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Hi all, I joined the Rebellion to help take control of my health and do it the smart way. I've being trying unsuccessfully for years to stay fit and keep my weight under control. I've had some successes, but they have all later been undone by complacency and it is time to put an end to it! I plan to use these 6 week challenges to give me specific goals and timelines for achieving them, help me level-up my willpower and increase my strength. Main Quest: Reduce body-fat and fit into a US womens size 8. Goals for this challenge: 1) I will work out 3 days per week for 30 minutes 2) I will only consume 4 servings of grains or processed foods/drinks per week 3) I will be able to do at least one pull-up at the end of this challenge Side-Quest: I will not smoke a single damn cigarette. Motivation: I want to feel strong and in control of my body and my life. So, here we go!

I’m out of excuses. When I started here, I was an enthusiastic amateur who had just decided to maybe give this fitness thing a try because otherwise I was going to die. I might be hyperbolizing there, but I assure you that it’s not by much. In my time at NF, I’ve gone from “clueless†to “aware of being clueless but getting quite good at coming up with the right answers about fitness.†It’s an important transition that has left me with no excuses. I planned to get from my previous weight (459 at the time) to 400 pounds in a year, by the end of October and my next birthday. I am currently at 447, having lost eight pounds during the previous six-week challenge. Good, yes. I’m proud. But there’s gotta be more. Time to get real. Challenge 1: Keep my daily calorie intake to no more than 1800. This is in addition to my half-ass version of Whole30 (what you’ll see me refer to as Whole23.4, which is essentially Whole30 but with a blind eye turned to my consumption of cheese). This might be a bit of a stretch, so I’m willing to gauge my efforts and see whether I’ve scheduled too few calories here. I suspect that I’m right on the money. We shall see. This is all a mad experiment with yours truly as the subject anyway. Challenge 2: Work out five days a week. That’s Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri, Sat. Monday and Friday are the newcomers to my previous workouts, and they will include exercises that I can do at home. These will be the days for slosh pipe walks, kettlebell swings, and sledge work. Also I plan to put my ab roller to good use, and do some bodyweight squats as well. Tuesday and Saturday are gym days, wherein I work my arms. Bench Presses and dumbbell rows feature heavily, but until now not heavily enough. I will find more things to add to them. Thursday is legs. Calves for sure, both sitting and standing, and squats with a barbell. I know that it’s the great cliché to have the weightlifter with the chicken legs, but the fact is that I weigh 440+ pounds. I can kick a hole in a barn door just from the muscle I’ve accumulated while walking around. All this in addition to the walks I take with my lady. Challenge 3: I’m a writer. Hi! I’ve started work on The Mercenary’s Guide to Sunken St. Louis, the second book in the Mercenary’s Guide series. I want to get a ton of it done. I tend to view a day as wasted if I don’t get 2,000 words written. There are 42 days in a NF challenge cycle. I want to have 80,000 words done in this story by the end of this challenge cycle. That’ll be about halfway through the book, I figure. Challenge 4: As always, come here and at least say hi once a day.

A little about me | My name is Ramona, I am 21 years old and this is my first challenge. I am from Germany and my english is not the best, sorry about that (if you find any mistakes please correct me!). I love work outs like weight lifting, running and mma as much as I love chocolate. I want to form good habits and routines. Main Quest | to be in the best shape of my life (this includes doing at least one pull-up, a handstand and a split) and to have 18% BF Quest1 | 3x running & 3x weight lifting per week. Measurement | A= altogether 36x | B= 27x | C= 18x | D= 9x Points | A= +3 STR, +1 STA | B= +2,25 STR, +0,75 STA | C= +1,5 STR, +0,5 STA | D= +0,75 STR, +0.25 STA Quest2 | to stretch and to do coordinations exercises 6 days/ week Measurement | A= altogether 36 days, B= 27 days, C= 18 days, D= 9 days Points | A= +2 DEX, +1 CON | B= +1,5 DEX, +0,75 CON | C= +1 DEX, +0,5 CON | D= +0,5 DEX, +0,25 CON Quest3 | to eat at least 3 serving fruit and vegetables per day Measurement| A= altogether at least 126 servings, B= 94,5 servings, C= 63 servings, D= 31,5 servings Points | A= +1 CON, +2 WIS | B= +0,75 CON, +1,5 WIS | C= +0,5 CON, +1 WIS | +0,25 CON, +0,5 WIS Life Quest | fighting my depression by doing one thing that makes me happy every day Measurement | A= 42 things that makes me happy, B= 31 things, C= 21 things, D= 10 things Points | A= +2 WIS, +2 CHA | B= +1,5 WIS, +1,5 CHA | C= +1 WIS, +1 CHA | D= +0,5 WIS, +0,5 CHA Motivation | When I am stronger and faster I will be more self-confident. What more could one want?

Unraveling the secrets of others to find the self.... stats: Male Height: 6' Weight: 199 (this can change weekly) bf%: 14%(checked with calipers yesterday) 1.FLEX: not that type of flex. I’m not very flexible. Like, NOT AT ALL. And after following Shaarawy last challenge, found myself inspired by her “in the name of flexibilityâ€. My excuse for not stretching or something is that I’m very short on time. So, my goal this challenge is to find either an entry level yoga dvd, chart, something and do it at least 10-15mins of stretching at least 2 times a week. I don’t care if they’re on consecutive days, or separated by 4 days. Just gotta do at least 2 days. That’s’ literally like 30 mins a week. 2. Hulk up: I truly miss lifting weights. I do a ton of body weight stuff during the week for MMA training. It keeps me in shape. I’ve gotten much leaner doing this. But, I still miss picking stuff up. What I want to do for this is either at my current gym, or another, lift weights twice a week doing a 2 day split 5/3/1 program as suggested by the Warriors Q&A board (plus Darwin’s Demon seemed to enjoy it and saw some good progress), all the while still training in MMA. However, if I’m seriously training in MMA this may not be very feasible. So, after a few weeks i will re-evaluate this and see if i need to nix or change it…I just really don’t wanna. 3.H2O: I think most people THINK they drink enough water on a daily basis, but don’t. Admittedly, I did this last challenge. Also, I got the idea from Spark. And with the warmer months finally coming around, it’s kind of important. So I must drink ¾-1 full gallon of water every day. 4.Unleash the Beast (life quest): now that my band has played out, looking to book more shows soon, we need things to promote ourselves. And potentially make a profit. What better thing than our own music? Goal for this is probably the simplest, book a date in the studio to record 4 new tracks. Also, look into other types of merch to sell, as well as contact folks for help with artwork for T’s, EP covers, etc.

Sovellis woke with a blinding headache, cursing the sun, festivals, wine, himself, and pretty much everything else. Now that the festival week was over, he felt he could use a holiday from his holiday. Perhaps he had gotten a little too carried away during the festivities. Heh, well his father was fond of reminding him that he never did anything half way, for good or ill. He should probably get up. Maybe. Eventually. Then there was the decision between throwing up, having breakfast, or both. He began a fresh round of cursing when he heard a sharp tapping sound at his window. What could be making such a racket? Grumbling incoherently he threw the first thing he could reach at the window. The book hit the wall a good ten feet from the window, utterly failing to deter the source of the torturous sound. With a low growl, the elf climbed out of bed, brushing his long black hair from his face. "Whoever you are, you'd better have a damn good reason for waking me!" he threatened, stumbling to the window and throwing it open, only to have a small bird fly in. He started swearing and swatting at it, but crumpled into a ball on the floor, holding his head. What the hell was he doing with his life? He used to fight monsters and start insurrections, now he was defeated by a songbird."Hey there long ears I hope this finds you well," the voice startled him and he jumped. "Noor?!" Trying to get to his feet, he only managed to trip on a pile of papers and fell hard, swearing again. Only then did he realize that it was the bird talking, and not his old friend. "Of course you sent an animal. Always with the animals." The bird continued, "I am in a bit of a bind in the far north mountains above Soar Craig- you know the ones, where Ingy got that lovely curse and then we accidentally fell through a mountain to Intregoss. I took a job guarding a stupid fat merchant up into the old hall and something... fell on us. Killed my battle boar outright. I should really stick to dogs. tehy are somehow more durable. I am the only survivor, but I am... changed. In order to get myself back, I have one doosy of a quest to go on, and I need my sharpshooter and resident bard to figure it all out. Besides, it's not been the same since the Path disbanded. I miss you Sov. Just whisper your answer to the bird and it will fly it to me. blessings of Jensa be upon us both. Solosu as well." Shaking his head, he stared at the bird in disbelief, then leaned forward. "Noor, you crafty little shit, you scared the crap out of me! I'm not sure how much help I can be, but at least my injuries are healed now. I'm on my way. Can't wait to see you again, you curly tailed quarterling!" As the bird flew off to deliver his response, he leaned back against the wall. What good could he be to her? He was useless, nothing like he had been, but he had to try, right? Alright, that settled it, he had to get up and get dressed so he could prepare for his unexpected journey. <------<<< So! This is my first challenge as a ranger, and it's going to be a tough one! I realized a lot of things in my first challenge that are holding me back. It is time to set things right and get myself healthy, both physically and mentally. Main Goal: Feel better about myself. I suffer from anxiety and depression, as well as some serious self image and body issues. I want to learn to see the good in me, and not just my failures or inadequacies. I plan to attack this on multiple fronts. Goal 1: Trail Rations! (CON) I am cutting all the junk out of my diet. No grains, no sugar (except a small bit of honey in my coffee). I plan to be eating pretty much only lean meat and vegetables. On one hand this shouldn't be too hard, since I don't have a sweet tooth or anything, but on the other hand, I do eat a lot of rice and potatoes and I'm a sucker for potato chips. +3 CON 38 or more days +2 CON 28 days or more +1 CON 14 days or more Goal 2: No taverns in the wild (CON) I am going to allow myself only one day each week when I can have any alcohol at all. I need to stop sabotaging myself with my love of beer. +3 CON 6 or less drinking days +2 CON 12 or less +1 CON 15 or less Goal 3: No jungle rot (CHA) Even in the wilds it is important to maintain a basic level of grooming, something I have been struggling with (yay depression!). I have set up a scoring system for basic grooming tasks such as brushing my teeth, shaving, or showering. I will post that separately from this (this post is getting pretty long already). Goal 4: Climbing through the mountains (STR/STA) I will continue my strength training and C25K (indoor bike if weather is uncooperative). +3 STR/STA 38 or more days +2 STR/STA 28 days or days +1 STR/STA 14 points or days(a completed day will constitute cardio plus either weight training or archery) Life Goal: GRADUATE - I am working on getting my doctorate in clinical psychology. All I have left is internship and dissertation, and both of these have been rather epic quests in and of themselves. Here is a link to my friend Noor's challenge thread! http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/63198-noor-stoneshod-journey/#entry1445491

So I have essentially breezed through my last two challenges. I don't know if I would say they were easy, but they were definitely doable and I knew I would probably come out with mostly A's on the other side when I was putting them together. I do, however, feel like I have made some serious progress. I'm on a 48 day yoga streak, am lifting a barbell pretty easily, and making better nutrition decisions overall. I am starting to see some real changes in my body. My habits are becoming much more habit like, as in I just do them as part of my routine, and much less like I have to constantly remind myself. Mentally, I think I am at my fitness baseline. Physically, maybe not so much... I am still struggling with doing more than one push up DEFINITELY can't do a pull up and haven't been seeing much progress in my core area. With all that in mind, I am going to make this challenge hard for me. Going into it, I know it's going to be rough. But it's all things I have been struggling with for a while and I need to just get it done. And now, riding on the momentum of my last few challenge's successes... I will do this thing. I'm setting things up pretty differently than regular challenges. I'm not really breaking things out by missions or nutrition or life, there's things I want to work on and I'm gong to try to work on them in measureable ways. I wouldn't really recommend this set up unless I hadn't done 11 challenges before this, I am looking to switch things up. But if this set up doesn't work for me I'll reserve the right to change things around as I go, because I don't want to waste 6 weeks on doing something that isn't working. But for now, here it is! My Adventure on the 7 C's! 1. Cardio Goal: Cardio 2x/week (+2 STA) I REALLY hate cardio, but I've noticed lately that I don't think my cardiovascular system is in as tip-top shape and it should be. I'll be hiking and my muscles are fine, but I find myself out of breath way more quickly than I should with my heart pumping out of my chest. I need to fix this. I'm hoping to get this in mostly as Zombies, Run. Because I want to do a 5k someday. 2. Core Goal: Core Work 3x/week (+2 STR) My arms and my legs have been losing inches like CRAZY since I started stronglifts. My arms are starting to actually look muscular too! I'm not seeing any progress in my core area though. I know all those compound lifts are supposed to be working my core as well, and I certainly feel it, but I am just not seeing results as quickly as the rest of my body and it's frustrating. So I am going to start adding in some core-specific moves to my work outs. That can be during yoga, or during Strong Lifts, or totally separately, just something. 3. Crow Goal: Crow practice 2x/week (+2 DEX) I fell in love with yoga last challenge and I plan on keeping up my streak. I want to be able to do crow so badly!! So I will incorporate crow practice as part of my yoga sessions each week. I already do yoga every day so this just means throwing in some crow play time at the end. 4. Cheese Goal: Cheese free 5 days/week (+2 CON) Ugh I've tried this one so many times before and had various levels of success. I seriously love cheese to the point that I feel like if I have a single piece I can't stop. It's awful. And what I know is that I function better when I don't have a bunch of dairy in my system. Even though I can't stand that I need to do this. It just needs to be taken away from me. So I'm going to try for this one again. 5. Cigarettes Goal: 0 cigarettes the entire challenge (+2 CON) I know, I know. You can't even believe this one is on here right?! I've never mentioned this on here before for two reasons. One, because frankly it's embarrassing. Here I am on a fitness forum professing to be having all these successes and I'm also smoking. TERRIBLE. The other reason is because honestly I don't really smoke except for literally once or twice a month when I'm drinking I'll bum a single cigarette off of a friend. I've never bought my own pack or anything like that. Because of that I haven't really seen it as a problem. However it also makes me think that there's literally no reason for me to be doing it. I'm not addicted, I don't crave them or even think about them unless someone offers me one whilst drinking and I'm like sureeeee. And I guess I do it as a social thing in that case? So... really I should just stop. Anyway, it might happen that this entire challenge I never even get offered one so it might be a free 2 points. But if I do get offered, I will say no. Simple as that. 6. Consistency Yoga: Complete the Do You Yoga 30 Day Challenge within this 6 week challenge (+1 WIS) Strong Lifts: 3x/week (+1 STR) Salads for Lunch: 3x/week (+1 CON) (idk the relevancy here I just adore this gif) This is stuff from previous challenges that I am pretty certain I'm still going to do them but I want to keep track of them on a much lighter scale anyway. I'm counting them for very little points, and are really just here to keep me honest about stuff. These will definitely go away as real tracked things next challenge. 7. Creatitivity Complete the 30 day creativity mediation pack in Headspace (+1 WIS) Journal 4x/week (+1 WIS) Pretty self explanatory methinks. Also Claudia Black. Aka Aeryn Sun. Also aka Vala Mal Doran. GAH. I love her. One of the most badass women in sci fi history (more so in Farscape than in SG1 but I digress) and my current inspiration <3 Bonus: her name starts with C.

April 6 I saw the forums were up as I was writing my wrapup of last challenge. I was dithering over whether I was going to keep SISUing, but when I saw that the first day of the new challenge was the last day of my one full year of NO SODA, I took it as a sign. Heck, yeah! I want to see if I can hit 99 days straight and make it all the way to my second NF birthday. Time to woman up, Shadow LIon. Let's see what you're made of! April 9 I'm using the "between challenges" week to test a slight increase in my SISU quotas, and so far it is working, despite a crazy, crazy schedule. Two websites need to get out the door and a game prototype is due by late afternoon Monday. Yikes! So, I'm not going to over think things here. This one's going to be a near repeat of last time, with a modest bump up on my minimums, The focus, as before, is on consistency and quality, as opposed to quantity. My "MEWS" minimums are as follows: Meditation - 3 minutes minimum Exercise - 15 minutes minimum Writing - 15 minutes/500 words per day minimum Study (Code) - 15 minutes minimum My maxes are set to minimum x 4. I will be using HabitRPG as my tracking and reward system. The challenge will be all or nothing in terms of points and leveling up. The goal is 99 days straight SISU - straight through to my second Nerd Fitness Birthday on May 30, 2015. To go with the "MEWS" theme...and to remind me to take baby steps:

He lay the map out on the table, relief washing over him. It had taken him over a month to locate this map and now that he saw it he knew that it had been worth the effort. It wasn't some cheap map without any detail. Whoever had made this map had slaved over the minor details making it almost feel alive in his hands. There was a possibility there was more to this map than the naked eye could see. Looking at the map he knew he wasn't quite ready for this journey. The green mountains had many legends. He had heard mention of zombies, trolls, as well as some that spoke of trails that changed every time you went there. The last one sounded crazy, but wizards claimed to have detected many types of spells at work on those trails. The spells had a wide range, from sapping the energy from your limps, to bringing to life your worst nightmares. He knew he had demons, and he had to make peace with them before he could attempt the journey. Quest #1 Run a total of 150 miles I've made even larger plans up ahead now that I'm so excited about running - 10k and 25k already signed up for! I did the math and if I stick to the 10% increase each week I will run exactly 150 miles! +3 STA Quest #2 Wear leg weights and keep 2 full water bottles and a 3 liter water bladder in bag at work In June and July I am likely going backpacking, so time to get comfortable with heavier weight. I'm going to start with my bag weighing 8 pounds, and end with my bag weighing 20. My goal is for me to get used to 40 pounds (I plan to try for 10 days without resupply in june). +4 STR Quest #3 Average 10 minutes of meditation per day There's some anxiety going on in my head, and it's been going on for close to a decade. Time to wrestle those demons and loosen up on my approach to the world. sub quest - Meditate everday, even if it is only for 5 minutes. +1 WIS+3 CON Life Quest Read Chirunning, The Cool Impossible, and Eat and Run The last quest I finished with was Born to Run (AWESOME BOOK) and it mentioned these three. The first 2 are about proper running form, and the third is about running and good nutrition. I know there are a lot of paleo lovers on here, but for me, that includes no meat. It's the same for this running, an AMAZING ultramarathon runner. Time to learn from the guru's. Sub-Quest - +1 DEX for videoing running technique 3 times during the challenge+3 WIS Motivation - I didn't talk about my motivation during the last challenge, but it comes down to this - On September 20th, 2004 my best friend had his 16th birthday. It was a big deal, so we decided to go camping to celebrate. Through a series of events during that camping trip he fell to his death, and I have spent the majority of the last 11 years blaming myself, and feeling a HUGE amount of anxiety. The blaming is generally called survivors guilt, but the anxiety was from his reasoning for the series of choices he made that led to his death. The blaming is gone, but the anxiety is still there. Also, on the day he died and his birthday, I tend to turn into an asshole. Last year a friend got me to sign up for a spartan sprint on september 20th. I didn't even realize until a few months beforehand what the day was, but when I did it, IT FELT SO GOOD! I wasn't wallowing, I was doing something. It was a new feeling for me. Now I'm chasing that feeling.

Change is definitely in the air. The hubs and I have been on a bit of a cleaning/reorganizing/decorating spree lately, which has been great - the bathroom has been de-molded and painting, we're getting rid of excess furniture, and making our home more functional/beautiful (it's a rental, and sometimes it's hard to justify that, but we've been here for two years now, and plan to stay for a couple more.) I also chopped off my hair, and got new glasses. Oh, and we got a new pet - a bearded dragon. Anyways, things are feeling quite different overall. And I want to keep this train a chugging. I'm borrowing heavily from my last challenge, as I still want to accomplish those goals, but with a few additions and alterations. Here goes: Goal One: Start biking to work! (+4 END, +1STR) I live close enough to work to bike there in about 15 mins, I think. I need to accomplish several things before this can happen regularly, so this will be a progressive challenge, but my overall goal is to be biking to work most of the time by the end of the challenge. Week One: 1. Tune up bike. I bought the supplies I needed today, so no excuses. 2. Trial ride to work for timing purposes. Week Two: 3. Rent locker at work and stock with showering stuff, dry shampoo, deodorant, etc. 4. Cancel parking pass starting in May. 5. Buy some bus tickets for rainy days. 6. Go for at least 2 bike rides, not necessarily to work. Week Three: 7. Go for it! Aim to bike to work at least three times. Parking pass will be defunct as of Friday! Week Four to Six: 8. Bike to work at least 4 times per week. 5 points for each item/ride. 110 possible points. A = 100+pts B =90+pts C = 80+pts D =70+pts F = <70pts Goal Two: Workout! +2 STR, +1DEX I need to augment my biking with some strength training. I will probably focus on kettlebell circuits, and maybe some yoga. I want this to be supplementary, and not take away from my first goal, so I'm going to aim for two per week, but I get to put $20 towards my wardrobe re-vamp fund if I get three. A = 12pts B =10pts C = 8pts D = 6pts F = <6 Goal Three: Eat well! +2CON, +2CHA If I've learned one thing from the bajillion challenges I've done, it's that I suck with diet goals. I'm going to focus on preparation and habits this time, rather than elaborate rules. Plus the very act of making myself track food instantly improves the quality of my choices. 1. Bring lunch to work. 1 pt per day. 2. Plan weekly menu. 2 pts per week. 3. Weekend food prep - batch cooking, veggie cutting, and freezer meal making. 5 pts per week. 4. Food tracking (via MFP). 1 pt per day. A = 114pts B = 95pts C = 76pts D = 57pts F = <57 Goal Four: Walk a bunch! +2END, +1CHA The one thing I've been more or less keeping up with is slowly increasing my steps. It helps that the weather has been pretty gorgeous, and the outdoors are calling I'm going to aim for an average of 7000 steps/day, and if I beat that two weeks in a row, I'll up it by 500/day and so on and so forth. Week One: 7000 average (49,000) Week Two: 7000 average (49,000) Week Three: ??? Week Four: ??? Week Five: ??? Week Six: Profit! A = Meet goal B =90% C =80% D =70% F = <70%

I am Rurik, and this is my tale. Main Quest is to participate in a Mud Hero run at the end of July, and that will be the end of Act I and the first boss battle of 2015. Starting weight: 201.5 lbs. Goal: 190 lbs by Challenge end or near enough to suffice. Goal/Quest 1: Foraging to Survive, Part III: "Nature provides me all the nourishment I could ever require... I need only seek it out, and master it." (+3 CON) Eat Paleo 85% minimum.Enter the world of meal preparation; prepare at minimum one meal per day in advance.Goal/Quest 2: "I found myself among the Barbarian tribes of the North, and having much in common, we traded meat and mead and skills alike." (+3 STR, +2 DEX) Practice one of two Crossfit skills per week (pull-ups or double unders).Attend two Olympic Weightlifting classes before Challenge end.Begin weekly running routine in preparation for Mud Hero.Goal/Quest 3: "Home to me is the mountains, and the forests, and the crags, and all the rough places of the earth." (+4 STA) Bicycle rather than drive whenever possible.One overnight camping microadventure.Practice firestarting and other bushcraft.Life Goal/Quest: "A Ranger lives simply, without clutter, and keeps ready his tent." (+1 WIS, +1 CHA) I am going to tackle this same quest again with the intention of really buckling down on purging away the things I do not need in my life and amongst my belongings. Keep the apartment tidy; one cleaning per work week.Purge five items per work week (can be accomplished cumulatively if necessary).Mini-Life Quest : "Trade amongst the Barbarian tribes is different than the 'civilized' folk of the south. They treasure relics and artifacts, and take pride in their food and drink rather than the hollow comforts provided by gold, jewels, and baubles." (+1 CHA) Maintain my debt repayment schedule.Any large scale items must be paid for in cash, saved paycheck to paycheck.Achievement: I will be reexamining the topic of epithets this Challenge as one of my goals is to knock off "the Ranger" from my username for something more personalized. Additionally May will be a three paycheck month and I will be celebrating both that and my weight loss by seeking out an entirely new (minimalist) wardrobe! Motivation: I'm melting weight off and making great strides at the gym. Now I need begin to specialize, embrace the warmer temperatures, and focus on some weaknesses that have popped up. I'm stepping up what I've learned to really dial in my goals. Mud Hero is getting closer and I'm moving into the crunch period of weight loss. Time to narrow my mind and focus my willpower for another Nerd Fitness Challenge!

I'm both completely new to forums and Nerd Fitness, so bear with me. I hope I'm doing this right. Challenge Quest It just so happens that this challenge ends just 4 days before my 5-year college reunion weekend, and I've already set a goal in my head to lose 15 lbs by then. So, my quest for this 6-week challenge is to be down to 163 lbs from 178 lbs by May 28, if not by May 24. Here are my stats: Weight: 178 lbsHeight: 5'7"Waist: 34"Hips: 42.5"Chest: 39"Right bicep: 13"Left bicep: 13.5"Right thigh: 24"Left thigh: 23"I'll update this thread with a weigh-in and weekly recap every Monday, and update my measurements at the end of the 6 weeks. Hopefully there will be a change Challenge Goals Complete one workout session every morning before work, Monday-Friday, no questions asked. I'll be following the 12-week Jillian Michaels Body Revolution program (I've already completed my first workout this morning ). ALSO, I would like to do my best to complete an additional p.m. workout session Monday-Saturday. This will be either Kettlebell Kickboxing or Zombies, Run! depending on the day. If I miss a workout, it can't be an excuse to completely fall off the fitness wagon. Too often I feel that missing a workout is so much of a pox on my carefully crafted workout plan that I feel like I have to start all over. No more of that. Eat right 80% of the time. I'm not quite sure what this means for me yet - nutrition has always been my greatest obstacle - but I'm going to do my best to avoid carbs after lunch.Again, I hope I did this right, and I hope I qualify to be a Ranger!

04/16/15 Having completed my first quest after arriving in town, I've decided to apply to the Ranger's Guild. I believe they will be able to guide me in the future as our interests and talents are more aligned than others' in the community. They've given me a list of tasks to complete over the next couple of fortnights, and I will do my best not to fail. I intend to keep up with my current duties and strive to complete this new quest as well. -Malakir Here we go. Challenge two, and the first with the Rangers! Main Quest: Regain strength, endurance, and flexibility after spinal surgery. Smart Quest One: "Keep on keeping on" (+3 Str, +2 Stam) For this quest, I will be continuing my 5 workouts per week, my tracking via myfitnesspal, and my calorie goals of 2200-2400 per day. Full points = no days missed 3/4 points = 1-2 missed 1/2 points = 3-4 missed 1/4 points = 5-6 missed No points for 7 or more misses Smart Quest Two: "Intelligent choices" (+3 Wis, +2 Con) Here I will be cleaning up my diet. Following a mild IIFYM model I plan on getting within 2% of my macro goals each day WHILE making sure that vast majority of that food is unprocessed/freshly prepared goodness. Currently too much of my intake is coming from a bag, box, bottle, or can. I'm going to do my best to make sure most of my food is coming from as close to the source as possible with as little processing as possible. Full points = no days missed 3/4 points = 1-2 missed 1/2 points = 3-4 missed 1/4 points = 5-6 missed No points for 7 or more misses Smart Quest Three: "Mobility is key" (+3 Dex, +2 Cha) Before surgery I was very flexible and had great mobility in almost all of joints. Post surgery, that has changed a bit. My hips are tight and so are my hamstrings. For this quest I plan on introducing some mobility work three times a week, intermingled with my workouts. Stretching/Yoga/Foam Rolling TBD. Full points = no days missed 3/4 points = 1 missed 1/2 points = 2 missed 1/4 points = 3 missed No points for 4 or more misses Life Side Quest: Get my household projects completed. This will include clearing out my garage, scheduling the electrical work to be completed, and getting quotes for some of the other work we would like to have done. I'll be doing as much of the labor and materials purchasing as I can, and will learn to do what is feasible, but where licensing or insurance concerns will be a factor I will be hiring local professionals. LOOT: A happier wife, and a nicer house to come home to. Bonus Loot for Quest Completion: IF I am able to complete all of these quests with no more than 1 missed day per quest AND I am able to make headway on the Life Side Quest, THEN I will reward myself with something I've had in mind for quite some time. A Squat Rack and new Bar/Plates for my home gym. These would go a long way in helping me complete my main life goals and open up more training possibilities for the future. Here we go! -MAL

I am a newbie, wannabe Ranger. But have been doing a lot. I work in Federal Law enforcement running around in the desert and mountains. I also am a CrossFit LV1 and LV 2 coach with 5 other certs. Why do I hurt? Well...last night I did the "Prison Workout" with a twist. You do 25 burpees, jog 25 yards then do 24 burpees and so on down to 1. The twist is that I added 10 sit ups per round. It comes out to 350 burpees and 250 sit-ups in just under 40 minutes (for me anyway) I had some athletes beat me by a few minutes and a few athletes take up to 55 minutes. Either way, it hurt. During the challenge I have a few goals. Modify my diet to cut out most "bad" carbs and sugar Up my cardio and get leaner. I lift weights, but for cardio, I lift weights faster. Stay off of the Copenhagen snuff. It's been 5 weeks since I had one, but the temptation is still there. So in general, I want to be a bad ass Ranger and keep up with the youngsters (I'm 44) Look forward to hearing from you all.

PERFECT TIMING! A new challenge appears! I'm going to K.I.S.S (Keep It Simple Stupid). My 6 week challenge will be.......TO STRENGTH TRAIN 3 TIMES A WEEK FOR THE NEXT 6 WEEKS! *fanfare*

Introduction: I’m a 30 something fat bloke, I have always been the bigger chap (apart from primary school when I was 4/5 years old and I was sent to the doctor as they thought I was malnourished…boy did I get them back!) but after I joined my current employer (8 years ago) I became quite sedentary and I ballooned. I have over the years started loads of things to change this but I always ended up falling off the wagon, so joining in here I hope will help me find the inspiration and support of others. One of the best habits is to surround yourself with people who have the same goal as you…so guess I’m doing the virtual version! This will be my second challenge and I loved the first, I really got in to it and really enjoyed what I was doing. I also learned that I can and need to push myself a lot more than I was in it. so…. Main Quest: To become a healthier fitter individual by improving my diet and fitness. This would be measured in an increase in capability (which can be measured in Stronglifts capabilities, distances covered on cardio days (mixture of rowing, cycling, treadmill (10mins each on a workout) and cross trainer (30mins session) ) using the Crossfit Thames standard sheets to aim for (with intermittent testing) and decrease in body fat and other measured body sizes. Quest 1: To work out 5 days a week working towards Crossfit minimums: Mon, Wed and Friday will be Stronglifts days and Tue and Thur will be cardio days. Measurement: 100% = 30 days Reward: 100% = +2 STA, +2 STR Quest 2: Make a return to DDP (or YRG as I have these DVDs) Yoga to improve flexibility on either a Saturday or Sunday Measurement: 100% = 6 days Reward: 100% = 2 Dex Quest 3: Aim to eat Paleo Measurement: 100% = 42 days x 3 meals per day = 126units (thought this was the best way to measure it!) Reward: 100% = 2 Con Life Quest: Going to look to my epic quests for this one and aim to complete the first draft of my first Steampunk chap book. It has been sitting for ages so hopefully this will give me the drive to work with my brain in my non-physical times! Measurement: Sit down for at least 1 hour a day to work on writing Measurement: 100% = 42 days Reward: 100% = 2 WIS Motivation: I’m not getting younger, but I do appear to be getting bigger and therefore unhealthier. I’m sure there are already irreversible negative things going on in my body, but let’s see what I can do to rescue the rest of it! I also have non-physical things that I would like to achieve, so now is the time to knuckle down…2015 will be a new start to this life of mine!

For anyone who checked in on my Recruit Challenge last time around, this will look like more of the same. Fortunately I made some excellent progress and am merely aiming to strengthen the foundation I established last Challenge, and toughen up my standards there. The starting area wasn't enough for my grit and tenacity and now I'm entering a new zone to test my strength and prowess! As it stands now my Main Quest is to participate in a Mud Hero run at the end of July, and that will be the end of Act I and the first boss battle of 2015. Starting weight: Approx 217lbs. Although not a specific goal I would like to aim for 210lbs by Challenge end. Goal/Quest 1: Foraging to Survive, Part II: Thriving off Nature's Bounty (+3 CON) Eat Paleo 85% minimum.Learn one new, and possibly unusual, recipe per week to add to my cooking repertoire.Goal/Quest 2: The Ranger's Path (+3 STR, +2 DEX) Participate in three WODs per week.Attend two Olympic Weightlifting classes before Challenge end.Goal/Quest 3: A Wayfarer's Life (+4 STA) One outdoors activity per week.Life Goal/Quest: "A Ranger lives simply, without clutter, and keeps ready his tent." (+1 WIS, +2 CHA) Clean one room of my apartment per work week.Purge five items per week.Mini-Life Quest : "Even the most determined of men requires rest from his hardships." Attempt to maintain a semblance of normalcy in my sleep schedule during my days off.Do not oversleep after night shifts, and do not go to bed so late that it will jeopardize the following day.Achievement: My title 'the Ranger' was chosen somewhat hastily. Level 3's achievement for this Challenge will be earning a new epithet and the reward a username change. I will remain Rurik but I will add a new attribute-based name inspired by something over the weeks of this Challenge. Motivation: As with the topic title, I am forging my legend and making a name for myself now. I have moved beyond the starting zone and leapt the hurdle of beginning a new fitness plan. I am steadily improving at Crossfit and can feel the new reservoir of energy my healthy habits have formed. Others have started to notice my leaning out and are commenting on my self-improvement. There is nowhere to go but onward and forward!

This: I've been contemplating this challenge, this year, this life, for quite some time now and this is the direction I want to go. In this case, music trumps language. There is a lot I can't put into words, but... The interweaving of the instruments and the various themes is how I want the various facets of my life to play together and support and harmonize with one another. The overall calmness, as the melody moves through various states of resolution and moods, is how I want to approach the uncertainties in my life right now. I hear definite echoes of what I am writing about in morning pages and in novels, in blog posts and in code. For me, the Adagio creates an open and reflective mood that counters so much of the hurry and busyness that I struggle with, and the scenes of nature in this video centers me and soothes my soul. I had already determined that this challenge would be a continuation of last one's "Sisu" theme," and that I would be revisiting "STEAMS," and "Stupid Simple," (among others) again. Then, I realized I could alliterate. Win! Sisu, the Second - ShadowLion's Systematic, Sustainable, STEAMS Six S's... STOP!!! Start simplifying, ShadowLion! That makes sense. So, I settled for a subtler signifier. Alliteration I resolved to routinely eschew. Rhyming, instead, I would try to pursue. Surely not as sophisticated as true Haiku... Hey! I'm a Shadow Lion, What'd you expect me to do? Sisu...2 (Ssssongwriting?) This is certainly a silly start for a such a salubrious subject. Seems to be a side-effect of significant stress and simply too much sitting in front of a screen - slumped, staring, and slack-jawed - still seeking some elusive synthesis of sinew, synapse, and soul. Expect this cycle to showcase similar semantic excursions (sins, perchance?) as those seen thus far. (ShadowLion fancies herself a scrivener, she does.) She has set up a schedule centered upon the spewing and scribbling of significant sums of words, side by side with a series of simple, structured scenarios designed to foster sustainable success! Okay. Time to get serious... Sisu, by way of another definition: Sisu runs even deeper than grit. It is a type of mental toughness that allows you to bear the burden of your responsibilities, whatever they happen to be, with a will and perseverance that is unbreakable. It is the ability to sustain your action and fight against extreme odds. Sisu extends beyond perseverance. It is what you rely on when you feel like you have nothing left. ~James ClearInterestingly enough, Emilia Lahti, a noted researcher specializing in "sisu" and grit, has reworked her blog since the beginning of the last challenge and has dubbed 2015 "The Year of Sisu." I discovered this when I was thinking about how to frame my challenges for the rest of the year. Sisynchronicity. Click on the picture to go to her site... In the spirit of challenges past, I have created an acronym to help me focus on specific aspects of this year's theme: Small (yet significant) Increments, Sustainable (in spite of) Uncertainty Last challenge was fairly successful and it jolted me out of a rut. I decided that I wanted to continue exploring "sisu, " while I look for a “bigger box†in which to put my challenges. I often have trouble determining the optimum scope of my challenges (work and life goals, too, for that matter), stuffing too many things into too small of a box and then getting frustrated, losing focus, or getting injured from trying to do too much. This time I am going for a more spacious container with fewer things in it. I am also breaking out of the usual order, categories and “weighting†of goals, even playing a bit fast and loose with the grading system. I've fallen into a bit of a negative, "I need to fix it NOW†mentality, which I suspect has had something to do with the amount of injuries I have sustained. I'm going to experiment with a more inspirational approach. More carrot, less stick. Let’s see how it works! Disclaimer: This is my 13th challenge and I have followed the challenge rules pretty closely to date. I don't recommend what I am trying unless you have successfully done a number of challenges and have a specific reason to alter your approach. (I am quite open to the possibility I may fail or need to go back to the tried and true method before this is all over...) To help me maintain my focus, I am dividing my challenge into four parts, each with it’s own goal and particular approach or mindset. This is based on the particular spiritual path I follow, where a person is seen as having the following four aspects: Body - The body and it’s various energies and systems and qualities, intimately connected to the earth/environment; one’s vehicle of action, expression; the extension/carrier/reflection of consciousness Mind - The intellect and the emotions; memory; learning; basic waking consciousness Soul - The seat of intuition, imagination and creativity; the synthesizer of experience; the point where individual consciousness and the collective unconscious meet Spirit - The still point within; transcendent wisdom; unitive consciousness Along with these (somewhat artificial and arbitrary) divisions, there are also four major ways of encountering the world. I'm going to gamify those and call them "Warrior," "Scholar," "Magician," and "Healer." For ease of focus and experiment's sake, I am going to put one aspect and one approach in each "box," then turn the usual westernized hierarchical approach to being upside down and inside out. Let's see the boxes as overlapping circles, or - better yet - connected spheres, each relating to the others in various ways, without one or another taking precedence. Each interacts and effects all the others. Still with me? Good. This is Nerdville with a capital N, and a big dose of string theory and mysticism thrown in! Now that the theoretical matrix is decided, and SISU kept in mind, on to the Goals... emphasis on the inside, the attitude, the approach. 1) Spirit/Warrior - Single-mindedness. 2 minutes per day, every single day, structured meditation. 42 days straight. Simple. Hard. 2) Soul/Magician - Average 500 words per day of the challenge. (This would result in ~21,000 words written.) These can be morning pages, blog posts, whatever. Additional words or novel writing = bonus. Every day. 3) Mind/Scholar - 10 minutes per day practicing a skill requiring intellectual or emotional exertion. 42 days straight. Additional time or skill = bonus. 4) Body/Healer - 5 minutes per day/5 days per week of outdoor exercise. Yoga, tai chi, bellydance, and/or rehab/prehab work count. Extras/bonuses can be more time on any of the things listed, and/or strength or endurance exercises related to fire fitness. I have not given up on my fire fitness goals. I am just taking a different approach this time. Likewise, I am still committed to the same goal weight and body fat percentage as previous challenges. The results of this challenge should let me get back to those in a new, more effective way next challenge. (I hope.) I can do more, but I must do the minimum as set forth. To count, the above must be entered in my journal/spread sheet daily and updates posted here at least twice per week. For purposes of this experiment, I will take my weight and measurements as per usual to track if I continue on the desired trajectory, and at what pace, while I change up my methods.This will allow me to alter the above structure mid-course, if needed. I am not going to grade by the usual measuring stick. I am setting a single (!) baseline habit per category. It is all or nothing. Each tiny habit, each day, just as I would brush my teeth, take a shower, eat. This is about absolute consistency. While I am not leaving wiggle room on the consistency, I am being realistic about time and building in variety. I hope that I have that balance right! This baseline is intentionally set quite low in order to incentivize further action and encourage exploration without setting me off on a course where I push too hard and injure myself again. The indicator that I may be on to something is that I had an awful time setting my requirements. Everything felt far too low and I had a great deal of resistance to it, especially picking only one thing per category. Oh, and since St. Paddy's Day will fall within this challenge and we must have cats on this thread....

LET'S GO So the last challenge went well. In fact, it went damn near perfect. It kept me motivated and moving but this time I'm training with certain goals in mind. I'm focused and ready to break through this plateau and make some progress. 10K Training. +2 DEX, +2 STA Complete two Zombies, Run! missions a week.Increase run distance by approx. 10% each week.Focus T25. +1 DEX, +2 STR Complete 6 workouts each week.Weigh in and take measurements once a week.Track Cals/Macros. +3 CON, +1 WIS Track all intake.Stay within calorie and macro-nutrient goals.Language, Mr. +2 WIS, +2 CHA Cut back on the profanity.Do 5 burpees for each time profanity is used.

SO THERE I WAS. Late. It's how I roll. Hi! As is becoming depressingly common on these, my semi-regular fitness challenges, I realized that I had managed to slide back into some of my old, bad habits. I haven't lost any ground, weight-wise, but I sure-hell haven't gained any. Ground, I mean, not weight. YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN. My point is that I'm right on the edge of gaining weight through inactivity again, so it's time to kick myself in the butt. Last challenge cycle reminded me of the importance of coming here regularly, posting regularly, and keeping up with people and myself to make sure that I stuck with a plan. 1: Keep Track. That is, establish and maintain a daily Battle Log. This will include a diet log, because 2: Keep to the Diet That's right. Back on the Whole30, folks. There will be a spot of dairy from time to time, but outside of that I'm gonna do it. o.o 3: Keep Improving This will involve my current workouts, and in addition: a. 4 miles walked a week, minimum. None of this 1/2 mile a day stuff that I settled for in the last challenge, too. Whole mile or nothin'. b. Add kettlebells and squats back into my world. 4 times per week: 3 30-second KB swing sets, 30 reps of body weight squats. c. Now that it's thawed out, use that slosh pipe three times a week. That's a 50-yard circuit while walking, 3 reps. 4. Come back here every day. I know, that's sorta implied with challenge 1, but I want to be sure. It really helped me keep track of things during my last challenge. For those of you curious about how things are going with my lady, the answer is "remarkably well." She's sticking with her self-imposed diet, and we're walking together every chance that we get. For someone who was in surgery just a couple-three weeks ago, she sure isn't having any problems walking a half mile at a time. I'm proud of her and looking forward to helping her during her time of difficulty. Edit: Battle log established!

Avast. So it's come to my attention that sticking with something works better when you have some sort of accountability. Well, the deal is that I have a weight-loss goal. My birthday is in late October; in 2014 I weighed 459 pounds (208.5 kg). My current goal is to try to get to 400 pounds by the time my birthday rolls around again in 2015. I hit a bit of a stall over the holidays, got a little boost from the first NF challenge cycle of 2015, and have decided to get super srs during the second challenge cycle (Feb 23rd). I'm going to start by doing the Whole30 diet (plus dairy) for the six-week challenge cycle. Get mah eating under control, you know? I'm aided in this by a few factors. First, during the first challenge cycle I drank nothing but water. I ate normally (ish) but there were no liquids but straight agua going in. Since then, I've tried a diet Pepsi or two...and found them too sweet for me. I know that I could fall back into that habit if I allowed myself to do so, but why bother? Also, my girlfriend is determined to get into better shape for medical reasons. This encourages me to add walking to my workout, among other cardio. So here I am! Time to start a new battle log. The goal here is to do a daily review of my diet and working out. It'll be interesting, if nothing else. I look forward to kicking some butt. There will be more concrete, number-based information tomorrow. Cheers!

Original posting, includes links re: "sisu." I still have a very, very full work schedule and I am coming off a bit of a slump last challenge, but I'm diving right into the first challenge of 2015. I need to. This community has helped me keep my dream and goal of returning to fighting fires again alive, despite setbacks and injuries and doubts. My Main Quest for much of last year was to attend the Arizona Wildfire Academy and recertify as a wildland firefighter this coming spring. The fact is, I'm not physically or financially ready for that yet. Part of my slump was due to my disappointment over that. But I am not giving up, merely readjusting my time frames and expectations. I am pulling things from the past 4 or 5 challenges that have worked the best for me and mixing in a few new twists for this go around. And, I am committing to a year's focus on consistency, and a challenge specific focus of "sisu." Expect to hear quite a bit more about sisu in the coming weeks. (There are a number of links in the spoiler.) I believe it is my not-so-secret weapon on the way to success in my quest. All the ideas, plans, programs, workouts, and diets in the world mean nothing if I do not have the grit and the guts to persevere through the inevitable setbacks and difficulties along the way. Consistency is important; sisu is absolutely essential. More to come on Monday evening, MST

"A famous explorer once said that the extraordinary is in what we do, not who we are. I'd finally set out to make my mark, to find adventure. But instead adventure found me. In our darkest moments, when life flashes before us, we find something. Something that keeps us going. Something that pushes us. When all seemed lost, I found a truth. And I knew what I must become." Hi guys! First official challenge on the forum, though a long-time reader & Rebel! Some big life events in 2014 set up some MASSIVE changes for me that are kicking off 2015. I'm subletting my apartment, leaving my office drone desk job on January 21st, embarking on a big road trip from Wisconsin to Arizona, working at the Arizona Renaissance Festival for February-March (and living in a tent in the desert for the duration), and then embarking on another road trip to settle in Oregon. My life is about to become a HUGE adventure. I'm still working on defining my overall quest, but I've been brainstorming, and the person I want to be... works out regularly and has an active lifestylespends time outside frequentlyDOES things, not just PLANS themdoesn't procrastinate (see above!)eats mindfully (paleo/primal/Whole30)loves wholeheartedlycoaches/trains/teaches -- helps othersrespects and believes in selfdoesn't say "I can't"I'm happy with my weight, but I struggle with consistency when it comes to working out and cooking; I'd like to get better at those habits, and get a little leaner and a lot stronger. Per calipers, measurements, and photo comparison, I think I'm around 24% body fat, and I'd love to reach 20% this year. I've never quantified that goal before since I'm happy with the number on the scale (I don't even own a scale, which makes it impractical to set weight-based goals) so I'm not sure how much time that will realistically take. Any thoughts? Ever since the newest Tomb Raider game, I've wanted to be Lara Croft, and even cosplayed her at my first con last year. I want to really feel like a confident, strong badass next time I cosplay her (ummm, at the Camp Nerd Fitness costume party!?!?). So here we go! Given that I'll be on the road and have no idea what my life's about to look like, I'm going to be pretty gentle with my goals for this challenge - but I DO want to participate so I start the year off strong, even amid all this chaos. Goal 1: Don't hit snooze. Easy enough to track! Either I do, or I don't. Goal 2: Create new morning routine including movement & meditation. It will be hard to have a routine while I'm moving, but I'll do my best to settle into a routine of 2 minutes of meditation and a sun salutation every morning before starting my day. I also really want to work on my fear of falling by practicing handstands, so I think I'm going to incorporate that into this as well. Maybe I'll take a pic of me doing my first-ever handstand at the end of the six weeks! Goal 3: Eat mindfully following paleo guidelines. I'll keep a log of this -- if I can't manage a daily food log during this chaotic period, I'll at least log any non-paleo choices.Goal 4: No impulse spending. My goal in December was to stop using credit cards, and I succeeded! A cross-country move + quitting a stable job is going to be difficult financially, and I'm looking at potentially going to grad school later this year, so I want to keep the momentum from last month going this month. Hopefully these are small enough to maintain while on the road while still covering my priorities of improving physical, mental, and financial health! Also, if you have suggestions on quantifying/setting a realistic body fat % alteration goal, I'd love to hear them. Usually I just focus my goals on eating cleaner or lifting regularly, but I thought going at it from this angle might help. Let's do this, 2015! A = 40-42 days on point (only missing 0-3) B = 35-39 C = 30-34 Also, I'll be using HabitRPG to track my progress as well. If you don't already use it, check it out!

Aeshnidae Flips the Bird at Being Sick Intro: This is my third challenge as a Ranger and fourth challenge overall. I’ve been going to the gym for a long time (at least 3 days per week) and I was about 7 months into a heavy lifting program when I got slammed by bronchitis and then pneumonia, all of which exacerbated my fibromyalgia and has left me super fatigued. Main Quest: To get back into fighting shape after being so sick, without pushing myself too hard and relapsing. Mission 1: Improve sleep quality/decrease feelings of fatigue, or at least create a list that I can take to my doctor. Mission 1.1. Track fibro symptoms and any other symptoms (like illness) daily. +2 CON Mission 1.2. Track quality of sleep and what I did to prepare for sleep (including taking my sleep meds) so that I can continue to improve my sleep habits. +2 CHA Mission 1.3. Practice meditation for 10 minutes at least 3 times per week using Calm.com (or something similar). +2 WIS Mission 2: Continue building strength and balance. I’ve been heavy lifting for many months now and I still love it. Last time I tried to incorporate handstands but my whole challenge was thrown off by illness. I also realized that I hate being upside down, so I think I’ll revert to my planks and push-ups on medicine balls for balance. Mission 2.1. Perform at least 3 heavy lifting sessions per week, lifting in the 4-6 rep range for 3 sets per exercise. +3 STR Mission 2.2. Perform at least 1 minute of plank on medicine balls 4 times per week. +3 DEX Mission 3: Get back on the cardio wagon, but in a way that won’t interfere with recovering from pneumonia. Do at least 15 minutes of cardio 3 times per week. +3 STA

Avast. Arr. So here I be, rockin' ye like a hurricane. In the recent past my attendance at the forums here has been spotty. I have no excuse, nor any coherent reasoning behind this. Part of my challenge last time was daily attendance, and I got here about 80% or so. Never be satisfied with anything less than absolute perfection! ...said no sane person ever. Still, I think that I can do better! This challenge is another step toward that goal, my fellow beings. Challenge the First: Nothing but water. No soda/pop/Coke/whatever, no tea, no milk, no orange juice, no (horror of horrors) grape juice. Nuffink but straight-up H2O, or at least as straight-up as one can acquire from bottles and faucet. Since my hometown has the strange distinction of having some of the best tapwater in the USA (as well as working hard to be the number one meth-exporting county in Lower Nowhere...related? I think not), this shouldn't be terribly hard. Right? Guys? o.o Challenge the Second: Walking. I'm a big guy, as previously seen, and while I'm in dramatically better shape than I was this time last year, I still have a long way to go. My goal is to go from my birthday weight of 459lbs to 400lbs by the time my next birthday rolls around (Oct 26th). While I'm making progress, I think that adding walking to my regimen would be a good thing, to help me get used to it and to improve my overall health further. Since I'm in good enough shape to do it, I'm going to add four miles a week to my workouts. Walk a mile every day for four days? Good enough. Two miles one day and two another? Fine, at least for the purposes of this challenge. I think that four times a week is probably better for forming a habit, though, so I'm gonna try to stick to that. Challenge the Third: Finish the editing process for my vampire/cyborg shit-storm novel, working title Suck. That's right. All of it. Start to finish, baby, finished product. I have... *checks Word document* 138 pages written in the rough draft, and I'm 50 pages into the first of three editing cycles. Phase one is the easy part, phase two is the Beast, and phase three is the polish-up. Then it's ready for test readers, making a cover, apologizing to people who have nightmares, etc. But yeah, get it ready for test readers, that's the goal here. That's the point where I've done all I can, I'm incredibly tired of it all, and am ready to never read it again ever. o.o What a goal! Challenge the Fourth: Come here, every day, post in this thread, post in my soon-to-be year-long challenge thread (links to follow), and actually keep up with my fellow Rangers and Nerds. I do so swear, and volunteer for tribute. Cheers, fellow nerds! It'll be an amazing new year!

2014 was an odd sort of year. I did quite a bit of start/stopping on here. Did well on my maiden challenge, and then tried starting another a few times, but dropped off. Which I’m not going to beat myself up about. I still kept working out a bit, but I could have done with the accountability. The good news is that, while the early challenges petered out because life was tough, the last one petered out because life was brilliant. I fell in love. Simple as that. I met the person I aim to spend my life with, and everything else fell by the wayside. I make no apology for that. I’m incredibly happy. I’m also, coincidentally *coughs*, about a stone heavier than I was before I met her. I’m going to do something about that. So, this challenge is both simple and hard. I’m going to do one simple thing that I’ve been trying to do for a long time, and not yet succeeding at, and I’m going to do another simple thing that the modern world makes ridiculously hard, it seems. They are: 1. Finish Zombies Run 5k training, and then run a 5k. I’m on week 4, so my next run will be halfway through the programme. I've never made it past week 5. That changes. (STA:2 WIS:2) 2. Whole30. My skin, my sleep and my brain have asked specially. The rules are straightforward, which is great. Those rules will baffle most of my nearest and dearest, which may be trickier. But I can do 30 days. Yes I can. (CON:4) 3. I'm also going to take more care of my mind. I went on a silent retreat in November. It was utterly wonderful, helped me a lot. But, as these things sometimes do, my meditation practice has slightly fallen by the wayside since I returned to my life in London. Oh, and got blindsided by falling in love (did I mention?). To quieten my mind, I’ll be doing yoga after my running and strength workouts (from doyogawithme.com, which I’ve just been introduced to), and ten minutes of meditation after that. Start the day right. (DEX: 3 CHA:2) Life Quest. Move nearer my girlfriend. I moved in October to an area of North London I’ve wanted to move to for years. And then I met her, and fell, and everything changed. The commute between us is an hour and a half. That’s unacceptable, and is slightly clogging up both our brains with logistics. So I’m going to aim to get closer, and thereby have more time and brain space! (WIS: 2) Every one of these, I feel, could have wisdom points associated. But I’m going to stick with what I’ve put. No strength points this time. I’ll still be working on strength, but I’m not putting a quest in. This is about finishing what I’ve started, and proving to my self that I can stick to habits. Here’s to it!