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Hey guys! For those of you whom I did not meet in my introduction post, I'm Ratynda. I'm a recent college graduate (almost a year now! ) and adult life has given me the opportunity to re-evaluate a lot of perspectives I had in college and even before. Historically, I settled for the middle road and only kept a normal amount of effort up in school, work, relationships, and exercise. With this new opportunity, I want to turbo-charge my efforts in developing myself in these areas and more. I've been particularly stressed lately about my career path, as I never really was able to bring myself to decide on one and that fact, combined with my current miserable job that I got very shortly after my graduation, have made for a very anxiety-ridden past few months. Some of the career ideas that I have involve a lot more presence and a lot less shyness than my current, level-one self has, so In making my challenge, I want to address a selection of these issues at once. First and foremost though, comes my health! Main Quest: Develop discipline and overcome shyness, while contributing to my larger goal of finding a calling My First Goals: 1. Perform structured weightlifting workouts twice a week and one yoga session a week 2. Apply for two new jobs 3. Find time to stream a game online, with or without friends, twice 4. Reach out to 3 new people that I wouldn't have before For my first challenge, I want to keep the goals simple and realistic to follow, then build from there. These are small things I can do that will force me to take strides in things I am uncomfortable with. Can't wait to see my results!

Soooo my first plan was way too complication. This is going to be basic. I'm going to lose 10 lbs in 4 weeks. This comes out to be a reasonable 2.5 lbs per week. It will take me from 297 lbs to 287 lbs. I'll post before and after pictures for my own edification. Goal: Lose 10 lbs Intermediate goals: Week 1: Weigh in at 294.5 or lower Week 2: Weigh in at 291.0 or lower Week 3: Weigh in at 288.5 or lower Week 4: Weigh in at 287.0 or lower (Saturday weigh in, no clothes, before breakfast. I wont take pics I promise haha) Daily goals: Sunday 9/17: Active Rest TBD - First day went well. I played in the park with my niece and nephew for a couple hours and it was surprisingly good exercise. - Unfortunately I did less well on eating. We ordered pizza for lunch, and I only had two pieces with salad, but its not exactly in my diet plan. I'll do better on Monday. Monday 9/18: Back and Bicep - Today went well. The gym was not as crowded as I thought it would be (I couldn't go until 4:00) and I got through my workout without any major obstacles. I had a little trouble motivating myself to go, but I pushed myself over the hump and enjoyed the workout afterwards. Lat Pull 3x10 at 85 lbs Row 3x10 at 45 lbs each arm Low row 3x10 at 85 lbs EZ curl 3x10 at 55 lbs Hammer Curl 3x10 AT 17.5 lbs - Eating went better today than yesterday. I still didn't quite follow the plan. There was a memorial for a family friend today and a meal was provided. I decided to eat the food but make good choices. They had lean chicken, salad, and pan fried vegetables. The only thing I ate outside of my plan was ravioli and a brownie, so on the whole it wasn't too bad. Tuesday 9/19: Cardio - I stuck to the plan today and did my cardio. I'm proud of myself. However, the real test will come on Tuesday or Wednesday next week, that seems to be when I fall off track with new workout commitments. I decided to extend it to 20 minutes instead of 15 because I can do 20 and if I can, then I should. Babying myself accomplishes nothing. - I didn't do as well with eating today. As expected, I was much hungrier today than I was yesterday. I was also very sore, so I expect my body was looking for calories to help my muscles repair. The way I feel hunger is strange, and maybe I need to address it. Many times I get hungry just after I've finished a meal and it doesn't start in my stomach, the feeling starts across my back and then moves into my head. I don't mean mentally, I mean the physical muscles that surround my skull, especially those that clench my jaw and pull my eyebrows back (occipitofrontalis and temporalis if you want to get technical). It feels similar to my fight or flight response, and It requires that I eat something immediately. It's an extraordinarily hard feeling to ignore. I can power through it, but it really knocks the wind out of me. I'm going to try to confront it directly tomorrow, if that doesn't work I'll try to figure out another strategy. Wednesday 9/20: Chest and Triceps Thursday 9/21: Birthday Cardio Friday 9/22: Legs and Core Saturday 9/23: Active rest TBD (weigh in) Sunday 9/24: Active rest TBD Monday 9/25: Back and Bicep Tuesday 9/26: Cardio Wednesday 9/27: Chest and Triceps Thursday 9/28: Cardio Friday 9/29: Legs and Core Saturday 9/30: Active rest TBD (weigh in) Sunday 10/1: Active rest TBD Monday 10/2: Back and Bicep Tuesday 10/3: Cardio Wednesday 10/4: Chest and Triceps Thursday 10/5: Cardio Friday 10/6: Legs and Core Saturday 10/7: Active rest TBD (weigh in) Sunday 10/8: Active rest TBD Monday 10/9: Back and Bicep Tuesday 10/10: Cardio Wednesday 10/11: Chest and Triceps Thursday 10/12: Cardio Friday 10/13: Legs and Core Saturday 10/14: Active rest TBD (weigh in) Definitions: Cardio: Week 1: 20 mins elliptical Week 2: 25 mins elliptical Week 3: 30 mins elliptical Week 4: 35 mins elliptical Weight Training: Too long to specify, but I'll be adding 10 lbs to every set each time I cycle back to a muscle group. Active rest: Hiking, yard work, Frisbee, swimming, adventuring in general, etc.

Hi. My name is Patience, or PayShi. I just joined and am slowly working my way through the Academy's mindset to begin. A little about myself: I am a Tele Nurse who works the night shift so my days are opposite. I am 27 years old, engaged, and have two cute doggies. I have been BIG my whole life. I was that fat kid, and grew up into it as well. I am from the south where our social gatherings usually are surrounded by food... lots of country, fried food. My mom struggled with her weight all of her life like me, and after hitting in the 500s in her 30s was forced to have Gastric Bypass surgery in 2003. Since then, she's lost over half of her weight but she's also gained a TON of other things like malabsorption issues which has caused much of her teeth to rot as one example. While there are other surgeries out there... I honestly want to avoid the knife and with good reason. Other things about me: I love playing video games. I mostly play PC games, trending towards MMOs at this time. I also like binge watching on Netflix and watching Asian dramas. I hope that the nerd fitness academy can help me make new habits as everything I've tried in the past has failed because I fall back into habits. Nice to meet all of you and I'd love to make some friends to share journeys together... (especially if you are a night shifter haha.) Thanks, PayShi