Search the Community

Here we are again. This is my 16th challenge... can you believe it? Anyway... The other day I ate like a pig. Not ONE healthy thing all day. So yeahhhh... that will be on the list for a bit. The second thing I need to look at is rest, both as "rest days" and "me-time" as well as "night sleep". Life has been a hell of a busy time lately. But the end is in sight. The weekend of 0 week I'll finish my theoretic course to become a trainer, then I am just 5 course weekends of practical hands on training (in early '17) away from getting my licence. Similarly I have been training for my first obstacle course race. Okay, per definition it's a mud run, not a race, but I'll call it race, for simplicities sake. The race is on Oct 8th, and I am VERY MUCH excited about it. I have not gotten as strong as I would have liked to become by now, but there is a direct correlation between how much I put in and how little I got out. So that is only fair... if unfortunate. I am in the mood to DO ALL THE THINGS. But I know better. I'll do the ranger thing without the overload, this time, I hope... Plans for this challenge: write down food - might not be in-app everything measured and concrete calories and macros and all that hassle. Just write down what you ate, snacked on or otherwise stuffed in your face. Keep lists. stop eating like a dickhead - one veggie or fruit each day, no excuses, no processed substitutions. One. Each. Day. Also skip the salt and drink your goddamned water, for crying out loud! Keep training and resting and enjoy the ride. I mean what more is there? Soon my friends from Australia and the Netherlands will be here for a weekend, I will clean like a maniac (I'm human afterall). I will train, both running outside as well as fitness and belly dancing classes, peer pressure is my saviour! I will rest when I can, I will keep logging my sleep (not awesome atm) I just brushed off a minor cold, so I am taking the hint of taking things less serious and rest more. I am not sure how to measure this though. And enjoy the ride? When do you ever meet online friends in person for the first time, run your very first mud run / OCR? Enjoy it! Take lot's of mental pictures, real ones too. Live the life, be present in the moment. Anyway, I will post this up, since you nice folk are so very patient with me, let me tell you again how grateful I am for your companionship, support, insight. Morag. Gratitude Wasabi - yummy. FlyLady - even though I have to regularly start over again and again... difficult to find a third item here today... I think relationships. Both romantic as well as platonic. So many so-very-different people connect and interconnected in so many different ways, it's amazing, breath taking, awe inspiring. Wonderful. It makes you wonder.

So, Feb. 2 was Imbolc, which is a holiday that celebrates the growing strength of the sun (after Yule, which is the shortest day of the year) and the first "milk" of the coming spring (when ewes and goats have their first young). This is a special holiday for Brigid (equivalent to the Christian St. Bridgette), who is a poet, healer, and blacksmith (and also the inventor of beer). Hence, the title for the quest - I worked my goals into a ritual to give myself a bit more motivation and strength for this challenge. Here are my goals for this challenge: Part 1: Physical Health (76 points) Exercising 5 days/week - Walking, belly dancing, or weight lifting, for at least a half hour.Tracking my caloric intake every day and keep within the limit set with my doctor (1,800 cal/day) - I will also refrain from snacking, except between lunch and dinner, and only drink alcohol socially.Taking my meds - Morning pill every day.Part 2: Spiritual/Mental Health (48 points) Meditating 5 times per weekGetting to bed by 11pm on weekday nights (except Tuesday, which is gaming night)Committing to spiritual study 2 hours per week - My special goal as part of this is to commune with a tree, according to my lessonsRead one book from year-long book challenge - I am going to read a book written by a former coworker of mine, as she will be in town for an author event on Feb. 16. I think her book will fall under a book published this year (or, in the last 12 months, anyway).Part 3: Financial Health (8 points) Planning my expenses and tracking free money for each pay period - I am still struggling with this. I plan my budget, but do not stick to it, hardly ever. That is what I really need to work on.52 week challenge - For this month, that is $5 for Week 1 (5th week of the year), $6 for Week 2, $7 for Week 3, and $8 for Week 4

So, my romantic life took off and kind of consumed everything else. It's still going strong (yay!), but it's time to step out of the love bubble a bit and into the real world again. I'm going to stick to just focusing on my goals and forget about the theme for this challenge. It's good to be back! Edit: So I was convinced that I had gained weight during my little fitness vacation, but when I weighed myself last night, I had not. Not necessarily a sign of any persisting good habits, but I am glad I didn't undo what I had accomplished. Part 1: Physical Health (72 points) Exercising 5 days/week - Belly dancing, walking, and weight training. I will do at least 30 minutes, but up to an hour when I can. (20 points)Tracking my caloric intake every day and keep within the limit set with my doctor (1,800 cal/day) - I get a pass on game nights. (24 points)Taking my meds - Morning pill every day (28 points)Part 2: Spiritual/Mental Health (45 points) Meditating 5 times per week - Meditation allows me to clear my mind so that I can reflect with an unclouded perspective. (20 points)Getting to bed by 11pm on weekday nights (16 points)Committing to spiritual study 2 hours per week - This can be anything from reading to lessons, to readings, to ritual, etc. (8 points)Read one book from year-long book challenge (4 points - 1 for each week I work on this, although I can take them all at once)Part 3: Financial Health (6 points) Planning my expenses and tracking free money for each pay period - Budgeting like this prevents me from spending foolishly and being unable to take care of needs. I need to also start budgeting for eating out when I know my schedule will keep me on the road, in combination with those times I am able to take food from home. (2 points)52 week challenge - Each week, I will put in a dollar amount equal to the week of the year; $1 for week 1, $2 for week 2. The total sum at the end of the year is over $1,000. (4 points)Note to self for when I have more time: check out year book challenge to see if it fits. Also need to assign stat values for this challenge.

For this challenge, I will be working on conquering the aspects of Wands, the second tarot suit I am exploring. Wands are, depending on the deck, connected to Fire, and so to things like action, passion, love or lust, light and knowledge (through mythologies like that of Prometheus and other fire bringers), etc. Wands are often conflict cards in a reading, as well, and so there is that aspect, of opposition and difficulty. As far as action is concerned, one can have all the potential in the world, but it takes the actual activity or energy of taking the first step to unleash and realize that potential. Without energy, potential can stagnate and rot. So, I think with this challenge, I will get back to doing what works, which is mostly the actual doing part. Fire is an element that is tough for me (being a naturally Earth-oriented person), so I think that played in to my difficulty last challenge. Because the two decks I have actually look at Wands differently (the Sorcerer's deck connects Wands with Air, not Fire), I'm only looking at one deck for this challenge. The Queen of Wands here is depicted on a throne, bearing a torch-like wand and accompanied by a lioness. Lionesses are the hunters of the pride, the providers and the nurturers; the maternal instincts of a lioness are legendary. I think these are also qualities of the Queen of Wands - a provider, but a fierce one. Outsiders dare not test her, and her love is more focused on protection than nurturing. Note, too, that although a lioness is an untamed animal, in the card she is chained. I think this points to the unbridled passion of the Queen being, well, bridled. Energy without control can be destructive - think of lightning or a forest fire. Yet controlled fire brings us technology, warmth, and light. Be sure that one's passion has a direction or a purpose or it will simply burn itself out haphazardly. Finally, the Queen is alone here, with no sign of civilization - the Queen of Pentacles was accompanied by both herd animals and crops. I think this speaks again to a more wild, untamed nature, but also to the isolation and independence or self-reliance of this archetype. To start this part of the journey, it is important to look at the Ace of Wands, the beginning and end of the journey. On this card, the character (Medea's father? Greek god?) is clearly a ruler. Not only is he crowned, but he also holds the globe in his hand. This particular depiction shows that he is master of his kingdom, whether it be Olympus or simply an earthly kingdom. He bears the golden fleece, which is also a symbol of kingship, as well as a powerful magical item (especially healing). He is in a lofty area, at the top of mountains (fitting for Olympus), which again stresses that independence or self-reliance of the Queen of Wands. It is strange to be the master of one's domain already at the start of the journey, but perhaps that has to do with conquering the domains found within oneself, or conversely, of looking outside of one's past experiences or familiar territory to something grander. For me, I think this has more to do with being more self-reflective and looking at my goals maybe more long-term - see the big picture, so to speak. So, to become the Queen of Pentacles, I must: Take action and energize my goals by Exercising 5 days/week - Belly dancing, walking, and weight training. I will do at least 30 minutes, but up to an hour when I can. (30 parts) Tracking my caloric intake every day and keep within the limit set with my doctor (1,800 cal/day) - Alcoholic intake only permitted socially. Snacking only permitted between lunch and dinner. Per my doctor, I'm also watching cholesterol. I get a pass on game nights. (30 parts) Limiting TV watching to 2 hours on weekday nights, no later than 10pm (and no FB after 10pm) - TV watching makes me less inclined to actually *do* anything. (30 parts) Taking my meds - Take morning pill, and evening pill (84 parts) Be self-reflective by Meditating 5 times per week - Meditation allows me to clear my mind so that I can reflect with an unclouded perspective. (30 parts) Getting to bed by 11pm on weekday nights - Being over-tired also affects my ability to reflect on my internal state and govern myself thoughtfully. (24 parts) Committing to spiritual study 2 hours per week - Spiritual study allows me to look at some big picture questions, including what kind of person I want to be and where I want my life to go. (12 parts) Be self-reliant by Planning my expenses and tracking free money for each pay period - Budgeting like this prevents me from spending foolishly and being unable to take care of needs. I need to also start budgeting for eating out when I know my schedule will keep me on the road, in combination with those times I am able to take food from home. (3 parts) Plan for trip to CT in October. Need to budget for airfare, hotel, and other miscellaneous items. Removed - I'm getting the money from family, so no longer part of the challenge. Bridle my passion by Balancing my commitment to myself and my decision to start dating - Filling up my schedule with going out, etc., really hindered my commitment last challenge. Alone time is really important to me or I feel over-committed and resistant to doing planned items. As much as I like the people I'm meeting, my health and wellness should be the priority in my life. point values, etc. Action - 174 parts; +2 Dex, +2 Sta, +1 Con +2 Str Introspection - 66 parts; +2 Wis, +1 Cha, +1 Sta Independence - 4 parts; +2 Wis Balance - 1 part; +2 Wis I may be adding some stuff about passion and dating on this. And I'll get photos of the cards, too. But I'm back - time to get back on track! Another one of those fun "coincidences": the face cards in the Tarot - King, Queen, Knight, etc. - are often representative of real people, and can even depict how they look. The Queen of Wands is often a red-headed woman with a fiery personality. I am naturally a brunette, but just colored my hair a shade of brown that looks red in the right light, which is actually pretty close to the color of red that is on the Queen depicted in this deck. I unintentionally, and literally, just made myself physically the Queen of Wands. I got this.

For this challenge, I will be working on conquering the aspects of Wands, the second tarot suit I am exploring. Wands are, depending on the deck, connected to Fire, and so to things like action, passion, love or lust, light and knowledge (through mythologies like that of Prometheus and other fire bringers), etc. Wands are often conflict cards in a reading, as well, and so there is that aspect, of opposition and difficulty. As far as action is concerned, one can have all the potential in the world, but it takes the actual activity or energy of taking the first step to unleash and realize that potential. Without energy, potential can stagnate and rot. So, I think with this challenge, I will continue the energy and momentum of my last challenge by doing, by taking the actions necessary to maintain my goals. Because the two decks I have actually look at Wands differently (the Sorcerer's deck connects Wands with Air, not Fire), I'm only looking at one deck for this challenge. The Queen of Wands here is depicted on a throne, bearing a torch-like wand and accompanied by a lioness. Lionesses are the hunters of the pride, the providers and the nurturers; the maternal instincts of a lioness are legendary. I think these are also qualities of the Queen of Wands - a provider, but a fierce one. Outsiders dare not test her, and her love is more focused on protection than nurturing. Note, too, that although a lioness is an untamed animal, in the card she is chained. I think this points to the unbridled passion of the Queen being, well, bridled. Energy without control can be destructive - think of lightning or a forest fire. Yet controlled fire brings us technology, warmth, and light. Be sure that one's passion has a direction or a purpose or it will simply burn itself out haphazardly. Finally, the Queen is alone here, with no sign of civilization - the Queen of Pentacles was accompanied by both herd animals and crops. I think this speaks again to a more wild, untamed nature, but also to the isolation and independence or self-reliance of this archetype. To start this part of the journey, it is important to look at the Ace of Wands, the beginning and end of the journey. On this card, the character (Medea's father? Greek god?) is clearly a ruler. Not only is he crowned, but he also holds the globe in his hand. This particular depiction shows that he is master of his kingdom, whether it be Olympus or simply an earthly kingdom. He bears the golden fleece, which is also a symbol of kingship, as well as a powerful magical item (especially healing). He is in a lofty area, at the top of mountains (fitting for Olympus), which again stresses that independence or self-reliance of the Queen of Wands. It is strange to be the master of one's domain already at the start of the journey, but perhaps that has to do with conquering the domains found within oneself, or conversely, of looking outside of one's past experiences or familiar territory to something grander. For me, I think this has more to do with being more self-reflective and looking at my goals maybe more long-term - see the big picture, so to speak. So, to become the Queen of Pentacles, I must: Take action and energize my goals by Exercising 5 days/week - Belly dancing, walking, and weight training. I will do at least 30 minutes, but up to an hour when I can. EDIT: I decided that I really want to increase my strength stat, so I'm going to do weight training 3/week, in combination with another exercise when appropriate. (30 parts)Tracking my caloric intake every day and keep within the limit set with my doctor (1,800 cal/day) - I learned last challenge that there are not so many calories in wine or liquor (except in the mixers), but I'm still going to minimize intake, though not as strictly as last challenge. I'm also going to continue to limit snacking, but doing the calorie counting seems to be taking care of that on its own. Per my doctor, I'm also watching cholesterol. (36 parts)Limiting TV watching to 2 hours on weekday nights - TV watching makes me less inclined to actually *do* anything. (30 parts)Be self-reflective by Meditating 5 times per week - Meditation allows me to clear my mind so that I can reflect with an unclouded perspective. (30 parts)Getting to bed by 11pm on weekday nights - Being over-tired also affects my ability to reflect on my internal state and govern myself thoughtfully. (24 parts)Committing to spiritual study 2 hours per week - Spiritual study allows me to look at some big picture questions, including what kind of person I want to be and where I want my life to go. (12 parts)Be self-reliant by Planning my expenses and tracking free money for each pay period - Budgeting like this prevents me from spending foolishly and being unable to take care of needs. I need to also start budgeting for eating out when I know my schedule will keep me on the road, in combination with those times I am able to take food from home. (3 parts)Planning a long-term budget, to include paying off credit card debt and saving for a down payment on a home (long-term), as well as paying for desired items/services like belly dancing, clothing, and home furnishings (short-term). point values, etc. Action - 96 parts; +2 Dex, +2 Sta, +1 Con +3 Str Introspection - 66 parts; +2 Wis, +1 Cha, +1 Con, +1 Sta Independence - 4 parts; +2 Wis This may still have some revisions, but this is it to start.

At the encouragement of RDNottingham, I have decided to go with a theme for this (and at least three other) challenges. I am going to use the Tarot suits as guides for my challenges. This challenge is the suit of Pentacles or Coins. Pentacles are symbolically tied to the element of Earth, whose aspects are strength, steadfastness, firmness, and determination (to name a few). I think this is pretty much in line with the characteristics I want to demonstrate this challenge. Pentacles are also connected to money (hence the second name for the suit, Coins, and a major part of this challenge for me), home (I will be moving before the end of the challenge), and fertility or creativity. To further help focus my mindset, I have pulled out my Tarot decks and studied the Ace of Pentacles. The Ace is the beginning, but like everything in nature, every beginning is also an end, so it is both my starting point and goal. I have the Sorcerer's deck (left) and Mythic deck (right - based on Greek mythology). When I look at the Mythic Ace of Pentacles, I see that this suit is transformative - not something I normally associate with Earth - but since Poseidon is the Ace here, that makes sense. When Earth changes, it usually requires things to get "shaken up" (Poseidon is the god of earthquakes, after all), so change isn't necessarily easy - it can feel like an upheaval. I can say I am not necessarily looking forward to that, but I do have to shake up some of my beliefs and get over some hangups (especially since I do tend to like just comfortably plodding along), and I am looking forward to a transformation. Additionally, the Mythic Ace shows that the end result is fruitful (grapevines) and rewarding. As for the Sorcerer's Ace of Pentacles, this card is what I call the Gandalf card (I hope someone else sees it, too). The Ouroboros (snake eating its tail) is a symbol of eternity, and also immortality. I have no idea how that ties in to my challenge, tbh, but it gives me sense that this is the turning of the wheel, a step in a longer journey. Because I see this as Gandalf, this is a card of mastery (even if it is a card of beginnings as an ace), or more accurately maybe, the journey to mastery (Gandalf started out in a different place than he ended up, of course), or to mentorship; Gandalf is the great mentor in LOTR, after all. For my challenge, I think it means I need to be ready to learn and to teach in turns, and this is definitely part of a longer journey for me. Alright, this post is starting to feel a bit tl;dr, so I will speak about what the Queen of Pentacles, specifically, means to me and how I intend to become one in another post.

Ok, so, even though we're between challenges, I want to keep up what I did for my first challenge, and I want to start working toward the changes I want to make for the next one. So, in keeping with my first challenge - walk 3/week, belly dance 2/week, meditate 5/week. New changes (to be updated as they develop): healthier eating - track intake 3/week, and other things to be specified; TV watching limited to 2 hrs/weekday (weekends are freebies)... 4/6 - Did my walk. Also made "healthy" eating choices - had to go for fast food for two meals, but skipped the fries both times.

Main Quest To live in the here and now. To love myself for who I am and gain my confidence back. Getting healthy will be a bonus to being myself. Goal 1: Daily Update (+1 CHA & +1 WIS) This is pretty self-explanatory. I will update my thread daily. I liked this from my last challenge so I’m keeping. Also, I want to get back into writing in my self-love/gratitude journal. I let it fall to the wayside and I want to pick it back up. It’s useful to look back on it. Goal 2: Add Exercise (+3 STR & +3 DEX) This time I'm not having hula hooping as a goal but I can still do it if I feel inclined. This is going to be a 3 part goal. 1) I'm going to aim for walking in the evening with the husband and dog twice a week. 2) I've wanted to pick up belly dancing for years and the last time I had this as a goal, I failed miserably. Soo..I'm adding it back in. Saturday morning this will be done, with additional time during the week if I feel like practicing. If I belly dance, then I can play Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare. 3) I'm hung up what type of exercise I want to do. Body weight training or yoga? I think I'm going to follow Swampling down the rabbit hole that is yoga. I'll also be copying what she's doing aka do the doyouyoga 30-day challenge. However, I will only be doing 2 videos days a week to see how I like it. Also, this will be the first time I've tried yoga soo hopefully 2 days won't be too rough on me. Goal 3: Meal Plans (+2 WIS) I need to start making weekly/monthly plans for meals. This will also help with my following goal as well as my food shopping needs. Currently, I go to the grocery store on Saturdays to pick up meat and any other extras that I may need for that week. I tend go to the produce stand every day and buy the vegetables that I want for that day. I’m a bit spoiled. I want to get into a better habit of this so that when we move, the transition will be easier. I’ll miss my 30 second walk… This first week will be getting all the recipes/meals ideas that I make on a regular basis so new official meal plan for the first. Though I will be shopping this weekend so I’ll need to know what I need by Saturday. Diet Quest: Limit the Processed/Junk/Fast Food (+2 CON) Having the meal plans made should help with this goal.I make most of my husband's and my meals. However, there are days when I'm tired or just don't want to cook and we order pizza or go out to a fast food restaurant of some sort. I want to limit these occurrences Also this will include limiting beer. This will be graded based on each successful day without the processed stuff. I will also be tracking how often I succumb to the temptations of this type of food. Life Quest: Be Successful in Clothes Shopping (+1 CHA ) I’m making this into a goal because I’m not a fan of shopping and have had mini freaks in my latest shopping trips. I'm approaching a US women's size 20 in pants and shopping is miserable. I’m attending a friend’s wedding on Oct 18th and need a dress and I would like the dress to fit with their theme. I also will be visiting San Diego (my hometown) the following weekend and want better fitting clothes. This seems like a lot but at the same time do-able. I like it.

* * * I am withdrawing from this challenge. Things at work are getting really crazy and unpredictable, and it's taking away my ability to stick with all of my goals. I'll still be eating healthy but it won't necessarily be in a paleo way, and I'll be working out, but probably not as regularly as I'd like. I'll be back for the next one!! * * * Aaand…..I’m back from the Caribbean and ready to go!! My challenge will start tomorrow on August 6th and since I’ve been away, I’ll be continuing my challenge through to September 14th, for a 40-day challenge. For this challenge, I am combining my goal of going primal with my goal of becoming a yogini! I’ll have to stay really dedicated because the Fall semester is starting two weeks in to my challenge. I allowed school to dominate my challenge and life during the Summer semester, and let my eating and working out suffer, badly. I can’t let that happen again. I am going to be in school for many years to come and I can’t let my health and wellbeing fall to the wayside because of that. Fortunately, the Political Science class got me back on track in terms of developing regular study habits and I will be keeping that up. It’s going to be a difficult challenge, but that’s why they don’t call it “an easy.†I am really looking forward to how this challenge will turn out. Oh, and the boyfriend is starting to workout again and though he isn’t joining Nerd Fitness, he and I have side bet/competition going on for workout days. And he is totally down with trying out Paleo. I told him that I was going to try out Paleo for this challenge and wanted to only cook Paleo dinners, and he’s totally onboard! MAIN QUEST (BY JULY 5, 2015) Get down to 20% body fat CHALLENGE QUEST Reduce body fat by 1% (by September 5th, picture/measuring day) Do 20 full pushups without stopping Do sun salutations from memory CHALLENGE GOALS Paleo Kitchen: Follow Paleo guidelines for at least 80% of the challenge Get Moving: Get 10,000 steps a day Lift Stuff: Do three bodyweight and/or kettlebell workouts a week Dancing Yogini: Do three belly dancing and yoga workouts a week CHALLENGE GOAL DETAILS Paleo Kitchen Follow Paleo guidelines for at least 80% of the challenge I’m mixing guidelines/information from a few different paleo/primal sources. I’m not going super strict for this challenge, but this will be a big change regardless. I’ve created the No/Sometimes/Yes lists below based on the various books and websites I’ve been reading. I really like vengefulpear’s suggestion of using “tokens†for my non-paleo meals. Since I am planning to eat three meals a day, I will get four tokens a week. Meals containing foods from the “Sometimes List†will not count as a non-paleo meal as long as there are not the main item in the meal (Example: chicken thighs, green beans and sweet potatoes). No List Sometimes List Yes List Processed Foods Fruit Animal Protein Sugar & Artificial Sweeteners Nuts & Seeds Vegetables Grains & Legumes Starches Healthy Cooking Fats Processed Vegetable & Seed Oils Dairy Fermented Foods Alcohol Natural Sweeteners Herbs & Spices Get Moving Get 10,000 steps a day I need to stop living such a sedentary life. Aside from my workouts, I need to stay more active each day. I need to get a minimum of 10,000 steps a day (tracking with my Fitbit). Things I will be doing to try to reach my goal each day: - Ride bike to and from work - Take a walking break at work - Take regular stretch breaks at work - Get outside on the weekends Lift Stuff Do three bodyweight and/or kettlebell workouts a week I need to start regularly strength training again. A short improvised workout is every once in a while is not going to cut it this time! I’ll be doing bodyweight and/or kettlebell workouts on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. I would eventually like to start doing Crossfit but I’m not quite ready for that yet. I’m planning on it for the next challenge. Dancing Yogini Do three belly dancing and yoga workouts a week Versus having rest days in between the strength training, I will be doing belly dancing drills and yoga workouts on Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays. I really miss belly dancing and yoga and am very much looking forward to getting back to it. I feel so much more in touch with my body when I’m doing yoga and dancing. MEASUREMENTS Taken on August 5th Weight: 183.3# Body Fat: 40.3% (using Fitbit Aria scale) Neck: 13†Biceps: 13.25†Forearms: 10.75†Wrists: 6.25†Bust: 38.25†Chest: 32.75†Waist: 31.75†Tummy: 39.75†Hips: 42†Bum: 46.75†Upper Thighs: 29†Above Knees: 17.75†Calves: 16†Ankles: 9â€

This is challenge number 6 for me. Truthfully the last two, even though the grade itself was not bad, really just wasn't great. Mostly this was due to an overall burnout due to a variety of factors (some physical, some more motivationally inclined). I felt like I was not focused. After consulting my coach, he agreed it was time to bring things down and take a short break from recomping. (At least 3 weeks.) That means that for the start of this challenge I will be in a recovery phase. It was suggested I bring up my calorie, carb and fat intake, drop my weights a bit and focus on well being over actual fat loss. So, I have decided to break this challenge into chunks, adjusting the goals as I go. I also thought that since my focus is on well being that it is an excellent time to focus on the basics. Simple, simple. Nothing complicated, nothing fancy. The first 2 weeks my goals will look like this: GOAL 1- Macros: I chose last challenge to take a break from following exact numbers. This had it's good points and not so good points. But, for this round I am going to be going back to aiming for more exact numbers. The biggest reason is because I am trying to essentially heal my body and following numbers helps give me more solid data to work from. Plus, if weight does continue to drop during the recovery my coach has suggested we raise things more. The numbers I am focusing on for now are: 1368 CAL/ 135 PRO/ 135 CHO/ 32 FAT I want to hit these within 100 points on the Cals/ 10 on the PRO & CHO and Fats. GOAL 2- Fluids: I had started doing really well on this and totally got out of the habit last challenge. I actually found that all I was drinking during the course of the day was a cup of coffee I sipped on or an occasional diet soda. And, I am aware that dehydration can have a negative impact so this is another important aspect to an overall well being and something I really have to keep practicing. The first two weeks I am setting a goal of a minimum of 64 oz. (the usual 8/ 8 oz) and my plan is to work up from there to a range of 128 oz by challenge end. GOAL 3- Workouts: LOVE, love, loved the Belly Dancing Lessons last challenge and practicing the yoga (which also helped the belly dancing) so those will continue. Workouts will be: Monday: Chest & Arms Wednesday: Legs Friday: Back & Shoulders Tue., Thurs.: Cardio/ yoga (most likely Bellyfit) Saturday: Belly Dancing Sunday: Off & Refeed Days Life Goal: This will be a continuation of the Clutter Project I started last challenge and will probably be an ongoing thing for a few challenges. A whole house/ whole life sort of undertaking. Grades for this first two weeks: A= 12 days (allows for 2 refeed days) B= 10 days C= 8 days F= less than 8 Hey Vilkacis, time to put down number 6! LET'S DO THIS! :triumphant: :triumphant:

Soooo, it's been a while. But I'm back and ready to go. Well, I actually I started back up on Monday with the Warriors. I'm doing some easy weight lifting this challenge, but they are just SO focused on lifting and bulking and muscles and stuff. It is just definitely not..for..me. It felt...weird. I didn't like it. I know this challenge is already about halfway done, but I didn't want to wait until June to get back with NF. To make up for it, I'll be continuing with these goals until the next challenge starts on June 9th. I'll be sticking it out with the Warriors through the weekend and really get things started here on Monday. NOTE: I will be out of town for a few days towards the end of May and will not be including those days in my challenge. MAIN GOAL Get to 25% body fat CHALLENGE GOAL Complete the challenge with at least a B GOALS Do strength training five days a week. (STR +4) While I have started doing some light weight lifting, I don't want to limit myself to that. So, I'll be doing five days a week of strength training. Whether that's lifting weights or body weight workouts. And I'd like the workout to last at least 20 minutes. And I am interested in checking out CrossFit, but I'm definitely not ready for that yet. Do yoga and belly dancing workout five days a week. (DEX +3) While I doing some strength training this challenge, I don't want to ignore my flexibility either. Since I'll be getting up early in the mornings (on work days) it give me the perfect opportunity to get dancey and bendy before heading off to work. Include two fruits or veggies in every meal. (CON +4) I need to start eating my fruits and veggies more. I was doing well for a while, but have been slacking off a lot lately. So now, all meals must include at least two fruits and veggies. And that means at least a cup of each, not just a slice of tomato or something like that. Wake up at 6:30 every work day morning. (WIS +4) I want to give myself more time in the morning. For getting ready, for eating breakfast, for working out, whatever. This means I’ll have to make sure that I’m going to bed at a reasonable time and that I don’t hit snooze. I’ll only be getting up at 6:30 on work days MEASUREMENTS Weight: 178 Body Fat: 36.55% (using Linear Software, tape measure method) Neck: 13 Bust: 39 Waist: 32 Hips: 42 Bum: 45.5 Thighs: 29 Calf: 16 Bicep: 12.75 Forearm: 10.75

Greetings! I'm Coquettish Kitten (or Coco Kitten for short). A friend of mine suggested that I check out Nerd Fitness when I mentioned needing a better support system, and I'm so happy I did! I'm pushing 30 (turning 29 in July) and want to be in better shape when I get there. I know you're already four weeks into this challenge, but I didn't want to wait for the next one to get started. Though I am looking forward to the next challenge so I can join the Assassins Guild, I just know that's where I belong!! ( I've been poking around ) MAIN QUEST Get down to 20-25% body fat SIDE QUESTS Workout for at least 30 minutes every day (STR +3, STA +3) Bring lunch to work every day (CHA +2) Stretch before bed every night (CON +2) MOTIVATION No more huffing and puffing from walking up stairs. Feeling comfortable in my clothes. Be in good enough shape to start aerial training.