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Introduction: I joined NF a week before the April 6WC started. At that point, I was five weeks into a new workout routine, and nine weeks into attempting to eat better. There are links to my introduction/origin story and my first three challenges in my sig below. Feel free to go rummage around in there. I’ve gone from 255 lbs at the end of January, to 232 at the start of my first 6WC, 223 at the start of my second, 211 by the third, and 203 as of right now. It’s a work in progress. There's no specific weight number in mind (yet - this might change as the challenges go on), but I suspect it might be somewhere around the 170-180 range. Life Quest: I'll lift this straight from challenge 1, it still hasn't changed. Dress like a proper grown-up adult man, in clothes which actually look good on me, and make my wife proud to be seen with me when I take her out. The general aim is to overhaul my entire wardrobe by the end of 2015, getting rid of anything which falls into one of the following categories: baggy, sagging or ragged. My specific aim is to get properly fitted for one good quality, tailored, (possibly three-piece) suit, and get a good photograph taken wearing it. I'm sick of being disgusted when I look in the mirror or see a photo of myself. The wardrobe goal is progressing nicely. There’s been two mass culls already. Okay, down to business. My fourth challenge, and my first attempt at a “themed†challenge. It’s my variation on the Walk to Mordor, adapted for one of my favourite books. I read it for the first time in 1988, when I was 15, and I’ve probably re-read it every 2-3 years since then. It speaks to everything I believe about determination and mental strength, and inspires me every time. It’s really just a loose wrap-around theme for my latest set of exercise goals, but hopefully it’ll help keep me inspired and focused when things get tough. I won’t spoil the plot, unless you open this: In the book, the Walk starts at the Canadian border in northern Maine and works south towards Boston, covering a distance of over 400 miles. I’m nerdy and obsessive enough that I’ve plotted out an approximate route using some of the landmarks mentioned in the book, and I’ll use that as a mapping to the mileage I cover in Quest 2 of this challenge and reflect it in my daily/whateverly updates. Really, it’s all just an elaborate excuse to allow me to roleplay and play make-pretend for a few weeks. So, the Quests… Quest 1: “Picking Them Up and Putting Them Down…†As with my first three challenges, the metric used will be Calories Burned in exercise. No daily targets as such, just achieve a minimum of 20000 over the 42 days. To achieve this, I can use the elliptical, exercise bikes, steppers, treadmills or go outside and walk/run, using my phone app to track. Achievable Points on offer: +2 STA, +1 STR, +1 DEX The Prize: A - 20000+ (Points x 1) - Completed Oct 20! Warning 1: B - 18000-20000 (Points x 0.75) Warning 2: C - 16000-18000 (Points x 0.5) Warning 3: D - 14000-16000 (Points x 0.25) Ticket: F - < 14000 (Fail. 0 Points.) Quest 2: “I’m the Rabbit.†Tied into the exercise I do in Quest 1, I’ll also be tracking the distance I cover in miles. I’m splitting this out because it’ll force me to vary my exercise in order to hit the mileage targets. The elliptical burn I generally use in Quest 1, although great for racking up the calorie count (I do it at a high resistance level), oddly generates a comparatively small amount of mileage. If I want to hit targets for Q1 AND Q2, I’m going to have to up my game and do other things as well. There’s also a little formula in place for “outlasting†other competitors – every complete mile over 10 miles I cover each day will cause one Walker to drop out of the race, as will days with a burn of over 500 calories, and days with a deficit of over 500. That part isn’t scored, it’s just a fun little addition to my spreadsheet below. These are all just motivational tools to keep me going. Editing to add: I mentioned this during my last challenge, but the mileage count won't just be limited to walking, despite the theme. 400+ miles walking over one challenge won't be do-able for me, so I'm allowing myself cycling miles as well. Driving isn't allowed, though. Achievable Points on offer: +2 STA, +1 DEX The Prize: A - 400+ (Points x 1) - Current Progress Warning 1: B - 350-400 (Points x 0.75) Warning 2: C - 300-350 (Points x 0.5) Warning 3: D - 250-300 (Points x 0.25) Ticket: F - < 250 (Fail. 0 Points.) Quest 3: “I’ll Dance on Your Grave, Scarface!†I will do 1000 bastardos within the 42 days of the challenge. No daily targets, just get the 1000 done Achievable Points on offer: +2 STR, +2 DEX The Prize: A - 1000+ (Points x 1) - Current Progress Warning 1: B - 870-1000 (Points x 0.75) Warning 2: C - 750-870 (Points x 0.5) Warning 3: D - 630-750 (Points x 0.25) Ticket: F - < 630 (Fail. 0 Points.) Quest 4: “Dom L’Antio Loves You All!†A repeat of last time. Let's stay mindful of CI-CO, get a consistent deficit happening, and keep getting the body fat down. Ideally looking to have an average daily deficit of 500 or more by Day 42. The official metric here will be Days in Deficit, and tools used will be my assorted phone apps (for tracking my calorie intake and daily walking), the displays on the gym equipment, and my Mifflin-St.Jeor magic number. Achievable Points on offer: +2 CON The Prize: A - 40-42 Days in Deficit (Points x 1) - Current Progress Warning 1: B - 39 Days (Points x 0.75) Warning 2: C - 38 Days (Points x 0.5) Warning 3: D - 37 Days (Points x 0.25) Ticket: F - <37 Days (Fail. 0 Points.) Quest 5: “God’s Garden… is Full… of Weeds…†Continuing the effort to spend less time on pointless nonsense and become a better person, I will complete four books during this challenge. 1. "The Road Less Travelled" - M. Scott Peck - Completed Oct 13 2. "You're Not Doing It Right" - Michael Ian Black. - Completed Oct 3 3. "The Avengers and Philosophy: Earth's Mightiest Thinkers" - Mark D. White - Completed Oct 19 4. "Lost In My Own Backyard" - Tim Cahill. - Completed Sept 17 Achievable Points on Offer: +1 WIS, +1 CHA The Prize: A - Completed 4 books (Points x 1) - Completed Oct 19! Warning 1: B - Completed 3 books (Points x 0.75) Warning 2: C - Completed 2 book (Points x 0.5) Warning 3: D - Completed 1 book (Points x 0.25) Ticket: F - Complete none (Fail. 0 Points.) Minis: #1: Two Truths, One Lie - Done! +1 CHA #2: To Do? TA DA! - Done! +1 WIS #3: Climb That Mountain - Done! +1 STR #4: Fall Comfort Foods - Done! +1 CON #5: Brave Up! - Done! +1 CON #6: Push It! - Done! +1 CON Motivation: The Suit is now in sight. I started this year as a 42" waist on my work trousers, a 19" collar shirt, and all of my t-shirts were XXL and even those felt snug. During the last challenge, I got into a pair of 34†jeans for the first time in almost 5 years. I’d said before that I would be happy with 34 or less for the suit, so at the end of September, I’ll head to the tailor and get measured up for it. Beyond that, the goal will be to continue refreshing the wardrobe. The suit will mark the end of the first chapter of this adventure in a way. I’ve already started thinking about what the next level will be for me. When I reach a goal weight, or a number I’m comfortable with at least, I’ll set out some plans. You will notice from the Spreadsheet of Infinite Justice below, I'm running this challenge Saturday - Friday, rather than the standard Monday - Sunday. I have a family wedding to attend on October 24th, so pulling this forward by 48 hours means I'll finish right before the wedding. Because, you know, cake and beer. Don't you judge me!

I've been reading on some of the meet ups and seeing how much fun everyone has been having and then I realized that there hasn't been one in maine(least not that I have seen). Well this need sto be fixed now that we mainers are FINALLY coming out of our winter slumber. So what do you say Nerds? Shall we change this injustice of leaving the Mainers out?