Hello from Florida!

[kuraiuncia]

I will try not to make this too very long, but I have a lot to say!

 

Hi there, I'm Kurai! I'm 27 years old and looking to become more comfortable in my own skin. My current goal is to lose about 45 pounds but depending on how that goes it may change! I currently work as an emergency dispatcher. I dispatch police and fire only at the moment but I would like to get certified to be an emergency medical dispatcher at some point.

 

I love drawing, painting, singing, and making huge crafty messes. I have a yarn hoard for crying out loud. Crafting is my best source of relief from stress. And I assure you, I am often stressed due to my job.

 

There are many things I will talk your ear off about, Doctor Who, Transformers, Disney, Legend of Zelda, and Kingdom Hearts among other things. Also cats, I have three and I love them to pieces. Daniel is my old man with diabetes, Kassy is my tiny proper lady, and Luna is my typical wildchild youngest.

 

You want something else I'll talk your ear off about, feline nutrition. Daniel, at his worst, was skin and bones, couldn't groom himself properly, and couldn't use the litterbox. After much research, many angry vet visits, a hellacious rant that no I would not put my cat down, and my stubborn will to not give up, Daniel now has normal food regulated sugar levels. I became hyper aware of what I was feeding my cats, reading labels, checking for grains in everything! I realized the pet food industry was totally letting me down! Then I noticed something. What the heck was I feeding myself. (See there was a point to this rant!) If my cats needed a species appropriate diet to thrive, then what would a species approprate diet for a human look like?

 

I quit soda, cold turkey. Lost 20 pounds over the course of 6 months! Tried a few new things here and there, eating less processed foods, more whole grains, more fiber, lessen sugar intake, but nothing really stuck.

 

So here I am, trying paleo, working on my first challenge and it is a pleasure to meet you all!

 

I also wanted to touch on my medical issues but I'm putting it behind a spoiler box. In case you just don't want to know.

 

I currently struggle with PCOS as well as a fairly unknown skin condition called hidradenitis suppurativa (if you google image search this, NSFW images will come up and it is not pretty). The PCOS makes it difficult to lose weight due to hormone imbalances, and the HS makes it difficult to exercise because the abcess clusters are very painful. I am working with my doctors to control and treat these conditions. I have also recently been tentatively diagnosed with benign tremors, where my hands will start to shake uncontrollably for no reason.

[halixius]

Hey Kurai. It's really good to see someone who cares so deeply about their animals. I agree with you completely about the pet food industry, too, even the "good" ones. My shelter has a contract with Science Diet and they have been developing so many oral issues it isn't funny. And sorry to hear about your conditions, that doesn't seem pleasant at all. I hope you can find a good treatment that works for you.

[Steppinon D'Arrows]

I'm from Florida here as well! Let's get healthy and fit together! I'm trying to lose a bit over 20 lbs. then see how I feel once I do. My profiles on Fitbit and MyFitnessPal are in my sig, if you're using either of those.

[kuraiuncia]

Hey Kurai. It's really good to see someone who cares so deeply about their animals. I agree with you completely about the pet food industry, too, even the "good" ones. My shelter has a contract with Science Diet and they have been developing so many oral issues it isn't funny. And sorry to hear about your conditions, that doesn't seem pleasant at all. I hope you can find a good treatment that works for you.

 

Thanks Halixius. It's very frustrating to realize that most companies just don't have your pets wellbeing in mind. Profit is king :c And yes, my medical issues aren't pleasant but so far they've been manageable. I haven't had any major flares for this challenge! *knocks on wood* Hope it stays that way.

 

I'm from Florida here as well! Let's get healthy and fit together! I'm trying to lose a bit over 20 lbs. then see how I feel once I do. My profiles on Fitbit and MyFitnessPal are in my sig, if you're using either of those.

 

Hi! Nice to meet you. I added you on MFP as a friend :3 How do you like your Fitbit? I was thinking about getting one but wasn't really too sure about it.

[halixius]

That's great, crossing my fingers for you. And well, it's just a thing you have to accept about people. Human food producers don't usually have our well-being in mind, either, and a lot of people think of animals as ~lesser beings~ so they really get the short end of the stick. 

[jasx1333]

Hi Kurai!

I'm new to everything too but I've got pretty much the same goals in mind (I'm planning on being an Assassin too). I have a cat myself (but she lives with my mom) and now I'm probably going to be checking her food's nutrition label when I go visit next.... 

If you ever need an ear to talk off, I love LoZ and Kingdom Hearts (and cats)! Or at least babble excitedly about, because I tend to ramble when I'm talking about things I like too :3

Good luck with everything!

[Steppinon D'Arrows]

I added you, Kurai! Thanks for the request!

My Fitbit One is very convenient and motivating. When I'm playing DDR, it tracks my steps. It can't go in water, even though it's still splash-proof, and it can't track weight lifting, but it's good for sleep and walking and jogging and running. It also tracks flights of stairs.

I had to get the clip-on kind because I can't wear jewelry in culinary and I didn't want to track calories burned and/or steps taken for gesticulations. Accuracy is more awesome.

Regarding calories burned, it is supposed to have a 10% error margin but it's among the ones with less error than most, such as the famous bodymedia armband which is around 9% and just about the most accurate.

I don't really eat back much calories burned at all so it doesn't matter for me.

[kuraiuncia]

Hi Kurai!

I'm new to everything too but I've got pretty much the same goals in mind (I'm planning on being an Assassin too). I have a cat myself (but she lives with my mom) and now I'm probably going to be checking her food's nutrition label when I go visit next.... 

If you ever need an ear to talk off, I love LoZ and Kingdom Hearts (and cats)! Or at least babble excitedly about, because I tend to ramble when I'm talking about things I like too :3

Good luck with everything!

You should join a challenge sometime! I would cheer you on.

 

Cat nutrition can be tricky since they can't digest carbs like we can. So pet food companies like to add a bunch of stuff that is healthy to humans (I.E. wheat, sweet potatoes, carrots, berries ect) and advertise it as healthy for your pets. Many consumers don't think twice about it. Cats just don't get their energy from carbs. Cats do best on high protein, moderate fat, and low carbs. It's what they would eat in the wild, rodents and small birds mostly. Also cats do best on wet foods because they have a very low thirst drive. Wild cats get the most of their water from their prey. Cats can survive on dry food, but they rarely thrive on it. Sorry, small rant over!

 

I would def not mind babbling excitedly about LoZ and Kingdom Hearts! I am very sad that I haven't had the chance to play Hyrule Warriors or Dream Drop Distance. And Kingdom Hearts 3 oooooh, I can't afford all these consoles!

 

 

I added you, Kurai! Thanks for the request!

My Fitbit One is very convenient and motivating. When I'm playing DDR, it tracks my steps. It can't go in water, even though it's still splash-proof, and it can't track weight lifting, but it's good for sleep and walking and jogging and running. It also tracks flights of stairs.

I had to get the clip-on kind because I can't wear jewelry in culinary and I didn't want to track calories burned and/or steps taken for gesticulations. Accuracy is more awesome.

Regarding calories burned, it is supposed to have a 10% error margin but it's among the ones with less error than most, such as the famous bodymedia armband which is around 9% and just about the most accurate.

I don't really eat back much calories burned at all so it doesn't matter for me.

I am going to have to see if I can get one. Maybe make it a reward for completing this challenge? Hmmmm. I am going to eventually train for a 5k!

[Steppinon D'Arrows]

A good pedometer or activity tracker can be a great motivator for someone training for a run or walk.

My Fitbit gives me "badges" for my achievements whenever I meet a goal and you can set your own daily goals for just about everything. For example, I like to do at least 12,000 steps a day, which is about 5 miles and I recently increased my daily stairs goal to 15.

The most I've walked this year in one day is over 23,000 steps, the most flights of stairs I've climbed up in one day is 52, the latter  done just for the badge and the former on a walk while out with some friends after a good day of running about at culinary school.

 

If you just want a simple pedometer, the Fitbit Zip will give you that and it's a little tiny bit more accurate than the One. However, if tracking steps climbed is important and motivating, than the One would be for you. There's also a bunch of others with more features but they're all wrist bands.

Of course, there are other activity trackers from other companies such as Jawbone, Garmin and Misfit that would also work with MyFitnessPal. Just make sure to take into account not only your requirements in features tracked but also the technology it works with and what's included in the package.

One of the other reasons I chose the Fitbit One is that it, like the other Fitbits, worked with my Windows computer and came with the thing to sync it. Another reason was that I didn't have to replace a battery like with the Zip. I just charge it while I'm at the computer doing nothing or while I'm in the shower (as it lasts for about 4 days or so but I don't want to have to worry about it losing power ever and it's more convenient that way).

 

Ultimately, you have to find the one that works for you and has the form and functions you like best. Do your research and you can't go wrong. If you have any questions about the fitness trackers, you can always ask me as well and I'll help you the best I can.