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Hello all! So glad to be here one again for another challenge after a long-ish hiatus. I'm here because this is a particularly challenging season is our hobbit hole and now, more than ever, is a rich time for personal growth and perspective... as well as an opportunity to start lifting heavy again, as always. In the past week, my we found out my mother in law's stage 4 cancer has spread further into her pelvis and spine, my husband was laid off from a large (very comfortable!) tech company is a massive bloodbath, and both children have been down for the count with RSV (no sleep, my friends). All of this various levels of challenging and also a moment where I realize I can be very Hobbit-like, at least of the Shire variety, in that I enjoy stability, regularity, and the known and, of course, the nature of life is that it is unstable, doubtlessly with surprise you in sometimes painful ways. Going to channel my inner Took. So, my main goals at this time is to explore this time of instability and find opportunity in the discomfort, continue to workout goals, make and effort towards writing my PNW small town urban fiction novel. GOALS: - write 5 things I'm grateful for each day - declutter basement - do something relaxing every day - spend some time each week working on novel WORKOUT PLAN: currently I workout doing beachbody workouts (it's convenient w/ a toddler and entertaining!) 5-6 days a week new plan: heavy lift day in garage, lower body focused upper lift day (bodi) DAY OFF (going to take nap time on Wednesdays to just chill) heavy lift day in garage/heavy lift day inside with dumbbells depending on day, lower body focused barre (bodi) barre/full body fun tinmes (bodi) Stay tuned for some hard work!! Life Lately: bright day at the beach house

[Preamble] Welcome to Owlshire, a beautiful woodland property in the Forest of Dean, England. I’m a 42 year old American woman living here with my British husband (Mr) and young son (Enting). I work in gamedev and when I’m not doing that, I’m tending to my garden, doing needlework of some sort, writing, playing games (of various sorts), and exploring our local woodlands. This challenge is one of liminal space. Many transitions are afoot over the next few weeks: I just received a promotion at work (yay!). However, this will necessitate more work travel through the remaining year, starting in September. 🛤 Once an Adventurer… At the same time, Mr’s job is already picking up on travel - he’ll be away a few times during this challenge alone. So there will be much solo parenting for me! ✈️ The Enting is phasing out of nursery, and in September will start primary school. 😱 This will involve a major schedule/routine change on top of balancing traveling working parents! I’m already taking some steps on this, including a shift in my working hours. …Also, at the end of this challenge, I turn 43! [Challenges] Organize (Level Up): I’m giving the 12 Week Year system another go, which I’ll probably start in Week 1 since I’m not quite ready to start now. I’ll aim for 80% success each week, reporting here. Also keep using my Traveler’s Notebook to keep track of the day to day. Reach Mordor: Finally finish my (tracked) journey to Mordor. I have 255.5 miles to go! I've been hitting ~30 miles a week consistently for a while now. For this challenge, I want to get to 35 miles a week/average. (That's a daily goal of 5 miles a day, rather than 4 miles a day which had been my previous goal.) Success requirement is 35 miles a week 80% of the time. A Hobbit in Attitude, not in Width: I have a long term plan to lose a few more lbs, but at the moment I’m happy to maintain! This is a pass/fail. Admin note: I always start on Week 0, and I track from Monday-Sunday.

[Preamble] Welcome to Owlshire, a beautiful woodland property in the Forest of Dean, England. I’m a 42 year old American woman living here with my British husband (Mr) and pre-school son (Enting). I work in gamedev and when I’m not doing that, I’m tending to my garden, doing needlework of some sort, writing, playing games (of various sorts), and exploring our local woodlands. The big Owlshire news for this challenge is that we have chickens. On the last day of the last challenge, we adopted 6 ex-commercial hens from a rescue organization. They are currently recuperating, re-feathering, and learning what it is to be outside (they have a pop-hole into a large grassy hillside run that you can’t see in these photos). [Goals] Reach Mordor Finally finish my (tracked) journey to Mordor. I’m 773 miles away! I’ve been wanting to complete this challenge since the early 00s (when it was called the Eowyn Challenge), and I’m sure I’ve been “there and back again” several times over, but I’ve never managed to track the whole thing. I want to finish my walking route to Mordor by November 2022. My goal for this challenge is to do more than 20 miles each week (this includes any movement my Fitbit tracks), as that seems to be my “default” without extra effort. Find the Entwives It’s the spring, and… well, there’s always a lot to do at Owlshire, but this is the time of sowing seeds and hens, and I want to throw myself into that. At least 5 days a week, I want to do something that moves gardening/related activities forward. For this purpose, basic maintenance doesn’t count (such as daily hen care or watering the garden). Steps forward (such as creating a new gardening bed, sowing new seeds, increasing the defenses of Chook Castle) will count. I will do this at my discretion, and a project (such as creating a garden bed) doesn’t have to be completed that day to count as activity for that day. Some of these are big tasks that must be done in small steps. A Hobbit in Attitude, not in Width I want to continue to reduce my BMI/weight. This will be done with increased activity and continuing to watch my portion sizes/limited snacking. I’m currently at 22.5 BMI, and I will count this goal successful if my BMI or weight is less than it was at the start of the challenge. Tracking will be done with a minimum of weekly updates, and of course will include plenty of Owlshire photospam. [Challenges] It’s likely that my husband will begin commuting part of the week to his workplace (after being remote the last 2 years) and I’ll be regularly solo-parenting which will require some routine adjustments. Seriously, can we get through one challenge without a nasty cold (or, like last challenge, Covid) derailing the household for 1-2 weeks? Admin note: I always start on Week 0, and I track from Monday-Sunday.

[Preamble] Hi rebels! I’ve been on a challenge break, but recently started doing a Daily Weekly Battle Log/Epic Quest with some longer term fitness plans. I thought I’d join the holiday challenge madness and see if I can do a bit more! [About Me] I’m a 42 year old American woman living in the forests of England with my British husband and pre-school son. I work (remotely) on the narrative side of gamedev and when I’m not doing that, I’m tending to my garden, doing needlework of some sort, playing games (of various sorts), and exploring our local woodlands. [Goals] My fitness goals are pretty simple right now: Reach Mordor Finally finish my (tracked) journey to Mordor. I’m 1100 or so miles away! I’ve been wanting to complete this challenge since the early 00s (when it was called the Eowyn Challenge), and I’m sure I’ve been “there and back again” several times over, but I’ve never managed to track the whole thing. I want to finish my route to Mordor by November 2022. My ongoing goal is 20 miles a week, but for this challenge I’d like to stretch it to 30 miles a week. Eat PAI About this time last year, @oromendur introduced me to PAI, which wasn’t working well for me as a satifying metric early on, but I’ve decided to start tracking it again. For this challenge, I want to build up to an average score of 75 (and if I get there before Christmas, maintain it). I’m also shatteringly close to reaching my weight loss goal for the year, so hopefully I can hit that, too! Tracking will be done with a minimum of weekly updates, and of course will include plenty of photospam. Admin note: I always start on Week 0, and I track from Monday-Sunday. Week 0 is going to be an odd one—I’ll tell you more about it later!

I spun out last challenge in the last week to week and a half. Work stress, relationship stress, blah balh blah. I had just gotten cocky with about 90 days of staying on course so thats about time for me to screw up. So 3x workouts per week minimum. By week 3 take a run. Dont go more than 3 days without posting or commenting. I get in a bit of a cycle with that. So I dont have my sheet in front of me but I did squats today. I was getting dressed to lift when a half dollar sized wolf spider ran out of my knee sleeve on the ground and I made a decidedly un-warrior like sound before grabbing a shoe and smashing it. I have woken up 6 straight days with a pounding headache. i have put water on my bed and IBU in hopes that if I notice it in the middle of the night again I can get ahead of it.

Hi 😁 I'm back... again! The forums have changed a lot in my absence, it seems! My life has had a couple changes as well: - I've decided to switch from a PhD to a Master's, since I realized I wasn't enjoying myself very much, and - I finished all my coursework for said Master's and just have my final project left! I'll be starting that quite soon. It's just a paper, so hopefully nothing too stressful! (*knocks on every piece of wood in the house*) I've been on a Lord of the Rings kick lately, so in keeping with that and also my previous challenges' goals of Just Going for a Walk, Damnit, I've decided to keep track of my mileage and Walk to Mordor. There's even a nifty website/app that tells you what the Fellowship is doing when you reach various distances. (It's called... "Walk to Mordor". Big surprise right 😜 ) I got myself a smart watch, so that will make it easy to keep track of my mileage! Then the only challenge is actually... going... for walks. But that's why it's called a Nerd Fitness CHALLENGE. It's challenging myself to do something cool for the betterment of my health. I would love to make it to Crickhollow by the end of the challenge, which I can do if I walk a little over 2 miles per day. We'll see how far I actually get... 😆

(With apologies to @oromendur) I'm Ann of Vries, aged 39; a diarist, a fiction writer, a fiber artist, a LARPer (also TTRPG, board games), a traveler, a hiker, and a first time mother. I’m madly in love with my partner, Mr of Vries and my son, Rowan of Vries. I live in London, after having emigrated from Seattle three years ago. I love it here, although I’m still trying to find my tribe (outside of the House of Vries, of course). I've been spending a lot of time with the Rangers Guild of late, but as @Sciread77 says--once an Adventurer, always an Adventurer. Although in many ways my adventuring goal of late feels more like "coming home" (or maybe it's "finding home") that is still part of that pesky heroic journey. (Also, I love you Rangers, but I cannot keep up with your forum.) I blinked, and suddenly I went from having a sleepy newborn baby to an energetic toddler! Being a curmudgeonly wizard who wants to sit cosy in my tower with a book and maybe I’ll go out tomorrow or next week or next year, I’m finding it a stretch to keep up with this little creature of chaos that wants to eat five times a day, frolic out of the house, get into mischief, and generally enjoy every moment of life… right now! I feel like I’m living with Merry and Pippin rolled into one cute package. Or maybe, I should see it as the pair of us being Merry and Pippin. I could fight that, but it’s not a very fun way to live, so if you can’t beat them, join them. As such, I’m heading back into the Shire for this challenge, except.... This Challenge Starts with a Proper Adventure! Part way into Zero Week into most of Week One, we’ll be taking Rowan on his first trip to America. And his first plane flight. 10 hours each way. Yikes! We’re on our way to Austin TX to spend a week with my paternal family. Talk about an adventure! I don't have specific goals for this trip except enjoy the time with my family. Once we’re back from that, the rest of the Challenge kicks into full swing. Frolic and get into Mischief Today Summer is coming, the weather is great, so lets get out, get active, and have some fun! Enjoy playing with my little hobbit. Get out at least once a day—to soft play, the story centre, park playgrounds, playgroup, etc. (Usual free pass for illness or particularly inclement weather.) Play with him at home, too! Clock in 10k+ steps a day. Eat Well Today Much like the hobbits, the House of Vries enjoys gathering around the table and eating good food. Cook healthy, diverse meals for the family on the weekdays (Mr cooks on the weekends). There may be food writing. I’ve been going through one of my “rely on sugary coffee drinks in the morning because I’m tired” phases. (This is the only way I like coffee.) I want to cut down to one sugary coffee drink in the morning, ideally eliminating it entirely, except on the worst of days. I can drink all the tea (as I don’t add sugar or milk to my tea) and fizzy water I want. Live Well Today Gratitude lists don’t really help me much, but I still need to remind myself I’m living a charmed life. I haven’t always. There’s been some really difficult times in my life. But right now? This chapter? A bit challenging, but absolutely charmed. So love it and live it to its utmost. At the minimum, mentally note things that are going well each day. Ideally, write them down. Going out all the time for toddler activities cuts heavily into getting any housework done, though, and we like having a tidy space to live in. So I want to utilize 5 minute tidies to try to keep up so everyone can get to the fire exits in case of emergency! 2-3 short tidies a day. Love Well Today The first year with a baby had our marriage functioning in basic survival mode most of the time. Now that Rowan is getting older, I want to spend more time with my husband and work on higher level aspects of our relationship. Make better use of the time after Rowan goes to sleep. Play games together, at least once a week. Make time to talk, at least once a week. Try to get some walks in green places in, at least once this challenge. (Ideally, more.) Be a Wizard, Sometimes We’re currently negotiating with a childminder, which should start in early June and will afford a few hours of “me time” a week. (Final schedule TBD.) I want to make good use of that time—working on my writing, my knitting, other enriching activities, and also on some family projects that fall by the wayside chasing my little Merry!Pippin around. At least 20 minutes of “Wizard” activities during a nap time during the week. At least 1 hour on childminder days (once he’s in full attendance). Now, let's get on this adventure!

Hello! I'm 32, a mom, a nurse, an aspiring yogini, a podcast junkie among other things. I've been searching around for something like Nerd Fitness for some time! I love the community aspect, I'm looking forward to accountability. I love quests of all kinds. It just makes sense. I'm a harpist. I love fantasy novels. Hobbiton is my goal lifestyle-- well, plus fitness- hobbits aren't really known for being fit, I suppose. I'm fascinated by ancient history, archeology, permaculture, natural beauty recipes, holistic health, hiking and camping. Also, yurts- I LOVE yurts. Right now, my family and I are building a small home (but not on wheels!) and I'm looking forward to learning more about building. TV? X-files, Star Trek, if I am being honest, I was into Gossip Girl, The Expanse, Survivorman, Walking Dead (even if I think it's annoying) Movies? LOTR even if it is something an abomination. I literally want to live on Middle Earth so like more time and money spend on LOTR stuff is all good by me even if it is grotesque. Documentaries of all kinds. Bladerunner. Mad Max. My big time goal is to my frown upside down. I'm pulling myself out of a major depression and working out is def part of that journey. Over the past year, my family and I have seen a lot of change: my husband graduated from his phD program, we moved across the country, I changed specialties (newborns--> hospice), WE HAD A DARLING WONDERFUL BABY, and somehow in the mix I got sad which has been confusing and, well, difficult. But, I can feel the light! Things are looking up... and I'm excited to be a part of this community. QUEST Hobbit frame of mind daily walks/runs outside w/ the pooch, baby Rowbug, and possibly husband (if I can convince him) weekly hike weekly dinner w/ in laws, my parents, and friends finishing permitting for the TINY HOME!! Fitness life GYM 3x/week (continue Strong by Bret program Hip thrust 3x10: 155p in one month squat 3x3: 145p in one month Run x2 week w/ family Elven Studies lecture/reading x2 per week Thank you for taking the time to read all of this!

"Lady Anny of the Shire, they called me once", Annyshay extended her hand to the young but unnaturally tall Brandybuck covered in strange regalia, "before all this nasty business. I hear we owe you a great debt for leading the militia, Master Meriadoc. You have my thanks." "And you have mine, Lady," Master Brandybuck returned the compliment. "I know what it takes to hold a people strong through a seige. You remind me of dear friends I have left in the world of the Big People." "I wish them well. I suppose we are all rebuilding after this Great War of the Ring. The Battle of Bywater will go down in our history books, but I wonder if the wider world will even know." Annyshay looked wistfully over her beloved homeland and her eyes caught on several small fires that continued to burn following the battle. "You might be surprised how much the wider world has learned about hobbits in this war," Master Meriadoc replied with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. "Once things calm down, those are some stories I would very much like to hear over a half-pint down the pub." Merry extended his hand with a warm smile. "That would be a pleasure."

I'm tired and need a breather, y'all. I've been adding new habits and goals and things to my life at a terrific rate, and they have all been positive changes and I'm super happy about them and all, but now I feel like it is the part of the story where I need to slow the pace, consider some backstory and character motivations, heal (!!!!), and get myself into a better place, head-and-bodywise, before charging off wildly on my next adventure so carelessly that I forget my pocket-handkerchief. Heal From My Injuries: Today marks the three-month anniversary of my hand and arm surgery, and the only obvious residual effect is that the palm of my hand is still very sore when I OHP or bench press. I want to be more diligent about doing the PT exercises with the silly-putty stuff and massaging sore-muscle salve into the area - at least 5 days/week. Get Some Inner Peace: Prayer journal at least once per day. Bonus points for twice (morning and evening). Set Off on the Right Foot: Continue with/solidify my already established and (thus far pretty successful and beneficial) morning routine of Bible study Duolingo practice Headspace meditation 15 oz. water before coffee and healthy breakfast Bonus Goal (NO PRESSURE IF I DON'T GET THIS RIGHT!!!!) One Lift to Rule Them All: Now that I am back to about 75% of my pre-surgery strength in all my main lifts, and my grip is so far holding up fine in the deadlift, I feel like I should get back to what was always fitness priority #1 - I want an unassisted pull-up!!!!! So, the goal = at least 5 days out of every week, do something to move me towards pull-ups. Lat pulldowns, negatives, assisted, inverted rows, hollow rockers - but at least one thing specifically targeted towards that one big goal that I keep letting myself get sidetracked from (this is the goal that actually got me into the gym 2+ years ago, but I keep dropping it and chasing butterflies or something...) Heal Injuries: 0/20 Get Inner Peace: 0/28; bonus points 0/28 Right Foot: 0/28 One Lift: 0/20 Full disclosure: I am recycling my gif theme from last time because I did not finish the art piece for the library that I was working on. It's a drawing of Smaug on a weathered wood board, with the Gandalf quote "I am looking for someone to share in an adventure that I am arranging." My plan was to coordinate my challenge themes to my library decor, but distractions happened so I'm still here.

Hi folks! Ann of Vries signing in, a returning Adventurer I’m a hiker/rambler (urban and wild), traveler, fantasy, and RPG geek who moved to London 2 years ago from Seattle. This has been an excellent opportunity to explore and have new experiences, but in between I tend to become a hermit for weeks (*cough-or-months-cough*) at a time and leave the house as little as possible unless my husband drags me out on a new adventure (thank goodness for him), and I’m looking to change that. Especially now that I’m 33 weeks pregnant, and I know how easy it could be to lock myself up in my hobbit hole and just watch Netflix and eat donuts—this could spell doom for my adventuring life if I don’t stay proactive. I don’t want that; I've managed to stay fairly fit so far during the pregnancy (despite some periods of Netflix and donuts), but I need to keep those habits going into the home stretch. Fitness Quests: Keep on Wandering: Continuous walking (20+ min) 5 days a week; at least 3 of those days should be 30+ min. (Measured by Active Minutes on my FitBit.) Insert usual disclaimer that this will get adjusted based on pregnancy/midwife concerns. A guiding philosophy: I’m a bit of an online shopping junkie, and I want be more engaged with my local area, so: more walking out to the High Street shops when I need something (particularly, groceries I can carry. I will still order in large or heavy items). I’m unclear how to measure this one, so it’s more of a note to get myself out and about than an actual goal to check off. Increase Hydration: 8 glasses of water (or herbal tea, etc.) a day. (Last challenge I averaged about 7.) Life Quest: I did technical writing for several years as a day job, and I’ve been writing fiction for as long as I can remember (hobby/semi-pro), but I’ve always been intrigued with narrative/creative nonfiction. Now that I’m living my life as an Adventurer, I want to put a renewed focus into developing my narrative nonfiction skills: Module 1.1 Intro to Travel Writing: Since I came to London, I’ve been dissatisfied with my attempts to write my stories of moving abroad and exploring my new country (even just for my friends/family back home, who aren’t exactly looking for High Art). I also don’t want to be a total homebody after I have my child in a few weeks (EEEEK), so I’ve decided to learn more about travel writing—both in how to write engaging tales of my experiences, but also to encourage me to keep exploring, now and after. I mean, I live in London. There’s so much exploration to be done without even leaving the city. Why am I not taking more advantage of this? (I can't blame the bump, this was true before that happened.) Module 1.1 Objectives: Complete the Travel Journaling and Travel Writing courses I bought. Go on at least 4 Field Trips (overlaps with Keep on Wandering) Practice travel journaling and writing based on courses, with Field Trips as inspiration (no requirement to share my practice writing, sorry )—four 500 word essays: each outlined, drafted, and notated for future revisions. Update on Mondays (at least): I’ve been attempting NF challenges on and off for years… I’m often good at keeping up on the goals (or at least the spirit of them). It’s always the tracking on the forums I fall off on. So I will plan to update on Mondays. (Too often and I feel like I’m spending more time tracking than doing.) I'll put it on my calendar as a proactive step. However, this time if I disappear--particularly late into the challenge--it may be because someone decided to show up early and I got a little distracted. XD Cheers, Ann x

Don't Turn to Stone I have all the mobility stuff ... foam rollers, lacrosse ball, miracle ball. Do I use it? Nope. Never even think about it. I'm pretty flexi-bendy for my age, years of dance, martial arts, and forced yoga marches had a lasting effect. Still, though, I am older than I was, and I do have aches and pains and stiffnesses. Challenge Goal: Work on mobility, mostly cervical spine but other areas as needed, at least 5 min/night at least 5 nights/week. 25 points possible Enjoy Second Breakfast Challenge Goal: This one is simple - I am now on week three of my gym's three-month Nutrition Transformation Challenge - continue to comply with coach's meal plan. Bonus points: streamline meal prep down to 5 hours (currently about 7). 5 points possible (one point per week, including zero week) Walk to Mordor According to my often-ignored fitness tracker, I average about 6k steps per day. Challenge: Walk 7,000 steps per day at least 28 of the 35 challenge days (counting zero week) A Hobbit Hole Means Comfort I've made some dents in the library/junk room/cavern. I'll take pics when I'm home during daylight (probably weekend). Time to buckle down and get this library party started! Goal: Get rid of enough junk that I can move the remainder to the center, leaving room around the perimeter to start prepping the walls for paint. Scoring is simple pass/fail Don't Turn to Stone 0/25 Enjoy Second Breakfast 0/5 Walk to Mordor 0/28 A Hobbit Hole Means Comfort 0/1

Hello! I'm Kareesh! I'm respawning (again...) and I decided that I just needed to start a new battle log. I've learned through previous experiences on here, and I think I'm finally starting to realize what works and what doesn't for me. I say that now..... I need to start small. I'm too late for the current challenge, but that doesn't mean I can't do my own challenge. I have a few short term goals and a few long term. So, let's start with the short term goal: Get below 200 pounds before my brother's wedding on February 18, 2017. When I weighed myself this past Monday, I weighed 211.2 pounds, which is better than I was expecting since I haven't really done much in the way of exercising/eating properly recently. So, I just have to lose 12.2 pounds to get to where I want to be in the short term. I believe this goal is entirely possible, I just have to work on it. How will I do that? So glad you asked! Stick to Weight Watchers Eliminate soda pop (limit of 20 oz a week, 'cause things happen) Complete the Bikini Body Mommy 90 Day Challenge 5.0 I have several RL friends who have done WW and have had great success with it. I'm hoping it's a little bit less stressful than just counting calories, though we shall see. I want to at least stick with it for the length of the BBM challenge. Fortunately, we don't buy pop very much, so it's more of a struggle when I go grocery shopping or get the cravings. As for the BBM challenge, I stumbled across her once randomly, and I love her outlook, and the workouts seem pretty sound. Don't have to have a gym, either, so that's a plus, as there's not really a gym super by me, and we don't currently have funds to build one. I have attempted to start her 5.0 challenge before, but have never finished, so now is the time. I also have some other non-weight loss goals that I want to work on, mainly having to do with my business and housework. Still need to work on the details for those, so I'll keep ya'll updated. I will be starting these Monday, October 17. I would love to have support and encouragement (especially if I start to laze off).

Hail, Fellow Adventurers! So far, I've had a pretty charmed 2016 (*knocks on wood*): I moved overseas from Seattle (where I had lived all of my 36 years) to London, UK in early spring, married the most remarkable man I've ever had the pleasure of knowing, we recently honeymooned (hiking in the Scottish Highlands!), and now we're all settled in and getting on with things. Alas, such magic came at a cost (and not just financially!). 2015 was a Blighted Year, and as a result, I also arrived in London at my heaviest in over a decade and with far less endurance for hiking/long-distance walking (as we sadly learned on our honeymoon). I've lost some of that weight already, but keep yo-yoing where I'm currently at. But now I'm in a new city! A new country! And I'm keen to see as much of it as I can while I'm here. So I'm putting on my adventurer's shoes and going exploring. My 4 Week Challenge is as follows: Fitness Goals: 1) Walk a minimum of 10,000 steps a day. I'm built like a hobbit (short and stout), and my tracking has indicated that that 10,000 steps = 4 miles. 2) Walk a minimum of 100,000 steps a week (counted Monday-Sunday). Yes, that means I expect overages, large or small, on some days from my previous goal to make up the deficit. 3) Keep the scale moving down to my target weight (115 lbs, aka where I was before the Blighted Year). It's been taking a while; I'm fine with it taking a while. I just want a more consistent overall downward trend. Current weight (as of 7/11): 122.6 lbs. 4) Don't get in a rut. There are some walking routes that will be constants because they're easy and close to home and good for a quick jaunt out the door, but I also want to explore--at least 3 different routes a week. (Hopefully more.) Most of my walks will be city-based, but hopefully we'll get out of the city a couple of times in the next few weeks. I have as supplies: Maps, a magic tracking bracelet (aka my new FitBit Charge HR), and various walking/hiking/running shoes. Level Up My Life Goal: Make an effort to be social, aka meet other geeks and RPGers (LARP and table-top). Having moved to a far off new land means that my husband is pretty much my only friend. He's pretty amazing (and he has a network of friends in London, having gone to uni here many years before), but we need to meet new people, too! We've had a lot of visitors from Seattle of late (where I/we had a strong network), and they've been wonderful, but my social life can't stay forever based in Seattle Check-ins: Mid-week and end-of-week (and whenever I feel like it in between). My biggest challenge with... uh, community challenges... is that I get weary of all of the tracking, so I'm going to keep it to a minimum that still keeps me engaged. Although the challenge doesn't officially start until next week, I'm going to get started today Edit: Joined the Walk to Mordor and Back

Hello Assassins, I'm back!!! Well, actually... I'm in Uganda... But I think I've emerged from my recent rage stress spiral. Also, my internet access is surprisingly good (except apparently, I'm unable to post gifs.... Grrrrrr)? So, it's time to resume my badassery... And who better to learn from than the Dragon of the West? Uncle Iroh and his wisdom will be my guide! Main Quest - Resilient and Radiant "No! Zuko! You must never give into despair. Allow yourself to slip down that road and you surrender to your lowest instincts. In the darkest times, hope is something you give yourself. That is the meaning of inner strength." I'll talk more about this during the challenge, but my mental strength and spiritual health are my focus. My healthy choices will continue to rebuild me into the awesome badass woman that I am meant to be. "You can't always see the light at the end of the tunnel, but if you keep moving, you will come to a better place." Moving - enjoy some type of movement every day for at least two minutes "A man needs his rest." Rest - electronics off for 60 minutes before bed "Sick of tea? That's like being sick of breathing." Tea and Breathing - tea is an opportunity to mindfully enjoy one of my favorite things

Hi all! I'm Greif (not to be confused with "grief"!). I'm 24 years old, recently graduated college with a degree in art and have not the foggiest idea what I'm doing with my life right now. Well, okay, that's a lie. I kinda do. But it all feels rather confusing and slightly terrifying right now. :'D A few fitness-related facts about me: - I probably fall more into the "average height" category at 5'4", but I have always identified heavily with hobbits. I am hypoglycemic (in my case not linked to diabetes) and have been for as long as I can remember. So that whole thing most people do, where they eat three meals and a snack or two a day? Yeah, nuh-uh. That's a no-go for me. If I don't eat even something small every hour or two, three tops, I feel awful. SO THAT BEING SAID I usually wind up eating like three small main meals and 5-6 small snacks a day. Hence, hobbit. - I have struggled with my weight my whole life like a lot of people here, but after beginning to live with my partner (who doesn't put on weight nearly as easily as I do) two and a half years ago, my weight has rocketed up to a lifetime high of 186. I say "lifetime high" because I'll be damned if I let this spiral any further out of control, and not just because of a number on the scale! Which leads me tooooo... - ...the fact that I was in NJROTC in high school and practiced martial arts pretty actively from middle school through high school. I stopped when I started college because I couldn't really afford classes anymore, and once I did I ever so slowly lost muscle and flexibility, which leads to now. I feel so damn weak and stiff compared to how I used to be! - I've always had an interest in someday doing types of exercise that primarily involve lifting body weight (climbing, aerial dancing, parkour, etc.), so you could say I'm an Assassin hopeful. But Ranger also calls to me! Ah well, I have some time to decide. And for funsies, a few non-fitness related facts: - I love video games--most recently I have been playing a mobile MOBA called Vainglory (despite not being too into MOBAs overall), as well as TESO where I have actually been dipping my toes into some RP. I'm also a huge fan of WoW (though I don't play much these days), Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy, The Elder Scrolls, Dragon Age, Fallout, Mass Effect, and others. - I'm trying to learn German! - My partner and I have a cat named Moose. ...aaaaand I should probably end it here, because this post is already too long and I have a tendency to ramble. :'D Anywho, I'm looking forward to getting involved in the community and talking to some of you guys!

I'm going to join the challenge from now until 3/27. Better late than never! I've been quite busy with various adventures lately, however, I'm back. I've been spinning my wheels in terms of my health making small tweaks to my movement, eating, and relating habits. It's not addressing my underlying apathy. Some times, I get so sick of the "effort" and willpower it takes to make healthy choices. I've let this slump last too long, since it turns out the "effort" is worth it. I feel, look, work, and play better when I make consistent investments in myself - regardless of how busy I am. Actually, my self investments are more important when my life gets crazy. This isn't about good and bad choices (read Lara's excellent thoughts and progress with moral licensing over here) This is about taking care of myself. Why? When I take excellent care of myself, I become resilient, radiant, and ready to take better care of the other people in my life. So, I'm going to focus on stopping the spiral that's been running me into the ground: Stress --> Sugar --> Suck --> Stress --> So on and so forth... No more! Behold, goals! Stress: Continue my meditation habit (20 minutes once per day), and add at least one other session for at least 2 minutes per day. Sugar: Whole 21 (9am 3/6 until 9am 3/27) Suck: Focus on listening to my Father instead of on my own self judgments. Bonus: Stuff - working on getting rid of it. You know, with all my free time. That's it. Let's do this thing!

***UNDER CONSTRUCTION**** MAIN QUEST Strengthen the Body, Mind and Soul Start to get stuff in order and become a proper adult Hobbit. "Slow down, Short One. Take a deep breath and relax. Too hasty, young hobbit." Treebeard laughed a deep belly laugh. Kay knew he was right though. She had been training so hard and working so long, she had stressed herself out to the point of collapse. Wrangling 2 little hobbits could be work enough! She was also training for her epic adventure and still working to put food on the table and keep house. All of these had suffered recently and she knew she needed to get back on track. It didn't help that the innkeeper where they lived hounded her night and day! She and her husband liked to call her Smaug behind her back. Smaug was obsessed with money and was constantly harassing them about the rent due and food. Every time Kay went home from training she felt like she had to put on armour for a battle with the dragon. Anger and frustration coursed through her veins and she was hating it. SIDE QUESTS *Meditate/Yoga/Spell work - Do at least 1 of these once a day* (18 out of 28) After a long walk with the ancient Ent, they decided that to calm her soul and temper she should focus her energy daily toward grounding herself. Plant roots in the rich soil of the earth and release all of that pent up negativity. She would meditate daily with the Ent and focus her energies toward the positive changes she wished to make in her life. Kay will work to increase the amount of time she is able to focus and meditate, slowly building on the previous day. She will also work to complete a yoga session at least once a week. Lastly she would work spells to assist her in completing her goals, helping to focus positive energy in increasing her income, getting a better job where she is happy, and toward eliminating her debts. *Strength Train or Bodyweight Train - Do at least 3 times a week.* (3 out of 12) "Broom rah! It would not hurt to get stronger and get out the negativity by lifting and continue to work towards your strength goals. " The Ent knew what he was talking about, so Kay agreed that she would strength train 3 times a week and use those times as an outlet for her anger and aggression. She would through heavy medicine balls, swings kettle bells, and all the time imagine slamming the weights down on her enemies. *Walk 25 Miles a week - Mostly outside* ( 76 out of 100)(25+25+26+0) "Walking also cleanses the soul, Short One. I suggest that you walk more than you did last month. Try to walk at least 25 miles a week and breath in the fresh air with your kids. You have a carriage and I believe that they should enjoy nature as well. They might even meet an Ent on the way!" So it was decided that Kay would walk more this month and try to get most of those miles in while spending time with the little ones. They loved taking in the beautiful sights and watching the other Men who wandered the neighborhood. *Domestic Rangering - Complete as Follows Kids Bedtime Routine (21 out of 28) Vacuum (3 out of 4) Laundry (10 out of 12) Litter Change (2 out of 8) Dishes (16 of out 28) Home Cooked Meals (17 out of 20) "You must not continue to neglect your household duties either, Short One. Make a list and mark them off each week as you complete them. The kids need a set routine at night-stick to it every night to make your life easier. Vacuum, sweep and do laundry at least three times a week. The cat area always smells so bad! Clean out the cat litter at least twice a week. And don't let the dishes pile up! Clean those every day before the kids go to sleep. Don't want to wake them! And lastly they really need a good home cooked meal at least 5 nights a week. Set up a system that works so you can make sure they are eating properly and so are YOU!" Treebeard folded his arms and looked patiently at Kay, who grumbled knowing that he was right but hating it all the same. She hated chores with a loathing passion! But she was an adult hobbit and needed to act like it. What sort of hobbit can't cook? She needed to fix that. *Pay off $2k in debt by the end of the challenge* ($2600 out of $2000) "It does not do to allow others to hold debts on you. It's time you buckle down and start paying off those debt, Short One. Free yourself from the stress and worry of owing money to others." With the help of the Ent and her husband Bjorn, Kay knew that she would work hard to meet her goals. Stronger and Wiser, like the old Ent. That was her quest and she would not let him down.

This Quest My topic title comes from the second chapter of The Hobbit. I plan to do each challenge as a chapter of The Hobbit (and then LotR I imagine) one of my goals will relate to the chapter title. These goals are done in conjunction to my previous challenges goals, excluding the chapter title related goal. 1. Walk around outside once a day 2. Complete or mend my 5 camicia's for Festival. 3. One weight lifting session a week. Roast Mutton A Hobbit should really have more variety in their diet than just eating roast mutton all the time. I should make some new dishes. To complete this goal: Make four new food dishes that aren't desserts.

I enjoy long romantic walks to the fridge....well it all counts in this PvP!!! This is a walking PvP that will be running during the current 4 week challenge from Jan 4 to Jan 31 2016 5 levels: Titanium - 128 km's (80 miles) Gold - 96 km's (60 miles) Silver - 64 km's (40 miles) Bronze - 32 km's (20 miles) Copper - 19 km's (12 miles) PVP Rules 1. Pick a level above that will stretch you but you think you can make. During the challenge walk that many km's in 4 weeks. 2. Sign up in this sheet and track your km/miles during the 4 week challenge. 3. Specify after your name either (walking) or (pedometer) depending on if you will be tracking either just specific "I'm going for a walk" distances (walking) or I will track steps by wearing a pedometer/fitbit/etc. (pedometer). It's easier to get more mileage using a pedometer so we want to keep you accountable to hit those higher medals 4. Any amusing walking gifs are most welcome Anyone is welcome to join in from any guild, including recruits Theme song for this PvP, it applies to those late night fridge visits

Annyshay was raised on stories that her Gaffer told. Folks in those stories had plenty of opportunities of turning back, only they didn’t. Annyshay wants to be like the characters in her Gaffer’s stories. Her own story started a few years ago as detailed in her Quest. She wants to be strong, wise, and compassionate. Luckily, she joined the Rebellion and is working to become the hobbit she knows she can be. For this challenge, she will focus on nourishing herself with the healthful habits that she continues to build and refine. Goal The First = Nourishing Eating 5 experiments from Eating the Moment per week No screens while eating Goal the Second = Nourishing Movement GMB Integral Strength for the second time supplement with yoga, walking, and play time Goal the Third = Nourishing Sleep 30 minutes of light in AM electronics off at 8:00 Life Goal = Keeping Track document headspace and habits in spreadsheet newly dubbed the "Red Book" weekly review of my life (more organized and structured) report intermittently on trends Also, HAPPY NEW YEAR, REBELS!!! Let's make it great!

Me over the holidays: Me in my head, going forward: I'm so lazy that I am a week late to a 4 week challenge. But at least I'm here at last! Goal One: Eat Healthy and Lose Weight Create good habits.Make it easier to make healthy choices.Track all food. Goal Two: Be More Active Get back to twice weekly gym visitsGo hiking every weekendPersonal Goal: Read constantly. My goal for the year is 50 books. I intend to surpass my goal. Right now I am re-reading the Anita Blake series. While I was off work after Christmas, I read a book per day. Now that I am back to work, it takes me about 3-4 days per book. Should still get done the 26-book series pretty quickly. One of the reasons I chose this as my first series of the year is that Anita Blake is a strong, ass-kicking necromancer who's got a black belt in Judo and lifts heavy, runs, and takes absolutely no one's bull. She's also 5'3", just like me, but WAY less Hobbitish. Day One Food so far: Breakfast was a wrap with ground beef, mozza, hummus, lettuce, yellow peppers and spring onions. On the side I had the rest of the yellow pepper and some cucumber. Tea with a tiny bit of honey and milk. I will be refraining from honey in my tea going forward, unless I have a sore throat. I have an apple on my desk in case I need a snack before lunch. Lunch will be a sandwich with ham, sharp aged cheddar and hummus. Another apple on the side. Dinner I haven't decided on completely yet. Chicken drumsticks with a large veggie side. TBD. My goal today is to not have any snacks that aren't fruit/veggies.

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So I just completed my entry for yesterday in My Fitness Pal, and it gave me an error message that said 'You are likely not eating enough'. When an program that is clearly designed to help people lose weight tells you that you aren't eating enough, LISTEN! (In my defense, I've been feeling like I'm getting a cold, which kills my appetite. But still. I really need to eat more than 1,000 calories a day.) Okay, so I'm ElvenEngineer. I'm a 22 year old female grad student in civil/structural engineering. Contrary to the above, I am not trying to lose weight. I am quite comfortable at 135#, size 2 pants, and size 4 shirts (because biceps - duh). My problems with eating are that I forget about it. No bueno. If I track MFP throughout the day, I'm better at knowing where I am, and am better able to hit goals. My goals this challenge will be focused on food. Because who doesn't love food? You know who does love food? HOBBITS! I promise there will be gifs. Many gifs. (I think I always promise this. I might fail on the gifs.) Quest 1:Track in MFP. Like seriously. It isn’t that hard. JUST DO IT SILLY. No calorie things, though I would like to be 1500+ every day. At least.Track ALL the food for 5/7 days= A [+4 STA]Track ALL the food for 4/7 days= B [+3 STA]Track ALL the food for 3/7 days= C [+2 STA]Track ALL the food for 2/7 days = D [+1 STA]Track NONE of the food = F Quest 2: Get at least 75g of protein a day. Bonus points for >100g. Eat ALL the protein for 5/7 days= A [+4 STR]Eat ALL the protein for 4/7 days= B [+3 STR]Eat ALL the protein for 3/7 days= C [+2 STR]Eat ALL the protein for 2/7 days= D [+1 STR]Eat NONE of the protein = F Quest 3:Try one new (dairy-free) recipe a week(ish). I will be buying a cookbook to make this easier.Cook 6/6 new recipes this challenge = A [+4 CON]Cook 5/6 new recipes this challenge = B [+3 CON]Cook 4/6 new recipes this challenge = C [+2 CON]Cook 3/6 new recipes this challenge = D [+1 CON]Cook <3 new recipes = F Life Quests: -Toast Masters meetings [+1 CHA for each meeting attended (Max +3)]-Don’t slack off on thesis-Keep putting 20%+ into savings-etc. etc. Dairy-free reasoning: Basically, it makes me feel bad. I haven't had a migraine since I cut it out, and I am feeling generally better. Good enough for me! I'm not vegan, I eat meat. I just don't eat/drink dairy. No, I haven't gone to the doctor. I might, when I have free time (which is non-existent). Rather than spend time specifying what in dairy my body doesn't like, it's faster and simpler to just avoid it altogether.

Hey kids, I'm back! Challenge: Train for 5k (or 10k) Night Race on Sept 25! To complete this, I must: 1) Run at least once a week 2) Do 2 other cardio exercises a week (This can be any cardio I like, including running.) 3) Buy new running shoes by the end of the challenge! (Which will give me 2 weeks to break in the shoes before the race). I'm totally going to keep up with the strength n stuff, which I have been....which is why I am still posting in Rangers. I'll assign points n stuff later. K Bye