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Goals: Fitness: Workout 3x a week using the Startbodyweight Routine Health: Drink 2 liters of water everyday & 1 apple and ~100 grams of strawberries every day. Hobby: 100% Rayman Origins & start with 100% Darksiders Warmastered. Social: update atleast every 2-3 days here on the forums and comment on 1-2 other challenges. Skill: Practice Juggling & German language So last challenge i made a decent start with getting back into shape. Above are a few stuff i want to do during this challenge. Lets explain a bit more about the goals: Fitness: at the end of the last challenge i started again with SBR (StartBodyweight Routine) and i want to continue it in this one. Get that difficulty in again. Health: I want to drink more water, most days i barely drank any fluids or it was some soda/energy drinks. I want to eat more fruit, so an apple during work and the strawberries with breakfast or as a snack. Hobby: Started last month with Rayman Origins and got far but didnt have a moment specific to play it. I'm gonna play it on 1 day for a few hours at a time where i know i have time and wont be distracted. After Rayman is done i'm gonna start with Darksiders Warmastered. Social: Last challenge i didnt update a lot and i think this also made it hard to keep track of my goals. And because i didnt focus on my own i didnt comment/support others with their goals. So this time id'm gonna update my own a bit more and support other more. Skill: havent practiced a skill in a long time. I have a few juggling balls and i want to practice juggling again because its fun and kewl to do. German language is one that i'm on/off constantly, but i want to get good with it because my brother lives in Germany and if i come to him i want to be able to speak with his german friends/colleagues and not having him to translate. My father has a whole college book on how to practice German and hopefully i can borrow this from him. Oke, those are my goals and i'm gonna do "more" my best to do all of it.

Grandkai Goes Wick John is a man of focus, commitment, sheer will... something you know very little about. Last challenged i did a respawn here in the forums and with fitness, habits, nutrition. Despite having a decent 2 weeks challenge i need more focus on my goals, commitment to not be distracted with videogames & sheer will to succeed in my challenge. FOCUS: Don't be distracted by videogames until my task for the day are complete. These task are the following: - Working out; - Pomodoro Cleaning; - Shopping (if needed); - Making meals for the week This one is important to me because the last weeks i went straight to my console to play games instead of making sure my apartment is clean which resulted in a dirty apartment. And then only cleaned when i had no clean dishes. NEVER again! Games are fun but they don't decide my life. COMMITMENT: Workout every other day. I bought the Rings & Handstand Super Pack here on Nerd Fitness. I'm going to alternate between Rings & the Handstand workout. For example: Monday Rings with Bodyweight, Tuesday Off, Wednesday Handstand, Thursday OFF, Friday Rings and so on...depending if i get my rings on Monday or it will the other way around. And once i get more used to all the exercises i will probably do both Rings & Handstand in the same workout but thats for later. Now i want to get back into the routine of working out. Besides the Rings/Handstand stuff i'm going to do basic Bodyweight stuff (push-ups, pull-/chin-ups, squats, planks) to become stronger. SHEER WILL: Update every day Doesnt matter when i update, no matter what shift im doing i will update here everyday as much or as little there is to tell. 100% Gaming Goal: Deus Ex Mankind Divided I used to do 100% gaming goals ever since i got inspired by a old friend ( @Lilmissbri, she does on PS4 and i do on Xbox ). This challenge i'm going to do my best to 100% Deus Ex Mankind Divided. Who knows, maybe ill even stream it (the time between my last REAL challenge here and now i started streaming a bit on Twitch, but i had to drop it because i had a period where i just had no energy for it. Now i have some more energy and i want to try and start streaming again). Also: i get the same vibe with these 2. Looking like a Gentleman & being deadly when pissed off. And to get in the whole John Wick theme even more, one of the best, maybe even THE best scene's of the movie.

Grandkai Prepares for the Assassins There's only 2 weeks left of the challenge, but better late than never. And better prep now than having too much work when the next challenge starts. First a little bit backstory: Hi, i'm Grandkai. I'm from the Netherlands and i have spend a long time here on the forums. But i stopped doing challenges/watching the forums in January. At that time i had everything all right. I worked out, had good nutrition, stretched, ran and all that stuff. But as the months kept going i lost more and more of those things. I started working out less, skipped stretching, never ran again, nutrition went down a little bit. And i noticed i spent more time on my butt behind the tv/computer (which was fun for the time being) but i realized i need to do more stuff again. So thats my goal for upcoming challenges, right now i need to get everything clean & organized. Goals: Eat an apple everyday & drink 2 liters of water; #5 Minute Flow every morning; Read 30 minutes before & after bed; Clean up before bed; Minor Goals: Look online for a good handstand guide/program; Re-schedule my calendar; Hope to see you guys here. And i will definitely check out you guys!!

Hello. So this will be my very first challenge here. I'm gonna skip the introductions first and just go on with my dry run 5-day challenge. I hope I am not that late to post my challenge here.

As 927589452 steps into this new year, he will have to fight many opponents. This is the place to follows him along. He knows his two big foes, which are the Summer at the Lakes and Pools and his degree, but as any big hero, he has to conquer them step by step. Therefore he has to Fitness do his BW Workout or Yoga on 4 of 7 Days he has to have no break longer than 1 Day between Training Health have a self cooked meal for Lunch on 3 of 5 work days Fight do at least two full kata Science: read at least 30 pages of scientific papers or scripts write at least 1 page of scientific paper (control at https://github.com/927578452 ) each week. And he storms into battle...

I have so much red tape to deal with. So much. This will be a challenge inspired by Rufus Drumknott, Lord Vetinari's head clerk. Not one of the more exciting Discworld characters, but if you want red tape cut through, deadlines tended, and forms filled out in triplicate, he's the man to do it. I'm gonna call this the meditation section of the challenge, because that is some quality silence. I would like to cultivate some mental silence like a feather falling in a cathedral. Recurring tasks: Meditate daily, at least six days a week (5 pts each): 0/150 One-time tasks: Do one half-hour meditation: 0/10 pts One-time tasks: Get special clothing for going to the gym at work: 5/5 pts Tracked tasks: Other special clothing-related points: Recurring tasks: Go to the gym 3-4x/week, because I bought the clothes (5 pts each): 0/90 Do something daily to grasp the future with a willing hand (5 pts each): 0/160 I want to track the timeliness of my to-do list. This is sort of a fuzzy thing, because I make my list too full for one day, and have to punt things because not everything will fit. I will count that differently from punting things because I don't want to do them, or having things that seem to coincidentally repeatedly not fit onto my schedule. I have two classes of tasks, the big ones and the little ones. I think this will do it: Tracked tasks: Number of things done on time (5 pts each): Number of things done on time (1 pts each): Number of things procrastinated on (-5 pts each): Number of things procrastinated on (-1 pts each): Tracked tasks: Points for competence at Drumknotting: Points for having a personal life: Points for an exciting use of stationery:

So, December is my least favorite month. I've never been officially diagnosed or anything, but I suspect that I have a touch of Seasonal Affective Disorder. I sometimes struggle with bouts of depression and the struggle gets much worse in the winter months. Basically I just want to hibernate and have little motivation to do anything. On top of this, I struggle with bad feelings about the holiday season, because I'm not personally that into the whole thing for a slew of reasons I won't bore you all with. Nothing awful or traumatic, just a bunch of personal idiosyncrasies really. But I also feel the need to make an effort because of my family and also just feeling like only grumpy assholes don't like the holidays. It all just tends to become a downward spiral of depression, stress, and anxiety in which I feel bad for feeling bad because after all it is THE HAPPIEST TIME OF THE YEAR (TM). Every year I joke about just going away somewhere, but this year I'm going to figure out how to make it work for me and not be miserable. Goals for this challenge: EXERCISE AND SELF-CARE 1. Go to yoga class once a week. I was going fairly regularly to yoga but started slacking off in the fall once they changed the time of the class I was going to regularly to 15 minutes earlier. I'm awful at mornings and 15 minutes earlier just doesn't work, but there are a bunch of classes later in the morning that I can certainly go to. I went today and realized how much I had missed it and how good it is for me. 2. Stretch. At least 15 minutes of stretching a day, focusing on working toward splits and preventing ongoing shoulder problems resulting from computer overuse. 3. Meditate with sunlamp. I've been really good about this and I think it's helping! Keep meditating at least 15 minutes a day, with sunlamp to fight the SAD. 4. Other exercise. If I don't have an aerials class or yoga, do at least 15 minutes of exercise every day. Pullups, pushups, abs, weights. SURVIVE AND THRIVE THE HOLIDAYS 1. Daily check-in. Is there anything holiday-task related that I need to do today? Is there anything that I am dwelling on that is making me upset? What can I be positive about today? 2. Prepare for the New Year. As much as Christmas makes me unhappy, I totally look forward to the New Year- starting over, making new plans, etc. Part of my plan for December is to try to view this as a period of cleansing/planning/trial by fire in order to start the New Year fresh. What can I do to be ready to enact positive changes and new projects in the New Year that will stick? This year I'm also thinking of rituals to do on New Year's day that will hopefully become a tradition. So far I'm planning on doing an hour-long meditation and going for a long walk in my local park (assuming the weather isn't bad enough to create unsafe conditions, but it's a paved 4.5 mile loop trail so as long as its safe to drive there it should be ok to walk.)

So I've been on here before, and every time I'm on here I improve myself. And then something happens (I find excuses) and I drift away from here - broke my foot & got depressed, then moved to Florida & got busy. And once again I find myself back at the beginning of my quest. So I'm respawning at level 1, and I'm really hoping that you guys will be able to help me push on through to get some progress going again. (Really, though, I do markedly better when I actually get some response on here then when I get crickets... so please excuse me for being needy and help me out by dropping in on this thread lots!! I will try to keep it fun with lots and lots of gifs. The theme is Lion King. You're welcome.) Main Quest - Lose weight - 4 lb minimum I have really let myself go here with excuses... "Oh, my schedule is too early these days to go running anymore." "Oh, I forgot to prep my food over the weekend... just gonna have to order delivery all week." "Oh, I blew my knee out, better sit on my ass and stuff my face to feel better." And now I'm MASSIVE. It's really embarrassing and I'm very over it. I would like my clothes to fit again, thank you very much. So I need to drop the pounds. The minimum is four pounds. One pound a week is hardly a stretch, after all, but I'd like to lose more. I'm not setting my goal any higher, though, because I have a history of trying to do too much to soon, and burning out. Goals 1. Be Prepared - Do all meal planning Friday, shopping Saturday, and prepping on Sunday. 2. What's on the menu? - Eat only the food prepared. NO MORE DELIVERY. AT ALL. NONE. 3. Move it! - Walk for at least 15 minutes a day. Life Quest Professional development. 1 point for each chapter I finish in the psychology of success book I'm reading or 2 points for each section I finish in my CPCU text. I want to take the next CPCU exam before the year is out, and I don't have lots of time left to do that. Measurements Height: 5'9" Weight: 205 lbs T-T Waist: 33.5" Hips: 46.5" Thigh: 29" (I'll need to measure myself before the challenge starts) Grading Each goal will be graded weekly & be worth 1/3 of that week's total grade. Life Points are unlimited extra credit that can be added to my final score! My final grade will be the average of all four weeks plus my Life Goal extra credit. I need to make at least a B (80%) to pass the challenge. Be Prepared - 7 points total - 2 for each workday meal that I prep on Sunday (gotta do the whole week on Sunday), 1 for planning everything each Friday. What's on the Menu? - I know this goal seems redundant after the first one, but it's not been unheard of for me to have food prepped in the fridge and still find a way to eat trash. So this is extra incentive to not take the points for prepping the food and then just not eating it. I'm going to grade this one a bit backwards too. Rather than earning points as the week goes on, I'll start with full points and try to keep them all. I start with 14 points (lunch & dinner every day. I'm not worried about breakfast). Each time I eat "off-menu", I lose a point. Move it! - So normally this is where I would put something about doing aerials/pole, bodyweight exercises, or running. But instead I'm settling for a 15 minute walk each day. Each day will be one point, so 7 points total. 'Why Jaybird? That won't make a big difference!' Well, first of all, my knee is still kinda kaput. With the help of my brace, I should be able to get back to more intensive exercise in the next couple weeks, but for now? Walking is just about it, and at least I won't be sitting on the couch. Second of all, putting pole as a measurable goal is really a cop out, cus I love going to class and don't need to reward myself with points for going. It's cheating, really. Third and finally, walking 'just' 15 minutes a day may be small and more or less inconsequential, but it adds up. Especially since the 15 is just my minimum. I've got a treadmill desk, and I can easy put in a couple hours playing World of Warcraft, if I have the incentive (points!) to do that instead of lounge on the couch watching Netflix. Exceptions - If I get REALLY sick, I can be exempt. But I have to be SUPER DUPER sick. So sick that I can't even walk for 15 minutes or do a little bit of cooking. I seriously doubt I'll get that sick. *knocks on wood* Motivation Besides the outright self-loathing that is quickly developing from the massive amount of fat on me right now, I've also got some material motivations for the challenge! Passing the challenge earns me a new pair of bangarang leggings. I'm thinking the Sylvanas ones! Losing more than 4 pounds earns me grip gloves for pole. Tracker Be Prepared What's on the Menu? Move it! Prof. Dev. Total Week 1: 7/7 10/14 7/7 1/0 25/28(89%) Week 2: 3/7 9/14 4/7 0/0 16/28(57%) Week 3: 7/7 11/14 4/7 0/0 22/28(79%) Week 4: 0/7 14/14 0/7 0/0 14/28

Lifted 3 workouts/week I've got a good system going, I'd like to keep it up. Regular workout days are Saturday, Monday and Wednesday. Things may get squeezed to accommodate missed workouts but the goal is to have 12 workouts during the 'official' challenge timeline. Grounded Morning sun salutations 4/week This was my favorite task from two previous challenges. Perhaps it'll be a nice way to ease into some stretching prior to the re-opening of my circus gym. Fueled Cook 4 meals over the course of this challenge Seems like it would be manageable, but seriously guys, you have no idea what kind of a stretch this is for me. At 30 something, I still mostly eat like a college student. One-skillet meals and goulash-type recipes totally count for this. Refreshed Tackle 4 15-minute cleaning blocks over the course of this challenge My adulting is terrible and my house is a mess (again). I'd like to build a regular cleaning habit. Baby steps, yo.

Mizbrek shook off the snow from his cloak and stamped his boots as he stepped into the Mended Bow Tavern. The heat from the many fires hit him instantly. The place always seemed bigger on the inside, with its two-storey roof and many tables. He ducked under a man walking past who nearly elbowed him, slapping a green Orc on the back as he did so. He sighed. There were disadvantages to being so short sometimes. He ducked around an Argonian before hopping on one of the taller stools on the bar. The Mended Bow catered to people of various shapes and sizes, and it helped to even some folks out. He tucked his bag under the bar and waved over the bartender. Miz could never remember his species, but the dark skin and forehead ridges, not to mention his frequent discussion of honor, stuck out. The barkeep grunted at him as he approached. “How would you like to buy my newest ale, Gormok?” Miz said with a grin. “Your last one tasted like fruit,” he barked. “Well, yes, it had something from Tel-Abim in it! Can’t remember the name of it but it was good.” “The customers thought it was weird!” “Ugh, no sense of adventure, your customers. That was a fine, hand-crafted, artisanal ale!” Miz shook his head. “This one is standard though. A simple lager, but with ingredients from all over the multiverse! The finest spring water from Rivendell! Hops grown in the Valley of Four Winds in Pandaria! Some of the first barley ever grown by the Minbari! Spices from the Klatchian Empire, and brewed in the fires of Vulcan!” Gormok sighed. “Fine. How much do you have and what do you want for it?” As Miz reached into his bag and pulled out a keg that was far too large to have fit in the bag in the first place, Gormok added “and someday you’ll need to tell me where you got that bag.” “I won it in a game of Hearthstone off some raggedy Doctor,” Miz said, dropping the keg onto the bar with a thud. “I want a room for the night, a few days of supplies, whatever’s on the menu for tonight, and a few drafts of your finest ale.” “Done,” Gormok said. He hefted the keg behind the bar, tucking it away. A few minutes later, full of some 2 ales and a bowl of some miscellaneous stew, Miz’s ears perked up. As a brewmaster, your learned to listen. Sometimes that was to talk of a new ale people liked. Sometimes that was to talk of where your next adventure would come from. “...thing tore his legs right off. He was mad though, I told him…” Miz moved quietly closer, finding a small, empty table near the group. Mostly humans it looked like, but there was one dressed oddly, long robes and bear. Wizard, Miz recalled, but from some other world than his own. Some place called Hogwarts, he thought he remembered. “I’m sure they are exaggerating, there’s no way Medrak was that big,” the taller of the group was saying. “He was! My cousin’s brother’s former roommate went in with a group of 25 himself, they didn’t manage it! Snaegar they managed, but Housgar wore them down.” “I heard Calorus tempted them all with some kind of siren song, made half of them fall off some kind of crevasse in the cave,” the Wizard said. Miz drained his ale as he continued to listen, waving down the barmaid and draining a second as they continued to discuss. “I’m telling you, Challongia Caverns is undoable. Not with five armies could you manage it,” the tall one declared. “One at a time, perhaps, but not all at once.” The fourth ale arrived and went down smooth. Miz started on his fifth as he wandered over. “Gentlemen!” He declared, the humans turning towards the small hobbit, taking in his simple leather armor and his odd, ornamented staff strapped to his back. “I could not help but overhear. Where is this Challongia Cavern you speak of? I am a brewmaster, I seek adventure, and I would love to visit it. I have a new brew I’m working on, and they say Dragon’s Fire is just the key to getting it juuuuust right…” On reviewing his words, Miz thought it possible, based on the stunned looks he got, that he may not be as thought as he sober he was. But they quickly dispelled that notion. “You?!” the taller one said. “I could kick your ass! What’re you going to do against 5 dragons?!” “Come here and I’ll show you,” Miz slurred slightly. The taller one grinned, and the Wizard made to hold him back, but the stool was knocked back, and he was leaping towards the hobbit with surprising speed. Miz had been known to brag. He was famous for it throughout the multiverse. But it was rarely said it was without merit. With a speed belying his small size and intoxication, Miz’s fist shot out, catching the man on his side and tossing him to the right. A second was up, and found the Hobbit in the air, checking him with his whole, small, but surprisingly heavy body. The second man slammed onto a table, the wind knocked out of him. The third found his head snapped to the side by a strong kick. It didn’t knock him out, but when he went down, he stayed down. There was no point in messing with a tiny guy like that. The Wizard stood on, not making any move to get up. “So that’s what you’ll do against 5 dragons?” he asked conversationally. “More or less,” Miz said, with a grin. As he retired to his room a while later, the Wizard’s map tucked safely away in his bigger on the inside pack, Miz wondered for a brief moment if he’d made a mistake, boasting and promising drunkenly to defeat 5 dragons that had felled armies. Eh. It’ll make a good story either way, he thought to himself. Well this is my first challenge, and hopefully no one minds a bit of RP! I'll be doing my best to throw in some RP elements with each update, but I don't expect I'll be able to write the story in perfect detail. Just wrote this for some of my own fun! For this challenge I've chosen 5 goals, represented by 5 dragons that Mizbrek will be trying to solo. At the same time. Cause that's the kind of stuff my WoW characters do, and let's face it, aren't we all doing this so we can do the stuff our fantasy characters do? The 5 Dragons Calorus, the Consumer - For this challenge I will be tracking my food with MFP and attempting to stay under 2100 calories. I'm giving myself extra points if I can do so NOT counting exercise as an offset, but for the purpose of this I'll plan to count those calories. Though I won't try and eat UP to that. Medrak, the Disruptor - I'll be attempting to meditate for 5 minutes a day. Using an app to do so. I have some experience with this, and I may up that a bit, but I haven't had a regular practice in a long time, and, well, the NF Academy suggested it, so I figured I'd give it a shot. I've been doing it a bit the last little while but may need to revisit my practice - I'm doing it with headphones on on my commute home, which isn't as restful, I've found. But we'll see. Still working at building that muscle, so to speak. Snaegara, the Temptress - For a long time I was buying snacks on the way home. Chocolate bars, M&M's. I would feel this pull whenever I walked by a store. I've been off this for a bit, and haven't in a while, with one small exception, but I want to maintain that. I'd also like to try and avoid snacking in general, when people bring stuff into work, or when I'm out and people put out appetizers. There's a very specific way I dig in and want MORE MORE MORE. I can have one or two polite bites of something, but there's no need for that most of the time. Housgar, Bane of the Hearth - I will do 20 minutes of housework per day. This is both to keep me active and help my wife out a bit. I often get home and just plop myself in front of the computer, and that helps no one and nothing. The house being out of sorts stresses her out, and I want to be better at that. I'm allowed to occasionally count something out of the house for this (like running errands on the way home), but I've left her as the final arbiter here of what counts and doesn't. I trust her to be a firm but fair dictator on that front (even if she is thinking of joining the Alliance in the mini-challenge). Activron, Scourge of the Wastes - This will be the new one for me - 10 minutes of dedicated activity per day. This DOES NOT include dog walking. To get a check mark in this column I need to do something specifically for the purpose of exercise. This can include going out for a walk, going out and playing Pokemon Go, going for a run, yoga, bodyweight exercises, going to the driving range, any of those. The idea here is to build a habit of some form of exercise daily, which I don't currently have, and starting small so it's attainable and doesn't seem daunting. Now these may seem like relatively lukewarm goals, but for me the key here is consistency. Every program or change I've ever tried I've given up, most within a few weeks. I signed up for the NF Academy about a month ago and have been working through that in order, and what they emphasize first is mindset and nutrition, of which these target. A few of these I'm already doing. I'm mostly under 2100 calories, most days, I haven't snacked in a while, I've been pretty consistent about the housework for the last week or two, and I've been meditating for a few days. The activity is the only totally new one, but it's an important step. The idea here is to build a good base that I can work from in the future, to build good habits that I stick with. Already the NF program is my 3rd most successful weight loss endeavour, the other two involving me either being unemployed or having a ton of money, and neither of which stuck. So I hope you'll join me! I'll be aiming to update daily, and you can follow my Instagram as well for other updates! And I'll see some of you in the mini-challenge! And if you've joined the Alliance, then I look forward to honourably crushing you on the field of battle for the glory of the Horde.

Challenge number... 14 I believe it is for me. If I'm not mistaken, that is. I have had a decent number of good-ish challenges. These usually start out quite well, I make huge improvements. But usually around mid-week 3 I start to... "fall of the wagon" sounds like a big event, when it is more like a lull in the momentum. A dwindling of enthusiasm. I have become stronger and gained endurance as well. This time around I am going to go for a more sedate improvement. Week 1 FlyLady - my apartment will thank me Do something nice for yourself. Second half week 1 Daily exercise - picking up "darebee ab challenge" at day 30 (70 sit ups, lots of flutter kicks and some planks) and continuing on into level II. Potentially some form of pushup challenge - no specific plans yet. Next week is the last week of normal training before Summer Break. - So train while you can. Week 2 Daily dare challenge - if there is such a thing, I have to look, will aim for silver again, eventually I will get there. And some more foruming - as in mini challenge and socializing on here. Second half week 2 And lastly nutrition - logging food EVERY SINGLE DAY. Slowly getting back to paleo-ness, and eating carbs as a reward for exercise. This is a lot, and I feel overwhelmed just by looking at the list. So I will build up my task list slowly. With week 3 and 4 just for maintaining. Kindest Regards Katrin Continued gratitude practice. I am thankful for Netflix. So many shows I could never afford owning... I am appreciative about pure cashmere yarn. Such a wonderful luxury. And lastly I am thankful for kids being in daycare most of the day, they are chewing on the bit as is... I would never be able to keep up, were they not powered out during the mornings and early afternoons....

There is quite a sturdy rumor that my circus gym will be re-opening some time in July. I've been in and out of a fitness-funk for the last 8 months while they've been closed/relocating so it's time to see if I can be in some kind of decent shape once I can get back to class. Lift weights My old faithful push/pull/legs split 3x/week, please! 15 workouts total Core progressions So much about being in the air is reliant on core strength. I am sure mine is not where it was 8 months ago, so lets work on that. Hollow body holds, floor tucks (no idea what to call these, really, but it's mimicking an aerial inversion on the ground) and maybe the ab wheel will be the cornerstone of this work. 2x/week 10 core sessions Stretch When I don't have class, I am terrible at this. I think I can count on one hand the times I've had any kind of stretching session since November. Sigh. Setting the bar low, here. 1x/week 5 stretch sessions Sun salutations A few challenges back, I made an effort to start each day with a few (5-ish) sun salutations. I quite liked it, really and I'd like to get back to it. With a little room for error/forgetfulness. 5x/week 25 mornings of greeting the sun No theme, no fancy formatting, no distractions. Just work.

Hey all, I've been lurking around NF, but haven't spent a lot of time with the forums. I'm looking to kick up my daily quests with some accountability. For this challenge, I will be setting a series of dailies that I will need to complete, well, daily. I track my life in my blog, and my habits in HabitBull. I think this will add another layer of accountability because I know you're all watching! Tracking my food daily, without exception - If I bite it, I write it (tracked in blog) Stepping up my physical presence by committing to activity 6x per week (tracked in HabitBull): 3x Strength Training (30-60 minutes) - Tracked in Leiah Sky's Epic Spreadsheet of Fitness (to measure +STR) 3x Yoga Session (30 minutes) - Tracked in Leiah Sky's Epic Spreadsheet of Fitness (to measure +DEX) Rise and Conquer - I will be waking up 5 minutes earlier, every day, for the next 12 days, and then will continue to wake up at 5:00 AM every morning so that I can conquer my quests early, while I still have the energy, because I am so not the type of gal with energy after 6:00 PM (tracked in HabitBull). I will check in at minimum on a weekly basis to talk about my challenge, what I have accomplished, and what barriers I discover. Happy questing! AGD2 (Aka Leiah Sky)

New Challenge I want to do all the things. All the time. But my plate is constantly too full. The plan for March is to make doing-less-but-doing-it-right a thing. This is the last full challenge before I'm here for a full year. I have a lvl 50 25 dream, getting there will require training, training that requires some organisation. Furthermore it encompasses a moderate fluency in at least 2 languages I'm not fluent in yet. Grinding those skills up will have a place too. I'm in the weight room twice a week (if the kids are in daycare or hubby is home), at FKS class twice a week (except late shift week), and at the pool at least once oftentimes twice a week. All of these exercises are fun. It's when I have something come up and I feel a workout at home should happen that the plan is not followed by action. Yoga and walking are not a thing yet either, against multiple challenges to try to implement them. Food was slipping at the end of February. Need to work that over. And while we're at it, I agreed to write a commission for a friend's business. It's obvious I can't post work-in-progress stuff here of things that will be sold as exclusive stuff lateron. But I have a history of being too afraid to write because I know someone is waiting for my words. It's actually my favourite way to block myself. So I said yes, before I could find arguments against it and will have to find a way to be accountable here, without actually giving you any of my writing. Sorry. How is any of this minimalistic? you might ask. That's a good question. I don't know either, but I feel like slowing down is the right next step. We will have a mini, there's stuff that's not going to need 4 weeks of constant effort. Those will be my mini challenge goals. signing up for classes (including all the behind the scenes organisation) will be oneresearch of one fun topic or other will be another. (mead brewing? traveling?)increasing number of lunges and planks every day will be number 3.and 4... I don't know yet.Everything else will be sorted in one of my favourite things: A Spreadsheet. thank you, @Briniel, for the inspiration (yes, I stole heavily from you, but all the formulae are my own doing). Good behaviour on this month's challenge will get me a day in the SPA with a dear friend of mine. Workout, sauna, the whole shebang... (no massage though, that I need to save up more for.) I think it's time for a cut. TL'DR Do less. But do it well. Anyone feel like explaining how to embed this stuff to me? EDIT Picture and music. PS There is a weekend event at a small lifestock zoo not too far from here. Stoneage / Equinox Celebration. We'll be there, the whole family: my mom, the kids, hubby and me. It'll be fun, I'll give you pictures.

I tried last challenge and I'll try again. This year is mostly about making habits and sticking to them, keeping up with the habits that I have made and basically trying not to fall completely off the wagon. Goal 1: Everyday movement Walking - a k a day - one kilometre (or more) per day. Bonus if it's not to get somewhere but just for fun. Cycling - to (and hopefully from) work - twice a week Goal 2: Strength One strength workout per week. This can be a strength focused class at my gym, a bodyweight workout or my own hodgepodge. Goal 3: Nutrition Paleo breakfast 5 x a week Paleo meal prep 1 x a week (and eat that food without letting it go to waste!) Goal 4: Declutter Still working on my floor.

EAT eat well, I know how that goes, now I just gotta keep doing it. If it goes well slowly start reducing cheese and non-paleo snacks again. Don't stress too much if it doesn't go that well. Accountibility: post cal total per day and median macros for the week, log water too. MOVE The original plan was workout 3x yoga 5x walk 3x I'm not sure how that will hold up under pressure as I seem to forget yoga, when stressed, which is really sad, because that is the time I could really use it. Also I tried out the Crossfit Class and LOVED IT, have had the corresponding DOMs to prove it. AND I didn't connect DOMs with do yoga, I thought I had that connected, but I guess not. MON a.m. Gym (machines, but hey better than nuthin') TUE a.m. possible pool day alone - p.m. Crossfit WED possible pool day with mum THU a.m. Gym - p.m. Crossfit FRI a.m. PT - p.m. Tabata SUN pool day with mum (more social than exercise) Need to figure out how to fit in going for walks and do yoga again, because Strength/Allround Workouts are so awesome atm. EVERYTHING ELSE Breething & Meditation & Dream Journeys Keeping up with threads here Keeping up with my lessons: Hogwarts-Mini Drinking a cup of tea Doing some domestic rangering every day sleep more every day (goal 8h) - almost forgot

Happy New Year! This year is going to be AWESOME! Now on to the challenge... Complete my morning and night time routine at least 5x a week I am experimenting with a new morning and night routine. I have always had healthy teeth and I generally have good brushing habits, but I have been noticing that my teeth have not been looking so great. I have been doing a lot of research lately about natural oral hygiene and want to give some of it a try. Every morning: Oil pulling, relax with kitty while waking up, workout (strength, yoga, elliptical, etc depending on the day), brush with homemade tooth powder, floss, homemade mouthwash, wash face, get ready for work. Every night: repeat teeth routine, wash face, get ready for bed, stretch, read Healthy Meals My husband and I have been struggling to plan meals lately. We love to cook, but we often do not plan ahead, so come meal time we are stumped about what to have. We are experimenting with planning a day ahead. The goal is to cook 5 days out of the week, but hopefully we will be able to do all of them. Mastering the Pullup For those of you following along. The last few challenges have been focusing on push ups. I can happily announce that I can now do 5 push ups (15 in a full routine)! When I started NF I could not do a single regular pushup! Now I am aiming a little higher. It's time for PULL UPS. My plan is to work on pull ups 3 times a week. Right now I can pull myself up half way and hold it (couldn't do that when I started NF!) Seeking Knowledge and Improved Skills Complete a combination of 30mins of skill advancement 3 times per week. This can include studying programming, practicing clarinet, juggling, etc.

Read this today on my personal email and posted it to my own challenge thread and then thought others might appreciate. Putting something off is harder than doing it right away because we carry with us the heavy burden of worry. When we think about what we have to do, we often become panicky in last-minute attempts to catch up. Procrastination is a learned habit that can be unlearned. The antidote to procrastination is positive action way ahead of deadlines. Dear God (or whatever name/title/term works for you), I no longer want to be a procrastinator. I ask you to re-create me as a person of action. I pray that I am no longer addicted to the negative rush of last-minute deadlines. I pray that I learn to live worry and stress free by living my life - in advance. I no longer first see the project at hand as a discomfort to be delayed, but as an adventure - as I work with You. I ask You to remove any laziness from me, and re-create me as a self-starter. The only catching up that I will ever have to do is playing more with all the extra time that I have. Amen

If I had to choose the character in literature that I most identify with, it would be Hermione Granger. I was a frizzy haired, smarty pants who spent more time with books than other people for a large part of my school years. I’ve been called a goodie-two-shoes, a brown-noser, bossy, and many other things I wouldn’t type in pleasant company. I didn’t come from “pure bloodâ€. But I will learn and dare almost anything to move forward and help my friends. The Harry Potter series has been reminding me to play to my strengths as I approach some big challenges – moving across country, two sets of boards, and starting a new phase of my training. Hermione embodies a lot of my strengths, so I’m going to use some of her favorite spells in my quest toward freedom from my food triggers and bad food habits. Like Hermione, my perfectionist ways can sometimes be an exercise in missing the point. My scale, weight, BMI, calorie counts, and any other numbers ARE NOT the priority. I want to be fit, healthy, and well. So, time to listen to Ron and sort out my priorities. Fewer numbers... more focus... Main Quest: Craving Control Habit Alohomora = unlock my mind from food triggers. Work with ideas from Eating the Moment to break the bad eating habits I have, including mindless eating, snacking in certain locations, and rushing through lunch. Nox = lights out at 9:30pm. More sleep is physiologically important for fighting cravings. Incendio = walk 10,000 steps per day. When I’m active, my mind is healthy. When my mind is healthy, I make healthy choices. Books and Cleverness! I have got to start seriously studying for boards. Time Turner = No video games until I have completed my tasks for the day! Devices can help us make the most of time. My iPad is NOT just for games... Ready, Assassins? Let's do this!

Hello everyone!! Well here I am, to tell you guys I went to a Nutritionist She was very well recommended. Based on what we talked, health history from my family (not many problems, thankfully), and all, she ended up making this routine for me. I would like you guys to see it and tell what you thinks about it. At the end of the post I will write more about myself (physical description, old habits...), maybe it will help. I have already started this diet (I learn from many errors in the past that I shouldn't wait forever to make some changes ^^ ). So... here we go! : Breakfast: Option 1:Soy milk (original, Soymilk or SupraSoy brands), 2 tablespoons (about 200ml) OR natural yoghurt (200ml)Fruit (1 share/quota)Oats (preference for oatflour), 1 tablespoon.Option 2:Nutritional Powder (natural, protein + vitamins, I was already using it before, it's very good, I did not want to give it up because it helped me on several issues before)Water and/or natural yoghurt (200ml)Fruit (1 share/quota)Oats (preference for oatflour), 1 tablespoon.I prefer option two, normally. Collation:Fruit, 2 shares/quotas Lunch:Rice (brown, preferably), 3 tablespoons well filled upLean meat (fish, chicken, red meat), 200gVegetable A, at ease, eat before the mealVegetable B, 5 tablespoonsExtra/option: Black beans (Feijão, really known in Brazil, it's cooked), maximum of 100g/1 medium scoup per dayEat slowly Snacks:Snack 1:Brazil Nut (Castanha-do-Pará), 2 unitsOilseeds, 5 units (walnuts, almonds, pistachios, etc.).Snack 2:Fruit, 2 shares/quotasIn emergency cases ( ), chocolate 70% cocoa or more, 20g.She put 2 snacks because my dinner is generally when I get home from university at 10pm. So, she inverted the order of meals: instead of snack>dinner>snack, she put this way. In university I don't really have time to eat properly or it's just too expensive. Dinner:Lean meat, 100gVegetable A, at easeVegetable B, 5 tablespoons Supper: nothing (as my dinner is very late, as 10pm). ---- Diet Update ---- Lunch: Brown Rice from now on, no more white rice. Snack: Instead of 2 quotas of Fruits and all the nuts I put before, now I'll have these, divided between Lunch and my really late Dinner: Fruit - 1 quota/shareSandwich - Brown bread (integral), lean cheese (cottage, etc...) (1 medium slice/30g), Vegetable A (no limit) (tomato, cabbage, rocket, cabbage, lettuce, ...)Extra: Oilseeds - 2 units of Castanha-do-Pará Options for 1 share/quota of Fruits:Acerola (185g), 16 unitsPineapple (115g), 1 large sliceCoconut water (300ml), 1 common cupFresh plum (110g), 1 very largeBanana (60g), 1 mediumCaju/Cashew (165g), 2 mediumCaqui/Persimmon (95g), half of a large wellCherry (60g), 7 largeKiwi (90g), 1 largeOranges (125g), 1 mediumApple (95g), half of 1 largePapaya (90g) 1 small sliceMango (95g), 1 mediumWatermelon (195g), 1 medium sliceMelon (200g), 1 medium sliceStrawberry (150g), 10 mediumPear (90g), half of a largePeach (115g), 2 smallTangerine (125g), 1 smallGrape (75g), 13 small units Options for Vegetable A: Water PumpkinChardWatercressCeleryLettuceAsparagusBroccoliChicoryCauliflowerSpinachGherkin/maxixeMustard leafPalmettoRadishCabbageRucola/arugula/rocketTomato Options for Vegetable B: PumpkinGreen squashEggplant/aubergineBeetOnionCarrotChayote/ChuchuSprouts/kaleGreen PeaTurnipPetit-poisBell PepperOkra/gumboHaricot Vert/pod My current physical activies: I exercise 2x/week in the gym, alternating bodyweight, running/HIIT, weight/machine training, cardio, functional training, circuits.... I have access to a very good trainer that sticks with me and builds my gym routines I do kung fu hung gar 2x to 3x/week (1hour/class)I do parkour on weekends, so 1x to 2x/week (1h to 3h of training)It may seem much, but I'm kind of a beginner in all of them. My day-to-day life, simplified: Work - 10am to 4pmUniversity - 4pm or 6pm (depending on which day of the week) to 10pmPhysical activities - everyday between 7am and 8amThere are other minor things My old/changing eating habits: Basically, just wrong, horrible. Not because I didn't like good, healthy, food. But because I couldn't build a nice routine for me to actually eat well during the week and fit it between my activities, so I ended up eating garbage (fast food and so on). Plus, eating nicely is expensive. On weekends it got a bit worse as I went out with friends and all. Probably I just haven't gained that much weight because I'm really a non-stop person generally (yes, I have anxiety (which I'm trying to surpass), so lots of energy, and some times, without any reason, none, zero, vanished (this is why I have difficulty sticking with things). However I have been overweight (thankfully, not that much, considering my eating habits). Physical appearance, general description: Height - 1m63Weight - 65kgs (now, 64kgs YEY) - I was REALLY underweight before, so I made a big effort to gain weight (in a wrong way -.-) and ended up being overwheight >.<22 years old girl Now... why am I here if I already do parkour, kung fu and gym w/personal trainer, and went to a nutritionist, you ask? My BIGGEST problem is to focus on things on the long run (thanks Anxiety), and also to build something for myself, like a routine and to stick to it. I feel I can do better than what I do now. I'm talking about useful time, nice conditioning and preparing mainly for the parkour part for now. So, OBJECTIVES for now: Lose fat, weight (between 8kg and 6kg, I think), and gain muscle (I even gained a belly y.y)Gain strenght (arms, core, well, everything xD)Jump's height/impulsion (mine is LAME)Endurance (for parkour; I get tired really fast)Be a good fighter (kung fu style; I know this will require time) So, hope you guys can analyse it all. Sorry for the big post y.y I tried. Thanks everybody!

2014 was an odd sort of year. I did quite a bit of start/stopping on here. Did well on my maiden challenge, and then tried starting another a few times, but dropped off. Which I’m not going to beat myself up about. I still kept working out a bit, but I could have done with the accountability. The good news is that, while the early challenges petered out because life was tough, the last one petered out because life was brilliant. I fell in love. Simple as that. I met the person I aim to spend my life with, and everything else fell by the wayside. I make no apology for that. I’m incredibly happy. I’m also, coincidentally *coughs*, about a stone heavier than I was before I met her. I’m going to do something about that. So, this challenge is both simple and hard. I’m going to do one simple thing that I’ve been trying to do for a long time, and not yet succeeding at, and I’m going to do another simple thing that the modern world makes ridiculously hard, it seems. They are: 1. Finish Zombies Run 5k training, and then run a 5k. I’m on week 4, so my next run will be halfway through the programme. I've never made it past week 5. That changes. (STA:2 WIS:2) 2. Whole30. My skin, my sleep and my brain have asked specially. The rules are straightforward, which is great. Those rules will baffle most of my nearest and dearest, which may be trickier. But I can do 30 days. Yes I can. (CON:4) 3. I'm also going to take more care of my mind. I went on a silent retreat in November. It was utterly wonderful, helped me a lot. But, as these things sometimes do, my meditation practice has slightly fallen by the wayside since I returned to my life in London. Oh, and got blindsided by falling in love (did I mention?). To quieten my mind, I’ll be doing yoga after my running and strength workouts (from doyogawithme.com, which I’ve just been introduced to), and ten minutes of meditation after that. Start the day right. (DEX: 3 CHA:2) Life Quest. Move nearer my girlfriend. I moved in October to an area of North London I’ve wanted to move to for years. And then I met her, and fell, and everything changed. The commute between us is an hour and a half. That’s unacceptable, and is slightly clogging up both our brains with logistics. So I’m going to aim to get closer, and thereby have more time and brain space! (WIS: 2) Every one of these, I feel, could have wisdom points associated. But I’m going to stick with what I’ve put. No strength points this time. I’ll still be working on strength, but I’m not putting a quest in. This is about finishing what I’ve started, and proving to my self that I can stick to habits. Here’s to it!

Hi Everyone, my name is Maddy, I'm 23 and live in Melbourne, Australia. I've just finished my honours degree in history and now its time to make health and exercise a main priority of my post-uni life! I've been a pretty avid gym rat for the past couple of years, but have been struggling through an extended plateau. I've recently changed up my routine a little bit, and lifting and yoga are taking centre stage! My Main Quest for this challenge is to build the habit of this new routine and the habit of eating mostly Paleo (level 6/7), but also to document my progress/regressions so that I can adjust accordingly! My Goals are as follows: Goal 1: Follow workout regimeMondays - H.I.I.T Class (kettle bells and bodyweight exercises - currently at 12-14kg kettle bell) Tuesdays - Yoga Wednesdays - Heavy lifts (PT session, we do clean and jerks, deadlifts and squats - currently at 23-30kg just to get the technique perfect) Thursdays - Yoga Fridays - Mix of weights and bodyweight Saturdays (Optional - Bonus marks!) - Yoga Goal 2: Document every workout regime (for weights - I'll do yoga too if I do something particularly interesting) Goal 3: Maintain level 6/7 diet (minimise carbs/dairy - more veggies and protein with every meal!) Goal 4: Document food every day - I use a specific website for this, but I might do a quick run down on here too! Life GoalUni was pretty hectic this year and my recreational reading has fallen to the wayside, so my life goal is to read from whatever novel I've got going EVERY DAY. Grading/Stat Points are as follows:Goal 1: 30 days = A; 25 days = B; 20 days = C; 15 days = D; 5 days = F - A=3 STR; 2 STA; 2 DEXGoal 2: A - 100% B - 75% C - 50% D - 25% F - 0% A = 2 WISGoal 3: 42 days = A; 32 days = B; 22 days = C; 12 days = D; 2 days = F A= 2 CONGoal 4: As above. A= 1 WIS Life Goal: As above. A= 2 CHA And last but not least, my motivation:For this challenge my motivation is to reflect my inner fitness externally, just in time for my trip to my hometown at Christmas!But my more serious overall motivation is that I want to do everything humanly possible to buck my family trend of being diagnosed with some form of cancer, terminal or no, and being nutritionally and physically healthy seems as good a prevention as any!

Embracing the day Make a pot of tea every dayAccount for what I did during the dayStart adding mild stretches once my legs stop hurtingComing out of cyber-space Work on getting the house clean and organizedDo an activity that doesn't involve computer interactionBonus activities Start preparing to blogRevise the chore list Notes for next challenge: I think next challenge I need to work on a food waste goal. It's been a problem that started creeping in over the last couple months, so by the end of this challenge I need to clean out the fridge and start working on a plan. Also, I think I should prepare to get into a "pristine kitchen" goal, (knives washed and hung, cutting boards clean and in their holders, big frying pan and lid can live on the stove but they need to be clean, figure out what to do with the small frying pan and lid because they're constantly dirty,) which should make life easier.

Hey Folks, I could use some advice on a habit I'm trying to change right now. I've noticed that I tend to eat between meals a lot, especially when I'm bored. This tends to be a problem especially on weekends. On Friday nights I'll get home from work and fix myself a nice healthy dinner. But even though I'm satisfied from my dinner, I still feel like eating and I have a strong desire to take some snack with me as I read/play video games/whatever. It often ends up that after dinner I keep snacking off and on until 8 or 9 o clock. In addition to the fact that I'm just eating a lot of extra food that I'm not hungry for, I tend to desire junk food a lot more when snacking. All of my main meals are paleo, but when I'm bored and snacking, I tend to crave Ice Cream, peanut butter, or something like chips and crackers that I can just munch on. Has anyone else had a similar issue with eating out of boredom? Any tips for changing the habit?

This is a marker for my new thread, which will be about consolidating the stuff I've learned about fitness and making some of it a habit. I've slipped rather over the last few months, with the result that I've gained fat and feel fed up and tired. One of my major issues is lack of good quality sleep, and that's largely down to working until ridiculous hours. So part of the new me is going to be stopping work at 10pm. It's now 21.55, and I'm going to turn my computer off NOW and go to bed on time so I can get up early to exercise.... see how it goes? Back tomorrow with more details. In the meantime, zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.