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Hello fellow nerds, My name is Isaac Brewster and I am thinking about trying the paleo diet. (Or some of it, as I like peanuts and beans). I think the hardest part of it will be transitioning to eating more vegetables. I don't know of any particularly tasty recipes for vegetables. (Hopefully not all vegetable based dishes though) I particularly want a recipe for a spicy sweet potato fry, but any other tasty recipes would be appreciated.

When we last left our hero, RhiaWolfe had succeeded in completing her first round of training and finding healthy vegetables to eat for fuel. While she still has difficulty waking up in the morning, she's never late for a training session or event. She's not quite ready yet to embark on her quest to save Hyrule from evil Gannondorf. More training is required. She must get strong and build endurance to fight her way through mobs of monsters and take on the most challenging dungeons (Water Temple... ugh). Quest 1: Strength and Endurance Continue going to the gym/weightlift/workout 4 times a week Some days, our hero finds herself struggling. Lacking energy to complete her training. She takes out her frustration on nearby bushes, using her sword to separate those leafy greens from the ground! Quest 2: Eat your Greens Eat at least one vegetable every day After destroying several fields of bushes and shrubs, she finds that she has discovered quite a few rupees hidden in the tall grasses. She comes to the store to spend her loot. Stepping into the store she looks around and sees all kinds of things. She has just enough rupees to buy her a shield, an item she desperately needs before heading off on her journey. However, to the left is a red potion... sure she doesn't need any more health right now and can usually replenish it with rest or hearts found in the field... but it tastes REALLY good! No matter that the extra hearts will make it harder for her to stay fit and strong, it's yummy, right? Which will our hero choose?! Quest 3: Save Rupees Don't go out to eat more than twice a week. If you do go out more than that, anything above twice a week must be as healthy as possible. (Yes, I know in the picture there's not a red potion, but it sounds better than eating a heart... lol) Can our hero continue to prepare for her journey and successfully get the training she needs to set off to save Hyrule? We shall see!

(Note: cross-posted in my Daily Battle Log) Sigh, my friends, sigh. It has been a while since my last post. Having a little downer of a week in terms of eating. Time to get back to being more engaged with NF forums and the academy. The good news: *I have been keeping up working with my trainers and average 3 workouts per week - 1 with him and 2 on my own (mostly weight training and small amounts of cardio) *I still prepare my lunch for the week over the weekend - paleo-ish style Bachelor Chow (as my husband calls it) - Ground Turkey or Grilled chicken, peppers, onions, mushrooms, garlic, 1 can of beans. I eat 1.5 cups or so of this with a small avocado. *I have lost weight overall! When I started this journey (3+ years ago) I was 210 lbs. I have managed to stay around 180-184, so I do consider this a success. The bad (Less-good?) news: * I have plateaued in terms of weight loss. I have read some of the opinions on this topic (through here and otherwise) and I understand that usually when you get to this point you have to shake things up again. I'm just not sure where to go next. *My eating is good, not great. I have been experimenting with intermittent fasting (my hours are 11-7) and it doesn't seem to be helping (it hasn't been PERFECT based on my work hours sometimes, but better than 90% for sure). I do very well just drinking tea or water in the morning until 11am, and then dig right in to my prepared Bachelor Chow/avocado... HOWEVER - there are times where I am just crazy hungry and a very opportunistic eater still! Whatever happens to be around (especially at work) I will graze on. It makes me so upset at myself when I give in, but I still have the thoughts of "I've been doing really good with workouts" and "I'll just have a little" and I am still treating food as a reward. * I have stopped doing much on the days in between lifting days. I think this is partly timing, partly motivation/soreness, partly just wanting to do other things. I have also found myself thinking a lot about the people in my life and how I wish I had more close friends (Yes, I know, if wishes were horses, we'd all be eating steak ^_^). There was always a stage of my life where I had people around me to be closer friends with (high school, undergrad, professional school) but eventually you move on from those life stages and those relationships tend to fade, both due to proximity and partly because priorities and interests shift. Of course now, there are coworkers and of course my husband and I have our couple friends that we see on a fairly regular basis. But I'm not sure I have that one friend that you go to for everything- chatting, hanging out, whatever it may be... So that has been keeping me down a little bit lately. But it comes and goes. Sometimes you get too busy to notice - until you're not. So I have taken a few steps to working on some of these things: **First, I am going to Nerd Fitness Camp in the fall! I am bringing my sisters along, so we are going to make it a sister bonding trip, but I really hope to find some people to connect with. **I'm looking around for some clubs to join. A running club strikes me as good, but I'm not really a distance runner, and I haven't run for a while, so not sure I would be of benefit to anyone else trying to improve.... **Speaking of not running for a while, I have a goal to run on my non-lifting days. No specific time or distance goals. Just to keep moving on my days off -and I do like running but I tend to shy away from it in the cold weather, so I jog maybe 6 months of the year (sometimes). Maybe signing up for a 5K this summer (finally)? I am hoping that summer and good weather will help improve my habits and mood overall. There's always time for a respawn, right?

So after almost two years of no serious competition (TBH the Scottish Judo Open was more an experiment in seeing if I could still cut weight like a pro) I'm returning to competition. My first will most likely be a judo grading as the London IBJJF Open is a bit out of my league, bearing in mind I have to fight at blue belt. "Gentle means tired" was a favourite phrase used during competition preparation at the judo club, and right now I'm gentle very often. Sport Specific Activity: I'm already at classes regularly but I shy away a bit during rolling, people are gentle and won't hurt me. I can get in on this. Goal: Rolling and Randori - aim for only sitting out one round max. ( STA - 2) Conditioning: I have a conditioning program in place that will help me with power output in competition. I just have to actually do it three times a week. I will also keep up the drills from my previous challenge and shift the focus on inversion and DLR/ Spider guard drills. Goal: conditioning program 3xpw (STA - 3) Goal: Morning drills 4xpw (DEX - 5) Healthy Eating: This is where IIFYM goes back to "if it fits your macros" and not "if it fits your mouth" Goal: Keep avg calories below 1900 (as I'm still needing to lose extra bulk weight ;_; ) (CON - 2) Respecting the Men Folk: To put it bluntly, I'm good at respecting them in a sporting sense but not in a relationship sense. Over the past six months I have upset many of the men folk by really just not caring. The worst part was calling out another black belt (who I really should have respected as being the same level) purely because of the dating scenario presented. Worked out OK and mutual respect developed. This incident made me realise I'd gone a bit weird. I just haven't got round to do anything about it till not. Goal: Keep trolling, teasing and "Fite me bro" to a level that doesn't cause angry texts and getting ignored. (CHA - 3)

I am back and ready for my 9th Nerd Fitness Challenge! My theme this time is mermaids and swimming because I want to get into the best scuba diving shape I can be in preparation for my upcoming dive trip to Cozumel, Mexico starting May 16. I've been a fan of mermaids ever since I was a little girl, swimming at the local pool with my fins on. My top two favorite mermaid movies: Disney's The Little Mermaid and Splash. While Ariel wanted nothing more than to give up her voice for a pair of legs, I want to give up my landlocked state for a pair of fins and gills! I'm already an avid scuba diver, having gotten my open water certification in Cozumel back in 2014. For this trip, the husband and I will be there for 2 glorious weeks filled to the brim with nothing but diving. We're hoping to get as many as 25/26 dives in during that time including a wreck dive and night dive! Main Quest To live a healthy and balanced life by continuing to exercise and eat healthy. Motivation I've successfully dropped weight by counting calories so my diet will mostly be staying the same with 1200 calories per day M-F and then blow meals on the weekends. I've managed to put on some muscle in an effort to become stronger by weight lifting and that will continue this challenge along with my smaller quests. 1. Swim once a week a. Start getting into scuba shape by swimming as part of my cardio routine once per week. b. Reward: +3 to STA & +2 to DEX c. Results: /6 2. Sweet treats a. Cut down on processed junk food by only having sugary snacks on the weekends with my blow means. b. Reward: +2 to CHA c. Results: /25 3. Strength training Wetsuit Workout a. Tank Lift (bar squat) = 120lbs {current: 100lbs} i. or bar sled = 260lbs {current: 240lbs} ii. or barbell squat = 50lbs (each hand) {current: 40lbs} b. Lateral Tank Lift (lateral raise) = 15lbs {current: 12lbs} c. Ladder Step with Weights = 25lbs i. Reward: +2 to STR d. scissor kick i. Reward: +2 to DEX 4. Spanish a. Study and practice Spanish daily during week for at least 20-30 minutes in preparation for Cozumel. b. Scoring: /22 c. Reward: +4 to WIS Current Stats Age: 33 Gender: female Height: 5’3†Weight: 139.4lbs

Hello everyone! I'm brand new to this but can't wait to get started - I've been seeking something that can push me to excel that isn't boring. Just to introduce myself: I sort of recently started a new job as a designer in a new city and love to work out. My name comes from the game League of Legends - I'm not pro, but I like to think I am! I main as Lux. This is why Nerd Fitness is perfect for me! Now to the goals! Fitness/Health Quest: 1. Run 15 miles a week. To be honest, anything more than that totally stresses me out. That's 5 miles 3 times a week, 2 miles 5 times a week with a 5 miler on a weekend, or even a long 10 mile weekend run with two easy 2.5 mile days! The pressure to run after work is sometimes too great for me. I think this is manageable with still enjoying my passion to run. And 15 is a great mathematical number. Will track with my handy Nike Running app! A+ More than 15 miles a week A 15 miles B 12 miles C 8 miles D 6 miles F Anything under 6. Reward: (+2 DEX +2 STA) 2. Do 3 pull-ups. Right now, I can't even fathom doing just one! I really need to work on my arm strength, and I will follow the Nerd Fitness guide to pull-ups to get there! Note: my company graciously provides a group trainer that comes every day for an hour at lunch! He focuses on free weights, lifting, cardio, abs . . . everything! But, no pull-up bar. I already work with him as often as I can, so now at home I need to tackle these pull-ups! I'll track I guess by uploading a video of myself? Makes me uncomfortable but I guess that's solid proof! A+ 5 pull-ups . . . if I can do 3 I can do 5, right? A 4 pull-ups B 3 pull-ups C 2 pull-ups D 1 pull-up F 0 . . . boo! Reward: (+2 STR +2 STA) 3. Yoga weekends. Let's be honest: yoga in the big city is EXPENSIVE. I just recently took a Bikram yoga class with an awesome $40 groupon, but it expired and now I'm left wanting more. But, expense shouldn't prevent me from doing yoga when there are so many free apps out there! I am going to do yoga on weekends to replace the classes. I also used to be a jazz dancer and I am terrified of losing my flexibility. This acts as my meditation and staying flexible. Will track with . . . ? Advice? I'm not taking a video of me doing yoga! A+ Yoga twice a week! What!? Yes! A Yoga and a good stretching session B Yoga once a week C Stretching Session D-F Nothing. Nada. Zip. Reward: (+2 CON +2 WIS) Life Quest: 4. Write my stress away. I may have a few little anxiety problems here and there. (By a few I mean I need to see a doctor.) The best way I've learned to deal with them is to write it out, or, communicate it some way. If everything is down on paper it's not in my brain. I'm going to try to write in my journal to get everything out and sorted. Will track via message board! A+ Write 5 times a week A Write 4 times a week B Write 3 times a week C Write 2 times a week D Write 1 time a week F No writing! What! If you just read all this let's be friends haha! I'm going to print this out and really keep track. I can do this! Attributes: Strength (STR): 1 Dexterity (DEX): 2 Stamina (STA): 3 Constitution (CON): 2 Wisdom (WIS): 4 Charisma (CHA): 3 Total: 15 | Level 1