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It's time for Challenge Two! Eat like a cat Cats eat when they're hungry. Then they're done. I'm working on embodying this in this challenge. I learned last time that a decade and a half of establishing strong negative cognitions about food is exarcerbated (in my case) by calorie counting/tracking. I spent the last part of the challenge trying to trust the signals my body gave me instead. Eventually I'd like to get to the point where I follow the basic principles of eating intuitively: eat when hungry, stop when full, eat what I truly choose/desire, nothing is "forbidden". The idea is that this removes any subconscious beliefs about scarcity created when you blacklist certain foods, which I have learned has been a binge trigger for me in the past. This is a complicated process, especially for someone who has dictated their eating by external means for so long (i.e. points, syns, calories, etc.) So in this challenge I'm starting with just one component: wait until I'm hungry to eat. This isn't "wait until I'm starving", but "wait until my body sends a signal that says 'I'd like food please' ". I've been practicing long enough to learn the difference in feeling of genuine hunger and a craving, so I can notice when I'm really hungry and when I just fancy something. I'd like to stick to this as closely as possible, with the exception of pre-arranged social events that involve food where it'd be incongruous not to eat (e.g. if going out for a meal with friends). Aiming for scoring this by "Did I eat only when hungry today? (With exception of above caveat)" I am aiming for 100% on this. Drink like a cat Simple rules here: 2L of water per day. Every day . Strong like a cat You can't have fun climbing things and jumping on things if you're not strong! I want to build up my strength in three different main exercises: plank, squats, and press-ups. My plan is to do a bodyweight routine of these exercises at least three times a week, building up and pushing myself a little further every day. By the end of the challenge I'm aiming to be able to do: 10 unaided press-ups 30 consecutive unaided squats 5 minute plank These are "this would be cool!" bonus goals, and are not contingent for success in this goal. Only the commitment of 3x per week is required for success. Run like a cat My cats always look like they're having a blast when they do this, so I want in on the action. For this goal, I want to start the Couch to 5K programme and follow it for all four weeks. (This may require repetition of one week so I'm not making this about completing the first four weeks of the programme, only following it for four weeks.) This involves 3x per week training. I'm looking forward to getting started! Here's to challenge two

As a Scot, life in January and February is pretty grim. It's dark and cold all the time, it rains a lot and you just want to go to bed and eat things to stay warm. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is rampant and isn't set to let up until April. SO rather than lie down and take it this year, I'm kicking myself up the butt to do something to make me feel more positive about things. With that in mind, in the context of general goals of weight loss and standard health improvement, I've decided on some achievable goals for this first challenge that will help me level up and be more awesome. Keep the Heid One of the biggest problems is losing track of what I'm eating, and consuming whatever's to hand because it's there rather than because it's the best choice. I've been monitoring this to some extent but I'd like to do this more formally. Keep track of all food intake on MyFitnessPal, every day. I've been tracking fairly consistently (6-7 days per week) but not always tracking for the whole day so I'd really just like to lock this habit in. Aim for reduced caloric intake (<1400) but this is a bonus; main goal is just writing it down Gie it a bash It's time to get more active! Complete at least one Rebel quest per week. (More is recommended/encouraged). Pure dead brilliant Life goals for making life better! I want to get back in to writing. Write at least 1000 words per week Edit: So, I was looking around other challenges and I think I'd like to add a fourth goal. While my fourth "big goal" is to reduce debt, my husband and I aren't in a position to make any reduction on our debt in the next two months. So, for this challenge, my fourth goal will be to check in at least five times a week and update progress on my challenge.