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For successfully completing my Feb challenge, my reward was changing my NF name to something awesome. I chose MichiruSedai because it represents two of my big fandoms: Sailor Moon (anime) and Wheel of Time (books). I like it! For this month, I'm going to try and challenge myself a bit more. Nutrition goal: Cook one new recipe per week I was just gifted two awesome cookbooks for my birthday today! So between these new resources, and of course the interwebs, I can add some new tasty dishes to my normal rotation, and put a little adventure into the kitchen! Week 1: 100% (Honey Garlic Chicken & Veggies) Week 2: 100% (Coconut Pineapple Cauliflower "Rice") Week 3: 100% (Sweet Potato Hash) Week 4: 100% (Klah from Dragonriders of Pern) (Stats: +4 WIS - 1 point per week completed) Fitness goal: Get three 30+ minute workouts per week This last month, I was counting 10 minutes as a workout. I want to step that up! My focus at this point is cardio. Week 1: 100% Week 2: 100% Week 3: 100% Week 4: 100% (Stats: +2 Sta, +2 Con - 0.5 point of each stat earned per week completed) Level up my life goal: Go on one adventure a week This could be taking myself to a movie. It could be taking my son to a family night in town. It just needs to be something that is outside my comfort zone. Week 1: 100% (Lunch out alone) Week 2: 0% (got strep throat and all plans cancelled! I will try to do a "make up" by getting an extra adventure in the next two weeks now that I am healthy again) Week 3: 100% (Tapas & Tunes event) Week 4: 100% (checked out the new coffeehouse) (Stats: +2 Con, +2 Cha - 0.5 point of each stat earned per week completed) Level up my life goal: Kindness is key I need to be nicer to myself. I am going to do one nice thing for myself every day. This could be giving myself time to read, taking time to sit in the sun, or just stopping and telling myself that I am a good person. I will be more mindful of my inner dialogue and be my own best friend. Week 1: 100% Week 2: 100% Week 3: 100% Week 4: 100% (Stats: +3 Wis) I know I am doing two level up my life goals instead of as many diet/exercise goals, but I hope that is all right. I feel I need more work in that area this month. I'm excited to rock this month!!

Just from this partial-week... Limiting screen-time at my mother's house was easy because when I got bored, there were other things to do. It was her house, so helping to tidy was a definite case of "pull your gloves on and do this." Or there were clean-enough areas to work on fun projects half of the time. (Having a puzzle-area set up was nice. I got a cheap canvas kit mostly-painted. I built one of my dragonfly kits and left it there for her to turn into wall-art.)Here, I'm not sure what to do first, and retreat into the computer to get away from not having the room to enjoy kits. I think that I should just focus on reporting what I've done instead of worrying about expectations for this challenge.

And on 2 March 2013 I started this fitness journey thing when I went jogging one Tuesday afternoon in my work clothes and some tatty shoes. There has been lots of ups and downs, but mostly ups. Last year I posted this: This year I am posting this: I have gained weight, but it has been stable for the last six months. But the biggest changes the past year has been on the inside. I've been battling depression and anxiety now for many years, and I am getting better at coping with life. I am getting good at checking the boxes every day.

Anyone have any suggestions on how to combat emotional eating?

This challenge will be themed around the genius of "The Meaning of Liff": a book of definitions written by Douglas Adams and John Lloyd. I'll share with you some of my favourite definitions as they come up. I had a bit of a miserable end to my last challenge. No real reason (other than some major insensitivity from a couple of people who ought to know better) but suspect it was largely hormonal. That said, I was also injured and couldn't squat or deadlift for almost half the challenge without causing myself a lot of pain. It seems to have been comparatively minor but still not sure what my programming will be like this challenge. On the other hand, I had a few big successes: Hit an 80kg bench press to calls from an IPF international referee (with my bum down, feet flat and a reasonable pause)Passed my GBPF (UK IPF affiliate) level 1 coaching certificate (which is mostly for assistant coaching)FINALLY got to start doing some weightlifting. I have no intention of competing but I think it's important for me to be able to do the lifts if I ever want to even consider being an S&C coach in the future. I'm going to keep doing the weightlifting drills I was introduced to yesterday and any others set to me. 25kg hang snatch (I think that's the right one) 35kg hang clean I have no desire to compete in weightlifting but I do have a desire to be able to do the basics, as I felt that it was embarrassing that I couldn't. My hands were wrecked after yesterday (despite the comparatively light weights) but my hook grip wasn't too bad. So yeah, squeeze in overhead squats, front squats, drop snatches, hang snatches and hang cleans alongside whatever else I'm told to do, unless I'm told not to. Everything may be changed as needed. Cutting sucks. I'm eating 2200 calories a day (net) and I'm still sulking. I'm taking a couple of days off for my birthday and then back to normal on Tuesday. So yeah... the goal is to stick to it as much as possible. Keep up with yoga. I'm going to scroll this down to one class a week as the goal but pat myself on the back for two or three classes.

Last challenge kinda ended with a fizzle. There were (are) legitimate reasons for this but I think it also means it's time to simplify my goals....and get schwifty Rick and Morty is the story of an (absolutely) mad scientist (Rick) and his grandson (Morty) as they galavant around the dimensions causing havoc. It's also about family, life not working out the way you imagined, taking risks, and not caring what anyone else thinks. Now...lets get to the actual goals: Goal 1: Get Schwifty Some times life is tough. And I get lost. But meditation brings me back into the present moment and reminds me that I don't need to know the where everything is going all the time, I just need to put one foot in front of the other. Five Meditation session per week. Goal 2: Build a Better Robot Be a robot. Bleep Bloop Blop. Make a list. Do the things on the list. Rinse. Repeat. 2 hour blocks helps. 5 lists/2 hour blocks a week. Goal 3: Portal Gun Creative works are portals to other worlds. Do one creative thing a day. 5x per week. Goal 4: Lil Bits 3 meals a day. Moderation and smaller portions. Cutting down on snacks (up to 3 a day in week 1, 2 a day in week 2, 1 a day in week 3, 0 a day in Week 4). (This goal may be changed) Goal 5: The Rick-est Rick Gratitude statements 5x per week. Inspiration 5x per week. LET'S DO THIS *BURRRRRP*

Over the course of this challenge, I will power myself up from typical woman msblt82, to super-powered awesome Sailor Neptune! At then end of my challenge, assuming I succeed, I will change my forums name from msblt82 to something cool aND Sailor Neptune-y NEPTUNE PLANET POWER! 1. Eat a veggie with lunch & dinner every day: +1 Str +1 Wis *Week one: 100% *Week two: 100% *Week three: 100% *Week four: 100% DEEP SUBMERGE! 2. No soda after work: +2 Con +1 Wis *Week one: 100% *Week two: 100% *Week three: 100% *Week four: 100% NEPTUNE CRYSTAL POWER! 3. Exercise three times a week: +2 Sta +2 Con +2 Dex *Week one: 33% (got sick) *Week two: 100% *Week three: 100% *Week four: 100% SUBMARINE REFLECTION! 4. At least 60 mins non screen relaxation (book, board game, card game, social time, etc) a day: +2 Wis +2 Cha *Week one: 75% (got sick, unless sleep counts as non-screen time ) *Week two: 100% *Week three: 100% *Week four: 100%

I haven't been active here in a year, but I want to change that. My last challenges with the Rebels and Adventurers focused on my lifelong battle with depression, which nearly ate me alive in 2014. Since then, I've achieved the goal of going back to work (a massively amazing thing that still astonishes me) and am more or less keeping the wolf at bay. I'm 44, and between medication changes and a too-sedentary lifestyle, I have gained weight, lost strength and am feeling older than I want to. Ultimately, I'd like to lose the 40 pounds that have crept up on me over the years, as well as get to the bottom of my 35-year battle with migraines. My main quest I want to improve my overall health: improved strength, healthier weight, better nutrition. My goals 1. I will start a manageable bodyweight training regimen, based on NerdFitness exercises, at least three times a week. 2. I will walk every day for at least 15 minutes. 3. I will be more aware of what I'm putting into my body, and work to eat healthier. This means less sugar and more lean meats and vegetables. My life quest I will reach out to at least one friend a week, to shake myself out of the isolation I've fallen into. My motivation I want to feel healthy and strong.

What? Two challenges in a row? Jeez. I realize I didn't do a lot of updating over the last challenge, and really no visiting of anyone else's threads. For me, NF is a very all-or-nothing thing. I used to spend all day on here, updating, reading, encouraging, playing in chat, etc. And then it got to be too much (well, Mr Mir felt it was too much because I wasn't spending any time with him). So, in my way of doing things, the NF switch got flipped to Off. I'm still not sure what an appropriate amount of time looks like. I miss interacting with nerds; I miss talking to the people that have encouraged and loved me through some of the hardest times in my (recent) life. So I'm trying. This is me, trying. I still don't have any clear goals for this challenge, other than continuing my am/pm routine and trying to turn it into a habit. Not doing so great so far - from Jan 11 to 31 I only did my am/pm stuff 6 times. It's easy stuff, but I just wait until too late and then I'm tired and say, "whatever, I can just do it in the morning". As far as the morning stuff...I'm usually running behind during the week, and I guess I'm just lazy on the weekend - I'll get up, put on some pjs, and go downstairs instead of cleaning my guard, which would take all of 2 minutes. Sometimes I take a step back and analyze the reason for putting these things into place to begin with. I don't want to get stuck back in a place where I feel guilty because I'm not doing the things I said I would, but the only reason I said I would do them was so I could accomplish some other goal, and I'm accomplishing the other goal without doing the things. (That seems rambly; does it make sense?) So like prepping my coffee the night before - is it necessary? Not really. I can do coffee in the morning. But it IS kind of nice (especially during the week) to be able to stumble downstairs and basically just hit "brew". Eliminating steps in the morning is good. And cleaning my occlusal guard isn't to accomplish something else but should be done for its own sake - because ew. And meds - goes without saying, really. So, yes, back to the goals. I don't know what to set. There are too many things and I can't decide what's most important. Is it important to do my physical therapy exercises? Is it important to set up a launch pad? Is it important to make sure the dishes are done every day? Is it important to keep laundry off the floor? There are too many options, and then I get overwhelmed and think maybe I should just keep trying the am/pm thing until it's a habit and then add things slowly. But then I think maybe I should discard the am/pm idea because it's not working. Too much stress. Very overwhelm. In other news, which I don't think I talked about last challenge, I got dumped by my therapist. (Bolding bc important thing in the middle of word vomit.) Being dumped sucks. Being dumped by a therapist REALLY sucks. Being dumped by a therapist via no contact/response really, really, really, REALLY sucks. I will admit that I was not great at keeping appointments. But I never no call/no showed. I always let her know. And really...last summer was tough. Some days I didn't have enough spoons to even get dressed. One day I emailed her (yes, we primarily communicated via email) to cancel/reschedule...and I never heard back from her. Ever. To this day. It was just a couple weeks before I was planning to go back to work, and I thought it was probably a good idea to see her. But yeah, no response. I tried not to judge; I figured maybe she was sick or wasn't practicing anymore or whatever. However, I heard through the grapevine that she is, indeed, still practicing. So I vagged up one day and called her. Got her voicemail stating she would return my call within 24 hours. Never heard back. Ever. To this day. It was fairly recent - about 2 weeks ago. Definitely informed my depressive episode. So now here I am, without a therapist, and still in that place of "omg, I'm going to have to find someone new and spend all that time and energy and effort AGAIN" - those of you who are/have been in therapy know exactly what I'm talking about. Rehashing everything all over again...it gets so old. Anyway...other than that, feeling generally sad and weepy today. And frustrated. Frustrated by many things. I'm trying to just sit with it and not judge or be mad at myself that I've basically gotten no work done yet today. Especially since I might start crying at any moment! But! There's a ray of sunshine in the darkness! His name is Benson; I've nicknamed him Bun Bun. He is adorable and soft and cute and sweet...but, in true guinea pig fashion, still very skittish and frightened. Hopefully he will warm up to me in time.

The end of last year was both exciting and depressing. Exciting because I took part in my first international powerlifting championships and depressing because I had a severely disappointing result. Now I need to move on. I need to grab my towel and have a few beers before the jump into hyperspace. Hold onto my (hot yoga) towel Yoga keeps me sane. This goal is short and simple - do yoga at least twice a week, ideally three times. A - 12 classes or 45+ minute sessions during the challenge B - 8 classes or 45+ minute sessions... C - 4 classes or 45+ minute sessions... F - No yoga DON'T PANIC! You're not getting weaker! I've been feeling really low about my lifting abilities recently. I know it's silly but I just feel like I've gone from approaching the top of the bunch to being back in the middle. I just need to focus in on myself and just keep lifting. I don't know how many sessions I'll be doing but I need to find a way to feel better about them. I'm dreading squats (laugh all you like) because I've been programmed onto high bar, paused squats and that leaves me feeling like my strongest lift has gone to hell and nothing else is progressing much at all. Honestly, I don't know how to deal with this at the moment, but working that out is my challenge. I've accepted that I'm always going to be playing second fiddle to Spezzy on here in terms of home-grown powerlifters (heck, even Tankweazel is ranked below Spezzy in the NF consciousness despite being an international medal-winner) so that's another thing that I'm working on coming to terms with. Make nothing happen This is an odd one. I took some time off logging my food throughout December and ate whatever I felt like. Now I need to get my sleep and nutrition back to normal. Here's the big challenge: I need to not give in to the temptation to go into a big cut because I'm bloated. I need to give myself a whole challenge-worth of eating at "maintenance" and see what happens to my weight. Here's the other challenge: I need to get back to normal sleep patterns after Christmas. So here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to track my food and aim for 2760 calories (NET) on MFP each day and I'm going to aim for at least 7 hours sleep a night again. I'm going to check in with my food and nutrition for each day (although possibly not on the day involved). So let's go for this!

♩Cause.....we're.... ANIMANIACS ♩♬ ♬ And we're zany to the max ♬ :D :D and one of my favorite Animaniac's songs: Hello all! 2016 is our year . I'm starting this year with a nostalgic favorite cartoon (because....cartoons ). I'll be returning to the combo system but with simplified categories! AND (DUN DUN DUN) I'm also adding a weekly PvP element (villain face off) each week based on who signs up (props to Lady Shello for this awesome format tweak!). The combo system means I do at least one thing from each list per day, and I get extra points for multiples. I'm still not sure on scoring my challenge, maybe the new NF avatar system will help ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. But the scores aren't as important to me as doing the things each and every day, one day at a time. The combo system helps with that so I'm going back to it! Without further ado... here are the categories for this challenge! Dot: Physical Health ​Taking care of myself is important, anything from this list counts for this category for the day. AT LEAST one thing per day. Some days it will be one, others it will be more. And some days it may be zero. And that's fine, life happens. Persistent, daily effort is the point. Dot's List: Yakko: Mental Health ​Taking care of my mental health is key, anything from this list counts for this category for the day. AT LEAST one thing per day. Some days it will be one, others it will be more. And some days it may be zero. And that's fine, life happens. Persistent, daily effort is the point. Yakko's List: Wakko: Emotional Health (Fun and creativity) ​Finding the fun is the key to most things! Anything from this list counts for this category for the day. AT LEAST one thing per day. Some days it will be one, others it will be more. And some days it may be zero. And that's fine, life happens. Persistent, daily effort is the point. Wakko's List: That's pretty much it!. I'll let Yakko take it from here: EDIT: Villain PvP sign up IS LIVE

Gimeniux's: Take Six - A new Start Hey, remember me? I'm that girl who was getting back on track, who said she was going to make it, the one who was so close to her goal, who lost almost 13% of fat, almost 20 pounds of pure fat after a two year journey. Yes, that's me, but i'm also that girl who failed not once, not twice, but so many times i don't want to count anymore. And today i'm almost back to where i started, i haven't weight so much ever, 155lb (70kg), that's just 1lb away from being overweight. Although i have 26% of body fat, so i'm more muscle than fat, still, i'm totally off track. So without further due, here are my goals, new year, new goals, i can make it. GOAL 1 - Goodbye Facebook I suffer from depression, and Facebook is one of my triggers. I like to share stuff with friends and family, but mostly i get discourage when i spend so many hours looking at profiles, news, photos, and so. The worst part is i became a slave of the likes, and i don't want to be. I want to be happy because i am, not by how many people like my pictures, or my profile. So i have deleted my account, i don't know if it will be definetly or temporary, Facebook says i have 14 days to regret, if not they'll delete my complete account. I just make a backup to have all of my photos. It's all for my mental health. GOAL 2 - Hello 100% Paleo I love eating Paleo, because it gives me energy it doesn't make my stomach hurt, it also make wonders for my depression. When i eat clean i almost don't have any episodes. Lately i've been feeling pretty bad but that's accordingly with my bad eating habbits. I say 100% rule, because i don't do well with 80/20 it always ends up like 60/40 or 40/60. All or nothing for me, thanks. GOAL 3 - 10K i'm going to catch you! Last time i was 1K away from making it, now i'm starting my training program from cero. So first i'll do the 5K program, then catch up with the 10K. But i'll get there, i'm gonna get there. Side Quest - Salsa Lessons I love dancing, i've been taking clases, but i'm afraid i'm about to quit. I need a little push to continue, i want to make this my quest, attend to every class this month. And practice at least once apart from the class every week. MOTIVATION I've spent years looking to become the person that is within me. I want to know all of what I'm capable of. What my body could be. I don’t like to hide. I want my outside strong and imposing, to cause inspiration for me, for everyone. I want to see myself and feel that the future is worth the while. I'm doing this to smile. Want to live without getting sick. Be healthy and proud. I've been close many times. This time I will not fail.

Ic abiede thu gegretan! I bid you greetings to my Epic Quest Thread. Here I will blend my faith [Heathenry] with my desire to be healthy and any research that I have done regarding fitness for a forty year old male. Like most of my threads this will be peppered with Old English [OE], some Old Norse [ON] and other languages that relate to my ancestors whom worshipped the Gods generally known as the Aesir and Vanir. Now my in thread title, Thom Asolcen translates as Thom the sluggish, idle, indifferent, dissolute. Basically Thom the Slacker, [by the way OE for slack is 'sleac']. This covers many areas of my life not just my health. I have depression, and struggle to keep active, productive and worthwhile. Which leads to the second part of my title. Thom Cene translates to Thom the keen [literally], bold, brave, powerful, warlike, wise, learned, clever. Again this applies to more than just my health, but rather my whole life. In the word Cene I am able to encapsulate the positive traits that I wish to further develop. The concepts of Cene are also in the following Rune Poem: Cén (torch) is to all of the quick (i.e., "living") ·known by its fire Shining and bright · burns it oftest Where the nobles · rest inside. Here we have the torch fire representing knowledge, wisdom and the 'noble'. Remember the nobility in the first millenium BC/AD is vastly different to what we see as the nobility today.The Nobility had to lead by example, they were priests, generals, lawmakers, judges, warriors and poets all rolled into one. So too do I seek to become 'noble' an Atheling. Not by blood or birth, but by deed. Heathenry is all about the Deeds that make a person what they are. You are your deeds, you are the sum of all of your actions in life, the good, bad and ugly. In a way this thread will encapsulate all of this, but it will focus primarily upon the fitness and wellbeing part. The powerful warrior, which I have called Thom Ulfhedinn. Now I am not a warrior by a long shot, nor am I a military man. I will not insult such men by claiming that I am something that I am not. I can however become as fit as a warrior of my age can be. This is how I am viewing my health/fitness goals now. Over the next few days I will set up my long term fitness goals and my current ability here. Then at the end of every second or so challenge I will test myself over the various exercises and update my current ability. I do suspect that many of these may take a few years to achieve, but I am happy with this. However I hope to achieve all of them within five years. After that I will be happy to maintain my fitness level, rather than expand further. One key to wisdom is to know when you have succeeded and when to be content with what you have rather than strive for more in misery.

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 number the umphteenth. I am batting on a good wicket. Things are improving, even if it is slowly. My weight and eating habits are under control. I do some exercise every day. I meditate every day. But everything for me is a bit wishy-washy, I do not have any hard rules. James Clear talks about Bright-Line rules, so for this challenge: - I do the important things first. Challenge stuff that happens late at night is Wrong - Mondays and Wednesdays are input-deprivation days. I've done a week, and completely relapsed, so this is important. 1. Be kind and grateful My ongoing quest to have a happy mind. Kindness is almost natural now, but I have to start work on gratitude. 2. Be brave Don't sneak. I have become aware after watching this how often I hide things I do from people. Time to stop doing this. 3. Be strong Yoga is daily, even if it is only a mini session, but I have to get to the weights again. Since the power cage is 5 meters from my bedroom door I do not really have any excuses. My hip trouble seem to be past, and it is time. 4. NaNoWriMo That time of the year again. My fifth year of doing NaNo. Edit: And two I forgot about 5. Laptop of at 9, bed at 10 I've done this before, it was good. 6. Make one knife a week Just to stop me fiddling around.

So I have soft goals of getting the house clean enough to really live in and limiting screen time. Right now, I'm spending all of my time uselessly wandering the internet because I can't stand being here, but the feeling intensifies after I've been somewhere and come back. Some of the decluttering and organizing is up to hubby, so I'm not going for a firm milestone in progress. What I do want to do is really documenting how much effort I'm putting into what I can do and post it on tumblr. Password is: ilovenerds The old stuff really shows how the house has been worse. The text part of my check-in will be here. A rough guideline is that I should snap pics of the kitchen and any other room I plan to work on in the morning, and again when I'm finished cleaning. I think every room downstairs should get at least one snapshot a week. (Skipping the bedroom and the bathroom since there's no space to really get messy besides a few stray blankets.) The upstairs only needs to be documented if I'm working on it or manage to build the "fun" area. For the limiting screen time, I'm talking about not sitting down at the computer, especially before breakfast or getting something done. I can use my tablet to grab morning pictures, my phone to get the tv going, and the kindle if I'm up for reading. Otherwise, there's really only one thing that's important enough to turn my screen on first thing, and I haven't been writing lately.

Rewind to Summer 2014, when I was last fairly active and on track here at Nerd Fitness, feeling happy and on track, getting strong and loving my strength training regime... and then, due to a $hytestorm combination of factors, it all fell apart. Lots of things went from bad to worse and everything unravelled... fitness, healthy eating, taking care of myself emotionally. It was rough. I lost the muscle, gained some fat, and generally gave up. Ouch! Life hits hard sometimes. I've been watching the NF 6-week challenge bandwagons gallop past over the last year and a bit, feeling a bit sorry for myself, thinking, I really ought to get back on that horse, but I'm just not there yet. Tried a few different attempts to lose the weight I gained - succeeded, gained it back again. Jeez life. Well, a New Year is coming up and that's as good a starting point as any to hop back on that bandwagon. I remember how proud of myself I felt while I was showing solid progress and meeting some of my challenge targets, and I enjoyed this community a lot while I was participating in it. So I'm back. I'm going to try this New Year's six week challenge. I'll be taking some baby steps but things are on the up and up and a lot of those negative things that dragged me down back in 2014 are no longer part of my life. So I feel good and ready to get this started again. See everyone in 2016!

Greetings Nerds, I joined about a year ago and was mildly successful. I've had a long tough year and I'm having trouble getting back on the train. Through family genetics I was found to have a BRCA 1 gene mutation and with my family history I was given a 68% chance of getting ovarian cancer and a 92% chance of getting breast cancer. I'm very pro-active so in the last year I've had a full hysterectomy and double mastectomy AND my reconstruction. I didn't want to live the rest of my life (I'm 39) looking over my shoulder because with those odds it's not "IF" I would get cancer, but "WHEN." Between hysterectomy and mastectomy surgeries I recovered and went ape-sh** working out my upper body. Healing time is reduced by being in good shape. After the mastectomy I was dying to get my full range of motion back and was doing my therapy exercises every day. I went to the pool almost every day to help increase certain movement with less gravity. I was really workin' it. But after a while I started decreasing all my work because I became over-whelmed by the idea that I had yet another surgery (reconstruction) which should be the last but would once again take me back to that place of minimal range of motion, no strength, and prolonged discomfort. And so I basically gave-up and have been stuck there in this depression which was "why bother you're going to be pulled back down again" but now it's "I just don't feel like it." My husband, God bless him, has expressed great concern and has tried to help me, but I currently have an attitude problem. I know I do, I just can't seem to get over myself. I could not have done this whole year without him and I feel bad that he's watching me in a place with all the surgery behind me and no motivation to improve myself. I'm trying to reboot myself. Maybe the nerds can help, you have in the past. I wanted to be on American Ninja Warrior, now....I'm working on it....sort-of.... I'm starting my questing all over again, back to square one. Writing a new "WHY" story, putting a barrier in front of bad habits and making good habits easier. I'm planning on starting all over in hopes that even though right now I'm forcing myself to do it I'll get to the point where I'm proud that I am doing it. It's helped me before. I wanted to buy a couple of tee-shirts but I can't seem to find a nerd fitness store to get them. I wanted to put them in good motivational places and wear them on my walks. Thanks for giving me a place to lay it all out there and hopefully get a boost in the right direction.

Alright, Where to begin? I work 50 hours a week, at two jobs, an Asian Restaurant and a Deli. I'm supposed to be studying game design but I may have just failed because I didn't submit any work in the last month because I've had an increase in migraines and was told two weeks ago that we have to move by Jan 16th. I suffer Severe Depression, and am on Meds for it. I also suffer Anxiety. I've been going through a rough spot of late due to all the stress and am struggling to not shut down. I could sleep all day, quite literally. I am a nerd, I love books, video games, art and alternative culture. I am a goth. I have bodys mods and want to get more. I am determined to slowly (because I honestly cant handle much more.) change my routines, to eat healthier and exercise. I am going to be positive and happier. I am going to meditate and control my thoughts. I am going to be more productive, and not let myself drown.

I got the 42 positive, honest self appraisals in Milythaels' HOoRAY, (as the moment, Bekah, the Druid ambassador, as the boss). And still counting! A part of what helped me succeed was that it was always in the back of my mind reminding about positive things, and all that "about surrounding yourself with positive people", yanno? So, I was very, very broken until the last week, somewhere inside me I still am, but I am doing a f*cking insane progress. I can't really believe how awesome this is! I am not sure, if this is borderline delusional, but what the hell! Given where I am coming, this is welcomed for a change. And where I am going, when the endorphins and dopamine ( = The moments/days when it could rains shit and you'd keep on smiling) levels drop, these things still stay, and are a golden line in the middle of day-to-day living that so often is disillusioned and hopeless. - Fending off for the moment the Demonemon (the negative voice we all have to some degree that tries to bring you down and keep you there) - A lot of brutal, honest, wickedly useful and fun (Yeah! I know!) self-appraisal, realisations, stomping on the lies we feed to ourselves, throwing out of the window several parts of the useless, bad habit-ridden crap we haul around daily, - I'm getting better at stomping down my ego, pride, stubbornness and fear of change - As there is said to be the delusion with young people that "life goes on forever, there's always a new tomorrow and I am immortal, I cannot die, ever", thinking about death daily has ground that illusion to the ground. The very, very little things good, that I mostly took granted, hit me sometimes speechless. - And I still like doing immature, unexpected, weird, useless things just for the fun of it, giving a mental middle-finger to the "Oh, what other people think about me"-thought -hell, let them look! Comparing to the shitstorm I have gone and going through, I have a lot less to fear. - Oh yeah, if this or my struggles helps someone, ever, let me know! It would make my day! I feel solemn at the face of this all, because these things usually take a lifetime to learn, and can't be really taught by anyone else, they have to be lived to be learned. And kept alive constantly after learned. And I am barely past 20 years! And how miraculously I happened to be given the hardships, that I have survived, to find out these things, and the knowledge and tools to learn all that I have learned and be here in the forums, with this swirling, wonderful atmosphere. It is not over, but going to the right direction!

Hello there! I’m a 24 year old girl who lives far from where I was supposed to be. Nice to meet you all. Kunmaar is obviously not my real name, it means “hermit†in Dovahzul (the dragon language in Skyrim), well, at least according to the dictionary (I’m still new at learning it). Why? Because I’m basically a modern day hermit. I’ve kind of lived my life backwards so far; when I started college, I was fit, confident and healthy. I had dealt with bullying in both elementary and high schools, but with the help of friends, I gained my confidence back and was totally ready for a new adventure. But then, life happened… By the time I graduated from university, I felt like all the reserves of my energy and willpower had been drained. I still feel like the same way. Sometimes I want to pull myself back together like I did before, but I’m too afraid to do anything. I’m too afraid to work, exercise, or even talk to people. Most of the time I just hide in my room from the rest of the world. I just eat, eat, and eat until it makes me feel good, and not move around much. This is how I’ve been wasting my life for the last 3 years. Long story short, college was the end of a chapter in my life, not the beginning of a new one. I had great friends, we used to support each other in everything, but I lost most of them along the way. The rest kind of accepted me as who I am now, and I’m grateful for that. But I need motivation. I don’t even know how I’m going to find it anymore. I’m quiet overweight and it will be a very long journey. if I’m going to do this, so I need to make sure I have strength to go on before I start. Many people here seem to be achieving great things and writing their own epic adventures. I’m hoping you can inspire me to do the same.

Hello fellow adventurers! This will (hopefully) be my first successful challenge here on NF. I terribly messed up during the last challenge, despite all the support I got from the incredible people here, but like I said in the title, I believe in second chances and can't wait to embark on a new adventure with you guys. Why did I fail last time? Because I underestimated my mental issues. I have suffered, and am still suffering from depression, insomnia, social anxiety, a low self-esteem (and the list probably goes on), and I pretended like those problems didn't exist. I was worried my goals wouldn't be good enough for change, but I pushed myself too hard. For example, signing up for a kick-boxing class wasn't a very good idea because I had been bullied in another dojo a few years ago (I was actually quiet fit back then), and now I'm too self-conscious to exercise in public. It is even worse, since I'm overweight. I can't stop thinking I'm a giant elephant running around in people's eyes while I exercise outside my house (I know all the reasons why this is silly, I swear, but I can't help it). What am I going to do now? I will be more humble. It's actually my motto, you can read a quote about humility in my signiture Anyway, I will consider this entire challenge as one small step to a healthier life. Main Goal: To weight 70 kg (height: 1.64 cm). This doesn't necessarily have to be completed at the end of this challenge, I just need to get at least halfway through for this one. I'm around 90 kg right now. Quest #1: Tracking my calorie intake by using My Fitness Pal. I used it before, and it worked for me. I won't take more than 1500 calories per day. Quest#2: Excersizing 3 times a week. I have a 30-minutes aerobic video I used to enjoy doing, I'm going back to that. For some reason, I get easily bored with strength training, so I will do something I enjoy. Quest#3: Wake up at 10.00 AM every morning. I'm an insomniac, so scheduling a bedtime only stresses me out more. Waking up at a specific time is easier and it also gradually helps me to go to bed earlier at night. Life Quest: Learn 3 new GRE words every week.

This is my seventh challenge here on NF. I've learned a lot since then, am still learning now, and hope to continue learning about health, fitness, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle/goals. A little bit about me: I'm a college student living at home with the folks. I thought about being an engineer, but that didn't work out. I got into a car accident a few years ago and that set me back a few semesters. I tried being an accountant but wasn't good enough for the college of business. My grandmother passed away last year. I was so busy taking care of my grandpa and the rest of the family that I neglected my classes and it hurt my gpa. So I'm floating on a mulitdisciplinary degree that doesn't do much (unless I can sell it) for any career. I live with my dad (The Fatherlord), sis (mini me). I'm also stuck with my stepmother (Maleficent) and stepsister (Lilith) whose goal in life is to make my life hard. Most of my friends call me cinderella bc of this. All the stress of changing majors dealing with accidents and losses, and toxic people has lead me to put on 30 lbs. I've been here on NF for most of this grief. I've had to learn the hard way how to build a successful challenge, but I'm getting better. I hope to lose this weight that the stress that has caused it. my main goals are to: Get back to a healthy weighteat clean and healthyget enough sleepfeel great about exercising and do it continually graduate with a degree in accountingsave up enough to get my own apartment But enough serious talk, lets move on to the fun! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Main Quest Big Trouble in Little Republic City Being the avatar has been pretty laid back so far. I've mastered all the elements except air. Because of that I'm heading to Republic City to learn it from Tenzin, Aangs son. Air bending is not the most fun thing to do, so I'm doing some pro-bending on the side (Tenzin doesn't have to know about that.) Air temple food isn't that great either, but the water tribe food Republic city is amazing. You can't bend on an empty stomach anyways. I heard you shouldn't water bend until at least forty five minutes after eating, but that's an old myth. Goal 1 Airbending Training (+3 DEX, +3 STR) I've got one last element to tackle if I want to get this avatar thing down, how hard can air bending be? CHALLENGE: workout x2 per week CHALLENGE: yoga/meditation x2 per week STAT: 3 (A=3, B=2, C=1) Goal 2 An Avatar's Appetite (+3 CON) You can't save the world on an empty stomach, so why not stop by the nearest restaurant in Republic City for some Water tribe cuisine? CHALLENGE: calorie limit of 1,600 per day CHALLENGE: eat +100 g of protein per day STAT: 3 (A=3, B=2, C=1) Goal 3 Being the Pro-bending Champion (+3 STA) Pro-bending is great! And I can finally do some bending that I'm good at and kick butt while doing it. CHALLENGE: 100 oz water per day CHALLENGE: go to bed no later than 11pm STAT: 3 (A=3, B=2, C=1) Side Quest Looking for Answers (+3 WIS) Something's not quite right in Republic City, and Tarrlok is not telling me everything either. Better start brushing up on my research and find my own answers. CHALLENGE: 100% on all note card subjects everyday CHALLENGE: read school book/ do homework 30 minutes everyday STAT: 3 (A=3, B=2, C=1) Measurements: Neck: 15.75 Chest: 43.00 Waist: 36.25 Hips: 45.75 Thigh: R: 25.00 L: 25.00 Calf: R: 16.50 L: 16.50 Bicep: R: 15.00 L: 15.00 Weight: 198

Two goals. The first is to account for every day with housework, food, and play. The second is to check my master list of things I should be doing instead of futzing away on the internet. Master list of things I should be doing: Misc Routines:Know what's for dinnerGroomed and dressed (Earrings today?)Do artWrite down art and writing ideasCheck on the busywork preparationsHousework Laundry put away Tables cleared KitchenPut dishwasher on dirty, run if fullCutting boards cleanKnives cleanLarge pan and lid cleanCounters wipedSink drains clearedPlayOrigami and paper starsCross-stitchColoring pagesWooden blocksPhysical puzzlesBoard game solitaire (Tsuro, Quirkle, or Dominoes)Play preparation, have these things ready and waiting for fussy moments.Cross-stitch projects chosen and aida cloth cut to sizeOrigami paper and star strips already cutColoring book pages photocopiedArt

I decided to use a positive topic this time, so let's see if reality conforms to it by the end. "Gobnait is competent" Since my goal of making the house comfortable relies on hubby's help, I'm going to focus on what I can do to keep things from going to heck. I think part of that is to focus on fun instead of frustration. If I get into a kitchen-rut again, I may go on a cooking strike. By November 2, I should have a list of "Things I should be doing" that is hanging up instead of hidden away online. The kitchen list that is already on my fridge, once I write "Know what's for dinner" on it, is good enough to count. But I would rather get a bulletin board set up. I think I should consider "have adventures weekly" with some sort of instant reward if I manage it, but I'm not sure what will really have an impact. I want to have busy-activities ready and actually say that I used them and replaced them. I don't want to say I hung out online for all of my down-time. I think that I should keep an at-least weekly photo blog with how the house looks. Morning and evening for days where I might have done something significant.