Search the Community

Initial post removed because user is 15.

Hello, I am a 20 year old girl who has been training in the gym for a year now, i am 5'6", and started weighing 71,5kg as a i came back for a 1 year vacation. I currently weight 63kg, have a muscle mass of 45,8 and a Body fat percentage of 23% (last time i weight myself, but I know is approximate so i would say im around 25%). I go to the gym 4 times a week, 2 days upper body, 2 days lower body, 25min of cardio all those 4 days. I have three dogs so i keep myself active also after the gym. About my diet, is something i was very aware of at the beginning but not so much now: BREAKFAST: 1/2 lemon with 400ml of water, and a garlic suplement pill. LUNCH: tomato and spinach sald, with seeds and nuts, and olive oil, (small, like a quarter of tomato, one tea spoon on seed and nuts and 100gr of spinach) + main dish (can be mashed vegetables, soup, pasta with tomato, quinoa with tomato...) + 1/2 pieces of fruit MID-ADTERNOON: 1 banana, and 1 homemade chocolate cupcake (since 1 week) NIGHT: hazelnut yogurt, with natural hazelnuts, almonds, and granola, also some chocolate chips, blueberries and half a banana. i am not vegan but i try to maintain all my meals animal-free. About my diet, i know i have to do this following things, but in would love any other suggestion: no more chocolate cupcake, avoid the pasta in the lunch period, instead more vegetables and proteins, (what vegan protein preferible so you recommend me to add to my lunches?)

My goal is to have some shape and definition without losing too much weight. My arms have definition but only when I flex. I'm carrying a bit of weight in my belly and waistline but I do not know if it is fat or water. What do the trends in these numbers tell you? Over the last six weeks, my weight has decreased from 160.5 lbs to 157.6 lbs. My body fat had decreased from 19.5% to 18.7%. My muscle mass has increased from 42.2% to 42.6%. And, my body water has increased from 58.7 to 59.3%. What needs improvement? What can I do to reach my goal faster? Let's say that goal is 17% body fat and more than 42.6% muscle mass. Thanks so much.

Well, color me surprised. This little rock we call home made it around the thermonuclear death star (cause of, and possible solution to, all our problems - eventually when it goes nova) yet another time. On the bright side, I get to carry on carrying on Tai Chi and getting cold. On the awesome opportunity side, I need to move to the other side of this rock in 3 months, drop body fat (family wager - good opportunity for entertainment), get serious about internalizing Pose Running, and start deadlifting again. Sigh. Paring this down for this challenge my goals are simple. Get an appointment with a bod pod and find out my starting point. I've finished reading the Pose Running books, time to get coaching - so that is an appointment to set and keep. Lastly, take some warmup lifting days then get to where I can take a safe run at my one rep max. From there, develop a plan to work forward. I've been thinking of the meme to capture this, and the best I can do is some Blacklist. That about captures it. Adventure time. - Murphy's Roommate

Hey Nerds! I would like some suggestions for how to drop that last bit of body fat to get me from about 16-17% to 12-13% Background: Male, 5'-11'' (182cm), 162lbs. (73.5kg), 31 years old. I've been lifting weights 3-4 days a week for about a 1 1/2 years now with some very good results. I went from 185lbs (84kg) and 19% body fat to my current weight while clearly adding muscle (from a visual perspective.) Currently I fast from 9pm to 10am most days and eat about 80% paleo (I still eat some cheese, butter, and cream and have the occasional tortilla). I also skip breakfast. Problem: I would like to get my body fat down to 12% and continue adding muscle. I don't think I'm eating enough and that is something I struggle with. I feel satiated when eating paleo. Some numbers: BMR 1,766 calories, TDEE 2,664 (based on moderate exercise) Maybe I should adjust this to High? Actual daily caloric intake 2100-2400 What I think I need to do: Continue to eat clean but eat more! I think my calorie deficit is hampering my progress at this point and my body is stubbornly holding on to fat. I love to eat low carb (I just feel so much better) so I am going to adjust my Macros to better meet my TDEE like so: Protein: 264g Fat: 117g Carb: 132g What do you guys think?

Ta-da! I have shaken off my cold with copious amounts of Dayquil and hot baths, and I am here, with you my Ranger brethren, to take on a new challenge. Which will be not terribly unlike my last challenge, but hopefully more amusing, and with 37.9% more bicycles, since the weather is better. I had a very intense challenge laid out with a very serious VIKINGS ARE BADASS theme, but it's like 75 degrees and sunny and I'm down some weight and the Justice League trailer looks fucking great and I'm just kinda in a good mood this week, and it didn't feel like the right theme. So I changed it. And so I give you my new challenge: BECOMING BOHDI! Yes, I have designed my challenge around the greatest surf-riding savant of modern cinema. We have, after all, a ton in common: - passion for the nature and the sea - thirst for adventure and travel - perfect blonde highlights and slightly androgynous surfer-chick hair - urge to buck the system and travel light I mean, yeah, there's some sociopathic behavior and the whole bank-robbing thing, but I can't spell or resist cheese fries, so we've all got our problems, right? We'll just gloss over that for the moment and get to the challenge. 1: Get the spiritual side of it: https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/45b03b32-d6e4-4c2f-a2d4-70fa90f4e922 I started meditating during my last challenge and doing Wim Hof breathing exercises, and holy cow does it make a difference. So goal number 1 is to continue meditating daily. 2: Get that Surf Body: Patrick Swayze had one of the all-time great physiques on this film and he apparently did almost all of his own stunts. I mean, he's not Jason Momoa or anything... ...but that's not the question at hand. Actually after looking at that picture I can't remember what the question was. I may need a moment. Okay, I'm back. I lost 1.9% body fat last challenge so my goal is to lose another 1% by challenge end. Which means no cheese fries. Sadness. I got a bike trainer - the Mantis has been on me about it for ages and I finally got a cheap one - so that I can do some indoor training, and I will continue to workout at the gym and post my workouts, if only because it's never not funny to say, "Today I worked on my snatch." I'm trying to do two workouts a day, but it's not like it's 40 miles on the bike in the morning and then heavy lifting in the evening. It's either a strength workout or the bike and then a walk or yoga or a spin on the trainer or whatever, something simple. Goal 3: Traveling on the money, going where the waves are: I had plans for an ambitious cross country road trip this spring, but I changed my mind, and now I think I am going to go to Belize to go snorkeling, because it will be cheaper and shorter (like a week instead of a month) and I found out that there's a chance to see whale sharks there, which I'm kind of obsessed with. So goal #3 is to save up the money for that trip, even if it means selling everything I own that's not bicycle-related or my cat. And that, actually, is it for now. Simple challenge for once. Bonus content if you're bored:

Hello Warriors! I've been waiting SO LONG to get in here. People have been telling me to lift heavy to reach my goals, but due to a chronic lack of money and space I was never able to build myself that power rack *sniff*. I tried and hated bodyweight workouts; incidentally, does anybody else here hate them? Meanwhile, over the last couple of years I read New Rules of Weightlifting for Women and dabbled in home workouts including HIIT, running, dumbbells, dance, kettlebells etc; all the while dreaming of pumping that iron. Well, the time has finally come: I somehow managed to wangle three months at a *very* swanky gym for free and once my time is up there I fully intend to join the very reasonably priced muscle gym within walking distance of my home. I was thinking about joining a no-frills pay-as-you-go gym, but I keep hearing horror stories about them being packed to bursting with cardio machines and a single, inadequately stocked squat rack... Watch out, here come the goals! Goal #1: Do Stronglifts 5x5 three times a week I've already completed two sessions at the swanky gym and couldn't have hoped for a better introduction to the programme. A really helpful and friendly fitness instructor assisted me with my form and showed me where everything was. Unless I miss a session I've decided to train Monday, Wednesday and Friday and avoid the weekends. I made the huge mistake of going yesterday (Saturday). One squat rack had two bros doing dumbbells in it, the one next to it had two women alternating pull-ups, squats with a 10kg plate and a weird bastardisation of OHP - lifting one end of an empty barbell... The final rack had a personal trainer and client, so I decided to wait there - a good move - the morons were still messing about long after I was finished with my workout. BEGONE, WITCH!!!! Goal #2: Support 5x5 appropriately In my case, this means foam rolling prior to the workout, performing the suggested accessory exercises on the Stronglifts 5x5 app after the compound lifts, and doing some sort of restorative yoga on rest days. I like Grokker and Do Yoga With Me for sheer variety. Goal #3 Eat properly, eat MOAR For 'gain muscle, lose fat' Scooby's calculator set my calories at 1957. For me, this is the upper limit as it is a lifelong dream (sad, but true) to reach 20% body fat and I'm so close! I'm not skinny-fat, but I have a belly and don't want to add to it IN BIKINI SEASON then do a dramatic cut. Hopefully newbie gainz will help me gain strength while on the lightest of cuts. Thanks to Britain's England's (thanks, SpecialSundae) draconian Sunday trading laws, combined with Europe's overenthusiastic sell-by-dates I managed to get serious amounts of beef and fish for half price, which will see me through till the end of the week. Must remember this for next week... One of the upsides about the amounts of non-lifting exercises I did for the last two years is that my cardio and muscle endurance is pretty damn good, and I only get light DOMS. So I plan to keep my calories in check by spinning straight after Stronglifts (I can run for free at home, but cycling's not safe in London - and I don't have a bike anyway, so why not use a fancy one?). I'm aware this could get grim as the weights go up, so I'm happy to ease off the cardio once it does. Me, after a 2016 of 1300 calories per day, since beginning Stronglifts 5x5 Goal #4: Track everything I've been using MFP for years. Finally lost 10lbs this year on very low calories. Gone down a bra size too. I will measure at the beginning and end of each month's challenge, and track weight daily so I can see trends and adjust calories accordingly. And take pics. I've eaten today, so I won't depress myself with a pic of my already bulging belly. What do I need to take pics of Do I need to flex in all of them? Will do it Tuesday! Height: 5'4" (this is more for you than me) Age: 34 Weight: 126lbs / 57kg Wrist: 6" Bust: 33" Underbust: 29" Overbust (as in top of pecs?): 32.5" Arm: 10" Forearm 9" Hips: 36.5" Thigh: 21.5" Calf: 13.5" Neck: 13" Any tips on measurements/pics will be gratefully received. Right, I'm off for some lazy restorative yoga. Enjoy what's left of the weekend!

Journal of a Beginning Sailor Senshi It takes a long time and many challenges for a regular girl to realise that she has the power take her destiny into her own hands and make of her life whatever she wants it to be. To understand that with regular practice, dedication and faith, she can be strong some day, strong enough to defeat powerful enemies.

Hey everyone, About me: First posting here, long time fitness/nutrition student and frequent athlete! I live/work in Denver, CO, and play tennis, throw discus, play video games, and chill out in my free time. I love playing tennis, but I know that my body fat and weight are seriously hindering my performance on the court after the 1st set, and I want to compete at a higher level and win local tournaments. I know there are an infinite number of resources about weight loss, but now that I've gotten the general principles down, I've run into some confusion given all the wild debating about nutrition and fitness, and I came to you rebels with the hope of helping me iron out a more solid workout and diet plan for myself. If there is something that I don't mention that will be helpful, or if I've brazenly violated a rule that I didn't read about, PLEASE LET ME KNOW! My stats: Gender: Male Weight: ~215 lbs. Height: 6'3.5" (I generally say 6'4" with shoes) Body Fat %: Assume 18-20% (Never had it measured, no idea how to without spending serious coin) Musculature: I've got a good volume of muscle all over under all this fat, and I want to *maintain it, not bulk up, while cutting fat* I can tell that I am really close to slimming as I can see great muscle definition when flexing, but it's so often hidden by a mushy layer of fat all over. Workout Schedule: Cyclic Day 1: Explosive leg workout (jumping bulgarian squats, box jumps, fast jumping jacks, etc.) Day 2: Upper Body (Pullups, bench presses, clapping pushups, bicep/tricep curls) Day 3: Run for 2 miles Day 4: Rest However, these are all morning-ish. In the evenings (say, 2-3x a week) I will either a) Throw the discus with my left arm, then practice serves with my right or Play a tennis match or hit Goals: Get to 15%-ish body fat, improve leg endurance/power and cardiovascular endurance (all for tennis) Diet: Calorie Intake: ?????? I've had calculators say 2100 BMR, others say 3000. I have no idea which way is up, down, or sideways, and it's frustrating the hell out of me for planning a deficit to lose weight! I can eat anywhere from 2200 to 3000, depending on how many carbs I chose to eat. Macro goals: <130g carbs, ???g Fat, ~150g protein (How much fat should I eat? I like to aim high, around 140g to stay up on calories) What I eat: Morning before work: 1 cup oatmeal, 1 large banana Throughout day at work: 2 cups tuna, some peanut butter, a protein powder+water drink after workout, bell pepper (still hunting for more foods to bring in and eat!) After work: 3 eggs, sausage or bacon, then it's a wild crapshoot as I'm out of ideas for the day This may be way too much info, but hopefully someone here can find the time/space to read this block of text and help a fellow athlete out!!!

Last challenge was pretty successful! I went from 71kg to 67.3kg in 6 weeks, through a strict diet change. I've got used to the change - no wheat, no dairy, no high fructose fruit - and am hoping to keep my weight loss up, with a slight change. Main goal: Reduce body fat to below 30% Strength train once a week + HIIT once a week = [sTR + STA] - simple really. Increase muscle, lose fat. I've got my garage gym, and as seen last challenge, I can't manage to go in twice a week. I'm hoping that by incorporating some sprints and other HIIT exercises I can switch things up a bit.Maintain meal prep [CON + WIS] - focusing more on high protein meals and low carb. Side goal: Be able to shoot the duck! That's Estrojen...my idol. Yoga twice a week, focusing on hip flexibility [CHA + STR] - I've found some videos on youtube, so I'll be following along with those, on a morning before work - hopefully!

Hello! Well this is good timing! I'm on the long, slow grind of losing those last few pounds. Have been using MFP for ages to track calories - it's taken me the best part of a year to realise my maintenance calories have a HUGE range. Had to ditch my $10 per month subscription to Daily Burn - partly out of poverty, partly because their server is an old sack of poop and I'm tired of their excuses saying the trouble's on my end when I have absolutely no trouble streaming Netflix, Hulu etc, without constant buffering... I wrote down the kettlebell routines and there are plenty of yoga vids to watch for free online. My main challenge will be self-motivation - I like working out alone, but with instruction - even if it's just a computer shouting in my ear. This time it's going to have to come from me. Main Quest: 1. Achieve 20% body fat - should equate to getting down from 129lbs to 115lbs, but will adjust as necessary. 2. Work towards running a 10K race (mid-July) in under an hour, using a training programme. Quests: Carry on counting calories on MFP and Runkeeper - eat at deficit, eat half of exercise calories back. Strength and cardio from running and kettlebells for fitness and to maintain lean muscle mass. Yoga on rest days - vinyasa, ashtanga, or something restorative if I need a break. I use Grokker and Do Yoga With Me. Adapt this routine while on a week-long walking holiday in the Lake District - use Runkeeper on walks, suspend KBs and running, carry on with Yoga. Life Quest: Learn basic computer programming skills. To cut a long story short, I'm a performer. I don't have a back-up job, and most work-from-home stuff is either marketing or telesales, which I loathe to do. I love playing games and before I was a performer had a decent tech-based job, so I'm confident this can be done! Motivation: 1. Tried lots of different workouts over the last year, from Insanity, to weight training, to dancing, kettlebells, you name it.... and built up my strength and fitness over that time. I seem to carry all my body fat on my belly and now I want to see my hard-won abs! 2. My partner recently ran a half-marathon in a ridiculous time - while I've still got my faculties I want to do something cool, and raise awareness/money for my chosen charity too. The atmosphere at his race was out of this world as well. The race I've yet to sign up to takes you around Central London, and I don't believe there's any other event like that, aside from the London Marathon. ​3. I'm going on a walking holiday to the Lake District during this challenge. I will use Runkeeper to track those long walks. If memory serves I'll be walking all day and it will be too much, not to mention annoying to The Fellowship, should I decide to do Kettlebells or Running of an evening... Ashtanga Yoga should cover it.... Stats: Height: 5' 4" Current Weight: 129.2lbs Current Body Fat: 24.3% Goal Weight: 115lbs Goal Body Fat: 20% Is that enough info? Let me know if I've missed something out!

Challenge 17 There can be only one....goal. There's something I've been avoiding for a long time. Justifying to myself this way or that way, enough is enough, I need to give Paleo a proper go. Not a bit of a go with a lot of other stuff thrown in and sort of do it, a proper full Paleo go. Controlling food intake has been a long standing battle and I keep dancing around it so this challenge: Goal 1 Full Paleo for 6 weeks. Rules of engagement: - Full Paleo to me means no processed food, no processed sugar, no grains. That pretty much covers it. - Exceptions: I have no issues with Dairy, I'll allow milk in limited quantities for tea and limited amounts of cheese. - Prep in advance, Prep in advance and Prep in advance. - Stick to my meal plan as much as possible. I like this summary for my Paleo approach, I'll be adding sweet potato. Tools to support my success: - Meal plan - Prep ahead of time, every Sunday prep 5 days of food. - No Alcohol, that's when I eat crap. There is 1 exception when my oldest friend comes to visit me for 1 weekend. I only get to see him once or twice a year so I will allow an alcohol exception if he comes but still Paleo food. - Consider a pre & post DEXA, need to look into cost. - Support from my NF friends...please I need lots of accountability for this one, I really want to finally succeed in trying full Paleo, I usually crack around the 3 day mark so 42 days is going to be a massive PR. Bonus antique film trailer for the fogeys among us: Time for a transformation. Oh yeah, big goal means big reward. Reward: Achieve 36 days or more of full Paleo: Book a holiday to dive the Yongala I've wanted this for soooo long, it's appeared in a number of my challenges as a reward for big goals, usually related to weight/BF% that have thus far eluded me. I'm already planning to my Advanced diving cert locally in 6 weeks time so I will have the ticket to go down to 30 metres hopefully by the end of this challenge. I will also have the funds to be able to book this by the end of this challenge, just got to come through and deliver the goal....

Was going to call it winds of winter, being the next installment and all but damn if we haven’t had enough winter up here in Massachusetts! Long Term Goal – reduce calculated body fat to 25% April 25, 2014 – 29.2% April 6, 2015 – 28.3% This is taking a lot longer than I’d like, but I’m getting there. Progress is progress. Plus, I love having fun and eating sweets, therefore, the going is slow. Much like awaiting the sixth GoT book, it feels like it’ll never happen. I technically need to lose 6.2 pounds of pure fat to get to 25%. Lifting weights turn out to be my favorite exercise routine. That’s why I’m in the warriors! However, I haven’t had specific lift x amount goals because my main focus is to drop that body fat %. I don’t want to muddy the waters. I also have some serious ankle/calf mobility issues which hinder my squat. I’ve been subbing in goblet squats for back squats while following a 5/3/1 routine. The goals! Sansa shrieked as Arya flung the orange across the table. continued rules that I have down: 1) track on myfitnesspal. 2) Log less than 13,300 calories per week. This got me about a 2# loss the last 6 week challenge and keeps me fueled enough to continue lifting. 3) Log at least 32% protein each week. Continued rule that I’m not 100% on: log food before or immediately after it goes in my mouth. Take 15 minutes on Saturday and Sunday to do this at some point after my second meal. New rules: No restaurants or take out except during vacations and life events (see below). The wench is as strong as Gregor Clegane, though not so pretty Lifting: continue 5/3/1 program at least 3x per week Running: at least once per week Mobility: yoga once per week and watch/try out at least one mobility exercise per week Bodyweight movements: at least 3x throughout the challenge. Should include handstand and pull up practice. Gendry: If you need help, bark like a dog. Arya: That's stupid. If I need help, I'll shout 'help'. (Life Events/Tasks) The SO’s birthday – already bought the gift, just need to wrap it, get a card, and some GF cupcakes! The celebration will be 4/11 and the actual bday is 4/14. Check dryer duct by 4/18 to make sure we’re not going to start a fire 4/25 – Friend’s 30th birthday party 4/26 – Cape Cod 5K 4/27 – Dentist 5/2-5/6 – Las Vegas trip. Walk everywhere when safe/possible. Keep to modified paleo rules and calorie limit. 5/11 – 5 year dating anniversary. Get card and gift! Plan something to do. 5 years feels like a landmark I should’ve started planning for more than a month in advance… 5/22-5/25 – Ptown camping trip. get packed and ready by that Thursday so that we can leave immediately after work on Friday night. Prepare plenty of paleo foods (boil eggs, make tuna salad, chop veggies, marinate meat). Borrow camping stove from someone. Leave restaurant visits to one with just the SO and otherwise only if other friends are going out. Unless it’s monsoon rains again, then it might be more tricky.

good day to you guys My battle began 2.5 years ago, 28 years old now, started at 238 lb with no phisical activiy NONE. I went from 238 to my current 204 lb and 26% body fat to my current 21% with only diet, that happened very fast, I accomplished that 4 months and then get stuck, i started doing cardio, spinning, hiking, running and today I'm still stucked. It's been 2 years now, I've been able to maintain my weight and body fat (with a little back n forth), but I can't go below 20% body fat. right now I'm doing 40 min of weight lifting in the morning and 60 min of walking and running in the afternoon, no sugar, no bread, no fat in my diet and still stucked. any advice? thanks

I'm back from my amazing Japan holiday, had the best time! I'm starting this challenge a week late but I was on a Snowboard in possibly the best powder in the world so my thoughts were far from computers! I had an unbelievably good instructor who has raised my snowboarding skills to a whole new level in only a few days. I can do turns and hold the edge on both sides now and I do a lot less falling over, suddenly I'm having a whole lot more fun I can't wait to go back again next year. Now then time to get real and get onto my first challenge of 2015. This challenge I'm going to be boring These are the boring things I will be doing: Goal 1: Walk 150km's this challenge Goal 2: Drop 5kg's Goal 3: Exercise/Lift 3 times a week. Ideally Oly lifting but a swim or skipping or yoga or something else I feel like doing will also count Side goal: Goal 4: Spend 5 hours a week working on a business idea. This can be networking with people, learning a new skill, writing a business plan, whatever but I have to actually do something! Simple, achievable, boring FTW.

Prince Humperdink and the Six Fingered Man have locked up Princess Buttercup in the castle. The gate is guarded by 30 men! We need a plan to get in there now! Main Quest Cut my Body Fat in half (From 30% to 15%) while increase my strength. In order to do this I will need 3 things ... aside from a Wheelbarrow and a Holocaust Cloak 1 Fezzik's Strength (+3 Con) But as he says... So It must be his Diet. Eat between 2000 and 2500 calories including >150g of protein and <150 grams of carbohydrates. 3pts if I miss less than 2 day a week. 2 pts if I miss less than 3 days a week 1 pts If I miss more than 3 days a week but I did put effort in 2 Inigo's Steel (+3 Str, +3 End) He trained all his life to avenge his father. StrongLifts 5x5 3x a week 100% = all the points 0% = none of the points 3. Westley's Brain (+2 Dex) Westley was The Dread Pirate Roberts and learned to think on his feet... He also learned to move them as well Do at least 2 session of Cardio after lifting. One of which has to be intervals Life quest- "As You Wish" (+2 Cha, +1 Wis) Help out more around the house. At least 2 nights a week focus on picking up cleaning or organizing... Whatever need doing. Motivation I have lots of family history with heart disease and diabetes in my family so loosing body fat will help with that. I want this too. I want to be fit and healthy. I love lifting and I am even starting to like running. I want to be a good example of manliness for my future kids... in addition the loss of body fat will increase my chances of having kids. Anyway Hope I have fun... Psh I know I will!

Here is my list of goals for this challenge. I'll fill out where my starting point is at a later point, but wanted to at least get this up here. Goal 1: Eat at least 80% paleo. Allowance of 42 Non-Paleo Tokens (NPTs) (accounting for 3 meals and up to 2 snacks per day)Goal 2: Lose at least 2.5% body fat. Starting point: 28.58%Goal: 26% or lowerGoal 3: Complete the NF Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Workout 2-3 times per week. Life Goal: Get rid of 50 more pounds of stuff. Onward!

Hello Friends! So, last challenge I don't think I did a very good job of introducing myself. I love working out, I just wish I had more time to do it! I'm married and have two awesome sons (5 & 2) (and yes, my 2 year old will call me SuperMom). They all keep me on my toes. My wife works full-time (and then some) and I do too. We live at a boarding school because of my wife's job, it has plusses and minuses. One of the major plusses is a fitness center, a weight room (to which I have a key) and 600+ acres to explore! My fitness journey is long, but basically my body never fully recovered after giving birth to our oldest son but in the last 2 1/2 years I have made great strides. I cleaned up my diet significantly, became a runner, and strength train with a trainer. Last challenge I met my main goal that I had been working on for about 10 weeks which was to lose 5% body fat (not 5% of my body fat - a flat 5%!). While I thought about the benefits of repeating that goal, I decided that I want to accomplish one thing: a pull up. Main Goal: A pull-up! I've talked to many people how best to accomplish this and come up with some specifics that I should work on: 1. Continue to work on reducing my overall weight. The best way I have found for me to do this is to keep up the running! So, I will run at least 3x's a week! Stamina = 3 pts. 2. Strengthen my core! I have alway had an incredibly weak core. I found an awesome work-out from Neila Rey's web-site call the Batman [bane Ed.] which totally gets my core. I will do this work out at least 4x's a week. Constitution = 3 pts. 3. I couldn't really think of a better way to measure my back strength, so I've decided that I'll use the lat pull-down as the best metric for this. Currently, I can do 12 reps @ 90 lbs, my goal is to increase this. I don't want to put a specific number on this, but rather just focus on increase and good form. Strength = 3 pts. Life Goal: I have been toiling away Lego Marvel Superheroes for a while. I'm at 56% and really want to achieve 100% (yes, I'm a perfectionist!). Wisdom = 3 pts. Fitness Goal: I really should work on my flexibility, so I want to spend at least 10 minutes every day stretching. The Nike Fitness Club app has some good stretching programs, so I will probably use many of those as I like to have something specific to follow. Dexterity = 3 pts.

Hello Rangers! So, I've decided I'm going to stick with my goal from the first challenge which I think works well here too: Reduce my body fat % by 5% by Labor Day (9/1). Quest 1: Complete the last 2 races of the trail race series. (The first race left much to be desired. The humidity was ridiculously high and that is my kryptonite. The second race I didn't make because I've been single-parenting since my wife was at grad school during that week). Stamina = 3 Dexterity = 2 Quest 2: I eat about 85 - 90% paleo (I just cannot kick dairy or beer!), but I really need to make sure that I'm getting enough protein, so I want to make sure that I'm getting between 131 - 174 grams per day. I use the Lose It! app and will track my numbers there. Constitution: 3.5 Quest 3: Do push-ups until failure - every day. Strength: 3.5 Life Quest: i need to boost my self-confidence. I'm pretty good at thinking I'm awesome when I'm working out, but in real life I have really low self-esteem. So, I'm hoping you guys can help. Every time I post on my thread, I will post one good thing about myself or something awesome I've done. And I can't repeat. Wisdom: 2.0 Charisma: 1.0 Can't wait to get started! Oh yeah, the one good thing about myself today is that I make a mean pot of mac-n-cheese for boys! (Of which I partake in none).

Hello all, I first found NF last year and thought it was a pretty awesome site that generally melded well with my beliefs when it comes to nutrition, fitness and an overall healthy lifestyle. I kept up with the blog for a while and then I had some pretty significant surgery - abdominoplasty, where I had 1.5 lbs of skin removed and my abdominal muscles sewn back together, since they were almost 3cm apart. Basically my stomach went through a bit of a beating with my two pregnancies and I was told that without surgery I would always be carrying around that extra skin, which was making me feel extremely self conscious. So after surgery I was looking the best I had looked in a long time. Stupidly because I was unable to do any form of exercise for six weeks - I never really got back on the bandwagon and my nutrition started to suffer too. Then around March this year I started binge eating (which has been an ongoing problem for me for the last 4 years). So from September last year to August this year I went from 66.6kg (147 lbs) to 75.2kg (166 lbs). Well I’ve decided that enough is enough and for the last week and a bit I have cleaned up my act. I’ve started eating real food: chicken, turkey, tuna, lots of vegetables, berries, sweet potato, cottage cheese, milk and eggs. I’ve also been doing workouts again - planks, squats, dumbbell rows, push ups and around 20 minutes of cardio a day either dancing or plyo or a bit of boxing. I feel so much better already - I’ve lost 1.4kg (3 lb) and my body fat has gone down from 32.3 to 31.4%. Now I am back in it for the long run! So to keep myself motivated and so that I can have some nice friendly people to chat to - I have decided to join the NF community. I’m sure that surrounding myself with so many people taking a similar path to awesomeness I am much more likely to be able to hit my goals! So I very much look forward to "meeting" you all So where to from here? I’m hoping to continue to clean up my diet - maybe even head down the paleo path. And I want to continue to build my strength and endurance. My biggest goal however is to keep my mind healthy so that I can punch binge eating in the face! Stats wise I would love to drop down my body fat to a much healthier level - but I’m not sure what percentage to aim for? Oh and I want to be a ranger when I am out of the newbie stage, so I’ll be an Adventurer for the next challenge and then I am hoping to move on to become a ranger - strength, endurance, paleo and overall awesomeness - sounds like my cup of tea! And yes I am nerd too , let me see, I collect The Walking Dead and X-Men comics, I love awesome shows (Star Trek, Stargate, Buffy, Angel, Firefly, Misfits, etc), I collect PEZ dispensers and designer vinyl toys, I am a Nintendo fan, and more, but you get the drift. Now I am going to have a good long read of the NF blog to find out where I should go from here…

Day One Awoke early after a troubled nights sleep. Started the day with some damn fine coffee. As black as Bob's soul. No Cherry Pie in the fridge so made porridge with Blueberries and Raspberries. A good, honest breakfast. Followed the exercises in my standard issue field manual this morning: 20 x Wall Push Ups 15 x Kneeling Push Ups 6 x Full Push Ups 7 x Full Push Ups 5 x Shoulder Stand Squats 20 x Shoulder Stand Squats 20 x Knee Tucks 20 x Knee Tucks] 30 x Vertical Pulls 30 x Vertical Pulls A good workout but troubled by the presence of my old Sacroiliac injury from my last classified field mission. Dianne - The strangest thing happened whilst I was working out today. I was visited by two little people. One appeared to have not developed the use of his legs yet and may have been talking backwards. The other could only recite the words to the song "Let It Go" over and over. I suspect them of being interdimensional travellers from the Black Lodge. Perhaps a warning from Bob. To business. There have been reports of suspicious Owl activity at the local reservoir. Provided the wind conditions are favourable and my injury permits I will take my standard issue field bicycle to investigate. Signing off.

I MAIN QUEST: MOVE FORWARD. I've been struggling lately. My last few challenges have all focused on the same thing - improving my diet in order to reduce my body fat. I constantly compare myself to the Ems of last summer, 70kg, 26% bodyfat Ems and this needs to stop. The truth is, I am the fittest I have ever been. I have a 110kg squat and a 100kg deadlift. I can row 2000m in just over 8 minutes and train intensively 5 times a week while maintaining a 17 class per week dance teaching schedule. And why is this not enough? Because my body composition/weight numbers are not as good as they were last year. Which makes me think whether all that time and effort and sweat and money spent on personal training was all for nothing. It's taken me a while, but I now see that for the lie that is. So now, me and my wonderful, amazing body are taking all the knowledge and experience we've gained, and we're moving forward. (And yes, I am aware that talking about your body in the third person is slightly weird, but that's the way I roll now). This challenge is focusing on my general health and mental wellbeing. This next six week period will cover my last six weeks at work before my big annual break, three of which will be the most stressful of the whole year. Taking care of myself is the priority. It is still primarily a nutrition challenge, but I'm not going to put any specific number in until I get my head right. I am also having no fitness goal this time, for two reasons. One, because I currently have a back injury, so am off training for at least the next week. And second, it is not what I need to focus on right now. It is solid, and I need to stop throwing in some random goal just for the sake of it. So, that said, goals are as follows: #1. Food. I have put together the two food plans my PT has put together for me. They will form the basis of my meals, a Paleo that includes dairy, high protein, lots of vegetables, low to minimal carb, but I can deviate from the plan as long as these criteria are fulfilled. Weekdays are no tolerance, weekends are more relaxed, two healthy meals per day, one not so. All food will be tracked and posted to ensure I stay on target. My PT does regular body comp tests, so they will be posted as we go. #2. Sleep. 7-9 hours per night. A chart has been made and put in my bedroom to log this (because I am just that cool). This will also be posted here. #3. Future. For the past few months I have been thinking about becoming qualified as a personal trainer. My PT suggested I would be good at it, and I value his opinion a great deal. I have become increasingly passionate about fitness, and I love helping people improve themselves and achieve things they didn't think they could do - that's why I became a teacher. Anyhow I have decided to do it, and now I need to get to the doing bit. I'm going to start off getting qualified as a gym instructor, then as a PT. I've also been considering the idea of one day becoming a strength and conditioning coach in relation to dance - if that even is a thing! I've experienced first hand the benefits of cross training and general fitness to support dance, and so few dancers do it. Some new courses have been set up in my area for good prices, so I need to: Sort datesBook and pay for coursesDo the courses! I'm also planning a move to Cardiff in the new year - yey! After 3 years living at home with the parents after uni, I am finally regaining my independence. I'm keeping my job at home, but condensing my hours so fitting a full time job into 3 days, with some admin hours at home. This means I need to find some work in Cardiff. Once qualified I want this to be gym/PT work, but right now I'm looking for some more freelance teaching work. So things to do are: Research teaching opportunities in CardiffUpdate and complete online work profile MOTIVATION I want to move forward, I want to progress. That is what is wonderful about life, the ability to change and develop and evolve. This is not where my journey ends, just a point along it and that is exciting! Ok, so that's it!.. Actually, just one more thing. I've got into a bad habit lately of dropping off the grid when things get bad (aka, when they don't turn out how I'd like) and I don't want to be that person any more. I'm going to stick around through this entire challenge, no matter how it turns out, and if I don't I want you guys to call me on it. Bring on the tough love. Endor is very good at this Thank you.

Main challenge goal: Reduce Body fat by 1.5%, measured with a Dexa scan at the start and end. "You will see it is not the spoon that bends, only yourself" Challenge 11 is all about making choices. I've got 10 challenges at my back, that's a lot of learning. I've got my awesome NF friends to support and inspire me, the time is right, I choose to get the cut I want and not to let anything stand in the way. Goal 1 - Take the Red Pill. (DEX1, CON 2, CHA 2) Track calories more than half the days this challenge aim for a calorie deficit of 1000 a day. Goal 2 - Less than 30 grams carbs a day for a continuous 2 week period at some point during the challenge. (CON 2, CHA 2, DEX 1)I'm bombarded by sugar and carbs all the time, I want to steel my mind and take full control for a 2 week period. I'm in no doubt that this will be very hard but the results should be impressive too. Goal 3 - No alcohol more than 30 days this challenge (STR 1, STR 2)It's time to wake up, face reality and break out of the cocoon. Side goal: Swim 3 times this challenge (DEX 2)Swimming helps me become more fluid and supple. Calorie tracking:BMR calculator: http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/ Week 1 - 81.5kg, BF%= 20.7, LBM=65.66kg (144 pounds), 144 *0.7 = 101 BMR = 1825, Daily maintenance calories (3-5 workouts a week) = 1825 * 1.55 = 2828 M: y 2299 (-529) T: y 1318 (-1510) W: y 1738 (-1090) T: y 1421 (1407) F: y 2389 (-439) S: y 2406 (-422) S: n6 day deficit = -5397 calsWeek 2 - 81.5kg, BF% = 20.1% LBM = 65.11kg (143.5 pounds), 143.5* 0.7 = 100.45 BMR = 1807, Daily calories = 1807 * 1.55 = 2801M: y 2644 (-157) T: y 1392 (-1409) W: y 2105 (-796) T: 2533 (-268) F: n ? S: n ? S: n ? Week 3 - 80.7kg, BF% = 19.7% LBM = 64.80kg (142.9 pounds), 143.5* 0.7 = 100.03 BMR = 1796, Daily calories = 1796 * 1.55 = 2784M: n ? T: y 1550 (-1237) W: y 1686 (-1001) T:y 2347 (-430) F: y 2361 (- 426) S: y 2951 (+164) S: y 2246 (-538)Week 4 - 79.2kg, BF% = 19.1% LBM= 64.07kg (141 pounds), 141* 0.7 = 98.7 BMR = 1776, Daily calories = 1776 * 1.55 = 2753M: y 2119 (-634) T: y - partial W: y 2266 (-487) T:n F: n S: y 2728 (-25) S: TBC Week 5 - 79.6 kg, BF% = 18.6, LBM= 64.79 Daily calories = 1781 * 1.55 = 2760M: 1813 (-947) T: 1885 (-875) W: 1721 (-1039) T: N/A F: 2258 (-502) S: N/A (big calories) S: 1969 (-791)Week 6 - 79.6 kg, BF% = 18.6, LBM= 64.79 Daily calories = 1781 * 1.55 = 2754M: 1919 (-841) T: 2460 (-300) W: 2020 (-740) T: 1892 (-868) F: 1720 (-1040) S: 2409(-351) S: TBC 6 days calorie deficit = -4140 cals Alcohol Tracking (n=none, y=some) Week 1 (4)M: n T: n W: n T: y F: y S: y S: n Week 2 (2) M: y T:n W: n T: y F: y S: y S: yWeek 3 (3) M: y T: n W: n T: y F:y S: y S: n Week 4 (7) M: n T: n W: n T: n F: n S: n S: nWeek 5 (6)M:n T: n W: n T:n F:n S: y S: nWeek 6 (7)M: n T: n W: n T: n F: n S: n S: n

Hey Friends, I'm Brit and I love working out. It makes me feel awesome and also keeps my anxiety in check. Over the last two years I have worked really hard at changing my lifestyle and eating habits (I eat about 80% paleo). Last Sept. I ran my first half-marathon and suffered a stress fracture around mile 3. Since then my eating has been mostly up, but definitely suffered some downs. My weight has gone up, but even worse, my body fat % also increased. So here I am! Main Goal: Reduce my body fat % by 5% by Labor Day. Quest 1: Complete the first of a 5k trail running series and set a benchmark which I can use to start improving my 5k times over the summer. In order to complete this quest I will need to run at least 3x's/week. Week 1: 2:30 run/1:00 walk intervals Week 2: 3:00 run/1:00 walk intervals Week 3: 3:00 run/:30 walk intervals Week 4: 3:30 run/:30 walk intervals Week 5: 4:00 run/1:00 walk intervals Week 6: 5:00 run/1:00 walk intervals Quest 2: Complete 30 sit-ups for 30 days. Simple yes or no! Quest 3: Strength training workout or meeting trainer at least 2x's week. Life Quest: Write in my journal at least once a week. I am not a big writer in my journal, but when I do, I find it does help. Hopefully this will help keep me grounded and focus on my goals! Motivation: In addition to feeling like a Super-Mom; I want to look like Super-Mom! So here we go!

Hi, Chris Hefley here. "indomitableHef" I'm 39, and live in Franklin, TN. Over the past 2 years, I've lost almost 100 lbs. I've always bee an active person, and into outdoor sports, even when I weighed 285lbs. And I had successfully lost 70+ pounds twice before, and gained it all back. So, in July of 2012, I took the drastic step of having a weight-loss surgery. It's called a "Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy". Unlike a lot of the horror stories you may have heard about some weight loss surgeries, this one is very simple. They simply remove a large portion of the stomach. There's no foreign objects in there, no fancy re-engineering. Everything works the same way it did before, but now there's less room down there. It puts a hard stop on "full". I'm not here to advocate for surgery, but it was a good choice for me, and I am pleased to say that my dad and my uncle have followed in my footsteps and done the same thing. I come from several generations of fat people, you see. Like I said, I'm not really here to advocate for that, but I wanted to be up-front about how I lost so much weight. Mods: If talking about weight-loss surgery stuff is frowned upon here, let me know, and I'll make sure I honor that in the future. Now, moving on to my quest and my challenge goals! I didn't _just_ do surgery. I joined a crossfit gym, I started running, and training to run a half-marathon. I enrolled in Jui-Jitsu classes for awhile. I got a fixed-gear bike and started riding around town and riding to work every day. I'm down to 185-190 now, depending on the day. I wear size "medium" shirts now. As a fat kid, there was never a time in my life where I wore a "medium" anything. My fitness level is pretty good, but I want to take it to the next level. Before and After: I still have a certain flabby-ness about me at 185-190. Some of it is probably loose skin, from losing so much weight, but I think most of it is just a layer of fat. I think I'm at about 23%, best I can tell. My goal is to get my body fat % down, really low. Not even sure I'll try to maintain it at super-low levels, but I want to get there, and just see what it looks like and feels like. I think 12% is where I'll set my goal. If it turns out there's some loose skin to deal with in the end, I'll deal with that then. One last bit of back-story. In February, I broke my right Tibia, snowboarding in Colorado. And in March, I had shoulder surgery, to repair a torn labrum. I've been cleared to start running again, as soon as I feel up to it, and I'm getting to the point where I can nearly do everything with my shoulder, but I still have to work on stretching it out and getting my range of motion back to 100%. So, a lot of my exercise goals for this first challenge are going to be physical therapy related, and subsequent challenges will be more hardcore. My Main Quest: To "finish what I started", getting my body fat % down to <12%, to try to remove the bottom layer of flabbyness after major weight loss. Three specific goals for my first challenge 1. Stick to a Paleo diet 6 days a week, with the following exceptions A small amount of super-dark, low sugar chocolate several times a week, during an evening snack ritual my wife and I share. A little bit of bourbon once or twice a week, when I have someone to share a glass with (no drinking at home, by myself). 2. Physical Therapy 6 days a week, alternating shoulder/leg exercises. 3. Do the 30-day Squat challenge: http://30dayfitnesschallenges.com/30-day-squat-challenge/#_ Since losing so much weight, my wife says I have "no ass". I also need to work on flexibility, to get really deep squats. My "Life" side-quest I want to get back into a daily meditation habit. 7 days a week, 15 minutes a day by the end of the challenge period (working up from 5 minutes). I've been in this habit for months at a time in the past, and saw definite benefits in many parts of my life. It's something I want to make a permanent habit of.