pbandbrains

Once upon a time, there was a zombie named pbandbrains who was very tired of her brainless existence. She wanted to become more than a zombie. In fact, she wanted to become human again. She had tried before and failed, but this time was different. So, she took the first step towards reclaiming her humanity. Main Quest Keep a routine; healthy eating and regular exercise. Goals Humans are mobile, zombies stumble around. Complete one hour of walking/running every day. A: 7x/week B: 5x/week C: 3x/week D: 1x/week F: 0x/week Humans are strong, zombies' arms fall off. Complete 30 minutes of strength training 3x a week. A: 3x/week B: 2x/week C: 1x/week F: 0x/week Humans eat plants and quality meat, zombies eat brains. Eat Paleo six times a week. A: 6 days/week B: 5 days/week C: 4 days/week D: 3days/week F: 2 or fewer days/week Motivation It's been some time since I posted a challenge in the Adventurers thread. I spent a couple challenges over with the Rangers, but then I fell of the radar and made lots of bad health decisions. Eating poorly and reducing my exercise time has had a terrible impact on my depression which has been super hard for me, but also been really hard on my fiancé. I owe it to him and to myself to get back to a better place. Oh, and I'm totally over the taste of brains.

That's great news about the managing editor position. I really hope it works out for you!

Week 1 Review Complete one hour of walking/running every day. STA 2.5 DEX 2.5 C+:4x/week Complete the Rebel Strength Guide Dumbbell Division four times a week. STR 4 B: 3x/week Follow prepared meal plans three times a day. CON 3 C: 15 meals/week Read for 30 minutes and write for 15 minutes three times a week. WIS 3 B: 60 min read, 30 min written/week This week was...meh. I started off really strong, but some unexpected business occurred, throwing off my routine and apparently my motivation. Some good news is that I found quite a few writing inspiration/help type books while going through stuff for giveaway which should be useful reading for the challenge.

The first item I pulled out of my bookcase to help with the reading part of this challenge was Stephen King's On Writing. I've had it for a while, but I also haven't looked at it much and I figured it might provide some motivation in the writing department. We will see. As far as the rest of the goals, I've been doing well so far (it is admittedly only the second official day of the challenge, but I'm still proud of myself).

It happens to be my NF anniversary as well. I'll be interested in seeing your progress and good luck!

Ugh, resume updating is not fun. I hope you find a more suitable job quickly and with the least amount of hassle!

Main Quest Keep doing what works and don’t give up: The end of this month will mark my one year anniversary on Nerd Fitness. When I first joined last November, I weight 228 lbs. As of now, I’ve lost 48 lbs. and 6 inches off my hips. I’ve done really well and been much more successful with maintaining a healthy diet and exercise routine within this past year than I ever did previously. So, for that reason, this challenge will focus on maintaining the good habits I’ve built and strengthening any that may have slipped. Goals Complete one hour of walking/running every day. STA 2.5 DEX 2.5 A: 7x/week B: 5x/week C: 3x/week D: 1x/week F: 0x/week Complete the Rebel Strength Guide Dumbbell Division four times a week. STR 4 A: 4x/week B: 3x/week C: 2x/week D: 1x/week F: 0x/week Follow prepared meal plans three times a day. CON 3 A: 21 meals/week B: 18 meals/week C: 15 meals/week D: 12 meals/week F: <12 meals/week Life Quest Read for 30 minutes and write for 15 minutes three times a week. WIS 3 A: 90 min read, 45 min written/week D: 60 min read, 30 min written/week C: 30 min read, 15 min written/week F: Nothing/week Motivation I want to be healthy and happy for myself and for the people that matter most in my life.

Congratulations on a successful challenge (especially sticking to your diet)!

Challenge Summary Complete one hour of cardio every day: A, + DEX 3 STA 3 Complete the Rebel Fitness Guide Level 4 Rebel/Renegade Workout three times a week: B, + STR 2.25 Keep a food journal: B, + CON 1.5 Have a Halloween party: A, + CHA 2 Try a new recipe every week: B, + WIS 1.5 October Quest List -Traverse a corn maze. -Go through a haunted house. -Join a zombie crawl. -Carve a pumpkin. -Roast pumpkin seeds. -Make a pumpkin dessert. -Bob for apples. -Watch 13 horror movies (7/13). -Watch the season premiere of The Walking Dead. -Visit a cemetery and pray for the dead. -Scare my boyfriend (just a little bit). -And a goal that is already part of my challenge: Have a Halloween party. -Make and drink mulled cider. New Measurements Height: 5' 10.5" Weight: 178.8 lbs. Bust: 37.5 in. Natural Waist: 29 in. Belly Button Waist: 37 in. Hips: 41.5 in. + 1 level and a Daryl Dixon costume (pictures below)!

Week 5 Review Complete one hour of cardio every day: 6/7 workouts, A-/B+. Complete the Rebel Fitness Guide Level 4 Rebel/Renegade Workout three times a week: 3/3 workouts, A. Keep a food journal: 7/7 days recorded, A. Have a Halloween party: Had a party this past Saturday, A. Try a new recipe every week: I wasn't planning to make it my new recipe for the week, but since I didn't get a chance to do anything else different, I made a bacon spinach dip. I think there was too much spinach compared with the other ingredients and the bacon flavor was sort of lost, A. This week went well, but I just realized that this is the final week of the challenge! I still have lots to complete on my quest list for the month and I want to finish the challenge strong and keep to my main goals. Good luck to everyone in the final stretch! October Quest List -Traverse a corn maze. -Go through a haunted house. -Join a zombie crawl. Missed it this past week, so I might have to forfeit this particular quest item. -Carve a pumpkin. -Roast pumpkin seeds and make a pumpkin dessert. -Bob for apples. -Watch 13 horror movies. 3/13. -Watch the season premiere of The Walking Dead. -Visit a cemetery and pray for the dead. -Scare my boyfriend (just a little bit). -And a goal that is already part of my challenge: Have a Halloween party. -Make and drink mulled cider. I don't really drink alcohol, so I just tried the cider on its own and it was pretty good.

I didn't end up making the pumpkin seed brittle mostly due to my coming down with a cold and not wanting to deal with it. I was also wrong on the date of the zombie crawl, which was today, and I was definitely not feeling well enough to stumble around outside covered in fake blood. Oh well, the movie night went well and I did partake of some mulled cider. And 2 of 13 horror movies watched.

Finished my strength workout this morning and that makes 3/3 for the week! Yay, small victories lead to big wins.

I like the community that Halloween has to offer. You can decorate your house and share it with your neighborhood and pass out gifts to each other in the form of candy. It's sort of like a gigantic block party with less hotdogs and more chocolate. Even during the November/December holidays, which are often considered the time of giving, people aren't as connected to strangers. And, at least for the area where I live, Dia de los Muertos is also largely celebrated, so the community aspect even gets to include the dead in the form of remembrance. I also love scary movies and dark stuff, so that probably explains why I like it so much as well. And thanks for all the support, Kairiel! 3/3 food journals and cardio workouts, 2/3 strength workouts, and all the supplies acquired for the party so far this week (I'm making homemade pizza, spinach bacon dip, popcorn, pumpkin seed brittle and mulled cider).

I'm a little scared, but I'll trust you and plan to try it at some point this challenge.

Sounds like you're doing really well, yay! Which knot did you learn?

While you may not have felt as successful this week, the important part is that you're aiming for improvement. And, while it's great that your friend's success has motivated you to push even harder, remember to stay away from the dangerous habit of comparison. You're awesome and keep up the good work!

Week 4 Review Complete one hour of cardio every day: 7/7 workouts, A. Complete the Rebel Fitness Guide Level 4 Rebel/Renegade Workout three times a week: 1/3 workouts, C. Keep a food journal: 5/7 days recorded, B. Have a Halloween party: Party set for this coming weekend, but I still haven’t finalized the movie list, N/A. Try a new recipe every week: I made garlic parmesan flax seed crackers. I wasn't really impressed, but I also ate them plain. Maybe I'll try them with some sort of veggie topping and see if that helps, A. I fell out of my "strength workout 3x a week" routine in between challenges and I still haven’t gotten back into it. I’m going to start making it one of my first things in the morning so I don’t have time to forget about it through the day. October Quest List -Traverse a corn maze. I went to a pumpkin festival this past weekend and it was one of the available activities. -Go through a haunted house. Still deciding when and where. -Join a zombie crawl. It’s happening this coming Sunday! -Carve a pumpkin. I’ve bought my pumpkins; I just need to get to it. -Roast pumpkin seeds and make a pumpkin dessert. No seeds yet, but I feel like my pumpkin bread could be considered dessert. -Bob for apples. Hm, maybe I’ll incorporate this into my party. We’ll see. -Watch 13 horror movies. I’ll have a least a few by next week. -Watch the season premiere of The Walking Dead. Without giving too much away for those who haven't seen it...pigs. -Visit a cemetery and pray for the dead. Still on my to-do list. -Scare my boyfriend (just a little bit). The old standard “jumping out of closet at unsuspecting victim†trick. -And a goal that is already part of my challenge: Have a Halloween party. Next weekend! -Make and drink mulled cider. Thanks, Eilyd!

I was looking in my pantry trying to decide what this week's recipe should include and I noticed I had a lot of extra flaxseed meal. Two out of three recipes so far this challenge have been desserts, so I decided to shoot for something savory and found a recipe for Garlic Parmesan Flax Seed Crackers. I haven't made them yet, but I'll give a report soon. Cardio is going much better this week than the last couple. I'm at 4/4 days for the week so far, but I've missed a strength workout. Food journaling has made me very aware of my random eating habits where I don't eat enough and then I have a day of total crap eating (not literally ). The movie theme for the party will be zombies, so if anyone has suggestions on one of their favorite films, let me know.

Hi Loki, how are your goals coming along?

Week 3 Review Complete one hour of cardio every day: 5/7 workouts, B. Complete the Rebel Fitness Guide Level 4 Rebel/Renegade Workout three times a week: 2/3 workouts, B. Keep a food journal: 5/7 days recorded, B. Have a Halloween party: I'm leaning towards a horror movie marathon and I'm shooting for the weekend of the 18th. Try a new recipe every week: I made ginger pumpkin bread and my family loved it, A.

Just got back from the grocery store and I'm ready to make some ginger pumpkin bread. I'll let you guys know how it turns out later.

I've recently updated my Epic Quest List, but I also decided to make an October specific list to complete during this challenge, and here it is: -Traverse a corn maze. -Go through a haunted house. -Join a zombie crawl. -Carve a pumpkin. -Roast the seeds and make a pumpkin dessert. -Bob for apples. -Watch 13 horror movies. -Watch the season premiere of The Walking Dead. -Visit a cemetery and pray for the dead. -Scare my boyfriend (just a little bit). -And a goal that is already part of my challenge: Have a Halloween party. Anything I'm missing?

Sorry to hear you're not feeling well, but I'm glad you're still pushing forward.

Hey, your own referral has got to be the one you trust the most!

It's almost better that you don't know your reward since it could be easy to give in if you decided that (fill in the blank) item wasn't worth the effort at a particular moment of weakness. But a fantastic super secret surprise is always worth it! Keep up the good work!