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Hi, I'm a dude looking for like-minded individuals. I like nerdy stuff like video games, movies, comic books, dungeons and dragons, and martial arts. I'm 5'10" and I'm 250 lbs and I'm looking to lose bunch of weight and eventually be around 180ish. I live in Southern California. I am a 2nd degree black belt in Taekwondo and a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. I've also done Muay Thai for about five years. I'm not huge on weightlifting, but I want to lift weights more to get toned up and also to improve my performance in Jiu-Jitsu. So yeah, Hi!

Every super-person has an alter ego and I feel like this is a site where many create theirs. Whether you have one in your head or are looking to transform yourself into them I'm curious who your superhero alter egos would be. Mine is basically Kim Possible with a little Deadpool humor thrown in. I'm looking to become far better in the fields of gymnastics and general movement, but I love adventure. Please feel free to share yours as well! I'd love to know. By the way, my name is Emma. Superhero name suggestions always appreciated

Hi there! I'm not really sure how to start a good introduction, but here I go! I'm a 19 year old girl who only reaches about 158cms (5'2 ish) and weighs about 53 kgs (116 ish lbs). In other words, I'm of average weight, BUT I am by NO means healthy. I spend most of my days sitting around in lectures or in front of my laptop. My diet consists of frozen meals and a disproportionate amount of carbs...so many carbs (my love for carbs is deep)!! Just recently I decided enough was enough! I needed to be healthier! Besides, I'd love to get rid of some of my excess fat and be confident in my body! I also have this (secret) desire to start cosplaying! I just love the idea of becoming my favourite characters from my favourite shows! It's nice motivation for me (-- I just need to find people that will cosplay with me - or I could convince my friends to join muahaha!). I CONFESS!!! I am pretty notorious for quitting...I'm going to set my goals realisticly: 1. Get more flexible (I want to be able to do the splits one day!!!) 2. Bye carbs...(on select days. I am NOT going cold turkey!) 3. Build stamina (running from app zombies? Sure!) 4. More to come later! Thanks for sticking around for such a long introduction! I hope you all accept me as a member!

Thank you for allowing me to join the Rebellion! Leia Cruz here, starting over my fitness journey once again...this time as a middle ager, and it is a lot harder!! Looking forward to getting some support via these forums. I need something new to motivate me and get me off the couch. I am a 46 year old educator who is a nerd at heart. I'm not a gamer, but I love a good sci fi book or movie series. My faves are Star Wars franchise and all of the Tolkien-based movies. Give me a starship or a hobbit hole, and I am a happy girl. I recently started cutting carbs and have set a goal to eat Paleo for a month. Hoping to get food ideas here as well as "hacks" because I am on the lazy side when it comes to cooking. I have lost 10 lbs since November, but have set a lofty goal to lose 10 more by the end of the school year. (May 31st).

A few days ago, one week shy of my fortieth birthday, I decided that I need some help on my journey… Backstory: As an adult, I've never really been fit or healthy. About 10 years ago when I moved to Mumbai, I was a UK size 20. A few stints at the gym along with portion control helped me to lose weight and get reasonably in shape, levelling out at a UK size 12. I was my lowest weight about 5 years ago, but as it was due to a combination of immense stress and illness, I was not healthy or really prepared to maintain that weight. Over a two year period, I steadily put on weight until I started running. Setting myself a challenge of running a 5k and a 10k kept me going at it for just over a year, and in turn helped me lose weight and get back to a good level of fitness. Then a promotion at work, a dickhead boss, and dug up roads threw a spanner in the works - I couldn't run at my usual time or place so I stopped. At that point, I was the closest to being 'fit and healthy' as I've ever been. I even joined the Rebellion just over 2 years ago, but I just lurked in the shadows. Instead of participating, I went solo. I dabbled with working out and doing yoga at home, but nothing really stuck. My healthy eating habits were slowly replaced with more and more treats. My portion size got out of control and I ate out of boredom, especially at weekends. I ate because it was 'time to eat', yet I wasn't usually hungry. So over a two year period, I moved from my 'small' sized clothes, into my 'medium' and finally into my 'large' size clothes from my pre-running days. Then in December 2016, my 'large' clothes started getting tight. This was the kick I needed to get back on it. I found a 90-day training program to follow, with a variety of workouts to stop me from getting bored (an issue with me). I also started to make changes in my food. Measuring portions. Cutting out soda. Cutting back on bread & packaged goods. Over the last 3 months, I've made exercising a habit and lost 10lbs. I've bought some dumbbells to use at home. I've found my hunger. But…. As I got closer to the end of the 90 days, I was starting to feel lost and overwhelmed - what next? I realised that I needed a new challenge. The universe must have heard my plea! One of Steve's emails sent me over to the NF website, and on to the Level Up Your Life site to build my character, which reminded me of this fabulous forum I'd joined back in 2015 but never taken part in. I made it back here just in time to see that the next 4-week mini challenge was about to start!!! So why do I need y'all in my life? I need new challenges and goals - I get bored easily I need accountability - I find it easy to start stuff, I rarely finish or make something a lasting part of my life (I've been learning Hindi on and off for 10 years now… This year it will stick!) I need support from positive people who are changing their lives one step at a time And what do I want to change? I want to get fit & strong I'm excited to get started

Hurray, introductions! After a whole 10 minutes of lurking (okay, maybe a little longer), I can tell that you folks are some awesome badass nerds. And I love you for that! Hopefully we can be badass together. A little about me: Hi! I'm Ally! I just turned 30 in December. Yep, I had that milestone like a brick wall. Coincidentally, so did my metabolism. I'm a married mom of two awesome young kids, a noisy Siamese, and a lovable oaf of a pitty. I work a desk job and live in the 'burbs. I've made some stellar milestones in my life over the past few years, like quitting smoking, getting my credit from "poor" to "good", owning a house, and securing a job that has longevity. I'm incredibly proud of these accomplishments, but the one thing that has taken a serious back burner has been my health. Before I had my daughter (she's almost 8), I was on the small side of size 4/6 and weighed something around 110 pounds. I'm 5'2" on a good day, so it was a good weight, but I maintained it in the least healthy ways possible (eating disorders). After my daughter was born, I lost around 45 preggo pounds and ended up around 125 and somewhere between a size 6 and 8. My jobs had me on my feet all day and I lived in the city and walked everywhere. After marrying an amazing guy, we moved out into the suburbs and were way more car-dependent and with scant income, we couldn't go out much and ate like crap. After my son was born (he's 4), I shed most of the baby weight, but stayed around a solid 135 pounds until I landed my current desk job. I've been here for about 2 years and am currently at about 195 pounds and barely squeeze into a size 14. Yikes. I feel slow, have hardly any energy, and generally just feel *blech*. Recently, my son said "Mommy, you just keep getting bigger!" (kids and their honesty, amirite?) and it made. my. heart. sink. A few months ago, I had been really gung-ho about hitting the gym (I have a prepaid membership for one year, thanks to my awesome employer) and eating right. It was literally my first gym-going experience, but I used that 20 seconds of courage to step through those doors and onto the cycle (and subsequently the weight machines, which I seriously enjoyed). I didn't see any fast results over the month and a half I was going at it, but I did feel stronger and I had more energy. Schedules changed a bit and my post-work and lunchtime workouts suddenly became impossible. That left.... the dreaded morning workout. I've been once since September. Ouch. And the progress I had made has fizzled away. So, here I am. Humbly asking that some of you kind folks can give me a BIG 'ole kick in the ass and help me motivate myself to get bag on ye olde wagon. I have all the reasons in the world to want to be healthier and no excuses. All I have to do is... well, do. Thanks for all of your amazing stories that I've read so far, and I really look forward to joining your leagues of awesomeness! I've attached a (public bathroom, ha!) picture of me from today. Let's hope it's the first of many steps toward much better.

...but not always confidence in me Well that is partially untrue. I am very blessed to have wonderful friends and family. I am getting a PhD. I play in a band (and am shamelessly quoting the Sound of Music in my title). I have a wonderful dog named Dougie to walk me. However, when it comes to nutrition, fitness and how I feel about myself and my body I still have room to grow. I am a 31 year old male who has been overweight (and sometimes even obese) for my whole adult life. I have generally shied away from any physical activity. I am a complete and unapologetic nerd. Maybe not the gamer type (I am too busy reading books about math, history and economics). I also use Linux, which is probably not a necessary, but definitely sufficient condition for nerd-dom. I am a Toronto Maple Leafs fan (very die hard!). I love to talk about music. I love learning new things (but somehow diet and fitness has escaped my interests?). I am currently reading "A Brief History of Time" by Stephen Hawking. I also got a lot out of "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" by Stephen Covey. That was instrumental in getting me to join here. In the last year I have been making some incremental changes to my life, but I am somewhat stalled. I will start by listing some the changes I have made and their payoffs (I am an economist so I like measurables): Last New Years (start of 2016) I promised myself I would join an intramural league and start a band. I did both those things. I have actually played intramural volleyball, all sorts of sports, floor hockey and archery tag since then. Last week my band played our first headlining gig. Last summer I found out my cholesterol was high. I decided to lose weight. Some early changes I made were cutting out soda, chips, fast food. I have lapsed a bunch, but for the most part seriously scaled this stuff back. I was 246 lbs last July and just weighed myself at 204 lbs yesterday. Since the most recent New Year I have doubled down my efforts at fitness and feeling better overall. I have actually already used a lot of resources from this website, including the home workouts and some of the recipes. However, I got brave and went into my school gym the other day and didn't even know where to begin!!! I was so out of my comfort zone. As well, being around people that work out regularly made me feel very ashamed of my body and completely discount the progress I had made. The sober realization is that I still have some ways to go; so I took the plunge and signed up. I had some initial motivations for committing myself to "looking" better (My sister is getting married and I am the MC. Having my heart broken). However, I did some of the exercises in the mindset section and I thought it may be helpful to share my bigger "why's" for getting in shape: To develop self confidence, a sense of pride and to believe in myself. To manage my mental health. To live as long as possible and to have the stamina to do awesome things that I used to love (like canoe trips, hockey and maybe some new things?) To overcome fears and build resilience. To be an example for my family and friends. To improve my confidence with women. In terms of goals, I will try to measure them in terms of things I can do and wear. I have some old clothes that I used to love that finally fit, though a bit tight. I also want to be able to do a pull up and a chin up and am working towards this. When I do push-ups I use my knees and would like to be able to do 3 sets of regular push-ups. I plan on hanging out on these forums as I learn over the coming months so I look forward to getting to know you. I am in Ontario, Canada so Eastern Standard Time (and we just lost an hour!!). Cheers, Kevin P.S. Sorry this was so long. I guess I am quite excited to be here?

Good morning folks. Been reading the site for awhile, never realized there was a forum section that I had completely skipped over (I don't do facebook or social media, but forums at at least alright)! I'm roughly 30 years old (I say roughly as I don't really care). I've always been a "fluffy" fellow (fans of Gabriel iglesias will understand, only been a "DAAMN!!" for a couple years). Weight has been an issue with me since roughly 4th grade (helped in football but thats about it). Even when I played competitive soccer, I was still by far the largest person on the field and still relatively heavy framed. My first weight loss journey began after making a wedding video for my brother. Seeing multiple chins on several hundred photos will get anyone to start trying to lose weight. I did it the bad way, crash diet: half a cup of plain yogurt, dry salad, small dinner (then get drunk in evening). I dropped a lot of weight, went from 350 - 230 in a short while. Then went off diet and gained about 50 of it back. Had some health issues and threw out my back about 3-4 times a year (always doing manly things like sneezing or farting hard). Finally got fed up with it a few years ago. Started tracking my weight/calories when a doc said the best thing I could do for my health was drop some weight. Eight hundred sixty-six days (866) I started using Myfitnesspal. Lost twenty pounds and have kept it off. Then plateaued. Google "how to run" and found a NF article. Started the beginners body weight circuit in october/november of 2016. Since then, I've recently discovered that...I...have...collar bones! Biceps (not huge but I have them)! Pectorals! Hope to keep learning here with you all. P.S. Gaming interests Favorite series by far are metroids, zeldas, and fire emblems (recently discovered). I almost always have a kindle (or kindle app) or my 3DS with me. Also love walking my dog (dogs favorite thing to do is clean the sweat off my face when I'm doing planks, which makes it surprisingly difficult to keep count)

My fellow NF Rebels, I'm Kymberleigh, a Level 5 Rebel on her way to Level 50. I'm an Academy member with a goal to join NF Yoga soon. My Big Why is for health reasons. I'm sick of being overweight and unhealthy. I'm also battling a food addiction and Bi Polor Disorder. I've tried many times and failed because I wanted to be superwoman and change everything at once. I refuse to make the same mistake this time around. My battle inventory consists of my Fitbit Flex, the book Level Up Your Life by Steve Kamb, and a small library of workout DVDs. My Level 50 (page 91-94 of Level Up Your Life) would show me at the best shape of my life. I'm active, enjoying life, and organized. I'm both physically and mentally at my best and I'm financially successful. My anxiety is well managed and I can now travel to far away places. I'm truly happy. *sigh* Someday. Thanks for reading.

Hi everyone! I'm part of the Rising Heroes program and I'm following the 4 week challenges too. I love finding like-minded people for encouragement, inspiration, resources, ideas and humor! I'm 44 and run an MMA and fitness gym. I've been boxing and practicing Muay Thai for years, and I'm a blue belt in Jiu Jitsu. I lift and do conditioning too with the goals of cross training and aging with strength and grace. As for leveling up.... I have too many directions I want to go, gotta narrow it down! I look forward to getting to know others here!

Hello all, I actually signed up a week ago and have started a personal challenge in the Rebel area, but figured I should introduce myself. Long story, I’m a 38 year old female and I’d been able to maintain a healthy weight of about 125 to 130 my entire adult life until about a year and a half ago. That’s when the intermittent abdominal pains I’d been having stopped being so . . . intermittent and I noticed I was losing my appetite. I made a doctor’s appointment but, of course, the soonest they had available was three weeks out. About a week later my clothes were so loose I could pull my (non-stretchy) pants off without undoing them first so I stepped on the scale and my weight was down to 116. That, combined with the fact I could no longer even look at food despite feeling hungry, led me to the emergency room. A CT scan showed massive amounts of abdominal inflammation. I was admitted to the surgery ward and put on fluids and multiple antibiotics. For the first three days they were fairly convinced I had a ruptured appendix, but it turns out it was Crohn’s Disease (two of my uncles have Crohn’s so I was familiar with it, I was really rooting for the ruptured appendix). Nine days later I was released, still on antibiotics with an additional 100mg of Prednisone per day and weighing 112 pounds. Being on a high dose of Prednisone for four months really did a number on me. That stuff is like kryptonite for humans. Anyway, the Prednisone combined with the very rapid weight loss I’d had, and the fact I was still very sick for quite a while after getting out of the hospital, really destroyed a lot of my muscle mass. Then there were the side effects of the biologics I’ve been put on for long term control and the rather counterintuitive diet changes I’ve had to make (veggies and fiber are bad now!). About 3 months ago I weighed in at 145, just into the “overweight” category on the BMI charts. I was still feeling pretty crappy in general but just couldn’t deal with being in such bad shape, so I started tracking on MFP and have managed to lose 9 pound in that time. Now I’m trying to introduce a bodyweight routine to maintain what little muscle I have left while I lose the last 11 pounds. I really like the challenge format of NF and think it will help me keep on track. Hopefully once I lose the weight, I can use NF to help me rebuild some of my lost muscle and get a little closer to my pre-Crohn’s self. Short story, I was a healthy weight until a year and a half ago when I got really really sick with Crohn’s Disease. I lost a bunch of weight, and then gained a bunch and got slightly fat. I’ve lost about 9 of 20 pounds in the last three months and am hoping to utilize NF to help me lose the rest and to maintain/rebuild my muscle mass. Anyway, I’m not normally so long winded but I figured I’d get that all out there just this once. Thanks everyone!

Hi everyone, I first found the Nerd Fitness blog about two years ago. I have always carried a little extra weight, or body fat more accurately, and struggled to shed it. Freshman year of college I hit my unhealthiest at 6'3" and 240. I decided to make a change and started working out some and eating a little better. I dropped about 30 lbs and kept it off, but struggled to get further and became pretty apathetic about it until the year I finished undergrad. That's when I found this blog, and over about 10 months got my weight down to 175. I did not exercise like I should have, so I was definitely in the skinny-fat camp, but I still looked and felt a lot better. You probably came here to read about parasites though, am I right? The summer after I first got serious about living a healthier life, I went kayaking in a swamp with some friends. A few days later, I thought I had a bad stomach bug. I thought I would just ride it out, but it didn't go away. It took several doctors and specialists about a month to figure out what was going on. During that time I felt miserable, and lost about 20 lbs in a really unhealthy way. When I finally beat the parasites, I totally fell off the bandwagon. I went back to unhealthy eating habits, and over the next year and a half, I gained back most of what I lost. When I broke 200 again (in the wrong direction), I decided it was time to set things moving back the right way. Goals for my reboot: Get the weight back off -- 180 was my preliminary goal the first time around and will be again. Workout more this time -- at my best, I was doing something five days a week. That's going to be my goal again as well. Learn how gyms work -- last time I did it all at home. I recently started back for my master's, and have access for free to the facilities on campus, so I figure I should take advantage while I can. Part of the reason I think it was so easy to fall off the bandwagon last time is because I never really made myself accountable to anyone. I tend to be kind of uncomfortable talking about this stuff with friends because I am still pretty new (and probably a little afraid to fail or backslide again), so I seeing if this forum might be a bit of that for me. Advice, encouragement, and constructive criticisms are always welcome. Looking forward to virtually being on this journey with you all. -Bearaphim Post Script Bonus Goals: Read more for fun, not just for school. Reacquaint myself with my guitar so it's not just sitting in the corner collecting dust. Get outside more. I moved to the city for school, and I miss camping and hiking more often.

Hiya fellow rebels! After KICKING MAJOR BUTT in a Tug of War competition I learned that one of my biggest hurdles to better health fitness was that I hate cardio. I failed every attempt at a regular exercise regime in less than two weeks because I was focusing on cardio, not strength training. I want to beat my results from last year (SemiFinals or better! YESSS LETS DO THIS) and eventually cosplay as a badazz Lady Gaston at a Con.. or Evil Lyn from the Masters of the Universe (because I'm a not-so-secret-aging-Goth-Nerd) I hate putting myself out there like this because I am generally a very independent person, good at starting things but not finishing them, who was born with a very tragic patience-deficiency. (I'd like everything done yesterday, thanks.) Baby steps are kind of my Kryptonite but I joined the first challenge this year to help build systems to keep my Quests in focus and help them be successful. My Quests are: Get Stronger, Prioritize Family Time, and Level Up the Bizz. My Challenges are: I've got a lot on my plate and I need all of the accountability to bring my goals from a spreadsheet into real life. I'm a mom with a more-than-full-time-job at an IT company, a long commute, plus a side hustle creating art. I spend all of my free time in the evening (after KidSith has gone to bed) working on my business so I can do that full time, painting or writing. My creative time keeps me sane but now I am also building it into a business, which leaves little time for anything else in my already full day. I find excuses to save time/be more productive (eating out, skipping sleep, working through lunch, drinking all the coffee/energy drinks) and my health and quality family time have been sacrificed. My 2nd biggest realization (1st= loving strength training) from the last year is that I'm just no good at being a lone wolf. This is where you come in! (Hiya!) I joined NerdFitness to get the community and support that I've been missing that will help me overcome my challenges. HELP ME REBELS YOU'RE MY ONLY HOPE! Just kidding, that's too much pressure, but feel free to join in and leave me a reply to keep me motivated.

This is NOT another new year's resolution post. I resolved myself to got to gym in June (2016). Being a graduate student, it was not easy but I have been consistently working out since then. I hated my body with thin arms and a protruding belly. But after 7 months of training, I have become healthier and fitter than I have ever been in my entire life. Although I like the progress I have made, I would like to go to the next level. Earlier I have been lurking around on internet forums to gain knowledge, but now I think I need to interact with the community to gain their knowledge and experience. So, here I am.

I'll be honest here... I've been apart of the academy for quite some time now.. and with this honesty.. I really haven't been doing much. I've been trying to eat better, and now I have decided to get my attempt at home workouts. Gotta start small I guess. I just re-came across the 20 minute hotel workout that I tried Level 1 in my apartment, part of me is aching a little bit, and the other part of me is glad I went through it. Now I know that rest days are important, what do I do on my rest day? and how can I mix the 20-minute hotel workout with the Level 1 body workouts? I think I can do all or most of those, just don't have a raised enough sturdy enough surface for incline pushups.. Also for the Farmer's walk if you only do one arm at a time, would I have to double the time to walk around? 30s with 1 arm, switch and 30s with the other? I've seen progress of others, and that's great, seeing that makes me want to get work done so I can make some progress. Thanks for any advice.

Hey All, New guy here (joined Tuesday) and still reading through most of the site. Spent most of my life growing up as severely underweight. People used to say I'd snap in half if I sneezed. Yeah, well, nobody says that anymore. 5'6 and 200 pounds (I'm having my bodyfat done this afternoon at DEXA). I still have a very thin frame so all that extra weight certainly isn't helping. I know this is possible 'cause I lost 40 pounds via Medifast and kept it off for a year or so. Most of it came back slowly, over the last 2 years. Blah blah depression, blah blah meds, and so on - I'm sure it's not an uncommon situation. About a week ago, I decided I was going to EDC in Vegas next June. My first festival of any kind. I'm 51 and am quite aware of how out of place I'd be: physically, energetically, socially (social anxiety and all), and so on. But I went ahead and got the tickets/hotel. Even talked some friends into going. So that gave me a target date - June 17, 2017. My first level target goal is a little more difficult. I'd like to be able to take my shirt off and not be embarrassed, but I know that's not specific enough. I wanted to have a 30 inch waist (or smaller!), as that's where I was before I started putting on weight back in the early 90s, but I don't know if that's feasible/possible. So I set a target weight of 150 pounds, as that's what I got down to last time and gives me an 8lb loss per month. I'd like to go lower, but I don't want to set a target I can't hit. Anyway, that's me. Hope everyone is having a great day and making good choices!

Hi everyone, I'm just starting Nerd Fitness, having discovered the site only a few days ago. I'm a 30 year old PhD student studying physiology. I'm nearly finished, and currently having something of a crisis when I realize that I don't know what I want to do next in life. There are lots of possibilities, but it's hard to not feel anxious about the future. Being honest about my inner geek/nerd seemed a good place to start, so I'm looking forward to making some friends within this community. Everyone seems friendly so far! My main reasons for wanting to get more in shape are that I’m disappointed with how little physical activity I do and how little I actually get out and enjoy life outside. I'm sad when I compare my current life to the one I used to have as a kid. I used to spend hours at the beach swimming, so much so that my hair was permanently bleached by the sun and I had a natural tan. I also did tennis and horseback riding. Before then, I used to climb EVERYTHING. On the playground, I lived on the jungle gym, especially the monkey bars. They were my favorite and my hands constantly had blisters on them... it was so very worth it and I miss those times. Yesterday I went to a park and found that I couldn't even do a single pull up. I miss having more control over my body and I miss feeling healthy. Long story short, I want to be an adventurer like the characters and heroes that I read about. I want this so that I am prepared for anything that life throws at me, and so that in 30+ years, I’m not paying the cost of having wrecked my body and having wasted my health. It would also be good in order to prepare for the occasional zombie outbreak, or werewolf infestation. Or in the event of any inter-dimensional portals popping up. Either way, I know one tiny human like myself can't prepare for everything, but I can give myself a good running start! On that same vein, I would like to feel energized instead of fatigued constantly and to be sharp mentally. I don’t want to go through life feeling groggy and half-alive anymore. Feel free to drop me a line if you'd like to be friends. Cheers, Sy

Hello all! My name is Kaitee -- trying out using Kalista Fauner as an alter ego idea, to see if that helps me overcome some of my hangups. I heard about NF through a friend who volunteered at Camp Nerd Fitness this summer. I was totally enamored by the idea and have been lurking around the blog and such for a few months. Finally made a character and joined the forums today. Yay! I am a puppeteer, and have been a performing artist for most of my adult life. And though, very truly, my body is my instrument, I have not taken care of it. I'm not unhealthy, per se. However, I am a little heavy for my height - and my biggest health challenge is my mental health. Luke Skywalker's battle with himself, having to master the monsters in his head, rings very true to me. I have tried to "force" myself into fitness habits. I joined an ilovekickboxing gym near my house -- they are amazing! The instructors are nothing but supportive, as are the other members. It is not about being the fittest or the sexiest, but just pushing yourself. And you know, hitting the bag seemed like a really good stress reliever. I have been a member for six months, and even though I feel AMAZING when I'm there, I really do struggle with attending class. As my therapist calls them: I have a hijacker in my head. I think that a part of me really doesn't think I deserve to feel amazing. I've had some success with gamifying habits before -- I recently started to using HabiticaRPG to gamify some basic life goals. So, I thought maybe it was time to actually join NF. I still have my kickboxing gym, and I want to fully integrate that into my life. Because something I know I am missing is community -- so I'm excited about the NF community, and investing in the IRL FitFam of ILKB. I also have some very tangible benchmarks I want to hit: My dad, brother, and I are planning to summit some 4000 footers in New Hampshire this summer. My dad wants to summit all of them before he's 65. I thought it'd be fun to share that. My hometown holds an annual Thanksgiving Road Race that I have watched my entire life. Next year, I am going to run it. So I have these two milestones within the next year. And I know when I set my mind to something, I can accomplish it. But those brain weevils... that depression and social anxiety is one of my biggest challenges with fitness. I hope that NF can help me combat this weevils.

So! Finally getting back on track with fitness. I'm brand new to this site. I used to be relatively fit? And then I moved to Boston 11 years ago, hit a bunch of hurdles with depression, teaching myself to be an adult and cook right, food allergies(dammit gluten, stop being delicious) and now being on the road a lot with my band(and the crappy food challenges that comes along with that). So I'm at 216 right now, which is...not great on a dude who's only 5'7" but I guess could be worse(considering when I got married 2 years ago I was near 250). I'm trying to decide if I should set an end goal of "XXX pounds", but right now my goal is to hit 199 and be below 200 for the first time in like...13 years? And to stay in shape; dudes in my family tend to go to pot after marriage, so my goal is to do the opposite. And honestly? I want to stay on the road with music, and I know it's going to be easier to do that in better shape, without aching joints and extra baggage keeping breath from me. So yup. This is me. 33 years old and pushing to get my ass back in gear and in shape. Throwing up before pictures because I feel like that'll be motivating for me.

Hey Everyone I'm JarmyA. I'm a university student from the UK. I've been trying to improve my life for some time now. Dieting, exercising, finding new hobbies, but it always seems to fail and I end up back at day 1 again in a mater of weeks. I've been reading through the NF articles and emails for some time now and have decided to join the forums to get some extra help. I'm hoping that starting the 4 week challenge and giving myself small but achievable goals, i can finally get to where I want to be. Gonna stick with being a rebel for now as i have no idea what I'm doing, but I'm hoping to be more of an adventurer/ranger type eventually. Any tips for a beginner?

Hello, everyone! I'm otterbyte, and I'm very happy to have found this group of folks. I'm a 47-yo mother of 2, and wife to @Bighara, who introduced himself earlier. We have both been active on and off during our lives, but entered our mid-40s pretty out of shape and wanting to change before it was too late, and we ended up old and sick, wondering what happened. Six months ago we started a cardio kickboxing class, plus did a lot of work improving our diets. We're currently exercising 3-4 times a week and have gotten to our target weights. I'd like to get stronger and improve my agility. I've been very interested in bodyweight exercises, calisthenics, and would love to learn parkour! So I chose Assassin as my class. I've just started doing GMB's Vitamin course, and I'd like to get started doing bodyweight exercise progressions (I'm using startbodyweight.com, as recommended on these boards). Eventually, I may get up the nerve to take a parkour class. I look forward to posting my first challenge and meeting everyone! -otterbyte

Howdy all, Newbie to the academy--sort of--twelve weeks in. I'm an assassin who refuses to assassinate, so I'm not sure what they makes me. Perhaps I'll become an agile ambassador with more strength than meets the eye. Hmmm. . . . it's a start. I've jumped on the Facebook men's group, then quickly jumped back out after I jumped in way too fast sharing way too much. Now I'm back in. Slow this time, Mike, slooooow. I joined a gym because I've been working out at home, but I'm a bit of a social bug, so I like working out outside the home. Ideally I'll find a gym bud at some point, but that may take some time. I walked into the free weights section for the first time to start my gym workout level 3. I'm on the forums for interaction. I love a good challenge with safe/silly consequences for the loser--often myself. I'm not shy of pies in the face, getting toilet-papered, duck taped, or dancing goofy on camera if it's in the taste of a good challenge. Good to meet you all --Mike

Hello hello everyone! My name is Snack and I'm new to this forum and I'm actually tryna learn what is going around and how to function on this site. Anyways, I'll be here a lot when I have free time and such so I'd love to meet as many of you as possible. Cheers, - Snack.

(( This post is meant to be in Roleplay - something I haven't typed in for ... oh... close to 20 years. I may use phrases and whatnot that are LONG outdated - like the double parentheses - those used to use used to denote a comment from someone's "mun" or "mundane" - the person behind the keyboard, and NOT the character in the story. Lines that start with a * are meant to denote actions, as this was what displayed on the screen when someone used the old /me command in IRC. Want to learn more about me, check out my character. Replies to NOT have to be In Character (IC) and I don't intend to reply to everyone IC either - no pressure, I just wanted to give my creative writing a little dust-off! )) * Lenore enters, a svelt high elf of undetermined age. She has long, light blond hair, and pale skin that seems to glow with life and health and perhaps a hint of magic. She may have green eyes, or are they blue? She wears green leather knee-high boots over simple leggings. An unadorned brown travelling robe completes the ensemble, seemingly too simple for the mystery she holds. * Lenore nods briefly and flashes a friendly smile to the room. She scans for a table and selects an empty one along a wall, where she waits for someone to take her order. "Mead, if you please." * Lenore drinks in silence for a while, contemplating her words. After finishing her drink, she drops a few coins on the table and clears her throat. She stands and addresses the room: "Greetings, patrons. I am looking for supportive friends, adventurous types, perhaps Monks or Druids, but I am not choosey. I am out-of-practice and need to train my body and rejuvenate my mind through Mindfulness or Meditation. I am recently "respawned", whatever that may mean, and am new to the area." * Lenore frowns slightly, "I wish to retire for the night, but please leave a reply with this barkeep, here, and I will seek you out." * Lenore nods to the room again, and moves toward the door, her steps purposeful and perhaps a little too quick. * With a slight pause at the door, Lenore takes a breath and exits. You realize she never removed her travelling robe. (( seeking Accountbilibudies and working through the Level Up Your Life book. I'd like to lose 25lb and become more confident and even-keeled, increase my meditation practice and become more Stoic in my actions ))

Hi all! I'm 37, currently living in Chicago and determined to lose some weight. I was quite fit in my 20s but multiple health issues in my 30s have taken their toll. I have osteoarthritis in my feet, knees and spine (which I can deal with) and a herniated disc/compressed sciatic nerve that has knocked me on my ass. I've had two surgeries to repair the disc since 2014, and now it looks like I'm going to need a third in the future. The doc who did the last surgery says all he can do is a fusion. Second opinion is vehemently opposed to a fusion since my images show I'm predisposed to disc problems. He says if I get a fusion it'll be like dominoes - I'll end up needing more and more surgeries and end up completely disabled. Due to chronic pain and injury, I've been mostly sedentary since last December. That, combined with depression and medications with weight gain as a known side effect, led to me packing on 30 pounds. I know this extra weight isn't doing me any favors (and is probably making my pain even worse). I've had enough. I'm limited in terms of activity, but I'm really hoping I can drop most of this weight with diet changes alone. I believe in myself and I know I can do this. Another aspect of all of this is that I was assigned female at birth but identify as a non-binary transmasculine human (gender is complicated but also simple - I'm happy to answer questions). I'm struggling with the possibility of starting hormone therapy (testosterone) but a side effect of T is weight gain, especially if you're not active and have an unhealthy diet. I've held off for this reason - I simply can't afford to gain any more weight. In any case, I'm happy to have found NF. I'd love to hear from others who have dealt with back injuries/chronic pain and what sort of plan they follow. I'd also love to meet other trans folk! Sam