Search the Community

I want to do assassin's guild, but it looks like our first challenge should be a rebel one, so here I am! I have a few quests in mind. I can use all the support I can get! MAIN QUEST AND MOTIVATION I lost 20lbs last year. This year, I'd like to lose the remaining 28lbs in order to reach 160lbs and see how my body feels from there. I am doing this because I need to take control of my life, especially since it feels like there is so little of it in graduate school. I have two health conditions that make losing weight more difficult. As someone else on here said, that just means someone upped the difficulty on my life. Time to show them I can kick some ass! DIET QUEST Eat a fruit or vegetable with each meal every day 100%100% 84/84 FITNESS QUEST Lift weights at least three times a week 50%50% 6/12 Cardio at least twice a week 88%88% 7/8 I am happy to hear all the advice those of you who have previously completed challenges have for me. I am super excited about doing this! I look forward to supporting all of you through your own challenges as well. Game on!

Okay let's join the challenge, go us woohoo!! Oh wait it start's tomorrow..... no no I'm not ready *reality face slap* Come on pull yourself together we can do this!!! *Deep Breath In, Deep Breath Out* *Yells real loud & fast* HI I'M INDYANNIE JONES AND I'M DECLARING MYSELF AS A JOINER... CHALLenger.... thingy..... Crap I'm already screwing this up... *tries to run away but won't let myself, gets real timid & shy* Okay umm... what now.... ummm.... quests. Alright quests let's do this.... ...................... I have no idea *glances around at other people's paper to get answers* Okay okay I see... Ah here we go, suggested quest ideas that's the ticket (thanks for providing that BTW) Alright so here we go: Diet: 1) Take lunch with me at least 3 days (currently bringing lunch zero times so baby steps) 2) Drink more water! Drink 1 glass with a meal everyday (I drink next to zero water now so I'm expecting to have to pee a lot more now) Fitness: 1) Complete the NF BBW at least 1x a week *Edited 9/Jan/2015: No longer doing BBW as quest goal. New quest goal is 2 additional gym workouts a week besides when I go for personal training* Level Up Your Life: 1) Take daily vitamin! (I think that counts as a level up....) And now I....... follow my quest goals and post my progress?? ................ Alright if you say so -Indy

My first ever challenge began last month, in which I charged out the door and tripped on the stairs. And promptly fumbled every saving throw. Cue the lights and iconic respawn sound of your choice, 'cause I'm trying it again. And, hopefully, earning my place as a Baby Assassin. ~CHALLENGES~ -I will track and log everything I eat and drink, every day (Food Log) -I will drink a minimum of 2 liters of water every day -I will be in bed for an average of 9 1/2 hours a night (not all of this time must be sleeping. Just be in bed. No electronics, but books are great!) -I will spend 5 minutes meditating/doing an emotional check-in every day ~Challenge Completion~ Daily Food Log 27 Days Log / 27 Days 100%100% Daily Water 47.5 Liters of Water / 54 Liters 87.96%87.96% Sleep 226 hrs 42 minutes of Attempted Sleep / 256.5 hrs 88.38%88.38% Meditation 20 Days of Meditation / 27 Days 74.07%74.07% What threw me so off course last challenge was that I only logged my progress here on the forums, and not consistently. This time I'm going to try tracking my progress every day using a word document so I can go in and edit it as I complete things, rather than trying to remember what I did three days ago as I clump together days worth of updates into one post. Edit: Decided to log in a notebook I can carry around. I'm also posting progress bars for each individual day, as well as keeping progress bars for the overall challenge.

Hey all! My last challenge ended poorly, I got thoroughly beaten by the boss known as "Thanksgiving". Spent some time with the family, which unfortunately left me feeling bad about myself and unmotivated. But you know what? I'm respawning! A bit about me: I stand 6'2.5" and weigh 180lbs or so. I'm "skinny fat"… you can't see that I'm out of shape because of how I dress, but I lose my breath doing ridiculously simple things. I'm un-fit, at the moment. Doesn't help that I have bad knees. I work as a computer programmer whatsit-thingy at a startup in St. Louis. I love doing the whole standing desk thing, it really helps with posture and I move around more when I stand. As part of the job I travel to conferences a lot (about once a month in 2015), so I think those are going to be my major roadblocks to fitness this year too. I'll probably end up being in the Assassin's guild (bodyweight workouts are cheap and easy to do at home or on the road and parkour is just cool) but I'm sticking with the Rebel forum until I get through my first challenge period successfully. So, my goals: Fitness: I'm enrolled in the Nerd Fitness Academy, but I haven't done any of the fitness quests (shame, shame.) I'm going to start small here with the bodyweight workouts and say that I'm going to do them twice per week. That's 8 total, minimum. - A (8): 25xp - B (7): 20xp - C (6): 15xp - D (5): 10xp - F (4-): 0xp I also love doing yoga. It makes my knees feel great. I want to do yoga at least once per week during the challenge period. The scoring on this one is lower because it's more of a "bonus quest"... also four sessions is hard to give more XP to than this! - A (4): 10xp - B (3): 5xp - F (2-): 0xp Diet: I love me some carbs, but I realize that they're not that great for me. I'm going to keep track of meals where I eat any carbs, along with meals where I eat fruits and veggies. Point system: +1 for freggies, +1 for no carbs, and -1 for the opposites. During the challenge period, there are 84 meals, so that's 168 potential points. I'll grade myself on percentage: - A (90%+): 25xp - B (80%): 20xp - C (70%): 15xp - D (60%): 10xp - F (60%-): 0xp To sum up in a sentence: I will replace carbs with freggies during the challenge period. Levelling up: I want two things right now: for my mind to calm down so I can get stuff done, and for my wife to feel like I listen to and appreciate her. You know what doesn't help me do those? My phone! When I get home in the evenings I want to put down the phone where I can get it if someone calls me, but where I can't pick it up just to check Tweetbook. - A (24+ nights): 25xp - B (22 nights): 20xp - C (20 nights): 15xp - D (15 nights): 10xp - F (14- nights): 0xp This one is going to be hard for me, I can tell right now. But an improved state of mental health and a better marital relationship is worth the effort.

Quests: DIET/FITNESS *Go to all booked ballet classes starting 11th January (11th, 18th, 25th) (5xp per class) A = all classes F = skip 1 or more 11th January: Attended 18th January: attended 25th January: did not attend *Go back to rollerblading when it starts back on Sunday 24th January (5xp per class) A = went F = didn't go 24th January:nope *Include a fruit or vegetable with every meal eaten (anything that counts towards my 5 a day.) Week 1: 6/7 Week 2: 6/7 Week 3: 5/7 Week 4: Day 1: pass Day 2: pass Day 3: pass Day 4: pass Day 5: pass Day 6: pass Day 7: pass No mobile devices at evening meal: Week 1: 7/7 Week 2: 6/7 Week 3: 7/7 Week 3: Day 1: pass Day 2: pass Day 3: fail (but was a considered choice) Day 4: pass Day 5: pass Day 6: pass Day 7: pass See my Epic Quests page for the scoring.

Long time reader first time caller. I'm a librarian, writer, vegetarian, gamer. Trying to get back into some good fitness habits. Aspiring Assassin with lots of Druid elements in my practice. Here's my challenge! Life Meditate 10+ minutes daily. Fitness Work out (either gym or beginner’s bodyweight routine at home) at least 3x/week Hit 10k steps/day goal 5 days out of 7 Diet Try making one new healthy (no cheese!) recipe every weekend, and make enough for leftovers for work lunches

Hello, I'm Gareth, a 30-year-old male from Victoria, British Columbia. I work at a desk all day and would like to be more active and healthier, so here we go: [Diet] Objective #1: No more sugar in my coffee. It's fine black with milk. [Fitness] Objective #2: Complete the NF Beginning Body Weight Workout once a week. Wednesdays are usually good. (Oh, hey, today is Wednesday!) [Fitness] Objective #3: Complete my physiotherapists' required stretches daily. It'll take 15 minutes, do them right after dinner. [Life] Objective #4: Get out of bed no later then the 1st snooze alarm. Even if it's just to go downstairs and put the news on. And away we go...

In addition to growing a tiny, healthy new human during this challenge, I have the following goals: 1. Eat a variety of fruits and vegetables (at least 5 different ones a day) 2. Drink only milk and water 3. Swim three times a week 4. Eliminate clutter It's my first pregnancy and first NF challenge so I'm not sure what to expect. Wish me luck!

My life changed a bit this year (I upgraded from an undergrad to a grad student) and my usual sports crew is no longer around. After half a year of not playing sports, I realized how much I missed it. But now I'm too out of shape to join pick up games. Just gotta get in the groove of getting active all by myself so that I can keep up. I also have to cook for myself, that seems to be a bit of challenge in itself. Diet Eat a vegetable with at least one meal a day (cooking for myself is difficult) A-5 (days a week) B-3/4 C-1/2 Fitness Cardio 3 times a week A- 3 B- 2 C- 1 Fun sports twice a week A- 2 B -1 Life Stop taking the bus you lazy bum Have a conversation with someone new everyday Read for fun every night Motivation: Get moving againLearn how to cook good food

Hello! I am new to this whole site in general. I started Paleo's 30 day detox/reset on January 1 and was searching the web for an online community to be a part of to keep myself motivated and found you guys! I am deciding to join the challenge to meet new people with similar goals and keep myself motivated to better myself for 2016. A little about me, I am a third grade teacher in Orlando, FL. I am currently finishing up my Master's degree at UCF. I have been in a committed relationship for over a year now and he too is a teacher but for second grade and also finishing up his Master's in the same field. We both aspire to be principals some day. I own a service dog, she's a doberman pinscher who is 3 years old and my all time best four-legged friend. My boyfriend and I love to travel and are looking into moving into together in August so we are currently saving up money to make this possible. Between work, grad school, a boyfriend, and a dog life got really busy really fast and I fell off the health wagon. I was consuming candy bars as snacks and frozen pizzas for dinner. Not an ideal life style. I kept blaming it on the stress but in reality I only have myself to blame. I used to be a professional dancer (ballet, jazz, contemporary) and would travel with a production company before I became a teacher. I was very active with that company and doing crossfit. I weighed 118. I now weigh 145 and I'm only 5 feet tall. Not how I like seeing myself. I've decided to stop blaming extenuating factors and get myself active again, get back into crossfit, get on Paleo, and cleanse my life. After reading Antagonist's post I liked that she had financial quests in there too so I'm following her template. As for my diet and fitness quests, instead of doing two diet quests since Paleo eliminates all sugars and carbs, I'm going to do two fitness quests. Diet Quest Strictly stick to Paelo's 30 day detox and then beyond that. Fitness Quest Crossfit at least two times per week Ballet once a week (at home yoga if cannot make a ballet class for whatever reason) Life Quest Go to bed 10 minutes earlier Spend 5 minutes a day cleaning my room Financial Quest Brew coffee at home Make meals at home instead of going out to eat Bring lunch to work and snacks to grad classes Work on internship resume and documentation for at least one hour a week Mental Quest Meditate every morning upon waking up or before letting the kids into the classroom Keep journaling the entire 30 days

Hi guys! My name's Hannah, I'm 28 years old. My sister recommended this to me as she's had a lot of fun and success with Nerd Fitness over the years, so I'm ready to give it a go. I've got a huge long list of the Person I Want To Be, and am trying to break it down to very small, very manageable chunks, so that by the end of the year I can act a bit more like that vision of myself. This is definitely the first ever health challenge I've taken and decided to be serious about, so I'm a bit nervous. To ease myself in I've decided to give myself a little theme for my quests, which is: Stop lying to yourself! DIETThe Lie: Because I don't have a set schedule for sugary drinks ("I need my 8am coffee!" "I need my afternoon soda!") I seem to think I don't really drink anything much apart from water. Of course, this is BS! Most days I'll have at least something, whether it's a milk tea, a sweet iced tea, a coke, whatever. Pretty sure that doesn't count.The Fix: Swap out sugary drinks. Instead, opt for soda water with fruit pieces & tea. This will swap my intake of anything apart from the above and water to a maximum of three a week. The Lie: I eat breakfast! Okay, usually it's four hours after I've woken up. After I've gotten to work. After the day's started. And it's half a slice of banana bread from the nearest cafe, instead of the apple I have sitting in the fruit bowl at home waiting for me. They're basically the exact same thing.The Fix: Have breakfast before leaving the house at least once a week. FITNESSThe Lie: I walk to and from work every day so that's pretty much a thorough workout. Right?The Fix: Complete the NF bodyweight workout at least once a week. LIFE The Lie: I'm an adult. I totally brush my teeth properly. Shoving my toothbrush in and wiggling it around a bit totally does the trick.The Fix: Actually brush my teeth for a thorough two minutes twice daily.

Alright folks, here we go! My first challenge. Diet: Begin GAPS Protocol Fitness: Beginner Bodyweight Workout 3x/week... And do an aerial silks class. Level Up: Write in my journal every day... And go to sleep at 1:30 and get up by 10am every day. Supports, hugs, and comrades would be appreciated!

OOOOH YEAH BABYYYY, LET'S GET THIS PARTY ROLLIN'! Stats: F/21/5'8" Starting weight: 226 Current weight: 203 Goal weight: Hella jacked Main Quest: Aesthetic-wise, I've been obese my entire life... now I want to be muscular! I'm sure this will require lots of heavy lifting! Fitness-wise, I have two things: one, I want to be a skilled poi dancer. This will require a lot of practice, endurance, flexibility, and hitting myself! Two, I want to have mastery of my body. "Mastery of my body" has a lot of interpretations, but to me, it means I have the strength and flexibility to actually do things-- pull ups, spontaneous handstands, sprinting away from aliens, climbing on stuff, etc... Fun, skill-oriented things my body has prevented me from being able to do! ALRIGHT ALRIGHT, ENOUGH EXPOSITION! LET'S DO THIS THING! RHYME AND FITNESS FOREVER 100 YEARS! ~Rhyme gets schwifty~ Goal 1: This is a court order, it says you can't eat shit anymore So, I haven't been logging my food. Also, my grocery store now has peanut butter Woppers in the bulk foods section. It's needless to say I've been eating tons of metaphorical shit. For this challenge I need to log my food into MFP every day (add me!). To clarify, I'm not outlawing the eating of shit -- I just have to log it in if I do, which often deters me from eating it in the first place! Goal 2: Join the Council I'm a pretty independent person (and a self-proclaimed hermit), but my fitness goals go really well whenever I'm on NF! People are always supportive and have tons of great advice! However... I'm an awkward lurker who isn't very good at joining groups. What happens is, I get skittish, I stop logging in, and then my goals fall by the wayside. Hanging around people is the motivation I need, but I'm too shy to hang around with people. Gaah! So, this goal is simple: keep in touch with my fitness council. This includes NF and, more excitingly, my new real-life fitness buddies!! I've never had people in real life to keep me accountable, so this could change everything for the better -- if I don't run back to my hidey-hole! Goal 3: It's the Rick Dance! I love poi and I've always dreamed of being a good dancer with them. That's gonna be pretty tough to achieve if I keep up my current schedule of no practice whatsoever. For this challenge, I'm going to practice poi at least three times a week! Life Quest: If I die in a cage, I lose a bet I've been spending a disproportionate amount of time in my room lately. As in, every moment of my free time is spent hiding on my computer. I need to get out more! For this challenge, I need to get out of the house (excluding work/school) 5 days a week, even if it's just going on a walk or heading to the library. Going to the gym/track does count, and if I'm brave enough to do poi outside, then it would also count towards goal 2! AHEM! Before we get started, I'd like to give a motivational speech, an ode to success this challenge: I’m sorry, Fitness, it’s a bummer. In reality, I'm as sedentary as they come. And I needed those squats real bad, and I had to give them up just to get that time commitment off my back. So now we’re gonna have to go get more. And then we’re gonna go on even more adventures after that, Fitness. And you’re gonna keep your mouth shut about it, Fitness! Because the world is full of idiots that don’t understand what’s important, and they’ll tear us apart, Fitness. But if you stick with me, I’m gonna accomplish great things, Fitness, and you’re gonna be part of 'em. And together we’re gonna run around, Fitness, we’re gonna- do all kinds of wonderful things, Fitness. Just you and me, Fitness. The outside world is our enemy, Fitness! We’re the only f-friends we’ve got, Fitness! It’s just Rhyme and Fitness. Rhyme and Fitness and their adventures, Fitness. Rhyme and Fitness forever and forever, 100 years, Rhyme and Fitness's things. Me and Rhyme and Fitness running around, and- Rhyme and Fitness time. All... day long forever, all- a hundred days, Rhyme and Fitness forever a hundred times. Over and over Rhyme and Fitness, adventures dot com. W W W dot Rhyme and Fitness, dot com. wwwrhymeandfitnessadventures. All 100 years, every minute, Rhyme and Fitness dot com. www100timesrhymeandfitness.com. AND AWAAAAAAYYY WE GO!

Hallo! This is my first challenge, and thus I am a Rebel! I've been dieting since the beginning of November or so (sans thanksgiving and Christmas, ick), but have only been working out for 2 weeks. I started out counting calories, and got my body used to eating less, and now I have turned that less into healthy foods. I started working out on the 21st of December with the Beginner Bodyweight Workout. I couldn't finish the whole thing, and couldn't walk straight for 2 days afterward, but I knuckled down and did it again. I can tell a huge difference in my strength and stamina after just two weeks, and I'm super excited to keep it up. My main goal in all this is to be a healthier guy for my wife and kids. This means losing the gut, and being able to run around the house indefinitely chasing the kids, picking them up against their will and throwing them on the bed, etc. Quests: 1. Do the Beginner Bodyweight Workout three times a week. 2. Eat an apple and a pack of veggies every day. (I'm already basically doing this, but I skimp on the apple sometimes. No more!) 3. Have only one cup of coffee every day, and only 2 tbsp of creamer at most with it. (Probably the hardest one of these, but I want to cut the stupicalories from the creamer) Life: Read for an hour every week. Bonus: Actually posting on this forum more frequently, and encouraging others on their first challenge! OK READY GO Final Results! Current Challenge Goals Beginner Bodyweight workout 3x/week (12/12) Look at that beautiful bar. 100%100% Apple and pack of veggies every day (26/28) 96%96% One cup of coffee with 2tbsp of creamer MAX every day (25/28) 93%93% Read for 1hr/week (3/4) 100%100%

Love this site! Steve, you Crack me up, a Tim Ferris twin in humor, for sure 😆 Love the 11 Rules. ... especially 1, 2,5,9. "Rebellion is where the light is", for sure-all aspects of life! #5- see youtube "The American Parasite" about sugar and it's history in our food and government control. And fake foods, ugh. But reminds me of a very encouraging Joe Cross documentary "Fat, sick, and nearly dead". So inspiring! To be sure, there is no kick back to me for any of these people and their ideas i mentioned, just a networker at heart. I have been inspired and simply want to pass on a good thing. I'm excited to get started on the challenge! Already found meetup groups to get walking and hiking again. Winter found me gaining back a few more pounds than I'd like but with sites like this and some other inspiring movies "Running the Edge" by Matt Trappe who ran the CO trail and broke the record, I'm pumped! Taking it in small chunks but still pumped! Level 1 challenge: **Swap out a sweet treat for the better fruit or veggie. **swap out my beer or wine for water (not a soda drinker) Fitness-complete bodyweight workout 1x a week Level up-1 positive thing. Yo☆

Hello lads and ladies! Off to start my first official challenge. I don't really have an idea of what to write but here it goes. My next 4 weeks should and will consist of this: Quest Log: Diet: - Figure out what to eat - Eat one vegetable/fruit per week (not counting the ones I eat during lunch) Fitness: - Do NF workout 3x a week (since I was already doing it, but have stopped because..eee... yeah) Level Up My Life: Main Quest: - Become more flexible and join the Assassins It is not long, but it will have to do. I mean it IS my first challenge, it shouldn't be too big (I don't want to become hollow). On that note, have a lovely day.

Newton's First Law of Motion states that a body at rest will remain at rest unless an outside force acts on it, and a body in motion at a constant velocity will remain in motion in a straight line unless acted upon by an outside force. The Second Law of Motion states that if an unbalanced force acts on a body, that body will experience acceleration ( or deceleration), that is, a change of speed. I'm stuck in law 1. I eat pretty well. I exercise fairly consistently. I'm neither over- nor under-weight, and I feel good, and that means I'm in a comfort zone that's hard to get out of. What I really need is more balance. I need to get hit with an unbalanced force; therefore the lifestyle portion of this is listed first. The First Law of Thermodynamics states that energy can be neither created nor destroyed. However, energy can change forms, and energy can flow from one place to another. The total energy of an isolated system does not change. I'm not an isolated system (clearly!) but my goal is to get functionally stronger. Lift heavier things than I already do. To sprint more often. Change the form of my energy into something more dynamic; therefore: Lifestyle Take a break . . . like an ACTUAL break at work every day instead of just powering through. The goal is to take lunch every day, and morning and/or afternoon breaks a minimum of 3X week.Fitness During the morning and/or afternoon breaks walk down the stairs to the fitness center and do some minor stretching. During lunch breaks, 15 minute walk. The goal is to get in some movement during the day every day. Lift 3X per week and Sunday morning yoga every week during the challenge. 6 sets of 30 second sprints once per week.Diet Eat vegetables and/or fruits with every meal, weighted toward vegetables.Of all these goals, taking regular breaks is going to be the toughest. There is always a crisis or a question or a phone call or an email. Wish me luck!

Introduction: This is my first challenge! You can read my Battle Log here to learn more about me and my daily life, but the basics are that I'll be turning 26 on the very last day of this challenge, I'm a fitness blogger and a photographer, I work as a stripper, and I was a dance major back in college. I'm hoping that this challenge will keep me on track for working on my flexibility, which I've tried to improve for years but always let fall by the wayside pretty quickly. I'm also mostly recovered from disordered eating behaviours, so my goals may be a bit more vague than others because I don't let myself focus on calorie or weight numbers. Main Quest: Feel better, physically and mentally, about myself and my body by the end of winter. Quest 1: Do at least 20 minutes of yoga or stretching a day, at least 4 days a week. Measurement: A = 4 days a weekB = 3 days a weekC = 2 days a weekF = 0-1 day(s) a weekQuest 2: Drink at least 8 cups of water a day, averaged weekly. Measurement: A = averaging 8+ cups a dayB = averaging 6+ cups a dayC = averaging 4+ cups a dayF = averaging less than 4 cups a dayQuest 3: Increase upper body strength by doing 20 push-ups a day of any variety. Measurement: A = do push-ups 7 days a weekB = do push-ups 5+ days a weekC = do push-ups 4+ days a weekF = do push-ups fewer than 4 days a weekLife Quest: Go to two dance/aerials/fitness classes during the challenge. I want to try new things! Measurement: Pass = do 2+ classes during challengeFail = do fewer than 2 classesMotivation: I felt fantastic in college, my ED notwithstanding. I did yoga, Pilates, and numerous dance classes, and I ate more vegetables than I do now. I felt powerful, I was strong, and I miss feeling that way. I've always wanted to be a superhero-type person, nimble and agile and good, all while caring for myself and the people around me.

Hey, Rebels! I'm really looking forward to coming back to the NF forums and focusing on achieving my goals! When I was here before, I was sort of a part of the monks guild, but I rather like the idea of the rebel guild, so I think I'm going to stick around for a while. Its been an insanely difficult year for me, both life-wise and fitness-wise. 2015 has been the year of injuries for me: I started the year with some persistent achilles tendon issues, and then in March I strained by right hamstring. Just as that hamstring had finally healed, in June, I tore my left hamstring. >.< I'm a martial artist and a dancer--none of these injuries are conducive to those things. I spent the entire summer doing almost nothing, and I've struggled to get back into things as the summer turned to fall, and fall turned to winter. As a result of the inactivity (and probably more junk food than I typically eat), I've gained probably close to 25-30 lbs (I don't own a scale, and I don't really want to know...) I'm hoping to test for my third-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do late this summer, but I definitely am nowhere near where I'd like to be for that, fitness wise. Luckily, I've been there before (and not too long ago), so I know I can get there again. My fitness quests this month are designed to help me get back into old habits--so they're all things that I used to do in some way, shape, or form. I'm also in my last semester of law school, which definitely complicates my life more than I wish it would. My "level up your life" goal is related to that--I hope that by adding some structure around the most stressful part of my law school experience, I can relieve a little bit of anxiety for myself. So, without further ado, I present you, my quests! Dance goal: perform 3 rounds of a warmup/strengthening routine before each dance class. (I have it written down here at home, and I could publish it if people are interested, but it basically is just a few simple core/back strengthening exercises, some feet/ankle exercises, and some PT exercises to help strengthen my hamstring/supporting muscles) Tae Kwon Do goal: perform a 100 pushups workout 3 times/week. Note that I'm not actually doing 100 pushups--I can barely do ANY unmodified pushups right now (I used to be able to do like... 50). I just like the 100 pushups format as a way to build strength and endurance General Fitness goal: swim 1000 yds or more 2 times/week. I started swimming after I tore my hamstring and decided I was done with running for good. I love it! Life goal: Create calendar with all of my Law Review Editor assignments on it by January 10, and complete all of my assignments on time. I really effing hate being an editor on law review. Worst decision I ever made. But at least if I organize things, I can make myself less anxious about getting it all done? Soooo, yeah, we'll see how this goes. These feel ambitious, but since they're mostly things I've already done in the past (save for that law review thing), I think I can do it.

Now is time to let past failures remain in the past. Now is the time to dig deep and drive onward towards the reality of a fit warrior, fearsome on the battlefield, and handsome on his wedding day. I participate in heavy combat within the Society for Creative Anachronisms. For me to be a competitive fighter within the SCA, I need to pursue a level of physical fitness and discipline that dovetails perfectly with my larger quest for a fit and trim self. Completing this second attempt at a challenge will be a mighty step towards being the Viking warrior I envision myself being. Also, my wedding draws ever nearer, and I want my memory of it to include a happier, healthier self. Photographs won't lie, and my fiancé deserves the best version of me I can put forth. If I can be stronger, slimmer, and sleeker for her through pursuit of overarching efforts towards fitness, fantastic. Long Term Quests I will get my weight to 200# (from 250#), the re-calibrate my fitness path from there. An average loss rate of 1.5#/week will put me at 220# by my wedding date, which, while tough, seems doable.I will re-focus my diet​​​​ back to a majority of healthy vegetarian dishes, and eliminate the over-consumption of cheesy, starchy, and bread-y meals.Diet I will eat a healthy home cooked/prepped dinner a min 5x/week, and if ordering or dining out, opt for a healthy optionI will drink only black​​​ coffee or tea instead of sugary artificial energy drinkFitness​ I will do the Beginner Bodyweight Routine before work 2x/week, and try for M-W-FI will train on my pell pole for 30 mins at least once a week, and attend the bi-weekly local fighter practicesI will lose 6# by January 30 (avg. 1.5#/week) Life Goal I will sew myself a new Norse tunic​​​​​I don't think most of these are overambitious, as most points, save for the addition of BBW routine, are just an augmentation or continuation of my current practices.​ The biggest hurdle, I believe, will holding fast to a proper dietary practice, as a busy work schedule has proven a stumbling block in the past. I tend to resign myself to ordering out after work rather than cooking, or settling in and overeating in the evening. This will be my focus for the next four weeks; the rest will be important and pursued as such, but above all else, my eating habits will be brought under control.

Quest 1: No sugar (25xp) I want to stop my sugar cravings so for a month I will not eat anything with added sugar or fruit on its own. Quest 2: fitness (15xp) I'm doing 30 days of yoga of yogawithadriene and I have aerial dance classes two times a week, my second quest is to complete the thirty days and going to all my classes. Quest 3: Cartwheels (5xp) Cartwheels progression 3 times a week. Quest 4: Keeping my room clean (5xp) Everytime I go to the kitchen I will take any dirty dishes/trash i have. If I'm panning of using my clothes again i will put them in their place instead of leaving them on the floor. Every sunday I'll tidy up one part of my room.

Sooo... yeah. Hi. Is Forum Anxiety Disorder a thing? Because this is a lot harder to post than I thought it would be. Long-time Rebel reader, first time challenger. Assassins: see you next challenge! Diet goals Eat 1 vegetable with 1 meal each day No more than 2 sodas a week Fitness goal NF Beginner Bodyweight Workout 3x a week Level Up goal 10 minutes with my children each day participating in an activity that is not electronic ...and post. Yikes on bikes.

Main Quest: Get with the Program Quest 1: Get moving Complete 2 or more circuits of the NF Body weight workout three times each week. Goal here is to be able to do more/better each time. E.G. graduating from knee push ups to regular ones. 12 workouts. Quest 2: You are what you eat Track my food intake each day here on the NF forums. I need to keep myself accountable to someone, or else I end up having too many cheats. Things may not always get posted the day of here, but I'll have detailed records that will get posted at least once a week. 28 food journal entries. Quest 3: Meditate and Chill Meditate each day for 15 minutes. I find myself stressed out about nothing way to often. 7 hours of meditation. Side Quests: Quest 1: Be Creative Do one creative thing every day. Build something out of cardboard for fun, make new origami designs, write snippets of stories, play music, whatever. Just do it. 28 creative ventures.

Cerbermus here, mostly a lurker (lurking is what gargoyles do best), but I'm going to try to post more in the coming days... months... years... (baby steps). This is my third try at completing a challenge (third time's a charm, as they say). The first time I was doing really well though week four and then I unexpectedly moved from Georgia to Virginia (for a job - a much better, happier job). The move pretty much derailed the challenge. I tried to participate in October, but medical stuff came up and derailed me for that one too (medical stuff now resolved). So, here's a raised glass (of water, since I'm avoiding alcohol this challenge) to the third try! This gargoyle will make it to the top of the cathedral yet. My overall focus for this year is to be able to do more physically. I'm your typical NF participant - I work a sedentary job and I spend my free time reading, gaming, and doing calligraphy (more sitting!). I want to be able to be more active. It's cold here (and I hate the cold), so for the next few months, I'll be focusing on things I can do indoors (body weight training/calisthenics is where I'll be focusing the most this year anyway and, fortunately, I can do that in my home). Fitness Quests: 1. Eat Healthy Last year I lost 70lbs by eating healthier and counting calories. At the end of the year, however, I stopped counting and let myself slip into some bad eating habits. I'm tired of counting calories and, while I'm not quite where I wanted to be at the end of last year, I feel comfortable no longer counting as long as I eat healthy. To that end, for this challenge: I will avoid processed foods, processed sugar, most carbs and focus mostly on eating meat, veggies, fruits, and nuts. I will avoid drinks with excessive calories (coke, alcohol, etc.) and will drink primarily water, coffee, and tea. 26 days - A 25 days - B 24 days - C 23 days - D fewer than 23 days - F 2. Work out Last year I focused on weight loss. While I'm not quite down to the level I wanted to be at, I was getting bored with counting calories and working out for the purpose of losing weight. This year, I want to focus on being able to do more. With that in mind, this year I will be focusing on body weight training/calisthenics. For this challenge: Nerd fitness body weight routine + triceps dips and inverted rows three times a week. 12 workouts - A 11 workouts - B 10 workouts - C 9 workouts - D fewer than 9 - F 3. Wean myself off caffeine This is not exactly a fitness goal, but I need to be able to go without coffee starting February 10, so I figure this challenge period is a good time to make that happen. I love coffee. And currently, I need coffee to be human(e). Quitting cold turkey is not an option (headache/grouchiness to the extreme). So, to accomplish this week 1: 3 parts caffeinated coffee, 1 part decaf. week 2: 1/2 caf, 1/2 decaf week 3: 1 parts caffeinated, 3 parts decaf. week 4: If I can't go completely decaf, continue to slowly eliminate caffeine. I will consider myself successful if I can function well with less than 1 part caffeine in my morning coffee. Life Quest: Read the Summa Theologiae this year To accomplish this, I will need to read through Part 1, Question 58 this challenge (or, about 290 pages in the version I own), so I will need to read approximately 73 pages each week. (I've set it up so that if I get a little behind each month, I will have time at the end of the year to catch up and avoid failing the overall quest.) week 1: Part I, Questions 1-13 (pages 1-71) week 2: Part I, Questions 14-26 (pages 72-146) week 3: Part I, Questions 27-42 (pages 147-219) week 4: Part I, Questions 42-58 (pages 219-293)

This is my first challenge here. Some of this stuff I'm already doing, but I want to try to be more consistent with it. I saw some people are giving their challenge a theme so I wanted to give mine an Ace Attorney theme. Cross Examination Start Dizzard: I have very little energy in my life and I don't do much physical activity. Challenge One Fitness Do three reps of the Beginner Body Weight Workout, three times a week. (Mon, Wed, Fri) Dizzard: I'm often dehydrated and I spend a lot of time mindlessly snacking on crisps and biscuits. Challenge Two Diet Drink 2 bottles of water a day. (I guess it should be more but I'll have this as my baseline, it's a pretty big bottle)Eat one piece of fruit a day. (instead of crisps or biscuits) Dizzard: I'm an anxious person who gets down on themselves very easily and gets carried away with negative thoughts. Challenge Three Level Up Your Life Do 20 minutes of meditation every day. Also it's not included in the challenge since it starts in February after the challenge, but I signed up for a free Mindfulness Online Course if anyone else is interested in trying it out: https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/mindfulness-wellbeing-performance Is it ok to use gifs? I tried not to go overboard. I thought it might make me more invested and likely to stick with it if I tried to have some fun with setting it up. Now if I fail to keep up with my challenge Phoenix Wright is going to get me a guilty verdict. (This is also a great opportunity to find out who the cool people who like Ace Attorney are)