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Last challenge wrap-up: The goals: *find a place to live √ (temporary, but I have it) * find a job √ * find new allies √ * survive, I guess?? √ And I didn't just survive - I'm thriving! I'll be honest, I didn't expect I'd acheive all of that in a month. I totally exceeded my own expectations. I nailed it, guys! 👑 ------------------------------------------------------ "Be proud and be beautiful" These are the words Erik said to Mystique, then still Raven in X-Man First Class. I watched it years ago, but it stuck in my memory, because it was so wise. That's what I want to follow. I don't want to drown in self-loathing and self-doubt anymore. I wanna be proud of what I do and beautiful the way I am. Build self confidence. Goals: ~ Be anyone you need to be By nature I am a very sweet and a gentle person. But it doesn't suit me in my new job. I need to be sharp and dominant to corner a client. It's something completly opposite to my natural disposition. But I need to develop this new skill. Not just for the job. I think in life, if you're always sweet and can't bite back, sometimes people will walk over you. So I am gonna become someone else when the situation calls for it. ~ Keep fit I am super tired after work, so for now I am gonna stick to the minimal plan - 15 min of any kind of exercise, 3 days a week. I always had so many points in my challenge, but I decided to follow @Kishi's example and focus on one-two things. If I try to do too many things it's unrealistic and it evokes guilt and frustration. So that's the new plan - one - two goals a month.

Or at least I try. After succesfully completing the longest respawn ever I wanted to start working on my daily structures more (this challenge was planned to improve my evenings) BUT live got in the way so this challenge will all be about doing adult stuff that needs to get out of the way sooner than later. I will keep my year goals and will work on those as well. In part's this challenge is for those goals in other parts it's just stuff that got delayed for way to long. Also it will be a lot of work related stuff. Quest1: "We're all MAD here" This one is all job related. I'm unsure for quite some time now about what to do jobwise. At the moment I have a job at a biger tour booking agency in Berlin. We are preparing concert tours for hardcore and punk bands in Europe. It's a cool job because I'm working with bands that I like. The downside is that I have nearly no opportunities to get promoted because of the company size (not many personsn needed) and so I feel like I can't realy achive my full potential here, also the pay is pretty much garbage... That lead me to giving myself a deadline at the end of May to decide if I want to stay in the job I have and under what premisses or if I try to switch work. Till than there needs to be a lot of stuff done. This month the following things should be done: Analyse the options: - Read a book about how to negotiate your position and payment in a company - Take a look at switching career paths (Marketing or Logistics), do a SWAT analysis for the diffrent career options Talk the talk: - prepare a date and goals for talk with the bosses of my company Be ready to walk the walk: - prepare xing and linked in profiles - update cv and other documents needed for job search - take new pictures Quest 2: "Take the right potion" I've been puting of some health related issues and those came back and are interferring with my workouts... - make appointments with doctor 1 (allergies) - make appointment with doctor 2 (dentist) - update health inssurance - check out other inssurances Quest 3: "to late, to late" I started some projects at the beginning of the year but didn't ended them so since it's get sh*t done month now. - Decide and host my blog (It will be about getting healthy and happy as a Quidditch player) - start paying for the ETF (I put some money aside for bad times and it needs to be invested) - get documents in order Done - tackle the to do list of shame Quest 4: "Run to the hills" (Again) The marathon is sooner than I think so I need to pick up running again - go to tuesday and thursday running meeting - plan training for the comming months - buy new running gear - start tracking food intake again (less weight is easier running at the end ) So far that's it for this challenge. A lot to do so let's see how it goes.

I've hit some pretty decent life milestones in the past year: I became a father and I finished my Master's in Computer Science. I've been able to get through with the wonderful support of my wife and my therapist and probably a lot of people who had to deal with me at some point. However, spending the last two quarters at school and having an infant has definitely been at the cost of me keeping up with my physical needs: I'd run sporadically, and never very often; I'd stay up late while working on an assignment on top of whatever sleep deprivation I'd been getting with the wee bairn sleeping in the same room. I have seen this toll in the form of irritability and migraines in the past couple weeks. (I've otherwise been lucky in that I haven't noticed any noticeable shifts in body shape or composition.) But for my sake, and the sake of my family, I really need to get back in the saddle. Also, so much also, now that I'm done with learning about computers, I really want to turn my attention towards my test for the rank of Scholar, which has three parts: a skills test (probably in sword, dagger and wrestling), a written exam (images are invoked of a small, dark, damp room illuminated of by a bare lightbulb swinging from the ceiling), and a prize play (three three-minute bouts against three scholars in which I must "hold my own"). And the prospect that this might three months away(!) is now really pressing on me. Also, now that I have student loans looming in the distance (six months of deferral), I need to find a position as a software engineer. I've had bad experience looking for work before and entering a quasi-new industry is spinning my head in circles. On one hand, I've managed to get three phone screens, but on the other, in order to keep up with expenses, my target salary might be too much? What the frell. (If you're in Chicago or Auckland and have positions hit me up.) But I can't really afford a gym membership or more sword equipment until I get a new job, so really this needs to be top priority. So, I know these are ~supposed~ to have the form of three diet/fitness related goals and one life goal, I might have to flip it a bit? Run three times a week. I got to the end of the Zombies Run! 5k training before winter and fatherhood struck last year, and have made some progress in the first season of the main plot and I'd like to step it up a bit. I'm no longer at a 5k without walking shape, but I could prossibly get there soon? By the end of the challenge? S: Get to a continuous run 5k by end of challenge A: 3 per week B: 2 per week C: 1 per week F: Don't run Begin studying for the scholar exam. There's a handout I should read. That might give some form to all this. So, for the first week: read that and reflect to reshape for the rest of the challenge. Initial Step: Chart out skills to work on from character sheet. Apply to jorbs I've set a soft goal of two applications a week, with the failure condition being that I can't go to the two classes at my scuola on Saturdays if I do not meet it. But I should apply to more. Especially since I haven't heard anything from anyone last week. S: 5 per week A: 4 per week B: 3 per week C: 2 per week D: 1 per week F: None BONUS: Land a great paying jorb Re-establish minor self care items. Wrist stretches Meditation Better sleep hygiene Maybe pike practice Any feedback would be great so that I might solidify these things.

Arrowan’s Eighth Challenge: For the Rebellion! Stay on target Themes: Focus, Discipline, Hope Name: Arrowan Class: Adventurer (but I'm sneaky and like to hang out with Monks) Faction: Volo Starting point: Weight: 155 lbs, Height: 5’6” Introduction: I’m back after another leave of absence. Even when I’m away from the challenge forums, though, I’m always fighting for the Rebellion. I never forget about my fellow rebels—you guys inspire the hell out of me. Anyway, I want to do more challenges this year in order to keep my goals structured and be a part of the community. I’m now active in Rising Heroes, and I’m incorporating it into the challenge, because otherwise I’m likely to get overwhelmed with all the various goals and missions and posts. I’m heading into a period of change in my life, so I have to stay focused and disciplined to maintain fitness goals and keep my life in balance. There are dozens and dozens of goals on my “master list” of things I want to accomplish, but as always, I need to narrow it down so I can actually make progress on some of them. So here are my official challenge objectives: Challenge Goals: 1. Stay on target with Rising Heroes missions 2. Eat more Paleo 3. Study Japanese 4. Job hunt Side Quest: Daily meditation, 2-5 minutes a day Strategies: 1. Rising Heroes—This just started but it’s turning out to be tons of fun. The missions include physical challenges, so I’m just going to keep up with them and count that as one of my challenge goals here. 2. Eat more Paleo—I would be making this a goal about counting calories, but right now I don’t want another thing to have to log into the computer. Eating Paleo sounds like way more fun. I’m going slow, so I don’t lose interest or willpower. Each Saturday will be entirely Paleo. With each progressive week, I’ll do three more meals that are Paleo only – but they don’t have to be three meals on the same day, they can be spread out during the week. Week 1=1 day of Paleo; week 2=1 day of Paleo + 3 meals; week 3=1 day of Paleo + 6 meals; week 4=1 day of Paleo + 9 meals. You better believe I’ll be hitting up the NF recipes for ideas. 3. Study Japanese—I am brand new to this, and I’m intimidated as hell. Why do I want to learn this language? Martial arts is on my to-do list (I’ve been dabbling for a while, just haven’t committed yet), and learning the language would be a nice complement to this goal, allowing me to pick up terms for movements and have a better insight into the culture. I know it’s one of the most complicated languages I could pick, but it’s kind of like being faced with an enormous mountain. You know it’s going to be difficult as hell to climb, but the allure of the view from the top, and the feeling of accomplishment when you get there, is just too much to resist. Also, Ninja Turtles. Strategies…I’m working on it. I’ve flagged some websites and I’ll have to see how it goes. But the specific challenge goal is to work on this for at least 10 minutes every day, and at least 30 minutes 3 days a week. 4. Job hunt—Man oh man, do I NOT want to have this as a challenge goal again. But I keep taking on temporary jobs, so I continue to have to search for the next one. My current job is pretty menial, although I get to walk all day, listen to music, and I like the people I work with. But the position ends in March, and I’m not guaranteed full-time hours each week, so I really need to move on as soon as I can. The goal is a minimum of 2 job applications submitted each week. I’m aiming for something in the wildlife field, but I’m out of touch, so I’m also going to read 1 journal article each week relevant to wildlife research. Side Quest: Meditation! Two minutes to start but working up to at least 5 minutes a day. Hopefully this will bring a little clarity and focus into my messy brain. Grading: A=100% B=75% C=50% D=25% F=0% 1. Rising Heroes: grade will correspond with percentage of missions completed 2. Eat more Paleo: Three points for each Saturday of Paleo meals (12 total), plus a point for each additional meal (3 in wk 1, 6 in wk 2, and 9 in wk 3) makes a total of 30 points. Grade will correspond to the percentage of these points that I actually earn. 3. Study Japanese: One point for every 10 minutes of study; if I stick to the goal of 10 minutes a day, and 30 minutes on 3 days a week, that would make 52 points (the 30-minute sessions include the 10 minutes for that day). 4. Job hunt: One point for each application submitted, plus one point for each article read, for a possible total of 12 points. (I’m skipping the starting and ending attributes this time, because accomplishing these goals is a reward unto itself. I don’t get much out of allocating the points.)

I wasn't going to do the 4-week challenge this month. I was too busy, too exhausted from trying to reorganize my life, tired of tracking, yadda yadda yadda. Then I stepped on the scale. I'M DOING IT! The 3-month goal is ACTUALLY WORKING! I would be NUTS to change my routine now. This is more remarkable considering that I survived a Death March and maaaajor stress rebound at work. And I'm learning. When I focus on the day-to-day ("Eat a healthy meal tonight. Not forever, just tonight"), all those good choices add up to a solid win. This is amazing! So forward I go. Life Goal: Return to the weight and fitness I had when I worked from home, instead of someone else's office. 3 Month Goal: Lose 15 pounds before I go to France this June. March & April: Down 10 pounds. It's working!!! 4 Week Challenge Goals: Regain a little muscle mass. Consolidate the diet gains. Restore equanimity. Exercise: Cardio = elevate heart rate at least 30 minutes 6x weekly. (Failed this last challenge, so here we are again. Easy to track in MFP.) A = >6/week, STA +3, STR +2 B = >5/week, STA +2, STR +1 C = >4/week, STA +1 Diet: Continue focus on my 2 worst stress-handling fails: processed food and alcohol. But I'm eager to tackle coffee use as well. - <=1 processed food/week - <=3 drinks/week total - <=3 coffee/day total By processed, I mean anything that isn't a fruit, vegetable, natural protein, or healthy whole grain. I allow myself <= 6 dairy/week. A = 0 fails/week, CON +3, DEX +1 B = 1-2 fails/week, CON +2, DEX +1 C = 3-5 fails/week, CON +1, DEX +1 Refresh: Let's revive that spirituality. My choices are 1 per day: - yoga of => 5 minutes per day - Tai Chi or meditation every day A = 1 fails/week, CHA +3 B = 2-3 fails/week, CHA +2 C = 4-5 fails/week, CHA +1 Write My Way Out of a Paper Office: Bringing this one back. Fiction => 100 words per day, or equivalent in editing. Time to nourish the soul. A = 5/week WIS +3 B = 4/week WIS +2 C = 3/week WIS +1 I won't be able to report, as the challenge ends after I get on a plane, but I'll be focused on the long-term gains right up until that moment. Salut!

Hello, Nerdfitness! It's been a long time since I've been on, but I've been making some positive changes that I'd like to continue. Now that I've graduated, I am looking for a job and considering my future in academia. I've also spent some time traveling to visit family and have suffered under a steady diet of rich, fatty foods with minimal vegetables and very little exercise. (I've eaten more sausage in the last two weeks than I've had in the last three years. I'm starting to feel like a sausage.) The Goals: Find success in feeling healthy and making opportunities for my future. The Job Hunt: Bag a Job! 1. Track: Spend an hour tracking new jobs every day. (1 star) 2. Prepare Weapons: Write and edit cover letters and resumés for the jobs you find on the day you find them. (2 stars) 3. Shoot: Apply! (3 stars!) Reward: More applications means more opportunities! Food: Eat All the Veggies! Increase veggie intake to 5 portions a day (3 stars!) 1. Lunch: 2 portions (1 star) 2. Snack: 2 portions (1 star) 3. Dinner: 1 portion (1 star; extra credit of .5 star per extra portion) Reward: VEGETABLES. Exercise: Move every day: biking, kick boxing, dancing, yoga, weigh lifting. (1 star for each fifteen minutes of exercise each day!) Reward: More energy, strength, and stamina! Reward system: Three points for reaching "boss level"! Fewer points for partial success; no points for doing nothing. Total possible weekly points: 84 (not counting extra credit). Sunday Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri Sat Find Jobs Write Cover Letters Apply to 1 Job 5 Veggies Per Day 45 Minutes of Exercise Let's get to it!

Sleeping got much better with my last challenge, and now I want to work on things that bring focus to my life. I have a terrible tendency to flail around, wondering what I should do. I've been working on taking care of the basics, and doing so has made me more centered. I've also recently had a breakthrough on some things I am the most indecisive about, and I want to work to encourage myself to stick to this path (yes, I'm being terribly vague. I'm not quite ready to discuss it yet). So this challenge, I'm working on turning off all the noise and getting focused. So for this challenge, I will focus on the following four things: Nutrition: Food journal daily. Track emotions, make note of what I eat depending on how I feel. This is to ultimately disconnect emotional eating. Body: Yoga at least 3 days a week. Mind: Meditate daily. Wealth: 5 job applications per week. Challenge met instantly if a job is found.

Harihead is Mellowing Out and Moving Ahead. Last month was, shall we say, challenging. I'm now concentrating on finding a new job, managing the ongoing stress from my current job, and introducing better, more supportive personal behaviors and habits to help get me through the transition time. Life Goal: Return to the weight and fitness I had when I worked from home, instead of someone else's office. 3 Month Goal: Lose 15 pounds before I go to France this June. March: Down 4 pounds. April: 4 Week Challenge Goals: Cope with stress, promote good behaviors, find a new job. Exercise: Cardio = elevate heart rate at least 25 minutes 6x weekly. (This is another bump from last challenge, easy to track in MFP.) A = >6/week, STA +3, STR +2 B = >5/week, STA +2, STR +1 C = >4/week, STA +1 Diet: Try to improve the score on my 2 worst stress-handling fails: processed food and alcohol. For this challenge, I'm going to relax the definition of "processed". Instead of being only natural protein, veggie, or fruit, I will allow some whole grain as long as it's healthily prepared. Still aiming for mostly paleo and no junk. - <=1 processed food/week - <=3 drinking events/week total (monitoring the total to <7/week) - >= 12 glasses water/day (because it always helps) A = 0 fails/week, CON +3, DEX +1 B = 3 fails/week, CON +2, DEX +1 C = 6 fails/week, CON +1, DEX +1 Refresh: Get myself out of this sleep-deprived zone! I want to achieve >= 7 hours a night. - regular bedtime (tracked by my Jawbone UP) with healthy herbal prep - Tai Chi or meditation every day A = 0 fails/week, CHA +3 B = 2 fails/week, CHA +2 C = 4 fails/week, CHA +1 Renew: Handle the transition to my next opportunity gracefully. - Ideal is 2+ job-seeking and 2+ fiction-writing activities per week (tracked on spreadsheet 178). - Count down the days by recording "a blessing per day", so I can move through this change with gratitude and awareness. A = 5/week WIS +3 B = 4/week WIS +2 C = 3/week WIS +1

I'm in the publishing biz. That means deadlines. When wrapping up a major (months long) project, I first get really busy days. Then I start working longer days. Then all I do is work basically 8 to 8, after a restless night's sleep that is consumed by fretting over how much I can get done the following day. Some of my peeps call this phase The Death March. It's the nature of the beast; you gotta hit the deadline. One of my fellow managers measures success in how few days her team actually has to do the Death March. (She's gotten it as low as 6.) The problem, you can tell, is that fitness goes all wibbly during a death march. I get overtired and overeat, then I eat junk, and exercise goes out the window. I can plot my periodic weight spikes all last year against deadlines. No more! Thanks to my fellow Rebels, primarily Tanktimus the Encourager, Swampling, and Sloth the Slow and Steady, I have learned that I can get through 1 week of a Death March while doing a super clean diet and increasing exercise. No one was more surprised than I. I want more of this! So, Harihead is going to punch the Death March right in the nose! This is a bane of my life; it happens 3 or 4 times a year. This challenge is going to be all about surviving a Death March without giving myself a health setback. (We'll worry over the fact that I have no life in some other challenge.) Life Goal: Return to the weight and fitness I had when I worked from home, instead of someone else's office. 3 Month Goal: Lose 15 pounds before I go to France this June. 4 Week Challenge Goals: Prove that I can cope with a Death March and lose weight at the same time. That's just crazy talk! But what are challenges for? Exercise: Cardio = elevate heart rate at least 25 minutes 5x weekly. (This is another bump from last challenge, easy to track in MFP.)A = >5/week, STA +3, STR +2B = >4/week, STA +2, STR +1C = >3/week, STA +1F = fewer than this, take away 1 earned point! Diet: Put all that diet prep from the last few months used to lower my cholesterol to good use. For this challenge, I'm going to focus on my 2 worst stress-handling fails: processed food and alcohol. - <=1 processed food/week- <=2 drinks/week totalBy processed, I mean anything that isn't a fruit, vegetable, or natural protein. That includes all breads and all junk foods (like paleo organic potato chips-- just, no).A = 0 fails/week, CON +3, DEX +1B = 2 fails/week, CON +2, DEX +1C = 4 fails/week, CON +1, DEX +1F = fewer than this, take away 1 earned point! Refresh:I am seriously tired. I need to make sleep and stress reduction a priority. Here are my coping methods:- regular bedtime (tracked by my Jawbone UP)- Tai Chi or meditation every single day A = 0 fails/week, CHA +3B = 2 fails/week, CHA +2C = 4 fails/week, CHA +1F = fail to comply, take away 1 earned point! Write My Way Out of a Paper Office:With all the writing I'm doing at work, writing extra hours at home simply isn't healthy. I'm going to modify this challenge to do 1 supportive activity that will help me become independent/week (tracked on spreadsheet 181). We'll get back to writing in April. GOAL CHANGE week 1: Considering the recent meltdown at work, I am expanding this goal to include activities related to finding a new job. Therefore, to get out of this particular office, I'm going to permit job-seeking activities in addition to fiction-writing activities. The ideal is 2 of each per week, but I'm allowing myself some flexibility as events dictate. New challenge is called Renew:A = 4/week WIS +3B = 3/week WIS +2C = 2/week WIS +1 I have a feeling I'll be investigating work/life balance in April. Happy March challenge, everyone!

Well, not gonna make a big deal of it, but things kind of fell apart last challenge. A lot of the things that I wanted to do... they just didn't get done. The biggest problem, really, was one of schedule, and of not paying my dues daily. So. Gotta set this up differently than I did it before. Goal 1: Apply to One Gig Daily I refuse to call it job hunting. The days of the job are dead, at least until I level up. But to go from one gig to the next? Okay. I can do that. Goal 2: One Codecademy Lesson Daily Last time was too big. Need to learn from this. Go smaller. Goal 3: Writing Daily To the tune of my standards. I have set up minimal, nominal, and maximal goals for me to hit. It's worked before, but I've been slacking. Need to get back to doing this because I love it and I am poorer without it. Goal 4: Pray Daily For better or for worse, it's the Lenten season. So, since we're in the spiritual training season so to speak, I figure it's appropriate to make a thing of it. I haven't missed so far, but I'm feeling paranoid, so I'm going to make this a part of the challenge going forward. I beg y'all's pardon if I sound terse. I promise, it hides nothing. Just... really excited to get to work on getting everything put back together again. So. Let's go to work.

I had this great idea. After last month's challenge fail due to a bad cold, I was going to set a challenge specifically on sleeping. I was looking forward to all that sleep. It was going to be awesome. And then on the first day of the challenge, before I even had a chance to start my new challenge thread, I got a call from my boss. It wasn't the worst news I could have gotten. But problems at work that have been brewing for a while have finally boiled over, and I'm now under intense scrutiny at work. My job is on the line. For the past 3 days, I've spent every minute at work putting together an improvement plan to show my manager, and working to meet the demands that are being placed upon me. And I've spent every minute at home at night applying for new jobs, and putting together a plan to save money for a worst case scenario while looking for freelance opportunities. I have the opportunity at work to prove myself and keep my job, but after over 2 years of increasingly terrible management, I don't feel terribly inclined to stay at this job. One thing I haven't been doing is getting sleep. I'm meditating and doing yoga to relieve stress, but I'm not getting sleep. After 3 days of planning, I'm beginning to feel more like I've got a handle on things. So I've decided to start a monthly challenge with only two goals: Get to bed before midnight every night.Apply for at least one job every weekday.That's it. Keeping it minimalist this time around. There are a few other things I'm doing. I'm reading a book called Moving Away from Diets, which is about body acceptance, pursuing healthy eating and exercise, and doing so free from the pressure of beauty and size standards, and I'm implementing some of the strategies from the book. I'm planning to spend my Sundays both cooking ahead for the week and seeking freelance work, which I will also do on Sundays. I'm networking with people I know to see if anyone knows about any openings. But in terms of measurable goals, this is all I'm doing this challenge. Having said all that, I live in Birmingham, AL and I'm applying for writing jobs in Birmingham and Atlanta, GA. My primary experience is technical writing, although I could easily side step into a number of writing/content/information/education jobs. If I run out of things to apply for in these two cities, I will add Nashville to my list as well. If you are in the south in a decent sized city, and you know of opportunities, let me know. The same goes for telecommuting jobs.

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!

Hey Druids! Seeing as this is my first ever Druid challenge I thought I should introduce myself with some context, hence the life story below… I’ve fallen so far off the wagon that there is no wagon to get back on. The wagon has left and I need to find a new one: a wagon called ‘2016’. In my line of freelancing it’s feast or famine, so when I do work it’s all-encompassing and I’ll miss a few days, then a week of workouts, then I’ll feel I’ve failed the challenge and want to quit to start over again. Since I was last active on here a few months ago I’ve been running and kettlebelling very intermittently. I stopped logging food and maintained the measly 5lbs I lost in summer - but props to me for keeping it off while I ate everything NYC had to offer for three whole weeks! A couple of years of being in the habit of exercising paid off because I ran in Central Park and pretty much walked everywhere else AND did a hardcore vinyasa flow class, and I think that was the only reason I didn’t return to the UK as a small whale. As of 5th January 2016 I had two wisdom teeth removed and a coronectomy on a third (where they remove the crown but leave the root because it's sitting on a nerve) - they seal the gum over an exposed root. So between the appetite-suppressing pain, constant painkillers and liquid diet the most I've managed to eat in one day is 1200 calories - because I had ice-cream and a protein shake that day, but I'm averaging MUCH less than that. It's basically three soups a day, plus sugar-free jello/jelly for treats. The wisdom teeth are healing very well, it’s the exposed root of the coronectomy that’s a bugger. I can’t bend over at all without getting a massive headache, and at night I have to sleep with a ton of pillows to keep my head above my heart. It only stopped bleeding yesterday - three days after the operation (very slight, but enough to stop me doing anything to aggravate it). This is ruling out most exercise I regularly enjoy. I’ve delayed posting my challenge because I knew it started the day before the surgery, i.e. I knew the rest of the week would be spent resting. But like a lovechild of Odysseus and Pollyanna (it’s OK, she’s a fully consenting adult in this scenario) I’ve decided to use this to my advantage - as you can imagine, the weight is falling off me (long term goal is to get body fat down to 20%) and at time of writing I’ve got at least three more days till that pesky root dies and I can eat and drink like a human being again. You know things are bad when you cry with envy over your boyfriend’s vegetarian dinner… So the purpose of this challenge is to recuperate and renew. It’s going to be a very sedentary one - perhaps in preparation for the next one! tl;dr - I'm recovering from major dental surgery, rendering my favourite exercises out of the question, but I still want to do the challenge. I have just finished watching Twin Peaks for the first time as an adult, hence pictures below. Challenge goals Daily meditation. I’ve already practiced some mindful meditation for a few weeks with Headspace. Quite like it, but in famine-mode at the moment (see top of post) and can’t afford the ridiculous subscription fees. Discovered a lovely free app called Insight Timer, so will be experimenting with the huge variety of meditations on there. Specifically, I’d like to develop compassion for myself and for others. Yoga when I can. I can’t do any inversions for the time being, so I’ll be looking to do standing routines - any video links gratefully received. Run/kettlebell when the time is right. Yes, I meant for that to sound as esoteric as possible. I usually only listen to my body when it’s in pain; I want to build a habit of listening to it when it’s feeling good. And this goes with the whole mindful compassion goal. Coop's thinking if the time is right to run with that gun. Life goal Find a flexible and more importantly - achievable - work-from-home job that pays well and regularly. And isn’t surveys. And perhaps includes training for even better jobs. So far I’ve looked at website reviewing and audio typing (not worth it unless your WPM is superhuman). I usually work as a voiceover artist from home - but I can’t afford the fees for the website I subscribe to till I get paid the end of Jan. Again, any suggestions received with gratitude. And I'm looking forward to eating one of these again!

So last time my challenge got almost completely derailed and I didn't lose any weight at all... (See trainwreck here: http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/70676-lydiajaybird-gets-back-up/) I might have even gained some, I've been scared to weigh in, so I don't really know right now. I was doing alright, then I had a bad week, and then my state (SC) got wrecked by the storms and flooding, and my life was crazy and ugh. I tried to keep on keeping on, but I didn't do too well, and my lack of results shows it. But life is calming down now, so I just need to refocus and I'll be fine. So now for the important bit - my quests for this challenge! Main Quest - Lose 12 Pounds I need to weigh myself before I can put a number up there, but I want to get back into the 160's! Last challenge my goal was to get to 165 - what I weighed before I broke my foot - but I have to admit, that was really ambitious... I would've had to lose 12 pounds. So maybe calm down, recognize that slow progress is better than no progress (which is what I had last challenge) & just shoot for at least 169. Goals 1. Exercise - Run three times a week, and pole three times a week. I used to run MWF, but my pole classes are Wednesday, so I think I'm going to run TRSa instead. Then Monday can be upper body day for pole and Friday can be core/lower body day. 2. Rise and Shine - Wake up with my first alarm!! I've been getting worse and worse about this - It's to the point that I have incremental alarms set for a few hours before I finally get up. And of course, if I don't wake up on time, I don't have time to exercise before work! So one of my goals this challenge is to GET UP at 6:00am M-F and 9:00am on the weekends. 3. Keep Calm and Keto On! - My roommate has gone from being somewhat unreliable at cooking to COMPLETELY unreliable. I can count on one hand the number of times she's cooked in the past month. So I just need to plan and cook for myself... which will only be difficult because my roomie refuses to believe she's not doing this diet anymore... Everytime I mention that I'm going to the grocery store or try to cook for myself, she gets offended. So that'll be awkward to get around. Also, I'm changing my carb intake. With her, I did 25 net carbs or less a day, but you really only need less than 50 net carbs to stay in ketosis. So to make it easier to find yummy recipes (since I am simply not as good a cook as her), I'm going to aim for that. I've got ketone test strips, so I'll be able to tell if I can't stay in ketosis with that many carbs, and can adjust accordingly. [1645 calories or less, 50 carbs or less] Life Quest Become Desirable! No, not romantically/sexually desirable (I've already got a boyfriend, I'm fine in that department) - desirable for employers! I've been trying to get a job with my shiny new degree since I graduated in May, and I'm getting NOWHERE. And since the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results, I'm going to change my approach. I'm going to keep applying places and networking, of course, but I'm also going to try to add to my resume. For example - the temp agency that placed me has lots of online courses for their employees where you can learn new skills. And I can always go to the bookstore and get one of those [sKILL] for Dummies books. So everytime I can add something to my resume - I earn a Life Point, which will be extra credit added to my final score. This means that this extra credit won't be limited by the number of weeks, so I won't be tempted to not do anything just because I already did one thing earlier that week. (Which is what happened last challenge... Oh, I'll apply NEXT week - I already got my Life Point this week.) Measurements Height: 5'9" Weight: 182.8 Waist: ? Hips: ? I need to weigh & measure... I'll edit all these before the challenge starts. Grading Each goal will be graded weekly & be worth 1/3 of that week's total grade. Life Points are unlimited extra credit that can be added to my final score! My final grade will be the average of all six weeks plus my Life Goal extra credit. I need to make at least a B (80%) to pass the challenge. Up till now, I've always said I only needed a C to pass, because that's a passing grade in school. However, even in school, I never felt like a C was an acceptable grade; and last challenge I technically passed, but I made no progress and I didn't feel good about it. So I'm making it more difficult to pass. This might mean I'm just going to fail myself out and will need to ease up next time, but it might also mean that I'll work harder to get there. Exercise - percentage of completed workouts. Rise and Shine - percentage of successful wake-ups. KCKO - 1 point each day for meeting calories and another point for meeting carbs. Total points/Total possible for the weekly grade. Exceptions - If I'm sick or injured (please noooo not again!), then workouts are excused. Motivation As for rewards, I've got money now, so I'm gonna go pretty hard on these. I'm going to reward myself with something big (and undecided, I'll edit this later) if I pass the challenge AND have at least some progress. It's okay if I don't make it all the way to 169, so long as I've improved. And for each week that I make an A, I'll reward myself with something too! At the start of each week I'll post what the reward will be, and will use that to motivate myself to DO AWESOME. Not just good enough to pass and claim the big prize, but AWESOME. HONORS STUDENT LEVEL AWESOME. DEANS LIST OF NERDFITNESS.

Hi fellows! One hour ago I got kicked out of my study path. I had repeated one year of my own volition and now I didn't pass one subject so they had to kick me out. The examiners were really nice. They said they couldn't understand that, because my grades look good and promising and they are very sorry to tell me that it was just not enough. I struggled with my life since the moment university started, what can be also seen on all the challenges I messed up in here. The topics were awesome, I loved to learn about it, but there were too many things going wrong unfortunately. Now I am trying to find a job as project manager in the automation industry because I am 100% sure this is what I am made for. The question is, if there are companies which take someone who failed. I hope there's a good reason that this happened and I am ready to push my life forward, ready for being more awesome than I have ever been before. Going with you Monks this time, because I finally want to start kickboxing and get powerful. As in the previous challenges, I stick to my role as a shield maiden. I cannot afford the kickboxing course yet and I hope that I am not running out of money until I found a new job. Money problems made our life difficult since always, luckily I got a side job at least. I want to continue studying besides due to entering a study path in the third semester in October. Gotta find out if that is possible. Challenge Part 1) Go for a 5 km walk 6 days a week. I had got used to it once, then it wasn't part of the next challenge anymore and the habit faded. Challenge Part 2) Do this training 3 times a week. I've tried that some time ago and I loved it, high time to do this again! Challenge Part 3) Have one real meal a day. This is a huge problem for me. I am miserable at cooking and hardly ever now what to cook. I'd welcome any suggestions! Life Challenge: from Monday to Friday 1 hour studying project management books1 hour preparing for job interviewswrite 5 applications 1 hour repeating useful subjects from university Time to start living

See the full challenge description for details. This is the abridged version. I feel like I've been going in circles for these past challenges. Nothing sticks for longer than a challenge or two. That's not a good reason to give up. And there are good reasons to continue. But it's a good reason to re-examine my strategy. But that is not a good reason to take a break. So I'm doing a "normal" challenge of sorts, but the actual task is to spend this time thinking about how to not go wrong again. Goals (as a homage to The Legend of Zelda, because Triforce, and I approve of trying force): Power: do Convict Conditioning exercises daily. Includes low-intensity, "off-day" exercises. Details to be posted later. Wisdom: rest enough, at the right time. Because sleep is an important part of health. Courage: apply for a job (as a Ph.D. student). Because selling oneself is scary. But necessary. Yes, if you read any of my previous challenges, then you've seen this before, in one way or another. That's the point. This isn't supposed to be novel, this is supposed to build a foundation. One that outlasts more than just a couple of challenges. Comments requested. Thanks for visiting.

Hey fellows! Tomorrow the new university semester starts. I am lagging behind with the subject matters. I start the 5th semester now and have to deal in addition with 3 subjects from the 3rd semester and 3 subjects from the 4th semester. If I don't pass those I cannot study this study course anymore. So there's a lot of work to do this semester. I applied for a job for preparatory work during the week and working at Saturday near university. So I'd go by bus to the city earlier, do the preparatory work and then walk to university. I need a work besides studying. I've been working for four years every Sunday until March and I really miss it (not the working place where I've been but the physical labour itself). I plan to write some more applications the next days to make sure I get a new job. I am going to fit out my locker at university with all I need for studying and then only study at university or while doing cardio at the gym but not anymore at home. This way I want to get rid of my eating habits (giving in to cravings every few minutes) and procrastination plus have a fixed time for rest in the evening. In the morning I will have a filling breakfast but without grain because this makes me tired so fast. Any suggestions? At lunch I am going to eat at the canteen. I prefer to eat every few hours but preparing food for a whole day which I store in my bento box every evening is nothing I'd be able to deal with for a longer time as far as I know myself. I'll just put some fruits and vegetables in the bento box for inbetween snacking. In the evening I will have some fish (tuna, salmon, ..) with salad. At weekends I will go out with friends and go hiking a lot.This will be rather expensive and I don't know yet exactly how I should be able to afford that but I am sure this whole daily routine will do me the world of good. During the breaks between the lectures I will walk around the building or during longer breaks I will go for a walk outside. As everytime after eating at the canteen I will have a walk afterwards. To reach the gym in the city I have to go 1 km and I aim to go there two to three times a week. If everything goes as planned life would be rather awesome then I guess. At least way better than it's been the last 3 years. Why I am posting this here is to ask you if you have got any suggestions for me. Any things I didn't think of, I missed or any tips for implementation. Like ideas for breakfast or dinner for example. Or ideas on how to find a job fitting to a student's timetable. Whatever. I am scared to mess this all up again and then I'd have wasted 3.5 years at university for getting a degree that you could get in three years but in the end having 'nothing'. So any piece of advice, every idea - no matter how crazy - is welcome. Greetings Magnhild

This is a group for anyone completing a seemingly endless stream of applications, for employment, higher education, or both. Group Members Harika Musuku Jaimee Nyxy Sterre

For this challenge I want to go back to the basics. Last challenge was a 50%, before that I skipped, and before that it was bad. This time I am going to start from the beginning with a simple, boring challenge set-up with the basic guidelines focused on establishing systems that will allow my aims to be reached without being disappointed that my estimates on what it would take to get there were wrong. To aid me in not over planning, I will try out willpower points; I will chose what to apply the day's points for and not over plan for them. There will be a lot of tweaking in what things cost one and how many I IRL have per day. Main Goal: Get shit done (feel accomplished, no longer daunted by the list of started projects or future projects) Goal 1: One new PR each day (+5 STR) The PR can be in any exercise, part of the Magic Numbers pvp or not. (I am not sure how handstands would work in the pvp, but I could just do it on time.) If I try one exercise and cannot go better, I can just try another. Stretching counts too, it is important, but the PRs will be holding a pose length. Goal 2: Time Structure (+8 WIS/CHA/STA) I have no job, but I came up with an idea for my own "work day". When I am in a section and timing it that is my job, being distracted is bad and should not count for the time. (Increments are currently set to be 15m with a short break if desired.) This is listed as a 9-hour day, which is reasonable, but 3 hours are set able to collapse to make this easier to ease into. I know no goal should be more than 5 stat points, but this one needs it. Reduced to six hours, and 8 pts (from 9).-> 2h Applications (Jobs and Graduate schools, looking, researching, and writing specifically, as well as finding and reading research in my field of interest to find schools/advisors)-> 2h Studying (I am working on a Calculus text now, Differential Equations and Linear Algebra are on the list, as well as Physics and homework from my Electrical Certification class. Very far down on the list are a few languages.) -> 1h Outside (I am a vampire, my hands are typically the temperature of death and the sun is an evil ball of burning light. There are useful things to be done that require being outside, however, such as walking with my dog, raking the pond, and strategically killing plants.) -> 1h Easy Math (Khan Academy and Work math) Goal 3: Projects (+2 ) There are two sides to this. I want to finish some things, and I want to use the time I hope to gain from Goal 2 from less dawdling to do things I want to do. This will be judged by taking time to work on something here (to keep with the building a system theme.) 18 days, 3 per week, seems conservative but a stretch. -> Finish Stuff (corset, a circuit, puzzle, . . . ) -> Write to my penpals (this is planned to be silly stories because there is not a lot about me to talk about right now) -> Clean out apparel I no longer have a use for -> Read Willpower: I will start with 10 points per day. Getting up on time, starting Goal 2 for the day(and other start points), doing Goal 1 at breaks (no more laying on the floor not doing push-ups!), stopping myself from checking webcomics, reading stuff online I do not care about, and going to bed on time each use a point. The idea is that after they are all used up I should have Goal 1 and Goal 2 done for the day and work on anything I like in Goal 3 or do something useless. Rewards: Calculus - The Calculus text has 17 chapters, I am currently in ch 3. Finish Chapter 5: buy a wax seal stamp (I should have the custom design complete by then) Finish Chapter 12: buy stationery Finish the book (ch 17): Calligraphy pen I am not sure about any other rewards.

Last challenge was a bust. *short story* -minor nagging shoulder injury -persistent foot injury -extreme dislike of job -fruitless job hunting They all piled up in synergistic fashion and made for some record lows I don't want life to keep me from enjoying life or from keeping me away from this place so I'll be doing what I can to make sure that to keep my head above water. Which brings me to my main quest : Don't drown in the sea of life Mission #1 : Check in to NF frequently Daily posts (6 days per week = A, 2 per week = F) Mission #2 : Eat salad Eat 4 big salads per week (4=A, 0=F) Mission #3 : Move at least a little Any movement that increases my heart rate at least a little(7=A, 3=F) Mission #4 : Move forward Study something future job related daily (6=A, 2=F) other goals... -create an account to apply for state jobs -make/go to college counselling appointment -go to doctors appointment on the 14th -install Microsoft Office onto my laptop -make a UHF antenna

Hisme's Fight with the Chimera Monsters come in all shapes and sizes, but despite the challenges I have so far in my life been thankful for the monsters. Even though they are terrible they teach me important lessons. From the Siren of Shyness that I battled growing up to the Workaholic Witch that I struggled with one year in college, I was lashed, I rose up again, and I conquered. I was awesome. Then came the Chimera. The Chimera is a particularly terrifying monster because it's a mismatch of several other beasts. I've had smaller chimera enter my realm before, but once I glimpsed them in their entirety I always figured out a plan of attack that vanquished them. This one, however, is a very long sort of beast and I haven't been able to see in its entirety yet. So far the information I've gathered is the following: The Chimera is made up of a combination of Loneliness, Job Loss, Feelings of Letting Others Down, Unfitness, Loss of Control in My Life, and Self-Insecurity. The worst thing is some of these monsters I've beaten before, but they've now returned with a vengeance as part of this amalgam. To make things worse, for the first time in my life I was poisoned by this monster with the side-effect of Depression which, though minor, has negatively affected every aspect of my life. I've tried two Challenges here previously and the poison of depression that the Chimera forced into my veins caused me to do less than my best. But this time I have more determination than ever. This time I will win this 6-week battle and take a step toward winning this war against this Chimera. I know it may take me a few challenges to do, but I WILL do it. Main Goal for This Challenge: Win Back the Fields of Confidence (aka gain some of my lost self-respect and awesomeness so I'll have more "umph" in the next challenge) Quest One: Stronger Arms Punch That Chimera in Its Stupid Face (+3 STR) I started out with "do a full workout with pushups, squats, dumbbell rows, etc." my first challenge and quickly realized I could barely even do a pushup. It was discouraging. Challenge two I made a more realistic goal but the Chimera's Depression Poison hit and knocked me off my groove. This time I'm doing a tiny challenge, because if I can do this and then move up just a little but then eventually I'll develop both the physical and mental ability to continue becoming more awesome even if I am having a stinky day. By the end of the six weeks I will be able to do ten real (not knee) pushups in good form with extreme gusto and ease. I will train for this by doing as many pushups as I physically can in good form every other day, increasing by one every two "workout" days. Grading for quest one: A: Don't miss a day of pushups, able to do 10+ pushups as described above. B: Miss 2-3 days of pushups, able to do 8+ pushups as described above. C: Miss 4-5 days of pushups, able to do 6+ pushups as described above. D: Miss 6-7 days of pushups, able to do 4+ pushups as described above. Fail: Miss 8+ days of pushups. ******* Quest Two: Better Stamina Run Rings 'Round that Monster (+ 4 STA) I hate running because I'm so unfit it makes me feel pathetic, but I can walk. I aim to go on a walk (and/or dance) 3x a week. I've been doing this consistently for a couple of weeks now and I can already feel my stamina increasing (I no longer pant by the end of this one particular trail but am completely comfortable) so I want to keep that up. Grading for quest two: A: Miss zero days. B: Miss 2-3 days. C: Miss 4-5 days. D: Miss 6-7 days. Fail: Miss 8+ days. ******* Quest Three: Better Flexibility Able to Roll with the Punches without Hurting Myself (+1 STR, +1STA, +2 CON) I will stretch and/or do yoga for at least 15 minutes EVERY DAY. That's right. I can skip Sundays because I'm usually in a dress for church but besides that... EVERY DAY. This always makes me feel better for the rest of the day and makes me more willing to get up and make good choices while at my sedentary desk job. Grading for quest three: A: Miss fewer than 5 days. B: Miss 5-10 days. C: Miss 10-15 days. D: Miss 15-20 days. Fail: Miss more than 20 days. ******* Side Quest: Seek Another Kingdom (+2 WIS, +2 CHA) I lost my job just after college when the company suffered a huge financial loss and could no longer afford to keep me. It sucked, but at that time the Chimera hadn't entered the picture so I was fairly hopeful. Maybe this was my chance to start my own business, something I'd always wanted to do but had been to afraid to! I started freelancing graphic design and illustration from home and haven't been doing badly, but the poison has been hurting my business by making me too afraid and apathetic to care about getting new clients or marketing like I should. I also have realized that even though I'm an introvert I really like working with and around people and I'm lonely All of my friends live elsewhere. THEREFORE, I've decided to stop freelancing full-time and get a job at a design firm. In the next six weeks I plan to start the job application process. The goal here is to start the process of job searching, not to get a job, because that's not something I can totally control. Week One: rewrite and redesign resume. Week Two: design resume accompaniments (designers have extra stuff for resumes, BOO) and choose portfolio pieces, begin a list of potential jobs by adding 3 companies you intend to apply to Week Three: assemble portfolio, add 3 more companies to the list Week Four: finishing touches on portfolio and resume, apply to the 6 companies on my list Week Five: Apply to 3 more companies Week Six: Apply to 3 more companies Exceptions: If I get a job interview with any of the companies before the challenge is over, I can replace applying to another company with interviewing. Grading for side quest: A: Keep up with weekly tasks. B: Miss the equivalent of one week of work, essentially deleting Week Six. C: Miss the equivalent of two weeks of work, essentially deleting Weeks Five and Six. D: Get resume and portfolio totally done but don't apply to any jobs. Fail: Fail to get resume and portfolio done. ******************************* Skirmishes (these are other mini-goals and desires for my life that I have but that don't count towards my points): 1) Continue eating well and going gluten-free, try to eat less sugar. 2) Read my Bible several times a week, eventually every day. 3) Play with my little brother more often... he's always asking me to and I'm always too busy He won't be this little forever! 4) Call my out-of-town friends more often and stay connected with them. 5) Wake up early every day and don't lay around on the couch for hours - get started with good things immediately. 6) Get on and participate in the NF Forums more often so I can be held accountable and so I can see that other people are going through this journey too. I'm not alone.

Guess I am one of the only ones here on a non-fitness challenge...but being without an income for almost 5 years , fitness isnt really the first thing on my to-do list (also because I am pretty happy with my weight of 48kg at 5ft height and I dont find it difficult to work out consistently....yes I'd like to get stronger..but,God willing, that'll be for some other challenge so, my main quest is to GET A JOB, God willing, by end of this year. I am a animator by profession who left job after 3.5 years of work in a big studio to make my own independent shortfilm with my boyfriend, which took 3.5 years in its making. Though we loved and adored it, it didnt get much response in the film festivals and now, we are back trying to make a good demoreel and get a job. my motivation - I want to get married and we cannot do so in such penniless, dependent-on-parents state. my goals for these 6 weeks are :- 1. to animate at least 3hrs everyday, working on my demoreel. 2. to post what progress I've made each day. 3. to evaluate every sunday my work and the strengths and weaknesses and what needs to be done to improve. I guess the goals arn't that impressive, but being new to such challenges, I am trying to keep things easily doable that I may stick to it till end, God willing. looking forward to some good productive days ahead, God willing

I am the type of person to set great, obtainable goals for myself, but to never complete them. I lose motivation or find excuses anywhere and everywhere. So I am hoping that the support from Nerd Fitness will help keep me accountable. Main Quest: In six weeks, I would like to complete a half marathon. I have a race scheduled for Sept. 8th, but if I can't make it, I still want to be able to run the distance. I don't care if the setting is a proper race. Goals: 1. I will run a minimum of three times a week. 2. I will start doing strength exercises to complement my training (bodyweight). 3. I will drink only water during the next six weeks. Life Quest: The start of a new semester is starting soon, and I have a lot on my plate. My side quest is to create a time schedule to help me keep my classes, clubs, and job all in order. I need to be organized so that I can do everything that I want to, but I tend to be terrible at organizing. Between Irish Dance club president, Ultimate Frisbee team member, full time student (Chemistry and Art History Major), and a job in a dining hall, I need to hold my life together so I still have time to be social. It sounds ambitious, but I think that I am up for the challenge.

Hey Guys! I totally fucked up my last challenge! Actually I didn't meditate because I lacked time and this lead to more lack of time. Even my GF asked me to meditate again. I changed my name to suit the new path I'm walking.. I was Dwarfthrower before. So I will focus on me more and do this: Meditation! 1 hour 6 days a weekAnapana and VipassanaSunyoga counts, tooSports 3 times a WeekStarting Strength likeMens sana Corpore Sano Eat enough to weigh 90kg in the endEat healthy(more paleo, less junk)Flexibility!Get plenty of Rest!Listen to my bodyMeasurement: Weight and doing something good(flexibility, nap.....) for me 3x a weeksGet your Life together!Write that thesis!Start with the second thesis!No facebook at work anymore!Work 2 hours a day 5 days a week without distraction!Do both oral exams!Stop procrastination!I will add attributes later. Since I need to get up in about 6 hours to meditate one hour before work

Hey folks! Having a bit of a woot moment! Just got the official word that I'm starting my new job on Monday! I'll now be a regular Monday to Friday desk jockey like everyone else in the world Can't wait to have a desk! (I was previously working in a high-end cocktail bar which was nice and all but hey, who wants to be getting home at 5am after being on their feet all day) Not sure what to expect as I've never worked for a company this big before so I'm a little nervous but still super excited! Oh and it's a bank I'm working for... I don't think most of you would know it but it's ANZ (you Aussie rebels will know it). Anyways, woot! Jimmy