Search the Community

Welcome to my Challenge Log! 27th July - 6th September For those of you who don't read the intros (I'm sure there's a few). I'm a 32yo, Aussie mum of 3. I live in New South Wales in a small country town about an hour and a half west of Canberra. I'm a newbie gamer (playing LotRO - main is a lvl100 Runekeeper named Vilarya on Crickhollow server and I just bought Skyrim to try something I've never tried before and I love it, can't wait until VI comes out hopefully sooner rather than later!), I also bake, read sci-fi, fantasy and historical fiction and dress in vintage/vintage style (less now than ever because of my weight *sad face*). My Quest for these first 6 weeks is as follows.... Main Quest – Lose 5kg in 6 weeks SW: 111.4kg (as of 23/7) GW6wks: 108.9kg Goals Stick to a healthy eating plan (includes more vegetables and fruits, more protein and healthy fats and less refined carbs and gluten - trying to get my PCOS under control, 1900 calories a day) Aim to drink 2L + water every day and carry a water bottle with me everywhere NF Body Weight Circuit Mon/Wed/Fri Join the local Gym and start improving my lifting form Life Side Quest – Practice my archery and actually start hitting the target consistently (work on the basics/technique), before this year I never once picked up a bow and I want to be deadly accurate (working with recurve and longbows - no interest in compound bows). I plan to practice 30mins a day Tue/Thu/Sat. I'll get some walking in because right now the flights keep coming off arrows and I only have 5 that I can use right now. Motivation – Wanting to be able to fit in a vintage style tea dress I bought and have hardly worn The Dress Please feel free to pop in here and my Battle Log from time to time to see how I'm going. I do have before pictures I need to post, but I might save those until after the first challenge. It's just far too raw and confronting for me to post them right now.

She gazes, eyes wide with wonder, at the shimmering apparition of a face staring back at her. It is that of a young skinny girl; ears pointed, pale of skin and with curious eyes. The strange girl's shoulders rest and an arm tentatively reaches out - but just as her fingers brush the surface of the crystal-clear water, her reflection evaporates ripple-by-ripple. An eager smile creeps its way onto her lips. This girl stands tall, eyes drifting skyward, hands crossed like wings above her own kingfisher heart. Her eyes sparkle. Her face beams; "Let the adventure begin", she whispers with a grin. Great freedom comes with great responsibilityI've began my adventure and am on my own way, but it isn't all fun and games. Still, there is no reason to let this one slide. It's essential to remember that freedom and discovering can be refreshing and good for the soul, but that it's important not to lose your wits about yourself. Keep care of yourself on a basic level so that you have a foundation on which to build upon.Wear my Bands every dayA. 40-42 daysB. 37-39 daysc. 34-36 days Gengo hitotsu dake de wa tarinaiIf I ever hope to learn waterbending from the very best it's essential that I can speak in their tongue. Its time to extend my vocabulary and pick up some essential skills along the way. You never know when it might come in useful.Japanese x4 times a weekA. 22-24 timesB. 20-21 timesC. 17-19 times An open space promotes an open mindIt's important to have a serene escape to train, to meditate and to relax. This first leap into discovery can be tiring and difficult, but so long as I have my own sacred living space to heal, I know I can make it.Tidy every dayA. 40-42 daysB. 35-40 daysC. 30-34 days Mastering the basicsStudying scrolls, listening to advice - this is all well and good. But nothing is quite as effective as getting out there and training. It is time to discover myself and to take my first steps in water-bending, so lets give it our all! Yoga seven times a weekA. 39-42 timesB. 35-38 timesC. 30-34 times

My first challenge as a Ranger... Yay! . Supremely happy to be here. Just finished strong with my first challenge over with the Recruits, and now I'm chomping at the bit for the next challenge. Note on the name...can't change it until I get 90+ approved posts, but Raven Firestorm is what I use over at the Academy... I'm working on fixing a "posterior tibular tendinitis" issue, which kind of puts a damper on a lot of the physical stuff I'd really like to be doing.... No long bouts of walking, hiking, or anything even mid-range impact. But I think I've come up with a plan that will keep me going until this pesky issue is taken care of. Every firestorm starts with a spark, right? So here goes... Q1: Complete a minimum of a 10 min. daily meditation. Grading will be based upon the percentage of days completed for the full duration of the challenge. Hoping to gain some WIS and STA for this one. Now granted, this isn't exactly a very physical challenge, but I've always imagined Rangers as types who have complete control of their emotions. They can turn things off and on at the flip of a switch in order to be able to focus on the sh** that has to get done. Seriously, if you're in the middle of a battle, you've got to be in the zone! My focus ability is sporadic at best ") so I'm borrowing one from the Druids on this one and leveling up my mind muscles. (Note, no issues with tendinitis on this one ) Q2: Find some way to get in 20 min of cardio every day. Grading will be based upon the percentage of days completed for the full duration of the challenge. Hoping to gain some STR, DEX, and STA with this one. I'm really a noob, I mean really a noob. Not particularly overweight, but WAY out of shape. The way I see it, Rangers have to be able to run the hundred miles even before they get to the battle. And then they've got some more kicking a** to do. I'll be working on my strength training per my usual Academy prescribed routine, but I also know that I need that stamina! Since anything with impact on my arch is out, I'm looking at swimming, rowing machine, biking (stationary or road), kayaking, or juggling (upper body until I can get back to using my legs). Any other suggestions would be helpful since I've pretty much run out of ideas at this point, and I like variety. Q3: Track a 1410 calorie meal plan on MyFitnessPal every day for the duration of the challenge. Half of the grading will be based upon the percentage of days logged for the duration of the challenge, and half the grading will be based upon my ability to keep to the 1410 calories (I'm giving myslelf some flexibility per day + or - some calories, as long as the overall average stays as close as possible to 1410). I'm hoping to gain some STA, CHA, and WIS with this one. Here's the kicker... I'm mostly vegan, and gluten intolerant. Yup! ;P this is going to be a real experiment to see how my strength, and stamina are affected. I've been working on gaining strength for a month or so, and I'm finally starting to feel my body getting stronger, but I really want to start addressing my body fat percentage. Currently it's been sticking at about 30%, and my ultimate goal is to get down to about 20%. Now, how am I going to reduce my body fat while maintaining my muscle? I don't know if this is going to work, but I figure I've got to start somewhere. If anyone has had experience with this, I'd appreciate some input. I might crash and burn, but the flames should be fun to watch! I've got a couple of vegan bodybuilding books that I'm using as my guideposts... Wish me luck? LQ: I love these quests! My last one was spent keeping my kitchen counters clear of dirty dishes. I turned into the dish Nazi and couldn't be happier! . I am now going to invoke the powers of the laundry witch and see if I can't magic up some ability to overtake the laundry demon that has possessed my house. One load of laundry a day... That's the deal. Trust me that barely even begins to cover it. I have two and a half boys (aged 9, 12, and 40 respectively). We all participate in some type of physical activity. Soccer practice alone 5 days a week! My boys and I have school uniforms, then there's our dog, 5 bedrooms, ... 'Nough said? I think I did over 15 loads of laundry during Memorial Day weekend... and I didn't even finish! I'm hoping to gain some CHA with this one. Grading will be based upon the percentage of days of the total challenge that I wash AND fold AND put away a load of laundry. So I'll be hanging around doing some prep work before the challenge starts (mostly with the diet stuff). And I'm putting together my ideas for the mini challenges . Totally psyched! Can't wait to see what everyone else has planned!

Introduction: Hello, I’m Kylee. I am an amateur artist/animator and I enjoy sewing and general crafts. Iâ€m about 160 ibs and I’m just finishing high school, so I want to make sure that I get myself set into a healthy lifestyle before going to college (in order to avoid the dreaded freshman fifteen). I also want to lose some weight and gain some muscle for cosplay, since I do a lot a crossplay especially. With the upcoming summer, I know from experience that I’ll likely lock myself inside for months marathoning movies and playing video game (shout out to Dragon Age for taking over my life for the last few months!), and I’d much rather use the time a little more productively. Main Quest: Lose at least 12 ibs by the end of this challenge. Quest 1: Walk for 10 minutes a day and work out 3 times a week. -Walk 10 minutes for 39 days, work out 18 times. REWARD: (+3 STA) -Walk 10 minutes for 30 days, work out 13 times. REWARD: (+2 STA) -Walk 10 minutes for 18 days, work out 9 times. REWARD: (+1 STA) Quest 2: Cut out sodas/sugary drinks and switch from coffee to tea (without adding sugar, of course). -No coffee or soda. REWARD: (+3 CON) -<5 cups of coffee or soda. REWARD: (+2 CON) - <10 cups of coffee or soda. REWARD: (+1 CON) Quest 3: Cook at least twice a week, following paleo guidelines. -Cook 12 times. REWARD: (+2 CON) -Cook 6 times. REWARD: (+1 CON) Life Quest: Work on my artwork at least 4 times a week, for at least an hour. -Work on artwork 24 times (24 hours). REWARD: (+2 CHA) -Work on artwork 12 times (12 hours). REWARD: (+1 CHA) Motivation: To be able to go through a convention looking AND feeling fantastic in my awesome cosplays. I also think this will help my confidence so I can branch out and get some more friends in the cosplay world. For additional motivation, I’m basing the money I get to spend at Geekfest on my stats earned. -10 earned stats REWARD: $130 -9 earned stats REWARD: $115 -8 earned stats REWARD: $100 -7 earned stats REWARD: $85 -6 earned stats REWARD: $75 -5 earned stats REWARD: $65 -4 earned stats REWARD: $50 -3 earned stats REWARD: $45 -2 earned stats REWARD: $40 -1 earned stat REWARD: $35 -Starting amount $30 I'm super psyched to start, but I want to start on the 8th with everyone else, so right now I'm planning out a bit and finding some good recipes

Hello All, Im Tkbird45. Im just recently graduated from High School. Im 18, and im ready to finally shed those baby pounds so im below the Freshman 15 for college. Anyway. Im Male From California, San Diego Im 6'2" I am a bit chubby in the midsection and thighs and would concider my "race" to be either Human or Half-Giant. Weigh 236 lbs as of today. I go to the gym once a day. Im currently transitioning into the Paleo diet. And i take protein powder and creatine. My ultimate goal is lose my gut and go down to 175 lbs, i weighed about that much about 2 years ago and was in much better condition health wise and would really like to get back to that. Similarly i would like gain muscle, so that i can visibly see it, my goal is not to look like a body builder but to appear fit and healthy.

Hello everyone! My name is Carter and I am a 33 year old woman living in St. Augustine, FL. I say 'woman' as it's my birth gender, but I associate with the male gender, so there's that. I usually call myself a guy/man, etc. BUT, with that out of the way - I am glad to be here! Nice to meet everyone. I have always been a long-time athlete. From a very early age I have ALWAYS worked out, been active, eaten well, etc. I actually have taken it too far in my youth and was not only anorexic, but an exercise bulimic. I have since gotten back to weight and found a healthy balance of diet and exercise. I have always been a swimmer, a runner, a surfer, a weight lifter, but I just seem to 'not care' anymore. As soon as I turned 30 - it hit me like a ton of bricks. I'm Lazy now. And I enjoy sleeping until the late afternoon/early evening. Waking up, showering, eating and doing nothing. It's the total opposite of how I have been my entire life. I want to change it and get back to working out, doing water sports (like kitesurfing, etc.) but I am ALWAYS hungry and have absolutely 0 energy. What is happening to me? I used to be a Scout who became a Warrior and now I am looking to turn myself into a Ranger. Any advice? Encouragement? Words of Wisdom? Please help a comrade in arms. Thanks.

Still new to fitness and dieting, though I've been hearing about it all my life haha. A few weeks ago I really just got hit with the realization, obligation and sense of duty that I just need to do this. I can't put it off any longer. Fitness and diet are vital not only to my well-being but to my career goals. It's time for me to grow up in a sense haha. I've attempted diets and workouts several times with moderate to no success because I was never motivated. I feel like I'm on a good streak with my wife, we've both been encouraging each other and my family (brother and dad) have been doing the same. I've gained most of my fitness knowledge and experience from either my wife, friends and Nerd Fitness. Below is me: Profession: - I work at Dell as a sales representative supporting the Army. Hobbies that I hope to some day be professions: - I am a Bass player (amongst many other titles such as social media coordinator, manager, marketing director, etc.) for a band in Austin called Shadow of Whales - I am the Editor n' Chief of a music news site called Anchor Music News Hobbies that will stay hobbies - VIDEO GAMES and COMICS (and netflix) - Spending time with my awesome wife and step-son Current goals: Eliminate caffeine from my dietI've whittled my way to one cup of coffee a day and usually no soda (sometimes one near the end of the day but it's seldom) the goal is to get to no cups of coffee and no soda every day and use healthier substitutes such as tea and/or apples in the morning to get me going. I'm a night owl so I don't normally need to keep drinking coffee after the morning Get on a consistent routine for working out.As nerd fitness suggested, I started with a 10 minute walk/run every day. I'm working my way doing that every single day and a few days ago I added an ab circuit to the end of my run every other dayEat a little more healthyRight now I'm not giving myself too many restrictions because I'm already changing the above habits. However, it is in my brain to try and eat healthier. (I know this doesn't sound like much but let me explain) My wife and I started meal planning after reading Staci's story. Chicken and veggies for lunch planned out for this week and we have a meal plan calendar that we set up Sunday night for dinners this week.Level Up My LifeI've been utilizing my hobbies a little too much lately. After working all day, coming home and running/working out, doing chores and any other daily routines I kind of let myself veg or go out with friends or my wife or just hang out. But my life goal is to become a full-time music industry professional and I realize that playing video games or watching tv doesn't help me work towards my life goals at all haha. I know it's important to set aside relaxation time but I've been a little gluttonous with it lately so my goal is to do that less haha. (1 hour at the end of the day should my day permit it max)I'm happy to be here and ready to get going. Once I know I can be consistent and start making progress I want to sign up for the academy. I've been very slow moving with habit changes. I want to make sure I don't try to do too much at once because I think that's what derailed me in the past. I'm excited to get going but I don't want to be the eager beaver and burn myself out too quickly. Wish me luck!

I know I want to be a Ranger, but boy do I have a lot of work to do. I joined the Academy a week or so ago. This is me moving forward.... The long view: 1. I want to be stronger, mentally and physically 2. I want to be more active 3. I want to live an interesting life My big goals: 1. 20% body fat 2. Strong arms (you can see the delts and biceps without flexing) 3. Running an 8 minute mile Here's my first 6 week challenge 1. Complete the 10 knee push-up quest. Currently I can do 3, and the rest are incline. 2. Complete :30 seconds of knee-highs without stopping or slowing down to a jog. Currently I can do about 15 seconds and then I feel like I'm going to keel over. 3. All beverages will be water (including Hint water, and water with a squeeze of lemon). This does not include my daily protein shake consumption which I consider to be my breakfast. I'm pretty close to this right now. Mostly I'm trying to stay away from juice. Zeus strike me now, I don't like coffee, tea, soda, wine, or beer anyway! Grading scale will be based upon the 42 days of the challenge. A = 92-100% B = 82-91% etc... Side quest: I will keep the kitchen counters clean every night. That means taking care of dirty dishes (including the dishes that everyone else leaves lying around), and emptying the dishwasher. - Ugh! It's scary what that statement says about me! Time to level up! So there it is....

Just a really quick question about the Wilks coefficient. Well 2 actually. 1) You use the Big 3 (bench, squat, deadlift) as the lifts for the formula correct? 2) Do you use a 1RM, or the actual weight you lifted (ie a 280lb 1RM vs 250lbs for reps)? Thanks in advance guys ^.^

Here's my current stats: Age: 41 Gender: Female Height: 5'3" Weight: 257.4 lbs (as of 9/20/2014) Weight goals: Short term goal: lose the next 27.4 pounds. This would put me at a 50 pound weight loss since I first started Weight Watchers quite some time ago. Mid term goal: Get below 200 pounds. Ultimate goal: 140 pounds, which is Normal for my height according to the BMI. Strength/performance goals: Do a pull up. Do a chin up. Do a standard push up (not a kneeling or inclined push up). I'm currently not able to sign up for challenges because I have a surgery scheduled for mid-November - I think it's safe for me to assume that the next challenge will intersect with that. According to my doctor, the surgery is fast recovery for most people - two days of rest and then back to work. But of course, she was talking about my sit-at-a-desk-all-day job, and not my ability to do squats or High Intensity Interval Training. She and I have a pre-op appointment in a month, and I will discuss my exercise regiment with her then and make sure I take all necessary precautions to ensure that I don't do ANYTHING during the recovery period that harms me physically or damages my ability to get healed up properly and get back to pursuing my goals. In the meantime, I plan to start a progressive weights and cardio program, and continue with the Weight Watchers food tracking program with an emphasis on increasing nutritious whole foods and reducing fakey chemical crap. Partly, this is because past experience has taught me that being as fit as I can be prior to surgery is one of the best things I can do for my healing process. Partly, I think it would be really easy to be a lazy bum until mid-November because why bother exercising if I'm going to be down for a few days? And that just leads to more lazy bumming after surgery. Bad habits lead to more bad habits. Goals for the remainder of this week (10/2/14 - 10/5/14): 1. Do the daily quests that are sent to me by Nerd Fitness email. 2. Design my weight-training program and decide which days my weight days are going to be. Dietary goals for the month of October: 1. Kick this soda habit I've developed for some stupid reason. 2. Track everything I eat, at least 5 days a week. Lifestyle goal for the month of October: Get at least 7 hours of sleep, at least 3 days out of the week.

Howdie all This morning I woke up - over it. Over thinking about food, over feeling bad about my food choices, or feeling guilty that I was too tired to go for a run. Over comparing myself to other people who are having diet success while I'm not. I keep thinking about all the times I've tried, had some success and then ultimately gone back to my old ways. I woke up ready to throw it all in and just try to let it go - until I went to get ready for work, and my favourite pair of pants was too tight. Over it. Over letting my past control me. Ready to start again - clean slate - Tabula Rasa. 6 week challenge to restart my fitness?....I'm in! At the end of the 6 weeks I will fit in all my favourite clothes again. Over the next six weeks I will: Food I will drink at least 2 litres water every day and only one coffee daily. Alcohol may only be consumed on Saturday Nights, and in moderation. I will log my food - regardless of what I eat. Exercise I will start my C25K again and run 3 times weekly I will go to 16 pole classes I will get 10K steps per day Mind Sunday is always a rest day - no matter what! I will take this day to read, have a long bath, paint my toenails etc and reflect on the week that was, my achievements and my focus for the week ahead. Accountability Starts here. I will check in on the forums on a regular basis, and update you all at least once a week. Starting.... Now!!!!! xox Kam

Hello Everyone! My name is Desiree, but most people just call me Dez. I've been on my fitness/health journey for about 4 ½ months now and recently decided that finding a forum would be a great way to keep on point! I love motivation as well as motivating others! My back story is that at 5'3" I was always under weight growing up. As an adult I slowly gained until I got to about 120lbs, however a few years later I needed medications that caused a massive unhealthy weight gain (65 lbs) due to the side effects. My doctor grew very concerned about my cholesterol levels. I was also smoking at the time and I just felt....wrecked. The turning point was that although I had been playing ice hockey (goalie) for a few years, the weight barely came off and my performance was getting worse! I was becoming more prone to injury and finally last summer during what was an easy fishing trip, my back hurt so badly, I could barely function. I had bilateral sciatica. I knew I needed to change immediately. I started slow with chiropractic care and physical therapy, and once healthy began working out by lifting, yoga, and elliptical or treadmill sessions. Currently I am at 143lbs looking to get to 125-130. I just ran my first ever 5k this weekend and I'm already looking up other runs! My ultimate goal? Just to keep being a badass....just with more muscle! ETA: I have quit smoking! Lol. I have 1 year + some change

Hi, I'm totally new. Going to join in the six week challenge. I'm pretty sure I want to be an Assassin. I like the 'functional' part. I like to run and my longest was a half marathon (2 hrs 50) although I'm very out of practice. I want to get back running, but I want to be stronger too. I don't care about my weight, as in the number on the scales, but I would like my clothes to fit better. Also, I'm not entirely sure what my race is. I'm still figuring that out. So far I'm thinking Werewolf. Because I'm quite hairy. Anyway. I know I'm joining in half way through a challenge time, but.... Nevermind. My challenge is to do the NF bodyweight workout 3 days each week, and by the end of the challenge I want to be doing at least one full circuit, completing the recommended number of reps each time. I'm also looking at the diet side... I like the idea of the intermittent fasting and I want to try fasting breakfast and lunch two days per week starting this coming week. Wondering whether the fasting days should be on days I'll do a bodyweight workout or not? I do the workouts in the morning before going to work. Thanks all. James

So here's the thing.... I'm trying to figure out a good routine. I've read the article about intermittent fasting and it's advantages in terms of insulin sensitivity and growth hormone boost. Timing, it seems, to be relatively important. So, at first I thought I'd just skip breakast and lunch on the week days that I dont train. So, do the bodyweight workout mon, wed and fri and fast breakfast and lunch tues and thurs. I'm just starting out so I'm not trying to do everything at once. I've tidying up my diet as I go, and weekend I'm being more lax and eating pretty similar to what has been 'normal' while making an effort to choose good food over bad. Anyways.... Having read the Intermittent Fast article again today I'm re-thinking. The timing of things seems to have some importance. So... Now I'm thinking instead of the above maybe I'll not have lunch every week day. I can't workout at 11 and eat at 12 like the man does. I'll be at work or college 5 days out of 7. It's not practical. I do my bodyweight workouts in the mornings before going to work/college. Also, it's easier to make a solid breakfast while at home in the morning than to take for lunch or buy on the go. (I've been having a lot of gregs baguettes for lunch recently) So how is this for a plan? Each morning cook myself up a decent omlette with some (good quality) bacon and some onions and peppers and mushrooms and maybe some spinach or something and some tomatoes. I'd still do the bodyweight circuit before eating three of the days. I'll then miss lunch at least on week days and possibly some of the weekends as well and then eat dinner as normal (still edging towards paleo for this when possible) This means I'll be fasting from about 8am until dinner time (which varies) and then from dinner until breakfast at least 5 days out of 7. This is similar to the article which is from dinner till lunch and then lunch till dinner, just adjusted slightly to being breakfast and dinner instead of lunch and dinner in order to fit my routine and to keep one of the meals with the workout. I appreciate your consideration. James

Hello everyone, This is my first time posting to these forums although I have signed up for the NF emails that get sent out every week or so. I haven't really worked out too much in the last 2 years or so and its definitely starting to show. Started summer 2013 at around 180 and now at 215. So I'm trying to get back under that 200 mark by end of summer preferably ending up around 190. I've definitely found it hard to keep myself motivated when working out so this should hopefully be the kick in the butt that I need to turn that around and start living a healthier lifestyle. Quick stats: I'm 24 years old and 6 feet tall. As stated previously I currently weight in at 215 lbs. For this six week challenge I'm looking to start eating healthier and focusing on eating more at home which leads me into my main quest. Main Quest: 1. Eat a minimum of 5 meals each week at home and each meal must include vegetables which I am of course not a fan of. 2. Start off with the beginners body weight circuit as my initial workout routine in order to start the advanced body weight circuit by the next six week challenge. 3. Endurance training and completing a 2 mile run w/o stopping. I'm a former cross country runner although its been a few years since I've done long distance running so want to be able to pick this up again. Side quest: I work in a tech industry as a sys admin however i've always had an interest in programming. So I'm going to be participating in a nanodegree program through Udacity. The course is rated to last a couple of months so I want to complete the first 3 projects that are due by the end of this challenge. Let's do this!!!

Hi All, My first Recruit 6 week challenge pulled up just short of completing when I injured myself in the final week - a small hernia, which was pretty painful I can tell you! Anyway, I've worked back from there to actually complete my original goals this week! 100kg Deadlift, Squat 80kg, 60kg bench press, 40kg OH press. I'm far more comfortable with those weights and far stronger than I was in Jan/Feb. I'm really, really happy about that. You have no idea. I'm 40 years old, and very very overweight. My plan two years ago was to get under 100kg (220 lbs) and to do that I needed to drop 40kg (88 pounds). In my first year I lost 10kg (22 lbs) and was on track to lose another 10kg this year, but since I injured myself in Feb, my weight has crept up 5kg - back to my weight over ten months ago. So furious with myself. So - this challenge is perfect timing. Now my Jan-Feb challenge strength goals are complete, it's time to focus on the other parts of wellbeing - fitness & weightloss. Main goal: Lose 0.5 kg (1.1 lbs) a week for six weeks. I will accomplish this by completing my side goals: Continuing 5x5 Stronglifts program each week. I have no lifting goals, just focus on form and increase as it feels good. Gym twice a week for 30 minutes cardio - I'm thinking 10 minutes bike, 10 minutes cross-trainer/ellipsis thingy, 10 minutes rowing. 10,000 steps on the weekend. An hour's walking at the local park will get me across the line on Saturday and Sunday VB6 - I know Paleo is popular here, but I find sticking to Vegan Before 6pm as much easier guide for me. Essentially, no meat or dairy before 6pm, and a sensible dinner. I'm a family guy with a budget, so dinner can't be prime steak with fresh veggies every night - rice or potato has prime spots on our plates and gets eaten my all four kids. Don't injure myself. Listen to my body, back off when appropriate. I am aware 'losing weight' is considered a cop-out crap goal here at Nerd Fitness but I figure when you are as overweight as I am, it is still a valid target. I already go to the gym three days a week and have only slipped weight recently. I'm responsible of course, but I've had a dramatic shift of work hours (12 hours days locked in meetings for around six weeks), including eating work supplied in-meeting food (a grazing table, the worst kind) for lunch - and dinner - over bringing my own lunch. Plus Easter chocolate. Life side quest: Finish Practical Programming for Strength Training by Mark Rippetoe. I have obviously read Starting Strength (which led me to 5x5 Stronglifts) and now I've hit reasonable weights (at least, reasonable for me) I want to see how to keep progressing over time. In six weeks, literally two days after this challenge finishes, my wife and I are off on a cruise of some South Pacific Islands. This challenge will make sure I have get-up-and-go to play and swim and snorkel with my two eldest kids that are coming with us - and do those activities all day long. I can't wait. It's also why side goal number 5 - don't injure myself - is so important. For the last two years I've injured my shoulder, achilles heel (jogging) and had a hernia. I have no desire to mess up during the lead up. Anyway, perfect timing NF once again - here goes Recruit six week challenge number two!! Chris

Hi Nerdfitness! I'm very excited to begin my first 6 week challenge. I'm a little late, but alas, I'm still here. Better than pretending like my current habits are fine, right? Anyways, to introduce myself: I consider myself a hobbit: short, stout, loves to eat, but loyal, stubborn, and determined. Don't worry, I'm actually not that hairy! My goal is to be a wood elf: nimble, agile, strong and stealthy. I've never been "delicate" or "thin" my whole life, so that change will be difficult. But, I'm stubborn so I know I can get there! I'm a noob, which is why I'm posting to the Recruit guild. I'm still not sure where I'd fit in best, guild wise. My main quest is to loose approximately 30 lbs, to my goal weight of 170lbs. My current weight is hovering around 200lbs, give or take a pound or two in either direction. I've kind of stalled lately. I've been trying to prioritize fitness for the past two years and so far I've achieved a lot. I've already lost 30lbs, 7.5" since I've started measuring, I've gone down a pants size, and I'm starting to gain back some strength and stamina that I used to have 8 years ago. I don't mean to brag, but I find it very helpful to focus on what I have achieved, instead of feeling like a failure because I couldn't maintain a food diary or I caved and made a pizza. I have to remember that I'm not perfect, that this is a journey, not a race. As long as I do better than the day before, I've made progress. So, for my first challenge, here are my SMART goals: 1. Stop eating in the car: This means getting up even earlier to make breakfast and eat it at the table, instead of over my lap in a rush to get out the door by 6:30 am. This also means not getting fast food on the way home from work because my lunch was tiny and I'm starving. I've been doing this already, for the most part. Getting up early and making a better lunch is what I primarily need to do to achieve this goal. 2. Workout 1x/week: I should be able to make time for this, easy peasy. I'm focused on proper form instead of a number of reps and I will go to exertion on the strength exercises and record my stats. My workout will consist of a. 5 min warm-up/20 min breath-focused cardio/5 min cool-down -Breath focused cardio just means jogging until I hear my breath, then walking until I catch my breath back b. Body weight strength training: -Push: Knees on the ground push ups -Pull: Bent over rows -Headstand: Over head press -Legs: Body weight squats -Core: Plank holds 3. Hold myself accountable by journaling my progress: I will update my forum once a week, but I need to record my progress at the gym and meal prep on a daily basis to keep track of what I've achieved. I will upload photos of my journal to prove progress and be accountable. I'm very excited to do the challenge and I think my goals are pretty SMART. If you have suggestions for improving my goals, or tips on how to achieve them, let me know! I really appreciate your support! <3

I was wonder what any of you guys that do roller derby recommend I learn before I even consider trying out for roller derby. Is there any drills I should practice? What is the practices like? What should I consider before doing it?

Heyo, My name is Tatzumi, but you can just call me Tatz. I'm a freshman college student and I've been making use of my schools gym over the past two months. I've consistently done weight lifting since winter break and I'm ready to step it up a notch. Growing up, I remember always being overweight and once I got into gaming my fitness level dropped considerably since I was no longer entertaining myself by running and climbing rocks and trees with my neighborhood friends. Other factors in my childhood led to me having an unhealthy relationship with food and I still struggle a lot with it. A lot of emotional eating and all that jazz When I started two months ago I was 215lbs and when I measured last month I was 205 so I'm making progress. I have no doubt that this program is going to stick with me, because I absolutely love weight lifting. You know how Stacy said had love at first sight with the barbell? Pretty much the same with my and Stacy is a big inspiration for me. Main Quest: Become a Badass My long term goal is to be able to bench, squat, deadlift (almost already there), etc the equivalent of my Dad's weight with ease (220lbs), have between 13%-20% body fat percentage, eat entirely paleo, and be fit enough to start competing with weight-lighting and running. A side effect of this is becoming toned and dropping weight. It's a long ways off I know, but I'm enjoying the small steps getting there. Quest #1 Run to Mordor Run three times a week and by April be able to run 5k without stopping. I'm currently a week into the Zombies! Run 5k app so I'll continue with that. Quest #2 Eat Through My Inner Demons Eat 80% Paleo and track what I eat. Also minimal snacking with three meals a day and very little extra intake. Carbs only on days I've lifted weights and strictly paleo other days. I have gluten and dairy allergies so I'm most of the way there but I've struggled with consistently recording and limiting my food intake. Quest #3 Record Keeping Record my workouts. How much did I lift for how many reps? When did it get hard? That way I can actually track my progress in terms of how much my body is doing. So taking a notebook to the gym with me. Life Side Quest: Procrastination Vacation Try and complete my homework and assignments for school two nights before they are due, not the night before. I'm adding this one so that I can start trying to kick my procrastination bug. Since I'm an engineering student I'd have a lot more time if I stopped putting off my work for a "better" time. Grade Scale 3/3 main quests is an A with the side quest being kinda like extra credit. I'm allowing two slip ups for each quest but after that each slip up is 1% off. At the end I'll calculate a GPA type thing for each quest and based on how I do I'm going to set different awards. 3.5< I will get a massage at the campus Rec and a new ear piercing. And,depending on weight loss, new workout clothes. 3.5-3.0 I can get a new ear piercing 3.0> I'll figure something for this later. Completing a challenge is fun enough.

Starting Over, Yet Again is the title of a fictional self-help book referenced in Sex and the City. So a long time ago, I joined this website and I made a post. I was full of Bright Ideas and Shiny Ambitions and Aspirations and Self-Righteousness! This was my introduction thread a little over 2 years ago: http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/23620-so-an-orc-a-human-and-a-troll-walk-into-a-bar/ Not a whole lot has changed and yet EVERYTHING has changed. I really want to be part of a community and make it stick this time around. I don't want to be long winded or make any big declarations. My goal has boiled down to this: Just Eat Real Food (#jerf) and stop being sedentary! Because I am still a lump. It turns out I don't actually wanna do Tai Chi or CrossFit. Who knew?! I still like yoga and I recently signed up for a regular gym and I intend to go there every day (3 out of 3 days so far!) and walk for 20 minutes (the only thing my morbidly obese body can handle apparently.) This article really resonated with me, especially in my current life situation: http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2015/01/26/why-you-need-to-be-selfish-and-put-fitness-first I still dabble in WoW and just started up in Final Fantasy ARR. I love to read and watch Netflix but I am doing a lot less of all those things in my pursuit of being healthy, which requires me to get up at 5 AM (and thus go to bed at 9 PM.) I have a full time job plus a contract job plus an SO plus plus plus plus *falls over* Do people here use instagram and post under any particular hashtag? Instagram is my favorite social media platform. I am also working on my own blog but not ready for reveal. ^^ BE MY FRIEND PLZ. HOW DO I FRIEND?!

Placeholder text is placeholdery. Some random thoughts I need to do/remember: Start 23rd Feb Tell everyone about myself and my motivation Post up what I have learnt from the last challenge (already written, needs posting LINK) List challenges: Officially finish Level 2 (should have one week left). If finish I get a NF Tshirt List what I want to achieve long term: E.g. I would love to be able to do one push up (yes still can't do one) Rewards: Some nice little prizes for accomplishing my goals. (optional) Challenges will be: (FROM LAST CHALLENGE) WORKOUT MONDAYS, WEDNESDAYS, FRIDAYS, SUNDAYS FIX THAT DIET - BRING IN LUNCH TO WORK (5 days a week) (- doesn't have to be perfect the first week, extra point if it's paleo by week 6, or at least high quantity) WIN THE COMICON CHALLENGE - On second thought, might post up my progress with this, but not have it as an actual "challenge". Remember Elyse -Focus. Build those habits. (this is a personal project I've been working on which is due 30th of March, so fits perfectly! The plan is mostly to make sure I enter, but let's aim high people ) Really the only thing to worry about for this challenge is to keep doing what I'm doing and to start working towards a better diet. BONUS at the end will be to take "after" pictures, and see if there has been any transformation in my body over the 12 week period. The before pictures are at the start of this thread put i'll post em up again soon . THE PATH OF THE WARRIOR PART #1 TIME TO BECOME LARA CROFT. ADVENTURER, SURVIVOR, BADASS. MEASUREMENTS - (Roughly 21st Jan 2015, needs checking) Neck - 30 Chest - 77 Up. Arms - 24 Forearms - 20 Waist - 65 Thighs - 54 Calves - 34

Oakland weirdo, artist and designer, huge scifi and fantasy literature geek, queer hipster here. When I was in high school I was really fit because I wanted to participate in sports. I loved the social and team aspects, and the looking hot and being fit were a (totally awesome) byproduct of that. Once I was out of that environment though I could never stick with a plan or find motivation. Truthfully, keeping my motivation had a lot to do with the fact that I hated myself quite a bit. I was so down on myself *all the time*. Though I didn't realize it at the time, I was setting myself up for failure with negative headspace, then using that failure as proof that I was useless. I've since exited the abusive relationship that I was in for much of that time and I've made a *ton* of progress on loving myself and finding a balanced confidence. Now it's time for my physical reality to match all the hard mental and emotional work I've done in recent years. I'm afraid of falling off the wagon, but you get out what you put in, so I'm going to be one of those people who post often. My Why: I want to feel strong, powerful, and sexy. I want my body to be highly functional and to feel graceful. I want to be the strong badass that I know I can be. Main Quest: Go from 190lbs to 150lbs and be able to do 10 full pull ups by the end of the year. Challenge Quest PHYSICAL: Go to the gym at least 3x/week. Learn about weight training and feel comfortable making that a part of every work out. I get a non-food bonus if I make it 5x/week. (go to the movies, buy flowers, get tickets to a show, etc) DIET: Eat paleo-ish 80% of the time/whenever able. This means planning my meals and shopping every weekend, relearning how to plan my food throughout the day, and resisting the nasty dragon that is bread and sugar (*hisssss*) PHYSICAL: Lose 10lbs. Do 15 consecutive push ups. Do a pull up. I'm going to mainly focus on the latter two. I have a feeling that the first one will just happen if I stick to all my other goals.

I'm a noob weightlifter, being lifting for about six months. And curious about protein powders. I'm currently trying to lose weight so I've cut my caloric intake to about 1800 a day. Should I even be bothering with protein powder yet? Is it going to improve recovery or is it only going to add calories I don't need? If I should be using it, what are the nerd fitness recommendations for brand/value for money? Feel free to gruffly point me to a sticky for this information if it exists, I couldn't find one.

This is my first post here! Exercise: This week I'm just starting. I've biked to and from work every day (3.5 miles each way) and got a pass to a 24 hour fitness. Going to the gym is scary. Food: I ate the same as usual, but cut out caffeine. Got to start somewhere... Shopping and preparing food is going to be a new challenge. I've been living on pasta and annie's mac & cheese for 3 years at this point. That's going to be a big shift. Really, my biggest goal for this week is to just keep the ball rolling. Momentum is something that builds over time and I want that energy to start and keep going. Next week's goals: Write up a fitness plan (both goals and plan) Research gym exercises. Go to the gym 3 times for 45 minutes. Spend 10 minutes of each time in the free weights (which is scary for me :/ ) Eat a paleo meal 3 times.

Being consistent and staying motivated are the HARDEST THINGS. Here is my overly honest post that puts all the cards on the table: Hi. I'm Rachel. I weighed 135 and was super fit in high school (3 sport girl: track, swimming, and xcountry), but that was 10 years ago now. I'm 29 and looking at my body and feeling unhappy. I'm also staring down the barrel of ageing and feeling in my heart and soul what it's going to be like for me to lose my young body. It's a surreal experience, but one that also brings with it a certain amount of panicked motivation (at this point I'll take any kind of motivation that gets me off the couch...). Though I bike 6 miles 5x per week to work and back, I feel decidedly... dumpy? Not as sexy as I'd like and not nearly as physically functional as I'd prefer. Specific Long Term Big Picture Goals: I weigh 190. I'd like to weigh 150. I can do 3 real push ups and no pull ups. I'd like to be able to do 50 push ups and 5 pull ups. I'm probably at a 14 minute mile. I'd like to get that under 9 minutes. I've never done a triathlon. I want to do a sprint and Olympic distance triathlon. I have run a half marathon in the past. I'd like to run a full marathon in the future. I want to open jars for my own damn self. I want to dance all night and wake up ready for more. I want to go backpacking, or hiking for that matter, and not want to die by the end of the first hour. I want a body that's easy to live in. I want to give my body loving attention so that this flesh bag I'm stuck in is something that I can effortlessly use until I expire. What I want from this community: I hope to get support and love from this pile of people. I hope that when I post people write back. I hope that I can find the resources that I need to defeat my fear and educate myself. I hope that you will help me find the courage to enter the 'bro' section of the gym where the free weights are. Onward and upward, it's the only way to go.