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Happy New Year folks! I completed a four week challenge over the festivities though not being great with foods, I kept up most of the exercises so am happy with that. I'm back up to 12 stone (was a few lbs under a month ago) but that's to be expected, and my main goals are to lose bodyfat and get stronger. THE CHALLENGE (running six weeks from today) Exercise: Run before work (M-F) up a nearby hill: 0.7m total with ~50ft incline Pilates before work (M-F) the Hundred with straight legs ribcage closure every 20 beats Weight training, 3x10reps of each unless stated: Monday PUSH: Bench press, Military press, Table dips Wednesday PULL: Gym ring pull up angled with bent knees, 3x 5sec Pull-up hold, Barbell rows Thursday LEGS: Squat, Lunge, Romanian Deadlift Pilates class Monday evenings - youtube class otherwise Walking: Office days: to the station and over the river at the other end (~2mile total) WfH and non-work days: 2 miles min, ideally in daylight Teethbrushing squat: held for 2+min Cycle once a week Foods: Tracking 1600 calories on mfp, days that may scupper: 8th January: Afternoon tea with the quartet 15th January: Burns Night evening That's it at the moment but I'm sure more things will come up! Other: Stop scrolling crap on my phone before bed Read instead! POINTS AND SCORING Complete all morning and evening workouts in a week (run, hundred, squat) = 100pts Complete all weight sessions and pilates in a week = 100pts Complete 2 miles of walking every day = 100pts for the week Cycle once a week = 50pts Any missed sessions, the week will be scored at my discretion based on how well I did otherwise. Max exercise points = 2100pts Under calories every day for a week = 100 points Under calories six days out of the week = 75 points Under calories five days out of the week = 50 points Day over 1600 but under 1700 = minus 5 points Day over 1600 but stayed relatively health = minus 10 points Day over 1600 and splurged = minus 25 points Two weeks under cals in a row = 50 bonus pts All six weeks under = 50 extra bonus pts Max food points = 900pts No phone scrolling before bed: 100pts for 7/7 days, 75pts for 6/7 days, 50% for 5/7 days Read instead of phone crap: 50pts for at least 4/7 days Two weeks in a row = 20 bonus points Max better bedtime points = 1000pts Total possible points = 4000pts

Oh hai there, how are you? I am very pleased that this got saved as a draft from yesterday! My last challenge was named incorrectly thanks to me not knowing how to find my historical info (oops) so correcting this to 21st. I successfully completed my last challenge with 85% and levelled up, woop! Main goals as ever: reduce body fat % and get stronger (should probably actually check my current bf%). I would also LOVE to be under 12 stone by the end of the challenge, currently 12.5. Existing good habits: Run before work (M-F) up a nearby hill: 0.7m total with ~50ft incline I've been switching to a short walk pre-hill which I'd like to not do Pilates before work (M-F) the Hundred with straight legs ribcage closure every 20 beats I'm happy keeping this as is Weight training, 3x10reps of each unless stated: Monday PUSH: Bench press, Military press, push-ups (elbows in, on knees) Wednesday PULL: Gym ring pull up angled with bent knees, 10x Negative chin-ups, Barbell rows Thursday LEGS: Squat, Lunge, Romanian Deadlift Pilates class most Monday evenings Walking: Office days: to the station and over the river at the other end (~2mile total) WfH days: 2 miles at lunch or after work Sat/Sun: 2 miles min Teethbrushing squat: Basically my evening teethbrushing I do a held squat for 2min I have also just got a bicycle, so would like to incorporate this! THE CHALLENGE Exercise: Pre-work run: move to cutting the 'walk' so my final week of the challenge is all run Pre-work pilates hundred - improve form Weight training - carry on carrying on Pilates class OR 1hr online makeup class during the week Evening squat: move to squatting lower and/or holding for longer Walk to the station and over the river every office working day (2 miles) Walk 2 miles every WfH lunchtime/after work Walk 2 miles every Saturday and Sunday Cycle at least once a week (any distance!) Foods: Continue on mfp tracking 1600 calories a day. From today up to 28th November I currently have the following things which are likely to scupper/lead to overeating: 24th Oct: Niece's birthday party, usually full of buffet food, cakes and biscuits (this will be tough) 31st Oct: Boardgaming at a friends, which usually involves takeaway - might be doable 6-7th Nov: I might be going away for the weekend, but as yet undecided so we shall see 10th Nov: Theme Park day - I'm hoping I can make a packed lunch and not buy snacks I think that's it. And I think all of these are pretty much manageable, except this Sunday where all the sugar. POINTS AND SCORING Complete all morning and evening workouts in a week (run, hundred, squat) = 100pts Complete all weight sessions and pilates in a week = 100pts Complete 2 miles of walking every day = 100pts for the week Any of the above missed get NIL PWA, but I can make them back for 75pts instead Cycle once a week = 50pts Max exercise points = 2100pts Under calories every day for a week = 100 points Under calories six days out of the week = 75 points Under calories five days out of the week = 50 points Day over 1600 but under 1700 = minus 5 points Day over 1600 but stayed relatively health = minus 10 points Day over 1600 and splurged = minus 25 points Two weeks under cals in a row = 50 bonus pts All six weeks under = 50 extra bonus pts Max food points = 900pts Total possible points = 3000pts

End Game Goal: Take little rose prince running with me this summer in an injury free maner. Mid term goal: Charity Bike ride SMART GOALS! 1. Battle the dark monster (Maintain balance physically and mentally. I get very grumpy every winter, i think its from lack of sun i go to work in the dark and get home in the dark) - New thing=use eliptical or run twice a week, balance with spin classes -walk at work 3 days a week 15-20mins. (this did not work last challange) 2. Train for the Journey (this will be my third year. I'm riding in memory of my dad who passed away from ALS donate here Train for the Cape Cod Gettaway 2015, 150mile road bike for charity="its not a race") -New thing= stretch those hips once a day -Spin class once a week, start/increase when ready Will now be upping this to twice a week 3. Don't eat horse meat. (eat well, eat even) -New thing= eat carbs earlier in the day vs. at dinner -Eat enough -I'm giving up sugar for lent* *what’s sugar? Well if it’s got added sugar then it’s off limits, So fruit is ok but sweetened dried fruit is not *One sugar packet or 2 sugar cubes in my morning coffee being the exception Things to Continue- -go to sleep before 10pm, wake up at 5am, 7am on weekends -keep a professional eye on my injuries, go to doctors and physical therapy as needed -Yoga on mondays -After lent: high impact carbs only once a week (sugar in my coffee being the exception) -continue to take iron supplement and vitamin D From Last challange Reward: Visit Rohan (take a horse riding class/session ) I've always wanted to do this its expensive but very modivating. I'll have to save up for this as part of my challange. ( will be waiting till spring to go horse back riding)

Day 1: I've outlined my goals in the level 1 rebels forum, but basically I want to build muscle, (cardiac and body). I've been Paleo since January 2nd (really January 3rd, but I made my decision on the 2nd). I just finished my Beginner Body Weight Circuit, I've still got all the basic amounts for reps, except plank, I'm up to 20s. Today felt like I needed to force myself to do the workout. I guess I'm just not a morning person. Now I need to get breakfast Brunch. Any Suggestions? Eggs are always an option, but I want to see if there are any other suggestions of food for me to try. Paleo has really given me the motivation to cook for myself. Signing off BludEvil

Happy New Year everyone! I'm back again to give it another shot. The last challenge I kinda broke even, this time I want to get straight A's! I am revisiting some of my failed tasks and adding others. My primary goal last year was to lose weight. This year I still want to lose weight but am also recording body fat % and aiming at a loss of 5%. I have no idea how realistic that is but do feel like I have at least 10 kg more weight to lose which is now more than 10%of my total weight so if I can do that then I can lose the fat. I realise it won't happen over the next 6 weeks but my tasks will help me achieve my goal eventually. 1. Ride 300km Previously I have aimed to do a 50 km ride in a challenge but I haven't achieved that and now realise that I am better off aiming to ride more often and more consistently in order to make a bigger difference. 2. Mediate for 5 minutes a day 5 days a week. 10 minutes was far too ambitious last time for someone not used to the process at all. I now know what to expect and feel confident of success in this task. 3. Strength training twice a week. I suck at this task. I have this weekend to come up with the program I will do and schedule it. No more excuses. 4. Lights out by 11pm 5 nights a week. I set this as a task on the Lift app last year and achieved it 44 times. That's woeful!!! I need 7 hours sleep a night in order to improve my chances of success with my other tasks so this is crucial. I will edit this with scoring and points during the day when I am on my computer.

I'm not much chop on coming up with snazzy thread titles or terribly imaginative thematics for my challenges. I'm just glad to be turning up for every challenge and increasing my participation level each time. I am here to lose weight. I am losing weight while participating in the challenges as well as making changes to my daily life over and above the tenets of what I am laying out here. Well at least I did on the previous challenge so now I get to incorporate some of those changes into this challenge. Faster During the course of the previous challenge I began the 5:2 diet which is a type of intermittent fasting revolving around 5 "normal" days eating and 2 days of fasting (600 calories). I want to continue this and will rate myself thusly; 12/12 Fasts over the 6 week challenge = A 10/12 Fasts over the 6 week challenge = B <10/12 Fasts over the 6 week challenge = Fail Available Points Con 2 Wis 2 Longer I am a scout because I enjoy riding my bike for exercise and i enjoy riding it long distances. In the last challenge one goal that I had was to do a 50km ride within the 6 weeks. I didn't achieve that so I am back again. 3 X 50km rides = A 2 X 50km rides = B 1 X 50km rides = C 0 X 50km rides = Fail Available Points Str 1 Dex 1 Sta 2 Stronger In the previous challenge I set myself the goal of doing 1 bodyweight workout over the period of the challenge and while I achieved that goal it's probably fair to say that the bar was set pretty low. If I want to make real changes to the way I look, feel, move and think then I need to ask more of myself. 12 X BWW = A 9 X BWW = B 6 X BWW = C <6 X BWW = Fail Available Points Str 2 Meditaterer I want to do something in terms of resting, quieting, helping my mind so this is what I am going to try. I have downloaded a couple of apps that people have big upped elsewhere on here recently and will attempt to do 10 minutes meditating 5 times a week. I have done it previously in very short bursts so if I am able to do 30 sessions over the course of the challenge that would be awesome. 30 X 10 minute sessions = A 20-29 X 10 minute sessions = B 10-19 X 10 minute sessions = C <10 X 10 minute sessions = Fail Available points Wis 2 Life Quest Connect/Reconnect I am a terribly antisocial person, well antisocial these days means something a little different so let's say that I am a terribly non-social person. Much like my current girth this wasn't always the case. I had a large circle of friends through school and for a few years after school I maintained most of those friendships. Then I kind of stopped being open to new friendships and got very lazy in keeping in touch with existing friends. I haven't really garnered any new friends over the past 20 or so years. I do have people who I count as friends but they have come through my wife's associations rather than mine and nobody that I would call up and say lets go grab a beer type of thing. That all sounds a little tragic when you write it all down but it's not as grim as it looks or maybe it is but I am just used to it. Soooooooooooo anywayssssssss this is by far the hardest task I have set for myself in this or any of my other challenges. Make contact with a riding group and go for at least 1 group ride and or call up an old friend = A Cha 2 The last bit seems like a bit of an overshare but i am happy with the rest of it. Edited to add Bonus Points Read a book I'm halfway through the 5:2 book and would like to read a "fun" book once I am done with it. I haven't read a book all year and last year my reading was focused mainly on baby, daddy stuff so I hereby declare 1 Bonus Point available if I can get more than 50% of the way through a book during the next 6 weeks.

Helo everyone, I have a question... I regularly workout at home (like dumbells, push ups, some workout programs, etc) and I want to continue doing it, but now I am riding my bike to work everyday (it's around 10 miles a day)... is it too much if I continue working out and riding bike?

I have been so focused on preparing for my upcoming cycling trip that I haven't been able to look beyond it. When I was thinking what was my goal between the trip and the end of the year, I came up blank. But I decided that I needed to still do a challenge this round because a) I'd get bored just hassling everybody else for the next six weeks and I suspect that when I get back from my trip I'd go into goal hibernation until the next challenge. So here I go with no concrete long term goals: GOAL ONE: food mantra: 'best possible food choice' I pledge that for the next six weeks I will ALWAYS make the best possible food choice. I won't be in control of the food that I will be eating while on holidays but I will always have some choices to make (I believe in free will). So I'm going to use all of the good food choices mantras to guide me in selecting the best possible food choices. GOAL TWO: exercise mantra: 'just keep moving' I am planning on moving EVERY day. This will be easy on holidays, what with cycling 80km per day + sight seeing etc. so this is more of a challenge for when I get back. I know I'll want to spend a few days (weeks) on the couch so Im hoping that this gives me some motivation. It can be anything, so walking the dog or doing 10 push-ups. GOAL THREE: 'try new things' I've been riding and riding and riding (and going to PT sessions) so I'm challenging myself to try six new things. I'm allowing anything that isn't bike riding or PT. I've been wanting to try Pilates or yoga for some time. I'm not committing to what the new things might be, I think that this may help any post trip stagnation and may lead to new goals next challenge. LIFE GOAL: 'just another travel blog' I have been very hesitant about whether I should do a travel blog. I'm still no 100% sure ill do it but I promise that I will look into what I need to do to set one up (I've never blogged) and I will endeavour to give it a go. I'm happy to get advice from bloggers . . . Ill make a summary post with the points in that I will update when I'm back from Sri Lanka. It is a bit vanilla, but it should give me some accountability over the next six weeks.

Hello Scouts! I'm new on your patch, putting on my metal helmet and feeling brave enough to leave my security blanket back with the Adventurers! In Chapter 3 my main quest was to comfortably complete my first 100km bike ride on the 20th of October. This will occur in the fifth week of this challenge. It is still the main goal right now but I will be aiming to create a bigger main goal before the end of this challenge. So, my three major goal are still covering the same areas: Training, Nutrition and Recovery. Training - STR 2 & STA 2 Week by week goals (Not sure how I will score this yet, it's a bit rough around the edges atm). 1. Get used to beautiful new machine Bike: 75-100km/4-5hrs, PTx2 2. Holidays! Bike: 150-175km/7-8hrs, PTx2 3. Holidays! Bike: 175-200km/8-10hrs, PTx2 4. Tapering Bike: 50-75kmkm/2-3hrs, PTx2 5. It's happening on Sunday!! Bike: 50-75km/2-3hrs, PTx1 6. Recovery Week Nutrition - CON 3 & WIS 2 Got to be smarter about what I eat. Turns out my body isn't such a fan of gluten... well, my gastrointestinal system isn't but my taste-buds LOVE IT! This challenge I want to be as gluten free as I can. Problems foreseen are usual holiday eating of more nice cakes, my birthday, weird emotional reactions to punitive challenges that backfire on eating. Consequently, this challenge to go gluten free will be about how it makes my guts feel. I will document all gluten I eat and if I suffer after effects I lose 0.5 points per occurrence. Put simply, I will not make myself unwell with gluten during this challenge! Recovery - DEX 3 I have been doing a lot of strength work recently and if I don't stretch or foam roll enough I get very stiff. I really want to create a better morning routine to get me going for the day. 10-15mins minimum Yoga/Stretching/Foam Rolling upon rising 5/7 days. There is a slight easy out in here as I usually do a Yoga class one morning per week, so it's more like 4 hard ones... SIDE QUESTS: Life - CHA 2 By the end of week 3 I will have a clean and tidy house. By the end of week 6 I will have maintained the clean and tidy... Fitness - WIS 1 Aid mental and physical well being by setting aside a period of time each week to plan: Food, exercise, bills, social commitments etc. This has fallen apart recently and I am much worse off for it.

Hola Scouts! This is my 3rd challenge. My first was ok but I dropped the ball weeks 3,4,5. My second was good but I dropped the ball early on in terms of exercise but came home strong. My overriding goal is to lose weight. I want to get to 80kg, I am currently at 96.5kg, I was 103kg mid 2012. I don't expect to get to 80kg this challenge or next, probably more a 12-24 month type plan but in order to get there I need to start building healthier habits. I will exercise, I will, I will, will I? I have recently gotten back on my bike and have been really enjoying it so that is my go to cardio platform. I did a 30km ride on Sunday and was sore Monday but a good sore rather than a bad sore so I know that endurance rather than speed is what I need to aim at. I have put together a very basic cycling program which runs out this week so I need to sit down and plan the next 4 weeks in the next few days. 1a. I will complete 150 minutes of cardio per week 1b. I will do at least 1 50km ride within the next 6 weeks I will watch what I eat, not just watch but plan and track. I use myfitnesspal to track my food and amongst those who I am friends with on there I am known as #5 because my attention span doesn't seem to extend to 10 days and I am constantly showing up ion peoples feeds as having logged on for 5 days. I am sure that message has been sent out at least 20 times from my account. I also need to be aware of what I am planning on eating and not just recording mountains and mountains of garbage. 2a. I will record all of my food each day for the duration of the challenge 2b. I will limit my chocolate intake to under 60 grams per week 2c. I will not drink sugared soft drinks/soda/pop for the next 6 weeks I will find my strength and do some strength training. I have been avoiding strength training for some time now. I don't hate it but I don't love it. I need to pick something simple and easy because this has been an abject failure on my last 2 challenges. 3a. I will be able to do 30 pushups consecutively by the end of the challenge. 3b. I will pick one body weight work out from NF and complete it at least once during this challenge. I will work more betterer I am a procrastinator and it surfaces at work all too often. I will work through almost all of what I have to do but something in me wont allow me to clear everything off my desk. I always have at least one quote to attend to that will only get done once something else comes to me to replace it. It makes no sense and does frustrate me. 4. All quotes done within 60 hours --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I know that challenge 2 looks like a lot but I am already tracking food and exercise on MFP so it is more about consistently doing it rather than having to start from the start. It's the same with the soft drink. I am currently 22 days without Coke so I want to keep that up for the duration of the challenge. This challenge is as much about maintaining what I have begun over the past 2 challenges as well as adding in more concrete goals to aim for. Thanks for taking the time to read this, Matt_72

This is mostly a place holder for the scribbly paper based mess that will become my Main Quest and goals. Right now, I'm fighting a virus that has had me feeling low (eating crap) and exceedingly tired (maybe a little feverish too). I am going to go one more round with the adventurers as I'm not quite ready to let go the security blanket and join the rangers just yet. Ok, here goes the edit... Chapter 3: Main Quest: Comfortably complete 100km bike ride. October 20th. I have never ridden this far before. My best this year has been 80km. In the long term I'd like to do the entire Round the bay in a day challenge but not this year! My goals and motivation for this challenge are based around the title of a biography written by the greatest cyclist of the dodgy-est lying, cheating scumbag era there has been... It's not about the bike. ...and it's not. Sure, I have every intention of buying a lighter bike more suited to these rides before I do this but that won't get me over the line. It's about me. My training. My nutrition. My recovery. Goal 1: My training. I have a training plan. The last time I had a plan like this I did sweet FA of it and managed ok. I want to manage better than ok. This ride isn't as hilly as the last long one I did, but I want to enjoy it. That means serious preparation. Well, semi-serious at least. The total I am unlikely to reach is 23. Complete 3/4 of first 6 weeks of training plan. >18 = STR 2 & STA 2 17 = 3 16 = 2.5 15 = 2 14 = 1.5 13 = 1 12 = 0.5 Goal 2: My nutrition. CON 4 & WIS 1 The punitive system I had for this aspect of my last challenge really didn't work for me and the between challenge game over with the rangers got me thinking about why these have happened before... in order to prevent them happening again. So, the food choices remain the same. Good stuff - meat, veg, fruit, nuts, dark choc, dairy (not sweetened). Things that need attention: gluten, processed foods, sugar, alcohol, soft drinks, juice etc. You know the drill for trying to keep it a natural kind of clean... Each time I eat something that requires attention, it must get it by answering the following questions. Day, Date, Time What did I eat: What was I thinking: Describe current feelings - Physical: Describe current feelings - Emotional: What was happening around me: Note any effects of the food: I suspect this is going to be a pain in the arse, which will make mindless eating of crap no longer mindless. Food I reaaaaally felt I needed will provide data for unlocking cue and reward systems with my eating habits thus allowing for improved challenges and success in the future. 100% = CON 4 & WIS 1 90% = CON 4 80% = CON 3 70% = CON 2 60% = CON 1 My recovery. Adding way more cycling to my usual routine of 2 x PT, 1 x TKD & 1 x Yoga will need some attention to recovery. I need to take more care of my muscles than I remember to currently to prevent the painful, groaning zombie walk on waking. Yoga / Stretch / Foam roll / bath or spa after (immediately or next morning after) most exercise sessions. >30 = DEX 4 30 = 3 20 = 2 10 = 1 SIDE QUESTs: Me time Vs Screen time! Could be considered as part of recovery as both these lead to rest/sleep. "School" nights 5/7:9PM - electronic devices to sleep11PM - absolute latest for TV (I don't actually watch a lot but I should prioritise sleep and use catch up if I really want to see whatever is on). This will be easier now the Tour de France is finished but still problematic with the Ashes (although the Aussies should be all out by the time I want to go to bed!!) 30 = 1 CHA for being well rested. READ! 5/7 days15 minutes minimum outside work for pleasure (newspaper/fiction/NF/comics all acceptable if paper based). 30 = 1 WIS for like smartness ya know? There! Chapter 3 begun and publicly committed!!

After months working dillegently in training with the adventurers Storm Skywalker sets off on a quest to cycle the back roads of Sri Lanka. To get the most from this wonderful experience she needs to be a ninja on the bicycle. To be honest this isn't the most natural transport method for the rambling hobbit so she needs to put in some serious goal work into preparing herself to get the most out of this quest (and to avoid spending time in the sag wagon). Main Quest: To have an absolute blast cycling Sri Lanka I have made some good progress over the past few weeks towards cycling fitness. It had seemed like I wasn't making any real progress and then it was like a switch was turned on. I need to capitalise on this and build endurance and speed. I have picked two 'doing' goals and one 'result' goal. Goal one: commute is the key Two commutes and one weekend ride. This should give me around 150km per week. (If the weather is bad I will substitute a commute for 1 hour stationery bike at 90rph) (+3 strength) Goal two: go the distance Two 70km+ rides in this six week period (+3 stamina) Goal three: don't get left behind 18kmph average over two hour ride (+3 dexterity - to keep those pedals flying) Side quest: eat like a robot I have decided to focus less on my food and take some advice to eat like a robot. I have a pretty good stock of 'go to' meals so I'm going to avoid being overly creative and just eat what I already know will be appropriate. I do struggle with knowing how much more to eat when I have already exercised for 2 hours before work, but if I can make the commute regular I expect the eating will even out. I have kept a results based reward because I would really benefit from being lighter on the bike. I will eat from the go to menu (+2 con) Log food (+2 wis) See a result on the scales (+2 char) Motivation/inspiration/motto: sleep, ride, eat, repeat

After "retiring" from the last challenge a few weeks in I hereby pledge to complete this six week challenge. I'm playing around with the goal setting this time around, setting 4 action based goals, but also stating some measurable outcomes. I haven't decided how I'm going to score yet. Goal one: fitness. Cycle cycle cycle. I'm going back to the old goal of getting on a bike at least three time a week. I do some cycling at the gym, but I want to get three real cycling sessions In a week. Goal two: Diet. Give IF a go. I have already had a trial of intermittent fasting with limited success. Since I have had little progress with anything else, I will continue this for the whole six weeks. Goal three: Diet. Eat good calories. One of the traps that IF can lead to is eating crap during the feed days and that just isn't going to help. I'm even thinking of making my MFP account public for the extra accountability. I may just post a food summary here. Goal four: Life. Certify My knowledge. I have decided to do Microsoft certification Office Professional to prove what I already know. I know that not everybody thinks certification is useful, the type of placed I look for employment love this sort of thing. Aim: by the end of the challenge I want to be able to ride further faster. I can track this by improving my cycling speed average over a predetermined course. I also want to have cycled for 70km in a day. I want to have lost 3 kg (which is of course measurable) I want to have reduced my waist circumference (I'm not sure what to aim for, I'll say 1cm) To have studied, sat and passed one exam. I have found in the past I have done the actions but not necessarily seen the results that I want. I think that my stating my goal measures so clearly it may help achieve them. In this six week period I have one "off the grid" weekend and one week interstate that may impact on these goals but I will work on minimising there effect. I will do a summarised post containing the marking criteria for this challenge.