MaybeAFirst

Thanks for the support, it's nice to meet someone with similar goals, good luck to you also!

Week 1 Start Weight: 147lbs End Weight: 144.6lbs Down 2.4 lbs! Goal 1 Running: 4/4 Goal 2 Diet: 7/7 Goal 3 Water: 7/7 Goal 4 Crisps, biscuits, chocolate: 7/7 Monday Goal 1: Running - Completed 5km in 34:22. Goal 2: Diet - Ate at about 1600 kcals - don't have an exact number as my mum does the cooking, but should be within my limit through my guesstimates. Goal 3: Water - Done Goal 4: Giving up chocolate, biscuits and crisps - Kept away from sugary temptations! Tuesday Goal 1: Running - Completed 5km in 36:16. Goal 2: Diet - Somewhere between 1500-1600kcals Goal 3: Water - Done Goal 4: Giving up chocolate, biscuits and crisps - Avoided all 3. Wednesday Goal 2: Diet - Ate at 1600kcals today. Gave away one of my three pieces of garlic bread to my brother at dinner time in order to fit my calories so I'm pretty proud of actively saying no to something that was originally on my plate. Goal 3: Water - Done Goal 4: Giving up chocolate, biscuits and crisps - Avoided them again! Thursday Goal 1: Running - Nice 6.5km run this afternoon. Goal 2: Diet - Hit my calorie goal - already down 1.5lbs and while some of that is water weight it's still great to see some results! Goal 3: Water - Done Goal 4: Giving up chocolate, biscuits and crisps - Done Friday Goal 2: Diet - Ate within my calories today. Was feeling a bit hungry in the afternoon so went for a 6km walk to take my mind off it and made it through. Goal 3: Water - Done Goal 4: Giving up chocolate, biscuits and crisps - Done Saturday Goal 1: Running - Ran Parkrun in 33:25, beating my last time by 5s. Super pleased as it was a much harder course than the one when I am away at uni - my Garmin recorded 140ft of elevation, with the course starting at the bottom of a hill. Planning to do a much flatter one at the end of August to try and get under 30 mins. Goal 2: Diet - Pretty sure I ate around 1600. Impossible to know for sure, but I left 100kcals for a buffet party after dinner last night and just ate some salad, fruit and drank diet coke, so I'll say I succeeded. Goal 3: Water - Done Goal 4: Giving up chocolate, biscuits and crisps - Done. It actually made eating not too much at the party a lot easier as half the table was crisps, and it made me feel like I was missing out less by not even having them as an option. Sunday Goal 2: Diet - Kept my calories during the day low enough that I could enjoy some apple crumble that my mum made in the evening. Was really hungry waiting until dinner on only 600kcals, but it was worth it! Goal 3: Water - Done Goal 4: Giving up chocolate, biscuits and crisps - Done

Well my last challenge went horribly, especially toward the end. I've lost half a pound in weight, if that and my committment to exercise has been flaky at best, although I am running 5k two to three times a week now at least. So I'm going to try again next challenge and see if I can do as well as on my first one. Starting Stats Weight: 147lbs Height: 5' 2" What: I would like to lose weight as well as become fitter. I'd eventually like to lose about 25-35lbs. However my first mini goal is 6lbs away to put me under 140lbs. Decided to forget about adding in strength training this challenge and getting my running habit solidified. After this challenge I will have access to my university gym so will start that in September. Why: Be in the normal category instead of overweight, better for my long term healthBe more attractive - this is a factor in getting hired in corporate/ financial sector jobs, so being a normal weight should improve my employability after uniLook great in wedding photos a couple of years from nowBe fitter for when I restart horse riding next year - cardio fitness was always an aspect which I felt I could improve when I rode beforeGoals: An A will get me 100% of attribute points, B = 80%, C = 60%. A+ means a special reward. Goal 1: Running Run 4 times a week. Three regular runs and one longer one. Grade: A+: 22+ A: 20+ B: 17+ C: 15+ A+ reward is a nice piece of running gear, either a top or some leggins or something. Attributes: +2 DEX +3 STA Goal 2: Diet Eat 1600kcals or less a day. A+: 38+ A: 34+ B: 30+ C: 26+ A+ reward is the Mass Effect trilogy. I've always wanted to play it but never got round to it. Attributes: +1 WIS +2 CON +1 CHA Goal 3: Water Drink 6 glasses of water a day. A+: 41+ A: 39+ B: 37+ C: 35+ A+ reward I'm not sure on yet. Maybe one of those easy to hold water bottles for when I'm running. Attributes: +2 CON +1 CHA Goal 4: Giving up biscuits, crisps and chocolate These are the main derailments to my diet. If I eat a bit I will eat way too much, so I'm just not eating them. Cake, pies and crumble are fine and I can eat those in moderation, just not chocolate and biscuits. Giving up chocolate will also mean no chocolate containing foods. Hot chocolate is still fine though as I have 40kcal cocoa powder saches and I don't exactly binge on hot chocolate. A+: 40+ A: 38+ B: 36+ C: 34+ A+ reward will be something nice from Body Shop for me, or something similar. Attributes: +1 WIS +2 CON

End of Week 3 (plus Monday and Tuesday of Week 4) Been enjoying my summer, so not posting here much. Just going to do a quick update. Goal 1: Consistency Had one day where I went a bit crazy with my calories. I think I was setting them too low so have upped to 1600 a day and am feeling much better now. Still a bit hungry and wanting to eat but not like before. I have a party on Saturday so hopefully I can keep in control for it and eat sensibly. I think there will just be small snacks anyway as it's a pool party, so no-one will be wanting to eat that much. Total: 19/23 Goal 2: Building Strength Took a day off last week to taper for my first parkrun as I wanted to set a PB, but as that was planned I'm not too upset. At the awkward stage with pushups now that I can do sets of 10 for knee pushups but barely 1 real one, so I'm using my resistance bands to add a bit of difficulty to the knee ones until I can do full ones. Total: 17/18 Goal 3: Gotta Go Fast Took this week off to rest for the 5k. Slight change of plan so now I will require 5 of these workouts in order to get an A for my challenge. Total: 2/2 Goal 4: Daily Yoga Cancelled Mini-Goal: Water Acheived this every day. Total: 23/23

So I tried running my first 5k two and a half weeks ago during the ranger's mini challenge at a time of 40:36. I tried a second 5k one and a half weeks ago and came in just under 38 minutes. Today I ran my first ever Parkrun and was aiming for a time of 35 minutes. In the end my official time was 33:30 and the time on my Garmin (which I started after I eventually got out of the starting funnel) was 33:07, pretty much 5 minutes faster than just one and a half weeks ago! There was a pretty mean hill which I walked a bit on as I was totally not prepared for it, but I think next time I run it in a month's time I can run the whole thing and get down to the low 30s. Time to do some hill sprints this month!

Week Beginning: 29th June 2015 Monday: 4.5km runTuesday: BBWWWednesday: Longer run 7kmThursday: Sprints 6x100mFriday: BBWWSaturday: Pace work: 10 mins easy, 10 mins hard pace, 10 mins easySunday: BBWW

I had no idea what disk golf is so I looked it up and it looks a lot of fun! Congrats on your placing, it's great when you get to see progress and your practice has definitely been paying off!

You want a bodyweight training program? There's one for you right here! I do a slightly altered version of it and am seeing some improvements to strength after just a couple of weeks. Also, if you do decide you want to give Myfitnesspal another go feel free to add me, JustAGal95, if you want some motivation to help you along! As you're at the high end of the 200lbs though, you might not need to rigourously count calories and just eating mindfully, being aware of your portion sizes and cutting out snack/sugary drinks should help enough. I don't follow a set meal plan, but trying to make the main part of the dish the vegetables (about a third to half the plate), followed by a lean meat and a smaller carb portion will generally keep you fuller for longer and make it seem like you are eating more than you actually are.

Thanks for the clarificaton! I thought it would be okay but just wanted to make sure.

Hey guys, a quick challenge question: Are we able to change our goals this far into the challenge? I've set my daily calorie goal to 1400 for this challenge, down from 1500 last challenge. I am F/ 5'2" /142lb. However, my exercise has increased a lot with this challenge, started the BBWW and upped my running milage from last challenge when I was just doing C25k. I am feeling food-grumpy the past week or so, and think my low calories may have something to do with it. According to this planner I could up to 1600kcal a day and still hit under 120lbs by the end of the year with the exercise levels I do. I was wondering if it was okay to update my goal to 1600 instead of 1400?

Thank-you for the helpful post! I am aware that it will take me a while and progress will taper off, although it might be difficult when I first see that slowing of progress. The running club seems like a good idea. I looked into it previously and there is a group at my university which do group runs a few times a week. The local running club seems a bit advanced for me at the moment and has recommended minimum paces for a lot of their runs, so maybe that will be something I can try in 6 months or so. Maybe I should join in the university runs though, just to get some experience of running in a group.

Great job for persevering through! Hope your arm feels better now though

That's great to hear thanks! I'm glad you mentioned strength training too as I'm starting to get into that, especially once I get back to uni in September and have a gym at my disposal, although it's just bodyweight stuff for the next few months. Thank-you for confirming I'm not completely crazy in setting my goals.

Hope this is a good place to ask this and that it's not too much of a vague question! I started up running this year, did a few weeks in March and have been taking it seriously from the end of April, so have been running full time about 2 months. Currently my goal is to get my 5k time under 30 minutes which I think I can do by the end of summer. My goal time for my parkrun on Saturday is 35 minutes. I still have 20-30lbs to lose until goal weight which I'm losing steadily and my pace is rapidly increasing so I'm not too worried about getting my 5k under 30 by the end of summer (late August/September time). My question comes down to longer term goals. I am aged 20, female and 5'2" (158cm) and I am wondering if my height will negatively affect my future goal aspirations? I would really like to get sub 20 someday, albeit a few years in the future. I've never heard of any particularly short fast runners though! Can anyone shed some light on if this might be possible for me?

Monday: - DONE - 4.1km Easy run 30 minsTuesday: - DONE BBWWWednesday: Easy longer run 50 mins - DONE - 6.3kmThursday: Rested for Parkrun aiming for PB Sprints 6x100mFriday: Rested for Parkrun aiming for PB BBWWSaturday: - DONE - New Personal Best! 33:30 official time, 33:07 on my Garmin, adjusting for time getting out the starting funnel! First Parkrun!Sunday: BBWW

End of week 2! Goal 1: Consistency Did well on this every day but today. Had a chocolate craving that I tried to curb through fruit, but it didn't work. All day all I could think about was having a chocolate. Caved in the end and bought a bar and ate it. Feeling much better now though and ready to get back on track tomorrow. Running has been going great, I knocked about 2 and a half minutes off of my 5k on the second attempt, just about a week apart from the first one, so I'm pretty pleased. Had a amazing run yesterday and felt so strong, ended up running at a 35minute 5k pace for most of it after I warmed up and faster for my middle 10 minutes where I managed about 6:00-6:30 mins/km. Total: 11/14 Goal 2: Building Strength Enjoying my strength training now! I am using resistance bands for my squats now and did a couple of real pushups in combination with my knee pushups. Progress feels good. Total: 5/6 Goal 3: Gotta Go Fast My quads felt a bit twingy this week, so I didn't do all out sprints but limited myself to about 85% effort. Still had a great workout though! Total: 2/2 Goal 4: Daily Yoga I think I'm over yoga. I am not enjoying it at all anymore. The main problem is that my feet and hands sweat a lot when I'm emotional, exerting myself, or when experiencing a lot of friction. This leads to downward dog being an exercise of "don't slide off the yoga mat". I can solve it with chalk but chalking every 5 minutes doesn't lead to a very immersive exerience. Total: 11/14 Mini-Goal: Water Acheived this every day. Total: 14/14

I'm a terrible picker too. My skin isn't too bad but occasionally get the odd breakout and some blackheads along the T, but not really noticable from a distance. It used to be worse and although it's improved with age, it's also improved a lot since starting the 6 week challenges over here, which resulted in my sugar and carb intake significantly decreasing. Not sure if it's correlated to that or the increased exercise, but if you're having trouble on a regular basis, you could try switching up dietary factors to see if anything helps for you.

16/06/15 - Inlcudes today Goal 1: Consistency Went over for a movie night at my friend's house on Saturday. Was a great time, we got pizza and I was just a couple of hundred calories over my allowance. Need to tighten up on my calories over the next couple of weeks though if I want to get an A for this challenge. On a positive note I went out for afternoon tea with my housemates on Sunday and managed to keep under 1400kcal total for the day, which I consider a victory. Running has been going great, even if I do have the tendancy to push myself a bit hard on what are supposed to be easier runs! Seeing a good amount of progress though, my pace is slowly increasing over 30 minutes and I can do longer and longer runs. Total: 7/9 Goal 2: Building Strength One thing I have learned is that I'm really not enjoying this at all. It doesn't help that the only place I really have to workout is my room. I can't open the windows as they are behind my desk (too short to reach), and the door has to be closed or I don't have enough room. This means the room feels horribly stuffy when I'm trying to workout. Once my housemates leave for the summer in a couple of weeks I will have the house to myself and can use the living room, so hopefully I will enjoy it a bit more. Total: 3/4 Goal 3: Gotta Go Fast Had a good time last week. Found a great little section of grass just over 100m in length, so I don't have to sprint on the pavement which will hopefully help to save my joints a bit of impact. Tough, but enjoyable so far! Total: 1/1 Goal 4: Daily Yoga Didn't manage to get my yoga in on Saturday as I left it too late before I went out. Been good with doing it the rest of the week though. Total: 7/9 Mini-Goal: Water Acheived this every day. Total: 9/9

Week beginning 15/6/15 Monday: - DONE 30 mins yogaEasy run 30 minsTuesday: - DONE 30 mins yogaBBWWWednesday: - DONE Yoga classEasy longer run (9:00min/km) 45 minsThursday: - DONE 30 mins yogaSprints 6x100mFriday: - DONE 30 mins yogaBBWWSaturday: - DONE (Ended up being able to go a lot faster, speed has somehow imroved drastically the past week) 30 mins yogaPace work - 10mins @ 8:50 min/km, 10 mins @ 7:20min/km, 10 mins @ 8:50min/kmSunday: - DONE 30 mins yogaBBWW

10/06/15 - Inlcudes today 3 days in and my first update! Had a terrible day Tuesday, but I did have exams the whole day and all day Monday too, which left me pretty exhausted. Fortunately it is now the summer so I am ready to take my fitness up a notch from now on! Goal 1: Consistency I've done 2 of my 3 runs for the week so far, got another one on Saturday planned. Hit my calories today and Monday, but Tuesday had a couple of bad decisions after 2 days of back to back exams Monday and Tuesday. Only went a few hundred over though fotunately. Total: 2/3 Goal 2: Building Strength Not a great start, I was supposed to do my first workout yesterday but was absolutely exhausted after waking up at 4am to study for my exams which lasted until 4pm. Got my next one planned on Friday and then I have no excuses. Total: 0/1 Goal 3: Gotta Go Fast First session schedule tomorrow. Total: 0/0 Goal 4: Daily Yoga Did well on Monday and today, but again, Tuesday was pretty much a nothing day. Total: 2/3 Mini-Goal: Water Acheived this every day so far, even on dreadful Tuesday. Total: 3/3

Completed mine of running a 5k. Which turns out to be my first 5k ever, my longest run before now was 30 minutes and today did a 5k in just over 40. Not the fastest ever, but pretty pleased at running a full 5k a couple of weeks before I planned to.

Heya, another shortie checking in from the UK (also 5'2", yay)! It's great that you're starting your journey and you seem to have a plan set up already. I'm a bit of a gamer too and play EDH/Commander MTG sometimes. Haven't ever played the Payday games, I'm more into RPGs (think Elder Scrolls and Dragon Age), add me on steam if you'd like, my username is Tea&Scones.

Week beginning 8/6/15 Monday: - DONE 30 mins yogaEasy run (9:00min/km) 30 minsTuesday: - TOO MUCH EXAM REVISION 30 mins yogaBBWWWednesday: - DONE (But did a slower 5k run for ranger mini-challenge instead) Yoga classEasy longer run (9:00min/km) 35 minsThursday: - DONE 30 mins yogaSprints 6x100mFriday:- DONE 30 mins yogaBBWWSaturday: - DONE 30 mins yogaPace work - 10mins @ 9:00min/km, 10 mins @ 7:30min/km, 10 mins @ 9:min/kmSunday: - DONE 30 mins yogaBBWW

Thanks for the support both of you. And I'm glad to find another Zevran appreciator, Raider. I know he was supposed to be an amusing character, but I really like his positivity and open mindedness towards pretty much anything, it's an attitude I really admire and would love to have myself one day!

Intro Time for my second challenge, yay! I've been backing off a bit on the intensity for the 2 weeks between challenges so I'll be super ready to jump into this one on the 8th. From now on I'm going to be basing my challenges off of classes/ characters from games I like to make them a bit more fun for myself. Character Info: Race: Elf - Like those in the Dragon Age universe, short and slender (well...one day!). However, looks can be deceiving and there are a few deceptively strong elves in addition to their agility. My goal in terms of fitness is most like that of one of my favourite characters, Zevran the assassin, which is more of a rangery skillset in Nerd Fitness terms; quick and agile, yet with a dose of strength when required! Class: Ranger, of course! Level: 2 - Fresh out of the rebellion recruits and ready to begin training. Start Weight: 147 Goals Scoring (as a % of attribute points awarded): A = 100% B = 80% C = 60% Goal 1: Consistency A good ranger makes sure they never forget past lessons and is disciplined in applying them. That is why my first goal is to continue my good habits from my past challenge in terms of fitness. They are: 1400kcal limit 3 runs a week Possible points: 42 A: 37 points B: 29 points C: 25 points Total points available: 2 STA 2 CON Goal 2: Building Strength A ranger who can run a long way isn't going to be much good if they have no strength to complete their mission. That is why I will dedicate to the Nerd Fitness beginner body weight workout three times a week. Possible points: 18 A: 15 points B: 13 points C: 12 points Total points available: 3 STR 1 DEX Goal 3: Gotta Go Fast Being able to catch up to trouble or run rings around an enemy is important too, which is why once a week I am going to be running 8 sprint intervals of a 0.05 miles (80m), walking back and sprinting again. Possible points: 6 A: 6 points B: 5 points C: 4 points 2 DEX Goal 4: Daily Yoga I've been taking a weekly yoga class and I love it so far. Once exams are over I'm going to have enough time to dedicate 30 minutes of practice a day. 20-25 minutes of a flow or routine and then 5-10 minutes working on something specific, either a pose, balance or stretch. Possible points: 42 A: 37 points B: 29 points C: 25 points Total points available: 2 DEX 1 STA Mini-Goal: Water WIth all this activity I'll be doing over summer, it's important to stay hydrated! My goal is to drink 6 drinks total every day. It doesn't have to be water, it can be milk, tea, coffee, just as long as it's a liquid. Pass: At least 40 days Fail: Under 40 days Total points available: 1 CON 1 WIS