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So last challenge was quite successful in keeping me focused on my goals, while allowing me the flexibility to enjoy myself and not get burnt out. So I decided to continue it for one more challenge! Here's what happened last game: And just as a refresher, here's Da Rulez again: We'll see if I can beat my final score from last challenge!

The Scarlet Pimpernel has been recruited by Jack Bauer to work at the Counter Terrorist Unit in Los Angeles and help him take down the latest terrorist threat. In order to succeed the team faces several challenges: Track Down the Terrorists (Food Tracking) record all food eaten each day using my fitness pal We'll also enlist the help of the public in this effort ... for some added accountability, please become a My Fitness Pal friend! add nturner235 or comment with your MFP username and I'll add you! Get Clean (Continue With No Sweets) No sweets as a general rule. Consider some seldom exceptions if planned ahead and a reasonable serving fitting calorie goals (trying to balance keeping my success avoiding sugar from last challenge with a sustainable life-long habit) Execute Tactical Strikes (Complete NF Flexibility Benchmark Challenge) Pretty straightforward. I thought about jumping into regular workouts again, but I think I've still got a fair amount of effort I need to put in with diet, and I'm worried I'd get hurt because I think my flexibility has gotten even worse than it already was these past few months, so this will be preparatory to getting back into regular workouts. Also I may hold off until week 2 to start, as we are away for April and I'd like a consistent measure. Monitor the Chatter (Track Actions Per Day - APD) This has been working pretty well for me as far as encouraging me to make healthier choices. Goal is to beat last month's average by getting at least 6/day Play the Political Game (Complete 1 or More Mindset Quests Per Week) Good orders need to come from the top, so I'll continue going through the mindset modules and completing the quests Find the Mole (Bonus Quests) Try something new - I'll be spending most of this challenge in a new town, so I'd like to try some new activity while I'm there Parkour exercises/animal walks - bonus points for any parkour prep I do Meet macro targets - bonus points for each day I get within 10% of my macro targets (I'm focusing more on calories right now, but want to start thinking about macros too) Participate in the mini challenge - They're awesome and right now supply most of my exercise. 'Nuff said And finally, the most important question to ask..... WHERE'S THE BOMB!?!?

To succeed in this challenge, I will need the peace and serenity of a Jedi, learning to control my emotions and passions and become one with the force. To set the scene, I have an exciting announcement! Mrs. Pimpernel and I just had our second baby! This means a sharp decrease in sleep and increase in stress, which is a recipe for diet disaster. However, last challenge I realized that I really need to focus on my diet, and I'm sticking to that. So my big goal for this challenge is: Peace/Serenity - No food with added sugar for the full 5 weeks I've come to realize I really do have a sugar addiction that I need to break, and I think the best way to do that is going cold turkey. I also want to use this as a chance to develop discipline by controlling my cravings and hunger. There are a few clarifications to the rules: I'm going to go ahead and assume all fast food has added sugar, so will also be avoiding that this challenge. This past few days I did have some out of necessity due to hospital/baby time, but I didn't have any overtly sweet things. Meals that are made by my wife or others that are bringing us dinners for a couple days are fair game so long as they are not overtly sweet, and no desserts. Meals that I make will have no sugar added to them, but I'm not going to make a separate meal at this point just because of some brown sugar in the pineapple sauce or something. I'm allowing a little bit of honey for homemade sauces/dressings as needed. This will be used rarely, except for the occasional salad dressing or maybe stir-fry sauce. I justify this because I know it'll be a lot less sugar than any commercially available sauces/dressings. I will also be continuing 2 goals from my last challenge: Knowledge - Complete at least one NFA mindset challenge per week As part of my respawn, I'm going through all the modules again, a little more slowly and seriously Harmony - Track Actions Per Day (APD), and beat last month's average of 5.66 Tracking APD has really helped me make more healthy choices. It overlaps a bit with my other goals, but just provides a little extra encouragement You might note there is no specific activity goal this challenge. That is because I think the no sugar diet will take a lot of mental energy to do right, and that is where I need to focus, and also because I really want to focus on activity that I enjoy, rather than exercising because I feel like I have to. For this challenge, my mainstay will be doing activities for the mini-challenge, and doing some extra to increase my APD score. I hope even with all the craziness of a new baby, I can be disciplined, control my stress/emotions, and find peace like a Jedi. May the force be with you!