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Hello! My name's Sara and one of my good friends introduced me to this website. I was instantly hooked by the useful info this site has to offer! I am very excited to participate in my very first challenge! Personal Background: I am a college student that is currently studying a double-degree course - Psychology major with Accounting as my side course. During my freetime, I would draw or cook food for my family. Sometimes, I would even bake goodies for my family and friends! (Don't worry! The baked goods are secretly healthy without sacrificing the overall taste. ) Fitness Background: I started my journey to fitness just this year, and so far, from a staggering 176 pounds (which is considered overweight for my 5'9'' height) I am down to 147 pounds. Currently, I get my exercise by following workout programs. The kinds of workouts that I do vary, as I have a hard time sticking to a specific type of exercise. So far, I have done HIIT, strength intervals and currently I am doing a combination of Pilates and Yoga (combine those two terms and you get Piyo!). Main Quest: As I have already reached beyond my weight goal of 150 pounds, my aim now is to shed a bit more fat and build more lean muscle. Quest 1: Get 8-9 hours of quality sleep. Even though I tend to go to bed early (around 8:30 or 9:00 pm), it will take me a long while before I manage to get to sleep. Additionally, I would always set my alarm at around 5:45 - 6:00 am in order to do my workouts. That way, I wouldn't have to worry about getting my daily dose of workouts after school. Quest 2: Workout 7 days a week. Now that may sound alot and intense, but in some of those days, my workout just involves some stretching for flexibility. I aim to put variety in my workouts. Example on Monday I would do some yoga, while on Tuesday I would do some weight-lighting (around 8-10 pounds, as that's the only weight I have access at the moment). Other than that, I would always brisk walk around school and take the stairs instead of the elevator. Quest 3: Follow the 8-Hour Ab Diet aka Intermittent Fasting while consuming my recommended amount of calories. Surprisingly, despite me being a busy college student, I manage to use my free day to prepare my meals for the rest of the week. Currently, I eat 2 big meals (sometimes with snacks) everyday and so far I never felt hungry throughout the day. Of course, I gotta fill myself up with high-quality lean protein, leafy veggies and some fruit! Life Quest: I am currently in my 2nd term of my Freshman Year and I aspire to attain a Dean's Lister (equivalent to Honor Student) this term in order to make my parents proud. Motivation: I want to be able to do my very best in everything I do, to live my life to the fullest. In the life, when I was overweight, I had a hard time on doing that because of my size. Now that I am in the normal weight, my self-esteem went sky-high and I am able to do my everyday activities with vitality!

So, I've been a little excessively obsessed with Marvel movies lately. (Haha, just kidding! You can never be too obsessed with Marvel.) But you know when you walk out of the theater after a good superhero movie feeling like you could punch through a concrete wall, run a marathon, and then climb a mountain? But then you remember you're fat and lazy and sometimes get out of breath walking up stairs? Yeah, the second part kinda sucks. I'm working to change that. Superheroes are awesome, man. They're generally strong, smart, and good. They fight bad guys, save the world, and they look totally awesome and badass while doing it. Every single time I watch a superhero movie, I walk away wishing I was one. But hey, one important part of a superhero story is the origin story, right? Now I don't have a tragic, angsty backstory involving dead parents, or an awesome one where I'm already essentially a god, so I'll have to take the middle route: just being some random average Joe who has to work for everything. Presumably I pick up my archnemesis somewhere along the way, then face them at a dramatically appropriate moment and defeat them by finally learning the one lesson that's been eluding me, thematically completing my journey to heroism. I am . . . not super clear on that part, I will let you guys know how that turns out. Now, while I successfully lost about 10 pounds my first challenge, I've failed the last two challenges I tried, mostly by losing interest halfway through or completely failing to resist temptation. So this time I'm playing it smarter. I'm doing everything I can to minimize temptation to cheat or stop, and making it as easy as possible to keep to my goals. So if I'm still doing well in a few weeks I'll bump up the difficulty, but until then I'm starting small and trying to build up good habits first and foremost. And I will succeed, because superheroes never give up. No matter how tired they are or how tempting that chocolate bar is. Main Quest: Change everything about my life Fight crime Lose 40 pounds So, there's currently very little I like about my life. I'm overweight, lazy, basically dropped out of college, I don't like my job, I have no useful skills and no major accomplishments to speak of. So all of that needs to change. But we're starting slow and simple here and building up a good foundation. I want to change my diet and exercise habits first and hopefully get rid of a lot of this flab around my belly. Goal 1: Eat 3 servings of fruits/vegetables per day It's not even that I don't like fruits or vegetables. It's just that I'm the type of person who always puts an apple in with my lunch and then ignores it in favor of buying a candy bar at work. So in order to help effect this change, I will be leaving my credit cards and cash at home to prevent temptation. I eat what I bring, or nothing at all. And when I go shopping, I'll go in with a list and get only what's on the list. No more junk food that I can eat while watching the bananas and cantaloupe sadly rot on the counter! Grading: out of 21 points per week (each serving being one point, max. three per day.) - 21 is an A, 17-20 is a B, 10-16 is a C, anything less is an F. Goal 2: Cook at least 2 good meals per week Almost all of my meals are microwaved or fast food. In addition to being terribly unhealthy, it's also not great for my mood or sense of self worth. I am not too lazy or tired to cook, and I'm going to stop telling myself I am. Besides, I have this Crockpot for a reason, right? It's perfect for me - it's good for stews and soups with lots of veggies, I can prepare meals the night before and stick them in the fridge, and if I turn the pot on before leaving for work, it'll just be ready as I'm getting home. (Also I made some truly delicious beef stew in it the other night, and I want to make it again.) Grading: Two meals is an A, one is a D, none is an F. Goal 3: Work out 3 times per week Here's the catch: I'm going to start out just doing one round of the Beginner's Bodyweight Workout. I've had real trouble sticking to workout schedules in the past. So the point of this is less to actually work out, and more to get into the habit of thinking "Okay, time to work out" and just doing it instead of coming up with a hundred reasons why I shouldn't or can't. If I'm still going strong two weeks in, I'll bump up to two rounds and start increasing the number of reps for each exercise, etc. Grading: 3 times is an A, 2 times is a C, once is a D, none is an F. Side Goal: Spend a half hour each day working on my Spanish I've signed up for DuoLingo and am trying to improve my Spanish. I like learning languages, Spanish is really useful, and if I spend a half hour each day on it it'll help me feel like I'm not wasting my life away doing nothing. Grading: 6-7 days is an A, 4-5 days is a B, 2-3 days is a C, 1 day is a D, no days is an F. Alright then . . . I think that's it for right now. I am pretty psyched for this challenge! I think it's going to be a great start for me

What's up guys? I'm not a newcomer to Nerd Fitness. I joined up back in February under a different persona. An injury threw me seriously off track and it was hard to stick to any challenges following it. After several months away, losing weight and working out my injury in physical therapy, I am ready to return. Let's get to the challenge: Main quest: Get down to 200lbs. This was the weight that I was at before my fitness really started going to hell and upon reaching it, I will have lost 50lbs from my heaviest. I am about 215lbs at the moment. Once I reach 200lbs, I will reevaluate my goals. Goal 1: Track my net calories I have been using myfitnesspal religiously, so this should be second nature. I am primarily concerned with and will be evaluating myself on calories, but I will be mindful of my macros, particularly protein. I will allow for one cheat evening per week, but must log everything prior to going out. This will be the primary mechanism by which I lose weight. Scoring: Percentage Score X/42 +2 CON, +2 CHA Goal 2: Hit the gym 3x/week, with each session incorporating both a cardio and strength training phase. For the past few weeks, I have been using the elliptical trainer for 30-40 minutes followed by an upper body workout. I haven't been cleared for squats or deadlifts yet. The three upper body workouts consists of an upper body power day, a back and shoulders hypertrophy day, and a chest and arms hypertrophy day. By lifting, I help to preserve my existing muscle mass while in a steep caloric deficit. Percentage Score X/36. +2 STA, +3 STR Goal 3: Get outside and walk/run at least 2x/week. This will help with excess calories, build up some cardiovascular strength, help strengthen my knee, and mostly get me outside. I am usually cooped up in my office and have come to enjoy some light outdoor cardio. Scoring: Percentage score X/12. + 4 STA Life Goal: Develop better control of my anger I know this one is hard to quantify, so I'll provide weekly examples of how I was able to quell my anger and not fly off the handle. I'm sure plenty of opportunities will present themselves. I've been utilizing a pause->breathe->think->act technique that has been working very well with road rage and dealings with my employees. Scoring: Diffuse at least three situations per week and document them. Percentage score X/18. +2 WIS Motivation: Overall I want to be a better looking, stronger, calmer person with more energy to accomplish the tasks that are set before me or that I set out before myself. I'm stoked to be back in the Rebellion.

Greetings. I am Silmarilliane and I’m a nerd. My nerdiness and general interests include: Star Trek (particularly Voyager), Buffy, LOTR, Sherlock Holmes, The Witcher, Wheel of Time, Board Games, RP Computer Games, Poi, Am-drams and crochet. Who’da thunk I’d make it to a third challenge?! I completed my Level 2 challenge with a B, so I passed and levelled up. I am remaining with the adventurers because, quite frankly, they are awesome (not that the other guilds aren’t!) My life quest remains: To be less flabby in general. I’m extending this to cover reducing body fat, though I’ll only be measuring this every few months so the flab will be the main test, and hopefully lbs lost. I’ll be starting my new challenge on 15th September, the same day as I start a brand new job in a brand new place, so I’m making this challenge a bit easier in case my head explodes* *possible exaggeration Goals for Level 3: · Walking: The new jobs involves walking to the tube and back which clocks up to five miles a day if I don’t get the bus. So 25 miles per week. My goal will be to walk at least 20 miles per week. · Calories: I’ll be on 1600 a day (mfp lightly active, losing 1lb per week), and adding exercise on to this. This should be easy to stay within, with the extra walking, but I’ll need to keep in check at weekends. · Weights: Some form of weight training is needed three times a week – I think I’ll carry on with the workout from bodybuilding.com I worked through in challenge 2, but work on correct form etc before progressing to heavier weights. Base points: 20 miles per week = 500 points Under calories every day of the week = 500 points Weights 3x a week = 500 points Bonus points: Completing all three base points for a week = extra 100 points Completing all three for two weeks straight = extra 200 points Completing all three for three weeks straight = extra 300 points Completing all three for four weeks straight = extra 400 points Completing all three for five weeks straight = extra 500 points Completing all three for the whole challenge = extra 1000 points (and unlikely!) For each extra mile walking I do during the weekdays, I’ll get 50 extra points. Any additional cardio of at least 30 minutes will give me 100 extra points. Any additional cardio of at least 45 minutes will give me 200 extra points. Losing points: For each mile less than 20 per week, I’ll get 100 points deducted (this does allow me to ‘make up’ lost miles at weekends) Going over calories will be 100 points deducted plus the number of calories over. Any day I don’t count calories will be a 1000 point loss. Scoring and Grading: To complete each week correctly and adding the bonuses will give me 11,500 points at the end. This is my first time at a point based system so may be completely and utterly way out with ideas on points and grading, but meh, I’ll see how it goes! (if anyone is awesome with maths and can see huge issues in my points, please let me know!!) 0 – 5,000 = complete and utter fail = Grade U 5,001 – 7,500 = still a fail, but not as complete and utter = Grade N 7,501 – 9,000 = Grade D 9,001 – 10,000 = Grade C 10,001 – 11,000 = Grade B 11,001 – 12,001 = Grade A 12,001 – 14,000 = Grade A* 14,001+ = I am beyond grade and win at life

My 2nd challenge kind of derailed, so I'm getting back to basics. I had started Alternate Day Fasting (ADF) and that actually was going well, however Nerdcation has made that a little harder. I've also decided I'm not going to force myself to exercise. I just hate to sweat, so if I want to do something, I will - but I won't force myself. I've also realized that when my food is clean, I feel a lot better. Main Quest: Get under 200 lbs by the end of the year 1. Follow ADF I will be shooting for a 4 up day : 3 down day with my down days being generally MWFDown days are 500 cal maxAt a minimum, I need to do 5:2 each week.2. Get Moving Walk 30 min each day, preferably outsideAt a minimum, walk 5 days per week3. Quit Eating Like a Chump Eat decent food: mostly following the Perfect Health Diet (rice okay, gluten and gluten free subs not ok, sugar limited to 2 squares dk chocolate per day)Drink at least 64 oz of water per dayPost my food log dailyAnd ... that's that! I'd love support and encouragement and ALL THE GIFS along the way!

A simple Hobbit in Hobbiton, Kareesh never thought about going on an adventure like the well-known Bilbo Baggins. Yet, as is usually the case, adventure finds one whether they want it to or not. For Kareesh, it happened one afternoon as she was outside tending to her herbs. A strange sound reached her pointed ears. She straightened herself and looked around to see what on Middle-Earth could be making that noise. She could scarce believe her eyes. Just a few feet away from her, a giant blue box was appearing out of nowhere. It could only be this strange object that was making that strange sound. Blue eyes watched with curiosity, and with a touch of healthy fear, as it came fully into view. Before she could do anything more than close her gaping mouth, a door suddenly appeared and swung open. Out jumped a male human wearing clothes Kareeh couldn't identify. They looked to be something of a suit, but it's likeness had never been seen before in Hobbiton or the entire Shire. "This is new," the man said pulling on a pair of dark-rimmed spectacles. He peered around before finally noticing Kareesh. "Ah! A native! Could you by any chance tell me where I've landed?" It took her a few moments to find her voice to answer the stranger. "Uh…oh, yes. You're in Hobbiton," she said as politely as her shock would allow her to. "Hobbiton, eh? Never heard of it. And that's strange…" A look came across his face which Kareesh couldn't quite tell what it was. Worry? Confusion? Excitement? Or perhaps a bit of all of them? Before she could contemplate it any further, it was gone replaced by pure excitement. "Anyway, I'm the Doctor, and you are…." "Kareesh. Kareesh Greenhand, sir," she replied. And, though she hardly knew it at the time, this was the start of Kareesh Greenhand's adventures… And with that, I've started on my third challenge. I decided to do a theme this time around, though I couldn't decide if I wanted to do something relating to Middle-Earth or Doctor Who, so I figured "Why not both?" I've never written the Doctor, so sorry if I butchered him. He's surprisingly hard to write about. Anywho, onto the real reason you're here. My challenge. I've taken bits of information from my previous challenges and hopefully I'll do a lot better this time around. Some of the things I've made a bit more broader, which I'm hoping will keep away the discouragement that I often run into about halfway through. Main Quest Get down to 125-130 pounds. Quest #1 - What About Elevensies? As a hobbit, I love to eat. But, once I'm out travelling with the Doctor, nutrient-dense meals are going to be more important and I won't have time to eat chips and dip. For this challenge, I need to track my food intake with MyFitnessPal. I also need to stay in the 1400-1500 calorie range. I'll take a look at this around week 3 and see if I need to do any adjusting on that. Quest #2a - The Road Goes Ever On and On Before the beginning of this challenge, I'm going to be getting myself a pedometer and start tracking how far I've walked in a day. My overarching goal is to walk to Mordor from the Shire, and from Mordor to the Grey Havens. It is very unlikely that I'm going to accomplish all that in 6 weeks, but this is a start. Quest #2b - Run! Okay, I'm not going to be running, but I am going to be moving in that direction. For 5 days a week, I need to be doing something active. Whether that's a long walk, dance cardio, yoga, anything! If I want to be a good companion for the Doctor, then I need to be able to handle myself in dangerous circumstances. Quest #3 - Pop is Rubbish. I Hate Soda Pop. Okay, no, I actually love it, and that's a problem. So, this challenge, I'm going to limit myself to only drinking 2 sodas a week. My husband "has" to have soda in the house, so it's going to be a little bit difficult, but as I found in the past challenge, I can go days only drinking water, so I'm going to do that. Maybe a bit of juice or something if I get the sweet tooth thing going. Life Quest - Pedil edhellen? Though most of the time while travelling with the Doctor, you don't really need to know any other languages thanks to the translation circuit, but sometimes it doesn't always work. Which is why I'm going to be taking this time to learn Japanese. I know a tiny bit, but not a whole lot. So, for 5 days a week, I'm going to be studying Japanese with some text books that I bought.

Greetings everyone. This is my second try at Challenge #2. I had an issue in the last challenge where I had to go to the hospital which kinda knocked me out of action for two weeks. However, for this challenge, I can say that I already have won it. I waited until after Camp Nerd Fitness to actually formally start the challenge because I knew the experiences there would impact what I want to do in this challenge. And it definitely did so. Camp was freaking awesome. Lots of friends were made and a lot of education took place. It also acted as what I call a transformational experience in my life. Some of this I will post about in a Woot post later this week. My Character: I'm an Ogre Adventurer My Main Quest: As of now, I want to lose another 100 pounds. I currently have lost approximately 50 pounds since April 2014. Once I get down 150 pounds I can have a surgery that will solve the root cause of many of my other health issues. But at my weight, the surgery is a bit too risk for me to undertake. My Transformational Quest: This what has changed the most due to Camp Nerd Fitness. I found that my life has been very lonely and unfulfilling and I need to change it immediately. I need to create my Jedi Council and batcave. I need to get out and do more. I need to stop being lazy. I need to get my ass kicked from time to time. I want to be a Hero. I want to value myself as a person and not worry about what people think about me. I need to do activities that push me out of my comfort zone and challenge me. Continuting Quest: I'm changing this to my continuing quest because it will be an active part of every quest from hereon out. I'm also adapting it to be more flexible for the future. So my goal now is to maintain a certain level of activity. On days I don't go to the gym, I want to make sure that I get at least 10,000 steps. On gym days, I need to make sure that I kick butt.Grading: A - Completed for at least 39 of the 42 daysB - Completed between 30-39 of the 42 daysC - Completed between 25-30 of the daysF - Less than 25 daysReward: +STA (3 for A, 2 for B, 1 for C, 0 for Failure) Challenge Quest 1: Angry Bird Fitness Workout. I'm going to make this easy. I want to be at level 2 on all phases by the next challenge.Grading:A - Made Level 2 on All 4B - Made Level 2 on 3 phasesC - Made Level 2 on 2 phasesF - I'm a wuss.Reward: +STR (3 for A, 2 for B, 1 for C, 0 for Failure) Challenge Quest 2:So I have been on a Paleo diet since this challenge has started. I'll use this as a stepping board to continue to be good. So I'll judge this based on how much I follow the Paleo plan with a few modifications.Grading:A - Completed 90% of the time.B - Completed 70-89% of the time.C - Completed 50-69% of the time.F - Less than 50% of the time.Reward: +CON (3 for A, 2 for B, 1 for C, 0 for Failure) Real Life Reward for Completing Challenge (Part 1 of 2):I'll do this reward if I complete two challenges (this being part 1 of 2). Fly to Seattle and hang out with a friend who has just moved there and do some hiking in Mt. Rainier National Park. It was fun when I last did it 8 years ago. Plus it will get me out of the house. I AM A HERO!!!

Okay since I have a gym membership at the dreaded Planet Fitness since that is the only place I can afford, I have to come up with a workout routine that I will enjoy and stick to. Since I love lifting, I have to do that. Great - I have heard lots of positive things about the Strong Lifts program - 5x5 seems totally and completely do able. Oh wait there is a big problem - the gym doesn't have any barbells. Okay so that plan is scrapped. Or is it? I can modify it right? I mean anything can be modify to fit any situation right? Okay so how should I modify it? Lets see the original plan is: Workout A: Squat, Bench Press, Barbell Row Workout B: Squat, Overhead Press, Deadlifts Now how can I modify that? Squats - goblet squats or body weight Bench press - dumbbell bench press Barbell Row - dumbbell row or inverted row on the Smith Machine Overhead Press - dumbbell overhead press Deadlifts - dumbbell deadlifts Awesome I can do everything without a barbell. So this should be easy to start correct? Wrong. I have agreed to watch a friend kids starting at 5:45 am every day and lasts until 5:00 pm every night. Then comes making dinner and helping my children with their homework. Sigh - okay so this plan won't workout after all.... or will it This is going to suck. But I have to do it right? Okay so I have the workout all figured out but to be successful with getting where I want to go, I need to also have my diet in check since that will be 80% of the battle to get to where I want to be mentally and physically. Time to go back to counting calories on MFP - YUCK YUCK YUCK. So there is my challenge in a nutshell. Listed below is the summery of it. Main Goal - To be come happy with my self mentally and physically Quest 1: Exercises 5 days per week. 3 will be Stronglifts and 2 will be incline walking Quest 2: Record everything that crosses my lips, including the Crystal light that I drink instead of water.

For those of you who don't know me, the short version: Five years ago, after having my first baby, I quickly dropped 25 lbs below my pre-pregnancy weight and I was not overweight to begin with. I now have two more kids. I love being a mom, but I have not taken care of myself. I'm weak and I have very little energy. I don't want to keep living like this. Main Goal: Gain 25-30 lbs and end up at around 16-18% BF. Be stronger and have more energy than ever before. 1. Eat all the food! Get at least 2000 calories of real food. (+2 STA, +2 CON) 6-7 days a week- A 5 days- B 4 days- C less than 4 days- go to Golden Corral (not really lol) 2. Do all the workouts! Body weight training 3x week. (+3 STR, +1 STA) 3x- A 2x- C less than 2x- quit being a slacker 3. Walk all the days! Take my dog for a walk every day. I'll accept the 1-1.5 miles I did before just down the road and back. I enjoy the time with my dog and just being outside, so this is good for me mentally as well. (+2 STA, +2 WIS) 6-7 days a week- A 5 days- B 4 days- C less than 4 days- get up and get out Life Goal We've decided to clean out our basement. There is a good bit of space there that we could really use and it's just full of junk. We're clearing out, cleaning it up, and getting rid of all the crap we don't need. I'm not sure how to grade this one, since the time I'll be working on it daily will vary and my husband will be helping too. (+3 WIS) Motivation- 1.I want to have an active, healthy family. I'm with my kids every day and they watch what I do. I need to be a good example. 2. I've always been a shrimp and I never thought I would be able to do much physically. It's time to find out.

What do you call a late noob? Me! (Better late than never, right?) Hi all, after some deliberation, I decided that since fat loss is still a major long-term goal of mine, I hang out with the adventurers for a while. Did well as a level 1 rebel on my first challenge, moving up in strength training from 10 to 20 lb weights in most exercises, and 20 to 30 lb dumbbells for chest press. I walked for at least 20 minutes EVERY DAY during the last challenge, and I improved a lot by the end of my mini mission of eating < 100g carbs per day (4 times a week). By the end, I had lost 6.5 inches off my, chest, waist, and hips, yay! Since diet is like 90% of fat loss success, I’d like to focus on mostly diet stuff for this challenge. So for my first adventurer challenge, I have posed the following for myself: Main Quest: Fit into Size 8 Jeans by the end of the year (this would be a great xmas present to myself!) **EDITED** I decided that I want to incorporate a strength challenge for myself in order to maintain my strength training. I'm still new to it and need to keep it challenging, otherwise I'll get bored and might quit! So my strength challenge is a part of a long term goal of mine to do a pull up one day. I can do 20-25 lb dumbbell rows, and according to Steve's How to do a Pull Up post, I need to get to 35 lbs before I can get to pull up land. So my strength goal is to get to 35 lbs by the end of the 6-week challenge. **I'LL SAVE THIS FOR NEXT TIME!!** Drink 8 glasses of water daily: I plan to track this through myfitnesspal. It was a good tool to have during the last challenge, so I will continue to use it. To help reach this goal, I also have a water bottle at work that holds about 4 cups of water, so as long as I fill it up in the middle of the day, I’ll have drunk the majority of my water goal at work (or at least half if I don’t get a chance to refill it). Have one vegetable daily: I’ve always been good about trying to get my veggies in, but never consciously tracked this. Batch cook meals every Sunday: During my last challenge, I had a really hard time making my carb goal, but once I started preparing meals for the week, it got so much easier. So to continue this successful trend, I will batch cook a bunch of food on Sunday, divide it up into my little Tupperware containers, and I’ll have food for the week ready to go for work! Side Quest: Read: I’m going to keep this one simple, so the goal here is to find a book and finish it by the end of the challenge. Any suggestions? I read mostly fantasy, and would go for a new series. I was recommended the Mistborn Trilogy, but I am open to any recommendations. Here’s the point breakdown: Strength Challenge: 35 lb dumbbell rows: +3 STR 30 lb dumbbell rows: +2 STR 25 lb dumbbell rows: +1 STR **SAVING FOR NEXT TIME** Water Challenge: 40-42 days: +3 CONS 37-39 days: +2 CONS 36-38 days: +1 CONS Veggie Challenge: 40-42 days: +2 CONS and +1 WIS 37-39 days: +1 CONS and +1 WIS 36-38 days: +1 CONS Batch Cook Challenge: All Sundays: +2 CONS and +1 WIS 4-5 Sundays: +1 CONS and +1 WIS 3-4 Sundays: +1 CONS Read and finish book: +1 WIS (this one’s an all-or-nothing) Not sure how to allocate my points to my attributes, any suggestions there would also be very helpful. Thanks for reading my post! *EDITED: I added the attribute allocations suggested by T2sarahconnor.

Hi! I'm a first time adventurer, having just finished my level 1 rebel challenge this past week. I've been on the diet and exercise train for what seems like forever, and have about 80 lbs more I need to lose (I've lost 20 or so already, prior to NF). I have done several whole 30s and have found that this is a really good way for me to eat, so I've embraced the primal lifestyle, although it's mostly been "ish" lately. I also have addictive tendencies around food, so I cannot count calories or carbs or anything, really with numbers on a regular basis, so I work with that. I haven't yet found my preferred movement - I still, if I'm honest, really dislike exercising (I don't like to sweat), and haven't yet found my movement yet, so I have incorporated that into my challenge. Main Quest: Get under 200 lbs by the end of the year Quest #1: Do hard things! #1a: Complete training workouts and complete half marathon on Aug 3rd Scoring: 1 point per workout; 2 points per long walk/actual marathon #1b: [beginning Aug 4] Do BBWW at least 3x per week. I hate BBWW with a passion, but I really need to strengthen my core, so this counts as a hard thing. Scoring: 2 points per workout Quest #2: Get off my butt. Reach 10,000 steps or over 6 out of 7 days each week Scoring: 1 point per 10K day; 1 point for each 5k over 10k, rounded down [so 21k steps would score 3 points] Quest #3: Eat what is good for me #3a: Limit recreational sugar to 3 small squares of 72% (or greater) plain dark chocolate per day Scoring: -4 points per recreational sugar item consumed #3b: Eat 1lb cooked veggies and 1lb raw veggies every day. [i do need to work up to this, and it will mean eating salads for breakfast most days, I think] Scoring: 0.5 points per ½ lb veggies consumed Quest #4: Find my movement. Once per week, get a guest pass to a gym and try out a new class. Scoring: 2 points per new class attended Statistics: Use the Chammy spreadsheet to track weight and measurements regularly Weekly Challenge Grading: A+: 26 (or more) points A: 23 - 25 points B: 21 - 22 points C: 18 - 20 points D: 16 - 17 points FAAAAAIL: 15 points or fewer [look at that correct grammar!] OVERALL CHALLENGE GRADING: A+: 156 (or more) points A: 140 - 155 points B: 125 - 139 points C: 109 - 124 points D: 94 - 108 points FAAAAAIL: 93 points or fewer [i should also put a life quest in here, but maybe this is enough for now....] Motivation: I am tired of being tired, easily winded, and not confident in who I am. And I'm working on changing that right here!

I am heading to Camp! NerdFitness! So, the wheels on the bus go round and round...preparing me to be fit enough to participate at Camp NF! I have one serious issue that confronts me(only one?) artificial cervical disc replacement surgery on September 10th. The prognosis is that I will be able to participate, just not lift heavy things(oh, so sorry WildRoss and company!) or do crazy things like fly through the air (no zip line for me!) But any surgery result is better off with a healthy person going into it. The wheels are a set of various activities that I have collected that work with my various disabilities - For some of the break down, you can check out my notes in preparation for this challenge. I will create a set of cards and choose from them each day...and at the end of the week, I will have my totals. 1) Fitness Roulette Wheel - 6/7 20 min (2 Strength /2 Stamina/ 2 Dex) up to 2 STRENGTH - DO SOMETHING strong 3/7 DAYS up to 2 STAMINA - DO SOMETHING for 10 min 6/7 DAYS up to 2 DEXTERITY - DO SOMETHING flexible - 6/7 week - 1 each day That is 15 pts per week and 90pts per challenge 81-90pts= A, 72-80pts = B, 63-71pts = C 2) Reading/Encouraging Wheel - 6/7 20 min (2 Wisdom 2Charisma ) Reading Wheel: Wisdom one point for each item READ. one per week goal is 6 Breakdown would be 6pts =A, 5 pts = B, 4pts = C Community Wheel: Adventurers / Level 1s(Red Pill) / RPG one point per day, goal is 6 Breakdown would be 6pts =A, 5 pts = B, 4pts = C 3) Food- 6/7 (a cheat meal on day 7 maybe?) (+3 Constitution) log on MFP Diet - Paleo 6/7 days new Recipes - 1 each week 7pts/ week 42/ challenge 38-42=A, 33-37=B, 28-31=C MAIN QUESTS: Spiritual - reading my Bible Life Goal - A painting Weight Loss and increased functional strength. The one thing I'm not sure I want to see is this:

Hello Adventurers! I just completed my first challenge last week and am ready to take on a second! Although the first didn't go as well as I planned, I learned a lot from the experience. MAIN GOAL Lose inches! I don't have access to a scale so I will measure my progress with inches and by how my clothes fit. My goal weight is 145 lb and size 9 pants. Currently, I don't know my actual weight, but I imagine it's in the 175-180 lb range. At the beginning of my first challenge, it was 182 lb. SUB-GOALS 1. Exercise for 30 minutes 5 days a week. Doesn't matter what it is - as long as I get my heart rate up. Up through August 8th it'll be a mix of Insanity, walking, and whatever I'm doing at work. (For those of you who don't know, I work at the botanical garden in South Carolina - weeding, mulching, light construction. I enjoy it!) After August 8th, I stop work and go back to school [ugh!] - but also get access to the gym! 2. Be able to do 20 consecutive REAL pushups. Right now i do pushups on my knees. This week I've started doing 60 pushups each morning followed by 30 30lb rows per arm. With the pushups I can do the first 20 consecutively, then 10, then sets of 5 for the rest. The rows I do in sets of 10. I've made some progress already - at the beginning of the week I could only do 10 consecutive pushups, now I can do 20. Do you all think this strategy would work, or would you suggest others? 3. Create a budget and stick with it. Next week (Thursday) I'm moving into a new apartment. I'm excited, but NOW I have bills to pay and deposits to make. In the past I had on-campus student housing and this past year (my first year of graduate school) I had off-campus housing, but electric, water, internet, and cable were included in the rate. This year everything's separate AND since this is my first time, I have a boatload of deposits to make! I didn't realize there'd be so many huge deposits! $200 for electric, $150 for water, and $60 for internet! Whew! Toooo much! So basically I want to make sure I get all these deposits and bills paid on time, figure out a good gas budget, food budget, and other. This goal will not be able to be measured weekly - it'll depend on how the bills come in. I can work on a food budget first though! If ya'll know what the cheapest protein sources would be or any other helpful ways to save on food let me know! Right now I've been buying frozen vegetables,bags of carrots, eggs, frozen chicken breasts, bananas, apples, and beans. I also buy hummus, guacamole, and feta cheese to add some flavor! I'm gonna do my best to eat healthy, but I don't plan to measure it in this challenge since it was such a struggle last challenge. Also, I'll take measurements Monday and post them to measure my progress. I'll update weekly. Hopefully I'll post pictures too! Best of luck on your challenges fellow adventurers!

I've started two challenges and am yet to finish one. This time around, I'm going for the smallest of baby steps to keep me on track to getting fitter and eating healthier. Step one: walk to mordor! Walk one kilometre every day. That's it. One measly km. every day. I'm tracking this on runkeeper, where I have a goal set up with 2,846 km—the distance to Mordor and back, from the Shire. ATTRIBUTE POINTS: STA 3 CON 1 Step two: yoga every damn day I want to get as flexible as I was when I was younger. Well, not quite. I want to be better than I was then. I want to be able to do a proper handstand. I want to do the things I see on my Instagram feed. (I follow a lot of yogis). So my goal is to do yoga every day for at least ten minutes. ATTRIBUTE POINTS: DEX 3 STR 1 Step three: paleo central I was a vegetarian for eight and a half years. I recently got back to eating meat (a personal choice) but I want to do it the healthy way. I want to eat real food. I'm allowing dairy for this challenge because I'm fairly sure my digestive system is okay with that and also because it's my way of easing myself into the new way of eating. I'm giving myself a score out of ten for every day, depending on how well I eat and how I feel physically and mentally about it. ATTRIBUTE POINTS: CON 3 Extra motivation My life quest is to be a better person. I know this isn't a quantifiable goal so I'm using the medium of SuperBetter to express it—I want to get more resilient. SuperBetter is a game designed to help you level up in life. You can power up at any time, fight bad guys, complete quests and make allies to improve your resilience and get happier. My resilience started at 280 and, based on the max points you can gain in a day, my goal is to get 470 points, so up to 750 at the end of this challenge. Some of the power ups and quests will be a part of the goals I've already outlined, and some will be extra credit. ATTRIBUTE POINTS: CHA 2 WIS 2

Wow! I can hardly believe I'm an adventurer! I'm still getting all my thoughts together, so I'll probably come back and edit this with all my goals and everything once I have it all figured out. First, a little bit about me. My name is Kareesh, I'm a 27-year old stay-at-home mom to a wild and crazy 2-year old. My husband and I will be celebrating our 4 year anniversary in September. I've struggled with my weight ever since I was in high school. Beyond my childhood, I can't remember a time when I was a super healthy weight. I've been on tons of diets, losing around 10 pounds, giving up for one reason or another, and then gaining it all back. I normally would stagnate around a certain weight. Then I had my daughter, and I stagnated at a higher weight. Now, recently, I've been gaining a bunch of weight and I can't figure out why. My suspicions are that I've stopped being active and my eating habits have just gone *poof*. I need to get my weight under control. Sure, it'd be nice to be sexy for my husband, but it's more than that. I have pretty crappy genes for health issues. My great-grandfather and grandmother on my mom's side had/have diabetes and a cousin also has pre-diabetes. That's a genetic thing, but I know weight also adds into that, as demonstrated by my dad's side of the family. I had a scare when I was pregnant and had to go through the gestational diabetes test. I failed the short one, and had to go in for the 3-hour test. Thankfully I passed that one, but it still gave me quite a scare. I hate having to huff and puff when playing with my daughter. I'm also in kendo, and sometimes it's hard for me to keep up with some of the exercises. I hate feeling like this and I want to not be embarrassed about my body (but that's a whole 'nother story for another time). Tl;dr - I need to lose weight for my health and for my family. This will be my 3rd challenge at NF, and I'm looking forward to actually finishing this one. Point System: Points will be added up at the end of the week and then averaged for the week's rating. An overall grade will be given at the end of the 6 month challenge. Here's the grading scale I'll be using: A = 89 - 100 B = 77 - 88 C = 65 - 87 Failing is 64 and below Main Quest Get weight down to 125-130 pounds. This means I need to lose about 80-85 pounds. Quest #1a - Get walking I, along with some friends and family, are signed up to walk/run in a Color Run in August. I was intending to jog it, but everytime I try to run/jog, my foot starts hurting. I've decided that I'm going to have to walk it, so I need to make sure I can walk the whole thing. I'm going to commit to walk at least 2 miles every Monday-Wednesday-Friday. Once that becomes fairly easy, then I'll bump it up to the whole 5K (3.1 miles). +3 STA, + 1 STR Rating System: 0 = Didn't walk at all 1 = Walked less then .5 miles 2 = Walked .5 - .9 miles 3 = Walked 1 mile 4 = Walked 2 miles 5 = Walked more then 2 miles Quest #1b - Get stronger The days I'm not walking, I need to be doing something else, right? So I've decided to do the Beginner Body Weight Workout on Tuesday-Thursday. I have very little upper body strength, and I really want to work on that, especially now that I'm in kendo. I need the strength (and stamina!) to be waving a sword around. This workout, I believe, will help with that. Either that, or turn me into jelly. Not sure which yet. +2 STR Rating System: 0 = Didn't do it at all 1 = Didn't make it through one circuit 2 = Did one circuit 3 = Did more than one circuit Quest #2 - Eat better Knowing what I put into my body is half the battle, so I need to be recording what I put into my mouth by using MFP. I'm also going to be sticking to staying under 1500 calories (preferably closer to 1400). +3 CON Rating System: 0 = Didn't track anything 1 = Tracked 1 meal 2 = Tracked 2 meals 3 = Tracked 3 meals 4 = Tracked everything Quest #3 - Sleep longer I have been sleeping horribly lately. I've been staying up super late, but still having to get up when my husband and daughter get up early-ish. My average is 5-6 hours a night. I know that not getting enough sleep can also wreck havoc on the body and influence how one loses weight, so I'm shooting to get 7-8 hours of sleep every night. +1 CON Rating System: 0 = Less than 5 hours of sleep 1 = 5-6 hours of sleep 2 = 7-8 hours of sleep Life Quest Use that creativity! Quest #1 - Start Writing I want to start writing again. It's a good creative outlet for me. I miss making characters come to life and having the feeling that I'm in another world. So, I need to write or do research for my writings for a minimum of 15 minutes for 6 days a week. +2 WIS, +1 CHA Rating System: 0 = Didn't write at all 1 = Wrote for under 5 minutes 2 = Wrote 5-9 minutes 3 = Wrote 10-14 minutes 4 = Wrote 15 minutes 5 = Wrote over 15 minutes Quest #2 - Finish What You Started I'm a huge cross-stitcher. I love to sit down and stitch. However, I don't always do all the finishing stuff like cleaning, ironing, and framing. So, to help clean out my box of stuff, I need to finish one project a week to complete this quest (though I may not have enough frames to finish them all...) +2 WIS Rating System: 0 = Didn't finish project 1 = Mostly finished project 2 = Finished project Motivation These two. Both of them are very active, and I want to be able to keep up with them for a long long while. I also want to kick my genes in the butt and show them that they don't control my life. Starting Stats Weight: 211.6 Age: 27 Gender: Female Will have to do measurements tomorrow...

This is my second challenge. I'm sorry for being so late, but I have been trying to keep up with everything, even though I've had a ear/sinus infection that is still kicking my butt. This challenge is to prepare me for the Journey - to Camp NerdFitness, of course. I'm making a few modifications that I found important in the last round... I know this post sucks and hopefully I'll be able to update it and make it more exciting. Now off to sleep and hope my head stops pounding. My Character: I'm an Ogre Adventurer My Main Quest: I need to lose 150 pounds by the end of next year (I would prefer faster, but I need to remain realistic and 10 pounds a month is realistic). This will allow me to complete a surgery that will greatly improve my quality of life but is currently too dangerous for me to do (and no, it isn't a weight reduction surgery). My (Shorter) Term Quest: Not make a complete fool of myself at Camp Nerd Fitness and to march for Alumni Band in October. Challenge Quest 1: Swim Walk/Aerobics twice a week (at least) and walk/jog for averaging 2 miles each day I don't do the gym work. I currently do this for 4-5 days a week, but I need to extend the time and intensity. At least once a week, add in 10~15 minutes of Cardio on the treadmill to try to increase my speed in a controlled environment. Grading: A - Completed for at least 39 of the 42 days B - Completed between 30-39 of the 42 days C - Completed between 25-30 of the days F - Less than 25 days Reward: +STA (3 for A, 2 for B, 1 for C, 0 for Failure) Challenge Quest 2: Angry Bird Fitness Workout. As often as I can do it. Grading: A - Strength Training for 3 days a week B - Strength Training for 2 days a week C - Strength Training at all F - I'm a wuss. Reward: +STR (3 for A, 2 for B, 1 for C, 0 for Failure) Challenge Quest 3: I need to change my diet more. I will eat a vegetable and a fruit every day (this will be a harder challenge than 1 and 2 for me) and continue to strictly limit sugar and carbs from my life. (Continued from last time) Grading: A - Completed 90% of the time. B - Completed 70-89% of the time. C - Completed 50-69% of the time. F - Less than 50% of the time. Reward: +CON (3 for A, 2 for B, 1 for C, 0 for Failure) Life Quest: (Carried over from last time) I'm tired of being a lonely single shy guy. I want to make new friends that I can go do things with. This will involve me actually talking to people. If I find a girl I like, ask her on a date. Reward: +CON (1 for new friend, 3 for date) Real Life Reward for Completing Challenge (Part 1 of 2): I'll do this reward if I complete two challenges (this being part 1 of 2). Fly to Seattle and hang out with a friend who has just moved there and do some hiking in Mt. Rainier National Park. It was fun when I last did it 8 years ago. Plus it will get me out of the house. Though it isn't a reward, Camp Nerd Fitness is going to be freaking awesome. HvZ here I come... My Motivation: I've been like this for way to long. I have a need to have surgery to correct an internal issue, but the seven plus hours of anesthesia would be extremely risky for me in this step. Losing the weight will make this surgery possible and would reduce an irritant that I must live with daily that interferes with me living a happy life. I'm also unhappy with the effect of my weight on my self esteem. Starting Measurements (some are estimated): Body Weight: 378.2 pounds (Down 20 pounds since April) Resting HR: 74 bpm Waist (measured just below belly button): 53 inches Shoulders: 64 inches Hip: 50 inches

So - I am just setting up a thread here - while I'm traveling with my daughter and two grandsons(1 and 3.5) from Clermont Florida back to Youngstown Ohio. It is coming up time for me to figure out if I need to have surgery on my eye to release the liquified jelly that is pulling away from my retina and causing a 'sheen' on my eyesight - or more specifically - the right half of my right eye is like looking through sheer curtains - with occasional lightning curves, though, those have pretty much stopped(meaing the 6 month process is probably coming to an end). It is coming up time for me to figure out which surgery, if any, I will have on my neck. It is coming up time for me to be walking 5k's so that I can do my color run in July in Birmingham AL. And, it's past time for me to lose weight. it's past time for me to build strength. it's past time for me to face fears, and doubts, and frustrations. How this will look as a challenge, I don't know. But what I do know is that I will do these things: Physical ( 3STR) Cool showers - I like the effect - maybe I'll be up to a cold shower - 3x week. wk1:xxxx 1.Arms/Shoulders: Pushups(counter or wall) - wk1 mx, tx, w10 2.Leg(and hip) exerises(squats, steps ups, awesome legs, diva dierierre) - wk1:mx tx w1010; Rx; F10+30 3.CORE: Planks every day -wk1:mx, txn, wx;Rx; 4.arm strength(variations of curls, rows, kettlebells) - 3x week. wk 1:mx, tx, wx Rx; 5. walk every day - base rate is 5000 steps - work to 10000 day if no surgeries. wk1:m 4k; t 4k; w 4k; R1k 6. swim 1x week: wk 1: Diet (3CON) paleo - meaning - NOgrains, NOdairy, NOaddedsugar(1 fruit per day) wk 1:mx; tx; w yes; Ry I am participating in BiggestLoser3.0 on Facebook, hosted by AlienJenn. Wisdom/Spiritual (3WIS) I have messed up on my Bible Reading, and Prayer - this needs to be daily - if only 5-10 minutes each wk1: mx;tx; wy;Ry; I have forgotten the joy program - posting a joy thing each day 100happydaysmx, tx, wy;Ry; I have forgotten the art project - art each day. mx,tx, wx; Rx Posting! I want to add these three back - because these three make me who I am - whereas the physical is to help me be who I am! Accountability I am part of the Adventurers Quild - I have 3 stats left for mini challenges at adventurers - I will need to post something here each day - to be accountable. Or I'll start a battle log. I will participate with my accountabilibuddies in the RPG fanatics thread. and in the blackdog thread RPG AND Adventurer's guild - first mini - +1 WIS for finding and connecting with folks I want to tackle depression, anxiety, PTSD, and some other stuff...but I am finding that the above behaviors are the minimum necessary for my well being, mentally and emotionally! Diet - especially sugar and graines - cause depression to lurk closer. Lack of meditation in my Faith in Jesus Christ tends to weaken my joy. Lack of consistent exercises tends to weaken me, period, and lead to more stiffness. I want to work on what I found out in the last challenge, as I attempted to peel back the layers(of the onion - or cake - whichever) to reveal myself. It was a great lesson, a great time of revelation...and I want to solidify some of those things. DIGS: week one - neck surgery, find cardio reports; find what HAS worked in the past

Through sheer force of will he materialized! His spontaneous appearance accented by a resounding clap of pure anger and frustration! He collapsed to the ground, the magenta hued Pandarian breathing heavily. "Curse you Goregemonger!" he swore violently, a string of curses so vile they could not be reproduced with mere words alone. "It takes more than that to defeat me!" Laughter, deep and foreboding replied as he started his third quest. <Purple_Panda has reconnected> Long story short, last quest ended swimmingly I thought, held to my goals, didn't quite complete all of them, but success across the board was had. However, sadly, we had ISP issues for the last 30 days of the challenge basically. *grumbles incoherently* This being said, the last quest was pretty tough. I think with the success of the first I bit off more than I should have. Again, while I feel I succeeded, it was by the purple fur of my butt! I plan with this challenge to revert back to my first challenges goals to get the wheels going a little easier, but tweak it slightly. Main Quest Continue to rid the country side of Gorge Monger, the Evereatings, influence! Drop 12lb in six weeks. Missions: 1: No Rest For the Wicked! Just as the forces of evil do not rest, I must maintain my activity! Run/Jog, at least, 5 miles a week. +3STA +1STR +1DEX 2: Cleanse the local Temples! Continue with Paleo. +3CON 3: Training 101 + More! Every other day do the Advanced Body Weight Workout followed by 20+ minutes of an additional work out of my choice. This means after completeing the ABWW I'll then, for example, do another circuit of it, or dumbbell routine, or stair stepper, etc. Jogging/Running does not count for this particular Mission. +3STR +1DEX +1STA Life Quest: Get the house sold! +1WIS +1CHA Realtor coming over tonight; didn't make the last goal. Blargh! Hopefully by the end of this challenge I'll be rid of it! Notes Pretty short and sweet for my goals, simplistic can be better I think; so I'm hoping this will rock. On top of the goals above, I've kind have fallen in love with the PLP challenge, I started it this morning, and while not a goal, kind of a sweet thing to do on the side. Rocking out 60 Pull-ups through out the day is pretty awesome! I never thought I'd be able to do 10 in a row! Trying to get to 12 in a row at the moment. *cheers* Starting Stats Weight: 267lb

So my last challenge went both good and bad, good in the sense I was sticking with some of the workouts, eating better, discovered that nightshades are not my friend...but that darn c25k kicked my tail (again). They say third time's a charm, so this challenge is looking like this: A – C25k, 18 workouts (3x week - 6 weeks)B – Skipped 1-3 runsC – Skipped 4-6 runsD – Skipped 7-9 runsF – Skipped more than 9 runs A – Yoga (or other workout), all 12 workoutsB – Skipped 1-2 workoutsC – Skipped 3-4 workoutsD – Skipped 5-6 workoutsF – Skipped more than 6 workouts. Trying to focus on doing a little homework each night as well, so I'm not trying to get it all done on the weekend when I want to do other things, especially since summer is here!! I need to find a 5k to train for so I have some motivation! Some of my challenges this time will be work, my new job just gave me new responsibilities, as in now I'm in charge of the kitchen as well as my accounting duties...should be interesting...given the 2 hour commute I may need to find more hours in the day...Putting these here so I can find them at the end of this...Measurement 05/27/14 Height 5'7 Weight 177 Neck 13.75 Chest 40 Waist 36 Hips 43

This will be my second challenge (didn't finish my first one), but I'm super excited to complete this one. Starting Stats Age: 27 Gender: Female Height: 5'2" Weight: 207.4 lbs Main Quest Overall, I need to lose 82 pounds. For the 6WC, I'm aiming to lose 8-10 pounds. Missions -> Complete weeks 1-6 of Couch 2 5K -> Complete the Beginner Body Weight Workout twice a week -> Eat a full serving of a veggie or fruit at every meal Life Quest I need to get my apartment in better shape and that means I need to run a tighter ship. I'm not great at doing daily chores. I'd much rather cross stitch or watch TV or something more fun. Sadly, I choose to do these fun things more than I do housework, and that's causing my husband stress. Missions -> Do a load of dishes every day -> Pick up clutter on floor every night before bed -> Make and keep to cleaning schedule Motivation I have super-duper horrible genes when it comes to diseases (cancer, diabetes, mental health, heart disease, etc), so I need to make sure that I lower those chances as much as I can. By being 70-80 pounds overweight, I'm not helping. I want my daughter to see the healthy choices I'm making so she will make healthy choices as well. I'll be using a spreadsheet to track my progress. A percentage will be determined based on whether I did that item for the day or not and based on that percentage a letter grade will be given. A = 89-100 B = 77-88 C = 65-87 Failing is 64 and below

Hello all! I'm excited to join you on this next challenge! Overall goals: Nothing specific yet, I really just want to be more healthy, have more energy and such. Eventually maybe 125-130lbs and about 18ish% BF? When I get to that point I'd really like to see what I can do. Starting point: I have been underweight for several years now. I have a 5 year old, 2 year old, and 3 month old. After my first challenge last round I found out I wasn't getting half the calories I need. I was not taking the time to care for myself and, yikes, now I know why I'm in the condition I'm in. Focus and goals: This time It's gaining weight...period. I need to get some meat on my bones before I can do anything else. I'll put the goals here I'll work out the scoring tomorrow. I don't even like thinking about this, but's it's not like you can't tell by looking at me -starting weight 98.2 lbs I don't have any numbers in mind for the end of this challenge, I just want it to go up. Goal 1: At least 2000 calories a day- I should have more than that, but last challenge I bombed this one much more than I should have so I need to beat it this time. If I get more, then yay for the bonus. Goal 2: Again taking from the last one, 8 cups of water a day. It's summer. It's hot. I can't build my body to it's full potential if I'm dehydrated. Goal 3: Walk a mile with my dog at least 3 times a week. I don't want to do anything strength or endurance or anything else physically building right now, but I know I feel better when I get outside for a bit. I think 3 days a week gives me enough of a cushion for rain and busy days. Life goal: After my walks, I'm going to work on training my dog. She's 5 years old and is eager to please, but with an unplanned move and 3 kids since we got her, I haven't given her the time she needs. She has some behavioral issues that need work and I'd really like her to be a great family dog for us.

Art by Bob Kehl I'm a little fixated on the roleplaying aspect here. The "what race are you" quiz pegged me for an amazon, probably based on my height. When I started level 1, I was all set to pick half-elf or lowly human, but since there seems to be kickass amazon woman potential in me, I jumped all over it. Now if I can just prove my worth... My motivation is to gain some confidence by accomplishing just these basics of weight loss and mental health. Before I embark on the druids' path, where I hope to be a wise and calm amazon warrior, I must pass simple adventurer training. Also I have a long-running thing for pirates, so I'm once again pretending to be one with The CutLasses Goals 1. ACTIVITY. Hit the bodyweight circuit hard. Get up to 3 reps. Do a real pushup. Supplement with walking, even if it's up and down the hilly driveway. At least 30 minutes of activity 3 days a week. 4 days would be even better. (STR | 3) (STA | 3) (DEX | 2) 2. Protein, lots of protein. I don't care if I just eat a bowl of meat (and veggies) with a fork. Putting some distance between me and bread products. I'll be tracking my food intake. (Note: this doesn't mean switching to paleo. That's too intense for me. But I can reduce my carb intake greatly.) (CON | 3) 3. Meditate, even if it's one minute a day. I'll be tracking my levels of stress/anxiety/brain spinning. (WIS | 2) Bonus Life Quest: Apply for new jobs; put myself out there. (CHA | 2) It's time. I thought I could stick it out at my job for a couple more years, but nah. Too much BS. So there we go! I'm glad to be back for a third consecutive challenge.

Hello! My second challenge here... scraped through my first one, and picked up some lessons for what I'd need to change to be successful this time. The stage I'd like to hit would be being successful and consistent at my aerial dance when I take it in the fall. To reach that point, I'll have to start now. My Main Quest: Develop consistent exercise habits. Steps: Walk home from work Mondays and Thursdays Go to the gym Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays Make myself breakfast at home everyday Measuring point: Complete a 5 K walk/run in July under 40 mins Life Quest: Develop consistent practice habits 45 minutes a day of either Flute or singing, minimum 4 times a week.

Greetings fellow Adventurers! I've realised that it's not so important what path you take, but that it's sticking to it that really matters. Imagine being lost in the woods - if you keep changing path every few minutes, you could be running around in circles for the rest of your life, but if you pick a direction and stick to it, eventually you will find the edge of the woods. You might end up at a paved road or a field or the ocean and who knows if any of those places are what you wished to find - but at least you got out of the woods. So, this challenge I'm going to focus on obtaining my goals = not loosing steam half way, giving up or letting be. Nope, this time I will succeed! And to make sure I got a fighting chance at it, I'm going to make my goals fairly easy (that's not cheating, just strategic planning, right?) Who am I? I'm a 28 year old gal from Denmark. I'm overweight, in poor shape, got no core strength, is allergic to grass pollen, have previously suffered from depression, is unemployed and... well, I'm also in good health (except the previously mentioned issues), is starting on a four week internship as a landscape gardener tomorrow (so exciting!), practices archery and goes orienteering occasionally, and I'm feeling pretty good about life right now :] Quest To complete my goals (meaning getting an average passing grade of D). I'm assuming that life will consist of: get up early, bike to work, work, bike home, shower, sleep, repeat for at least the next four weeks. Throw in some meals too. Weekends will then be "me" time plus fun and cleaning. Goals 1) Eat at least three meals a day, seven days a week. A for 42 days, B for 38 days, C for 34 days, D for 30 days, F for less days in compliance with the goal. Attibute points awarded for an A: STR +1, STA +2, CON +1 points 2) Avoid "slikkerier" like the plague. (Slikkerier is what I call the budget category where I put sweets, treats and all unhealthy snacks.) A for no money spent, B for 100 kr. spent, C for 200 kr. spent, D for 300 kr. spent, F for 400 kr. or more spent throughout the challenge. (This way I don't have to take sweets offered elsewhere into account.) Attibute points awarded for an A: WIS +3 points 3) Include a vegetable in a meal per day (it's okay if it's a snack, but fruit doesn't count as vegetables). A for 42 days, B for 38 days, C for 34 days, D for 30 days, F for less days in compliance with the goal. (This will be the toughest one, since it will require planning ahead.) Attibute points awarded for an A: STR +2, STA +1, CON +2 points + 4) Dress up on the weekends, because a girl gotta look pretty just once in a while. (Dressing up means putting on actual clothes, not PJs, and fixing my hair.) A for 12 days, B for 10 days, C for 8 days, D for 6 days, F for less days in compliance with the goal. Attibute points awarded for an A: CHA +3 points I've decided not to have any workout related goals this time, considering that I will have no time (starting the internship will leave me exhausted since it's new) and no excess energy (because I will be doing manual labor) and said labor will give me quite a workout on it's own (compared to me being such a wimp to begin with). I plan on doing at least weekly updates to keep track of my goals. I might be slow at responding (depending on how wasted I'll be after a workday - I'm so not used to it), but I'll get around to it eventually :] Happy Questing!

After not finishing last challenge, I'm taking this one to get my shit together. I haven't completely slipped back into my old habits, but I'm definitely not where I wanted to be. But that's okay! Because I know what I need to get myself back on track. Goal one: Get 6-7 hours of sleep a day. Not having enough sleep has been a problem of mine for a while. A little bit of it is out of my control, I work 3rd shift and people in my neighborhood are loud as shit during the day (plus the sun is too bright and those god damn birds are always screeching right outside my window), but let's be real. I am very guilty of the "I'll just watch one more episode before bed... and one more... and one more...." I've been using some of the meditation techniques I learned doing the mini-challenge last time to help me quiet my mind and get to sleep quicker, and they've been helping. I need to start going to bed earlier and actually trying to sleep. Not being so tired all the time will help me focus a lot. Goal two: Eat fast food only twice a week. I am gross and eat fast food way more often. McDonald's makes enough money, they don't need mine, too. Goal three: Work out at least three times a week. I've slipped on this too. I actually like working out a lot so I think this will be an easier habit to get back into. I mostly do bodyweight training but I like running also. I just got the Zombies, Run 5k app and it's pretty fun. Eventually I'm going to work back up to working out five days a week, but I'll start slow for now. Life goal: Actually keep up with this site! I did a much better job when I was keeping up with posting here, and I think not updating and reading other people's updates was part of what led to my slipping last time. So I'll update and read other people's updates at least twice a week. Also, my bestie for life is joining me on this challenge. She hasn't posted yet but when she does I expect you all to go confirm what I told her about how awesome and supportive everyone is here. I'm looking forward to getting back into the swing of things with y'all!