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If you are looking for a weight loss challenge this probably isn't the right place. I'm using NF Coaching for weight loss /strength training but I'm in "do it mode over talking about it mode". Except for wins like hey I'm sleeping great, gaining muscle despite the scale not moving right now and I keep waking up before 10 am which is kind of weird since I'm doing 2nd shift. Along with no seasonal depression because I'm walking outside all the time because of Pokémon Go goals... (maybe talk about Pokémon go A LOT). Also I don't hate my job.... (Fabulous things happening). So this last weekend I did a Frozen marathon with my mom for my b-day. Didn't watch the extras just the main movies. The 2nd movie hit me in the feels. I feel like Elsa, got out of the fear and depression. Into a life that was happy and stable... but keep getting the call. A little background... I had been working on a Recreation and Park degree with a emphasis to work outdoors. But me not keeping up my studies on nature... along with a minor in American Indigenous Studies. I officially graduated with my undergrad this last Summer (need to reorder the darn degree as I have a feeling it was sent to the wrong address...) After I finished my internship I was scared and literally fell into a job in security. Good pay, easy work makes sense to me. But feel like everything I learned could be into other jobs. (couldn't find a better gif) But every time I look at applications I'm star struck and terrified. While having a mentor inform me I could grow where I'm at too..... Anyway there's an adventure coming ahead. Goals: -Still showing up to my coaching and doing intentional movement. May share some of my journey. -Work on goals with bullet journals. Intentional goal making one step at a time and taking care of myself. -Remember to stay grounded... breathing deep, being in the moment, not have fear lead you. (Frozen 2 covers that part with her magic... though in reality you don't get as many snow crystals). Overall hope to update throughout my weeks. Work currently is my free time to update... ironically.

Heyo! Decided to revamp my challenge on the 28th, a little more indepth if you read the original post in spoiler. But working on finding a Practicum/Job to finish my degree. Trying to make good choices along with it, and now if I follow through I'll reward myself with the Nintendo Switch and Ring Fit Adventure! Quest for the RING CHALLENGE Feb 28 - Week 3 Day 1 (just using normal challenge timeline now) 1. YNAB Reset - 0/0 2. Applications 0/1 3. Savings: 12% 4. Taxes: Federal done, State to be finished 5. Calorie Tracking: 1/1 Did the math for Dominoes before I ordered pickup (had a solid craving, last out 2 eat on my own for the reset) 6. Meditate: 1/1 7. Journal Daily: 0/1 8. Musuem Job Catch up 0/30 9. Decluttering: Step 3 - Paper 10. Workout 0/1 -- working on getting through a ring fit walkthrough (sadly it is tiring w/o the ring) whelp there we go Orginal:

*plunks* well, THAT was the most fun year I never want to have again. 2018 was... a rough, gross, terrible year for me, even apart from the general chaos that seems to have sprung forth the last few years in everyone's collective lives. It started out with losing my grandpa suddenly to massive heart failure the day I got back home from family holidays that he and Grandma didn't make it down for, and I wound up unemployed due to budget cuts at my local school district (I didn't get laid off, but it was a situation where I felt like if I didn't take the buyout offer I was looking at the possibility of getting laid off and not getting a nice jump off point for finding a new job with said buyout. They let us know that if 4 people didn't quit, layoffs were coming.) And unemployment / job hunting is much less fun than it sounds, and I'm aware that it even sounds like shit. On top of which general shittyness, my ADHD, anxiety and depression all decided to have a party. Thankfully, in November I found a decent paying job, the first one I've ever had that actually uses even part of my degree (that piece of paper I'm still paying for? Yeah, that one) about 45 minutes from where I live, and today I found what I hope will be my new apartment in that town if all goes well with my application to said apartment. So I'm cautiously optimistic that maybe, possibly, hopefully 2019 might be slightly less horrific. So as long as nothing else blows up in my face and draws my entire attention again, I'll look forward to actually respawning with challenges here in the new year.

Hi again, my lovely monks. It's been a weird few months. Back in November, my wife and I went to Hawaii for an old friend's wedding and our own wedding anniversary. While we were there, my company decided to lay off me and 950 of my closest friends. It was one hell of a wacky prank, those mischievous scamps! For those keeping track, this is my scorecard for SUDDEN UNPLANNED JOB LOSS BINGO: ✔️ 2014 ✔️ 2015 FREE ✔️ 2016 ✔️ 2017 ANYWAY. The good news: I'm an expert at getting laid off now My freelance client-base is broad enough that I can just barely freelance full-time, so money isn't a huge problem yet My wife has been beyond amazing and incredibly supportive about this and my uncertainty about my future job plans The bad news: I haven't had a good workout since November 20, and I feel physically awful I haven't meditated since Hawaii, and I feel mentally awful I'm still looking for a new job, and I feel fucking awful And that's when my sponsor, @sarakingdom, called me up and yelled at me encouraged me to attend some meetings while I take it one day at a time. Thanks, Sara. For this month, I'm going to Keep applying for jobs Restart workouts and meditation Grow my freelance client-base significantly I'll go into more details later, including theme. I did Vimes last year, and I think I have Bitter, Cynical, and Tenacious locked down tight. I think this year is going to be a bit more....ceramic. No Gods. No Masters.

If this past year has taught me nothing, it's that the more things change the more they stay the same. As we start this next Cycle, I find myself *still* struggling to get back on track fitness-wise and *still* learning to adapt to having a wildly variable schedule. You'd think by now I'd have figured this shit out On the workout front, I think my issue stems from a: not having a set schedule, and b: not having a "real" (i.e. specific date or cash related) goal in mind. When I was in training for 90-gillion races and mud runs and had a set time to work out that was immovable, I did great. When I have zero idea what I'll be doing at 5pm and way less expendable income, focusing becomes an issue. Plus: motivation. If I'm honest with myself, I really suck at keeping motivated when I either don't see any progress or can't keep focused long enough to reap any rewards. Incremental change that amounts to banging my head against a wall is also a surefire ticket to abandoning my fitness goals town. What has worked best in the past is having a video-related program to follow that involved half an hour or under a day (I'm thinking the HasFit HIIT-style programs), in-person yoga classes, mini-challenges and accountability. Methinks I need to get back to some or all of that. I just need to figure out what path to set down. And there's that shiny new gym with shiny new fitness equipment ... Goal 1, unsurprisingly, is yet again to work out. I'm still nebulous on frequency, or what to do - we'll start this challenge with a 'just do some shit per week' plan and settle on a concrete battle plan by the end. Goal 2 - shocker - macros. I'm sticking with mostly keto because that's working for me, but I'll allow 1 variance per week as a carb up meal. Goal 3 - still - to get a damn job. I'm beyond unthrilled that this is still a goal. But, since it's still something that needs to happen - I still need to work at it every damn day, so it's staying as a goal. Goal 4 - figure out my 'new normal' and try to freak out less about it. My fridge is tiny, my freezer is even smaller, my stove is doll-sized and won't get but so hot, and my pantry has shrunk by half. Also, it now takes me an hour and a damn half to get anywhere, my grocery stores are a pain in the ass to get to, and the car is trying its damnedest to present itself as an easy solution. I need to put my big girl undies on, quit crying about it on the train, and deal. I'll be fine and this is not the end of the world. It's not like I don't even still live in NYC - I do; just not in my borough and not with the type of lifestyle I wanted being as convenient. I need to be more resilient here. It'll build character. Ok, done whining. Commencing with the thing.

Who is looking for a job? Who is hiring? I'm going to graduate May 2016 from my MBA program (master of business administration). One of my professors made a point today about leveraging your circles of influence. Obvious interests: nerd-dom and fitness. Less obvious interests: human trafficking prevention/rescue/awareness. Mostly, anything helping people (MBAs are flexable). I have experience with Event coordinating/planning, volunteer coordinating, organization creation (I've been a part of 3 creations), Microsoft office, spreadsheets, etc. If any one is hiring or knows an organization who is hiring grads/MBAs, please let me know. Comment or message me and I'll send you/whomever my resume. Bottom line is I love you guys and this community is the coolest, most supportive conglomerate of total strangers that I have ever come across in my life. I feel like you guys (even though I don't actually know you) are my friends. Thanks!

Happy new year everyone!! This is my 4th official challenge and my first one with the rangers *waves* I hung out with the adventurers June through October last year and had great success with getting fitter and healthier. Then there was a huge gap due to a bad cold, a bad challenge concept and a resulting lack of motivation. Then christmas happened. Now I'm back and I plan on rocking it! I decided to join the rangers since the new adventurers description doesn't fit me anymore and I thought it's time for something new. My quests this challenge sound a lot like jack-of-all-trades so I hope I'll fit right in My overall goal/motivation This whole thing started last June when I saw a photograph of me that did not at all match up with my inner sense of what I feel/look like. I don't have a lot of weight to lose (I don't need to lose anything, but it wouldn't hurt, either) but I want to be fitter and slimmer and replace some of my fat with muscle. It's not only about how I look, though; I've realized during the last challenges that I feel better (physically and mentally) when I eat and act healthy. I want to feel that way again and I want to create habits that I can actually stick with. There's also stuff that I want to be able to do simply because it bugs me that I can't, but more on that later. If that's not tangible enough yet: I want to fit into several pairs of jeans I bought a few years ago and grew out of in a manner of months. I want to climb the stairs to my appartment without catching my breath. I want to be able to run to catch the bus without feeling completely winded afterwards (I'm getting there!). My quests for this challenge Get healthy again! - drink at least 2l of water a day (tea counts, too) - avoid industrial sugar and white flour - eat more servings of vegetables than the week before I have had good experiences with the first two during the last challenges to the point where they were second nature. I will use this challenge to get there again and gradually focus more on what I eat (instead of what I do not want to eat). The third quest is a step in that direction and will gradually get more difficult. I'm usually good on fruits, but my veggie consumption is something I can improve on. I'll track the liters of fluid-intake, the number of meals that were healthy to my standards and the servings of vegetables each day. Get moving again! - do some sort of fitness activity 3 times a week (running, swimming, badminton, rowing or workout) - do more yoga than the week before - do more push-ups than the week before I've had trouble with my knees recently so I'm not sure what kind of fitness I can manage and made the first quest here very flexible. I used to go running two times a week during the last challenges but my attempts to get back into this habit in December were not to my knees' liking. I'll see what I can do there (and get help from the doctor if I must). I'm not really in the mood for yoga right now but I know that it felt great during the last challenges when I made it a daily routine. I also think it might help with the knees, so it's in there. I'll try to find routines that fit into my daily routine, maybe post-running or before bed or something. The last quest here is something that's been bugging me for a while: I can not do one proper real push-up. I've tried many times, I've worked my way to knee push-ups last challenge but that progress is probably undone by now. I really really want to be able to do at least one, so I'll gradually do more and more knee push-ups each week until I get there. I'll keep in mind to do some pulling exercises, too (hence the rowing) and plenty of planks, but I didn't put up individual quests for that. I'll track the number of fitness activities, the minutes of yoga practiced and the number of knee push-ups each day. Life-Quests (since I haven't had enough, apparently) There are several things that I want to work on in the new year. I've already made a plan for all the household work I've been neglecting, but it's not gonna be part of this challenge (I tried to incorporate it all, it's just too much). There are some things I really need to focus on, though, and some things that I've been wanting to prioritize for a long while so that's what I'll do. - send out more job-applications than the week before - do office work at least 6 hours a week These are things I have to do. I currently work a 2-day-job that gets the bills paid and an office job (the second quest) that goes into paying back my student loans. There's not much left for me and I don't want to live on my boyfriend's money. I'll either find a second part-time job or a full-time job this year so I can finally be financially independent and have money left over at the end of the month. - take time for singing 4 times a week - read for work more than the week before I sing in a jazz-choir and take singing lessons, these both count for the first one. Additionally, I want to take more time to practice, learn new songs, learn ALL the lyrics of songs I know and so on. The reading for work is for my part-time job where I need some more background knowledge for some new areas I will work on in the future. I've been wanting to do this for ages but never got around to it. So here goes. I'll track the number of applications sent, the minutes of office work completed, the number of singing-sessions and the minutes of reading accomplished each day. I know this sounds like a lot, but I've already slimmed it down considerably and some of my quests will allow me to ease into it gradually. Plus, my goal is to reach a solid 80% instead aiming for perfect and giving up the first instance something goes wrong. I know I can do it if I prioritize right (and stop wasting lots of hours on facebook and the likes) and I want to do it, if only to prove to myself that I can get my shit together Fancy spreadsheet incoming!! I haven't thought about stat points yet (I've heard there'll be a new system which might make them redundant?) so I may or may not add these later. I added the stat points to the spreadsheet. I think I'm going to stick with this system for now. I also added a new statpoint category called "Willpower" because I realized I need one. It's like stamina for the mind *wooh* I have thought about what to do in case of sickness or other unforseen circumstances. I will allow myself to make some adjustments if I really need to, for example - reduce the number of fitness-activities if my knees give me too much trouble (e.g. if the only thing I can do is swimming, I will only manage to do that once or twice a week) - change the "do more than last week" quests to "do at least as much as last week" if I struggle a lot, get sick or find it unrealistic (this might happen in the job-application quest) - reduce the number of office work hours if there's not as much workload as expected I will stick to my water and food quests (the first two) in any case. I know this is something I can do even when sick (in case of the water, especially when sick) and something that became a habit in the past, so these are non-negotiable. That's all for now. I hope you all have an awesome start into 2016 and great success with everything you've set out to do. I'm looking forward to sharing part of the journey with you ) Edit: Mini-Feats!! Strength Feat: Complete a full body-weight workout, like I used to do; try my hardest to reach my old PRsAgility Feat: do at least one NF yoga mobility video each dayStamina Feat: go to the local pool again and see how many (all-out) lanes I can complete in a row without taking a restRanger Class Feat: Animal Companions: have two clicker-training-sessions with my cats

I'm an adult child of 1) an alcoholic and 2) a chronic over-eater. This has left me with no real idea of how to handle stress (and I'm under ALOT of it right now ... see prior threads .....) other than by using alcohol or food as self-soothers. My upbringing left me with this BIG self-destruct button that is ALWAYS waiting to be pushed when things get rough. This challenge is going to focus on taking apart that self-destruct mechanism. Realistically, I won't be able to completely trust that it is gone for good. But I can at least pack it off again for a while so it is not RIGHT THERE saying, "Push me ... you know you want to....." Cue the Mission Impossible Theme ...... Goal #1 - DisARM the button!! (+2 STR, +1 STA) For my daughter's wedding, I'm going to wear a lovely capped sleeve dress. So, by October 9th, I want to have really nice-looking arms. I have made some nice progress toward that goal, but I'll keep working it hard for the next two challenges. Hence .... upper body workout 3 x per week. Grade by simple counting workouts and divide by 18 for a percentage. I'll post the workout below as soon as I work it out. Goal #2 - Lose 3 pound by counting calories (+3 CON) I have been using LoseIt to count calories and keep protein high. I'll revisit IIFYM to get a recommendation on number of grams of protein and number of calories per day. While I hate counting calories, I realize that I don't yet have a good sense of how much I can eat in a day and lose or maintain weight. And if I'm not counting, I can get into mindless eating in a hurry. Grading ... simple .... one point CON for each pound I lose from 168.2 lbs. Goal #3 - Zazen meditation DAILY (+2 WIS, +1 CON) As a preventative measure, I'll meditate daily and grade it by counting days divided by 42 for a percentage. In the past, meditation has been very helpful, and I regret getting out of the habit. It's worth the 10 to 20 minutes!!! Goal #4 - Use a destressing technique from the list daily (+3 CHA) In addition to the meditation daily, I'll pick one of the items from the list below - at least daily. I'll either use my D&D dice or random.org to pick one. I'm a much nicer and more effective person if I have my stress under control. Grade it by counting days divided by 42 for a percentage. Goal #5 - Remove major stressors and barriers (+3 WIS) This one is really hard ..... There are some things that have badly affected my ability to cope for the past year. 1) We've been trying to find jobs in our home town. It hasn't worked yet, and we've been living apart, which really stresses me out. So, we need to buy a house near hubby's work and sell our current house. These are stressful events in their own right, but I think it is worth it in the long run. I already have job interviews in the area where we are house hunting .... a big improvement over our current predicament. 2) I've been having a really hard time with under or unemployment. I don't do well as a housewife, and so I'm working at finding a professional job. Got nibbles already and feel much better about myself already!!!! 3) This is really, really, really hard. We need to put our dog down. I've been nursing her along for the past year, but she's not comfortable. And I have to come to grips with that and let her go. But it will also reduce my stress alot once we get past that point ... this week or next probably. She's licking all 4 limbs raw, and I can't see keeping her in a cone for the indefinite future. Grading .... one point per objective complete.

I am Jaex, a witcher. After years of training and body mutations, I am now free to journey outside the walls of the keep that served as my witcher school. I travel northward toward the city of Feladelphos, stopping along the way at various towns for rest and supplies. And for the right price, I slay monsters. For now, my travels have led me to Dicatter, a small town surrounded by many miles of forest. By design the city is isolated with little contact with the world outside the forest. The people of Dicatter, while not as spiritual about it as elves are, care deeply for their forest. It supplies them with game and resources, protects them from raids, and distances them from the political going-ons outside. And the people throw regular festivals and rituals celebrating the forest. However all is not well here... The forest is sick. Many plants are brittle and brown. Branches break and fall with only the slightest provocation. Leaves crumble into dust It seems scores of some beast, the inflessabulls the people call them, have come into the area and are drinking the plants dry. Any attempt by the villagers to drive the inflessables away has so far failed, and left several villagers injured. The weather is almost warm enough for me continue northward. However, before I begin the next leg of my journey, I have a few things to take care, namely getting supplies and money. The people have pooled their money to offer me a reward per killed inflessable and extra money if I can find a cure for the brittle plants. Good enough work for a witcher. Monster-slaying is my trade after-all. The inflessables are not the only beasts in the forest. Many other creatures call the woods home and several will attack and kill villagers. I will do regular morning patrols to drive off creatures that venture too close to Dicatter. I will also use that time to collect herbs and plants to use as ingredients in my potions. Twice weekly a group of villagers get together to fist-fight, make bets, and drink beer. Seeing as I have years of training this should be a quick way to make a buck while also practicing my unarmed combat. Good way to burn off steam too. The best way to make money is to find work. Can’t say I am in love with looking for work, but I do have a variety of talents and am not above taking a job I don’t necessarily love if it is all that I can find. Still, I would prefer something where I can use my talents to help out the more vulnerable. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I am a 28 year old attorney. For the past year I have been studying Northern Shaolin kung fu, and in large part due to that, I am in the best shape I have been in years. Still I do have a little bit more of the beer belly I want to burn off. I also am a tad “duck-footed†which hasn’t really bothered me until recently when my ankles and knees seem to more regularly get hurt. They heal quick but this is something I want to fix before it gets worse. My research suggests that stronger hip muscles and more flexibility should do the trick. In June my fiancee and I are moving north to Philadelphia. I am very excited for the move but also a tad terrified as I have only ever lived in one city. I have also got a wedding to plan. So you might imagine I have a lot on my plate at the moment. Thus the goals of this challenge center around becoming more flexible and getting ready for the move. Goal #1: Drive off the inflessables (+2 DEX, +3 CON) If you haven’t figured it out, inflessable = inflexible, which is what I am. I have always struggled with flexibility. So this challenge is going to center around actually getting more flexible. After every morning run (see below) and three non-kung fu nights a week I will do some serious stretching. Goal #2: Morning patrols (+3 STA) Last challenge I added in regular pre-breakfast, pre-work runs. I found that I am more energetic and efficient at work on days that I run. Plus running is healthy. So I am going to continue that this challenge and run unless it is too cold, rainy, my fiancee has an actual day off, or I need a rest day. Goal #3: Fist-fight! (+1 STR, +1 DEX, +1 WIS) Twice a week I go to kung fu class. Primarily I learn Northern Shaolin, but recently my instructor has been showing me bits of other styles (Hung Gar and Jook Lum) as there is no Northern Shaolin instructor in Philadelphia. So for this quest I am going to keep going to class and finish strong! Life goal: Find work (+1 WIS, +3 CHA) In a week or so I will know if I pass the Pennsylvania bar exam. Next step = find a job in the city of Philly. And man do I hate job-hunting. It is even tougher when I have no ties to the region and cannot properly network. To complete this I must send out two applications a week if possible.

Fit Intro: As a kid, I sucked at everything sport related and was known at my school for failing almost every time on P.E. The last couple of years I have discovered that I actually do love to push my body, but that I'm not a fan of team sports. I love dancing, yoga and strength training(free weights and body weight). My most recent victory was the 5k race that I ran in May and I hope to get a <30 min time on that soon. Nerd Life Intro: I recently graduated as a Java Developer, but still taking on extra courses like Android. Programming is computers + puzzles and therefor awesome. I love reading fantasy and scifi and playing RPG's like WoW and Divinity (it's Belgian!). Civ V is another favorite (and The Sims, but sssh). My gaming skills are not nearly what I want them to be but I enjoy myself. I also love drawing, painting (both mostly nudes) and spending way too much time on Tumblr. Main quest: Vanity For the weight loss pvp I plan to lose 5lbs in 10 weeks. This should get me to visible abs and the lowest weight that I have been in my entire adult life. Missions: Same as last time: be able to perform the splits on both sides and really improve my wheel pose. Contortion is still awesome and ensures I can post a lot of scary gifs Practice every day. Points of completion will be given based on improvement and if I have practiced enough. count: 1 point for DEX for improvement of wheel pose, 1 for STA for training every day, same for splits (4 total) For the nutrition part of the fat loss I want to put off the tracking as long as possible because of a) stress and really hard when you live with your parents and they really don't want you to weigh your food. Instead I want to tackle some bad habits (hence the challenge title): - alcohol: instead of the weekly bottle of wine I will consume no alcohol for the entire challenge. I make an exception for champagne/sparkling wine because this would imply celebration (2 birthdays coming up + I might get a job) - sugary snacking: no more mindless grazing on processed sugar filled junk, no more store bought cookies or candy - drink more water: drink at least 2L a day - cook a healthy dish at least 2 times per week (tnx MogiShade)- protein: NEED MOAR Every week I will start tackling another one while continuing beating down the previous ones. Feel free to tell me about other habits I can add to this list! count: 3 for CONWorkouts: Bodbot is my master and I will obey all its orders count: 1 point for DEX based on cardio, 1 point for STR based on the strength exercises, 2 points for STA based on consistent trainingLife quest: Get a job and move out First job, then move out, so this mostly means applying for a lot of jobs, creating stuff to add to my resume and improving my skills count: 3 for CHA, 2 for looking for jobs, 1 if I actually get one Side quest: Create my own android app and publish it in the store I already know what I want to make but I don't have all the skills yet. count: 1 point for WIS Motivation: I want to be amazed by what my body is capable of, what I am capable of. I want to proof that I am not lazy and that I can do anything if I put my mind to it. This will be a serious challenge of persistence but I like challenges! Why be less when you can be more? EDIT I saw this method of tracking in a couple of threads and I like the clean layout, so I will start doing this too. Week x M T W T F S S bend eat train Guide:Y: did itN: did not0: not applicable that day