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Hey guys! I'm returning for my third challenge. I have progressed a little in each challenge and I aim to see this one through to the end. No (illegitimate) excuses or life situations are going to keep me down and out. My goals are basically the same as the last challenge, but I am better prepared and equipped to take them on now. I'm also more determined! Goal #1 Level up my diet Go from Level 4 of nutrition to level 6 (based off of the Academy descriptions.) This means to go to level 5: "I consume a vegetable with every lunch or every dinner, replacing a normal carbohydrate or starch, for 10 total days in a 2 week period, and I go one week without eating pasta. Instead of french fries, I order broccoli. Instead of white bread, I’m eating asparagus." and then to go to level 6: "I have gone 12 out of 14 days without eating bread OR pasta, and 12 out of 14 days with a vegetable in every meal I eat." Goal #2 Do bodyweight workouts 3x a week This one is pretty self-explanatory. I just want to start a good routine before school kicks in. Goal #3 Drink 3 liters of water a day and go to bed BY 11. Also self-explanatory. Needless to say the times I have felt the best were when I drank enough water and consistently had a good bed time. In other words: NO MORE BINGING NETFLIX TO 1AM. Loot: Vape Mod If I get an "A" in all of my goal categories (and the budget allows it) I'm finally buying my own (zero nicotine) Vape pen/mod and ejuice. Yay no more borrowing a few hits off of my friend's! Time to kill this challenge. Let's do this!

I have decided that this challenge I am going to be a scout. I am training for a 10 mile run in the fall (October 11). I ran the NYC Marathon last fall. I like to swim and bike as well. I have an son who turns 2 in July whom I like to take with me on my outdoor workouts. These are my goals: Goal 1: Stick to my race training plan. I have it set for 4 runs a week. I would like to average at least 3.5 runs per week. Goal 2: "Cross-train" at least 25 minutes a week. Whether this is swimming, biking, lifting some weights, or doing a T25 workout, I just want to make sure I have some variety in my workouts, and I don't lose so much muscle like I did while marathon training. I was down to 115# the day after my marathon and probably the leanest I'd ever been, but I felt so weak! Each cross training workout should be no less than 10 minutes long or it won't count toward my total. Goal 3: Eat healthy at least 6 days per week by both eating at least 6 total servings of fruits plus veggies per day and also not eating more than 3 servings of sweets per day. Life quest: Apply for at least 6 jobs (preferably about 1 per week but not set in stone), get at least one interview scheduled. I have yet to finish the goal making process so I might tweak these a bit before the challenge starts but I wanted to write down what I had before I forgot it. Edit: I think that my goals are pretty set now. I can't wait to June 8 to start, so I might make it a personal 7 week challenge (-:

At the encouragement of RDNottingham, I have decided to go with a theme for this (and at least three other) challenges. I am going to use the Tarot suits as guides for my challenges. This challenge is the suit of Pentacles or Coins. Pentacles are symbolically tied to the element of Earth, whose aspects are strength, steadfastness, firmness, and determination (to name a few). I think this is pretty much in line with the characteristics I want to demonstrate this challenge. Pentacles are also connected to money (hence the second name for the suit, Coins, and a major part of this challenge for me), home (I will be moving before the end of the challenge), and fertility or creativity. To further help focus my mindset, I have pulled out my Tarot decks and studied the Ace of Pentacles. The Ace is the beginning, but like everything in nature, every beginning is also an end, so it is both my starting point and goal. I have the Sorcerer's deck (left) and Mythic deck (right - based on Greek mythology). When I look at the Mythic Ace of Pentacles, I see that this suit is transformative - not something I normally associate with Earth - but since Poseidon is the Ace here, that makes sense. When Earth changes, it usually requires things to get "shaken up" (Poseidon is the god of earthquakes, after all), so change isn't necessarily easy - it can feel like an upheaval. I can say I am not necessarily looking forward to that, but I do have to shake up some of my beliefs and get over some hangups (especially since I do tend to like just comfortably plodding along), and I am looking forward to a transformation. Additionally, the Mythic Ace shows that the end result is fruitful (grapevines) and rewarding. As for the Sorcerer's Ace of Pentacles, this card is what I call the Gandalf card (I hope someone else sees it, too). The Ouroboros (snake eating its tail) is a symbol of eternity, and also immortality. I have no idea how that ties in to my challenge, tbh, but it gives me sense that this is the turning of the wheel, a step in a longer journey. Because I see this as Gandalf, this is a card of mastery (even if it is a card of beginnings as an ace), or more accurately maybe, the journey to mastery (Gandalf started out in a different place than he ended up, of course), or to mentorship; Gandalf is the great mentor in LOTR, after all. For my challenge, I think it means I need to be ready to learn and to teach in turns, and this is definitely part of a longer journey for me. Alright, this post is starting to feel a bit tl;dr, so I will speak about what the Queen of Pentacles, specifically, means to me and how I intend to become one in another post.

I don't think this is your traditional respawn post. I am respawning, though. Hopefully into someone better. Not that I wasn't happy with myself before, but I was not being honest with myself. I did my first six week challenge back in the beginning of 2015. It was great! I did great. I felt amazing and I didn't want to let go of those feelings. Unfortunately, I did. At the time, I was fighting with numerous real life trash mobs. It was pretty much a gauntlet and while it's not as strenuous as it was, I can feel myself being dragged down by the exhaustion. I really hate when I run out of mana and health, and there is not a potion in sight. I've considered a lot of what I had been doing since the beginning of the year, and the time I started challenges. I even talked with my support crew (friends & family) about the challenges, what I was doing, and where I was going to go from there. I had big dreams and ideas for my challenges, but the execution? Ehh...it wasn't as great as the idea. That was my downfall. Jumping around too much and changing things...I think the whole idea of success is finding something and sticking with it. Stick with it until you have a routine under your belt so well that everything is second nature. I'm not a huge routine sort of person, but I have noticed that when I try and maintain one, I succeed. It's like having a bedtime for school when you're a kid. I have a bedtime (or I should) now as an adult, and when I don't follow it, I can feel it. The same thing happened traveling the fitness road. I stopped doing yoga every day. I stopped taking a walk every day. I stopped really paying attention to what and how much I was eating. Stress was a factor. Fatigue was up there, too. General laziness and procrastination? Huge. I am new to the fitness world. I am new to the health world. Rather than bog myself down with all these different "eat x amount of this" and "eat x amount of this daily value" and trying to fit in 23742934 new exercises when I can't maintain one --- I need to K.I.S.S. Keep It Simple Silly (or Stupid as my high school Spanish teacher would say) Start with Daily Logs. Make a routine and keep to it until I have it down. That's when I can challenge myself to push further. To do more. So what if I eat the same thing every day for breakfast and lunch? If it's good and makes you happy, it can't be that bad! The support on NerdFitness is truly amazing and I was doing myself a disservice by not utilizing the forums more. A good friend of mine bonked me upside the head and reminded me of that. Everyone is here for the same reason. We all share a common goal. There are so few places in today's world that offer the support that is on here. Why am I not using it more? Why am I not reaching out and talking with people who are going through similar things? That all ends now. I am respawning with a full health bar. My mana bar is filled and I am ready to face this boss head-on.

Hello, hello, fellow nerds! I'm increasing my intensity a bit for my second ever 6 Week Challenge. It's a long(ish) list, but all pretty simple. Hoping I can stay on track! 1) Run 100 miles 2) Lift 3x a week (currently just 2x) 3) Switch from Special K to oatmeal with nuts / berries for breakfast 4) Stop buying bread! 5) Track EVERYTHING I eat on MyFitnessPal 6) Do 5 minutes of French practice every day 7) Go on at least 3 dates 8) Follow my "sweets program"* and stay under 40 points 9) Stick to just one beer a week CW: 175 GW: 165 UGW: 150 Height: 5'10 Gender: Female *Sweets program (I really need to come up with a cool name for it) is a program where I add a "point" to my calendar every time I eat a naughty sweet (cookie, yogurt-covered pretzels, cake, pain au chocolat, hot cocoa, etc.). We're playing it like golf -- the less points I have at the end of 6 weeks, the better I am! Already got 2 points today (great start, me), so I have to seriously step up my game so I can stay under 40 in the next 42 days. HERE WE GO!

So I have a specific question but I figure I may come back to this later. What is a good, low calorie substitute for olive oil for cooking? I love making spinach and eggs for breakfast, but olive oil is so high calorie. I know there's got to be a good substitute. Cooking sprays don't work because it's not thick enough to coat the pan for the length of time I need to cook the spinach. Any suggestions are helpful!

Hello all, So... this will be my second time writing this out due to fail-y internet. WHY INTERNET WHY?! Sorry, needed to get that out. This is 6 week challenge number 2 for me, after not really at all completing my first one. The problem with my first one is I set myself some hefty goals at a time in my life when I didn't really have any extra available time for them. I'm still busy at the moment, so I've set myself goals this time around that are extending things I'm already doing (rather than adding in brand new stuff). My priorities at the moment and for at least the next few months are eating healthy, learning about pilates, and writing the second draft of my play. My goals are set up to reflect these. Goal the First: Healthy, Paleo, Filling Breakfast - 6 days a week I've been making a big effort with breakfast for a while now, but it's time to be structured about it and let it just be 'how I eat breakfast now', rather than 'I have to make myself special breakfast'. Grades A = 6 healthy brekkies/week B = 5 healthy brekkies/week C = 4 healthy brekkies/week D = 3 healthy brekkies/week FAIL = 2 healthy brekkies/week (or less) Goal the Second: Attend Pilates Class - 2 days a week I signed up with a yoga/pilates studio on a gnarly membership that means I can go nearly whenever I want. Yay! Trying to focus on taking the Level 1 pilates classes and build up some knowledge and strength, but this can help me build consistency in my attendance. Grades A = 2 classes/week B = 1 class/week FAIL = 0 classes/week Goal the Third: Pilates at Home - practice 3 times a week at home For days when my schedule doesn't allow me to attend class, and so that I'm being consistent (a 3 day no pilates gap will probably mean I lose whatever strength/knowledge I gained in the last class). Grades A = 3 sessions/week B = 2 sessions/week C = 1 session/week FAIL = 0 sessions/week SIDE QUEST: Writing my play - 40 minutes, 5 days a week I'm not very good at making sure I write regularly, so my stamina is pretty bad. This side quest will mean I build up my stamina while also working towards that second draft I mentioned earlier (and probably make the writing of that draft a much more pleasant experience because I won't be stressing a week out from deadline...) Grades A = 5 days/week B = 4 days/week C = 3 days/week D = 2 days/week FAIL = 1 day/week (or less) Ok. Well I better get on with it as now that I've written it down it's something I should do. I've made myself a little chart to put up on my wall and record my progress, and I'm aiming to update on here at the end of each week with my marks and any thoughts on how it's all been going. Looking forward to seeing what everyone else is up to and being a part of NF's excellent solidarity. Go team! - SconeMaker

Hey guys, I'm Charly, 26 years old and living in the UK. I'm a girl, and I work as a chef. I've found myself here because I love achievements, levelling up, and having goals to beat. Otherwise I get really bored of exercising especially when results don't happen overnight. Eating healthy and being a chef don't always go hand in hand, I have so many delicious ingredients to work with and it's difficult to choose the right ones, and not just make cakes for myself to eat all the time! I currently do yoga, body balance and pilates, and chuck in a tiny bit of weight lifting on the side (which I'm hoping to improve on...) for me, exercise class is the easy part because I can see my gym from my house - it's pretty good motivation whenever I say I can't be bothered, but food is definitely my downfall. I either cook unhealthily, or I'm so tired after work that I just microwave some junk... Not good. But yes, that's me! Nice to meet you all and looking forward to getting involved in the forum some more Charly

Hello all, So I'm taking the plunge and committing to a challenge. I'm actually a bit anxious about this. I have a very checkered history with weight loss in general, but it feels like the right time to recommit to myself. Main Quest: To reach a happy, healthy place where I am healthy and in shape. Sub-Goals: Write down everything that I eat for the next week.Week after -begin making healthy changes to my food (To be determined after looking at the data set).Prepare lunch the night before on work days.Make my own breakfast at least two days a week.Motivations (My Big Why): Honestly, this has been a long time coming. I'm currently about 120 lbs over where I probably should be (277 lbs as of Saturday; 5' 6.5" woman with a heavy bone structure), and I've found myself struggling more and more with the issues that my body has presented me with. In addition, I've seen my grandmother (a strong woman who raised four children after being widowed 40 years ago) struggle with dementia and type II diabetes for the past five or so years. I know that this runs in my family: apparently my great-grandmother had it as well as one of my great-uncles; and I don't want this to be me. Add in that yesterday night I managed to sprain my ankle for the umpteenth time last night while stepping down some stairs, and I have a fairly solid motivation to want to lose the weight and get into shape. I also would really like to work on my experience of loving myself as I am (mindfulness and contentment are big motivations for me. Realistically, I am probably a druid.... Towards this end, I have a major goal of being more content with myself and being more aware of when various thought patterns are running in my head. I also really want to work on organization and time management. Towards this end, I would like to: spend 15 minutes a day 5 days a week decluttering and organizing my house, my work spaces (itinerant music teacher), and my life.create simple morning and evening afternoon routines that help me be more organized and on task.

Evicious grinned disconcertingly as the large Nord woman stood to her full height. The little table she had been sitting at suddenly seemed absurdly small, along with the khajit seated opposite its previous occupant. Cold, proud eyes stared down at yellow smiling ones intimidatingly. "I could crush the life from you in one blow, you puny kitten." "Oh, I'm not so easily flattened as you might imagine." "One strike. Furry pancake." Evicious inadvertently squeaked a little when the Nord slammed fist into hand and mimed wiping her pulverized remains on her jerkin. "You'd be wasting your energy; no one likes hair in their food." The Nord growled (an oddly canine-like sound even for a brute such as herself, Evicious thought briefly) and grabbed suddenly for the khajit. Evicious squeaked again as she was yanked from her seat and held dangling above the table. She was careful, however, to keep her claws sheathed in spite of her surprise and annoyance at the treatment. "You're worthless, cat. You can't carry equipment; can't help a pack brother up if he takes an arrow to the knee, much less carry him to safety. All you do is skulk around in the shadows and make angry pincushions of our prey, until their rage is so great it takes the whole pack to withstand them! You are nothing but a smelly distraction; a squeak toy." The Nord spit the words out in a fury, along with a few soggy crumbs of sweet roll. Evicious waited patiently in the woman's hamfisted grasp, but her level of irritation was rising with each passing moment. "I suppose this means I'm tomorrow's breakfast, then." She spoke calmly, but put her ears back just enough to appear a little contrite. Nord tempers were notoriously unpredictable - it was said the young were known to break their own blades if they cut themselves honing them - but reciprocated anger was one very predictable way to stoke the fire. Dark humor, however, could sometimes cool it... she hoped. "A disgusting idea," the Nord snapped and dropped her unceremoniously in the middle of their leftovers, "Cats always taste like their own assholes." The woman reached down for her equipment, an enormous pack weighing almost as much as Evicious in spite of several enchaments of karee weyt, and slung it across one shoulder with ease. "Take yourself elsewhere, puny kitten. We have no more use for you, and even a small burden like yourself is a burden we do not need. The pack cannot hunt unless we are all of equal mind and strength. It was a mistake allowing you to come, and not a mistake I will make twice." The Nord stared at Evicious with all the contempt of generations of her ancestors. Evicious fought to keep the rising hiss in her throat from escaping. "You need more than numbers and force if you intend to live through the next part," The khajit's voice almost trembled from her anger, but she forced it into a short purr at the end instead. The huge woman chuckled derisively in response and turned on her heel. The rest of their group, now officially minus their "squeak toy", slung their bags and filed wordlessly out the inn door behind her. Sparks swirled in the wind of the opened door, then fell into tiny wisps of smoke as it closed, leaving the khajit in the silence of awkward public humiliation. Ignoring the poorly disguised stares of the other inn patrons, Evicious picked herself up from among the plates and cups on her table, and brushed herself free of scraps with all the dignity of her kind. She slung her equipment - a much smaller and lighter pack by comparison to the Nord's - and took a moment to stare cooly at some of the less subtle inn goers. None held her gaze; she was not impressive in size compared to her former companions, but khajit claws were not without their own legends either. She strode suddenly to the door, yanked it open and went through, letting the wind slam it shut behind her. It bit at her nose and ears, and pulled furiously at her cloak and hood, stabbing through her clothes and boots like icy daggers. Concealed in the freezing shadow of the inn's porch overhang, Evicious' frustration and anger boiled to the surface and broke over the edges of concious. Slowly, deliberately, softly.... her tail began to twitch. Goals: Keep getting stronger (but stay quick) 1. Stronglifts 5x5 three times a week + 2 mile run 2. Count my calories & drink my water 3. Practice guitar at least 15 min daily Bonus: Be in bed by 21:00

Alright peeps, let's try this one again. This is my 4th (??) challenge and I have been fairly successful until the last challenge where I fell off the face of the planet because I was completely and utterly overwhelmed with everything in life. But I am not letting it get me down, as I am here and ready to RESPAWN!!! *cricks neck and cracks fingers* Let's get started Overall goal is still the same for those who have been following me: Lose 10lbs every challenge to get to my goal weight of 175lbs, and take necessary steps to join the Police Force Here's how: GOAL 1: Back to basics: 8 glasses of water a day Grading Scale: A - 8 cups of water a day B - 6 cups of water C - 5 or less cups a day Rewards: STA 2, CON 2 GOAL 2: Taking care of business: Stretches, stretches, stretches I simply do not stretch enough and it has hindered my progress Grading scale: A - Stretches 3 times a day B - Stretches 2 times a day C - once or not at all Rewards: WIS 1, DEX 1, CON 2 GOAL 3: Get back on the horse. Get back to training. I have been designated a great workout plan that will get me police ready if I can commit to it. A - Workout 3-5 times a week B - Workout 2x a week C - workout 1x or not at all per week. SIDE QUEST: Finish my schoolwork!!! I have been stressing over this last course because I am behind, I need to get caught up or I will fail. Rewards: INT 1, CHA 1

(to be continued...)

After a super successful first challenge, I am raring to go with my second one. 2015 is going to be my year! Main quest - to set a great example to my children Last summer I adopted 2 boys and my life was turned upside down. Not only did I have to completely rethink how I would find any time to stay fit (as a single parent) but also how to encourage them to live a healthy lifestyle (this was certainly not the case in their lives previously). The first challenge planted the seed and now we're ready to start getting the healthy plant up and growing (sneaky taekwondo reference). Goal 1 - Workout 3 times a week (3STR, 2STA) I have just completed a 6 week beginners crossfit challenge and whilst I enjoyed it, I think I'm now ready to take a bit more control over my fitness. I am going to use the start bodyweight website to help me with progressions and ensure that I ALWAYS start with a warm up and end with some stretching (or yoga). Reward - being able to lift heavy stuff! Goal 2- Eat 3 paleo meals a week (2CON, 2WIS) I've always had an interest in the paleo diet but have struggled with not starving to death. I feel I'm in a better place now as I'm more intune with my body and know when I'm hungry and when I'm just bored. I'm sticking with 3 meals a week as one of my boys is a VERY picky eater so it's better to experiment gently. I expect 1 of the meals to be when I'm lunching alone, 1 lunch with me and my youngest and 1 evening meal for us all. Reward - If I keep this up, I'm going to buy myself the nom nom paleo book for my birthday Goal 3 - Reach my goal weight of 10 stone 8 (2CHA, 2CON) I don't have a lot of weight to lose. In fact, I probably have none to lose but at the start of the last challenge I plucked a number out of the air and worked towards hitting that weight. I'm only a few pounds off but want to continue working hard on my eating habits/calorie counting. This goal is the most terrifying for me as it's not completely in my control (working out 3 times a week is easy but relying on good habits to change my weight feels way more out of control) but that's why I'm choosing it. It's too easy to tick boxes without making REAL and lasting changes. Reward - If I keep this up, I'm considering buying some easylunchboxes Life side quest - clean up my garage (2WIS) Last summer (when the boys arrived) I spent a lot of time organising my garage so half is now a play area for them. Unfortunately, when the cold weather struck, it turned into a dumping ground again. They still have their play area but the other side is just a pile of cardboard boxes and old clothes etc. I am determined to get it sorted in 6 weeks. This will be tough as I HATE throwing stuff away and would much rather try to donate etc but I'm hoping that with a little push, I can get it done. Before picture... Reward - buy a small trampoline (or other physical toy) for the boys to have in the garage

Feels great to be back in the community! After a rough patch most of last year, it’s time for a change. I know what I have to do, (it’s stupidly simple): Eat right, exercise and be mindful! But, as most of you know, it’s easier said than done. So what to do? Eat clean (Paleo+dairy), exercise in whatever way I can, rehab (triggerpoint/massage), meditate and contemplate. Update 11th jan: It’s time to put my hard hat on! My goals will be relatively easy in the aspect of time/no pressure in performing results etc. BUT, it will require some serious amount of willpower. Quest 1: Eat clean for 40 days straight. No funny business…… Quest 2: Exercise 40 times (>30 min per session) Quest 3: Daily routine: 5 min of meditation, 5 min of reading (tao te ching etc, ie books that makes me think), 5 min of triggerpoint, write in journal (things I am grateful for, how my day has been). Will do some pondering as well, but I won't have it as a goal. Will check off in the following way (Thanks to Apike for the model J ) Q3 Q2 Q3 M ✔ ✖ * T * * * W * * * T * * * F * * * S * * * S * * * Final note: I’m going to work a lot the following month, so my presence on the forum may be sporadic (and my post may be short as well), but I’ll check in every week and try to follow along in your threads as well.

Hello Everyone! I'm Shadoric and this is my shot at getting fit with online help! I'm really looking forward to being a part of the community and getting my old life back! (I know I'm late to the challenge, but I don't want to wait around until the next one starts!) A little background to get started.... I am an athlete... or at least I was I used to play sports year round when I was in school. I had always loved the feeling of being outside and fresh air. Now, coming up on my 28th birthday, I am a father of 2 boys, engaged to a wonderful woman who makes my life sooooo much easier, and a lazy out of shape shadow of my old self. I am 5'11', 190 lbs. I'm an electronics engineer, so I'm sitting at a workstation 5 days a week. When I left high school I had the six pack abs, defined body we all dream of. Where did it go you ask? It left when all I strted eating was junk food, drinking cases of soda daily, and not exercising. Time slipped by as work and family took over. I've been working at making sure all my ducks are in a row. Now with most of the parts in place familywise, it's time to get prepared for the rest. It's time to clean up my diet, exercise, and get outside with my kids more. I want them to see what healthy, happy living will do for you! Main Goal: Change my Diet, Exercise Regularly, Improve Overall fitness level Sub Goals: 1.) Incorporate Veggies into meals (YUCK!) (Con/Wis) A.) 40+ Meals +2 Con, +1 Wis B.) 35-40 Meals +1 Con, +1Wis C.) 30-35 Meals + 0.5 Con, + 0.5 Wis D.) < 30 Meals +0 Con, + 0 Wis 2.) Exercise!! (Any type of fitness)(Dex/Sta) A.) 30+ Days + 1Dex + 1 Sta B.) 25-30 Days + 1Dex + 0.5 Sta C.) 20-25 Days + 0.5Dex + 0.5 Sta D.) < 20 Days + 0 Dex + 0 Sta 3.) Practice BW Exercises and Parkour Rolls (Specifically)(Str/Dex/Sta) A.) 30+ Days +1 Str, +1 Dex, +1 Sta B.) 25-30 Days +1 Str, + 0.5 Dex, +1 Sta C.) 20-25 Days +1 Str, + 0.5 Dex, + 0.5 Sta D.) 10-20 Days + 0 Str, +0 Dex, 0 Sta Bonus 4) Special activities with my kids! (Have to split time with their mother)(Wis/ Cha) A.) 20+ Days + 1 Wis, + 1 Cha B.) 17-20 Days + 0.5 Wis, + 1 Cha C.) 14-17 Days + 0.5 Wis, + 0.5 Cha D.) <14 Days + 0 Wis, + 0 Cha My motivation is to get what I used to have back with improvement! One day I would love to be able to compete in the Ninja Warrior show! I've been a fan for many years and I even have a friend that has competed before! It would be a huge accomplishment to just be a part of something as awesome as that! I've tried different things to get motivated like doing dvd programs, jsut heading to the gym to see how things go, and trying to motivate others around me to no avail. It's really hard to keep your motivation up if there's no support or friendly competition!(At least for me!) I'm open to all the help, support and suggestions! It's my year to really get back in the game and make some positive life changes! Let's do this!

Following on from my self-imposed exile from the Assassins after my last failed challenge, I'm siging up with the Adventurers (if they'll accept me) as this guilds feels like the most appropriate place for me whilst I rediscover who I am and what I'm doing. Also, there is no Templars guild. This time last year I did set out some long-term goals which I made some success with (although nothing worth mentioning) so, as part of my gritty re-boot, I'm going to set myself some new year-long targets and base my goals for this challenge around them. Goal 1: Lose the excess xmas weight! Last year, the goal I stuck with longest was reducing my percentage bodyfat down to 15% which I did finally achieve in November. However, since then the holiday season has sort of upset things and I'm back up to 17% again! My first goal for this challenge is to get back down to 15% again with my year aim to be 12% or lower. This I'll hopefully achieve by being strict with my eating so that means no sweet things, no alcohol, only water and green tea for drinks and by sticking to high fat meals on non-workout days and higher carb and lower fat meals on work out days. This has worked well for me in the past so really it's just a matter of me sticking to it. Goal 2: Lose the excess limb! My other year-long goal is to master at least one, but hopefully all of the following single-limbed exercises: one-armed push-ups, pistol squats, one-armed pull-ups. I've been using Convict Conditioning, as well as various other online resources, to venture down this path so for this challenge I shall be cocentrating my efforts on getting close to, if not actually achieveing the next progression level of those exercises: Uneven Push-ups 1/2 one-leg squats Uneven pull-ups Goal 3: London Bridge ain't falling down! I've worked on it in the past but never stuck with it to the point where I could properly hold one so for this challenge I'm going to try to 5 minutes work every day either on flexibility or strength exercises that'll get me moving down this path. A few challenges ago the Assassins did bridging as they're mini-challenge and then put it all together in a pdf at the end so I'm going to try to work through it again, week by week and see where this gets me. Goal 4: Get creative! I've been toying with the idea of doing something creative with myself for a while so I think, in the spirit of re-booting, I'm going to start a blog (I've been led to believe that the internet is currently lacking people writing down stuff and publishing online just any random crap that pops into their head, so I'm looking to take advantage of this apparently overlooked market!) The Minimalists just put up a new article about resolving to write more this year so I'm going to use that as my leaping off point and hopefully create an outlet for the noise inside my head. I'm not sure where this will lead me but anywhere is better than nowhere. I'll also try to update my profile description at some point so it'll actually say something about me rather than being a bunch of out of date links.

I posted my weekly recap in my challenge thread. In writing it, I realized that I don't need to work on physical fitness or body weight, but that I have some very important changes I need to make around mindfulness and eating. I've got reflux disease and find that when I don't eat healthfully, I give myself reflux. Truth be told, I can even eat pretty healthfully, but if I eat too many grains, or too many fats, I get reflux. Reflux leads to esophageal cancer, and I don't want that, so I'm going to make that my priority and let the other stuff be, because I do it anyway. So my old goals are listed at the top, and my new goals are revised and at the bottom of this post. I'm posting here because I need to reframe my goals this challenge, and cut away the chaff (and some of the wheat too!!!) from what is a really cluttered challenge for me. Week 2 recap: Exercise 7/7 = A Non-Paleo Mealas 10/6 = C Meditation 3/7 = D No Screen Time (while eating) 14/14 = A Archery Practice = A Fearlessness = A (did all the things on trapeze) But, it's time to revise my challenge and focus on the things that are important. While I only have four goals up there, they each have one or two sub goals, and I'm overwhelming myself with details again. There need to be fewer goals. Archery, working out, and "doing all the things" in aerial class is really what I do anyway, and I'm not going to focus so hard on them because the goal of these goals (!!!) is to make new habits, right? And those are already ingrained. The habits I want to grow are meditation/mindfulness, especially around eating, and eating healthy for my guts. Typically this means eating paleolithically, though exceptions for small amounts of corn, oats, wheat can be made if made in MODERATION because I find that if I restrict myself, then I binge on "cheat days" and that's what causes my reflux. And any day I deem a "cheat" day or use those "NPT's" I just let it all hang out since I've already "screwed up". The new measurement will be: Do I need to take TUMS? If so, it's not a good thing because I'm giving myself esophageal cancer. I don't really care how much I weigh, but I'll still shoot for dropping BF%'s. I don't need abs, I don't need to lose any weight, but I'd like to up my musculature and shed a little more fat. But, I don't need to be ripped and I'm not into bodybuilding competition, so even though I'm still interested for myself, the BF% goal is going away. (Besides I'm practically there anyway) The newer simplified method probably looks like this: Meditate 5-10 min/day (6/7 days, one day off per week is tolerated) No screen time whilst eating breakfast or dinner (12/14 meals) No GERD/Tums (7/7 days) Everything else is just what I do. I feel good about these changes and feel less overwhelmed and obsessive about things. We'll see how it goes.

New year; new challenge. New outlook. I kind of crashed and burned over the holidays, with my new work responsibilities, and the stress, and the everything. My exercise routines and good eating all went out the window, I am ashamed to say. Though, I only gained back 5 of the pounds I'd lost. Time to get back on track. For this challenge (and the year, if truth be told), I am not going to worry about what the scale says. I care only about doing the fun, assassin-y things that attracted me to this guild in the first place. My friends want me to join a new gym with them. It's a little out of my comfort zone, but I'm leaning towards doing it anyway. First thing's first. I need to go back to eating healthy food. My idea of healthy is somewhere north of Paleo -- more Mediterranean influenced, I guess. Lots of veggies and fruits, quality meats (minimally processed), nuts and whole grains, and healthy fats (olives, avocados, and the like). Limited dairy -- I feel better when I don't give it up entirely. Definitely light on the processed sugar (none would be ideal). Next, I need endurance. Cardio seems the best choice for this, whether I like it or not. I need to walk or do some sort of cardio at least 5 days a week. If I do join the gym, then maybe I'll use some of their shiny cardio equipment to change up my routine a bit. It could be an adventure! Strength. I'm fairly strong -- working retail will do that to you -- but more in a moving boxes around, let me help you carry that to your car sort of way. I want to work up to doing more than 3 standard (flat ground, on my toes) push ups in a row. I'll do this by either doing my three, and repeating for several sets, or by doing several reps and sets of an easier version (incline, or on my knees. This year's epic quest involves being able to do 25 toe push ups in a row. And pistol squats. And mastering the pull up. Ah, the pull up. Yeah, I'm nowhere close -- but that won't stop me from working towards it. I'll continue with my dead hangs (in the back stockroom at work, if I have to). And I'll find a way to resume my inverted rows that doesn't involve pulling the flimsy kitchen table down on top of me. Yeah, that happened. If anyone has any hints for using actual gym equipment to help me get closer to a pull up, please don't hesitate to chime in (hint, hint). Core strength will involve planks, mostly. I was up to a minute at a time, before everything fell apart. Likely, I will have to work my way back up to that again. I may (or may not, this challenge) look into other core exercises for variety. My instincts are telling me to concentrate on one thing at one time, though. This is the mantra that got me sanely (mostly) through the holidays, so I might just stick with planks for now. If I am going to be going to the gym with my friends, then I will probably end up doing some actual lifting, as well. They lean more towards the "warrior" mindset when it comes to working out. I'm certainly game to try, especially if it makes me strong enough to try handstands (a future goal of mine) or generally makes doing my actual job easier (always a plus). Besides, I was thinking I wanted to try weighted squats (easier to do with actual weights, I imagine). For my life goal, I am going to work on writing a little bit every day. (Yes, ShadowLion - more author stuff. XD ) I'd like to finally finish my current work in progress and go on to the next big project. Well, that's it. I don't think I've bitten off more than I can chew (I hope). Let's have a great challenge and a great year, everybody! TL;DR: I'm back. I'm going to eat better. Do cardio stuff. Push ups, dead hangs. Maybe inverted rows. Weighted squats. Going to work my way up to 1 minute planks. Write every day. Dance the Macarena... Oh wait. Maybe not that last thing. XD

Hello my fellow Nerds.... Been working with NerdFitness more or less since early February, and I was seeing amazing results. Then came the fall......went on a trip to Texas, let myself slip (hey, I was on vacation I reasoned) and all hell broke loose. Came back and couldnt walk the next day I hurt so bad (note: I didnt work out-at all- during the trip.) Took a week for that to settle down...then my next few visits to the gym, my butt/hip/back hurt more than usual. Got so bad I ended up going to a chiropractor, who says I aggravated a bulging disk leading to sciatica. Tells me he doesnt want me doing any exercises that load the spine (which is basically all of the ones I normally do.) So, lots of pain, not going to the gym, and on top of that IM slipping back into old eating habits. I could really use some advice on how to get the mojo back, and/or any information on good full body exercises that dont load up the spine.

Now, I reckon after all this hard work, y'all might be a bit hungry. Well, we're fresh out of Alliance Grade A food stuffs. Even if we did and I liked you all less, it still wouldn't go very far. This week, we need to go out and find something mighty tasty to fill our galley. Go out, purchase a food item you never have purchased before. Doesn't matter if it's a veggie or meat, a grain or a spice. Go out, buy it, and use it for a meal this week. Post the recipe here, and maybe some Companion-approved food images. Try to keep it healthy! We don't want 4 pounds of chocolate covered over a mound of french toast! That won't fuel your ship for long! And we need to keep flying.

I'm super excited about this upcoming six week challenge and I can't wait to get started! My Main Quest: Getting Down to 170 lbs. I've been on this quest for years, but now teaming up with NF I feel like I have finally found my secret weapon in this fight: knowledge and motivation!!! This is certainly a long term quest, as I am about 55 lbs from my goal... (I started 75 lbs away). Thankfully the NF diet and exercise, along with my continual martial training has helped me get closer to my goal, but it's time to step it up and commit (I need to build healthy habits). Three Things To Get Me There: Consistency has always been an issue for me. In fact, the only thing I seem to do consistently is gain weight back that I work hard to lose (I lost all this weight once already in high school... IN A YEAR!!!!, gained it back in the proceeding 10 years since). If I can develop some healthy habits in these next six weeks to help me on my quest, then it will have been a success. Step One: NF Dumbbell Level 1 Exercise 3 Times A Week Step Two: Aikido At Least Twice (hopefully 3) Times A Week Step Three: Removing All Sodas and Juices. Hopefully all these will work out and I'll be successful. I'm always in need of motivation and support, so if there's a group opening I'm definitely interested. I'm also more than happy to lend support to anyone in need! Here's to hoping my Thu'um will be strong. Dovahkiin

Single full time parent looking for local walking, fitness, biking partners. I live mid peninsula. Since I have my son to care for full time, I need to stay close to home. Let me know if you are interested in getting some exercise and encouraging each other in our fitness goals. Patrick I can also be reached at kingsfan1414@yahoo.com.... That is the LA Kings just to be clear. No, I am not a Sharks fan....

Hello! I'm finally trying to clean up my act and get back into healthy eating and fitness, after a several-month-long hiatus induced by major life changes and busy schedules. I shouldn't have let it happen, I know, but here I am again, back at step 1 with a poor diet and not working out at all. One baby step challenge I'm making for myself this month is finding some kind of alternative for my daily latte habit. Right now, I drink one large vanilla skim latte every morning. I drink it more for the taste and because I just like a warm cuppa than for the caffeine. I think a healthy change I could make is to switch from my ~240 calorie/day latte habit to tea. But I'm not a tea drinker, never been a tea drinker... So I know next to nothing about tea. Tea Drinkers -- do you have any recommendations for a "beginners tea" that's both healthy and tasty?

I'm still pretty stoked to have finished the last challenge. My grades were A, C, C - not stellar, but getting all the way to the end without giving up is a pretty big deal for me. I can see the difference in my fitness, and I really feel like I'm working on building permanent habits rather than my usual 'crash diet and binge' cycle. So here I am amongst the Adventurers - challenge number two - COME ON! MAIN QUEST:- To be a good role model for my son in having a healthy relationship with food and being able to exercise with him (and keep up with him!) I'm working towards modelling the same behaviour around food and fitness that I want my son to have when he's an adult. My parenting mantra is 'Kids don't do what you say, they do what you do'. Well, I don't want him to be a serial dieter like me, and I'd like him to see exercise as part of a normal adult life. It's also important to me that he sees me working hard at a career that is meaningful to me - basically just leading a balanced life. So all of these goals feed in to that... Goal - Do some exercise that I enjoy at a moderate to high intensity for half an hour three times a week This is continued from last challenge. Once again, I'm only going to do things I enjoy because I think that's the best way to make this stick when I'm starting out. I've failed many times before by using willpower to bully myself into doing things and then giving up, whereas the exercise habit from last challenge seems to be sticking. I've decided not to 'extend' this goal i.e. I've kept it exactly the same as last challenge. It's still such a big change for me compared to before my first challenge and I want to really establish this habit before I push further with it. Also my food goal went badly last time, so I'm going to focus on improving my score there, while maintaining my exercise score. A - Three times a week B - Twice a week C - Once a week FAIL - No exercise beyond my usual long walks Goal - No eating apart from planned meals and snacks [edited from 'No eating between meals on weekdays' - changing goal after Week One] A - Stick to plan B - One small lapse during the week C - Two lapses or a major lapse during the week D - No change from current habits FAIL - I only grade it as a 'Fail' if I stop checking in and being accountable Goal - Life Challenge/Side Quest - Procrastination vs Taking A Break. I'm working from home and struggling with productivity. I have a bad habit of avoiding taking a 'proper' break away from the computer but then wasting a load of time on the internet. I know that if I take a 'proper' break like exercise, or practising guitar or going for a walk, doing some stretches or meditating - then after doing these things I work better, my mind is clearer - and it's better for my eyes too. I've figured out a simple scoring system for the working day to take positive breaks. I have a target score of +50 points per working day (I'm only keeping score during working hours). I can score +100 by just getting a reasonable amount of work done and taking two or three positive breaks during the day. Whereas a whole working day spent wasting time on the internet while eating junk food takes me into negative numbers... I have a spreadsheet for tracking but it this scoring system doesn't work for me over the course of the challenge then I'll adjust it as I go. A - score 50 points per day or over and record every day's score B - stay in positive numbers over the course of a week and record every day's score C - write down the score every day regardless of what the score is - measuring and being aware of what my habits are and staying accountable here is still a passing grade D - skipping a few days of writing down the score FAIL - consistently not recording my habits and not checking in with scores here

Hello All! After reading the NF articles I fell in love with the website, and I decided to get involved in the forums as well. I'm 23, 122lbs, and it pretty good shape. While I'm not new to fitness, I would like to kick it into high gear and start eating right. My biggest goal is to successfully finish a Spartan Race this year. Good luck to everyone on here, and I hope to meet some like-minded people trying to get healthy