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Hello, this is One Dank Medic, ....or at least, that's what I hope to become. Like him Or him But will probably end up like him at best I am a 22-year-old female, recent college graduate and working as a Lab Technician is an urgent care. My main life goal is to become an excellent physician and live life to its fullest. I found Nerdfitness about a year or so ago loved the concept. The idea of making your life into a game/adventure/quest was a childhood dream of mine! I also am nerdy ad love video games (LoZ is my favorite!) I am looking to finally maintain a healthy lifestyle. Ever since I was 16 I have yo-yo-ed on so many crash diets and never have been able to sustain any weight loss. Sugar is my kryptonite, and other than working a 12-hour shift, I don't do much exercise (And wouldn't you know people bring sugar to work EVERY DARN DAY). Exercise has never been a priority for me, except lately I have been developing anxiety and its only been getting worse. I know exercise will be able to help me manage that, so I need to formulate a plan that I will stick with. I appreciate any advice on how to fit in an exercise schedule on a tight time budget! I am looking to improve my life. I moved out on my own about 6 months ago (one goal made!), but I still don't lead much of a life. After class/study or work I just go home and scroll on the internet/ watch Netflix until I fall asleep. That's no way to live, not what I think how a rebel should live. As I start this quest of life I would like to build it into a full and active life (once I get to med school though, that's going to have to be compromised). I have one other goal that I will be tracking: my grades. While I am pre-med, my grades are low. I have been fighting for the past 2 years to build my GPA and still fighting. I am going to be tracking my study hours and habits to make me a better student! I humbly ask for your gracious support, I will in return to my best to support this community!

Hello together! Very excited to be a new part of this community. You seem like a nice collective of people honest about their daily struggles. Whereas my prior fitness boards have been limited to the physical, I feel like the mental side of training has more exposure and importance here. My history in weight loss goes back 10 years, my history in training 4.5 years. I've come down from 147kg@48% Bodyfat to 98kg@18% in these years but am nowhere near done yet. Some basic stats: Male 29yrs old 180cm tall 98kg@18% weight-training 4-5x a week also love bouldering, biking Everyday life/Nerd culture: Work from home as a consultant in IT 45-50hrs/week Into Boardgames, especially cooperative ones, and ones with nice tactile feedback been an avid gamer but branching into other hobbies more and more after spending 2000 hours in WoW Classic. Enjoy painting miniatures when the creative muse blesses me The lockdown has erased around 8 of my 10 prior hobbies Nutrition: Trying to eat mostly mediterranean vegetables, fiber-rich carb sources and low-fat meat Maintenance calories without training is around 3200kcal a day and 3600kcal with training Trying to eat around 1.8g of protein per kg of target-bodyweight Fat and Carb ratios are flexible During lockdown a significant amount of calories has come from alcohol Disorder: Have always had binge-eating disorder, maxing out at 7000kcal a day Some mental struggles due to loneliness after a breakup during lockdown

Hey Rebels! (Love that moniker.) Philosophy post-grad (PhD) student, writer/author, pagan/witch/actual druid, fantasy fan, dancer/performer/storyteller, lover of elipses, and absolutely fascinated by the idea of travelling as I can't sit still, but earning money is a hassle so I tend to conjure travel opportunities by getting teaching work in random places! I've been occasionally reading NF for a couple years now, and only TODAY discovered the forums. *shakes head* But it's good timing, really... Fancy a story? I spent over a decade in a relationship with a lovely guy who was just toxic for me (long story, we loved each other but brought out the worst in each other... and it damn near destroyed me, when I broke, I left. We're still friends!) A back injury early on meant I could barely walk for 6 months, so put on 2 stone and couldn't shift it... or get fitter... until I found my belly dance class about 5 years ago. Unfortunately, my superpower was my undoing. See... It turns out I have ADHD. I can't keep something up unless it grabs me, but when it does I can hyperfocus and excel! Within 3 months I was helping the teacher, getting private tuition in return, and spending half my time dancing. Wheeee! I got stronger! I got fitter! (I didn't lose much *weight* but I didn't really care) And my knees HATED me. Too much dance with heavy impact on the knees... I almost ended up unable to walk again. Without the dance, my core strength waned and my back began to hurt. With the dance, my knees burned. When I left my ex, I moved somewhere where I had to walk more, and back into university halls with first year students. As post-grad... I couldn't stand the state of the kitchen. So I'd skip meals/forget to eat, and was moving more. And the weight began to melt away. I won't lie... the compliments were a definite ego boost. And feeling my knees improve with gentle exercise and less weight has been amazing. But I needed something else that inspired me to move. Just walking; not enough. Enter aerial skills! Which needs upper body strength. And core strength. And endurance. and... ok... I'm going to need strength training too then. Somewhere in my brain a memory lit up of an article on "How to do your first pull-up" on a site that made me chuckle when I read it (and click more links, and read interesting stuff for hours because NERD, obviously.) I was probably meant to be doing something else when the sparkle distracted me enough to find the page again, and tumble down that rabbit hole. Bodyweight training, you say? Okiday. Last week I started doing the Beginners Bodyweight training circuit. I've done it three times now and each time it has already gotten easier... *bouncebounce* I've been using five-ten minutes of dance as a warm-up, and a bag of flour as a dumbell... MY GUILD: Definitely an Adventurer, that's what motivates me. But I'm fascinated by so many things, practice meditation, learning aerial skills (think circus), looking to start Aikido soon... that I'll likely dip into other arenas too. MORE THAN ANYTHING: I want to be fit and strong and healthy enough to explore the world and try new things, to perform and entertain around the world, and to teach. SKILLS: Creating things. Starting things. Courage. WEAKNESSES: Completion. Distracta... OMG Squirrel! (Old jokes are good jokes.) ADHD superpowers - boundless energy and fascination, learning interesting skills comes easy, hyperfocus once focused... ADHD Kryptonite - Boredom. Routine. Overwhelm. Long-term things... STRATEGIES: Accountability (from my partner, currently). Bullet Journalling. Constant challenges (I did 15 seconds of planking easy enough, so next time I did 20, Next week... 25!) Momentum. Leaving reminders in visible places. Batch cooking. Make it easy! Ummm.... yeah... TL;DR? Hi! I'm a distractable person who wants to be strong/fit/healthy so I can go adventuring and perform. And I've started with bodyweight training. Great to meet you! ~Halo www.haloquin.net

Hey guys, I am new and looking to interact with people regarding my weight issue, I don't know anything about loosing and just started researching about it. I've also purchased a waist trainer from prowaist.co.uk for my wife, she looks sexy now. Glad that I found this forum. Best, Mike

Hello awesome nerds, thrilled to be here catching up on everyone's goals and progress. You're all so inspiring and fun to read! So I've decided to follow the start guide and I've put together my main quest and my first smart goals. I'm obsessed with watching the crossfit games and I love a mixture of HIIT and strength training so I fall into the Ranger category nicely. I'm 34 and I live in Melbourne Australia. We're currently in a second lockdown so what better time to build up the home gym and connect with other nerds wanting to get in shape! Main Quest To attend the Gala at my goal weight of 65kgs by improving my over all health and fitness through eating healthy and exercising. SMART Goals 1) To drop 2 dress sized before the end of 2020 2) Be able to run 5kms by the end of Jan 2021 3) Try 1 new recipe each week I'd love to meet more people interested in losing weight and getting fit. I'm thinking a weekly accountability chat would be super helpful, here or Discord. My other interests are Gravity Falls, Dragonvale, Pirates, Star Wars, Supernatural, Zombies, LOTR, and Harry Potter. I draw, I'm a writer and I have snail mail pen pals. Oh and I'm teaching myself to play the Ukulele during ISO. Looking forward to meeting you! Pix

Good afternoon! I am a female living in Indiana who's been a fat girl basically my entire life. I've tried diets, I've tried exercising. I did keto for a few months with the best results but eventually gained all that weight back. I was referred here by a friend over the weekend and I figured "why not." I'm a self-professed nerd; play DnD on the regular as well as rpg video games and boardgames. What I'm most in need of is accountability. I have some mental food issues I'm working through with a therapist that is going well, and I started getting consistent with a 5k training program up until I severely sprained my ankle. So it feels like I'm back to square one. I would love the opportunity to have an accountability partner just for some help creating discipline and good habits. Sincerely, Gwen

Hey all, I'm new here and to the fitness world. I am a 27 year old new dad standing at 182cm and weighing in at 108 kgs. My goals are simple; give the dad-bod a bit of definition and to be able to keep up with my young bloke as he gets older. I really don't want to be the dad that doesn't have the energy to go for bike rides or play at the park so I'm changing that. Started at the local 24/7 gym a fortnight ago. Biggest issue I have is attendance, my job has unusual and irregular start/finish times making building a routine difficult. But I'm working on going at least 3-4 times a week where my ideal goal would be 5 days. On the other side as I'm in field service my lunch breaks are generally spent behind the wheel so eating healthy is a bit of a pain. Hoping to learn some valuable lessons to help me achieve my goals.

Well, perhaps not "Overlord" in the strictest sense, but I've found that there's a great deal of power in the idea of being strong enough to be a lord or lady in a position of authority. As my gamertag of many years, I feel that it suits me well. (I reserve the right to change this username, just in case.) Why in the world does a female choose to call herself "Overlord"? Perhaps she's just a fan of Overlord as a game? Or was that just a coincidence?! Or was she inspired by the now famed 'Overlord List'? What about the Manga? Anime? The recent WW2 thriller? For me, it was a coincidence. e0verlord, or, the Eternal Overlord, fancied herself as powerful and capable, just as she felt herself to be in many of the different games she played. Yes, indeed. I enjoy titles of power. I enjoy games that allow me to build on strength, power, cunning, and on which I can direct and organize people. In a way, it's playing on the fantasy that I love so much. I was more active when I was younger, partly because of the insistence of my parents, and facilitated best by a YMCA membership. I have earned up to a brown belt in Tae Kwon Do in middle school and early high school. I have done a Couch to 5k style program called "Zombies Run 5k" a few times over the past few years, and have noticed that my times are slowly going down. (YAY!) In more recent years, I've become more and more aware of how stagnant my life really is. I rarely went out through high school, or through college, and I have a lot of skills to learn if I want to enjoy my life and realize the full capacity and strength of my body. I have enough experiences that have hurt me, and that I have neither recovered from or fully processed. Processing and moving beyond these things is and will be the goal and purpose of the upcoming years. It is my intention to conquer these challenges, master my body and the care of it, further understand myself, and attain all the excitement of a life well lived. So naturally, as a nerd of fiction, science fiction, video games, books, and lore both real and imagined, I was naturally drawn to the phenomena and the marvel that is NerdFitness. Turn my life into a game? Use the concept of gamification to transform my fantasies into memories and experiences? How extremely fitting, I thought to myself. Because people have the capacity to change, to grow, to decide for themselves what they focus on, surely there exists the possibilities and potential for the growth and freedom that I desire. But is it possible to be everything I enjoy in the games I play? First person shooters? The roleplaying games? The crafting capacity? The strength? It is easy to imagine the experience, as I have done through thousands of hours in daydreams, through millions of words in stories and self-made fiction, and in my drawings and sketches. Fantasy is a wonderful escape. But are these things possible to me? Are these experiences I can have? Goals I can achieve? Can I be everything I imagine myself to be in stories, dreams, and games? If so.... What an intriguing possibility..! And suppose this does help me overcome my fears. Suppose I can reach out to those that have gathered here. Suppose, then, that I can find my place and where I want to go. I have taken risks before. This seems a risk that will result in fewer injuries to my soul. Hello world. I'm here.

I just got this idea. i'd like you monks to introduce yourselves in this thread. to come and introduce yourselves, tell us about your martial arts background and what it has given to you. it's hard to wrap a picture about singular personas in this forum based on comments here and there so i thought it would help to get understanding about who we have here, and what we do. I'd personally like to hear what arts you do, what arts you have done, and how long you have done them. what life around martial arts has given and taken. Tell where martial arts brought you and where you came from. i'm bad in writing so if someone has something to add here, please inform me. My main point is! i want to hear a story! Tell me a story what made you a warrior. and tell me what kind of warrior you are! If you don't want to bring anything personal here, just tell the stuff you're comfortable with. anything you give, brings a lot into the table

Hello, My name is Sam and I was initially here about a year ago under the name Seraph. I had a game plan and everything, but life decided to take some interesting twist and turns that resulted in said game plan being thrown out the window while I put out fires. Now I'm back. Once again life has given me some unexpected situations to handle, but this time, they're for the better and they all seem to be lining up with what I had initially wanted to start undertaking a year ago with Nerd Fitness; I now have a doctor that understands my medical conditions and works with them for the better, a job that is very fulfilling with opportunities for significant advancement and personal satisfaction if I can take the steps I need to on my end, a relationship with someone that is very supportive through the good times and the bad, and a hard deadline to really motivate me to get my act together so that I am financially (and otherwise) independent, whereas I am not right now. I have two years to get everything in order that I need to because of outside factors, and I strongly believe that Nerd Fitness will help me get there. My main goals are to get physically healthier by losing a significant amount of weight among other things, manage my mental and emotional states better, become financially independent, get my own place, get promoted and certified in my field, finish writing a novel, and push myself out of my comfort zone so I can truly live my life instead of hiding away in my room any chance I get. The name I've chosen for my alter ego echoes the latter sentiment as Meliora is Latin for better, more precisely, for the pursuit of better. I suppose I should share some random facts about me aside from the struggles that brought me here. I was born and raised in Texas, though I have also lived in North Dakota and Mississippi. I turned 30 this year. I work in the wine industry for my day job, though I am an aspiring writer on the side. I'm a huge nerd when it comes to space, the ocean, video games, anime, and books. Mass Effect is my favorite video game series of all time. I even have a tattoo for it, as well as a Hunger Games one. My next tattoo will probably be Harry Potter related because I have to represent one of my original fandoms. Weirdly enough, I don't care for Star Wars all that much (I'm sorry). I'm definitely more of a Star Trek girl. I also have a corgi named Lord Mizington Esquire the Third, a.k.a., Miz. And yes, for you wrestling fans, he is indeed awesome.

Hi! Long-time lurker, first time poster. I'm Tanner, and I'm on a long-term quest to lose a lot of weight I put on during a challenging time in my life. Picture Thor, halfway through Endgame, beaten, broken, lost his hammer, lost most of his emotional support system, hit some major failures, surviving on a diet of Cheetos and self-loathing. While my mental health and personal life are in a much better place now, I'm still working on the midsize-child-worth of sad-Thor weight I'm carrying around. So far I'm focusing on diet, with a mix of Peloton spin (I know, cardio is heresy, but my endurance really needs work) and barbell training for exercise. My biggest challenge is that I've got a pretty serious chronic pain condition that rules out most upper body exercises. Inverted rows are ok, but any pushes like overhead or bench presses make my chest feel like fire for days. Anyone else dealing with some major limitations? How do you compensate for imbalances? Is it dangerous to deadlift and squat heavy if you can't train your upper body? It would really help to know some other people, particularly young people, facing down what feels like an insurmountable challenge by making themselves stronger.

Hello Fellow Rebels, I want to introduce myself within the forums. I had initially been in with Rebellion for about four years, however I had chosen on several to stop making myself a priority in my own life on several occasions. I decided after realizing the food choices, the lack of clothing that fit, and the choices with physical activity (or lack of) I needed/wanted to put emphasis back on me. I am currently working on building a pull-up bar in my backyard and I'm resetting what progress I had made in the Academy to square 1 to rebuild the foundation for change in my life. My character name that I went with is my nod to my favorite novel, Dune, by Frank Herbert. Part of the reason for this specific choice is because of the adaptability of Paul and his mother Lady Jessica in the face strong adversity to survive in a harsh and dangerous environment. I want to be able to adapt to my surroundings much like they did on Arrakis. I thank you for taking the time in reading my intro and hope to meet you on the boards. Remember, that with the struggle of growth, it never gets easier, you get better. Peace. Matthew

Hello everyone! My name is Matthew, and I'm excited to begin my journey with Nerd Fitness! Like Steve, I've tried several work outs before on my own without much success. I came to Nerd Fitness because I realized delving into the world of fitness is much like delving into a new world in a video game - it's wide, full of traps, and without proper tutorialization or a map to guide you it's easy to get lost and frustrated. I'm coming into this unequipped and inexperienced, but it looks like I may have finally found my hometown here. I'll be exploring the NF kingdom over these next couple of weeks, so please feel free to say hello or direct me towards points of interest! I'm interested in finding other people to have fun and be active with. Right now my main goal is to get myself started in the right direction so that if I get lost or confused sometime later, I'll have solid foundations to fall back on and keep me along the way. My long term plan is to build upper body and core strength, keep the fat off, and get involved with people who can inspire me and hold me accountable to my goals. Thanks for reading this intro. I hope to see you around!

Hi! I'm Dehlia. I'm 31 and I'm from Denver, CO (Though I also spend a lot of time in Brooklyn, NY) In my searches for exercises and advice I kept coming across this website, and liked what it was about, so I'm finally joining, as the title indicates. I've had issues with my weight since puberty, mostly due to depression. About a year or so ago I was able to lose around 20 pounds, but I've had some set-backs since then. Stress, annoying life incidences, job changes, moving, and traveling have made it difficult to keep on a consistent plan, especially being an emotional eater like I am. Most recently I was doing well with my work outs but had to have my gallbladder removed, and as with any abdominal surgery this meant at least 2 months without doing any strength training while my insides healed. I'm back to square one and having to (safely) ease myself back into my routine. I'm also living in a house with individuals who love to snack as much as I do, except they have no problem buying tons of sweets and making me suffer I prefer weight training, yoga, pilates, and light cardio. Anyway, here's some stats. Starting weight: 190 Currently: 176 Goal (for now): 150 Height: 5'2" Besides all that, I work from home, I love to travel (mostlyforkpopconcertscoughcough), read, write, cross-stitch, watch bad movies, listen to true crime podcasts, collect crystals, and dye my hair. I also recently started streaming on Twitch with my best friend, where we talk about 90's nostalgia, horror movies, music, and whatever else catches our fancy that day (twitch.tv/blahblahblahclub) Thanks for having me

Hey all, I'm Laura (Ellestar) I've been a member for a while but always passively, so this year marks a change! I turn 40 in April and have let my diet and fitness slide over the last few years. I'm determined to level up for my 40th and my Epic Challenge is a trip to Kilimanjaro in July/Aug this year. I've joined the current 4 week challenge as a means to get on the right track. I'm a trained librarian but work as a Data and Information Manager in a tour company. I live in and love Scotland and was a tour guide for years - driving and guiding coach tours round my beautiful country. I'm obsessed with adventure and exploration and have harboured a fascination with the polar regions, and Antarctica in particular, for about 20 years. In 2016-17 I was fortunate enough to get a job working in Antarctica for the Austral summer - an amazing experience and a lifetime dream come true. I'm an Auntie to cute wee 1 year old but have no kids myself - nor plan to. I want to keep having as many adventures as possible and continue to be fit for them. I'm delighted to fully join in the rebellion and make 2019 epic!

Hi everyone! I just joined and signed up for the Academy to make the process fun for what I knew I had to do already to get my energy back and to feel confident in my appearance again. I've chosen the path of the Ranger, because I get bored of repetition. The flexibility inherent in the class is great. Additionally, I need an all-around fitness level for my job, so it will pay off for sure. I'm a gamer, yet more of an old-school variety... I have an AVS (HD NES), Super NT (HD SNES), PS1, PS4, and Switch hooked up to my TV. I just got it last month, but the Switch is fun, because I don't have to sink a lot of time into the games, but can (currently learning the insurance and outs of ARMS) Some say that makes me "casual," I just don't care; I've been playing video games since the 80's. I'm post-hardcore, post-casual at this point, haha. Most newer stuff I play are RPGs, with a sprinkling of indie action, adventure and platformers. My user name and character name is based on Norse mythology, inspired by the PS1 game Valkyrie Profile, if anyone's curious. Avatar is Lenneth Valkyrie of that game. See you all around.

Hello everyone I just joined today. I came across nerd fitness while hunting for bodyweight workouts. Then I saw the Level up you life book and had to pick it up I love the concept. I'm at a point in my life where I'm looking to get back in shape. I took some Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu years ago but now I just feel tired all the time. My goals are to expand myself physically and mentally .

Hello there! My name's Emily/Ed/Grimmi - and I've gotten quite tired of living how i currently am. I want to have an amazing story to tell where the life i'm living now is the life i get to tell people I overcame. I'm 31 years old, just graduated college with a Bachelor's in Fine Arts - so i'm also unemployed, naturally. I'm looking for jobs and keep getting turned down. Living with parents because i'm absolutely poor and hopeless. On top of that I battle depression, anxiety and a few other fun things. I'm really overweight and inactive, scared to leave my room, and trying to find a way out that doesn't end with death. Life has been throwing all kinds of balls at me, with my girlfriend being hospitalized and my life just trying to crumble beneath me. Life isn't fun for me, it's a chore. My goals are basically : - Learn to live like a human (eating regularly, good hygiene, etc) - Get moving and stay moving - Find my strength and confidence I've got a tiny dream of running and hopefully i'll be able to get to the point where I can. I want to start being the change in my life instead of just waiting for things to get better.

Hello, all! I just stumbled across this illustrious assemblage and decided to come in. Almost any pursuit is improved by nerdy company, imo. After a pretty serious knee injury at work early last year (I’m a stagehand, professionally), the rehab process has been slow and annoying. My mobility severely reduced and living at the top of lots of stairs until recently, I gained back part of the weight I’d taken off in previous years owing to inactivity and less than stellar food choices. Seamless was both my salvation and the bane of the width of my backside. Currently, I live much closer to the ground, and some physical therapy and a shot of hyaluronen has restored a lot of my ability to move. Thankfully, I just managed to dodge needing surgery. So, while I still have some more rehab to do, the process will only be aided by getting some exercise. Right now, my focus is on hitting my keto macros daily, reducing the load on my knees, keeping up my PT, and regaining the muscle mass I’ve lost. All of these things will be more fun with friends. Looking forward to getting to know the denizens of Nerd Fitness!

Hello all, So I've recently decided that I need to make a change. A real one this time. In real life. In real time. Not just in my head, not just as I'm drifting off to sleep making promises about what I'll do better tomorrow, but in the waking minutes and days when those better decisions have to be put into action. So here I am. I used a forum like this to make a major life change a few years ago, and I miss the camaraderie and accountability that was available there, so here's hoping that exists here too A bit about me: I'm looking at 40 in the next 18 months or so; but realizing that I feel closer to 60 and have acquired the same walk as my 70 year old mother in law who needs both knees replaced I've never been thin, at least not since I had to have back surgery at 18. For a brief window I was even in half decent shape and ran a few half-marathons. But I've always been classified as overweight (flirting with obese based on BMI) and I've always dealt with back pain. The advice I've heard constantly is to exercise more in order to lose weight, which will in turn alleviate my back pain. But even when training for half-marathons and being careful about what I ate, I didn't drop more than a few pounds. And now after a big international move and 2 pregnancies, I realize that I've lost whatever good exercise habits I ever had. My body is stiff and hurts and I'm afraid that my kids will grow up with an invalid for a mom, rather than someone who's active and involved in their lives. I know it's not too late, but I also know I need to start NOW. During my first pregnancy, I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism - no doctor ever thought to check for it before, as the assumption always seemed to be that the weight wasn't coming off because I was too lazy. However, even when that's well controlled now, I'm not losing weight, so much for that magic cure Within the last month, I've discovered that I have one leg shorter than the other as well as osteoarthritis in my spine (which, as the doctor is happy to remind me, can't be replaced, so the goal is to limit the progression as much as possible). After a few days of walking with insoles to adjust the leg length, my day-to-day back pain has greatly subsided, but the stiffness and flare-ups are still there. My doctor here has barred me from running as that will make my back worse. I admit I was angry at first, because all of the advice of exercising more was probably making the pain worse rather than helping; but I'm over that and trying to figure out what I do know with the cards I've been dealt. The problem is that I now find myself on a somewhat tight budget, 2 small kids (2.5 and 1.5 years old), a full time job and a husband's career that requires more flexibility than mine, and I feel....lost. Like I don't know where to start, or what I can expect to be able to do or maintain. Gym is out, as I don't have the flexibility time wise to go regularly, plus I hate gyms, so I know I won't go at 9pm when my husband is home and I can finally get out of the house. I've tried to start doing some simple exercises at home (including the bodyweight workout I found on this site), and I realize how unbelievably out of shape I am! I'm not the heaviest I've ever been, and not even at my unhealthiest diet-wise, either, as I live in a country where healthy food is more the norm than junk food, and do much of our shopping at weekly farmer's markets; But I'm definitely the most out of shape that I've ever been and I hate myself for letting it get this bad! Ok, so enough of the whining and what am I planning to do about it? 1) I joined this site, and this forum to hopefully find some people to buddy up with, encourage each other and be accountable to. That's something that's missing in my regular life as all of my friends either have time to exercise that I don't, or think that I'm already healthy and don't understand my frustration. My husband is 100% supportive, but more overweight than me with bad eating and non-existent exercise habits, with a real mental block about the need to change. I nag him, and bug him, and cajole him, but he's a grown man and I can't force him. He supports me, but in his eyes I'm wonderful and perfect and doing everything just fine, so he's not exactly a very tough motivator So anyone who can relate and is looking for an accountability partner, here I am! I can be a real pain in other peoples' asses about what they *should* be doing, but I need that same approach turned on me! 2) My husband (who loves me more than I deserve) is in the process of buying a used workout bench, which hopefully he will pick up this weekend and install with his dad when he's in town next week. I've already started moving the freeweights from the basement to the bedroom where the workout bench will be, so that I can start using it when it's ready. 3) I bought a membership to the local pool, and have been going 1-2 times a week to do laps. The agreement with my husband is that Wed or Thurs afternoons he picks up the kids so I can swim, and Sunday morning I go to the pool; of course, sometimes life gets in the way and things don't go as planned - i.e. was supposed to go yesterday but my daughter was sick so had to work from home to be with her; husband already had appointments booked this afternoon as he had given me the Wednessday so no mid-week swim for me this week But I can honestly say that I have been doing my best to go when I can and not falling prey to BS excuses. 4) I've set up a stepper and stationary bike in front of the TV. I even got pretty good about using them regularly (2-3 times per week), but then we got hit with massive heat waves and without AC, it's not possible to do cardio in the house anymore 5) I try to take every opportunity I can to walk somewhere - to pick up/drop off the kids from the nanny when I'm working from home, to various appointments here in our small town; to the store when I only need to pick up a few things. The biggest obstacle here is that these things take more time than driving, and are only possible when I'm working from home, which isn't everyday, or don't have the kids as they can't walk very far yet (and I threw out the double stroller because it was a horrible pain to maneuver, but that's a whole different story). 6) On the working from home front, I'm trying to become more disciplined to get into the habit of being as productive at home as I am at the office. I have a job that I can do largely from home, and my plan is that as of September (start of the new school year), I will work from home 2 mornings a week, which will allow me to do a workout in the time I would normally spend getting ready and driving to the office. 7) I'm trying to make small tweaks to my diet, as although it's not bad, I know my weaknesses (Did someone say chocolate?! in the evenings?! Why yes, that IS my happy place!) I'm trying to go semi-vegetarian (more for personal reasons than health or weight loss), incorporate more fish and legumes and experiment more with new veggies, which are probably the thing that I neglect the most (I eat them, but usually the same old thing and then get bored of them easily). The biggest problem, if I'm honest, is that I live in France. FRANCE, people. Let that sink in for a moment. And yes, everything you've heard about the cheese and baguettes and croissants here is TRUE. There is no such thing as "low fat cheese" in the supermarket, at least not one that's edible. The croissants I can avoid, bread I'm trying to be reasonable with, but the damn cheese gets me everytime. And of course all the naturally thin French women eat it regularly and don't see why good French cheese should pose any problems whatsoever...sigh Ok, that's about all I have time for but here comes the fun part: I want to hear ideas, critiques, anything you got! Any hidden excuses in what I've written that I'm not seeing ? Any ideas as to what I can try? I promise to be as open minded as possible (as long as it doesn't involve giving up French cheese..I moved here for a reason!) and appreciate any and all feedback! Have a great day everyone! Max

Bought Level Up Your Life the other day. I never actually got around to posting a hello or an intro so here's my origin story - and also my 20SoC for the day, because this much honesty on the internet associated with any part of my real name is vaguely terrifying. I'll be posting in 3 or 4 parts - not quite sure how far this is going to go, but I'm posting part 1 before I edit it into a blank document. Childhood Chiara was a plain child and maybe a little on the fat side. Growing up she was more interested in reading than making friends. She was more likely to be in the backyard reading than playing. She also spent a lot of time overseas. While in some this might have developed into an appealing exotic edge, in this little girl it just added another alienating layer between her and her peers. Her family valued mental cleverness over physical fitness, so while she tried every sport available in her little town, she rarely stayed with it past the season. Years passed, and as her teammates honed their skills and specializations, she knew that they were swiftly moving into a league she could not contribute to. So she retreated into her books – even entertained the idea of becoming an author for several years. Her parents noted this withdrawal, and while her mother was concerned her father was affectionate. “Just like me.” He said, “Don’t worry, she’ll grow out of it.” He did concede that the little bookworm shouldn’t become completely isolated outside of school, and once a week, dutifully drove her to a Girl Guides meeting. The first time our protagonist’s life changes is at age 12, when Chiara looked around a Girl Guides encampment and decided this was “too girly” for who and what she was. Her parents agreed that she could quit, as long as she found some other acitivity to do, or group to join. Flipping through the local newspaper later that week, she found her answer. That September, she joined the local cadet corps. For the next six years, cadets would become one of three things which defined her. At 13, she moved from elementary to high school. She had heard some of the senior cadets discussing high school clubs the year before and those respected individuals all seemed to be members of something called the tech crew. While too shy to seek them out herself, by luck she was seated next to the younger sister of a member. Happy to be recruited, being a member of the high school volunteer tech crew quickly became another identifier. These two parts of her identity influence her so much that the person this child becomes pursues a career in theatre, and later the military. But we'll come back to that. The third part of our protagonist’s identity sneaks into her life at age 14. She is now a respected member of the cadet corps and the tech crew. She works well with her limited group of peers, and though she doesn’t know it she’s on the cusp of becoming a leader in both groups. An offhand comment about a rather famous game leads her into one of the greatest joys – and greatest traps – of her short life. The game? Dungeons & Dragons.

Hello, my fellow rebels. Not sure what to say. I am just sick and tired of being sick and tired. I know that my life choices - or more accurately, lack thereof - will put me into an early grave. I know this and yet I've continued to just sort of go along with the flow. I've made an art of mindlessness, simply eating and doing whatever I felt like in that moment with no thought to the consequences. But that stops today. Like, literally today. Starting with a few quests and a simple food log, my personal journey has begun.

Day One or One Day. Having fallen behind on my marathon training plan (by several weeks), I thought I could use so mojo, so I dusted off my digital copy of Level Up Your Life and, well, here I am. This will be marathon number 2 for me (the first about 14 months ago on my 50th birthday). The first one was a success (in the fact that I made it), but this one is meant to be the one where I am better prepared and enjoy the experience. Not doing so hot on living up to the quest. Hoping that getting re-involved with the forums might help.

Hello! I am a recently career changed Software Developer, 4 weeks from completing Lambda School. Awesome place I highly recommend if anyone is interested! That aside, I'm here to take control of my health again. Before school, I was an Assistant Store Manager for some weird gas station/restaurant place. It was fast pace and endless hours. The money was *decent. It was the first time in my life I was close to making 40k in a year. Every job before then was at or below 20k. So it was a huge difference. The workload was not worth it though. To put in perspective, I was averaging 75 hours per week. Days were any where from 10 hours to 16 hours, depending on how busy it was and if employees wanted to actually show up for work. I could go on in detail about how terrible that place was, and how the software they used is so bad it inspired me to really push to get in to software engineering (something I've wanted to do for years now to begin with.) But I'm not going to! I will however, talk about my health and life events.You see, last year, I was a die-hard fitness geek. I was a gym rat. I followed Jym Stoppani, subscribed to his site and competed in the SS8 challenge last year. It was intense. It was amazing. Life Changing. From left to right, the picture with the newspaper was the start of that competition. I started around April 12th, 2017. The second was on my completion, around June 16th, 2017. The workouts were long and intense, the diet was killer! But it worked. I spent roughly 25-30 hours a week in the gym. My wife supported me, spending a couple hours every few days prepping meals for me. Between that and the long hours at work, I couldn't have succeeded without her helping. It was intense! But I felt amazing. It was the leanest I had ever been. Just before completing the challenge was when I had received my promotion at work to Assistant Store Manager. That's where the challenge got hard, but I persisted and I completed it! It was super low carb, and extremely low the last couple weeks of it. I weight 140lbs at the start of the competition. At the end, dry weight was 129lbs. Low carbs at that weight was essentially 1 piece of bread for my carbs for the day. It was terrible! So..naturally. What happened after completion? Carb frenzy! I had originally planned to take off two weeks and just chill, then kick back in to start bulking up. Well. I bulked up alright. Just not in the way I should have! Instead, I slacked off and struggled to get back in the gym. The long work hours really killed it for me. I had little desire to do anything when I got off work but go to bed. I was up at 3 am, and didn't usually get home until around 7:30/8pm. I didn't typically have time for any sort of break at work. If I was lucky I could shove one of their nasty fried eggrolls down my throat between paperwork and dealing with guests/vendors/employees. So, that brings us to pic three. That was taken in August, just 2 months after that competition. I was up to 152lbs, which was my original weight before getting heavy in to weight lifting, and before getting in to Jym Stoppani's workouts and meal plans. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't where I wanted to be. So I had tried to get back on track, and failed. Many times. By December, I was still hovering around 150lbs. So it was livable. Ya know. Whatevs. Back in August I had received my invitation to join Lambda School. A new approach to school, and a chance and an awesome career change. I put it off up to December for the sake of saving up money for the holidays. December came, I turn in my two weeks notice and was out. My class started the beginning of December. It was exciting! The school is 40 hours + a week. It's a full time job, without the pay. It's intense. It's hard. Sometimes you want to break things. But it's an awesome change of pace and a great mental challenge. I absolutely love it and I'm excited to start a career in Software Development. That being said, fast forward to today, and the final picture. I'm at a whopping 178lbs! Like...WHAT?! When I was legit bulking and trying to put on muscle mass I struggled to get myself above 160lbs! I ate more back then than I do now. I am far from active due to the class. But I guess that's an excuse to be honest. I can't afford a gym membership currently, I definitely can't afford (nor do I really want to go back to) any supplements. (Jym's programs keep you loaded on tons of supplements.) I would love to achieve my physique from that competition WITHOUT supplements. Just good old strict clean eating and hard effort. My struggle. I've never weighed so much in my life before. It's had obvious effects on me. From more aches and pains than ever to struggling to walk my dogs. It's terrible. I had a lot of guidance and direction back then. But I could also afford it. Now, I can't. So, I came across Nerd Fitness. And the community seems amazing. I'm excited to get started, and am open to any guidance, suggestions, ideas etc. that any one has! I look forward to meeting and training with everyone! -Fork

hi, i'm your basic 39-year-old engineer. i have never done a deadlift and i've been out of shape pretty much my whole life (except for my brief stint in DC, where i had to walk everywhere constantly). i want to get physically fit because i want to feel better and i don't think people take me seriously. i have a gym membership through my health insurance but i've only gone five or six times. i want to learn how to lift weights. i also just signed up for a jiu-jitsu class this week because all the grappling and throwing fascinates me to no end. i'm planning on doing a bunch of the NF challenges in the next couple of weeks instead of what i normally do, which is watch TV, scroll endlessly past mindless drivel on twitter and play video games. i've been walking with light weights every day for the last week and i ran a short distance twice in the morning before work. i'm hoping i can keep up this momentum and become one of the "after" photos used to sell memberships on this website. cheers