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Hi everyone, I'm starting my second challenge now, the first was a reasonable success, even though I'm always harsh on myself. http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/62304-better-very-very-late-than-never/ A little background, I decided to start worrying about fitness at the start of August 2014, since I was quite significantly overweight weighing about 95kg (210 pounds). I'm 6'3 tall, so that was quite overweight. In the next six weeks, I lost 10kg by eating less (but very badly) and working out almost every day doing relatively low intensity cardio workouts. From mid-September until Christmas, I worked out about twice every week on average, and lost 10kg again, bringing me to 75kg now (165 pounds). I went from not being able to do a single knee pushup in August to now being able to do over 20 incline pushups. In March, I discovered Nerd Fitness, which relaunched my motivation. I took my before picture after losing 20kg, which I find quite ironic. Since I've gone on a Paleo diet, except for Saturdays for carb cycling and social occasions. I also signed up for a karate class for the first time in a few years, I loved doing karate but when I tried a class in September I found it too physically challenging, since i was in very bad shape at the time. Bonus: what "race" do you think I am if I'm 6'3 with "normal" weight and somewhere between a thin and athletic build? Quest 1: Karate - After the last karate class of the school year, start doing 2 karate training sessions alone per week, including technical training and drilling combat techniques and katas OR an HIIT workout. A - 12 + total B - 10-11 total C - 8-9 total D - 6-7 total F - less than 6 total STA Quest 2: Workouts - I'll be doing an internship in Belfast this summer, I need to find a gym there and workout at least 3 times/ week while I'm there and twice/week before and until I'm there at home or in the local gym (I'm too lazy to check if I'll be there before the challenge ends) A - 12 workouts B - 11 workouts C - 10 workouts F - Less than 10 workouts STR Quest 3: Stretching - Do leg raises every morning, 20 on each side per leg, and a complete stretching routine at least once every 2 days. A - 21+ stretching routines and leg raises every morning A- - 20-21 stretching routines and leg raises every day, sometimes not in the morning B - 16-19 stretching routines and 30+ leg raises C - 12-15 stretching routines and 25+ leg raises F - Less than 12 stretching routines and less than 25 leg raises If there's a different grade between leg raises and stretching routines I'll average them and round down. DEX Quest 4: Life goal - My exams are in a few weeks from now, there are about 650 students in my university class, but so far I've gotten a good start this semester. A - Rank top 10 in my university B - Rank top 15 in my university C - Rank top 25 in my university F - Rank below top 25 in my university WIS

TiffanyD’s New Trait – Tactical Advantage In order to have a tactical advantage at all times you must be skilled, have clarity, and always prepared. My skill-set is growing! I can now deadlift my body weight, which was my big goal for this year (I guess I jumped the shark early on that one). Now that my strength has improved greatly through Strong Lifts I am switching to Strong Curves to A. Keep things fresh and B. Focus on training for the body traits I want. Skilled: Train at least 3 times a week (strong curves, weights, or a class), and hit at least 10k steps a day (or 1 good extra workout/heavy duty home project) every weekend. Worth 3 str & 2 dex points. I usually hit close to 10k on weekdays, but my weekends become a blur of cooking, some minor cleaning and video games so I need to focus on getting moving on the weekends more. My prep work for the week has gone by the wayside and I need to refocus on making it a priority again. I also want to eat in a way that my body is always working properly and ready for anything. Prepared: Eat no more than 1360 calories a day average, and track all meals via MFP. Make sure to get within 10g of 98g of protein a day. I get 3 "cheat" days that won't count towards average total, with 1 being for my 30th birthday. Worth 3 sta & 2 con points. Water is a vital thing for clarity of body and mind, I am going to continue create the habit of drinking enough each day. Clarity: Drink at least 80 oz of water per day. Worth 3 wis & 2 cha points. Life Goal: Clean up finances and stick to weekly spending budgets, and spend 15 min everyday cleaning up the house (with Ben).

Hi there NF members, Newcomer here and looking to try out a challenge. I play Ultimate 2-4 times per week with competitive club teams. I am capable of keeping up with the best for short periods and for playing two days straight in a tournament setting. However, my knees still feel those extra 15 lbs and I'd love to have a faster turn of speed and a better vertical. Currently sitting between 200-205 lbs at 6'2". Main Quest: To get (and stay) below 190lbs by the end of the next 6 week challenge (May 31). Methods to accomplish: Fewer sweets- my wife and I have a bad habit of baking brownies, cupcakes, cobblers and tarts. Dessert will now be once a week at most. Avoid unhealthy foods like pizza and breads, stick to protein and fat where possible.Start alternating bodyweight workouts with my frisbee to build some muscle.Making these cuts would be a LOT easier 15 lbs lighter:

This is a REALLY late entry, but I would really like to start improving my life through this activity. I'm currently exiting a moral spiral of doom, and I would never like to see one again. I want to start small and gear up for the next challenge. I would like to consider this as a tutorial. Main Quest: I want to look like a skinnier version of Wolverin, but also become stronger and healthy. Specific Goals: -Do Level 1 of the "No Gym Challenge" every day. -Eat Paleo for 16 out of 21 weekly meals. (5 quality cheat meals, no garbage or fast food) -Respect a sleep schedule of ~8 hours with natural sleep cycles. (1 cheat day a week, but only Friday or Saturday) Side Quest: -Keep desk clean. Motivation: -Girlfriend's grin upon seeing me shirtless washing car... (Hey! I needed something powerful!)

My name is Lyndsey, and this is my first 6 week challenge! I'm jumping in a little late, but with my anniversary coming up in exactly 4 weeks, I thought it would be a great time to set a goal and a deadline for myself. Main Quest: To get back into my size 16 jeans for our anniversary date. I'm somewhere around an 18 at the moment (which is insanity.) S.M.A.R.T. Goals/ Side Quests: #1 Exercise every day. Whether that is a workout, weight training, yoga, a nice walk- anything that makes me sweat. At least once a day, I want to feel like I need to go shower because I've worked so hard. #2 Eat better. Like, way better. And it's not that I eat terribly, it's that I'm gluten and lactose intolerant and I've ignored it to this point. Anything with gluten or lactose makes me desperately ill, but it's so hard to find food that accommodate even one of those allergies, let alone both of them. Turns out the paleo diet does exactly that, however, so it will be my goal to stick to it as best as possible. #3 Waste less time. I've been getting really bad about procrastinating. I've let my schoolwork go until it was too late because I wanted to watch another episode of Supernatural, or because I was pinning ides for cosplays. If I stopped wasting that time and spent it on, oh I don't know, exercising and reading? I'd probably be a lot happier, folks. We'll see. Motivation: My husband weighs literally 100 pounds less than I do. He's such a tall, lanky man- and nothing but muscle. He's so built. His problem is that he Can't gain weight, and I can't seem to lose it. He loves to rock climb and free run and jump off Everything. I want to do those things with him. I was just diagnosed with hypothyroidism and I'm getting some medicine for it next week, which will help get my energy and mood up, which I'm hoping helps motivate me to stick to my goals. I'm really excited for this, guys (:

I was ill when this challenge started but I've been okay for a few days now. I'm going to continue taking it easy for another week or so, but I don't want to loose the motivation gained from the last challenge (my longest lasting attempt at getting healthy). This past week I tried keeping a record of how much I've been eating but I've had trouble recording exactly how many kilojoules are in my meals. Overall I can say I'm lacking in protein and over doing the sugar. Quest – Overcome gravity. Goal 1 Do a bodyweight routine 3 times a week. Goal 2 Weed out bread and related foods. Probably not completely but significantly.

Introduction: Hi I’m Brian and this is my first challenge. I'm 32, I'm married, we have a toddler and I work mid-shift (my life currently doesn't lend itself to a prime schedule, but that doesn't mean I can't make it work). I'm currently performing what I call a "Deliberate" year and that means that I don't just accept what life gives me. It means that I deliberately choose the path for my life (though I understand that life will still try to stick its foot in every once in a while). That is where this post/challenge comes in. I see a change I want to make and instead of going into my head and internalizing it I'm going to get a good portion of my thoughts straight and then act. As a result this post won't be perfect, and I'm sure I'll do something wrong, but it doesn't matter because I simply need to act. I need to move. Nerdy interests: Doctor Who, Zombie/Apocolypse, Star Trek, Starwars, Superheros, Board Games. Main Quest: Be ready when the Doctor says "Run!" or at least when my kid does. Quest 1 (Sta): Wakey, wakey. Eggs and Bakey! I will open the blinds when my 1st alarm goes off! (A= 5/5, B= 4/5, C=3/5, F= >3 – Where did the daylight go?) Bonus points if I wake up without using the snooze feature (+1 if I get dressed and ready right away).Bonus points if I wake up and workout (+1 point a day). Quest 2 (Sta): Tire the Monster Out! Actively interact with the kid 5 days of the week (turn of the tv and do something different). (A=5/5, B=4/5, C=3/5, F= >3 – this kid doesn't stop, but you did.) Bonus points for any extra days (+1 for any extra half hour). Quest 3 (Wis): What am I even eating? Track food/drink consumed. The idea is to build habit of logging, not yet adjusting. (A=5/5, B=4/5, C=3/5, F= >3 – Was that even edible?). Bonus points if a healthier substitute is made as a result of logging (+1 per substitution). Bonus points if I submit my log onto my 6 week challenge page (+1 per weekly submission). Quest 4 (Cha): That's F*ing Cold! Take a 5-minute cold shower. This one is all about the mental benefits(http://impossiblehq.com/cold-shower-therapy).(A=5/5, B=4/5, C=3/5, F= >3 – I can still feel my toes). Life Quest: Make changes that stick around long after the motivation for change has gone away. I'm building habits that will lend themselves to more positive life outcomes. Motivation: Change, deliberate and uncomfortable change. I want to be able to play with my kid without hesitation, know what I'm eating, and actually be awake to do it all! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Points Week 1: 30 points (16,4,6,4) Points Week 2: 33 points (15,5,6,7) Points Week 3: 33 points (15,5,1,1) Points Week 4: 36 points (14,8,7,7) Points Week 5: 36 points (14,9,7,7) Points Week 6: 36 points (14,8,7,7) Total: 205 Rewards: I don't know yet.

This is my first challenge and my first time ever posting in Nerd Fitness. I was actually always afraid to post in the forum (it seemed scary!), but after reading Steve's post last week about making friends, it didn't seem so scary anymore. I finished my 2nd Whole 30 this past January, and while it went awesome I find that I am having a hard time "riding my own bike" with paleo afterwards. While I am great when there are strict rules, I realize that's not super realistic for everyday life. I've been olympic lifting for about 6 months now and while I love my tribe at the gym, I feel that I need more support when it comes to nutrition. I also need to be more active in general (other than going to the gym), I sit a lot at work and that's definitely not great for me. Main Quest: Be more active in my everyday life and eat paleo the majority of time (with room for some life celebrations ). If losing some fat happens to be a by-product, I won't be mad, but I do not want weight loss to affect my performance in the gym. Mini-Quests: 1. Be more active: 1a. Set a timer at work so every hour I get up and move a little. Whether it's a walk around my departments floor or some air squats. 1b. Do something active outside the gym 1x/week (on a non-workoutday). I lift about 3-4x/week. On the day(s) where I don't go to gym I will do something physical. Ideally, when it's warmer out I want go for a mile walk, but until then I will settle for anything! Even if it's just foam rolling. 2. Eat dinner following a paleo template 5 out of 7 nights of the week. When it comes to breakfast and lunch I'm great about eating well. Somehow when I get home, I'm tired and end up snacking instead. I think 5 nights out of the week is doable. 3. Spend 2-3 hours on Saturday or Sunday cooking meals for the week so I have dinner ready to hit the microwave when I get home from work. Lifestyle Goal: I'm currently pursuing a Ph.D. in physiology and life with that can get busy. I work crazy hours (aka all the hours of all the days) and sometimes I will get caught up in experiments and push important work (grant writing, blech!) aside. My pre-doctoral fellowship is due April 8th and my goal is to turn it in 10 days early. To do this I will set aside a few hours each day to only work on my grant and that's it. Ultimately, I want to partition my day so it is more structured (ie. experiment time, writing time, statistic/data analysis time). I think this will be a good start.

I was around for the last 6 week challenge, but didn't post. This time will be different! As a first time challenge, I was unsure of how to format this. Should I write an actual story? Should I make a lot of nerdy references and make it funny? Well, I decided to just go with the bare bone basics and put it all out there, naked and honest. So here goes! My Main quest will be to start the official path to a healthier me by losing 15lbs. I went paleo for about a month and loved it. Then things got a little hectic with moving back home after my husband came back from being out to sea. So the main quest is to start it all officially and stick to it! 1. Go Paleo: It's worked before, now just need to keep it going. 2. Start an every other day workout of the body weight workout. 3. Keep it up even when the schedule fluctuates. Going out to dinner, entertaining friends, game days/nights are no excuse to fall back to old habits. The main problem I found was letting myself slip back to bad habits out of comfort and familiarity. For game time I'm planning to pick better snacks that fit my paleo ways (this is the big one!), make the better choice when out to dinner or entertaining, and to not let any excuse be good enough to not workout. As a side quest, I'm making a life goal to level up my communication and confidence skills. Instead of going with whatever is presented, I'm going to speak my mind and open up about what my thoughts are, others opinions of me be damned. I've spent too many years worrying about what others think of me, when all that really matters is what I think of myself when I'm alone. I'm going to focus on these as my first time goals for the 6 week challenge and gage by pass or fail (not too sure about dealing with stats and such just yet, so I'm going to make it as was as possible to start!). Game nights to watch out for: Tuesday/Thursday raid night, Saturday D&D night! Lets do this! Leroooooooooooooy...

The title is probably about as role-playey as I will get with this challenge, but it feels right: picture an intrepid wanderer who has spend many years walking the lands yet steering clear of those parts of the map that show dragons. Recently, she finds that she wants to go into more distant lands, but all of her available paths go through dragon territory. She realizes she must learn how to face them. She looks at her inventory and grimly pulls out the most weapon-like thing she can find -- a titanium spork. "OK," she says to herself, "Let's start with some very small dragons." Main Quest: Overcome akrasia. There are many facets of this for me, but the one that needs the most work at the moment is probably learning how to better manage my anxiety and stress. Goal #1: Meditate for 10 minutes for at least 5 days each week. Goal #2: Do a yoga session as an end in itself, not as a warmup for other activities, once each week. Goal #3: Do something productive between the hours of 6 am - 9 am every weekday. This is my biggest slump time right now. Productive things can include: respond to an email, make myself a lunch, meditate, exercise, minor household chores, write something, work on a hobby. They do not include: make and eat breakfast, read the internet, read email, get dressed, transport self to work (even though these are all welcome things to do). It should be an activity that can be started as well as completed in a fairly short period of time. The intended goal is to undercut some of my morning procrastination. Life Goal: Finish updating my resume. I'm not currently looking for a new job or anything, but I want to revise it and have it on hand as a general preparedness kind of deal. I want to rewrite it to be accomplishments-based rather than skills-based. (Pass/Fail) I will check in on at least a weekly basis. There will be periods when I can check in more frequently, but my work schedule is such that I am in remote places every now and then, or at least extremely busy. I'm going to grade myself academic style: less than 59% = F, 60%-69% = D, 70%-79% = C, 80%-89% = B, 90%+ = A. Motivation: Finishing things I start feels good, and I really ought to try it more often.

This week I start my second challenge both with the rangers and for the year. Last challenge had a great middle, I hit my stride by finding something that clicked with me and got me to the gym, and I saw good results. Family coming to visit (and me trying my best to de-bachelor my boyfriend’s home because of it) as well as a ton of meetings at work during my lunch break (my favorite time to work out) side tracked me at the end. I still learned a lot, and now I KNOW I can do it. This Challenges Focus: Signet of Stone – Passive Boost to Toughness (Outer Strength) Training – To be tough you must train. 3 weight training days, 2 cardio days, and a walk 20-30min every day. Worth +4 Str +2 Dex (Inner Strength) Food – This has been my most difficult wall to break through, but to be tough you must feed your body healthy things, not crap. During this challenge I will track all my food via TwoGrand (TiffanyD if anyone else is on there), I’m going to write in the comment calorie info when it’s available, and I am going to focus on eating no more than 1450 calories a day (my protein shake post SL 5x5/Crossfit will not be counted). I am not having anything be “off limits†this go around. Worth +3 points (tbd) (Resilience) Water – In order to be tough you need to be hydrated, I will drink a minimum of 2.2 liters of water a day (9, 8oz cups). Worth +2 to Con My life goal this time around is to be nicer to myself. I am the type that refuses to expect something out of people that I don’t expect from myself, so I can be very critical. I don’t think anyone should be as harsh on themselves as I am to me, and I need to change that. I will be completing the love your body challenge here.

Hello everyone! After recommendation from a friend and newfound desire to get past this plateau I've been on for years, I decided to join Nerd Fitness! Main Quest Goal #1: To run my first 5k in a time that I'm proud of. My personal record running a 5k by myself was about 27:54, which is about a 9 MPH pace. I want to take this down to 8:30/mile if possible. I'm planning on training 3-4 days a week doing intervals and maybe distance once a week, but the 5k I'm planning on running is in a little over 3 weeks. So I need to get going on this! I'm training in Denver and running at sea level in Miami, so hopefully this helps a bit too come race day. Goal #2: I've been doing weight machines in the gym for a long time, and some simple dumbbell stuff, which has gotten me this far. I can now do 2 pull-ups and 5 chin-ups thanks to training on the assisted pull-up machine, I usually curl 25 or 30 lb dummbells, and I think I'm decently strong. But I don't think I've improved in quite a while. I'm not sure if I have to push myself more or that I'm not getting enough protein or something - it's not that I want to bulk up, but I'd still like to see some more definition. I'm at less than 15% body fat (it was last measured a few weeks ago at 13.3%, but I have a feeling those readings are not always accurate), about 5'6" and 120 lbs, but I want people to look at me and know that I'm strong. Right now I kind of look skinny and like a runner, which I'm not. My goal here is to start doing other excercises regularly that I'm not used to, like squats, burpees, and push-ups. Any other recommendations would be helpful, because I honestly don't know that much about exercises that aren't weight machines or cable machines. By the end of this 6-weeks I'd like to look different and feel stronger. I'm planning on doing these exercises during the same days that I'm training for the 5k. Side Quest I eat relatively healthy but I consume too much alcohol. I really like whiskey and beer, and now that I've moved to CO, I'm surrounded by awesome microbreweries that I want to try. And when I get there I want to try every beer they have. I am cutting this down to drinking once or twice a week maximum. A single beer with dinner still counts. I think this will not only cut down on the stomach fat that I'm pretty sure is due to alcohol, but also hopefully help my skin look better. Thanks for reading. I'm excited to get involved in the community here and to hopefully finally see some improvements in my life!

Hey everybody, Hows it going? Are you ready for this next 6 week challenge? I am. My first challenge went pretty well. It definitely helped to keep me accountable for my water intake. I'm getting better about drinking at least 64 oz of water a day, but not there yet. Below are my goals and the scores assigned to them for completion. A little about me: I am an IT guy and I play emo rock in my free time (theeffieafton.bandcamp.com). When I'm not doing those things I like to play Magic the Gathering, video games, Dungeons and Dragons, as well as read comic books. In June I went to my doctor for a gout inflammation and weighed in at 347 lbs. I began my journey on December 1st. I started changing my diet and exercising regularly. The first time I weighed myself since June was December 6th (when I bought a scale) and I was at 329.1 lbs. I have been eating clean (mostly, though not paleo) since December 1st and can't imagine going back to the way it was. I don't feel like I'm missing anything or deprived. I feel healthy and strong. As of last Friday (weekly weigh-in), I was at 300.7 lbs. I'm hoping to cross the 300 lb threshold tomorrow morning at my weigh-in. Goals ++ Increase Squat weight by 40 lbs (+4 STR) ++ Drink 64 oz of water every day (+4 CON) ++ Get down to 285 lbs (+3 CHA, +2 DEX) ++ Get an A in my programming class (+2 INT)

Hey all, I just completed my first challenge it went pretty well. Initially, I thought I was going to be a ranger, but in the last 2 1/2 months in the gym, I've learned 2 things. 1) I love lifting. 2) I hate cardio. I think Warrior is the correct path for me. At least at this point in my journey. A little about me: My name is Tim. I am an I.T. guy, and attending college for programming. I write indie rock music (which can be enjoyed at theeffieafton.bandcamp.com if you're curious), and am also helping to raise my girlfriend's daughter. I want to get healthy for me and my own self confidence, so I like the way I fit into clothes, and so I can be the best person I can be for my family-to-be. Back in November, I was filling up my third plate of leftovers when my girlfriend made a comment about how much I was eating. It made me feel incredibly insecure, and I thought maybe I'd be more attractive to her if I was in shape. I began working out and changing my eating and nutrition habits on December 1st. At that point, the last time I'd been weighed was in June and I was 347 lbs. Today I am at 300.7 and I'm hoping to cross the 300 mark this week. I've gone down 2 sizes in jeans and I think I'm going to need to go down another soon. I'm feeling great, and I've decided that eventually I want to be able to compete in the men's physique division of a bodybuilding competition. I'm really excited for the next 6 week challenge and to go through it with all of you. Does anybody know when it typically begins?

That is a fantastic title, I'm fairly proud of myself for that! Anyway, I feel that missing more than 2 weeks of the current challenge is enough to want to wait until the next one starts to officially log there. That is to say, I will still sort out and start on my goals RIGHT NOW, but I won't join a 6-week challenge until the next one starts (Feb 23 - April 5 I believe is the next one) So a preview and toe-dipping-to-check-the-temperature is what this is, I suppose. There's always room for tweaks and scootching to adjust for the busying of schedules or for more leisure time as it comes along. MAIN QUEST: It resides in my signature~ inspired by Daft Punk's song "Harder Better Faster Stronger" and Might Guy from Naruto, I never want to actually be able to finish this goal. So, my goal is to be better than my past self. YEAH FOREVER-GOALS! My current goals to achieve the fundamentals of my main quest are as follows: EDITS IN BOLD Goal #1: Mostly Vegetarian, Mostly Paleo Inspired by: Everyone who's ever picked on me for eating a vegetarian meal. Please note: I am not a vegetarian. I just don't eat a whole lot of meat products, they tend to be a smaller part of my diet because I prefer vegetables. Someone once told me this meant I was "Mostly Vegetarian", and I laughed pretty hard not gonna lie. I told one of my vegetarian friends about it and they got upset to the point of being offended, which I thought was strange but hey- to each their own.Plot Point: Reduce grain intake and replace with more proteins and healthy fats. I mean I love veggies, but they're not gonna keep the engine running all by their lonesome. Veg intake is already optimal.How-to: Replace at least 1 grain product per day with a protein/fat combo (ei: replace veggie burrito with lettuce wrap + meat/nuts, replace sandwich with raw almonds, ect) watch portions - make sure to have ≥ of veg instead of going nuts later and filling up on potatoes/breadGoal #2: Walk to Mordor Inspired by: The Lord of the Rings & Nerd Fitness! Great movie/article. I have a good activity level, but it's kind of sporadic and dependent on other peoples presence (my mother at the gym, my co-worker for bouldering, my sister for Just Dance Wii, ect)Plot Point: Walk places, or around. Don't have to go anywhere necessarily, but motivation always helps! Instead of paying an extra $3 to go 5 km from work to the next bus stop, walk. 0.75 km from the grocery store on the way home to buy those raw almonds instead of asking someone to pick it up. It's a beautiful, fresh-aired day, walk the 11 km to the local nature park and back, plus whatever wandering happens at the park! Anything counts.How-to: Walk a total of 25 km (15 miles) per week walk 5 minutes/day minimum - first thing after breakfastGoal #3: BAT-CAVE!!! Inspired by: Batman & Nerd Fitness (I spy a theme here)Plot Point: My living areas are pretty chaotic, it's not good. Definitely need more order and organization in that department.How-to: Do one thing, every day, to improve the overall functionality of my batcave living spaces. Can be cleaning, dusting, re-organizing all of my mothers DRAGONLANCE books (that last one takes hours though, maybe for an especially enthusiastic day) order of importance/rooms to focus on first: Computer room, kitchen, bedroom, living room.Goal #4: Finish This Challenge Inspired by: Every other challenge/goal that I have not finishedPlot Point: I habitually quit after a week or two for most things. No longer. I am now someone who finishes what I start or has the sense of mind to not start that thing.How-to: Keep a day-to-day journal. Post a cumulitive report online once a week (Friday) I opted to replace one of my diet/fitness goals with another life goal because that last one is fairly important. It's not looking at my failures in life and trying to be motivated by regret. I've accomplished a lot since I decided I wanted to be healthy: Lost 45 lbs Started exercising again Made new friends Go out of my way to socialize instead of complaining about being lonelyand then some more, so it's more looking at my failures and seeing how I can better myself from them (see: main goal). And this all starts today, right now. After I post this, I'm going to go wash todays dishes (goal #3) and then I'm going to check out what food-stuff we have so I can plan tomorrow's breakfast (goal #1). I'm not going to put too much pressure or planning behind this, because I know it doesn't work and I'm only moderately insane. So tomorrow's goal achieving plans will be made tomorrow, likely right before I do them. It's 11:01PM here in Canada, I wish you all a good night! Happy Tuesday~ -Rebecca

Main Quest Improve overall fitness and Health. Goal Weight is approx. 165 lbs (currently 150 lbs); Bench Press 100 lbs; Curl 30 lbs; Run 5k with no break. Actual body weight can vary however an increase should be expected. Challenge Quest 1: Complete all of my workouts for the next 6 weeks. I scheduled 4, 30-45 minute workouts in the week. Sunday: · 20 minutes of stretching (yoga) · crunches 15 x 2 · standard plank 1 minute Tuesday: · 50lbs squats 8 x 4 · 50lbs lunges 8 x 4 · 20lbs dumbbell curls 8 x 3 · 20lbs overhead dumbbell extensions 8 x 2 (per side) · Dips 8 x 3 · Hip rises 8 x 3 Wednesday: · 60lbs bench press 8 x 5 · Elevated push ups 8 x 3 · 10lbs flies 8 x 4 · Crunches 15 x 2 Friday: · Crunches 15 x 2 · 60lbs bench press 8 x 5 · 20lbs dumbbell curls 8 x 3 · Elevated push ups 8 x 3 · Dips 8 x 3 21 – 24 /24 = A 19 – 20 /24 = B 16 – 18 /24 = C 12 – 15 /24 = D Less than 12 = F Attributes: A = STR +1 DEX +2 STA +2 B = STR +1 DEX+1 STA +1 C = no attribute points Challenge Quest 2: Eat 3 large meals per day plus snacks and consume 2 1L bottles of water. Ensure meals contain a variety of fruits or vegetables, and protein sources. 113 - 126/126 = A 100 – 112/126 = B 88 – 100/126 = C 63 – 88/126 = D Less than 63 = F Attributes: A = CON +3 STR +2 B = CON +2 STR +1 C = no attribute points Challenge Quest 3: Consume 2 1L bottles of water daily. 75 - 84/84 = A 67 - 74/84 = B 58 – 66/84 = C 42 – 57 = D Less than 42 = F Attributes: A = CON +1 STR +1 DEX +1 WIS +2 B = CON +1 WIS +1 C = no attribute points

It's Tough Out There I don't think i'd be far off the mark if I said that everyone taking the six week challenge is going to need a bit of a push sometimes, and I also don't think i'd be far off the mark if I said that everyone enjoys a good motivational prompt. Especially if said prompt is a gif of Snow White high-fiving her seven dwarves. #GoTeam SO PLEASE - Throughout the next 6 weeks, let's fill this thread with motivational quotes, gifs, images and videos whenever you come across them, so that we can all have a constant stream of random goodness flowing into our challenge addled minds

JoeBlend – Lv 2 Simian RangerMain Quest:I will unlock my simian beast mode, dropping fat, gaining muscle, doing things I've never done before, and taking tangible steps toward a career in the IT world. Training Quests: 1. I will strength train three days per week, following Jason Blaha's ICF 3x5 strength/bodybuildingprogram. Reward: STR+2, STA+2 A: 16+ days B: 14-15 days C: 12-13 days D: 10-11 days 2. 3 days a week, on non-strength days, I will walk or run at least 2 miles beyond my usual 0.8 mile walk to and from the Dudes' school. Reward: STA+3, DEX+2 A: 16+ days B: 14-15 days C: 12-13 days D: 10-11 days 3. I will photograph each meal (starting 1/6/15 as I just decided to do the challenge a few minutes ago) before eating, to give myself a better idea of what's going into my body, and to help remind me to make better decisions. Reward: WIS+2, CON+1 A: 37+ days B: 33-36 days C: 29-32 days D: 25-28 days Side Quest:1. I need to complete an industry certification to move forward with my educational goals, so I will study for, and schedule the test for the MCTS 70-680 certification by 2/15/15. Reward: WIS+3 This one is pass/fail. If the test has been scheduled by the end of the day on 2/15/15, I get an A. If I haven't scheduled the test because I don't feel ready or for any other reason, I get an F.

Hi, I'm Kurai! I'm 27 year old female 5'8 and 245 pds currently. When I first started reading NerdFitness in early december I was actually at least 5 pounds heavier! Five pounds, not much, but I haven't actually been exercising yet! Just watching what I eat and trying to eat sorta paleo (I'm not ready to give up dairy yet). I work a rather sedentary but really high stress job. I have a bit of an obsession with Transformers and Doctor Who at the moment among other things. I'm not going to even try the stat points or character customization this time. Maybe next time. Main Quest: To reach a goal weight of ~200 by the end of 2015 This goal seems nearly unreachable to me, but I was actually amazed that after I stopped drinking soda around March 2014 I actually lost 20 pounds! I didn't even realize that I had been at 270 until I went back and looked at my food diary charts. So perhaps this is achievable. I haven't weighed under 220 since middle school! SMART Goals Eat at least 1 Paleo meal per day Do a modified Beginner Bodyweight Workout 3x a week Try a new healthy recipe 1x per weekI will grade myself weekly. Paleo Meals: A=7 B=6 C=5 D=4 F≤3 Bodyweight Workout: A=3 C=2 D=1 F=0 Healthy Recipe: Pass or Fail I'm going for a modified Bodyweight Workout because I am not very strong *yet* and cannot physically do the exact exercises at this time. I'll work up to it. Life Quests Complete Khan Academy Algebra Basics (I am relearning Algebra, so I can relearn Trig, so I can actually learn Physics) I am currently at 74%2015 Book Reading Challenge. I am starting this along with a few of my coworkers. At least 1 book per week. Motivation To be a healthier me I have several health issues, some of which have obesity as a cause, and some which have obesity as a symptom. I would very much like to kick these diseases to the curb but I cannot. I can however do my best to get a handle on my weight itself. In turn I will feel better and be able to do the things I want to do without feeling tired. Week One Paleo Meals - B BBWW - C Healthy Recipe - F Week Two Paleo Meals - A BBWW - A Healthy Recipe - A Week Three Paleo Meals - A BBWW - A Healthy Recipe - A Week Four Paleo Meals - A BBWW - A Healthy Recipe - A Week Five Paleo Meals - A BBWW - A Healthy Recipe - A Week Six Paleo Meals - B BBWW - A Healthy Recipe - A

My first attempts (about a month ago) at coming up with quests and goals went along the lines of: Main quest – find motivation. I've since improved that to – Have more energy to accomplish things. I know I have more energy during the day when I get up around 5am after a good nights sleep. However in the last few months I've fallen into a pattern of going to bed between 1-1:30am and getting up at 10 or later. To that end my goals are: 1. Change sleep patterns Go to bed 10min earlier each night for the first 3 weeks and then make 10pm a habit. 2+3. Exercise to get more energy (I've heard that works) Follow the beginner bodyweight routine 3 times a week (hopefully by the end of six weeks I'll be able to do an actual pushup). Walking (outside) 10mins or more a day. I realize I'm a day behind already. I'll add that to the end.

Hey Rangers, My name is Tim. This is my first 6-week challenge ever. It seems like a pretty cool thing. I have quite a few goals, so this will be smaller versions of those. A little about me: I am an I.T. guy for a call center and as of this month I am also a college student again. I am taking a programming class and will slowly but surely be getting my degree while working full time and getting healthy. I have a lot of leveling up to do. Back at the beginning of December, I decided to change my lifestyle and lose weight. I have gout and during a flare-up in June, tipped the scales at 347.0 lbs. This didn't motivate me to begin exercising, although I did slightly alter my eating habits. Around Thanksgiving, I decided that weight loss would be my New Years Resolution. I decided that if this was the case, I needed to begin researching it so I'd be ready when the time came. I began to read about workouts and nutrition daily. After a week, I decided that I couldn't wait until January to start. I was way too excited about it, so I started on December 1st. I didn't weigh myself on December 1st to find out what my starting weight was (I didn't have a scale at the time), so my first weigh-in since June was on December 6th. My nerves were jello as I stepped onto the scale for the first time in 6 months. Did I weigh more? Less? Was I even doing anything useful? My nerves were put to rest when the scale showed 329.1 lbs. Since then, I have gotten my weight down to 315.6 lbs. I work out 6 days a week (unless something comes up). I try to do 3 days of lifting and 3 days of cardio, although lately I've been doing more lifting than cardio. When I lift, I am doing circuits, so in between sets, i'm doing seated crunches on the bench. My heart rate gets just as high as it does when I do cardio. I really don't like running, but I think a lot of that has more to do with how out of shape I am and how much I suck at breathing while doing it. Nutrition has also become very important to me. Most days, I eat 200-250g of protein, 150g of carbs, and 50-75g of fat. This adds up to 2500-2700 calories a day. My RDI is something like 3500 calories/day. I keep track of all of my food using MyFitnessPal. My name is tgsmith489 on there if you'd like to follow me. Now for my goals: + Increase Bench Press by 25 lbs (+4 STR, +1 CHA) + Be able to jog 0.5 mile at speed of 5mph. (+3 STA, +2 DEX) + Drink 64 oz of water at least 6 days of the week. (+3 CON) ++ Side quest++ - Get up to $300 in savings. (+2 WIS)

Hi all, My name is Laurie and this is my first challenge. I’m a single mom to an awesome 7-year old boy and as fun as it is, I often have trouble eating healthy meals and finding time to exercise. When I do have time at night I've spent too much of it playing Dragon Age Inquisition and not enough taking care of myself! Here are my intentions for the next six weeks: Main Quest: Lose 20 Pounds by May 1, 2015 SMART Quests Lose 6 pounds by February 15. Enter all food daily into Lose It app –stay under recommended calorie allowance.Do YAYOG or rock climbing 4 times per week. If long session not feasible, do 7-Minute Workout app. Will track in Way of Life AppMeditate at least 10 minutes every day and track in Way of Life app Life Quest Get my home dialogue recording studio in order and record ready by end of this challenge Motivation My motivation is to be proud of my body and not cringe when I look in the mirror. I want to feel like myself again, only stronger and more ass-kicky J Good luck everyone!

I'm so pumped right now! Yeah! I found the NF website through the Geek Fitness panel at a local Sci-Fi Convention here in Minnesota. I didn't realize until recently you can still participate even if you can't afford the academy! Count me in! My Main Quest: Obtain a BMI of 21 Goal 1: Go 86% Vegan I plan to eat completely vegan with one exception (ranch dressing) 6 of 7 days a week. The Day 7 (either saturday or sunday) I still plan to eat mostly healthy but I will allow myself to have some animal products. Goal 2: Exercise! I built a plan 5/7 days per week. 20-30 minutes per day. I want to still to Tabata/HIIT 2x and Zombies!Run 3x. But, as long as I'm "moving" 20-30 minutes (Yoga, etc.) I will count it. I can always get increasingly strict as my willpower levels up. Goal 3: Log it. I got a Jawbone Up!24 for christmas, between that and the forums I will log my progress. (Woo! Stats ^.^)

I am new to this whole Quest/ challenge But I am giving it a go! 2015 is my year. I am a desk working by day and a massage therapy student by night. I am currently at 250-255lbs. At my heaviest I was 275-280. I lost about 35 lbs and have since put back some of that weight. Due to bad habits,emotional eating along with stress a sick family member . Weight loss is a big goal of mine and many good things are happening in my life it is now or never so I am going all in. I have all my chips on the table and I am DOING this. Main Quest Lose weight I am currently at 250 - 255 lbs and would like to lose 25lbs by the end of April. My main goal is to weigh 175lbs or less. I know it will be hard work but I can do it! Life Goals: Fit in to wedding dress and look fabulous (it may be a while but still) Skydive and not have to pay extra because of my weight Challenge goals/ quests Change diet to cut out the unhealthy things and focus on delicious healthy food. January 2015 I will be doing a Whole 30 and after the month is over I would like to keep eating paleo. Fast food is not my friend.It doesn't even taste good. A = Whole30 compliant with no slip ups B= 1 meal a week not compliant C= 2 -3 meals not compliant D = 4+ meals F= Any whole day not eating paleo or whole30. Do the Level one Dumbbell workout or Body weight level 2 workout 3 times a week A= 3 workouts completed every week B= Workouts started but not competed C= Skip a workout D= Skip two workouts F= skip 3 workouts Move while I am at work set alarms and walk around during the day instead of sitting at the desk all day. Take stairs instead of the elevator. Its only 6 floors. Jes!

Hey y'all, so I've been following NF for over a year now, but this is my first time participating in a 6 week challenge. I've been lifting on and off for about a year or so, but just got back into it with a solidly structured program (Strong Lifts 5x5) about a month ago. I tend to eat mostly paleo, but the last two months I've totally gone off the rails with holidays, weddings, and general laziness. I'm currently doing my second Whole 30 as a bit of a nutritional reset, but it's mostly how I eat anyways, so that's not a huge thing for me to deal with right now. Anyways, here are my three goals for this challenge: 1. Gym 3x a week to follow my program, which should lead to these lifting numbers for me: Squat - 195 lbs Bench press - 82.5 lbs Barbell row - 92.5 lbs OHP - 72.5 lbs Deadlift - 210 lbs 2. Clean paleo eating every day, but also eating enough (4 meals a day with ~6oz protein at each meal) 3. 8 hours of sleep every night My life goal for this challenge is to read 3 books over the course of the challenge. I recently got quite a few of Foucault's works and would like to make a decent dent in them over the next 6 weeks. Alexis_not_thecar, level 1 Amazon Warrior STR 3|DEX 1|STA 1|CON 3|WIS 3|CHA 4