Search the Community

Alright, to start with, I didn't realize the new challenge started today (or that it was February 1st). Opps. Still getting used to this new format! With that said, I'll start tomorrow with my clean eating plan, using today as one of my freebee days (see below). Onto the goals! These are designed with the goal of making progress towards my weight loss goal in mind so that I can start running again! Goal 1: Follow a clean eating plan at least 20 days of the challenge. So, as a step to start cutting processed food out of my diet and working towards being able to do a Whole30 in the near future, I'm following a Clean Eating plan this challenge. Because I didn't realize today was the start of the challenge and I have a couple special events this month (mainly, two different birthday parties in the same weekend), I'm giving myself 6 freebee days. These days aren't an excuse to eat everything in sight, but more of not worrying about every morsel that goes into my mouth so that I can enjoy the moment of the special events. I went on a grocery shopping trip last week and stocked up my fridge to start off on the right food. I'll also be doing a lot of meal planning and packed lunches to make this happen. Goal 2: Walk a 5k at least once a week. So, I've now gotten used to moving more and walking about a mile in the morning. Now, I'm going to start adding more distance into my walks in small steps. So, for this challenge, I'll go for a 5k walk at least once a week, probably on the weekend when I have off. Goal 3: Do at home strengthening exercises 3x a week. One thing seriously lacking from my routine right now is any kind of strength exercises. Sometimes I get bored and do some sit-ups, but that's about it. So, 3 times a week, I'll be doing some sort of strength exercises, picking at least 3 options from the following list each time: -50 sit-ups on an exercise ball -25 incline push-ups -1 minute of planks (broken up as needed) -25 front and side leg lifts, each leg -2 sets of the shoulder strengthening exercises I got from a therapist in the spring -50 squats Life Goal: Floss my teeth at least 2 times a week. I need to floss more. Enough said.

MAIN QUEST: Lose Weight Feel Great! To hit my goal range of 125-135 and do it in a healthy way! Goals (diet and fitness related) that will help me achieve Main Quest: I have managed to GAIN some weight back. I need to get back on track!! I am doing a Challenge Du Jour for workouts until we get our home gym set up, and then I am doing the Master's Hammer & Chisel, if anyone wants to join me in the Challenge Du Jour, here's the link: https://www.teambeac...ingRepId=558773. Update: I am now doing a month of CIZE! 1. #KickSugar - I have started cutting back on candy, because I was eating a LOT of candy at work daily, so I will continue that this challenge. If my secret pal at work brings me Dove chocolates, I am allowing myself ONE per day, but that's it. I am also switching from coffee with lots of sweetened cream to Bulletproof coffee. A: 24-26 days B: 20-23 days C: 15-19 days D: 12-14 days F: <14 days Ability to earn 3 CON points. 2. #FitGirl - CIZE workout every day, with one rest day a week as an option A: 22-24 days B: 19-21 days C: 15-18 days D: 12-14 days F: <14 days Ability to earn 2 STA, 2 STR points, 1 DEX points. 3. #Hydrate - drink all the water!!! At least 3 (32 ounce) bottles a day! A: 24-26 days B: 20-23 days C: 15-19 days D: 12-14 days F: <14 days Ability to earn 3 CON points PICK YOUR SIDE QUESTS Side Quest 1: #ArtsyFartsy - I want to get back into art, so I will be working on the following each day: -handlettering -brushlettering -drawing -coloring with Copics and colored pencils Grading: A: 24-26 days B: 20-23 days C: 15-19 days D: 12-14 days F: <14 days Ability to earn 1 WIS and 1 CHA point. Side Quest 2: #SAVERS I have been reading the book, The Miracle Morning, and am really trying to implement what I have learned. S - Silence: meditation/prayer A - Affirmations V - Visualization E - Exercise R - Reading: personal development S - Scribing: journaling Grading: A: 24-26 days B: 20-23 days C: 15-19 days D: 12-14 days F: <14 days Ability to earn 1 WIS point, 1 CHA point #FitGirl - 0/6 - 0/6 - 06 - 0/6 - 0/24 #KickSugar - 0/7 - 0/7 - 0/7 - 0/5 - 0/26 #SAVERS - 0/7 - 0/7 - 0/7 - 0/5 - 0/26 #ArtsyFartsy - 0/7 - 0/7 - 0/7 - 0/5 - 0/26 #Hydrate - 0/7 - 0/7 - 0/7 - 0/5 - 0/26 Mini Challenges: Mini 1: Mini 2: Mini 3: Mini 4 Mini 5 Mini 6: Rewards(these might change... especially if I just end up buying the stuff before I lose the weight. I'm awful lol): Start: 219 Goal 1: -30 lbs: 190 or waist size 35" - Lightboard Goal 2: -40 lbs: 180 or Waist size 34" - Jane Davenport Supplies Me Drawing Course Goal 3: waist size 33" - New Pair of Cross Trainers Goal 4: -50 lbs: 170 or Waist size 32" - Copic Clothing Kit & Clowder Course Goal 5: Waist size 31" - IKEA desk chair Goal 6: -60 lbs: 160 or Waist size 30" - Blackwing Subscription Goal 7: -70 lbs: 150 or Waist size 29" - Anchor tattoo and wrist quotes Goal 8: -80 lbs: 140 or Waist size 28" - Lionheart tattoo Goal 9: -90 lbs: 130 or Waist size 27" - New wardrobe - shopping spree!! STATS: Female/41 Start Weight: 219 (BMI 40.1) Current Weight: 207 - UGH!! Goal Weight: 125-135 Height: 5'2" Jeans size: 14-16 Diet: 21 Day Fix I reserve the right to change my challenge week to week if I get bored!! 03/11/13 04/22/13 09/18/13 10/02/13 10/23/13 11/11/14 Bust: 38" 38" 38" 38" 36" 37" Breasts: 45" 45" 45" 44" 42.25" 43" Belly: 42" 40.5" 39.5" 38" 37" 38" Hips: 45" 43" 43.75" 43" 43" 44" Thigh: 27" 27" 27" 26.5" 27" 26.75" Calf: 17" 16.5" 17.5" 17.25" 16.5" 16" Bicep 13" 14" Wrist 6" 6" Neck 14" 14.5" Butt (lol) 47" 47.5" Ankle 9" Forearm 8.5" 02/02/2015 02/10/2015 02/22/2015 04/10/2015 07/21/15 Total inches lost from 3-11-13: Chest: 39" 39" 38.25" 38" 39" 0" Waist: 40" 39" 38.25" 35" 34.5" 7.5" Hips: 41" 41" 39.5" 39.5" 39" 6" Right Thigh: 26" 25.5" 25.5" 25.5" 25" 2" Left Thigh: 26.5" 25.75" 26" 25.5" 25" 2" Right Bicep: 14" 13.5" 13.5" 13" 12.75" 0.25" Left Bicep: 14" 14" 13.5" 13.25" 13" 0" Right Calf: 17" 16.5" 0.5 Left Calf: 16.5" 16.25" 0.25" Total: 200.5" 197.75" 194.5" 189.75" -18.5"

Hey all! I'm Huntress. I used to hang around these parts back in 2013, when I was lifting, obstacle racing and eating clean. Since that time, I fell out of lifting, into indoor rockclimbing, into roller derby and most recently... into being a couch potato. If I look at my old progress pics, I've pretty much gone back to square one. I'm here again to turn that around. And although slimming down is nice - I can't deny it - it's not my primary motivation. What motivates me is my desire to have a body that can do cool stuff, whether that's a heavy deadlift or delivering an epic roller derby hit. Since I'm no longer a newbie to the world of fitness or mindful eating, you'd think I'd just jump straight back into it by busting out some kettlebell swings and downing a kale-chia-kombucha smoothie, right? Well... I'd like to, but I have these crappy chronic diseases called depression and anxiety, and they've been raining on my parade pretty hard these last few months. So I need to take it slow, and focus on sustainable change that won't overwhelm me or give me panic attacks. Main quest: At the moment, my main big goal is to do a four-day hike in south-east Tasmania with my partner, as a 30th birthday gift to myself... I turn 30 in February, a few days after this challenge ends. I've come to the bitter realisation I need to shape up a bit to do that, but I still plan to do the hike before the end of April. Lifestyle quests: sleep, move, eat 1. Sleep My sleeping habits are awful. Improving them will improve my mental health as well as lay a foundation for good choices throughout the day. On weeknights (Sun-Thurs), in bed by 10.30, for lights out at 11. On weekends (Fri-Sat), lights out at midnight, unless I'm out partying, which happens only rarely.No computer while I'm in bed before sleep. All I can do with my computer is put it beside my bed and play online lectures until it's time for lights out, as this helps me sleep. On weeknights, before going to bed, follow this routine. 2. Eat This is where I'd like to see the biggest change during the challenge. I've been eating tons of crap at the moment. Now I'm on holidays I'm eating pretty well but the challenge will be keeping it up when I go back to work next week. Week one: plan two healthy snack boxes for work: one of snacks for under my desk, one of fresh fruit and veg for the fridge. Buy ingredients for snack boxes, take into work over the weekend and get set up for the week. Bring in lunch at least 2 days. Home-cooked meals (either me or partner) 5 nights per week. Week two: Keep snack boxes topped up. Bring lunch at least 3 days. Home-cooked meals 5 nights per week.Week three: Keep snack boxes topped up. Bring lunch at least 4 days. Home-cooked meals 5 nights per week.Week four: Keep snack boxes topped up. Bring lunch at least 5 days. Home-cooked meals 5 nights per week.3. Move I'm really not sure what to do with this one so I'll keep it simple. 3 hours of physical exercise a week. 2 hours of this needs to be vigorous exercise (running, walking up a steep hill at a decent page, rollerskating fitness, etc). 1 hour can be walking at a relaxed pace. Side quest: the big adventure/s I need to bed this down a bit more, but my partner and I are settling what we'll do for my 30th (it involves being... not where I am, and that's as far as we've gotten. Cripes!), and when we'll do our big hike. My side quest will involve: Settling on dates.Making hotel and flight bookings for my 30th weekend.Revising my leave so I can do the hike later (my work is flexible about these things).Costing and budgeting.Anyway, I think that's it for now Huntress out.

Challenge #1 - 2016 Going from Princess to Queen For the last 24 years of being a mom, I have let life, kids and outside influences direct the course of my life. Staring this year, I am taking back the control I have given others & social media (mostly for good things, but still distractions to my life) and setting course to grow myself in three main areas based on my 2016 roadmap here. My life quest is to be a queen! That classy not quite middle aged woman that knows how to carry herself with dignity in every situation. Always having the right thing to say that not only honors the one it is said to, but shows maturity and love in the delivery. I want to physically look the part and dress in pretty clothes that fit well. Seeking ways to gain wisdom that grow me spiritually and mentally. Serving others through specific volunteer opportunities and not just because I can’t say no. Ultimately, I want to be a beacon of light into others’ lives, encouraging and showing them the love of Jesus through my actions towards them and others. I have found over the past NF challenges, I don’t do well setting goals for the entire challenge and need to have flexibility each week so I’m going to create weekly goals under my mini quest categories. These will all be attainable within a week if I plan ahead the day before and stick to the plan! I have no excuse to not succeed. All of my quests will be graded on pass/fail. 100% - weekly prize 90% & under – nothing Each week I will also have a motivating song & scripture to go back to if I feel myself slipping into old patterns of too much time on Pinterest, Facebook, etc.

What’s This? What’s This? There’s Yoga Everywhere! What’s This? There’s Smiling in the Air! Hello and welcome to RoseofMay’s third six week challenge! In saying goodbye to Halloween, we begin to approach one of my other favorite holidays: Christmas! What better way to work through this new challenge than with some help from some of the friendly folk of Halloween Town? In this challenge, I am going to continue working with yoga practices, sharpening my food habits, reminding myself of the good times, and simplifying my day with a little practice of time management. Quest One: Sally I am going to be looking for yoga routines that engage your core. I’m certain that nearly every routine and pose does that, but I want to focus on strengthening that area. In addition, I want to work on breathing and finding my center. My goal is to do 15 minutes of core strength work 3 days/week, and 5 minutes of stretching and breathing exercises every day. Quest Two: Lock, Shock, and Barrel...or Calories, Sugars, and Fats I am determined to get into the good habit of keeping track of my food. I also want to put forth the effort to keep an eye on my sugar and fat intake. Staying within my caloric intake is important, but I noticed that despite coming in under that number, things such as sugar and fat would go overboard. Sugar more than anything else. That said, I am going to work to be mindful of the amount sugar things have, good sugars vs bad sugars, healthy fats, and looking for filling foods that will help me feel satisfied rather than hungry an hour later. Calories/Day: Sugar/Day: Fat/Day: Quest Three: Jack Skellington As the weather is growing colder, it means that moods will begin to decline in our house. I have decided to use one of my goals to make sure that I help not only myself, but my Mom. We will take the time every day to make a list of 5 things that make us happy. We will keep them tucked away in a special notebook so that whenever we are feeling down, we can refer to it. I think in doing the above, we will be able to see that there are so many things for us to be happy about should we be having a less than stellar day. Life Quest: The Mayor I need to work on my time management. I know that I could be accomplishing a lot of things if I managed my time better. Stop procrastinating until the last minute for things like projects, dinner, phone calls, cleaning...etc. Get it done early and not worry about it later. Doing this with everyday life will just help make everything go smoother. To accomplish this, I am going to make daily to-do lists along with a weekly to-do list. Instead of trying to narrow down a concrete routine, knowing what I should be accomplishing on a daily and weekly basis will help me prioritize my time. This includes time for myself!

Main goal: Climb all of the things! Parkour all of the things! Thumb my nose at gravity! Make and post videos of all of the things! My schedule is already really full, so I'm not biting off too much this challenge, fitness-wise. I already spend a lot of time doing parkour, rock climbing, and yoga. When I can manage to squeeze it in, I also like hand balancing, playing with weapons, hiking, rucking, and playground workouts. I'm also trying hard to remember that rest days are important, too. Even if I don't have so many direct fitness goals, I tend to log and talk incessantly about the parkour and climbing and other shenanigans. Because PARKOUR!!! and CLIMBING!!! Goal 1: Stick to strict rations (food goal) Between all of the holidays, the Halloween candy, football booze, and my body trying to convince me to fatten up for winter, it's really tough to avoid eating like an asshole. But, for once, I don't want to just brush off this season as a "dirty bulk". So, it's time to stick with (what is for me) strict rations. 1a. Fix that breakfast. I typically eat an apple, greek yogurt, and some sort of breakfast bar. Not only is the breakfast bar unhealthy, but I'm also usually hungry well before lunch time. So, the goal is to have 5 days/week where I avoid any sort of breakfast bar or cereal, and instead replace that by cooking eggs or some oatmeal. 1b. Continue loving the crock pot. The goal is at least 6 batch cooked meals over the course of the challenge. Having healthy food in abundance tends to encourage healthy eating. 1c. Don't overdo the booze. I'm not being as strict as last challenge, but I'm still only allowing myself 12 drinks over the 6 weeks. Also, whenever I'm in a social drinking situation and don't really want to drink, but go along with the crowd, I lose a point. I can re-gain that point by either foregoing one drink for the challenge or by making a point of passing up some social drinking. Goal 2: Jump like I'm in Martian gravity. (fitness goal) At this point in my parkour training, I really feel that my jumping ability is holding me back. I was a decent (but not great) jumper before the knee blowout, and I unfortunately still haven't managed to even regain my old abilities. One of the better ways to jump higher is to add some weight to that squat. So, twice/week, I will do some sort of squat session. It might be goblet squats. It might be assisted pistols. It might be weighted bulgarian split squats. I also need to take better care of my knee(s) if I want to continue with training hard. But, I learned last challenge that if I don't make a goal of doing my prehab work and foam rolling, I just end up not doing it. So.... Goal is twice/week squat session and 5x/ week prehab. Goal 3: Science! (Life goal) Now that the kids are in school, I have much more time to return to my scientific roots. One of my future goals is to make a bunch of science and math educational apps. I have a lot of ideas. What I lack is some of the coding knowledge. So, the goal is to completely finish my Xcode 7 and Swift course. Goal 4: Become a data nerd -> Hack my headspace. (Life goal) Most days, the kids are in school, the husband is at work, and I'm spending too much time like this And to be fair, I am very productive. I just don't always deal very well with too much alone-ness and too much unstructured time. I'm prone to anxiety. I also have bouts of being overly pissed off and some bouts of seasonal affective disorder. Anyone who has followed me for any length of time knows that I'm the antithesis of being a data nerd. Usually I just wing everything and more or less remember what's what. But for once, I want to keep better notes, so I can see a pattern. The goal for this is to track what effects any of these have when I'm having mood issues and want to re-gain control of my headspace: calming tea, playing the piano, yoga, guided meditation, taking a nature walk, and any other methods I can come up with. I'm not going to expect results this challenge. I just want to get in the habit of recognizing the signs of a bad mood, trying something, and tracking how well it works. And here is the spreadsheet. Bonus: #1 - Get back in the habit of playing the piano. At least 60 minutes/week. Hopefully, this can double with goal 4 in helping with the headspace. Bonus #2 - Be resourceful! I'm going to shamelessly steal Raptron's Catch-em-all hand balancing fest. Because I can. Bonus #3 - Actually participate in the guild mini this time. I'll probably have some strong edits for this later. The new challenge thread was already exploding, and I wanted to get in on the action right away!

Hi everyone! I'm a longtime receiver of NF emails, but this is the first time I've actually gotten in there on the forums and decided to do a challenge. I'm a South Carolina native recently transplanted to Denver, CO. I'm a major nerd in the band sense and also in the foreign language sense, but I also enjoy fantasy, specifically LOTR and comic book movies. When I'm not music-ing or language-ing, you'll find me mountain biking, hiking, cooking, reading, or just hanging with my peeps. Main quest: Lose 5" total off my body measurements Goals for this challenge: take advantage of my kickass work gym and do kettlebells (Simple & Sinister routine) min 4x/week during lunch break turkish get-up with 35-lb bell by end of week 6 drink no more than 1 beer/week by the end of week 6 (I moved to Denver about a year ago and it is the beeriest city I've ever known!) make & bring lunch to work min 4x/week Side quest: Keep my house clean; specifically, make sure kitchen counters are clean and ready to go at all times (lunch prep!) and bed is made every day Motivation: I live in Colorado and want to be badass (read: lean & strong!) enough to do as much of the outdoor stuff (skiing, mountain biking, hiking) as I can cram into a weekend. Edited to add that I've been doing Simple & Sinister for a few weeks already and I've made it to the 26# bell on the TGU. That in itself is thrilling, but I've also seen some increase in definition in my arms and shoulders, which I LOVE LOVE LOVE and that motivates me to see if I can make them slightly less fluffy so that I can really see definition! Recording of results: My S&S routine tracking can be found here. I may add my beer & lunch-bringing goals to that as well, just for ease of tracking. Reward: Two new pairs of pants for work. Happy quest-ing, y'all!

It’s the next 6 Week Challenge and I am glad to be back again with the Scouts! I need a little extra kick in the backside since I was in a total slump over the Bye-Weeks. This will be my only 6 Week Challenge of the summer as I will be leaving for India 4 days after the challenge ends. So, I’ve got to make it COUNT. Some background for those joining me for the first time: I got sick in January with a mysterious abdominal illness. The short story is that I had surgery in February, but still have a wonky stomach which results in random pains that can last anywhere from 30 minutes to days and days. This has put a HUGE cramp in my workout schedule. Lifting weights had to go by the wayside. But I discovered that I love running. I’m slow (about a 12ish minute mile on a good day), but I enjoy it. And, it generally doesn’t aggravate my abdominal muscles the way lifting has in the past. In the big picture of things, I want to start training for a half-marathon when I get back from India, so I am looking at this 6 Week Challenge as setting up good habits and a nice strength and stamina base that will both aid me in my traveling and in getting me prepped to start more serious training for the Half Marathon. With all of that in mind, here are my three Focus Goals for this challenge: Run For Your Life: Running 2 miles or more 3x a week (+2 STA) This has a caveat attached to it: if running isn’t possible for some reason (my right ankle has been feeling a little wonky lately, so I’m watching it) I can sub in brisk walks of the same distance. Running 3x week = A Running 2x week= B > than 2x week = F Build A Strong Body: Weight and Stretch Routine 2x Week (+2 STR, +2DEX) This will be a true challenge for me for 2 reasons: 1. this requires me to workout 5 times in a week which has in the past been really challenging for my schedule and 2. To find and stick to a solid stretching routine. I stretch regularly, but it’s rather lackadaisical and I think that could be related to pain I’m feeling in my lower back and right ankle. Weights & Stretch 2x week = A Weights & Stretch 1x week = B >1 (0) = F Eat To Live: Avoid Processed Sugars, Grains, Junk Food, Alcohol and Soda (+2 CON) The Bye Weeks saw me indulge more than I needed in sweets. My office is FULL of treats (I work with college students and it’s exam season) – we have trays of doughnuts as exam break snacks, a candy jar, and a freezer full of ice cream. These are not only bad for my health and weight loss goals, but they tend to trigger my stomach pain. So, I will be avoiding them by working to cut them out of my diet. However, I know that I am human, which is why I am giving myself 7 sins each week. The 7 sins go toward a single serving of a prohibited food (like chips, or a fun-sized piece of candy). If what I’m eating is more than a single serving, it’s however many “sins†that are in what I’m eating (so if a bowl of ice cream is 3 servings portions, it’s 3 sins). This will allow me to indulge on occasion without guilt. The hope is that I never use all 7 sins in a week, but that I do have allowances for the occasional scoop of ice cream or glass of wine. This will be measured on a Pass/Fail Basis. 7 sins or Less in a Week = P > than 7 Sins in a Week = F Life Quests: Wordsmith Reads, Wordsmith Writes (+1 WIS, +1 CHA) I have two Life Quests that will also be part of my 6 Week Challenge. They are both centered on reading and writing. The first goal is to finish reading 3 books over the course of this next 6 Weeks. This won’t be hard as I’m halfway through Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (part of a Harry Potter Re-read), and the Memoir Eat and Run by ultramarathoner Scott Jurek. Finishing both of these will count toward the 3 book goal. 3 Books Read = A 2 Books Read = B >2 Books = F The second goal is to revise a minimum of 3 chapters of the novel that I’ve written and send them to at least 2 external reviewers for feedback over this 6 Week Challenge. I’ve revised 2 chapters already, so I should have minimum of 5 revised chapters by the end of the Challenge. I have one volunteer external reviewer, I have to confirm another. I need to be accountable to this writing process if I’m ever going to be ready to pitch to an agent. 3 Chapters Revised and Sent = A 2 Chapters Revised and Sent = B >2 Chapters Revised and Sent = F There are some Overarching Goals that I have for this 6 Week Challenge: - Log 30 miles of running (or brisk walking should I be injured) for the month of June - Lose 3 lbs by the end of the Challenge (slow and stead) - Lose ½ inch or more off my waist - Have dedicated readers for my revised chapters set up to keep me accountable for finishing my major revisions - Do a purge of junk from my house and work toward minimalism (except for books, because that’s impossible for me) - Regularly walk over 7000 steps as tracked by my fitbit These won’t be graded, but are additional guides and goals to help keep me on track toward my 6 Week Goals and my bigger Life Goals. So, fellow rebels, these are my goals. Every step forward is a step in the right direction. 6 months ago I was in the hospital in so much pain I could hardly walk. Now I’m contemplating running a half marathon. I want to keep moving forward, leveling up my life, and being the most awesome version of me that I can be. Let’s Crush It!

Hello friends! About halfway through last challenge I had an unexpected visit from the Shadows. I stopped everything. I have since told them to move on and I am ready to continue my journey to healthy weight gain and being in better shape than ever. Food I'm taking a bit of a different approach this time. I have decided to try keeping track of servings of different food groups. I will probably still calorie count the first week or so to make sure I'm still getting what I need and adjust servings as necessary. I'll probably come up with some kind of point system for this. Fit Body weight workouts 5x a week, different muscle groups each day. I actually like my workouts and I feel much better when I do them. ReFresh Water- why is it so hard to drink water? I'm going to try some infused concoctions and eating more spicy food, goal is 1/2 to 3/4 gallon a day. Life Get my house in order--I would like to be able to have friends over and find things when I need them, but right now...yikes.

First off, I'm new to the community and seeking the advice of fellow Fitness nerds! My base stats are... Age 18, 130 lbs, female, 5'1, generally a couch potato (computer, tv, video games, reading, studying.) My legs are all muscle except for a little chub on my inner thighs. I have been actively going to the gym a minimum of 4 days a week for at least an hour a day for over six months now (cardio and strength training). I have gained a bit of muscle and slimmed down some, but I hope to drop a bit more fat. Originally I tried to maintain a 1200 calorie a day goal, however that left me feeling ravished every day. I bumped it up to 1300 calories a day and still felt weak and tired all the time. I've come to the conclusion I am most likely not meeting my dietary goals and am under-eating as a result of faulty BMR and TDEE calculations regarding my height and weight because I have quite a bit of muscle that is not really accounted for. My question is whether I should even count my calories being so young or if a strict raw/clean diet will help me blast through these last 10 or so pounds? Any help is appreciated, fellow Rebels!

It's time to get back on the horse! I had a great start, then petered out due to various life reasons, then spent the last couple of months being embarrassed to drag myself back. I think most people know that feeling, amirite? BUT I also know what an awesome and welcoming group this is, so I've come up with some new goals and decided to throw my hat in with you band of merry adventurers! I'm glad to be back. Mission: To continue my life's goal to become Batgirl. I actually got to meet Gail Simone at Emerald City Comic Con last month and tell her that Barbara Gordon is my fitness idol and someone I really aspire towards. It was an incredible moment, especially when she held my hand while telling me that she tries to write Barbara as a very human role model, someone to look up to, and she was happy that was how I took her. Since then, my efforts have redoubled! I've kept up weight training over the past several months, but now I'm interested in adding in a component of bodyweight exercises. I don't want to be pointlessly big or strong; I want to be able to use my body. I'm just at the beginning stages, but long term I'd like to be able to climb a rope and do handstand push ups. I'd also like to get down to 21% BF. I'm currently sitting around 27%. Unfortunately I have PCOS, and while I have it much better than many people with this syndrome, I still need to take it into account and accept that I'm going to have an extremely difficult time with this particular goal. But that's what makes the challenge interesting, right? 6 Week Challenges: 1. Strength Training 4x/Week - I currently meet with my personal trainer once a week to work on bodyweight training, so that only leaves 3 more days that I need to get off my butt and do my weight training. Totally doable. Grading: 4x/Week - A 3x/Week - B 2x/Week - C 2. Moksha Yoga 3x/Week - I started going to yoga a few months ago, but fell off the wagon. I really enjoy it, though, and am looking forward to getting back into it. The studio is only a block and a half from my apartment and has classes all the time, so I really have no excuse to not go. Grading: 3x/Week - A 2x/Week - B 1x/Week - C 3. Stick to my Meal Plan 5x/Week - I don't have a crazy strict meal plan, so really this shouldn't be that hard. Eat food with whole ingredients, don't eat out, no junk. My weakness is when I'm at the grocery store (damn you chocolate bar stands at the till!) or when I'm at school. I'll need to focus on being prepared so I have healthy choices if I do get snacky. My partner works out of town from Monday to Friday, so I'll loosen up my food choices on weekends when she's here, but nothing outrageous. I'll be tracking this all using the handy dandy My Fitness Pal. Grading: 5 Days - A 4 Days - B 2-3 Days - C Let's do this!

This is my second attempt at a challenge and I'm going to try a smaller approach this time in hopes of sticking with it the whole 6 weeks, then I can build from that progress. Background: I am a 31 year old mom of 2, struggling to figure myself out enough to grow in a “healthy†way. I used to consider myself a “country/farm†girl but now that I have a decent job/career established, I find myself behind a desk for what seems like the majority of my time. When I am not working behind the desk it seems as though I’m frantically trying to figure out how to provide nutritious meals to the husband and little people (one (the 4 year old child, has extensive medical demands including a high salt, high calorie diet! ugh!) and keep everyone happy. Long Term Lifestyle Goal: I am 5' 4" and 160 lbs so I would like to work on lossing 20 lbs or so but ultimately want to get rid of my belly bulge and have more engery and feel “STRONG†but want to be smart about it and will be focusing more on non-scale victories/activies along the way so I’m not putting an immediate deadline on this goal as long as I’m not noticing additional flab to squeeze into the clothes and I’m maintaining overall happiness. I would also like to figure out some physically challenging activities that I can enjoy and grow old doing. Fall 2015 goal: I’ve committed to a 30 miles in 1 day rugged Hike in efforts to raise money to support medical research that could greatly benefit my family down the road. This hike is in September 2015 and scares me ALOT! But I think I can do and am starting to train NOW! So now we have arrived at my 3 measurable goals for this 6 week challenge, that will get me closer to the goals above… 1) Stick with Coach to 5k. By the end of this challenge, I should be able to jog for a continuous 30 minutes and should have a good foundation established to start working on time and/or mileage goals by the next challenge. I don't want to focus on speed at this time but just being consistent with walking/jogging daily with the simple of goal of pushing a bit more (hillier, faster, farther, etc.) each day. 2) Focus/Strength. I have recently become intrigued with yoga. I know very little about it and there are no close classes around me but I've been watching videos and want to start incorporating this into my life but starting slow. I plan to do the beginner body weight routine for strength work for this challenge but want to finish that with some solid but simple yoga stretches. I intend to alternate days focusing on yoga and bodyweight workouts. 3) Eat clean, consistently. This is a CHALLENGE as I tend to make this lots harder than it needs to be. I will do this by committing to plan meals WEEKLY so they are ready to go, easier on me and the family and more likely to be excuse proof. If I know what’s on the “menu†ahead of time I’ll have better luck avoiding the temptations at the office, grandmas, etc. that are around me ALL THE TIME! I will strive to keep our food SIMPLE for the next 6 weeks. That’s the plan, here we go! *I will try to report in with weekly progress updates but will be significantly limiting my “technology usage†in hopes of better time management and focusing on goals. oh and a note to self: be nice to ME...

Challenge Goals: Nutrition- Eat Clean! I'm going for 42 days of clean eating. What does clean eating mean to me? Unlimited fruits and veggies, nuts, healthy fats, and full fat dairy in moderation. Organic or grass-fed meat when possible. That's the basics, obviously there's more to it than that. I've been doing really well so far, so it's not a drastic change but a continuation of what I'm currently doing. Fitness- Sprint! I'm going to 24 sprint sessions, which is an average of 4 per week. I also do one "long" run per week. Fitness- Bodyweight workouts! I'm basically following the convict conditioning program right now, and it's been almost 2 months, so I'm going to keep that going. I've failed a few challenges before, so my main goal this time around is to simply follow through, not just on the workouts and clean eating, but on keeping updated here.

It’s time to turn it up a notch. My last (un-)challenge worked out phenomenally in unexpected ways. Not only have I had a great, awesome, epic time the last few weeks, I’ve also fallen back in love with fitness. Specifically running. God, have I missed running. I’ve spent a long time thinking about how to set up this challenge. I’ve looked at what has worked for me and what hasn’t, and I’ve made a plan! Achievements work for me. They work much better than rules or numbers. My most successful challenges were those that made me go for shit and not do a certain thing X number of times a week. I like to accidentally clutter my challenges. I feel like I have to put everything I do into my goals and it’s silly. So I’ll be doing much more than what I challenge myself to do and we’ll see how that works out. I like turtles. So for this challenge I'll have goals, they will be rather broad. Within these goals, I'll have certain achievements I can collect along the way. Please feel very free to add achievements if you think of some that I have missed - I like being challenged by you guys. Enough planny shit, here’s what’s going down. I'm going to get fast and strong and eat and live. That is my main goal. And it is especially important in times like this. Unbeknownst to most, the Yeerks have taken residence not only on our planet, but inside many people's brains. It's time I got them out of there. Luckily, I am an animorph. Oh wait - you didn't know that? Well, now you do. Unfortunately there's only so many animals I can touch, and only so much that can be done in 2 hours (don't want to go down Tobias' road and get stuck, that'd blow!) so I've assembled a few animals in my basement to practice with. They shall help me fight off Yeerks. Every achievement unlocked while animorphed kills off one of the Yeerks. I plan to litter the floor with the bodies of dead slugs, yo. Goal Number 1: Run. Horses have always made me happy. Also when I googled animorph pictures and this showed up I laughed for at least five minutes and so I really had no choice but to get a horse and shut it in my basement and abuse it to run from zombies. I'm not a psychopath, I swear. Anyways, apart from the animorphing, it's simple. I want to run. I need to run. Running makes me happy. It makes me feel free and alive and gets rid of all sorts of things like crappy moods and tiredness. I want it every day all day. This goal includes everything run-related. Here's the list of achievements: - Finish the Zombies, Run 5k Trainer - Do an air drop mission - Do a zombie chase and don't get eaten - Run with another person - Run trails - Run through the city park - Run in a different place far from home - Run a 8 minute kilometer - Updated: Run 8 minute/kilometer average on a 5k run - Do 10 uphill sprints up that really steep hill and don't die - Run for 20 minutes straight - Run for 25 minutes straight - Run for 30 minutes straight - Find someone to plan an epic air drop mission with and do it - Run 35km in one week - Run every day for one week - Do a lunch break city run - Do a zoo run - Do an early morning run before work - Run through the rain Goal Number 2: Push it. Push it real good. Everyone thinks that kangarros are just great at kicking but psh you don't know the half of it. MY kangaroo is a total stud and animorphing into kangaroo form is going to be the best thing ever. The goal is to up my push up game. I recently discovered (and have been overjoyed about it ever since) that I can sort of do knee push ups. It feels like push ups are a thing that are possible and more recently I could sort of feel muscles in my arms - what is happening to me, am I stuck in kangaroo form? I don't know. But push ups shall happen sooner or later. Here's the list of achievements: - 1.30 min plank - 2 min plank - 2.30 min plank - 1.30 min elbow plank - 2 min elbow plank - 2.30 min elbow plank - 3 min elbow plank - 30 sec low plank - 1 min low plank - negative push up - push up - 10 incline push ups - 20 incline push ups - 10 knee push ups - 20 plank-to-elbow-plank-and-back-s - 30 plank to elbow-plank and back-s - try those spotted push ups Goal 3: Ditch the candy. And the take out. And stay the eff away from the bakery. This is going to be a tough one. That's why the third animal in my basement is a cat. Cats are picky f*ckers. They don't eat everything. And if they don't like something, they shove it away. Or kill it. Or puke on it. They're assholes, really. I need to be more asshole-y about my eating. I have tasted candy for the first time in years and the best example of how it has ruined me would be the evening that I spend spooning canned frosting with thin mints. It's bad. I love that I'm eating so much, I hate that there's so much junk in there. I'm also spending too much money on lunches that I can simply make at home. So that's the goal. Healthy eating. Pretty basic, right? (I'm typing this as I'm eating the last bits of the reeses heart that I got for valentine's day). Here's the list of achievements: - Prepare lunches in advance for a week - Make a meal plan - Have breakfast BEFORE leaving home every day for a week - Don't eat candy for a week - Don't buy any type of food (unless it's groceries. I'm talkig about the 'Oh I'm hungry I should get a kreppel) for a week - Stay away from the bakery for a week - Cook. Just, whatever. Cook it. Goal Number 4: Sunday Funday Who could be a better teacher to become a party animal than a pug? So much to learn from them. I like fun. I like being busy and never home and just out there. I also like my list of dares that I've not yet completed. There's a lot going on in my life that I could focus on, but as most of those things aren't really a challenge, I just love doing them, and I don't want to overburden myself and set myself up for failure, I'm going to keep this simple. No achievements to be unlocked (currently, I might work on something) but feel very free to dare me. My past sundays have been awesome. Truly awesome. Filled with adventures and amazingness and fun. I want to keep that streak going. Rest days are for the weak. It doesn't matter what sort of fun I'll have on sundays, I just want to use them and not let them slide by. There are too many things to be seen and done. Do you have any other achievements that would work well with my goal? Please share them with me and I'll make sure to add them! No grading. No stat points earned. No rewards. Actually, I might re-think that whole rewards thing. I like rewards.

What's up, Rangers? I choose YOU for my first ever NF Challenge. (Please love me?) It's a long, long walk to Tar Valon, but every sheepherder's got to make it past Devon's Ferry at some point in their life, and I've got dreams of tall spires, heavy objects, and maybe even one day becoming the Dragon Reborn - but you know they're all false, right? They have to be. As far as where I'm starting, in race types, I'm a half-ogre - I gain muscle easily, I'm a little bigger/heavier than I want to be. I have a background in both agility sports (tennis, frisbee) and strength sports (rugby), but thanks to a nice little case of sciatica I haven't lifted in forever. I've selected the Rangers because y'all best fit the first part of my journey to becoming a Warder: a TOTAL BADASS (Birgitte-level) who's ready for anything and isn't afraid to undertake any challenge. I won't need to be able to bench press an Ogier, but I may need enough power to push a belligerent blacksmith up a hill. I'll also need to be prepared to work out anywhere, as I never know where my bonded Aes Sedai (or my work) will take me next. I'm considering Army OCS for the future and I really don't want to embarrass myself, so this is also my test to see whether or not I can make myself have what it takes to do the thing and win the points. Or at least prove to myself that I can do the thing I've always dreamed of doing. Of course, since I'm starting with Kabe-the-half-ogre-who-really-likes-cake-and-Netflix, my Warder quest is going to be a long journey, whether on horseback or on foot. Goal 1: Get in touch with the True Source. I've got some serious healing to do, and in order to get my back back and my strength stronger, I'm setting a goal to do at least 45 minutes of yoga at least twice a week. Currently I do it about once a week for only 30 minutes, and I think I need a little more dedication and a little more consistency. One of these days will be on Mondays, where there's a kick-ass free class that I know of that will give me a really great and varied workout, and my plan is for the other day to be either solo practice or a detox class. Weekly grades: A - 45 minutes 2x/week. B - Less than 45 minutes 2x/week. C - 1x/week. F - No yoga done this week. 2. Bond myself to Squat Rack Sedai. It's cold as the void in Wisconsin, so I'm backing off my running for the next couple months. However, it's been too long since I've gotten back in touch with the reassuring heaviness of my heron-marked barbells. I'd love to work my way back into a lift-based regimen at least until my couple more weeks of Almost Free Gym Membership run out and I move, and at that point I'll probably shift into bodyweight. Or who knows, maybe I'll be motivated to get a gym membership right away! For that matter... -starts furtively googlemapsing gyms near new house- The explicit goal is 3 workouts/week of strength training. (And no, future self, that 7-minute-not-scientific-workout thing doesn't count.) Weekly grades: A - 3 workouts of 30+ min/week. B - 1 or 2 workouts of 30+ min/week, or at least one workout of 30+ min with 2 of <30 min. C - 2-3 workouts of <30 min. D - only 1 workout, <30 min. F - No workouts. 3. Cleanse the (internal) taint. I'm a sugar addict. Okay, I'm a food addict, but sugar is a huge part of this. So in order to get back in control of my bodily components, I'm going to try to cut back on my processed-sugar intake. Fruits? Great. Build that Warder body. Baked goods? Warders ain't got time for that. To achieve this goal, I'm going to start with limiting myself to 1 article of processed sugar per day for the first week, 1 article every 2 days for the second week, and so on down to the last week, where I plan on consuming NO ARTIFICIAL SUGARS. This seems impossible from where I'm standing right now, but maybe in 5 weeks it won't seem so hard. Weekly grades: A - met goal for the week. B - had only 1-2 sugary snacks over goal. F - 3+ sugary objects over goal. 4. Life Goal: record my journey. The Wheel of Time turns and days come and pass, leaving memories that become legend when I remember them at all. I want to get a handle on the passage of time and fight the sameness of days that professional life seems to be all about. I'd like to keep a journal every or every other night - not just of my workouts (which I'll journal here!) but of the rest of my life. I'll probably try to do so before bed as a way to fight the blue screen sleeplessness of pre-sleep Netflix. I should buy a nice notebook. Things I need your help with, fellow Rangers: - Good online yoga workouts. My personal practice will only get me so far. If any of y'all want to drop your favorite Youtube links here, that would be totally amazing. - Tips for working out while traveling. I'm still new to professional life and I'm on a little bit of a budget until I get my first raise, so your favorite hotel-gym and hotel-room-floor workouts would save my life. - Tips for soldiering on. This is my first challenge and I'm really nervous! I'm worried that, like almost every other grand project that I undertake, I'll get really depressed if I don't live up to my own expectations. - Anything else you think of, really. Thank you for your support! <3

UPDATED: MONDAY, JANUARY 12TH So.....2014 didn't end as well as I had hoped. I'm up 4.5# and 1.5% body fat since Thanksgiving. I wasn't really doing much to lose weight over the holidays, but I'd hoped not to gain either...c'est la vie.. But I'm ready to get things going again for 2015! It's going to be a really great year...I can feel it!! FITNESS GOALS FOR 2015Get down to 25% body fatDo one pull-upStart taking aerial classesGreatly improve on five yoga poses GOALS FOR THIS CHALLENGEComplete the challengeReduce body fat by 2%Make noticeable improvement on yoga poses CHALLENGE ACTIONSStrength training 3x a weekDancing Cardio 3x a weekFollow Bulletproof diet guidelines Grain and dairy freePractice yoga poses on week night ACTION DETAILS Strength training 3x a week 20-30 minute strength training sessionsBody weight, yoga, kettlebellMondays, Wednesdays, FridaysGrading Scale: A = 3 sessions per week // C = 2 sessions per week // F = 1-0 sessions per weekSTR +4Dancing Cardio 3x a week 15-30 minute dancing cardio sessionsHooping, belly dancing Couch-to-5K programTuesdays, Thursdays, SaturdaysGrading Scale: A = 3 sessions per week // C = 2 sessions per week // F = 1-0 sessions per weekSTA +4Follow Bulletproof diet guidelines Grain and dairy free Keep food choices in the green and yellow levels on the Bulletproof Diet RoadmapStay grain and dairy free (white rice and grass-fed butter/ghee allowed)Grading Scale: A = 0-1 indulgences per week // B = 2-3 indulgences per week // C = 4-5 indulgences per week // D = 6-7 indulgences per week // F = 8 or more indulgences per weekCON +2, CHA +2Practice yoga poses on week nights Practice one pose each evening for a minimum of five minutesMonday: Crow Pose (Bakasana)Tuesday: Tree Pose (Vrksasana)Wednesday: Monkey Pose (Hanumanasana)Thursday: Upward Bow Pose (Urdhvadhanu)Friday: Four-Limbed Staff Pose (Chaturanga Dandasana)Grading Scale: A = 5 practices per week // B = 4 practices per week // C = 3 practices per week // D = 2 practices per week // F = 1-0 practices per weekDEX +3

I'm the type of person who plans and plans and plans and really struggles to get around to executing and following through. I'm joining this challenge because I want to commit myself to actually doing something and seeing it through. Over the past several months I've taken baby steps toward my health fitness goals - I've thought all about it, researched it, written personal plans for it, *started* lots of programs - and I have had successes and setbacks. This time I'm excited to see where 6 weeks of proper dedication can take me! My main quest is a more general one: to progress on 3 aspects of my health/fitness journey that I am currently focusing on - running, strength training, and clean eating. My related goals are: 1. Complete my C25K training program by 5 January. I'm currently on week 5 (and have been for several weeks now). After that, I want to go into the 10K training program starting from week 9 and build up my speed and endurance. 2. 3 days per week of either weight training (a full body routine consisting of squats, lunges, deadlifts, lat pulldowns, chest press, overhead press with progressively heavy loads) or bodyweight circuit training (I like Max Capacity Training) because I know there will be days I won't be able to lift. I will add to this that I want to work on certain mobility exercises to improve my form - particularly ankle/hip mobility for squats and deadlifts because I wear high heels and sit on my butt in front of a computer most of the day and I know my form could use some work - I'll also do this 3 days/week. 3. 80% clean eating in a week plus drink at least 2000 ml of water per day. To me, clean eating is lots of vegetables, fish, chicken, beef, beans, some fruit, oatmeal, limited processed carbs and sugar. My life quest... I've been thinking about starting to write a lot lately. I've always liked to write for both personal and professional reasons. I don't do much of it lately but I'd like to start taking it more seriously. I'd like to start with journaling daily and consider opportunities to write professionally.

Main Quest Goals Build strength Increase cardio fitness Increase muscle mass Decrease visceral fat Maintain low levels of depressionMethods Stronglifts 5x5 covers #1 and #3 and a bit of #4 HIIT on non-weight lifting days covers #2 and #4 following 30 Days of HIIT from http://neilarey.com Cycle to work every workday covers #5 and a bit of #4 and #2 Side Quests Clean eating unprocessed foods reduced sugars Paint kitchenMotivation I went to my wife's diet/fitness place, had myself measured, listened to the trainer about what I need to improve on and decided to do something about it. I'm not far from my goal and that's what seems to make it somewhat elusive: losing the last 10lbs is harder than the first 10lbs (so I believe) and that is why it has been difficult for me to reach the final goal.

Sixth Challenge [ September 15th – October 26th ] In the land of the dritch Background story Cuckoo, cuckoo. A bird's call is waking me from my slumber. I'm surrounded by trees, some are violet, a few magenta but most are plain purple. Yawning I get up and look around, a strange feeling in my heart.... It takes a few moments, but then I realize what's wrong. I have no idea, where I am and even less how I got there. “Are you lost?â€, said a voice from the branch above me. A feline creature is hanging from there and looks at me with his inverted face. “Who are you?â€, I ask the strange being. “I'm a grinning cat, what else? But the more interesting question is, who are you?†“I'm........ I'm....... I'm.....â€, I stutter, realizing, that I don't have the slightest idea who I am. “You don't know who you are, neither where you are? Seems like you are in trouble!â€, the cat laughs, loosing its grip on the branch and floating through the air. “Can you help me?†Nervousness starts to surround my thinking. “That depends, what kind of help do you want?†The cat slowly rolling through the air. My mind is spinning speedily to decide which question is the right one toask: “Where am I?†“Why, in the land of the dritch, of course! She rules this forest and surrounding areas with her temptations, you see them hanging from the trees, don't you?†His paws pointing to the right, where cakes, candy and other sweets are attached to the trees, where normally fruits would bee. “Don't eat anything she offers you, or she will control your actions forever!†“What else can you tell me?†I'm still not sure, who I am, but it becomes clear to me, that I must be some kind of warrior. A fighting spirit is rising in me, awakened by the feline warning. “I don't know more than you do, really, although I possibly remember more than you! But here is someone, who may be able to help you...†And with this the grinning cats arms and legs disappeared, tail and body followed until only its head remained. Then that, too, became invisible, the shining teeth in the form of the waxing moon remaining only. At first I didn't understand, but then I see it. The moonshine is concentrating on a gigantic mushroom in the next clearing. Warily I come closer. An almost undescribable creature as big as the cat is sitting there. It's green, that's the only thing, that is sure. But apart from that, numerous hands and feet, pointy ears pointing at the side and a judging yet benevolent stare; all wrapped up in a brown-beige robe. “Who are you?â€, I want to know and get the answer I somehow expected: “Answer that question I will, after who you are you told me.†“I can't, I know my current limits.†“But break them, you will. If my counsel you remember, that is.†“I don't....†“Time I don't have to repeat everything, I thaught you. But two pieces of my advice you'll get from me, to fight the dritch!†“I'm listening!â€, I say and sit down in front of the mushroom. “First, don't remembering you are you say. But you do! It's in you: Mind what you have learned save you it can! Be consistent in the basic aspects of your training and you will have the power to fight the dritch!†“My memory is like a library full of foreign books. But I will work on understanding and following them!†“Paradox might seem the other thing: You must unlearn, what you have learned! The wrong way brought you into this forest, of all, that you have learned in this time you have to get rid. The fear, the inflexibility.†“I will do that, too. Is there more I need to look out for?†“The rest you already realized on your own: This is a dangerous time for you, when you will be tempted...†Goal 1 – Continue bodyweight workout “Mind what you have learned. Save you it can!†3 STR / 1 STA / 1 CHA In general this means doing three workouts per week of each the following exercises: -Pull-Ups (Following 7 weeks to 50 pull-ups) [extra points if I make it to 10 unbroken pull- ups] -Push-Ups (Following a progression leading up to one-hand push-ups) -Pistols -Planks/Hollow Body Grading: Each workout is worth a point. 1 succesful workout equals 8% and 12 succesful workouts equal 100% Goal 2 – Don't eat anything the dritch made, lest you be forever trapped “This is a dangerous time for you, when you will be tempted...†1 WIS / 2 CON / 2 CHA The dritch is the queen of temptation. To escape her claws, I must only eat real food: Veggies, meat/fish, fruit, nuts, eggs, dairy etc. Grading is easy: 1 successful day a week equals 15% and 7 successful days a week equal 100%. Goal 3 – Non-strength related basics “You must unlearn, what you've learned!†1 CON / 1 DEX Consinsting of stretching and/or working on hand-balancing/hand-stands before going to bed for at least five minutes. Grading is easy again: 1 successful evening a week equals 15% and 7 successful evenings a week equal 100%. Life Goal – Make your voice heard 2 WIS / 1 CHA This one only starts in week three and is a simple pass/fail: Create a blog and publish at least three texts.

I won't go into too much detail and will come right to the point, "how can I start eating clean" This particular problem has kept me jumbled up for years and because of this I've given up so many times but this time I won't lose to this question! That's why I am here~ I am not 100% paleo, not perfect with dieting but I am ready to learn, ready to absorb your knowledge. I am a runner but will start body weight training soon. I am new to this concept so I may need your help and your advice.

Hey guys! I'm, super excited about this challenge. If I really push it this time, I think I'll be able to visualize what's really possible long term. It's a process, a long one, and I know that. It doesn't make me any less impatient though... So as I look of into the horizon, I pack my bags to prepare for a journey. Destination: unknown Long term goal: -get myself up to a healthy weight, 120-130 depending on how much muscle and BF% I decide to go with -have more strength, stamina, and flexibility than ever before -to be able to do things like push ups, pull ups, running around with my kids and not get tired -teach healthy eating and activity patterns to my kids Goals for this challenge 1. Eat at least 2000 calories a day of real food +2 STA +2 CON I have three kids 5 and under and nursing one. When I started tracking what I was eating a few months ago, I learned I was only getting about have as much food as I needed. Since then, I've been working on a meal plan and making effort to get enough. Bonus- if I get 2500 once a week I give myself a bronze star. I made 2200 a few times last challenge. 2. BW workout 3x week (push/pull, core, legs/glutes) +2 STR +1 STA I haven't done a lot with this since baby came along. I was so paranoid about burning off the calories I did get. I have gotten better at getting enough to eat so I think I'll give this a shot again. 3. not really sure here, something for my off workout days- maybe walking with the kids and the dog (although the rain was not cooperative on that one last challenge) or more intensive stretching? Life Goal no idea, I'll try to come up with something later today.

Well Skywalker, it's time you lived up to your name. Main Goal: To complete a 'Great Walk' - one of a multitude of multi-day hikes that is on my to do list. Current Goal: To peak bag VIctoria's (in Australia) highest mountain - Mt Boyong. I haven't actually booked this in but I spent the evening sorting out my calendar in order schedule a weekend in the high country and to climb Mt Boyong. Now it isn't a particularly high peak, or even difficult as in it could be a day hike, but I needed a hiking goal and I haven't done this before. To reach this lofty peak I want to increase my hiking and general moving time so I'm pinching Matt_72's simple goal structure: so let's see who gets that 100km's first Matt, Goal Two: Eat it Clean OK this is quite simple. Towards the end of the last challenge I took up a low carb challenge with a work colleague. I started - did real well in terms of finding it easy, lost a 'little' weight. I've been off this for only about three days and I my digestive system is telling me all about it. Also I have a friends wedding towards the end of this challenge (where is that invitation??) and a milestone birthday in just a few months. Lets get that scale moving downwards. I don't like to have a weight loss goal as such, but I'm planning on rewarding myself with a few points for sustainable weight loss if it happens. I'm carrying over the log daily and log in advance if at all possible. Bring my lunch to work is a no-brainer and makes low carb very easy. one higher carb day per week is allowed. I've checked the diary and have about one eating excursion a week. This may not necessarily be the higher carb day but it's about building healthy habits. Try to include 1 x fruit a day or 5 x fruit a week So it's keep it clean = low carb 6/7 days for six weeks (minus one day because it's 11pm) Two goals - nice and simple. I do have some mini-challenges that I may incorporate: I love the no-zero days idea but I have to get my head around what that means to me. De-stress. I'm not usually a stress-head but work has been more stressful than just plain stupid busy and quite frankly I'm not sure how to deal with this. So far it has been sitting on the couch doing nothing so I'm going to monitor this. Hopefully it will settle down - I'm really bad at meditating

So, I know what I want to aim for, and I know my overall rules for it ... I just can't figure out how to quantify a way to track it. I want to eat cleaner. I feel better when I eat cleaner. I think I actually have a pretty loose definition of clean all told too, but still I can't seem to figure out how to track my progress or lack thereof, when it comes to my challenges. Starpuck's Eat Clean Rules - AKA "Not quite Paleo enough." 1. Whenever you can, mimic paleo as best as you can. 2. Lean meats, fish, nuts, fruits and veggies are awesome. Eat 'em up! (But mind the nut portions.) 3. Whole grains like quinoa and brown rice are okay. But red potatoes, couscous and 'whole wheat' breads should be occasionals, not staples. 4. Dairy is okay! Since I'm a skim girl anyway. And we're going to be okay with yogurst. OMG NOOSA I LOVE YOU. 5. Boxed stuff is NOT ok. Lean Cuisines, Smart Ones. YOU FAKERS! 6. That said, exception to the rule. Winter sucks, so if you need a last minute hot meal that's not fast food, Kashi Frozens will be tolerated. They at least "try". 7. Treats. I refuse to live a life without milkshakes. But I need to be sensible with this. This goes for other special occasions to. They're not off limits. They're just in a mine field that has to be carefully navigated. So that's pretty much how I go about my thinking of where I want my food rules laid out, and my challenges are typically 'Eat clean at an 80/20 ratio'. But how do I keep track of what 80/20 is? Hoping that folks who have worked to clean up their diets can share with me how they've quantified their goals for their challenges. Thanks Rebels.

Edit: I have moved to the assassin's guild! As a third-timer, I have an excuse. Follow me here! Hello, friends! Fair warning: long post ahead. My very vague master quest is to survive a semester in Rome, which I hope to take in Fall 2014. I need the strength to haul heavy suitcases through airports and up hotel stairs, the stamina to spend entire days or weekends walking through Europe, the discipline to finish my final paper in history during the semester while making time to explore the world, and the skills/charisma to order meals in multiple languages and meet new people. The main focus of this challenge is discipline and habits. Fitness goals are based around establishing habits of exercise, establishing a habitual bedtime, and not eating food that makes me feel sick. (I may change the latter to keeping a food journal.) My “life goal†is to stick to a study schedule. This is to make sure I develop habits of working ahead, instead of surfing the web until 9PM and realizing I have twenty pages in Italian due the next day. Anyway. Habits are good. Habits are wonderful. Habits means that I have time, energy, and willpower to study Italian, write a book for my Italian prof (in Italian!), study music so I can serenade Stephen random people in Italy, and finally finish a paper without pulling all-nighters. In Italy. Yay, Italy! I continue with the nitty-gritty below: definitions, the grading scale, examining pitfalls and their solutions, and possible rewards/motivations for succeeding in goals. Grading scale (I may edit this to reflect NF "standards" of grading): Workouts: Do 3 NF Beginner Body Weight Workouts every week. A+: All 15 workouts! (Cool beans! I bet you could literally catch a bus by now!) A: 13-14 workouts! B: 11-12 workouts! C: 9-10 workouts! D: 7-8 workouts! F: less than 7! Sleep: Go to sleep between 10:30 and 11:30 every night. A+: Get to bed on schedule every night! (That’s 42 nights!) A: Miss 2 nights. (You were skyping Stephen random people, weren’t you?) B: Miss 4 nights. C: Miss 6 nights. D: Miss 8 nights. F: Miss more than 10 nights. Food: Eat no bad food or keep a food journal (while still eating no bad food). A+: No bad food during the entire challenge! Recorded every meal! A: Only 2 slip-ups! Only missed 2 meals! B: 4 slip-ups. Missed 4 meals. C: 6 slip-ups. Missed 6 meals. D: 8 slip-ups. Missed 8 meals. F: 10 or more slip-ups. Missed 10 or more meals. (I’ll get the stomach pump.) Life: Stick to a study schedule. (I’m still working on the schedule, but it essentially means doing homework before dinner and not fiddling on the internet before work is done.) A+: On schedule every day! A: Only off-schedule 2 days. B: Off-schedule 4 days. C: Off-schedule 6 days. D: Off-schedule 8 days. F: Off-schedule 10 days. (Just hold on! The police are on their way!) Definitions: 1. BWW—the NerdFitness beginner Body Weight Workout, linked here. 2. Bad food—things that make me feel sick. Right now, dairy is the major offender as I am lactose intolerant. I’m also avoiding super-sugary or processed foods (i.e. Cheerios, most cereals, and anything that might be classified as "candy"), rice milk, and most chocolate. (I get that you would add milk to milk chocolate, but why would you also add in milk protein, milk fat, whey, butter, AND lactose?!) Good food is healthy stuff that I can eat—most veggies, some meat, and most fruits. Grains (especially those with gluten) are currently questionable but probably okay. A food journal would help identify possible food allergies. 3. Habits—things or routines to which I become accustomed. Right now, my habits involve “surfing the internet after class†and “devouring the souls of the unborn.†Future habits may involve “studying for two hours after class†and “going to bed at 11.†4. Bedtime—for this challenge, between 10:30 and 11:30. End goal: get to bed around 11 every day to maximize sleep and productivity. 5. Stephen—shhh. 6. Study schedule: still working on this one, and it may become more/less specific as I need it to be. Essentially, I go to the library and study after class, try to do my homework on the day it is assigned, and work a little bit on big projects every day. Potential pitfalls: In the past, anxiety/depression due to major life shifts kept me from finishing. I also seem to recoil from words like “challenges.†Luckily, life moved on and the anxiety has mostly gone with its source. For this challenge, I expect the biggest issue to be my health; I quit yoga last year because I my carpal tunnel (which still plagues my wrists), and I seem to be developing new food allergies. Yay. Solutions: 1. Remember that fitness resolves a lot of health problems, like wrist/back pain. 2. Good form. I can do pushups on my fists because it keeps my wrists straight and happy. 3. Avoid bad food. This week, I’ve already had to cut out rice milk and chocolate. 4. Possibly keep a food journal to identify bad food. 5. Schedules. Schedules. Seriously. Schedules smash excuses. 6. Fitness gives you more energy, which means you can do more stuff. Join me in my quest! I am stoked to join yours.

Late post, but better late than never. Wasn't sure if I wanted to do a challenge but realized I need the accountability and the peer groups on this thread really help me out. lift maxes as of now---->goal in 6 weeks (listed favorite to least) Snatch- 115lbs----->135lbs Powerclean- 150lbs----> 165lbs Deadlift- 270lbs 1RM-----> (300 is within my reach!) 285/290lbs Front squat- 175lbs----> 190 Back squat- 210lbs----> 210 x4 (been my goal forever) or 220 1rm reasonable lifting goals considering I'm going to be travelling alot/starting a 6 days a week/60hrs a week hard labor job soon. relocating and need to find a new gym/routine. but goals are low to stay reasonable eats- continue to eat well, clean as possible, no processed food/sugar/grains as much as possible. rice/oatmeal is allowed. and popcorn. gotta have my popcorn. macro's are not SOLID but more of a guideline. my last challenge I did well and I am adjusting accordingly. 1/2-1 gallon a day water workout day- 2000cals carbs- 245g fat- 35g protein- 145g rest day- 1500cals carbs- 130g fat- 55g protein- 145g again, no ,math involved so rough estimates. still trying for that 6 pack, chicago/the holidays didn't help, but still trying life goal- continue on the limiting drinking had 1 beer in the last 9 days (yay) -offer to be DD every time applicable -allowed 2 days at home drinking / month -considerate about amt drank while out w/ppl and not DDing (aka drill, unit parties, etc) -overall, just try not to drink alot happy about my 1 beer, it was out at dinner last night. I'm not saying I am an alcoholic/was one, but I relied on alcohol too much to numb myself/my problems, so this is a big step. how- track daily written journal of food, water, what i ate closest to bed (if/when a night terror occurs, possible correlations), if pills were taken, exercise max's of the day and away!