Fat Nerd Fit

I've already mentioned how the Hogwarts Running Club got me out and running again. The club's main focus is charitable fundraising through running. Every year there are six virtual races of varying distances and there are special medals for each race. When you register for a race, you're paying for your medal, but mostly contributing to the charity that the race is supporting. Right now we are doing the Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody Constant Vigilance 5k in support of Limbs for Life . I think the HRC website explains the connection between Mad-Eye and Limbs for life the best: "Moody never let his injuries stop him. Moody fought in both the First and Second Wizarding Wars and captured many dark witches and wizards, but at a cost. He lost a leg, an eye and part of his nose in carrying out his duties as an Auror for the Ministry of Magic. It is in this spirit, we are thrilled to announce that proceeds from this event will go to support the Limbs for Life Fou

My first book of the year was a pick by the Ravenclaw bookclub. I'm pretty open to trying out new authors and genres and try not to allow myself to get stuck in a book rutt. I've never read anything by Fortier and was intrigued by the Shakespeare meets Da Vinici Code references on the cover blurbs. I like Shakespeare and while I was not impressed by the Da Vinci Code, I liked the idea behind it and honestly only saw the movie. I'm not impressed by Juliet. Like Da Vinci, I like the idea behind it: the "plague on both your houses" from Romeo and Juliet stems from a true story and a curse that has followed two families throughout the generations. Our modern day heroine, Julie, discovers she is a decedent of Juliet's family and travels to Italy to find out the truth of who she is and where she comes from only to be swept up in a mystery, conspiracy, and adventure. The story is told in two intertwining parts, modern day with Julie and 1340 where we learn the

One of the terms that comes up over and over again in the From Fat to Finish Line Facebook group is "NSV" or Non Scale Victory. I hadn't really taken this side of the journey into consideration until I starting seeing other people's victories. When working on weight-loss and health it is so easy to just look at the scale as the only tool of measurement. When I confessed my weight to the group at the New Year one of the first comments I got was to only weigh once a month and not focus solely on the number as there is so much more to take into consideration. Yes, we celebrate everyone's weight loss numbers but there is also just as much support and excitement for the NSVs in the group. Yesterday I posted that it was my fourth day with no cream or sugar in my coffee. Over 120 people as of this writing have showed their support for my achievement. From a huge group of people who have either been there, done that, or are struggling themselves, or just starting

If you follow me on twitter ( @fatnerdfit )you already know this, but I made good on my deal with the internet and got my butt to the gym today. It was my first visit to this location of the chain I'm a member of (and by member I mean I pay every month and then don't ever go) so I kept my glasses on so I could actually see what was going on while I did my thing. I found the locker room no problem and made sure to check out the showers and sauna for future visits then hit the floor. Man is my butt out of shape. I started out on the stationary bike. I chose the upright one, not the fully seated one, because I'm curious about trying a cycling class. I did two miles and my quads were throbbing. I did have it on level 7, but I'm making no excuses. After the bike I did 100 crunches on a crunch machine of sorts. It gives you a rung to drape your legs over so you can't use your quads to help you, which was awesome. I did have to mess with my form a bit to keep

I was very hopeful that my plantar fasciitis was going to clear up by now. It continues to noticeably improve, but it's still not healed to a place where I can get out and actively exercise. It's easy to sit here and swear that I'd totally be hitting the gym and/or the road if only I could be out there, but I feel like I'd at least would have made two or three workouts in the last two weeks if I'd be able to. That's still not the every other day I've got my eyes set on and it's certainly not the every day my subconscious ego swears it would be, but two or three times in two weeks is a true estimation of what I've lost out on. It's still a win for me, though. Not very long ago I would be quite happy sitting on the couch for two weeks with my feet up. I'd have a six pack of beer, a pizza delivery on its way and be planning on wine and Chinese take away tomorrow. I'm actually kind of proud of myself that I am anxious to get out there.

After a crazy holiday season logging overtime on my feet at the store I developed Plantar Fasciitis. To quote the Mayo Clinic "Plantar fasciitis (PLAN-tur fas-e-I-tis) is one of the most common causes of heel pain. It involves inflammation of a thick band of tissue that runs across the bottom of your foot and connects your heel bone to your toes (plantar fascia). Plantar fasciitis commonly causes stabbing pain that usually occurs with your first steps in the morning. As you get up and move more, the pain normally decreases, but it might return after long periods of standing or after rising from sitting." It was most likely caused, in my case, from prolonged standing at work and wearing old shoes. Like when it happened last time, when I get up in the morning I hobble like an old person and it takes about half an hour of old person hobbling to work my way back to a normal stride. It sucks, it hurts like hell, and I had to keep going to work and being on my feet for ten ho