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Hello visitor. For those who don't know me, mandatory background info: Here are my goals this challenge. I'm doing a bare minimum because I've just been "done/tired" with everything lately. My mental health is not quite up there, so I take it easy for a bit. #1 No Snacking - No snacking on weekdays - A snack is anything not part of a meal (max 3 meals a day) - Fruit and nuts are not counted - A deep fried cafeteria snack is still a snack, even if it's eaten with lunch #2 Intermittent Fasting - Every day for at least 15 hours (up 1 hour from last challenge) #3 Cardio - 3x a week - Walking / Cycling / Spinning - At least 5 km or 20 min I've decided to do my fitness goal slightly different, mostly more relaxed and have me stressing a lot less. The important thing is that I do exercise 3x a week, doesn't matter whether that is on a bike or on my own feet. IF is gonna be challenging again. Last challenge I did manage 100% at 14 hours though, so I'm feeling confident! That's all there is to it. I generally use this thread to journal. I also post challenge updates reguraly. This challenge I will use Track your fast and Habit Bull for tracking. This in place of my handy spreadsheet.

Hello Scouts! I thought I give this guild a try My name is Siferiax, or Sif, or Siffy, or... be creative! I'm a female and 30 years old. I have a boyfriend and two cats. I'm working within the limitations of autism & hypermobility (the moment flexibility SUCKS) I love road cycling and spinning. I also love walking. I unfortunately have quite a road cycling trauma I have to get over at the start of every season. I made a false start with a walking goal last year. The idea was to walk every single weekend for the entire year. Hypermobility basically ruined it and it ended up with me unable to walk for more than 30 min. I got shoe soles and special physical therapy and I'm happy to be able to say I CAN walk again. SO this year I'm again going for that goal! Unfortunately my problems with cycling haven't been resolved yet. I have been to the hospital and hopefully soon I'll get a special adjustment in my cycling shoe. Right now I do spinning for at least 20 minutes. Sometimes it goes well and I go for longer and sometimes it doesn't. I have been doing more spinning though. Right now I'm trying for Tuesday and Thursday. As for diet I'm currently focusing on Intermittent Fasting (IF) and no snacking (see below). I'm otherwise eating whatever I want. This has to do with my mental health in part and my sanity as another part. I'm a very picky eater and I dislike a lot of common foods. And ESPECIALLY I can't take anything spicy/hot/sharp/whatever you wanna call it. And with anything I mean not even in the slightest. Which is a challenge all it's own. And that's basically my background in regards to my health. ONTO THE FUTURE! I focus on habits instead of goals, but I have decided on some passing grades. So here goes. #1: No snacking (+WIS) Limited to weekdays only. On weekends I can snack, though it shouldn't be a snack feast either. A snack is defined as follows: anything not part of a meal (max 3 meals a day) and not a fruit or nut. Snacks as part of a meal are not tolerated when they fall into the category of deep fried cafeteria snack. (I seem to gain a bad habit there) Passing grade: 50% #2: Intermittent fasting (+STA) I fast at minimum 14 hours every day. I don't hold strictly at times, though usually I don't eat between 19:00 and 9:00. Passing grade: 100% #3: Drink 2 bottles of water (+CON) Every weekday I drink 2 bottles of water (I have 2 bottles with me to work) On the weekend I don't use my bottles, but should be mindful to drink enough Passing grade: 100% #4: Physical Therapy (+STR) As part of my recovery from downright evil hip problems I had physical therapy. I should still be doing this every day. They are mostly core strength exercises. Passing grade: 25% #5: Walking (+STA) I love walking and I want to do more of it! I want to not be limited by my endurance or muscles. I walk at least once a week. At least 5km. My end goal would be to have enough endurance for a vacation to New Zealand (goal and reward wrapped up into one ) Passing grade: 100% #6: Cycling / Spinning (+DEX) More spinning more better! And road cycling when weather allows. They are my absolute joys! I cycle (outside or inside) at least once a week for at least 20 minutes. Passing grade: 50% #7: Take medication (+CON) So on top of all the limitations I have... I have some more I have laxatives as a "real" medication. I also have supplements for my period. I should be taking my laxatives every day. Period supplements are more... flexible?! Passing grade: 25% #8: Creativity (+CHA) I want to be more creative. Writing, drawing, designing, coloring, you name it. I want to do a creative activity at least once a week. D&D Prep and D&D sessions count toward this. Passing grade: 0% As you can see my passing grades are all over the place. They indicate my focus and most important habits. For example IF is one of my main focus, while creativity is more of a nice to have. These grades and exact habits are probably going to change every challenge I don't change goals, I change focus and details. I use a nifty Google spreadsheet to track all these things. Including my current streak. Link is in my signature EDIT: I forgot I was gonna do stats again Here's the challenge start stats as I promised myself last challenge: STR: 2 | DEX: 2 | STA: 3 | CON: 1 | WIS: 1 | CHA: 1 What's what? I've added to my goals what they can earn me! I always felt the stats go up too quickly. So I earn 1 point for getting at least a passing grade. I'm not gonna bother with levels, so I'm leaving those out.

Well 2017 has been a nice year, but also a struggle. I've done two challenges since getting back on NF and I'm ready to start the new year strong!! I wish to use these few days before January 1st to set a baseline for my goals this challenge. So here are my goals: #1 Intermittent fasting I don't know what my baseline is at the moment, hence my statement above. I also don't know for how many hours to aim. It's gonna be between 14-16 hours probably. I wish to focus on eating 3 meals and no snacks regardless. Some sweets here and there on occasion so I don't falter. If I go 14 hours it'll be like 9-19 feasting and that sounds really normal to me. Sooooooo I need to figure out my eating schedule as it is right now and then adjust. #2 Drink 2 bottles of water Different from my previous drinking goal, I wish to focus on drinking 2 bottles of water regardless of other intakes. So no more counting mugs of tea and glasses of water. I have a bottle and I need to empty it twice each day. #3 Walking This is still a 1 time a week goal. Other exercise goals are for later. #4 Therapy exercises I will keep this goal till I'm nailing it XD I will be happy if I get a 25% on this one #5 Take medication Most importantly laxatives. But also my supplements. Let's see how I do this time [emoji3] As always I'll be tracking things in more detail on my Google sheet. (Link in my signature) I made a handy progress sheet to see how I do over multiple challenges ^^

Second challenge since returning to NF! Last challenge went quite well (if you happen to know my challenge track record XD) I have some goals I wish to work on... far too many! I wish to deal with some things related to autism as well. Hopefully I will manage! Going to be a real challenge though. I gave my goals a priority :3 hopefully that helps! Goals Diet #1 Don't buy snacks to and from work #2 Only eat planned breakfast - Try to not eat lunch as extra breakfast. Lunch = 12:30 - Experiment with drinking water instead #3 Don't eat work snacks - No Sinterklaas snacks before December 1st. - Make meal plan for Christmas. Exercise #1 Do therapy exercises (~30 min/day) Life #1 Addiction management - Make plan for addiction / obsession management - How to avoid addiction while still doing things I love. #2 Track energy levels #3 Write - NaNoWriMo - DnD campaign (optional/depends on sessions)

I see the need for such a thread...being that there are at least 2 of us here in Nerd Fitness Forum Land, and I suspect a much larger percentage of undiagnosed individuals exist among the anti-social, introverted nerd population. The internet has been a great blessing for many of us who are extremely isolated in our everyday "real" lives, but even here we can and do feel alone among those who understand the unwritten rules and "common sense" that is foreign to us. We welcome questions, concerns, comments and conversation, but be aware that if you find something offensive, this is OUR space and you have the ability to leave and not participate here, and there will be no trolling/negativity towards others, just like everywhere else on the NF forums. If you aren't sure what Asperger's/HFA et al. actually is... Here is a very comprehensive list of the characteristics of someone with Aspergers/High Functioning Autism: (for female specific traits: click here) Personal / Physical Repetitive routines or rituals Can engage in tasks (sometimes mudane ones) for hours and hoursFlat, or blank expression much of the timeDoesn't always recognize faces right away (even close loved ones)Strong sensitivity to sound, touch, taste, sight, and smell (e.g. fabrics—won’t wear certain things, fluorescent lights)Sensitivity to the texture of foods Eccentric personalityIdiosyncratic attachment to inanimate objectsBeing "in their own world" / Preoccupied with their own agendaHighly gifted in one or more areas, e.g. math, music, etcSingle-mindednessLikes and dislikes can be very rigidCan spend hours in the library researching, loves learning and informationMay have difficulty staying in college despite a high level of intelligenceLimited interests / Intense focus on one or two subjectsUnusual preoccupationsCollects thingsClumsiness / Uncoordinated motor movementsSpeech and language peculiarities / hyperlexia (little professors) or, early in life may have a speech impedimentNon-verbal communication problems: difficulty reading body language, facial expression and toneWord repetition (they may frequently repeat what you've just said)Excellent rote memory FOCUSING ON THE POSITIVE: Focus and diligence – The Asperger ability to focus on tasks for a long period of time without needing supervision or incentive is legendary. Internal motivation – as opposed to being motivated by praise, money, bills or acceptance. This ensures a job done with conscience, with personal pride. Independent, unique thinking – people with AS tend to spend a lot of time alone and will likely have developed their own unique thoughts as opposed to a ‘herd’ mentality. Higher fluid intelligence – scientists in Japan have recently discovered that AS children have a higher fluid intelligence than non-autistic children. Fluid intelligence is "the ability to find meaning in confusion and solve new problems. It is the ability to draw inferences and understand the relationships of various concepts, independent of acquired knowledge.†(Wikipedia 2009) Experts say that those with AS have a higher than average general IQ as well. Visual, three-dimensional thinking – some with AS are very visual in their thought processes, which lends itself to countless useful and creative applications. Attention to detail – sometimes with painstaking perfection. Honesty – the value of being able to say “the emperor isn’t wearing any clothes.†Logic over emotion – although people with AS are very emotional at times, we spend so much time ‘computing’ in our minds that we get quite good at it. We can be very logical in our approach to problem-solving. Relationships We Can often be distant physically and/or emotionally.Often are attracted to another purely because they are attracted to usAlternatively, we can be obsessiveMay have a hard time saying I love you, showing physical affectionWe can be very criticalWe takes things personallyWe can be very loyal to one personOften times we will make no motions to keep a friendships goingWe need to withdraw and have solitudeMen in particular find emotions messy and unquantifiable; If partner tries to share her love for him, he may find her need to “connect†smotheringOur attention is narrowly focused on our own interestsMen with undiagnosed AS often feel as if their partner is being ungrateful or “bitchy†when she complains he is uncaring or never listens to herHe can become quite defensive when she asks for clarification or a little sympathy. The defensiveness can turn into verbal abuse (usually not physical abuse) as the man attempts to control the communication to suit his view of the world.Social Interactions Desire for friendships and social contact but difficulty acquiring and maintaining themShuts down in social situationsSocial withdrawal / may avoid social gatheringsLack of interest in other peopleLack of empathy at timesDifficulty understanding others’ feelingsCan obsess about having friends to prove they’re “normalâ€Rigid social behavior due to an inability to spontaneously adapt to variations in social situationsHas an urge to inform that can result in being blunt / insultingPreoccupied with their own agenda Great difficulty with small-talk and chatter

Fitness, Finance, Food, Friends, Family & Fun in 2014 This year's goals I consider this a work in progress and I will edit and change as necessary. Fitness Continue with NF challenges Waist down to 28" Get rid of tummy fat Maintain a size 6 Be bikini ready for June Take swim lessons Finance Read - I will teach you to be Rich and Rich Dad, Poor Dad Proceed from there Friends Through the years friends moved away or just lost touch Even when I can go out I have no one to go out with. I need to expand my circle of friends! Make 3 new friends and do something fun with them. Family - Improve the diet of my whole family less pizza and chicken nuggets! - Sit down for a family meal once a week in the dinning room- more difficult than you would think, autistic son hates to sit down, constant battle to keep him at the table - Cleaner home; declutter and fix broken things J (severe autism, non-verbal, age 10) - address toilet training (he's almost there) and sleep issues & keeping clothed (Loves being naked, running around the house) - TMJ issues; lots of biting things and bottom teeth are starting to become very crooked; research treatments - Fix dynavox program, with family pics - Sign up for horseback riding program in the spring - Sign up for Surfer's Healing program this summer in Toronto O (mild autism, very verbal, socialization issues, age 10) - Socializing skills & Counciling - Sign up for Canisius College socializing program - Get back into counciling and back on meds. Husband - Have more fun together - I want to say go out once a month but I think three times before my birthday in July is more realistic. Fun - Belly dancing classes - Travel to Chicago for summer architecture program - Go out with husband - Go to more live music events

Has anyone read the book, Grain Brain? I found it interesting the link between high-carb diets, diabetes and other brain diseases. The same plaque that develops from high-carb diets (a mis-folding of the protein chain) is the same type of plaque that builds up in the brain and causes Alzheimer's Disease. I found it thought provoking that the inflammation from gluten contributes to autism and ADHD. I was very appreciative of the author citing his research and play to read some of those studies that most intrigue me.

Yahoo news has another story that claims a link between autism and vaccines. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/autism-epidemic-linked-epidemic-vaccine-100000000.html AUTISM IS NOT CAUSED BY VACCINES!!! It is genetic in nature. How do I know this? Because my entire bleep bleep family is on the spectrum. And you know what, even if vaccines do somehow trigger something having to do with autism, who the hell cares? I would rather a safe autistic kid than a kid who is dead from, oh let's say whooping cough, or polio, or any other myriad of diseases that used to kill our children at high numbers. GRRR. EGAD!

So my little man has high functioning autism (Asperger's), and I figured I'd share some of what helps us... Here is a link to the Google Doc for the levels system we use: clickity clack This is a cool thing I was taught, where kids have certain priviledges they earn based on certain behaviors - with the ability to not only be brought down a level (very similar to 1 2 3 time out), but that there is a very concrete way to earn those priviledges back. Another thing that I have found that helps is martial arts - he is in tae kwon do, and his teacher focuses on self discipline and participation. It really helps that when he is there, he is encouraged to make loud weird noises (he does a lot of vocal stimming), but they teach him to do it in the appropriate way and at the appropriate time. He also loves acting and performing, it gives him a chance to get out of himself and get a lot of positive reinforcement for focused and obedient behavior. Now, this wouldn't work at school unless he has a teacher that is on board with it, but I learned about this in a class (I'm getting my teaching degree) - instead of having a punishment where you remove all stimulus, sometimes we have to encourage these kids to overload themselves with stimuli. I have a sensory box I created that has something to engage each sense - a scratchy paint brush he can run along his arm or touch with his fingers, a really soft angora scarf, a smelly candle, a tin of sour candies, a book I made filled with peaceful pictures (like the beach and forests filled with green trees). The coolest bit of the sensory box is (I think) is an mp3 player. The teacher suggested choosing about 7-9 minutes worth of music, starting with an unpleasant/discordant piece of music (say, any short Arnold Schoenberg 12 tone piece of music), then a calming piece of music (maybe Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven), and then an energetic piece of music (Aida's Triumphant March by Verdi). She also said that it could take a kid a couple cycles of this unpleasant/calming/energetic to reset their mind, but after a few tries it usually works very well - my son usually only needs one go around, but I loaded up my little player with about 45 minutes of music, so that he didn't have to hear the same 3 songs on repeat (though sometimes he likes that, and derives comfort from it). She also said that what may be unpleasant or energetic to one kid could be completely different than someone else's definition - so don't feel like you have to stick to my choices here.