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Well, I'm still here. The weather out here has taken a turn for the awesome, and we've had a very snowy fall. I have a very interesting road ahead of me now. A substantial portion of my bandwidth is going into getting this house buying thing across the finish line. The above is the view from the window. Yes, in Colorado deer are everywhere. There are issues with the inspection, and I'm hoping the Seller can meet with me near the middle and get us across the finish line. This will be fairly vague, but I'll keep you updated with the effort. Pending any luck, I'll be closed before the challenge ends. Exercise, foam rolling, and diet. This is just an on going battle. Getting away from microwaving my food, sitting on my posterior, and not taking care of myself is just a perpetual annoyance. Good news is I have been taking advantage of the weather and going for walks in the snow. My goal is simply daily activity, foam rolling, and eating right 2 days a week. Start easy. Faith. A touchy topic, but I would be remiss in not listing the biggest struggle I'm in. While I was in Korea, I ran into a sequence of men who were excellent examples on the faith. A lot of my questions were answered, and I made the decision to take my faith seriously. This means altering 20+ year old behaviors. Fret not, I'm not becoming some holy roller, the more I experience, the more I know that humility is one of the virtues I need to work on. I don't know what the metric is to measure this by, but this is where the majority of my effort is going for the foreseeable future. - Murphy's Roommate

I'm fairly certain that I ended up here at this respawn point, because I stumbled into a PVP area and was shanked in the back by an Imperial Operative. So while I sit here and let the medical droid tend to my wounds, let me consider how I got in this mess in the first place. I think it's important to acknowledge what went wrong without fear of being told you're just making excuses or complaining. The fact is, the situation is what it is and now that we're here it's time to dust off and get ready to move forward. So let's start where it all started getting derailed... In June I was doing well. In all honesty, I had gotten in a good routine, making sure to stop at the gym on the half-way point on my daily drive home from work. And after every workout I was logging it via IG to keep myself accountable. I was doing well, even with the impending move on the horizon. Once July hit, we had to hunker down and finish packing without knowing where we were going to go before August. In truth, the housing market is tough right now for renters. Prices are super high and places are getting snatched up in the blink of an eye. A huge truckload of stress came slamming down on me and my family (and extended family) during this time. My wife and I, by the grace of God, managed to find a place through a friend, and began moving. The majority of the move was my wife and my parents moving over the course of the course of the last two weeks of July. In addition my wife and I ended up with strep throat during this time. We eventually got everything moved and no one got injured during the process. Now, aside from the expected un-boxing, things were looking good. It took us about two weeks to recover from the sickness. My drive to work also shifted and lengthened by about 15-30 min each way, since we moved to a different city. That also put the gym out of the way rather than en route. Since the move I've been out of sorts and been struggling to get into a routine again. In short, it's been hard. Now, I feel like I'm back to my old higher weight again (can't find our scales amidst the myriad of boxes left), but regardless what my weight IS, I certainly feel it. It's time to dig my heels in and stop losing ground. I'm certainly not getting any younger. (Had a birthday in August, yay!) TL;DR 1. Was doing good, logging workouts via IG. 2. Stress of finding a place and moving hit. 3. Moved to a new city further away from work. 4. Got sick and recovered. 5. Had a Birthday. 6. Lost old routine. 7. Need to get back on track. I haven't decided how I'm going to go about really getting back on track yet. I just know that I need to take that first step mentally, and this is it. Funny how it seems when you fall off the wagon, you forget all the things you got situated and settled in with in the past run. I do know that I really want to avoid counting calories/carbs if I can help it, but that won't be a deal breaker if I have to do some sort of number crunching along the way. Anyway, it's good to be back...

Great Creator, I see my enemy, but they're cunning and fierce. I plan to attack on the dawn of the second sunrise. I know I cannot face them in battle alone, and you have provided the allies I need to succeed. It will all end with them or me, and if it's war to my dying day, so be it. These spirits of the Shadow do not oppress me alone, but every living creature in this land. It was you who saved me from the Shadow's deadly grasp. It was you who appointed me with the sight to see beyond this physical realm into where the spirits deal, your realm and the enemies'. You gifted me with great skills, talents and admirable qualities as the means to help rescue others from the Shadow and his followers. I ask for your strength and perseverance to under this quest and pursuit against the spirits of Gluttony and Sloth. Spirit Chaser a.k.a Sachiko, the Golden Hind (These battle entries will continue to be directed as personal letters to a higher power that Sachiko turns to for daily wisdom and guidance.) *The Great Creator appears to Sachiko as a mighty Golden Eagle of Guidance in the Sky.

Hey Everyone! I've decided to start up a battle log. This way I can keep track of things and not fall off the wagon if I take a break from a 6WC. Currently, I'm trying to keep up the momentum from the past challenge. It's tough in some ways. Since I'm waiting to find out what I'm allowed to do with my shoulder injury, I can easily foresee changes in my workouts. I'll keep doing my walks for cardio and keep watching what I'm eating, though I need to work on that a bit more and tweak it. The big thing I need to do is that once I figure out my limitations for my shoulder, I need to create a workout plan and stick with it so I don't drop that aspect completely. To be honest, I've been unmotivated since I found out I had a tear in my rotator cuff. I like being a completionist and doing a full body workout in one shot. I suppose I need to get over that and do what I can do for now... (As was pointed out to me by a friend (DF, this is for you), I still got legs and I should keep pressing towards the weight loss and fitness, not what I was hoping to do.) Anyway, time to get cracking!

It's the new year, 2015, and time to get back on the wagon. I sorta fell off of it around October, was dragged for several miles, started to get a hand-hold on the rope and drag myself back up when I hit a big rock and found myself waking from unconsciousness a few hours ago. The buzzards weren't exactly happy that I wasn't dead. (at least they wanted to eat Paleo?) (courtesy of http://wannabesupermomma.wordpress.com/) I gotta be honest. I wanna sit here and cry over getting banged up, but I really can't waste time doing that anymore. I already wasted time falling off the wagon in the first place. Now I need to find that wagon and get back on, pronto! Main Quest (that seems light-years away)Do a Real Pull-up SMART Goals 1. WorkoutI was off for a couple of months due to all the moving and being out of the house while repairs were going on and then moving back in and all the stress that came with it. I did go to the gym once in an effort to reboot myself, but I tried to pick up where I left off and pulled a quad, which put me on the bench for an additional week. When that finally cleared, I was hit with holidays and haven't been back since. Needless to say, it is what it is and I need to scale back whatever I THINK I can do to get back in motion without injuring myself.Update:In order to ramp myself up, I'll be starting out with basic body weight exercising and progressing to weight lifting again later as time permits it. However, for the purposes of this challenge, it's all about getitng out there and getting it done.Every week I'm going to attempt 2-3 body weight workouts. The tricky part is going to be trying to do them earlier in the day and my best to avoid working out at night. I am also going to attempt to get walks in at lunch again, even if it's 27 degrees outside. I need to break up the sedintary ways at work or in the evening to wind down.Suggested ProgressionWeek 1: 2 BWW, 1 walkWeek 2:2 BWW, 2 WWeek 3: 2-3 BBW, 2 WWeek 4: 2-3 BBW, 3 WWeek 5: 2-3 BBW, 4 WWeek 6: 2-3 BBW, 5 W 2. NomsI'm debating doing something like Whole30 again. This time my wife wants to join in, so we might do that. We will get it figured out by the time the weekend is over. Regardless, I need to clean up my eating habits and get back to being mindful. The struggle is going to be eating healthy and eating enough. I've realized I tend to starve myself, thus my body goes into lock-down mode.Update:My wife and I are going to attempt Adrenal Reset Diet. It focuses on clean eating, but emphasises on when to eat what. It's neither low or high carb, but focusing on lowering the stressors in your body (external as well as internal) to get your body out of survial mode and to get your cortisol levels back on track.Week 1: Work toward clean eating and food prep (we're trying to get our legs under us as a family for this)Week 2-6: Follow the suggested portion outlines and stick to the suggested alllowed foods, etc. Update:3. Sleep RevistedA large part of mine and my wife's weight gain and rentention seems to be tied to crappy sleep (among other things). So we're going to make an effort to get GOOD sleep. Since I'm falling under the stressed category, but can fall asleep at the drop of a hat, my goal is to get BETTER sleep (which is kinda ambigious) but here's how I'm going to measure it.I'm going to shoot for 7-8 hours of sleep every night and attempt to remember to perform a progressive muscle relaxation technique when I crawl into bed before passing out.Week 1-6: 7-8 hours of sleep during the weekdays. I'm going to come back and update this post with SMART definitions for the vague musings above. Updated! Feel free to follow me, make comments, and or suggestions. I love company! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------This section is a reminder to myself that I have come a long way and yet the journey isn't over.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Previous 10 Challenges:BlamedCat Wars: Episode 1: The Fatman MenaceBlamedCat Wars: Episode 2: Attack of the GroansBlamedCat Wars: Episode 3: Rehinge of the PithBlamedCat Wars: Episode 5: The Return of Three Dead NighBlamedCat travels to Mt. KoltsBlamedCat trains on Mt. KoltsBlamedCat's Second Rite of Ascension Challenge!BlamedCat's Return - Lets have a dark match!BlamedCat's Enough is Enough (Let’s get down to business) ChallengeBlamedCat's Time to Follow the Leader Challenge

A couple years ago I was biking with my kids... it was our FIRST long ride (about 50 miles)... we were on our way back to the car but still about 10 miles from the car... we were tired.... we were hot... Zombie (my youngest he was about 10 then??) got VERY frustrated and threw down his bike... he wanted us to go get the car and come back for him (wasn't an option because we were miles from the nearest access point)... I told him whenever I get frustrated I think of my favorite verse and my favorite childhood book and he was like HUH? and I said... I can do all things (through Christ who strengthens me) and the little engine that could... I just say over and over I can do all things I can do all things I can do all things... like the little engine and he was like... ok mom and started riding... then like 1/2 mile later he started to slow down... so I asked him "what does ALL mean"... and he was like HUH?!... does all mean some? does all mean just a few? does all mean only the easy things?... and he was like DUH mom all means ALL and he kept riding.... about 1/2 mile more he started slowing down... and I was like... hey chris is this one of those things? he says no mom and I am thinking that he totally missed the point... and then he says... mom we already done 32 miles and we only got 8 more till we get to the car... this isn't a thing... this is HALF a thing... and we made it to the car with no more arguments so now when we got hard stuffs.... we tell each other... this isn't a thing... and we kinda know what it means so this challenge.... It isn't a thing... it's half a thing here's a little backstory here's a little motivation here's a couple (or three) goals gym 2xweek run/walk Ezra daily (I don't have any pics of ME running... so you get my constant companion/running partner) don't die/cross the finish line at the spartan Shakespeare and I will be flying to Boston on le 14th of november to race ... we will be meeting with a bunch of other nerds... nerdsgiving is going to happen... we are flying back on that sunday... TL:DR - here's the goalsgym 2xweekrun/walk Ezra dailydon't die/cross the finish line at the spartan ------------------------------------------------disclaimers: you might notice I don't do stat points... I decided long ago that they are detrimental to my mental health... although I do say grading will be based on effort and not achievement – achievement will come with sufficient effort also... if you've been around here a while you know that I do a LOT of hiking... because of my health issues I HAVE to draw a fine line on how much I do... I reserve the right to substitute a hike for a run/gym day

Hello Friends! I've struggled with anxiety since my pre-teens, but wasn't diagnosed until almost a year ago. Caring for myself emotionally and mentally is essential to anyone to keep your mind, healthy. There are those who's source of their anxiety goes beyond psychological influence and comes from biological imbalances. If you believe this is you and not seen a doctor about it, then I highly you make that it top prior to meet with a therapist or psychologist cause the function of your mind results in how you will live your life. Having that said; Health and Fitness is vital in every person's life. So for someone that deals with anxiety or depression, taking care of your physical body will be an even more beneficial to you overcoming your mental battles. To put this all in a nutshell, Simply Love & Care For Yourself. This isn't being narcissistic, it's just you taking responsibility for the body that carries you around and help keep from not functioning before it's time. Do you struggle with anxiety, or depression? Through health and fitness, how do you care for your mind and body?

SleepyGi, Challenge #3: Wrapping up my first trilogy Unfortunately, since the last challenge I have been searching for the bottom, but have instead been freefalling... with a vengeance. Examples include my unwillingness to cook for myself or eat anything with any nutritional value, my newfound interest in overindulging in snacks that I don't even like, and my general apathy toward basically everything. I'm at my heaviest weight in probably a year, so that's not the best. Worst of all, though, I can't seem to get excited about anything, even things I was super-excited about just a month ago. So, that's where I'm starting. Where I'm at is not a pretty place, but it's not so bad if I let go of where I thought I'd be by now. In fact, let's see some quick stats: Weight: 147 lbs Caliper measured BF%: 25.25% I can definitely work with those. Over the next six weeks, I'd love to see some improvement in those areas, but I don't want to let myself get hung up on those numbers. What I need is a healthy lifestyle, so I'd like to spend this challenge taking some strides in that direction, and letting the stats fall where they may. Challenge Quests: -Aresto momentum [3 possible points]: First order of business is slowing down (and hopefully stopping) this dietary tailspin! I need to get back to basics: more good stuff less bad stuff. +1 CON: Drink 10 glasses of water/day. To help facilitate this, I'm using my quart-sized water-bottle and a basic routine: half a bottle with my morning coffee/breakfast, and full bottles with lunch and dinner. This should really help with my headaches (8 glasses/day doesn't cut it) and help stem the tide of overeating. +1 CON: Reduce meals/snacks containing processed foods to 3/week. I want this stuff out of my life, so so so bad! It's like being in a terrible on again off again relationship. Oh bread! You know I'll always love you, but you're no good for me, and I need to move on! +1 WIS: Read 1 article or watch 1 documentary per week on nutrition or meal planning to stay informed and motivated. -"A thousand push-ups" [3 possible points]: In the last challenge I set a goal about the amount of time I would spend exercising or engaging in an activity each day, but instead of taking that opportunity to make exercise a priority I ended up just tracking/counting the amount of activity that I typically get in a day. I'd like to make a pact (with myself) that I will make exercise for exercise's sake a priority, everyday, even if it's only for 5 minutes. +1 STR: Complete NFA workouts 4x/week (avg). +1 STA: Complete C25K sessions 3x/week (avg). +1 CHA: Exercise with someone else at least 2x: go rock climbing with my husband, take a class or find a meetup, walk the dog, etc. It would be especially great to get my close friends or family involved, since right now I spend most of my time [eating] with them. Life Quest: -Master the snarfblatt [2 possible points]: Since motivation has been in short supply, I thought it might be a good idea to put in something fun. I have a basic wooden flute that I'd love to spend more time with. I think it would be great to learn a new instrument, or at least the basic grammar of it. Plus, it would be a guaranteed way to keep music (if we can call the screechy squeaks that are all I know how to make on the flute at this point, music) a regular part of my routine. I need it. +1 WIS: Get at least 6, half-hour sessions in before the end of the challenge. +1CHA: Learn a basic song, record it, and post it here at the end of the challenge, which should be hilarious. And so it begins. I'm at least feeling pretty good that I am actually starting this challenge on time, and I really like the goals that I've set for myself. I hope that I can capitalize on these good vibes!

I'm back, sort of. I miss the challenge. I've been watching via WildRoss...but, I have not been able to do much of anything, because of more surgeries, moving, and blah blah blah(cue Charlie Brown's teacher voice here) It's time. The time is NOW. I have lost 25 pounds since Jan 1, and I only have about 100 to go. I have lost much muscle strength, but that can be regained! The time that I have wasted eating wrong and not exercising, to the degree that I could have at whatever time and place I was at, cannot be regained. But I can say right now, right here, NO MORE! I will not be 100% paleo to the detriment of friends and family...and our times together, but I will be 100% paleo to the best of my ability, and I will make mindful choices for leaving this protocol that has brought so much health. I have been given some limitations for my exercise...main caution? listen to your body....if it hurts, stop. recoup. start again. I made some friends here a long time ago, and I dropped off the face of the earth. Well, not really, I had more surgery. I was embarrassed that I couldn't do any challenges. And, I felt like a loser. That stops NOW! I don't know where I can get to, I don't know what long term goals to set, but I do know that I have to do MORE today than yesterday...and that has been my goal. If I have to take a day of rest so that I can go further tomorrow than yesterday - THAT IS TAKING CARE OF ME TO GET STRONGER! A day of rest, or a week of rest after long stressful events, is going to be important...and, I was afraid to put that on here. I am here again, in order to be inspired by my husband, and our daughter...and anyone else that chooses to be part of the rebuilding of Lady WildRoss. I'm glad to be back...

Current Main Quest Discover a Capable Me AKA Get to the point where I can do a pull-up This set of missions is basically a continuation of last challenge, but with being sick for two weeks last time, I need to keep pressing on. Don't fix what works. Also, at the encouragement of your illustrious guild leader, I've come to spend time with the monks. Mission Log Mission 1: Calorie Counting Track all fuel consumed using MyFitnessPalStay within allotted daily ranges 6 of 7 days per weekMission 2: Conditioning Use Kettlebells and body weight exercises to get in shape, but be flexible as life demandsExtending rest for the first week due to injury recovery (right arm/shoulder)Weeks 2-6: Workout 3x weekSave up for one-on-one session with a KB instructor to asses form and functionMission 3: Cardio Walking 3x WeekWith Missions 2 & 3, continue making it a point to invite family to join in on the fun. Encourage them along the way as I go through my own journey. Life Quest Career Change Continue looking for job opportunities and following-up with previously submitted applicationsI can't really be specific on measuring this goal, considering "apply for x jobs per week" isn't viable, but I am shooting for 5 a week as a mindset for the proper jobs.Continue to update NF rebels on progress to stay motivated.Motivation Howdy y'all, it's BC again. It’s difficult to sum up my motivation in a few words, but I’ll do my best. Why do I do what I do? To be a positive godly influence on my family and friends in all areas of life.Physically - To become healthy, so I can be around for my family.Mentally - To encourage and talk with my friends and family about why we should make healthy informed choices.Spiritually - To be the spiritual leader and house-band that God has called me to be. It is a blessing to serve and protect my family.

WELCOME! This group is for disciples of Christ who wish to improve their bodies to glorify their creator. This thread IS NOT for religious debate! It is for encouraging your brothers and sisters in the faith to "Run in such a way as to get the prize." (1 Cor 9:24) Here's the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1393420364214700/ Spiritual health is more important than physical health, but you cannot properly glorify the LORD your God if you don't act as a proper steward of everything He gave you! May God bless this 6-week challenge and all its participants.