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OKAY! So, last challenge was a keep-on-keepin-on kind of challenge. I'm gonna mix it up and see how it goes this time, which means zero week = experimentation time! I've been thinking I'll try a monthly theme. This month: JUST SAY NO. I want to be more aware of all the stuff I let into my life (both physical and emotional) and I want to say no to more of it. I don't need to help that random recruiter on LinkedIn! I don't need to go check out that sale! NO. And now, draft one of my quests: Q1: Daily salads! I'm tired of eating freezer lunches at work, so I'm planning a daily salad (see last challenge for details). My goal is to eat salads four of five work days. Q2: Skill practice/flexibility work I'd like to eventually tackle the GMB Elements course, but my major concern at this point is the time investment (daily workouts are not my current jam). I currently stretch after workouts (so, approx 3 times per week). I'd like to add one session of stretching & skill practice. I'm thinking hamstring stretches (maybe the splits challenge but without the challenge part) and/or handstand work. Mostly I just want to start building some fun exercise into my schedule. Q3. Social media ramp-down I check social media more than I'd like to. This week I want to just *track* how much I time I spend on facebook & twitter (using TimeStats chrome extension). Q4. TBD! Possibly something to help me remember my monthly theme, or possibly not. We'll find out soon enough!

I'm back for a challenge. I NEED this challenge. Also. Goats. I'm taking a nutrition class, where we used the Hamwi method to determine my BMR of 1350 calories. THEN determining if I exercise and stay moderately active throughout the day, my calorie range could be up to 2050 calories. But I want to LOSE weight, and we all know a pound is equal to 3500 calories so that means I could take 500 calories off and lose a pound a week if I eat 1550 calories a day. MY GOALS Eat 1350-1550 calories a day. Never going below 1350, and never going above 2000. In the past I've tried eating anywhere from as little to 800-1200 calories to lose weight, and now I realize how eating too little can impact my health. Eat more oatmeal, yogurt, fruits, and vegetables. Also drink more water. No food is restricted at this time, just focusing on getting as much nutritious food as possible within that calorie range. Exercise daily. Aim for 300 calories burned a day. That equals about 3 miles of walking, for example. Exercises I love are dancing, walking, and yoga. Get strong- resume strength training and build more lean muscle mass. Bonus goal: Keep a personal journal of feelings, thoughts, and experiences to aid in managing everyday stress. I won't be sharing this with the group. How I'll do it: I'm going to use My Fitness Pal to track calories. I'm aware it's not a perfect system, often overestimating calories burned for exercises, and underestimating calories consumed. But it is more effective than the nothing I'm doing currently. Plus, I'm counting on building more lean muscle mass to counter any caloric miscalculations from the app. I'll share highlights with you here at the end of the day. Rewards: In this, doing it is the reward. That and the delicious smugness when I'm putting on a size smaller jean one day

Hey Guys, I'm back. So I arrived in college today and got the unpacking done(tough shit). I finished two of the tasks I had assigned myself. I finished 12,000 steps for the day. Also I played Badminton for 2 hours(my favorite sport). I start working on my diet from tomorrow. I will try to minimize soda, sugar and rice from my diet throughout the day. I also have a workout plan in place. I've basically planned to workout three days in week, the days aren't fixed. One day chest workout, one day entire arm and the final day Shoulders and Back. That's it for the day. Goodnight folks!

Spoiler info on me for those who are interested. So the last year, like many rebels has been rougher than expected. While I don’t feel I have made as much progress as I like, a number of people here have reminded me that I have. As I leave the warmth and comfort of the library, I again strike out into the forest hopefully on the path to where I want to be. It is cold, and there is snow falling from the sky, which makes the walking harder and slower. As I trudge down the path, I hope to take the things I learned in the library about how to continue forward, and that all magic comes at a price. There is no magic that will make me instantly reach my destination, but with the magic of technology and friendship from my fellow nerds, I hope to maybe make some real progress this challenge. While I know there will be hurdles and challenges in my path, all I can do is hope to stick to the path and go forward. In the upcoming month is multiple things that can throw me off track, school restarting for me and the Agents. 3 more Christmas celebrations, a birthday party and a wedding to name a few. Things never slow down, but I need to adapt to the curve balls better and not just go “well that’s destroyed, scrap the day.” Part of the focus of this month is to maintain what I already do while handling all the things that need done. But part of the focus is on making a bit more progress on moving forward. While I know the snow and cold outside will slow me down, hopefully it won’t stop me in my tracks completely My Goals, broken down by category since that made sense to me from last challenge. Life and Family o Spend time with Agents (1pt) – I find this is helping remind me why I am doing all of this, and its helping them know it’s okay to come talk to mom since mom does spend a ton of time doing homework. More time with them now is important. o Plan (1pt) – Our lives need a plan for each day. I can’t just punt and say “we will figure it out” since we spend more time trying to plan on the fly then accomplishing things. Having a starting point is a huge step. o Be in bed by 11:30 each night(1pt) - I can’t keep living without sleep or on 3 hours a night, so time to set a bedtime. Hopefully it doesn’t come down to be in bed on time or do the rest of my goals. o One Good Thing (1pt) – I am not going to lie. Some days this is easy, some days, I struggle to find a good thing. But it is reminding me that as hard as life can be, as many “one more things” that get thrown at us, I can still find something good each day. o Check Seedlings and plants (1/2 pt) - In mid Jan, we will be starting the first sets of seedlings for the summer garden. This needs done since we do rely on that food produced to feed out family and it’s a good quality time for me and Youngest. On top of that, I need to remember to water the plants we brought in from outside (the pineapple and lemon tree look sad) and this is a good reminder to just check them once a day to see if they need something. Walking o 10,500 steps (1pt) – When I am working, this is easy, but I need to focus on doing it every day and not just some days. o Walk 15 minutes every day (1pt) – Either outside or on the treadmill. However, this cannot be just walk the longer short way to the school and back. This needs to be either the long long way or another route entirely. This will help with the extra steps each day. o Walk to Mordor (1/2 pt) – I am going to start walking to Mordor. I may try jumping into the NF one, but if not, I have my own spreadsheet I can track on. This will be using my daily steps. This will also be a bit of a long term goal since it will take me more than once challenge to get there. Strength o Continue other exercises (1pt) - I need to continue working on my previous strength exercises. I would like to be able to do 75 sit ups, 50 leg lifts, 25 reverse sit ups, 25 pushups. o Balance Ball pushups (1pt) - I will be using this form. My goal is to do 25 by the end of the challenge Flexibility o Continue other stretches (1pt) - I need to do these stretches once daily. Butterfly, Toe touch, Ballet bar (with the half wall), Wrist extension, then the 2 Yoga (dog and child) o Mediating Groot (1pt) – Not this Groot but more the Yoga Tree pose. Youngest called it Meditating Groot, so that is its name now. Fighting Chaos o At least 5 minutes in at least one room (1pt) – The battle rages here. I could do more each day, but if I get at least one of these, it’s a win. If I do more than one. Then gold stars for me. Counts for Computer room, bedroom or basement o Keep current surfaces clean (1pt) – Half of why this works is keeping the current parts rolling, so I need to make sure that the table, Island and peninsula, bathroom up and down sink and my desk stay clear. If I stay on top of this, it shouldn’t be too bad. o Clean the half wall (1pt) – This has become a collector or stuff. I need to start moving stuff off it. Especially since Agent Black has decided to start knocking stuff off into the water bowl below. Because I am crazy (or overachieving) – BONUS GOALS Bonus Nutrition Goal o Eat at least one of each every day (all 3 items) – So I had decided on this one until @fleaball reminded me that I need sleep. I need to eat the dried apricots and bananas as much as I am not a fan for my potassium levels. I need to eat the yogurt for the probiotic bit. None of these things are my favorite foods, which is why it’s hard. A bonus point for each one achieved. What does all this mean? Total points for the day is 15, with a possible 3 bonus points per day. Hopefully I see progress by the end of this challenge. Right now, it’s time to keep going forward.

Oh man, oh man, OH MAN. Y’all, it’s been far too long. TL;DR - YO, it’s me, shaar, veteran Ranger who took a little wayward absence from the forums over the second half of 2017. I like video games, k-pop, spoopy movies, fitness (obvs), food (double obvs), cute chubby raccoons, being the best screamo bard I can be, and BRINGIN’ THE HYPE. (With my BOOMBOX BARD SKILLS.) (Also I like caps lock too it seems ehehehe hiii hello ) I hear tell that hype has forsaken these lands. Eh? Ehh???? This simply CANNOT BE, MY FRIENDS. I don’t like to toot my own horn *discreetly puts horn back in rolling suitcase of multiple bard instruments* but I like to stack a lot of skill points into hype (HYP, natch) so I’m real glad to be back for 2018 to help all my best Ranger friends find their hype, too! Together we can break out of the doldrums that were - LAST YEAR - and BE AWESOME!! 2018 will never see it comin’!! (Oh hey that’s a sweet and subtle segue into the theme of this challenge - ) Welcome to my favorite video game of 2018, Persona 5! I won’t wax existential about why I love this game so much - because trust me, I totally could - but in a nutshell it’s innovative, stylish, thoughtful with smart overarching themes and amazing characters with lots of growth and it really made its mark on my little heart. Phew. Yeah. Great game. At any rate I’ve decided to pull some of my favorite main characters to theme my quests around, so without further adieu - ryuji [ move better... ] AW YEAH MY FAVORITE CHARACTER. MY BEST DUDE RYUJI AAAHHH Sorry got real hype there for a second. (Did you know Ryuji is real hype too?!!?/#.,.) Ryuji’s a hype-machine athlete that works through some physical injuries and knows the proper benefits of taking care of your dumb-ass self so you can keep fitnessing. (Ryuji also swears a lot, bless him~) My recovery has been literal crap in a basket lately and I NEED to be more mindful of taking care of myself and address my aches and pains before they turn into something worse. My right trap has been flaring up again real consistently, my hamstrings are about to secede from my body, and something clunky is going on with my left elbow??? Stretch. Foam roll. Epsom salt baths. Don’t sit for 8 hours straight at your desk ya moron. I’ve done a fair amount of mobility research and have a lot of tools in my belt but I just need to USE ‘EM. Consistently. yusuke [ eat better... ] Oh look it’s my favorite goal EVER, rearing its ugly head. Ugh. Yay. (Can you tell I love food tracking?!!?!) I hate this goal but I just love Yusuke; a poor sweet (lovable oddball) starving artist who never has enough money for food. I have enough money for food, but am I eating optimally?? So hello, food-tracking goal. This is one of those necessary evils - I can’t track my intake all the time ‘cause it will literally drive me batty bonkers but every now and again I really need to reacquaint myself with just where I’m at. I’m eating intuitively and making good choices but I’m fairly certain a few macros just aren’t where they should be (lookin’ at you protein), so I need to identify that weakness for sure....... No expectations or numbers to meet, just track everything I eat and drink, every day, for better performance. My Fitness Pal, we meet again............. *sad bard trumpet noises* haru [ eat even better... ] I sure do love carbs. Eheheh. It’s also winter, so HELLO CARB TRAIN. Haru is a lovely girl with a rooftop garden and would probably clonk me over the head with her gardening trowel if I keep overlooking the pears and avocados for cornbread crisps. (Mmm, cornbread crisps.) (... Sorrysorrysorry~) Each week when I do my run for work snacks, I’ve gotta, GOTTA add more fruits and vegetables in. Carbs are great for what I do but I need to remind myself to be more well-rounded! I have no excuse, I’ve got a big selection to choose from, I’ve just gotta do it. Monday mornings are my snack-run times, so I’ll report back with what I’ve picked up. Feel free to attack me with gardening tools if I screw up. morgana [ work smarter, not harder... ] Hoo boy. This is gonna be a toughie. January at my job is always a literal chaos rodeo (I work in behavioral healthcare) and I really... really.... Really need to focus to stay ahead of the game. I’m, uh, sorta prone to letting some of the smaller aspects of my job slide (paperwork ain’t nobody got time for that) (oh wow my pile of shreddable documents sure is pretty mighty there) (oh yeah look at these stacks of old papers i’m keeping just in case i need them whoops) so... I’ve gotta stay on it to avoid mental collapse here. Morgana is real good at hounding poor Joker to do shit (ugghhh catte shut up already pls) so it’s my turn to HEY STAY FOCUSED DANGIT. This quest might be the hardest, even moreso than The Doldrums of Food Tracking... ANYWAYS. These are all pass/fail, letter grades are -so- 2017 (at least for me, what, you think I have time to THINK about letters and stuff?!!), and Rebels we are SO gonna do this thing! 2018 LOOK OUT WE HERE, GET H Y P E !!!!!

Greeting fellow rebels and new recruits! (I know the new challenge doesn't start until the new year, but why not start early? Besides, life is a continuous challenge and you can't exactly put that on hold.) A little bit about me: (sorry for everyone using tapatalk and unable to have spoilers hide the spoilers) As my title says, I am on a journey for self-knowledge. I decided to go down this rabbit hole after listening to an internet video from the school of life titled "The Dangers of Thinking Too Much; And Thinking Too Little." A certain passage really stuck out to me since I personally relate to it and the illustrated person in that little excerpt looks like my internal self. Here's the blurb: we deploy knowledge and ideas that carry indubitable prestige to stand guard against the emergence of more humble, but essential knowledge from our emotional past. we bury our personal stories beneath an avalanche of expertise. the possibility of a deeply consequential intimate inquiry is deliberately left to seem feeble and superfluous next to the supposedly grander task of [insert [insert pompous topic] I'm not sure if it's the posh accent or the large words, but it really struck close to home. I listen to too many podcasts about the past and present social world. And I listen to those at work when it's too quiet at work and I'm too afraid to be left with my thoughts. So this time I'm going to face these inner thoughts head on instead of filling it with non-self-knowledge. Also, I'm really disappointed in the forums lack of mental health section. I notice a lot of rebel mention the words "mental health," but there's no general place within the forum to turn to. I've looked up the phrase in quotations and gone through most of the topics and did the same. Either I completely overlooked it or there's nothing really here. Both of which is a shame. I'm going to be seriously editing my quests before the new years so these are just a rough draft: I'm completely leaving out the phrasing of "goals" since that means an end and physical and mental health are continuous processes. It's not like some master cleanse where you diet for 4 weeks and go straight back to old habits. Quest 1: Nutrition I'm going back to the smoothie drinking since I already know how to make a bomb drink, it's easier to eat than my normal meal prep lunches, and it's faster to consume so there's more time for me to do other things at work like journal prompts or reading a book. no bread or sweets no fast food track food on MFP Quest 2: Workout Last year I was really into my workouts. I really liked the 7-minute workout even though it turned into more of a 28-minute workout with the storyline quests. And the Fit for Battle app was super great at helping me build up my stamina. As much as I want to go to a gym it would be bad timing since the new year is starting Walk dog at least 5 times a week get step count in daily Quest 3: Mental health Maybe I'll start writing journal prompts so I can map those inner thoughts and find those patterns. Or maybe I'll do something with my bullet journal. Or just read a book or online article mention it here and write about how I can apply that to myself or my mental health routine if I can ever settle on one and repeat it long enough to call it one. journal prompt x5 weekly meditate for 5 minutes unlock the hidden mystery that is the counselor Quest 4: Level Up Your Life I'm going to practice Spanish every day and met my exp quota.

Ok guys, here we go again. I'm fighting again towards a healthier lifestyle. I have not been successful in the past several months, and I've gained back a lot of weight. Time to turn this around. I just got back from a short trip. On Thursday a friend of mine and I drove 5 hours to Kansas City, MO to see Markiplier's You're Welcome Tour. It was hilarious and a lot of fun! We then dropped down to Branson, MO for a couple of days. While there we went to the Titanic Museum, Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum, the Wax Museum, and played mini golf. Tons of fun! A lot of junk food though. So I am once again addicted to junk food. I have GOT to kick this. It's time to wake up. I may not have been trapped in the Sacred Realm for 7 years, but it almost feels like it. Time to wake up and get back on task for my quest. BIG WHY! - First I'm going to remember what my big why is. Why am I doing this? Why do I want to succeed? My big why is that I want to enjoy life. I want to be able to do more with my life and experience more. I want to be able to go hiking, zip lining, kayaking, and a whole bunch of outdoor stuff without being exhausted. I want to have the energy to take care of myself and those around me. I want to be able to buy clothing from a regular store. There are so many reasons for me to take on this task, but my primary reason is for health and happiness. Goal 1: Stop eating out - Tonight I'm going to the grocery store, and I'm going to stop eating out so much. I am allowed eating out twice a week. No more than that. I have to make that count. If I do end up going out to eat more than twice a week, the other times must be healthy options. Goal #2: Hydrate! - So, my goal here is going to be to drink more water. My goal for now is 64 oz of water each day. I think this is doable. Goal #3: Practice Sword Fighting - I have wanted to go back to Kendo for a long time. I'm finally going to do it. By the end of this month I want to go to at least 3 Kendo classes. I want to get back into it. Maybe it'll give me more motivation to hit the gym. Goal #4: Schedule Down Time - I have started to fall into the trap of planning too much for myself. There's so much I need/want to do that I haven't been taking time for myself. I'm going to practice self care and do better starting now. Ok, let's get this started. I'll need your help and support to get back on track. This WILL happen damnit!

Priorities Last weekend's sermon was about saying no to good things to make space for great things. There are so many ways I want more of this theme in my life -- in our house (as we slowly buy home items to make it somewhere I feel pleased inviting people into, but also purge), in my day (staying an extra half hour or hour unpaid at work, watching too much TV), in my diet (too much wine and sweets). I've lost my meditation habit, and I miss it. I have time in the morning, but this month I shouldn't need to be at work particularly early - so I can get back to a good morning routine without waking up earlier. Goal #1 The Perfect Morning Obviously not every morning can or will be 'perfect', but I've always had this routine in my mind: Meditation Prayer Short to-do list Eat breakfast Half the time I drag my feet so much I don't get to early, but still haven't done anything worthwhile with my morning. When my alarm goes off at 5:30, I will say no to random internet reading (or even reading my current book), pressing snooze, and leaving for work early. Goal #2 Workouts I am tempted by the Spartan Stadium plan, but not sure I want to start it when I know I'll have to interrupt for vacation. So for now this means workout 5x/week. Spin, run, yoga, spartan workouts, made-up gym circuits all count. As the weather gets iffy and cold I need this more than ever. I will say no to social engagements if needed to make time to work out. I will also not watch TV by myself (sports/movies with fiance are allowed AFTER my workout). I will say yes to workouts that sound fun, even if they cost money, especially if someone else will join me. Goal #3 Track Every Bite Here or in my battle log, along with how I feel. I will say no to wine in the evenings, endless-unaccounted-for carbs and sweets, and eating when I am not hungry. Thanksgiving Recap Last week was ugly nutrition-wise. I was at my future in-laws, and even though they are wonderful it was draining for me trying to make a good impression, and make frequent conversation. I coped with the stress with food. I felt constrained diet-wise by being in someone else's house, but I still could have made much better decisions. The discomfort of not being in my own space combined with forcing myself to talk to parents/family/friends was so much ugh. But especially as fiance's dad is elderly, we will likely be visiting them more frequently in the future -- this is very important to fiance, as my parents are practically next door but we are not able to see his parents very often (a couple hour flight, or 12 hour drive). I want to support him in this but find that I resent spending vacation time to take trips that are not restful. On the flip side, I ran/walked 3/4 days that we were there. And the morning after getting back, I showed up to spin class. I know the workouts aren't enough to offset my eating, but it's nice to have something positive to report. More than anything it was a chance to escape and have some "me time". Update on the Feels Aside from the stress and anxiety of Thanksgiving, I have generally been feeling a bit better over the past couple weeks. Less episodes of wanting to lie on the floor forever. Can't say why, but I'll take it while it lasts.

Hi! I'm not sure if this belongs here or in the nutrition section as it bridges both. Let me know and I'll move it, if the nutrition section is best. I am getting into a new lifting routine which places my session RIGHT before dinner. As with everything, the internet is really split on the whole post workout routine thing. I know that I need to have something protein and fast acting carb dense, perferably within 30 minutes of my session ending. What I'm concerned with is WHAT I should include in my meal. Which is where I'm leaning on my lovely nerd herd. About me and my workout: My food preference is paleo-ish (I eat rice, oats, occasionally snack on some less than paleo sugar snacks and eat soy sauce because coconut aminos are REALLY expensive) My lifting regimen is a hypertrophy/powerlifting mix (I'm still focusing on building the big 3, but I'm also prepping for my wedding) I am not trying to min/max to the extreme. Generalizations are fine for me. I am not breaking any world records or trying to do BIG athletic things, so I'm ok with things that are reasonable but maybe not "ideal". I live accross the street from my gym so it is absolutely possible for me to get home and have dinner within 30 minutes of finishing my workout What I'm confused about: The carb source that I usually go to for a post workout meal is basmati rice. I'm getting wind that my rice might not be doing me any favors. Is there THAT big of a difference between a whole grain rice and a sweet potatoe? (p.s, i tried so hard, but I hate sweet potatoes) I'm reading that fats are a no-no for post workout fuel. But as a paleo subscriber, fats help me fight off hunger (which is a big deal for me). So if I eat dinner as my post workout meal is it horrible if I eat fats to keep the hangery demons at bay? And I guess what it all sums up to is, is it better for me to consume a post workout snack and then eat my actual dinner an hour later? TIA

Frank Castle aka the Punisher is probably the ultimate Determinator, and I'm going to be channeling that determination and discipline in the lead-up to the holidays. Previous Challenge Stats STR - 31.75 | DEX - 52 | STA - 53.25 | CON - 85 | WIS - 56.5 | CHA - 50.5 Waist 29" Belly 32" Hips 37.75" Thigh 22" Weight 159lb Body Fat - 26.31% Goals Goal 1: Rest I'm not the greatest at taking care of myself, and it's kinda a problem. If I would do things like sleep enough and do mobility, I would be a lot better at the rest of my life. So I gotta work on that. +2 CON +2 WIS +1 DEX 11pm bedtime Daily mobility Remember to fill out my Pixel A Day tracker Journal once a week Read - to hit my Goodreads goal I need to read three books by the end of the year Goal 2: Refuel Track my food, hit my macros. 2-3 variances a week, depending how big the variance is. Log it, track it, and make sure it’s worth it. Avoid all the sweets and cookies and such at the office. +3 CON Goal 3: Resupply Get shit done: Christmas shopping - K/B, mom, dad, M, J/A (have ideas for dad + M + J/A) Do some (more) baby knitting - socks, mitts, etc. Go through kitchen cabinets - especially the cupboard where all my plastic bags are and the cupboard where my beer/wine empties are Do the mending Clean out my desk drawers Work on to-read magazine pile - 7 magazines read +3 WIS Goal 4: Move 5k x2/week Pullups Lift x3+/week - get my accessories in +2 STA +2 STR The Road So Far Week One 11pm 0/7 Daily mobility 4/7 Pixels - up to date Journal 1/1 Macros 6/14 Get shit done - got some of my Christmas shopping done, and have (some) ideas for the rest. Why are guys so difficult?! 5k 0/2 Pullups 7/7 Lift 4/3 Week Two 11pm 1/7 Daily mobility 5/7 Pixels - Dec 7 Journal 1/1 Read - working on book 1/3 Macros 12/14 Get shit done - Christmas shopping progress, did some knitting 5k 2/2 Pullups 6/7 Lift 3/3 Week Three 11pm 1/6 (not counting the night we went to the late show of Star Wars) Daily mobility 5/7 Pixels - Dec 17 Journal 1/1 Read - finished book 1/3 (Slaughterhouse-Five re-read) Macros 5/14 (didn't bother to track while I was at my parents', I know it was bad Get shit done - Christmas cards sent, shopping progress, knitting progress, reading progress 5k 1/2 Pullups 3/4 (3 days away with no pullup bar) Lift 2/2 (had to cancel one day because my body wasn't cooperating) Week Four 11pm 0/7 Daily mobility 3/7 Pixels - up to Dec 20 Journal 0/1 Macros 3/10 (not counting Sat/Sun) Get shit done - Christmas shopping done, made progress on the magazine pile and knitting 5k 0/2 - weather didn't cooperate and I didn't do it on the treadmill Pullups 2/6 Lift 3/3

Hello all! Bulba and I are back after a difficult challenge last time, who saw us lose some steam and some of our spirits, so it is time to get back on track. But this time the goal will be US. It will be okay if we do not go very far in the forest. It will be okay if we don't do everything we had planned to do. (Many many thanks to @Manarelle for reminding us of that last challenge!) It will be okay if we ask for help. It will not be okay if we are not okay. So this challenge is all about finding the right balance to be okay and move forward in a positive fashion. Encouragement, celebrating victories, being grateful for all of the things we receive, enjoying the moment without guilt will be our weapons, and serenity and an even mind will be our goals! Actual challenge goals will be relatively consistent with our previous challenges, but much more geared towards building a happier life. 1- Visit every Pokemon Center - Prioritize sleep 2- Eat nutritious Pokebeans every day, and sweet Pokebeans from time to time - Focus nutrition on balance between reason and happiness 3- Speak to many people and learn from them - Continue preparing the exam, celebrating successes 4- Fight in the tall grass - Exercise, in all forms, making it fun to lift heavy things 5- Spend time playing with Bulba - Do something kind for ourselves. Every. Day. I will also simplify the accounting system because last time it was impossible to do... Goal details (note that this is obvious for most people... but since I was not able to follow these rules lately, I am writing them down to remind myself - feel free to skip this section entirely!) 1- Sleep Step 1: sleep. There is no step 2. 7 hours will be set as minimum, 8 hours will be the goal. 6.5 hours are tolerable. This means: in bed at 930pm, lights out at 945pm ideally. If not possible, then 1030pm and 1045pm In extreme cases lights out at 1115pm, even if the house is in disarray, dirty dishes are not done, Korean was not studied and I have not played or done anything relaxing. (I should print this and put it next to my bed...) This is where nights of six hours or less end. It just makes life miserable and not worth living given how physically difficult the remaining hours are. - 2 points for 7 hours, 4 for 8, 6 for 9 or plus, 1 for 6.5, 0 for 6. Weekly goal: 14 points 2- Food If I don't sleep I want to eat crap (doesn't everyone?). So let's not offer me too many opportunities to eat badly first by sleeping more (I see an emerging theme here). Food is key to lose weight and to train well (duh). And I want to do both. So I need to eat better. First I need to start tracking again. I have been holding on around 86.5kg, which is okay, now I need to start losing weight again and tracking is a great tool. - 1 point per day where I track. Weekly goal: 7 points Second, I need to make sure to eat protein and not too much carbs - I will play around with servings and see if I have to adjust (any nutrition suggestion around protein / carb balance is welcome!) Let's say 1 serving of protein with each meal + 1 in snack, and only 1 serving of carb per meal + 1 in snack - 1 point per each meal / snack done correctly (carbs + protein). Weekly goal: 20 points Finally, I need to stop feeling guilty when I don't follow these rules and eat pasta with tomato sauce or chocolate. - 1 extra point whenever I am able to catch myself guilt-tripping and manage to make it okay (because it is okay, really). 3- Exam prep So I have not dedicated as much time to exam prep as I would want to. But let's face it, I would want to spend 8 hours every day prepping this exam, which is not possible because 1/ work and 2/ boring. Also, commute. But at the same time, I have noticed I read emails (in Korean) faster and understand more of what is happening in meetings, which means I am progressing and this is also success! Especially since the exam is part reading and part listening!! (And I am already not bad at writing.) So I need to remind myself that work is helping me study. What I need to focus on is specifically vocabulary training, grammar studying and mock exam taking. all of which can be done during weekends, and with the first two being doable in 15-min increments. So small goals, because they will add up. - 1 point per workday when I spent 15 min doing vocab and 15 min doing grammar. Weekly goal: 5 points - 2 points per weekend day when I spent 1 hour doing exam prep. Weekly goal: 4 points - 1 point per hour spent speaking Korean with friends (really? really!) - 1 point per episode of Korean drama watched instead of Castle or Buffy or other things which do not develop my Korean power I can try to do more, but I do not have to. Because every email, every meeting, every lunch is actually studying. 4-Workout I hurt my neck and had to dial back on weightlifting and started missing my 3-minutes daily. I started inventing reasons in my head to lift and even games to trick my friends to do it with me. This is a serious clue that I want to lift weights! So let's do it, being careful not to hurt myself again (although my injury had nothing to do with lifting and everything to do with me being a klutz hahaha). - 1 point per day when I lifted for at least 1 song. It can be all different exercises, all deadlifts (I am in love with deadlifts even if my hamstrings hate me now). Weekly goal: 7 points Nothing else, because I already move quite a lot and need to stop being guilty when I don't exercise. Yes, I will 90% of the time still do 30-min biking in the morning, and two 90-minute dance classes per week. But if I am late I will only bike 20 minutes and it will be okay, because it is okay!! 5- Self-care I need to spend more time taking care of me, and less worrying about others. Others have themselves to take care of them (or should). So I need to do more things to soothe myself, especially during winter months with no light, gruesome commuting and uncertainty about employment (not very high probability, but high impact if it happens!!). So I should do something nice for myself every day. It can be small like taking 5 minutes to put on body lotion, it can be taking time for a nap or meeting friends on weekends, it can be just taking 15 minutes to read a book. I should just get used to doing it everyday, like the weight lifting exercise I love so much. - 10 points per day when I do something for me. Weekly goal: 50 points Because this is the single most important goal of all! So it is almost half of the expected points per week. Total goal 107 points per week (who decided that weeks would have 7 days making calculations so difficult??). I will do my best and if I can meet this goal it will be great and I will buy myself some new nice clothes which will FIT. And If I cannot meet that goal, I will try meeting it the following week!

Ash Raine kicks open the door to reveal.... her first assassin's challenge. \o/\o/\o/ In true assassin style I'm aiming to start to transform my body into a lean, mean, sneak-from-the-shadows machine. Or at least a leaner, meaner, sneakier one I'd like to reduce my body fat percentage and increase my strength, and I'll be doing this through a focus on nutrition, body weight exercise, and walking. Oh, and handstands, because they make me happy. I'll be incorporating elements from my newbie challenge and changing up the scoring to make it more interesting. Quest 1: Strength Following on from my Newbie quest I'm going to continue the BBWW, but upping it to twice a week (Wed and Sat). Scoring: 10 points per round completed. Plus 1 point for each rep over the goal in the third round. Quest 2: Stamina I've enjoyed my daily walks and seeing how far I've walked in the last challenge. For this quest I'll continue to walk everyday, hopefully moving to a run jog wog (walk/jog) for some of them. I'll get 10 point for every km above 20km across the full 4 weeks. I'll also get 10 additional points for every km I run wog. Quest 3: Nutrition Veggie powered! I'll get 10 points for every day I eat vegetables. Defeat the evil sugar overlord: I'll get 10 points for every day I skip a sweet treat. As it is my birthday on Dec 14th I'm not aiming for 100% daily completion (also, I know myself), but I'd like to come out with at least 200 points for this by the end of the challenge (20/28 days) Quest 4: Handstands Daily handstands. Points for every second above 5 seconds on a free handstand, or 10 points for a 30-second hold against the wall. Mini Challenge I've been playing along with the Batman Mini even though I technically wasn't an assassin last time, and have been loving it. So I aim to continue to help track down Gotham's super villains with a sub goal of making a contribution to each villain's capture. <smokebomb> </smokebomb>

I have defeated the final boss of the Oh-Crap-I-Forgot-My-Lunch instance: Pizza the Hut His main attacks are: being delicious breadstick stab BBQ Chicken Coma Food is expensive But I won! Ended up getting a turkey-on-wheat sandwich from the office vending area. saved about $15 and about 8000 calories.

Ryuu Levels Up! NF Challenge #10 11/26-12/23 100/100hp 0 Exp Health Crystal 1 [+50hp] I had originally planned to get this challenge up and running a lot earlier in the week but because of my surgery (had my wisdom teeth taken out last Saturday) and the resulting pain and recovery I've had delayed my start date for this challenge. For this challenge I'm going to try and analog leveling system to gauge my progress as well as a health bar and see how I like it/ if it is practical to use. Goal 1: Nutrition I will record in My Fitness Pal 7/7 days per week and try to be within +200cal of my 1800cal goal each day. ~+200= -0hp // ~+300 = - 5hp // ~+500 = - 10hp // >+600 = -25hp Current lbs: 161.2 BF% 21.8 % Waist 32.25 Hips: 33.25 Goal 2: Yoga I will do yoga everyday, 7/7 days per week ~5min +5xp // ~20min +10xp // ~1h+ +20xp // *2h+ +10hp +40xp Goal 3 Walk I will walk everyday for at least 5min, 7/7 days per week with the goal to be at least 5000+ steps per day 0-2000steps = -10hp +0xp // 2000-5000steps = -5hp +5xp // 5000 - 8000 = +0hp +5xp // 8000- 10,000 = +5hp +5xp // 10,000+ = +5hp +10xp // *20,000+ = +10hp +20xp Goal 4 Draw I will draw/ sketch everyday, 7/7 days per week, primarily jewelry ideas ~5min = +5xp // ~20min = +10xp // 1h+ = +20xp// *colored/ finished & posted online = +40xp LEVEL CHART Every Level: Increase Max HP by (Lv x 5) & Restore HP up to: Lv 1-5 +25hp, Lv 6-10 +35hp, Lv 11- 20 +50hp, Lv 20+ +75hp Every 3 Levels: Gain 1 Health Crystal (HC = + 50hp) Every 5 Levels: Gain 1 Loot Item BOUNTIES [Extra Experience/ health] -Finish a Book +100xp -Clean out Workout Room +50hp -Prep a meal +5hp (per meal) LOOT TABLE -New Book -New Workout Outfit - $20 towards a massage

I'm carrying over similar goals from the last challenge. I don't have travel or anything planned that will disrupt my schedule in the way I did last challenge, so it makes it a lot simpler to plan out! So that means I have no excuses for not meeting my goals, right? Previous Challenge Stats STR - 31.75 | DEX - 51 | STA - 51.75 | CON - 83.5 | WIS - 55 | CHA - 50.5 Weight - 164lb Waist - 29 3/4" Belly - 33 3/4" Hips - 38 1/2" Thigh - 22 1/2" Body Fat - 26.6% Goals Goal 1: Sleep Sleep is the foundation of everything, and it’s time that I buckle down and just do it properly. I know it effects my abilities mentally and physically, because I’m always tired, so it’s time to see what I can do when I’m sleeping enough. I wake up at 5:30am during the week (sometimes 6:30am if I’m extra tired), so that’s going to drive my bedtimes. I’m not sure how much sleep I actually do need, so I’m going to start with an 11pm bedtime (6.5 hours sleep) and see how that goes. If I need to, I’ll move it earlier in stages until I hit a good spot. CON +3 Goal 2: Cardio Yep, for some reason I decided to play a sport that’s cardio-heavy… So I have to do cardio between now and spring training, otherwise I'll die. I’m thinking 2x 5k, and 3x intervals/HITT/sprints. STA +3 Goal 3: Food Track my food, hit my macros. 2-3 variances a week, depending how big the variance is. Log it, track it, and make sure it’s worth it - quality variances only! Meal prepping is going to be a big part of this one. CON +3 Goal 4: Mobility I have 3 key lower body and 2 key upper body mobility protocols that have really been working for me. Ideally I would do all 3 lower body at a time, and/or both upper body ones, but it takes a bit of time to get through everything, so instead my goal will be to do either my upper or lower body protocols every day. DEX +3 Goal 5: The List WIS +3 Do some baby knitting - socks, mitts, etc. Go through kitchen cabinets - especially the cupboard where all my plastic bags are and the cupboard where my beer/wine empties are Do the mending Clean off the top of my desk and my desk drawers Work on to-read magazine pile Unofficial Goals Grease the Groove - use the damn pull-up bar! On Sunday I was able to do A Pull-up, I want to do more! More NF! Regular updates here and more keeping up with other people's challenges Remember to fill out my Pixel A Day tracker Be on time to Toastmasters Journal once a week The Road So Far Week 1: Official Bedtime 11pm 0/7 5k 1/2 Intervals 2/3 Macros 7/14 Mobility 4/7 The List - no progress Unofficial Pullups 1/7 NF 2/7 Pixel A Day - caught up to Oct 26 On time to TM 1/1 Journal 1/1 Mini - done Week 2: Official Bedtime 11pm 0/7 5k 1/2 Intervals 1/3 Macros 5/14 Mobility 3/7 The List - cleaned off my desk - now to keep it that way! Unofficial Pullups 1/7 NF 6/7 Pixel A Day - caught up to Nov 5 On time to TM 1/1 Journal 1+/1 Mini - done Week 3: Official Bedtime 11pm 0/7 5k 1/1 Intervals 1/2 Macros 9/14 Mobility 1/7 The List - nope Unofficial Pullups 0/7 NF 3/7 Pixel A Day - caught up to Nov 12 On time to TM 1/1 Journal 1/1 Mini - done Week 4 Official Bedtime 11pm 0/7 5k 1/2 Intervals 0/3 Macros 8/14 Mobility 3/7 The List - lots of knitting! Unofficial Pullups 0/7 NF 3/7 Pixel A Day - caught up to Nov 15 (currently caught up fully) On time to TM - N/A Journal 1/1 Mini - done

Annyshay always knew she was a hobbit. She was born in a sleepy farming town of the Shire. As a young hobbit, she worked the land with her family. Her nose was often firmly wedged in a book, and she fancied herself quite the scholar. When turmoil split her family asunder, she began her apprenticeship and long quest to live a good life. For years, Annyshay found her hobbit-y nature at odds with her training and quest. The confused hobbit struggled through periods of being “good” and keeping perfectionistic track of everything she did. Inevitably, she would lose momentum and return to the joy of second breakfast, elevensies, and her hobbit hole. Somehow, she managed to lose herself amidst all the stress, processed food, sedentary habits, and self-doubt. This was not the good life that she dreamed of all those years ago on the farm. One day, Annyshay was cleaning out a trunk, when she found an old scroll with “For the Rebellion!” on its seal. Filled with curiosity, she brought the scroll to her favorite reading chair, so that she could investigate the matter fully whenever she had a chance. When Annyshay eventually cracked the seal of the scroll, she found it was more than she imagined – a device that allowed her to interact with countless Rebels questing to improve their lives. Although she was cautious at first, the support and tales of these Rebels convinced her to join them. Annyshay learned from her fellow Rebels that she was a Hylian Hero and her life was about so much more than safety, comfort, and control. Annyshay has set out on an adventure to become the Hero she was born to be - resilient and radiant, so that she reflects God among the nations! Herein lies the Legend of Annyshay. The Legend of Annyshay, like so many heroic tales is not exactly linear. She has been adventuring with the rebellion since 2012 - as a hobbit, superhero, bender, and of course Link. Her quests have led her on many twists and turns, as you can see if you desire to wade through the Tales of Yore below. In September 2016, Annyshay was called to join a deeper Adventure at Camp Nerd Fitness. In the mountains of Clayton, Georgia, she was convinced well and truly by the Wizards and Headmasters that she is a Hero. Inspired by the stories of Atollo, Tyrus, Havok, Rheno, and Volo, as well as the countless rebels she met in real life, Annyshay returned with Character, Ability, Mind, and Purpose in order to stand against the darkness. Annyshay will fully embody and manifest herself as the Hero of Light.

~ 1.5hr swim 2x/week ~ Paleo eating as much as is in my control, MFP tracking on Mondays ~ Morning Bible study M-W-F (I'm private tutoring Tuesday/Thursday mornings now)

It has been about a year, since I last did a challenge. Lots of things have happened since then. But I thought I'd try this again. It's neither pretty nor shiny (maybe the next one will have a theme again), but it is a start. Quest 1 - Fuel the body you want (intermittent fasting, lunch prep) 1-3 IF days per week, ideally 2 lunch prep the evening before Quest 2 - Work on your weaknesses (Shoulder Press, Squats/Wall Balls/Thrusters, Pull-Ups/Rows) additional work on free days (not rest days!) Quest 3 - Heritage of an Assassin (Handstand practice) 4 times a week for at least 15 minutes Quest 4 - Document all WODs and other training sessions

After a successful previous chellenge where I wanted to start good habits anew and arm myself better to win against such threats as team chocolate cakes, overindulgence of dim sums with friends, and more generally a "laissez-faire" policy due to stress which led to the gain of almost 10kg, we are moving to a more difficult part of life, how to make these good habits the new normal. How do I learn again that eating everything that I want is NOT the norm? (Or healthy or even sustainable) So this time Bulbasaur and I move further into the Kanto forest. We have our new weapon Vine Whip, from our previous challenge, and our determination is strong. We are Level 7, so we know we can defeat most weak Pokemons. We know we will meet a lot of strong Pokemons too, so we need to move towards two equally important goals: 1- Get stronger to win against these Pokemons 2- Get used to losing once in a while and not get overly upset about it (no turning off the Nintendo DS!) (To be honest, I think Goal #2 might be much harder than #1! I had example of that just yesterday.) The great thing about Pokemons, is that as they level up, they learn new attacks. Our next stop is Poison Powder, a great attack against almost all Pokemons, which infects them with poisons and slowly make theim faint! But this attack is learnt at level 13, which will not happen for a moment. However, we are slowly but steadily going there! How does this translate into Pokemon SMART goals? Easy! I will steal from my former self! 1- Spend time in the tall grass - Fight off other Pokemons and get stronger! 2- Go to the Pokemon center regularly - Always be full of energy! 3- Eat good Pokebeans - Make sure my body is fed the right nutrients! 4- Visit all the houses on the way - Pick up skills and hidden objects! Boring point details which I need to be able to nerdilly follow what I do every day on a 15-min basis Ok, so, hum, 165 points per week is the revised extimate, down from what I could be doing. Rewards will be in the form of new mangas and new candles to keep me warm while I study. As long as I meet my point goals, I should always have the candles to support the study. (Reward will also be when I succeed at my exam in January haha!) Finally, For Bulbasaur to reach level 13, all I have to do is... lose weight. 1 kg per level. It increases in difficulty each kg and can be as slooooow as levelling up. The ultimate goal is to be healthier, with more muscle than now and less fat, but there is no denying that I should lose weight, so that is easy maths! Since losing 6 kg in 4 weeks is either impossible, unhealthy or medically induced, this will be the target for the next challenge. For this time, we will aim at 3.5kg (since earlier kg are easier to lose). Starting weight: 88.5kg - Target for end of challenge: 85kg. The added beauty is that at 85kg, several pieces of clothing which I cannot wear now will fit me again. Happiness ensues. See you all in the forest!

Hey everyone. I am writing a quick post here to start a simple challenge. I have tried several times of the past several months to get back on track with my goals. I always end up getting derailed. It's like my stress has gone up and all my best laid plans keep going awry. Right now I'm working 45-50 hours/week, I'm finishing up a class that one of my classmates summed up in an excellent analogy: "This class is like drinking water from a fire hydrant." I've had several things going on such as going to two conventions, a concert, and friend's birthdays. I've had trouble saying no and have fallen back into almost all of my old bad habit patterns. Today I was lamenting that I haven't gotten any closer to any of my goals. I'm tired all the time. I'm depressed. I'm annoyed. Hell, yesterday after work, I went home and went straight to bed. I didn't even eat dinner! I was so tired. I feel like the hill has become so big that I can't possibly climb to the top! I kept saying that "next week, I'll start" or "next month will be better" and then when that time comes, I have another excuse. I'm tired of not making ANY progress, so this challenge's theme is that any progress is better than no progress. My goal is to stick to simple goals. Things that I can easily accomplish. When I master that, I'll move on to the next. I'm going to stop wallowing in self-pity and try to take a more proactive approach to getting back to where I want to be. AND we will do all of this with puppies!!!! Because puppies make everything happier! So, here's my starting goals. Goal #1: Drink water, not sugary drinks I'm going to try and completely eradicate sugary drinks from my diet. This shouldn't be too hard because I have only recently started drinking more sugary drinks and it hasn't got out of hand. I'm going to practice saying no to sugar. Goal #2: Do not take home leftovers This is a rule I put in place for myself a long time ago that I've been violating. Whenever I go out to eat, I am not allowed to take leftovers home. Going out to eat is one meal and I sit there and just eat that meal, nothing more. Leftovers make me eat more unhealthy stuff. I need to get in the habit of not doing this anymore. Aaaaaaaand that's it. Those are the only goals I'm concentrating on for now. If I feel like it, I'll add more in the middle of the challenge, but this is all I'm doing. I think it's at least a start in the right direction, and that is what i need right now. I appreciate any words of encouragement you might have! Looking forward to talking to everyone this challenge and get more involved again! I've missed my NF family. Now to end with more puppies.

Welcome to my return challenge! The last 6 months have been crazy...long work hours, neck injury, capstone projects for school work, and a general lack of motivation for health related activities have kept me away from NF and other health-centric things. I tried a challenge to no success in August again before falling off. All of this has has led to a pretty large weight gain and I am really starting to feel uncomfortable in clothes that fit great at the beginning of the summer and things like knee pain and other injuries are starting to rear their heads again. Current feelz: I am returning to challenges with the hope that it helps get me thinking about little things to get the ball rolling and getting back on a healthy plan. With that said, what I have done in the past are not necessarily going to work so going to have to think outside the box in order to get back in a healthy rhythm. There will be two main categories for this challenge, Nutrition and Exercise(I know...really out of the box concepts here!). Nutrition: Goal 1: Dont eat from the box - 3 Days per week no boxed(processed) foods My comfort after long work days or busy times is to throw some pasta in a pot or heat up some boxed foods from Trader Joes. When I originally lost weight 2 years ago, I succeeded by prepping my meals and keeping focus on eating fresh healthy foods and even going as far as being strict paleo for 4-5 months. Having three days where the focus is to avoid these processed foods should help start shifting the mindset back towards cleaner eating. Plus I do love cooking and haven't had that much time for it recently so this will get me back in the kitchen experimenting with healthy cooking. Goal 2: Fill out the boxes - Track foods 5 days per week MFP was my friend when it came to losing weight in the past. It helped keep me a bit more honest than when I kind of wing it with nutrition. I find that when I am not weighing and tracking my food, I do a poor job of measuring portion sizes and determining the nutrition of certain foods(This should improve with the less processed foods...double win). So the goal is to track during the week and if I track on the weekends then that is a bonus. Exercise: Goal 3: Embrace the Box - Workout 3 mornings per week For those who dont know my workouts/gym experience, I basically do Crossfit except there is a stigma against it from gym owner/coaches so we are not an official box. One of the things that drove me away from the gym a bit these last few months was lack of variation in workouts. Every Wednesday was 5/3/1 Bench press, some accessories, and a quick conditioning set and Fridays were the same but with Deadlifts. I ran 5/3/1 in the past and didnt like the progress I was making so I wasnt that excited to do it as part of gym programming. Well...I wasn't the only one to complain about it after doing the same thing for 10months and now the gym has new programming, written by Box Programming(original intent of the box theme). The main basis of their programming is the Conjugate Method for Athletes which has a strong focus on accessory type lifts as well as incorporating different reps and workout schemes. Some highlights so far have been floor presses on the old bench day and EMOM style sumo deadlift workouts for the old deadlift day. Plus with these new rep/set schemes we actually have like 30min for conditioning instead of the 8-10min after-thought tabata conditioning that we've done in the past after 5/3/1. These new workouts have gotten me excited to go to the gym again. Just need to get back on a schedule now that work has calmed down and get back to lifting 3 times per week minimum at the 6am class before work. And what would a box theme challenge be without checkboxes! Goal 1: ☐☐☐ ☐☐☐ ☐☐☐ ☐☐☐ Goal 2: ☐☐☐☐☐ ☐☐☐☐☐ ☐☐☐☐☐ ☐☐☐☐☐ Goal 3: ☐☐☐ ☐☐☐ ☐☐☐ ☐☐☐ Onward to victory!

Howdy, guys! I’m back for challenge #2 of my respawn! Last challenge went all right, but needed some tweaking for the second round. Goals are staying roughly the same, or within the same vein, and I’ve made things a bit more interesting. Not only do I have an actual theme this time around, but I’ve also done some gamifying! This challenge is wholly inspired by Cowboy Bebop, which is one of my all time favourite animes (right along side Ghost in the Shell). This show came about in the late 90’s (early 2000’s for the US), and was quite progressive for it’s time. I used to stay up until ridiculous hours just to watch it in my early high school years. As I never got around to watching every episode back then, the BF and I have been going through the series over the last week. I’ve grown a new appreciation for it, and it saddens me that I haven’t found anything modern that even comes close to being on par as it (if anyone knows of any, let me know!!). Well, without much ado, lets get this thing started! Cowboy Bebop Intro

A lot of uncertainty in this challenge. This Friday 7/11 I go see my orthopedic for the results of my MRI & see the nutritionist. What I find out from them will probably largely shape what my challenge looks like, but going to have some things that I focus on each week, some things to focus on for the whole challenge Quest 1: Find the time Headspace Just with my record last challenge, I would like to meditate 5 days during the week. Each week I do this I will set aside a little money from my spending money to help create a space to make mediation more easy in. Quest 2: Spend at least 10 mins every week day cleaning something I'm really bad at letting things go, then getting super fed up with the house and spending a ton of time/energy cleaning it all at once. I would really like to get better about keeping it from getting to the point where I get so stressed out by the house. Quest 3: Weekly Quests Week 0: Stretch at least 10 mins every day Week 1: Eat the grains/carbs Create a weekly calendar Week 2: Do PT homework Do school homework Week 3: Do PT homework Do school homework Week 4 Do PT homework Do school homework I think that's about it for now! Hope everyone has a great challenge!

Hello fellow Assassins (and other visitors!) ! My name is Asuka and I fell off the wagon a few months ago. I was unhappy at work, unhappy in life and eating cake to make it all get better. Did it work? Of course not! So I am now changing the way I work (and very soon changing jobs!), and ditching the cake to focus on making MYSELF (and not other people) happy. We all have things that make us happy when we do them and things that make us happy once they are done. So the goal of this challenge is to do enough of the first ones to "store" happiness to do the second ones and be doubly happy! And of course to get healthier while doing so! I will focus on 4 key goals, 3 daily ones and 1 long term one. 1/ Nutrition: The goal is to get back to a place where my stomach is happy without countless amounts of food. It will take a few weeks for my stomach to stop complaining about the lack of cake, but I am ready to fight it to be healthier! Happy doing: Eating Happy having done: Writing down what I ate, Eating clean, Not eating too much My daily weapons will be: Writing down what I eat and counting weight watchers points. I will also emphasize healthy snacks (e.g., fruits, protein bars) over cake (I need to stop talking about cake!) My daily reward will be: Eating 1 treat worth no more than 4 points (160kcal) (can be accumulated) AFTER I had a clean day of eating. Clean day is defined by accurate tracking, below 25 points total, and listening to feelings of satiety. 2/ Fitness: The goal is to mix happy exercises and super efficient ones and get back to a place where it is not so difficult to lift weights (because the muscle to fat ratio is better). It should take a few weeks for my body to get used to lifting again, as long as I maintain a good training schedule. Happy doing: Dance!, Stretching, Isolation Happy having done: Weightlifting, Biking My daily weapons will be: A mix of cardio and weightlifting. 3 sessions of 30-45min of each per week, MWS for weights and TTF for biking. My daily reward will be: For cardio it is easy: watching video games videos while biking. Yoohoo! For weightlifting, ENDORPHIN and pure motivation to get started. Also Memes (see below). Also enough stretching to make sure I am not too sore. And for every session of weightlifting: 5 full minutes of pure pride in the very fact that I did it. No matter how hard it was when it should be easy or how light the weights when they should have been heavier. 5 minutes taken just to congratulate myself that I did lift my butt from the couch and lifted weights on top of it. 3/ Well-being: I want to have a more balanced life, where I don't let work take over life and depress me to no end (or the point where I eat cake). I need better habits of doing things for myself and be h happy with 80% of things done for others (also because they don't care so much it turns out). Happy doing: Sleeping, Taking it slow Happy having done: Having slept 8 hours (not 6!), Having cooked healthy meals, Meditation My daily weapons will be: A strict deadline to go to bed (without it, I am useless) - let's say 11:15pm, to get to 8 hours, and a strict rule of no more than 2 episodes of whatever series OR 1 movie My daily rewards will be: Feeling rested (and needing less coffee), having more time for self-care such as face masks, scrubbing, etc. 4/ Life: I want to have a clean look and feel in my apartment and do active things which I like, rather than be a drone and binge watch re-runs. Unfortunately, when I am tired or depressed (see #3 above), I don't feel like being active, and more like being passive. And then all of a sudden it is 8pm on Sunday and I just watched life instead of living it. NO MORE! Happy doing: Reading mangas, Reading novels, Building nanoblocks, meeting friends, Watching TV Happy having done: Cleaning and sorting through my books, Moving furniture, Not having spent 8 hours mindlessly watching re-runs on TV My daily and weekly weapons will be: A little at a time: cut down large activities into smaller pieces (e.g., 1 shelf instead of 1 full bookshelf to be sorted) to do them on a daily basis and planning: I will start blocking out time for "active fun". Not TV, no work, nothing else at these times. My daily and weekly rewards will be: Actually doing things I enjoy and seeing progress in the things I want done. Also, less feeling of guilt because I am not doing these things. These are my goals for the next five weeks. I will see how well I did. As I am going on a 4-day vacation over 2 weeks (Sat to Tues), I will do my best to comp for these days. I expect to walk a lot, so it should be okay fitness- and well-being-wise. For the rest, I will improvise! As for a reward for the whole challenge (5 weeks, which should also be the last weeks in my current job, yay!), I will invest (exact amount to be determined!) towards an improved wardrobe which I actually LIKE to wear! As usual, I will track everything in an excel file (boring details in a separate post!) and will do my best to post here 2-3 times per week to share my progress and get energy from all of you! And to all: good luck for your challenges as well!!

July and August have not been kind. I finished off my Master's degree (yay), got bad nutrition advice (from a nutritionist - boo), had PT interfere with my workouts (boo), and got word that my parkour gym is closing (very boo). I turned in my last assignment for school and immediately started busting butt on completing my first cosplay in 4.5 years... that must be completed within a week. Stress eating has added to the bad nutrition and disrupted workouts, meaning I am not in the shape I would like to be in. Since that is a lot to address at once, I won't. This challenge is going to focus on nutrition: cutting back stress eating/ snacking, improving protein intake, and being honest about calorie intake vs output. The con I'm cosplaying at will cover the 17th to the 21st and I'll try to stay healthy, but I won't beat myself up if there aren't perfect options. I have plans for replacing parkour at the end of the month, and I intend to start pushing fitness a lot more. On the flip side, once the con is done and with school being over, I will have a (relatively) amazing amount of free time, and I need to get sort out my routine and plans. That will be a secondary goal to this challenge. If I get it, great. If not, I'll keep working on it.