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Hi there! I'm Marley, a 22 year old student from The Netherlands. I hope becoming active on this forum will help me more with my ultimate weight-losing goal. I will talk about breasts now, hopefully I'm not embarrassing anyone with my story! I've been struggling with my weight throughout puberty and I'm at my highest (81 kg or 180,77 lb), which means I'm overweight for my 5'5" tall self. The main problem I have is with my heavy breasts. I have a G-cup which pulls my entire body off-center and give me terrible back and shoulder pains. It's only gotten worse now that I gained weight again. I am seriously considering a breast reduction, since I still had an E-cup when I was at my lowest adult weight (62 kg). My GP already told me I will have to lose at least 15 kilos before I'm even considered for an operation like that! So! My ultimate goal is to lose enough weight to either a) be rid of an unbalanced, aching body or opt for breast reduction surgery. Luckily, the health care system here makes that non-aesthetic surgery completely free so I only have weight-loss to worry about. Reading the latest NerdFitness newsletter I'm happy to say I live a mostly sugar-free life - plain coffee, tea and self-made ice tea together with carbonated water are the only things I drink at the moment. My biggest problem is carbs, I love whole-wheat bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, fries, burgers etc. etc. Together with a busy, stressful life-style and being an emotional eater I'm not surprised I gained almost 18 kg last year, after both my mother and mother-in-law were diagnosed with cancer and I tried to juggle my job, university, my student association and taking care of my boyfriends family. Yes yes, take-away food was the easy option. When my boyfriend told me he started to find me unattractive I realized that it was time to get healthy again and take control of my bod! I love just about any food, I just found myself buying the unhealthy ones waaay too often... For €6 a month (!) I can work out at the gym of my student association, which has two bycicles, a treadmill, a cross-trainer, one of those weird shaking things, and some basic dumbbells and aerobics materials. I am doing the beginners workout (a day of interval training on the bike after a day of lifting exercise) and I find myself to enjoy it quite well! I did swap some of the exercises (like jumping jacks, ouch!) for a more breast-friendly training, and I'm thinking of picking up swimming as it's a great way to firm that area. If there are any women (or men? or boobed transgenders?) who have some tips on exercising with the pain and discomfort of h00ge b00bs... I'd love to hear your story

Hello everyone, my name is Khawar and im from the United Kingdom. Never been part of a forum/community online but so happy this is my first time joining this community as i want to change my life and this seems perfect. Previously only ever read forums about Lost and Fringe and never contributed as i didnt fell i had anything intresting to say, but on here i hope i can share my successful journey with everyone. I will be 100% honest with, last week i was about to give up. I have this mentality to say never give up but you can probably then imagine that things had to be really bad for me to say im giving up on my health goals. Failed in losing weight for years and now in my mid-twenties, disillusioned with life and everything i felt no direction. Also last few months have been a really hard time, liitle brother was diagnosed with Cancer, Hogkins Lymphoma. Thank God its very treatable but the shock and treatment has taken its toll on him and the family. I was depressed, i had to resign from my job to look after him, this is a decision i do not regret as it was a career with no prospects and hopefully i can go into a field i enjoy now. My brother has finished his treatment and im beginning to enjoy life again. Everything happens for a reason and just about when i was ready to throw in the towel i can across this website through the fat burning man podcast. I could not believe how much this all made sense, level up your life. I stopped playing video games because i felt it was pointless spending hours upon hours and getting no real life value. I guess this feeling was because i was depressed but slowly im playing games as a means to release stress. However, this all thing is amazing, what i needed and is changing alot of my bad habits. I love movies, tv, photography and creating music. I want to travel and write just like my hero Jack Kerouac, authour of on the road. Im going to take my time and this what my goals should be, but i wish to lose about 5 pounds this month and carrying on eating healthier and taking care of my brother by taking care of myself as well. Finally i shall leave you with a quote from Bruce Lee, this quote amongst all other quotes has been the catalyst i needed, most quotes inspire you for a few moments but this not only inspires but shows you why you must act as well, "Knowing is not enough, we must do. Willing is not enough, we must apply." I will keep you guys updated and also follow you on your adventures, sorry for the long intro, so much on my mind and my mind works quicker than my hands typing so its difficult lol. Also please ignore the spelling mistakes, i have dsylexia, thank you.

Hello Rangers! This is my first very first 6-week challenge I just finished my first Half-Marathon over the weekend; while I loved training for it and getting my endurance up to par...I really don't think long-distance running is for me. I was looking for some new and exciting fitness goals when BAM! 6-week challenge appears. So, here are my goals for this challenge: 1. Do a body weight and/or strength training workout 3x per week.( +1 STR) 2. Do HIIT cardio 3x per week. (+1 STR +1 DEX) 3. Meditate on MettÄ at least 7min 3x per week. (+2 CHA) 4. (Life-goal) Finish my internship project on time. (+1 WIS) I feel pretty good about weight, endurance, and eating habits. What I'd really like to do is build some strength, power, and speed (and hopefully muscle tone). The 4th goal is a bit of a cheat since I technically have to do it anyway, but I feel that making part of this challenge will extra-motivate me and also help me with procrastination. Believe it or not, I think the 3rd goal will be the most challenging for me. I'll post some beginning photos up here soon. Excited to get rolling with you guys!

Hi, my name is Felicia and I am 19 years old. I joined this site to be healthy and more active. I been overweight for as long as I remember and I always feel tired. I really need to get out of this rut of sleeping all the time and doing nothing. So, hopefully I can find the support I need to feel good about living. To be honest don't know where to start but, I hope I stick with this and become a more active member of this site. Thanks for reading!

Hello! I am new to the Nerd Fitness challenge but I believe I've got what it takes to complete it. My goals are relatively simple and I hope that will make completing this easier. I do have an injury so I'm also trying to compensate for that as well. I'm Female, 5'8, 167 lbs. I do lots of martial arts, but I'd like to train myself more towards Ranger. Goals: 1. Complete the first 3 weeks of Couch to 5K. This one will start on the 23rd due to my injury. In the meantime I am allowed to bike. 2. Cut out soda by week 2. This is to help me up my water intake. I only get about half of what i should. 3. Strength Training (Back/Shoulders/Arms) 3 x a week. Its a spot I've neglected for too long now. 4. Finish reading A Feast for Crows It's not a big life changing goal, but it's something I've been meaning to do for a long while now. I already have the habit of going to the gym, now its time to put more focus behind what I do at the gym. I'd like to get into the habit of writing down what I do, for how long, etc. In order to really gauge my progress. The long term goal is to be ready for Tough Mudder in October. There you have it!

Screwluz here. Yes, that's me. I signed into NF about three months ago. looked around and then started working on a different project. As time is cleared I think I like this format better. I'm a 35 year old man. Father of three teenage boys. I am a member of the SCA. I regularly participate in heavy weapons and rapier combat. I'm an IT Manager for The Univeristy of Georgia. I spent the first 10 years of my adult life with the Air force doing sattelite communicaiton. Occcasionaly I miss it. I gained some weight in the last few years. I also managed to quit smoking and started saving some cash. This year i vowed to make some serious changes. I had gained about ten pounds in a few months. I was not happy. I was sitting at 250 and as a man who stands a wopping 5'7" that was not good. So, January 1st I started a 90 day plan. Drop 4 inches off my waist. I also added a bunch of other stuff to that list. Cleanig out my basement, finishing sewing projects, making a few things craft-wise. I got 90% of the projects completed. Then it was time to make new goals. Which is where I am now. What better place to log it all than a place that matches my free time. I am still running two tabletop RP games. One for friends, and one for my kids. Previous stats: 5'7", 252lbs, 44 inch waist, 49 inch chest, 43 inch hips, 17 inch neck Current stats 5'7" 220.8Lbs, 39 inch waist, 44.75 inch chest, 41 inch hips, 16.5 inch neck Goals: Short term: Lifting 2 times a week (this will flesh oout once I manage to figure out what I can do, this week is finding limits) Run 5K without stopping (six weeks) Finish my Fashion Photoshoot project Finish all promised sewing projects (2 left) Take the GRE Long term: Run 5K in armor (by the end of summer) Get back to 20% Body Fat (currently 33%) Get my credit score back above it's highest point (6 months) Buy a house Get my available credit ratio back below 25% (6 months)

Hey guys, Thiefzer0 here. I've lurked a while, and always take time to read Steves awesome e-mails/blog posts. Thought I would get on board with this challenge! First off, some about myself. I started trying to lose some weight back in Jan/Feb as yet another new years resolution except this year I found myself about 40+ lb. heavier than my ideal weight and I'd begun to really FEEL it. You guys know what I mean right? That feeling where you have noticably less energy, can't even WALK a flight of stairs without being winded, just a general feeling of being slothly and unwieldly (if those are words lol). So anyways, beginning of Feb. my girlfriend and I rather spontaneously broke up after trying to deal with multiple issues for months and months. We had been together almost 2 years. Anyways that was my breaking point, and decided rather than sinking into the pits, getting depressed, and letting myself go and risk losing everything (my home, my job, etc), I was going to pull it together, man up, and get things done. That was around the time I first found nerd fitness. No idea how, must've been aimless Googling as usual, but it was a breath of fresh air to me and reinforced ideas I was already beginning to grasp. Namely that fitness didn't HAVE to be this big scary intimidating thing reserved only for the "attractive" and "jocks". So I left work one day and went to our company gym and just sort of walked in, confused... but eager! It's been a heck of a journey, along the way I've met so many new friends, effectively rebuilding my social/support circle from the ground up with healthy, active, and supportive friends. My birthday was this past Sat (June 1) and my "uber" goal so to speak had been to get to 185, which I am happy to say I achieved! Total I have lost just over 30 lb. since I started, and dropped from 34% body fat to (last I checked, maybe lower now) 19%. ANYWAYS, enough with the long rambling intro... guess I could've posted that in another forum actually. Let's get to the meat of it, LE CHALLENGE! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Become a Ranger: My four goals are what I consider necessary to call myself a ranger, in the sense that I'll be in good enough shape to basically take on any challenge, and be equipped for most anything. To me that's the essence of the ranger class. Rangers are typically very self sufficient "solo" types, which suits me 100%. CURRENT STATS: Sex: Male Age: 32 Weight: 183 LB. BMI: 25.2 Body Fat: 19% Goal 1 (DIET): Eat at least 50% more VEGE's and LEAN meats each day, while cutting back carbs at LEAST 50%. Goal 2 (fitness): Pass the US Air Force BMT Physical Fitness Test and enlist in the Air Reserve (before I reach the age cutoff). A stretch goal for this is to achieve the "Warhawk" designation (extraordinary / highest standard) which requires: Run 2 miles in 13:30 minutes, 1.5 miles in 8:08, 75 pushups in 1 minute, 80 situps in 1 minute, and 10 pullups. This stretch seems ... well, like a HUGE STRETCH, and maybe a bit unrealistic given where I'm currently at. I HAVE HOPE! Goal 3 (related to goal 2): Do 5, 10 or (stretch goal) 20 pullups! Goal 4 (final stretch goal): Obtain body fat % in the single digits! MY PLAN: My plan is to start using MyFitnessPal daily (to let others help hold me accountable!!!) and record everything I eat, and all my fitness activity. I have been working SO HARD this year, and now it is time to STEP IT UP, and LEVEL UP! Going to try to find a plan to steadily build up pushup/situp capability daily, and start running (walking/jogging and building up) until I can sprint/run 1-2 miles. Not sure HOW I will do all this, I need you guys help! Other than that I don't know. I have been seeing a personal trainer for 3-4 months and my last day is this Friday, so now it's all in my hands. ANYWAYS, thanks for reading for those who did, and if you want to buddy up for this challenge e-mail me through the website or PM, or whatever. Thanks guys!!! ~thief

Hello Everyone, I've been reading Nerd Fitness for probably almost a year now. I've really enjoyed learning from Steve and hearing about all the massive success and growth of the community. I figured it was about time I joined in on the fun. I feel compelled to say a few words about what makes me a nerd: 1. I'm entering my 5th year of music school which will also be my 5th year in the marching band. Band nerd. 2. When I was a preteen/young teenager, I built light sabers out of hardware parts. That was in addition to the toys and prop light sabers I already owned. 3. I spent lots of time looking at my Lord of the Rings movie prop catalogue. Never could afford any of it though. 4. I've read LOTR trilogy including the Silmarillion and Hobbit maybe 1/2 dozen times. 5. I have many interests and hobbies and find myself way more enthusiastic about them than the average person. I think that kind of defines what being a nerd really is anyway. So there is my NerdFitness Resume if you will. If anyone is interested, I can go into length about my health goals and such. I just joined the newest 6 week challenge, which is linked in my sig. I can't wait to get to know all of you and start kicking some ass! Looking forward to it, TomM

I'll begin by introducing myself: I am 23 years old, six feet tall and weigh nearly 300 pounds. I currently live in Massachusetts with my parents, and go to a Community College nearby, majoring in Communications. At the moment, I write to you all from upstate New York, where I am working my annual summer job. My story, however, begins nearly a decade ago. When I was thirteen, my father, perhaps the biggest support in my life, gave me a picture frame with this quote in it : "It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." -Theodore Roosevelt I'm sure many of you have heard this quote, and have your own interpretations, perspectives and personal meanings associated with it. Here is my account of what I've associated with it for many years: I received this from my father one Christmas day in my teenage years, not a few months after failing to summit Mount Jefferson in New Hampshire. My Boy Scout troop took a three day weekend in order to set up camp on a Friday, hike it on Saturday, and leave on Sunday. Of the ten or so boys and four adults, I was the only one who didn't make it to the very top. My father, bless him, was one of the adults, urging me on as I trudged up that mountainside, hating myself for going on the trip and hating everyone else as they seemed to shoot up the trail. By the time I neared the summit, there were no trees to block the strong winds that nearly forced me off my feet. There were only the stones and pebbles underfoot that constantly shifted and slid downhill, making it that much harder to reach the top. With my heavy thoughts and heavy feet, I dug in and refused to continue, not even a hundred yards from the top. My father spent all of half an hour, shouting over the roaring winds, trying to convince me to make that last concerted effort to hit the peak. I'm sorry to say that I refused, and my father was forced to make that last leg alone because of my stubbornness. I gave myself all sorts of excuses why I couldn't make it: I was too tired, my feet hurt, the winds were too strong, etc. etc. etc. In any case, my father returned a few minutes later, and the entire group began our trek back to camp. When my father presented this to me, he included in the frame pictures of that trip, and I immediately associated myself with the critic, not the man in the arena as my father hoped. I was the one who attacked my own self-confidence in my abilities, and began a near decade long cycle of self-deprecation, giving up on my goals, and telling myself I was worthless for giving up on myself. I began finding more reasons to give up on completing important things, from schoolwork to other Boy Scout hikes, all the way to my own Eagle Scout project and college courses. All because I was stuck in a whirlpool of self-loathing and doubt that began back during that hike up a mountainside. For the longest time, this quote wasn't an affirmation of my struggles: it was a constant reminder that no matter how hard I tried, I was my own worst enemy and I would give up on myself before my efforts were rewarded. And despite my parents best efforts at trying to get me back on course, I would constantly sabotage myself because I knew I didn't deserve to succeed. That hike, back when I was just thirteen, shaped my life for nearly ten years. It has only been recently, after failing out of college and taking a year off, that I've begun to take an active role in turning my life around. I began taking classes again at a community college, two for the fall semester and once I passed them with flying colors, four in the spring. This past year, I took four courses both semesters, kept all of them in the A's and B's, and was promised an internship next fall at a local newspaper. Along with that, I've managed to cut off my depression medication and stay stable, and have started to realize something very important. While I may be my own worst enemy, I can also be my very best friend. All it takes is a little change to begin doing something right for yourself, and the first thing I did right was to take a year off of school. I realized during that time that I am worthy of my own attentions, and that the only way things are going to get better is if I stop getting in my own way. Obviously, that revelation hasn't just been a shining beacon that suddenly took all the hardships out of my life. During last fall, I got a job and subsequently lost it due to an idiosyncrasy of mine where I tell people only the good things and leave out the bad until it piles up enough that it's unavoidable. I also had to withdraw from one of my courses, although that was more because of the teacher than my own shortcomings. In any case, before I left home for the fifth summer in a row to head to upstate New York for my summer job, my father challenged me to do something about my health. Currently, I am six feet tall and nearly three hundred pounds, and I have been ever since I was about fifteen. I've tried, with very little results, to change my weight. Each time I've begun an exercise plan, within a week or two my motivation dropped off and the self-loathing cycle kicked in once again. This time, however, I have a secret weapon that will, hopefully, change the status quo. A friend of mine recently introduced me to this site and also dared me to complete a 6 week challenge with him. Although I haven't told him yet, I'm accepting his challenge, and setting a few goals for myself as well. Goals: 1.) Get below 250 pounds by the time I leave my summer job. 2.) Get below 200 pounds by Christmas. 3.) Modify my diet to include more vegetables and fruits, and fewer carbohydrates. 4.) Continue to build my self-esteem through completing challenges and not giving up halfway through. I'd like these goals to be my set-in-stone, no compromise objectives, although I'm sure I'll be setting smaller goals for myself along the way in order to attain these lofty aspirations. In the end, I'd like to make myself into the Man in the Arena, and stop being the critic holding myself back. I know I'll need all the help I can get, and so, I would like to ask for all of your support, encouragement, advice and knowledge in helping me leap from the stands into the stadium. For now, thanks for reading that looong introduction, and I look forwards to meeting and conversing with many of you as I begin this grand new undertaking.

Howdy friends! I am a TOTAL Noob here and I suppose thats not a bad thing. I will be participating in the upcoming 6 week challenge. A little about me. I am 24 years old, working full time as an IT Assistant, I have the best job and I love it I have a daughter she is 4 years old and a hubby who is on the fence about this whole exercise thing lol. He will come around after he sees me work; he usually does. I am graduating with a Batchelors in Computer Science next weekend(Go ME!) I am a Ranger, I love nature, swimming, hiking, running, skipping, you name it. I recently discovered bodyweight exercise, and i think i'm in love <3 there is something about using your own body for resistance and weight that makes me happy! I am also taking baby steps towards a Paleo Lifestyle. Starting with cutting out grains and soda. I have a serious soda addiction that needs to be put in check! I hope to make some new friends along the way! I am a positive person so I give good support to those who need it if they are willing to be my friend and support me as well

Hello there, i have been an avid reader of NF for quite some time now and with the end of the current 6 week challenge I have decided to finally join the rebellion for real. With the next challenge just under a week away Iĺl enter the arena as an half-elven ranger. My goals are not primarily weight loss but getting fit and into shape. Which means for me redistributing a few pounds and dropping that last bit of bodyfat percentage to get rid of the little belly that jumped me while sitting in front of the computer So Ladies and Gents I guess you have my bow fengor

So I stumbled across Nerd Fitness late last night when I was looking up info on paleo dieting, and have already become hooked! I figured I might as well join the forums also, so here's my backstory and introduction. I'm a 31 year old stay at home wife and student, about a year away from graduating with a degree in secondary education in biology. I wasn't always the big fat nerd I am today. When I was in high school, I always assumed that I was fat, but what teenage girl doesn't? Looking back, I now realize that I was in great shape at the time, and if i was overweight at all, it was because of the extra muscle mass I built up in marching band. Unfortunately, I never really payed all that much attention to my health or fitness, so when my metabolism started to slow down in my early 20s, my eating habits didn't change so the weight slowly started to creep up. By the time I got married at 26, I was pushing dangerously close to 400 lbs. I've managed to stop the weight gain, but after 5 years of yoyoing and killing myself with strange diets, fasts, cleanses, and supplements, I've finally made the realization that what I need isn't another diet, it's a lifestyle overhaul. On top of all of this, about 4 weeks ago, my husband (who is only 37) had a stroke that left him without the use of his left hand and eye. Now whenever I heard about someone in their 70s or 80s having a stroke, it was sad and unfortunate, but when it happens to someone so close to me (both emotionally and chronologically), it's terrifying. Once the round after round of hospital stays and doctors visits were over with, we were left with the conclusion that outside of physical therapy, the best thing that we could do for both of us was to embrace a lifestyle of healthy eating and healthy living. So here I am! Okay, enough heavy stuff. On to the nerd credentials! I love Doctor Who and Red Dwarf, Firefly and Lord of the Rings, D&D, WoW, Game of Thrones, Star Trek, Star Wars, and about a trillion other things that don't even come to mind right now. My favorite authors are David Eddings, C.S. Lewis, and Mercedes Lackey. On a -slightly- less nerdy note, I'm also obsessed with Fedor Emelianenko and Ronda Rousey (amazing MMA fighters, for those who don't follow it). Uhm, yeah that's pretty much me in a nutshell. Any questions?

Hola fellow nerds, Long time lurker, first time poster. I really dig this community and all the awesome people involved and I'm super excited to finally be an active participant. Currently, I'm the creative services director at the NBC station here in Midland. I make commercials, promos, graphic art, and shoot video to name a few of my tasks. I'm also the director and one of the writers for the internet comedy team GCTV. We shoot comedy sketches and such and are getting a pretty good following on Facebook and YouTube (if you're interested, link is in my sig). The comedy is definitely for those who find shows like Always Sunny funny. I'm also beginning a new web venture called Nerd Force 5 that features videos celebrating all things nerd and geek. So a few facts about me: I was a former junior high fat kid who was bullied almost daily. I lost weight late into high school (though no one ever forgets you were the chubby kid) but I gradually gained it back in college. It wasn't until my mom was diagnosed with cancer in late 2006 did I truly turn things around. My family made her a photo scrapbook to take with her into chemo and I saw that I had gained A LOT of weight. From that day forward, I changed my diet. I cut out all carbs and sugar and started walking and I lost over 5o lbs and thus far have kept it off. My greatest accomplishment to date has been completing the Austin Half-Marathon last February and completing the Texas Spartan Sprint Race a few weeks back. Fun Facts about Me: I'm a Star Wars and Star Trek nerd with an ever-growing nerd t-shirt collectionMy prized nerd collectible is my Obi-Wan Kenobi Lightsaber from Episode 3 (Master Replicas)Favorite nerd movie that isn't Star Wars would have to be RushmoreFavorite video game is a toss-up between Ocarina of Time and Final Fantasy XFavorite anime: Movie "Voices of a Distant Star." Series "Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad."I'm a musician (guitar and bass) Currently, my workouts consist of modified cross-fit I do at our local football stadium, yoga, and running. My diet started slipping but right now I'm back up to about an 80% paleo diet and I've almost completely cut out the diet soda (that is a hard monkey to get off my back). Well, enough about me. I can't wait to get involved on here and I really look forward to getting to know each and every one of you. You all seem like such an awesome group. The Avengers have nothing on this community. Nerd on, everyone.

I never had to work to keep a healthy weight...then I picked up bad habbits. So I am new around here, as you all can tell. I have an idea of where I want to go but I'm not sure how to get there but I figure this is the first step. A few things about me. I live in Wisconsin. If anyone out there doesn't know, Wisconsin is known for a combination of three things that usually aren't the best for any type of diet beer, brats, and cheese. With these all being things that I love. I have some big obstacles to overcome. I'm willing to give it my all so here is some back story to explain how I got to where I am now. Where I started... Through most of my life I was always naturally very thin (like didn't pass 100lbs until I was 22) and I didn't have to try to stay in shape. I could always eat whatever I wanted and sit on my lazy butt all day but I never gained any weight. Now that its been five whole years since my weight hit tripple digits. I am trying to break some of those awful habbits that made me gain almost 35lbs. Habbits being drinking lots of beer, not paying any attention to portion sizes, and living a pretty sedentary lifestyle. My metabolism took a big hit with these habbits. About two years ago I went to the gym for about 6 months at least two if not three times a week. I was proud of myself. Then I moved across town and going to the gym pretty much ceased. I started eating a little better. Making sure to include more vegetables in my diet. But mostly still skipping breakfast and not understanding portion sizing wasn't helping. Where I am now... I started noticing things being squishy and jiggly in places that didn't used to be. I told myself a few months ago that things were going to change. I am now eating a considerable ammount more fruits and veggies than I used to and I have been excercising more. Right now I am running about 2 days a week and someitmes doing yoga on the off days. Its hard for me to get motivated because for the longer part of my life I didn't have to try. Now I have to and finding the motivation isn't easy. The thing is I HATE running with a passion. Its not fun for me, and I keep trying to be excited about it I just can't muster up the excitement. So here I am trying to break habbits and make positive changes. I still am not entirely sure how to impliement a fitness program into my life so I joined here and will hopefully learn a few things. Where I am trying to go... I want to loose the jiggly parts and get back to feeling comfortable with how I look, and getting back to my, what I consider healthy weight. I also want to make some positive overall lifestyle changes. Breaking the habbits that got me here in the first place. I want to keep these changes going too. One day there will be mini-me's running around and I want the energy to keep up with them. Now that you all know a little bit about me. I am going to keep trying routines and diet plans until I find something that is feasable for me to acomplish. Nothing puts a damper in your plans like continued failure. I will more than likely be asking lots more questions as this goes on. Thank you for the welcome into what seems like a wonderful community! -Stefanie

"They say" you will stick with a program if it's fun. I've always felt like I was searching for something fun. I mean, Zumba is fun while I'm doing it, but when I'm not doing it, I'm not really thinking about it. I think I've finally found something FUN! Not that the exercising or dieting is fun in itself, but that the atmosphere around it is fun and supportive. I'm a 25 year old wife and mother of two (nearly 3 and just over 1). I am starting out about 80-100 pounds overweight. My ultimate goals will be to lose fat, build dense muscle mass, and improve my overall fitness. I'm going to start diving into the boards to learn and engage and have some FUN!

Hi everyone! I've been hanging around Nerd Fitness for a while now and I figured it was time for me to start joining in discussions and things. I will do more than lurk, I will participate! My name is Erin, I'm 21 and studying Professional Writing and Editing in Melbourne, Australia. I like to run long distances (currently upping my mileage so I can train for the Melbourne Marathon Festival Half Marathon) and I also love body weight exercises and to dance. I do a thing called No Lights No Lycra which is basically an hour of a bunch of people in a room dancing with the lights off. No talking. No judgement. I love Doctor Who and I'm currently working on watching the original series(es). I read a lot of YA fiction, memoirs, fiction - I love the classics. I miss Firefly. I have a blog at cutthecookie.com, I'd love it if you popped over for a visit. I like to bake a lot so my mission is always to find people to eat what I make! I'm vegetarian. I'm currently aiming for Scout class but I want to make the transition to Ranger and do Tough Mudder next year. And that's me! Feel free to ask any questions. I love this site and this community. You guys are all awesome.

Wassail! I've been kind of lurking around for a few weeks now after reading the roleplaying article explaining this whole system, and I think I'm hooked! Everything else I've seen has been geared towards taking nerds and non-bros and turning them into fitness crazed juiceheads. Not for me. I love this whole idea, have always played RPGs, and there seems to be a great community on here so I'm diving in! My Backstory Quick version? I'm a 6'2", 280lbs, 24 year old, bald-headed, long-red-bearded, cis-gendered, anglophone, heterosexual, middle-class, Anglo-Saxon heathen, predominantly-English-blooded-caucasian male from Newfoundland, Canada. If that's too many adjectives but not enough words, sorry and keep reading haha. I've always been big for my age, in terms of both height and weight, but I could always say I was strong so it was fine. I did a couple years of Tae Kwon Do, I'd help build fences/ decks, do a little landscaping around the house, and every job I had was in manual labour. However, after a back injury (a string of them actually) just after high school (~2006), my energy levels, my strength, and any trace of agility I actually had have all but completely vanished. Now I live every day in a lot of pain because I can't afford the chiropractor visits anymore and I'm trying to stave off using any pain meds (prescription or otherwise) until it's unbearable, so any physical effort is particularly draining. However, I could stand to lose a good hundred pounds, and that would only help my back. With a better back, my entire life would improve a thousand-fold, no question. Essentially, that's been my situation for years now, but depression has left me drifting in a state of apathy. I still live with my parents, don't have a car, a pathetic job, and I've changed career paths so many times I'm still working on my first bachelor's degree (finally in a field I love) which has saddled me with far too much student debt. Well, I've finally had enough of that BS, so here I am. I can't change the housing market, the economy, or the past, but I can make my body into a far better vehicle for getting through life than it currently is. I have no aspirations to be a super-jacked Dragonborn version of Beowulf or anything, I'd be more than happy as a healthy Wiglaf! My Goals Broad goals for this experience are essentially these: -Lose weight. This will take the pain away to a large extent, and also make me happier with my self. -Regain strength. Like I said, I'm not looking to be a muscle bound meat-wall, but I want to be confident that I have the strength to do whatever I might have/ want to in the run of a day. -Get a career. So, finish school (BA in Anthropology), do more school, get a real job, etc. -Become more independent. Also called growing up I guess? Apartment, vehicle, etc. -Have more of a life. More good friends, a particularly good lady-friend, kids? -Develop my spirituality. My religion is one that requires a lot of self-driven academic study, which has been lacking of late. Conclusion This is me taking back my life. This is my reawakening. This is my stab at living before I die.

A quote from one of my biggest inspirations, David Belle. Hey there, my name is Rhayne, and I'm a 23-year-old 3D artist living in Winnipeg (Canada). I'm here to quit all my excuses and give my all to a life I've always wanted. I'm finally working in my field, and I want the rest of my life to reflect the success I'm slowly achieving and the obstacles I'm slowly clearing. Since middle school my weight has fluctuated, constantly rising at a steady pace. In the last five years I've gained 30lbs, dropped 15, gained another 45, dropped 30 and gained another 10. To say I've been consistently a mess is not even coming close to it. This is me coming clean so that I can finally build upon a good foundation, rather then add to a crumbling pile of reasons and excuses. For as long as I can remember I have been an eclectic nerd, and the things that motivate, inspire and drive my need to be fit are action films. Sci fi action, action adventure, hell even video games. Characters like Nathan Drake, Catwoman, Thor, Lara Croft, Kazuma Kiryu, Rambo, Ethan Hunt, James Bond, Ronda Rousey, Gina Carano, the list goes on... I look at these iconic characters/people and want to kick just as much... yea you got it haha. I've been checking out this community for a while, but anything I've been doing in the meantime hasn't been working. Its time for something different, to stay consistent, and to push myself harder then ever before and have a community who will push me too-- and won't look at me funny when I say I want to dress as the female Nathan Drake when I do Mudhero... Goals. 1. Prepare an arsenal of vegetarian recipes and meals and stick to it! (I've been a vegetarian for over a year now) 2. Create a routine that I stick to for 30 days AT THE LEAST. Document my progress as much as possible. 3. Join 6-week challenge. 4. Prepare for MudHero (help meeee, I don't even know where to start haha) 5. Get into Parkour 6. Yellow Belt in Aikido (I have 20 more hours to put in, but it doesn't start again till September) I chose the assassin class because if my life were an action flick thats exactly what I would be!!

Brawling is perhaps a bit of an exaggeration on my part as I have no desire whatsoever to beat up people, but for the sake of this post to have an awesome title I will go with it. I’m always nervous with introductions, because I tend to overshare. Bear with me though, it’s all relevant. I hail from a small country (Bulgaria) and I’m a book nerd. English has been my first love since I started school and studying it has led me to develop a passion for literature and writing. I review books, writer speculative fiction and contribute to various websites as a columnist, a slush reader or editor. My job involves writing sales web copy. I’ve been doing all this while going through my Bachelor and Masters degrees. As you can see, I have this trend going on where I sit down and develop my mind, rather than my body, which is the reason why I’m here in the first place. Fitness has never appealed to me, because fitness culture here doesn’t seem inclusive, friendly or open to people who don’t know squat. The nurture element is certainly missing there, but I found it here and this motivated me to join the forum. For the longest of times, I’ve been dissatisfied with my life and harsh with myself, which led to a rather unhealthy relationship with food where I would eat until I felt full just so I could dull what bothered me at the time. Now food has become a go to place and I don’t want this to continue the way it has, because I love food (I get excited when I see cooking accessories). I’m in a better place now and I’ve accepted myself for who I am. I’ve grown to accept my weight as a result of my decisions and not hate it as a trait that defines me. Sounds weird, but this gives me the power to seek out the change I want for myself. What do I want to achieve: Body: A healthier me. I want to slim down first, then build up a body that will allow me to go on proper adventures. Mind: I want to train my resilience and reverse the bad habits that have led to unhealthy eating. Creativity: I want to move forward in my creative writing career. Fiction has been my lifeline, so I wish to become a published author. I’ve been professionally published before, but I want to build on top of these early achievements and make writing my career. Skills: Learn to do something with my hands. Right now I associate this with cooking. Soul: I want to live as me, the weirdo people are not sure how to exactly react to. Life: Move to Canada, which I think is the country I should have been born into. This is me, ready to kick butt.

Hello fellow rebels, my name is Sara, and I am from Göttingen, Germany. I have a Master's Degree in History and Medieval Latin and am currently working on my PHD in history. I have been a gamer almost my whole life (starting with NES and a 486PC with Windows 3.11 and 8 mb Ram, playing SimCity and CommanderKeen in DOS), I like Star Wars, Star Trek, Dr. Who, Battlestar Galactica, Firefly, Futurama, Simpsons, Warhammer, especially Borderlands and many more. I am japanophile and am playing WoW and other Blizzard-Games and I love reading science fiction. For fun sports I do archery and a little bit of rugby. I have been a follower of Nerd Fitness since about the beginning of March, when I started my journey to become fit and loose weight. I started at 184 pounds and aprox. 35 % body fat (I don't know the last for sure, because I took the measurement some time after I had started my diet). I had tried to lose weight before, but it just didn't work, because I had big problems to change my diet (I just love to eat, and when I am depressed, I eat...). When I read about (s)low carb diets, I was sceptical at first, but I decided to give it a try for at least a month - and it worked!! I came to Nerd Fitness throug Mark's Daily Apple, which I discovered through a review of Timothy Ferris' "4-Hour-Body". After I tried Ferris diet (slow carb with legumes), but just couldn't stand it anymore (I just hate legumes and I was missing fruit so much, as well as some dairy) after a week, I went paleo, which wasn't so difficult after I had tortured myself through slow carb. Since then I have followed Mark's Primal Blueprint most of the time (when I went to a conference, which my gradschool had organised, I did not eat any of the food they offered there, which was quite hard, since I couldn't eat anything for almost a whole day, but I was very proud of myself that I had been so strong). I made a very few exceptions to paleo (I eat dairy), especially when I am at the cafeteria and I don't want to eat salad (for example, I seldom eat goulash containing starch). So far I lost about 14 pounds in 9 weeks, my fitness has improved through the Rebel Fitness Plan and I made it through level 1 and 2. I feel much more energetic and happy since I started and for the first time in my life I am having fun at doing sports containing strength training (at school, I never was fat or anything, but I was one of the worst at sports, which was quite nagging..). So here are my currents stats and my future gaming plan: Current Stats: Age: 26 Height: 5 feet 10.87 inch Weight: about 169 pounds Body Fat % : 29 Skills: will power Need to improve: strength, endurance. Goals: Lose 29 pounds by 09/30/2013.Get Body Fat % down to 20 by end of 2013.Do 30 push ups in 3 intervalls (a 10) by End of June (current: 30 incline pushups in a row at a dining table).Do 20 minutes of HIT-Cardio (cycling, 2 minutes easy, 1 minute hard = lvl 3 rebel fitness training) by June 1st (current 10 minutes). -> Completed by May 20st.Game Plan: Follow Paleo at least 90% (I am eating dairy, try to limit myself to 75g of carbohydrates a day, eat 90g of protein and aprox. 1300 calories). Complete Rebel Fitness Workout-Plan Lvl 3 Outsider every week. Track caloric and macronutritient intake every day. Walk to my office and back, walk everywhere possible (currently about 3-5 miles a day). yeah, well, more to come . So, for everyone out there, who is struggeling with his or her diet: YOU CAN DO IT! Just stay focused on your goals. Let your tiniest improvements fuel your power of endurance - and DON'T GIVE UP! A whole lot of other people out here tried and succeeded, so you can do it too! Thanks for reading!

Hello friends. There is nothing like working on self care with the encouragement of fellow nerds, so I am delighted that I found this community! For fitness, I love free weights, yoga, and bicycling. Dr. Who, Battlestar Galactica, and knitting are my favorite nerd things. I have been interested in eating well and exercizing for about 8 years, but I struggle with consistency and focus, especially when there are sweets nearby. So I am happy to have a place to cultivate some accountability. I'm definitely looking forward to the next 6 week challenge!

Hi rebels! I'm a long time reader of the blog but I've only just discovered the forum. I have some short term goals that I'd like to get out into public but I'm too late for the current 6 week challenge so I thought I would do it here. 1. Stop drinking diet coke. I've wanted to do this for ages but somehow never quite got around to it. I'm doing it now. 2. Run 5k non-stop. Any speed at all. 3. Eat Paleo but including skimmed milk 4. Fast twice a week. I am probably 35 llbs heavier than I want to be but I don't want my life to be all about the weighing scales so I thought I'd set these goals and hope that they will at least start moving me in the right direction.

Hi, I’m Sysydo Evergreen, Lady of the brook, master underpants collector specialized in hesitation ;-), Scout recruit. So... before I convince myself again that I’m not ready to come out of the Nerd closet, here goes my introduction: Very long story short, for the past 10 years I have struggled with many health problems : chronic fatigue, muscular soreness, neck pain, depression, etc. Incapacitating symptoms vage enough that we couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was wrong. All this made it difficult to exercice, eat well and generally be in shape. I also gained weight. After seeing all kinds of specialists, having lots of tests, we found that a big part of what is wrong is sleep apnea. Now I have a Mandibular Advancement appliance (site just as an example) since the begining of March and I’m already feeling so much better! Now I know I can start taking action to level up my life and have a better chance of success. Now I know it’s not just that I’m lazy. I have an actual problem and I am treating it. I stumbled on Nerd Fitness in April and since then I have been reading a lot, and I have also started taking action. A few body weight sessions here, trying to run there (this is so hard for me, but I know I’ll like it... eventually). At the moment I am preparing for the challenge begining in June. Trying to quantify my goals. It will go something like this : 3-4x per week run (Hills, fartlek and long run) - I want to eventualy run 5K without stopping 2x per week bodyweight (probably basic workout) - To help with my runnning Eating - more “real food Pace myself - Don’t try to do too much too soon Online classes (coursera) - Life improvement I’m looking forward to getting to know you all. I'll hang out in the Scouts' forum

Hi I'm LOFer from Hull, UK. I found this site via Hack the System podcast and it seems fun. Been working out for a few years now but always looking to connect, chat and learn coz, learning never ceases Nice to meet you all.

Hello fellow rebellers, I'm Angela from London, and I'm looking forward to getting into shape again with you Before starting university I would work out multiple times a week and live on a paleo-like diet. Skiing, martial arts (jujitsu) and weight workouts were amongst my pastimes. Sadly I've let it all go since then. Now that I'm close to graduating I've decided to "fit-up" again (And for my first bikini holiday since before uni. Eep.) I will therefore be starting Paleo on Tuesday, and go to the gym/work out at least 3 times a week I've decided. Hopefully I'll be noticing a mental and physical difference come July. Any advice is appreciated Wish me luck Angela