The Borg Queen

Yeah, i dont see any stretch marks. You look great! Also, your thread title is very clever, i got a kick out of it. That's some good thinking on your motivations. I was trying to figure out what my motivations are, and there doesn't seem to be one clear answer. It's a great exercise to sit down and spell it out, anyway, even if and maybe especially if the answer is complicated.

Oh, sheesh. Ticks are disgusting. That story certainly gives reason to take every skin prickle seriously... I used to live on the east coast in the sticks, and the ticks were soooo bad. Luckily they were mostly just the big brown ticks and not the little red ones that carry lyme. It got bad one time when I was on a camp out in Maine... you literally couldn't leave the tent without 10 jumping on you, or 20 jumping on my dog. Really gross.

Force feeding cousins sesame chicken does not sound like the worst form of torture, haha. Yeah, I think your plan with the chicken sounds spot on. Hope it works!

Yeah, it's great when you actually burn some fat. Heh, heh. Day -3 update! I was working plank position today when my 2 year old personal trainer came over and decided to climb on my back. It was quite a challenge! I held for 90 s before I couldn't take it anymore. That's 26 lbs extra weight. Wew! The short run went well yesterday. Then, I rode my bike to a remote suburb. The distance? I have no idea, but it was enough to really tucker me out. I have to remember to bring enough food and drink with me, or risk becoming a deflated-primeval balloon, just wafting around.

Hi, cake! Your goals look great! I hope the easing into paleo works out for you... seems like it should, cause you got some experience The progression looks similar to one published in an old paleo blog that I can't find anymore, called PaNu. The way you've prioritized cutting things out makes a lot of sense. What's your sesame chicken of choice? Is it a homemade creation, or the chinese restaurant kind? (i just made myself salivate, both sound delicious) Nice job developing a strategy to retain your workout schedule. Great goals in general

Hey, great goals! I like your food diary plan. Sounds like a good alternative to mfp

Hey, I'm in. I'm training for a 1/2 marathon, coming right up! Wow, wood tick, huh? That does not sound fun. Hope there's a happy ending to that story...

Hi there! Great goals... the bathroom goal is so good. I got a kick out of the hotdog comment. There's nothing paleo to replace a hotdog in an actual white bread bun, is there?

Hey, thanks! @bg, im not running as far as you... yet. How do you use carbs?

Wow, an alien themed half marathon... how can you not love that? Looks like a lot of fun! I enjoyed reading your "tracking." It's a great story.

Cleaning is such an important habit. I almost added a cleaning goal to this challenge. Dang, a paleo 50 k runner. I'll be interested to know how you eat, if you like posting that sort of thing...

I like the idea of limiting phone use in bed. That's a good one.

I’m new to the scouts. I did my first challenge with the adventurers and it was awesome. I’ve decided to join the scouts while I train for a ½ Marathon. Last challenge was a wicked, juicy experiment, but this time I have goals. Big goals. In the near-ish future, I would like to train for and run a full marathon! As a second fitness goal, I’m training to do 100 pushups—in one set. Here are some starting stats: Weight: 149 lbs (Goal: 135 lbs) BF: 29.5% (Goal: 22%) Running: Fast and long in the hot, hot sun Pictures: Exist. I just took a couple. Goal 1: Train, Train, Train… Pain! This lovely message was scrawled on a post-it and hung on the wall at my former workplace... as a reminder that training can be a pain, I guess. But hopefully, training for a ½-marathon will not be a pain! The date of the race is September 21st. It’s my first one, and I’m super excited about it. I’ve chosen Shape Magazine’s half marathon training sequence, in part because it looks simple and features 3 running days and 2 cross-train days a week. That’s very doable for me. This is a link to the schedule: http://www.shape.com/fitness/training-plans/your-step-step-half-marathon-training-schedule?page=3 Grading: A: Completed 3 Runs/week, as planned B: Completed 2 Runs/week, including the long run C: A long run happened, at least! F: Epic failure. I probably have a good excuse +4 STA BONUS: On running days, the priority of course is to get’er done, but I would like to make a point of including 10-20 minutes of stretching on these days. I will be able to earn a “+†grade if I add the stretching to all the running days for the week. +1 DEX Goal 2: Bodyweight as the Weight During the last challenge, I did some research and invented an interesting strength routine, featuring incremental weights, which I did twice a week. I gained a little muscle mass, visibly! However, in the interim period betwixt the challenges, I have become fascinated with bodyweight exercises. Specifically, I’ve been having fun with the Angry Birds workout. I love the stars, I love the sequence, it doesn’t take a long time, and you can literally do it anywhere. I foresee this helping me with my larger goal of doing 100 pushups in one set. FOR THIS CHALLENGE: ANGRY BIRDS, 2x/week! A: Performed Angry Birds 2 x a Week B: Performed Angry Birds 1 x a Week, and did a different type of bodyweight exercise a different day C: Did bodyweight exercises, but not Angry Birds F: Did not practice bodyweight exercise at all this week +4 STR +1 STA Goal 3: Food Tracker I’m eating strictly paleo, and it’s great. I find that when I track my food, I make better food choices and am less likely to binge eat. Tracking also has the added benefit of helping me make smarter choices when I’m burning tons of calories. This goal will involve using MFP to track food consumed. I have a couple of “guidelines,†rather than strict rules, on how I plan to eat: Keep carbohydrate consumption under 100 g/dayObserve the NET calorie limit (key word: observe)That being said, I’m not going to obsess if my calories are over or under, or if I decide to eat a big pile of fruit one day. I’m trying to be healthy about watching what I eat and NOT obsess. A: Tracked every day of the week B: Tracked at least 5 days out of the week C: Tracked 1 day during the week F: Fatal Error +2 CON +1 WIS Goal 4: Meditation I’ve been incorporating meditation into my life. The goal is to increase frequency, rather than volume. I want to make it a goal to meditate 10 minutes every day. The time goal of 10 minutes sounds modest, but according to the book I’m following, Tobin Blake’s Everyday Meditation, it’s more about quality than quantity. My idea is to turn running into a more mindful activity. I’ve already weaned myself off of running with headphones, and I think having a separate, regular meditation practice will strengthen my ability to run mindfully. A: Meditated at least 10 minutes, every day of the week B: Meditated 10 minutes, at least 5 days out of the week OR 50 minutes all together C: Meditated 10 minutes, 1 day during the week F: Kept falling asleep instead of meditating, OR didn’t meditate at all. +2 CON Looking ahead, I think Goal 4 is going to be the hardest. As Regina Spektor might say about this, “Taking steps is easy, standing still is hard...â€

I like how you seemed to gain some enthusiasm about your diet during this challenge. It's great when you're on a diet, and when you love what you're eating... so many people hate diets.

Wow, did you really lose 1.5" bellyfat? That is amazing, Sicil! Nice work

^^^Awe, thanks guys I'm glad to have recruited another into the Amazon sisterhood. Ayayaya! I have been spending A LOT of time figuring out what my next set of goals will be. I have them all written out, and I'm currently tweeking them. Now that I've done an almost full 6-week challenge, I understand there's a certain level of COMMITMENT to the challenge, and it sucks if the goals are lame. I need good goals! I've also been sniffing around the different guilds, finding a good one to join. At first I thought, the scouts, cause I run a lot and am training for a race, and their mini-challenges will help me learn more and get better, but the other guilds have some great things to offer. I haven't decided yet.

I have a gluten free vegan friend, who eats a lot of raw. Her food is amazing. But yes, it's difficult to do well, especially if you are so busy... Good luck on all of the work you are doing, and take good care of yourself! Failing exams sucks, but it might be par for the course... it sounds like you are making a lot of great progress making the thesis (theses?)! That is very impressive.

Hey, thanks gang. I'm going to assign myself a couple of attribute points for completing this challenge, because I'm a nerdy nerdy nerd. For Goal 1 (strength challenge): +2 str For Goal 2 (running): +2 stamina For Goal 3: +1 con +1 wis Also, I think I'll be joining the scouts next challenge, cause I just signed up for a half marathon. See you later! *Primeval runs off*

Yeah starby, you did great! Glad to hear your kegger is turning into a one pack. Even if your grading leads you to a C, it seems like you've done a great job making your fitness routinee happen. Nice work, and kudos for finishing!

Quick question: if i regularly run 4-6 miles, 3 x a week, do you think i could do a half marathon with 6 weeks to train?

Isn't it great when other people notice? For me, that's the icing on the cake. Yay for fitting into fresh jeans! That's a sign of progress, if I ever heard one

Good luck with your exam! I haven't read Bi Gu, I'll look into it tho...

Nudge starbon. The challenge is over, what chu got?!

Building new habits can be so trying, and it's great that you've started this process. Cleaning for 2.5 hours straight is hardcore! I'm impressed. Awesome job making it through Challenge #1 !

Awesome job this challenge, cake! You rocked dem goals! Nice job on your progress in fitness, and in staying paleo (even in the worst of times)