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ChairmanDavey is no more - Nolondil, rise! 2015 was a mixed bag, but ultimately good. I overcame an injury, finished a triathlon, and got some good running times, but I didn't seem to be moving towards the body I want or shake off the little niggles I kept getting. I did see some progress in the gym in some (very very private) progress pictures, but nothing that anybody would notice. I ended the year enjoying the gym and dreading my running (especially the long runs marathon training requires). My heart wasn’t into my marathon training, and since any run less than 8 miles seemed like a waste I felt forced to run. I decided to defer my entry to the marathon until next year, and I’m going to focus on shorter distances. Just deciding that made me want to get out and run! Anyway, enough looking back - My overall quest is still the general ‘to look good’. To move me towards this, my main goals for 2016 are: Lose body fat (aiming for 12-14%) Build muscle I also have running goals too, mainly to beat my PBs (see epic quest). [1] Nolondil - you don’t bend like that… yet! Yoga. I’m always clicking, I usually feel quite stiff, and sometimes my movement is fairly restricted. I’m going to change that. I’m keeping it simple by just finding videos from the internet, probably targeted towards runners. If I like it I might invest in NF Yoga - has anyone tried it? GOAL: 2 yoga sessions per week. 8 sessions = 3 DEX + 2 CON 6-7 sessions = 2 DEX + 1 CON 3-5 session = 1 DEX [2] Nolondil - put that Pepsi down! I drink too much Pepsi - it gets to the point where my gums hurt and occasionally bleed. That’s not cool. This is an all or nothing challenge (I might allow myself to have a fizzy drink as a mixer, but I'll try to avoid this). No Pepsi for January = 4 CON. [3] Nolondil - if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Before the Christmas break, my week consisted of 2 gym sessions and 3 runs. I want to carry this on, but since I have a really big workload atm I’m going to aim for 2 gym and 2 runs per week. 8 gym and 8 runs = 2 STA + 2 STR + 2 DEX 6 gym and 6 runs = 1 STA + 1 STR + 1 DEX I think my week will look something like: Sat - PARKRUN (5k) + GYM Sun - RUN Mon - Yoga? Tues - GYM + Yoga? Wed - RUN Thurs - GYM Fri - Yoga? [bOSS BATTLE] At the end of the month, do a timed 10k and see if I can beat my PB. There’s the Victoria Park 10k on the 31st or I might not pay £18 and just do my own unofficial one.

Hi All, My name is Emma and I live in Canberra, Australia. Four years ago I began a new and improved lifestyle when I started with a Personal trainer. I discovered the world of exercise and have never looked back. In the process I lost nearly 35 kilos (77 pounds) and was feeling pretty amazing. In those four years I have maintained the exercise to differing degrees but have put on nearly all the weight again in the last two years. I have been reading NF for about 18 months and have pre ordered Steve's book. I saw that there was a challenge so took the plunge and entered the forums. My goals for the challenge are Diet No processed sugar products for the month (biscuits, chocolate etc) Try a new recipe once a week Exercise Run 1km continuously by the end of the month Lifestyle Write in my journal at least twice a week Thanks for reading. Hope to hear from some of you as I continue to try and work out all these different areas in the forum!

I'm going to try to get back into the swing of things. This year is my year, and I'm going to complete as many of these four week challenges as possible. I can do it. I can, and I will. Goal 1: Declutter. I want my room to be a haven for myself, and at the moment I have too much stuff. I've divided it into sections, and for this challenge I'm focusing on the floor. I have two crates of stuff that I want to be gone so I can use the crates for different storage (Christmas stuff and craft stuff). If they're gone by the end of the challenge, it's a win. If I get my Christmas and/or craft stuff in one or both crates, it's extra credit. Goal 2: Yoga every day. I find a significant change in my mobility and joint health when I practice yoga regularly. I really find this is useful for my everyday life and my sanity. At least ten minutes of yoga every day. Goal 3: Eat a whole food based breakfast. Nutrition is the most difficult thing for me to change so I'm going to try to start the days well. Eggs and veggies, meat and veggies or a protein shake and veggies, and a green smoothie in the morning too if I can get my ass into gear. Goal 4: Get to the gym. My gym has a community building focus with lots of classes that are mostly high intensity aimed at losing fat. I want to eventually get back into lifting but for now I want to get back to the gym and start making more friends there. I want to go at least three times a week, and up to five, or work out at home three to five times a week. I have to have a caveat because I'm going to be away for the last week of the challenge. My main quest for this challenge is to lose 4% of my bodyweight, as I've also signed up for DietBet for this four weeks. I hope with my smart goals I can achieve this. I'll also be aiming to drink lots of water, get to sleep on time and write every day, as these are my goals for the year.

Hello everyone, I am completely new to this but I've been searching for a while now for a site that can really help me to start strength training. The problem is that I have no idea where to start, like at all. I'm scared I will exercise the wrong way and injure my body. I'm 25 and do have some small obesity problems. But that's not why I'm here. I want to focus on strength training, I want everything to be tighter, I want to be a lean mean fighting machine. I know there's a lot of information online, but it's almost too much. I can't seem to scan all the amounts to find the things I actually want. I have a gym membership so I have all the necessary equipment to train the way I want. I go around 2,3 x a week, depending on my schedule. So what I want is a specific workout plan, explained for newbies like myself. Just very clear and easy instructions to start off. Tips are also welcome. I need all the help I can get, because I often have a lack in discipline but I've been going to the gym for about a month now and I'm actually enjoying it so I really want to push this further and actually accomplish something. Thanks for the help!

Right, so I’ve been away for a looooong time. The first year of my PhD was manic. I underestimated how much effort moving to a new city, starting a new degree, holding down a part time job with anti-social hours, and trying to look after myself would take. Now, I’ve got into a routine where my life is essentially focused on uni work, teaching, a new, less demanding, part-time job (in a gym, with free gym membership!!!), and running. I feel like I’m ready to get stuck in to a challenge again… so here we go! Motivation! I’ve been doing quite well over the past few weeks at keeping my routine, and I’ve already started to see results. The motivation is to keep this going. I’ve also just signed up for the Greater Manchester Marathon (10th April), so I want to build a good base for this. Main Quest: Achieve my health and fitness goals despite all the other demands on my time. Quest 1 - Run David Run! The start of my marathon training plan has me running 140 miles over 6 weeks. 120-140 miles ran = 3 STA + 2 DEX 100-120 miles ran = 2 STA + 1 DEX 60-100 miles ran = 1 STA Quest 2 - Gym David Gym! In addition to running, I’ve also been going to the gym twice a week. I want to continue this. 10-12 sessions = 3 STR + 2 CHA 8-9 sessions = 2 STR + 1 CHA 6-7 sessions = 1 STR Quest 3 - PhD David PhD! This is a pretty subjective target, but I think keep my PhD-teaching balance going. I want to spend at least 4 days (5 hours minimum, but to be kind this *will* include the many walks to the coffee machine) working on the PhD (or PhD related things, such as preparing papers etc). This will also force me to reconsider my love of free wine at events. 21-24 days of work = 5 WIS 17-20 days of work = 3 WIS 14-17 days of work = 1 WIS Let's do this!

Longtime lurker, first? time poster - or it's been long enough since I was brave enough to post that I don't remember. Berserker mode, go! MULTIPLE WOOTS OF THE WEEK 1. Finally finished knitting a scarf for my boyfriend that I started literally a year ago! +10 ...endurance 2. At long last, as of Sunday night I have seen Star Wars Episodes IV, V, and VI for one full time each. Am I officially a nerd yet? 3. Joined a gym last night and did my first workout in three weeks, and first Zumba class in over a year. Looking forward to trying out BollyX tonight! 4. My mom and I are doing a 10K-A-Day November step challenge with each other (tracked on FitBit) and are roping in our friend and lingerie fitter. I was down by 4,160 on Tuesday but made it all up yesterday. 14,804 steps, nbd. 5. Drank an extra 32 oz over my daily goal yesterday. As the bf likes to say - "Hail Hydrate!" 6. Weighed myself for the first time in about a month and I'm suddenly 9.6 pounds away from the goal weight I've had since high school. I don't want weight to be my only goal in life but this one's been a long time coming. 7. I'm late again but screw everything I'm doing a six week challenge. I don't know how to join, but I'm a halfling and want to be an Assassin. It would help if I could do a single pullup. Baby steps. Welcome to "New"vember, errybody. ;D -Bekka B

Good evening, After looking around at several other posts and looking at my options. and what I want. There are a few things that I need to do. -Improve my Workout and sticking to a schedule with them Goto the Gym at least 3 times /week for 45 minutes. -Do full workout : Detailed , for now as, --20 minutes of elliptical -Abs everytime -Arms and Leg workouts -If I go more than 3 times alternate between upper and lower workout -Work on diet, increase fruits, reduce chocolates. Meditation: -20 minutes /day -insight meditation at UU on wednesdays Dog- Working on finding and Training my own Service dog. (Anyone else have an SD or Owner train?) Search: --Meet with Prospective Dog Trainer this wednesday -check on the groups I have an approved adoption app with. for possibilities (not spend more than 5 hours/week) -meet with prospective puppies til I find one. Once I find/meet the right dog:? -depending on age/needs. Training for 10 minutes 3 times a day -Walk the dog through the neighborhood and walking trails 3 times per day -Walk to/through the Park at least once a week. -Fiber Arts: Nerdopolis- -Sign up and start on summit seeker project. -Do at least 3 challenges every round. Yule gifts: -spa sets for family:Sara, Dot, Beth, Julie, Theresa, Ashleigh, Carly come up with something to give male cousins.. suggestions welcome.. maybe just scarfs though they don't need them much in sc. School- stay on top of school work,

Okay. A bit of backstory: For this past six week challenge (currently in week 5) I have been participating in a program run in a gym not quite near me, but close enough to get to on public transport (I don't have a car.) The program is designed for people to be able to lose 9 kilograms (almost 20 pounds) in 6 weeks, and it coincidentally lined up with the six week challenge here on Nerd Fitness. I've been doing really well on the challenge. I've been following the prescribed nutrition plan and going to the required five fitness classes per week. I've even been going more than required because I want to get as much as I can out of the program and I know I may not be financially able to stay on at the gym after the program finishes. I'm really enjoying the classes and working out, but more than that is the community aspect. There is a facebook page for the gym that's limited to people who still go there and it's really active. It's really easy to strike up conversations with people because so many of them are on the same journey, and the nutrition plan is pretty easy to follow because there is so much support, meal prepping advice and ideas for what to eat up on the website and the facebook page. So with all of this support, why wouldn't I continue with this awesome gym and these awesome people? The number one reason is finances. I'm a student and I'm struggling a little at the moment. I'm trying to save to go overseas next year, because I feel stuck in my hometown and I want adventure and to see a whole new world. (Part of that plan also includes going to Camp Nerd Fitness!) Rent is going up in December and although I have a job, and I'm contracted to certain hours which means I do have enough to pay rent and bills and eat and go to the gym, I would have to rearrange some things to continue on with this gym. I would probably only continue on for six months, as there's a program in place for post 9in6 program goers and this includes a kind of discount, and I think I could afford it for that amount of time. The only other thing is with my boyfriend. With this intense course, uni and my job, it's been really hard to find time for us to hang out. I really want for us to have a healthy relationship, but this is eating into it and I don't know how much more it will bite into my time. I want to take care of my health and fitness, but I also love my boyfriend. He's been super supportive of me so far, but he's definitely interested in having more time for us to hang out and spend time together. I know that once uni's over I'll have a bit more time on my hands, but Christmas is coming up too and I'm just not quite sure what to do. Any advice people can give would be super helpful. Even writing it all out like this really helped. Cheers.

Can anyone tell me what the etiquette is if I'm wanting to do non swimming exercises in my gym pool? It's a smallish gym pool with three lanes, but the lanes are not reserved for lap swimming at certain times or anything like that. On the one hand, since he lanes aren't reserved, I feel like if I wait for a free one and do my thing, then doing squats/walking/jogging in the pool is a perfectly legit use of the pool and I should just do it. On the other hand, I feel like if two people are swimming laps and a third person comes who wants to swim laps I should get out and give them the third lane. I'm feeling anxious about it and would like to know what people think. I'd really like to use the pool for body weight/walking when one of my health things is flared up (now) to the point that my normal gym routine isn't an option, but I can also see how swimmers might feel like I'm taking up a lane that should be for swimming. Thoughts? I've tried asking the gym staff and they say they pretty much let pool users work that stuff out on their own.

I am a complete beginner to all kinds of weight training, and recently got my first gym membership. I have been doing a plan that I found online, which is below. I am gravitating toward the machines because I am scared of using free weights and hurting myself. My legs are relatively average for a beginner, but my arms are tiny, to the point where I can barely do 1 pushup. I want help designing a workout to stay healthy and build a little muscle. I don't need advice for cardio as I have been jogging for some time. Thanks! 2x8 Machine Military Press 3x8 Machine Chest Press 3x8 Lat Pulldown 2x8 Tricep Pulldown - Rope Attachment 2x8 Bicep Curls 2x8 Standing Calf Raise 3x8 Leg Presses 3x8 Leg Curls 2x8 Crunch Machine

Hey all, I'm in need of some motivational help. I've hit a pretty nasty slump and can't seem to shake it. I'll elaborate: In Feb this year, my wife and I signed up for Tough Mudder, because it looks like fun and it's a great goal to work towards. We started off strong, really pushing ourselves. Saw some decent gains in strength and endurance, feeling really good about how things were going. But now, I've plateaued pretty hard. I've been stuck at the same weight/reps on just about every exercise for the past 4 or 5 weeks. This has really started to dig into my motivation because, well, I really, really hate the gym. The only thing that kept me going was seeing progress, and knowing I was moving towards my goal. Now that I'm not seeing that, I'm questioning why I'm torturing myself. I've explored other avenues to try to break this trend: try different routines or activities, find training buddies, etc. Nothing has worked. I don't look forward to exercising anymore, I just think about all the things I could be doing instead. We've only got 2 months to go until the event, and I feel dreadfully under prepared. I'm starting to not even be excited for the event, since I'll most likely just flop on every obstacle. Any advice for breaking out of this? I need a respawn bad! THANKS!

Good morning I've been doing bodyweight for 4 months with great result, it has helped me break my 22% bodyfat plateau and now I'm battling with 19%, I keep making adjustments to diet and i still making progress although is getting harder but still moving forward. last week a gym open a block from my house at a very low price and I've been thinking about doing some barbell workout and keep doing bodyweight I like bodyweight very much, what I think is the following, please tell me what you think. Monday, wednesday and friday - GYM focus on squats and deadlifts tuesday, thursday and saturday - BODYWEIGHT focus on pushups, dips and pullups I'm concerned about resting and recovery do you think it is ok? Thanks

I'm a teacher, and it's summer time. I'd like to think that this is a great time to get into a good workout routine. I don't want/need to do anything fancy. In fact, bodyweight exercises are more than enough for me, generally. I have a few weights and some resistance bands at home, plus you can obviously do squats and push ups anywhere. The problem is, I'm not doing them. There is a pretty nice little gym super close to my house, open 24 hours, even offers a teacher discount. They have nice cardio machines (I would use these for warm up, etc), tons of free weights, and all sorts of other goodies. They even give you two free personal training sessions when you sign up. Here is where I am struggling: it seems silly to pay for a gym when I could do 90-99% of what I need to do at home, for free. I feel guilty spending the money and doing cardio on machines instead of walking my dog, etc, but maybe spending the money and being at a place where there is nothing to do but work out would motivate me. I know I would still have to make myself go. What have been your experiences/opinions on this sort of topic. Thanks in advance for responses!

Good morning guys, noob here I've been doing bodyweight training for almost 4 months with good results, it has helped me break my 22% body fat plateau, now I'm battling against the 19%, I've been adjusting my diet give and take here and there and still making progress. last week a gym opened a block from my house with a very cheap rate. I've been thinking in joining and start doing some barbell training but I still want to continue with the bodyweight and this is what I've been thinking: GYM 3 days a week, mostly focus on squats and dead lifts BODYWEIGHT 2 or 3 days a week, mostly focus on push ups, dips and pull ups monday - gym tuesday - bodyweight wednesday - gym thursday - bodyweight friday - gyn saturday - bodyweight sunday - rest What do you think about this? do you think I will have enough rest? Thanks

Now that I have access to something that has a physical keyboard, I can actually type out my challenge. Woo! I won't be able to start fully on my challenge until Wednesday as I'm visiting family out of state and it'll be super hard to do most of this when I'm busy and traveling. Next Sunday I'm going to start GM'ing a Star Wars RP campaign. Because of that, I've had Star Wars on the brain for a bit, so I'm going to go with a Star Wars theme for this challenge. Main Goal - Get down to target weight of 130 pounds. Goal #1 - Stay On Target! I'm still thoroughly confused about how many calories I should be taking in because some days, 1300 calories makes me feel like I'm starving to death. Though, that could be because I'm not eating the best foods or something. Going to try and stay between 1300 and 1500 calories while tracking everything I eat. May also ask for help in some of the help forums to figure out what's best for me to eat. Goal #2 - Train Like a Jedi To defeat the Empire, I need to be in better shape. So this time, I'm going to buckle down and get my butt to the gym. I *have* to go to the gym 5 days a week, though my bare minimum is going to be 5 days. 3 days will be strength training with 20 minutes of cardio and the other days will be training for my 5K in July. Goal #3 - Walk to Mordor....er....the Battle of Endor Continuing with my friends over at Sprite Stitch, I'm walking to Mordor. I don't really have a clear goal on this, but if I walk more than a mile each day, than I'll call that a win. Being a stay-at-home mom in a tiny apartment doesn't give me much room to walk, but by going to the gym and even getting outside with the Youngling will help me get those much-needed steps in. My Life Goal this time is going to be in the creative streak this time. I have several cross stitching projects that I need to get done sooner rather than later. I keep putting them off due to other random things, so I'm going to devote at least 2 hours a day to stitching. I'll have to post pictures of the projects when I get home.

We fight or we die!!! That's the plan! Ok, sorry that was such a dramatic entrance. But it is kind of true for me even though I doubt it'll be death by reapers. More like an early death by obesity, drinking too much, not moving around enough. And life is awesome so who wants that? On to the real plan!!! Main Quest To wear a size 7 again. My N7 suit doesn't fit anymore and they don't make them in a 14. My Goals Hit the gym for 20 minutes 3 times a week. Eat paleo from breakfast to lunch at very least. Hit the yoga studio or the gaiam videos at least 2 times a week. Life Quest Move to Portland. Florida is a blazing inferno of hot and my family needs change. Mainly the median age level kind of change. My Motivation Adding as many life points to my health bar as possible so I can be with little clan of people for as long as possible. I am so excited to have found this site. It is like kismet since I just started trying to not feel like crap again. Hugs and wish me success!

New challenge! After the last couple of challenges, which I failed to complete because of crazy work schedules (work life balance?? What's that??). But now I'm back! LOTR THEME!!!!!!! OMG WTF LETS DO THIS So one of my goals relates to step counting. By my calculations, by the end of this challenge I should have done nearly enough steps to have traveled from the Shire to Bree. Actually, I think we will end up in Barrow-Downs, but close enough. And being in New Zealand, what could be more appropriate than a LOTR theme?? So what're we doing?? Well, I really want to get into the fitness side of things, and get the right fuel in the tank. I have a tendency to try and leap into things, run hard for an hour every day, then of course crash and give up. So I'm trying to be a bit more gentle. I also want to do some conditioning for silks, I need to build up my strength, fitness and flexibility. For my life goal, I need to keep being organised, now that I am sort of self-employed, otherwise it's all going to fall apart. My overarching goal is still also weight loss, so hopefully I will see some progress on that too. I set up a reward schedule for that at the beginning of the year, and I am keen to get some of those rewards finally! Main Goals: 1. 10,000 steps per day, 5 days per week Grading: A: 270,000+ steps B: 225,000-269,999 steps C: 180,000-224,999 steps 2. Get to the gym/silks/some kind of sweaty exercise 5 days/week Grading: A: 27+ days B: 22-26 days C:18-21 days 3. Eat 1200-1500 cal/day Grading: A: 37+ days B: 31-36 days C: 25-30 days Life Goal: Organise work and home: I need to set up a good spreadsheet for my work, to make invoicing and tracking easier and less time consuming I also need to tidy up the house- 8 rooms total Grading: A: 8+ tasks done B: 6-7 tasks done C: 4-5 tasks done Let's do it!

Hi All, I have been a religious Nerd Fitness follower for years now and I may or may not have a secret crush on Steve I am super excited to start this 6 week challenge...my biggest flaw is falling off the wagon, so I am really looking forward to being accountable this time around and sticking it out through the 6 weeks, I hope I can get as much support in this endeavor as possible from all you awesome people on this forum! Ok now down to the deets: Main Quest: Be able to fit into clothes in any store I want (even if its the largest size they have). So approximately becoming a size 8-10 US by end of the year. 4 Main goals for this 6 week: - Hit the gym 5x (bootcamp, boxing and strength training) a week and do yoga 1x a week - Track all my meals atleast 6 days a week for the next 6 weeks - Fast for 24 hrs one day a week for the next 6 weeks - Follow Tim Ferriss' slow carb diet for the next 6 weeks Stats: Starting Size: 16 Starting weight: 238.8 Starting BF%: 43.8% Side Goals (I have 2, I'm a LEO over achieving, or atleast trying to, is part of my horoscopic makeup!) 1. Update this post weekly (thats only 6 posts!) 2. Make a to-do list at work daily and ensure that I finish my list everyday before finishing up for the day... I'm not super clear on the points or grade yet, but hopefully I can figure that out by next week and will update my post accordingly! Alrightey, here we go...wish me luck!!

Hey, Im just wondering if anyone out there can give me some help and advice? (Hope this is in the right place to ask for advice) Some info about me: Im a 19 year old male, a university student, currently weigh roughly 68Kg and am 5ft 11. I play football and american football (although, its currently off season) and attend the gym on a regular basis Basically my aim is that I am trying to bulk up and gain weight, which from doing research most people suggest increasing your calorie intake and protein shakes. For protein shake I am currently taking Sci Mx Muscle Meal Leancore. I would like to plan a diet in order to this and i am just wondering what types of food/ meals are best when trying to do this? Im up for trying most foods when doing this, although the food (that I can think of) that I dont like is fish, egg, salad and nuts (all of which I know are meant to be good and help in this situation). So yeah Im just looking for some advice on that or and diet plans which people know of/ have done, which they can recommend... Thanks in advance for anyone who helps

5'11 (1.8 metres) 150lbs (68kg) I currently have a 3 months gym membership and after the 3 months the membership expires and I want to get fit before May. My week goes like this: Monday: basketball training (2 hours) Tuesday: Gym (weights) Wednesday: rest Thursday: Gym (weights) Friday: basketball training (2 hours) Saturday: Gym (weights) Sunday: Rest My workout plan for the gym is a full body workout: Legs - 2 sets each Leg press Calve raises Leg curl Chest 2 sets each Smith press Dumbbell press Dumbbell fly Shoulders 2 sets each Lat pull down Dumbbell incline press Lat raises Back 2 sets each Pec deck Row lat pull down Arms 2 sets each bicep curls machine arm extension dumbbell bicep curls Abs 2 sets each Ab machine Will this workout along with the other exercise I do outside of the gym, help me loose weight and get more muscular? I want to loose fat in my chest and get build more muscle overall. Thanks a lot! I really appreciate any replies or advice given!

This is a video (Mini-Documentary) to inspire all and to show what you can do with your body in only 28 days when you quit drinking, change your diet, and are active everyday!

Quest: Embark on Healthy Habits Current Weight: 209.8 Grade Scale: Week 1: 3 cheats Week 2: 2 cheats Week 3: 2 cheats Week 4: 1 cheats Week 5: 1 cheats Week 6: 0 cheats Goal #1: 8 Hours of Sleep Per Day Stats: Stats: +1 STA, +2 CON, +2 CHA Goal #2: Embrace a Workout Schedule This year I am signing up for my first half marathon. It won't be until September 6th for my birthday. But I want to start training for it and start building up my body. My current workout schedule is iffy. I had a trainer for 3 great years but I can't afford it financially. I ended up going to a cheaper gym, Fitness 19. But I get anxiety so I haven't stepped in yet. On the 27th of December I went in for questions, they gave me a week long guest pass but I didn't use it (I sat in my car staring at the people going in (3X!!), freaking out that they were strangers), then last night I had the hopes that by 9PM there wouldn't be anyone there. There were loads of people, so I signed up but chickened out of using equiptment. I went home and I used the treadmill. I run outside on Sundays with my mom. And I'm hoping I can workout with my dad at the gym. Monday: Running and Gym? Tuesday: Dance Wednesday: Running and Dance Thursday: Day Off Friday: Gym? Saturday: Gym? Sunday: Running and Gym? +2 STA +STR +1 DEX Goal #3: Stick to my calories (1730)! I have a semi-active lifestyle but a not so active boyfriend/mother/friends. I tend to eat pretty healthy (lots of veggies, meat, and a small quantity of carbs when I am by myself). However, I don't make the best of choices when I am around other people. And I certainly don't want to be a hermit for the rest of my life just so I can lose weight. A lot of my weight gain has to do with my thoughts. I try to eat what other people eat in terms of quantity. So let's just face the facts. I'm a short, would be petite if it wasn't for the weight, kind of girl. So I have decided first to do portion control when I eat out and yes I do eat out. Currently, I make 2 of my meals and would like to eventually make my third at home but that hasn't happened yet so instead when I do eat out I will order off the children's menu, the smaller portion's menu, or the under 500 calories menu. Stats: +1 STA, +2 WIS Life Quest: Practice Meditation for 5 Minutes a Day My anxiety and stress levels are really high at the moment. It's exahusting. So I will try something new like this: http://marc.ucla.edu/mpeg/01_Breathing_Meditation.mp3 Stats: +1 WIS, +1 CON, +1 CHA PS If you see me disappear, I'm still continuing with the challenge I just forget to update.

Seriously, though, I can't. But I'm going to learn. First things first. I'm an 18 yo, 1,70m (5' 7'') and with a 21 IMC. I've never been overweight, but a couple of years ago I lost weight very quickly and got down to something like 49 kgs, which was a big shock - mostly to myself. Since then, I've put on the weight back, but it hasn't come back as just muscle, unfortunately. I'm not a fan of fast food and I do eat pretty healthy, but what you would consider a "normal" diet. Not Paleo, not vegan, etc. I do try to eat a minimal amount of carbs, though. I didn't use to be a big fan of exercise - and running, even though I do it from time to time, isn't something I truly enjoy. And I've just signed up at a local gym, but I'm feeling a little intimidated by the bulky, ripped guys that lurk around the weight area. I have the upper body strength of a ten year-old, and at this point just don't know where to start! Any help would be appreciated! I'm in this for the long run! (no pun intended, still hate running )

I recently started going to a gym and I got a personal trainer. I'm aiming for two to three training sessions a week and it's been going pretty well. The problem is that I am addicted to sugar. I plan out my eating but then I get distracted and give myself a little leniency which most times turns into a full out binge. Plus grains and dairy. I love eating paleo but I fall off the wagon so quickly. I will get there, though. One meal at a time. One day at a time.

Watch this space... coming Okay one super challenge coming right up. My last challenge was an entree, a little taster to get me in the mood. I wasn't very disciplined and I didn't hold myself accountable for much. I still see at as a success because I'm in a lot better place than I was motivation wise now. Variety is the spice of life I have been reading Mark's Daily Apple again regularly and I'm a big fan of his exercise philosophy. Of course it is similar to Steve's philosophy of... have some fun!! I have joined a gym near my work and I plan to work my way through all the classes and do something different every time I'm there. I'm not in the mood for a rigid workout plan right now, I just want to get moving regularly in all sorts of a different ways. So far I've used the treadmills, the bikes and done a class that uses the barbell to do squats, presses etc along to music. I really enjoyed that even though I couldn't walk properly for a week after the first session I did (even with only using 1.25kg plates on the bar). The second time I did it was a lot better though. I also have kettlebells at home and I have the Zombies Run! app, so whether I'm running, swimming, lifting or cycling I have no excuse not to be doing something. 3 exercise activities a week, moving slowly, sometimes fast. Scoring will be a simple pass or fail for the week Running on clean fuel Okay so I want to lose some body fat (don't we all). I am currently 86.6 kg and my big goal would be to get under 70kg, but that is a side effect of my actions, not an action itself. Losing it is 80% what I eat so I will be eating 80% primal. No processed junk, no soft drink. I will be using to MFP to log as much as I can and I will use the following guidelines to aim for: <150g of carbs per day >100g of protein <1500 cals Superhero skills level up This one is actually a 12 week challenge but the first half will fall during this challenge so I will roll it in here. I will be learning to speak Cantonese. My goal is to be fluent enough to hold a conversation in 12 weeks. In order to do this I will be: - 2 hours of one on one tutoring on italki.com - 1 hour per day of practice Score log: Exercise sessions: 0/3 - 0/3 - 0/3 - 0/3 - 0/3 - 0/3 - 0/42 80% Primal days: 0/7 - 0/7 - 0/7 - 0/7 - 0/7 - 0/7 - 0/42 Cantonese 1 hr sessions: 0/7 - 0/7 - 0/7 - 0/7 - 0/7 - 0/7 - 0/42 Ready. Set. Go!