Lilia

I'm so happy for you! Congrats

Enjoy your weekend Putting fitness first sounds like a really good plan. As always, you rock! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Greetings from the lovely island of Koh Lanta! I've been travelling here for a week now and it has been really cool. Going solo is surprisingly easy, although there is a lot to learn. The biggest challenges have been to learn budgeting and socializing while on the road. I really enjoy this and luckily I've got two more weeks before returning home. That being said, I have decided to put my challenge on hold. I'll try to live a semi-healthy life here, but I struggle to keep any kind of routine while on the road. I will most surely be back for a new challenge in a few weeks! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Teh seas have been rough on my Jolly Roger for a few weeks. Steerin m'own ship takes a big effort these days, but I'm still lurkin' around here I will not abandon my ship!

Good to hear that you're feeling better! ALL the hugs for the busy work week - you'll get through it

I have no idea how I managed to miss your challenge for the first 2,5 weeks! Dang. Anyway, I'm here and cheering you on Great to hear that you found the reason behind the symptoms! Fixing a thing like that makes life so much easier. Bachelor thesis certainly takes time, work and willpower, but I'm sure that you'll get through it This workout <3 Don't listen to that Gandalf! You shall pass

Ensi!!! It's a joy to see you again Thank you The transition time sucks, but thankfully it won't last forever! Soon I will be off for a new adventure!

I'm still here, cheering you on! Some weeks just suck butts Hope that tomorrow will be a better day! Still, it looks like you're kicking the ass of this challenge and rocking the scale! Keep on doing what you're doing

Take the time you need. We will be here for you when you come back

Thank you, Randa, I really needed to hear that! This week hasn't been any easier than the previous one. I ended my local bank account and have started selling the things that I'm not taking with me back to home. Although my feelings are all over the place at the moment, there have been some rays of light. I managed to go to gym today! Granted, it wasn't a very good workout but the fact that I dragged myself to the gym was an accomplishment in itself Social life is also going well: the 3 "self-initiated" events this week included dinner with my friends, beer with a new friend and a lovely day trip to a dutch city. I will miss these people terribly. Although I'm more focused on coping with the changes than making improvements in my life, I've had some moments of inspiration this week! A major inspiration was this video: It's a street workout by a finnish pole dancer called Oona Kivelä. Her routines are impressive and really inspire me to work out Have a great week, everyone!

Week 2 - roundup This has been a rough week. I've said the first goodbyes to the people here and the thought of leaving my dutch life hurts a lot. As I still have a bit of a flu, I haven't dared to go to gym: however, on thursday I did a short jog. I ran for 2min 15s: for me, that is some nice development I have also been rehearsing handstands. As I'm having a rough time emotionally, I haven't been able to stay away from sweets as well as I'd like to. I ate chocolate on wednesday and had some chocolate cookies on thursday and friday. Although I'm not really having success with the eating and the exercising part of the challenge, the social part is going well I have asked people to meet me and I've had a lot of fun! This challenge is definitely not smooth sailing, but the changes in my life are also big. The main goal is to try to keep some kind of a momentum going and not go back to my old ways. I am sure that I can do that despite of all the (emotional) obstacles

I have less than 2 weeks left before I leave Amsterdam. I'm going to miss this place and my friends a lot! I don't want my dutch life to end but at the same time I can't wait for it to end. I feel like I'm in a limbo right now: saying farewells to so many dear people feels rough! Leaving this place will be, in some way, relief since I don't need to say goodbye anymore! The weather here feels like an endless november: it's grey and it rains a lot. Getting things done feels more difficult than usually. The flu hasn't yet gone completely away Since I don't want to get more ill, I haven't dared to excercise yet. It sucks, because I had a really good exercising routine in the previous challenges! On a more positive note: eating and social life are going really well The battle against chocolate is hard, but I'm still on the winning side. A friend was visiting my place on monday and today I'm going to the Van Gogh museum with some new friends! In two weeks I will be on my own in Thailand. Crazy!

Hello, shipmate! Looks like you've had a good start for you challenge Hope is a really powerful force! This workout sounds awesome ^^ I've never heard of shovel glove before and I definitely need to check it out! Thanks for the inspiration

Considering the flu, I think that the social life part is going really well I went to the museum of Amsterdam with a friend today and yesterday we had the game night. I will see some more friends tonight and go to a flea market tomorrow with some others! Four social events: check

Welcome back Yeah, I've got amazing adventures ahead! It's the perfect time to travel since I don't really need to be in Finland before mid-february. The solo trip to Prague in august definitely made me braver! This has been a really crappy week for me. I've had a horrible flu and haven't been able to do anything for five days. I didn't want to start the challenge with a no-exercise-week, but there's nothing else to do. Luckily I've been able to keep my eating on track: I had some chocolate yesterday but otherwise I've been eating quite healthily. I also had some friends at my place yesterday and we had a relaxed game night

Ahoy, shipmate! Really happy to hear about the appointment, I hope that all goes well! 'Tis a beautiful piece of text here. I really love your motivation and wish that I could remember these thins in me life, too!

Thank you and welcome on board! As for t' rum, I admit nothin' Day 2 was pretty boring too. As I still feel under the weather, I spent the day googling flights. Eventually after much self-doubt, I made the big decision. I bought the flights and will spend three weeks backpacking in Thailand! I'll be travelling from the end of January to mid-February. The tickets weren't cheap and deciding to actually, seriously do this trip was nerve-wracking, but I made the decision. I will go! Looks like I've got some epic adventures ahead

Happy new year and welcome back It is indeed a new year and a new day! Your quests sound cool, especially running a triathlon - that's badass! I'll be here to cheer you on Let's do this!

Happy 2015! Good to see you back Your "drinking challenge" sounds awesome. You've invented a really good way to keep yourself accountable - cool! You can always talk to me about beer, I love it even though I hate the extra calories... Anyway, I wish you a great challenge!

Thanks guys! I think that having a balance between exercising, healthy eating and a fun social life is a good way to happiness - thats why I want to include all of these aspects to my challenge. The first day of the challenge has been really quiet, since I'm having some kind of a flu I'm trying to rest it away! As I didn't have anything that important to do, I spent the day on planning a trip to Belgium next week

Ahoy, ya lasses! Might there mayhaps be room for me on one of yarrr vessels? Imma sailing on some changing seas fer teh next weeks and I'd love to have able-bodied shipmates to help me keep my course straight! The rum isn't gone yet, is it?

Hello again, fellow rebels! My name is Lilia and I'm a 23-year-old Finn currently doing my exchange studies in Amsterdam. I have completed two challenges and managed to lose some weight - this challenge will be about keeping the progress going while tackling the changes in my life. My exchange here will end in the end of January and after that I'll probably do some travelling before I continue my studies in Finland in the end of February. My main quest: Keep up the good work! I got a nice momentum going in the last two challenges. The big challenge this time is to keep on doing what I've been doing through all of the changes that will come. For this reason, my quests are very similar to the previous ones. I want to make the most of these last few weeks of my exchange but I also want to get smaller, healthier and stronger. My side quests 1. Exercise - Gym 2x a week, HIIT/walk 1x a week. My goal is to keep an exercising routine going even though I might be travelling a lot. My eventual goal is to be able to do a pull-up one day: I will also continue to work on my handstands. 2. Eating - Avoid eating sweets/chocolate 6 days a week. My body doesn't really need the extra calories that chocolate and sweets have. 3. Social life - Initiate four social events weekly. I want to make the most of my time here. To do that, I need to ask people to do things with me. It can still make me nervous sometimes: What if they are bored in my company? What if I seem awkward and don't have anything to say? For this reason, my challenge is to initiate at least four social events every week. It could be lunch, coffee or beer in the evening. It could be a visit to some museum. I don't need to get a "yes" as an answer. The important thing is just to try to ask people to meet me. My life quest - See new places! I have time to travel before the end of february. My life quest is to have some epic adventures in new places! I might even do do some solo backpacking The first step will be to plan where I'll go! My motivation I want to feel happy, healthy and comfortable in my own skin. I want to be stronger and have more energy and to feel confident (and look good) naked. Looking forward to this challenge!

Your challenge sounds awesome! As a Finn, I really appreciate your use of sisu as it is definitely the thing to have when tackling challenges! Good luck with yours

Greetings from Finland! We got a lot of snow yesterday so we have a lovely white christmas <3 It's been amazing to come back home. I've been really busy seeing friends! I feel that people have welcomed me back I'll spend the christmas with my family and then I'll go back to Amsterdam! Week 6 - Wrap up Eating: I ate some chocolate on saturday but other than that, I've stayed on track fairly well. Excercise: Gym once and half a HIIT once. Getting back to Finland messed up my workouts a bit but I could have tried harder. Social: Lots of social life & seeing friends in Finland. Challenge - Wrap up This was a good challenge! I kept my momentum going and managed to create some healthy habits. I measured my weight yesterday: during my time in Amsterdam, I have lost (at least) 8kg. I still have weight to lose but my progress feels seriously amazing. Eating: A Excercise: B. I did miss some workouts. Social: A. I've been active in asking people to meet and the result is that I'm really happy with my social life! Singing: A. The workshop with my idol was amazing and I feel like I've become a better singer in these 6 weeks! Stats: Eating: +2 WIS, +2 CON Excercise: +2 STR, +1 DEX, +1 STA Social: +2 CHA, +1 WIS Singing: +2 WIS, +1 CHA I'm looking forward to the next challenge! I'm considering doing the next challenge in the Assassins' guild

From 100 meters to almost 3km is some serious progress! Cool