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Hello all! I'm brand new here! I've stumbled on NF articles in the past, but this is my first time participating in a challenge. I'd love to meet some new people on here! Please introduce yourselves and share your quests! A little about me: I'm 27 and from mid-MO. I'm 5'7", 260 lbs, and ready for a better lifestyle! I've done some running and general gym work outs in the past, but have struggled to get into a routine. I saw a nutritionist for a few months and was able to develop some good habits. Unfortunately, my bad habits still tend to outweigh my good ones, so I'm excited to knock those out. My Quests (over the next 6 months): 1) Lose 20 lbs I think this is completely achievable, but only if I can succeed at Quests 2 and 3. I'd like to lose closer to 50-80 lbs overall, but I'm starting small 2) Meal prep This might be the hardest one for me. I don't like cooking. I struggle with finding new recipes and actually trying them out. If you have any recipes to share, please do so! I'm always looking for something quick and easy (and healthy) to make! 3) Run a 10K Also totally achievable, but only if I get my butt motivated. I need to find a routine that I don't dread doing. It's cool if I don't like it because I'll probably still do it. But if I'm miserable, I'll just tell myself I can go tomorrow. Not a great work out plan. This will also include starting some strength training at the gym. I'm starting at the very beginning on this, so I plan to start with some bodyweight exercises and gradually work toward using the machines and equipment at the gym. I'm looking forward to starting my first challenge! I know I won't achieve quests 1 and 3 in this challenge, but I can start to develop some good habits that will get me there! Please post your quests and anything else you'd like to share! Can't wait to start working with everyone!!

Good evening! I'm really hoping you people might be able to help me out here. I decided to try the Beginners Bodyweight Workout - and trust me, the emphasis here is certainly on "Beginners!" So, I watched the video, then watched some other clips about the proper way to do things, and very very rapidly realised as I was having a go at the different exercises that I have absolutely no strength in my upper body whatsoever So I have a few questions because I really want to do this, and I'd appreciate some advice from experienced folk: 1) With the squats, I should be getting my thighs parallel to the floor or lower right? 2) I can't do push ups. And if I try a push up on my knees I can sort of do it a bit, but can't get my chest very low, like, only just below my shoulders. I saw a clip about starting with wall push-ups, then ones with a box, then the knee ones and then eventually full push-ups, does that sound sensible? Or am I best persevering with the knee pushups and just gradually trying to get lower to the ground? 3) I managed a few reps over everything once round the circuit, and managed a few more for half the second circuit, then my legs were like "Er, no. We're done thank you"." I was pleased with myself and actually it was a lot of fun, but today, I ache like a bitch. Is it okay to try again tomorrow? Or should I wait until my thighs don't scream when I go to sit down? Please pardon my lack of proper terminology I hope you all understand what I'm talking about but I'm very very new to this thing! Cheers Mabs x

Hello! I'm a chronically ill student nerd with more dreams than spoons. I would especially love to meet other disabled/chronically ill nerd fighters to share my journey with! A bit about me: I'm a final year vet student living in the UK I love to read, draw, paint and write. I'm a lover of sci-fi, video games and true-crime podcasts (my latest obsession) I suffer from Joint Hypermobility Syndrome, which causes me chronic pain and weakness in most of my joints, and chronic fatigue, which is just unneccessary I'm also a mental illness warrior I'm currently very deconditioned due to recent worsening fatigue which has left me unable to consistently exercise, but I'm working with a wonderful personal trainer to very slowly build back up to regular exercise I'm a vegetarian with food aversions and an unfortunate dislike for a lot of healthy food (ouch) Goals! My short term goals are to improve my diet (less sugar, more veg) and build back up to a consistent, manageable, varied and enjoyable exercise routine Medium term goals include building up my muscle strength again to where everyday activities are not so hard on my body, and reintroducing running Long term I want to build tons of muscle, get really strong, take up all the other sports and exercises that I either used to love or want to try, and be able to handle and lift my heaviest patients without damaging myself. That's pretty much just for starters! I'd love to meet some new people, find an accountability buddy if possible (someone else with similar health issues and/or goals would be wonderful) and if anyone has any tips for me I'd very much appreciate it! And I think that's everything I wanted to say...

Greetings, Rangers! I just completed my first challenge as a n00b, and was nudged into this guild by @SkyGirl and @Super Starling!. Y'all seem like My People, I am so excited to join your ranks! HI!!! About My Focus I have a complicated history with anxiety and depression (and ADHD and codependency and body dysphoria and and and), and I'm happy to say that these are all very well managed these days, so I'm excitedly progressing to more advanced levels in my life. Right now, I'm on a mission to define and design my sense of happiness by my 35th birthday, which is next May. So far, I think happiness looks like feeling activated and at ease in every area of my life (sidenote: thank you to Danielle LaPorte's Desire Map for that fabulous insight) -- hence my username. My relationships and career are in excellent shape now (after years of struggle), so now I'm turning my attention onto myself: health, home, and appearance. Exercise? (What's that?) I've never had a good relationship to exercise, but over the last year I've managed to (a) make the basics less scary, (b) create a morning workout routine (15-20min, 3x a week), and (c) take a lot more walks with fitbit tracking. For my mornings, I've mostly focused on cardio, I recently explored some yoga, and now I'm trying to make the Big Scary Leap into strength training. Goal 1 (The Big One): Become a Bodyweight Workout Ranger. Do the NF Beginner Bodyweight Workout 3x a week, starting at my current baseline and increasing intensity as I get comfortable with it: Current Baseline (I've done it twice now): 2 Circuits per workout Each Circuit includes: Squats: 5 Pushups: 5 kneeling (note: form is still shakey) Lunges: 3 per side Dumbell Rows: 10 per side using a 10lb dumbell Plank: 15 seconds Jumping Jacks: 30 I'm hoping to get up to 3 circuits per workout, 15 squats, 10 lunges per side, and a non-shakey form on push-ups. But I'm going to listen to my body (both in the workouts and in the after-soreness) and let it tell me what I'm ready for. The only real goal here is consistency and learning. Goal 2: Become a NerdFitness Ranger! I NEED TO KNOW YOU ALL! I'm going to get active in the forums, and get to know the stories and journeys of 2 new people per week. I'm a total introvert and I haven't focused on online communities in years, so there are some social/tech muscles I really need to get into shape here. But I wanna dive in, because you are all so darned friendly and supportive and charming as hell! So let's do this! Goal 3: Halloween with Rigorous Moderation. Early halloween candy has already entered the house (we went to the Disneyland Mickey's Halloween Party), and we live on a popular street for trick-or-treating. Instead of declaring all the fun-sized goodness Off Limits this season or trying to keep it out of the house, I want to work my moderation skills. Rule: If i want a piece of candy, I will pick out just one, and I will savor it, and that will be it for the day. Exception: Halloween night is a designated as-much-as-i-want candy enjoyment window. Goal 4: Find and study resources on interior design. I found the BBC's "Design Rules" series on youtube, and it's exactly what I need to learn to start making my home feel right. I want to watch and absorb all the episodes in that series, and then see if i can find more like it. Thanks being so welcoming, and please enjoy the Pixar gifs!

Time for challenge number 2! TLC - Tables, Ladders and Chairs (well… Walls, Tables and Chairs…) I've had a little re-jig of my main goals, I think it's important to reflect and adapt. You can find an overview of them HERE The challenges below feed into these bigger GOALS! Look Good! (Big goal; Lose 8 lbs) Do 10 full floor push-ups! -Sounds daft I know! But I cannot do full push-ups. I never have been able to! But after reading a great thread on this forum (I'll find the link) I've formulated a plan to get there. So this challenge is; Start with the WALL (10 full wall push-ups) GET THE TABLE (10 full table push-ups) Give 'em the CHAIR (10 full chair push-ups) Go for the pin … FLOOR (10 full floor push-ups) I have a plan - 2, 4, 6, day off, 8, day off, 10 - Move to next level - Repeat NF LVL 5 Back to following the NF level 5 healthy eating plan. So no sugary drinks,vegetables with 2 meals a day, once a week I can eat 'empty carbs' (bread, pasta, pizza etc.), and I'll allow one "treat" a week (cake, biscuits, chocolate etc.) Hope to achieve 4lbs weight loss! Trackables: Weight: 139.2 BF%: 27% Waist: 35" Hips: 37" Arms: 11" (biceps) Tracker in Bullet Journal (see below) Feel Good! Stick to my Evening Routine. I feel best when I know I've had time to relax after a long day, my skin is feeling good (and not spotty and scratched), and I've had a good night's sleep. So for this goal, I've created a simple evening routine, including skin care, time for reading, and getting to bed by 11.30. Simple stuff really, but making sure I stick to it should really set me up for the next day. Trackables: Mark off each task in bullet journal tracker (see below) Finish 1 book Getting Productive and Creative! I didn't achieve this goal in my last challenge so I've brought it over with some extra! I want to sign-up to schoolistic's storyboarding class, and complete 3 hours of the course through the 4-weeks. Trackables: Sign-Up Done 1 Hour Done 2 Hour Done 3 Hour Done For this challenge I'm making it super simple, and you may think my challenges are a bit naff for a fairly healthy adult, but hear me out! BONUS INCENTIVE: Something I really struggled with in the last challenge was when just 'doing it to look good etc' just wasn't enough. I'd convince myself that no-one cares, including myself, what happened ever and would consume whatever I could get my hands on and curl up under a blanket. So as an added bonus, just to keep on track, I've decided that for every lb I lose, I'll take £70 out of my long-term savings. Once I've lost 8lbs I will have enough to buy… A SHINY NEW CINTIQ I've wanted one for a really long time, but just couldn't warrant spending such a huge sum of money in one go, so this way I can, in a way, 'spread the payments, and also feel like I really deserve it. Bonus! It will help with my work so also contributes to one of my main goals. BOOM! I want to look Good! I want to feel Good! I want to be Proud, Productive and Creative!

Hey guys, Better late than never I always say! While yesterday threw a slew of distractions at me I got a perfect window today to post my second challenge and my first one in the Rebel group. For those of you who don't know me, I'm Ratynda and where my last challenge focused on a broad group of topics meant to get me to broaden my thoughts towards new opportunities, this one will hold a lens to my progress in what I've established and measure out progress in a more tangible way. As I got to know myself better, I started to realize what motivates me and what drains me, and this month I'll be taking steps to enforce or eliminate those respectively. So without further ado.... - Complete three structured weightlifting workouts a week, based on push/pull split. - Increase to the weight specified for the following lifts by the end of the challenge. - Bench Press: 110 LBS - Squats: 105 LBS - Deadlift: 100 LBS - Overhead Press: 25 LBS - Limit eating out to one lunch per week, with the rest consisting of pre-made food. - Limit Video Game play to three days out of the week. - Attend one class for a new type of physical activity that I have never tried With my workouts, I am finally getting back into the swing of thrice weekly splits, and with that I came up with a new program to try, In which I focus on progressing on the four big lifts listed above every week for a foundation of strength, then stratifying my workouts to different muscles under the push/pull category. For example I might start with bench Presses and Overhead presses one day, then target back and biceps with some rows, Lat pulldowns, and Bicep curls. I want to steadily get a feel for how quickly I can progress in my big lifts, so I went with some targets that I thought would be reasonable to reach but still a good challenge, with no shame upon failure to reach them. Of course, these weights do not keep bars into account. The next two goals are targeted at reducing two of my vices, spending money and video games. While sometimes circumstances require buying food out, after spending sometimes a whole week only going out to eat, I can recognize how easily that drains my wallet, where I should be saving for travel. Games on the other hand are innocent enough and something that I love doing, but I recognize that when I spend days in a row playing them when I get home, I end up not accomplishing much, falling behind on my sleep, distracting myself during workouts, and just generally feeling mentally negative and unhealthy. This will allow me to enjoy the games in a healthy amount that doesn't require policing exact time. With the extra time I have, I will be stoking my fire for physical activity and finding new ways to exercise, leading to my last challenge. It can be any class or structured exercise, as long as I have not already tried it before. My gym has a myriad of group classes that should be perfect for this goal. And that concludes my goals for this month! Short, sweet, and to the point. If anyone has any tips, suggestions, or feedback for me along the way, please let me know. Until then, lets get this challenge started!

I am new and finally unafraid. It's taken me a long time to get to a point where accepting help, accepting truth, is something I can live with. I come here exhausted, mentally ill, and ready to heal. Fix Your Life Goal: From October 22nd - November 18th (or the remainder of this challenge), I will not purge any food I eat. I will accept the consequences for the food I eat by keeping a diet log; noting what I eat, when, how much, and my anxiety level involved. Diet: Part of what causes the negative thought cyclone I get sucked in to are the foods I eat. Or don't eat. I have the bad habit of fasting, binging, purging, chugging an energy drink and starting all over again. For this challenge, I will eat foods I know are good for me. Going off of Nerd Fitness' paleo pdf, my meals will consist of 2/3 vegetables OR 0 carbs. Fitness: Can't neglect my body! While nutrition is my big goal, I will attach a routine of yoga (Nerd Fitness Yoga, Down Dog Routines) for 20 minutes, 4 days a week.

Hi everyone, My name is Red Knight. I'm fresh from my first challenge on the level one subforum and excited to set some new goals. I'm pretty excited that I'm really seeing results from just one month of working out consistently. I'm noticeably getting bigger, stronger, and faster (slowly but surely), which feels great. ***Measurable Goals*** 1. Cardio-Respiratory Endurance: Run three miles in 21 minutes. 2. Upper Body Strength: 20 one-armed push ups and 20 pull-ups. 3. Muscular Endurance: 30 standard push-ups and 40 standard sit-ups. 4. Speed: 300 meter sprint in 48 seconds. (This is pretty fast, but I think I can get there if I improve my running form and conditioning.) Right now, I feel like I'm pretty far from these goals. I'm running 8 minute miles and 55 second sprints. I can do several one-armed push-ups elevated on a table. I can do three pull ups if I cheat a little. ***Quests*** 1. Continue working out six days a week according to the plan. This is a holdover from the last challenge. 2. Study for one hour a day, every day. If I miss a day, I can make it up the next day. (I'm working on improving my Javascript.) Here's a general outline of my workout plan: Mo/We/Fr, I'm doing resistance training with bodyweight exercises and a pair of adjustable dumbbells. I don't have a pull-up bar, but I can do pull-ups off the bottom of the staircase outside my apartment. (Inconvenient but kind of fun.) Tu/Th/Sa, I walk, run, or sprint (whatever I feel capable of). I usually either run a mile or do ten minutes of on and off sprinting. On Saturdays, I'm going for longer runs of about three miles, either on trails or just around the local neighborhoods. Also, I bike about three miles to work on nice days. As a side goal (which I'm not tracking) I'm trying to make some friends and be a little more sociable. I'm naturally kind of a loner. It's usually fine, but I have a growing urge to get out of the house and do things with other people. Maybe I can find something to do with my newfound physical fitness . . . sports, maybe, or martial arts?

Good morning, all. My name is Red Knight. I'm a 27 year-old civil servant living in the Pacific Northwest. I'm currently in the best shape of my life, which is to say I'm pretty weak but no longer a total blob. This is the first time in my life I've really seriously tried to get in shape. I'm hoping to become stronger, faster, tougher, and smarter in the next few years. I'm excited to meet other nerds who are on the same journey. Here's my first challenge. I'm a few days late posting, but I've been working on these quests for a week or so. The Main Quest: Achieve a basic, well-rounded foundation in fitness. I'd like to run an eight minute mile, a fifty second 300m sprint, do 35 good pushups, and forty good sit ups. I think I'll manage a few of these this month, but others may be a long time coming. When I've accomplished this, I'll start thinking about other fitness goals. I'm interested in weight training or martial arts at some point. Sub-quests: 1. Do bodyweight training three times per week, consisting of squats, pushups, sit ups, and dumbbell rows. 2. Get outside to run, walk, or sprint three times a week. 3. Snacking outside of meals is henceforth limited to one time per day. Right now, I am sometimes guilty of eating out of boredom, or just because I happen to wander through the kitchen. I already eat pretty healthy, because of my wife, but only at mealtimes. When I snack, I eat junk, which will only make me feel tired and weigh me down. I have a printed-out excel spreadsheet for tracking my goals. I will keep everything I need to work out (clothes, shoes, digital watch, tracking sheet, pencil) by the door where I will see it in the morning.

I stumbled upon this sight by accident and became intrigued. I was going to wait for the next challenge to begin but why wait to start improving? Time will pass regardless. So even though I am late to the game, I have some small goals I would like to work on for the next couple of weeks. I have many, many things I would like to work on but I had a baby 4 months ago and life is quite chaotic. I need small victories at this point. 1- Get out of the house and take a walk 5 times per week. 2- Log food in app everyday 3- Read my daily devotional followed by prayer 4- Balance “checkbook” once a week

I typically tend to be more of a stalker uh, I think the appropriate term is lurker. But I read somewhere that is discouraged here . . . . so be warned, I'm rusty on social cues. I found this through a MFP chat. I'm already following a fitness routine, but this seems neato, so I'm checkin it out. I'm fortunate that my mom always raised me to strive to feel comfortable with myself and never really emphasized being pretty (plus being an only girl of 4) led to me not really paying much attention to my body until my Doc told me too. So here's me: clinically obese (though I still think I carry it well, but I'm not one to lack confidence), with BP of actively stroking patients. I have already lost 14 lbs since August, and I'm only 6 lbs from my checkpoint goal, and the barrier mark between an obese BMI and "overweight". So first step: not be obese, hope that will help ease the crazy BP, but we'll reevaluate from there. Second step: continue to be awesome, whatever form that may come in down the line. See you all on the other side

It has been many years since I have joined and participated in a forum... So here goes nothing... I am trying to restart my fitness/health/weight loss journey. Somewhere along the line, after dropping 40ish pounds, I pulled my life over and made camp. I started out 3-4 years ago at 340 pounds. I finally hit 299 and was overjoyed. And I did it without much exercise. So, I joined a gym. For a year I worked out. My weight stalled. I stalled. For the last year I have been between 288-299.8. I am proud I have kept the weight off. I am angry I have been stuck. It's like some tractor beam has me held in position. I belong to a gym. Do I go? Nope. Even though it is next door to where I work. But there are complications to that... at least for a few more months. Oh...and the mental health depression crap...ugh. Anyway. I thought I would give this a try. See what happens. Maybe my alter ego can kick my real ego in the tail and get my camp packed up and moving again along the trail to fitness, happiness, and health. I also would like to find my inner Amazon Warrior again. I miss her.

Hello Rebellion, I am hoping to keep this pretty short. Let's see how I do: I'm 26, engaged and living with my partner, struggling to find a job that feels like a career (or at least does more than just pay the bills). I've been overweight forever (not an exaggeration). I've tried many things to rectify this, but I usually get sick or some other issue and do not keep to whatever the current plan is. Things I'm doing differently this time: -Trying this "paleo" thing : with a mindframe of "what I can eat" rather than "what I can't eat" -Accountability: reaching on these forums, trying to talk to my fiancee and family about it... sort of. -Motivation/Purpose: before I even started making changes this time around, I made of list of all the reasons why I want to make these changes (future [wedding, kids], current [confidence, keeping up with my nephews], fitness [canoeing, rock climbing, gymnastic rings], and other littler things) -Kicking the diet soda habit: maybe for good? maybe caffeine all together? .... let's just say it's negotiable So far, I'm a week in on the "move more" plan and three days on the "diet" (the food kind, not the restriction kind). I won't sing of any successes, but I'm still hopeful, even with my withdrawal-headache. Looking forward to meeting fellow rebels. Best of ... not luck, let's say, best wishes to all on their journeys. We'll make our own luck. May the force be with you. Always.

This is difficult to write, but here it goes. I have around 300lbs to lose. I am fortunate to have no secondary health concerns to speak of (yet) apart from sleep apnea, but it's just a matter of time before my luck gives out and something else serious creeps in. At 39 I'm a ticking time bomb. I am working with a bariatric doctor, a nutritionist, and a therapist who specializes in eating disorders to try to attack this from as many angles as possible. The one thing I lack is any real support. I've tried to find groups here locally without any luck, and I'm hoping participating in a community like this could serve much of that same purpose. In the past I've lost significant weight for stretches, as much as 200lbs, but whether it's my lack of a support system, my depression, or something else, eventually most of it comes back. I am determined to do something different in hopes of not just existing, but of actually living some kind of real life. There's a chance that weight loss surgery may be part of what I'm doing, but I recognize that it's not a panacea, so I'm not going to sit around and wait for it to magically fix things. Even if surgery is in the cards I want to continue to work on my eating behaviors to change my relationship with food to make any potential surgery safer, and ultimately more successful. I recognize I'm a very extreme case, but I am fortunate to be very mobile despite my size. Underneath all this is the body of an athlete. I still work full time, move around well, and as the weight starts to come off I should be able to do a lot in a short period of time. I'm going to start by reading, looking around, and figuring out what the best and most productive way for me to participate around here will be. I just felt I needed to get this post out of the way before I chickened out, because I really don't want to write this, and if I don't write it now, I probably never will. Thank you for listening, and good luck to everyone!

well, here goes. It's my first time and one my big anxieties is "am I doing this right" My goals are: Do bodyweight exercises 3x week Walk to work at least three times a week (3 miles one way) Drink a beer or glass of wine a night, rather than two or three Keep the kitchen clean. I do like my beer and wine and my husband and I make wine, mead and beer. We're also looking into getting the kitchen remodeled and I want to practice keeping it nice. I haven't quite figured out how one chooses a class, so I'm here as a rebel for the foreseeable future.

Hello, Nerdfitness! Call me Saint. I've got a lot of stuff to work on and am looking to level up my life. Starting from the bottom up. I will be keeping more thorough track in my logs soon, thank you and wish me luck!

I just joined the academy. My goals are getting back to how fit I was when I was a field geologist back in the 90s, now that spouse and I have a handle on our mental illnesses: anxiety for me and bipolar for him. I also have a background where my ancestors live a long time and there is certainly no reason not to live it as well as I can. I'm very scared of being incapacitated when I'm old, and that fear certainly hasn't been helped since I work for a gov agency that regulates nursing homes. Something that I want to avoid at all costs. A bit about me. with the same fellow for 27+ years and met through tabletop rpg gaming with him as my first DM in college. love cats. atheist. no kids. love to cook and brew. cosplay (we did pathfinder characters at GenCon last years). love tabletop RPGs though it's been an age since we've played. have a degree in Geology and I love any kind of science. love to take up new skills just to have them. Love reading just about anything with words on it, but prefer sword and sorcery, planetary romance and space opera. Used to be a big reader of Marvel comics until the mid 90s when things just got too convoluted. have my own blog: clubschadenfreude.com (fair warning, plenty about religion and politics on it, as well as recipes and just general nattering) Used to hate exercise and I blame it on horrible phys ed teachers and the damned President's Council on Physical Fitness. I now love to walk and walk to work most days (3 miles one way and then the bus at night, and working back to walking both ways). I'm getting to like weight training but still have a ways to go with that. that's about it. Pleased to meet you all!

So, here I go - my first full four week challenge! In addition to working my way through the mindset and nutrition modules in the Academy, I have set myself the following goals for the next 4 weeks: - Cook at home at 4 nights every week and if eating out the other nights, keep calories to under 500 and drink 4 large tumblers of water a day - Walk at least 10 minutes a day at work and Work way up to doing the Nerd Fitness Body weight workout out 3 times a week, over three weeks (1st week = 1 time, 2nd week = 2 times, 3rd week = 3 times, 4th week = 3 times) - Start bedtime process at 10:30 every night

I'm new to NF and this is my first challenge. The last few days I have been lurking around in the forums and today I completed the planning worksheet, although I already had something similar in place this broke things down into smaller pieces than I have done before. So here is my challenge: Meditate - 6 days a week Walk - go for some sort of walk, 6 days a week Workout - 3 times a week, see below Eat better - but how?? Some details on the above list: 1) Meditate - I have done a little meditation over the years, and recently a bit more using headspace and insight timer on my phone. Like many things in life the starting is the hardest part for me, once I get going it is enjoyable yet I often talk myself out of it. I do believe if I can get into a semi-regular practice it should help both my physical (stress, high blood pressure etc.) and mental health (anxiety, depression). 2) Walk - I really need to get fitter and lose weight (again for both physical and mental reasons). Walking seems the easiest way to start doing this, I can stick my headphones in and listen to podcasts. Again the hardest part is starting, i.e. getting out of the door. Once I am walking I find it ok (although frustrating when it reminds me how out of shape I am). I am not setting a time or distance minimum to this as I think it will make me more likely to fail, and some walking is better than none. I will however continue tracking my steps, and have a sub-goal of increasing my steps done week-on-week (but if I miss this I won't beat myself up over it, moving more and more often is the key to this challenge). 3) Workout - some sort of workout. Details to follow but either a bodyweight workout (the nerdfitness one which I need to checkout or one that I have done previously) or maybe some light weights. A sub-goal here of increasing the amount I can do, but the challenge goal is to do this regularly. 4) Eat better - recent changes to my diet are going in the right direction, but with a long way to go. This challenge might be to just keep going in the right direction, or something more specific if I can think of it. I will be continuing my tracking with myfitnesspal as data is important to me. Increasing my water intake is also definitely a part of this challenge. I have chosen 6 days a week for walking and meditation as 7 is likely setting me up to fail, and 6 is more reasonably achievable. The last thing I want to do is "fail" and have the mental downward spiral that might follow. If I hit 7 days then bonus xp! Now to address the title - this challenge really is terrifying, and not only because it is my first. What I have set out in my challenge feels both so little and so much. As individual things they aren't much to do, and considering where I want to get to in life they are the smallest of steps. At the same time they seem thoroughly daunting and I can see the consistency being a real challenge for me. Only one way to find out how it will go...

So I officially joined NF a week or so ago, (introductory post with a little backstory can be found here...) after browsing the many articles and tips over on the main website. Before I even consider delving into the 4 week challenges, I've decided to track my life with a battle log to see where I am at currently. So here it is. My EPIC QUEST goal is to boost my confidence by having a healthy body and mind. My general fitness goals at the moment are to walk more (I have just started the "Walk to Mordor" challenge), to work up to trying some bodyweight workouts (such as the BBWW) and to make healthier choices with my diet (I am calorie counting and food logging to start with to get a baseline upon which I can build SMART goals). Speaking of which, I am yet to choose some proper SMART goals (if anybody reading this has any advice concerning an appropriate timeframe for SMART goals, or advice regarding anything I put on here, I would love to hear people's thoughts, comments, support or advice - I definitely need a certain amount of accountability to stick to anything... so please say hi below if anybody is actually reading this to let me know!). For now, I am focussing on just recording as much as I can that is to do with the things I listed above that I would like to change in my life. So... Here. We. Go. EDIT: I have purchased the Level Up Your Life ebook and am currently working my way through the chapters. Reflections on this may guide and change the way I record my progress so this is going to be very fluid and flexible, and I might even transition to recording my progress through the 4 week challenges... We shall see

My first (second attempt actually) on a challenge. 3 Goals: Get to a Healthy Weight Overweight at 96kg, healthy weight for 174cm is 78kg. THAT is the target. Confidence Boost Low confidence has made me the poster boy for bullying target, though I am fortunate enough that it did not happen to me. (I had great classmates.) And also, I want to feel what vanity feels like. That rush when someone tells you that you look good. Or that liberating feeling of stripping your shirt off just because you feel like it. (of course, within permissible boundaries) Handle Life with Gout 26. Gout-sufferer. Doesn't ring nice, does it? I understand (after countless doctors telling me that) - it is a lifelong disease. I want to learn to handle it - so the least I could do is handle it well-enough, that it doesn't become a lifelong bother on my mind. I heard some patients that handled it good, only relapses once a year, even once every 2 years. My goal is that. Action Plan: Get to a Healthy Weight Meet daily step goals of 10,000 (bought a garmin tracker just for this) Workout at least 4x a week Develop a Hydration Habit - 3litres a day. Confidence Boost Stop Picking on Skin. I have bad eczema. And made worst because I pick my skin when idle, scared, stressed, etc Cold Shower. Heard it is good for eczema. Lotion up after shower. Didn't do it because I thought it was a girly thing to do (is it though?). But I guess I have to now. I'm so dry. Handle Life with Gout Study on Gout. Uric Acid Blood test (or blood test in general) every 4 months. Develop and cook gout diet plan Keep a Gout/Pain Journal That is it for this challenge. Help me on this journey. Any advises are extremely welcomed. Thank you~

Hi, after a half successful challenge, I want to double up! But... life is strange and I happen to both be on holidays and start a new job these four weeks. This would make it very difficult for me to even setting up a challenge, but I decided to change the rules and make it two two weeks challenges. The difficulty in tracking for last challenge will be replaced with Loop habit tracker, and that's what I mean with ticks below. Changing the ratings to percentages will work better, with passing grade at 60% First part: 1st July to 14th July Main quests: I have 15kg to lose and I want to be happier than I already am. My quests: 1) Walk "The Walk" app, this worked last challenge as motivation, but tracking should be 10k steps per day 100% = Reach a total of 14 days of mininum 10k 90% = Reach a total of 13 days of mininum 10k 80% = Reach a total of 12 days of mininum 10k 70% = Reach a total of 11 days of mininum 10k 60% = Reach a total of 10 days of mininum 10k Note: keeping the bar high because I am on holidays so no excuse and I already do that most of the days when I work, so again, no excuse 2) Eat vegetables twice a day 100% = Reach a total of 28 ticks 90% = Reach a total of 26 ticks 80% = Reach a total of 24 ticks 70% = Reach a total of 22 ticks 60% = Reach a total of 20 ticks Note: This should be easy here at Mom's 3) When I am out of bed I do phisio and abs excercises 100% = Reach a total of 10 ticks 90% = Reach a total of 9 ticks 80% = Reach a total of 8 ticks 70% = Reach a total of 7 ticks 60% = Reach a total of 6 ticks Note: phisio plank as long as the abs app plank, the bar is quite high, but I am giving me some margin and I have time Level up my life: If I put my night gown on I pray the examen (around 15min/day) 100% = Reach a total of 11 ticks 90% = Reach a total of 9 ticks 80% = Reach a total of 5 ticks 70% = Reach a total of 4 ticks 60% = Reach a total of 3 ticks Note: keeping this simple to not overstress it as it would get the opposite results... it it works I'll add a higher bar next challenge

Hello Everyone! You can call me Thea. I'm new here and ready to start my quest! I have recently gained a lovely forty pounds the last year after giving birth. I'm ready to take my body back and get back into shape! My plan is a combo of walking, running and some simple weight training. I'm going to take it slow and make minor changes to my diet and lifestyle a long the way. I joined for encouragement and the occasional push when I need it. Also for the accountability. I hope to help and be helped! Thanks! Thea aka Sunshine

This is the first time doing this kind of things to stright my life for myself, i hope to do it well. 1) Walk 10 minutes every day 2) Do 5 minutes of meditation daily 3) Workout 2x per week

So here goes everything - I know I'm late this challenge, but after lurking on the forums for what seems like forever, living vicariously through another nerd, actually meeting a bunch of nerds, and even went to a nerd wedding(!!!!) I've decided to dive in and give it a shot and there's no time like the present. So Hello! What I'm currently hoping to get out of NF is extra motivation and to keep on a regimen with working out (ie picking up heavy things and placing them back from whence they came), going for walks and eating healthier. I eat fairly healthy as is because we normally meal prep, my problem is more when I get stressed I will in turn stress eat anything that comes my way. Also Hydrate Hydrate Hydrate. So here's my initial goals: 3x/week bodyweight workout w/ NF Ring and handstands. 3x/week yoga or go for a walk (my choice/weather dependent) Drink 100oz of water a day. Lower my caffeine intake to max 3 per day (8 cups of coffee a day seems a tad excessive to me.) Be more optimistic: Write something one thing I am grateful for and one thing I am looking forward to with each weekly update here. I already have been focusing on my water intake this week, and have gotten in a workout so I think I am off to a good start.