Search the Community

"You can be anything you want. You just need patience and foresight." --Derek Sivers. I have so many things I wanted to do, mostly around Travel & Draw. I draw like I breath. But, I'm surrounded by comic artists who has health problems (physical and mental), obese, lacking productivity, etc.. not everyone, but most of them. I don't want to be like that. The environment is fragile, but I still love drawing. Also, I attend a lot of comic convention, and Conventions (both as a guest or selling stuff in a booth) is sucking a LOT of energy. I want to recovered faster on the day after event. For the last 3 years, the day after event (or the whole week after event) is just me being a turtle, sleep all day inside the blanket, and catch a cold if I'm not lucky. I fall in love with travelling, especially adventure kind of travel. Hiking, trekking, diving, rock climbing, it made me feel alive. Not that I'm doing it a lot (yet!), the adrenaline pump felt great. That's the main premise of Sgeek70 Welcome! This is SGEEK70 UNDER CONSTRUCTION Season 1 of Arc 1. Goal of Arc 1 --> Build The Antifragile Habit Build strength. Manage time. Manage stamina. Find out how to keep being efficient with productivity, time, money. Season 1 goals: - Workout at least 1x a week I'm on beginner body weight workout. - Make it to Level 4 of Nerd Fitness Diet Guide I change the yoga because I think it's not something I need to fix right away. I will still doing yoga since it helped me a lot already. Diet is important. I might not tracking my foods, but I already not drinking soda nor any liquid calories. so I can just focus on leveling up to level 4. Which the requirements are: Trying to swap out grains completely at breakfast and choose high protein breakfast. - Cook The Easiest chicken ever 1x in this 4 weeks I can cook but I never use the oven lol but I just learned it because I want to learn to cook. This become a challenge because I also have to make the time to cook. But challenge accepted! - Create 1 new design to sell this month. I've procrastinate a lot on my stuffs so I need to make at least 1 on this 4 week! Scrapped goals (maybe can be used for later): And that is all. I'm aware that my biggest weakness is lacking discipline. In my old battles, I was always alone and not accountable. But not anymore. Thank you, and lets we enjoy the tale. Sgeek70

Since I've respawned I might as well re-start my battle log again: Hi!! I'm Noddy - short for Nadoriel. Welcome to my Grinding log! I'm a nurse and a geek. That basically means that in between my nursing deeds I also read, draw, listen to music, play MMOs, cook, garden, clean the house and work out in the gym. Nursing is my main life skill to attain money for traveling, getting a house and probably acquiring new and amazing items for my inventory. Everything else is for fun and also to keep me fit and healthy ^^ My main character goal is to get fit. I'm pretty much healthy, I reckon. But the chubbiness is not welcome, and I totally want to cosplay one day. And everyone knows manga characters are usually not chubby! At least the ones I like ^^ So here's what I've been doing: BLE weight loss protocol diet. BLE means maintaining bright lines. There are a few of them, but I kind adapted them to my life. Right now that means: - No cacau/chocolate of any any any kind. EVER; - No sugar and avoid sweeteners like the plague; - No flour of any kind; - Eat 3 times a day; - Drink plenty; - Keep BLE portions reasonably. BLE portions stand as follow: Breakfast: 1 protein, 1 fruit, 1 starch/grain Lunch: 1 protein, 6oz veggies, 1 fruit Dinner: 1 protein, 14oz veggies Fruit is supposed to make around 6oz. Protein is around 8oz for milk/yogurt, 4oz for meats and fresh cheese, 2oz matured cheese and nuts. Weight lifting: I've been using Stronglifts since June but already stalling, so I will start with Starting Strenght to try it out when I come back from holidays. So far I've got: - Squats: 52.5kg - OHP: 22.5kg with some jumping to managed the whole sets - Deadlift: failed today at 67.5kg - Bench press: failed on 32.5kg - Row: 32.5kg I'm training 2x week, since I work long shifts and my days off are usually paired together - not advised for weight training. And this is me! I'm also playing on Europe servers Black Desert Online, if anyone fancies it... =P at least until I buy a new laptop that allows me to play Witcher 3!

Hi there, Sorry if this is in the wrong place. I joined this forum a while ago but this is my first time posting here. I'm a 5'9", 29 year old guy and currently weigh 56kg/8 st 12 lbs. In the past few weeks I've been thinking of getting more into weight training and powerlifting. I'm not looking to compete or anything but I want to get stronger and build a bit more muscle. I'm not completely new to lifting weights as I had been doing bodypump classes twice a week. Whilst this helped me get lean I'm not seeing the results I'd like. I stumbled across the Stronglifts 5x5 program. This week I took the plunge and switched gyms from the small gym in my local leisure centre to a gym with a dedicated weight training and functional strength training areas. I am genuinely enjoying the Stronglifts program but I do have a few concerns about how much food to eat and how low the workout frequency is. Everything I read about building muscle states that you need to eat a lot. The Stronglifts program also suggests only working out 3 times a week with little to no cardio. About 8-9 years ago I used to weigh 89kg/14 st. I was really unhappy and had no self confidence. Between changing my diet and doing a lot of cardio (at one point I was cycling 13 miles a day) I started losing weight and managed to get down to a healthy 67kg/10 st 10 lbs for my wedding day. I maintained this weight until I joined the gym at my local leisure centre last year and reached my current weight. My worry is that by eating more and doing less cardio the weight will just go back on to my stomach and face. Is this worry completely unfounded? Everything I've read suggests that as long as I eat right (whole foods, high protein, etc) that I won't regain the fat I had before but instead will go to fuelling muscle growth. In the days between heavy weight sessions should I do any cardio? Currently I'm going on 4-5 mile runs but I'm not sure if this is too much. Thanks for taking the time to read this. Any advice you can give would be greatly appreciated. James

I've been attacked by a giant hydra! So many heads coming at me at once. Work, taking care of the kids, taking care of the house, fixing food, trying to find some me time... And every time I think I've got one thing under control, something else attacks me and while I'm dealing with that, the first problem multiplies! I've kind of given up, because of being so overwhelmed. Which pretty much means we've all been eating terrible and I haven't been exercising. And we've been coasting along on everything else. And I've gotten myself stuck when it comes to health and fitness goals, and it's beyond frustrating. No more! Time to regroup and beat this thing! How does one beat a hydra? With fire! A head must be cut off and then the stump burned before it can grow back more heads. Each goal will earn points. First I need to get enough to cut off a head, then I need to get the fire big enough to stop any heads from growing back. With some slight rounding, it take 50% of the possible points to cut a head off, and 80% to burn the stump. Category one: diet - I will earn 1 point for not buying already prepared food for any given meal. I will earn 3 points for each day I eat paleo. For the purposes of this challenge, that's defined as Nerd Fitness Academy diet level 8. So, mostly veggies, fruit, and meat/seafood, with a fair bit of healthy fat. Occasional rice and quinoa are ok. I need to earn 100 points to cut a head off, 160 to burn the stump. Category two: exercise - I will earn 5 points for each practice/scrimmage I go to. I will earn 7 points for each week I weight lift at least once, and do either yoga, pilates, running, or swimming the other non-practice days (each day I don't do something will lose one point for the week). I will earn 5 points for each week I do at least 3 sessions of focused flexibility. I need 40 points to cut this head off, and 65 to burn the stump. This is a good start. I can deal with the other heads later. Edit: couple practices got cancelled, so exercise points were adjusted accordingly.

I'm male, 16, 259 LBs, and at 34% Body-fat. For fat loss I am considering consuming only 1800 calories (I'd go lower but I'm a teenager) Here are the details. Cal:1,800 Carbs: 90 Grams (Excluding added sugar) Protein: 180 Grams Fat: 80 Grams (Moderate saturated fats and unsaturated fats. No trans-fats) I will also be lifting and doing moderate cardio. Please let me know if this is good or not.

Hey guys so I'm once again trying to get in shape and figured I would ask for some advice since this site seems to be full of more like-minded people than others I've looked into. I figured I should give a little info first. I was just recently diagnosed with GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) and it was heavily implied that losing weight would help with my symptoms or its just going to get worse. My weight has always fluctuated and I'm currently at my heaviest. I've had periods where I lost a lot of weight but always gained it back because of work or school or something I used as an excuse. I'm also a bit of a picky eater and I really want to change that as well. I'm currently about to start back to college in a few days and I just know that my weight is going to get worse from stress eating and stuff so I've considered doing meal preps so that I don't just give into temptation but that whole thing is still new to me so I'm trying to wrap my head around how I might do it. With the whole GERD thing, its restricted a lot of foods that I can or can't eat (mostly tomato based food). When it comes to exercise, I have an exercise bike that I can use at home since money is going towards college and things might be hectic for a while with the schedule and work, So with all of this being said, I was wondering if you guys have any advice that might help me out? I'm open to anything like home work outs, examples of meal preps, meal prep containers, good recipes, or any advice. I hope this is the right area and I'm open to offering any other information that I may not have included.

6' 210lbs 25yrs male. Guys/Gals I need help. I'm very interested in getting into the best shape of my life but have what I would call more than average obstacles. I climb cell phone towers for a living which means I travel to a new hotel on a daily basis. In my travels I've learned I can barely count on a treadmill at the hotel. Diet is a struggle due to availability and also needing to store food for up to 12 - 18 hours without spoiling in a cooler. On top of that I'm in college as well. I would like to get the "alright alright alright" phsyique on a koolaid budget. I'm looking for a "meal plan" and no equipment routine that will allow me to reach my goal. I generally have maybe 30mins I can count on to exercise. For meal plan: I'm out the door before the hotel serves breakfast so I need a healthy poptart. Lunch must be similar as it has to survive a trip upwards of 500 ft and be devoured with no utensils. Dinner go crazy: I can only garuntee I will have a dollar general or family Dollar. Anything that would require more than a microwave can't be used. Most of the hotels bitch if you grill outside. I'm fairly fit but carry a decent belly. I burn on average 3 to 4 thousand calories (fitbit)a day when I'm climbing. Drink on avg 50oz of water with a red bull and a soda to keep me awake. My current diet is gas station for breakfast skip lunch and whatever I can find for dinner. I do my best to pick the "healthiest" options when I can but I will admit that I am ignorant on what my body needs. I know we all enjoy a physical challenge so o thought I may provide a mental one too. Thanks soo much for any tips you may have and I will gladly give more information about my life if needed

This is what happens when you have been reading both American Gods and Norse Mythology. You start imagining you can rock it with the Norse Gods. Also it helped me limit what I wanted to do. Kinda. Overall, my goals and Big Why have been wobbling for a long, long time when it came to things outside of the dojo and the mat. I am starting to think up new Whys and that's allowing me to hone in on goals a bit more than I've really been able to in a long while. The very-much-reduced stress level of mine has been a huge help, and how conveniently work is located to everything in my life is also kind of amazing and helpful. 1) Feast of Valhalla: Mostly Primal eating, with Intermittent Fasting on Social/Provided food days. So I've been working on dialing my diet back in. Partially this is because with a new job, I can afford to go out and be social, and also because I'm now introduced to so much extra food at work. By and large that last part is still not terrible - of all the places I've worked this place has the healthiest food options. Couple of sugary granola bars, but I actually need the carbs at this point, and snacking on one or two isn't terrible. And once a week they provide lunch (yesterday was delicious Indian food), which so far has only been pizza once. Aim is for like, 85% Primal-approved things most days. Days where I know I'm going to be social or provided food I want to fast a bit in the morning just to offset that stuff. Though my current workout routine "fast" should probably be in quotes, since I'll drink a protein shake post-lifting I think. 2) Gaze of Odin: Track all food and exercise. Take Progress Photos once a week. Odin sacrificed his eye to gain wisdom and vision. I need to take a bit of a step back and track things a bit more diligently again. The food I've always been good at, but I also usually skimped adding in the exercise I did, because hey, bigger deficit to work with, amirte? Turns out that's a terrible idea. I spent the last 9 months working towards being okay with eating more food.... by eating a bit too much food. I'm ~10 pound over where I was before Camp NF, and definitely much softer in areas I don't want to be soft in. So I set my MFP to a BMR of 2400, and will track my exercise. I am allowed a deficit of only up to 500 calories per day. Any larger deficit and I am required to eat something. Going over is actually also okay. If I need the food I need the food. The fact I'm okay with regularly eating 3,000 calories and feel okay with that should be seen as an amazing feat for those who've seen me wrestle with my weight and worries about getting fat again. But I've been feeling good the last couple days in this dry run of mine. So I'm feeling hopeful. 3) Might of Thor: Alternate twice-a-week and four-times-a-week lifting routines. Clearly Thor has the muscle, even if he doesn't have many brains. So I am kind of cheating here I guess. I was gifted two different lifting programs specifically for me, both of which take into account aikido AND November project. One is twice a week, for my classical Monday-Friday lifting plans. The other is a 4-times-a-week deal, because at the time I wasn't sure how terrible traffic was and if I would just decided to get a gym membership near my work and then just lift early in the morning to avoid traffic. Turns out traffic isn't terrible, but I've been doing the 4x week program this week and I don't actually mind it that much. That said, I can see myself burning out, which is where the rotation comes in. The 4x week lets me work on volume and conditioning. The 2x a week is more full body. Also the 2x a week allows me two days of sleeping past 0530, which I kind of like. It also means I won't feel crazy if suddenly I have to miss a workout. Hell, the way the workouts are planned, if I can only make 3 on a 4x week, I can always do two of the 4x workouts and then one of the full body ones. Lots of flexibility that I can play with. 3) The Plots of Loki: Adulting Duties and Chores Declutter the apartment, 5 minutes per day Get car serviced/fixed Get car inspected Set up an instagram for the dojo Get at least two postings done on IG for the dojo Write up a proposal for a Beginner Aikido Seminar series course for the Dojo board Dinner with the work team at the Boss' house (7/12) Good Riddance bye Party for BigM (7/15) Probably some other things I forgot, but may or may not update The plotter and schemer of the Aesir, multiple plots always running through his life. Loki just gets into trouble, but has been known to be surprisingly helpful to his adopted family. He is chaos, but a chaos that gets thing accomplished. I'm keeping this list small, but I have some big stuff things that NEED to be done by the end of the challenge. Notably I want to rip my apartment apart and declutter it, and I need car stuff done. So, those get the top of the list. And so there's that. An actually fairly simple challenge for me. Time to rock this World.

Welcome! This thread is for anyone who wants help holding themselves accountable for the food on their plate. There are no rules, but there are a few guidelines we'd like you to consider if you participate here: 1. We're holding each other accountable to post about each meal daily. - That means breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and any snacks in between - even the unplanned ones. Whether you update one post with each meal, or you post multiple times in a day, the goal is the same: everything you eat gets recorded. 2. We're taking pictures and posting them, to hold ourselves accountable. - Because a picture really is worth a thousand words! Taking the time to photograph your meal can help bring a new appreciation for what's on your plate, and help you be more aware of your food choices than if you simply sat down and ate. 3. We're encouraging and supportive - not judging. - The point of this thread is not to judge what anyone else is eating: it is to encourage them to be accountable to themselves. We commit to posting daily because it makes us more aware of the food we are choosing for each meal. We want to become more aware of our choices, and the reasons we make them. And we want to be honest about those choices: what we are eating, how much of it we are eating, and why we are choosing to eat it. Food-tography is encouraged here! No matter how your food came to be in front of you - via your own skill in the kitchen or through a drive-thru window - taking the time arrange things in an appealing manner will help you appreciate your meal more, and increase your sense of satisfaction with it (interesting article here!) Introspection is also highly encouraged in this thread. Some thoughts to get you started are in the spoiler below. You can begin participation in this thread at any point over the course of the 4 Week Challenge! All we ask is that once you post, you continue to participate until the end (05 August). That's why you're here in the first place, right - for accountability.

My 4 week challenge goals are going to be pretty basic as I want to SUCCEED for my respawn and make life changes!! Diet eat a vegetable with at least one meal daily Fitness some form of exercise every day Level Up Your Life Meditate/pray daily

Hello All, I am VERY new here...and I've already run into some difficulty. I just joined the Academy and I am trying to think of ways to customize my Batcave...I have a gym bag ready to go in the car, and water bottles in the fridge instead of soda. I have a book on my nightstand (so I will read more and not watch tv late into the night...) I think one of my biggest issues is Fast Food...If I am hungry when I am out and about, I tend to stop at a drive thru. I buy healthy groceries! Even been sticking to Paleo at least half the time, for the last several months, but then I ruin everything by getting fast food! Any suggestions on how to make it more difficult for me to indulge in this oh-so-destructive behavior? Thanks in advance : )

So my life has been pretty damn interesting in the past week. I had a batter of interviews, lots of angst about my finances dropping to critical levels, lots of making peace with moving away from my home and dojo and comfort zone to move to halfway across the country to a state that’s the polar opposite of mine, and then, when all hope seemed lost, a ridiculously amazing job offer just dropped into my lap like manna from heaven. So I accepted the offer and then did the totally irresponsible thing and bought an expensive plane ticket to visit Company before I have to start work on Thursday. Story behind the spoiler that is not (entirely) related to the challenge: So this challenge is entirely a “How to balance work and life” Challenge again. That includes making sure my food intake is reasonable, my workouts still happen, and my self care remains on point. 1) Less Work is More Work Clearly Aikido is still a massive priority to me. What just had me geeking out is that according to Google, at peak traffic hours, I am roughly 10 minutes away from my dojo leaving work. TEN. And it is mostly along back roads that aren’t heavily traveled. This is ridiculous. Um, so, THAT particular tidbit aside – I’m going to aim for 5 hours of class a week still. That’s likely Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday (all of these days have double classes), and gives me wiggle room to go light one day. Being so close and almost required to drive past the dojo to get home means I could probably swing going every night, but let’s aim for slightly less for now. Goal: Five hours of aikido classes a week. 2) Working on an Empty Stomach So I’m going to try my not-quite Intermittent Fasting routine for the job, for at least this month. I want to play with batch cooked lunches that are actually warm, or at least warm for 2-3 meals a week. Since I usually feel like warm meals are more calorically dense, I want to use IF as a way to counter that. That said, I’m still going to be really working on being okay eating more (by adding a certain amount of calories based on my activity level that day), and being a bit more paleo/primal overall. Not eating until 10 or so has been pretty normal for me, so I’m not too concerned. Mostly I’ve had a bit of fruit early in the morning with coffee, which still is mostly okay on the IF front (Sisson says if you’re having less than 100 calories, it’s kinda hand waving a bit. Not entirely a fast, but also not enough to do much to the IF benefits, and if it keeps you going, so much the better.) So let’s give this a shot. Goal: Intermittent Fasting-ish during work week (last meal around 8:30 or 9, don’t eat meal until 10-12pm following day). Still maintain ~2800 calories per day, plus 100-150 calories per aikido class, or +600 calories post-Lifting and post-Stadium. Three warm lunch meals batched cooked by the end of the challenge per week. 3) Work out that Iron Speaking of lifting. I’m dropping down to one lifting workout a week for this challenge. I don’t want to try and shoehorn something that’s a distant second priority into my life while I’m trying to get my feet under me at a new job. That said, I don’t want to totally lose what tiny gains I’ve made over the last couple months (even though I’m not really progressing right now because life keeps getting in the way of my regular lifting schedule). So a single, whole body workout a week involving iron is needed. If I’m trying to pull back a tiny bit on aikido, that’s actually pretty simple. Goal: One lifting session a week, slightly longer than usual – three lifts, at least 2 accessory exercises. 4) I Work best Alone I need to focus on selfcare. Like, seriously. Just because I have entered a new phase where I’ll probably immeasurably less anxious and depressed than I have been for month does not mean I am allowed to forget about good selfcare habits. So first off, I need to make sure I get to bed at a reasonable hour and get a solid 7-8 hours of sleep a night. I also need to make sure I remember that I’m going to need to be meeting and interacting with a lot of new people, so I need to be okay with countering that extroversion with my hermit cave tendencies. But I also need to get out a bit now and then. So trying to remember alone time, balanced with social and professional extroversion is going to be important. Goal: Get to be between 10 and 11PM every night. Read 30 minutes before bedtime. At least 5 hours of complete me-time on the weekend (Batch cooking does not count. Aikido does not count. Running errands does not count. This is time to revel in things I *want* to do, not tasks I *have* to do. Sleeping in totally counts towards this.) Time to get to Work.

First challenge! Woooo! I'm going to be theming my challenges around the Japanese abstract strategy game, shogi. I've being playing a lot of shogi recently because I have too much time on my hands and I thought it'd be cool to centre my challenges around the attributes of the pieces. Anybody interested in the rules of shogi can learn more about the game here. The pawn (歩) The pawn in shogi appears to be the weakest piece. It can only move one space forward and it doesn't possess any of the special moves granted to pawns in western chess (rather, it has more limitations than the other pieces). However, as captured shogi pieces can be dropped onto the board, the weak pawn becomes a mobile adversary at the head of a variety of devastating tactics. Additionally with the prospect of promotion in the enemy camp, the pawn can become formidable in a moments notice. This challenge is going to be fairly straightforward. I'm not going to centre it around any of my activities; that'll be coming up in further challenges. Rather, this challenge is about building habits and small changes to my lifestyle. Habits are just like shogi pawns; they may not have special jumping abilities or cover many of squares, but they're foundational to the success of any attack or defence. Now, I'm heading to Crete in two weeks for a holiday. Given that I won't really have much time to spend at gyms and the like, I've designed my challenge with this in mind. 1. FOUNDATIONAL TRAINING (BODY) There are two skills I want to get better at that'll help me a lot in rock-climbing, weightlifting and gymnastics. That is: Hand-balancing Grip strength A long time ago, I was able to hold my handstand for around 30 seconds freestanding. At the moment, I can only muster around 5-10 seconds. When it comes to grip, I'm currently training to close the No.2 Captains of Crush gripper. I'll be practising my handstand every day, at least ten attempts. Grip training is more demanding, so I'll be doing that three times a week. My ultimate goal when it comes to hand-balancing and grip training is to hold a one-armed handstand and close the No.3 CoC gripper. This are incredibly difficult skills to achieve! I'll hopefully be able to tackle them when I reach Level 20 or something. Stay tuned! One day!!! 2. FLEXIBILITY I hate stretching. It's painful and it takes a lot of time to see the benefits. I'm fairly mobile as it is, but I want to be as limber as my cat! This part of my challenge will build upon three main movements. I will be stretching every day. Front splits Bridge Shoulder splits 3. DIET I have a confession. Food is my greatest weakness. This is my face whenever I contemplate giving up chocolate: (Yes, that is an anime character in a shogi pawn outfit. I do not know where it is from.) For the four weeks of the challenge, I will eat NO junk food. No crisps, no chocolate, no bonbons, nothing. I'll be keeping a food log on this thread, where I'll track every piece of junk food I've eaten. This is by far the hardest part of my challenge. Every fibre of my willpower will be tested here. Wish me luck. 4. (bonus) ART OF (CHESS) PROBLEM SOLVING I study mathematics and theoretical physics at university and spend a huge amount of time learning about these topics. I want to go onto graduate study, so I need to be the best I can be. I need to develop my general problem solving capabilities until they are absolutely razor sharp. I'm already engaged in some pretty rigorous self-study in advanced topics in maths and physics, but I simultaneously want to develop my expertise in problem solving; that is, to become more imaginative and efficient when I solve problems. Therefore, I'm going to be digging through the internet in search of difficult mathematics/physics problems to solve. This'll be a great way to improve my foundational mathematics and intuition at the same time. I'll be solving three independent Olympiad-style problems daily. For example: (...any tips?) Change of plans: I want to play in a national chess league next year and I need to train for it. Instead of maths problems (which I do anyway), I'm going to be focusing on tactical study in chess: 20 tactics daily. ADDITIONALLY: I'm going to make 05:30 - 06:30 the hour in which I attempt these problems. I'll need to wake up early! Therefore, I'll be waking up at 05:00 every day. I'll be scoring myself daily for my challenge and adding up my score as I go along. My level-up criterion is 70% as an overall score. And there you have it! A fairly easy to deal with challenge (apart from the chocolate ) that'll ease me in. Looking forward to training with you all!

There’s something about Thai Green Curry. Its wholesome, incredibly flavorsome, and it will pack a serious punch when the right ingredients are used. There’s a reason why Thai cuisine is starting to be more regularly consumed all over the world and a reason why Thai outlets and restaurants are becoming more commonplace. The best part – Thai curry is very easy to prepare, cook and digest. Its also relatively cheap. All the boxes for a fantastic meal have been firmly ticked. This Thai green Curry recipe is precisely the type of dish that will suit a workday evening meal for one, a weekend treat for two or even a dinner party that you decide to host. Its as versatile as it gets. That’s why we’re keen to help you with this Chicken Thai Green Curry Recipe . Ingredients • 2 raw chicken breasts • 300 grams of Sugar Snap Peas • 1 White Onion • 250ml Coconut Milk • 1-2 Green/Red Chillis • Green Curry Paste • 1-2 Peppers – Red/ Yellow/ Green depending on preference. • 1 tablespoon of Coconut Oil (14ml/grams) • 100 gram White Rice (per person; Thai Sticky or Basmati/ Jasmine Favorable) • 500 grams of Mushrooms • 1 Clove of Garlic Instructions In a saucepan, bring water to boil and add Thai Sticky Rice. This will be cooked for 15-20 minutes. For 100 grams of rice (one person) 2-3 cups of boiling water will suffice. More water can be added later depending on preference In a wok, add the tablespoon of coconut oil and simmer gently. Coat the Wok in the oil once it has melted. On the meat chopping board and using a separate meat knife or meat scissors, cut the chicken breasts into small bite-size chunks. (Ensure hands are washed after.) Add the chicken to the Wok, cook through and ensure that the chicken no longer bears pink. This will take roughly 10 minutes (for optimal results, keep the temperature low to ensure that the chicken remains succulent Using the vegetable Chopping board and the vegetable knife, cut the garlic and onion finely, the pepper into strips, the garlic, the chillies and mushrooms Now add all the vegetables to the Wok and fry lightly until the vegetables have cooked through (onion and mushrooms brown) Add the Coconut Milk and Thai Green Paste into the Wok. Simmer for a further 15 minutes on a very low heat. This will let the garlic, green curry paste and coconut milk infuse into the chicken and vegtables Revert back to the Thai Sticky Rice and ensure that all the water has absorbed and the rice is sticky and cooked through. It should not appear hard. If this is the case and if all the water has been absorbed, add some more water. Once at the desired consistency, serve the rice. Serve the Thai green Curry and place over the rice. Optional: Place in fridge if being eaten later For pictures and more on the recipe including nutritional information: Sautéed Garlic Chicken Thai Green Curry Over Sticky Rice

We all love a sweet potato. Whether its baked or boiled; whether as sweet potato fries or sweet potato mash. They're so good we just cant get enough sweet potato recipes. We all need more of them and thats why we’re here to help. This healthy recipe is ideal to prepare for lunch at the Office or can quickly be assembled as a delicious, wholesome evening meal. Whats more its quick to prepare, nutritious and punches a host of vitamins and minerals. Ingredients • 2 raw chicken breasts or sliced chicken breasts • 1 courgette/zucchini • 1 Red Onion • 1-2 Peppers – Red/ Yellow/ Green depending on preference. • 2 medium sized sweet potatoes, • 1 tablespoon of Coconut Oil (14ml/grams) • 250 grams of Asparagus – spear heads • 200g Spinach • Garlic, salt and pepper to taste Instructions Take the 2 sweet potatoes and use the potato peeler to remove all of the skin. Discard of the skin as this is not required. Using the vegetable Chopping board and the vegetable knife, cut the sweet potato into small chunks or cubes (The smaller these are cut the quicker the sweet potato will cook.) Bring the sweet potatoes to boil (these will take roughly 15-20 minutes) Now prepare the vegetables: slice the Peppers, Courgette and Onion. Place these in a small bowl On the meat chopping board and using a separate meat knife or meat scissors, cut the chicken breasts into small bite-size chunks. (Ensure hands are washed after.) Add the chicken, courgette/zucchini, and onion into a baking tray or glass dish. Mix together and add 1 tablespoon of coconut oil and garlic/salt and pepper. Place the tray or dish in the oven at 200 degrees. This will take roughly 20 minutes to cook. (for optimal results, take the tray out of the oven after 10 minutes and stir with a wooden spoon and place bake into oven) Place the Asparagus into a second cooking pot and bring to boil (cooking time 5-10 mins) Wash the raw spinach and add to a serving bowl. When sweet potato is soft, remove from boil. Drain. Place chunks into a bowl. With the potato masher finely mash the sweet potato until the consistency is even and all clumps have been removed. This is now sweet potato mash. Remove the dish from the oven; let the chicken concoction stand for a few minutes. Remove asparagus from boil and add to serving bowl Now add chicken to serving bowl and the previously sliced peppers. The Chicken Vegetable Medley and Sweet Potato Mash is now served and ready to be enjoyed! Optional: Place in fridge if being eaten later For pictures and more on the recipe including nutritional information: Chicken Vegetable Medley and Sweet Potato Mash

My last challenge was kind of a disaster, but as it was said in Batman Begins, "Why do we fall?" I think this challenge is going to be more focused on getting into a groove. I also think that I wasn't really being active on this forum and utilizing the community for support. The idea of an alternative meal prep was also pretty bad because I underestimated my laziness. So anyway, here are my new goals: Fitness Goals 1. Improve Jiu-Jitsu. Jiu-Jitsu has been described as being a marathon, not a sprint. Taking this into account, I've decided to set my goal to a minimum of two classes a week. I feel that two is good for easing back into things after almost a month of being out of the gym. Three would give me growth. Anything more would be extra credit. So, I plan to improve Jiu-Jitsu by increasing my attendance. A - >3 Classes/Week B - 3 Classes/Week C - 2 Classes/Week 2. Run a 10 minute mile. I have never really been into running. Throughout school I was considered fast despite the fact that I never finished a mile in under 30 minutes. I did slack and end up walking for the most part, but I want to add running into my non-existent fitness regimen. So, I plan to use the Zombies Run! App and go for runs at the same frequency of attending Jiu-Jitsu classes with the addition that I'll run a mile at the end of the week to check my progress. Grading will be based on my timed runs. A - > 10 Min. Mile B - 10 Min. Mile C - 10:01 - 11 Minute Mile Nutrition 1. Meal Prep The last challenge, I planned to prep all my food and cook my food the day I eat it. I have the time, but I'm also lazy. So, I'm going back to meal prepping the more traditional way and cook everything on Sunday for the week. I'll cook meals taking into account that I'm probably going to eat out once during the week and once on the weekend. While I won't put any restrictions on what I'm going to eat when I go out, I won't call them cheat meals as I'd still like to try to get a health-ish option. Life Goal 1. Get a job. I was able to pass the tests to get my A+ Certification. So, I'm going to try to get a job in everything I qualify for. Accounting as well as IT. So I plan to put in two applications each day. Hopefully something sticks because I would like to feel less like a free loader when my wife has to go to work and I'm unemployed.

HI TEAM AWESOME. So, last challenge I tried to have fun. it's important! I did ok at it, but it was still hard work. I'm realizing that I need to get off the STRUGGLE BUS and get on the SPARKLE BUS. before I can do that, though, I need to practice a tiny bit of austerity. The last several months have been all about being sweet and kind to myself as I work through a ridiculous schedule and a lot of family pressures and crap like a tree on my house. I've been super gentle with myself and not managing my diet carefully, allowing myself to sleep in more and go to bed later, and not exercising at all because WAAAAH I'M TOO TIRED. if I want to turn this fitness train around, I need to stop with the TINY EXCESSES, and get on the STRAIGHT AND NARROW. Goal 1: STOP THE TINY EXCESSES or more positively framed, I will: * go to bed at my bedtime every day so that I can * wake up on-time and leap from bed all healthy-like every morning. * stick to my caloric goal which means NOT eating all the snacks at work and NOT drinking beers all the time. Goal 2: Prep for a run There's a 10K on May 21 and I am running SUPER LATE in preparing for it. So, I am implementing DRAMATIC TRAINING PLANS. I'll be mapping out the Hal Higdon 10K novice plan, with tkd as my cross training, and in a way that will maximize the 4 weeks I have to get ready for the run as best as I can. ALSO, listen to your body while you're running, karinajean, and fiddle with foods so you are eating the best you can and not feeling starved (aka fill up on protein, not cake). Goal 3: Don't break yourself With all the running and the shortened schedule I have to focus on restorative activity too. So, that means yoga. do it in the mornings when I'm not running. STRAIGHT AND NARROW LOOKS LIKE THIS: logging my stuff here on nf. logging in the hobobujo. don't eat back exercise unless you're starving and then by all means eat it back but try not to do that in the form of beer and ice cream (though there is room for beer and ice cream in a healthy lifestyle). measurements before the end of April. do an interesting comparison between heart rates for a run of set distance at the beginning and end of this period. show you the weekly exercise plan drafted out every week! I declare a Monday start! so: START!

I'm working on reducing my sugar intake. I'll do pretty well until someone brings me sugar (coworker brings donuts to work, classmate bakes me cookies, lab partner has ice cream she doesn't want to eat and offers to me and Sunday night potlucks). It's not like I look at and say "oh I shouldn't eat this" and eat it anyway, I don't think at all. I forget I'm trying to limit my sugar intake, I forget that I'm overweight and need to cut this. It's like I'm being possessed or hypnotized. All I can think about is eating that sugar until it's gone, and once I do, I feel horrible. Does anybody else go through something like this? If so, what do you do when external forces and internal demons override even your best planning? If I have overlooked a forum that has discussed this previously, please direct me to it!

Last Edit: 4-Feb-2015 After starting this thread, I was informed that what I am doing is known as a Protein Sparing Modified Fast (PSMF). I am constantly consulting The Oracle (Google) to find out more about this subject and modify the diet plan as approriate. As of right now here is how I am planning on executing the diet: I am still learning more about it as the days go on. Based off of what I have learned so far, I will be trying the following diet/exercise plan: Every day my goal will be to consume 140 G of protein. I will cycle 2 days of nothing but protein shakes and fiber powder. 144G Protein, 10G Fat, 6G Sugar 30G Fiber, 738-ish Calories on a shake day the calorie count will be slightly higher - by how much depends on how you calculate the calories from fiber. This figured incorporates the calories from the 4mg of fish oil I will take. Every 3 days I will have have a big ol' egg white omelet made from 4-ish egg whites with spinach, red peppers, mushrooms and jalapenos. In addition I will eat a whole egg as well as a big plate of fresh spinach or lettuce, red peppers, cucumber, a couple of green olives, and about a big handful of salted mixed nuts. I will also have protein shakes to get my required grams of protein. Every other "food cycle" I will have a little bit of cantaloupe (half a cup-ish) and a banana in addition to the omelet, plate of low-carb veggies, olives, and nuts. I will take a multivitamin twice a day with food or a protein shake and a 2mg fish oil capsule. I will continue to workout as normal - Lift 6 days a week and cycle between running 3 miles and doing sprints (ideally 3 days a week). I have a hard time motivating myself to do cardio, so I often find excuses to not run. I will work on becoming more consistent. Before I lift or run I will take 10G of BCAAs. I will drink tons of water, and lots of tea. FOR THE EMPEROR!!!!! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Here is the original post which led me down the path to discovering PSMF (Thanks Hazard) Hey everyone! This is the result of something I was mulling over in my head, and then spending about a week reading a bajilliondy different articles on nutrition, fat loss, muscle growth, carbohydrates, fats, etc etc etc.... TLDR version: Perhaps the best body recomposition (lose fat, gain muscle) thing to do is to focus on eating 1 Gram of protein per lb. of body weight per day, and then minimize both fat and carbohydrate intake while lifting heavy things and then putting them back down??? Note: I will be eating egg whites, chicken, beef, fish, and using protein shakes as needed to hit my 1G protein/lb/day goal while drinking copious amounts of water and tea (Earl Grey and Black Currant, both made by Twinings – it’s more to help keep me from boredom snacking than anything else). I am stuck with cafeteria style dining at the moment and cannot make my own food so I will be getting some carbs/fat as well but will limit them to only what I get as a byproduct of eating the aforementioned foods. Once I hit my desired body fat % (basically I want to look like Deadpool) I will add other foods for maintenance. Perhaps I could live off of just meat, but variety is the spice of life so I will be throwing in other food items once I get to a maintenance phase. Other people have a lot to say about why cardio isn’t the best thing for weight loss. Other people have a lot to say about why heavy weight training (4-6-ish reps for 3-ish sets) is best for increasing muscle strength/mass. Other people have a lot to say about why lifting to get gainz is better for fat loss than cardio for the same amount of time. I am a fan boy (not really, I have a mind more open than Olaf’s arms when administering warm hugs) of the aforementioned things… but I am just here to pose the following question and give my best guess as to the answer: SO…. a certain bit of dietary advice had always confused me, specifically the concept of caloric surplus/deficit in relation to muscle growth. Basically I keep reading that I cannot put on muscle if I eat fewer calories than my body needs in a day and you cannot lose fat when in a caloric surplus. The question: Can I lose fat while gaining muscle on a low calorie diet where I eat 1G Protein/Lb Bodyweight/Day and eating as little fat/carbs as possible? My body needs protein to build muscle. So I will eat lots of amino acids (the building blocks of protein). My body also needs energy to carry on all its myriad of functions (including building muscle). My body already has plenty of energy stored as fat. I can understand why I would need more building blocks to make new muscle, but I already have plenty of energy saved up. Why do I need to eat more energy? Why does using up my energy stores (IE the fat) prevent me from putting on muscle? The energy is already there in my body waiting to be used…. The body seems to me to be pretty efficient and does not appear to want to waste things, especially energy. Now, you can literally piss away glucose at times, but I’ve never read anything that shows this happening in significant amounts in healthy individuals. SO – according to conventional wisdom, it is impossible to put on muscle while eating fewer calories than your body needs to meet its daily energy needs. That doesn’t make sense to me. Why you ask? Well… most of us have huge energy reserves, I.E. fat. Fat is where your body stores the *VAST* amount of its energy. Sure, the body can breakdown muscle (NOTE ON THIS: I have not found any information on exactly when this happens. Since this would seem like a last-ditch sort of thing, I imagine that the body will tap into its fat before eating away at the muscle for energy in significant amounts. I have also heard that consumption of protein and exercise can stave this off, which is why I would want to keep up with the whole 1 G of protein per pound of body weight per day thing. If anyone can point me in the direction of some good information on when muscle cannibalization occurs, I would like it). There seem to be limits on how much muscle a person can put on. Our ability to put on fat appear to be limitless (people can weigh over 1,000 pounds). Our body obviously likes to, and will, easily use fat as an energy storage depot (really more like energy storage medium, but storage depot rolls off the tongue (fingers?) so well….). With this said, just because I don’t consume as many calories in a day as my body needs for all of its various functions does not mean that I do not have energy available. You can live off of your fat stores for a hot minute (here is a link to a report on an obese man whom fasted for a year under the care of a doctor http://pmj.bmj.com/content/49/569/203.short). Glucose is not an “essential nutrient†meaning that you do not have to consume glucose to live. You need glucose to live, but your body can produce it in sufficient amounts to live without you having to eat extra (google gluconeogenesis for more info – there isn’t a whole lot unfortunately). Supposedly you can make 150 G of glucose a day (http://www.marksdailyapple.com/a-metabolic-paradigm-shift-fat-carbs-human-body-metabolism/#axzz1za02xNxp – Go to the paragraph “So How Much Glucose Do You Really Need?†near the bottom. He doesn’t cite the source for this, and I have not been able to find any research backing it up myself. If someone can find something supporting/rejecting this number, *please* send me a link ). Anyways, unless you are doing some hardcore crossfit thing, doing some crazy bicycling thing, etc etc etc your body will keep up with whatever you are trying to do (Note: This isn’t a fault of gluconeogenesis… People can eat carbz for dayz and still run into these issues with extreme feats of humaning). If you are worried it can’t, then eat a little carbs right before/during the event as needed just to get you through. Your body only has about a teaspoon-ish of glucose floating around in the blood (this is closely regulated by the body) and can store about about 400 grams of glycogen (glycogen gets converted into glucose) in the muscles (I imagine this number varies a bit from person to person based on muscle mass) and about 100 grams of glycogen in the liver (again, probably varies a bit from person to person, but I imagine the biggest variance in individuals come from muscle stores of glycogen). http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/body-store-excess-calories-9627.html (not a direct link to the study which was conducted by Iowa State, a thousand pardons…). There are certain parts of your body which like glucose… the brain, for example, *needs* glucose (even when adapted to using ketones, it still needs 50% of its energy to come from glucose (UGH – Of course I cannot find a source for this now… Fear not though citizen I read it on the internet, so it must be true.. For cereal though, again, if anyone can find anything supporting/rejecting this, feel free to let me know! ) I think our blood glucose levels are pretty much just for the brain, but that is simply a guess with nothing to support it other than observations and my little bit of knowledge of how the body works… With that said, there are parts of your body that like ketones (cardiac muscle). A lot of your cells can use either glucose or ketones for energy once they become “adapted†(which supposedly takes a couple of weeks. I am not even gonna lie – I am getting burned out at the moment with googling things… If someone thinks that my aforementioned statement is wrong then at that point I will go verify it’s rightness or discover is wrongness). SO…. This is a little all over the place, but I think it’s a great starting point for a discussion…. Low Carb…. Low Fat…. Why not both?? https://literatastrophe.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/screen-shot-2012-11-08-at-6-08-31-pm.png As I stated before, I cannot get as low fat or low carb as I would like in my current situation, but I will start implementing this as of today (2-Feb-2015) and post pictures, weight, and tape measurements of different body parts (sorry, I do not have calipers yet… :\) as well as a log of what I eat everyday (with super guesstimated portions). Oh – a note on ketoacidosis… This is a disease state present in diabeetus-ified individuals…. IE their body forgot how to insulin properly. Supposedly insulin helps regulate ketones (this is argued a lot by science-ey people (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/749914). Protein stimulates insulin release (http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/72/1/96.full). So, I should not go into ketoacidosis since my body knows how to insulin. However, I will keep an eye out for signs of ketoacidosis (unfortunately I do not have the capability to run labs on myself). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I will post weekly updates. When I take pictures they are done with relaxed muscles, full exhaled breath. For the measurements: They are done with muscles relaxed, the fixed end of the tape measure (a plastic tape measure intended for use by a tailor) will remained pinned in place against my body while the free end is pulled tight. I close my eyes and let the free end slip through my fingers until it is barely snug against my body. I will re tighten and let it go loose 3 times before opening my eyes and taking note of the measurement. I purposefully keep things in 8ths. When doing measurements on the torso I do it with a fully exhaled breath, and take 3 measurements (everything is so squishy I have a hard time getting accurate results, so I don't want to rely on just one measurement). Here are the exact locations I measure: Neck - Widest point (over the peak of the adam's apple) Chest - Just under the nipples Bicep - Widest point (no landmark) Forearm - Widest point (no landmark) Waist - Narrowest point (which happens to be my last rib) Belly - Widest point of my pooch (which is just below my belly button) Butt - Widest point (I kind of figure out through trial and error where this this, there is no specific landmark) Upper Thigh (this is the widest point of the fatty area of my thigh. No landmark) Mid Thigh (this is the widest point of the muscular area of my thigh. No landmark) Calf (This is the widest point of my calf. No landmark) I do more exercises than just the ones listed... for sake of not having too much info here I will only post a few lifts. I will fill out a more comprehensive log at a later date and link it to this post. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2-Feb-2015 - (NOTE: I know this was not ideal but I took all of these measurements just before dinner. In the future I will do them first thing in the morning when I wake up) Weight - 141.9 pounds Neck - 15" | 14 7/8" | 15" Chest - 33 2/8" | 33 1/8" | 32 7/8" Bicep - 11 7/8" Forearm - 9 7/8" Waist - 29 2/8" | 29 3/8 " | 29 3/8" Belly - 32 7/8" | 33" | 32 6/8" Butt - 24" Upper Thigh - 40.5"" Mid Thigh - 43" Calf - 14 3/8" http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/gallery/image/9974-2feb15-front/ http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/gallery/image/9975-2feb15-side/ Deadlift: 150lbs 8r 3 Set (working on form) CHANGE: N/A Pullup: (On assist machine): -35lbs 7, 5, 4 Reps CHANGE: N/A Dumbbell Bench Press: 65lbs 4 reps, 65lbs 3 reps, 60 lbs 4 reps CHANGE: N/A Dip: 25lbs 5 reps for 3 sets CHANGE: N/A Squat (butt to calves): 135lbs 5 reps, 135lbs 7 reps, 135lbs 6 reps CHANGE: N/A Standing Shoulder Dumbbell Press: N/A CHANGE: N/A +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

First challenge time! Yay! Can you feel the antici...pation? My Overall Goals: Lose at least 16kg to get back to my weight before I landed in the hospital Keep my platelets at a safe level consistently (between 80,000-150,000 per liter of blood) Get a job performing at Universal Studios Japan Look fantastic for upcoming weddings, including my own! An explanation behind these goals, for anyone who didn't see my forum introduction: I have Hashimoto's hypothyroid and polycystic ovaries, diagnosed as a teenager for both, and despite having a healthy diet and lifestyle I have struggled with my weight for most of my life (as in, I did competitive karate 3-5 times per week for 10 years, avoided soda, wasn't a big chocolate person, loved produce and seafood, and yet never got below a BMI of 24 or a size 8). in 2012 I hit my goal of getting back within my healthy weight range and feeling strong and fitjust in time to move to Japan, and I kept myself at that level for almost 2 years when I landed in the hospital with a serious case of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, or dangerously low platelets. A healthy person has around 150,000 platelets per liter of blood and I was down to less than 1,000 and was literally bleeding to death internally. I was bedridden for a month, under strict medical observation for another 9 months, and on a fairly high dose of prednisone during that time as well. By the time I was off of the prednisone and observation, I had gained 9kg and lost almost all of my strength; I couldn't exercise, I could barely stand to be out walking around to run errands like usual much less do yosakoi dance training or intensive exercise like before, and the withdrawal symptoms were so bad I could barely move some days. It took at least another year to get past that, and another year before I had a handle on what diet helped keep my platelets at a safe level and was approved by the doctors to exercise more than just daily activity levels and basic stretching. I'm still not allowed to exercise outside without someone there in case I injure myself and can't stop bleeding, and I get exhausted super easily. So I've gone up 16kg in total since hospitalization. The ITP is chronic and will never go away and it has taken a while to accept that, but now I think I'm finally at a point where I can start living with it instead of being held captive by it, and I want to get on that with a group of like-minded geeky types who support each other with our different challenges on our journeys! So...that's the why behind the goals! This Challenge's Goals Lose some weight, any amount Stick to my platelet boosting diet Prepare songs for Voice Kobe's competitive open mic night Which leads to my challenges... Challenge 1: Attend at least 2 aerials classes per week I usually make 1 class per week but May I have more free time so I'd like to try to increase that! A bit worried because April 29-May 3 I am out of town, which means I only can go once the week of April 23-30, and May 3-7 is Golden Week so I don't know if the classes will be cancelled or not. Challenge 2: Do body-weight strength training at least 3 times per week I never tried strength training outside of what we did in classes as warm-ups, so I'm starting very slow with a beginner body-weight workout, maybe 3 sets of 8-10 reps per exercise for about 20 minutes to start. Challenge 3: Eat at least 1 fruit or vegetable serving with every meal I already do this most meals, but not all, so I just have to push myself to get something in with every meal, not just 3/4 of them! Challenge 4: Practice my new music at least 4 days a week I used to practice a lot but the last 3 years I've only done voice work and sporadic practice while I recovered from being sick, so I need to get back into it.. I'm not really planning on doing week 0 since I spent a few days doing the planning worksheets, but I'm tracking it anyway just to get in the habit. Spreadsheet time! https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1qsXaDLCN-YDY37wFC1bKEJCbEEqGdmaZqcuk1mRt218/edit?usp=sharing Here's hoping this goes well!

Last month, I finally feel like I actually deserved a ‘level up’ - I didn’t just say i'd worked out when I'd done 5 press ups alone because of my fear of failure. This month I'm focused on getting back to actually working out, and only logging it when it counts. In March, I set a goal of going climbing 4x in 6 months. I’ve currently been 3 times in the first 5 weeks. My next ‘booked in slots’ are: 28 Apr, then there’s a lot of closure/work stuff throughout may so anything in May would be bonus, then 5/6 Jun, 23-25Jun, and 27-29Jun. Then the deadlines kick in, but I’ve pencilled in 3-5Jul, 17Jul, 20-23Jul as options too. I’ve upped my ‘aim’ to 6x by 31st July. With so many options, but only "1 this challenge" required, i should be good to go. Having said that, 4th May is my very last chance to attend a Thursday pilates class (lunch time, I’ll be at work on Thursdays from mid-May as I lose my study day). I’m not sure I’ll feel up to doing this, but I’m mentioning it to remind myself. This month, I aim to: * Log my extra exercise [This resulted in me walking an extra 25km across 5 weeks!] * 3 workouts a week [2 sets of 3 exercises minimum] * Go gym/bouldering once in the challenge * Add in extra healthy food once a week. * BONUS - Meditation [I used to meditate daily in 2004 and it really helped. I experience mental health struggles so I feel this really needs to be a holistic approach, but it feels so daunting, I'm leaving it as bonus] Week 0: Workout: 0/3 Gym: 0/2 Log Extras: 0km Healthy Food: Name/Meal BONUS: Meditation/When

Hey. I started with the Academy last fall, and was doing really well with both it and posting here. I tested into level 2, worked on that for a couple months and then beat the boss on the first try. I was excited to start level 3, right up until I saw that pull-ups are a huge part of that level, and the ones above it. I rent, and I simply do not trust the door frames in my apartment to hold my weight without cracking. My gym didn't have any sort of pull-up area either. I hit the wall and just let it knock me out. In the past month, I've paid off my car and gotten a promotion. With the new budget space, I can afford a more equipped gym. I signed up for a place that I drive past on my way to and from work. They've got a pool, and a stupidly huge general workout area. There are free classes, which is also a plus. All that should help me get back on the gym horse. My diet had only made moderate progress in the fall, but I started intentionally eating my feelings a couple months ago to deal with some real life stress. My FIL decided, with much encouragement from my SIL, to move from his house in Florida to an apartment in an assisted living facility in Milwaukee. April was consumed with logistics and support for my SIL, who did almost all the emotional and physical heavy lifting. Last week, my spouse and I flew to Florida and then drove FIL up to Milwaukee. It sucked, but thankfully not as much as I was fearing. Now we have a new responsibility to him (visits, grocery trips, etc.), but the worst is past. With real life going back to normal amounts of stress, I'm going to work on getting my diet back to where it was a few months ago. My goals there are simple - eat more veggies and fruit, ease off on the snacking and fast food. This week will be working out numbers and stuff, and then starting a challenge to cover me through June. It's intimidating, but I know it's all doable. Even in the midst of backsliding, I hit one of my big goals. I skated my first OPR doubleheader as a roller derby ref in April, and have done two more since. Now I'd like to work on being able to JR, which requires much more burst speed and a very different sort of endurance. I got this.

I'm on my first year of college, and really struggling with eating healthy (and properly portioned!) food. No kitchen, a dining hall that's only open at certain times, and a menu that I can't control is leaving me floundering. Anyone have tips from their college days?

I was in the Assassins Guild quite some time ago, but I've been an Adventurer since then. Last night, however, I watched Assassin's Creed - because Fasbender! And since I know I need to change things up with my challenges, if you all don't mind, I've returned for this round, and maybe longer. I want to Assassinate my challenges and I want to be the boss of my body... Wait no, that's not quite right. 'Want' and 'need' are purposeless words, like 'try'. A great being once said 'Do or do not, there is no try.' If I say I need to, or want to, do something, but then don't take the steps to achieve that something, then what's the point? I'm forty-seven years old, sneaking up fast on another birthday and a big hiking adventure trip to Glacier National Park, both in August. I've been stagnant with my weight-loss for too long and I've never really been committed to it, or to improving my fitness consistently. This needs to change. During this challenge I WILL BE the master of my body, I WILL OWN every bite of food or ounce of liquid I consume, and I WILL HAVE FUN! Stay tuned for more details, once I figure out what those details are. And in the meantime, please enjoy some Fasbender. I know I always do.

Going Slow-Carb, that is. This challenge I'm gonna switch to the slow carb diet as lain out by Tim Ferris in the 4-hour-body. Basic gidelines go like this. Is not to different from Paleo, except for it's mandatory cheat day. I'm really curious of how it will turn out, especially the damage control part; since I have cheat meals every weekend anyway it seems like a good idea to plan it in advance and lessen the damage through bodyhacking. If it turns out a terrible scam or something, I'll switch back to paleo and hopefully have nothing to regret. My exercise goal is the same as last challenge: attend CrossFit 3 times a week and KravMaga 2 times a week. Financial goals: -Sell all airsoft related things except for the AK74su -Sell one of my guitars -Refrain from making credit card purchases -Stop buying any book that catches my attention on Amazon. Seriously, stop This goals might include some business aspects if the beard oil deal goes forward. It will be a change not to spend my money like I'm a child, but the secret project it's worth it.