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My name is Rhovaniel. Once, I was a pawn, an unthinking Empire pawn. Some months ago, I woke up, and sought my freedom as a Ranger, a member of the Rebellion. For that, I was imprisoned by the Emperor, Lord Morgulon, who wants all living things held under his dominion, held under the sway of sugar and processed poison under a tasty and addictive guise. I resisted his attempts to reclaim me, and with the aid of another Ranger, Callan, I escaped. Callan brought me to a healer’s house some leagues from the Capital, on the fringes of the Empire. But still they found me. The healer who sheltered and nursed me was murdered, her daughter gravely wounded. Injected with a strong dose of sugar syrup and succumbing to Empire chocolate, I face now a greater challenge. Protect the healer’s daughter. Resist the onset of sugar cravings. Grow in strength and endurance. Prepare for my next encounter with the Emperor’s agents. And there will be a next encounter. I have to know why the Emperor wants to reclaim me so badly. Why he did not have me killed. I’m starting in Week Zero, but I do anticipate that my History weekend away (this weekend) and the funeral coming just after that will mean I won’t be able to complete some of these. I’ll just try to keep my food choices as good as possible, since at the Lodge, I won’t be in control of what food is on offer, or if there’ll be space/time to do a workout (it’s a shared room with another student) and I can’t dictate what I will eat with my Dad and the day of the funeral, and I’ll also have to get the train back home after. To track, I will use the symbols Tank uses: C = Compliant, T = Travelling, V = Variance. For workouts, X will mean I did not complete that workout, will mean I did. The Lay of the Land: - This challenge, I run. Only once a week to start myself off, but later on I hope to increase this. Minimum 5 km each week. ZR tracks my times and pace, so it should be relatively easy to track. In addition, I will aim for one other cardio workout, probably swimming. Walking 10,000 steps or more will also count as a cardio workout if I have no other option because Life Happened. 2 cardio workouts per week: _ _ /_ _/_ _/_ _/_ _ The Strength to Fight: - Demons don’t just attack the mind. Illness, aches, pains, injury. They prey on the unfit body. So, I work to defend against this, and become… anti-fragile. 3 strength workouts per week: _ _ _/_ _ _/_ _ _/_ _ _/_ _ _ To Hunt or Gather: - Nutrition has been and remains my biggest struggle. So, this challenge I’m going to re-try paleo, since I still dislike MFP as much as ever. With the exception of wholegrain rice, because I cannot live on sweet potato alone. Baby steps till I fully figure out how to cook properly. 4 variances (non-paleo, or unhealthy food) per week. Shamelessly stealing Tank’s code for tracking this. Eat Paleo with 4 variances per week: _ _ _ _ _ _ _/_ _ _ _ _ _ _/_ _ _ _ _ _ _/_ _ _ _ _ _ _/_ _ _ _ _ _ _ Into the wild: - I must face the unknown with courage. My comfort zone offers safety but not growth. This one is more of a Life challenge, but I’ve got to kick a few bad habits here. Confidence, calmness in the face of adversity (read: stressful situations). For this, I will do one thing every day to either boost my confidence, push myself out of my comfort zone, or otherwise teach me to be more resilient and calm under pressure. I will research how to help that. Meditation maybe, or perhaps online tutorials on problem solving, etc. Anything that will boost my confidence in my ability to face pressure and responsibility. One action daily to boost confidence and resilience under pressure: _ _ _ _ _ _ _/_ _ _ _ _ _ _/_ _ _ _ _ _ _/_ _ _ _ _ _ _/_ _ _ _ _ _ _ Rewards: I’d like to add some rewards into this challenge, as an incentive to stick with it, especially in weak moments. I’ve noticed that when motivation is low, I feel the need to have an incentive to push on. The problem is, I have no idea what they should be. I will hopefully get these in place before Week One and the official start of the challenge. EDIT: Each week that I get 90% or more overall completion of my goals, I get a movie night. Weeks 1-3 will be (performance dependant) Lord of the Rings extended editions. I may or may not allocate a variance to said movie night.

For this challenge, I'm just modifying what I've been doing so that it works a little better for my life. Last time around, I did pretty well, with a paleo-oriented eating plan, and a pretty strong weights and cardio routine. This time, I'm taking the other responsibilities and activities into my life and hoping to work with them to find good balance. 1. Determine the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow! Every week, I've got aerial class twice a week. This includes low-flying trapeze (YAY!) and fabric (um, yeah, whatever). So that's two hours or more of aerial core and strength work, plus warmups and cooldowns. To make the grade, I'll go to both classes, work my transitions really slowly, and for bonus points, head to the open gym at the aerial studio once a week. 2. Continue to Seek the Holy Grail! This is all about diet. I had a very successful five weeks on paleo, and have continued into week zero. But starting week one, I want to expand my options just a tiny bit. Two times a week, I can have whole grain oatmeal or cornmeal mush. No instant anything: I'm talking either rolled oats or steel cut oats, and a little maple syrup. If this doesn't "sit" well in my stomach or triggers GERD, then back off it right away. Also, I'm allowed one extra non-paleo breakfast, lunch, or dinner a week. If it causes GERD, I have to write it down and avoid it. Previous things that caused GERD included: a store-bought slice of pizza, a buttery croissant (mmmm so delicious but sooo very painful). I'll have more things on the list. 3. Ride the length and breadth of our lands This is to make sure I'm saving the planet and getting healthier at the same time. Any day when it's 40F or warmer out at 6:30, and the forecast doesn't include precipitation or wind speeds over 25 MPH, I'll be riding to work. Oh, also, unless I have to pick my son up from school and take him to Karate. There's just not enough time for all that... I know, that's totally a fair-weather plan, but it's fine by me. 4. Say "NI" again! Finally, I'll continue with my PT. It'll be part of my workouts this time, and will need to be done 4 times a week. I'm a lot healthier, and am feeling stronger all the time. Because of this, I've been slacking off on my PT. While I don't think I need to do easy PT 6 times a week, I think I need to keep doing the harder stuff (weighted lunges etc). So four times a week it is. There are some caveats: If I'm traveling, I get a pass on the paleo diet. It's just too hard and/or expensive to always find what I need. I'll still eat healthfully, I just won't be such a draconian caveman about it. Same goes for ski days etc... if we're skiing, it counts as exercise because really, 4-6 hours of doing lunges down a mountain is a LOT of work. So that's it!

Jayim's first Assassin Challenge!!! Hello Assassins! Newbie here. =) I've been beaten down by a chronic illness for the lasts decade. Well, I've decided to beat back! I've been trying to get my life back together since October, so I've already made some progress. Then I found NerdFitness and now I'm even more excited! My big goals are at the bottom of my intro post: https://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/94695-a-life-to-live/ Anyway, on with the Challenge! Food 1.) Eat an Egg, Meat, Veggie breakfast every day instead of a grain based breakfast [20 XP] 2.) Drink no more than three mugs (eight cups) of coffee a day [5 XP] Fitness 1.) Walk ~15 minutes on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays [25 XP] 2.) Do a warm up routine and cooldown stretches (from Steve's videos) on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays [50 XP] Level Up Your Life Charisma/Confidence 1.) Meticulous hygiene; shower twice a day, brush teeth twice a day, floss once a day. Trim beard Wednesdays and Sundays. Change bedsheets on Sundays. [20 XP] 2.) Wear cologne/aftershave [5 XP] Financial 1.) Sign in to work EVERY workday (4 days a week), even if only to check email and Slack. [10 XP] 2.) Do SOMETHING daily to clean the large greenhouse (throw out a dead plant, bucket of bad dirt, broken pot, etc) [15 XP] Challenge Total: [150 XP] Success will mean a score greater than 80% for each quest For daily goals, Saturday is a free day and doesn't count. --- Maintain and solidify previous habits: Wake up and MOVE at 6 AM Morning prayer and reading Wear only clean clothes Drink water!!! In bed no later than 10 PM

Hello! I am a French nerd, living in Belgium. I am not new here but I set my last challenge a while ago! Today, I weight 89 k (about 196 pounds) and I am already hitting the gym at least 3 times a week (thanks to a personal trainer). I said goodbye to 20 pounds in the past 4 months. I would like to keep up the good work, especially with my eating habits for which I definitely could use accountabilty. Why do I need help? I spend the last 3 weeks eating unhealthy food. I am not making a big deal of it because I understood why this happened. However, it's not a behaviour that will help achieve my goals. So I just want to go back to the healthy habits I developped in order to ultimately reach the goal of being light! I need accountability because I don't have real life friends who like working out, or who are paying attention to what they eat. I hope that I'll be able to find the support that I need here in the forums! My long-term goal I would like to wear a eur size 40 (I am at a size 44 now) and weight 79 kg (175) and sustain it. I want to be light in my head, in my body and in my heart. My challenge goal : I'd like to lose 4 kilos and most importantly, my challenge will be a success if I managed to eat paleo 80 % of the time ! (aka 2 non-paleo meals a week) Goal 1 : Journaling 4 days a week It's important for me to voice out whatever I feel and think for my mental sanity. I've been doing this for the past 15 days, everyday and I see how beneficial it has been for me. So I want to keep it this way. Since I tend to eat when things are not going the way I want, I choose to insert journaling as a fitness goals. Goal 2 : Follow my paleo eating plan and no snacking I created a plan with healthy snacks around 16 or 17 if I am hungry (mainly carrots and veggie dips). I am allowed to 2 exceptions a week if I want. Kryptonite : my thoughts and the lack of accountabilty. So I really need you guys! Goal 3 : Accomplish 2 BW training sessions and 2 cardio Actually, my secret goal is to move my body as much as I can. I bike to place, and I intend to find a dance/body expression class I could join because I feel that my body needs this. However, I chose to keep up the exercise session at the gym because they make me happy. Life Goal : Read the book Better Person - Gretchen rubin This book has very interesting insights on how we form habits and most importantly, how to sustain them! I think that it's a good read for this challenge I will update tomorrow with measures ! Looking forward to reading your challenges!

Holla, 2017 2016 was a weird year. (in part because of the support I gained from all you lovely Rebels), I hit the eject button have had a complete life change in the last 365 days. in 2016 I Quit my comfortable but unfulfilling job in marketing/design/copywriting Took a 3-month immersive bootcamp to learn the skills necessary to transition into a career in web development Have since undergone the most grueling job hunt I have ever had - including the rough post-college hunt Have gone from on top of my macros game to completely letting that fall by the wayside due to school stress to having dug my way out of the hole I created Have monkeyed with said metrics to transition from paleo to keto (and am still playing around with them for optimization) Have gone from a 5x a week workout schedule to nothing at all during school and a whole host of body crapiness that ensued, to kiiiiinda digging my way back out of that hole Started (assistant) teaching front-end web development at my alma mater Have shattered my comfort zone through: leaving the house (I used to work from home and am a natural hermit), going to a school every damn day with humans in it, forcing myself to attend networking events upon networking events, forcing myself on job interview after job interview, and now putting myself out there as someone who knows enough of what they are doing to be able to teach other humans Have worked really damn hard on not being quite so hyper critical of myself and my abilities in an effort to stay sane during this job hunt Have worked really hard on reaching out to my Nerds for support when I've fallen down on that last one Went to CAAAAAMP and met some of my Internet Friends IRL - with Hugs! And got to tell the NF team in person just how damn much this community means to me - through that, I practiced a whoooooole lot of gratitude in a short amount of time And that's it? Up for 2017 Get a damn job that involves trading services for actual money Minimalize the shit out of my stuff in prep for a move in late February/early March Continue on with yoga - I've got 9 classes of hot yoga that need booking before the move! Aim to add deadlifts & rings into my schedule with the new gym (providing that *is* the new gym - it has barbells and a spot to hang rings) Explore the new neighborhood - wherever it is Work on slooooooowly re-incorporating rucking into my rotation (of course there will be videos) - slowly so I don't roach my shoulder yet again Continually work on my self-criticalness -- especially during the remaining (and hopefully waning) parts of this job hunt Find ways to actively work on cultivating and improving my IRL relationships (Internet ones, too, but that's much easier) Continue to build a presence in the NYC tech community Find more ways to mentor and/or teach since that is a great way to rip the last of my comfort zone out from under myself Travel asap Keep learning in some fashion Keep practicing This Challenge Cycle My goals will look familiar. I'm operating yet again under 'no damn free time in the evenings' protocols, so I'm rolling with the punches comfort v schedule-wise. Goal 1: Work Out Yoga classes 2x a week Something else 1x a week - this can be either a quick Darebee bodyweight workout in the kitchen while doing job stuff, a supplemental video yoga class, or - lord forbid - an HIIT video in the gym. Maybe throw in a ruck if it's not too freezing and my shoulder isn't cranky. Goal 2: Macros Track macros. Stick with keto. Play with fat ratios. All tracking will be done on my Spreadsheet of Keto Awesomeness and involves doughnut charts. Goal 3: Get A Job Continue to apply for 10 - 15 jobs a week Attend networking events as time allows Find and work on side projects - on the list: continuing a 30-day vanilla JavaScript course, picking up PHP, working on SVG animations, building some pure layout sites using various shiny new technologies (either ways of approaching responsiveness, load time or accessibility), working on some pure layout designs that have really tricky elements because they are beautiful, and working on some great full-workup UI sites for business just because. I will also look into picking up some sort of side hustle to generate some supplemental income. Goal 4: Other Life Shit Here is where I will work on all those other goals - starting with minimalism. Dog pics forthcoming.

Nothing new or unusual to see here, but I have pretty clear motivation to keep my eating and working out on track this month. I completely dropped off the last challenge, *sigh*. Would like to document my efforts this month, despite joining three days late I've been working on these things this month. I may or may not continue adding Brooklyn 9-9 gifs despite lack of relevancy. Overarching Quest: 25% Body Fat Haven't made a lot of progress with this, my weight drifted upwards in Q4 of 2016. But doing the W30 is a good re-start. Mission #1: Complete the Whole30 Started this January 3rd, happily bf is doing it with me this round! So the surfeit of cooking labor is alleviated by his assistance, specifically with dishwashing. I'll put in another post on how it's going so far. The biggest challenge is going to be our trip to Cali for the Spartan sprint... Mission #2: Train for and complete Spartan Sprint After the marathon last year, November and December were spent recuperating and doing a lot of yoga. I'm getting back into the gym, in preparation for our race January 29th. I was dumb last week and overdid it, inducing a little tricep rhabdo -- and then Thursday I came down with a cold. Today I'm finally feeling better to start getting back at it. Since it's so close to the race I'm going to focus on burpees, grip/hang strength, and hills. We're doing the race with a team, and I don't know that anyone feels/is fully prepared -- so we're just aiming to finish together. Mission #3: Decrease TV watching This is back again. I started thinking about how I manage my time and rest on Monday, after a small group discussion about the importance and prioritization of rest. What I will allow is TV that actually contributes to feeling happier. Shows: Brooklyn 9-9 (because it makes me LOL) and Dr. Ken (because my cousin is in it) -- since I'm pretty current on those, it's only 1hr/week. No more Netflix/Hulu watching the bazillion hours of entire show seasons. Movies with bf are allowed -- it's not like we watch more than one at once anyhow. Let's do this.

"If you must blink, do it now. Pay careful attention to everything you see and hear, no matter how unusual it may seem. And please be warned, if you fidget, if you look away, if you forget any part of what I tell you, even for an instant, then our hero will surely perish." Hello Assassins *bowing head*, I have been following you all and look forward to earning a place among your ranks. Recent, catalytic events have created an impetus for me to focus on my health, fitness, and mindfulness. And so, the journey has begun due to forces far beyond my control and I will rise up to meet them. Growing Stronger (fitness): I have a wonderful matrix I created to measure my str *pushes glasses up nose*, but I need to test myself to find out what my limits are. Week 1: AMRAP- push-up/sit-up/pull-ups; 300m sprint for speed Week 2: 2 mi speed trial Week 3: 5 mi speed trial Week 4: 500m swim for time *might drown* Bonus side quests: yoga 2x per week; bodyweight workout 2x per week; run 1x per week. Eat the Soup (diet): I need to get better at meal planning to avoid defaulting to unhealthy staple meals and eat more veggies. So the general weekly goal will be to add one planned day per week so that by the end of the challenge I am meal planning for four days per week. Defeat your Demon (boss #1): I have an addiction that has held me back for years. I'm throwing it on here for my own accountability but will spare the details unless someone is really curious and they can PM me. Regardless, if I fail in all other areas of the challenge but succeed here, it will be a success. Ain't nobody got time for that. Finish the Story: So...my catalytic event. My dad was just diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's and I feel driven to capture his story before it fades into darkness. He is already mid-stage and there is no telling what that timeline will look like. The tragedy to me is that he has been a storyteller his whole life and my children may never hear about his experiences if they are not captured. The challenge will be to: Write or recount a story/memory from my Father's life every other day. Cheers. ~Six

This morning I completed the big quest worksheet. It was useful to put my "big goals" down and really think about them. The thing is, I've already started on this quest, since it was new years weekend and all, and I had decided that I want to really punctuate the changes I need to make in my life by starting them on the new year. One of the biggest issues, that I often prefer to avoid thinking about, is that I've got chronic reflux disease (GERD). Most everything I eat gives me acid reflux. I was taking some very un-helpful medication for that condition for about 12 years, when a few studies came out linking that medication to a lot of really nasty complications. So, with a doctor's guidance, I quit using that medication and started managing the condition with diet. Interestingly, when I started eating paleo, I stopped having any issues with GERD. I mean, it literally became a non-issue. Except, unfortunately, I have a very hard time sticking to a strict paleo diet. A review of my previous challenges just shows me that diet is really the hardest thing for me to do. I honestly don't have a hard time exercising. But if I look at why I started exercising in the first place, it really had to do with me wanting to maintain a non-sustainable diet by exercising enough to keep eating the way I was eating. Flash forward to the present day. I know what I need to do to not give myself esophageal cancer (that's the end result of years of GERD), and I need to learn how to do it. So, I started back with the Paleo diet on 1/1/17. But I know that's not a long-term solution. I'm going to have to learn exactly what, and in what quantities, I can eat outside of that strict plan, without triggering my GERD. So, what, you might ask, does this have to do with the Holy Grail? Well, for me, the Holy Grail is a sustainable eating practice that works for me in my life. Paleo is a good place to start for me, because I know it's healthy for me, and will even help me drop a few pounds. I'm up to 174, which is a little high for me (I'm 5'10" and 45 years old, and I'm built like an aerial dancer, just with a little belly now...) and so I'd like that too. But here's the catch: Once I've got a good baseline of eating paleolithically, I'll need to start experimenting with adding new foods in. Not in a whole-hog kind of way, where I say, "OK, I'm going to eat corn now" and then pig out on corn chips and cornmeal mush and cornbread and tortillas and corn on the cob and popcorn and CARAMEL CORN and everything corn... but rather where I keep a handle on things as I add them very slowly, keeping my portions under control all the while. So, that's a long winded explanation of my current goals which are: 1. Seek the holy grail! The holy grail is a sustainable eating practice. This month, this means eating paleolithically. 6 days out of 7, I will stick to the paleo diet. On day 7 I will count calories instead, and write down anything I eat that triggers my GERD. 2. Ride the length and breadth of our land! While Arthur rode the length and breadth of the land in search of knights who would join his round table, I am working towards running a 10K again by springtime. Of course, if PT doesn't work out and I need to get surgery that might go on hold for a bit, but in the mean time, that's what I'm working towards. To this end I'll be continuing with my PT (6 out of 7 days) and putting in time either interval running (as directed by my PT) or on an elliptical trainer or stationary bike. 3 days per week. 3. Grip it by the husk! OK, I'm not a swallow, but I would like to keep getting stronger. This means at least two strength workouts per week. I would like to add meditation/yoga to the list but that's enough for now. Too many things to keep track of and I stop keeping track of anything. I'm already three days into eating paleo, and it's going alright. I haven't had any acid reflux, and I haven't had to take any Tums at all. I'm going to hide my scale though, since I tend to get a little obsessive about weight once I'm restricting my eating habits.

Man, I just love the new year! It's like a brand new notebook, with margins unscribbled. It's like a fresh field of snow with no foot prints. It's a bright Saturday morning when you woke up early and have no plans. In short, it's pure, unadulterated potential. Right now, I have the potential to become an absolutely amazing version of myself, and DAMMIT I'm going to realise that potential THIS YEAR. Full stop. This challenge is stepping stone #1 towards that Fonzico. Nitty gritty: Goal Number One: Complete the Whole 30. Jan 8 - Feb 6th. Incidentally, we have a big Ukrainian family feast coming up on January 7th, so naturally the perfect day to start is the day after, which just happens to coincide with the start of the challenge. Week Zero will be all about the prepping, and for the challenge proper, it's just breathtakingly simple. Follow the program. There is no fail option here, so it will simply result in: +3CHA +2INT Goal Number Two: Hit the gym. My sister and I have started going to the nearby community gym. It's not the fanciest thing you've ever seen, but it's close, inexpensive and so far we've been really enjoying going. We take turns planning our workouts, and just get it done. We had a talk last time about upping the intensity too. There are also drop in classes there which are included in our membership, so I want to start trying those out too. A : 8+ B : 6+ C : 4+ D : 2+ F : 1 or less +3STR +2END Goal Number Three: Get walking. Okay, so call me crazy.. but I want to give myself a year long step goal of 3,650,000 steps. Yep, 10,000 per day ALL year. Holy crap. I'm already behind. Anyways, in order to support this goal, I'm going to get 285,000 steps during the challenge. A : 285,000+ B : 255,000+ C: 225,000+ D : 195,000+ F : 194,999 or less. +2END Goal Number Four: Learn American Sign Language. Whoohoo! This is something I've wanted to do for a long time... and now my work is paying for me to take Level One and Two classes for the next 4-ish months! So excited! All I have to do for this goal is attend the classes, which, like the Whole30 goal, does not have a failure option - aside from extreme illness, there is just no excuse not to go. Classes are Tues/Thursdays from 6pm-9pm. I will attend 8 classes during this challenge. +2INT Goal Number Five: (yeah, Yeah, I know, that's a lot of goals) Bullet journal. I started a Bullet journal a few months ago, and have been kind of half-assedly using it since. I want to actually fully utilise it. Goal is 5 days of week of writing SOMETHING in it. A : 20+ B : 15+ C: 10+ D : 5+ F : 4 or less. +1INT

Ahoooooooy friends <3 Happy Not-2016-Anymore!!! So, 2016 was not very successful on the "being healthy" front. I ended up gaining all the weight I had lost, and then some. I've fallen out of the habit of regular exercise. It was pretty hard on the mental health front as well (which may have contributed to the falling-out-of-habits etc). So I'm gonna try and start strong, but simple for the new year to see if I can regain my lost progress and momentum. Here are my goals: 1) Food I operate best when I do Strict Paleo diet, so I'm going to be a lot stricter this challenge, especially with dinner and snacks (breakfast and lunch I pretty much have nailed down). Make sure I do batch cooking on the weekend so I don't have to scramble during the week. If I'm in a situation where non-compliant food is all that's available, keep an eye on portion sizes. 2) Exercise Physical activity minimum 3 days per week. This can be swimming (<3), bodyweight circuit, yoga, walking, running, whatever. I just wanna get moving. I want to do more bodyweight this time around, because the last couple challenges I've swam nearly exclusively and I want some more variety. 3) Mental Health This has been an increasing struggle for me over the past year and some. I didn't even notice my mood lowering until it was already consistently low, and it has been making many other areas of my life difficult. I will do 1-2 things each day to bolster my mood, such as: ~ see a counselor (already in the works, first appointment Jan 9th) ~ set a timer and have a brief prayer/meditation time ~ get some sunshine ~ go for a walk (even if it's indoors on a machine) ~ mindfully make a cup of tea ~ set a timer and work for 15 minutes on schoolwork (this is a big stressor for me, and getting stuff done always helps [I'm a terrible procrastinator]) ~ do some stretches ~ set a timer for 15 minutes and do something I used to find more pleasure in (play my ukulele, knit, draw, read, etc) ~ &c, &c, &c I'm gonna take measurements to track my progress by; first measurements will be on January 8th.

Arrowan’s Eighth Challenge: For the Rebellion! Stay on target Themes: Focus, Discipline, Hope Name: Arrowan Class: Adventurer (but I'm sneaky and like to hang out with Monks) Faction: Volo Starting point: Weight: 155 lbs, Height: 5’6” Introduction: I’m back after another leave of absence. Even when I’m away from the challenge forums, though, I’m always fighting for the Rebellion. I never forget about my fellow rebels—you guys inspire the hell out of me. Anyway, I want to do more challenges this year in order to keep my goals structured and be a part of the community. I’m now active in Rising Heroes, and I’m incorporating it into the challenge, because otherwise I’m likely to get overwhelmed with all the various goals and missions and posts. I’m heading into a period of change in my life, so I have to stay focused and disciplined to maintain fitness goals and keep my life in balance. There are dozens and dozens of goals on my “master list” of things I want to accomplish, but as always, I need to narrow it down so I can actually make progress on some of them. So here are my official challenge objectives: Challenge Goals: 1. Stay on target with Rising Heroes missions 2. Eat more Paleo 3. Study Japanese 4. Job hunt Side Quest: Daily meditation, 2-5 minutes a day Strategies: 1. Rising Heroes—This just started but it’s turning out to be tons of fun. The missions include physical challenges, so I’m just going to keep up with them and count that as one of my challenge goals here. 2. Eat more Paleo—I would be making this a goal about counting calories, but right now I don’t want another thing to have to log into the computer. Eating Paleo sounds like way more fun. I’m going slow, so I don’t lose interest or willpower. Each Saturday will be entirely Paleo. With each progressive week, I’ll do three more meals that are Paleo only – but they don’t have to be three meals on the same day, they can be spread out during the week. Week 1=1 day of Paleo; week 2=1 day of Paleo + 3 meals; week 3=1 day of Paleo + 6 meals; week 4=1 day of Paleo + 9 meals. You better believe I’ll be hitting up the NF recipes for ideas. 3. Study Japanese—I am brand new to this, and I’m intimidated as hell. Why do I want to learn this language? Martial arts is on my to-do list (I’ve been dabbling for a while, just haven’t committed yet), and learning the language would be a nice complement to this goal, allowing me to pick up terms for movements and have a better insight into the culture. I know it’s one of the most complicated languages I could pick, but it’s kind of like being faced with an enormous mountain. You know it’s going to be difficult as hell to climb, but the allure of the view from the top, and the feeling of accomplishment when you get there, is just too much to resist. Also, Ninja Turtles. Strategies…I’m working on it. I’ve flagged some websites and I’ll have to see how it goes. But the specific challenge goal is to work on this for at least 10 minutes every day, and at least 30 minutes 3 days a week. 4. Job hunt—Man oh man, do I NOT want to have this as a challenge goal again. But I keep taking on temporary jobs, so I continue to have to search for the next one. My current job is pretty menial, although I get to walk all day, listen to music, and I like the people I work with. But the position ends in March, and I’m not guaranteed full-time hours each week, so I really need to move on as soon as I can. The goal is a minimum of 2 job applications submitted each week. I’m aiming for something in the wildlife field, but I’m out of touch, so I’m also going to read 1 journal article each week relevant to wildlife research. Side Quest: Meditation! Two minutes to start but working up to at least 5 minutes a day. Hopefully this will bring a little clarity and focus into my messy brain. Grading: A=100% B=75% C=50% D=25% F=0% 1. Rising Heroes: grade will correspond with percentage of missions completed 2. Eat more Paleo: Three points for each Saturday of Paleo meals (12 total), plus a point for each additional meal (3 in wk 1, 6 in wk 2, and 9 in wk 3) makes a total of 30 points. Grade will correspond to the percentage of these points that I actually earn. 3. Study Japanese: One point for every 10 minutes of study; if I stick to the goal of 10 minutes a day, and 30 minutes on 3 days a week, that would make 52 points (the 30-minute sessions include the 10 minutes for that day). 4. Job hunt: One point for each application submitted, plus one point for each article read, for a possible total of 12 points. (I’m skipping the starting and ending attributes this time, because accomplishing these goals is a reward unto itself. I don’t get much out of allocating the points.)

You know you're a literature nerd when you're excited to find out that one of your favorite writers was into some of the same sorts of health/lifestyle practices as you...over 150 years ago: Found: Walt Whitman’s Guide to ‘Manly Health’ Writing under the pseudonym Mose Velsor, Whitman gives advice that mirrors aspects of the Primal or Paleo lifestyle, suggesting plenty of time outside, warning against the dangers of sedentary life, and sharing such powerful gems as this: "Reason seems to tell a man, not so much that death is dreadful, as that dragging out a useless, deficient, and sickly life is dreadful." Well said, Walt. Well said. Read the full (128 pages) document here.

So, I came across this article the other day about whether or not beans are good for you. The paleo diet disallows legumes of any kind and the thinking behind this is (in laymens terms) that A.) some people have an intolerance to them which causes inflammation and "bad stuff", and B.) because they contain phytate acids and lectins (a form of protein) and these bond with certain vitamins and minerals, making them difficult for you body to absorb the nutrients from your food. The article above claims to debunk the second point. I'd like to make it clear, before anyone jumps on me, that I'm just sharing this with you fine people, not arguing that anyone has got it wrong. I just thought it would be interesting to see what people have to say on the subject. Some highlights for those of you who are to lazy to read the article. Your thoughts please.

Apparently it's been a year since the last time i give it a try. Truth be told i needed to get shit straight to be able to do this again. I have managed my depression and i'm so much happier with my life and where i am now. Hey, things i got do to last year: Go to therapy Start to sew Learn moodle and sql Main Quest: Become a Success Story What i want is a radical change, i want to be in the other side i am now. I want to be strong and beautiful inside out. I want to do it for me, to be proud of myself, to love me more than anyother person on earth. If i pull this this time i want my before and after picture to be one of those inspiring people all over Pinterest. This are the landmarks i have set for my Main Quest: Get to 20% body fat, i'm currently on 36.7% (there was a time i got to 23% *sight* you can see it here) Drop to my healthy weight 62kg, i'm currently on 73kg (the most i've weighted ever in my life!) Goal #1: Run and do a Freelitics rutine interdiary I will use a 5K running app and the Freelitics app Goal #2: Maintain a healthy at least 80% Paleo Diet I will cook myself and make sure i don't eat outside, and if so choose the best Paleo friendly alternative. Goal #3: Drink more than 2.5L a day I also have an app for this. I have my before picture. And now I am ready to go. Every post needs a fitspirational quote

I'm looking to be as strictly Paleo as I possible and maximize my diet related fitness gains in every way. I'm a very "all or nothing" kind of person. I know myself, and if I have one Oreo, bagel, or Dorito, it will become the whole bag/box/shelf. I am currently eating 99.5% Paleo. Examples include, but are not limited to: 1. Absolutely no soda, ever. 2. No store bought juices. 3. Straight black coffee only. 4. Tea with nothing added, no sugar, no honey, nothing. 5. Absolutely no grains or wheats, including no rice, white or brown. 6. No regular brown potatoes at all, sweet potatoes a few times a week at most. 7. No cereals. 8. Not eating until noon, even on weekends. Generally a 12-8 eating window a.k.a. Intermittent Fasting, though at times I will occasionally have a pear after 9 pm on a weeknight, and usually eat again late at night on weekends because I stay up later. 9. No dairy. This means no cheese, no animal milk. 10. Working out in a "fasted state." This means lifting in the morning before work at roughly 7:00 a.m. when my last meal was around 8 or 8:30 p.m. the previous night, and doing my PLP Challenge workout in the evening after work before dinner, when my last meal was at about 12:00 p.m., with the occasional snack of almonds or fruit in the afternoon. 11. Warm Water. This is a more recent addition. I did some research into the drinking of warm water as opposed to cold, and apparently there are many health benefits. I now drink almost exclusively hot water, or at the very least not chilled or iced water. I am looking for any and all diet related suggestions and advice that can help take me to the next level.

Hey guys, On the 12th of December I respawned! The motivation came out of no where but i have lots of it right now and i'm getting myself set up to really smash it. I have another topic in the workout section where I have put quite a bit of information about myself, where I am at and where I want to go. @Mike_d85 has helped me almost perfect my workout that I want and while I continue with that I now want to sort out my diet. I understand the concept of Paleo and I have read some of what Steve has posted (So much reading!) and I have basically done this. Removed Dairy, Bread, Cake/Sweets etc Drink only water with the exception of 1-2 cups of coffee a day (Home made on water bit of milk, 3 sugars) Focusing on eating Protein (Mainly Fish cooked in tin foil with lemon and a bit of butter and Chicken), Salads and vegies. What I am not sure of is the portions. I am mindful not to go crazy but still unsure of where the right mark is. I want to lose body weight percentage so I am ensuring a caloric deficit but also want to build muscle which means I need to eat more. In my head they contradict each other hence the confusion. Any help regarding this would be much appreciated. Thanks, Leverage.

I have decided to start this daily battle log and to do all my writing in here. I have an intro in the rebel intro area and have an intro in the January 2016 challenge area. This seems the best place to keep everything together and focus on writing in one area. My challenge goals have been a big fail. But I have put things in place to help me get on track and stay there. I am great at starting, I am bad at continuing. In short, I want to get strong and fit and lose weight along the way. I want to be able to say yes to doing things without worrying about looking bad in clothes or not being fit enough to do something. I want to live a long life that is healthy and rewarding. I have goals around eating and fitness but I won't go in to them now. I am trying to put the other posts in to my signature bar but so far have had no luck. Today I have planned 12 meals for this week (lunches and dinners). I know I will have one meal at work this week that will be meat and salad, and that gives me one other meal not planned, but this is the first time I have done this so 12 seems pretty good. Looking at my shopping list, it is much less than what I would often buy but is plenty of food. It will be interesting to see how I go. I have PT this afternoon, so that is my exercise for the day. I also meet my new boss this afternoon to see what she wants me doing this year - I am a teacher, not on class but in charge of a teaching team, so it will be interesting to see what she says. Then back to work on Wednesday, today being Monday.

I'm going without a theme for this challenge. They go to hell in two days anyway Goals will remain the same: CrossFit and Nutrition. In addition to that I'll add a third, looser goal called “Start the World”. I' ve recently finished reading “The Way of Men” by J. Donovan. Donovan is an author whose books I refused to read because of ideology incompatibilities. You know, the whole white supremacy, anti-feminism thing made me a tad uncomfortable. I decided to give it a chance; after all if it turned out to be total crap it would only cost me 6 bucks. I devoured the book(yes, even the rather disgusting bits) in two sittings and to be honest I really enjoyed it. What's more, it made me realize how I've neglected the development of the “tactical virtues”. Just as an example, I've not even once practiced the fire starting and shelter making techniques I learned during No Fear of the Setting Sun, my camping axe(which used to be my grandfather's) still has the crude handle I was going to change a million years ago and remains embarrassingly dull. I' have not lit up the forge in forever... you get the point. So the goal will be oriented towards investing some of my time in training and developing my “primal manly self”. If you wanna read on the subject but don't feel like buying Donovan's book or putting up with anti-feminist bullshit I recommend you visit The Art of Manliness and read the articles about honor, manly virtues, tactical virtues(and pretty much everything else because is the best blog evah) The battle log style of posting worked out well last time, so I'm sticking with it

The challenge where I try to avoid the winter snowman effect aka hibernation instincts aka lots of eating with no exercise. Where I'm At Now I sat out the last couple challenges due to travel. Here's what I've been up to: Two week Boston/Berlin trip Indianapolis Marathon - I injured my ankle randomly a week before the race, but gutted my way through it anyways. Took me 6 hours, but I no longer underestimate the power of my own stubbornness. One week business trip to France - including a long weekend in Paris. Caught a cold before all of that (early October?) which I am only now properly recovered from Had a couple rough IBS flare-ups While travelling I ate all the things (particularly in France), with minimal exercise (aside from tons of walking) due to the lovely chest cold. This resulted in a 5+ lb gain over the last few months. Over the last couple weeks I've gotten back on track with mostly healthy eating, and hot yoga. Goalz Plate my meals - this is mostly to prevent me from snacking through dinner. Bonus point for a vegetable (or fruit with breakfast) on the plate. Bonus point for taking a lunch break instead of eating at my desk. Bonus point for no alcohol Create a weekly exercise plan and stick to it. Ideally sports conditioning 2x/week, yoga 3x/week, running 1x/week. Bonus points for additional activities (barre class?) Go to bed by 9:30 every night except when social things are happening. Bonus point for walking up early to pray/meditate. (Bought the 3-mo/99c Headspace!) Nothing exciting this time around. I'm trying to get back in the groove and get lighter/stronger for my Spartan Sprint in late January. I'm happy to be done with the marathon so I can go back to doing more other things. Point System 1 point per goal per day = 84 pts max (plus bonus). 1 point = $1 to spend on new sports apparel...I've been drooling over workout capris and cute yoga tops.

At the start of this new challenge, I'm afraid I'll have to be completely off goal on a few things, because I don't expect I'll get much reading or smart eating done when I'm in Disneyland! I'm immensely nerv-cited about this trip. It's not the first time I've gone away by myself, but it's the next step on that series of quests in my life. I'm not good at planning nice things for myself. I'm not good at spending time and money on myself, and truly seeking out joy. I began putting the idea out there when I first joined NF, of trying to go and do amazing things just because I want them. That resulted in flying to a new city, all on my own, to see a live show of a podcast. It was a great time, and it started giving me travel and social confidence. I won't deny it's been hard, yet amazing, for my anxiety. The next big trip took some time to happen, but Camp presented itself as a perfect option. It was a controlled environment, which felt safe, with lots more strangers than I would have interacted with normally, which scared the pants off me. But I went, and found people that were supportive and loving and incredible, and doing these amazing things for myself, taking up space in the world and pursuing the things that I love, began to feel possible. Camp helped me find my bravery again. Camp helped me see how to dream big again. So, I want to take myself to Disneyland. And I deserve to take myself to Disneyland. And I'm going to take Character selfies and eat glorious food and have all of the magical fun. But I need to be honest in a big, weird way here. I'm never someone who does things this big on a whim; the time of year isn't without purpose, and neither is the choice of destination. Going to Mesa in the spring for a podcast was arbitrary. This date is not. This date, eight years ago, used to mean something. This being the first anniversary of that day since the divorce, I find myself needing to take it back, to be somewhere not my home town, but also somewhere that would feel safe, happy, inclusive. I wanted to go back to Disney, somehow. For New Readers, Disney World was how I met my ex. I went there, not to pursue love, but to pursue a new experience: the internship away from home. I grew up in Huntington Beach, CA, and Disneyland was a shining part of my childhood. I wanted to work for them. I wanted to be inside the magic. I had my own reasons for going to Orlando. I loved Disney on my own, and I wanted to reconnect with that. I couldn't let this person take away a place that is so big and magical and shiny for me. I couldn't. I'm scared that I'll feel lonely, instead of alone. I have to remind myself that I went to the internship barely knowing another soul, ready to work in the parks and live with strangers. I think I'm scared now because I don't have the job as an excuse, I don't have busy friends or roommates as the reason I'm alone. I'm going by myself because I wanted to go and it was a trip that I need to do on my own, a time of year I need to spend more on my own. I don't need to worry about arguing over rides or food or show times. I can just enjoy myself. And that's a scary thing for me. I'm writing this out and trying to be as forthcoming about this as possible, because it feels important to explain myself. I know on some level I've been needing the external justification from Ifrit, how I deserve to have good, fun things. I'm here sharing with my Nerds because you guys helped me get here. You helped me see that taking up space and seeking joy are necessary. You helped me be patient and gentle with myself, and learn to do the things that will help me heal and grow. I'll be flying out Monday and coming back Wednesday to begin tracking all my main goals. I'll consider any steps from the Parks as bonus exercise. I cannot promise I won't eat seven beignets for breakfast. (Additionally, I chose the challenge title from Sigma's new single featuring Birdy. The lyrics and video are powerful, to say the least.) Our Cast of Characters: Merrin: Me! 31 years old, foodie, soda free for 1.5 years, lover of avocados and bacon, Ravenpuff, passionate about sewing, bubbly introvert, depressive, baker of cookies. Rebecca: The name for my Depression; the Monster I frequently try to kiss on the nose. Ifrit: Boyfriend! Main supportive force, disliker of avocados, expert bacon cook, incredibly weird, incredibly intelligent, Slytherin, introvert, archery master, stealer of snuggles. Part-Time Spare Spoons Puppy: only the best and sweetest and smartest dog ever, tolerant of hugs, fetcher of rope, murderer of sticks, giver of snuggles. This Month's Focus Darebees: Daily as possible. Hoping for Bronze level. Paleo: 1 fresh meal per day, including days off. Keep carbs/snacks (-fiber) at 100g maximum. Sewing: 1 hour minimum nights off for various production. Check lighting/fan set-up. BBW: Mondays and Fridays. Reading: 1 hour per work shift. Adulting: laundry on Tuesdays, floors on Thursdays, kitchen daily. Journal: bullet items as needed, daily summary post on here.

Hey Rebels! This is Big Adam coming to you with his post-Camp Battle Log! It also happens to be his first battle log . I've been around the forums for about a year and a half. I've done a few challenges and haven't been super-active, but now that I know a few rebels in real life, I'm hoping to get on here more often. We'll see how it works out. This first post is going to be a bit meandering (and BIG). I'll start off with my big takeaways from camp, then the goals and daily disciplines I had going before camp, then my thoughts on where I'd like to go in the future. I'll be doing a bit of external processing as well to figure out what my plan will be going forward, so bear with that. CAMP NERD FITNESS RECAP Oh my gosh. I knew camp was going to be a blast, but didn't expect the community to be quite so awesome. I knew I was meeting fellow nerds so we'd hit it off, but damn, the positive vibes were incredible. I'm still drinking in gallons of positivity from the facebook group.. Quick Summary: For the first time, I took workshops on Parkour, German Longsword-fighting, Tae-Kwon-Do, and Slacklining. I took classroom sessions on Nutrition, Storytelling, Confidence, Goal Setting (The curiously-titled "Sexification), and "Eating to be a Sexual Beast" (Way out of my comfort zone, but there were some great insights into the parallel between food-relationships and person-relationships). Outside of formal sessions: I met some great people, did Kali sparring with a fellow camper (don't know if he's on the forums), taught a few Kali drills to fellow campers (yo, Rowan!), and had a surprise Capoeria lesson and session! WTF! Oh yeah, I also danced a ton, wore a Steve Rodgers Costume, Lots of glow sticks, and bright yellow women's clothing - in that order. So camp was a blast, but what am I taking back to my everyday life? Here's what I got: On the diet side, I want to add some fermented foods to my diet besides yogurt and also ensure that I'm getting enough protein.Make sleep a priority - I already knew this was important, but Maggie's "Sexual Beast" class really drove it home.Meditation is awesome and I want to establish a daily practice other than using it just before bed to help me sleep.Mindset: This was the big thing (isn't it always?). The confidence classes - plus seeing the other campers being their weird, vulnerable, awesome selves - really drove home the importance of being authentic and not shaping my words and actions around what I think people will think. As Rog Law would say, conserve your fucks.Pre-Camp Goals and Plans: A few months ago, I laid out the following goals for myself: Health: Get a flat stomach by December 2015Career: Submit Peace Corps application by June 2016. Obtain a position as a Project Manager sometime in the interim. Not crazy about my current job and even with the Peace Corps plan, I'd like to get something new and move my career forward in the meantime.Mindset: Develop an unshakable confidence in myself, accepting my imperfections even as I seek to better myself, and freely, unashamedly show my true self with people.Romance: Get a girlfriend whom I'm crazy about.Social: Find a core group of friends in my new townReligious: Find a church or group of Christians I can relate to. I've been a Christian for my whole life, but in recent years have been deliberately moving away from a lot of fundamentalism and exclusivity found in many churches. I'm trying to find one that's a little more open minded and values the things I do.Hobbies: Reach Level 5 in my Kali / Wing Chun Club​For the Kali, I was going to my club consistently. Peace Corps - i joined a volunteer mentoring group called Friend Fitness which actually meshes amazingly with me and would mesh well with any NF member. Social and Romance, I've been taking more opportunities to get more social and go on meetup. I've been a little lazy on churches. Regarding the rest, I was attempting the following daily disciplines: Calorie-Counting and staying under/around 2100 calories/day (number derived from the IIFYM calculator) Daily Exercise - even if only a warm up - and Stretching. Bodyweight strength Train 2-3 x/week. Career work: 10 mins of a Project Management book/day 1 NoFap Video or Exercise/day. (Warning: if a frank discussion of a sexual topic offends you, don't read the next paragraph) Consistent Bedtime (around 11:00) Moving Forward (This'll be short. I promise!) A bunch of thoughts have been bouncing around my head the past few days. One is that I think a performance-based fitness goal would serve me better than a particular appearance. Another is that counting calories sucks and I takes a lot of time and takes the joy out of my food-relationship. I think I'll go back to eating Primal and not sweat the calories. I definitely want to add a 10-minute meditation to my morning routine. I did that this morning. I'll just need to make my lunch the night before. Not too hard if I'm not counting calories anymore. For strength training, I'm thinking of focusing a bit more on mobility work. I have a hard time getting into a full squat unless I'm warmed up. I'm thinking of checking out some of Kate G's products. I kind of wish I'd attended more of her sessions at camp. As for authenticity and confidence, I think it's just a matter of doing the crap that scares me and remembering "My only goal here is showing up authentically. Whatever the result, I win if I do that". I may set up confronting certain social fears as part of the next six-week challenge. Not sure yet. And thank you all for reading that Mammoth Post! Good Lord, I have a lot of thoughts in my head. As a reward for sticking around, here's a picture from Skies of Arcadia: My Favorite game of all time. An RPG about Sky Pirates that deserves a little more recognition and the source of the "Blue Rogues" name.

-This time around my usual goals will be channeled through zombies, as suggested by @Charlie_Quinn. Dancing Zombies Dancing zombies represent Crossfit. 3 times a week, every week. Plant-Fighting Zombies The undead from Plants vs. Zombies represent Nutrition. Eat paleo every day with 2 weekly variances. Make my best effort to take and post pictures of all meals, including cheat meals. Zombie Shakespeare Zombie Shakespeare represents study. That and my love for The Simpsons. A total of 6 hours a week I owe you guys a write up of the Zombie Run OCR this last saturday. While I write that, I'll leave you with my high pitched voice and messed hair and beard. Enjoy! (for some reason my phone split it in two separate videos) Write up: I arrived early to receive my “kit”: a tee, the little sign with my runner number and a belt with three detachable straps hanging from it. Each strap represented a life, which the zombies must take in order to “eat” the runners. Once a runner is out of lives he or she is allowed to finish the race, but is officially considered a living dead. Living dead may act as bait for the zombies, in order to help the runners. We ran in groups of ten people that were supposed to remain together to the end of the race. I was partnered up with 6 parkour guys, a dude and his two daughters. The first zombies were slow and clumsy so running past them was not hard. Further ahead the track was blocked with tires. When we got out of the tire obstacle, fast zombies came at us from the tree line and that was the point when I wished I had bought those Nanos… the worn, slick soles of my old running shoes made me slip on the wet grass and I fell on my face to the ground, where the zombies made quick work of my lives. Dang it! I catched up with the rest of my group for the next obstacle: pallet wood hurdles. The parkour guys showed their vaulting skills over the hurdles while I safety-vaulted all of them. We waited for the dude and the girls and carried on. A few zombies later we crawled under wire and reached the scariest zombie of the whole track, a bald traffic police officer. The makeup was great and the performance was better. Behind this guy was the obstacle I dreaded the most: the wall. I was sure I wouldn't be able to climb an over 2m tall wall without help. The traceurs flew over the wall while the zombified cop came at us. I looked at the wall, then at the zombie and thought “what the hell, let’s do this”. I jumped, pulled myself up as hard as I could and before I knew it I was on the other side of the wall! Thanks, bald zombie cop. The fear of you made me forget my fear of the wall. Moving on. By that time we were walking rather than running. I wanted to run and so did one of the parkour guys, so we went ahead while the rest of the group rested. We crossed some muddy spots, another wall with slots for the hands and feet and an inclined wall with ropes to aid in the ascent. The last 2km were a dense bushy area with tall grass and very uneven ground. Zombies were on the hunt and some of them could run as well. After a warped wall of sorts we found ourselves on the top of a hill, from where we could see the finish line. It was a steep descent and we had to be careful but we heard the zombies close by… they came out growling (second best zombies of the day) after us and we had no choice but to sprint in the direction of the finish line. We exit the vegetation zone and found a closed gate between us and the finish line. A staff member was there cheering us up “c’mon last obstacle!”. My nimble partner jumped over the gate like it wasn’t even there. I climbed over it with less finesse, but still worked. I got a ZOMBIE medal because I finished without lives, but still had a blast. I’m definitely running again next year and hopefully 2017 will find me in much better shape so I can survive the zombie apocalypse.

The world is going to hell all around us but we needed to regroup at camp. This also gave us some time to plan our next course of action. We need to stop the blight and with the Grey Warden treaties we should be able to at least build a sizable army. We already have the support of the Mages but we still need the Elves, Dwarves and Humans. Since we saved Redcliffe Village, our plan is to get the support of the Humans by saving Arl Eamon. He is the only chance we have if we want the Humans to be our allies. Alistair, Wynne, Morrigan and I have been tasked with finding The Urn of Sacred Ashes. The Ashes are said to have curative powers, I mean they are supposed to be Andraste's so they should cure stuff right?. We were told to look for Brother Genitivi in Denerim but when we got there he was gone. After lots of travel, ambushes and attacks from Weylon, Genitivi’s apprentice, we finally found a clue as to where he is. Redcliffe Part 2 - Gaining allies #2 Save The Arl of Redcliffe: Exercise Quests : 2 NFA Bodyweight Workouts, 1 cardio, 1 20 min yoga & Mini Challenge (Optional/Bonus) POINTS : 16/16 - Bonus +1 point per week Mini Challenge Week Completion or Partial Completion if can’t perform tasks Food Quests : M-TH(B,L,D) Paleo Ish - No Soda (8/30), Make Breakfast & Lunch, Avoid Fast Food, & Avoid snacking (excluding outings, special events & eating out with family or friends) F-Sun No restrictions POINTS : M-TH(B,L,D) +2 Points for each Full Paleo Meal - No grains, No legumes, No dairy, +1pt for Partial Paleo BONUS POINTS for F-SUN +2 Points for each Full Paleo Meal & +1pt for Partial Paleo Meals Daily = -.5pts for soda & -.5pts for snacking. REMEMBER : If you're going to break, break for something spectacular. Dallies Quests : Weigh, Make Bed, Morning mini yoga, Clean, Create, Read, Lunch, 4+c H20, Outfit, Bed before 11pm M-TH&SUN 1am F&S POINTS : 10/10 daily 280/280 Month

Well, shit. Seems like I'm in good company these days and pretty much everyone across the board is buckling down -- either by doubling down on habits they've been building over the last few challenges, re-committing themselves to paths of action long abandoned, or by digging deep and getting back to basics. For this challenge, I'm planning a hybrid of double-down and back-to-basics - because let's face it, even when I'm doing a simple challenge I've got #Rangerbrain and can't pick just one thing. I want them all. Omfg. Best. Thing. Evar. Spoiler: NSFW hoard but BWHAHAHAHA Hmmmm ... I *may* even get back to obnoxious picture posting, if I can find a good workthrough with Tapatalk ... I miss Skeletor. Ok. Back to the goals. GOAL THE FIRST Work out. As always. Buuuuutttttt ... Since I've been a slackass since midway through class (*cough* May *cough*) and have yet to kick my ass into any sort of sustainable schedule, I'm going to go back to the fundamentals and pick something I know works -- a program involving videos. Specifically, a HasFit program that takes 15 - 40 minutes to complete, uses mainly bodyweight + the weights I have in my hallway (or the weights available at the gym), and I don't even have to change into "workout clothes" to do if I can't drag my lazy ass to the gym. And since I have adult-onset ADD, I'm supplementing that program with 2x a week yoga + some sort of working toward handstands. Because I'm so very plugged into the Nerd Hive Mind. This is how that's going to shake out: Here's the program I'll be doing. It's the HasFit Hero 90. I've done it before and I liked it. I'm doing it again, with modifications to fit my schedule. Workouts will be done M - F with weekends off. Weekends will include lots of walking per usual, and hopefully a few other activities (like archery or climbing or silks) when I get the cash to make that happen. Yoga class is Wednesday; I'll throw another day in on Monday to give myself a nice stretchy base for the week. Alternates: I have a couple kettelbell routines I can pull out on days I can't fathom videoing. If all else fails: ruck. No more sitting on the couch and whining about it. GOAL THE SECOND Macros. I love my macros and they work for me. Buuuuutttt ... the DH has been wanting to give keto another try, and I'm throwing myself into it alongside him. I need something to kickstart a little weight loss as we go into the 'fat for winter' season, and having a month with strict guidelines generally does that for me. I'll be treating this like a Whole 30 and will be reporting daily on my food intake (with pics) and will be posting weekly wrapups on my blog. I have a big long keto post that sheds more detail into these new macros, and a shiny new spreadsheet to help me track (I'll still use MFP, but mostly for data format consistency). I also need to get that damn spreadsheet done - if all else fails; end-of-year plan. GOAL THE THIRD Other Shit. This one is staying the same. Get. A. Job. How? Apply for 10+ jobs a week. Follow up with at least half of them the next week. Continue interviewing my damn heart out. Go to networking events - I'm not quantifying how many per week; over 2 a month and under 4 per week so I don't burn out again. Attempt to become someone who meets people for coffee dates. What else? Little projects. I need to work on the front-end site/wireframing/UI/UX workup for the "free company" (i.e. the unfunded startup I work with) - let's rename them to "the Gs" for simplicity's sake. I need to practice other coding - there's a ReactJS course I signed up for and should really take. And I want to give back to the community. I need to either be contributing to opensource projects or documentation - something. Or volunteer as a tutor. Anything else that will help me hit the paycheck goal? I need to find a way to get some small freelancing gigs to start generating some income. It's been long enough. And that's it. Three main goals - the same goals I've had for months - just in a slightly different format. And with hopefully more enthusiasm.

THEN: Ok, so I (barely) finished last challenge. Last time I wasn't sure if I was going to finish it at all. This time, I'm not sure if I'm going to stick with the Monks for the whole duration of the challenge. I have a few things to consider, but I might spend some times with the Warriors... I still have a week to decide, I guess. NOW: Ok, so awkward introductory biography first....just in case you're a Warrior reading this. My name is Gabriel, my username used to be Spauracchio, and I'm the fastest man ali... no, wait, that's not it. I joined NF in 2011 but since the creation of guilds, I've hanged around exclusively with the Monks, being their first Guild Leader. Now, in order to accomplish my goals, I must become someone else. I must become something else. I am Supergirl... The Shogun. I'm beginning an adventure around every guild in NF. For a long time I've been curious about weight lifting and learning the ways of the warriors, and I believe it's the fastest way to accomplish my goals. Also, due to some circumstances, I can't "perform" as a Monk. It's a not a big deal, it happens to all of us at least once, right? Well, not to you, obviously, most of you are Warriors... but then, again. I'm using the opportunity to explore other guilds. Also, I live in Venezuela, my own Gotham, Night Vale, Lian Yu; a country immersed in a great political conflict and essentially a dictatorship regime that practically turns my life into a video game in Titan Mode. I try not to talk about it, but it might come up once or twice in my updates. So, before the depressive train wreck beings, let's go to my goals, shall we? Also, it's my first time as a warrior, so be gentle. I'd appreciate any help, guidance and advice in the ways of the warriors. Fitness Goal: Get Started on Weight Training Join a gym (I'm the smart guy to start weight lifting and joins a gym when the trend in NF is bodyweight training, but I've been doing that for a long time but I need more structure and discipline and putting my money on the line, I've learned I get more results that way) making sure they have a free weights area. Starting Strength: I'm starting my warriors education with "Starting Strength" by Mark Rippetoe, I found this 4 week guide that seems great and that's the point, basing my workouts on weight lifting instead of bodyweight workouts. BACKUP PLAN: If money, country, or any other reason gets in the way, I can always visit The Hyperbolic Time Chamber, that's the name I used to this Functional Training Class they offer at my job on Monday, Wednesdays and Friday. It's free and it's very easy for me to attend there, but again, it's mostly bodyweight stuff. NO EXCUSES PLAN: Seriously, if I can't either go to the gym or train at the THTC... I'll make my goal to workout at home, no excuses, even if it's the old habit of body weight stuff, that's worse than no training. Diet Goal: Get ideally two, at least one daily paleo meal. My main goal in NF has mostly being weight loss. I usually eat twice a day. I do IF (16-8) and so far, my body's gotten used to it and it doesn't bother me so much I can do practically every day. I've been eating clean once a day but I can't always get to do it as much as I'd like *ahem* third-world problems * ahem*. So I'm going for two paleo meals a day, but If I get to eat only one... I'll consider it a victory and go easy on myself. Diet Goal: Get comfortable with an arsenal of recipes. One of the things I admire from the warriors, is that they seem the most diligent nerds (they are the nerds' nerds) with their mealpreps. I've got a bunch of paleo recipe books in my kindle and I want to get comfortable cooking them. I'm also going to put my alchemist hat and start converting Venezuelan dishes that are not particularly good (unless you're in a bulk cycle) for losing weight. So expect lots of exotic dishes being turned into healthier alternatives. Hopefully, I won't be doing many sex-with-your-pants-on things. Life Goal: Get Warrior Smart Okay, I recently got a couple of gigs as Web Content Writer with non-Venezuela based company. I'm basically writing my way out of a post-apocalyptic situation. But I'm not a professional writer. I need to set a routine, and make it a habit instead of a way of entertainment. I'm also studying German, but I usually study on Friday's night (NERD) on the eve of my lesson. Aaaand, I'm also focusing on my warriors education, so I'd yell victory if I get to do at least one of these three things every day. Write at least 30mins. Study German Read some Mark Rippetoe's Starting Strength So, Warriors, let's see what you got! =D Oh, also, ICYM, I have an obsession with Invader Zim.