snark

Yay, sounds like a plan! Good luck!

snark 31 environmental engineer Lose weight/fat, build healthy habits (yay!)

I love the reset idea, paired with the challenge goals that seem to be themed around finding your new path. Finding time (and mental energy!) to fit things in around work can be so tough, but I know that you'll figure out a way to prioritize the important stuff. Honestly, a lot of times I find that having more stuff to do helps me to get stuff done (again, if it's important enough to me.) Good luck with everything!

That weekly goal idea is basically my plan, but I also don't want to do anything weird like eat 1000 calories on weekdays so that I can eat 5500 over the weekend. So it's something like staying under 10,500 calories with at least 525 grams of protein each week, with some semblance of balance and moderation. Maybe? Still trying to figure out what a good week means, I guess, which is why the fuzzy for now. Thanks for the suggestion and feedback! I feel like this might make me sound crazy, but we get together with friends once or twice a week for beer tastings, where we split a bunch of beers from all over the country/world. So we each have maybe 1-2 ounces of fifteen beers (depending on how many people are there, etc). I'm pretty set on keeping those get-togethers in my life, which is pretty doable if I plan ahead and don't also eat all of the snacks. I told my husband that for now, I'd basically drink at those and then one other time each week with just him, either on Friday or Saturday--so last night, we split a fancy bottle that we both loved, and tonight he had a beer on his own (except for the sip I stole!) I think this is a nice balance for now, and I don't think I want to be drinking more than four-ish days per week even when I'm back to consuming at more maintenance levels. (But maybe I'll eat/drink my words later!)

Way to hit the ground running. Um...literally! I love that your challenge includes being an example and motivation for your kids.

Love the cow shorts! Good luck with the challenge!

I'm excited for this challenge to start and have been trying to figure out ways to set myself up to succeed: - I mentioned before that my husband and I drink a lot of craft beer. I had previously realized that I needed to cut back on drinking beer if I want to work on other physical goals, but I noticed this past month that it's wearing on me to have to say no to drinking, when my darling husband is asking and there is tasty beer on the line. So we defined some times that I will drink, and he won't ask unless it's one of those times. - I've also taken to making "sanity walk" appointments with some of my coworkers a few times a week, so that's a nice baseline to get some of my walking in and also develop some of those relationships! - I have a few default lunches that have been working for me, basically a salad with some protein (hard-boiled eggs, can of tuna, poached chicken breast). I really like these salads, but I'm not sure how they will work as some of the ingredients go out of season and stop tasting so yummy (especially cherry tomatoes!) Just something to keep an eye on, I guess. - Licorice tea has been a great stopgap in the afternoons if I crave something sweet. Thank you for the good wishes! The general life quest could backfire, but I'm guessing/hoping it will continue to redefine itself in more specific ways over time, depending on what I get excited about next!

I have the baking problem, too, except that it's my hobby! I've cut back a lot in the summer for various reasons, including the fact that it's unappealing to turn on the oven, but I definitely want to work on my bread skills once that is less of an issue. I guess my coworkers will get a lot of bread. For inverted rows, I have a kind of janky (but effective!) setup with a 2-ft length of PVC hanging by a strap from my pullup bar. You can also make parallettes with PVC that could work for the dips. But rings seems awesome, so I can understand wanting to get some to play with if you want them!

I have found Molding Mobility and Starting Stretching to be great for daily general mobility/flexibility work. I figure I'll know if I get to the point where I need something different or targeted. I'm the same way, where I have kept tracking some of my habits from previous challenges, at least if I think it will be useful to me. Turning into a monster spreadsheet! Good luck with the challenge!

Great challenge, focusing on the foundation really helps everything else go so smoothly.

I love the structure of your goals, where you've laid out small stepping stones for yourself to make huge progress (inside and out!) over the next six weeks. Happiness goals are so fulfilling. I've been trying to develop a daily gratitude habit for a long time and it keeps falling by the wayside, maybe something to focus on in an upcoming challenge...

It's awesome that you've narrowed down what works for you and are committed to that path. Love it. Good luck with the challenge!

Nice, sounds like you have a great plan in mind for the challenge to make some serious progress! And congrats on the proposal! I got married in June, and we were tempted to go the courthouse route but didn't for a few reasons, and I am SO glad that we didn't. Everyone should have a party with all of the important people in their life, at least once! I hope that you are able to feel like yourselves, even if it's a bit more formal than you'd choose.

Nice challenge! PLP seems so intense! You may already have something in mind, but it might help you to make your food goal something a little more measurable, like no more than X servings of semi-forbidden foods per week. How did you get into playing mandolin? (I was about to say that I picture you as a bard and then noticed your signature...)

Great straightforward challenge with a side of kinda crazy schedule! Are you able to nap during kid naptime?

Love the challenge! Be careful with your ankle--seems like you have a good plan for easing in, but joints can be really evil, especially when you most want back on them!

Hi all, I've been challenging it up on and off for about a year and a half. I got engaged last fall and didn't really hang out here much until immediately before my wedding in June, when I started getting into fitness again as a way to avoid thinking about wedding stress! I've basically kept it up, although I didn't worry much about what I ate and drank during our honeymoon in France and Belgium--that would have made me miserable, since we are foodie beer nerds (and we walked a LOT, so I ended up basically where I started, in terms of weight and measurements). I decided that I'm calling last challenge my post-honeymoon transition to getting back on the horse, rather than thinking of it as a completed challenge. I definitely made some progress and learned a lot about myself, which is really the point, but starting late led to a lot of apathy about NF--I was keeping myself pretty accountable with a nifty spreadsheet full of Xes, but I don't think that's an effective long term plan for staying on top of things. Overall Goal: I'm definitely in a place where I'd like to focus on getting into better shape for a fun, happy and hopefully long life with my new husband. The first step toward that is to shed some weight/fat so that I have less to carry around for my next fun things. This is a pretty standard goal around here, and my challenge goals are also pretty standard. But they're mine! Challenge Goal #1: Eat right. Last challenge, I started counting calories, thinking that doing that for a month or so would help me develop some rules for myself. Those rules got really complicated, in part because beer nerdery means that a lot of social events involve really tasty beer, so I have determined that tracking calories as best as I can is almost certainly easier and more supportive of my sanity, at least for now. My general goal is 1500 calories (~TDEE minus 20%) and 75 g protein each day, but I'll be looking at both over time rather than freaking out about any specific day. I may also up the bar for protein consumption, since I'd like to be a bit higher on average. Grading: Will be a little fuzzy, but 6 good weeks = A, 5 good weeks = B, 4 good weeks = C, 3 good weeks = F. Stats: 4 CON. Challenge Goal #2: Train strength. Complete strength-based workout three times per week. I very minorly injured my wrist a few months ago and keep not letting it heal by trying to do pushups as soon as it feels basically fine. I was trying to do lower-body-only bodyweight work last challenge, but I found that to be really frustrating and hard to stay motivated, so I am going to try dumbbells that my husband pointed out that we have. Less weight and neutral position should be pretty easy on my dumb wrist--if that turns out not to be the case, I'm still committed to three times per week with lower body/core. Grading: 17-18 workouts = A, 15-16 = B, 13-14 = C, 12 or fewer = F. Stats: 4 STR. Challenge Goal #3: Move more. I've been pretty solid about going for at least one walk each workday, which is a habit I set during my last full challenge and my recent non-challenge. I was trying last challenge to add a longer walk each week, with the eye to doing that more days per week going forward, but I instead established that I can't always fit a long walk into my work schedule. So I'm thinking that I will aim for 8 points per week, where my regular walks are worth 1 point and long walks are worth 2 points. This is close to mileage but doesn't convert exactly, and points are fun and game-y. Like protein, I will consider increasing my target over time. Grading: (for now) 46+ points = A, 43-45 points = B, 40-42 points = C, 39 or fewer points = F. Stats: 4 STA. Life Goal: Be productive. I have a bunch of different projects that I told myself I'd work on after the wedding. I was thinking about focusing on a specific one, but I was having a hard time figuring out how to grade, etc, so my current plan is to commit to 30 minutes per day at home being "productive," not including cooking meals. This can include a variety of tasks, including general cleaning, uncluttering, handling finances, running errands, etc. I'm also giving myself an out on this, in that I will count being active, so if I hate the world and don't want to deal with any of those tasks, I can go for a walk or play frisbee with my husband or otherwise go run around. We have a habit of melting into the couch and playing video games or reading internets after dinner, and my biggest priority is breaking that habit. Grading: 40+ days = A, 37-39 days = B, 34-36 days = C, 30-33 days = D, <30 days = F. Stats: 3 WIS.

This is a great idea, especially for someone with a lot of experience with the concept! I am looking forward to playing along and especially to watching you kick butt!

Artemis, I'm definitely impressed, whether you think that's a breakthrough or not! (I guess I'm doubly impressed!!)

Nice, looks fantastic! Woo!

Artemis, I'm definitely impressed, whether you think that's a breakthrough or not!

Whether it's allergies or an actual cold, take care of yourself!

I'd be happy with Hunger Games, sounds fun. And I plan to actually be present. ZTree, I'm super stoked for you! In love AND finding a habit-building system that clicks for you!! On my end, my awesome husband reminded me that we have some dumbbells that I can totally use to work on my upper body strength instead of trying to do pushups or similar--I can decrease the weight a lot and keep my wrist at more neutral angles. (It feels totally fine, btw, so I'm optimistic that really giving it a couple of months without my stupidity getting in the way will make a huge difference!)

My wonderful husband reminded me that we have dumbbells, which should provide an interim solution to the whole wrist thing, since i can put a lot less load and have a lot more control of my wrist angle. I've played around with them a bit with no trouble and will start for realsies next week. I'm going on a weekend trip starting tomorrow afternoon, so finishing up this challenge will be a matter of continuing to make healthy food choices and getting my daily stretch session in. I can do this. Overall, this challenge has been a great learning experience but has been a bust on the goals/points front. I'm okay with that, since it wasn't a full-length challenge for me and was a big transition time on basically every front. I have definitely gotten into a better rhythm with food, scheduling, and motivation in the last couple of weeks (although you wouldn't know it from my presence here!), and I'll carry that into the next challenge period!

I pushed a little too hard too early on my wrist, and it's very clearly saying "no" to my spending time on my hands, which puts a damper on everything I've been hoping to do soon. Which stinks, but I have plenty of other things to spend mental and physical energy on, no matter how much I wish this would improve. So I guess my fitness update is something like "meh, let's talk next challenge"? :-P Catching up on previous tasks, my list of 15 items that will help me work toward my mission statement: Easy Spend time daily on stretching and mobility Read daily Empty sink every night Create meal plans and shopping lists on a regular basis Transition to more/longer walks/movement during work week Medium Reach out to family and non-local friends more frequently Organize finances Progressively longer/more difficult hikes a few times per month Each week, do at least one of the following: preserve something, make cheese, bake Host a small/medium dinner party in the next six weeks, with the intention of making it a regular thing Hard Get comfortable riding a bike on roads with cars Develop resume and hunt for a new job Develop a secondary source of income Unclutter my home, particularly 2nd bedroom (aka giant closet ) Get involved with a meaningful volunteering opportunity