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Hello everyone! My name is Lori. I am 27 years old and majoring in Liberal Arts at LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City, New York. I joined Nerd Fitness last week and have already joined the most recent 6 week challenge. I have had trouble in the past with reaching my fitness goals, and I was hoping that joining Nerd Fitness might help me. I want to become physically fit by doing more exercise and eating healthier food. At the moment, I am doing bodyweight exercises 3x a week, trying to choose healthier foods for all of my meals, and I am about to begin week 4 of Zombies Run 5k (I love Zombies Run!). Well, that's it. Nice to meet you all! - LoriC

Greetings. James Here. I'm a 37 year old software architect and coder by day. For my whole life I have pursued both "nerdy" and "physical" things. Nerdy : Given a Commodore 64 at age 8. This is one of the most significant events in my life. I still remember my very first program : 10 A=A+1 20 PRINT A 30 GOTO 10 In ninth or tenth grade I program my Casio FX7700G calculator to draw a Mandelbrot set. Disappointed when I show my math teacher and he doesn't get why this is so cool. Didn't even thing about going to college. Get deeply involved in the early days of computerized electronic stock trading. Beat the market using a new kind of trading algorithm which I developed and termed Liquidity Routing. Here is a little video showing it in action. Get my business stolen from me by a group of powerful wall street predators.Nowadays I work designing and building IP video surveillance software.Physical: Lifelong serious snowboarder. Last year became an assistant coach of a nationally competitive snowboard racing team. Discovered resistance training when I was about 13. Read all I could find on the subject (no internet yet) and really laid hold of Mike Mentzer's HIT philosophy. Since, then I have been looking for ways to improve upon and refine these core concepts.Disappointed with the modern trends in competitive bodybuilding. I never want to pursue a physical build which would render me less capable on a snowboard. There is no way that Phil Heath is going to spin a smooth 360 tail-grab over a 40 foot table!I'd like to be built like Mike O'Hearn when I reach his age. He's 44 and looks great. He lifts like a powerlifter and does serious martial arts several times a week. Here is a bodybuilder that could get on a snowboard with no problem. Here is an instagram selfie taken about 6 months ago. I've made some significant progress since then but haven't taken any more pictures yet. More recently I've been spending as much time outdoors as I possibly can. I'm currently fully addicted to completing the most challenging day hikes I can find, with friends when possible, but also solo. Over the past several weeks I've completed several of the most difficult Catskill Mountain Hikes. I find this sort of exercise to be a very excellent complement to my time in the gym. I have a lot of ideas about resistance training and physical fitness in general. If I could make a living from it, I'd love to be a personal trainer, but I'm not seeing that as a likely scenario. This is why I am so happy to have found this community. I see more fruitful interaction here than on any of the other mainstream boards. I'm looking forward to sharing what I have learned over the years and in learning from all of you! - James

Hi everyone! For starters I go by Evarnae or just Ev. I am 19 years old and I live in rural Australia - and yes I do have a pet kangaroo that I ride everywhere. I'm a fantasy/sci-fi geek with a love for RPG's - obsession of the moment is Skyrim. I've been overweight and unhealthy my entire life, I've never been slim or fit so everything from here on out is a new experience for me. I have a spinal condition which makes it difficult for me to function like a normal person most days but I know that it's manageable and part of going on this epic quest for health is an effort to bring down my pain levels. To be compeltely frank I am around 158kg (348.8lb) so I am definitely here for the long haul and I'm looking forward to know you guys over the next few years. I also have a love for theatre, acting, singing and writing so if there's any other drama geeks here, I'd love to meet you. That's my introduction, thanks for having me

Hey all, I have been lurking in the background of the NERD fitness community for a while now. I love the e-mails and the ethos of the whole NERD fitness idea but I've been a little shy and reluctant to plunge in and get involved. Time to bite the bullet so here I am! My story: For as long as I can remember I have always been at least a little overweight or a little unhappy with my body. I have however always been reasonably active - fat/fit if you like. I went through school not really enjoying PE or any imposed activities. I have always loved walking and enjoyed getting out on my bike as a child. As a teenager I suffered with knee problems - hypermobility and patellar malalignment - which meant I was in constant pain for years and shy-ed away from almost any kind of exercise apart from walking. At Uni i still walked a lot but that was about it, I went through a phase of regular swimming for a while and loved that but towards the end of my Uni career I piled on weight and reached the heaviest I'd ever been. By that point the only sport I was doing was Small-Bore Target Rifle shooting which involved lying as still as possible - so not very active! When I graduated I decided I had to do something about my weight. I stopped eating rubbish -that's honestly all it felt like. I just ate healthy, home-prepared meals every day, took my dog for a couple of miles walk every evening and had a wee abs circuit I'd do in my bedroom every night. Over 3 months I dropped about 20kgs. I went interrailing around Europe for a month as a precursor to a year travelling the world. All my good habits slid away on my round the world trip - too much boozing and cheap backpacker food meant I put about 10kg back on. Since I came home from travelling in 2004 I've been yo-yo-ing with my weight. In 2007 some friends asked me if I wanted to run a marathon. This had always been a lifetime ambition of mine and I realised that saying something was an ambition and actually achieving it were two different things! I realised that if I wanted to actually run a marathon in my life - then I'd just have to do it. I started running - literally the first day I ran for about 5 minutes to the end of my street, the next day a little further etc etc I built up slowly and having never been a runner each run was pretty much the longest one I'd ever done. I remember my first run for 1/2 hour, I remember the first time I ran for 10km. I then ran a Half Marathon in March 2007 as training for the full Marathon in May. So in May 2007 I ran the Prague Marathon in 4h 40mins. This was a huge turning point in my life. Never before would I have believed that I would have been capable of achieving this. Now I realised that with a bit of dedication and determination I could do anything I set my mind to. Since 2007 I have run in 5 Half marathons, 3 Full Marathons, 1 50km Running/Cycling Duathlon The irony is that I've discovered I don't really enjoy running but I DO enjoy a challenge! Throughout this time however my weight has gradually crept up and up and I'm now back at the heaviest I've ever been in my life! My attitude is different however and even although I'm heavier than I'd like I still believe I can do anything! This year I fulfilled a lifetime dream to cycle the length of the UK. My friend and I cycled from Land's End to John O'Groats :http://readsblogsdreams.wordpress.com/ 947 miles in 14 days of cycling - it was amazing! I also completed a Tough Mudder this August and also a Spartan Sprint in Sept (last weekend actually). So I've discovered I LOVE obstacle racing. I now need to get my diet in order to drop weight and be more able to do the obstacles for the races I plan to participate in next year! Hopefully my very un-tech-savvy self will be able to navigate these forums and use NERD fitness as the means to be the leanest fittest ever! Thanks! Ellestar

Hi all, Greetings from Indonesia. The name is Putra (it means Boy in English vocabulary), I have been reading the articles in nerdfitness.com for a while now and finally decided to join the community to learn more from others experience. I am sold with the concept of getting rid of all the b.s. in fitness. I am 24 y.o., H: 172cm, W: 71kg, currently works as an analyst in a national marketing consultant firm. My goal in personal fitness is to build ideal body with strong enough stamina to play my most favorite sport (basketball) without being need to be benched (a little bit selfish, I know. It just burns me up everytime I am subtituted due to my lack of stamina ). I really hope to learn from the members in this community and also to share insights I can contribute. I am joining the rebellion to have fun with the process more, all this time I've been trying to work out my way alone and now I have a place to go and discuss specific contents.

LEVEL 0: Inaugural Battle Log Entry achieved! We need badges for this stuff, lol. Started the Angry Birds workout after a 15-minute warm up walk/jog earlier this morning (around 12-midnight) at 24-hour fitness. Though I've read Steve's email articles about being able to do all natural, gym-free workouts at the park, it just doesn't sound like a good idea after getting off of work at 1AM. I also have to be courteous about any Zumba/kinect/P90X workouts at night since I live in a small apartment complex. I may consider morning workouts, but I am nocturnal and usually don't go to bed until 5AM. This is open for alteration in time too... I did happen to see a list of morning classes, which would give me motivation to get out and lock into "zombie" mode since all I'd have to do is get out of the car and follow whatever the instructor is saying in class. EXCUSES, EXCUSES: If I get these out here, then someone will be able to chime in on how to make it so they're not excuses. I'm currently on a swing shift (M-F, 3PM-11:30PM) and have a lot of new hires, so training is amounting to overtime past midnight. Thursdays, I clock in at work at 9:30AM because I do choir stuff with the spouse at 7PM. Every other month, I'm also interning at the lab in the effort to earn my CA MLT licensure (so in October and December, I will be doing 16-hour shifts... I do not how how to fit working out without short circuiting myself during these months). The plan: continue the every-other-day Angry Birds Workout. In between, do light cardio/swim/something at the gym to get the most out of the membership. Just being able to set a routine will be good enough for now. I don't want to mention any more on the plans, other than to log what I did every day. In conclusion, the objectives are: Continue the every-other-day Angry Birds Workout until I 3-star the last levels. I am using the spreadsheet listed on Steve's blog entry. Go to the gym on a daily basis, even if it's only for 30-minutes. My form of keeping on track is to use the Yelp check-in: quiktekk.yelp.comThey say it takes 40 days to change a habit. Once I'm able to perform these two goals successfully for 40 days, I will move onto Level 1 and update the objectives (if necessary). For all I know, I might still be struggling to complete these in October (especially with the internship).

Hey all - Been reading the forums and such for the last week and decided to sign up today and join the forums / Challenge. I'm a 27 year male working as an auditor for a CPA firm in Seattle. Over the last 4 years I've seen my weight range from 190 to 246 pounds, I'm currently at 229 lbs and 5'9". My biggest issue is consistency. I typically diet/exercise well for a month or two and then fall off the wagon, hence the fluctuations in my weight. I need to start making habitual changes in order for the diet/exercise to become more a part of my lifestyle. My main goal in life is to have as much fun as possible. While I think I do pretty well, I know there is more fun to be had for a fitter, slimmer me. Looking forward to taking advantage of everything NF had offer!!

Salutations Nerds! I am Cmaam, I am a scout, and I plan to go far. Today I tested out the beginner body weight exercises. Pretty great, other than the push ups. This will be a big goal for me this fall/winter. I need me some stronger shoulders, ya know, for lifting my steed over rocks and rivers... (steed= my bike <3). I love my bike! This is why I decided to join the other scouts, I love riding longer and longer distances. This summer I completed a 76 mile ride, and though I totally puked (8 hours of riding will do ya) I can only strive to improve. I want to work on nutrition for these kinds of rides (ei: no burgers at the halfway point) and generally getting stronger and going farther (and further). Anyway, started out today with a few sun salutations, went through the exercises, and finished up with 100 sit-ups (yay core strength!). I'm unsure how to best set my goals, I have a tendency to get ambitious and push myself too hard. This just makes me frustrated and want to quit. I'm also back in school and suuuuper busy finishing my master's degree, so I need to make sure my priorities are in order and my deadlines attainable. I'm looking forward to the first 6 week challenge, but could use a few pointers from my fellows on how to set good goals. I hope to take this to the next level someday and maybe try out for ranger class... maybe assassin after that... I'm super pleased to be here, but in my nervous excitement I'm sure I'm doing things a little wrong. Let's work together!

Greetings! I'm Ymmnir of Klaoud according to my character sheet I am: Ymmnir of Klaoud, level 1 blob assassin STR 4|DEX 1|STA 3|CON 1|WIS 3|CHA 3 I love getting into many things and trying out new and exciting activities! I have played, trained or tried a lot of sports and physical activities in my lifetime...and still looking for more. Trained as basketball varsity during elementary Fencing (Foil) varsity high school to college Got into Capoeira Angola and Arnis Jazz and Street dance (sound much like a fad but...) Zumba addict I've been lacto-ovo vegetarian for 5 years now All this and that...but I've been struggling with weight, stuck in the same weight since forever. Even after being vegetarian (my reason for it was not about weight but animal related) i lost some pounds but gained them back, and still looked and felt overweight but in a different way. Not intelligent with nutrition (and with that sometimes I feel sluggish...hence the blob!) Lacks consistency and a driving force I like the idea of fitness as something that is supposed to be natural, something that we truly are but then along the way bad choices and habits came to play and hid our happy, healthy, strong selves. I just want to meet the Jack inside of me and hopefully introduce her to all of you someday as well. looking forward to questing! <3

Well, I suppose I ought to introduce myself and tell you a little about me. I'm a writer, primarily, and do a fair amount of theatre stuff as well. I suppose that makes me a writer/bard. Currently, I'm working as a stage manager for a group of playwrights (which is something like herding cats if cats could talk and make rude comments). I'm also looking into graduate schools since I just graduated from college last May. I'm taking a gap year to write and generally get my life together. But that's scarcely enough information for a good story. You're going to need some background. If you want to skip the backstory, much like you'd skip the introduction to a novel (a crime I certainly am guilty of more often than not), I'd suggest skimming down and looking for the words "hero journey." I am currently 220 lbs and 5"1'. I've already done one weight loss journey. When I was a sophomore in high school, I was 200 lbs and I started doing Weight Watchers. By the end of my freshman year of college, I was 130 lbs. Then I started traveling for school. A small stipend to live on and peer pressure helped me gain 20 of those pounds back. Another trip helped me gain another 20. And another. Lastly, emotional abuse on the part of my professors helped me gain the last 30. That and being in a very high pressure environment led me to try to commit suicide last November. Which brings me to my next bit of background information. I have an anxiety/depression disorder. I've been in and out of therapy for the past 12 years. Currently, I'm in a borderline personality disorder behavioral therapy group, which is odd since I'm not actually borderline. If anything, I'm avoidant. However, certain parties were insistent that I go to behavioral therapy and the borderline group was the closest we could get. Now I know what you're thinking. Behavioral therapy? Does that mean you kill people and do drugs and your parents are desperately trying to reform you? The answer is no. I am, and always have been, that kid that you take home to your parents to show them that you do, in fact, have nice, authority respecting friends who brush their teeth and do their homework. The behavioral therapy is largely to keep me from hurting myself. I'm the kind of person who would rather take a bullet themselves than see someone else get hurt. In fact, that's how a lot of people in my behavioral therapy group are. Now you know, behavioral therapy does not mean psychopath. So, now that you've heard my depressing back story, let's talk about what I'm trying to do to change things. I see this as a hero's journey. More specifically, I relate this to the Hobbit. I'm hobbit-like in nature (short, fat, peace loving, fond of good waistcoats) and I know that nature isn't really going to change. I don't want it to. I'm happy being a hobbit. What I want to do is become more Tookish, more like Bilbo once he's on his adventure than when he's at home in his hobbit hole. I figure that means slimming down, becoming more agile, learning to be brave in the face of dragons, and learning to be quick on my feet (both mentally and physically). I'm not trying to become a ranger or a warrior. Leave that business to Strider or Gandalf. I'm trying to become a useful hobbit. One you'd invite on adventures because you know they're going to be helpful in a pinch. One that can help save everyone's lives by being quick enough to start an argument among the ogres about how to cook dwarf properly.* One that can be as silent as night when the occasion calls for it and can also speak her mind when that's called for as well. A good, solid, comfortable, useful hobbit. And to complete this introduction, I'd like to share two quotes that I think is inspiring for this journey: "There is a lot more to him than you guess, and a deal more than he has any idea himself." --Gandalf; the Hobbit "There is more in you of good than you know, child of the kindly West. Some courage and some wisdom blended in measure. If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world." --Thorin; the Hobbit *Yes, I know this is just in the movie, but I found it very inspiring so I'm using it. (Also, I'm not trying to insult the ranger or warrior guilds. I just don't think being a "tank" is really possible for someone like me and I don't see myself going on the Paleo diet and trying to be a master of all physical things.)

Hello Rebellion! My name is Heather, 24, and I am finally feeling motivated to get me life on track. After falling into a depression at the start of the year, I decided to take a leave of absence from my PhD to let it pass. However I became fairly sedentary lacking the motivation to do anything AND the medication I was taking also caused me to gain weight. Furthermore, I had a serious eating disorder for a long time that peaked last year, when I completely stopped taking my insulin and ended up in hospital. This started again recently but since changing the drugs I am on, my anxiety has decreased 95% and this is no longer a big issue. However getting my metabolism back up to it's former speed is going to be a nightmare! In fact, not taking my old meds has done wonders for me. I am suddenly ready to get fit and healthy, although I feel like I can't do it alone. I have also taken a step towards starting again by quitting my PhD after realising that being a world expert in such an obscure field with little interpersonal interaction was not for me. I am currently unemployed, but I am actively looking for work, and I've never been so excited to start something new! I am very lucky to have some very fit friends that are encouraging me all the time and helping me get my food and exercise going. However, going through the journey with others who are also starting a fresh would really help me. I am currently 10kg heavier than my previous heaviest and on the cuff of overweight. I feel my healthiest about 15-20kg lighter than what I am now. I've a attached a couple of photos of myself at the moment. Which hopefully will only ever be "before" photos from this day forward. Until recently I was definitely elvish and very strong. My fight with destiny has certainly decreased both of these traits and I'm ready to get them back! I've joined my gym, which is about a 2 minute walk from my house. I wanted to join because I get follow up sessions with a trainer and the real life accountability is very encouraging. They also have some AMAZING yoga classes and an awesome 25m pool. Having danced for twenty years previously having a class that helps my flexibility is incredibly important - yay yoga! I did my first gym workout two days ago and it was soooo much fun! I haven't been back since because I was home for my dad's 70th birthday, but I am heading back straight after finishing this post. I'm already dressed and ready to go! I am unsure what to do diet wise. Having Type 1 diabetes complicates things. My main goals are to intensively exercise daily, to work out a healthy eating plan, and to become disciplined and constant with my diabetes management. Looking forward to getting to know you all! And thanks for existing!

Hey all, Thought I'd level up from email-reader to forum-poster. It's like a wooden sword from a nice old man in a cave... Today marks a year of work in re-making me. NF has been a huge part of the success I've experienced so far. Time to keep learning and start giving back.

Hey there - I'm sort of new, but not. I've hung out around the forums, read a bit, but haven't really posted before. After two and a half months of lurking I decided it was time to emerge from the shadows. You all don't know it, but you've all already played a huge roll in my success so far. My story is interesting, but nothing folks haven't heard before I'd guess. Got pregnant, packed on pounds, had baby, lost some but not quite as many as I packed on. Got pregnant again, began packing on pounds, miscarried, depression, packed on a few more pounds. Got better, lost a few, but again... not quite as many as I had packed on. Got pregnant again, put on bed rest for 3 months, really packed on pounds, had baby, lost some, but once again... not quite enough. Got pregnant for a final time (yes, again) this time with TWINS. Gained exactly 11 pounds, thanks to a WHOLE LOTTA morning sickness. Had exactly 12 pounds worth of babies (5.5lbs and 6.5lbs), but suffered hella postpartum after. You guessed it, more pounds. Then, a few months later my thyroid ballooned to the size of a baseball. Largest benign tumor my surgeon had ever seen. Once we got that taken care of, I sort of expected the synthetic hormone to do the weight loss work for me. Big surprise - it didn't. A year ago last April, I got a major wake up call. My stepfather passed away at the age of 59 from a heart attack. I stepped on the scale at 235 pounds, and knew I wanted to be around for my babies longer than that. Tried a few fad diet things like juicing that didn't really work. Finally found Nerd Fitness a few months ago. I began doing the Angry Birds workout CrossFit style, and started stepping myself toward Paleo. I'm not fully paleo, but I'm off sodas, and down to pasta only twice a month. Never was much of a potato or rice fan, so that hasn't been hard but cheese - I don't think I'll ever give up cheese. Cheese is one of my happy foods, LOL. Lurking here on the forums has provided me with plenty of motivation and inspiration. Since June 1 I'm down 17lbs and two pants sizes, from a 22W to an 18W (I carry my weight around my middle, the worst place possible). I look forward to taking part in the conversation from here on out!

Hi! My name is Ale (ah-lee) because there are always too many Alexes in a room, I'm almost 23 and I currently live in London, England. Ok. Now what, what do I add? Life story? Sports and hobbies, I guess. I did a lot of sports growing up. I did competitive swimming and tennis, I played football (soccer, to the non-Europeans) on a team, over the years did badminton, volleyball and basketball and apart from all the structured stuff I was a tomboy and just generally active.When I was about 12 or 13, my best friend, who I had grown up with and did most sports with, moved to another country. A few months later, so did my other best friend. My other hobbies (theatre, music, writing, videogames) got more time devoted to them.My sporty activities became fewer and fewer until I went to university away from home and just sort of... stopped.I didn't know anyone, all the teams seemed highly competitive (and I can be too, but this was angry rather than fun) and based around a heavy drinking culture (yay, UK and binge drinking /sarcasm). I got very involved with writing and theatre groups, started roleplaying, joined a choir.But yeah, I stopped exercising. Fast forward 5 years and here we are, with me telling you all this stuff and getting ready to get back in gear. I gained a ton of weight. I'm not entirely unhealthy (my diet isn't particularly bad, despite the weight), but I am epically unfit, so here we go! I'm going back to school to do an MA in Translating Popular Culture (yes, as in translating sci-fi, fantasy, manga, comics, children's lit, crime fiction...), and I'm going to try and get back into group sports.The issue is I'm going to be moving sometime during October and the MA doesn't start until the end of this month, so I won't know my schedule or where the hell I'm going to live for a while. It's London. Living near the university (ie the centre) would mean SERIOUS AMOUNTS OF CASH that I just don't have. Still, the uni has sports teams and I WILL join at least one. First in the name of exercise, I'm getting back into swimming, because it's still one of the best activities I can think of. Swimming 3 times a week (and though at the moment I'm just doing lengths, I have been checking out the Swimming section here in the forum) then adding more on once I've settled into the new place.That and singing. Most people don't consider this exercise (and it can be, though it won't at the level I'll be doing), but since I'll be using it to help me with my chest muscles and lung capacity I'm writing it down. It's also a discipline thing. My diet isn't terribly poor at the moment. I currently live with 4 guys (all nerds too, which is awesome - any Eberron fans out there? They introduced me to the system), which means we often have massive protein-filled meals for dinner, family-style. Since getting them to cook in the first place was an issue, I don't count the calories or anything, I just use a small plate.The best thing about living with so many people is that we get a fruit and veg box delivered weekly, cos the divided cost isn't very high and we do consume all of it. It means we get to try out interesting fruit and veg every week as well as up our intake!My goals for food are better portion control around the boys, committing to packed lunches every day and cutting down on grains. Not cutting them out completely (my mother's Italian and I don't think I could actually live a life without pasta), but smaller portions, less often. Oh wow. I have just typed out a massive amount of text about myself. Bloody hell. TL;DR I'm Ale, I like a bunch of nerdy stuff, I'm overweight, I need motivation to exercise and I think food is fantastic. Eberron anyone? Talk to me about swimming? Let's discuss translation! (I've rewritten this about 10 times now. Does anyone else hate having to introduce themselves? Not just here, or Steve's welcome e-mail, but in groups and things too?)

Hi everyone, My name is Aaron Kantrowitz and I'm a new member of the Nerd Fitness Rebellion! This site really caught my eye since I discovered it today. This seems more like a movement and not simply just another blog or community. I'm 28, an IT professional, web developer/designer and expectant father! While I love tech, I know how it comes with some unhealthy habits such as snacking and being sedentary. I've learned over the past 2 years that you must get up and be active throughout the day. Finding my passion for fitness and health over the past year has been such a wonderful experience. I truly look forward to connecting with everyone here! Cheers.

Hi fellow rebels. I'm Shaun - a 33 year old from New Zealand, and well... the title says it all. I've read every article on Nerd Fitness many times, but do nothing. I am well and truly an underpants collector! For the last week I've been sitting here thinking "Oh, I've missed the start of this challenge. Cool, I'll start thinking about what to do for the next one." Well screw that! I need to take action. Sure I don't have a fully formed battle plan just yet. But there's no reason not to start setting goals and holding myself accountable right now. Then when the next challenge comes around I will have formed some good habits and be ready to kick butt. So what am I here for? Well in a nutshell to lose weight and get fitter and be a happier person. I'm 172cm and weigh 94.1kg (207.45lbs). I'm leading a rather sedentary lifestyle. Ideally I would like to get down to the 70kg (154.32lb) mark. My goals for now are to make a start. I'm gonna celebrate each 5kgs - those will be my milestones. I want to feel healthier and happier in myself and my body. I want to set a better example for my daughter as she grows up. Here's what I am committing to (my own mini challenge until the next challenge begins on September 16): Goal One: Kick the soda and snacking on junk food. I drink soooo much soda. It's ridiculous. I've quit before and then come back to it. Not this time. I have small amount of Coke Zero in the fridge that I should finish in the next day or two. Then... no more. No popping out on my work breaks and getting a can of soda and chocolate to get me through the day. I will be water exclusive. (I don't drink coffee or tea). I will not snack on junk food. I believe I can get through the day with no snacking, but if not I will find a healthy solution. Goal Two: 10,000 steps per day. The first step in getting more active for me. I have a fitbit charging next to me right now, and from tomorrow it will be on my hip. I started C25K last year and really enjoyed it. I can't even remember why I stopped it - and that will be my next step once I feel ready to start it again. I don't think my body will handle it at my current fitness right now. If anyone wants to be fitbit buddies, here's my profile. Goal Three: Portion Control. I eat more than I need to. I will start reducing my portion size and stop eating for the sake of eating. When getting food I will ask myself "How much do I really need?" Life Goal until the next challenge: Create my Epic Quest 'bucket list' and post it on the boards. Be active on the NF boards. Motivate myself and others here. Even if I have no advice to give... I can still give encouragement to others. I know these goals might not be the loftiest, toughest goals. But I am excited. But they are my first steps. I will succeed this time and am happy to be on the journey with you all. There's more to me than the ramble above. Feel free to say hi and ask me anything if you want to know more

Hi So this is hands down the 2nd most nerve wracking forum/thing I have done... (I just went open water swimming for the first time in my life ) I have been reading Nerd Fitness for a while and this week signed up to the forum and have posted today. After that swim I am feeling a little emboldened. So I am Legangles, serial student and vague fitness gal. My geek credentials; undergrad degree in Biomedical sciences, Masters in Immunology and now off to med school where I will likely specialise in Infectious Diseases. My fitness creds are a bit more vague. I swam a kid but when I didn't make the team first year in secondary school (high school for the non Brits) I thought well I not a sporty person, I will just stick to the books, read and be happy. So fast forward a few years, and I started running.Purely for pleasure. I didn't join any teams at uni, I didn't run any races, I just woke up 2 or 3 times a week laced up and ran. It was the only thing, and still is, I happily wake up at some crazy hour to do. I loved the early moring runs, with the dew still on the grass and the taste of clean(ish) air. Then I started working part time in a bar and those 6am Sunday runs had to go. Fast forward again 2013. I signed up for the London to Brighton run. I completed it and felt great. (Minus the agonishing knee injury) It was really nice to get back into running, and the irony was the knee injury pushed me to the internet to find how to get back into training and how to avoid it. The knee injury was the big push in me changing my fitness goals and approach. I started cycling more. I bought a second hand bike. When I lost my travel card, after I stopped crying and had it cancelled I hopped on my bike and started cycling too and from uni. I pretty much cycle everywhere, easily racking up 25+miles a day. I signed up for the London to Brighton moon riders cycle, which was a hideous and 'character building' 100km cycle through the night. The biggest, and geekiest step was signing up for a triathlon. Part of that would be me conquering my fears about open water swimming. I made the mistake of watching Jaws as an impressionable young child. I love triathlon and already have my eye on a few races for next year. In preparation for my triathlon I have read almost every major tri magazine and blog around. I have also looked at a whole range of diets from fruitarian to GOMAD... I am still working on the diet bit. Its hard to go full paleo as a student, temptation lives in every corner. In terms of my fitness, as we enter the off season - and I go back to studying, I would like to do maintain my fitness, but I also wanted to get stronger. The Powerlifting superhero article was the spiel that sold me, and now I am here writing this mammoth post. So My First Challenge... My main quest... Get stronger part 1 As it is currently holiday time my access to a gym with weights and all that lovely stuff is limited. The brilliant Nerd Fitness have already shot that excuse down. 3 times a week, every week I will do the Beginner Body Weight workout. Have at least 3 100% paleo days a week, as someone who loves her chocolate and pasta this will be hard. Life Quest Study for at least 30 minutes everyday, baring Sunday. I am very excited to be going off to university again, there are so many resources that I now know I can access. But I need to stay focussed and make sure I can keep leveling up at med school as well as life generally. That is it. I know I am an aim light in the main challenge bit but I wanted to start small. I am going to be finishing this masters, moving, dealing with freshers (Being a fresher?! ) and getting to know a totally different bit of the UK. if I have a million other things as well I am more likely to fail. So that is it... wish me luck! Legangles x

Some basic stats Female: 28yrs: 5'4": 130 Lbs: approx 25% body fat using sight and a scale that estimates body fat. Accomplishment: I can run 5k on a wooded trail in 35 minutes Goals: 1 pull up and 1 chin up by Sept 16, reduce body fat from 25% to 20% at some point. I'm not really worried how long this takes because I'm more concerned with achieving strength gains while avoiding fat gains right now. How? 3 intensive upper body workouts on monkey bars and a pull up bar a week. I run 4 to 5 days a week and if I don't run I try to get long walks in. I also try to do sprint intervals at least one day a week. I do body weight workouts for my lower body, but it is just for maintenance. Cool thing I've done in the past month: I ran (walked) my first 5k obstacle course. What I learned: I need to work on upper body strength! Diet: I am on a low grain diet, but I'm not paleo. I eat and drink cultured dairy, and I have not attempted to limit beans and legumes from my diet. It's hard enough getting enough calories without sugar or grains. I don't like to eat more than 4oz of meat (always pastured) a day for environmental/animal welfare reasons. I try to do at least a day a week without meat. I drink a smoothie every morning, usually it is just fruit and greens and kefir. Family: I am married and have a 20 month old daughter. Our household consists of my little family, my mother, my sister, and my niece. The 4 adult to 2 child ratio is fabulous for being able to work out and meal planning. Work: I'm a comprehensive sexual health and violence prevention educator. I travel around from school to school. I really love my work. Nerd? I might be a nerd. I'm a nerd in that I enthusiastically read about all sorts of things that interest me. I'm not afraid of my interests or to be excited about new information. I'm in that place where I've watched every episode of Star Trek TNG but I haven't seen Star Wars since I was a child. I have never been an avid video game player, but love the RPG concept of the site. I love bored games. Settlers of Catan, Munchkin, Twilight Imperium, and Nexus Ops right off the top of my head are what have been played most often. We don't get to play as much since having our daughter. My three favorite books are "Guns, Germs and Steel" by Jarod Diamond, "Stranger in a Strange Land" by Robert Heinline, and "Oryx and Crake" by Margaret Atwood. I don't know how to underline on my tablet, so quotes will have to do. Other: I started running about 10 weeks ago in a serious way to systematically get better. I use a standing desk. I believe in injury prevention, and am a little obsessed with natural alignment and movement in the way that some people are obsessed with the paleo diet. I believe movement is a key nutrient most people are missing in their lives. I use standing desks, but cheat a lot and type on my tablet in bed, or sit down to read articles. I knit. I like to cook, but I hate cleaning. I believe I should be walking at least 5 miles a day in addition to other workouts, but don't think I achieve this often. I only wear neutral heeled shoes, and I prefer shoes allow for as much movement as possible. I wish I could wear vibram five fingers all the time. Thank you for reading my introduction. I'm excited to be part of this community.

You know that saying of when one door closes, another one opens? Well I figured I might as well close that first door myself as I've been a weak girl with very low stamina my entire life and I've had enough of that! As you may have guessed I've read countless of blogs and articles but I never really got started. I wondered why I could never stick with the running and the lifting until I realized that it made me uncomfortable. The exercises hurted and it made me think that perhaps I was doing it wrong and damaging my muscles instead of getting fit. These thoughts, of course, made me worry and I'm sure these worries trigger the uncomfortable feeling I keep getting. I have a fair amount of geekiness inside of me and as a result I am always thought of as a weird girl who nobody seems to understand. Therefore, seeking help with exercising became something I didn't want to do to, even though I knew that I could really use some help. But then when I stumbled upon Nerd Fitness I swear I let out a sigh of relief after reading a few posts. Finally I've found a place where my questions and worries won't be thought of as stupid! So I guess the rest is history now; I've made an account and I have written my first post. I'm hoping that I can kill the fears I've been having and start living the life I want to life. A life as a happy, healthy and strong girl who can take care of her own things! Oh, and my motto? Independence here I come!

Hello, all! I'm JP from Saint Petersburg. I just moved here from Los Angeles, and joined Anytime Fitness. I really like the gym. It's my first ever membership and, though I've always been "active", I feel great after joining. I developed a three-day workout based upon the knowledge that I've found here on Nerd Fitness. Looking forward to utilizing the site more as time goes on. Cheers!

I started reading Nerd Fitness about December of last year, I travel (for work - all the time) and I was looking for advice on loosing weight and getting in shape. I started seriously in January: No sugar Lower Carbs (limit one slice of bread a day or one serving of processed wheat products) Supplements Slow progression to a "paleo like" diet and tightening up the diet (not too much, mostly vegetables to satisfaction, higher quality/more natural) Working out (how I ended up reading Nerd Fitness) Where I started: 310 pounds and out of shape! Pushups on the knees (not many) - about 20 Pull-ups - NONE Crunches - about 50 Where am I now: 238 pounds (holy crap! as of this morning that is 72 pounds!) Pushups regular - 200 (if I go for numbers, I have changed this) Pull-ups - just five (I am working on this, I think it is pathetic, but I'm working on it) Crunches - 500 or more (again if I go for numbers, I am changing the work-out but I just run out of time with this, I think I could go indefinitely with crunches - but why?) I have switched from high-reps to high-weight and only barbells, no bars or machines (except the assisted pull-up machine if I use a gym while traveling). A work in progress - I have a goal (possibly unrealistic) of a body like the current 007 actor. Goals: Vanity - just being honest, I am in my mid 40's and I love women and dating, this just works so much better when you are not a fat slug (and I was a fat slug!). Fitness - I want to be able to do the things I love (backpacking, hiking, and of course meeting new people). Health - I wanted to make sure I eliminated the bad diet and found a permanent life-long health replacement.

Hello everyone! This looks like such a fun way to reach our goals! I hope I'm not starting too late, but better late than never. Main Quest: -Become the most fit and healthy version of me possible. Starting Stats: -26 year old human female -Weight: ~60kg (~130 lbs), Goal Weight: ~55kg (~120 lbs) Main Missions: -Workout for an hour 5x per week: I would like to mostly focus on cardio since I have been working on strength for the past few months and now I need to increase my endurance and aerobic fitness and lower my body fat %. -Eat healthy and track calories: This includes eating around 1400 calories (mostly Paleo) per day M-F. I am not required to track on the weekends since I am often obligated to attend my husband’s work functions/parties/dinners and if I try to track during these times I get too obsessive. However, this is not meant to be a ‘pass’ and I will still strive to make healthy options. This also includes finding new healthy recipes and cooking dinner most days (at least 5x a week). -I will consume alcohol no more than once per week: Again, this is due to my current social situation as all of my friends socialize by going to bars or clubs. I don’t want to completely avoid these situations, but I would like to keep my drinking in moderation. Life Quest: -Review Japanese: I will (finally, yay!) be visiting Japan for the first time this December. I majored in Japanese in college but I have not used it in so long that I feel like I have forgotten absolutely everything. I would like to at least get myself back to an intermediate level before December. For the first challenge, however, I am setting a goal of learning all 1st and 2nd grade kanji (about 240) and reviewing and completing the exercises in Genki I. Motivation: Two months ago I was in the best shape of my life. I ate ridiculously healthy for about 3 months and joined a women’s strength training class. I loved the feeling of having energy throughout the day and I was really proud of myself. I got into a nice routine that I felt comfortable in. Then I moved abroad to the UK. Long story short, it’s been about two months since I left my routine and 2 weeks since I settled into my new home for the next 5 months. I’m ready to make a new healthy routine and continue getting healthy. I’d also love to lose the last 5kg or so. It may not seem like much, but it’s holding me back from feeling comfortable in my own skin. I have never in my life felt confident or sexy, but I’m starting to think that I might actually be able to get there.

Even though I've been an ardent follower of nerdfitness for quite long, this is the first time that I am finally venturing out of my comfort zone of passive reading and taking part in the six week challenge my story and posts here -> http://nerdfitnessrebellion.com/index.php?/topic/34802-first-challenge/

Hello, thank you for coming to read my post! I stumbled across Nerd Fitness by accident a few months ago, looking for good work outs to feed my fencing *ahem* addiction. I fence for my county in England, as well as for my university team and frankly it's amongst my favourite things in the world. But I noticed that even with dedication to the work out and a slightly adjusted Paleo Diet (I was happy to cut bread - I hate bread - but don't steal my milk, Milk Snatcher!) I felt it wasn't enough. I had to give more dedication to my fitness and the proper fuelling of my body. After all, we all only have one body! We must use it for what we really wish to do, not what others tell us we ought to do. Rather than joining fellow students knocking back shots, I'd rather be in my white kit, sweating the Pacific Ocean as I try to find a way around my tricksy opponent. But I am limited in my progression, simply because I don't have a diversity of exercise. I am reasonably fit, but playing one sport does not make one improve. it's the extra training that does it. Hence, I decided to try more of the exercises used in the Assassin's Guild, for th Assassin's favour control, agility and speed, with sharp blades to do the job. Fencing is essential for an Assassin, but an Assassin would be in a pickle if she could only depend on her blade. She needs to be able to run away from a scuffle. She must find efficient ways to clear obstacles, be quick and not wasteful with her energy in all her actions. I am willing to try things like parkour (even though I am afraid of heights), gymnastics (despite being an uncharacteristically clumsy fencer), climbing (see parkour) and bodyweight training, of which I will try harder than I did before, for now I have a goal; To 'kill' a certain opponent. Whenever I face this lady, she always thwarts me. It is embarrassing really. I would settle for at least a fight where we can fight as equals. Instead, she does not even break a sweat, having me run around trying to work her out. It's infuriating, but it is testament to how much I must improve. In case you're interested, she is the current #1 Junior French Women's Foil Champion, and she is being put forward for the next Olympics. Unless someone beats her... Such is my quest. Sorry for the long post, and the rambling content. I would be interested to hear any criticism of my wild idea, but also any positive feedback too. Thank you!

Hello fellow fitness nerds and nerds attempting fitness! I live in Dublin, Ireland and I am 13 hours into a Paleo lifestyle. My plan is to not quit so some newbie support might help (although a "meh, she won't make it" might make it even more of a challenge!). A couple of years ago I lost a lot of weight on Weight Watchers and exercise, but not being a student anymore and working for one of these internet companies that give you unlimited free food and snacks means it's hard to count points. Sticking to Paleo foods seems do-able! I'm a linguist that has always worked in networking/internet companies and my interests include music (metal, alt country, idm...), spending a lot of time on the internet or watching shows and dabbling into various interests: web design, graphic design, a game or two... Anyway, feel free to get in touch if you're a fellow newbie, a potential mentor or you simply want to chat!