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Something has changed. The ground is no longer shaking, walls of the temple is no longer rattling, and the storm appears to have slowed down. Even the rain is letting up. Cautiously, careful not to expose herself to any surprise attacks, Scalyfreak slowly pulls the temple door open an peers out at a world that looks very different. The earthquakes have changed the outline of the horizon. Where the forest stood previously, now sits a valley, and the small lake has drained and looks like it's well on its way to becoming a bog. The stream that supplies the temple with fresh water has by some miracle escaped unscathed... in fact, everything close to the temple is entirely undamaged. The rest of the world however, is irrevocably changed. Old maps no longer apply. Or do they? The world has changed, it hasn't been recreated. The forest sunk into a valley, but the forest is still there. The lake slowly turning into a bog is still technically a body of water, of a kind, in the same location. Scalyfreak sits down on the steps by the temple's front door, spreads there old map across her lap, and begins scribbling notes around all the map details visible around her. Before diving straight this challenge period, here's a brief “intro” for anyone who doesn't know me very well: I am late to this challenge period because I chose to face Procrastination on other battle fields than this one during Week 1 and Zero Week. I'm fine with ceding this particular ground to her, in exchange for victory against her in every area related to the new job that I start tomorrow (=Monday of Week 2). Starting a new job means boss fight against Stress-Hydra, and that in turn means preparing diligently and pay attention to buffs and healing during the battle. It also means going back to the basics, which works out very nicely for me since that's what I was doing last challenge. Activate daily resilience buff in the morning ...by meditating every morning. The Insight Timer app will provide guided meditation tracks and (of course) a timer for this. Cast healing spells during the day ...by going outside at least once every day. Going with the Happy Sidekick is preferable, though at her age and with the state of her arthritis, walks with her are too slow and short to count as actual exercise. However, the purpose of this walk isn't exercise. This walk is done for mental health reasons. Apply Regeneration talisman in the evening I have three different talismans to choose from, and only one is required to meet this goal. 1. FTS - Fantastical Talisman of Sarcasm – a very snarky gratitude journal with pre-printed prompts 2. WTF - Wondrous Talisman of Fire-fighting – a regular lined notebook, that I use with worksheets helpfully provided to me by the therapist I worked with for the past couple of months. 3. ETC - Exhausting Talisman of Cardio – an elliptical, strategically placed at a near-perfect viewing angle to the TV in the living room.

Guys. Updates: 1. I moved! No longer in the quarantine bubble, I have my own place! 2. I very suddenly got a new job yesterday! And now I'm FREAKING OUT Whole new job story: And now that its sinking in..... I'm getting massive imposter syndrome. I've never coached before!!! I have NO IDEA what I'm doing!!!!! I have to keep reminding myself that i HAVE taught parkour classes and that's what I'm going to be expected to take over after two weeks training. I'm not going to be the primary rec coach until fall. BUT STILL So I'm not 100% what my goals are going to be yet but I'm going to use zero week to try to wiggle it out. I know it will generally be: 1. Something to prep me for this new job and lower my anxiety levels 2. Programming new workouts now that i can go to the gym 7 days a week if I want EDIT: S.M.A.R.T goals for this challenge: 1. Work on Level 2 floor skills 30 mins/week 2. Work on Kip-up progressions 30 mins/week 3. Watch two(2) coaching-related you tube videos per week

For anyone who has been following along with the shit show that has been my job since January, guess what?! I got moved to a new store... a new shift and have had a ton of unwanted responsibility dumped on me.... AGAIN. Starting tomorrow I'm the Manager/Weekday opener at yet another restaurant... I don't want to be there, I don't want to do this job, but I do want more money, I do want to save the money I no longer have to spend on a bus pass and I do want predictable hours... There are serious wins and some serious fails about this damn job, we'll see which one wins out and if I start job hunting for real again... Anyhow, actual challenge goals! Rebuild my sleep schedule, sleep 10-5 on Sunday-Thursday nights, get 7 hours of sleep a night on weekends Lift 3 days a week, dunno which days, depends on how alive I feel after work (I will make an actual plan when I see what work is going to be like going forward) Start and Finish scarves for my two little nieces for Xmas this year, I want that shit done asap If I finish them I will continue working on the knitting project I started for myself in summer. For now that's it, I don't think I can handle much more with how in flux my daily life is going to be. Wish me luck people! Or if no luck can be tossed at me, helpful tips on hiding a body are welcome.

No clue what happened. Not even sure the last time I was here (spring 2016?). Got married May 2016. Changed jobs so a more active one June 2016. . . . ? Well here I am Fall 2017. I started using Habitica to keep track of my To-Dos about 6 weeks ago I started journaling to have a personal record, sort out thoughts, etc about a month ago I started stretching 15 min twice a week last weekend. Once I've been doing the stretching a few weeks I'll probably get back into bodyweight exercises. I work fast food now so I'm often tired after work but I'll have to find a good time. So anyway... Hi. :-)

Last challenge I was focused on Charles Duhigg's "The Power of Habit," identifying critical "inflection points," circumstances where I was likely to face a significant moment of weakness, and crafting small habits using the cue-routine-reward formula to get myself through those circumstances. I found some ways in which this was really helpful. Below I'll post a standard run-down of my goals for this challenge, and after that I'll analyze moments where I'm most likely to fail at these goals and craft myself habits for how to get though those moments successfully.

So my life has been pretty damn interesting in the past week. I had a batter of interviews, lots of angst about my finances dropping to critical levels, lots of making peace with moving away from my home and dojo and comfort zone to move to halfway across the country to a state that’s the polar opposite of mine, and then, when all hope seemed lost, a ridiculously amazing job offer just dropped into my lap like manna from heaven. So I accepted the offer and then did the totally irresponsible thing and bought an expensive plane ticket to visit Company before I have to start work on Thursday. Story behind the spoiler that is not (entirely) related to the challenge: So this challenge is entirely a “How to balance work and life” Challenge again. That includes making sure my food intake is reasonable, my workouts still happen, and my self care remains on point. 1) Less Work is More Work Clearly Aikido is still a massive priority to me. What just had me geeking out is that according to Google, at peak traffic hours, I am roughly 10 minutes away from my dojo leaving work. TEN. And it is mostly along back roads that aren’t heavily traveled. This is ridiculous. Um, so, THAT particular tidbit aside – I’m going to aim for 5 hours of class a week still. That’s likely Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday (all of these days have double classes), and gives me wiggle room to go light one day. Being so close and almost required to drive past the dojo to get home means I could probably swing going every night, but let’s aim for slightly less for now. Goal: Five hours of aikido classes a week. 2) Working on an Empty Stomach So I’m going to try my not-quite Intermittent Fasting routine for the job, for at least this month. I want to play with batch cooked lunches that are actually warm, or at least warm for 2-3 meals a week. Since I usually feel like warm meals are more calorically dense, I want to use IF as a way to counter that. That said, I’m still going to be really working on being okay eating more (by adding a certain amount of calories based on my activity level that day), and being a bit more paleo/primal overall. Not eating until 10 or so has been pretty normal for me, so I’m not too concerned. Mostly I’ve had a bit of fruit early in the morning with coffee, which still is mostly okay on the IF front (Sisson says if you’re having less than 100 calories, it’s kinda hand waving a bit. Not entirely a fast, but also not enough to do much to the IF benefits, and if it keeps you going, so much the better.) So let’s give this a shot. Goal: Intermittent Fasting-ish during work week (last meal around 8:30 or 9, don’t eat meal until 10-12pm following day). Still maintain ~2800 calories per day, plus 100-150 calories per aikido class, or +600 calories post-Lifting and post-Stadium. Three warm lunch meals batched cooked by the end of the challenge per week. 3) Work out that Iron Speaking of lifting. I’m dropping down to one lifting workout a week for this challenge. I don’t want to try and shoehorn something that’s a distant second priority into my life while I’m trying to get my feet under me at a new job. That said, I don’t want to totally lose what tiny gains I’ve made over the last couple months (even though I’m not really progressing right now because life keeps getting in the way of my regular lifting schedule). So a single, whole body workout a week involving iron is needed. If I’m trying to pull back a tiny bit on aikido, that’s actually pretty simple. Goal: One lifting session a week, slightly longer than usual – three lifts, at least 2 accessory exercises. 4) I Work best Alone I need to focus on selfcare. Like, seriously. Just because I have entered a new phase where I’ll probably immeasurably less anxious and depressed than I have been for month does not mean I am allowed to forget about good selfcare habits. So first off, I need to make sure I get to bed at a reasonable hour and get a solid 7-8 hours of sleep a night. I also need to make sure I remember that I’m going to need to be meeting and interacting with a lot of new people, so I need to be okay with countering that extroversion with my hermit cave tendencies. But I also need to get out a bit now and then. So trying to remember alone time, balanced with social and professional extroversion is going to be important. Goal: Get to be between 10 and 11PM every night. Read 30 minutes before bedtime. At least 5 hours of complete me-time on the weekend (Batch cooking does not count. Aikido does not count. Running errands does not count. This is time to revel in things I *want* to do, not tasks I *have* to do. Sleeping in totally counts towards this.) Time to get to Work.

My life turned upside down this December. My boyfriend of four years got a job three hours away from where we lived at the time. In two weeks we moved him to a new apartment in the new city. I stayed behind to look for a job. It took me almost two months but I will start working at a University on February 27. At the same time I was looking for work I was applying to schools for my master's degree. Last week I learned that I was accepted. Things are finally coming together and are no longer so chaotic. All of these things are amazing and I am very excited; but the path getting to this point has been hard on my body, mind, and soul. I have not been sleeping well, I have been lonely living apart from the man I love, and I have been under a tremendous amount of stress. I noticed that over the last two months I had lost weight but I had not expected the number that popped up on the scale when I finally did weighed myself. I had lost ten pounds. I am a very thin person anyway so this realization freaked me out a little. I have reached many of my goals recently, but my overall health has suffered. With things settling down soon I want to establish a routine that includes a regular sleep schedule, healthy meal planning, and fitness regimen. What I want to do is take a yoga class. I am a person who experiences high stress/anxiety/energy. For the most part I think that it makes me a stronger, more productive person, but it definitely has its negatives. I think yoga will help me to calm down and bring balance to my mental and physical well-being.

Yep. Time management. The one and only goal for this challenge. And here's why: I suck at it. And my life is going to become a chaotic mess if I don't make it a priority. November has brought a lot of change into my life, and December will do the same. Early in November, I started new medication (wellbrutrin). And that was after finding out that I was misdiagnosed with ADHD. Midway through the month, I started seeing a therapist for CBT. And now here, at the end of it, I landed a new job. Yeah, something finally came out of all that work that started all the way back in the summer. But there is a twist. This new job doesn't pay as much as my current job. At least not yet. And my current job barely pays the bills. So now I will be working two jobs. Yay? And to top it all off, I struggle with depression and social anxiety. In short, I'm going to have a real tough time with the new job until I get used to the place/people. Plus, I tend to get grumpy this time of year. It just irritates me so much that practically everyone assumes that I celebrate Christmas. I don't. And it doesn't help that when I try explaining my reasons most people try to give me reasons why my reasons are silly (i.e. not valid). So, I have to balance two jobs, therapy, workouts, making the apartment not look like a wreck, leisure/fun time, creative pursuits, and quality time with my wife. All while keeping my sanity. I hope I didn't leave anything out, because that's already a lot. (EDIT: I forgot basic self-care maintenance stuff, like remembering to eat, and hygiene.) I can break the goal down into two parts: making a schedule, and following the schedule. I'm sure it can be broken into smaller steps, but I can't see it right now. *Deep breath*

At the end of week 1, my job will be moving up to London, and I've decided to follow my job which is going to be a big change in my life. I'll be going from a short drive to work to over an hour on the train each way, I'll be working in a new office with new people I don't know, the work itself will likely be changing (although I've got no idea on the plan or timescales for that). It's going to be a busy month, but I want to keep a challenge running to keep me from going off the rails, and also to give me more excuse to keep up with you wonderful people. Going to try and keep it simple and just keep checking in. Forewarning that this may not be the most upbeat or cheerful thread this challenge, so if you don't like listening to people whine it may be one to avoid. Keep Lifting - Lift 12+ times this challenge - 15XP This one shouldn't be too hard, I really enjoy my lifting program so I should be able to keep up with it. I will need to cancel my gym membership and join a new gym in London, because the current place doesn't open early enough for me to go there before I would have to get on the train. So gym shopping in week 2 could be fun! Don't drink like a dickhead- 15XP Since I found out my job was effectively being sold, I've been depressed, stressed and so very very angry. Unfortunately I do have a tendency to drink my feelings when things aren't going well. Add into that that insurance, and particularly the London market, is an area where heavy drinking is actively encouraged as part of building professional relationships. Then add in working with new people and needing to get to know them which will undoubtedly lead to office drinks. All in all the best outcome if I drink like a dickhead is that I make myself ill, and sad, and fat. Worst case I do that plus I do or say something so stupid I live to regret it. I have a vague mental list of things that count as drinking like a dickhead, including drinking at home (either before or after a night out), drinking beer that I'm not enjoying. If I have more than 5 pints I may well be drinking like a dickhead. If I have more than 6 I almost certainly am. If I find myself getting morose or getting angry I am to stop drinking and take myself the fuck home. Skill Work - 12+ times this challenge - 15XP I've been kind of inspired by the handstand stuff going on with NF at the moment. I haven't bought the programs, but I do want to work on wall walks and crow pose this month as progression towards a handstand. I've also been looking for a chance to work on L-sits for a few months now, so that will count too. Please send me any resources you have on these things. I will definitely be referring to these two: https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2016/10/17/a-beginners-guide-to-handstands/#more-1342745 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUZJoSP66HI (floor l-sit progression) Bullet Journaling - Daily - 10XP I really like the idea of this, it looks to be a simple way to keep track of life (and of challenge goals!), to keep a to-do list running, and hopefully make me a more productive human. I played with it last challenge before everything fell apart a bit, so I thought I would make it a goal this time to see if I can stick with it. That's all folks, wish me luck!

This challenge I'll be starting a new job! Which means I'm putting adulting and life stuff on the backburner to focus on settling in at work. It also means I can focus my entire challenge on fitness! As a celebration of new jobs and a (very welcome) return to a fitness focus, I thought it was time to have a theme again. What better than to pick up where my first ever challenge in this awesome guild left off, and do an Assassin's Creed themed challenge! To truly earn my place in the Brotherhood I'll need to work on the key aspects on Assassin-ing. Quest 1: Climbing A Thing. I will improve my climbing strength by reaching Level 4 on the NF Rings muscle up progression. I aim to get to this point by the midpoint of the challenge to be honest. UPDATE: I will improve my climbing strength by holding all four sets (of 5 seconds) of Rings Support Holds with perfect form. Perfect form = Palms facing outwards. I'm pretty strong with my hands in a neutral position, but when I turn out my palms the move gets much harder. Quest 2: Fighting Bad Guys. I will increase my fighting strength by practicing one element of the NF Rings mobility tutorial every day. There are 4 videos to choose from so I'll probably cycle through them day to day. Quest 3: Running Away From Bad Guys. Improve my cardio/sprinting capabilities by cutting 30 seconds off my 2km row time. Thats going from 9:31 down to 9:01. My eventual goal is 6 minutes, but that's some Master Assassin level stuff.. Quest 4/Bonus Quest: Assist The Brotherhood. Help strengthen the order by contributing to the Mini Challenge every week.

Friends! On the last episode, I was on Arrakis, undergoing a whole lot of training. Now....I don't have a theme so I'm not sure where we are. Tomorrow I start a new job, and Tuesday is the start of NaNoWriMo. Never one to shy from an overly ambitious idea, I'm planning to do both. Quest 1 (nutrition): Read the NF Nutrition Module. Last month I got through the Mindset module (from my July 15 respawn). Now it's time to put the Nutrition module to bed and get through that. I tried to implement everything in the Mindset module as I went, which doesn't really work (since some items take weeks). So I'm going to read through the Nutrition module more quickly and then try to implement a few of the quests. Quest 2 (nutrition): Eat a side of fruits/veggies with lunch 5x/week. Last month I did 3 times a week with no trouble. Now I'm going to be packing lunches--I think I'll be able to get this done. Quest 3 (fitness): Do 3 bodyweight workouts per week. I've been on level 3 of the NF Academy for at least a month now, but....I don't have a pull-up bar so when I do the boss battle, I'm way behind on the bar hang and the assisted pull-ups and can't level up. That said, I've pretty much doubled my reps on all the exercises and the workout is starting to take a while (plus it is a little boring). I'm going to do some looking into my finances and see if I can afford to get a pull-up bar and some rings that I can use in my apartment. I will stick with level 3 for the next two weeks just so I don't add something new into an already chaotic transition, but after that I think I will go to level 4 regardless. Life Quest: Check in on my writing progress every day. I have lightly committed to NaNo this year, under the belief that writing SOMETHING is better than nothing; that said, I don't want to fail and feel bad about myself, then spiral into sadness and self-doubt. I have daily writing check-in sheets that I will use, even on days I don't write anything else--just so I can have a record of what was an obstacle and what helped me succeed. Mindset Quest: Sleep at least 8 hours every night. I'm one of those unlucky souls who do best with 8-9 hours of sleep a night. So, I need to make sure that's happening this month. Particular challenges I haven't had a "standard" (40 hr/wk, outside the home) job in about 4 years. I haven't had a commute in about four years. I haven't had colleagues in about four years. So this new job is going to be a HUGE lifestyle change. Last time I had an office job, I was generally under-rested, eating badly, cranky af, inactive and unhappy. As I've worked for myself, I've gotten really good at watching my mood and energy, taking care of myself and generally being a happy, healthy human. I'm worried that I will slip back, but I also have a lot more tools and skills at my disposal to keep my momentum up. And I'm sure I don't need to talk about how silly it is to try to start a big creative project when I'm starting a new job. But here we are. Overall, the priority list over the next month goes: Sleep & workouts Work Writing So, if I don't get all my writing done, but I feel great about priorities 1 & 2, great! Onward, into battle!

It is time once again to regenerate. It's been a fun run in this body, but seriously it's time to go... but one can hope I'm going to end up with a much healthier model. Maybe ginger? This time around I'm going to try to keep it simple, we'll not be saving the world, just taking in the sights, getting acquainted with my companion(s) and see if we can survive. Step One: Nutrition After a regeneration it is important to get the right nutrition - I will be doing the elimination diet again this challenge. I was sooooo close last time I tried, almost made it to the end, and choked 2 days before the reintroduction phase and went wild on alcohol and sweet treats. This time in order to keep on track more, I will be posting my meals on youfood daily still, but also keeping a detailed journal about how I am feeling. I will also be making a reintroduction plan to make sure once I get to the end I know in what order I'm doing things. scoring for this: Each Meal posted on Youfood is worth 1 point with a maximum of 3 pts per day, with a half pt for snacks. bonus point at end of week for posting a meal plan on Friday. Step Two: Movement The doctor and his companions are always on the go, running... and running... and dancing... lots of dancing second goal this month is to move every day. on alternating days I'll go between bodyweight workouts designed to help get me ready for aerial silks when I can afford it, and dancing to kpop music. For bonus points I will post a Wednesday bridgeclub photo on Facebook, on Friday I will post a video of my kpop dancing progress. I think this challenge I will continue working on Dope by BTS as this one is seriously killing me. At least once a week I will have a rest day, which will consist of yoga/stretching for flexibility. Scoring: 3 pts for each completed workout (less awarded if not completed, but started), 2 pt for a bridge club photo, 2 points for Kpop Video. Step Three: Rest I just got news today that I will be starting a new job on Sunday night, and it's the first time I will be working 3rd shift. I need to establish a workable sleep schedule to be productive in everything else, so I will be making a goal to wear my cpap to bed every day, and will award myself points for how long I sleep, and bonus points for hacking my sleep. Scoring: 3 pts daily for sleeping 8 hours with CPAP, 2 pts for 6 hours with CPAP, 1pt if below 6 hours or without CPAP. bonus points for these hacks: .5 pt for each time an essential oil is used to aid sleep. 5 points for purchasing blackout curtains and clearing them with landlord. 5 points for purchasing mouth guard, 5 points for purchasing eye mask, .5 pt for using soothing music or white noise. BONUS LIFE GOAL: Cleaning House Each day I will be taking 20-60 minutes to deep clean one aspect of the apartment. We recently had a city inspection which did not go so well, so my landlord is breathing down our necks to get the place cleaned up. Each day I will pick a room or section of a room (such as a set of cabinets, or an oven or closet) to work for 20-60 minutes (depending on the size of the project) and really clean organize and consolidate. I'm tired of living in clutter. For accountability I will take Daily Before and After photos which will be posted once a week for tips, or if there's anything that looks like it may have been missed. This will be a passed goal if at the end of the challenge the apartment is inspection worthy, A/O passes a follow up inspection if we have one in this time.

I got the job right below the one I said I wanted when I was 5. I'm 31, so not too bad. I'll hopefully have that next one in a couple years. He plans on retiring soon. So now I'm moving. It'll be the last time for a couple of years (til he retires), so I'm taking everything out of storage. I was going to not have a challenge thread because I have a lot going on and was thinking adding a fitness challenge do it would not be a smart thing to do. I decided I might need some accountability to keep me working on unpacking. I've been working hard to get my storage locker empty. If I get it empty before September, it'll save me $75. So that's my goal, but it's 4 hours away, so I've been really pushing it. I probably 2 loads left. Then the unpacking starts! So I'm creating this thread to post updates on my progress. It's probably kind of silly, but I think it'll help keep me motivated. Also, I'm making a lot of progress on my debt, and as that has been a big part of all my challenges, I want to post about the progres on that. I think my home equity loan will come through before the end of this challenge.

Late to the party! But I've been busy and my house is finally decluttered & tidy. I love it!! I start a new job in a matter of days so I want to keep this challenge "easy". My things are: 1. Get evenings back on track - turn off TV when come downstairs from baby's bedroom - do washing up as soon as dinner is finished (don't stay there reading on the kindle) - get evening routine done asap - start to migrate baby's bedtime earlier 2. Stop giving advice - 'nuff said! 3. Ask other people about themselves - keep asking. keep asking. keep asking. 4. Walk like Beyonce - when out & about of the house 5. Keep plugging away at to-do list - August to-do is now down to about 30ish items. It was previously averaging 60 so this has been a mammoth task. - Keep on top of new things & integrate them into life asap. - Don't order more stuff on t'internet. I already have enough! Edit: forgot to add these 6. Get the hell off facebook and another internet forum (not NF ) - can hang around on fb until I start my new job - the other forum, let's call it PF, I have no need to be on at the moment so I should quit immediately Because of everything going on I don't expect to be posting much this month, but I wish everybody luck in their challenges!

I took a break last cycle because I was struggling a lot with trying to find a job. Luckily I think I finally found one! I start the week of the 18th most likely so I’ll be keeping my challenge pretty simple so I don’t over tax myself while trying to learn the ropes of a new job. I have some Zero Week stuff I want/need to get done as well. Most of it for my job, some of it for my challenge. I’m really happy to be back. I loved watching everyone’s challenges but I felt bad about not participating. Zero Week Tasks I’ve already set appointments for most of the below tasks and I just have to follow through with them but I want to have the satisfaction of crossing everything off the list as I complete it. Pre-Job Tasks: Get Inoculation history from the PHU Get Doctors note Get TB Skin Test (Part 1 and 2) Fill out both tax forms Fill out Direct Deposit form Get money for Criminal Record Check Go over Fire Plan and other forms at least once more Bonus: Read up on Dementia Challenge Tasks: Call martial arts gym and inquire about prices and lesson times Call local gym and inquire about membership fees Begin monitoring bread-related intake (baked goods, pastas, and grains included) Other: Go to bank to learn about RRSPs Do laundry Fitness Goal One: Strength After I’ve figured out the respective costs of the local gym and the martial arts gym I need to choose one to attend. As I want to save up money it’s highly unlikely I’ll be able to afford both. I’ll weigh my options carefully but I must admit that I seriously miss kickboxing. So the martial arts gym already has a point in its favor. Either way I want to start working out 2-3 times a week again. Go to gym 2-3 times/week Phenomenal – 13+ gym visits total Great – 9-12 gym visits total Good – 8 gym visits total Mediocre – 5-7 gym visits total Poor – 2-4 gym visits total Abysmal – <2 gym visits total Goal Two: Stamina During my break last cycle, I went out for drinks with friends. The city we were in has notoriously shitty busing and since I was drinking driving was definitely out. According to Google it was only about 42 minutes to walk so I decided to save myself the cab fair (one way) and walk to the pub. I learned two things during my deep introspective bout of self-discovery. One, Google was wrong. It only took me 30-35 minutes to get there. Two, I don’t like walking just for the sake of walking. I like walking with a destination in mind or as an outing with friends. Wandering with no goal just doesn’t appeal to me in the long run. So I’m going to try to incorporate the two things that make me enjoy walking in this challenge. A while ago I tried hiking short trails and I loved it. I want to do two things for this challenge. I want to do an easy day hike with my friends and I want to do a moderately difficult hike on my own. There are a couple trails I already have in mind that take between 1-2 hours each. Since it’s technically only two hikes (and thus slightly resistant to my usual grading scale) I’ll mark each as a pass or a fail. Bonus points if I do more than two hikes. Diet Goal Three: The Breadening This is a two-part goal. The first two weeks I’ll be recording my bread-related intake (baked goods, pastas, and grains included). Just recording. I want to figure out my baseline. I’m pretty sure this will have an effect on my overall intake but that can’t be helped. For the second two weeks I want to begin a gradual reduction. The first week I want to reduce my total bread-related intake by seven items. I figure that one item/day is a reasonable goal (however I am open to reassessment after the recording period). The same goes for the second week only I would like to reduce my bread-related intake by an additional seven items. Again, I’m not sure yet if this will be feasible but I intend to give it a go. If everything goes according to plan, I’ll have reduced a number of unnecessary grains from my diet. Reduce bread-related intake by 7 items/week Phenomenal – Reduced bread-related intake by 19+ items total Great – Reduced bread-related intake by 15-18 items total Good – Reduced bread-related intake by 14 items total Mediocre – Reduced bread-related intake by 10-13 items total Poor – Reduced bread-related intake by 6-9 items total Abysmal – Reduced bread-related intake by <6 items total Lifestyle Goal Four: Work Journal My job involves working with a vulnerable population and as such I’ll be part of a confidentiality agreement regarding the residents. However, I see no reason I can’t write about my work itself. I’ll just leave out any mention of the residents. I always struggle a bit with confidence at a new job, especially one unfamiliar to me. Hopefully by recording my experiences and attempting to focus on the positives I’ll approach my work (and confidence issues) differently. Write a work journal after each shift Phenomenal – Included something positive and a plan to fix the negatives in each journal Great – Included something positive in each journal Good – Wrote after each shift Mediocre – Wrote only occasionally or briefly with no attention to detail Poor – Wrote once or twice Abysmal – Didn’t write anything

Weight: I need to lose about 15 pounds to not be medically overweight, and would like to lose 30. I’ve also got a couple of injuries that I think would heal faster if I weighed less. From experience, I know that if I want to lose weight, I need to be tracking what I eat. Otherwise, it just slips my mind when I eat “just one†cookie or candy multiple times a day. “Just one†is fine. “Just five or ten†is not. I’d like to lose 2 pounds by the end of January. I’m at 164 now, with 42 inch hips Exercise: I’m recovering from a back injury and from persistent plantar fasciitis. I hurt my back in October, and reinjured it a little in November. It’s been healing well since then, but there’s still a ways to go. At my worst, I wasn’t even bending over to pick up silverware that I dropped because it was so painful. I can now bend over with only a little twinge, and stand up without upper body assistance a couple times before it starts hurting. It’s only slightly limiting now. The plantar fasciitis showed up last June, and for the first three months, consistently got worse. Then I got better about actually resting it and wearing good shoes. It’s been holding steadily bad ever since. I can walk a mile with only a little pain, but by the end of two miles, it hurts. That’s walking slowly. So the goal for January is to actually rest my foot as much as possible. No long walks because the weather is nice. No hiking. No testing if I can run. This will be hard, but I’m hoping it will let me heal by spring, when staying inactive is really miserable. Ironically, with the just the back injury, I could still do as much cardio as I wanted. With just the foot injury, I could still intensively lift weights. But with both, I need to be careful all around while I heal. Life: My most important goal is my life goal. I want to start my own business. I’m not to hung up on what that business does: I figure if I start at something I enjoy, I can tweak it as I get established. I like to read and write, so I’ve decided to start an editing and writing business. This has been lackadaisically in the works since October, but now it’s time to get serious. The goal for January: find at least one client. Ideas for finding clients Tell everyone what I’m doing. Find poorly written websites and product descriptions, and contact the site owners/product sellers. Find local businesses, and offer my services. This is hard because I work 9-5 in an office, so I don’t have time when these businesses are open. Challenges: I’ve got a fair amount of social anxiety. I find making phone calls very stressful. Using my phone is going to be the biggest challenge. I’ve never done this before, so I don’t know what works. I’m going to track who I contact, and how I contacted them on a spreadsheet. With any luck, I’ll be able to see what gets responses.

First time Ranger here. I missed out the past couple of challenges mostly due to feeling uninspired to doing them. But I'm back and ready to begin my journey as a Ranger. I have set myself a challenge to lift more and run further than I did last year. The lifting part should be easier as I have a head start on last year (I started going to the gym in April/May) and I can lift more than I did then but I need to keep it up. Running, well I've probably lost my progress and only have the slightly warmer months to do it (the cold air hurts my lungs and makes me feel as though I can't breathe). This challenge is about trying to move towards reaching this while adapting to my new job. Which has more regular hours but my flexibility is compromised. I also have an off peak gym membership. I'm also starting this challenge during an election campaign of which I am part of which helps and hinders (delivering leaflets is a lot of walking and if you get a flat with lots of stairs it can be quite a workout). So my stats for last year: Lifted: 60,234 Kg Travelled: 124km PRs: 21 (Information from fitocracy. I'm relying on them doing so again at the end of next year otherwise I have a lot of counting to do) Challenge 1: Keep on lifting I have one day a week where I am off during the day. I should use this opportunity to go to the gym. I know one day a week is not great but it is my only option for now. This visit should be weights focused (although all my visits are) and cover at least one exercise for each muscle group. To track all workouts will be posted on Fitocracy and I shall update here. Grading: A - 6+ visits B - 5 visits C - 3 or 4 visits Challenge 2 On one day that I'm off at a weekend I should go for a run or do something that is active if I have something else to do (e.g. Delivering leaflets) though first preference should be running. It is warmer now so I will be fine. I will use my zombies, run! App and track on fitocracy and post here. A - 6+ (or equivalent runs) B - 5 C - 3 or 4 Challenge 3 - sort out the diet My diet the past few weeks hasn't been great. I have just gotten in to bad habits. This challenge I'm going to try and get rid of these habits and eat more healthily. This will mean finding healthier lunches and not snacking on junk food at breaks. I have started bringing an apple to work with me and typically have egg sandwiches for lunch. It's not easy being vegetarian though as there is such limited choice and I only have half an hour. I aim to cut down on current eating and more fruit and veg. I am also going to track some days on my fitness pal. I'm going to grade myself by giving myself points per day of healthy eating. All day healthy - 5 Chose healthy lunch - 2 Chose healthy snack - 2 One junk food snack - 1 A - 190-210 B - 170-189 C - 150-169 Life challenge - Learn a new language This is something I've always wanted to do but never 'had the time to'. I've been watching lots of Outlander recently and it has inspired me to take up (Scottish) Gaelic again. I've learned a few phrases over the years ("I love you", "give me the whip", "I'm fixing my car" (I neither own a car or fix one) and "it's very dark" I plan to use my days off mostly again for the bulk of my learning but I want to spend time on nights I am working (or possibly bus journeys). This means 18 days for the bulk of my learning and 24 to supplement it. I will aim to clock 20 hours (just to make it a round number more than anything. But aware that this might be a bit too much. Still, I will track here how many hours I'm doing and some phrases I have learned. A - 20+ hours B - 15-19 hours C - 10-14 hours

So I've been gone from here for a while now. So long that I had to read the rules again. The bright side: I've been working out regularly for the past month and a half, and semi-regularly since October. My diet, however, is pretty much the worst it's been since...ever. So I figured it's time for a good old-fashioned "Hollywood reboot." Now, none of my goals from my first challenge are really things I want to work on right now, so I'm not just going to redo that challenge. And come on, when's the last time a series reboot stayed anywhere near to the original anyway? I was debating basing this on another book (Game of Thrones?) like my first few were based on The Hobbit, but I don't think I'm going to. MAIN GOAL: PREPARE FOR THE TOUGH MUDDER That's right, I signed up for a Tough Mudder! It's in May! However, the coworker who was going to do it with me moved 8 hours away and now can't do it. And two of my friends that were going to do it have a wedding that weekend. Also, with my life goal challenge, I may end up having to transfer to a different one. But regardless of all that, I want to be ready. That means running and strength training. Goal 1: Swift as a coursing river I hate running on treadmills. I get bored and it's too easy to quit. But I also got stranded the last time I ran outside (I went way too far and then the temperature dropped like 10 degrees and I wasn't ready for it), so I don't particularly like doing that, either. So I'm going to stick with the treadmill for now, though my distances won't be impressive. I'm planning on building up a tolerance for treadmills in the same way you build a tolerance for pain. Run twice per week Weeks 1 & 2: Min. 2 miles per run Weeks 3 & 4: Min. 2.5 miles per run Weeks 5 & 6: Min. 3 miles per run 3 DEX, 2 STA Goal 2: With all the force of a great typhoon I've been doing strength training at least twice a week since the beginning of December. The first 3 were 3x, but with the holidays and going out of town and my gym being closed, I only worked out twice the last two. I'm currently using Starting Strength. Strength train 3x per week 5 STR Goal 3: Once you find your center you are sure to win (Okay, now I'm stretching, but the first two worked and I felt like sticking with the random theme) My squats suck. I have zero hip mobility. I also have very poor mobility elsewhere, but the hips are what's really killing me right now. The plan is to use GMB's Focused Flexibility combined with just sitting in the bottom of a squat every day. This shouldn't take all six weeks, so when I get to the point that I can sit in a legit bottom squat for five minutes I'll move on. Focused flexibility as prescribed + Week 1: 10 min. in bottom squat throughout day Week 2: 15 min. in bottom squat throughout day Week 3: 20 min. in bottom squat throughout day, etc. until I finish 5 CON Life Goal So I've been speaking with my cousin's husband, who works for a company that I would love to work for. This job would involve moving across the country, away from everyone I know (although they're pretty much all 4-6 hours away right now), and starting new. That's semi-scary, but what's really scary is a) the amount of hours I'd be working (60+ per week), and the amount of responsibility I'd be taking on. My current job is rather easy, and has very little to do with my field (electrical engineering) except when I go out of my way to work on something that I, technically speaking, shouldn't be working on. So I'm mostly worried that I would fail miserably at the new job. A friend of mine told me that the fear of not knowing what you think you should know is actually called something, but I can't remember what it is (and I probably should. Oh no! There it is again!). Step 1. Write resume Step 2. Get resume reviewed Step 3. Apply Step 4. ??? Step 5. Profit TL;DR: Run twice a week, strength train thrice a week, work on mobility, and get a new job. I feel like I need more random photos/gifs in here, so here's one of the most adorable ones I've ever seen.

Another new challenge, another fresh start! And speaking of fresh starts, I am starting a new job one week from today! I am very excited, but also quite nervous, as I know it is going to be a huge change from what I'm used to, and I will have so much to learn. That, combined with the inherent stresses of the holiday season, mean that I really need to keep my mental state managed, and not resort to eating and drinking my stresses away (especially since it's not so much "away" as it is "later"). GOAL ONE: Eat like a reasonable human being who is perfectly aware of what foods don't agree with her. Because I am that thing I said. I am going to stick with the same metrics goal I had last time, because I really do feel best when I eat like that. I really, really, really need to remind wheat that he is not welcome also, because I know eating it makes me feel crappy, but I do it anyways. And particularly as the holiday baking starts appearing everywhere, I could use a little extra self-control - I don't even LIKE cookies... I just like Christmas, and somehow that translates into eating cookies. And whatnot. 1. Eat less than 120 grams of carbs per day 2. Eat 80 grams or more of protein per day 3. Don't eat any wheat! (Not going to stress about small amounts, like in sauces and stuff, but no bread or baking.) 1 point per item per day = 21 possible points per week. A : 120pts+ B : 105pts+ C : 90pts+ D : 75pts+ F : <75pts GOAL TWO: Yoga, yoga, yoga! Simple. Do a minimum of 15 minutes of yoga. Every single day. For scoring purposes, I'll give myself one day off per week, but still aiming for 7. Self-guided, use a video, go to a drop-in class, whatever. A: 35pts+ B : 30pts+ C : 25pts+ D : 20pts+ F : <20pts GOAL THREE: Prepare outfit and lunch for work the night before. This will both help keep my meals on track, and reduce the stress that is a hectic morning. 2 possible points per work day. A: 55pts+ B : 50pts+ C : 45pts+ D : 40pts+ F : <40pts GOAL FOUR: As usual, I am going to try to make as many Christmas gifts as possible. I have had the horrid realization that this means I will have to make a minimum of 3 gifts per week if I'm going to get through my list! Time to get started... A : 18 gifts B : 15 gifts C : 12 gifts D : 9 gifts F : <9 gifts So there we have it. A challenge which will (hopefully) keep me on track, calm, cool and not a crazy person. Let's do it!

In March I received my Fibromyalgia diagnosis, after two years of widespread muscle pain and spasms I finally got an answer to the cause. There are three medications that can be prescribed, but they only treat one of the symptoms, and the side effects are brutal. At this point, I'm declining the medication. The only "treatment" is to clean up my diet and exercise - I just have to do it. The irony is that my muscle pain increased significantly when I lost 50 pounds, oh the irony. In May I started my new job. I went from a relatively stress-free job into chaos, this hasn't helped my diet or exercise. So now in December, on National Respawn Day, I am making a commitment to my health. I am 25 years old, I need my health as Fibromyalgia tends to get worse over time. Plus I also have a few pounds that need to vanish. Tonight, I am going to yoga. Tomorrow, maybe Zumba. Thursday, maybe Fit Camp Circuit Training. My new strategy is to take one day at a time - to push myself, but not destroy myself. Best of luck to all the respawns. Aalis

Hello All! I really want to start exercising at work. Mainly because, due to my commute I have very little time at home to work out. However, I have come across many obstacles. 1.) I work in a warehouse district with constant semi traffic. So walking around is not safe. 2.) I work at a Japanese company and doing little exercises at work is "frowned upon". So my question is....should I look for a new job? I am almost 300 lbs, I can not afford to be sedentary at work if I have the time. It will only make me bigger. I have done some research and I have found that other people in my field tend to have the option to work from home (which I would love! that would give me another 4 hours a day to get healthy!), I am a project manager. I have seen many many people on NF that work from home. If any of you could respond with your opinions I would be very grateful!

First off: I ran the Color Run 5k on 8/31 in NJ without stopping and under 30 minutes. This is my first true 5k and I'm really proud of what I've done. Other news: I got a job working at Headless Horseman Hayrides (a haunted house and hayride attraction, top rated in the country.) as a zombie. It's my first paid acting gig and something I've wanted to do for years. This year it finally lined up and I'm able to keep my old job as well! Yay extra money! We've already had the first rehearsal and I've scared quite a few so far. I've also done pretty well at keeping my own blog in which I review horror related things (attractions, restaurants, shows, movies, books, anything else I can think of, etc) which has a smattering of followers (which I'm really excited to have) and I have plenty to add to soon. (Still working out how often I want to post.) One of those things is a review of the Disneyland Halloween Party! Overall it's been an awesome year.

Hey folks! Having a bit of a woot moment! Just got the official word that I'm starting my new job on Monday! I'll now be a regular Monday to Friday desk jockey like everyone else in the world Can't wait to have a desk! (I was previously working in a high-end cocktail bar which was nice and all but hey, who wants to be getting home at 5am after being on their feet all day) Not sure what to expect as I've never worked for a company this big before so I'm a little nervous but still super excited! Oh and it's a bank I'm working for... I don't think most of you would know it but it's ANZ (you Aussie rebels will know it). Anyways, woot! Jimmy