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Hey ya'll. I'm Caranda, 17 years old, and at the time I am writing this I have just binged hours of this website's forums and have fallen in love with this community. While I'm not overweight, I am much chubbier than I would like and, most importantly, wildly out of shape. I've been trying to get back into exercising for a while now, but I'm now sworn in and about to join the ranks as a part of the National Guard. I have a year before I leave for basic and I would like to be able to the bare minimum for passing basic (e.g. more sit-ups, more push-ups, and actually being able to run without pooing out 10 minutes in). I do have a gym membership, but I find motivation hard to come by, especially when I have online classes and don't have much incentive for leaving the comfort of my home. I live in rainy Washington, so when it rains, it pours and I can find myself barely leaving my house for weeks at a time. Because I am a full-time college student and moved here from Texas, I don't have many friends here to hang out with or ask for encouragement from. I also have severe dietary sensitivities, but I tend to go against them often and will spend hours if not days in pain because I decided I wanted a milkshake (In other words, I have ZERO self-control). This doesn't end with food, however, as I will also sit down and watch hours of Youtube, Netflix, and anime, sometimes starting first thing in the morning before even thinking of leaving my bed. That leads me to some of my goals: 1) Find a local fitness community or a favorite class at the gym and actually go to them 2) Become stronger (Lift more, run longer) 3) Replace sugary treats with fruit 4) Work on self-control I really hope to get to know ya'll and will be cheering you on as fellow companions on this never-ending journey to a healthy lifestyle. (By the way, I also have 3 dogs, so I sometimes feel too guilty for going to the gym instead of taking them all on a walk and I want to try to set time aside for both for the sake of my health and theirs...as well as my conscience haha).

I have lots of good reasons to go into the Navy: I want to see the world, I want to be able to call myself a veteran, I want to get an edge applying for federal jobs, and I want help paying for a masters of social work and to take spanish classes. I've been a retail pharmacy tech for 5 years and have grown to really, really, REALLY hate the field, mostly because of the poor pay and instability. Things will be running smoothly, then all of the sudden, I'll get cut to 10 hours a week and I have to job hop. I often work clopenings, so I get anywhere from only 2 to 12 hours a sleep in a night and I have a big belly because I live on fast food and comfort eat a lot. I've recently cut out sugary drinks from my orders, but I still have a fast-food diet because I never have the time or energy to cook. I'm 40 pounds overweight and am not sure where to start, but I know I need to meet all requirements for a medical waiver to even be considered for the military, especially a selective branch like the Navy or Air Force. Army isn't out of the question, but I am drawn to the Navy and Air Force first, and especially the Navy. My mother had me on ADHD medicine and antidepressants as a teenager, and I'm paranoid that if I lie about that, I'll be caught, but I also know I'll need approved for a waiver if I disclose that information about me. I'd really like to lose 40 pounds in 4 months, and be passing at least the minimums expected for Navy boot camp, but the better I can be, the better chance I'll have of getting a waiver. As for a class, I think either Ranger or Scout lends itself to the workouts I'll need to increase my strength and endurance, but moreso endurance. If there is any other information I left out, I'll be glad to fill you in if I ask. I'm glad to be here, and hopefully, I can get out of this career field I hate and into something better. (In case anybody is wondering, I am a man.)

Anyone in the Sierra Vista/Ft. Huachuca, AZ area? I just arrived to my new unit with my husband (ex-military), and I'd love a gym/running partner to keep me motivated.

SECOND VERSE SAME AS THE FIRST! 1. Do physical therapy 2. Eat gluten free 3. Write good things BONUS - Do things THUMBS UP.

Brace yourselves, graduation is coming. And I have no idea what I'm doing. If I can't get a civilian job I've pretty much settled that I will go into the Navy. I would probably do supply, because I'm an MBA. Boring! I want to do intelligence. Honestly, I think I would do well in either path. I have two big problems: 1) I hear the Navy relies heavily on BMI, but according to BMI I am obese. Everyone I told that do said "I don't believe you" Even when I tell people that I weigh 177lbs they're like "I don't believe you" because I'm not big. I'm quite muscular and therefore dense. But I honestly don't think that I can drop 30lbs at this point. At one point that was my goal but now that I'm powerlifting, I can see that dropping 30lbs isn't exactly in my best interest. What's a buff girl to do? problem #2) I won't be able to take my dog... but there's not much I can really do about that. Any current military or former military wanna give me some tips? Pros and cons of active duty vs reserve?

I've noticed that many vets go through rough patches during their transition to civilian life. Personally, I was recently medically retired for PTSD related to MST, and have fought through a good amount of depression, eating disorders, and anxiety. I struggle with panic attacks when in unfamiliar environments, surrounded by unfamiliar people, etc. I hope that whatever issues we're working on currently (mil to mil relationships, seclusion, depression, general life stress) we can find common ground in our service. There's nothing quite like the military--it's a lifestyle, a language, and a huge chunk of our lives. Join me if you can relate!

To defeat...THE HUNS! *huah!* Background--I am three months away from going to officer candidate school, and I want to be sure I am ready for whatever PT they throw at me! I've got the time, I'm working hard, and there's NO REASON for me to be overwhelmed by the physical requirements. I will have so many other things to be overwhelmed by! I also want to get involved with NF so that after I get out of OCS in May, I'll still have a support group and motivation for whatever fitness direction I choose to go. I have never tried barbell training before, and I think I hear Warriors calling my name... MACHA'S FOUR-ISH WEEK CHALLENGE: MAIN QUEST: To get closer to my goal of surpassing all my fitness requirements for officer candidate school. The minimum requirements are: 1.5 mile run in 12:30, 60 sit-ups in two minutes, 24 cadence pushups, and 425 yard swim in 12 minutes. But who shoots for the minimum with three months the train, right? GOAL 1: Continue working on strength training three times a week. Move up from Bodyweight Level 1 to Level 2. Also the 100 push up challenge! Do the required sets 3 times a week (the same days I do BW Level 1, *before* I start that and after I warm up.) Get to twenty cadence pushups by the end of the month. GOAL 2: Swim three times a week. Reach Week Five of Zero to One Mile. GOAL 3: Run three times a week, at least one interval session a week. Complete a mile and a half in 13:40. I think these are tough-but-possible for the next month. I'm already in an exercise routine, so the volume of it shouldn't be too difficult. I'm excited to track progress on here with everybody. Also, life side-quest: learn to cook some nice Paleo things! I switched to a paleo-style diet after reading a lot on here, and honestly I feel so much better. I think I had been failing to get enough protein (the single downside to being married to an amazing vegetarian cook) and I've been able to increase that more deliberately.

I'm just not enjoying college so far. Almost the entire time I've been in college, I've hated it. I've only enjoyed certain times in college, and the only semester that I ever really loved was the first Freshman semester, and that's because everything was so new, and shiny, and I was thrilled to meet new people. Now it just feels like a chore or grind, and like everyone moves too fast for me to ever have a meaningful connection with them. Especially since I go to a commuter school, in one of the most dangerous cities in the country, which is another reason why I hate it here. Right now, I'm trying to decide whether if I want to stay with Earth Science and join the military afterwards, stay with Engineering Technology and possibly join the military afterwards, or quit after this current school year and enlist, or try going to college while in the military. It seems like all the things I want to do in life, like seeing the world, helping others directly or in-directly (like doing rescue work), learning how to take care of myself, how to defend myself and others, how to save others, how to build, repair, and drive/pilot vehicles and drones, and so on, are either not easily done in civilian life, or are expensive, or the pay-off isn't good. To do rescue work outside of the Coast Guard, I would probably be an EMT or firefighter, which from what I hear, isn't a very good-paying career path, and not worth leaving college for. To travel, I would have to pay to do so. Besides that, I just want to pursue my other goals and hobbies. Like parkour and martial arts, learning how to play the harmonica, piloting drones and taking photographs (or at least until they're outlawed). But those are just hobbies, and I'm still not entirely sure what I would be doing as an Engineer Technologist. I would assume more work with things like wiring and robotics, if I went down the Electrical Engineer path. If I stick with Earth Science, I may get to do more surveying work that involves more interaction with people, and surveying and examining certain wild locations, as well as potentially make good money from working with GIS systems, which is what I'm more interested in, and it would let me graduate sooner. The only problem with it, is that I have to learn how to speak another language. Now, I think it is important and very useful for any being to learn another language. It's just, I really, really don't enjoy learning how to speak Spanish. To me, it's too similar to English. Some words are just like the English version, some are swapped all around and are spelled completely different. Also, I still can't roll my R's. But everyone said "Spanish is the best language for business", they said. "It's the easiest language to learn", they said. It's fairly uninteresting to me, and very difficult for me to learn, and it doesn't help that I took a year off from Spanish because I was major-hopping, and learning a secondary language is a requirement for Earth Science, but not for Engineering Technology. Everyone tells me it's best to stick with the language I started learning, but I'd rather learn French or something. At least with French, there are other pronunciations I can handle (correct me if I'm wrong), and I can practice by watching an anime I really wanted to watch called Wakfu. I'd even rather learn Japanese or Arabic. From what I've heard, Japanese and Chinese, although quite different, are more systematic than English or Spanish. Also, they look like an alien language to me. Yes, that makes them a fuck-ton harder to learn, but at least it's interesting. Like learning some language from an ancient alien civilization. Plus, there's plenty of animes and mangas I can read that use Japanese. Virtually all of them. Hell, I'd LOVE to practice learning how to speak and read another language by watching and reading something I already love. I can't easily think of anything I would want to, or can, watch in Spanish, unless I try to watch some Spanish dubbing of some show, which is kind of hard without a TV. Hell, I'd say I recognize more Japanese phrases when I hear them than Spanish phrases. I can even learn another language and graduate on time, if I can take a course over the summer, although that's a fair-sized IF. Besides that, everything is OK, it's just I have no interest in most of my courses this semester, and I almost feel like putting no effort into Spanish. The only courses I'm really interested in, are one of my Earth Science classes that have to do with natural events and how they affect people, and a First Aid and CPR class that I chose to take because I felt it was something I needed to know for my own sake and others. I think if I just find some way to keep myself occupied, and once I've gotten a handle on or drop Spanish, I'll be alright for this semester, at least. But I don't want to just be "alright" and make it through each semester. I want to be great. I've been working on some personal issues and trying to figure out why I don't feel motivated to do anything (other than work on my fitness, play games, do CPR, and learn how to fly drones, and learn how to fight) since my second Freshman semester, but I haven't had much success. Some suggested that it might be depression, so I took anti-depressants, but then my dad tried talking me out of using them, and then someone told me that it wasn't depression. Then someone told me it might be ADHD, but I haven't been able to get tested for it because I didn't think I could afford it, until recently. So I'm gonna get tested for it ASAP. I've grown and matured in many ways, and have gotten more control over my social anxiety (mainly by not caring about others and what they think nearly as much), and I actually do have an idea of what I want to do in life, but I still don't feel like doing this school business. That's why I think I went to college too soon. My family's poor, I was eager to get out of my parents' house, I didn't think it was possible to travel or join the Peace Corps or something for a few years before going. The college I'm attending doesn't teach me all the things I'm interested in, and I'd rather go to trade school, but I'm here now, and if I continue down the Earth Science path, I'll graduate in two academic years, if I get no Fs or Ds, and my language classes go OK. It's tempting to drop out and join the military, but that won't impress the Coast Guard, I need time to get in shape, and if I decide I don't want to join, I need something to fall back on. OK, rants over. I just needed some time and space to write my thoughts out and organize them. I think I know what I have to do now.

Full Disclosure: I have yet to finish a single 6WC that I've started. Main Goal: Finish the challenge Subgoals: 1. Weight lifting 3x a week Work with PT to determine personal weight lifting planTrack progressRecord progress on Fitocracy and NF 6WC threadScoring: Every workout for the week tracked and recorded = 3 pts -1pt every workout not tracked and recorded 2. Running Cycling Walking x5 a week Run Attend spin class Walk for 30 minutes on the treadmill 5 days a week (hashing does not count, due to the walk/run nature of following the trail)Track progressRecord progress on Fitocracy and NF 6WC thread Scoring: Every run for the week tracked and recorded = 5 pts -1pt every run not tracked and recorded 3. Food choices x7 a week Track daily intake on MFP and NF 6WC threadScoring: Every food choice for the week tracked and recorded = 7 pts -1pt every food choice not tracked and recorded Total # of points possible: 90 pts Total # of points scored: 55 Total Points Beginning Stats: Mid-6WC Stats: Final Stats: Weight:178.4 Lbs Weight: 176.4 Lbs Weight:175.8 Lbs Waist: in. Waist: in. Waist: in. Arms: Arms: Arms: - R: in. - L: in. - R: in. - L: in. - R: in. - L: in. Thighs: Thighs: Thighs: - R: in. - L: in. - R: in. - L: in. - R: in. - L: in. As an ardent Skyrim fan (and always a Khajit), I have determined that the theme to this challenge is going to be climbing the 7,000 steps to the Throat of the World and delivering Klimmet's supplies to the Greybeards. Progress Report Week 1: SG 1 - 0 ptsSG 2 - 0 ptsSG 3 - 7 ptsTotal - 7 pts Comments: I tried cycling at the beginning of the week, and immediately decided the ankle needed more time to heal. I focused everything instead on my diet and R.I.C.E. While I did participate in my kennel's Blue Moon Howler, I took the Turkey trail instead of the Eagle; I did not participate in our Saturday hash the next day, as my ankle felt stiff from the night before. The beginning of Week 2 looks to be more promising. Week 2: SG 1 - 1 ptsSG 2 - 0 ptsSG 3 - 7 ptsTotal - 8 pts Comments: I feel like this week was a complete failure. Work interfered with every single workout and completely sapped my motivation to do anything after COB, as well as make any good decisions food-wise. But I did accomplish one tiny weight lifting session, and I did track all my calories (well, the beer numbers got fuzzy on several occasions... but I made my best guesses). So while I didn't make any progress in the direction I want to go, I did manage to maintain SG 3 in spite of everything and I squeaked in a point on SG 1 - and that's one thing more I did this week than last. I'm going to take a deep breath, congratulate myself for hanging on to the best of my ability, and move into Week 3 as a respawn. I don't expect to see many changes to my starting stats, but that's ok too: halfway there still leaves plenty of time to get where I want to go. Week 3: SG 1 - 0 ptsSG 2 - 3 ptsSG 3 - 7 ptsTotal - 10 pts Comments: Slowly but surely, my ankle is beginning to feel better. I made a point to get on the treadmill at work after lunch three times this week; my PR was an entire hour averaging between a 15 min and 20 min pace. Food choices were 80% excellent. Now I just need to start including weightlifting, and I'll be well on my way to ending this 6WC in victory. Week 4: SG 1 - 3 ptsSG 2 - 4 ptsSG 3 - 7 ptsTotal - 14 pts Comments: This week was much, much better! It was a short work week, which was nice - although that did mean I only got in 3 sessions on the office treadmill. My husband and I went to Tucson to visit the Pima Air and Space museum though, and that visit racked up almost 4 miles of walking! Ergo, I gave myself an extra point for SG 2. SG 1 makes me really proud: I am limited in the office workout room a little - there is no bench for presses - but there is just enough room for squats and deadlifts. My squat form is still off due to the sloooooow recovery of my ankle; I won't add weight to the bar until I can correct that. SG 3 has been a huge help in learning what it feels like to be make GOOD dietary choices. I don't always stay under my caloric goal number; sometimes it's been worth it to go over, and other times I've looked back on a meal and thought, "Well, that was disapppointing." This week has seen the biggest increase in my points. If I can get a 5 in SG 2 and keep the rest of the numbers the same, I will achieve maximum points for the remainder of this 6WC. Week 5: SG 1 - 1 ptsSG 2 - 4 ptsSG 3 - 6 ptsTotal - 11 pts Comments: Started out a good week, and ended with a dislocated shoulder over the weekend. FML. Week 6: SG 1 - 0 ptsSG 2 - 0 ptsSG 3 - 5 ptsTotal - 5 pts

Update: I loved the idea of making a spreadsheet to track goals: here's mine. Main Quest: Beat agoraphobia & depression. Q1: 20 good form push-ups. (+1 STR) I used to be able to do 46. Now I can barely do 1. Despite having been in the military, I was never an athlete or a tough chick, but repetition helped get me from the arm strength of a flea... I couldn't do a single push-up on my knees, to almost 50 real push-ups on a graded exercise test with a 2-minute time limit. Since my injury and my depression, and now that I'm doing a regular desk job where being in shape isn't a requirement, I haven't made an effort to work out in six months. I did my first push-up in months this morning. It was rough. My middle sagged, I almost couldn't get back to the start position. I don't have a gym membership or free weights, but I plan on practicing push-ups, arm circles and some planks -- anything plyometric basically. Maybe I'll even start getting back my four-pack of yore. Update: I think I psyched myself out during that first bad push-up yesterday. Maybe I just forgot what it feels like to use my muscles. Today (July 22, still 5 days before challenge start) I did a set of 5 not-terrible push-ups. I'm not going to update my goal to make it harder, because I don't want to discourage myself with unreasonable difficulty. However, I'm going to put a longer term counter in my signature to keep track of how close I am to getting back to 50 push-ups. A = > 20. (I was always told that As are not for meeting the expectation, they're for going beyond it!) B = 20 C = 13 Fail: anything less Q2: No alcohol (+1 CON) I'm prone to a lot of anxiety and depression and I've never had any luck with the many anti-depressant, anti-anxiety, anti-have-any-feelings drugs prescribed to me. Individual therapy, group therapy, hospitalization also did basically nothing for me. Now I'm living alone for the first time in my life, in a city where I don't know anyone. And I self-medicate. Out of all the modern miracles of pharmacology, alcohol works better than anything at making me feel less awful about life. With my severe agoraphobia, I don't even like leaving my apartment. Going to the store to buy alcohol actually provides one of the few motivating reasons I step out the front door. Unfortunately, alcohol also upsets my sleep cycle, makes time disappear unproductively, and robs me from actually working on meaningful goals. It has a ton of calories and is one of the factors that my weight crept from a pants size 6 to not-fitting-into-an-8. And more than that: it shouldn't be the only reason I can find to leave the house. A lot of my other nutritional goals hinge on this one. If I pour empty calories down my throat every evening, why bother eating healthy during the day? I use that to rationalize buying sweets, salt-filled freezer meals, and so forth at the grocery store. Sure, I'll also pick up carrots and fruit and salad greens... and then never eat them. I have a feeling that cutting out alcohol is the linchpin to the rest of my nutritional goals, and some other life goals. A = totally dry. B = slipped once or twice. C = slipped three or four times. Fail: anything more Q3: Banish videogames, movies and TV. (+1 WIS)You can argue that this isn't a nutrition or fitness goal, but I have to strongly disagree. Gaming and TV-watching eats up the time that I would otherwise use to be more mentally and physically active. It is an opiate to me. I also tend to eat unhealthy snacks while gaming more than any other time. I have difficulty taking breaks and will ignore the physical world as long as possible as long as I have a game to play. To begin, I cancelled my Netflix subscription. Now, it's not really enough for me to say, "Don't play games" as my goal. I also need to strongly dissuade myself from purchasing them to begin with, and uninstall the ones I have. It's harder to get back into a game if all my save files are deleted and the game isn't on my computer at all. I will uninstall the Origin and Steam platforms, and all games associated with them. I suspect this will have more tangible positive results during the 6-week challenge than if I just plugged in another numerical goal, like, "Oh, do 100 sit-ups" or something. Freeing up large blocks of time that I spend on gaming is objectively the best way to get myself re-involved in the real world. I will not be getting rid of audio books and educational podcasts. If I see a movie in theaters, I will make an exception to the "no movies." I'm just targeting the vast library of shows I have at my disposal with iTunes, Amazon, Netflix and Hulu. Out of all of my quests, this one will be the most difficult, and honestly I'm not quite sure what to expect as the result. Who am I without games and shows? What will I fill my time with? Will my depression worsen or will I become super-productive? A = absolutely no gaming, no movies, no TV. B = slipped once or twice. C = slipped three or four times. Fail: anything more Life (Side) Quest: Go outside every day. (+1 STA) If I'm ever going to be comfortable enough to drive again and minimize my anxiety at leaving home, the first step is just to get out my front door every day. Because I work from home, I can easily go for 2 - 3 day stretches where I don't leave the house. Eventually I'll have to take care of basic things... take out the trash, get the mail, go to the store, go to the laundry room. But the more I stay inside, the worse my agoraphobia gets. It doesn't even feel like a "fear," usually it just feels like... a sort of grey miasma that closes me into my little cell. I say there's nothing to do outside, nowhere to go, no one to meet. I pull down the blinds. I'm not very relaxed when I do go out, sometimes just walking down the street is stressful. Grocery shopping is stressful. In the past few weeks I have pushed myself to do things like take long walks, ride the bus, get a library card, explore a couple new restaurants, even go sailing. However, these events are isolated. The vast majority of the time, I'm locked in my apartment. This is punctuated with short spurts of excursion where I'll strategically take care of several errands at once so that I can go home again. It makes it SEEM like I'm very active when I say I found a great new taco place, scouted out a cool bookstore and a bead shop and walked around the park, went to the post office, etc. But chances are I did all those things back-to-back and won't leave home again for days. Of course it's not enough just to stand on my porch and turn around and go back in every day. That's not healthy progress. But if all I do is walk around the block or go sit in a cafe for a half hour with my laptop, that's a good start. I considered having a more detailed plan about Where To Go every day, but I would like to expand my ability to follow spontaneous decisions rather than fulfill a predetermined task list. The goal is to feel more relaxed, not more regimented. A = 100%, established new walking routines and reasons to get out. B = Got out 6 days a week. C = Got out 5 days a week. Fail: anything less. Motivation: I've never lived alone before, and I think subconsciously I knew I needed to be alone to bring out the worst parts of my agoraphobia and depression, to meet them head on and handle them myself, without depending on the people I love most as my crutches. A lot of days feel brutal and lonely. But I also can't help but feel this could be the best opportunity I've given myself: finding out who I am, really, at the bottom of everything. And who I am right now isn't pretty. It turns out I'm terrified, weak, unhealthy and sad. But there it is. I am finally seeing myself as I am. Edit: I took some "Before" pics although I feel shy about sharing them right now. None of my quests are specifically weight-related during this challenge, but I have a feeling that I will start losing a few pounds here and there with a different lifestyle. Right now I'm about 148 lbs., and my happy weight is in the 113 - 125 pounds range. Intended Starting Stats if all is going well at week 3: STR: 1 DEX: 1 STA: 1 CON: 2 WIS: 3 CHA: 2

Good morning! It's been a while since I started a DBL. My failed attempt at the last 6WC really nailed home that I have a hard time sticking to these kind of commitments. I have yet to finish a single 6WC, let alone maintain a DBL for any length of time! My purpose this time around is to create the habit of logging in and writing something. Even if I just copy and paste my daily workout stats from Fitocracy, the fact that I contributed to my DBL that counts. I want to accomplish this because it will help keep me accountable in many ways: my fitness, my eating habits, and my drinking . Like many people, when I fail in one aspect I have a tendency to give up on the others as well. I have been working on changing that mental approach for many years now, and I am becoming more resilient. I don't let things snowball as often, or for as long, as I used to; however, it does still happen. And it really shows in the extra 20Lbs I've managed to accumulate since I got back from Korea. Now, I kinda won the genetic lottery: I have an athletic frame that builds muscle quickly, and when I do put on weight it's distributed pretty evenly across my body. At this moment, I'm almost 180Lbs at 5' 7". My mirror me went from a sleek moon-skinned khajit to a pretty plump-tastic house cat. With clothes on, there aren't many people who would say that I need to lose weight. (Plus, the extra weight makes my boobs look FANTASTIC!) But my "normal" weight is anywhere from 155-165Lbs, and even if the average onlooker doesn't see it, I can feel the extra fluff with every step. And I don't like feeling that. More importantly, however, that weight is an indication of how much strength and stamina I've lost. I was never the type to be at the gym for more than hour, on my own terms. But when I did work out, I put all my effort and focus on doing so - and it made me pretty strong. I started slacking on that intensity, and by now, I'm fairly certain I've reached the bottom of that slippery slope. So it's time to refocus. And it's time to make it stick. Ergo: Sticky Blog! I'm currently out on exercise (again), this time for anywhere between a month to a month-and-a-half. It feels like the perfect time to get back to the basics and work the kinks out of my fitness foundation. Thus far, I've bought a good, mostly-clean refrigerator's worth of food. I bought a food scale, and have measured and repackaged everything out by 100-200 calorie portions. I'm tracking my calories again (SparkPeople - not a great site, but it'll do for now). Exercising out here may get a little tricky, but so far (ie, the past two days) I've done well. I know I'm going to get very, very tired in the near future (some days I already know I'll be working 18+ hours). My plan is to work out in the mornings as often as possible, so I'm not tempted to skip them at the end of the day. And when I can't feasibly get up any earlier to fit one in, I have several [very] short work out routines ready and on-hand for the days I can't do much more than bodyweight exercises in my hotel room. Ultimately, I hope to renew my enthusiasm for healthy living through this DBL - and maybe even drop 5Lbs by the time I get to go home.

Anybody from the base? Any swoldiers out there?

Target time: August/September Current weight: 208 Goal weight: 160's Age: 19 Diet: Paleo Gym: Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe Other: Boxing class, Krav Maga, hiking Supps: Mens daily, Vitamin D, Adrenal, Creatine, Complete Amino Acid Story- Played hockey since I was 5. That kept me in shape till I stopped playing (18). Started to gain wieght. Was unhappy at college and had a realization one day (while watch the movie Rush) that I need to do what I want and makes me happy Decided to finish up my first semester and then take time of from school. US Marine is what I want to be, even if others don't fully support or understand my decision. So this summer I will join up. Meantime I am working 3 days a week and training the rest. Focusing on lifting, diet, and hiking till I get my weight down then I will really ramp up the running in prep for boot. As for the nerd in me. I love video games, currently playing the ps4 (hit me up and we can play!). I tend to get obsessed with getting achievements (360) adnd now trophies. Haven't been playing quite as much because of my new goals but I find time to wind down and relax. Im terrible at Fifa but love playing it along with BF4 and GTA V. Looking forward to kicking arse and proving to myself I have what it takes to be a Jarhead! Here to encourage others so let's do this

Evicious grinned disconcertingly as the large Nord woman stood to her full height. The little table she had been sitting at suddenly seemed absurdly small, along with the khajit seated opposite its previous occupant. Cold, proud eyes stared down at yellow smiling ones intimidatingly. "I could crush the life from you in one blow, you puny kitten." "Oh, I'm not so easily flattened as you might imagine." "One strike. Furry pancake." Evicious inadvertently squeaked a little when the Nord slammed fist into hand and mimed wiping her pulverized remains on her jerkin. "You'd be wasting your energy; no one likes hair in their food." The Nord growled (an oddly canine-like sound even for a brute such as herself, Evicious thought briefly) and grabbed suddenly for the khajit. Evicious squeaked again as she was yanked from her seat and held dangling above the table. She was careful, however, to keep her claws sheathed in spite of her surprise and annoyance at the treatment. "You're worthless, cat. You can't carry equipment; can't help a pack brother up if he takes an arrow to the knee, much less carry him to safety. All you do is skulk around in the shadows and make angry pincushions of our prey, until their rage is so great it takes the whole pack to withstand them! You are nothing but a smelly distraction; a squeak toy." The Nord spit the words out in a fury, along with a few soggy crumbs of sweet roll. Evicious waited patiently in the woman's hamfisted grasp, but her level of irritation was rising with each passing moment. "I suppose this means I'm tomorrow's breakfast, then." She spoke calmly, but put her ears back just enough to appear a little contrite. Nord tempers were notoriously unpredictable - it was said the young were known to break their own blades if they cut themselves honing them - but reciprocated anger was one very predictable way to stoke the fire. Dark humor, however, could sometimes cool it... she hoped. "A disgusting idea," the Nord snapped and dropped her unceremoniously in the middle of their leftovers, "Cats always taste like their own assholes." The woman reached down for her equipment, an enormous pack weighing almost as much as Evicious in spite of several enchaments of karee weyt, and slung it across one shoulder with ease. "Take yourself elsewhere, puny kitten. We have no more use for you, and even a small burden like yourself is a burden we do not need. The pack cannot hunt unless we are all of equal mind and strength. It was a mistake allowing you to come, and not a mistake I will make twice." The Nord stared at Evicious with all the contempt of generations of her ancestors. Evicious fought to keep the rising hiss in her throat from escaping. "You need more than numbers and force if you intend to live through the next part," The khajit's voice almost trembled from her anger, but she forced it into a short purr at the end instead. The huge woman chuckled derisively in response and turned on her heel. The rest of their group, now officially minus their "squeak toy", slung their bags and filed wordlessly out the inn door behind her. Sparks swirled in the wind of the opened door, then fell into tiny wisps of smoke as it closed, leaving the khajit in the silence of awkward public humiliation. Ignoring the poorly disguised stares of the other inn patrons, Evicious picked herself up from among the plates and cups on her table, and brushed herself free of scraps with all the dignity of her kind. She slung her equipment - a much smaller and lighter pack by comparison to the Nord's - and took a moment to stare cooly at some of the less subtle inn goers. None held her gaze; she was not impressive in size compared to her former companions, but khajit claws were not without their own legends either. She strode suddenly to the door, yanked it open and went through, letting the wind slam it shut behind her. It bit at her nose and ears, and pulled furiously at her cloak and hood, stabbing through her clothes and boots like icy daggers. Concealed in the freezing shadow of the inn's porch overhang, Evicious' frustration and anger boiled to the surface and broke over the edges of concious. Slowly, deliberately, softly.... her tail began to twitch. Goals: Keep getting stronger (but stay quick) 1. Stronglifts 5x5 three times a week + 2 mile run 2. Count my calories & drink my water 3. Practice guitar at least 15 min daily Bonus: Be in bed by 21:00

Been meaning to start one of these for a while but finally getting around to it. I decided that I should start one so taht I have a progression showing before I go into basic. Quick backstory. Was once in shape, then lost my shape and trying to get it back now. Newly married in september, decided recently that I am going to be enlistin in the United States Air Force as soon as I can drop 50lbs. So i have started running and bodyweight workouts to prepare. Feel free to throw oppinions in and all of the encouragement that you can muster cause I am going to need it. 4:30am runs and workouts suck! but they will suck less in basic if I do it now. anywho heres to life changes!

22 JUL 14

I have been meaning to post my challenge for a few days now, but I just keep pushing to the back burner. I guess that right there says a lot about me. I need to rearrange my priorities and make me #1. I wasn't always like that, I used to be at least in the top 3 on my priority list, but time and age change you. A little back story: I have always struggled with my weight. I was always a "big" kid. Not only was I taller than everyone, but I was overweight as well. My parents took me to nutrition classes, put me in sport, and did just about anything else they could think of to try and help me with my weight. My parents are GREAT! They tried, but I wouldn't have it. Even if they made healthy food I would each junk, in excess, when I went over to friends' houses. That's not to say I didn't have an amazing childhood, I couldn't have asked for a better time growing up, but my weight was always the thing lurking in the corner. I slimmed down a little in high school, but I was still overweight. It didn't help that I had a job working at Arby's all through high school. Can you say easy access to junk? I graduated and left home to go to a university about 6 hours from home. Far enough away to have freedom, but close enough to go home for breaks. I gained the Freshman 15 and then some. I was up to my highest weight at that point, 260lbs. I yo-yo dieted for the next few years while trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. At 22 I was still struggling trying to find a major while some of my friends were graduating. I soon was filled with wanderlust. I needed a change of scenery so I started trying to find places to move. Somewhere in the back of my head I heard 'What about the Navy? Haven't you always wanted to serve your country?' I started to really think about it. I was 60 lbs over the weight max for my height (I'm 5'10"), but I wanted to do it. I started telling my parents I was going to join the Navy. They both kind of thought I was kidding, as they knew I had to lose weight to do it. They didn't believe me at first, and I don't blame them based on my track record, but once I started getting motivated and actually losing weight they were VERY supportive. After contacting several recruiters who just laughed at my and told me to come back after I'd lost the weight I finally found one willing to help me. She is amazing, we're still friends to this day. Anywho, I worked my butt off for 9 months and lost 60lbs. This is Oct 2009, I left for Bootcamp in Jan 2010. I was in the best shape of my life and that continued through Bootcamp. When I got to my "A" (training) school, I did a little less. Once I got my duty station, I did even less. I worked 12s (which were more like 14 hour shifts), and I was sitting down for the majority of that time. I didn't have motivation to go train after work, so I started to get out of shape again. I got engaged and got in a little better shape, but when my marriage started to go south I went into a deep depression and completely gave up. I didn't care about my weight, my apperance, all I cared about was ending my marriage and moving on. I wanted to be done with the Navy and move back home and restart my life. Fast forward to today, 2 years after I left the Navy, I'm 28 and I'm at the heaviest I've ever been, 292lbs. I've had a rough 5 years, I'm not going to blame anyone but myself. I know now that I am in control, and I have to be in control in order to get where I want to be. Thankfully my family is happy and healthy and I've been in an amazing relationship for a year now with someone who is very supportive. He's a power lifter and he's gotten me into that and I absolutely LOVE it! I had wanted to lift for a long time, but I didn't have anyone willing to show me. He is my rock, and I am so thankful he's a great trainer. My goals: Ultimate goal: Become stronger! I think 160-180 once I'm more muscular. My main quest for this 6-week challenge: Lose 10lbs. I will achieve this by: 1. Adding cardio at least 30 mins/3 days a week 2. Drinking WATER 3. Bench pressing 180lbs. I'm currently stuck at 175lbs. Jeez, that was a lot of sharing, I feel really proud of myself! I hate disclosing my weight, but you guys are here for the same reason I am and you won't judge me. The bf and I are going to take starting pictures soon. Thanks for reading, and I look forward to keeping up with your accomplishments.

Hello! Been following Nerd Fitness for over a year and I've finally made an account. Anyways, my current employment is not the normal 9 to 5 desk job. I am a Logistics Specialist Seaman (LSSN) on board the USS Philippine Sea (CG58), which is at the moment in her last haul of a 9 month deployment and is stationed in Mayport, FL. As a LS, my physical activities range from paperwork to carrying 55 gal drums off the ship. But before striking that rate, I was a Deck Seaman for two years, which consists of work that made Pop Eye how he is, and before that I failed out of the Naval Nuclear program, where fitness was not a big concern for them. Stats: Age: 22 Weight: 180 lbs Height 5' 10" Build: Average Desired class: Ranger A few good things about my life; Big MMORPG player when I'm on shore. Mostly Guild Wars 2 on Tarnished Coast, the unofficial RP server.My job requires me to stay in shape, so if I lose motivation my boss will kick some into me.Rookie Heavy Fighter in the SCA. (Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc.)I enjoy reading more than anything else, mostly fantasy and si-fi. (Wheel of Time, Sword of Truth, Star Wars, Dune, etc.)I love to cook. (For myself mostly.)I've been around the world. Mostly Europe, Middle East, and Africa.I've been told I remind some people of a young TIm Curry.A few bad things about my life; Tend to go off track if I get distracted, especially when it comes to fitness.My work currently controls my life, for example duty days, underways, and deployments.My shipboard diet is horrible. It literally has the words on the boxes, "Unfit for human consumption.", If the public schools and prisons don't want it, the Navy will take it!My long-term goals; To achieve Excellent on the Navy PFA. (I'm currently hitting Standard and brushing Good with my runs and crunches.)A beach body of a greek god. ("Dude, your ass is tanner than my face!" - Grandma's Boy)Get selected to become one of the SAR (Search and Rescue) Swimmers for my command.Win a Heavy Fighter Tourament.To live a overall healthly life style both in and out of the Navy.I'm currently doing the Beginner Body Weight Work Out to get things started; 15 to 30 minutes of cardio to get my HR up. 20 body weight squats 10 push ups 20 walking lunges 10 dumbbell rows (Working with 25lbs this week, going to 30lbs next week.) 15 second plank 30 jumping jacksI'm hitting 3 reps in about 15 mins at the moment, and will increase to 4 next week. I'm not sure if I'm going too slow with my work out plan, but I'm currently sticking to, "Slow and steady wins the race." At the moment, I can't really control my diet unless I'm an extremely picky eater and I use N.O.Explode as my pre work out.

Hey Everyone, I'm here because I have tried many things in the past but never really had a plan. The only time that I was really in shape was when I was in the Marine Corps. I classify that as forced fitness but it worked. I went into boot camp at 239 and came out 13 weeks later at 163. That seems like so long ago (17 years). Since then, I have gained so much weight and have tried many things to get it gone. Excessive cardio was my go to weight loss routine but I would always get stuck and give up. After finding this site and doing much research, I have decided to go Paleo and change my exercise habits. I am 30 days in as of today and I am at 247.2 lbs. I started out at 276.8. I think the thing that has changed this time is I am thinking of it as a lifestyle change instead of a diet. I will eat this way for the rest of my life. My goal is to be able to pass the Police physical fitness test in November and get on the Juneau Police Department. Wish me luck!! I look forward to getting to know everyone here and helping motivate anyone that I can. Jason

Up at 0400 this morning to run the 1/2 mile to meet a friend at the gym. She was late, but as I was already on a compressed timeline, I went ahead and knocked out 4 sets of 10 reps of wide grip lat pull downs cable on the cable station. In between each set I managed 10 wood chops at navel height for a total of 4 sets. She finally showed up and I finished out (I told you it was a compressed schedule :-P) with 1x 1 minute full plank, 25 free-foot sit-ups (ie, nothing to keep my feet down - really works the core), and 1 more 1 minute full plank. Then I ran back to get ready for work. I am sore now - and happy.

Alright, THis is not my first attempt at a 6-week Challenge, though I dearly hope that this one goes much better than my last attempt. A brief bio: I'm a 27 y/o male Marine stationed in Parris Island. I'm 6'3" and 220-230 lbs depending on the day. I've been in the Corps for 8+ years, and have only in the past 3ish years really begun to take my fitness into my own hands. I've competed in 3 triathlons, including a 1st in age group, and a 2nd in Clydesdale. My life has been really crushing me as of late, with hobbies (Triathlons, Magic the Gathering, Bowling, Auto Racing, Gaming), Parenting (2 y/o daughter and 4 m/o son), School (jut finished my A.A. in Communications, starting my B.S. in Mathematics), and a busy work schedule. I need to crack down and schedule my life better, and really commit more time to my family. My first challenge will likely simply be challenging myself to meet my schedule requirements, and clearing up some of my hobbies. I identify as a ranger mostly because I'm a "heavy" lifting triathlete, not so much of a crossfit-er. Anyway, on to the Challenge: Main Quest: Strength: 5x5 workout 3x a week. I really enjoy doing the 5x5, and it's the most lifting I've ever done in my life. Currently I am making it 1-2 times a week, not because of any schedule conflist, simply because of sleeping in too much. >.< A: 3 Workouts C+: 2 Workouts D-: 1 Workout F: 0 Workouts Tri Training: 3x Bike 60min+ 3x Run 20min+ 2x Swim 30min+ I have begun commuting to work by bike, so I intend on using that 3x a week to get my bike time in. Running can be done anywhere, and Im lucky enough to have a big pool next door to my shop on base to kick out training during lunch. A: 8 Workouts B: 6-7 Workouts C: 4-5 Workouts D: 2-3 Workouts F: 0-1 Workouts Paleo: Mon-Fri strictish paleo Strict paleo is expensive, so my goal is to eat meat, veggies, sweet potatoes, water, and coffee during the week, while limiting milk to coffee and my protein shakes in the evening/breakfast. (Milk, yogurt, fruit, spices, chia seeds) Also, of course, garbage overprocessed food is out as well. A: 5 Days B: 4 C: 3 D: 2 F: 0-1 Life Goal: There's a bunch, and unfortunately I really really need to be doing all of them >.< I'm going to cut it down to 2 hours of family time, 2 hours of studying, and 6 hours of sleep every day. I'm currently getting about none of these things, so I know this is a little ambitious... These may change a little during the next couple weeks. There it is. I'm looking forward to heckling, err, interacting with all of you, and I promise I'm more fun than this post conveys. I'm just more interested in being held accountable right now... Thank you all!! Semper Fidelis, Tom

So, after being told by all 5 military branches that active duty is simply not an option for me (I have acute gout). I kind of dropped off the wagon. Ate off the paleo menu, stopped working out, etc. I had a complete blow-out for a week. Finally looked in the mirror and told myself to buck-up. I have come way too far to just let this all go. Thats the first bit of good news, the second... I went to my doctor today. My uric acid levels in my blood have been cut in HALF since joining nerd fitness. With acute gout it is rare for the gout to disappear completely, but it has happened in cases. I may not be able to go active military as soon as I was hoping, but it is still a possibility if I continue to fix my body and diet. Motivation back on track! AROO!

Hello, I just reintroduced myself on the introductions thread, but I'll do a quick recap of it here since most of you probably don't/won't read it . I'm a 18 year old male that's currently waiting in the US Air Force DEP. I've passed the PAST which is required for people to enlist into a special operations job in the AF, here is what the test consists of (in order) just to give you a basic understanding of my fitness level: Event 1: 2x25m Underwater Swim (Pass or Fail) 3 minute break Event 2: 500m Surface swim, (15:00 or less) 30 minute break (but in reality they only give us 10 minutes) Event 3: 1.5 mile run (10:10 or less) 2 minute break and then however long it takes us to get down to the weight room Event 4: 11 Pull Ups (the minimum is 8, but no one should shoot for the minimum) 3 minute break Event 5: 60 sit ups in 2:00 (minimum of 48) 3 minute break Event 6: 55 push ups in 2:00 (minimum of 48) I get better scores than these, but not by much, and I've hit a wall with my push ups. This is why I would like to humbly ask for all your help though. To be honest I've just started working out for the first time in my life last spring, which is around the time I decided I wanted to do special operations in the military. Also, I'm sorry if this comes off the wrong way but, I am reasonably physically gifted. I've never had to worry about eating too much because I burn it all of in my sleep, I gain muscle quicker than others and lose it slower than most. I've also hardly ever done any cardio, I can pass the 1.5 mile run in 10:10 just as I naturally am, and it took me 2 weeks to go from not knowing how to swim to being able to swim 500m in ~12 minutes. But all these things are now biting me in the butt, since I've never really had to train that hard for anything, I don't know what to do now. I have no idea how to start building myself a work out plan, or build a proper nutrition plan. Especially since most of the things I've found on the internet are how to lose weight or become the next Arnold Schwarzenegger, when I want to train for military service. I've also pretty much never even touched weights before, so I have no clue how much weight I should be using, the reps, sets, etc. I'm at a complete loss on what I should do, what I should eat, when I should eat. Basically everything. So, again I'm sorry if I've come off as some cocky young butt-wipe, but I've only said those things because I thought it might have an effect on any potential plan we might come up with. I'm currently unemployed living at my parent's house, and as such I would like to utilize anywhere from 4-6 hours for working out on any given day, mixing a good amount of strength, endurance, and cardio into one solid plan. Any help I could receive from you all would be extremely welcome. Thank you very much for reading my post and I look forward to working with you all . (P.S I've been told that this is a great community, so I'm sure you're all awesome, but I'm still incredibly nervous D: )

Yay, new DBL for Evicious! So the Army is now sending me back to Korea for a year. I had been notified that I would be deploying to AFG to take the place of a piece of shit warrant officer who should never have deployed in the first place another member of my unit who was returned for no fucking reason other than the fact that he's a piece of shit minor medical reasons. I was all spun up, packed up, and ready to go, only to end up waiting on orders for the next few weeks that never came. I learned later that was because orders had already been cut to send me back to Korea before the unit tried pulling me to AFG. I'd honestly rather have gone to AFG, too. My first duty station was in Korea, and while I adored the food (KIMCHI!!!!!!!!) and my unit there was... alright... I was really hoping to spend any other time overseas in different locations, rather than revisiting places I'd already been. Also, I can't take my fiance' with me and the timing is seriously screwing up my wedding plans. Obviously I'll make the most of it though. I'm definitely looking forward to the food (KIMCHI!!!!!!!) and I'm making it a goal to spend at least one day every weekend hiking one (of Korea's numerous) mountain trails that will be available to me. Depending on what position I end up filling in the unit, I may also attempt to complete some basic college courses while I'm there (much like I had anticipated doing when I found out I wasn't on the initial deployment roster here in LA). Who knows? I anticipate many open evenings and weekends, since I won't have my man there to keep me busy, and I want/need to stay busy and productive. A lot of what I am and am not able to do will depend on where on the peninsula I end up being stationed. Hopefully, I won't have to fight for every little thing and I can just roll through the year until it's time for me to come home. So that being said, here is what I will be using this DBL for: Tracking my weight Tracking my workouts Tracking my progress in other goals Random babblings

Just wanted to say hello to everyone. I'm a newbie here and have been following Paleo since Monday, 04 November 2013, and i've dropped 7 pounds so far. My goal is to drop 65 more pounds by December 2014. Any advice on how to maintain would be awesome. I seem to start "diets" well until a month or two in and I give in to cake or some other food I shouldn't be eating. The reason I need to lose this much is to get into the Marine Corps, which is my dream since i was a kid.