Beginning again - backstory of a prodigal Druidess.

[aishah hope]

Hi everyone!

 

My name is A'ishah but my character name/what I go by is Hope. I joined once or twice before a few years back and fizzled out. Then I joined the academy and fizzled out. Then I joined RH and realized it wasn't really for me, BUT it did give me the kick in the pants that I needed to get back to the Rebellion and the Academy alongside the work that I've been doing for myself. So here I am - here's  hoping I can stick around this time (you guys probably get tired of hearing that, but I mean it!).

 

Where I'm at -

height: 5'4"

weight: 260ish (haven't weighed in a couple of months and I've probably dropped some but not sure)
strength: puny

eating: too much eating out and sugar! also liquid calories.
energy: meh, back and forth, but much better than it has been
working out: walking daily, longer walks a few times a week at least
emotionally: coming out of a long depression with some hospitalizations and major life crises, pharmaceutical and therapeutic interventions are helping tremendously so my suicidal ideation is way down and my depression/anxiety have improved the last few weeks, thank God

pain levels: excruciating. I have arthritis, lots of back problems, fibromyalgia, and nerve damage. My arthritis especially in my feet has been a huge issue lately.

Where I'd like to be -

starting goal weight: 220lbs then 180lbs, God willing!

eating: lots of protein and veggies with some fruit and carbs thrown in, eating out only 1-2x/week
energy: I'd like to feel less like crap in the morning and need less caffeine to get going. And I'd like to be able to maintain my energy levels throughout the day.
working out/strength: I'd like to walk every day and alternate yoga/stretching and bodyweight workouts.
emotionally: I'd like to maintain the gains as far as mood and less anxiety/depression goes, I'm working on a group therapy program and individual counseling so continuing to make dr's appointments, journaling, etc. is important.
pain levels: any improvement would be awesome! Especially with my foot pain.

How I want to get there -

Work through the 12 week missions for the Academy, continue reaching out socially and getting encouragement from co-workers to exercise, maybe check out the yoga and tai chi classes at the UU church I just started going to (can you tell I'm a Druid?), keep walking, slowly introduce changes to nutrition and slowly introduce bodyweight workouts. Journal more, participate fully in this group program I'm doing, keep up with dr's appointments. Plan meals and grocery shop 1-2x/week (which is more frequent than I'm currently doing). Ask for help when I need it (louder for the forgetful brain cells in the back of the class!).

 

Other stuff that's important to me -

Finances. I just started YNAB and I want to keep up with that and try to start aging my money and paying off debt as I can. I also just started a PT job but it's super sporadic at first so hopefully the money will be more regular in a few months.
Becoming a better tutor/teacher. I teach ESL and common core PT and I'm pretty new to it so I want to develop my skills, read, and practice different techniques to engage my students.

Learning to code. I want to move into software development in a few years so I've slowly been teaching myself Javascript. My immediate goal is to get past the beginner stuff so I can start learning data structures and algorithms.
Time management. My life is super full and it's tough to manage right now - in August it will get easier because my work schedule will change which will accommodate my PT job and dr's appointments a bit better, but for now I am struggling to stay on top of things.
Socializing. I want to get out at least a couple of times a week to spend time with friends, at the mosque/church, at events, etc. I have a tendency to get depressed or tired and use it as an excuse to flake out. (Also important to find CHEAP things to do! Money has caused me to cancel a few things this month because they cost $15-$20.)
Keystone habits - making the bed, walking, making sure to check/update tasks and budget every day, journaling, meditation. Except for meditation I've been keeping up with these okay, but I want to keep working on them.

Sorry for the novel! Some starting pictures...

https://goo.gl/photos/y353tqBGfa9we4ag9

https://goo.gl/photos/kVbn5wxfQ7MBASFa7

https://goo.gl/photos/5hzySdevwfqtPZNu9

[JRaiKetchum134]

Hi there A'ishah! Nice to meet ya! Name's Justin (Character name: Kai) I'm new into all of this NerdFitness routines. Maybe since you've worked with them before can help a total newbie like me along. I'm still learning how to create Quests and what constitutes as parts of them. This type of planning is kinda new to me. ^^;

[aishah hope]

Hi Justin! Thanks for the welcome Quests are pretty much anything you are working on developing - habits you want to get better at (or get rid of), new things you want to try, that sort of thing! There's a nifty list of example quests here, that might help to get the ball rolling! For the challenges you're supposed to do four quests to focus on for each four week period. Hopefully that helps a bit! I'm still getting re-acclimated, I'm sure lots of folks know more than I do, but you're always welcome to PM me if you ever want to chat or if I can help with anything!