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My health journey starts with the basics: Duolingo Reading Exercises Healthy snacks Shaw academy Bullet Journaling

Autumn Adventures Apologies in advance to any friends on the other side of the equator. It's finally starting to feel like autumn around where I'm at and my enthusiasm for this time of year is huge. Autumn is by far my favorite season. The leaves start changing colors and turning the landscape into fiery awesomeness. Some of my favorite produces are in season again (broccoli, apples, various squashes, brussels sprouts, kale). The days start getting crisp and cool - perfect for hiking in the morning and coming home to a nice cup of hot tea. (Hopefully the temps actually spend some time in fall and don't go straight from summer to winter.... the weather this year is weird...) And I also love how the creative community just explodes in enthusiasm for month-long awesomeness such as Inktober and NaNoWriMo. This challenge is themed to keep me on track with good habits, while also allowing myself to have fun indulging in some creative hobbies. So last challenge.... was all about floundering around and trying to figure out long-term goals. I do have some details kicking around inside my head - but I want to work a bit more on turning those vague impressions into words that make sense outside my own head. This challenge.... I want to continue with some good habits that I started earlier this year - and kind of got stuck in the mud with around early July - and prioritize them against my enthusiasm for the ongoing creative stuffs. Goals: Drink at least 2 Liters of water daily (ongoing since January) 5 a day fruits and vegetables (extra incentive - $2 for every day I hit this goal towards something cool - maybe a fountain pen?? or a bonsai tree??) Take time to explore outside - at least 2 adventures in nature / week Finish Inktober strong Start NaNoWriMo strong

Laidir here! I know I'm late for joining this challenge but I'm hoping to set myself up with some basic healthy habits before the next challenge! I'm finishing my Bachelor of Nursing next week (shameless brag!) and I need to start taking better care of myself. Stress has done a number on my body and I just discovered that I've gained 25 lbs throughout the program and am now technically a little bit overweight. Which is super weird because for the longest time, I could not gain weight no matter how hard I tried (I wanted boobs, what can I say :P). Heart disease, cancer, and diabetes all run in my family and I'd like to do what I can to avoid them. ;P I'd like to lose 10-15 lbs and see how I'm doing at that point, but ultimately I just want to be stronger, healthier, and feel energized. Food Have a healthy smoothie every morning - I normally don't eat breakfast and when I start my day eating something nutritious I eat better throughout the day. Fitness Do the playground or living room workout 3x per week - I want to master my body so bodyweight workouts make sense. (future assassin maybe?) (Also, I did the playground workout for the first time this morning and it was so nice!! I live in a basement suite so actually seeing the sun was WONDERFUL!) Life Study for the NCLEX (Registered Nurse licensing exam) at least 1 hour every day - Ideally on days off I need to be studying for several hours but this should build the habit and keep the content in mind every day. My goal is to be ready to take the NCLEX by the mid-end of May.

Hey everyone Pupster and I are back for second challenge with the Adventurers. Really enjoyed myself and felt engaged in the community through the April challenge. I can definitely see the Adventurer's guild being our home for the foreseeable future. Last challenge was all about pulling myself together with the right mindset. This challenge we're kicking things up a notch and starting to look outwards. Goal 1: Patrol the Territory A minimum fitness level is required to properly patrol the pack's territory. Time to get into the habit and branch out. We walk the same paths every day - time to experience some new local sights and smells. This way "I don't have time to drive to the park" is never an excuse since all we have to do is take that step out the front door. 2 Endurance Workouts/Week 1 Strength Workout/Week 1 Flexibility Workout/Week Track daily distance made with the pupster (no goals this challenge since he's still a little limpy) Loot: +3 STA, +2 STR, +1 Deadpool on BluRay (90% completion or more) Goal 2: A Natural Diet Did very well last challenge with my fight against the dreaded Sugar Monster. Time to up the difficulty. MINDFUL Desserts & Snacks The routine/mindless snacking is a huge problem for me. Oh I walked past the cabinet? Need a handful of cashews. To tackle this, snacks will be planned like a meal. No more stash of granola bars at the office. I can bring one with me to eat, but I cannot have a box on hand to mindlessly eat. Same goes for other snacks - yes I can bring a portioned container. No I cannot leave a bag of trail mix. Because I will inhale that stuff. Weekends are a big problem too. I just graze all day that I am home. Time to eat REAL meals (instead of handfuls of whatever I can find in the cabinet). I want to work on drinking less too, but my focus now is on snacking. I'll have a tentative goal for 1 drink or less Mon-Thurs. But the exercise goal and snacking are pretty challenging by themselves and I want to give the right amount of effort to be successful. Next time.... Loot: +3 CHA, +2 CON, +$20 for fancy coffee beans Goal 3: Focus Training Continued I'm doing online dog training class things. Completed lessons 1-3 last challenge for the "Get Focused" seminar. Aiming for 4 more lessons this challenge. Pretty simple. Loot: +5 WIS Goal 4: Assess the Surroundings Time to learn more about the local flora and fauna (thanks Arrowan by being inspiring with your herp studies last challenge). Each week I will look for and learn a bit about at least1 plant and 1 animal that I see on our patrols. Bonus if I post a picture that I took of said species.

Out of the shadows, two figures emerge. One walks on two legs, and may look vaguely familiar. She seems unsure, but emboldened by her canine companion she straightens her posture and walks with greater purpose. "Well, this looks like a nice place to make camp." ----- Hey, I'm Garjan. I was somewhat active a year or so ago. Hung out in the Assassin's Den last challenge, but wanted a bit of a change in scenery. I'm here to continue building healthy habits, and maybe enjoy the scenery along the way. Big themes of this challenge is to be both mindful and present. It's easy to let LONG workdays create excuses, but I don't want to take the easy trail. I also want to be present when it comes to my canine partner in crime who is happy to allow me the occasional lazy day but much prefers when we focus on training and adventures. Quests 1) I do not eat sweets Dessert is a weak point for me, especially mindlessly eating from coworker's candy jars. And the worst part is i don't even actually enjoy most of the stuff! I just eat because it is there. So I'm cutting myself off. Support: Drink water or tea when sweets cravings hit. Or go for a walk (away from the candy jars :P) Support: Bring alternative snacks to work - fruit, trail mix, etc. Support: There is one (1) bar of dark chocolate in the fridge available to me. Once I eat the last piece, that's it. My goal in this is to make me actually think - how much do I want this chocolate now versus having the option for later. Can I go 4 weeks with only eating 1 dark chocolate bar (or less)? Challenge accepted! LOOT = Blu-Ray Star Wars Prequels Set AND Blu-Ray The Force Awakens; CHA + 5 2) Sleep 7+ hours each night Tried this last challenge too and just missed by 30 min most nights. I think this is due in part to my measuring technique (FitBit) not meshing well with plan (set bedtimes based on wake up time) because who actually falls asleep exactly when they lay down? Support: Meal planning. A lot of the time I'm up late because dinner is late, or I'm making lunch/prepping coffee for the next morning. Planning it out and preparing will make evenings (and mornings) much smoother. Support: Turn those damn devices off and go to sleep! And while your'e at it change the alarm sound so you don't snooze it 10 times every morning. LOOT = Sonata Arctica Ecliptica Revisited CD; CON + 5 3) Fenzi Dog Sports Academy - FE105 (5 lessons) Signed up for an online dog training thing a while ago and never finished the lessons. Want to start from fresh and go through at least the first 5 (of 10) lessons and exercises. I don't want to rush the progress so about 1 per week is good. LOOT = ????; WIS + 3, STA + 2 Bonus) 4 Unique Hiking Trails ADVENTURE~!

Out of the shadows, two figures emerge. One walks on two legs, and may look vaguely familiar to seasoned Assasins. She seems unsure, but emboldened by her canine companion she straightens her posture and walks with greater purpose. "We got a little lost, but we are back now. And ready for the real work to begin." ----- Hey, I'm Garjan. I was somewhat active a year or so ago. Life got busy and I skipped off the forums. Though I continued some level of activity and healthy eating, I would like to progress from my stagnant routine and begin improving again. And now I have a four-legged companion to include on my journeys. QUESTS 1) Hydration Every Day: Track daily water consumption. Drink at minimum 1.2 Liters (aka drain the Klean Kanteen twice). 2) Be Present Every Day: At least 15 minutes of PLAY with pup, no tech/distractions. At least 5 min training. (This is on top of the daily walks). 3) Workout Weekly: Beginner Bodyweight circuit at least once per week. 4) Sleeeeep 7 hours per night - Work day bed time: 10:30 ; Work day wake up: 5:30. Weekends: Avoid crazy late nights, dog wakes up by 7 anyway... ----- Current state: I am already doing some of this, but not on the routine basis that I would like. Especially the adhering to bedtime (laying in bed checking tumblr after 10:30, etc). Weekends are waaaay different hours which leaves me dragging on Mondays. Water is a sore point. Some days I'm awesome, most days I barely touch the stuff. Loot: Sleep & Hydration - Success (90%) means I get to buy that awesome CD I've been eyeing lately. Sonata Arctica's Ecliptica Revisited

Hi all!!! I have missed you and your banter the last month or so, and I am excited to be in a place where I can rejoin the fun! I am sure you have lots of questions about where I disappeared to last month. The simple answer is down a deep dark rabbit hole. The good news is that I am changing jobs next week! Wahoo! So that means no more deep dark rabbit hole of emotional despair. I am back, and I am happy, and I am ready to take on the world! Thus the challenge title...despite not being a gamer I thought it fit nicely. So what is the new plan? Well, the new epic quest is to be in the best shape of my life. How will I know when I have gotten there? I have metrics, to be discussed in a later post. But it ultimately means, I can say to someone, "I am in the best shape of my life," and mean it. This is going to be a long journey with many segments and challenges to accomplish. The first segment will end 1/29/2016 - aka my birthday. Why this point? well for one its approximately 90 days away which is a nice round number for goal setting, two I went and did a bodpod measurement and was told to come back in 90 days, three who doesnt want to celebrate another year by feeling great and knowing they are making progress towards being the person they want to be? Okay new quest, that means the first thing I have to do is reset and start developing healthy habits.This challenge is all about breaking the old bad habits and creating a foundation for new healthy habits. I have 4 challenges this time around, and they all play nicely on one another, so if I am successful in one, it will help me succeed in another. They also are not broken out by healthy and fitness and life they each have an element of both. Okay on to the plan... Deficit Daze Getting the bodpod assessment means I have an accurate estimate of what my BMR is, and a nutritionist's recommendation for caloric intake to accomplish my goals. As such for this challenge I shall strive to eat within the recommended range, 1100 cals on non active days, and 1300 cals on active days. (I use MFP to track food) Scores shall be awarded by how close I get to this recommendation each day. Since eating under will be nearly impossible for me, I know from previous CICO tracking experience, grades are going to be assessed by how far over I go. A - <10% over (1210/1430) B - <20% over (1320/1560) C - <30% over (1430/1690) D - <40% over (1540/1820) F - >40% over Sugar Slayer I am not going to hit my deficit goals if I keep consuming sugar at the rate I have been. I stress eat, and lord knows there has been way too much stress in my life the last month. As such my sugar consumption is through the roof, typical day is at least 1 soda and a candy bar. I must slay my sugar habit once and for all! For this challenge I am going to try gamification. We shall see how it works, my husband pointed out Im not into RPG games so why would it work in health and fitness land? But I am stoked about my plan and want to give it a go. I want a healthy relationship with sugar, not an all or nothing. My goal is to get to what I consider healthy sugar consumption, which is 2 sugar filled treats a week. Since this is a journey and probably my biggest weakness, I know this habit is going to take the longest to turn around. I have developed levels to indicate where I am on the path to becoming a master sugar slayer. These levels are based on how many consecutive days I have gone without an "overload", aka more than 2 sugar treats in a week. For this challenge the goal is to get to apprentice level....if I dont mess up once, I can get to master for my birthday... Initiate - fewer than 30 days Apprentice - fewer than 90 days Master - more than 90 days I have developed some other rules to make this successful. I get one overload every 28 consecutive days. Additional overloads send me back to the start of the level and I start over with no consecutive days carrying over from the previous level. So if I have too many overloads as an apprentice, I stay an apprentice, but I have to start over on building up to 90 days, the 30 days from the Initiate level dont count anymore. Money Manager Okay next goal, I need to curb my spending on food. Its silly. I have prepped meals sitting in my fridge and I choose to go buy breakfast and lunch out. This makes my budget ( and my husband) very unhappy. Instead of making this about taking the meals you have I am making this about how I spend my money, because I know I will do better, since money motivates me. We each get fun money in cash each month. With the idea being we can spend it how we want and the other person does not need to know where it was spent. For this challenge, I am laying down the law that if I want to eat food by myself, breakfast, lunch, snacking, SUGARY TREATS, I must buy this food with my fun money. There is a total of $140 in fun money on the table for these 6 weeks. I will come up with some awesome way to spend what is left at the end of the challenge. No grades or levels here, I will just report fun money amount, and what awesome thing I can buy with it at the end. Lazy Bones Last thing I want to work on is my activity level. I have been super lazy the last month and that needs to stop. For this challenge its is about changing my habits at home, so its a combination of 3 challenges into one. The goal, have 120 active minutes each day. This is not fitbit's definition of active either, active minutes to me is time spent not on my butt watching tv, crafting, reading, or otherwise being lazy. In order to achieve my goal each day, I must get so many active minutes from certain activities. 20 minutes yoga 30 minutes fitness 30 minutes house 10 minutes food prep Notice, that only adds up 90 minutes...which means I have 30 minutes to fill as a please. Some days maybe my workout will take longer, some days will be house intensive, some days will be a fun activity. I am also making a rule that if one activity type is not completed that day, I cannot get bonus minutes added on. For instance, if I spend 5 hours on a Saturday working on the house, but dont go work out, I only get to record 90 minutes of activity for that day instead of the full 5 hours. The goal for this challenge will be to record 5000 minutes of activity. Okay thats the plan...Im sticking to it! Good luck to everyone on this challenge. I know we face many difficulties ahead as the holidays approach.

Yay this is my first challenge! I have no idea what I am doing but here it goes… Please let me know if I am doing this right… especially with the points! Goal 1: Create healthy habits While my overall goal is fat loss, I cannot at this point reasonably expect that I will lose a certain amount by the end of six weeks especially since I have not even settled on a diet plan that fits me yet. That is why my first goal is to discover and create healthy habits to base future fat loss on. I may (this would be ideal) lose fat during this challenge but it cannot be my focus if I do not have a solid foundation to base it on first. I will make this process more tangible by settling some ground rules that I know I can follow. No sodas or sugary drinks (this level is already very low anyways) No alcohol (same) with two cheat days for special occasions No bread items 6 days a week (this will be a bit of a challenge for me but I have noticed an increase in energy when I limit just bread so I think this will be good) No added sugar (this includes desserts) with 4 cheat days and allowances for dark chocolate In addition, I will keep track of what I eat and limit portions to only what I need. I will essentially be following the No S’s diet with no snacks or extra portions. Also SLEEP WELL: I want to get at least 7 hours of sleep a night If I go off track, I will take .5 points away for every day this happens. This will be 2 constitution points per week for a max total of 12 Goal 2: Work out at least 3 times a week in some capacity for 30 minutes. I will take things slow because I need to let my legs rest from the shin splints so it will mostly be bodyweight at the beginning and then maybe some light walking in a few weeks. I may try some yoga. If anyone has any advice for exercises and or cardio that I can do while giving my legs a rest that would be awesome! This will be 2 strength points per week of exercise for a max total of 12 Goal 3: Continue to educate myself on different types of diets and being healthy. I will be more successful when I know exactly what is happening to my body when I do different things. I will do research on exercise and make sure I am following the correct form for sure so I do not become injured. In addition, I will learn about nutrition and get better at measuring out correct portions for myself. I will learn at least one new thing each week for 2 points per knowledge gained. First, third and fifth week will be about diet, and the even weeks will be about exercise. For every extra piece of knowledge I pick up I will get 1 point. Minimum 12 knowledge points I will report once a week with a point update, information I learn and a grade for myself on the week. Height: 5’1†Female Starting weight: 159lbs Starting waist size 40†Body Fat %: 30-35%?? OVERALL GOAL: be happy, healthy, and informed

This week I start my second challenge both with the rangers and for the year. Last challenge had a great middle, I hit my stride by finding something that clicked with me and got me to the gym, and I saw good results. Family coming to visit (and me trying my best to de-bachelor my boyfriend’s home because of it) as well as a ton of meetings at work during my lunch break (my favorite time to work out) side tracked me at the end. I still learned a lot, and now I KNOW I can do it. This Challenges Focus: Signet of Stone – Passive Boost to Toughness (Outer Strength) Training – To be tough you must train. 3 weight training days, 2 cardio days, and a walk 20-30min every day. Worth +4 Str +2 Dex (Inner Strength) Food – This has been my most difficult wall to break through, but to be tough you must feed your body healthy things, not crap. During this challenge I will track all my food via TwoGrand (TiffanyD if anyone else is on there), I’m going to write in the comment calorie info when it’s available, and I am going to focus on eating no more than 1450 calories a day (my protein shake post SL 5x5/Crossfit will not be counted). I am not having anything be “off limits†this go around. Worth +3 points (tbd) (Resilience) Water – In order to be tough you need to be hydrated, I will drink a minimum of 2.2 liters of water a day (9, 8oz cups). Worth +2 to Con My life goal this time around is to be nicer to myself. I am the type that refuses to expect something out of people that I don’t expect from myself, so I can be very critical. I don’t think anyone should be as harsh on themselves as I am to me, and I need to change that. I will be completing the love your body challenge here.

This week I start my second challenge both with the rangers and for the year. Last challenge had a great middle, I hit my stride by finding something that clicked with me and got me to the gym, and I saw good results. Family coming to visit (and me trying my best to de-bachelor my boyfriend’s home because of it) as well as a ton of meetings at work during my lunch break (my favorite time to work out) side tracked me at the end. I still learned a lot, and now I KNOW I can do it. This Challenges Focus: Signet of Stone – Passive Boost to Toughness (Outer Strength) Training – To be tough you must train. 3 weight training days, 2 cardio days, and a walk 20-30min every day. Worth +4 Str +2 Dex (Inner Strength) Food – This has been my most difficult wall to break through, but to be tough you must feed your body healthy things, not crap. During this challenge I will track all my food via TwoGrand (TiffanyD if anyone else is on there), I’m going to write in the comment calorie info when it’s available, and I am going to focus on eating no more than 1450 calories a day (my protein shake post SL 5x5/Crossfit will not be counted). I am not having anything be “off limits†this go around. Worth +3 points (tbd) (Resilience) Water – In order to be tough you need to be hydrated, I will drink a minimum of 2.2 liters of water a day (9, 8oz cups). Worth +2 to Con My life goal this time around is to be nicer to myself. I am the type that refuses to expect something out of people that I don’t expect from myself, so I can be very critical. I don’t think anyone should be as harsh on themselves as I am to me, and I need to change that. I will be completing the love your body challenge here.

Hello There! So I took a stab at this once but had too many forums and apps to keep up with so this time its just here and small updates to my academy battle log. Main Quest: To lose fat, gain strength, and feel better about my body. I used to have a number in mind, and a size but I think for now I would like to focus on the process more than the end result. Missions: -Get 10k steps at least 4 days a week via my fitbit for tracking. (Graded weekly, A=4+, B=3, C=2, F=-2) -Get in 3 dedicated workouts per week (crossfit, dumbbell division/cross training at home, or a new exciting class at the gym). (Graded weekly, A=3+, B=2, C=1, F=-1) -Track all my meals via two grand, (Graded weekly, A=100-95%, B=95-76%, C=75-60%, F=-60%). This will also help me work towards the 80/20% healthy choices balance. Life Quest: To try out the MMA intro class as well as some martial arts classes at my gym. My Motivations: I've always been chubby, and was raised in a family where healthy choices were broccoli drenched in cheese. I want to have the knowledge to teach my one day kids how to be healthy and not have to struggle like I have. And I want to get my body to a state that I can be proud of. The Obstacles and Helpful Things: Obstacles will mainly come from my home/boyfriend. As much as I love the guy he has an insane metabolism and could eat pasta every day. I do not have that super power so I will need to find a happy medium and make sure I portion control well when we do eat heavy dinners. My work tends to have potlucks monthly, its always unhealthy food, and they tend to be mandatory. I will need to portion control, and look for the healthiest options available (aka. Say no to the Mac and cheese). Holidays are coming up which was always associated with stuffing myself full of food as a kid. I had a very bad sprain and am still recovering, I need to watch and listen to my body so that I don't reinjure myself or harm it more. The Helpful Things: I am already in the habit of cooking at home almost every day, and also can easily say no to lunches out with coworkers. I am taking part in a 3 month weight loss challenge at work where I weigh in weekly, this should help keep me on track with goals. I already love to work out, I just need to work on a set schedule and stick with it. I will be back tomorrow with my proper weight and measurements, didn't have time this morning before work. While I had to start this a day late due to traveling all day yesterday I am ready and excited!

Joining a little late, but hopefully not too much so! Last time I logged on the current challenge was too far underway for me to feel comfortable joining. I promised myself I'd make this one, but boy how time flies! Bit about me: My name's Alex, I'm 21. I'm finishing my final year in college (BS in Business Management, minor in Computer Science). I'm also a freelance writer and editorial assistant. I am, of course, a giant nerd (Star Trek, Doctor Who, games, games, games...) Some fun facts about my health journey: I've been overweight since I was 9I went to a fitness and weight loss camp (read: fat camp) at 14I've gained all that weight back since thenMy parents both have had weight problemsI'm perpetually lazyI have too many bad habits to countI've tried an uncountable number of "fad" dietsHere's my challenge! Main Quest My Main Quest is pretty vague, I guess, but it's built out of necessity. I want to develop healthy, kickass habits while banishing all those lame, unhealthy ones. Goals Be active everyday. Whether it's just a vigorous cleaning session of the apartment or a formal gym workout, I never want to spend another day entirely sitting on the couch. Get up by 9A everyday. One of my worst habits is sleeping to much. My schedule is 95% flexible and I never have to be anywhere before 1P. I'll sleep all day and try to justify it in my mind. I think if I start getting up by 9A, I'll start getting tired appropriately and get myself on a normal sleep schedule, which should lead to more productivity. Self-monitor food/drink intake. I had to do this at camp at it was eye-opening. I'm very well versed in nutrition now, but self-monitoring is a good way to keep myself dedicated to my new lifestyle. Having to write it down means more of a connection. I'm not too worried about caloric intake, but it'll be nice to see what kinds of foods make me feel like shit--or make me feel awesome! Live Quest Like I mentioned, I'm a writing. I'm currently trying to break into business writing in order to build a stable career before I graduate. I've been dragging my feet due to low energy and low self-confidence. My goal for this challenge is to reach out to at least 50 local businesses about my copywriting abilities. Motivation My motivation is to not feel like crap anymore. I want to have more energy. I want to feel good for no reason! That should be the default. Being energized and happy. Also, I've always love this e-card: My boyfriend is working on getting healthier with me (he says he's got "relationship gut"). I'm not doing this "for him" but he is great motivation! I'm tired of feeling like I'm not good enough just because I'm overweight and lazy. Real Life Roleplaying I haven't looked too much into the stats, but here's my character so far, cause why not Race: Wood Elf Class: Adventurer Surprise, surprise. Not entirely original, but a small start! So, yes, hi guys Glad to be participating. I'm off the gym for the first time in... oh, just about FOREVER. Oh, if you want a before picture, here you go. It's old, but it is exactly what I look like today.