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Hi, everyone. I'm a couple of days late, but hoping to join in this challenge as a sort of first timer. I've been lurking on NFR for a while and have tried creating forums and participating, but...life issues always seem to get in the way, and I can't seem to make progress on my fitness. I want to change that. I don't want to dwell on all the problems, but I have a lot of family stuff that takes up time, a hostile workplace that I can't leave just yet, a really horrible battle with depression, and a habit of letting go of self-care when I am depressed, anxious, stressed, or overwhelmed. I am the heaviest I have ever been, and so uncomfortable in my own skin that I just want to escape myself most days, but I haven't given up. None of those things are good reasons for being in this shape. So, here I am, hoping to respawn, reboot, re-commit, and do it right this time! I don't think I've ever really completed a challenge that I have tried, not properly, not in a meaningful way. So, that's my main quest, here: getting into a fitness routine and seeing it through to the end of the challenge period. Another day, another page of the diary, right? Quest: Complete the Challenge without giving up after a week or two of effort! Goal 1: Exercise for at least 30 minutes each day. Goal 2: Prepare my own meals instead of eating fast food. Goal 3: Spend at least 30 minutes a day on managing my stress/wellness. I'm going to track these with a simple binary: 1 point if I do it, and 0 if I don't. That means I can earn 78 points, if I start today. I don't really have much in the way of a character, but if I can survive the first challenge, I will develop mine further for the next one! Also, I am not sure if I'm navigating this forum correctly, and would be grateful for some pointers, if anything seems wrong or weird.

Hey there, fellow warriors! This challenge cycle is the last of my cut for a bit - even though I am not at my goal weight, I am much closer, and I think that my mind and body need a break. My plan was to make it to T-giving week, and this challenge cycle will bring me there. I have been struggling with the weights, I think because of the cut, so that is getting folded into my goals, too. So...the goals: 1. Eat within 100 calories of my daily goal each day. Zero Week (Oct 23 - Oct 29) - 1,780 daily Week 1 (Oct 30 - Nov 5) - 1,780 daily Week 2 (Nov 6 - Nov 12) - 1,780 daily - on vacation, but sticking to calorie goals! Week 3 (Nov 13 - Nov 19) - 1,780 daily Week 4 (Nov 20 - Nov 26) - 1,880 daily (T-giving is a "track but don't count toward average/goal" day) As in the past, the pass/fail of this goal will rely on the challenge average, but I am trying to target my min/max closer to the goal. 2. Lift every time (not a real issue), FOLLOW THE PROGRAM! If I am too weak (#foreverweak) to do all 5 or whatever, split the set in half, but do ALL required reps - there is no excuse for this, the weights feel heavy, but there are no PRs scheduled for this cycle (unless rep PRs, which may or may not happen), so I have lifted all of these weights before. If I have to do 5 sets of 1, then do 5 sets of 1. I will NOT allow myself to just say, "well, I got two, the cut is making me weak" and stop. Nope, nope, nope. That's not what this warrior is about. Vacation week - if gym is available, go lift. If not, do BW stuff. IF only BW stuff, repeat the lifting of this week during week 3 (it's the heaviest week of the cycle, so important!) 3. Accessories & cardio. Make progress with these. I know that isn't really measurable, but circumstances are dictating this, to some extent. I'll say "do at least two accessories per training session", but leave the hiit finishers up in the air for now - if I don't post about them, feel free to harass. So there you have it. Ending of the cut, lifting when weak, do my damned accessories.