norskefaen

Well, here are my results: Running goal: D Training goal: E Smoking goal: D Overall: D

Two days left... An average of about five and a half cigarettes a day, in total.

Day... 30? Wow. I have completely failed at keeping up with my training since around day 18. As for cigarettes, an average of 4-5 per day seems about right. The good news is that I've made some progress on my life quest - that is, getting a job. I'm currently working on getting into a local program where the state helps me with stuff like how to write a CV, how to apply for jobs, and if I do well they'll hook me up with a temporary job which will help me get experience. If I get into said program, I can also expect a little bit of financial support for the duration - probably not much, but enough that I'll have a bit of economic freedom.

Day 18 I've been keeping up with the running goal, but not the rest. I'd say I'm about a week's worth (three days of training) behind. Smoking is down to four cigarettes a day.

Day 13, I think As with earlier, I've been doing some physical work, which pretty much fills in for my training. I've been averaging about six and a half cigarettes since day 5, which means an average of about 6.2, if my estimate is correct.

Day... 9? 10? Whichever. All right, the hiking trip was fun, we had a fire and wieners and burgers and such. Slept outside, walked back home (had my mother pick up all the stuff, which turned out to be really heavy on the way there). I consider last week's running goal to be achieved. As for this week, I've completed Monday's training by working, rather than training. I gave my arms a good workout by sawing wood with a handsaw and switching arms now and then (and earning a few bucks while I was at it). I also completed Tuesday's run by going to the store and back, which is a pretty decent distance for jogging. So far this week, I consider my goals complete.

If you say so. Hello to you too, and thank you.

Day 5 I suppose it's day five, isn't it? Well, problem. My circadian rhythm insists it's still day 4. We'll see. All right, day 5 for real. I've completed my squats and my chin-ups as well as ten pushups, but I can't seem to do the pullups. For some reason, I'm too heavy today. So at the moment, I'm looking at 6 cigarettes, and missing my leg-lifts/situps, ten pushups, and five pullups. WIP and all that. Right. Well, situps turned out to be real easy, so I did double the number to make up for it. I am now missing ten pushups and five pullups. Time to adjust my schedule.

Day 4 Three cigarettes. Today is a rest day, but I will see about running to make up for the earlier miss. Depends how I feel.

Day 3 Five cigarettes total. Have not completed today's objectives, due to neck pain from unknown sources. (Later realized it was because of headbanging the night before.)

So... I eat a lot. Like, really a lot. My meals tend to make me bloated. I'm currently 1.83 meters tall and weigh approximately 65 kg. I'm obviously not overweight. Now, I've been told the reason for this conundrum could be an unusual metabolism, but I just want to know what other factors can affect this.

Day 2 8 cigarettes, and I've done everything except for the leg-lifts/situps to make up for yesterday's lack of doing anything. I can't run today, so I'll make that up later this week.

Fine, fine. I'm pretty sure I'm an Assassin. Though I would point out that the relevant part isn't really whether other people feel I have succeeded, only whether I feel I've done so. Accomplishment is in the eye of the beholder, like so many other things, and I behold less accomplishment than I feel would be sufficient to earn a place in a guild. Also, Day 1: I did not do my planned exercise, and I lost count of how many smokes I had, though I think it was between six and nine. Therefore, I'll say 8 and pretend I have a complicated equation that can predict my consumption.

Current bodyweight training schedule: 2x20 squats 2x10 pushups 1x20 situps 1x10 leg-lifts 1x5 pullups 1x5 chin-ups

Some of you may have observed my first challenge, the failure that it was. I'm back, and I shan't be deterred by the first result! Thus, I try again. I suspect what I did wrong last time is that I proverbially bit off more than I could chew. With that in mind, here's the plan. Main Quest Be able to keep a pace of 15km/h for five minutes when running, in the effort of learning parkour. Might as well be fit enough to actually do it, right? Goals for this challenge: 1. Run 10km/h for five minutes every Tuesday and Saturday 2. Do my bodyweight training every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. 3. Smoke less. (Numerical score of 0-9 for average consumption during the challenge, A is 0, B is 1-2, C is 3-4, D is 5-6, E is 7-8, F is 9+) Life quest: Get a job. Side quest 1: Apply camouflage facepaint once a week. (Assassin related.) Motivation: Actually, I'm not sure at the moment.

"What is true is already so. Owning up to it doesn't make it worse." ~Eugene Gendlin And yes, I will be joining the next challenge.

Results for the first challenge: 1. Running Pretty much a complete failure. I ran twice, I think. In context, that's 15% completion or so, corresponding to the letter F for Fail. 2. Bodyweight training Almost a complete failure. I did it more than I did the running, though. Maybe 20% completion, corresponding to the letter E for Embarassing. 3. Walking I've not been attending school (oops) so not applicable. 4. Life Quest Terrible. Just terrible. F for Fail. Overall grade is F for Fucked.

Well, I've been sick for the last two days, but other than that I'm back on my schedule.

HabitRPG looks interesting, I'll try that. As for how I'm doing... Not that great. Basically, I've missed most of this challenge, though I shan't be making excuses. Instead, I shall start over next time, and do better.

Same here. Though for the past few days I've been rather lacking in motivation. Do you have any advice for that?

Internet's been out for a while, and I've not been completing my workouts. I'm back to normal now, though, and I'll be making up for the lost work.

I've tried a variety of solutions to sleep difficulties, from melatonin (technically a drug, but only contains the natural sleep hormone) to herbal teas with honey. Nothing I've tried so far works. As for why I have trouble with my sleep cycle, I really don't know. It's been that way since I was 7. It was manageable at the time because my parents would wake me up and toss me out the door, so to speak, so I could go to school. It's no longer manageable, because I don't quite have the discipline to wake up every single day. I hate falling asleep, and I hate waking up. I'm a very relaxed and laid-back person, so I doubt stress is relevant. I don't usually drink caffeine beyond a cup of tea or two in the morning. And I eat pretty well, too. I have no idea why it is like this, but it is and there's nothing I can do about it. On that note... <rant> I am currently in school. School follows a strict schedule every day. This is understandable, as there needs to be some structure. However, there's a problem. My circadian rhythm does not coincide with the earth's rotation. This makes me optimal for nighttime jobs and other jobs where the schedule needs to be flexible (emergency response workers and such). However, I can't get any of those jobs I'm so suited to without going through two full years of school with a strict schedule. Why does it have to be that way? Why is there no system in place to help nocturnal and non-24 people? We've got weaknesses and strengths like every other person, but the one we have in common is being able to work unusual hours, which can be a big problem for people with what is considered a "normal" circadian rhythm. It does not make sense. </rant>

That sounds incredibly awesome. Unfortunately, I don't quite have a response. I appreciate the explanation, though.

Day 6 Breakfast: 92 g white bread (244 kcal / 1020 kJ) 2.2 dl tomato soup (93 kcal / 392 kJ) 409 g chicken breast (474 kcal / 1983 kJ) 209 g potato balls (376 kcal / 1609 kJ) 2 cups of tea, copious amounts of Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce (negligible) More to come as it happens.

You said you're at 189 lbs, and you wish to lose 70. Well, I've got bad news for you. Muscles weigh more than fat. If you get into running, swimming, and strength, you will put on some muscles. Depending on the build of your body, 119 lbs can be a very unrealistic goal. If you're tall or have a large skeletal structure, it'll be even less realistic. I'm currently at 63 kg (138 lbs), and I do not expect to lose any weight because I have almost no body fat. By the time you reach 135 lbs, you should have enough muscle that going any lower will require some very bad habits. Also of note is your metabolism. As you train, your metabolism will go up (because more muscles means more ATP, which means burning more sugar), and you'll have to eat more. If you don't eat enough, your metabolism will slow down and you'll just put on all the weight you've lost. I don't know your current metabolic rate, so I can't recommend a number of calories to eat. Generally speaking, I recommend eating when you're hungry, eating slowly, and avoiding MSG-heavy foods. tl;dr: If you intend to build any kind of muscle, you probably shouldn't be aiming for anything lower than 130 lbs. Note: I am not a qualified physician, and have little formal education in nutrition and biology. Consider my words, but make your own conclusions.