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In recent years, Everstorm Wildlife Preserve has experienced an unprecedented explosion in the populations of species Draconis saccharum and Draconis conspera “Alba”, which has wreaked havoc on the ecological system there. D. saccharum, commonly referred to as the sugar dragon, along with related species D. conspera “Alba”, or white flour dragon, out-compete more beneficial species, such as D. fibra, D. fructus, and D. vegetabilis, such that these dragons are now threatened species even within the Preserve. Furthermore, D. saccharum has destroyed many of the feed herds with its insatiable appetite, further upsetting the delicate balance of the food web. The Health and Fitness regions of the park have been particularly hard hit. In short, it is an ecological disaster. While many have advocated for the extermination of the sugar and white flour dragons as invasive species, research has shown this approach to be undesirable on several fronts. It is virtually impossible to eradicate every dragon, particularly considering that there are upwards of 60 subspecies of D. saccharum alone, many of which are difficult to distinguish from other species, such as D. fructus (fruit dragon). It has also been noted that the sugar dragon seems to reproduce in exponentially greater numbers when the population reaches critically low numbers. This is, perhaps, a survival instinct. Furthermore, the sugar dragon – and to a lesser extent, the white flour dragon – have become synonymous with holidays and other celebrations, such that park visitors around those times would be sorely disappointed not to sight the beautiful white dragons. In light of these discoveries, Everstorm Wildlife Preserve management has resolved upon population control, rather than elimination. To that effect, a multi-stage plan has been developed to simultaneously reduce the populations of D. saccharum and D. conspera “Alba” while reintroducing stronger variants of D. fibra, D. fructus, and D. vegetabilis. The first stage of the plan will proceed as follows: Early Detection and Rapid Response (EDRR). Population of D. saccharum should be tracked daily to evaluate effectiveness of interventions and cut off any population growth before it becomes too severe. Translation: track sugar consumption in my journal. Biological controls. D. fructus (fruit dragons) and D. vegetabilis (vegetable dragons) will be reintroduced to the Preserve in small quantities to provide competition to the existing sugar dragon population, reducing their access to the food required to reproduce. Translation: I will eat one serving each of fruits and vegetables at lunch, and maintain my complex carb habit at breakfast. Cultural controls. To further manipulate the mortality rate in D. saccharum and to reduce the amount of damaged caused, sugar dragons will be kept in enclosures away from the feeding sites until 5pm. Exceptions will be made for holidays or special events, not to exceed three times a month. Translation: no foods with more than 5 grams of added sugar before dinner, except holidays, birthdays, etc. Manual controls. The park must be surveyed daily and dragons physically removed to their appropriate domains to maintain population control. All environments must be checked, since, as previously noted, D. saccharum is a particularly gifted mimic. Translation: go outside every day, swim once a week, GMB elements once a week.

Soooo, it's been a while. But I'm back and ready to go. Well, I actually I started back up on Monday with the Warriors. I'm doing some easy weight lifting this challenge, but they are just SO focused on lifting and bulking and muscles and stuff. It is just definitely not..for..me. It felt...weird. I didn't like it. I know this challenge is already about halfway done, but I didn't want to wait until June to get back with NF. To make up for it, I'll be continuing with these goals until the next challenge starts on June 9th. I'll be sticking it out with the Warriors through the weekend and really get things started here on Monday. NOTE: I will be out of town for a few days towards the end of May and will not be including those days in my challenge. MAIN GOAL Get to 25% body fat CHALLENGE GOAL Complete the challenge with at least a B GOALS Do strength training five days a week. (STR +4) While I have started doing some light weight lifting, I don't want to limit myself to that. So, I'll be doing five days a week of strength training. Whether that's lifting weights or body weight workouts. And I'd like the workout to last at least 20 minutes. And I am interested in checking out CrossFit, but I'm definitely not ready for that yet. Do yoga and belly dancing workout five days a week. (DEX +3) While I doing some strength training this challenge, I don't want to ignore my flexibility either. Since I'll be getting up early in the mornings (on work days) it give me the perfect opportunity to get dancey and bendy before heading off to work. Include two fruits or veggies in every meal. (CON +4) I need to start eating my fruits and veggies more. I was doing well for a while, but have been slacking off a lot lately. So now, all meals must include at least two fruits and veggies. And that means at least a cup of each, not just a slice of tomato or something like that. Wake up at 6:30 every work day morning. (WIS +4) I want to give myself more time in the morning. For getting ready, for eating breakfast, for working out, whatever. This means I’ll have to make sure that I’m going to bed at a reasonable time and that I don’t hit snooze. I’ll only be getting up at 6:30 on work days MEASUREMENTS Weight: 178 Body Fat: 36.55% (using Linear Software, tape measure method) Neck: 13 Bust: 39 Waist: 32 Hips: 42 Bum: 45.5 Thighs: 29 Calf: 16 Bicep: 12.75 Forearm: 10.75

I was a first time Rebel and then a Druid. I was even an Assassin for a while. And then I quit. I have a problem with following through, I'm getting better, but it's my biggest weakness. But I'm back and I'm ready to go. I know this challenge is already about halfway done, but I don't want to wait until June to get back with NF. To make up for it, I'll be continuing with these goals until the next challenge starts on June 9th. My challenge will start on Monday. I will be out of town for a few days towards the end of May and will not be including those days in my challenge. MAIN GOAL Get to 25% body fat CHALLENGE GOAL Complete the challenge with at least a B GOALS Lift weights five days a week. (STR +5) I'm new to weight lifting, so I'm not doing any super heavy lifting yet. I'm definitely still working my body, but I don't feel that I'll be ready for heavier lifting until the next challenge. That being said, I’ll be starting crossfit in June. Grading – 22 points possible (A=22, B=19, C=16) Include two fruits or veggies in every meal. (CON +5) I need to start eating my fruits and veggies more. I was doing well for a while, but have been slacking off a lot lately. So now, all meals must include at least two fruits and veggies. And that means at least a cup of each, not just a slice of tomato or something like that. Grading – 90 points possible (A=90, B=85, C=80) Wake up at 6:30 every work day morning. (WIS +5) I want to give myself more time in the morning. For getting ready, for eating breakfast, for working out, whatever. This means I’ll have to make sure that I’m going to bed at a reasonable time and that I don’t hit snooze. I’ll only be getting up at 6:30 on work days Grading – 21 points possible (A=21, B=19, C=17) MEASUREMENTS Weight: 178 Body Fat: 40% Bust: 39 Waist: 32 Hips: 42 Bum: 45.5 Thighs: 29 Calf: 16 Bicep: 12.75 Forearm: 10.75

This week begins my second challenge with Nerd Fitness, and my first here with the Druids. I'm happy to join all of you! I'm a full time office worker during the day, so I have been working on adding more physical activity and better food choices to my everyday life. Yoga and pilates are a couple of exercises that I have found I actually enjoy doing instead of something I just slog through tediously, and as spring inches ever closer I want to start spending more time in outdoor physical activity like working on getting the garden ready. As the weather may be pretty bad more often than not, though, I'll be supplementing this with work on the treadmill or strength workouts. So with that in mind, my goals! 1. Balance Time for Work with Time for Myself For this goal, I want to set aside time for myself after getting home from work without feeling that I need to rush around spending my whole evening on chores, dinner, cleaning, etc. I want to take at least 30 minutes 4 days a week to do the yoga videos I like and try new ones. I can definitely spare this time and I think I'll be able to be happier and more relaxed in the evening if I take this time BEFORE the evening rush begins. 2. Improve my Food Choices I would like to add more fruits and veggies to my diet. I like eating fruits and veggies in general, but often I don't eat as many as I should simply because they're not as convenient. I just don't feel like taking the extra 10 minutes to make a salad to go with dinner or whatever. My goal for this challenge is to eat at least one serving of fruit or vegetable with each meal, for at least 3 servings a day. 3. Increase my Physical Activity Pretty much just what it says. My goal is to shoot for 90 minutes of moderate physical activity a week, be that working on the garden, walking on the treadmill, workout videos, etc. Just at least 90 minutes a week of something. Life Quest Pack up all the stuff in my house that I need to get rid of and cart it off to Value Village or Goodwill. I'll probably need to go through most of my house first to make sure I've got everything before I make the trip. There's SO MUCH of it. I feel good about this challenge! Good luck to everyone moving forward!

I’ve been in a bit of a funk the last couple of months and have managed to get up to ~170 pounds/~35% body fat. It’s frustrating – very frustrating – but I know it’s my own doing. It’s a constant struggle for me to focus on getting healthy versus getting skinny, but I’m working on it. I’m doing my best to start 2014 off right! My main quest is for this challenge is to build some good habits. It’s easy for me to get discouraged when I don’t see my body changing quickly, even when I know I’m being unrealistic. So, I’m using this challenge as an opportunity to focus on habits versus my body. Goals/Habits 1) Yoga 2) Fruits and veggies 3) Food log 4) Posture Attend yoga classes. I have not been exercising like I should. I keep getting overly excited, burning myself out, and then not starting up again…until the next time I get overly ambitious. I need to get into the habit of exercising regularly. Fortunately, I found a great yoga studio and it’s on my way home, which is really important for me. I’ll be going three times a week, Mondays/Wednesdays/Fridays. Tomorrow will be my first class. (STR +3, DEX +1, STA +1) Eat two fruits and/or veggies at every meal. I’ve been sorely slacking in the fruit and veggie department. To get back into the habit of including them, I’ll be eating two fruits/veggies at every meal. That’s either two whole pieces or two cups. And it has to be two different fruits/veggies, not just a double serving. (CON +4) Keep a daily food log. I have never been successful when I’ve tried to limit and track my calories/food intake. That being said, I feel that I need to get into the habit of seeing/tracking what I eat every day. So I will be keeping a food log (using my Fitbit account). Though my goal is to eat no more than 2000 calories and no more than 150 grams of carbs a day, that’s not what I’m tracking. I just want to have a realistic idea of how much I’m eating every day. (WIS +3) Sit and stand with proper posture. I used to be the girl that received daily compliments on how lovely my posture was. That is not the case anymore. I want to redevelop the habit so that it’s not something I have to think about anymore. (CHA +3)