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Hello fellow nerds! I've anxiously decided to put myself out there and see what happens! I've never been very good at talking to people on forums. Like most of you here, I'm a nerd of many stripes. My biggest nerdy areas are watching anime and playing lots of rpgs. And I'm a tumblr-user. I graduated from college in 2013, and magically managed to find a real adult job! But I had to move to a new place where I don't know many people, so I've been struggling on the social front. Working at a desk all day is starting to affect me physically too - so this seems like the perfect place for me to be! In terms of fitness, I have a bad habit of starting a new regime and then stopping after a month or so before I can really see results. If I'm not accountable to anyone, I have trouble continuing. When I first started college I lost weight very naturally because dining hall food limited my food options in a useful way and I was walking around a lot on my hilly campus. Once I started getting stronger/lighter that way, I started doing bodyweight and core exercises, and eventually, even running. It happened very naturally and without stress, so it's now my ideal of how to be healthy. But life caught up to me in later years and I've gained back the old weight and then some. I feel so stiff and old and I'm only 23! At one point I tried the 100 push ups challenge and got to the point where I could do 45 push ups in a row! But then I stopped and now I can barely do ten. My latest struggle is with my unstoppable sweet tooth. I love baking and cooking and everything to do with desserts, but it's dangerous when you bake 2 dozen cookies living alone! So, here I am, trying again. This time instead of trying to do everything at once, I'm trying to change things one habit at a time. And, by posting here, I'm hoping to do it alongside some likeminded nerds! So, hi! It's nice to meet you.

My name is Bearlee and I've been trying to lose weight and become more healthier for a little over a year now. During that time I've lost nearly 80 pounds to go from 388 lbs to 310 lbs. I've also recently had a physical and my blood pressure has gone down from 123/92 to 111/62. I'm still waiting on my blood work lab results but will post them when I get them. So far this year I've been kicking ass and I've lost 10 pounds so far. More importantly I've gotten back into my grove of doing my exercises and eating right. Currently I'm doing body weight exercises 3 times per week, stationary biking 5 days a week, and walking 5+ miles with 10 flights of stairs 5 days per week. Actually I currently have a 22 day streak of biking going on, but I'm focused on getting at least 5 days in per week. My eating habits have been good last challenge also. I've been doing 1 lean protein, 1 fruit, and 4 vegetables 5 days of the week. On this also I have a streak that lasted all of last challenge minus a few days last week missing a few servings of vegetables. I also drink 100 oz of water everyday and have a streak of that going for several months now. Even though I've been doing well I've been feeling restless. I read lots by people like Steve Kamb (founder of Nerd Fitness), Chris Guillebeau (author of The Art of Non-Conformity), Matt Harding (of Where the Hell is Matt YouTube videos), and Kevin Smith (director, podcaster, and author of Tough Shit ) and they all say follow your dreams. The problem is I don't know what my dreams are. Last week for work we had go to a class and at the beginning of class we had to do introductions and state what our hobbies were. All I could come up with was movies and reading. While there is nothing wrong with those hobbies I want to do something more substantial and productive. So during this challenge I want to focus on what it is I want to do and how I'm going to do it. Goal 1: Maintain I've been kicking butt this year and I don't want to tinker with what I've got going on now. So I want to maintain what I've been doing by doing 3 BW exercises per week, 5 days of biking, 5 days of walking, along with my eating habits. Goal 2: Lists Last challenge I had started to do lists and I was getting a lot done. However as the challenge went on I stopped looking at my list and instead of writing done tasks I wanted to do or did I instead just made a mental note. That was not as effective nor as satisfying. So this challenge I want to make a physical list I keep up to date with. Ideally I would like to do one item on my list everyday. The tasks don't need to be large or difficult just something to keep me focused. At the same time I don't want it to be things that should be done anyway like "do the dishes" or "do the laundry". I want it to be items that I've put off. Goal 3: Attitude of Gratitude I've been meaning to getting around to thanking people for things they have done or even just to send a nice thank you out of the blue to people I care about. So for this goal I want to send a special thank you to one person each week for a total of 6 people thanked. No texts or emails will be acceptable. Actual hand written letters to be delivered by mail. Lifetime Goal: Dreaming This challenge I want to do something a little different and maybe some would say weird. I want to focus on dreaming. I've always been concerned that I don't seem to dream when I sleep which may be true since I used to have sleep apnea. However I sleep better now and over the past couple of weeks I've actually had a couple of dreams and they really put me in a good mood. I want to capture that feeling more and maybe explore what is happening in my subconscious. Maybe I can sort my dreams out by dreaming. In order to do this I'm going to keep a dream journal beside my bed and update it whenever I have a dream. But in case I don't have dreams I'm going to supplement this challenge by meditating for 5 minutes 5 days of the week.

(to be continued...)

I'm not great at themed challenges and pretty much all of this is going to be a stretch. Especially since I'm going to focus on martial arts and Kaylee is pretty averse to violence, unless it gets in the way of her and Simon :-) She's my favourite character so I'm going with her regardless of personality test results (usually I get Simon). It's all about the mechanics Kaylee understands mechanics and engines. I need to understand my Judo and striking practice the same way and that comes through practice and study. Judo and Striking - Work on turn-ins and footwork, learn basic striking and practice 3/weekly. Judo (should it actually happen) counts. Grading: x/18 Bend and stretch Judging by a few scenes where she's climbing on things to reach switches or access panels, she needs to be flexible and able to climb. I'll address climbing later but yoga is something I like to practice. It helps keep my irritable shoulders happier and helps with flexibility. 2 yoga sessions/week. Prasara yoga is my usual focus but if I feel like doing another kind for a change, I'll go with that. Grading: x/12 Quiet time in the engine room This is what Kaylee does to calm down and relax after Mal pisses her off. I handle stress somewhat poorly and meditation would help with retaining my calm in general. Meditate for 5 min per day to start, probably using the Calm.com app on my iPad . Also read Three Deep Breaths, as recommended by my Dad. Grading: x/43 42 for the meditation and 1 for reading the book. It's short. I like to meet new people, they've all got stories! In this sense, I'd to meet some new fictional people. Spend some time each week reading, or watching TV/Anime. Most notably, this is time to relax by myself and NOT spend doing chores, cooking, etc. I was recently reminded of the difference between recreation and relaxation. Relaxation does need to be scheduled or it doesn’t happen. Pass or fail each week. Besides, maybe if I spend some time watching more anime I’ll recognize more at the Anime convention next year and I haven't re-watched Firefly in a bit :-) Eh, I warned you all that these were likely to be a stretch.

Probably the nerdiest thing about me is that I LOVE to watch anime. Probably the thing that I DO most often is MOM stuff. (in fact I am giving my daughter a bath right now!!.. well she is playing with toys in the bath.. I am sitting on the toilet next to her typing.) I'd like to find other people who are dealing with marriage, kids, keeping up with nerdy past-times AND trying to get healthy (in whatever way you choose). Because if we are honest with ourselves our first priority is NOT fitness (what?!!). It is probably our families, but we can STILL do it!! It is difficult, but not impossible. There are days where you meet all of your goals, YES!!! There are days where you barely make it out covered in finger paint and poop, Noooo! So we... We who battle everyday to keep fitness in the mix. We who finally get the kids to bed and instead of collapsing on the couch choose to do push-ups or a work-out DVD... We can do it!! Who is with me?? If you are participating in the 6 week challenge please let me know!

Hello everyone My name is Damien and it's my first challenge here on Nerd Fitness. I guess I could introduce myself by starting with my "struggle". I've been overweight since I was about 15, you see I have growth hormone deficiency and it made it all the more difficult to stay in shape during the teen years. I was in athletics, and I gave it my all up until high school. I finally gave up, mentally and physically. I became a recluse and packed on more pounds. Just a few months ago I was diagnosed with diabetes, although I don't feel much different and I refuse to take the medicine, I saw this as a wake up call. I knew I had to start doing things the right way no matter how much it put me out. I started to "reinvent" myself about a month and a half ago and it feels great. I started walking around my college campus every night just for fun, I'm now learning how to play guitar as well as speak another language besides english. I've started to eat much, much better these days. Although I don't follow the paleo diet (I'm living the college student lifestyle, what'd you expect?) I've started eating more lean meats, fruit and lots of nuts and granola; the last thing to phase in would be more veggies. Anyways, this is my first challenge and like every anime hero I've ever gazed upon in awe, it's time to find my true potential and work towards it like there's no tomorrow. (Drum roll please) Now, for my goals! Main Quest: Unleash True Potential (Lose Weight, Get in Shape) 1. Find a workout plan/circuit to do at least three times a week. 2. To get 8-10 hrs. of sleep every night. No more, no less. 3. To eat more vegetables, starting with one serving at dinner. Side Quests: Life Quest: To be more sociable in my new environment. Would like to hang out with at least 3 new people before the end of the challenge. On another note, any "Kenichi, The Mightiest Disciple" fans on here? That show really gets me pumped! I lost 15 pounds one summer just by working out while I was watching the show. I would watch an episode while taking it easy on an elliptical then when the episode was over I'd go really intense for 10 minutes (It was the inspiration from the show, I swear) and then go back to the show and start all over again.

Hey Everyone, I had caught myself looking at Nerd Fitness a few times via Google searches on various healthy topics. Specifically I saw that the owner of the site is a fan of Henry Rollins - Iron and the Soul piece which is a big plus in my book. What really drew me in though is unlike other forums (T-Nation, BB.com, etc...) the commenters seemed more human and "everyman-esque". After wrestling with the idea a little bit I've joined my first fitness forum! A brief background on myself: In October 2012 I found myself recently single, broke, and grossly out of shape. I'm roughly 5'9" and weighed 281lbs. I won't bore you with the details but long story short is much like "Saint" I made some bets with my buddies for competitive purposes and started taking steps to improve my health. By March 2013 I was 250lbs and by May 2013 I was 225lbs. It's now November 2013 and I've done more strength building than cutting but my weight is a trimmer looking 220 lbs. I'm still a work in progress and I'd like to be an exceptionally strong 200lb - 205lb monster when my goals are met! I was wondering if anyone can recommend a good place to start contributing to this site. I love heavy lifting and I'm not afraid to do cardio either. My eating habits are relatively clean and I have some good all around insight into people trying to lose weight and gain strength. I've prepared routines for my friends and have lists of clean foods as well. More than anything I am always interested in learning from other people and would love to share ideas. Also what are these guilds I've been seeing? Can someone point me in the direction of the powerlifting nerds who love shows like Firefly and Game of Thrones? Loving the book Beowulf is a huge draw as well I believe that's a banner I could march under!

I hadn't used Crunchyroll in years, it was still fansub streaming that was subject to being taken down by the requests of the animation companies like so many sites. A friend showed me what it turned into... and... I"M SO HAPPY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was about to resume my Hulu sub until a friend said to look at crunchyroll. So I subscribed and have been watching Sword Art Online Username is WonderlandAlli. Any suggestions? My queue has: SAO, Utakoi, Walkure Romanze, Chi's Sweet Home (for breaks lol), I Could't Become a Hero So I Reluctantly Got A Job, and Goldentime. I like slice of life that are not high school (that gets repetitive), romance, comedy, adventure, but never really into things like pokemon or digimon where its all about the cache of critters.

Hi guys One of the UK's big anime conventions, Ayacon, is just around the corner and I am fit to burst with excitement! Anyone got any conventions coming up? Any stories to share?