What are you struggling with today?

[chammy]

My fiance' goes through spells of depression, I know how bad it sucks.

She's been trying to help push through them with really intense goals, she'll get started on them and then constantly get herself jazzed about the progress. It's kinda cool.

I'm just saying you should totally set aside the next 6 weeks to wail on 'Roos in that challenge

Yeah. The unfortunate part is that not only is it excessively difficult to get started on something in this state, it's even more difficult to stick to something. But I'm working on it.

[Lachy]

Proud to say, I'm not struggling. That's not to say I'm not facing challenges, but I'm getting through them!

chammy, hope you emerge from that dip into depression real soon! You're here on NF, so we know you're awesome!

[Atalan]

I'm struggling with believing in myself.

Every time I achieve something, I immediately hear "the voice" telling me I will fail. Not to bother going to the gym. And today I listened.

That is my struggle today.

I hate that voice. Most of the time it asks me why anyone would love me. I want to hunt it down and kill it.

Correction, I am hunting it down and will kill it. That is my goal here on this site. That voice is my Epic Quest's Big Bad. Care to join me?

[Grosby]

4 months into my fitness/weight loss/healthy me journey and I'm beginning to lose momentum. I'm still getting up and exercising.. but I'm dragging my feet. It's not exciting me at the moment.. I keep telling myself it is, I tell my blog it is.. but I'm really really struggling to motivate myself. I kinda feel like I've been 'doing it wrong' for the last couple of months with cardio + calorie restriction... and, I dunno, I just feel meh about the whole thing.

I also went back to work last week after summer holidays so I'm TIRED. :/ I haven't ran in a couple of weeks which REALLY makes me feel terrible.

Motivation is my big struggle. I'm also struggling with eating - not with eating crap foods (well, kinda, I feel the need to prove to my co-workers taht I CAN eat a brownie and lose weight) but with eating enough/eating the macros. Is it important? Can I just make sure I'm eating more protein.. can't I just.. lift heavy stuff, move my legs quickly and eat "healthy" without tracking things. I worry I'll fail if I don't do it all though.

:|

[CaptainCat]

Tracking every detail about calories, macros, workouts can get a little hectic, make sure you're tracking your success stats too! Helps me stay the course!

[Guest guest4729]

this isn't paleo, but if there are any folks on here who aren't totally paleo and need to put an unruly uterus in its place, this recipe is awesome.

http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2011/09/27/new-recipe-sugar-free-cookie-dough-dip/

There are times like this where I make something like that an exception. I might just have to make this and see if there are some substitutes I can make. It's a lot healthier than buying a chocolate brownie at work. (Sometimes I hate working at a restaurant...so much temptation!)

[Summer827]

I'm struggling with living (well, eating) with not so supportive people who do not eat vegetables. I got off track over the weekend. I'm used to living alone, but this is the situation for now.

I'm kind of struggling with eating enough healthy calories. That can be a large volume of food! So, sometimes I get full before I can eat what I've planned for myself. (And I am not a person who usually gets full before the food is gone!) Bought a huge bag of almonds, but left it at work yesterday. Last night I could NOT finish my supper, but then was hungry 2 hours later but too tired to get out of bed to eat. The nuts would have been perfect then. What a change from my chronic dieting years!

A good thing is that my workout partner is totally game for me changing up our workouts to focus on strength. She's great!

[Guest Snake McClain]

I am struggling with confidence and willpower. Part of my Leveled Up Life includes meeting women and frankly, this weekend was nothing but getting shot down. Bit in the dumps at the moment.

Heh, right there with ya, Atalan. Women be scary.

We should start a "why are women nutty?" thread in the off topic.

And here I was complaining to my BFF that men confuse me and I don't know what to do with them. I just want them to be straight forward and blunt for crying out loud.

Yeah men are jack asses too.

[This is Seth]

I'm starting to struggle with my decision to start putting weight back on for this challenge. I worked rather hard to get down below 200lbs and after 3 weeks of eating like a starved wildeebeast, I'm back up to around 205. The next challenge is going to feature a cut, but still... not too sure about eating this much.

[Loren Wade]

weird. i said the same thing. i'd say we could stretch together but..you know.

Hahahaha!

[Cinnamonbite]

Pizza. will I go there? no, but the struggle remains.

p i z z a.

Yeah but have you noticed that the SMELL and the anticipation is soooooo much better than the actual thing? I think that's what has me from really having cravings of any kind.

[SHREDHEAD]

Sore/strained knee.

Going to have to rest it for a couple weeks, so that means no deadlift, squats, lunges, leg extensions, or anything that is very taxing on my knee... might even have to cut the 10 mins of HIIT elliptical from the end of my workouts for a couple days. Bummed because I really want to improve my squat form and my legs really need work. In the meantime to compensate, I'll work on improving my pull-ups and dips.

If anyone has any other suggestions, I am all ears.

[Durandal]

I guess I'm struggling with getting used to feeling like an outlier.

[vent]

These past 2 weeks have been kind of crappy for me for a bunch of reasons I won't get into. And whenever I have a crappy week, I tell myself I'm awesome and that if anyone else doesn't think so (without a good reason), they can get screwed for giving into the Dark Side of social attitude. From what I've seen around me in the real world, the average person intentionally aims for tedious mediocrity. I'm amazed at how judgmental people are towards anyone who doesn't spend their mornings sucking down Starbucks, their days bitching about their job, and their evenings watching the latest Kardashian wedding; they have an instant allergic reaction to anything that rocks their boat. It makes me feel like self-loathing is built into the status quo and that a lot of folks are telling themselves that they're OK with that because 1) they can't imagine how things can be any different and 2) they can relate to most of their peers who think along similar lines. I wouldn't want to be in those folks' shoes for any amount of money, but I get sick of being seen as a freak for giving up bread, refusing to marry my job, and not taking life so frakking seriously. Other people's bullshit is a big part of the reason why if anyone asks me how I lost weight or how I keep in shape, I just give them some half-assed answer. Unless I know and like them as a person, then I'll tell them about going Paleo and working out.

[/vent]

Heh, right there with ya, Atalan. Women be scary.

You know, deep down inside, that you're awesome. Anyone who doesn't think so isn't worth your time and attention. My own track record with women is...less than stellar, so maybe I shouldn't be dispensing advice on the subject, but I always believed that we should try to surround ourselves with people who believe in who we are and who we want to be in the future. Anyone who doesn't share that vision, or who doesn't even care, is only going to prevent us from being better people. It's undoubtedly a longer and probably more difficult road than settling for the first decent option that comes along, but it's worth it in the end...whatever the 'end' may be.

[CapN_Tommy_Sunshine]

I've been struggling with consistency and sleep issues. I think it is partly due to the winter darkness. I have really been having a hard time waking up in the morning to get to the gym. I do have my clubs at home, and I have been swinging them, but it isn't the same as dead lifts.

Oh, and like some of the others have mentioned, Women!

[Denny]

Health and fitness wise I'm doing awesome. My wallet and studies are doing the opposite though, I'm hopefully catching up with studies this weekend.

[Pat G]

@CapN TOMMY. i feel you with the sleep. I'm trying to get in earlier morning starts, 5:40am compared to 6am. Those extra 20 minutes kill me... and i fail so regularly. snooze button gets a workout most mornings.

My right knee is sore from squatting 3x a week. medial collateral ligament maybe? what else is on the left side of the right patella?

[zenmom]

I'm struggling with my gym. They kind of suck. They ask your goals when you join, make you feel all warm and fuzzy like they are going to help you reach those goals, then just assign pre-printed cards with workouts on them and kind of ignore you. I guess I got what I paid for. I have been doing my own research on lifting but I keep confusing myself and then my head hurts. I am getting a new card in 3 weeks. I want to have a clear idea of what I feel I need to do and see if I can present that to the trainer who sets up my next card.

Also, my 13 year old daughter is skyping with a boy all of the time now and recently asked when she can start dating. ick.

[Pippet]

That quote is awesome (don't stop when you're tired...)! I've never heard that before. Sorry, new to this forum thing. I'm also in the middle of a paleo challange, still at 90% most days, but I just can't seem to stick to 100. Frustrating

[67alecto]

That quote is awesome (don't stop when you're tired...)! I've never heard that before. Sorry, new to this forum thing. I'm also in the middle of a paleo challange, still at 90% most days, but I just can't seem to stick to 100. Frustrating

Welcome to the Forums! Don't beat yourself up when you're making drastic changes to your diet, exercise routine...the little steps can help the new habits stick.

[Atalan]

I think I've turned the corner on the confidence thing. Not going into much detail, but I swore with a friend as blood-brothers tonight (no, literally, mixing blood) in sort of the culmination of my crisis and our friendship. Thank you everyone for your support. And thank you especially to my blood-brother (who isn't on here).

[js290]

I've officially started my cutting phase.

I've got some things coming up and I need to reduce the fat I've gained while working primarily on gaining strength. So no more 5000 calorie days! Cutting back to about 2-3k.

I'm SO HUNGRY.

Awesome quote from Joe's success story I keep saying to myself over and over again:

“Don’t sacrifice what you really want for what you want right now.â€

What are you guys struggling with? Anything? Or are you full of awesome today?

Go back to what was working for you...

http://nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/

I'd suggest laying off the Crossfit and just lift heavy again.

http://conditioningresearch.blogspot.com/2012/01/exercise-and-insulin-sensitivity_23.html

[Rosie]

I'm struggling with the fact that I'm supposed to be running 8 miles cross country next weekend through mud and huge puddles in the dark and now I find out we're due for a big snow fall right before it!

[Parody of Virtue]

omg, I had great workouts monday and tuesday, then last night I forgot my key and missed my workout time waiting to get let back into my flat, and now today I have time of the month issues and have eaten any snack in reaching distance. So full of sadness and fail.

Also, guys, please don't blame all of womankind if you get shot down. We're women too yaknow. There are plenty of awesome women around, but they may be shy, or hiding in obscure places like libraries, games arcades, knitting shops and the Internet

[Moxie Hart]

Weak moment and I drank way too much last night. Too stressed, too emotional. Sigh. I'm struggling not to throw my hands up and say "screw it" for the day.

[Gainsdalf the Whey]

Weak moment and I drank way too much last night. Too stressed, too emotional. Sigh. I'm struggling not to throw my hands up and say "screw it" for the day.

When this happens I go workout. It helps me get my head straight. I was surprised how well this substitutes for eating ice cream.