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Hey all! My name is Morgan. I'm a 23 year old Stage manager from Minnesota who has struggled with getting fit the last couple years. I recently bought Steve's book Level Up Your Life and it inspired me to recommit to bettering and leveling up my life. So here we go! Starting Stats: Measurements: STR: 11 INT: 15 Weight: 206lb. Height: 5' 4 3/4" DEX: 14 WIS: 16 Neck: 14" Chest: 36"/43" (under/over breasts) CON: 11 CHA: 15 Waist: 33.5" Hips: 44" (Stats found in quiz Biceps: 14"R/13:L Thighs: 24"R/26"L seen in signature) Calves: 17" L&R Goals: - Complete four weeks of Couch to 5K - 20 XP - Beginner Bodyweight Workout every other day - 20 XP - Rest on Sundays - 5 XP - Meal Prep lunches and dinners on Sunday each week - 25 XP - Start doing deadlifts (working towards 50lbs total at end of challenge) - 15 XP - Establish and enact for 30 days a morning and evening routine - 10 XP - Go on a date with Ben - 5 XP Total XP: 100 (Level Up!) Rewards: - 5 - 15 XP Reward: Rent one movie from Redbox - 20 - 25 XP Reward: Chipotle Meal - Level Up Reward: New workout shoes Alright, I think that's it! I look forward to chatting with you guys and challenging each other! Let me know what you guys think! Cheers, Morgan

MAIN QUEST: Do my first pull-up. Mini-main quest: Continue my "year of consistency." I'll get my time in under the bar, continue working on mobility, figure out how to eat in a way that supports my health, strength, and happiness, and see what happens... This is my first New Year's with NF! Now that I have a good foundation for fitness and health, it’s time to work on the weak points. Which brings me to the theme of this challenge: Hakuna Matata a.k.a. Don’t Stress About Food I’ve been focusing on eating “clean,†and I definitely feel better as a result. However, that alone doesn’t mean that I’m eating optimally for my goals (whether that’s gaining strength or cutting bf%). I need to add more structure into my nutrition, but without getting frustrated by slow progress or bogged down by perfectionism. That brings me to my first goal: Goal 1: Counting with curiosity [+3 WIS, +1 CHA, +2 STR] I’ll be tracking food with the goal of figuring out what works best for me. Possible questions that I can answer with this data (albeit not all at once) include: What does “eating at maintenance†mean for me?What is a sustainable calorie deficit for me?Am I eating enough protein?Do I feel better if I eat more/fewer meals?How does my carb intake affect how I feel?In addition to tracking food on My Fitness Pal, every day I’ll also log how I feel (energy-wise, mood-wise, etc.). I tried something like this during my second challenge and it quickly turned into a fiasco because of lingering body image and food issues. Why will it be different this time around? I’m going to eat more, for starters. MFP now thinks that I’m a very active individual who wants to maintain her weight and therefore won’t tell me that I’ve exceeded my calorie goal on a regular basis. Turning my daily stats red isn’t cool, MFP. I will NOT measure my success by “results†(i.e., fat loss, which is an eventual goal). Any information that I gain from this is valuable. Also, there will be less frequent tracking of these results. I have a before photo and the fit of my clothes to track changes during the challenge, and I know my approximate starting measurements/weight if I want to check these down the road. Different motivation—this is for the lifts. I want to be strong for my size, and I don’t want inconsistent intake to mess with my progress. As a novice, I’ve gotten away with not having on-target nutrition, but that won’t always be the case. I *think* I’m better prepared for this challenge now than I was last summer. For one thing, I’ve fallen in love with lifting and it helps keep me sane. Life outside of the gym is going pretty well, too.So, that’s the big goal for this challenge. Other things I need to work on: Goal 2: Mindful eating [+2 WIS] When did eating at the computer become a habit again? For this challenge: always eat sitting down, and at least one meal each day should be eaten without distractions (computer, reading, etc.—music and conversation are fine). Goal 3: Conditioning 2x/week [+3 STA] I’ve neglected conditioning work since I started lifting. However, even though strength training is my main goal, I do want a base level of conditioning for my daily tasks, hiking, and powerlifting. This challenge I'll build the habit of incorporating conditioning of some form into my weekly routine. The workouts will probably consist of rowing since I hate treadmills, don’t fancy running in the cold/dark/wet, and don’t have access to a swimming pool unless I purchase another gym membership. Goal 4: Scheduling for sleep [+2 CON] I have trouble getting to sleep on time because of 1) evening workouts, and 2) messing around on the computer in the evening. To make sure bed time doesn’t get pushed back by these things, I’ll Get to the gym by 6:30 pm so I can change, warm-up, and be ready to lift by 7 pm. Stay off the computer for leisure purposes (Facebook, non-work email, reading blogs, watching movies/shows, Nerd Fitness…) after 8:30 pm. Ideally I won’t do any chores (e.g., grocery shopping) or school work on the computer after this time, either.Life Quest [+2 CHA] Go to two swing dance events (lesson, dance, etc.). Yeah, no lifting goal because getting the lifts in is now easy for me. This challenge starts at my 16th week of Starting Strength, and the workouts will mostly be posted in the battle log. Not quite sure what will be posted here... probably ramblings, food photos, and Lion King gifs (and please contribute to these ). I don't plan on posting much raw MFP data, but if anyone's curious about what I'm trying (macros, meals, etc.), feel free to ask. tl;dr: Goal 1: Track food on MFP without the tracking becoming a source of stress. Also track how I feel that day.Goal 2: Work on mindful eating (eat sitting down + one meal/day without distractions).Goal 3: Conditioning 2x/week (probably rowing)Goal 4: Get to the gym by 6:30 pm and get off the computer by 8:30 pm (at least for non-work activities) so I can get to bed on time.Life Quest: Start swing dancing again by going to at least 2 swing somethings.Lifts ( = Starting Strength) are in the battle log.