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Hi friends! I'm looking for an online sidekick (or multiple sidekicks)! I would love to just chat, encourage, and keep each other accountable. I'm new to the forum, but a longtime Nerd Fitness fan. Here's some stuff about me: 20 Years Old College StudentMarvel Comics fan (been reading them since I was 6 years old!) Some Other Things I Love: Doctor Who, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Firefly, Sherlock, and DisneyHobbies: Musical Theatre, animation, and cooking. I know, I'm weird. My fitness goals/info: I'm trying to gain muscle and stamina. Losing weight isn't a huge need for me - I'm an "Elf" looking to become an "Assassin". But I'd be totally okay with shedding a few pounds! I have been on a Paleo diet for 2 years. (I'm allergic to gluten and lactose intolerant, so it kind of made sense. ) I have tons of paleo recipes and tips if you're looking to join the club!I'd LOVE to get into parkour, but haven't figured out how yet. What I'm looking for in sidekicks: People who want to work together and motivate each other to reach our goals and be healthy. Gender doesn't matter. (Although I especially love to meet other SuperWomen!) Similar health goals would be great, but is definitely not a necessity. I prefer people around my own age. (18-25ish) Would be good with e-mail/forum/pm conversation. Just wants to make friends and get fit!Sorry I know that's a lot! lol But if you're interested, just let me know. I love to virtually "meet" new people so don't be shy.

Hi everyone My name is Bekah and I am the Druid Ambassador, and I wanted to invite all of you to participate in a workout accountability group that I am a part of on Facebook (it's for more than just Nerd Fitness peeps, but I wanted to make sure you could get in on the action if you want). It was started by our very own Nerd Fitness Hero AlienJenn (if you dont know her, she is AMAZING and has a VERY inspiring story!) It starts on February 15th 2015 and runs for 8 weeks and you have a buy in of $20 (we can work out payment if you need to but everything including penalty $ has to be in by the end of week 8) and you have to work out a minimum of 36 days (you have 8 free days to use as you want, or not use at all) and the money collected from everyone's buy in money, will be split among the top 3 with 2 of the lower finishes each getting 10% based on a lottery draw, with each workout being an entry, so the more you do, the more likely you are to win the lottery even if you dont win the top 3. You get to choose what YOU define as a workout and it runs on the honor system, if you say walking a mile is a workout and you post that you did that mile, then it counts, period. So really you want to choose a workout that is doable on a daily basis (or a few different choices) but will still be at least more than you are currently doing. The point is to motivate us to do more exercise and be more consistent with it. There are also penalties if you miss more than 8 workouts (it's $5 per missed workout after 8) It is run through a Facebook Group, so you have to have a Facebook account and there will be spreadsheets(!) to keep track of your workouts and I will be personally in charge of making sure the workouts you post get entered in the spreadsheet since most people have mobile devices that make that nearly impossible. We want YOU to be a part of it, and your partner/spouse, your mom, your sister, your friends...anyone and everyone you think would benefit from this is welcome We have the group open public now, but we will be closing it to outsiders and culling people after the start date to get rid of the people who didn't pay (or didnt make arrangements to do so) So PLEASE come join us Find me on Facebook here and the group is here! Feel free to PM me or message me via FB with any questions (please put that you are a Nerd so I dont think you are a creepy stalker weirdo, thanks )

So here's an experiment we're going to try for the next challenge or two, since people wanted some more communication and connection to people they might relate to better. We are going to try to implement a tagging system for people's threads and challenge. First and foremost: THIS IS NOT A REQUIREMENT. It can be useful, it may be fun, but by no means does not wanting to participate in this make you a terrible person. Just be aware that some people might not creep by your thread as much as others who do tag. Here are some tags we're going to standardize this time around: New2Monk - If you're brand new to the guild, and would like help, use this tag. But if you have questions, make sure you tag and ask the questions! Mentors can't help you without knowing where to begin! Monk Mentor - If you're willing to help Newbie Monks and/or be an example to how challenges are run, throw this up onto your thread! This is the part that gets a bit trickier. The idea behind the following tags is that you should ONLY USE ONE and it should reflect the MAJOR GOAL, your Main Mission, of your challenge. That being said, feel free to tag your thread with additional tags to help further give people and idea at a glance what your thread entails! Monk Arts – Major goal is finding or actively participating in a martial art. Ex: Finding a dojo, preparing for a grading, building attendance habits, applying martial philosophy to everyday life Monk Endurance – Maj or Goal is about increasing stamina. Ex: Sprints, Tabata, HIIT, Conditioning training Monk Strength – Major goal is about increasing strength, using weight training or body weight training. Monk Agility – Major goal is about increasing speed. Ex: Faster kata, flowing movement in throws, faster run times Monk Mobility - Major goal is increasing flexibility. Ex. Better kicks, more hip mobility, foam rolling, Yoga. Monk Focus – Major goal is about concentration and organization. Ex: Meditation, house cleaning, Monk Eating – Major goal is about associated with food consumption. Ex: Weight loss, bulking, cooking So, for example: My major goal this time around revolves around my eating habits. My Major Tag would be "Monk Eating." However, I'm also weight training, attending several aikido classes a week, and reading a very particular book. So I have additional tags of "Strength", "aikido," and "4 Hour Body." Add in the fact that I'm willing to help you guys figure things out, and I also have "Monk Mentor" in there. Now, if you use the search bar at the top of the forum and look for those terms, my thread should be filtered to be in the results. So, tag your thread as Monk Eating, search for it in the forum, and you can see your thread and everyone else who is looking for a the same (broad) goal. Don't know how to edit your challenge to add tags? It's easy! Follow these steps: 1) Go to your thread's FIRST post. 2) Click the "Edit Post" button in the lower right hand corner (it will be next to the "Multiquote" button) 3) Click on the "Use Full Editor" button to access the tagging panel 4) Underneath the Topic Title bar will be the Topic Tags bar. 5) Enter the tags desired, with a comma between each one. As soon as the space bar is hit after typing a comma, the tag will appear with the word in a grey box. 6) Hit the Submit Modified Post button and the post saves, new tags and all! If you have a problem, you can always ask a GL to edit your post for you, but it will likely get done faster if you edit your post yourself. So, let see if this experiment works, shall we?

Greetings, writing nerds! Announcing the first NerFiWriCh ever! That would be Nerd Fitness Writing Challenge, and is pronounced Nerfy-Rich. So a bunch of people were talking about how they had always wanted to join in on National Novel-Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, but the problem was that the timing was bad. NaNoWriMo takes place during the month of November, which can be a bit of a challenge thanks to a wide variety of reasons. First, a bit of background for those just arriving: NaNoWriMo is an event that happens every year where thousands (seriously) of people sign up to write a 50,000 word novel during the month of November. That's 30 days, or 1,667 words a day. This can be difficult during November thanks to the aforementioned variety of reasons. However, there is hope! Enter NerFiWriCh. Starting on January 16th, it will end on the same day as the current challenge cycle (Feb 15th). This will give us the 30 days of artistic abandon that we need to match NaNoWriMo's timeline. The goal will remain the same: write a 50,000 word novel during those 30 days. We're going to have people sign up and use this thread as an accountability partnership. Right now we have spaces for 10 people on the accoutabilibuddies sheet, but we can add more if we need them. Sign up on this thread too, let us know who you are and what you plan to write, and how many words you plan to shoot for when we get started! (Uh, also, admins, if I've screwed up protocol or something, lemme know. Cheers!)

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

Hello fellow Rebels! I think I'm going to try to start 2015 off on the right foot by holding myself accountable for a full challenge. I'm really terrible at finishing challenges, so my first personal goal for 2015 is to ACTUALLY FINISH this challenge. I have four simple goals this time: Fitness Goals 1. Track all of my training and food intake into my pretty new journal. (It's all pretty and official and stuff) 2. Do 20 minutes of cardio (elliptical... ugh) 3x per week after training. Life Goals 3. 30 minutes of crocheting or personal reading 3x per week (no textbooks). 4. FINISH THIS CHALLENGE See? Easy and attainable goals! I'm really excited to be back in the game. I am hoping to kick off 2015 right with this challenge. Sorry about the short intro to the challenge... Gotta get back to work!

Belly Dance! All Guilds, All Styles and Experience Levels Let's shimmy, shake, and step up our fitness through this fun dance form! I don't have a particular format in mind, just want to find, support, and share with other nerds who are into the dance. Let's help each other learn and grow, and see how the group develops!

So I've been out of the challenge loop for a while but as I'm in the process of making a few changes to how I'm approaching diet and exercise, it seemed like a good opportunity to get back into things - even if I am a bit late to the party this time. I've found before that the challenge format isn't very compatible with my training so I'm not going to focus on improving my lifts or anything like that, instead I'm just going to focus on two things. For anyone who doesn't know me (I've been lurking away in my battle log mostly for the last few months), I'm a 31 year old Olympic lifter who started training about 18 months ago. Goal 1: Lose weight/fat I've been back and forth about what to do with my bodyweight this last year. Originally I had been going to drop a weight class from 94kg (I was a light 94) to 85kg but after doing really well with the cut, I kind of lost motivation in the summer due to injury. Since then I've put some weight back on. I had thought about continuing to lift as a 94 but I'm feeling quite fat at the moment so back to 85kg it is. The plan is to lose some weight (hopefully mostly fat!) in the run up to the holidays and then try to maintain over Christmas and New Year. I have a lot of time off so I should be able to exercise a lot during that time. I'm running an approximately 500 calorie per day deficit with a cheat day on Saturdays - that's about 2600 calories per day. For anyone interested, my macros look something like 195g carbs, 115g fat, 195g protein. Sometimes protein is higher and fat lower. No set number of kilos to lose for this challenge or anything like that, just be lighter and leaner in 5 and a half weeks' time Goal 2: Take more video of my training Recording video of my training is a super helpful thing for me to do. It means I get to compare how I think I'm lifting with how I'm actually lifting, it gives me an opportunity to get feedback on my uncoached sessions and it just makes me more accountable. I'm pretty patchy when it comes to getting video of my lifts so I need to improve that. I train 3-4 times a week. One of those sessions the gym is so busy and I'm usually sharing a platform so it's a bit of an inconvenience to others if I'm messing around with my phone camera. But really I'd like to get video from the other sessions wherever possible. So the goal for this is to record and upload video from at least two training sessions per week. That's it! Nothing fancy, just a simple, straightforward challenge to help me push the reset button. Current starts for comparison at the start of the challenge: Bodyweight: 91.8kg Bodyfat: bioimpedance scale says 22% - I don't think this is right but let's see the trend Snatch: 90kg Clean & Jerk: 105kg Clean: 115kg Back Squat: 182.5kg (162.5kg beltless) Front Squat: 140kg (132.5kg beltless)

So hey. Coming in a little late again; at least I'm consistent. >.< This year (and this is apropos) I'm not doing NaNoWriMo. See, the challenge there is that you're to write a 50,000 word novel over the course of a month. I've done it several times in the past, and I usually round the required 1667/day up to 2000/day. But I got used to doing that, and now I write 2000 words most days. Doing NaNoWriMo no longer keeps me accountable, because I do that anyway. It rather feels like cheating. But here! Here, baby...I slack off when it comes to fitness. Shocking, I know, because no one else on earth does that. The difference is, I suck at keeping myself accountable because I tend to look at my accomplishments and think, somewhere deep down, "I'm done! I did it! Now I can have brownies forever!" This is a stupid part of my mind. So I'm back! From outer sp- sorry, got my signal crossed there. I'm here to be accountable, and that's why one of my challenges is: 1. Come here. At least once a day, every day, during this challenge. Last challenge I was working at it, but I slacked off some and I think that a part of it was that I wasn't here holding myself accountable. You guys are amazing. I'll be here. 2. Learn to Breathe. That is, meditate. I know that's like saying, "I'm gonna learn to be a competent MMA fighter in the next six weeks!" but you gotta start somewhere, yeah? And my starting point is a minimum of ten minutes a day practicing meditation. 3. Planning. I have a planner! I just...don't use it. So, during this challenge, I will. Daily. Time management is another issue for me; subject to my own personal inertia, I would be roughly spherical and live in a tank somewhere with reliable Internet. But with a planner, I can keep track of what I should be doing and actually do it. This is important to me. 4. Carry On. So I just turned 36. I made a goal for myself: by the time that I reach my next birthday, on Oct 26 of 2015, I will have gotten down to 400 pounds from my current weight of 459. This is doable, but only if I stick to my plan of paleo (ish) diet and regular vigorous exercise. The accountability and planning stuff are big parts of this, so I'm gonna stick with it. Boom. Pika. Done.

Diet Goal 'Knowing is not enough, we must apply'. — Bruce Lee - Be accountable for my nutrition Respect my intermittent fasting schedule (11:30am - 7:30pm)Track what I eat and drink every day and share it publicly. (myfitnesspal account here)Bad Guys: Coffee AddictionSocial Pressure from Peers I eat withPower-Ups: Green TeaOrigami (Origami replaced Smoking on anxiety-dealing ways list).Future Boost: Performing the 'I Told You So' Dance to my Doctor next time I check on her (I told her I'll weigh less instead of just maintaining my weight).New Smaller Clothes Fitness Goal 'Willing is not enough, we must do.' — Bruce Lee - Be accountable for my workouts Never miss two workouts in a row.Track and share your workouts.Bad Guys: Snooze Button (I train at 4AM)Power-Ups: Two Steps from Hell.Future Boost: New Smaller ClothesMr. Incredible Lifestyle (I want to do that nodding thing in front of the mirror). Martial Arts Goal 'Using no way as a way, having no limitation as limitation.' — Bruce Lee - Be accountable for your training Train at least twice a weekTrain at least once a week with someone elseBad Guys: Willpower Suckers (The things when I get home after work)Power-Ups: My Training PartnersMotivational Videos (like this one)Dojo Rivalry (Someone opened up a TKD "school" in my neighborhood, I can't let that happen).Future Boost: Black BeltMy Dojo Life Goals Bookend my Days ‘Take Pride in your Pregame and your Pregame will take care of you throughout the day'. — Brett McKay (Art of Manliness) I've been following these routines on and off the few last weeks. They set the tone of the rest of my day and when I successfully follow them, everything becomes easier. As the quote says, they take care of me. I just want to make sure I do them religiously and not just occasionally. My Morning Routine: · Wake Up Before Sunrise (4AM) · Drink a Big Glass of Cold Water · Perform Vigorous Calisthenics · Take a Cold Shower · Groom · GTFO 'I Have A Plan... Attack.' — Captain America My Evening Routine: · Write a new entry in my journal · Create a Daily Attack Plan · Yoga · Self-Compassion Meditation · Cool Down Shower · Bedtime Story · Lights Off Bad Guys: Willpower SuckersEvery TV Series that I watch.Power-Up My whole routines are a power-up in themselvesFuture Boost: None, I'll just enjoy the ride. Track all expenses and stick to my budget. 'What am I, some sort of wizard?' — Spezzy Bad Guys: The Neverending List of Useless Crap I Want to BuyPower-Up: "Look at how much you've saved!" ReminderFuture Boost: My Christmas List!

So, here it goes. I am a fat girl. I have always been a fat girl, even when I wasn't. It is not a physical state of being as much as a mentality. I don't want to be a fat girl anymore. I want to be a strong, healthy girl. I want to eat for fuel, and drink for fuel, and learn to do things that have scared me in the past. Today, I am on my way. I have already given up processed grains and therefore dropped a pant size. My new mantra? Hunger pains do not mean I need food. Hunger is losing weight. I eat what I need to live, to survive. Here is what I have eaten today: 1 egg 3 slices of bacon Huge coffee with 1/4 cup half and half Calories: 275 crawfish sausage green beans mushrooms, onions and peppers Calories: 517 Grand total (so far) 792 calories. Already have plans to meet my brother at the gym or go bike riding. Here's to a day in control of my body and what goes into my mouth.

Hey Rebels, I need some help. I am clawing my way back on the wagon after a disastrous 11 months of falling off. You know what I realize? I realize that my mental/emotional hurdle may have been squashed by the huge advantage of knowing that I feel better when I eat well and exercise. That is huge for me. Here is what I need. I need people to keep me accountable. I am going to start treating this thread as my food/activity journal. If anyone out there is willing to follow me and, say, give me a shout when I haven't posted anything that day, I would much appreciate it. Here we go. So, today, I woke up late for the paper route again, so again, I had to drive to work. I had about a cup of slow cooker shredded pork(without sugary sauce) for my breakfast. I know It is not ideal, but that's what I got. For my lunch, I have a romaine, cucumber, mushroom, and cheese salad. For snacking and to put on my salad, I brought a cup and a half of shredded, roasted chicken that I made last night. YUM! My supper is already put together as well, I am having more of that shredded pork on low carb tortillas with romaine and cheese. My carb count for the day is under 20. Will return with activity levels later in the day. On a side note, I love my Galaxy S4 with built-in Samsung Health App.

Got your attention? Good. Hold me accountable. Kick my booty. Because my milkshake sure doesn't bring boys to my yard... GOALS 1. LOG REGULARLY OH MY GOD NIKKI WHY AREN'T YOU LOGGING YET 2. START ACADEMY. YOU PAID FOR IT. DO THAT SHIT. 3. STOP THE NEGATIVE SELF TALK. DON'T DO THAT SHIT. For those that know me, I'm prone to stick around for a week or two and then vanish. I hope not to do that this time. This challenge fits nicely with a 'Body Transformation Challenge' I am assisting with at my gym. If I don't do this now, I don't do this ever. Hold me accountable. Be gentle. Be awesome.

Accept that that's exactly what this Accountabillibuddy group will do! This group is for those nerds out there who 1. have walking as part of their current challenge and/or 2. are fans of the Lord of the Rings. (While I'm not a huge fan myself, I didn't think a Wizard of Oz group would be as popular. ) According to our own Nerd Fitness blog here, one can walk to Mordor. With help from this website, we know that it's about 1779 miles from Hobbiton to Mount Doom. Our goal, between the members who join, will be to walk the first 458 miles from Hobbiton to Rivendell, between us, for this 6 week challenge. That's about 65 miles for 6 weeks, or about 11 miles per week per person if we only have 7 members. Future challenges may continue from Rivendell to Lothlorien, etc. but they say the journey begins with the first step so let's make it to Rivendell first! Frodo and Sam couldn't have gone all that way alone, the fellowship was key to their ultimate success. So we shall be encouraging others here as we strive to reach Rivendell by October 26th. Rules 1. Sign up in the official Accountabillibuddy spreadsheet here. 2. Follow this thread and other members threads by clicking the red 'follow this topic' button at the top right of your screen. 3. Post a short introduction about yourself, what your walking challenge is and how it pertains to the Lord of the Rings. 4. Spreadsheet to track our walking is here. Members 1. elinox = Follow the Yellow Brick Road 2. deepforest = deepforest continues her quest for more stamina & better health 3. deerskin = Deerskin is heading to Tom Bombadil's! 4. Seriousleigh = Seriousleigh - Night shift madness 5. Amdhiel = Amdhiel's Perpetual Quest - Challenge 1 6. Targilnar = Down from the door where it began 7. davidized = Getting Back on Track

Scene: a cardboard Trilby factory somewhere in suburbia. Enter Major Bloodnok, 3rd Regular Army Desserters (not a misspelling) to the sound of explosions. “Oh! Ohohohoho! Great green piles of splat! My extinctions are bursting! It’s those blasted ancho chile peppers, there ought to be a law…†Ahem… Now that the introductory silliness is over, on to the main silliness! For the last year, I’ve been pretty well stalled out as far as weight loss goes. I’ve been focusing on rehab and mobility work, trying to make sure I didn’t make my problems worse or add new ones. I’ve mostly been successful at this, so now it’s time to reorient. I have a bad habit of not paying too close attention to my diet. Mostly I eat low-carb, but I don’t count calories for the most part. I also have a tendency to binge at odd intervals. Thanks to the “You Are Not So Smart†podcast, I found a name for these little binge fests: extinction bursts. Essentially, when a bad habit you’re trying to kill is about to die off, it rallies and comes back twice as strong. If you can ride through without giving in, the bad habit will keel over and start drawing flies. Not giving in is the hard part, though. I binge in response to stress, and I’ve got a pretty stressful life right now. Before I dropped out of the last challenge, I had set up an account at myfitnesspal and was tracking my intake pretty carefully. I’ve spent the last few weeks shaking up my exercise routine, rethinking my goals, and fine-tuning my descroggler, and I have a plan for the next six weeks. It is a cunning plan. It is so cunning you could slap a tail on it and call it a weasel. It certainly can’t fail twice. Here goes: Diet: 2000 calories per day. 100 g of good-quality carbs, 200g per day of protein, 89g of good fats. On workout days I will allow an extra 250-300 calories, making sure to maintain a 500-calorie deficit. No bingeing. Limit exceeded not more than 4 times during challenge - ALimit exceeded once per week - BLimit exceeded twice per week- CLimit exceeded more than twice per week -DI will post a link to myfitnesspal account so everyone can check on me. I will take body measurements before and after the challenge to document the results. (+3CON, +3 CHA) Exercise: Workout at least 5 times per week, whether at home or at the gym. At least 10 minutes of cardio per workout, whether Tabata intervals on the elliptical, cardio kickboxing, or capoeira drills. Workouts will focus on posterior and rotational muscle chains, with an emphasis on increasing mobility and core strength. Goals: move from rack pull to full deadlift without injuring myself, do 2 minute front and side planks, and improve squat depth. Supplemental workouts will involve stretching and other mobility work, at least 10 min daily. 5 or more workouts per week - A4 workouts per week - B3 workouts per week -C2 or less -DWorkouts will be posted in my Battle Log daily. (+3 STR, +3 DEX) Life: Prepare for Mcrosoft Excel Expert Certification exam. Take online training courses provided by my employer, read books, practice with sample spreadsheets. 2 hrs per week or more - A1.5 hours per week - B1 hour per week - C.5 or less per week - D (+3WIS)The fun starts Monday morning. Off we go!

Aye, me bonny lasses, join us on our hunt fer fortune n' adventure. Set sail with us as we ply the waves in search of true treasure - freedom n' friendship! We are the Pirate Queens... Fierce in our commitment to our goals and determined to pursue our destinies wherever our dreams may take us. We raise our standard and set sail! To come aboard the Queen o' Swords, sign on here. Then grab a mug of rum and introduce yerself. *ShadowLion raises her mug high* "Here's teh the stars we chase an' the booty we shall plunder in the days teh come!"

Ahoy, ye brave n' bonny lasses! Are ye a Level One Rebel who seeks adventure n' fun on the high seas? Piratical adventures, in particular? Then sign on as an Apprentice seawoman Aboard the Queen O' Swords An' learn the Merrie, Piratical Ways o' the CutLasses! This accountabilibuddy group is open to any Level One lass who wants to encourage other Level One rebels. Sign up here teh come aboard the "Queen O' Swords." Grab a mug o' rum an' post below teh introduce yerself teh the rest o' the lasses. Be sure teh include yer challenge thread link in yer post, if'n ye want teh have the encouragement o' yer shipmates!

In which I describe my goals: I'm working on getting my life together in numerous ways, one of which is managing my ADHD better. My therapist says that a solid foundation for managing ADHD is based on consistency in four key areas: 1) Medication, 2) Sleep, 3) Exercise, 4) Diet. My medication is pretty good and I've taken big steps in making my sleep consistent. That means that it's time for number three! Now, I could argue that I'm already consistent in this area, in that I don't get any exercise. (Har.) But my blood pressure's getting a little high, and I'm tired of getting breathless just mowing the lawn. Plus I'm going to have to shovel snow in a few months, and I'd prefer to be able to do more of it so my sixty-something dad doesn't have to do as much. And my best friend has undertaken running--she's already done her first 5k!--so I'd really like to be able to run a 5k with her. (The next one she's planning on doing is at the end of October, so I don't think I'm going to be able to be ready for that one, but the one after that, yup!) My first goal in this area is consistency. I am not good at developing and maintaining habits. So right now I am aiming for at least two and ideally three days a week. I'm planning on running in the mornings, and I have apps set up on my iPhone to help me. I'm using Zombies, Run! Couch to 5k, although right now it's more like, Zombies, Stroll! I've got a playlist set up and I got an armband so I don't have to worry about my phone bouncing out of my pocket. My reward for when I get through a month of being consistent will be to get fitted for a pair of running shoes!

"Just another day scraping by. Toiling, making what little coin there is to be had. I can't keep doing this. It's a waste of everything I'm capable of." "Tomorrow is another day, and another opportunity to take what's mine. To grab destiny by the throat and demand my chance." "Tomorrow is another day.." *Worked for six hours filling up a 60 yard dumpster with the left behind furniture and trash from and eviction. *Counting this for my daily body weight work-out. *Attempting to procure the supplies to make my own set of lock-picks.

Hello, all! I'd been posting over in Level 1, and then Starsapart helpfully informed me of this forum, too! My personal quest for this challenge: My major goal is get into a size 12, comfortably. My quests: 1, Do a body strength circuit workout 3x/week. 2, No more sugar! (fruit is ok, and I'm going to start out allowing myself one cheat day/week. I'll judge the cheat day's effect on morale and adjust accordingly.) 3, get hydrated! Drink 2.5 - 3 24oz bottles of water every day. Also, I have several food allergies, of varying intensity, and I tend to cheat on those that aren't so bad. But I know my body would be better off without the constant drain on my immune system, so I will NOT eat anything I know I am allergic to! (You wouldn't think that would be so hard!) I actually started on this plan the Fri before this challenge officially began. The cheat day combined with my overall motivation (None of my pants fit!) has so far been helping with the no sugar, as I tell myself, "you can have that on Friday" or whichever day is the cheat day this week. Cheat day was yesterday (Friday) this week and it actually went really well. I chose Fri for the week because I was going to a music festival and meeting friends for Mexican that night and I wanted a margarita! I held firm on the allergy quest, though - that restaurant fries in peanut oil and I usually cave and have some chips, but not last night! Otherwise it went really well! Started with a bike ride to an art supply fire sale (unfortunately because they'd actually had a fire) and to a plant nursery. Came home, did my scheduled workout and dug in all the plants and had lunch -- 2pm before I even thought about the "cheating" part of my day! Not that I didn't take advantage once I went out! Keeping up with the water drinking, too. I've decided I need to drink 4 bottles on workout days -- because I tend to drink a whole one during/immediately after the workout just to replace the sweat. It still takes a lot of thought. "Drink your water, Jen" Thanks for the community, everyone!

Ahoy, ye brave n' bonny lasses! Are ye a Level One Rebel who seeks adventure n' fun on the high seas? Piratical adventures, in particular? Then sign on as an Apprentice seawoman Aboard the Queen O' Swords An' learn the Merrie, Piratical Ways o' the CutLasses! I'm the Captain o' the Queen, ShadowLion, An' me Mistress o' Training be pirate/mage an' yarnspinner extraordinaire, Chris-Tien Jinn. We're experienced members of the Rangers Guild and this accountabilibuddy group is particularly appropriate for those who hope to be Rangers (Pirates!) next challenge, But it is open to any Level One lass who wants to encourage other Level One rebels. Sign up here teh come aboard the "Queen O' Swords." Grab a mug o' rum an' post below teh introduce yerself teh the rest o' the lasses. Be sure teh include yer challenge thread link in yer post, if'n ye want teh have the encouragement o' yer shipmates!

Aye, me bonny lasses, join us on our hunt fer fortune n' adventure. Set sail with our bonny pirate fleet as we ply the waves in search of true treasure - freedom n' friendship! We are the Pirate Queens... Fierce in our commitment to our goals and determined to pursue our destinies wherever our dreams may take us. We raise our standard and set sail! To come aboard, sign on here. Then grab a mug of rum and introduce yerself.

Do you have a creative quest among your challenge goals? Then join this ragtag, eccentric group of nerds to 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! YOU are invited to join The Renaissance Rebels for fitness, fun, creativity, and camaraderie! You can check out previous Renaissance Rebels challenge threads: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. If it looks like fun, signup on the Cross Guild page and post a reply below to introduce yourself. We're happy to have you!

Hey guys, My name is Erin and I'm in Melbourne, Australia. I am 22 years old and have, in the past few years, gone on a bit of a roller coaster in my health/fitness life. I've tried a lot of things and fallen off many many wagons. I'm currently trying to convince myself that slower is better, that every healthy choice helps, and that consistence and persistence are key. I would love to have a buddy I can text with my tiny milestones (I didn't eat a cupcake today! I went to sleep on time last night! I just walked an extra tram stop!) and who can text me back with encouragements and rallying cries to help me when I'm feeling down or losing my determination. I would love to do the same for someone else in a similar situation, and would love someone in Australia so I can text you for free (I have a limited budget as I am a student and work in hospitality) Help me!

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.