pics that you've posted.

[cozwolf]

Thanks! I don't know why the pictures aren't showing up anymore there were working a few hours ago.

As for the stomach, that's good to know. I've been in denial about my pretty serious lactose intolerance-ness for years now and I think once I stop eating dairy that should help with the bloated tummy look, hopefully?

I'd love to be able to do a full pull-up or more than one! I'm ok with the fact that I am short (5' 4") but I'd like for once to be described as strong not just small. I hate it when people assume that just because I'm small means I could never be a threat. I'll show them!

[Red1263]

Thanks! I don't know why the pictures aren't showing up anymore there were working a few hours ago.

Yeah, they're just links but there's nothing attached to them.

As for the stomach, that's good to know. I've been in denial about my pretty serious lactose intolerance-ness for years now and I think once I stop eating dairy that should help with the bloated tummy look, hopefully?

I'd love to be able to do a full pull-up or more than one! I'm ok with the fact that I am short (5' 4") but I'd like for once to be described as strong not just small. I hate it when people assume that just because I'm small means I could never be a threat. I'll show them!

If you're lactose intolerant, then yes, ridding yourself of all forms of Milk will help your progress, not to mention, if you can't digest it and it brings you discomfort, why keep it around you? Heh, I'm 5'7" so you're not that short by my standards, but you shouldn't worry about what other people think of you, if they think you're harmless, that'll surprize them all the more when you reveal your hidden, concentrated Awesomeness!!

[cozwolf]

Heh, I'm 5'7" so you're not that short by my standards, but you shouldn't worry about what other people think of you, if they think you're harmless, that'll surprize them all the more when you reveal your hidden, concentrated Awesomeness!!

Hahaha I'm totally using concentrated awesomeness! It didn't used to bother me as much what people think of me cause to be honest I am average height but my boyfriend is a full 12 inches taller than me 6' 4" so when other people see us together, lets just say they think it's pretty funny.

[Red1263]

Hahaha I'm totally using concentrated awesomeness! It didn't used to bother me as much what people think of me cause to be honest I am average height but my boyfriend is a full 12 inches taller than me 6' 4" so when other people see us together, lets just say they think it's pretty funny.

Wow 12 inches?! That's awesome! and yes, I must admit, seeing such a couple would make me laugh too, ha ha ha. You just have to embrace life as it is, and laugh at yourself sometimes

[SirEarl]

welcome to the forums!

can't really help you out with the food stuffs(considering I'm a horrid cook), but as far as being too pooped at the end of the day.....

workout in the beginning! I'm really bad with mornings, so sometimes I workout in the morning to get my body going(and my appetite). Eating a good, hearty breakfast always makes me feel like a champ for at least until lunch.

[D_chelyst]

Welcome, cozwolf! I'd like to add in my two cents too

-For kicking the cravings and keeping focused, try a yes/no list. Put the good stuff (fruits, veggies, meat, nuts, etc.) on the "yes" list, and put the bad-but-sooo-good stuff (ice cream, cake, chocolate, etc.) on the "no" list. Also keep the stuff on the no list out of your house. When you get a craving for stuff on the no list, remind yourself that it's on the no list and that you can't have it. Eventually, the cravings will wear off. Waltron's tip is great too. If I don't have good stuff already washed/cut/ready to go, I won't be as willing to eat it.

-If you haven't yet checked out the workouts on Steve's blog, here are some quick links to two very quick ways of exercising: the hotel workout mentioned above and the Angry Birds workout. At the very least, these might give you some ideas for things you can try for your schedule. I like the beginner body weight workout mixed with a little of the playground workout because of the pull-ups (no, I can't do one...yet!), which leads to...

-Upper arm strength--check out these resources:

Push-ups

Pull-ups

Inverted Body Rows

Also, eating enough protein/calories will be a big help. More info on that here.

And I'm sorry if my long post made you feel like this

Good luck with your goals!

[cozwolf]

Thanks everyone. I've epically failed this week/weekend. I was out in the field from Tues-Thurs this past week and I did alright, I allowed myself one or two cheats on primal but not much. I took friday off though because my boyfriend is in town for the weekend and I haven't seen him in 3 months.

I've been at his house since thursday night and I have eaten all crap food. There is no food in his house except frozen stuff or things he just bought. He doesn't prioritize fruit and veggies at all, he understands I am trying to be healthy but he also knows I will give into him when he hands me chocolate. There has been pizza and hash browns and cookies and fudge bars and ice cream and candy and then *shudder* fast food. I never eat fast food but we were driving around with a friend and he asked me what I want I thought about what I wanted and then decided I wasn't going to give in but he read my mind and ordered exactly what I was craving without asking. I was a bit sad but then ate it anyways, I wasn't going to let the food go to waste (horrible excuse I know). On the plus side I have been getting quite a bit of exercise, making up for lost time, if you catch my drift.

[The Barefoot Ninja]

Eating right is a very difficult thing to do. You have to be ever-vigilant in your quest for healthy eating. That being said, once you realize that meats and veggies taste better than any fast food or candy, it becomes so much easier. If you're on the road a lot, I would suggest beef jerky, some sort of dried-fruit-and-nut trail mix, and some sort of vegetable (I usually take celery or carrots and some almond butter, the celery and carrots keep fairly well without a fridge, as long as you don't let them sit overnight). If you do camping, there are some pretty cheap (relatively speaking) portable propane grills. Take one of those, plus some meat, veggies, and some metal skewers, and make some kabobs! Really, you don't necessarily need the grill for those, just don't burn them in the fire:cool-new:

Great job on getting workouts in! I work out a lot, usually between 25 and 28 workouts per week (my job rules!). 10 of those are around 20 minutes, 6 of those are around 40 minutes, the rest are 1 hour traditional Tae Kwon Do classes, which vary on workout intensity (for me at least, due to my fitness level). Basically, I'm trying to say that workouts don't need to be long to be effective!

Hope this helped, and good luck with your goals!

[D_chelyst]

Hey, cozwolf, don't beat yourself up too much over what happened over the week/weekend...self-inflicted guilt trips are no good. Things like that will happen, especially when you're starting out. Just get back on track with eating clean and exercising as soon as possible. You can do it, and it will get easier!

[cozwolf]

Thanks guys! I finally have some time to get my head on straight since last thursday so hopefully tonight I can get back on track. My job is getting really weird with the schedule but it's actually looking like a good thing for me, I suddenly have work tomorrow (after working the past two days and expecting to work for the rest of the week) and then have thurs-sat off! I have lots I need to get done but if I can keep the motivation up and get on top of my list of things to do I think I can do it.

In other news, over the weekend I signed up for the Dirty Dash! http://www.thedirtydash.com/races/missoula.html with a friend of mine and now some others are joining us too! So this gives me a great goal and motivation to get in shape(I really don't want to waste $50!). Conveniently enough there is a new challenge starting up soon too!

[Red1263]

The Dirty Dash looks like fun! I hope that you post pics of your time there! Good luck on it!

[cozwolf]

Quick update: Today during work I was hiking off trail in my Vff's when I felt something stab me in the foot. At first I didn't think it was a big deal but then it continued to hurt and I took off my shoe and discovered something had punctured all the way through my Vff's and sliced open my foot in the direct center of my arch. It's pretty tender and my coworker and I patched me up, we could see mysterious white things (fat or tendon?) In my foot. Waiting until tomorrow to determine if I truely need a doctor, but it's not looking good it hurts enough when I step on it that I prefer to hop around. I hope I will be able to start running soon.

[Red1263]

Uh oh! Let's hope that you haven't damaged yourself too much, although kudos for ignoring the pain and toughing it out. Admirable to say the least!

[D_chelyst]

Any updates on your foot?