10 Ways to Get Back On Track with Your Diet

So many people fall off the diet wagon and give up completely. 

Think about the first time you were faced with the "Game Over" screen. Did you rage quit and never pick up the controller again? If you're like me, you said to yourself, "Ef this, I'm gonna win this thing!" Then you restarted the level. So why should your diet be any different? Sure, "losing" at your diet can be just so damn DELICIOUS whereas losing in a video game results in rage mode, but in the end it's all the same. You set a goal. You worked hard at it and you fell short. It doesn't mean the goal goes away. It's still there waiting for you. All you have to do is press reset.

For some reason that "reset button" is really hard to push when it comes to diets. Everything is a choice and the more you practice moving back and forth between planned indulgence and healthy choices, the easier it is to return to your diet. Getting back on track is a mental muscle and it's just as important as any that you'll flex in the gym. 

So many people tell me they're "all or nothing," and I definitely struggled with that for a long time. I was either 100% perfect or I utterly fell apart and just destroyed myself with bad choices. It's impossible to keep the "all or nothing" attitude up forever. It's time to accept your humanity. 

Newsflash: YOU ARE IMPERFECT. Le gasp!

At some point you're going to slip or just really want a cupcake. It all comes down to a choice. How you handle what follows that choice that will determine how successful you are with your weight loss. 

So, what I've decided to do is give you my ten tips for getting back on track with your diet. Hopefully this will make that reset button a little easier to push.

1. Assess: Why did you choose to slip? Were you putting too much pressure on yourself? Are there emotional stress factors that are overwhelming you? If you can target the "why," you'll be able to heal whatever is really ailing you. If you don't take time to do this step, then you're shooting yourself in the foot. Cheating on a diet can be symptom of other things that you need to confront and heal in your life so look at it as an opportunity get healthy in other ways.
2. Forgive Yourself: Once you've put your finger on the source of your slip and you've thought about it and how you can improve whatever is ailing you, forgive yourself. If you keep beating yourself up, you're just putting MORE pressure on the situation- pressure that could lead you down the road to other bad decisions. Rest in the knowledge that you've done right by yourself in the "Assess" phase and start putting one foot in front of the other again.
3. Decide: This sounds silly, but you have to DECIDE to get back on track. You can sit around and say "I should do more to fix my health issues" all day long. I gotta tell you, it's not the same as DOING something about it. What day are you re-starting the level? What hour? Right now? Good! Now go! Stop putting it off and making excuses! That is a long slippery slope and do you want to know the worst part? You're smart, so you'll watch yourself making excuses and start hating yourself even more for lying to yourself. What are you waiting for, Player 1? PRESS START!
4. Purge: You've been relaxing. Eating whatever. I'm willing to bet there are half eaten bags of candy by the couch and leftover pizza in the fridge. Cookies in the jar? Do whatever you have to do to get rid of that stuff. I'd say toss it, but if you eat it, you eat it. Invite someone over for a leftover party. Give it to your room mate. Just get it gone and don't buy more.
5. Create A Comfortable Environment: Environment is everything for me. If I'm trying to get back on track and I walk into a house littered with the refuse of my bad behavior, I have a much harder time readopting better habits. After you've purged the house of any leftover bad food, create the best possible environment for your success. Clean your room, wash the dishes in the kitchen. Do you have all the pots and pans you need for cooking? Does your scale have batteries in it? Are your running clothes season-appropriate?
6. Find Other Indulgences: Even if you create the perfect environment for success, you'll still get cravings. They don't just go away. Find stuff other than food that makes you happy. Is there a new video game coming out that you're dying to sink your teeth into? A book you've been waiting to read? A spa treatment that's absolutely to die for? Every time you want all the cupcakes in the land, start doing one of those other things. Nine times out of ten, they'll distract you enough that you'll forget all about what you were craving.
7. Grocery Shopping: You've purged your house of bad foods, now its time to fill your coffers with delicious healthy food. Make sure you have everything you need to cook food for yourself for the next week. When I already have fresh fruits, veggies, plus a list of healthy recipes I want to try and all their ingredients all at my finger tips, I'm way less tempted to run to the corner for Pad Thai. If you're looking for great healthy recipes that you can make easily, quickly and on a budget, I refer you to this Nerd Fitness article written by my Paleo cooking guru, Catspaw. 
8. Track Everything: Get back on the scale. Take your measurements. Track your calories or keep a food journal. Make sure you're getting at least 64 oz of water a day. Just stay accountable. When I fall of the wagon I go off the grid. It's fine, but when it's over it's over. I need to start seeing what I'm eating or I'll go wild and pretend it's not happening. Seeing your choices can be as encouraging as it can be chastening. When you look at your week and see you've kept completely Paleo for four days without realizing it, you'll be so proud of yourself for making all those good choices! 
9. One Week Cleanse: Once you have your diet plan in place and you've prepped your home and your kitchen, it's time to stick to it completely for one week. This is more of a mental cleanse than a physical one, but the idea is to make good choices for a full week after whatever slip you may have had. This is to prove to yourself that, well, that's all it was, "just a slip." It wasn't a derailment. You're still plowing ahead and committed. How do you know? Cause you've been back at it for a week! Good for you! I'd throw confetti if I could. How about another week? Challenge accepted.
10. Recommit to Your Exercise Plan: Diet is only part of health equation. When I eat like crap, it makes me feel lazy and going to the gym seems super lame. I swear it's like magic- or science even! Make sure you get back out there during that one week cleanse period. Don't worry if you've backslid with your fitness, just get yourself back in the habit of going. The rest will follow. 

Ah, there it is, the reset button.

Now press start!

My Big Damn Hero Challenge

It's Monday April 15th and that means it's the beginning of a new Nerd Fitness 6 Week Challenge! After the success I had with the last one, I'm ready to attack a new set of goals head on and continue to level up my life! You have until Wednesday April 17th to create your goals and post them in the guild thread you want to participate in for the challenge, so I highly recommend biting the bullet and joining the rebellion if you're not already a part of it! 

Last challenge, I gave my challenge a Rainbow Dash theme because I was preparing cosplay as her for PAX East. This time, I'll be using the ladies from Joss Whedon's Firefly to inspire my goals! Note: All artwork by Megan Lara.

Starting Stats:

Hearthsinger the Wandering Bard

Level 2 Halfling Ranger

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

Starting Photos:

Starting Weight: 151.4 lbs.
Starting Measurements:

Bust: 36.25"
Waist: 36.5"
Hips: 42"
Thigh: 20.75"
Calves: 15.5"
Bicep: 12.25"

Fitness/Diet goals:

• "I need you up in the engine room figurin' out what caused this." ~Malcolm Reynolds 
• I'll use all the tech at my disposal to maximize the efficiency of my workouts and the effectiveness of my diet plan. 
• I'll log every meal I eat on Fitbit.
• I must meet my -1000 calorie deficit at least 6/7 days a week while still eating EVERYTHING I'm supposed to on my diet plan so I can stay on track with my weight loss. 
• No more starving myself to meet the deficit is allowed. I must consume at least 1100 calories every "day of rest." On active/working days, I must consume 1250-1350. 
• Reward: CON +4

• "You ever been with a warrior woman?" ~Wash
• Time to get more serious about my strength training with. Daily Yoga! 
• 20-30 minutes/day including vinyasa series and warrior dance to warm up the body, followed by focused work on the following three poses. 
• Hold crow for 10 seconds (right now I can just barely get both feet off the floor for a few seconds)
• Wheel for 10 seconds (I've gotten up into it one time, but mostly only make it to the top of my head)
• Hold shoulder stand for 10 minutes by the end of the challenge (right now my PR is four minutes). 
• Reward: STR +3, DEX +2

• "No power in the 'verse can stop me." ~River Tam
• I have graduated from the Zombies, Run 5K Training app so it's time to start doing 3 missions a week with the regular Zombies, Run app. 
• By the end of the challenge, I'd like to go from my 5k PR of: 33 min down to 30 min. 
• Reward: STA +3

Life Goal:

• "Should I start with the part where you're stranded in the middle of nowhere or the part where you have no clothes?" ~Inara Serra
• I'm running out of clothes that fit properly again and I don't have a lot of money, so it's time to get resourceful and list all my old designer clothes, shoes, and sundry items that no longer fit or are no longer wanted for sale on ebay. 
• They do not have to be sold by the end of the challenge, but all of the items have to be collected, organized, photographed, and listed by the end of six weeks. 
• I can use the proceeds to replenish my dwindling wardrobe! 
• Reward: CHA +3

So there you have it! In six weeks, I'll post a follow up on the blog to let you know how I did!

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!

Level Up Your Life

Early on in my quest for better health, someone told me about Nerd Fitness, a blog and forums started by Steve Kamb and dedicated to helping geeks focus on fitness, weight loss, and diet while bringing them together to support & educate each other on their way. Can anyone say, "Perfect match!" I'm rabid scifi/fantasy/gaming nerd and, as I've written on this blog many times, a HUGE reason I've finally found success with weight loss and health is because I discovered ways to use that stuff to motivate me rather than letting it be an escape so that I wouldn't have to face my issues.

Right around the time I discovered Nerd Fitness, Steve delivered this TEDxTalk and I was incredibly moved because his mentality is so similar to mine.

This whole journey is about improving your life and giving you the strength you need to take what you want from it. On Nerd Fitness I found tons of great articles about eating healthy on a budget, the amazing transformations of the forum members, using Frodo's trek to Mount Doom as inspiration for a new walking regimen (seriously awesome), and how to approach seemingly impossible goals in a way that actually helps you accomplish them- not to mention several articles with workouts you can do outside of the gym if you can't afford a membership. There are so many more awesome posts and new ones come out every week both from Steve and sometimes guest bloggers.

When I started looking through the forums and discovering the threads for the "real life role playing game" and six week challenges, I got really inspired and very intimidated. These people were accomplishing amazing feats just by applying the structure of a tabletop RPG to their actual lives.  It's genius. Everyone creates their character, decides a profession/class that correlates to their fitness goals, and assigns 15 points to their level 1 stats (Strength, Dexterity, Stamina, Constitution, Wisdom, Charisma). Each challenge offers the opportunity to gain one level and more stat points. Everyone sets four goals (3 fitness/health and one 1 life goal per challenge), assigns the amount of points they'll win for different statistics should they succeed, and at the end they grade their work and award the amount of points they feel best reflects their progress. You can learn more from the full rundown on Nerd Fitness Rebellion Forums.

As much as I loved the idea, I was already participating in challenges on the Nutrisystem forums and every time I checked back, they were in the middle of a challenge and I had to wait to sign up for the next one. I missed a few opportunities, but FINALLY I figured out the challenge dates and put it in my calendar so I wouldn't miss it. I amped myself up by preparing my character in the down time:

Hearthsinger the Wandering Bard

Level 1 Halfling Ranger

STR 2 | DEX 1 | STA 2 | CON 2 | WIS 4 | CHA 4

"You are what you do. You can re-create yourself every second of your life." -Xena

Clearly I couldn't resist quoting Xena- and it's a damn good quote too! I chose to join the Rangers guild (a mixture of cardio and strength training), and started getting my goals ready. You can read about them and see all my starting measurements and weight below.

Fitness/Nutrition goals:

• Take at least one Yoga class a week. (+2 STR)
• Complete 5k training missions with "Zombies, Run" 3x/week. I'm starting my week 2 training missions on October 25. (+5 STA)
• Complete at least two 45 minute training sessions on the elliptical per week. (+2 DEX)
• Learn to cook three Paleo meals by the end of the challenge. NOTE: I'm on Nutrisystem right now, but it's just an open door into a much larger world. I'm learning a lot about portion size and breaking food into 5-6 smaller meals a day, but I want to learn a little about Paleo and cleaner eating so that when I get to my goal weight and drop my subscription, I'll be ready to hit the ground running. (+3 CON)

Life Goal:

• Write at least 2 new blog posts a week and create a logo for the header. NOTE: I've been posting backlogged entries from the past seven months daily so there's constantly new content, but I need to keep CREATING content on a schedule so that I can stick to releasing two articles a week on a regular schedule for the readers once I catch up to current time. (+ 3 WIS)

Measurements:

• Bust: 38"
• Waist: 41"
• Hips: 44"
• Thigh: 22.25"
• Calves: 16.5"
• Bicep: 12.5"

Starting Weight:

• 162.4 lbs

Yesterday, Feb 25th, was officially day one of my first challenge as a Nerd Fitness Rebel and I'm REALLY excited to get to work! In fact, this is post number one for my first week. One down, one to go! If you decide to join in, I'm Hearthsinger on the forums. So take the plunge, join the rebellion and let's do some serious power leveling! 

Before I send you off to do great things, here's some final inspiration from Steve as he exercises around the world. 

Measurements & The Biggest Loser

I was surprised by how great my measurements are coming along this morning. I was definitely expecting them to be a little "blegh" because of recovering from surgery and not being able to hit the gym for a week and a half this past month, but it looks like I was able to stay right on track so I was proud of myself for devising a plan for recovery and sticking with it.

New Years was fun, though I did indulge a little TOO much in goodies. I was giving myself permission to splurge on that day, but now it's time to get back to 100% on plan. The holidays are over folks! It's time for us all to start kicking ass again. No excuses!

I took a new Facebook profile picture and compared it to other pictures of my face throughout the years. It's almost gross how pudgy my face was before in comparison. I should do a "before/after" of my face at some point just to show the difference. I don't know how I convinced myself that I hadn't put on much weight after seeing how bloated I used to be in comparison to what I see now.

For whatever reason I thought The Biggest Loser was cancelled, but I just saw a promo for a new season and I'm SOOOO excited cause I love that show. I know their results are unrealistic in a way, but I love watching the contestants transform, inside and out, plus there's a lot of nutritional education on that show as well. This is the first time I won't be watching it and thinking, "I should really get my ass off the couch and do something about my problems." That's really exciting for me because their were times when I was certainly watching that show and eating a whole pizza at the same time. SHAAAAAAAME! Haha! Anyways! I'm super excited to watch! Anyone else planning on tuning in?

Never Give Up. Never Surrender

Another week, another 4 lbs GONE! Just 1.2 lbs from my 30 lbs lost weightloss goal for New York Comic Con (which is just a little over a month away). I'm not one to count chickens before they hatch, but it looks like I'll be CRUSHING that goal, which is exciting. 

I've been sick this week, but I still went to the gym. There is nothing worse than exercising whilst you're sick. I've only been able to muscle in a half hour on the elliptical for the last few days. It was definitely a struggle for me and I really felt unable to go at it the way that I normally do. At least I did SOMETHING instead of throwing in the towel. Hopefully I can lick this cold and get back in fighting shape. It's slow season for work so I'm only scheduled a few days this week. I'll be buckling down at the gym and pushing myself to get back to where I was before the storm of sick hit me.

I also realized when I weighed myself that I was due to put in measurements for the month. Last month, I sort of winged it, but I wanted to make sure I was doing it right so I looked up how to do it on YouTube and found I was measuring the waist wrong and that I was supposed to include the love handles and cross over the belly button, as opposed to the thinnest part of my torso which is just a few inches below my bust. So sadly, that added 7 inches to my waist measurement, BUT I lost about 7.5 inches from all the other areas combined. I'm sure, had I measured the waist correctly, then I would have lost there too instead of gained. Measurements are so important because sometimes when the scale won't move, they will. I can be a really great motivator in the midst of a plateau.

Anywho! Nose the grindstone! I'm off to the gym.

25 lbs Lost: The Suck-It-Corset-Saga

I already wrote about last weekend's trip, but I wanted to post again because as of yesterday, my corset laced all the way up this week! How bananas is that?! I'm actually sort of nervous it won't fit next year since I fully intend on seeing this journey all the way to the end. Anyways! I just wanted to share this "yippee" moment. Only 5 more lbs till my next goal of 30 lbs lost for New York Comic Con in October. I'm gonna kill it! :)

My newest skill set is eating responsibly when I'm straying from the Nutrisystem plan during outings. I definitely spend time preparing myself for the choices I'll have to make. Planning everything ahead of time is really key to being responsible. It means that I make everything from a healthy frame of mind rather than being easily swayed by temptation in the moment.