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Hi, I've been a lurker here on NF for a couple of years now. I've been trying to step up my involvement because I know that being more involved/having more like-minded friends will probably help me to my goals (and it's always good to know more fitness-minded nerds!). However, I kinda suck at keeping in touch/keeping up with the forums, and my fitness and nutrition journeys are both rollercoaster-like in my ability to keep at them. What I would love is someone who I can message frequently who will kick my ass into gear (nicely) who I can similarly encourage and motivate. I'm interested in paleo (ish) eating, lifting and yoga, and my gym also has heaps of high-intensity classes designed to lose weight, and a bunch of strength classes to improve form. I want to change my mindset from someone who's all or nothing (I lost 9 kilos in 6 weeks recently, but failed to keep the momentum going and have almost put it all back on again already) to someone with a healthy lifestyle who can occasionally eat off-plan without being completely derailed. I'm 24, female, and I live in Melbourne, Australia. I want to make 2016 my year. Can anyone help me out?

Bards, Paladins, Innkeepers, Clerics, Healers (and more?) of All Guilds... TAG! You're IT! A tag matching system to help nerds find other nerds of the same role-play occupation... With the new changes on Nerd Fitness, the old questions of "Why don't we have a Bard's guild?" or "How can I best find other nerds with the same 'class/occupation/interests'?" have surfaced again. After reading people's ideas on the CHALLENGE AND CLASS CHANGES AND UPDATES thread, I realized we don't need any new features or additional guilds. We have the necessary tool already at hand! All it will take is for a few good nerds to band together and teach people to hack the existing tag system to good advantage. The beauty of this approach (beyond the fact that it means no extra work for the hard-working NF admins and site team!) is that it is totally configurable, readily available, and should be able to adapt to any of the new features and changes that will appear on Nerd Fitness in the coming months. Are you with me? What I'd like to do is start a sort of "meta-accountability group" team that would help connect nerds that want to play "tag" to be more accountable to each other. What I see this group doing is to make up a list of suggested tags, and then fanning out across the forums to let people know that there is a way to connect with others of similar interests, whatever their guild affiliations may (or may not) be. This approach to tagging can work independently of the guilds, as the occupations that are most mentioned/requested cross guild lines, much like most of the regular accountability groups. And I believe that once a little coordination is in place, it could encourage "tag" groups to form their own accountability groups as well, thus strengthening the entire system. My hope is that this method will help people feel more at home in their guilds, appreciating the camaraderie and help system already there, and also fulfill the concurrent need to connect with others of similar interests across guild lines. Who wants to play "TAG"? You can sign up to be a guild-focused flagger and/or an occupation-focused tagger. Both roles are needed, but have slightly different responsibilities. Everything below is really just a simple perception shift from "class" or guild-based thinking, to "occupation" based thinking. Guild Flaggers are nerds who know one guild well and have connections to many individuals within it. They work within their existing guild to let those they see looking for like-minded people know that there is a way to connect with people of similar "occupation" outside of or across guilds. This can be done via challenge threads, posts in guild chat threads, or PMs, by providing links to the tag spreadsheet we will create as part of this group and by providing instructions on how to tag a topic post. Occupation Taggers are people who know quite a few people in more than one guild and most likely have connections to a number of individuals with similar interests, regardless of their guild affiliation. They work with anyone they see looking for like-minded people and let them know that there is a way to connect with people of similar "occupation" whatever their guild affiliation. This can be done via challenge threads, posts in interest-related forums (general forums, accountability groups, PVPs, battle logs, etc.), or PMs, by providing links to the tag spreadsheet we will create as part of this group and by providing instructions on how to tag a topic post. As a "meta-accountability group," I expect most people interested in doing this will be rebels of some experience who find that giving something back to the NF community is fulfilling and helpful to their own challenges. That said, you don't have to many challenges behind you or know a lot of people to do this. The only pre-requisite is to be willing to reach out when you see the opportunity. GUILD FLAGGERS DarK_Raider Raxie Rurik the Ranger shaarawy ShadowLion OCCUPATION TAGGERS darkfoxx LadyShello mr_willes NeverThatBored SkiBlue Introduce yourself below and let me know if you want to be a tagger or a flagger.

"You refer to the prophecy of The One who will bring balance to the Force..." "You were the chosen one... You were to bring balance to the Force, not leave it in darkness!" Ever since reading this article, I have wanted to be part of the type of Jedi council it describes. I simply never acted on it until now. I will be taking it quite literal with a Jedi theme. All Star Wars fans welcome. Onto the lore. There exists a recon special ops team within the Resistance. They were simply referred to over radio as "Vision squad," or Vision for short, and the name stuck.They work closely with the Alpha squad on the front line, relaying information and providing support via stealth missions as needed.Recently, the Force has awakened in the galaxy, and a certain number of the Vision squad have found new power.Unsure of what to do with it, they have decided to keep it to themselves, and have grown even closer because of it. I would like this council to be tight-knit and consist of 8 members. Ideally, 4 mentors and 4 mentees, all working together to complete their missions. I have created a Discord server (alternative to Skype) for us to use for meetings and hangouts: Vision Discord server It can be used in your web browser (limited features) or in a full-featured, low resource client. It also has a mobile app.

Let's level up! If you are looking to work on your goals with someone else I can be your Sidekick! So I am a woman in my 30's and I live in Upstate New York, in Albany. I'm a Druid...I love dance, yoga, biking, helping others and lots of artistic endeavors. I am recently recovering from injury. My aim is to tighten up my muscles, continue strength training, yoga and a bit of weight loss. I am also curious about basic Krav Maga techniques, which I hope will help boost my self-confidence as I just moved into the city. I hope to find someone who is positive and supportive like I am. I would like for us to help each other virtually, online...or if someone is near my area we could discuss other options and modes of communication. I am really excited to work with someone so we can help boost another success. Who's up for it?

Folks, we all know that not everyone jumps on board right at the start. And not everyone likes to jump into an accountability group that's already chock-full of people who did start on time. (I fit both of these categories myself this challenge.) So if you're still looking for an accountability group a couple days into week 2, hit me up! Looking for regular check-ins here in the forum (1x per week is enough, more often is welcome and encouraged), and you'll get a message from me if I don't hear from you for 5 days or so, just to keep us all on track. All classes and levels welcome. I happen to be a second-time Recruit with Assassin aspirations. If you want in, please post below with a link to your challenge log, and I'll ask as well that you put a link to your current challenge log in your signature if it's not already there. Kenbear's challenge log! Additionally, for the sake of accountability, I recommend changing your notifications settings so that you receive emails when someone PMs you at minimum; this way, if you disappear and I or other group members message you some encouragement, you'll get it no matter what. Of course, I can't see your settings, so this is a recommendation rather than a requirement. Join me on a quest for fitness and glory! Post below! Members: Aaarrrggghhh justgo dustoff theophilus cepopaladin Finisterre Meesa Riverleaf Raidho Scholar Hratheceane QuietRiotGrrrl zeroh13 chickforbrains kenbear

In the previous challenge I did the 3 week superhero challenge during my nf challenge. The superhero challenge requires you to check in daily on the website and log your water intake, diet, and exercise. During those weeks, I met my nf goals perfectly. After those weeks ended, I didn’t do so well. Moral of the story: accountability is HUGE!! it keeps you focused on the goal and is something I need to do more of – sooo that’s the plan for this challenge: GOALS: Log food intake and exercise DAILYDoesn’t matter what food I eat this challenge, as long as I log it. When I give myself food restrictions, I set myself up for failure (aka last 2 challenges). So everything is possible this time around. Also, to keep myself moving in the healthy direction, I want to reward myself for turning down temptations. So every time I’m tempted and choose not to indulge, I’ll put 50 cents in a jar for some new workout shorts/tank. At the end of this challenge, I’ll hopefully be able to go shopping! I will also log my exercise daily. Not so much because I need motivation and accountability, but more so I can measure my progress. I typically do HIIT and running for my workouts so logging my times daily, will be a good way to measure my progress. Continue to improve my 5k timeAt the end of the last challenge, I cut it to 29:35. Last challenge I also discovered that I can reasonably cut off 15-30 seconds a week. So this time around my goals is to reach 26:30 - 28:00 minute 5K. To reach this goal I plan to run a 5K 1-2 days per week and do shorter runs or sprints 3-4 days per week. I’ll do some HIIT strength training this challenge as well. I’m aiming to exercise 4-6 times per week. Side Note: I’m running a Turkey Trot 5k on Thanksgiving so I want to cut my time as much as possible before then. Also, I want to beat at least one of my 2 sisters in that race! Probably not both though cuz one’s a crossfit beast. Stay caught up on schoolwork and make progress on my thesis weeklyUp to now, the semester hasn’t been too daunting, but that is quickly changing. I slacked a lot on my thesis earlier this semester since I didn’t really have any deadlines and now I’m starting to face the consequences as December4th is quickly approaching. Technically, it’s not due till April, but I need to be at a good point by December because I also have to do a final design project next semester. Doing both of those in one semester is a recipe for disaster, so gotta be proactive now.

I'm looking to start up a 1-month membership to a local health center to amp up my progress for the challenge, and I'm looking for maybe a couple buddies (or the more the merrier!) I can text with to help keep each other accountable. I'm pretty much a noob and a new recruit, and am interested in free weights, some body weight work, and elliptical exercises. I'm hoping to get my 5k time under 35' again by the end of the challenge! Anyone game? We can private message each other our numbers or something? Text works better than computer for me, typically, which is why I ask. If you're game, I'm game!

Hi! My name is Jas. I completed a six week challenge back in Spring here and then unfortunately fell off the face of the planet. I was on a team of about 8 people but that was just a little too much to keep track of. I'm looking for one, maybe two people to talk about weight loss with and come up with ideas to keep each other on track. I love video games, so I'm down to have those conversations too. My favorites are Silent Hill and Assassin's Creed. I also like comics, but they're a new development so my knowledge of them is pretty sub-par at the time. I'm going to try to update my profile within the next couple of days to show my current goals. I'm also willing to text or email after getting to know you a little bit!

Okay. A bit of backstory: For this past six week challenge (currently in week 5) I have been participating in a program run in a gym not quite near me, but close enough to get to on public transport (I don't have a car.) The program is designed for people to be able to lose 9 kilograms (almost 20 pounds) in 6 weeks, and it coincidentally lined up with the six week challenge here on Nerd Fitness. I've been doing really well on the challenge. I've been following the prescribed nutrition plan and going to the required five fitness classes per week. I've even been going more than required because I want to get as much as I can out of the program and I know I may not be financially able to stay on at the gym after the program finishes. I'm really enjoying the classes and working out, but more than that is the community aspect. There is a facebook page for the gym that's limited to people who still go there and it's really active. It's really easy to strike up conversations with people because so many of them are on the same journey, and the nutrition plan is pretty easy to follow because there is so much support, meal prepping advice and ideas for what to eat up on the website and the facebook page. So with all of this support, why wouldn't I continue with this awesome gym and these awesome people? The number one reason is finances. I'm a student and I'm struggling a little at the moment. I'm trying to save to go overseas next year, because I feel stuck in my hometown and I want adventure and to see a whole new world. (Part of that plan also includes going to Camp Nerd Fitness!) Rent is going up in December and although I have a job, and I'm contracted to certain hours which means I do have enough to pay rent and bills and eat and go to the gym, I would have to rearrange some things to continue on with this gym. I would probably only continue on for six months, as there's a program in place for post 9in6 program goers and this includes a kind of discount, and I think I could afford it for that amount of time. The only other thing is with my boyfriend. With this intense course, uni and my job, it's been really hard to find time for us to hang out. I really want for us to have a healthy relationship, but this is eating into it and I don't know how much more it will bite into my time. I want to take care of my health and fitness, but I also love my boyfriend. He's been super supportive of me so far, but he's definitely interested in having more time for us to hang out and spend time together. I know that once uni's over I'll have a bit more time on my hands, but Christmas is coming up too and I'm just not quite sure what to do. Any advice people can give would be super helpful. Even writing it all out like this really helped. Cheers.

HEY GUYS AND GALS! The 20's are out and 30's are what's new and hot. Let's help each other stay accountable so that this chapter in our lives is met with the best we've got!

We're Back! We are the Renaissance Rebels... We're having a Creative Revolution and you're invited! Do you have a creative quest among your challenge goals? Then join this ragtag, eccentric group of nerds and level up your health and fitness habits and your creativity. Sure, that's a lot of balls to juggle over the course of six weeks, but it's a lot easier and more fun when you've got buddies! Post a reply below to introduce yourself. We're happy to have you! Renaissance Rebels BlackTezca Dantilla greenjasper irmintrude greeneyes Jaex Jakkals JMitch Luciana Valerosa Culming Neva NikaNika RangerDanger Scrawlcreatelive ShadowLion Viscura WoodNymph

Attention all Adventures from all classes! A New and as of yet unnamed party of Adventures is forming! The Goal is to share challenges, inspire each other, and work toward common challenges for the party! (For example we could try to lose 100lbs as a group for a reward) open to any and all who want to help and be helped

Hi I'm Cupcake, and as my name might suggest I'm a huge fan of sweets... chocolate, cakes, pastries. Which is the whole reason I am here in the first place! I'm a female Dwarf... short (5ft4), round (113kg) but with an inner strength of stone. Here are my stats and my plan.... SW: 113kg GW: around 65kg (I say around because I plan on strength training and lifting heavy and I understand that my weight will have no bearing on how I look in the end). I'm breaking my journey up into mini weight goals and NSV's (non scale victories). Mini weight goals are in 5kg increments and spread out over 6 weeks (which means I plan to lose 5kg in the next 6 week challenge!) and my first NSV involves a little red vintage style tea dress I am desperate to fit back into. I'll come up with my next NSV after I have hit that first (I have plenty of smaller clothes I love that I have had packed away for 10-15 years which I am desperate to fit back into again). To start with I plan on using the NF Body Weight Circuit to get me kick started until I can hit the gym and start putting together my own home gym. I am hoping to also do a managed meal plan, which is pre-made and delivered to my door, I am hoping that this will teach me portion sizing and healthy balanced eating (I am waiting on the company to let me know if they can deliver to my house or even the local post office... apparently if my address isn't in Google Maps then they can't deliver to me). The start of my Epic Quest will be Monday 20th July 2015 (that runs on Eastern Aussie time). I plan on posting here and on My Fitness Pal my workouts and food and water intakes, every day and weigh in every Wednesday. If anyone is on MFP and wants to add me my name is Miss_Cherry_on_top. I am looking forward to levelling up my life. Cupcake xx

So, I think this is the best place to post this- I have an idea, and I am looking for some help. It is based off my time playing WOW, MMO's, and D&D. I was thinking about trying to get together a PVE challenge. We have PVP where we can compete, but I think it would be fun to do a 5-man PVE challenge with a few people. Here is my general idea: We take 5 of us and each week we come up with some challenges above and beyond out normal goals, these would include both a positive goal and a negative anti-goal: From there the week would be dedicated to collectively fighting a weekly raid boss, that would do heavy damage to us for each time we commit the anti-goal. Each person in the group would have a separate role in the party, such as: Tank: Damage mitigation for the Party 3x DPS: Damage to Boss (in different ways based on role) Healer: Goal heal the party I feel like this should be somewhat based off the guild one is in. Since I am a warrior I think I should play a tank, and perhaps Druid=Healer or DPS, Warrior=Tank, Scout=DPS, Assassin=DPS, Monk=Tank/Healer, Ranger=Tank/DPS, etc. This is just a general idea, but I think it could be really cool. Does anyone have any ideas or want to be a part of this? It would be awesome, so I please post on this forum and we will see if we can put something together!

Hey y'all! This is my first challenge at Nerd Fitness. I've been getting the emails for a couple months and decided that it was time to try a challenge. I'm 23 and graduated college with a degree in Environmental Science last year. I wasn't having any luck with finding a job and spent a lot of time lounging around my parents' house eating junk food. I've since moved out and gotten a job. Though it's not my ideal job, and it's not even in my field, that was the sort of kick in the butt I needed to start putting effort into my health and my life. My main quests is to lose ten pounds in three months, before starting to improve my strength and flexibility. I'm also pursuing a side quest to keep up writing momentum between National Novel Writing Month events. From my previous attempts to make changes in my life, I realize that the biggest thing I can do is make small changes and make myself accountable. I need to focus on building momentum and maintaining it for more than a couple weeks at a time. And I need people to know, so that I can't just back out when the going gets tough or I get bored. So with that in mind, here are my goals for this challenge: MY MAIN QUEST GOALS Eat at least one serving of vegetables and a significant vegetarian source of protein in each meal.Track food consumption in a diary to cut down on mindless snacking. This will also give me a baseline for improving on my calorie and nutrient intake.Do some kind of exercise for at least 15 minutes a day, at least three days a week. Find out what exercises I like and which ones just don't work for me.MY SIDE QUEST GOALS Write at least 500 words everyday.Spend at least one hour editing a completed project each week.In addition to the above goals, I will post a weekly update on my progress here.

Need a training buddy? Want a Monk-focused accountability partner? Want to do a PVP challenge to lay the smackdown on a fellow monk? Just want to find a new friend? Use this thread to find people and connect with them, if the tagging system isn't working out as well for you! So speak up if you want help somewhere! We have plenty of people willing to help you be more awesome!

What does everyone struggle with as their biggest obstacle to stay on track or to even start a fitness program?

Hey guys, I am respawning, and introducing myself at the same time because I am coming out of lurker status and onto the forums. I think I need to, for accountability reasons. My name is Kat, I'm 24 years old, female, living in Richmond, Virgnia. For the past couple of years, I have done awesome in my weight loss. I lost a total of 85 pounds with a trainer, was significantly under 200 pounds for the first time in my life. I even ran a couple of half marathons. Then I got injured, got depressed, went into a downwards spiral. I regained 25 of my 85 pounds. I am at 199 today and I need to make my change. I'm starting a blog at elephanticorn.tumblr.com. I'll be on the forums, too, but I am hoping for an accountability buddy to get me back to where I want to be. I want to run another half-marathon in October. I want to get my binge-eating under control. And I want to do a pull-up. Hope everyone is having a brilliant day.

"The journey of a thousand miles begins beneath one's feet."--Lao-tzu Copied and pasted from my intro post-- Goal: To have a BMI of 24.9 or less (136 lbs or less) by December 31, 2015 To do this, I will 1. Eat no more than 24 g of added sugar (none from HFCS) daily, 2. Eat only between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., and 3. Spend at least 60 minutes being active every day. This can be formal exercise, walking, yard work, house work, or active play with the kids. To log my progress, I will take monthly photos, frontal and side views, both clothed and in underwear, and I will weigh in monthly. I started this journey on May 22. I haven't made a log yet to chart my progress, but I've been doing well with the eating. I avoided all added sugar until yesterday, when I had a PB&J sandwich with low-sugar strawberry preserves. I ate about 15 g of sugar in the preserves, and I noticed I was more hungry and craving sugar for the rest of the day. Something to be aware of. I've been less consistent with movement. I was doing well until I tried the BBWW on Monday, the 25th. I did two sets and should have only done one. The lunges killed my quads, and I was effectively hobbled until today. Today my legs are still achey, and I'm going to give it another day before attempting the BBWW again. I have been taking a 30 minute walk each evening, pain or no with the exception of a day when it was also stormy. So things to work on: A log. I love lists and check-boxes! They make me feel very productive and accountable.An inclement weather work-out plan B.Think about long-term fitness goals. What have I always dreamed of doing? What looks fun to try?Think about short-term fitness goals. Beyond just eating better and moving more every day, what is a goal I could work toward and achieve in the next two months?

Hi, I'm Newcomb (intro here) Here's may battle plan: Stats: Permanent: Male, 5'8 (b. 1987) Start 5/13/14: 230lbs, 43" waist (belly button) Current 5/18/14: 224lbs, 42.1" Goal 12/31/14: 190lbs, 34" waist Strength: I had been doing Stronglifts for a while, but after the "hiatus" with the kids, and since finding Nerd Fitness, I've modified it similar to the example in an NF article. Mostly I try arranging the lifts to minimize adjustments on my rack in-between. For each lift, I do one warm-up with the bar, one warm up with 40% of the working weight, then five sets at the working weight. Alternated Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday: Workout 1: Squat Overhead Press Row Workout 2: Deadlift Bench Pull-Up (working my way through bands) Once I get to full 5x5 on a weight, I add 5 lbs. I'll hold a lift based on benchmarks from ExRx. For instance, I'm at the Novice level for bench, row, and almost press, so those weights will stay until deadlift and squat catch up. I also do a PLP variation in the evenings; I do three sets, working my way up to 3x12 on each of chin-up, push-up, and lunges in a circuit. I track my workouts with JeFit. Running: I basically go through the C25K routine but jog/run instead of walk/jog. When I get to the end, my 30min at the "higher" pace becomes my "slow" pace next time around (ish). I track it (ish, it's an iphone app) with Map My Run. Sometimes I'll also bike to work, but with night school and little ones, that's not always an option. Nutrition: I'm diabetic, so avoiding excess carbs and sugar is important, and I tend to do well. I went to sugar-free sodas and then dropped them completely. Though, if I'm over at my mom's house on the weekend with the kids, I might have a can or bottle of Coke. The other trap I have is that when we do get takeaway; I used to be in a habit of just getting the burger/chicken sandwich and not get fries and a drink; maybe even ditch the bun. Lately, however, I'll get the whole meal and fries/onion rings. I need to cut that crap out. Normal day of eating: work out at 6:00am, sipping on BCAAs, then whey, banana, and a mini-omelette I've pre-baked for the week (inspired by a NF Article). For lunch (at work), I've pre-grilled chicken breast and frozen veggies. Sometimes I'll cave to eating out with co-workers and maybe I'll make a good choice if I do, but lately it's been my previous mentioned fast food habits. Dinner is where I struggle. My wife usually makes pretty good dinners, but I'll over eat. Especially if there's a pasta or bread or something as a "side". Or we'll be very busy and it will be takeaway. Sometimes I'll get smart and box some leftovers before the meal; but I'll pack way too much to eat at once later. Weekends I'll do my normal breakfast, but I'll fast at lunch or we have meals with my mom (she lives next door and takes care of the kids when she can). Saturday nights my wife and I do Chinese as our weekly "treat", but, again, I get pretty crappy at the "moderation" and saving enough for later. Before bed I'll have some casein. Generally I'll track my nutrition on Livestrong's MyPlate; but I'm not always super diligent about it. External Tracking (I'm posting/linking as I go, too): Nutrition: MyPlate Lifting: JeFit Running: MapMyRun

Hello, fellow nerds! I've been following this site and the blog posts for a couple of months, and finally got inspired to hold myself accountable with this challenge! I don't have a strong support system at home when it comes to health and fitness, so it's easy to give in, even though these things are very important to me. For the past 10 years, my weight has fluctuated within 25 pounds or so, yo-yoing along with my willpower and/or intolerance to stick with a fad diet that only works temporarily. After a series of personal losses last year, I let a lot of good habits go. As a result, my weight is up again and I'm pretty out of shape. BLERG. Hoping I can get some much-needed encouragement here as I resume my journey to a healthier, fitter, less self-punishing, and hopefully lighter-weight me. I turn 35 on Sunday, and that's motivating me even more! Because we all know it does not get easier. My big quest would be to lose 25 lbs. I'm not sure if I can do that in a year, or do it at all, but I'm finally learning that more modest, SMARTer goals are where it's at. So here we go. My six-week challenge goals: 1. Work out at least three times per week (2-3 strength training circuit sessions, 1-2 cardio days). A side goal of this goal is to move from two strength training circuits to three. 2. Log all my food. This can be painful, but it works and it keeps me honest. I need it to kick off better eating habits and maintain a calorie deficit. 3. Bring lunch to work at least one day per week. (Remember that part about modest goals? I work a high-stress desk job in a big city, so getting out is essential... but eating well can be more challenging. Still, baby steps! And logging! Honest logging!) My life goal for this six weeks? Well, it's ongoing, but it needs to be kicked off: I want to hold myself accountable without beating myself up every time I slip. It's a problem. Good luck to everyone else out there -- especially the noobs like me!

Hello! I am looking for a partner(s) that can join me with on my Epic Quest to slay an Archdemon (aka my bad eating habits) for this challenge and many more challenges to come! Age/gender doesn't matter, just as long as you are an active rebel in the forums and someone that needs a companion or accountability partner in return. I am struggling with food addiction, binge eating, overeating, depression, sciatic nerve pain due to a herniated disc, and lack of motivation. I also lack accountability and consequences (aside from that dinner binge that will pile up on my butt). Most details about me can be found on my profile page, but here some basics. I am a 36 y/o mom that works a full time job and I have been struggling with my weight since I was a small child. I have only been within a healthy weight range 1 or so years out of my entire life. I am about 80 lbs overweight, but I am considering going by body fat% or body measurements from now on. I have recently cut out sodas from my daily diet, as well as sweetener from my coffee. Right now the only exercise I am able to do is walk (due to the herniated disc) and I have just started the Walk to Mordor challenge. Aside from all that fitness stuff, I love video games, anime, drawing, watercolor, sewing, cosplay, and good ghost stories. Hoping to meet some awesome folks for the journey!

Hey, I'm 22, I live in Melbourne, Australia and I'm trying to get fit and look good naked. I want to run a marathon by the end of next year, but my short term goals are to sleep better and feel better in my skin, along with hopefully getting to a size eight jeans without muffin tops. What can I say, I like flat tummies. I'm currently moving my diet towards paleo. I had been vegetarian for 8.5 years and I found that I was letting myself eat all this unhealthy food because it was vegetarian, and not taking charge of what I ate. I ate what I wanted, whenever I wanted. I want to change that. I've tried restricting calories, I've run a 14 km fun run, I've tried bodyweight and hot yoga and nothing seems to stick. I love the six week challenges but I always drop out halfway. I need a slow, long term healthy lifestyle change. I'm counting on you guys to help me out.

Hello all! This is my very first 6wk challenge and also my very first post in this kind of forum (like ever - not just with NF). I have struggled with my weight and health my whole life (I am 24). I love my family dearly but they have such poor diet and exercise habits that a lot of my older relatives have diabetes, high BP, high cholesterol, so on and so forth with all the other health issue associated with obesity. I do not want to be like that, I want to be a healthy person for the remainder of my life not only for myself but for my family and my (hopefully) future children and grandchildren. NF and all the members who have posted their stories has been very inspiring so thank you all! My long term, ultimate goal is to lose about 70lbs...although this is not a set-in-stone figure. I am more focused on my heath than what the scale says. I ultimately want to have some muscle on me too, so the 70 may be too much...anywho that is my 'long term' goal (no way I could do that by the end of the year but hopefully by the end of NEXT year). Below are my three goals for my first(!) 6 week challenge: Eat vegetables with at least two meals a day for six out of the seven Walk at least 6 days - perferably every day (I have a 100lb German shepherd puppy - yes he is actually a puppy 10mos old and I am totally in love! ) and do a 'real' workout (either gym or body weight activities at my house) three times a week Stop making excuses ("I had a long day so I'm too tired to work out" "I don't have the time" etc.). Despite the fact that I live a very busy lifestyle, there shouldn't be a reason I can't get a workout in even if it means cutting time out of doing something else that I wanted to do but don't need to do. Person Goal: Get at least a B+ in both of my grad classes at BU. Those are my goals! I am going to try to update weekly!! I have to believe in myself so (and hence the username): I KNOW I can do, can you (duh of course you can!!!)? Thank you all for your support and time!!

*Spring Ahead with Your Crew* Work together to get, keep, and share motivation and SMART action. Adventurer and Scout Accountabilibuddies Mini Challenge Guidelines: -- choose 5 other rebels to work with during this challenge. Here is a spreadie to help organize your group of 3 Scouts & 3 Adventurers. Put your name and goal work on the left. Pick a column and name your group if you like. You will be helping each other with a goal or staying motivated so similar goals is often a good way to group up, but not a requirement. Once you're in a group, cross off your name on the left. -- decide on the goal you want to use in the mini (it can be a group goal or each rebel has their own goal to work on). -- decide on amount of feedback and questions each rebel would do per week/challenge (i.e. ask each person one question per week and keep dialogue going as it fits). THEN... during the Challenge -- give feedback and advice as asked for. -- receive critical observations so your rebel group can help you find good trends you can expand upon and see weak spots that might trip you up during the challenge. ** Obviously respect is the ultimate requirement here. -- once a week post on the mini threads in Scout and Adventurers (one report for the group posted in both places) and tell us how things are going. -- check mini threads for suggested activities to help spur you on to greatness! Okay, let's do this thing!! Have a great challenge everyone! Reward for completing the mini: +1 Charisma.