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Oh god, is there a new challenge already? OK: Still trying to learn the dance from last time Choose a poem and learn it by heart Bike adventure - ride my new bike from here to Cambridge and back. Done! 10k run on the 23rd - be prepared! Then revert to one long, two short per week Eat sensibly - paleoish and use some sort of portion control That'll do.

I have free time at work... so I'm using it write the new post. Work = Rec and Park Internship where I get to try out the "manager role/admin duties". I'm a Rec and Park undergrad finishing up my degree with this internship. Will be working until Fall, but getting my degree in August (yay!) Internship is going great, like seriously "perfect Internship I couldn't even dream of level". Especially during crazy pandemic still continuing. Downside, I'm no longer in a physical job. Upside I am taking advantage of a normal job routine, and live in a place where its quite a bit less stressful. So taking advantage of the situation as I'm getting this groggy after work, continuing weight loss... I just passed the 20 lb milestone, for 2021! This challenge is definitely going to be a grind on creating habits (may finally have to read the habits book...) Keeping at if even if my job blew out my brain a bit... Routines: This is a hate/love relationship right here... Morning and Bedtime routines. Hoping to find a good "routine" to check off of every morning and night. No screens after 8: Find I tend to go to bed faster or finish things up when I put the phone away at 8. YNAB: Doing something on the app once per a day gives me a point. A budgeting software I tried on and off for years. I was on the fence for this goal, but honestly this is a goal to get handled where I hope to master. I have some money habits I would like to get in check, especially as of the many unknowns after graduating this August. No Screens with meals: This was on top of my list from my Naturopath... I can do this, it is not as hard as it was 5 years ago (where my mind was my enemy). I just need a reward... Going to add eating and driving, since I realized eating a pack of nuts and lara bar before driving home might do me better than driving home. Bonus: Working out: I have Ring Fit, I have trails I need to walk on my own time... just making the time to do it will help. Meal Prep: I'm actually giving myself a point for every meal I prep in advance. Allowing myself frozen dinners, but getting this in would hit my goals better. Myfitnesspal: I don't hate it as much as I used to, find it less stressful then YNAB actually. Right now using it for "checking in" tool. ' Since I'm earning full time pay, my hope is to turn my goals into points... that I can cash out when I hit a goal. First goal: Oats Overnight... started eyeing them for breakfast or a bed time snack. Will see if I like them.... Also I actually need to watch this show.....

My Goals... My Goals Never um... Changes I'm a Mighty Mighty Man, I'm Young (ahem) and I'm in my Prime (cough, cough) Keeping it simple this time, sticking to what I need to do and what I've been doing, but doing it better. Not expecting miracles but aiming to get back to the level of fitness I had about 5 years ago, which seems achievable with some effort and consistency. Basically, be able to run fast for a sustained length of time, have some upper body strength, be able to do a bridge, and not feel like my belly is always getting in the fucking way. I Don't Want To Set The World On Fire Week zero is prep: fix my bike, review my morning routine, get the allotment organised, clean up my eating (which took a real nosedive towards the end of the last challenge) And then 1. They Call Me The Wanderer Move ever day, including at least one long run and two other runs per week 2. Hack, Whack, Choppin' That Meat Eat properly: porridge for breakfast and paleo for the rest of the day, no booze 3. Civilization? I'll Stay Right Here Carry on Meditating* This is becoming a habit now - I've only missed 3 days since the start of the year, I think. I'm still undecided about it though. I only really feel like about one session in five is effective. The others are just me sitting there thinking about stuff and not really engaging. I think I need to do more prep beforehand to get things out of my head - you know, make notes, turn the oven on for breakfast, drink something, that kind of stuff. So that I don't have so many distractions. I think I need to make this challenge period a make or break for this one. Either i find a way of making this more reliably useful or I give up on it and use that ten minute slot for things that are going to benefit me more. I still feel like there's something to be got out of it but that maybe it's not something I'm suited to and maybe I'm better off cutting my losses. Hm... *=now there's a Sid James/Kenneth Williams film I'd love to see

Hello folks! Many years ago, I used to post in this forum. I was a casual poster, but tried a few challenges. A lot has changed since I was last here, so it seems fitting to return to the start line. I have unfortunately dropped the ball on my general health. I got distracted with my career, love life, and anxiety chewed away at my remaining will. I used to be of average health, now I'm back to my pre-fitness levels of obesity & performance. I'm not putting myself down for it. I simply have postponed taking action longer than I'd like. No more of that! Right now is the perfect time for me to focus on my physical health. Because I have such a long journey from where I am starting to where I want to be, I divided up my goals even further than I normally would. For the Biggest of Pictures, I have my Ultimate goal. This will be my compass when the fog of everyday life gets too thick. It will help me remember why I subject myself to these whims. Ultimate Goal: Balanced performance of strength & endurance 20-23% body fat Comfortably bike 30+ miles Comfortably hike 4-6 hours Run a 5K It will take me a very, very long time to get to those goals, especially the body fat %. Because it seems so far away, I created a mid-boss to have an anchor to look forward to in the meantime. When I was at my healthiest, I was still on my journey to that Ultimate Self, but I was also very satisfied with who I was in the moment. I miss those days with a giant dose of nostalgia when I see pictures from that era. It was about 5 years ago, so there's nothing stopping me from returning to that level except my procrastination. Mid-Boss: Novice lifter 170 lb (don't remember my %) Comfortably bike 15 miles 4x/week Comfortably walk 2 hours 5-6x/week Hike 2-3 hours I loved who I was even at the mid-boss level, but I'm not even close to that, either. That's okay, that's why I'm here. Today: No strength routine 240 lb Can bike for 1.5 miles until heart rate spikes (Oof) Walking for more than 20 minutes feels like jogging at mid-boss level Hike? Outside? Can we just take a drive? So. Cat's out of the bag, I have really let myself go. I grew up a fat kid, had a near-death experience, took charge of my health for 3 years, lost a lot of social support in a short amount of time, and mental illness ravaged whatever threads I had left. Over time, it just got a bit worse every year until now. Okay , Okay. Enough rambling. Let's get to the good stuff. Quest 1: Establish a Fitness Routine Establishing habit is my main goal for this challenge. It is the King Bob-omb. I'm not going to look at performance as a metric, although I will keep it in mind as the weeks go on. I haven't decided on a specific strength routine yet, but luckily I have previous experience to draw on before the 2nd rolls up. I'll make a second "pre" post detailing it. SMART translation: Strength train with full-body work-out 2x/week Walk or bike for 20+ minutes, 3+x/week Quest 2: Improve Endurance Okay, I lied. I'm honestly worried about my heart's health, especially with current events. I don't like how obvious my body struggles to exist, so it's my "lighthouse" goal. I need something tangible to feel like I'm doing something productive, because establishing habits doesn't quite do it for me. SMART translation: Increase walk duration by 5 minutes each time Increase bike duration by 5 minutes each time Quest 3: Begin to Lose Weight I'm leaving this one somewhat vague on purpose. I believe that actions come first, results will come later. I have unfortunately had a lot of false starts by expecting to lose weight as quickly & firmly as I did the first time, and gave up after weeks of my weight not budging. I honestly consider plateauing a victory at this point, but I'd like to see my weight go down after 4 consistent weeks of habit-forming. SMART translation: Weight at any point under 240 lb by 9/5/20 Bonus: Record-Keeping My last goal is to journal more often. It helps my mental health. SMART translation: Journal entry 3+x/week Duty calls, so I must depart. But I will be back soon!

This challenge is inspired by the quote above. Start of the Challenge: September 26, 2016 FITNESS GOAL: Bike for atleast 1KM a day. Extra credit: (1) do 1 set of: 10 squats, 10 push-ups (or as many as I can), 30-sec one leg balance (each), 30-sec plank or (2) Jog uphill and back for a total of 10 minutes. Frequency: everyday, preferably early in the morning Off days: (1) if I'll be sick (learned this from the previous challenge) (2) not in the province/home DIET PLUS GOALS Even though I don't have any diet/nutrition goal, I just stick to the format I had from last challenge. [1] Sleep on/before 10PM Extra credit: 7-day streak Frequency: everyday [2] Drink atleast 2 liters of water. Extra credit: 7-day streak Frequency: everyday ACCOUNTABILITY GOALS [1] Post on the forums Extra credit: everyday Frequency: 3x a week [2] Post on blog. Extra credit: 3x a week Frequency: once a week LEVEL UP YOUR LIFE GOAL Get a job. End of the Challenge: October 23, 2016 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I have a vague level up your life goal again. Anyways, this is all for now. I will share to you how I track my progress in all of my quests and I also need to figure out how to score this thing. I'm all alone in our living room, and the dogs are howling and barking outside this time of the night, it gives me the creeps. *shivers*

Well, last week was kind of crazy, which is why I didn't start my challenge early. I basically had no nights off, and attended my cousins wedding on Friday. I ate more than I should have because they had extrordinarily good food, but I partly made up for it with the dancing, plus I'd been so stressed all week I was barely eating enough. But now I need to get back to eating right. My big, long overview: Exercise: So far this year, my exercise goal has been to attend two exercise classes per week. I've been doing this successfully, and it's now a couple of months since it's been leaving me with extra energy. I've been experimenting with adding in more activity, but I think it's time to get serious about that, and make it a real routine. On week days with no class, I want to do a 15 minute version of Pavel's Simple and Sinister kettlebell workout (10 minutes warm up, 5 minutes Turkish getups alternating arms (up to 5 each side) or 5 minutes of swings. One reason I'm adding this now is that I've finally reached the point where the 25 pound kettlebell I bought last winter is comfortable for 2 handed swings (Yay!). The other reason is that last challenge, I put some nice mats down in my apartment and set up half of my bedroom as a workout area. I'm going with 15 minutes because that's an amount of time I absolutely have, no excuses, and it means I'll be picking up heavy things every day. The only time I'm out of town this challenge I'll be driving, so I can take my weights with me. I also want to ride my bike to work every day the weather isn't horrible. Bonus points for extra biking. I started this last challenge, but had to stop because it was hurting my back. I've got a new bike that allows me to sit more upright. I'm still working out how to set up the seat and handlebars for the most upright posture, but I can now do 5 miles with only a little tightness. The bike is an Electra Townie, which has the peddles significantly forward of the usual position. It's not designed for long fast rides, but I bet I can cover 50 miles a week. Music: I'm attending a fiddle camp for vacation at the end of June. I need to get back in practice before then. Last challenge I set the goal of learning a tune every week. It didn't quite happen (learned 2 instead of 5), so this time, the goal is learning an unspecified number of new tunes, and picking up the fiddle every single day, even if it's just to air play for 30 seconds before I leave the house or go to bed. Social: I mostly hang out either with family, or a single friend. I need more variety in my social circle. I also want to start dating. So over the next few months, I'm making goals to expand my social life. Diet: Back to tracking! I've been having too many days where I eat cookies, cake, and chocolate. I need to start writing it down so I can see when I do that, and remember not to. My Goals: Exercise: 2 Kettlebell classes per week (established since February) 3-5 Short strength workouts on my own: every weekday with no class, weekends optional. 3-5 days: bike to work at least 3 days a week, and every day the weather is nice. Music: Pick up the fiddle every day, even if it's just 30 seconds of scales or long tones. Learn one fiddle tune per week. Don't forget the ones I already learned. Social: I'm in my 30's, and have been on literally 3 dates in my life. Goal: sign up for match.com, and go on at least one date by the end of the challenge. Also get the cell phone numbers of a couple co-workers I walk with every day at lunch. Cleaning: 15 minutes a day. I kind of fell of the wagon on this last challenge, and it shows.

I'm keeping this challenge modest because I'll be on vacation for a week in April (Las Vegas and San Diego area), and because in March, I was struggling with some overambitious parts of my challenge. The main goal is to keep a routine despite taking a vacation. I've also got a few mini-challenges in mind for my weeks at home. Fitness and diet has been going well, so I just want to keep up my established routine, and continue the slow, steady progress I've had for the past three months. I want to become a better writer, but I've been really struggling to make steady progress on this goal the last few months, in part because I keep splitting my focus between a whole bunch of related writing goals and then doing nothing. I've thought about what long term goal would give me the most satisfaction, and that's either fiction writing, or well-researched science writing. I've got a couple of stories I'm in the middle of, and I don't have easy access to scientific journals. So I'm working on writing fiction. I want to finish a long fan-fiction story I started last October. I've got a couple of short stories I'd like to improve. That's enough for this month. No writing a blog, no looking to write for other people, just a chapter a week of a story I'd love to finish. I'm giving slightly different goals on vacation than I have at home. Normally I eat out about once a week, plus every day at the very predictable, accommodating work cafeteria. On vacation, it will be something different every day, usually with too much food. Trying to lose weight when I can't predict my meals is very difficult. Instead, I'll focus on not overeating. If I do that, I won't gain any weight, and I won't loose the mindset of thinking about what I eat. My bike will be unavailable, as will my gym. On the other hand, I'll be walking in general a lot more than I would at home. So I'm going to focus on not losing my workout routine, and using the hotel gym at least twice. I'll have more time for writing than I would at home, and no job to sap my mental energy. But I don't know how much time I'll actually have. So I'll just stick to the same goal both at home and on vacation: sit down and get wome writing done. Home version: Fitness: Keep up what I've been doing. 2 exercise classes per week, plus biking. Biking can be replaced with something else if I want. Goal now is 12 miles per week or more, which is my usual 6 mile loop at least twice a week. I'd like to up this, so I'll be recording how far I actually bike each trip. I've given myself a long term goal of buying myself a new bike if I ride this one 2000 miles. Basically, I want to buy an expensive new bike, but I can't justify it when I don't use the one I've got very much. Diet: Same as usual. Moderate carb. Once serving carbs per meal, plus unlimited veggies and 2-4 fruits per day. At least one veggie per meal. And if I feel like I'm not doing this, start tracking my food again. Writing: Write at least 100 words towards my fan-fic story per day. Better would be 1000+. If I finish the story, I can switch to editing at least one page per day. I'd really like to write a chapter a week, but writing any amount will beat writing nothing. Cleaning: At least 10 minutes per day. I need to set a timer, and clean until the timer goes off. Vacation version: Diet: Don't overeat at restaurants. Ask for a to go box before I start eating, if needed, just to get the extra food out of sight. Have at least one fruit or veggie per meal, even if I have to bring it with me. Buy fruit and veggies to keep in the hotel room so there's something healthy to snack on. Celery or cucumber and hummus are always good, plus a bunch of apples and bananas and probably a can of peanuts. Fitness: I'll generally be more active than usual. Goal number one is Don't Irritate the Plantar Fasciitis. This means no hiking. This needs to be mentioned, because hiking is normally a central feature of my vacations, and the people I'm with know this. I've gotten enough better that I think I'll be able to be on my feet all day with good shoes and pavement, but rough terrain irritates it fast. I've found some kayaking to do instead one day, and if there's enough interest, I'll look into a bike tour day. For strength and conditioning, I want to do a structured workout in the hotel gym at least twice during the week, even if it's very short. Depending on whether they have kettlebells, I'll either do a Simple and Sinister kettlebell workout, or a weighted beginner bodyweight workout variation. Writing: I'll bring my computer. The goal is the same as at home: write every day, finish a chapter per week. Cleaning: Yay for maid service :-). Oh, and I also started a long term tracking log. I'll be tracking leveling up there, as well as marking progress towards the long term stuff that doesn't show up directly in shorter challenges. I couldn't get the link to work, so here's the long version. http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/80494-fiddles-long-term-log/#comment-1860623

A day late (yesterday was holiday, so...) My second challenge of the year is go back to basics, and by basics I mean swim, bike and run, oh, and paleo, my first Whole30, which ended up being something like Whole47 went great, lost some weight, felt a lot better and made some food changes that keep on two years later, BUT, some other healthy choices have become less and less common lately, so: 1. SWIM, finally, back in the pool (today was my first of the year): Goal is simple, swim every weekday, unless out of town. 2. BIKE, At least one 20k+ ride, MTB preferred. At least two lunch-commutes (5k round trip, on a 16-inch bike), per week 3. RUN, get back to running, or at least walk-run, Goal is two runs per week. 4. WholeFebruary, 28 days, grain, milk, sugar, processed food and leguminose-free. (already on day 2), no cheat meals, no exceptions (works for me!). On a side note, going back to my previous (long ago) challenges, I realized a reading goal started as a NF goal, 12 books a year, well, I did it for two years and last year I read 24, this year is 24 again and it's not even a goal anymore, it's more of a house-rule now, cool stuff.

My daughters favorite scene from RWBY is the epic food fight. That is going to be my main focus this challenge. It is my weakest link. Time to buck it up a bunch. So in my battle log I laid down my training schedule for the next 4 weeks. I have found that I have many goals and a hard time keeping focus on just one. In the next 3 challenges my fitness goals are related to staying consistent with strength work, cross training fun, and running. The only thing I am honestly upping is biking. That will be the first epic off my list this year. However I need to eat better to achieve my goals both short term and long term. So for a big change of pace the main 3 goals of my challenge are food focused and the life goal is consistency with training. That simple. Goal 1: Eat mindfully. I must work on stopping when satisfied again and making more good choices. Goal 2: Mega meal plan and track what I eat here. We plan meals but I need to be careful. We are trying out a martial arts class this Monday and if we like it we will be going weekly. This means I have to be the gal with a plan. Since that happens one day a week (and it is done for week 1 already) this goal is also going to encompass tracking my food here to keep it honest. Goal 3:Eat whole foods with only 7 servings a week of a food that is not a whole food. Free pass with plain greek yogurt and almond milk. Life goal: stay consistent and meet the training plan I laid out in my battle log for the next 4 weeks. Period. No excuses.

This is not going to be such an exciting sounding challenge because I am focused. During the last challenge I found some issues I was having towards my biking 100 epic goal. I worked out a better plan and have become a stronger cyclist as a result. At the end of this challenge I will be crossing off an epic by getting in that 100 mile ride. So freaking excited! The only hold up may be weather if it is raining/stormy on the planned day but it will merely be a delay. I am looking forward to the experience. Goal 1: Stick to the bike plan and knock out that 100 mile ride at the end of this challenge. Outside of commuting I have 3 rides a week planned for a total of 18 (the last being the big ride). Goal 2: Keep up running 3 days a week and strength work 3 days a week. That will be a total of 36 workouts by the end of the challenge. If I get an extra run or strength then that still counts as long as between the two I get in 6 workouts. It is something I have been doing for a while now and part of my routine. I even manage a complete rest day each week. You know how it used to feel hard to start working out well not working out now feels just as weird but I do appreciate a good rest day. Goal 3: I enjoy watching tv but sometimes (okay pretty much most days) I find I watch too much. I watch out of boredom or avoiding some unpleasant task. So my goal is to do things I enjoy and give up watching tv for no real reason. I love hiking, walking the dog, working on a wall handstand, reading, working with clay, listening to music, and more so I am going to make a point to do the task at hand (chores or food prep which I actually do enjoy) or what brings me joy vs watching tv for no reason. It can feel like it is sucking the life out of me when I realize I did not do something that brings me joy and just stared mindlessly at the boob tube. Out of the 42 days of the challenge I would love to be successful 30 of them since it is not quite everyday it happens I believe. Goal 1 is the big one, goal 2 is maintenance oriented, and goal 3 is something I have been wanting to work on more and should not add too much when facing crossing off an epic goal of mine!

So I bought a big ol recumbent bike because it is awesome and fun to ride, putting a trailer hitch on my smart car to lug it around, but my question is does anyone have a suggestion for what kind of bike rack to buy?

I'm looking to get a bike just for casual cycling when I feel like it. I'm pretty short, 150cm. Have a pretty tight budget cause I'm slated to leave my country in about a year and so I don't wanna spend a bunch of money. I've been looking at fixies, mainly cause they look really attractive. But the stock bikes are all for people height 165cm and above. I haven't cycled in years. What would you guys' recommendations be for a (kind of) first time bike? (Preferably a light bike.) Thanks for reading!

Okay so I am not a great cyclist but I love to ride. This challenge I am finally crossing off the goal of a 100 mile ride. No excuses. Here is my challenge. Goal 1 - evaluate what I eat track the food so I can analyze (using mfp)70% paleo (2 pts per 50 calories)25% real foods...items I know are working for me but not "paleo" (1 point per 50 calories)<5% processed/sugar junk. We are stuck eating some but I can balance it out and make sure that the majority of my calories are real foods or outright paleo (-1 point per 50 calories)...no one likes to loose points!Goal 2 - move it sunshine run 3 days a week (10 pts each session)strength 3 days a week (10 points each session)bike (1 point per mile) - commute, ride extra, 1-2 speed workouts a week and focus on increasing weekly distance and long ridesfun (10 points a session)...smack around tennis balls with the family, walk the dog for more than a mile, just do something not part of my training. If I am able to do 4 strength workouts then do one I normally do not do from NF website...have freaking fun!Goal 3 - get my head in the game not tracking this on the spreadsheet but I have noticed that there are times I fail/fall short simply because a voice in my head convinces me that I can not do it even when my body says "yeah its hard right now but you have more in you". I know what it is like when I do push through the mental and I can not always tell when it is in my head or it is my body saying take it easy. No good way to track it. Open to any suggestions for tracking or getting/keeping my head in the game.Yep I have it tracked on a spreadsheet and am tracking points Tracking . I even added a pie chart for each week regarding food. I found that amusing...I am easily amused. I love to work toward points as I found out in an earlier challenge. If my estimates are correct based on what is possible I am shooting for 2500 points! This will not be entirely easy but definitely achievable. I love progress bars... 0%0%

I've decided to buy a bike for riding on bike paths and through residential/ downtown roads. I might eventually want to ride it to work on the street if I get comfortable, but that will be a while if it happens. I haven't had a bike since probably middle school and last time I tried to ride one I borrowed I had a ton of trouble staying steady. I was never amazing on a bike but I used to be at least comfortable on fairly level ground and I'd like to be so again. So my question to you is what kind of bike should I look for? I am thinking maybe a hybrid but I don't really know much about my options. I'm looking to buy something on the low end of a bike price range, like maybe a few hundred. I'll definitely look at used options too once I know what kind I'm looking for and I get fitted at a bike store.

I Want to Not Be Creaky When I Move! 1. Obtain A Healthy Weight (or just start with whittling at the 15lbs keeping me above 200lbs) Get My Feeding Habits Under Control! Pay Attention to Portion Size... Meal Plan with the following in mind: Eat as Many Nutrient Dense Foods as PossibleEat a Lot of Vegetables and FruitsEat Some Quality Protein & FatsLimit Hidden or Added SugarsB12 DeficiencyIron DeficiencyNeed More FolateNeed More CalciumGet Plenty of Sun -- I need the D -- The Vitamin DDrink Enough Water and: Limit SodaLimit Coffee​Starbucks: Get thee behind me -- or to a Nunnery -- Either way -- No!Limit AlcoholExercise! Swim/Bike/Run or Walk with some mini-goals: Swim Up To Two Miles In Under an Hour (In a Pool)Swim a 200 Butterfly with Good FormBike Anywhere in FairhopeRun/Jog a 12 - 15 Minute Mile Walk to regain strengthSprint a little too? Participate in a TriathlonGrandman May 30, 2015?Swim > ¼ mi, Bike > 18 mi, Run > 3miParticipate in a Marathon SwimOcean Springs Osprey May 2, 2015?Swim > 2 mi2. Be Flexible! Stretch Warm UpCool DownFoam Roll/Massage Yoga Balance DrillsCoordination Drills3. Be Strong! Lift Heavy Things and Put Them Down *4. Be Multilingual (Bonus Round) One Spanish Lesson Each Day (choose at least one): Listen to a podcastRead a Spanish novelDuolingo PracticeA chapter of grammarVocabulary FlashcardsOne French Lesson Each Day (choose at least one): Listen to a podcastRead a French novelDuolingo PracticeA chapter of GrammarVocabulary FlashcardsSwims (11/18 Days) 61%61% Runs Long Walks (9/18 Days) 50%50% Bike (3/18mi) 16%16% Strength and Flexibility Training (13/18 Days) 72%72% Stick With the Meal Plan (15/34 Days) 44%44% LIve Without the Starbucks (17/34) Days 50%50%

My ultimate goal is to fit comfortably into UK size 14 trousers. To do that, I need to drop a dress size and I want to do this by losing fat. I feel like I've got a good grip on workouts and food / diet so this challenge is about creating new routines and adding another level of automation into my daily life. Being more active outside of workout sessions and looking after my body are my main focus areas for this challenge. 1. Activity! STA+2 CON+2 Be active outside of workout sessions. Minimum is walking for 10 minutes per day. This is continuing from my previous challenge but is being made more difficult by a higher target. A = 30 or more active days B = 26-29 active days C = 22-25 active days F = 21 active days or fewer. 2. Spring clean! DEX+1 CHA+2 WIS+1 The start of spring is approaching and my body is beginning to show signs of winter wear and tear. I have made a list of activities I need to do to look after my body, and I have attributed points to those activities depending on how difficult (how likely I am to do them) they are. A = 100 points or more B = 75-99 points C = 50-74 points F = 49 points or fewer. 3. Floss! CON+2 CHA+2 I'm treating this like a 30-day hard hat challenge for the whole of the 6 weeks. Fairly simple, I want to automate my flossing routine, put floss everywhere and make sure to floss daily. Pass = Never miss 2 days in a row Fail = Miss 2 or more days in a row. 4. On your bike! DEX+1 CON+1 STA+1 I received a folding bike for Christmas and it's really easy to get out and about with it. I want to fit my bike in my car and take it to work with me. I hope to make a new activity out of bike riding and my initial aim is to ride my bike once per week. A = 5 bike rides or more B = 3 or 4 bike rides C = 1 or 2 bike rides F = No bike rides.

Back with the Assassins! So last challenge did not work out so well because life happens and I'm honestly just super lazy. So what can I do to not be so lazy? Practically anything! I'm going to be focusing on more life style challenges just to get me motivated to get out of bed and move. Main Quest: To live life to the fullest and be healthy. My practical goal is to get to a size 8-10 pants size or lose 30 lbs. P.S. My triathlon training was a bust. I'll get there someday but right now I need to try something else. Quest 1 Just do something active for 30 min 5 times a week or a total of 30 sessions. From walking, to running, to swimming, to riding my bike, to dancing. I just need to get up and move! For my crazy life I might as well try a crazy strategy. A= +3 Str, +2 Dex; B= +2 Str, +1 Dex; C= +1 Str, +.5 Dex Quest 2 Actively study or do something with my brain 4-5 times a week or at minimum 24 mental workouts. I'm still working on GRE and studying, but I'm also working on a science integration curriculum. I think I teach a class or work with students every day now so this teacher needs to stay sharp. A= +3 Wis; B= +2 Wis; C= +1 Wis (I would also put intelligence (INT) here too but I don't think that's a category) Quest 3 Actively keep my room tidy and wash my dishes in a timely manner. It's kind of sad that this is in here but it's the truth. I am combating laziness here and my environment is very important to changing this bad habit. A= +3 SDex, +2 Con; B= +2 Dex, +1 Con; C= +1 Dex, +.5 Con Life: Budget again. Because life. A= +3 Wis, B= +2 Wis, C= +1 Wis This challenge is to help me combat laziness, to stop being depressed, and become motivated again. I'm really glad that challenges refresh every 6 weeks because then I can try again. It’s time to get out of the pity parade and move!

Background: I took last challenge off due to a lack of motivation but I did use some of this time to start a Daily Battle Log (well a kinda regular Habit Log). I will be keeping this up as a motivation to do the little easy things without them forming part of my actual challenge. I was sick of always feeling like I was having a back to basics element in my challenges. The motivation: I had a big adventure this time last year and now I feel that I have lost all the extra fitness and weight loss gained while preparing for this. I have another big adventure at the end of the year so I should have all the motivation I need. What I need though is to have my own internal motivation and not rely on booking a big adventure and then trying not to embarrass myself or feel let down by my lack of preparation. The Theme: Self-reliance - I need to work on internal motivation and have the self-worth to guide my actions. I need to focus on mindfulness to keep caring about my goals and not give myself permission to eat crap and sit around doing nothing. THE MAIN QUEST: To work a number of Great Walks - the first being Milford Track in New Zealand. I have actually booked this now and I'm working on an even more challenging end to the trip (details to follow) so I am committed. Goal One: Mindful Eating Self-reliance - plan my food - this makes me responsible for the food I am putting in my mouth Mindfulness - Log food on MFP (StormSkywalker) Goal Two: Self motivated fitness sessions My twice a week PT session has just finished up so I no longer have the peer pressure training to fall back on. I have plenty of opportunity to exercise with a gym at work, a bike and two feet so I am taking control of my own fitness. Participate in some fitness goal each day Goal Three: Personal Reflection Take charge of what I can control and don't stress about what I can't. (I know there is a good quote for this but you get what I'm saying). I have let stress hold the upper hand this year so I need to use my Self-reliance and mindfulness to take back that power. One tool I have successfully used before is to create a to do list - because it is often something sitting on this list that I could deal with but haven't causing issues with stress. So I will create a to do list and a what stresses me out list and then deal with any of them that are within my control. Still a bit vague and not overly SMART so it might get a tweak.

AIM: To be considered to Future Skywalker - who will be hiking and cycling and camping in New Zealand after the end of this challenge. I generally don't like to think - eat well now because I'm going on holiday in six weeks - but I'm going on holidays in six weeks! I want to consider being nice to Future Me as an incentive to not be side tracked by stressful days or sweets. Goals: Exercise - keep moving. Five exercise sessions per week. This is pretty much dialled in - I have three sessions booked in with work colleagues and a weekend ride or hike so I should manage to hit 5 per week. Food - Hit the metrics 1. log food 2. try and keep 1/3 metrics for protein, fat and carbs 3. menu plan/log in advance to minimise unplanned food Mindfulness - accountability 1. Declare food goals with 2 real people 2. Post regularly and don't go missing Super Goal - Sugar free Something I've been challenged with in the past - not looking for perfection - just counting the sugar free days

So I moved recently and now I live like a 2 hour drive away from work. As part of my goal to level up my life.. I would like to start taking the train. How does this level up my life? Well actually it does this in 3 ways. *Saves money *Instead of spending 3-4 hours driving each day, I spend 3 on a train where I can read *The train station is 3 miles from work. Which means I am forced to do physical activity even when I don't want to Walking takes a long time due to stoplights and a lot of traffic so I am hoping I won't be doing it for long, between my work hours and the commute it doesn't leave much time to live. I started a funding campaign to try and buy a bike. Hoping to have one soon! http://www.gofundme.com/hgajm0

Jazzy could feel it coming. Maybe it was something in the air. Maybe it was something in the food. Maybe it was the way she sweat like a damn pig every time she tried to do something simple. Whatever it was (thought it was probably that last thing), she could feel change coming on. She'd started simple, used some help, and made it through. Barely, but barely counted in most places. This time was going to be different. This time she was going to kick ass all the way through. She sat up in her hammock and she could feel the conviction pouring off of her. She could... she could... She fell sideways in her hammock. She could feel that hard work was coming. No one said getting off this ship was going to be easy. Hell, hadn't Logan told her the first day she'd woken up in this stink hole that it was going to be hard? Getting out from the rule of Captain Gut, a man she hadn't even met yet, was going to be tough work. She could see so many of her fellow just... lounging. How in the world this ship kept afloat was beyond her with how lazy people were around here. But that was a completely different story. Right now she needed to focus on something else. Where was she? Oh right, hard work. It was going to be hard work getting off this ship. She would have to start with something. Something relatively small, but doable, and something that counted as something. Because that thought totally made sense, right? Hello, Jazzy? The Department of Redundancy Department called, they want their sentence back. She knew what she meant and that was what mattered. Now, where to start... where to start... -- Hello and welcome back to another entertaining (I hope) adventure on the sea aboard the good ship Paunch. Or not so good, really. Hopefully this installment will contain more interesting and attractive prose than the last one. But I'll forgive myself for that, seeing as I didn't decide to do the writing part until over half way through, I believe. Anyhow, let's get this party started! -- Challenge 2: Now Starts the Hard Work Main Goal To lose 5 pounds Quests -Ride stationary bike at least 30 minutes, 3 times a week +2 STR +1 DEX -Stick to 1810 calories a day +1 STA +1 CON +1 WIS -Drink at least 32 oz of water a day +1 STA +2 CON Life Quest Write at least 100 words a day +2 WIS +1 CHA Side Fitness Quest Attend yoga twice a week (this isn't a quest above because I'm taking yoga as a course at my college, so I thought that would be cheating, seeing as there's a grade riding on my attendance) +1 STR +1 DEX +1 STA Measurements Weight: 300lbs Height: 5'8" Other Goals No Soda PVP Grading At the end of the challenge, I will take my total days completing each goal and divide it by the total days available to get my final grade on each goal. In order to pass the goal and get the points, I have to get at least 80% on that goal. These will be tracked through my spread sheet. Passing the challenge completely will be based on whether I'm trying all the way through to the end. If I give up at any time, I fail. Mini Challenge 1: +1 WIS |

Main Quest Run my second 50k on Nov 1 Goal Rational I need to work on increasing my long runs since my longest run of the year is around half marathon distance. I planned to get further distance in last challenge but could never have a long enough block of time to run longer distances during. I am already planning on taking a vacation day during this challenge to get in my 40k in early October. I want to get two 30k-ish runs before that though. I also plan on getting a bike during this challenge so I will count that for normal runs. So I will make a goal for long runs and another goal for lots of regular running to keep my running base. I want to lose some more weight before I haul it for 50k, and for me the best way to do that is logging my food every day. The actual goal will be easy so only 2 stat points, but the point is to keep the calories in a good range. I tend to over react on the small stuff (like literally crying over spilled milk). So I need to work on that. Though for the bigger stuff I am usually the calm in the storm. And with fall and winter approaching, I need to play some more with the kids outside before the warm weather escapes. I won't make these goals specific on purpose (they also won't have as much stats assigned to it). Goals 1) One long run each week. +5 STA 2) 3.5 hours of exercise each week not including long run. +2 STR +2 DEX 3) Log all food (MyFitnessPal) +2 CON 4) Don't sweat the small stuff +2 WIS 5) Play outside with the boys +2 CHA Stats LVL: 17, STR: 18, DEX: 21.5, STA: 37.25, CON: 13, WIS: 13.25, CHA: 8.25

I thought that mapmyride's calorie calculation is way too high, and googled. I reached to their website's calorie calculator. Now, I was playing with the parameters. Weight, height, age, activities, distance, duration. Distance and duration are obvious. Weight - it's easy to understand that more weight - more calories. However two factors that I don't understand. Age - between age 20 and 44, 44 burns 10% more calories Height - 6-2 burns about 8% less than 5-2. Does anybody know why height and age matters to the calorie calculation?

*In a land far away and long ago a great peril fell upon the world, rendering the beloved king unable to protect his people from monsters. As a captive he was held frozen in stone, unable to move or escape, but still to hear and see all that transpired in his kingdom. A mighty power lay dormant while the king remained locked in stone. A great and evil sorcerer had sought this power, and sent monsters forth to distract the kingdom's lesser guardians while it pursued the king. But the sorcerer could not figure out how to steal the king's power, there was a missing piece to the puzzle. So the sorcerer locked the king in stone and sent his minions far and wide to search for the key. Danger crept into the land and much did the people suffer. But in one village, yet untouched by the stain of evil, did live a people who could change shape at will. When monsters began to encroach upon their land, life would go from peaceful to discord...* *Syren awoke that morning groggy and disoriented. Someone was shouting for her to wake up, and hurry. She wiped the sleep from her eyes, then stood to stretch when she caught a whiff of fire. Immediately she was awake and stumbling from the house. It was not her domicile that was ablaze, but one down the street. People had already started a bucket line, sending water to put out the conflagration. Syren stood out of the way for a moment. She looked around for something to do that would help, when she heard a large FWOOOSH! She turned to look and a giant fireball ignited her house! A great wave of heat knocked her down, but not before she caught sight of a giant beast lumbering off behind the village. Villagers scattered here and there trying to put out the new fire that was much larger and could move throughout the town. Syren however moved to follow the beast. It trampled through the woods and came to rest next to another monster. This one looked very different, instead of impossibly huge and porcine like the fire shooter, this one stood tall on goat legs with twisting bull horns above its eyes and the blackest skin rippled with muscles and odd tattoos. The tattoos, like the creature's eyes glimmered with a silver sheen as light touched them through the trees. The monster seemed to be carrying a bundle of rags. Syren gasped when the bundle was tossed about to reveal the young prince who had been visiting their hamlet. The boy was unconscious and a dribble of blood dripped from a slash across his forehead. She ran forward, but tripped on roots and over her own feet. The monsters did not even turn to look back at her as they crashed through the trees. She stood up, and began to go after them again, but her ankle would not support her weight. Against a tree, Syren slumped. She should go back to the village and tell someone what had happened so that a party could be formed and the princeling saved! But she would be so slow, that the prince might be dead before she even got to the village. Still, she would not have been much help to the little prince, she had no defense against those monsters. She put her hand on a knot on the tree, resolved to get some help, when a burst of blue light came shooting from a knothole in the tree. Syren was briefly startled by the creature, but soon determined that it was merely some odd species of insect. But the little creature was insistent and fluttered about her head shouting in a language that she could not understand. She swatted at the fairy, for that is what it turned out to be. It was shouting "Oye! Escucha!" incessantly. Syren shouted back at it for a moment, but that did no good. She grew tired of the bright blue orb on wings, and began to hobble back to the village. She padded through some grass and kicked what felt like a bottle. She picked it up and found that it held some money, not a large quantity, but enough to put away in savings. She wondered if it were the princling's. She pocketed the jar for now, and limped on. When she finally came upon the village, no one was about, and houses stood in covered in soot, or not at all. She called out to the town: "HELLOOOO!" No one responded. She moved to intact doors and knocked, but their were no answers. Slowly she made her way to the village center where the elders would gather. She entered the greathouse and found the townspeople seething within. They were angry, and when she entered, that wrath seemed to turn to her. But the eldest of the elders stemmed the tide of anger by coming up behind Syren and asking if she had seen anything in the woods. She told them of what had transpired, but she was the only one that could spy the fairy. She had given up on it, and hoped that it would scream itself hoarse in the shortest amount of time possible. Another elder brought her a drought that helped to relieve the pain in her ankle, yet another brought her a box, and another a tiny trident. She looked at these puzzled. The eldest elder smiled at her and said, "You must be our village's champion. Go, find our prince and bring justice down upon the monsters that did this to us." A frown grew upon Syren's face and a short stammer of disbelief came from her, but the town's people began ushering her back out the door. She soon stood upon the stoop of the greathouse with the box and trident. She looked at the tools dubiously. "Our village apparently has no sword." Sighing deeply, she set out at a limp back into the forest and after her quarry.* Travel the world in whatever form is required: Run like the wolf, swim like the dolphin, and bike, like a... well, like EPONA! Tri training dayz! But it is dangerous to go alone! Outfit yourself with the tools of lunch box and grill fork for they will come in very handy for long days of travel! Primal/Paleo type choices, about 60% - 70% (mostly cutting alcohol, for while tasty and occasionally mind numbing, it does not help with the belly fat and over weighted issues.) Keep up your strength! Be strong, like bear: get back into the strength training thing, it might only take 10 minutes, do it. ¡Oye! ¡Escucha! Learn how to speak to this fairy so that it stops repeating itself: Spanish learning, because it might be useful one day. Smile Keep those canines bright, shiny, and pointy: by flossing every day. Spreadsheet of Progress!

Ok that may be an overstatement...but really it would be awesome. Anyway, my main quest is actually for this weekend (can I do that?). Here it is: Main Quest: Under 3 hours in olympic distance triathlon on June 14. (if that is too soon, I'm planning on signing up for another in July or August as well). How? Run 1x per week. There is a team workout on Tuesday mornings at 6am that I'd like to get to every week. However, that has not happened yet this summer. Also refer to life quest.Bike 1x per week. Biking to work is separate and does not count as bike workout. Bike workout may be road or mountain as I have just discovered my love of mountain biking.Hike 1x per week. Refer to previous challenge "Freddyfly's Grand Quest". But why is there no swim goal? Well, swimming is my strongest leg and I REALLY need to work on the other 2 so swimming improvement does not count towards being athlete extraordinaire. Life Quest: Wake up with alarm. As in less snoozing and coming into work later than I'd like. This should help me get to that running workout on Tuesday mornings. Hopefully. I used to be SO GOOD at waking up with my alarm and I'm not sure how this happened. Any tips?