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I've been a little inactive here lately. The boys have their summer break, and for some reason they want and often need my attention a lot (J is 5 and A is 7 years old now, almost 6 and 8 ). And the time I do have left I have used doing my chores, some work, focusing on getting at least some exercise, tuning my diet and watching youtube :p But now SH (Super Husband for those who didn't know) is home for the last two weeks of their summer break giving me some more time to do the stuff I want to do. Like getting back on Nerd Fitness. I've been playing around with intermittend fasting and kcal counting since May, and I have lost 9 kg's since then. But now my weight loss seems to have stalled a litte, so back to the drawing table it is. My favorite youtubers have given me lots to think about and inspiration for this challenge. For those interested, these are the health and fitness channels I'm following right now: Miss Fit and Nerdy Thomas Delauer Jeff Nippard Grafity Transformation They all use science to explain why some stuff works and some doesn't. They are about health, not a quick fix, not just weight loss. And they all like fasting, but also believe that you should do what works for you. One other channel that I've been following okay, binge watching is Dog Vlog. It's a comedian and his service dog who are hilarious. The comedian got a stutter through an accident, but instead of letting it defeat him, he turned it into a strength. I love his mindset. Now the moment you've all been waiting for: my challenge goals! Main goal: Lose 3 kg before September 3rd while staying as strong and healthy as possible This will make me win my DietBet this month. I haven't lost one yet, and I'm not going to start now :p That said, my pre-game has been strong (the few days between bets when all bets are off, so to speak) and I've gained some weight every time. That's why I joined a transformer. I have to keep up the weight loss for 6 months to win (although I have to lose less weight for a transformer than a kickstarter). So how am I going to do this? Quest1: Food Eat 1200 kcal (40% deficit) each day I can go over by 800 kcal in an entire week. So for example 2 1600 kcal days or one 2000 kcal day (maintenance) I eat 3 meals a day. No snacks, except for the higher kcal days. Some days I will fast, but most days I won't, because eating this little makes me hungry and eating 3 times a day makes me less hungry and less likely to overeat. Yes this will suck, so I will add a diet break after September 3rd where I will eat maintenance for a week. This is proven (according to youtube) to help keep the weight off and to help stick to the plan. Quest2: Fitness There are less zumba and dance classes during the summer break But once they start again (in two weeks), I will go to all of them again. But for now it will be only 2, maybe 3 classes a week (two of them on Tuesday evening). I'm still following the Fitbit Coach program, but added a Darebee workout to increase upper body strength. Because I STILL CAN'T DO A SINGLE PUSH UP. And I'm really frustrated with that. I realize that cutting kcal won't allow me to gain much strength, but I will fight to at least keep the strength I have, and if I gain strength that will make me really happy Quest3: Don't be so hard on myself Even though I lost weight, I'm still overweight. Even though I have gained strength in the last years, I'm still not strong by any means. Even though I work hard, I still struggle to keep up with my chores and don't make a lot of money (barely any). But I'm not going to let this define me, I am not going to let this bring me down. I have persevered all those years and made positive changes, and I will continue to do so. Those brain weasels will be sorry they ever entered my head! So when I screw up, I'll take a step back, see what went wrong and learn from it. Let's do this!

So it's been a while since I really got on here. I've tried getting back into the swing of things several times this year and bullshit keeps dragging my back down into depression. Ultimately, these have been situations that are incredibly overwhelming, so I don't blame myself entirely, but it's time to kick my own ass once again. Normally my challenge threads have a theme, but this time around I'm going simple. So without further ado: Ravnos' quest for redemption Quest 1 - Be Strong - Hit the gym 3 days a week. No exceptions. No changes. No complaints. Quest 2 - Be Flexible - Yoga every morning, plus an extra session at the end of each workout. Stretch and loosen the muscles. Quest 3 - Be Mindful - Meditate 5 days a week, every morning after waking up, for at least 5 minutes. Five minutes of mindful meditation every morning will help me start my day off better and stay focused to remain on task. Quest 4 - Be Clean - Eat clean, 100% Paleo 6 days a week, allow for one cheat day. No drinking (alcohol) except on cheat day for the duration of the challenge. Furthermore, some friends are moving (sad) and giving us a bunch of really nice furniture they don't want to take with them (cool). I need to clean, get rid of some old furniture and get the house organized to fit all the new, really nice stuff, in. Quest 5 - Be a Tracker - Track food and workouts, budget weekly, plan my week every Sunday and maintain my schedule in order to reform positive habits and routine. That's it. Simple, SMART goals. Time to get to work...

Since I have moved, I've let myself be sucked into bad habits. Self detrimental habits, some of the lies I told myself are "No, I'm too tired to cook dinner, and work out." "Going up five flights of stairs every day IS a work out if you make into one." "I'm too exhausted to work out after being on my feet for 8 hours." the list goes on. I want those lame ass excuses to stop, or at least not allow them to stop me from working out or eating right. Granted, now that I live alone its harder to eat healthier since I'm on a really tight budget, but it's doable. I want to get myself back into the routine of good habits, eating right is just one thing I want to do. It helps being held accountable or having people know my goals and either pushing me to better myself or encouraging me when it gets rough. -Cardio at least three times a week * Sand volleyball *Fill in *Fill in Grading [ 3 stam, 2 Dex] 18-15 times: A 14-11 times: B 10-7 times: C 6-4 times: D 3-0 times: F (for freaking failure) -Tracking my workouts and keeping my calorie intake no higher than 1850 *My calorie "allowance" is doable since the last time I had this goal I only had an intake of 1580 and I want to reach that again. Also tracking workouts is just a good habit to be in. Grading[2 Con, 1 Str] 40-33 days of 1850 or under: A 32-25 days of 1850 or under: B 24-17 days of 1850 or under: C 16-9 days of 1850 or under: D 8-0 days of 1850 or under: F (for freaking failure) -Eating at least two veggies a week. *Sounds crazy, but I probably eat maybe one a week right now, I really need to boost this up. I see a lot of broccoli and spinach in my near future. It could even be adding a little green to a sandwich. Grading[2 Wis, 1 Char] 12-10 times: A 9-7 times: B 6-5 times: C 4-3 times: D 2-0 times: F (for freaking failure) My short term goal for my life is: If I am going to drink during the work week it has to be kept to no more than two drinks for that day. ( I.e no downing a bottle of wine on a thursday night, two glasses and I'm done.) https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1WbRFTClJCLGxiVTcBRWKTshvxzE9vQvUCPu41GMYp70/edit?usp=sharing