Falling Off the Wagon

Hey all, Simone here again! First of all, I just need to say that I absolutely loved Anne's post yesterday. She is spot on about the journey and the "regeneration" that comes along with making life changes. I've been having a bit of a bumpy ride lately, but I've been rallying slowly this week, and her post was an extra reminder why we keep going. So, onward!

I don't know about you guys, but Oregon Trail was one of my favorite games as a child. Exploring the Wild West? Battling the elements? Great folk songs? That game had it all. (As a proud nerd, one of my favorite parts was watching my trail marker move across the map at the bottom of the screen and anxiously checking my progress against the calendar.)

However, the adventurous course was fraught with danger, too. Weather, snakes, sickness, bandits, and river crossings could all spell disaster for your party. Sometimes it was an unavoidable accident; sometimes you choose poorly, trying to ford the river when it was much too deep, or setting a pace too strenuous to maintain.

Well, that's kind of how my October has gone.

Did anyone else get one disease, and then die of another?

Alright, so I haven't caught typhoid, cholera, or dysentery, but I have had a lot on my plate and I've been feeling fairly run down. The excitement of getting my first "adult" job came with some side effects: on top of a busy few weeks, I'm in the process of attempting to straighten out my benefit options (#firstworldproblems, I know, but reading about insurance is less than thrilling) and needing to adapt my budget, as student loan bills are incoming. However, the siren song of a slight raise and stable employment led to a bit of an online shopping spree, as my professional wardrobe is rather limited (damn you, Target and ModCloth lapse in self control).

I find that often, when you start to stray from one goal (in my case, budget adherence) your willpower also starts to waver on the rest. With a full work schedule, three nights of CrossFit a week, and usually both a night and weekend shift at my second job, things like "cooking healthy dinners" and "cleaning up the house" started to slip. And who has time to go running or pack healthy meals for work? I'll just have a Clif bar in the car.

"But it's only while the seasonal flavors are out!" you tell yourself virtuously. (Just me? Oh.)

Though I've managed to keep CrossFit a priority, as it's my favorite "me" time of the week, my diet has ultimately suffered, and the stress of mismanaged finances isn't doing me any good, either. But it's a new month, and I've got a new plan of attack!

I've put the brakes on my wardrobe overhaul (sadly, Firefly tees and jeans aren't going to cut it); I'll just have to expand it slowly over time instead of the "seasonal spree" method. I'm re-evaluating my budget and muddling through the information on selecting a health care provider and whether or not I should consolidate my federal student loans. It's not fun, but it needs to be done. Ultimately, my goal is to have a stable budget, complete with higher debt payments and a savings contribution, by January. By next fall, I'd like to have a modestly comfortable amount built up in the bank so I'm not watching my balance drop to $4 by the end of each month. (Sadly, that exaggeration isn't quite as large as I wish it was.)

Here's the fun part: with a few new crossfitters joining the crew in my garage, I've been getting some more nutrition questions, and I decided to host a "November Nutrition" challenge for everyone. So, starting today, we are all working on one nutritional goal through December 1st. Each successful day = 1 point for a total of 31 points; I'm working on prizes for everyone who gets at least 28! A number of people are going to give Whole30 a try, so for moral support (and to really "reset" my struggles lately), I will be doing my second Whole30 as well. Several other participants are focusing on reducing the amount of grain-related meals, cutting out fast food, and more. Nutrition is really the foundation of fitness and health, and I'm excited to get back on track with the best group of friends I could ever ask for!

The CrossFit pyramid: roughly 80% of your results come from your diet!

I hope everyone had a great Halloween! Our group traditionally has a "Triple Holiday" party sometime in November/December, complete with Halloween costumes, a Thanksgiving potluck dinner, and a Secret Santa exchange. This year it's going to be in mid-November, so I'm still working on my Lara costume!

How did you celebrate Halloween this year? What are you focusing on in November?

--Simone

Call to Arms: Childhood Obesity Amongst Geeks

I'm putting out a call to arms. This country has a real obesity problem and it starts with our kids. I feel like our wee nerdlettes have it even worse because society expects them to grow up in their mom's basement, stuffing themselves with Doritos and pizza and not contributing to society beyond fighting over the conclusion of Battlestar Galactica on web forums. 

I'm not a nutritionist and I'm not a physician, but I am one of those former-fat-kid-dreamers who is fighting her way to a healthier adulthood without rejecting her fandom or blaming it. I don't think loving comics, scifi, and fantasy is an obesity death sentence like some people do. Geeks are naturally obsessive so if they can obsess about what inspires them, they tend to be more unstoppable than ANY other section of society. At least, that's my opinion and I am terribly biased! I've said this many times on this blog but I had one major mental shift that helped me want change, rather than being told I needed to make it. 

I don't want to watch heroes. I want to be the hero in the epic tale of my life. 

Kids these days are so detached from what they do and what they eat. Some don't even know what fresh food is or where it comes from. 

Heroes are people they admire in TV shows or movies or they play them as avatars in video games. Sure, they want to be like Thor, train Pokemon like Ash, or adorably parkour around obstacles like Rapunzel from Tangled, but what if that went beyond simply playing dress-up or appeasing their interest with more content featuring those characters. What if we could get them in touch with what those characters actually do and stand for so that they can put those things into action in their own lives. 

What if we could show them what Chris Hemsworth does to train for Thor and helped them learn how to do a popper sit-up or push-up? What if we took them to a beginner parkour class so they could pull Assassin's Creed stunts? What if we encourage them to build an adventurer's heart like The Doctor! What if we got them into water bending by doing tai chi in the mornings? What if we taught them to cook food that looks like it came out of a Ghibli film so that they could grow up with the power to feed their health rather than their impulses? 

It's gotta be possible. We should be leading the way for the next generation. I don't have kids but I've spent some time as a mentor and as a camp counselor and I'm pretty passionate about being a good influence on our youth. I want to start taking Project Reroll into that realm. If have any readers with kids, younger siblings, or even people they babysit up to 17 years old, I'd like to issue my first "Mini Slayer" challenge.

The Mini Slayer Halloween Challenge

This week is Halloween, incidentally one of my favorite holidays because we get to ask ourselves what and who we want to be! It's incredibly empowering! 

• The first step is to take a picture of the kid participating in the challenge in their Halloween costume and have them write a sentence about why they chose be that thing/person. 
• Then, for just one week following Halloween (Friday to Friday), you and the young slayer participating will agree to do three active adventures based on the theme of their costume. This could be going for nature walks if they were Poison Ivy or finding your center with some Yoga Jedi training. Get creative! Make it something they're excited about!
• The second part of the challenge deals with diet. Aside from one piece of candy a day, you will agree to make every meal using fresh, non processed food and that you will eat at least one serving of vegetables and one serving of fruit each day. You do not have to eat Paleo, but ideally this whole plan will force you to spend a little time talking about food and cooking together each day.
• At the end, I'd love to hear about some of the meals you made and see pictures from the activities you did so I can share them here, on our Facebook page and on Twitter. There's no scale or measurements involved here. It's just about using fantasy to inspire and integrate active and healthier experiences into a kid's life for one week. 

Please send all photos and descriptions of your experiences to contactprojectreroll@gmail.com and leave a comment here if you're planning to participate so I can be on the look out for submissions! Best of luck Slayers! I choose you!

Mud, Sweat, and Beers

So, here's the tally:

Dirt? Bruises? Dirty bruises!

Bruises: Countless, including a nice electric-wire-zapped one on my inner arm and a large, impressive mystery bruise on my shin/calf
Scrapes: Multiple, including a roughed-up shoulder and the aforementioned shin
Sore muscles: All of them. All the muscles.
Exhaustion: Complete and all-encompassing
Triumph: Like nothing I've ever felt before!

You guys, Tough Mudder was awesome.

My three roommates and I awoke in darkness at 4:30am after a late night of anxious packing and fitful sleeping. I could hardly eat -- I think I managed to choke down a hardboiled egg, some of a banana, and a protein drink, but it was tough to fit any food in a stomach full of angry butterflies. Our house was the meeting point for most of our team, and by the time 5am rolled around we had a caravan ready to depart . . . until the minivan carrying 7 people got a flat tire. (At least it was at our house!) After shuffling into new vehicles, we were finally underway.

We spent the next few hours discussing the order of the obstacles and our various strategies and concerns, peppered with the occasional "oh my god you guys, what are we doing" and "hey look! lightning!" We pulled in early around 6:30am and were suddenly swept up in throngs of spandex-clad (or cutoff jean shorts, for one team) people of all shapes and sizes looking tough and excited.

Our numbers drawn on and wristbands attached, we stopped by the free "mohawks for charity" tent (no, I did not get one -- maybe next year) and then climbed our first obstacle: a 6- or 7-foot wall that would corral us into the starting pen.

Kilts optional.

After a pumped up intro by the MC, the massive cannon sounded and we were off! Since we were in the first wave, we had a nice pristine field ahead and only a few early morning spectators as we jogged the first mile or so to obstacle #1!

3...2...1...

...GO!

After belly-crawling through mud underneath strings of barbed wire, more running, boosting each other over some walls, and more running, we reached the first truly anxiety-inducing obstacle: the Electric Eel, where you belly-crawl through shallow water under dangling live wires. (All of you think I'm crazy right now, I know. You're probably not wrong.) Despite my valid concerns, I tried not to think about it and slid in when it was my turn, and -- OW! -- shrieked as I encountered my first wire.

I think "delicate slither" accurately describes what I'm doing back there.

Crazy or not, I made it through with "only" a few minor shocks and was gratefully pulled out by one of my teammates at the far end. We stuck around to cheer and encourage the teammates and strangers behind us, then posed for a triumphant group picture before the 16 of us separated into smaller groups based on our running abilities. Shortly thereafter, we passed a sign letting us know we were at the 5k mark and "would be done right now" if we had signed up for a shorter mud run. But ours was only beginning, with push ups, lunges, bear crawling, steep hill climbs, and giant round haybales to vault/leap/scramble in the next few miles.

Go team!

As we reached the first "mud mile" -- a stretch of muddy hills and trenches -- somewhere around the five mile mark, the ominous dark clouds that had been hovering in the distance finally reached us, and as we shook muddy grit and stones out from our shoes and headed out again, from the sky came heavy, sideways rain. I happen to enjoy running in the rain, but it was coming down so hard and on such an intense angle that I started wishing I had goggles just to protect my contacts from washing out of my eyes! It was still pouring as we reached an obstacle intended to be a jump over two stretches of fire and into a deep pool; for our group, we jumped through smoke over some nice warm logs. The pool on the far side was much deeper than intended, and my left calf seized up as I hit the cold water and hauled myself out on the other side. Ah well, only six miles to go, right?

Our faster teammates had a few flames left, at least!

This was a fun one, actually - not as claustrophobic as I feared.

The rain did not let up at all, and soon I was shivering in my tank top (the weather said 87*F and scattered thunderstorms!) as we approached one of the obstacles I feared the most: the "Arctic Enema," a jump into a tank of freezing water. The best part? You have to submerge completely underneath a half-wall before you can emerge on the other side. Brrrr!

Once again, I didn't stop to think or agonize when I got up on the platform. This was one of the most unusual (and best!) parts of the Mudder for me -- I like to overanalyze and stress about things and I definitely stall when I'm nervous. Not here. When it was my turn at each of the obstacles, I went. I seemed to be stuck in this great "The only way out is through" mentality, and despite physical aches and pains, I never mentally "lost it." It was a really cool state of mind to experience for me, and one I hope I can tap into again.

Not me, but I shared her sentiment -- plus, it was still raining when I went through!

Though our Team Captain (who happens to also be my boyfriend) and I had intended to stay with the tail end of the group for the entire event -- which, as a weaker runner, wasn't a problem for me -- we apologetically picked up the pace after the next obstacle, two ten-foot-high "Berlin walls" that left me shivering harder and turning blue as we came down and waited for our teammates on the other side. A few jumping jacks and some sport beans helped, but I needed to run to get my body temperature back up. The going was tougher now. We were around mile 7 or 8 and the temporary drizzle had turned back into strong, driving rain. My right hip flexor, sore around mile two, was now insistently reminding me that it had been a long time since I'd traveled so far on foot. My calf cramp flared any time I tried to jump. I pitifully scrabbled at the wet hay bales, no longer able to charge but instead needing a boost through the mud and rain. Despite the pleasure of realizing I had more jogging left in me than I thought, I quietly acknowledged to myself that I wasn't having quite so much fun at that particular moment.

These were much more fun this first time, pre-rain!

But we were at least 8 miles in; we had less than 4 to go. And it had to stop raining at some point . . . right?

We waited for the rest of our group at the next hydration station, idly noticing the golf-cart-ambulance light flashing a short distance away and hoping everyone was alright. But as the rest of our group arrived, we recognized a bandana on someone standing out there with whoever was down -- it was one of our teammates. Worried, my boyfriend and I took off again. Even though the cart was a short distance away "as the crow flies," the course's path wound around quite a bit, and we must have had nearly a mile to go. One obstacle, a high jump down into a water pit, was closed because of lightning, and we didn't wait, instead running on ahead through heavy mud.

We caught up to the "middle" group and checked on our teammate, who had bad muscle cramping and a sore leg that he was struggling to walk on. Fortunately there was no damage, but he was done for the day and got a ride back to the finish line to cheer us on. The amazing part of Tough Mudder, though, is that it isn't a race at all -- and all of us, my teammate included, were still proud and excited for how far he had made it. 9 miles is still quite the accomplishment!

There were now only a few obstacles and a few miles left. My boyfriend and I joined up with two other guys who had been the "middle" group of our team, just in time for the partner carry -- and luckily, one of those guys was the second-lightest on the team after me. I stumbled through a piggy-back ride with him halfway, and then we switched and he took off! The rain was letting up and we were starting to taste victory as we passed the 10 and 11 mile marks and closed in on one of the final obstacles: the "Funky Monkey."

Some of those monkey bars are greased, too! 

I'd already known that I wouldn't be able to manage this one. I'd be okay on straight monkey bars (I think), but exhausted, wet, covered in mud, and on an incline/decline, it just wasn't going to happen. I feebly reached for the second bar out and had no grip strength on the muddy, greasy bar. With resignation, I dropped to the water and awkwardly swam to the other side, cheering on my teammates. My boyfriend made it all the way and my partner-carry teammate had only a few rungs left when he slipped. It was impressive to watch!

Hopefully this will be me next year!

We had half a mile left, and the best part? The sun came out. It had been nearly four hours, and we were so ready to reach the end. But three obstacles remained: the "cage crawl," where you swim on your back through muddy water right underneath a low chain link fence, and two of the most infamous Tough Mudder obstacles: Everest and "Electroshock Therapy."

Instead of being claustrophobic, this was kind of relaxing to drift through.

Many people struggle to make it up this one, but the enthusiasm and assistance of those at the top is just fantastic.

I was exhausted and in no shape to sprint when we reached Everest. But, as with the other obstacles, when it was my turn I charged ahead, not thinking about the spectators or the mechanics or when to reach -- I just ran. I slid back down on my first attempt, but again made eye contact with one of the guys at the top, who nodded and motioned to me to try it again. I gulped and took off.

And suddenly I was grabbing his hand.

I have absolutely no idea how I made it high enough. We came back to watch our final teammates' endeavors later and so many people failed over and over, sometimes connecting fingertips but inexorably sliding back again and again. I wish I could see a video of me getting up there. I can still hardly believe I did it.

I dangled awkwardly after grabbing on, too exhausted to try to pull myself over the top. Someone grabbed my other hand and my boyfriend hooked me by the shoulders, and the three of them hoisted me, grateful and gasping, over the edge. I made it.

There was only one obstacle and perhaps 50 feet between us and the finish line now . . . and definitely the most feared. We had to run through mud (and over mud hills) amidst countless dangling electric wires. Faceplants were commonplace here. Honestly, I was more afraid of falling than the pain of getting shocked -- I am terrified of falling in an irrational way. (I'm barely over five feet tall, it's not like I'd have far to go.) In solidarity, my teammates linked arms with me and we marched forward, facing it together.

I don't know that I had the courage to pick through -- or charge through -- on my own this time. Yikes!

I'm normally a quiet person and I don't like to be loud or draw attention to myself, but we've learned that in tough lifting CrossFit workouts, I will absolutely roar, shrieking in pain/determination/pain/defiance/pain. And oh, did I unleash the full power of my vocal cords on this one. I got shocked a number of times, and it hurt -- but we stayed together, me roaring in the middle, and we were through.

I shakingly and triumphantly remarked that I felt as though I had just done 15 espresso shots. A mix of exhaustion, exhilaration, electricity (literally), and triumph were coursing through me. I have never done anything like this before in my entire life. And yet somehow, here we were in the finally sunny noon heat, getting orange headbands, t-shirts, beer (I sadly skipped mine in favor of water) and cheers from family and the teammates who had finished before us. WE DID IT!

HOO-RAH!

You guys, it was absolutely incredible. It may have been long, cold, muddy, and challenging, but it was also full of adventure, encouragement from teammates, cheering from spectators, and badassery. I can't even convey the physical exhaustion and emotional high we felt as we stuffed our faces with energy bars and high-fived enthusiastically, cheering on the last of our teammates and brandishing our orange headbands proudly.

I have definitely never been so sore in my entire life as I was on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. (Maybe even Tuesday, too.) But I can say -- without a doubt and only a tinge of nervous anticipation -- that our team, and several more friends convinced by our crazy pictures and stories, will be at it again next year.

-Simone

I would add, "I will not wear cotton" and "I will have a blast!!"

It's a Bird! It's a Plane! It's a Guest Blogger!

I've been hinting that there were some fun changes on the horizon for Project Reroll! Well get ready cause our first change is a-comin'! This is no longer just my story. 

I'm so excited to introduce you guys to Project Reroll's first guest blogger, Michael Dougherty. He's been a very supportive member of the reader community and is embarking on his own mission to pick new stats and slay the fat and will be making posts on Tuesdays about his own journey. This has always been a place for accountability, empathic sharing, and "teaching out" about the good, the bad, and the ugly of embracing the process of weight loss and nutrition. The process can be so different for everyone that I really think it can only improve the blog to have more than one person express what they're learning through the experience. 

So who is this Michael person? Why should you care about him? GET READY, cause he's awesome and I did a little introductory interview with him to get you all excited about hearing what he's got to say. 

 Tell us a little bit about who you are and what you do.

My name is Michael C. Dougherty and I’m a geek. Like big time. My first books I remember reading were The Hobbit, Sherlock Holmes, and tons of Edgar Allen Poe. I’ve been playing D&D off and on since 1st edition and can remember getting my first Atari 2600. 

Recently, I wrote/directed the Joss Whedon blessed and FOX approved Firefly fan film “Browncoats: Redemption” that went on to raise $117,000 for charity in one year. I’m currently working on my next film “Z*Con” which is like “Goonies” meets “Shaun of the Dead” set in “Comic Con” which will also raise money for the American Red Cross, Kids Need to Read, and the Baltimore Bully Crew.

When did you decide you needed to change your ways and was there a specific moment where it clicked and you actually committed to doing it?

It’s been a long time coming. I can’t mark a specific date and time, because I’ve been debating about it off and on in my head, as we nerds do. I’ve read lots of books, like “The Nerdist” by Chris Hardwick has a section on having a healthy body, and friends like the amazing Elizabeth Wallace have sent me stuff to help, but it was really after watching Anne/you and my friends', Jeff Pulver and Joe Hancuff, personal transformations that I believed it could be possible for myself. I just woke up one day and decided ‘I don’t want to feel like this anymore’ and signed for a CrossFit class. After that…I’ve just wanted to be the change I want to see in others…for myself.

If you failed in the past, why do you think that was?

Because I wasn’t committed. I know that and know it’s totally on me. I allowed the bullshit in my own head and the comfort of life as it was to keep me from wanting more. I allowed work and other distractions to be the “Well I don’t have time to exercise/eat right because I’m too busy doing X.” Which is just me lying to myself.

What are your goals and how do you plan to accomplish them?

My goals are pretty simple and measurable. I’m starting August 1st and measuring success in 30 day increments so I’m not stressing out over daily fluctuations on the scale. I know that I’ll decrease, increase, and plateau, but I have seen so many people give up after seeing the day to day numbers that I know I will to.

I’ll be including a daily workout regimen that increases like the 30 day ab/arm challenge. Each week I’ll check in with my results, which I’ll be tracking with the Epic Win ap. I already walk 3 miles a day (1.5 miles each way) so I want to make the evening walk home to evolve into a jog and then a run. 

I will also be starting a juice fast for the first 10 days and then see how things go. I want to adopt more paleo into my diet, but it’ll be a transition I want to make slowly so my body doesn’t go into freak out mode.

The ultimate goal is math based. I’m currently around 285 and I want to try to drop a minimum of 10 lbs a month. This equates to about losing 1% of current weight per week (2.85 lbs) which all the research I’ve found seems to indicate is healthy and reasonable. That way if I do more…great, but I’m not stressing out about it which would cause me to slip.

There are so many options when it comes to diet and fitness. Why are you choosing this particular path?

I am former military. I was never in better shape in my life than when I was forced to do daily push ups, sit ups, and running in the ARMY. It is something my body resonates with and seems to react better to then trying heavy weight lifting. Plus, I can be as ADD as I want flipping the order I do them in so I don't get bored. 

For diet, one that I’ve done before and saw physical and emotional results from. Juicing is also a very mentally relaxing task for me. It is simple, I can let my brain go, and I get to enjoy some nice juice after. I’m going to be dipping my toe into the paleo diet. That will be the biggest challenge for me. My past lifestyle has been very easy and easy made me round. So it’s time to do something else.

What made you want to guest post about your journey on PR?

I have been so inspired by Anne's/your transformation that I wanted to help contribute to the site to show what she/you did can be done by anyone! And, I'm the kind of guy who needs to be backed into a corner. My personality is such that I have to put myself in a situation where I am accountable to something greater than myself to make change happen.

If you could reroll yourself as your favorite genre character or superhero, who would it be?

I would have said Spider-Man years back, but as I get older...Logan/Wolverine. Dude's tough as nails and only gets better with age.

I hope you guys are as excited as I am about seeing Michael challenge himself to make these changes. He's an awesome geek with a lot to offer and I feel honored that he came here to Project Reroll to share his story. That being said, there are seven days in a week. How awesome would it be if I wrote on two of them (as I already do) and the others were days that guest bloggers posted about their journeys? These could be vlogs or writing. I'd love to invite geeks of all sexes, ages, and backgrounds because I really think it's important that every "transformation" be put in perspective. I want people working on weight loss, or learning a new martial art, or trying a new fitness routine- there are just SO many physical challenges out there! It would be awesome to expose each other to all these different methods and what the day to day experience of pursuing these goals is like. I believe, like Michael, that personal transformation is something ANYONE can accomplish. However, different people might have to go about it in different ways in order to find lasting success that works for them. Is there anyone else who might be up for this challenge? If so, feel free to leave a comment or contact me so we can chat about your ideas! Ideally, I'd love to find 4 other staff writers to post on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.  What say you, Slayers?

My First 20k Run

In my recent "Challenge Accepted" post, I decided to take on my very first 20km run in order to celebrate reaching my first 20k unique views on the blog. It was definitely an insane thing to try considering I've only run about half that distance without stopping before but I decided to take it on anyways. I got my dad to film the whole thing so I could share a bit of schadenfreude with you all in thanks for your continued readership and support of my journey.

All in all, I did pretty well. I went out of the gate a little fast in the beginning because we had mapped out the distance wrong and the course I was visualizing in my mind was incorrect so I did run out of gas a little earlier than I had meant to. I ended up alternating walking 2 minutes and running 5 from 6-10 miles, but in the end those last two miles really almost did me in. My body just wanted to stop walking. There was a moment where I was telling my feet to keep moving but they just came to a halt for a split second and I had lots of cramping in my back. I just tried to run when I could but I couldn't seem to get back into my groove. I did manage to finish under 3 hours and without dying (always a plus!), which was my major goal, so I was happy. I'd have to do some more training before attempting anything like that again! As far as injuries, I only really have a sore toe, but that didn't keep me from running two days after the 20k, so I'm hoping it will heal up soon!

There are some more very cool things on the horizon for the blog that I'm excited to share with you. I'll let you know all about the developments as soon as I can!

Nerd Fitness 6 Week Challenge Review!

Today marks the end of my first Nerd Fitness 6 week challenge. Since I posted my initial challenge goals on the blog at the beginning, I thought I'd share my final progress report here so you can see just how much can be accomplished in six short weeks of work!

Challenge Starting Weight: 162.4 lbs

Challenge Ending Weight: 153.4 lbs

Total Loss: -9.4 lbs (I was hoping for more, but considering my struggles with food/con-going during the course of the challenge I'm pretty happy with this!) 

Final Measurements: 

Bust: (Starting 38") 36.25"

Waist: (Starting 41") 36.5"

Hips: (Starting 44") 42"

Thigh: (Starting 22.25") 20.75"

Calves: (Starting 16.5") 15.5"

Bicep: (Starting 12.5") 12.25"

Total Inches lost during challenge: -11 inches (That's pretty BANANAS!)

Before Photos: (NOTE: I wasn't going to post these photos on the blog, but I feel like the progress really shows and hopefully it inspires you guys to start taking photos to mark the changes in your body!)

After Photos:

Fitness/Nutrition goals:

• Take at least one Yoga class a week.
  • I aced this 100% and even took an extra class one week.
  • I made some great progress with The Wheel and the Crow that I intend to continue with a more rigorous focus in the next challenge.
    • Reward: +2 STR
• Complete "Zombies, Run 5k Training"  3x/week.
  • I never missed a run, not even at PAX East! I found a hotel with a gym and made sure I got my training in at 6AM so I could enjoy the con guilt free for the rest of the day! I'm loving my runs more and more each time and I'm getting ready to do my final mission for the app on Friday of the week! I can't wait to see my first 5k time so I can make some PR goals for the next challenge!
    • Reward: +5 STA
• Complete at least two 45 minute training sessions on the elliptical per week.
  • Passed with flying colors! Never missed a session and got in plenty of Xena: Warrior Princess episodes while I trained. Win win! AYIYIYIYIYI!
    • Reward: +2 DEX
• Learn to cook three Paleo meals by the end of the challenge.
  • I made:
    • Stay on Target Chicken Stirfry
    • Sokka's Buffalo Chicken and Sweet Potato Meatza 
    • Targeryen Dragonfire Hash!
    • I learned a lot more about Paleo, but I also discovered that I'm a much better and much more inventive cook than I give myself credit for. 
    • Reward: +3 CON

Life Goal:

• Write at least 2 new blog posts a week and create a logo for the header. 
  • I posted retro blog entries here every day and wrote my two new posts without fail every week. 
  • Having the deadline was really crucial for me. I find that having a back log of drafts is very useful and I will definitely continue to do that as time goes on. 
  • Very soon I'll be moving to a 2 post per week publishing format. Readers, feel free to vote in the poll on the left sidebar.
  • Added bonus: My reader base blossomed from under one thousand to over ten thousand unique views in just 6 short weeks! 
  • Sadly, while I did make progress on the logo with my graphic designer, the incredible Annie Stoll, she's been busy with some pretty amazing new clients! I'm so happy for her success and I'm honestly just blessed to have her volunteering to help me with the site. She's the real deal, people! Soon you'll see her amazing work at the top of the blog every time you stop by! The lesson I learned here was that I shouldn't make a challenge goal that depends on anyone's actions but my own in the future, but I know the finished product will be worth the wait!
    • Reward: + 2 WIS
      • I subtracted 1 point from the original proposed reward for not finishing the logo.

Final "Level Up Your Life" Stats for my forum signature:

Hearthsinger the Wandering Bard

Level 2 Halfling Ranger

STR 4 | DEX 3 | STA 7 | CON 5 | WIS 6 | CHA 4

The next challenge starts on Monday April 15th, so if this looks like something you want to try, check out their forums and start preparing your goals so you can participate!

In closing I want to thank the Nerd Fitness community for welcoming me with open arms, commenting on my progress during the challenge, and encouraging me through the rough patches. Your reactions to my results have been so overwhelming and supportive. I'm proud of myself, but I'm lucky to have found you guys and honored to have shared this challenge journey with you!

Quest Accepted: Couch to 5K

Ever since I started my fitness journey, I've avoided running. I've tackled new things like HIIT workouts, Zumba, and Yoga, but I've always hated running and so I never elected to add it to my cardio routine. 

I had a million canned responses ready for when people asked why I didn't try running. 

"My well endowed bosom would be painful! The bouncing! Ouchies!"

"The high impact would be murder on my joints."

"The elliptical burns more calories anyways."

"I tried distance running in high school. I gave up 3 weeks in and joined the soccer team instead. Never again."

"Do I look like a graceful gazelle on the plains of the Serengeti?"

When it comes right down to it, those are all just excuses. I've lost 85 lbs. I have NO EXCUSE not to challenge myself. Zumba and Yoga have been such positive experiences for me because I have another way to measure my progress besides the scale.  Plus, adding even more variety to my fitness can only be a good thing as I plow through these last 40 lbs. Of course, the tipping point in my decision was when I realized that when the Doctor comes to call, I'll have to be able to keep up with him on our time traveling adventures!

Just like any intimidating challenge, it's best to take it in steps. I've heard wonderful things about "Couch to 5K," so I decided to download the app for my phone and build up my endurance that way. If you haven't heard of it, the program slowly builds you up to running a 5K incrementally by having you do a combination of running and walking. You start out walking for 90 seconds and running for a minute in phases over 30 minutes. It gives you a new program each day and slowly it shifts so that you are doing more running than walking as you build up your endurance. In a few months, it claims you should be able to run a 5K. 

Before my yoga class tonight, I hopped on the treadmill and got started. It was crazy how nervous I was to do it considering I've been working out regularly for over 7 months now and it's not like I'm starting from nothing, but I just told myself to chase the fear! And chase it, I did! I felt pretty good about it afterwards and I'm looking forward to Day 2 tomorrow! The app is free so give it a try and let me know about your experience with it in the comments!

Kicking Ass and Letting Go

I've been extremely disciplined over the last two months as a part of reaching my weightloss goal for the next convention I'm going to and also as a personal double dog dare to not only to recommit to my goal, but to challenge myself more physically. I've stuck to the Nutrisystem plan completely 6-7 days a week without flexing or eating restaurant food at all. Since January 1st, I've lost about 12 lbs and I'm just 5 lbs from the goal I have in mind for March 22. Because this is a two month exercise, I've been pushing myself a LOT harder than I intend to going forward, but I have seen some pretty remarkable results! My body is visibly changing. I can feel my muscles engaging in new ways in my yoga classes and I can work on new poses that I couldn't reach before. I've been really improving all my coordination in Zumba and my foot work is getting faster and more precise. It's really cool to see the results of your journey in your capabilities rather than just what's on the scale at your weekly weigh-in.

After losing 4 lbs./week for the last two weigh ins, I felt like my body was REALLY holding onto every ounce of fat! I only lost .8 lbs this week. For the last few days, even though I was eating perfectly and exercising a lot, the scale crept up about .2 lbs a day. It might be frustrating to look at, but I know enough about health and fitness at this point that I realize it's just my body adjusting, building muscle, and adapting so that I can continue to lose. A lot of people get really frustrated by that. On the surface, yes, it looks like you didn't measure up to one of those killer weeks where everything goes right and the scale shows a huge number. However if you stop and think about whether you made all the good choices you could have that week and your response is, "Hell yes, I'm awesome," then why waste ANY TIME thinking you're not just because that number wasn't so impressive? Don't let the scale succeed at that bluff check when you know you've done well. The work is in your control. The number is not. 

It's my friend's birthday party tonight and I've already packed my dinner, a mandarin orange snack, and a breakfast bar for tomorrow in case I stay over at my boyfriend's place. I worked extra hard at the gym today, skipped my snack this morning, and will skip out on my dessert entree tonight so that I can enjoy one of my friend's cupcakes with buttercream icing tonight! It's like I always say, set yourself up for success by planning ahead, and you can feel free to enjoy yourself later! Next on the nutrition agenda, planning for my Valentine's Day date because I know I'm going to want to enjoy that in all it's splendor! For me, planning my indulgence days makes it all the easier to stick to my diet and fitness regime 100% the rest of the time because I have goodies to look forward to!