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Objective: Build up a better self-image to help boost confidence and motivation. Hopefully to gain better mental health and positive attitudes towards exercise, diet, & life. Quest 1: post daily affirmations, in any form (picking something I like about myself or posting a motivational picture or quote). It will be a big challenge for me, I am a very negative person. Quest 2: Daily morning yoga and/or Piriformis muscle stretches and/or meditation. Going back to a staggering-type challenge, waking up 5 minutes earlier. Then I will increase by 5 minutes each week. My herniated disc has healed but having troubles with piriformis muscle. Chiropractor gave stretches I need to do every day. Quest 3: Frequent journaling. I have gotten close to pinpointing the sources of my depression. Journaling has helped me notice triggers and realize which emotions are a result of other emotions. Quest 4: Daily belly to spine posture practice, as recommended by my chiropractor. Gotta strengthen my deep inner core. Life goals: Set up doctor, dental, and hair appointments for myself and my kiddo.

Challenge number 12. It is now turning into autumn down here. This challenge I will start to reduce my intensity, and the next winter challenges will just be enough to keep the momentum ticking over. My demon brain keeps on telling me I am not doing enough, so: On the good side: I wake up most mornings at 5. I do Stronglifts 3 days a week. My breakfast is paleo 80% of the time. I am at work before 7 every morning I do some rolling and stretching almost every day at work. I do 15 minutes of meditation almost every day. I clean around the workshop every day. My lunches are 95% paleo. I leave work most days before 17:30 I take my dog for a walk after work, this include a wrestling session on the grass. I am busy teaching him basic commands. I do some gardening at home every day. My suppers are 90% paleo. I play some games every evening. I take my dog at 9 for a late night walk. I work on my running technique for the first part of the walk. At the turnaround I do stretching and movement stuff. I am in bed before 11 most nights. I have no debts. I owe very little stuff. On the bad side: I do not get enough sleep. I am busy moving from a weight-loss diet to a weight-lifting diet, and I am still in the fumbling stage. So too much chocolate. I do not clean enough. I am still battling depression and anxiety, and not looking forward to winter at all. I have to buy winter clothes, everything I do own is too big for me. On the ugly side: My life is too interwoven with the business, and things are not going well at all. I've got a very painful sciatic nerve thing going on in my left leg. I've got very little time for myself. I am poor. I've got no friends except online. And the people I do see on occasion I do not like that much. Random goal: I need to get together some money for a holiday, my last one was in 2009, and that was with family. And for this challenge: 1. Journal Write something every day. This must include 3 things I am grateful for. And I have to do it using proper typing, not my usual hunt and peck style. I can do it, I am just too lazy to change. 2. Checklists Keep on making checklists. It works. I must add in 3 things for work: Do something every day for my soul, Do something every day for money, Do something every day for other people to do. 3. Stronglifts Ja, ja , ja. Keep on doing it. No magic involved. If needed, stretching, flexing and rolling is a good substitute if my sciatic nerve is playing up again. 4. The life quest thingy. This thingy is called a website. I want a vanity website all of my own, I've registered the domain name and everything, I just have to do it.

My main quest currently is to regain a healthy state, as an individual who cares for herself by eating nourishing food, exercising daily, managing stress, and taking time to relax and reflect. One indicator of reaching my goal, this healthy state, will be maintaining a healthy BMI. My BMI is currently 41.7 and it should be no higher than 24.9. There is a long road between where I stand today and where I want to be. But I’ve overcome far greater challenges in my past, and by taking one step at a time, I will complete my quest. Until the next challenge begins, I will start with some teeny, tiny goals. They’re enough to get my feet wet and to motivate me daily to continue. Eat one serving of plain fruit in the evening. My main difficulty with emotional eating is late-night snacking. Adding one healthy snack that I consciously eat in the evening, will be the first step in eliminating this habit. As I mainly struggle with sweets, I will add a sweet fruit.5 minutes of meditation daily. I need to reconnect with my body and notice what it is telling me. I’ve ignored my body’s messages, out of necessity, for long enough. It’s time to tune back in. 5 minutes may be all that I can stand for now.Complete my morning pages. I’m not entirely sure that I’m up to writing all 3 pages, so for now I’ll just set a goal to write every day. Even if it’s half a page or one sentence, it will help me to get back in tune with my thoughts and help me to reflect. I have always found journaling to be very helpful in the healing process.Move with intention every day. I use a Jawbone Up and usually move about 8,000 steps daily in the course of my daily commute and activities. I consider that incidental movement and it won’t count. I’d like to have some extra movement every day, whether it be time spent on my yoga mat, completing a posture (even savasana, though I hope I’m able to attempt more than that), or taking a stroll by the river.There is plenty of time for intensity. For now, it’s all about taking first steps. These feel like reasonable, attainable goals. Anything more and I would definitely get overwhelmed, but I know it's just a matter of time before I start reaching for bigger and harder goals with the rest of you!

ev·o·lu·tion (noun) the gradual development of something, especially from a simple to a more complex form. Synonyms: development, advancement, growth, rise, progress, expansion, unfolding Hello! I am GryffindorGoddess - or GG - and this is my first challenge. I know most people start with the Recruits on their first challenge, but I really feel like I belong here. I am evolving. Slowly. But I am. I am making changes in my life that will help me to grow in to the strong, healthy, and amazing woman that I know I can be. I am looking forward to the changes that will come, to the new experiences I will have, to the things I will let go. I cannot wait to see what has been hiding under my cloud of doubt and laziness. I have called myself goddess for many years, yet have not been behaving as one for quite some time. It is time to fix that. It is time to become the goddess I have long since claimed to be. My Goal for 2015 Reduce body fat to 25% by the end of the year My Goals for This Challenge Goal 1: Do yoga three days a week - Do at least twenty minutes of yoga on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays A = 3 yoga workouts // C = 2 // F = 1 or 0 -- weekly goal Goal 2: Track calories and macronutrients - 1375 calories a day // Carbs: 103 grams // Protein: grams 69 // Fat: 76 grams A = 1375 calories // B = 1425 // C = 1475 // D = 1525 // F = 1575 -- daily goal A = 103 grams of carbs // B = 120 // C = 140 // D = 160 // F = 180 or higher -- daily goal Goal 3: Wake up at 5:30a on work days - Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays A = 5 mornings // B = 4 // C = 3 // D = 2 // F = 1 or 0 -- weekly goal Goal 4: Go to bed by 11p on work nights - Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays A = 5 nights // B = 4 // C = 3 // D = 2 // F = 1 or 0 -- weekly goal Goal 5: Journal before bed every night - Minimum of one sentence summary A = 7 journal entries // B = 6 // C = 5 // D = 4 // F = 3 or fewer -- weekly goal Life Goal Read one book every week Motivation I want be a strong, healthy, and amazing woman.

Main Quest - Establish a Craving-Control Habit In more nerdy terms, I'm hoping to learn how to run from the black riders that plague my quests (black riders = cravings)! Previously, I focused on what and how much I eat. This has not sustainably changed my choices around food. I want to shift my focus to my habits around food and cravings. Writing has always been a powerful tool for me to explore my life. My words are more meaningful to me than numbers and naked data. Here's what I'm hoping to accomplish in terms of daily goals (hopefully establishing new habits). Notice - I will pay attention to the cravings, triggers, and coping strategies I use. I am using Eating the Moment to help direct my experiments. Record - I will record my observations in the Recovery Record app after each meal and whenever I notice something important related to my eating. Journal - I will spend at least 5 minutes every night reviewing my day and my eating habits in writing. Say Grace before each meal (life goal). Deepen my yoga and meditation practices (side goal). For each goal >90% accomplished, I will choose one of my "big rewards list" (ie, fancy sports bra, digital scanner, new fitness equipment, etc) at the end of the challenge. Extras - quiet time, studying, mindfulness, creating, cleaning, focused movement, decluttering - for greater than 25 activities per week, only counted once per day, I will randomly roll one of my "weekly rewards" at the end of each weekly wrap up. Glad to continue in fellowship with all the Rebels! Let's do this.

1. Jumpstart my journaling. For this challenge I am going to do the 31 day challenge from the Art of Manliness. I did keep a journal in previous challenges, but the habit has gotten lost, this is now time to pick it up again. Saturdays and Sundays are excluded. 2. Make lists. I have been meaning to do it for a long time, so maybe this will be a good time. Wrote out checklists of things that I must do every day and put it up to keep myself accountable. It is bad to never manage to do things that will only take a minute or two. Also from the Art of Manliness. Some sort of a trend forming? 3. Stronglifts Been doing this last challenge. And in between. I am getting some nice muscles. Life quest: Website. This is now the third (fourth?) challenge for this, and I have done nothing so far. At least I am consistent, but I think this is one streak that needs to be broken.

Coping through Hoping “What do you want out of life? That is your hope.†I've been stressing over my actions and decisions without bothering to take the time to pin down exactly what ends I hope to accomplish in life. This... is madness... and also exhausting! Time to slow down, calm down, and find my inner peace. Enter my new challenge: MAIN QUEST: Discover Hope. Goals: 1. Awaken to Hope I've scheduled a date every morning at 6:00 am for the next six weeks with God. This is where I connect with Hope and awaken to possibilities. It's time to see myself through God's eyes and ask that He establish my ways. Maybe I'll get some clarity on future plans here... and if not, there is still peace to be won! 2. Gloved Shovel I've seen too many posts about people working with sledgehammers to NOT attempt it. The shovelglove website recommends 14 minutes a day. Week one will find me at half that – 7 minutes, 3 times a week - adding minutes through the challenge as I feel ready. Oh, and I'm using a ten pounder to start out. 3. Meal Manifesto Last challenge I did 21 days gluten, dairy, and sugar free and saw no relief from my stomach / GI issues. I've since read that it could take months, not weeks, to clear up my digestive trouble. That challenge now continues, with a few more suspicious foods cut from my diet. I'll also be journaling to record my food and feelings. Life Quest: 1. Authoring Hope I really benefit from writing: putting pen to paper helps me think through problems and is inspiring. I will write every night to remind myself that my hope is in Christ. Hope doesn't rise or fall on my own failures and shortcomings. Motivation: God can comfort my heart and establish me. (2Th 2:16-17 ESV) “Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.â€

Alright, here goes. I decided to start my battle log over. My goals have shifted, I have shifted. I have found the focus and the groove I was struggling so hard to find before and my old battle log doesn't really reflect where I am at now. I am 8 months deep into the biggest transformation and evolution of my existence. At the end of March, I set forward on an epic quest to put my life back together and transform into the best version of myself. I wanted to see how far I could get in one year. There is 19 weeks left for me to reach that one year landmark. This battle log is to document these last weeks and what I am able to achieve in that time. So here are the details as far as my body image goes: I've lost 120 lbs. I've gone from a size 24-26 (3-4XL) to a size 12-14 (L-XL). I need to lose another 50 lbs to meet my goal weight ~ 2.6 lb loss per week - somewhat wreckless but not impossible. I want to fit into a size 6-8 dress size. Fitness wise this is where I am at now. Here's my benchmark: Squat: 150 lbs Deadlift: 180 lbs Benchpress: 90 lbs Chinup: 61lbs assist Dips: 40 lbs assist Best 5K time: 29:43 Best 10K time: 62:35 Swim 2000m: 55:00 I haven't been keeping an accurate logbook of all my workouts so I'm not sure on where I am at right now for everything else. Logging is going to start tomorrow. I really want to develop my workouts and keep better data records in the coming months. I am starting whole30 tomorrow. I have been eating mostly whole30 for the last while so this should be a fairly smooth transition. These last 19 weeks of my quest are going to require some refinement and my diet has to be seriously on point. Also need to figure out a better workout plan. I've been working out fasted (with the exception of coffee+almond milk) and that's been working out quite well so far. My day to day routine right now is 45min-1hr HIIT cardio per day + 1-1.5 hours of lifting alternating days between legs/ass - chest/back - arms/shoulders. I've been doing that about 3 weeks now and it's paying off but I feel like I need a bit more direction and structure in my lifting routine. Maybe a 3-4 week alternating plan to keep variety in there. Something I'll be working on in the next few days. “A warrior does not give up what he loves, he finds the love in what he doesâ€

Hey all, I'm Jason. And I know I'm a little late, haha So even though I just started a few days ago I want to go ahead and jump on this six four (now) week challenge. Thanks, nerdfitness, for providing a community of positive and ambitious people to share my dreams with. Main Quest: Explore Nerdfitness, build good habits for future challenges. Very general goal for my first one. Quest no. 1: - Complete 3 modules (Mindset, Nutrition, and Fitness) in Nerd Fitness Academy and start quests for all the different classes. Loot- Gym/Pool/Karate membership for next challenge Quest no. 2: - Join a cooking group on Nerdfitness. Focus on ONE recipe each week and make 3 times until comfortable. Then add the recipes to my Pinterest. Loot- Sharp knife set? Something to help my cooking as i do more Quest no. 3: - Write daily journal entries (for ~30 min) in Penzu, atleast 5x/week Loot- Buy SSAS or AOC or Lift coach Side Quest 1- Complete 2 lessons on Rocksmith or learn a new song on the guitar for an hour, 3x/week. Loot- Buy guitar lessons for next month Motivation - Make it a great one Bonus stats: - Week 1: +1 wis - Week 2: +1 cha - Week 3: +1 cha - Week 5: +1 wis

I've been sat staring at my computer screen for the last 20 minutes unsure of what I want to achieve out of this six week challenge but then I started thinking about the past two weeks and I knew what I wanted to do. Last challenge I started and then disappeared of the face of the earth to the point where I became really unhappy with what I was doing with regards to Fitness and Health. So I started up my blog and restarted the Academy. I went through all the quests again and it has helped me take a step back and understand how to start fixing the problems I have created. I am at the end of my initial 2 weeks where I get myself back into a routine and then assess what I am doing right and where I may need to change things. And that is why I am back here again for another six week challenge. I need the accountability and the support these forums offer to make sure I stay on track. Sometimes all it takes is for me to browse through other people's challenges, see what they are achieving and it gives me a small kick up the backside if I am slacking. Last challenge I rarely logged on (instead putting my time into browsing the internet aimlessly) and I want to change that. So this challenge will be: No Nonsense or Excuses. 1) I will exercise two times a week Complete a pull upRun in the NF Pumpkin Pi 5k Virtual Challenge2) I will eat well one sweet a daycook two meals for my family3) I will be less dependent on my computer Read 6 booksCreate a scrapbook journalSide Quest: 4) I do not waste my money a pool of money to spend on non-necessities (e.g. music, dvds, geeky stuff). In the past I've found I make things too complicated by trying to achieve too much. So I'm tried to simplify things a bit this time round. I've also jumped back into my Ultimate Quest! Got a lot to start crossing off!

YOUR QUEST, Should you choose to accept it; No Jiggly Stomach. Also known as Teagarden's Quest for Self Acceptance. MISSIONS that you should complete to achieve your objective; (1) Thou Shalt eat no processed food that comes in crinkly bags (or other wrappings) (2) Thou Shalt commence bodyweight training at least once a week, twice if the opportunity presents itself. (3) Thou Shalt continue yoga classes (with a vengeance) AT LEAST once a week, but 3 times if the opportunities present themselves. (4) Thou Shalt follow the teachings of Steve of Nerd Fitness as if you are a hardcore religious type and worship the internets he writes on. Complete your quest by: 6/1/2014 (gives me 6 weeks, good practice for later challenges, no?) Adventure Journal, Day One. 26/11/13, 8:56am. Location: The southern coast of Western Australia. Starting Stats: Rebel's Name: Teagarden Gender: (F) Height: 167cm / 5ft 5in Weight: 68kgs / 150lbs Race: pudgy fleshling Human. Profession: none Downfall: Late nights, sleep ins and lots coffee. Level: 1 ----------------------------------------- Teagarden vs the Beginner's Bodyweight Circuit ----------------------------------------- Almost Successfully completed 3 rounds of the beginner bodyweight training! 20 squats 8 Knee Pushups 20 lunges 10 dumbell rows with 6kg weights. 20 second plank, and 30 jumping jacks. x3 times. ACHEIVEMENT EARNED: complete your first workout: 1/1 Reward items: +1 Strawberry Blueberry smoothie with almond milk. +1 body full of sore muscles tomorrow morning. Feel the burn! Breakfast was Espresso coffee and banana. Lunch was sweet potato tart with big side salad. Dinner was homemade chicken burgers; except I cut the burger in half and filled it with salad instead of using that stack of white bread over there! Woo! Tomorrow should be a quiet day on the battlefront, just a day shift at work then home for dinner. I will probably be suffering from today's workout so tomorrow I'll let them rest.

jtggodqos - go big, or go home Main Quest I vow to return to a healthy lifestyle, incorporating good eating habits and exercise into most every day. Goals Exercise: I vow to adhere to the following workout plan every day, with the rare exception.Wed, Fri, Sun: lower body (DDR or calf raises, squats, lunges)Thus, Sat, Mon: upper body (bench press, military press, seated row, bicep curl, tricep curl, lat pulldown)Tue: rest; cardio optionalDiet: I vow to consume no more than 1200 kcal every day, with the rare exception.Writing: I vow toboth journal and write one poem every day, with the rare exception. Side Quests Minis: I vow to at least consider the Mini Quests each time, though I am not required to participate. My Motivation I vow to adhere to the above requirements, because I'm fucking sick of how I look, and I'm tired of this Depression.healthy eating and regular exercise are good for the body, and writing is good for the soul. Notes the "with the rare exception" clause must be validated by Brian -- if he deems it acceptable, then I can evoke it. this ensures I don't let myself "cheat" too much.I must input every day's progress on both my spreadsheet AND my NerdFitness thread. this ensures accountability. Links spreadsheetMyFitnessPalFitbitFitocracy Icon for Hire - "Get Well" lyrics

Silly Dolph Lundgren title is inspired by my friend who is joking about me becoming Dolph Lundgren with my new lifestyle. I don't really want to look like him, but let's call it like that To avoid spamming challenge thread and keep all exercises in 1 log, I will log all here. 2.1.14 Warmup 10min Pushups 3x20 Hanging leg raise 3x5 Pistols 3x3 Pullup hold 1x15sec Chinup hold 1x25sec + 1x20sec Plank rotation (front, side and bridge in each set) 3x30sec each / bridge only 15-20sec possible Stability ball back extension 3x20 Stretch 10min 3.1.14 Warmup 10min Burpees with pushup and jump as many as possible in 10min = 93 Stretch 5min 5.1.14 Running + HIIT sprinting (10 x 80-100m with rest 1.5-3min fast walk / slow jog, sprinting "all out" effort) + 3x5 hanging leg raises on the goal post before fast walking / slow jogging home from the track. 6.1.14 Fitness test before the challenge 1. military pushups - 20 2. pushups with feet on stability ball - 123. diamond pushups - 154. plank hold - 90 sec5. hanging L sit hold - 30 sec6. chinup hold - 29 sec7. chinups - 0 (almost there, can do 2-3 half ones without hanging all the way to bottom position)8. pullups - 09. frog hold - 32 sec 7.1.14 Second part of the fitness test:10. pistol squats - 8 right leg, 5 left leg (imbalance that must be taken care of)11. deep squats (ass to the ground / as low as possible + stopping before full leg lockout position) - 41 8.1.14 warmup handstand practice L-sit on 2 chairs (legs still not in horizontal level) L-sit with support on floor (unable to lift feet from the floor) 3x8 slow and controlled diamond pushup 3x5 horizontal row with feet on stability ball (try that, interesting experience... also pushups with feet on the ball) 3x5 dips on 2 chairs (not very comfortable and with poor technique... gotta get them rings) 3x3 half-chinups and negative chinups after first ones become impossible (total 4/5) 3x frog position 15-20sec stretching (legs ignored after yesterday test to failure) 9.1.14 Burpee madness with video of my suffering for your enjoyment Today tried tabata protocol but nothing good came out of it. Just 82 in 9 minutes and then after last rep my legs have refused further cooperation. For the next 15-20 minutes I could barely stand up. With burpees I always warmup before and do a bit of streching later. This is the first time I made video of my burpees. Now seeing it, my technique obviously needs improvement and I should also go deeper in the pushup phase (preferrably touch the ground with my chest). Must think about breathing too. I will start recording all of my exercises so that faults can be corrected in the future.

This is the new battle log for JoeDaddy! Right now my dedicated lifting program is Stronglifts 5x5, and I'm loving it. I also do a lighter lifting routine Monday through Thursday with another workout partner, which serves as a warmup for my day, and I'll be adding HIIT or short, high intensity cardio sessions Tuesdays and Thursdays, starting 9/24/13. Here's my workout for yesterday - Wednesday, Sept 18, 2013 Squat 190x5x5Incline Bench 135x5x5Pendlay Row 95x5x5

I hear by challenge myself to keep a mans journal for the next 6 weeks so I can track my road to level 50. After reading "How and Why to Start a Journal" by AoM I want to track my progress, reflect on my days and plan my next day. I started yesterday so it's awesome I can do my first 6 week challenge! I think this is my first post as a NF rookie! Currently I'm at level 1 and i'll level up as soon as I know that I want for level 50 and 25 (half way mark). LETS DO THIS! Rogier

Once again, you guys have your challenge threads well under way, and I'm let getting my thread posted. Oh well, I'm not going to lose in sleep over it because this challenge is about being less negative (unless I'm lifting with negatives). So, I've been reading "my copy" of Primal Connection. Why the quotes? Because it's actually the public library's version, but I keep returning it and checking it back out. For a new book, they don't give you the month to read it like they do with other books and since I've been taking notes (they frown on highlighting their version), it's taking me a while to digest the whole thing. In previous challenges, I have come up with ways to work around a hectic schedule and be happier. Usually, that ends up being a scheduling hack to get to working out more to keep my sanity, trying to be more stringent with my diet, and manufacturing ways to spend more time with my family. How has the worked out? Well, the workouts have been great. I feel stronger than I have in years. Some of the changes to spend more time with my family have worked, and some have meant I'm only in physcial proximity to them, but not really "with" them. The diet? Well, that usually goes pretty well until I snap. Then it's all out the window. What does this have to do with The Primal Connection? Because the first chapter in that book is all about your inner dialogue and changing your actions to become more connected with yourself in our hyperconnected society. Kinda touchy-feely, I know. But, if it can help me flow with my situation, rather than constantly fighting it, I believe good things will come from it. So, to do that we're going with: Goal #1: Be happy with my workouts Last challenge, I discovered some workouts that I really enjoyed. So, I'll be continuing down the Metabolic Resistance Training path rather than trying to target this or that. 4 workouts/wk. That's it. Simply get 'em done. I'm always happier after these workouts. That's 24 workouts over the course of the challenge. Percent completed will determine the grade. STR: +2, STA: +1, DEX: +2 Goal #2: Happy fun time workouts I have a 5K that I do every year for charity right at the end of this challenge. However, so far this year I've focused on a stronger body and more interval training rather than focusing on getting my pace as fast as possible. When I was focusing on pace, I got frustrated when it didn't improve the way I hoped, I pushed more and I ended up with PF. The result has been less distance running. I did 4.2 miles on Saturday and tried to maintain a comfortable pace. At the end I checked the watch and it averaged 8:42 min/mile. Last time I ran this race I finished with an 8:02 average. 40 seconds off my pace in 6 weeks? Ouch! I'm still gonna do the run, but this year I vow to simply enjoy it and not try to best my time like I've done every year. But, I need to do more runs to be in decent enough shape to run without injury. So, 3+ mile runs 2x a week. Also (I'm cheating here and I don't care), I've always thought the 100 pushup challenge was a cool idea. I do a lot of push-ups (or at least I think so) in many variations. I think it would be a cool challenge to see if I can complete 1 set 100 of normal pushups by the end of the challenge. I've never tried it before, so tonight I'll set my starting point. These are just fun goals that I want to finish. I'll average the 2 together for a final grade. STR: +2, DEX: +1, WIS: +1 Goal #3: Stop fighting my diet I've been working on this for a few weeks. I've proven that I'm not good at setting strict rules and sticking to them over the long term. This results in completely falling off whatever wagon I put myself on, and unwinding weeks of progress. So, I'm going to make some incremental changes and try to make them stick. I'm combining a bunch of ideas (the Vegan Before 6:00 schedule with Primal eating replacing the vegan eating and intermittant fasting) around when I have the most control of things. This results in Primal eating prior to dinner time, no snacking after dinner time, and intermittant fasting on the weekends. It's kind of a Frankenstein of diets, I know. But, it feels like it would allow me to flow with the situation rather than fighting it while still improving my diet overall. So, we'll see if I have built Frankenstein's monster at the end of the challenge, or if I have found my fat loss nirvanna. CHA: +2, STA: +1, CON: +1 Goal #4: Journal my way happy Last challenge I let some negavtivity creep into my thinking, attitude and posts here. I tend to simply not post when I'm being negative because it usually makes things worse because then I dwell on it too much. I'm around a lot of negative people, so I constantly fight to keep a positive attitude. Sometimes I'm more successful than others. It's those other times that I end up taking out my grumpiness on those closest to me. Their the ones who least deserve it. One of the suggestions from the Primal Connection was to keep a gratitude journal. Every day try to write down as many things as you are grateful for each day. Dwelling on the positive instead of the negative sounds like a good idea to me. Mark starts out with ones that I wouldn't have (grateful for the gifts of sight, smell, touch, hearing, etc.), but only because I'm too narrow minded. So, every day I'm going to list out all of the things I'm grateful for for the day in 10-15 minutes. This isn't supposed to be a strenuous difficult activity. Just everything that comes to me in that amount of time. 42 days. Percent completed will determine the grade. WIS: +2 Side goal: Finish digesting The Primal Connection I love the way Mark writes/thinks. It speaks to me and makes sense. I think I can get more from this book than his first. So, my free time will be spent with this book.

Hey all. Looking to see if anyone has a template, or word/excel document (any MS Office document actually) that can be printed out and used as a means to keep track of exercise sets/reps/etc. My boxing gym has this great little book, but they sell for $12 and I think I can get what I need just having something to print up and write on. I realize I can just jot it down in a book, but I like being all organized and OCD, so something that keeps organized track of exercise, set, reps, weight would be great. I think I used to have a fitbook years ago, and that is the kind of format I am looking for, but just cheap. Cheap cheap. Or free is better! I COULD just google this and find it, yes, but you awesome Rebels here always have the coolest toys, gadgets and gimmicks already discovered, so I was hoping someone already had a favorite they could link me to.

DAILY FOOD AND EXERCISE JOURNAL FOR MY CURRENT CHALLENGE Going to try a new approach on the format. Each day will have it's own entry that includes my food journal, exercise journal and breakdown of activity/time/calorie burn and reps/sets. Strength stats only will be copied to the challenge thread itself as I am tracking gains on this challenge. Might be more spammy and have more posts this way, but also will be less tedious to have to sort through and find the 'weekly' posts and then edit each one. Oh! Also want to add a thoughts/feelings section for each day so I can see how I felt based on this, that, or whatever. First post to hit on Monday, Day 1 of challenge.

Hey Y'all! It has been about a year since my last challenge. I have recently become super-motivated again to get back on track and feeling good. Highest ever was 215, got down to 180 with Nerd Fitness, paleo, yoga, zumba, running and crossfit. Then I got married, started a new job that is 75% travel, bought a house and moved there. My life is crazy, but starting to at least settle into a routine of insanity. I thought I was doing ok with eating and working out even on the road, and that is when my clothes started fitting badly. I was back to 200lbs. Crap. I spent about a week feeling bad for myself, about 2 weeks of trying and saying it is impossible and am now in my second week of kicking ass. My goal is to loose 25 lbs in 100 days. My end date is September 21 and my goal is 175. I know that weight is not the end all measurement, but I am looking for easy. I haven't had a proper weigh in since the scary 200 because I have been on the road and scales are wacky. For instance, if the scale at my hotel is to be trusted, I am already down 10 lbs (hint: not likely). Goals: Food journal- track all food and drinks using online tracker, weekends off unless I have time Clean eats-lots of water, lots of protein, lots of plants, no processed food. no processed sugar, no grain (a little bit of rice ok). Exercise- When I am onsite for my job, I am walking at least 2.5 miles for my commute each day, but I need to find something else when I am home. I have 10 yoga classes to use up before the end of July. Practice motorcycle- I got licenced last month, but still have some practice to do before I hit the open road. I have been away from home since I got it, but need practice. Risks: Travel- I do better when I have a routine, my travel schedule makes this impossible, so I need to figure that out if I want to keep my job and be healthy at the same time. I also like to experience the world through tastes. I am in San Francisco a lot right now, and they have awesome food. However, it is also a place with a lot of healthy choices. Laziness- Life is busy, get over it and get healthy. Holidays- 4th of July, a few weddings, a family reunion etc etc Early Wins: Walked 30 miles last weekend exploring San Francisco! Used the hotel gym for the first time in months this morning and it felt awesome Am doing well drinking lots of water Clothes are already fitting a bit better

Reading through the "Operation: Slim Down" guide, and it says I should keep a food journal. I've never counted calories in my life, do I really have to? I tried making a paleo-meal for dinner last night, and really liked it. I've deviated from paleo a bit today, since I ate my smoked herring on black bread, and I used a bit of cream and sugar in the tomato soup for dinner... But if I stick with eating paleo and reducing my intake on grains and sugar, won't that work just fine? To be clear, I'm starting on the 28 weeks basic strength program, but I'm already really excited about eating mostly vegetables, eggs and meat. What are your recommendations/experiences with food journals? And any good explanations on how to count calories without having to spend an hour accounting each day?

I am a 41 yo male, family man (married, two kids, two dogs), 6 ft, 197 lbs with a sedentary job and a long commute. I used to train regularly and I was in good to very good shape but I let life get in the way over the last few years. Now that my 42nd birthday is approaching, it's time to take stock, get back in the game and work towards being in the best shape I've ever been in! This 6 week challenge is the way home, my goals: 1. Hit the gym 4 times a week, minimum of 30 mins per session with the goal of working up to quality 4x60 min sessions: My focus will be on going for strength and intensity. I will work out at least four times a week and rely heavily on supersets for all around, full body workouts. Grades will be: A - 4 sessions B - 3 sessions C - 2 sessions D - 1 session F - 0 sessions 2. Weigh in at 185 lbs at challenge completion. I currently weigh 197 lbs and whenever I try high impact activities (tennis, soccer, box jumps, etc.) my knees are killing me the following day. I know that age has something to do with it I'm sure but I didn't have this problem when I was weighing at or below 185 lbs. So: A - 185 lbs B - If I weigh over 185 lbs but yet feel happy with what I see in the mirror C - 190 lbs D - 195 lbs F - 197 or higher 3. Reduce empty calories: No more sugar and bad fats. To keep things simple I will focus on two bad habits of mine: a) drink black coffee or no coffe at all. I always go heavy on the half and half on my morning and afternoon coffee plus artificial sweetener. I will eliminate both, period. No more soda or lemonade. In an effort to eliminate the empty calories from soda I've relied on diet soda, lemonade or Arnold Palmers. I will go with water or unsweetened iced tea. This will be a pass or fail goal. 4. I will keep a daily journal. I started reading Meditations by Marcus Aurelius based on someting I read in one of Robin Sharma's books which has inspired me to keep a daily journal. A - 7 daily entries B - 5 or 6 daily entries C - 3 or 4 daily entries D - 2 daily entries F - 0 or 1 daily entries I think these are SMART goals that will make a change in my life for the better. Now on to finding a way to keep myself accountable.

Hi everyone! I am new to NF and I plan to track my fitness and diet progress here. I track my daily intake and monitor my energy levels in a Google document so I won't be very detailed here. I'll try to do a weekly/ daily/ as often as possible post of my progress here