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Hello world! I found this site a couple years ago before the Nerd Fitness Academy existed in its current form, and made "plans" to join some day. We all know how "plans" go sometimes... well fast-forward to now and the weight that I had just started to gain above a not-great-but-manageable baseline has only added up more. Time to stop the planning and start the doing! Okay, I'm kinda talk about myself a lot now, because what's better than telling your life story to strangers on the Internet? Feel free to ignore me. Stats I'm about a month short of my 1/3 of a century birthday (which I fully plan on celebrating more than my normal birthday), just shy of 5'11", and as of last time I braved the scale, about 215 pounds. I have a build where I wear weight pretty well, such that the first 20 pounds I put on a few years ago was barely noticeable; I went up an inch or two in waistline but I didn't really look different, you know? That let me get complacent and I put on 25 more. Damn. Even in my current state I can do at least 20 pushups, tread water for minutes at a time, and can run jump and climb when I need to... just not nearly as well as I used to. And I get way more tired doing it. Life I grew up in NJ, currently live in Austin, TX with my partner (who I may try to get involved on this site, we'll see how he feels about it--he's skinny but eats terribly and is bordering on "skinny fat"). Also sharing our apartment: an 8-year-old dog Basset/terrier mix who still acts like a puppy, a pushover of a black cat who could use some fitness help himself, and two sugar gliders. By day I work for a software company as a QA engineer. I like my work a lot but I occasionally get some serious impostor syndrome. I've had varying degrees of depression over the years, doing okay right now despite being un-medicated. Yet another thing regular exercise and a better body image would help! Fitness/Nutrition background I generally understand nutrition pretty well--when I eat poorly I know I'm doing it, I just love food and don't have as much willpower as I'd like. I know that good-for-you food can taste good--I've had it, I've even made it occasionally. But bad-for-you food that tastes good is quick and easy, and that's the part that's hard to get over. Fitness... I'm kinda a noob. I've done very little beyond some running around my neighborhood/apartment complex, some pushups/situps, and some very simple weight training--always using machines. Free weights kinda scare me, but I have both an apartment gym and a work gym freely available to me and I know I ought to put them to use. Short-term goals Lose some weight, not be tired getting to my third floor apartment. Do it while living my way-too-busy life. Long-term goals Lose lots of weight, get fit. I'd really like a six-pack one day, but I know that's a long way off and there's plenty of milestones to be happy about before then. Nerd cred I call myself a gamer, though it's kinda gamer-lite. Mostly WoW (Guardian Druid main, Alliance on US-Alleria), occasionally a console game here or there. I like them but other things eat my time and the TV is often occupied. I love board games too, I'll go whenever a friend hosts a session. Dominion and Roll for the Galaxy are a couple of my favorites. I play D&D 4e (Zeitgeist--really cool campaign!) about once a month, as a level 11 Razorclaw Shifter Gunsmith Seeker. I love movies, especially Action and Sci-fi. I love fantasy novels; Brandon Sanderson is my absolute favorite. I like TV but prefer it when I can treat it as a movie and binge-watch. Back in the day I would encourage Heroes and Lost marathons (interested to see how the Heroes reboot turns out, but not getting my hopes up). Nowadays it's usually Food Network. Race to Escape is fun too. The other big part of my life is a local community show choir (it's like Glee for adults) and weekly karaoke. Singing is fun; it makes me actually willing to get in front of a crowd, unlike any sort of public speaking, from which I will run screaming. If you just read all that... Why? I mean, I'm flattered, but wow. That's dedication. You're my new best friend.

Brand New Level 2 NF coming through. After having a successful Noob challenge and spending some time reflecting upon myself, I decided to join the Assassin’s Guild. I look forward to mastering my body weight, increasing my abilities and continuing to hone my diet. As before, I will work to keep all of my measurements up to date and will post on my responses: My Measurements Here are photos of my adventure: Why now? I’m getting married Aug 31 and I finally have time and energy to commit to the adventure. I’ve always been somewhat health conscious, but now I am working on being a bit more of a health nut. Quest: Decrease naval measurement by 2 inches, increase agility and strength Goals: Sweat! [ +2 dex | +1 sta ] Work out 5 days a week. Most likely alternating between body weight (BW) and interval (I) training. Grades: A: 5 days a week B: 4 days a week C: 3 days a week D: 2 days a week F: 1 day a week Climb! [ +2 str ] By the end of the challenge, be able to do 2 pull ups Grades: A: 2 hanging pull ups B: 1 hanging pull up C: 2 assisted pull ups D: 1 assisted pull up F: 0 pull ups Fuel! [ +2 con | +1 wis ] Decrease soda and grain intake: Grades: A: 0 sodas and 0 grains B: 0 sodas and 0 grains M-F C: 1-2 fails D: 3 fail days F: 4+ fails Life Quest: Sleep! [ +1 cha ] Get an average of 8 hours of sleep throughout the week. CHA points may seem weird here, but trust me... I'm much more amusing and likable with enough sleep! Side Quest: Ride! [ +1 sta ] Bike to work at least once during the challenge (towards the end, when it’s not crazy cold in DC)

Backstory I've been working on my fitness and health levels for about a year now. I've dropped over 20 lbs from my heaviest (185) to now (160ish). I'm a nerd at heart, working on my dissertation (sometimes) and working in health and health policy (mostly). Before the Holidays went crazy, I was regularly going to the gym 5 days a week and working out for 45min- 1hr. I was getting stronger and looking a little better. However, I wasn't giving the workouts my all. I go to a pretty busy gym and would do whatever was available. I started with 80% free weights, but by the end of December, I was doing 80% weight machines. I've spent over a week reading like crazy on NF and you guys seem like my workout soulmates! Woo hoo! After reading the 13 mistakes, I found myself. I'm an emotional rationalizer. I take the ER route for EVERYTHING... spending, jobs, working out, eating right, you name it! I hope to find my super hero during this quest. The idea of transforming into my hero before even walking into the gym... Done! Plus, I wouldn't mind looking decent in a costume. My measurements. I'll try to keep this updated. Starting pic My Reason: I'm marrying the love my of my life Aug 31. And, I can do better and should look better! Strategy I'm starting a new job Jan 6. I'll be starting a new gym too. My gym has multiple locations throughout the District and I'll be moving to a gym right around the corner from my office. No more weight machines My weaknesses: (1) not working out hard enough and (2) not maintaining a solid, healthy, natural diet. Main Quest Lose 2" off navel measurement, maintain weight. Goals Decrease carb intake to 1 serving per day Grades A: 1 serving of carbs per day for a week B: 1 serving of carbs for 6/7 days C: 1 serving of carbs for 5/7 days D: 1 serving of carbs for 4/7 days F: 1 serving of carbs for 3/7 days Modify workout to 3 days body weight strength (S) & 2 days Interval (I) Training per week Grades A: Completed 5 day workout: 3S and 2I and finished with a wet shirt each day B: Completed 5 day workout: 3S and 2I and half assed it only 1 day C: Completed 4 day workout and finished with a wet shirt each day D: Skipping this letter F: Missed more than 1 day or half assed it more than 1 day Stop drinking soda Grades A: 0 sodas in 7 days B: 1 soda in 7 days C: 2 sodas in 7 days D: 3 sodas in 7 days F: 4 sodas in 7 days Life Side Quest Start new job and maintain a regular schedule Grades A: Get an avg of 8 hours of sleep, wake up at a consistent time, go to bed at a consistent time B: Get an avg of 8 hours of sleep, wake and sleep at mostly a consistent time C: Get less than 8 hours of sleep, wake and sleep at mostly a consistent time D: Sometimes get 8 hours of sleep and sometimes wake and sleep at a consistent time F: Get less than 8 hours and rarely wake and sleep at a consistent time

Hey everyone! New to NerdFitness! I am a 27 year old male, 5' 7", 260 pounds. Gross. Got married this past August to a great guy, Scott. I want to live a Longgggg and Healthy life with my awesome husband! Time to get my/our asses in gear! I need as much advice as everyone/anyone can throw at me! -What exercise routines do you follow & what works? -Any great/simple recipes for the Paleo diet? I know all about it, I have every book and have been reading up on it for months now. -Any general advice? I'm open to any suggestions/ideas and am very motivated to get in shape! Also looking for a few people I can message privately about our/your progress, let me know if your interested!! Thanks everyone!