FFVII – Part 36: Keystone State of Mind

Summary: We travel the world in search of the keystone to access the Temple of the Ancients. Success – we get it from Dio at the Golden Saucer.

FFVII – Part 35: The Mountains Win Again

Summary: We wander through the beautiful and frustrating surroundings of Wutai, making little to no progress.

FFVII – Part 34: Rocket Man

 Summary: Rocket Town, where dwell the noble Shera and fucking Cid. We learn about Shinra’s old space program. Rufus comes to town for Cid’s plan to follow Sephiroth across the ocean. We get to it first.

FFVII – Part 33: Coming ‘Round the Mountain

Summary: Bit of an anti-climactic session here. We explore Mt. Nibel, getting some experience and materia. We stop by the Nibel Reactor, but nobody’s home.

FFVII – Part 32: Keep it Secret, Keep it Safe

Summary: The Mansion of Nibelheim, revisited. We solve the clues Sephiroth left us and crack a safe that might have been better left uncracked. The party finally catches up with Sephiroth, though he flies away to prepare for the mysterious Reunion.

Fitness - Day 37: The Lost Woods, First Afternoon

Morning weight: 270.2 lbs
Total change: -1.2 lbs

Next stop through these woods: lunch.

Fitness - Day 36: The Lost Woods, First Evening

 Breakfast and dinner today at home.

Fitness - Day 35: The Lost Woods, First Morning

I'm not a Zelda fanatic, but I enjoyed the original Legend of Zelda on NES and Ocarina of Time on N64.  Each of those had a "Lost Woods" zone.  If you walked randomly, you'd return to the same screen over and over.  There was a particular pattern to get out.  North, west, south, west, and you got through.

My pre-Nerd Fitness Academy attempts to get healthy felt like this.  Kept wandering, trying out new things, and ending up in the same place.  NFA has given me hope that there's a way out.  And even though I took a wrong turn, I feel like I have a pattern to find my way back.

Screen by screen.  Start with the morning.

FFVII – Part 31: History Rewritten

Summary: Our party retraces the steps of Nanaki’s courageous father through Cave of the Gi. Nanaki stays with us. We leave Cosmo Canyon and arrive at the town of Nibelheim, overrun by actors and clones. The search for Sephiroth may be nearing its end.

FFVII – Part 30: Circle of Life

Summary: Cosmo Canyon. Some Red backstory, and lots about the lifestream and what happens to souls on when they die. More reasons why Shinra sucks.
 

Fitness - Day 34: Soft Reset

"I quit."  Weird phrase, that.  It can be taken as present tense, and that's how I meant it last week.  But fuck that.  "I quit" also can be past tense, and I'm tired of quitting.

I mentally gave up.  Binged most of the week on pizza, fast food, and Chinese delivery, and am at 271.4 lbs.  Even more than I was 34 days ago when I began this project.  Seeing my weight this morning made me want to  try something new.  A new website, a new project, a new plan, something.  But whatever plan I were to start on, the problem lies with me.  Nerd Fitness Academy is reasonable, it clicks with me, and it's up to me to rise to its level.

So I count this as a soft reset.  Not a complete wipe-away of what came before it.  I went through levels 1, 2, and 3.  I'm still pushing to level 4.  The past month taught me a great deal about the hows and whys of eating.  Back on the horse.  I can do better.

---

Current (reset) weight: 271.4 lbs
Total change: 0 lbs

FFVII – Part 29: Goin’ Gaga

Summary: We search the Gongaga area for Sephiroth. No luck, but we see some of the Turks and Shinra trying to get materials for a new weapon. We hear about Aeris’s first love, a Gongagan named Zack.

FFVII – Part 28: Pain and Chocobos

Summary: We find Dyne. He’s… not doing well. Barret defeats him. Cloud races on a chocobo, and we leave the prison.

Fitness - Day 29: Mindless Eating

Bad couple of days.  On we go.

====

Morning weight [from Day 27]: 264.2 lbs
Total change: -4.0 lbs

Progress to Nutrition Level 4: For two weeks straight, swap out grains at breakfast completely for a high protein breakfast.

Week #1: [3/15/15] -  [3/16/15] - [3/17/15] - [   ] - [   ] - [   ] - [   ]
Week #2: [   ] -  [   ] - [   ] - [   ] - [   ] - [   ] - [   ]

FFVII – Part 27: Deserted

Summary: Wandering our new confines of Corel Prison, trying to find clues about a way out and the truth about Barret and the killer of Shinra’s soldiers.

FFVII – Part 26: Feline of Fortune

Summary: The Golden Saucer! Easily the most garish zone in the history of the series. I can’t play many of the games yet due to being nearly broke, but really cool place to visit. We get a fortune-telling kitty to join us despite some rather grim prophesying, and get framed for someone else massacring Shinra soldiers. Calling it now: no way it was Barret.

Fitness - Day 26: The Path to Level 4

Morning weight: 264.8 lbs
Total change: -3.4 lbs

I start on a new quest. 

Progress to Nutrition Level 4: For two weeks straight, swap out grains at breakfast completely for a high protein breakfast.

Week #1: [3/15/15] -  [   ] - [   ] - [   ] - [   ] - [   ] - [   ]
Week #2: [   ] -  [   ] - [   ] - [   ] - [   ] - [   ] - [   ]

FFVII – Part 25: Coal and Ashes

Summary: I was wrong – we do not go to the Corel Reactor, but rather continue our journey through the mountains to the ramshackle North Corel. Barret backstory. More proof that Shinra is the worst.

Fitness - Day 25: Mindful Eating

I've been putting this off.  For me, this is clearly the most challenging aspect of Nutrition Level 3 to adopt, but it's time.  Mindful eating.

FFVII – Part 24: Summertime

Summary: Wandering around Costa del Sol, where it’s summertime and the living’s easy. We see a sunbathing Hojo, grind a bit in the overworld, and head west in pursuit of Sephiroth.

Fitness - Day 24: Protein All Day

The last two days have gone badly.  I mentally give up sometimes, and these last two days I didn't plan early, binged (moderately, but still) on chips/salsa, and ice cream.

Not going to beat myself down about it.  Moving on.

Two more pillars of nutrition level 3 to address - protein with every meal and mindful eating.  Today, I'll look at the protein.

FFVII – Part 23: Barret the Sailor Man

Summary: Everyone is disguised aboard the ship, some more wonderfully than others. We’re not the only stowaways, however – Jenova and Sephiroth are aboard too, though Sephiroth seems off. We land at Costa del Sol.

Fitness - Day 21: Home Cookin' Size

Thoughts on portions.

FFVII – Part 22: Cloud on Parade

Summary: Cloud infiltrates Shinra’s parade for the new President Rufus, while I enter the hell that is reaction time mini-games with unfamiliar controls.

Fitness - Day 20: Level 3 Breakfast

Time to start focusing on nutrition level 3, starting with breakfast.

Fitness - Day 19: Mordor-Bound

Starting to walk in earnest.  Beginning the "Walk to Mordor" project.

Fitness - Day 18: And Level 3 Ahead

A look at Nutrition Level 3.

FFVII – Part 21: Port Junon

Summary: Our attempts to help Fort Condor stop before they start. We save a kid and her dolphin from angry fauna at Port Junon, and remain a step behind Sephiroth.

Fitness - Day 17: Nutrition Level 2 Behind Me

Morning weight: 265.4 lbs
Total change: -2.8 lbs

Progress to Nutrition Level 3: Spend one week minimizing liquid calories.
 [2/23/15 = 90cal] -  [3/1/15 = 0cal] -  [3/2/15 = 0cal] -  [3/3/15 = 0cal] -  [3/4/15 = 0cal] -  [3/5/15 = 0cal] -  [3/6/15 = 0cal]

Fitness - Day 16: Chuck Tender

Another day with a late work event that shifts my eating schedule, but last one for a while.  Home stretch towards Nutrition Level 3.

Progress to Nutrition Level 3: Spend one week minimizing liquid calories.
 [2/23/15 = 90cal] -  [3/1/15 = 0cal] -  [3/2/15 = 0cal] -  [3/3/15 = 0cal] -  [3/4/15 = 0cal] -  [3/5/15 = 0cal] -  [   ]

FFVII – Part 20: Dances with Chocobos

Summary: Our party engages in glorious dance with chocobos. We head across the marsh, following Sephiroth’s path. Through the Mythril Mines, past hostile Turks, and a detour to Fort Condor.

Fitness - Day 15: Audible

My work schedule was abnormal today.  A work breakfast in the morning and an event in the evening.  I try to maintain the framework of my eating schedule while changing up the specific times slightly.

Progress to Nutrition Level 3: Spend one week minimizing liquid calories.
 [2/23/15 = 90cal] -  [3/1/15 = 0cal] -  [3/2/15 = 0cal] -  [3/3/15 = 0cal] -  [3/4/15 = 0cal] -  [   ] -  [   ] 

FFVII – Part 19: Kalm Down

Summary: A breather after the intensity of Cloud’s flashback. We explore the town of Kalm, and grind up in the surrounding overworld for upgrades. The party heads south, finds a chocobo farm, and then gets eaten by a missile-launching 30 foot cobra.

Fitness - Day 14: Danger Zones

Yesterday went really well.  An attempt at another schedule, and some thoughts on danger zones.

Progress to Nutrition Level 3: Spend one week minimizing liquid calories.
 [2/23/15 = 90cal] -  [3/1/15 = 0cal] -  [3/2/15 = 0cal] -  [3/3/15 = 0cal] -  [   ] -  [   ] -  [   ] 

Fitness - Day 13: Filling the Schedule

My main goal today is to test the eating schedule I planned yesterday.  I prepared and planned what I will eat today.  As I go through, I'll check off each milestone.


Progress to Nutrition Level 3: Spend one week minimizing liquid calories.
 [2/23/15 = 90cal] -  [3/1/15 = 0cal] -  [3/2/15 = 0cal] -  [   ] -  [   ] -  [   ] -  [   ] 

FFVII – Part 18: Through the Fire and the Flames

Summary: Sephiroth learns the nature of his power and heritage. He reacts badly, rebelling against Shinra and burning Nibelheim to ashes. At least he gets to reunite with his mother. How sweet.

Fitness - Day 12: Schedule

Not quite "Day 12," I know.  I stopped posting and went back to semi-binging for much of the past 5-6 days.  Picking up where I left off.

Progress to Nutrition Level 3: Spend one week minimizing liquid calories.
 [2/23/15 = 90cal] -  [3/1/15 = 0cal] -  [   ] -  [   ] -  [   ] -  [   ] -  [   ]