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Update #5 (week 2, update 2) Well, our boiler broke down yet again. We had no heat Thurs night through Monday and again most of yesterday. Hopefully that's solved but it threw me off a little yesterday. I do so much better when my routine is in place. I missed a day for my water goal but still did my negative pull ups and ate my veggies. I decided to do the 100 pushups challenge with a friend on MFP. My initial test landed me at rank 2 and I'm supposed to use the middle column of the plan. First day went fine but yesterday was rough. I got through day 2 but not well so I'll be repeating it tomorrow. I'm pretty sore/stiff from that and other exercises and really regretting that I've yet to get a consistent stretching/flexibility plan in place. Strength: The goal: 20 negative pull ups per week (3 per day) Week 1: 2 3 4 7 Week 2: 3 Cumulative: 10 out of 42 Diet: The goal: Drink more water Week 1: 2 3 4 5 Week 2: 2 Cumulative: 7 out of 30 The goal: Eat more veggies Week 1: 2 3 4 7 Week 2: 3 Cumulative: 10 out of 42 Life: Goal: Reclaim the dining room Week 1: Purchased bins 2, organized the basement 20 Cumulative: 22 out of 50 Side challenges: Work on wheel pose as part of the Old People Parkour Posse mini challenge. Come up with DEX-worthy goals for the next challenge. Participate in every.single.mini.challenge. posted to the Adventurers section. Challenge 1: Refined goalsChallenge 2: Ran 3.11 miles (aiming for 6.22 for the week)

I love these mini challenges! I did 3.11miles on the treadmill yesterday. I was at 2.6 and about to give up because I'm just back to working out after a rough cold but this motivated me to keep going til I hit 3.11. And because I was short on time, it was extra incentive to kick up the speed a little bit. Hopefully I'll do another 3.11 tomorrow! I'm signed up for two 5Ks this year so it always makes me happy when I hit 3.11 even though I know the treadmill is different from running outside. I walk a mile a day as part of my commute but I've decided not to include that.

It's so pretty! Thank you so much for doing that You're awesome! Does anyone know how I can make it not be view only for me? I tried to update a couple things but it's in view only mode and won't let me change stuff.

Thanks and thanks for checking in! Fortunately the negative pull ups are something I do on a bar over the bathroom door so it's easier to fit in that pretty much anything else. The wheel pose gets me because most of the time I'm wearing stuff that isn't suitable for it. Tomorrow is a non-cardio day so I'll pick back up with it then. Good luck getting your higher # of sets in!

I'm with you on this...then again, I also had to be talked down from signing up for Tough Mudder before ever having done any obstacle course OR race (even a 5K) ever so I might be an anomaly. It seems like an odd place...they do under 21 dance nights on Fridays which is just random. I am intrigued by the black room though...apparently it may have live animals? I feel like this place could be really cool or just straight up strange. Either way, it probably makes for a good story. I'm in if a few people want to check it out (an hour on the course + the black room is $25) and if it sucks we could always just go drink. We could plan to meet up at a nearby place too in case anyone wants to skip the Gravity course and just meet up for drinks.

I've been slacking on the wheel pose...mostly because I was sick all last week and anything that involved bending was just unpleasant with a runny nose. I'm back in the gym this week so I'll be working on it. I've kept up with my negative pull ups though. Doing at least 3 per day but really aiming for more around 10. Still no closer to an actual pull up but I WILL get there!

I'm in! I needed some motivation to get running again and the +1STA and shiny endurance belt will do the trick!

Thought you might like this article though you might've already seen it: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/01/usa-fed-qe-potter-idUSL1N0BTMNS20130301

Thank you so much for the storage ideas link! I love having everything organized and I do so much better keeping things clean if I feel like everything has a place and that it's organized well. I keep meaning to stop by your thread and check out your current challenge...I most definitely will soon

Looks like a great first week! You win some, you lose some I like that you've got a plan in place with the lifting and that you have a plan to try to bang out the extra articles to catch up.

Now for the official update... Update #4 (week 2, update 1) Despite being sick for most of the first week, I managed to use my beginning-of-the-challenge motivation to really nail my goals. Basement has made great progress and I'm keeping on track with my negative pull ups, veggies and water. I even remembered to do my 3 updates last week! Hopefully I can keep up the momentum. Starting things is always easy for me but I tend to run out of steam. I'm glad I picked the veggie goal. You might notice that I measure it by the number of distinct food items I eat and not by servings. I'm not necessarily eating a full serving each time because I'm taking this one slowly and it seems to be working. The goal is encouraging me to choose healthier options and I don't have the stress of figuring out what a serving is. With that said, I'm not eating 1 green bean and counting it toward my total so I'm using discretion I'm kind of in awe that I powered through all the stuff in the basement. I've moved 10 times in the past 9 years and each time, it was associated with some stressful event (taking 2 CPA exams in one month, graduating college AND traveling overseas for the first time AND traveling solo for the first time all within a week, etc) so I had things I haven't sorted through since 2004. Now that we have a house, I know I won't be moving anytime soon and I had to stop with the "I'll go through it next time I move" excuse. Strength: The goal: 20 negative pull ups per week (3 per day) Week 1: 2 3 4 7 Week 2: Cumulative: 7 out of 42 Diet: The goal: Drink more water Week 1: 2 3 4 5 Week 2: Cumulative: 5 out of 30 The goal: Eat more veggies Week 1: 2 3 4 7 Week 2: Cumulative: 7 out of 42 Life: Goal: Reclaim the dining room Week 1: Purchased bins 2, organized the basement 20 Cumulative: 22 out of 50 Side challenges: Work on wheel pose as part of the Old People Parkour Posse mini challenge. Come up with DEX-worthy goals for the next challenge. Participate in every.single.mini.challenge. posted to the Adventurers section. Challenge 1: Refined goals

The cupcakes themselves were ok (I have high standards when it comes to my own baking) but I'd tweak them next time...maybe use the same spices but just add it to a really awesome vanilla cake recipe. The frosting, on the other hand, was unbelievably amazing. To the point that I ate spoonfuls of it. Usually I just frost the cupcakes and toss the leftover frosting but this one was calling to me from the fridge. I used the chai spice that I mixed for the cupcakes but added it to my favorite American Buttercream with the optional half a block of cream cheese. It got great reviews from adults and kids which was great because kids aren't necessarily into chai. The basement is actually looking pretty awesome. I had the stack of clear bins sitting in the kitchen reminding me that I needed to go organize so I devoted Sunday to becoming super domestic. It was a little tough because our boiler shut down Thursday night so we've been without heat since Friday morning (hopefully to be resolved today). It's pretty tough to resist the urge to get under a pile of quilts when you're without heat in Boston winter. I forced myself out of bed and decided I would do as much as I could by mid-afternoon so that I'd have time to cook, clean and do laundry. I managed to get through everything in the basement! I have 3 huge bags of stuff to throw away, 2 huge bags + a box + a brown bag of items to give away or donate and everything else is either stored in a tote or sorted into brown bags so that once all our furniture is settled, I can unpack each bag by room. Everything is stacked for now so I can start in on the dining room but I want to shelve everything before this is over so I don't have to unstack them to get to what's on the bottom.

Update #3 (week 1, update 3) Got into bed last night, realized I had forgotten to do my 3rd negative pullup, got out of bed and did it. Things like this remind me of how much I've changed over the past year. A year ago (almost exactly), I was pretty miserable with my health, weight, and general fitness. I signed up for MFP, lost a bunch of weight, became skinny fat, started working out and found NF. I can honestly say that I'm in the best shape of my life, that for the first time ever I'm happy with my weight (and really proud that I got/stayed here by really healthy means) and that I'm excited to keep pushing myself out of my comfort zone to get into even better shape. For comparison: A year ago, my typical lunch was a steak and provolone sub from the place down the street. They knew my name, they knew my order. Today I'm having a turkey burger with guacamole and roasted veggies (green beans, broccoli, cauliflower and brussels sprouts). And I crave this stuff now. I'm planning on making a dent in reclaiming the basement this Sunday so I can reclaim the dining room. I'm also planning on making vanilla chai cupcakes with cinnamon buttercream tonight. This is irrelevant but figured I'd share. Strength: The goal: 20 negative pull ups per week (3 per day) Week 1: 2 3 4 Cumulative: 4 out of 42 Diet: The goal: Drink more water Week 1: 2 3 4 Cumulative: 4 out of 30 The goal: Eat more veggies Week 1: 2 3 4 Cumulative: 3 out of 42 Life: Goal: Reclaim the dining room Status: Purchased clear bins Week 1: 2 Cumulative: 2 out of 50 Side challenges: Work on wheel pose as part of the Old People Parkour Posse mini challenge. Come up with DEX-worthy goals for the next challenge. Participate in every.single.mini.challenge. posted to the Adventurers section.

Update #2 (week 1, update 2) Still kicking this cold but I noticed I don't seem to get *as* sick now as I did prior to cleaning up my eating and fitness habits. So that's a pretty cool improvement. Taking a gym break til I'm better but still walking, doing my negative pull ups and taking the 5 flights of stairs at work. The stairs are killing me which is my signal to cool it on the gym for now. So far so good on the negative pull ups, water and veggies. This week's veggies (and quasi veggies) are mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, avocado, brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans. I need to get creative thinking about next week's veggies. Completed my first mini challenge and used it to set myself up to succeed on my goals. I had solid goals but my plans were a little shaky. I now have calendar alerts for reminding me to get myself moving on drinking water and for my negative pull ups. Strength: The goal: 20 negative pull ups per week (3 per day) Week 1: 2 3 Cumulative: 3 out of 42 Diet: The goal: Drink more water Week 1: 2 3 Cumulative: 3 out of 30 The goal: Eat more veggies Week 1: 2 3 Cumulative: 3 out of 42 Life: Goal: Reclaim the dining room Status: Purchased clear bins Week 1: 2 Cumulative: 2 out of 50 Side challenges: Work on wheel pose as part of the Old People Parkour Posse mini challenge. Come up with DEX-worthy goals for the next challenge. Participate in every.single.mini.challenge. posted to the Adventurers section.

I won't knock the products at Whole Foods...I have found them to be pretty high quality and their store brand is often a good deal. I don't buy any of the staples at either usually but for some reason I still find Trader Joe's to be cheaper...not sure if it's a geographic thing or just the types of foods I buy. I miss the bulk section at Whole Foods though...and the soda, until they discontinued the two flavors I liked. I'm always kind of in awe of your times for running. This is probably why you're a scout and I am not lol.

I hit 580% on vitamin C and somewhere over 200% on vitamin A yesterday so I think I did a good job I just describe my colds by what they impact. Usually for me it's head, chest or stomach. I get worried when I have a cold that moves into my chest because I have a long history of lung issues. I'm lucky that I don't really collect things...never had much of an interest. I have way too many hobbies though so I still have a lot of stuff. And I feel the need to be prepared for things so I have a tendency to stock up (food, craft supplies, etc). I'm creative about how I store it though so it's only an issue if I get lazy...hence the goal

Glad things are going well so far! Thanks for the article on Whole Foods...my dislike for the company is more based on their leadership than their prices (I'm willing to pay for higher quality produce). John Mackey tends to shoot his mouth off and I just got a bad vibe from him when he gave the commencement speech at my undergrad ceremony. Luckily I have a Trader Joe's that's closer. I've always found their prices more reasonable and their selection more interesting. I'm also working with a group of people who are in the process of starting a food cooperative in our downtown so that should be awesome. Keep the interesting articles coming I always need good stuff to read on the train!

I'm still in, especially if it's a weekend. I'm not going to PAX-East but I live in the area so I could still meet up.

I appreciate the ideas! I'm not a minimalist (though I am someone who tries to limit my possessions to almost entirely items that are useful with just a few sentimental ones) so I compromised and found a significant other who is lol. I have hoarding tendencies (or full blown hoarding) on both sides of my family so I'm very set against becoming a packrat. As we continue to furnish the house, there will definitely be lots of built in storage. I've been getting creative with using the vertical space as well. Update #1 (week 1, update 1) I need to be better about updating this challenge. I'd like to be eligible to win...not that I'll actually win but it would be nice to be eligible. This challenge has had a rocky start. I've been sick since Sunday and it's now a head and chest cold, pretty much eliminating most of my ability to work out. Instead I'm focusing on getting my negative pull ups in and making sure I'm eating well and staying hydrated. My negative pull ups are weak at best but better than nothing...I know this is mostly due to being sick since I was doing pretty well with them prior to this. Strength: The goal: 20 negative pull ups per week (3 per day) Week 1: 2 Cumulative: 2 out of 42 Diet: The goal: Drink more water Week 1: 2 Cumulative: 2 out of 30 The goal: Eat more veggies Week 1: 2 Cumulative: 2 out of 42 Life: Goal: Reclaim the dining room Status: Purchased clear bins Week 1: 2 Cumulative: 2 out of 50 Side challenges: Work on wheel pose as part of the Old People Parkour Posse mini challenge. Come up with DEX-worthy goals for the next challenge. Participate in every.single.mini.challenge. posted to the Adventurers section.

I'll definitely keep an eye out for the open-to-all assassins mini challenge. Of all the other groups, I think I'm leaning the most toward assassins eventually, with rangers as a close 2nd. I'm hoping that the veggie goal will be easy as long as I don't slack on planning. I'm trying to make myself eat a salad in the morning (anytime before lunch) because if I have an extra snack at the end of the day that goes uneaten, it's always the salad. Today I've got baby spinach, tomatoes, brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, avocado and acorn squash packed so I should be good to go! Clutter is brutal in a tiny apartment. I have a tiny house but we have a basement so it's slightly better. It's rough because the place is too tiny to function cluttered but at the same time too tiny to have anywhere to put the clutter.

I love getting suggestions from people who have successfully done pull ups I'm doing basically what you said, at least 3x a day. I'm basically doing a negative so slowly that I can only do one rep but not holding myself at the top too long so that I make sure I can lower myself slowly and smoothly. Hopefully I see the same sort of progress you did! My actual goal was 1 pull up in 2013 so I have another 10 months...I'm just impatient now that I can do a partial lol.

I considered the Rugged Maniac New England but it's right after my busy season so I'd be super stressed. Mine is August 10 so you'll have to let me know how yours goes I'll be doing my first normal 5K June 20 so hopefully that'll be a good confidence builder. I figure if all else fails, my brother and sister are running the Spartan Race with me and I've already informed them that because I'm the shortest sibling, they're required to pull me up and over obstacles when necessary. For the pull-up training while traveling...have you seen the book You Are Your Own Gym? He does a set up with a folded towel over the top of a door. Not sure how stable it is since I'm too accident prone to think of trying it at the moment but it could be useful.

I'll have to look into that. My background before this was public accounting and I mostly worked on private REITs that did a little bit of mortgage origination/purchasing but mostly purchased real property. The REIT I currently work for is much more into financial instruments so I've been playing catch up. I'm on the tax side but I try to understand the financial side as well because it makes the tax side more comprehensible. And if you happen to know anything about cooperatives, that's my current side adventure. There's a group of people working to build a food cooperative in my town and I agreed to be their free CPA for the time being. It's totally new to me so I've been reading any sort of article I can get my hands on.

Great goals! As you know, I'm right there with you on the pull up frustration Which obstacle course race are you doing? I signed up for the Spartan Race which will be my first. I had to be talked down from jumping straight to Tough Mudder