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Come on now friends, can't we all stand to shake 2020 off a little?! I have a lot of habits, physical and mental that I would like to shed myself of, and replace with stuff that's going to make me feel good and happy and calm. We cannot dictate our circumstances, but we can change how we respond to them. Don't get me wrong, I am ALL for forgiving ourselves for whatever this past year looked like! No, I don't for a second believe that we should or even could have all come out of this as glowing gods and goddesses, full of new languages, perfect diets and workout routines and killer sourdough bread baking skills. Buuuuut I am also not here for another year of self-pity, depression and borderline alcoholism. "Happy medium" is always my favourite phrase and finding myself a little closer to the Middle Path is the Goal. So in pursuit of this, my goals for the next 6-ish weeks are: ONE: Follow the keto way. Because: 1. My clothes don't fit. 2. My mood is WAY more stable without the carbs 3. Energy levels are better too, once I'm long-term committed. This will help bring many aspects of my being into balance. Target is under 30g carbs per day. Mostly meats and vegetables. Week One: /210 Week Two: /210 Week Three: /210 Week Four: /210 Week Five : /210 TWO: Increase Activity Levels Because: 1. I want to regain strength and flexibility. 2. I easily injure myself, and I want to be more resiliant. 3. It will also help with mood stuff. Honestly, I don't know if I will ever be able to kettlebell again (I effed up my left ring finger... a year and half ago? 2 years? I can't remember. I've been to physio a few times since then, which has helped some, but it still gets aggravated every time I try to pick up a kettlebell, or even dumbbell). But there is plenty I can still do. I actually haven't tried yoga since shortly after I messed it up, and it was no beuno at that point, because I couldn't put weight on my hand, but it may have improved enough to handle that at least? But I can for sure do squats and lunges (I can even hold a weight, as long as it's goblet-style), I can ride my bike, I can do barre. For someone who used to work out pretty intensely on the reg, it does make me sad that I've lost that habit entirely. I just have not been able to make myself care. But it's not good, I don't like how my body feels! Not even just the weight thing, I just feel so much less capable. And it was a big part of how I identified myself, and I most definitely feel the void there. Now, I think this is an area where I need to really ease myself back in. I don't want to get discouraged. And January is going to be stressful AF, and I need to be mentally prepared to handle what I know is coming, and spend my energy and motivation where I need it most. But I also think it has the capacity to be a positive feedback cycle if I can get there. So, low bar to start, that I can crush NO MATTER WHAT. Week One: 25 minutes per week. That's ONE yoga or barre video. 5 minutes on the bike each workday. Two body weight workouts. I can DO that. I'll adjust this as it goes on. The only thing that doesn't count is walking. Only because that's the only thing I've actually maintained and the point is to increase. THREE: School. Work. I'm in the middle of an online class (Intro to Management, whooo so interesting). And by middle, I mean final 3rd, and I'm less than half way done with the course content. My goal for December was to finish my first assignment and write the midterm. I DID finish the assignment, but did not write the midterm yet. I still have 2 chapters to get done before I can do that. I still have 5 full days off before I'm back to work, so I am committing to myself RIGHT NOW that I will get those chapters read in that time, and start reviewing. Technically that's Week Zero stuff. Week One: Write Midterm and Lesson 8 Week Two: Lesson 9 and Lesson 10 Week Three: Assignment 2 Week Four: Lesson 11 Week Five: Lesson 12 and 13 Which leaves me with 3 weeks to complete the last two lessons and write the final exam. Since I'm working at work during week two, I'll have 5 hours of lunch breaks to work on this, hence the higher load that week. And 12 and 13th are suggested for one week in the sample schedule, so one of them is likely shorter. Technically I can request an extension for the course, but it's $200!!!! So no, that's not happening. So yes, between the timeline on the course, and that fact that I'll be working from work 1 /3 of the time starting in the 2nd week of January, I am expecting to have some elevated stress levels. But I am doing myself the incredible favour of eating right and getting some exercise to help me manage that. And I'm also pre-emptively forgiving myself for anything else that does not get done. If the house isn't as clean as it could be, that's okay. If I don't work on the side gig website, as absolutely does need doing, that's okay too. Pep talk to self: Straight up, you cannot do it all and stay sane. You've decided what matters the most, and you have to be okay with that.

Diet Drink tea when I first wake up instead of soda. Drink more water during the day. -Note: My average drinks consist of only Dr. Pepper and maybe one to two small glasses of water each day. Fitness Complete the NerdFitness Bodyweight Workout at least 1x per week. Level Up Your Life Write 1000 words a day at least 3x each week. Smoke at most seven cigarettes a day instead of nine. Epic Quest One day I wish to become a Personal Trainer and/or a Fitness Instructor at a Gym. It is my heart's desire to help people better themselves. I want to teach them how to train and teach them how to love doing it. First things first, though, is that I need to get in shape myself before I help others get in shape. I also need to learn the very skills I want to teach. I also want to become a power lifter some day. I am saving up for any and all equipment I will need and/or a gym membership. (Sadly gym memberships are very expensive around here.) I don't know anything about it; not the lingo, nothing. But, I am studying and I figure I should work on cardio first anyway.

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

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!

Hey everyone, I've deciding to join the Rebellion, been a reader of Nerd Fitness for a while but never made the jump to the forum. A little about myself... I'm Dean I live in a place called Chester-le-Street in County Durham, England. I work for an energy company as a Customer Advisor but I'm being made redundant (Came at a good time as was wanting to leave anyway, worked here for 7 years) and currently studying to hopefully become a software/web developer. I'm 30 years old and basically need to change my fitness and eating habits. I'm 6'3" tall and currently weigh 283 lbs. I mean I don't look massive as you would think for someone weighing that heavy as I think my height helps. In 2007 I had managed to get down to 196lbs and it has slowly crept back on since. I want to get back to how I was then. I was a lot more confident and happy back then and I'm hoping joining the Rebellion will get me back to how I was. Can any of you guys point me the direction of what to do next. I'm thinking switching to the Paleo diet, doing some fasts and starting off with some bodyweight exercises might be the way to go. I had tried Crossfit for a few months but I couldn’t get any consistency by turning up for workouts. I think that the workouts basically exhausted me and that why. So I'm thinking I need to take it a bit easier and get a bit consistency and form exercising as habit. I want to enjoy working out. Anyways that's basically my story, looking forward to starting a new journey with the Nerd Fitness guys =) Thanks Dean

Keliswicked checking in here, back to the NF world with a determination to make these changes in my life stick! Here is how I explain myself in NF challenge terminology: My current long-term goal: lose about 30lb of fat by combining a smart diet and exercise routine. My active fitness goals: do a pull-up and get an average of 15 minutes/day of cardio per week (super goal is 30 minutes). My active life goals: learn a new programming language this summer (either .NET or Python) and continue self-teaching Japenese by doing one grammar lesson a week and learning 10 new vocabulary terms. My dietary goal: making it a basic consideration to eat Paleo as frequently as possible, logging everything I eat My cardio goal is determined Sunday-Saturday. My strength training I hope to do 3 times a week. I will quiz myself on Japanese vocabulary on Friday and grammar on Tuesday. Diet I will log as yesterday's dinner, today's breakfast and lunch. I attached the self-made eating and exercise log I use on Google Docs. I also use My Fitness Pal to keep an eye on my caloric and macronutrient intake, especially noting the amount of sugar. I'm going to immediately update with today's log. Comments and critiques always welcomed! EDIT 7/10/2013: While most of the above is still in effect, I'm updating my information. My long-term goals: Lose fat and gain muscle to feel better! Continue to study piano and be excellent at it Learn to read and write Japanese My fitness goals: Do a pull-up Do a backbend Do a split Do a handstand Become better at yoga through consistent practice Squat my bodyweight My diet goals: Finish up my Whole30 on July 14th After, eat an 80/20 Paleo diet I understand that that's a lot of goals, but in my mind they are all deeply intertwined. Eating healthy will allow me to lose weight and strength training will make most of my fitness goals easier. I'm working diligently at lat pull-downs right now to improve my back strength. Yoga will help with my flexibility to do a split. It's all a big web of things that I want to do, but not all at one time. I strength train 3 times a week and am getting into the habit of going to yoga 2-3 times a week.

Well, I started with my challenge post (link in sig), now to backtrack to the introduction! The basics: I'm a 23 year old waitress/college student who wants to become a police officer (and not one of the fat doughnut eating ones). I'm studying Criminal Justice in college with a minor in Political Science. The revelation that I wanted to become a cop is actually what started my fitness craze, although in the years since a million other reasons have popped up and become almost as important. On the fitness end, I started years ago when I hit my maximum weight (175 lbs). It took me over a year to really get into something I could stick to, and it wasn't until August of 2011 I started to make progress (mostly through calorie counting, partly through the "divorce diet" -- when I broke up and moved out of my ex boyfriend's house). I went from 175 to 145 lbs by Dec-Jan. I fell out of the habit for awhile, then went through a spurt over the summer of 2012 of working out a lot and "streamlining" as my current boyfriend calls it. Jump to August of 2012 when I decided to go back to school. Fifteen credit hours and a full time job left me with little time -- or maybe more accurately energy -- for much else. I'm now at about 150 lbs and ready to get back to it. My goal for this winter break is to get back into an excersize and eating routine that I can carry into the next semester. My boyfriend is set on going Paleo, and my biggest goal for eating is to support him (he went from six-pack to keg in the year I have known him). I won't be going completely Paleo, with things like cottage cheese in my diet, but most of the way. We have started juicing in the mornings for breakfast, cooking and packing lunches for work/school, looking into healthy snacks for hunger cravings (I just made kale chips for the first time today -- amazing!) and he usually cooks us a nice Paleo dinner (pork loin with mushrooms and shallots on the menu for tonight). So, here we are! Reading all of the articles on NF has given me a ton of inspiration to work out and get back to it, so the next logical step is to become part of the community. Here is my journey thus far from biggest (don't have many pictures... deleted most of them) chronologically to now: And my goal! Stolen from the NF article Meet Stacy, she is my end goal! Especially since, her start is almost exactly where I was. I don't have bikini pictures to prove it, but I promise, I looked exactly like her before picture. It's exciting to know that someone with my same body type and similar starting point can end up looking that good! She is also my new inspiration to include a lot more weights! This is the picture from the article -- I want to be her after picture.