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Well.... I managed to post in the previous forum. Oops! So here's what I posted there: And as usual I have too much flipping stuff to do to try to do a cohesive challenge - so I'll just put in my goals week to week. This week I have to prep for the delivery and unloading of the POD of Mom's stuff - and juggle 5 adults living in the house. Woo Boy. To that end..... Today we loaded the stuff in the coolers (from Mom's freezer that we didn't give away) into my chest freezer. It's a good thing we pared it down as there was JUST enough room. Then went through and unloaded stuff from my office closet (including Mom's cat's hidey hole) and distributed it to better storage (like all of the empty tech boxes hubby won't throw away into the overhead shop storage). Then what we had stuffed into the Guest Suite closet was gone through - some more stuff to the shop overhead storage and the rest into my closet - leaving space to store (for now) Mom's art collection. The van is now unloaded of the delicate family heirlooms - and dry goods from Mom's kitchen that I didn't convince her to give away. All of that is now sorted (including actually putting stuff up in the shop). Tomorrow's fun includes finding storage for what's in Mom's POD that isn't coming into the house until we've built her apartment (or redone the basement into one), swing into town to register her car and get her driver's license sorted and a grocery run. Then we can start going through some boxes I have that are currently in the way of where we're going to put Mom's freezer and figure out a spot for her orchids. Also, new curtain rods are coming in that need to go up (and curtains hung) and reconfigure the living room. And look for a larger kitchen table. And finish going through our stuff in the basement, moving MORE stuff to the shop that needs to be moved over there - and maybe find room for mom's stuff while we're at it. That should cover this week into next LOL. I'm tired just writing it all out....

BIG PLACEHOLDER I'll think more on my actual challenge and update tomorrow - but I'm alive, I made it home with Mom and this challenge will somewhat revolve around settling into a "new normal" with Mom moving in (plus Texas friend being here too). Lots of "stuff" to move around next week to make everything work and prepare for the arrival of "the pod" and figure out what's going where - including finding a 5x10 storage unit and scheduling a truck and strong young folk to unload pod into house\truck and move some to storage because the gods know I am DONE with packing\moving (and we have a metric ton of stuff to unpack\go through). I cannot WAIT to be done. No more moves for me dang it!

With a snort and a shake of her head, the dragon stood shakily for the first time in what seemed like eons. Faint puffs of smoke escaped from between her teeth as she grumbled, rising slowly and stretching out each digit in turn, flexing each weary paw, and finally rising up to lean back and extend her spine all the way back like a cat. Whether it had been a thousand years or a single winter, she was awake now. And well, mostly alert. It was time for Aziriel to get back to the business of being a dragon! Hi there! New to the forums and looking to gently challenge myself in the next 5 weeks. I have a shiny new advanced diploma in computer programming, in addition to a fresh diagnosis of ADHD and meds to help with focus, but I need to practice channeling that focus into the things I actually want to do and not into say, putting 19 library books on hold at once, or spending 3 hours intently doom-scrolling. So while I continue the 3 habits I've formed so far and try to keep them up, I also want to work on home projects and on finding a job. My final goal is reading through resources, updating my resume and cover letters, and applying for jobs. Key HABIT - daily thing I want to do or pay attention to. The sleep and read are from the night BEFORE because otherwise I obsess over them, and I take my pill in the morning so that isn't a wait. 1 PT QUEST - weekly thing I want to accomplish, lasts at least 2 weeks. 7 PTS SIDEQUEST - one-off tasks. 3 PTS Habits are sacrosanct, Quests are a priority, SideQuests would be helpful to finish. Week 1 - A Pestilential Dilemma - 2/12 to 2/18 HABIT - sleep between 1am and 9am - ✅✅🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 HABIT - take ADHD pill daily - ✅✅🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 HABIT - read from 12am to 1am - ✅✅🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩 QUEST - My Paws Are Tide! Part 1/3 - Defeat the Laundry Monster's minions, the Sock Army [All my clothes washed and fully put away. 2 loads probably) After a brief scuffle with a replicating Sock Banshee, the Sock Army has been defeated! [AKA I forgot to put soap in the second load so had to do it again...] QUEST - Practice My Tail Swipe! Part 1/5 - Complete 2 exercise sessions. 1/2 completed Feb 13 - Darebee Foundation Light Day 1 Fast Pace Cardio, 3 sets QUEST - This Cave Is A Mess! Part 1/4? - Strike off at least 5 tasks in my office (of 18) QUEST - The Hunt! Part 1/5 - Gather my resources Read The Job Closer Read/skim Parachute Find AAM resources and read SIDEQUEST - Where'd I Put That Goblet Again? [Fix the banking login] SIDEQUEST - Where's My Signal? [Call ISP and try to get a lower rate] SIDEQUEST - What Day Is It Again? [Buy a pill organizer] - Wednesday? BONUS QUESTS Su - floors 5 (kitchen, vacuum general), general 2 (prep), dishes 3 M - hygiene 5 (shower), general 5 (Dr appt, veggies w dinner, did a hard thing I've been procrastinating), dishes 2, cats 2 (litters, cleaned bowls) Tu W Th F Sa Week 2 - Straighten Up The Lair - 2/19 to 2/25 HABIT - sleep between 1am and 9am HABIT - take ADHD pill daily HABIT - read from 12am to 1am QUEST - My Paws Are Tide! Part 2/3 - Defeat the Laundry Monster's personal guard, the Towel Demons QUEST - Practice My Tail Swipe! Part 2/5 - Complete 2 practice sessions QUEST - This Cave Is A Mess! Part 2/4? - Strike off at least 5 tasks in my office (of 18) QUEST - The Hunt! Part 2/5 - Create the lures. [May take more than this week] Review resume resources Update my resume Get J to edit it Review cover letter resources Update my cover letter template Get J to edit it SIDEQUEST - It's Been HOW Long? [Get up to date on COVID and flu vaccinations. May take more than this week] SIDEQUEST - What Died In This? [Descale my Keurig] Week 3 - Look For Food - 2/26 to 3/4 HABIT - sleep between 1am and 9am HABIT - take ADHD pill daily HABIT - read from 12am to 1am QUEST - My Paws Are Tide! Part 3/3 - Defeat the Laundry Monster itself, the Blanket Fury QUEST - Practice My Tail Swipe! Part 3/5 - Complete 2 practice sessions QUEST - This Cave Is A Mess! Part 3/4? - Finish all tasks in my office (of 18) QUEST - The Hunt! Part 3/5 - Narrow in on my quarry Find 5 promising job sites Start putting in applications [Plan/brainstorm new goals now and for next weeks] SIDEQUEST - Is Something Growing In This? [Clean my keyboard thoroughly, pop off keys] Week 4 - Treasure Hunting - 3/5 to 3/11 HABIT - sleep between 1am and 9am HABIT - take ADHD pill daily HABIT - read from 12am to 1am QUEST - Practice My Tail Swipe! Part 4/5 - Complete 3 practice sessions QUEST - This Cave Is A Mess! Part 4/4? - Strike off at least 5 tasks in my office (of 18) QUEST - The Hunt! Part 4/5 - Further hunting required 1 [Plan from here] SIDEQUEST - There Must Be Something Pretty Here? [Sort through all my framed pictures] SIDEQUEST - Where's My Abacus? [Preliminary research on how to do my own taxes] Week 5 - Rout Out Any Adventurers - 3/12 to 3/18 HABIT - sleep between 1am and 9am HABIT - take ADHD pill daily HABIT - read from 12am to 1am QUEST - Practice My Tail Swipe! Part 5/5 - Complete 3 practice sessions QUEST - The Hunt! Part 5/5 - Further hunting required 2 [Plan from here] SIDEQUEST - That's An Interesting Smell? [Clean the guest bathroom and make a work request to fix sink] SIDEQUEST - Burn It With Fire! [Brute force through any projects/tasks that need it, especially any from this challenge] SIDEQUEST - What Next? [Plan next challenge - taxes, optometrist/therapy insurance, more? Carry over anything here that needs it, re-evaluate Sooner and Later lists] Bonus Quests [Various other things that I would like to do or keep up on. ADHD makes executive functioning and chores very difficult, so any rewards are good here! I'm just tracking points and not the tasks I think.] Cats - clean food bowls, refill food containers, clean or refill water fountain, clean litters, fully clean litters Floors - literally anything. Mop, vacuum spot-clean, sweep... anything. Dishes - empty sink, empty dishwasher, handwash fully Hygiene - shower, wash my face, brush my teeth, weekly laundry General - take out garbage before it's overflowing, take down recycling, refill products, finish a fiction book, bake or cook, fix or do sundry things around the house, prep literally anything, eat veggies/fruit, go to appointments, visit friends... Rewards Weekly outing! Every Wednesday, I take the previous week's points total and can go get a treat/meal in that range. Points for bonus quests roll over, but may only be spent if I completed 80% habits and all QUESTs and SIDEQUESTs for that week. Otherwise I just get the base level? Need to figure out points system...

Things did not go quite as well as I would have liked last time, specifically in terms of my goals, so I'm going to try again. But all sorts of things have gone pretty well in relationship recovery. I know that the latter really is what affected the former. So I try again to get those basics down pretty solidly before I move ahead and push for any hero advancement. The old man was not satisfied with my skills so I've been sent to build them up a bit more before he sends me out for a real quest. And you do not question the wisdom of a little bald wrinkly smiling old man. So, my tasks are basically the same. I'm worth it tasks: - AM care; take vitamin, allergy meds, and do skin care. 5 min -PM care; contacts cared for, skin care, oral care, comb hair 10 min -do a puzzle instead of mindless scroll or stupid tv able body tasks: -2xweek min walk/run -3x week Elements -rediscover healthy lunch mojo track food and work on either snack food replacements or portion the treats as such homeward bound tasks: -10 min 3x week cleaning -pick a paint color and if able start - got the bathroom paint and samples for testing the living/dining room. Start. best life tasks: -complete my battle plan for this year -hold boundaries with calm caring -acknowledge when I am the problem, but refuse to be a handy outlet for thoughtless lashing out learning tasks: -finish this stinking crochet project since I'm at the boring bit -continue machine tech training Additional things that might be added as I want to try them. journaling meditation, or at least quiet, still, undisturbed me moments explore using this whole site more

I keep getting a message saying I’ve been blocked from posting whenever I try to make this thread. Managed to post with ‘test’ as the body, then couldn’t edit it with my goals. Tried posting the goals in a reply, blocked again somehow even though I’ve been replying to other threads fine. It let me edit this post once and is blocking me again. Argh. edit again: the block message says it’s possible something in my text is triggering a security response. Makes no sense to me bc I didn’t write anything weird but let’s see if writing boring goals with no context works? - go outside 5 minutes a day - stretch - floss 2 teeth - follow sleep routine - ignore manchild tantrums

So, I posted all of my goals for this challenge in my last thread as I was thinking ahead. Just saying as an FYI for those of you who already read it! . . . . My health needs to be my greatest priority. I'm 265 270 pounds at 5'5" and have been steady at that weight for all of 2022 to now. Before that I was 225 pounds when I was more active. That was 2020-2021. I fractured my ankle in July 2021, which was the turning point which lead to my inactivity and weight gain. My "happy weight" and happy fitness level was when I was between 165-185 pounds but that was way back in 2015-2017. I believe that I can get back to that happy spot. I have to believe it. If I do, I can get off of taking insulin for my diabetes management, which would be AWESOME. I hate poking myself every day. I actually have a doctor's appointment with a new doc today - he handles diabetes management and weight management - hopefully he can help me get somewhere on my journey. I would like to set a measurable goal of 10 pounds lost for the next challenge along with measurable actions that I'll take toward that goal. - 🚫Avoid Alcohol - only two drinking days per month allowed (and 2 drinks max per day) - 🥦Eat Smaller Portions and Healthier Foods - yes/no to my best judgment - 💪 Challenging Exercise - 30+ Minutes 4 Days a Week I've chosen not to count calories and macros as it has fed an unfortunate little monster of obsession in me in the past and has not been good for my mental health. If I don't make weight loss progress using a smaller portion/best judgment approach this month, I'll consider adding CICO back into my life (* cringe *). What I've decided to do instead is to temporarily move me and my family to a healthy subscription meal plan service so that my meal planning is taken care of for dinners. That'll help a lot as we have been ordering in quite a bit. Making things easier on myself with meal planning will really help with a part of the burden of meal planning that I've had on my shoulders for a while now. Anyway, that's the idea. I'll also buy some extra fruit and vegetables to supplement the meals as snacks and such. I would like to make time for art because that is what I do best besides my mom duties, and I want to keep at it. - 🖌️Work on art projects - 45+ Minutes 4 Days a Week Make Time for Self Care - 👳‍♀️At Home "Spa" Time - Twice a Month - 🕯️Spiritual Time - 10 Minutes per Day - 🫂Hang Out with Friends - Once a Month So these are seven different things that I want to work on in my next challenge, which typically I would say is too much, but two of the things are infrequent asks, so it's more like five. I was already doing really well on two of the other five, so I think that this is a reasonable ask of myself, after all.

For me, Spring really seems to start in February when the days are noticeably longer and my mood improves. (I hate the darkness of winter.) So I probably should wait until February to make any kind of real changes in my life. January is still a hibernation month. But I tried to do too much too soon last month, so we're going to keep things much simpler until I get back into some good habits again. Goals: 1. Eat more mindfully. 2. Strength train 3x per week 3. Walk at least once a week 4. Do something creative at least twice a week 5. Work on the cookbook-in-progress at least once a week

I am doing this unlike most challenges I have ever started. I am writing this one off the cuff instead of writing something in word, over analyzing it and making sure it makes sense for a few days before posting. So if this makes no sense outside my head sorry. In mid December, I had knee surgery to supposedly help an injury I sustained in 2020. I knew I had arthritis and it was bad (3 of 4), but I was getting around finr and surprising my PT people on what I could do before surgery (crab walking anyone). After surgery, I have been no where near where I was in October (when surgery was determined) or before. Where I was walking long walks of 2-3 miles, I am just now doing okay with .5-.75 miles. The Dr put Gel in the knee to help lubricate the joint since steroid shots did not help. Gel is kinda my last option at this point. I am not in PT for my knee. The drs admitted that the PT I had before surgery didn't help, and that I lost strength and flexibility during PT. So I am kinda making up my own PT based on the Dr recommendation of "don't overdo it" which is funny when its me since I love to be hard and push myself. (Side not, why in the 9 realms are my neighbors lighting fireworks at 7:09 PM on a Tuesday night in Feb? See this is why I should not be doing this off the cuff) So my PT is use it a bit more at a time, don't hurt it too much, but keep trying. My work is a mess (long story short, its a HUGE mess and I am just doing what I need to) so that is not helping the BP issues or the "go walk" because I don't want to leave my office and my non-ergonomic desk. Oh and there are extended family issues I would love to ignore but can't. I have 2 Agents of Chaos, 2 dog agents (one is a year old basically today and is HUGE (almost 80 lbs) and all the energy), 3 cat agents plus Hubby. The human Agents and Hubby are great, and are helping where they can. but the big thing is I need to MOVE on a regular basis or everything hurts. I am at my highest weight in over 10 years. My depression and anxiety are a giant mess and more days than not, I am doing things, but more out of the "well, the world will be worse tomorrow if I don't" I sound positive, which is weird. I am not sure this will work. I need to be more than a worker, a mom, a mess. So I divide my life into groups, and from there do boxes of things I would like to improve on. I don't have to do everything, just enough of each category a day. More is good, I am always allowed to do more, but I need to not just do nothing. So I got lazy and decided not to post the boxes. If you really want to see them, let me know and I can add them. Here is the breakdown of the boxes and how many I need vs what is possible. 90% of my stuff is things I can do in 5-10 minutes since that is all I may have at a shot. Did I get all pts in: Needed Possible Strength 3 6 Flexibility 5 9 Life and Family 5 10 Future Me Favors 8 12 Daily Skirmishes against Chaos 4 7 Campaigns against Chaos 4 6 Walking 4 6 Fuel 5 8 Points earned for day 38 64 Welcome to the fight against chaos

I'll get this part out of the way first: I am not killing myself, so no need to report me to a crisis unit or anything. HOWEVER, I will be killing myself (ever so slowly) if I keep drinking two bottles of wine daily and getting less than 6 hours of sleep every night, so that absolutely has to change. And hey, both lack of sleep and excessive drinking contribute to weight gain. Fix my life and get thinner and more ripped? Sign me up! The plan: 1. Don't drink alcohol. 2. Go to bed before 10:30 on weekdays/get 7 to 9 hours of sleep. 3. Exercise 4x/week (they're short workouts). 4. Journal every now and then (this will be done in this thread). I'll elaborate more on these goals later. (Elaborating is in progress.) 1. Don't drink alcohol: Right. Some time during the last challenge, I mentioned that I was experiencing abdominal discomfort. This started after a pickle-flavored vodka bender between the holidays, so I figured it was just a part of the hangover and would go away in a few hours. But it didn't. It's not painful or anything (only a 1 or a 2 on the pain scale) but the thought that something isn't right has been plaguing me since that day. Then I was a dumbass and googled "where does liver cancer hurt" and, uh oh, it's the exact same spot. Panic mode engaged! An appointment with my doctor was booked when the discomfort was still present a week later, and then fretting about every possible bad outcome ensued. What if it's cancer? What if the health care system doesn't get me in before it's at stage 4 and there is no hope? I (and probably everyone reading my posts) realize that I don't quite enjoy life to the fullest, but the thought of it possibly being over in less than 6 months just terrified me. It feels like I haven't even lived yet. I haven't even lived yet. Practically everything I do is for other people and I usually end up putting myself last. The thought of the Grim Reaper showing up all like "lol sup, time to go" without me having even attempted to live life on my terms and focus on my own goals is just...depressing. More depressing than any of my current problems. The previous 2 challenges were an attempt to escape The Grind and go into a field I'd truly have a passion for, so an attempt was made, but what if it's too little and too late? (I've found that I can manage The Grind and the side hustle at the same time, so that was a winning realization at least.) Anyway. The doctor appointment was yesterday and nothing too terribly wrong seems to be going on with my liver, but a blood test and an ultrasound will be booked in the near future just to be sure. I did open up to him about drinking way too fucking much and how it's likely self-medicating and has been going on for probably 10 years now due to being easily depressed by this, that, and the other thing, and also all the things all at the same time. So that's going to be getting addressed this year, but before we get to the next step I need to stop drinking stupidly large amounts of alcohol because apparently starting antidepressants immediately after quitting booze cold turkey is dangerous. So now I'm (temporarily) on some pills that will help cut cravings until the next appointment...which just happens to be before the end of this challenge. I was trying to avoid the medication route, but I've just about hit "Fuck It" point. May as well try if it's on a temporary basis. I've stopped drinking for 30-60 stretches before but never addressed the underlying problems that made me want to drink in the first place so the unhealthy drinking habits always came back. If a tiny pill can give me advantage on the WIS save for the first 30 or so days, then I'll take it. (I'm still not 100% sure about the antidepressants, but would be willing to try them on a temporary basis at the same time as counseling or therapy. Hopefully my mood improves on its own after not drinking until mid-March, though.) 2. Go to bed before 10:30 on weekdays OR get 7 to 9 hours of sleep: Alcohol allows me to ignore my body's GO THE FUCK TO SLEEP signals and also causes poor quality sleep, so it only makes sense to focus on sleep. Mainly because it will make getting more sleep easier and I like it when things are as easy as possible. One of the functions of sleeping is to get rid of molecular/cellular garbage in one's brain, meaning that my brain is probably 98% garbage after....16 or so years of chronic sleep deprivation. Hopefully with enough consecutive days of quality rest, my thoughts will also become less garbage. If my thoughts become less garbage, I will in turn be less likely to reach for a bottle of wine the moment shit hits the fan IRL. Goals 1 and 2 totally synergize one another. I don't have a set strategy for how I'll manage to get to bed on time on a regular basis, but I'll come up with one before the end of week zero. I have a feeling it will involve the planner I bought in November and still haven't used. 3. Exercise 4x/week: Self-explanatory. I have a coach who designs a training program for me and knows how stupid my schedule can get, so the workout plan includes really short workouts. I just have to, y'know, do them. The nice and unused planner may be useful here too, actually. 4. Journal every now and then: Also self-explanatory. I'll be using this thread as a journal and ranting board as per usual 😆 I find that I have to re-arrange my sentences so often if I write in a physical notebook that it ends up full of crossed out words or sentences, or eraser dust, and then I look at the page and it looks like a toddler took a marker to the page, and then I feel super self-conscious because I used to be great at writing when I was a teenager and now I practically can't do it anymore. At least writing on the Internet allows me to use backspace and to copy/paste so I can have a final post of a somewhat decent quality. Also, I don't use the name Ahyar Dreamspark anywhere else on the Internet so I am afforded complete privacy by writing here. (Okay, mostly complete, because some people on the FB group probably know who I am on here, and it's probably not too hard to find out if one REALLY wants to know, but any of the people I would be complaining about here are unlikely to ever know.)

Hail Friends, it is a privilege to be back here with all of you. I know it has been some time, and I hope you are all faring reasonably well. What as triggered my return? A desire to be more intentional; my natural philosophy is essentially to "wing it". This worked for most of my life, but is failing me now. I struggle to plan 24 hours ahead, let alone 6 weeks. Therefore, I am going to try something a bit different: having one goal but give myself the ability to adjust next week's plan based on last week's data. Goal: intentional strength/flexibility movement sessions at least 3 days a week; minimum 15 minutes Week 1 Plan: Scheduled movement sessions 8:30am Monday through Friday. Bodyweight strength circuit M-W-F Yoga/Stretching T-R Like many a person, I have at various times in my life achieved some level of athletic success (team sports as a child and teenager, running as a young adult, could do a pull-up at some point in there, etc.). My mindset challenge is to be okay with where I am at. It pains my soul that I can no longer do a full push-up and have to restart at an easier variation, for example, but I know the only thing to do is start where I am at. I tend to fall-off the challenge and forums, so I'll also try to post in the AM after my movement session and once on the weekend about any notes/adjustments I might try. Week 0 Day 1: Monday Warm-Up: I have been a huge fan of the mobility portion of the Ninja Turtle Workout from the moment I encountered it many years ago. This has long been my warm-up, though today I skipped both of the squats. Need to work back up to those being warm-up status. Strength Circuit: 2 times through Pull: 3 shoulder shrugs and 10 second bar hang Lower Body: 12 bodyweight squats Push: 8 knee pushups Core: Hollow body hold - 15 seconds, two times each circuit. Definitely need to form check this one and probably do some sort of tuck variation instead Cool Down: 5 minutes of stretching - your classic gym class routine with a bit of yoga thrown in.

The first challenge went pretty well, so time for new challenge, new goals. Just a short recap of my bigger goals for the new people here: I'm going for two hiking trips at the summer. Both are physically quite challenging. I'm trying to get into a better shape for those trips, so I can enjoy them. Instead of this. My biggest issue at the moment seems to be my eating habits. To be more spesific, I'm not eating enough at the daytime, and it sometimes leads to binging/eating junk in the evening. It makes me really bloated and causes a lot of discomfort. My new goals for this challenge; 1. Eat real food at the daytime. If it's not possible because of short breaks at work, aim for more nutrious snacks. 2. Keep up the workout routine! 2 x full body workout + 1 short core workout in a week. I want to add one additional set of the exercises my physiotherapist gave to my back pain. (I usually combine it with other workouts.) So 4 workouts in a week in total, but the physiotherapy stuff by itself will take less than 10 minutes. So it's totally doable. 3. Listen to relaxing audio every evening before falling to sleep. This has helped me a lot with stress, but I have neglected the habit for a while now. So I'm going to focus on this one. I hope lowering the stress levels, eating more evenly throughout the day and keeping up the exercise routine, will eventually help me with the bloating and binging.

Hellooo Last time on Grizzy Tries to Try Last challenge I focused on trying to do very minimal tasks to keep myself healthy. I was in the first trimester of pregnancy, zonked, and not super enthused about cooking or eating healthy. I found my struggle with my exercise plan for last challenge was that I basically couldn't remember when I was supposed to be doing what after week 1, so I just didn't. Strategies and learning from failure I'm most successful with self-directed activities if I can establish a solid daily habit that is done at a time and in a fashion where it is not more difficult than the activity should be. This, for me, primarily l requires identifying a good time for the activity. For example, meditating before bed is great for me because I'm relaxed enough to do it, reading before bed was great until I started getting so tired that by the time I got into bed I couldn't read. I've also read a ton of habit books and know all about habit stacking, pairing less desirable activities with more desirable ones, starting small, making things you don't want to do harder and making things you do want to do easier. Goals Exercise I want to work my way up to 30 minutes of exercise a day, split between yoga and walking, depending on what feels good in a given day. Habit stacking: I'm going to do yoga followed by walking immediately after peeing and having a glass of water in the morning. Removing barriers: My sneakers now belong right next to the treadmill, along with a spare pair of socks. Habit pairing: I'm going to have my primary time sink websites blocked in the morning, and I'm allowed to disable the blocker the moment I start walking on the treadmill or immediately after I'm done with yoga. An easy progression: Week 0: Every morning after getting a glass of water, take out yoga mat and sit on it, put away yoga mat. Then confirm sneakers are next to treadmill, put them on, and stand on it. Take sneakers off after standing on treadmill. Practice putting sneakers next to treadmill when they are used in other places. Week 1: 6 minutes of exercise each morning. Week 2: 12 minutes. Week 3: 18 minutes. Week 4: 24 minutes. Week 5: 30 minutes. Food I want to work my way up to 5 servings of fruit and vegetables a day. Removing Barriers: I got a fruit stand so that my produce is out and visible rather than hiding in bags or corners. I've begun buying veggies and dips for quick snacks. I've started learning meals with lots of veggies that take little time. Habit stacking: I've been at least a light intermittent faster for years now, generally waiting on eating anything until my late-rising husband gets up at noon. However this is now FORBIDDEN by my body and I basically need to eat every two hours or I start getting hangry and fainty. Since this is a new habit my body is forcing on me, I don't have a lot of ingrained habits of WHAT to snack on, so whenever I am getting a snack I should consider something that includes a fruit or vegetable. We also have established a habit of meal planning each week, and can slowly work our way up to planning a vegetable with each meal. An easy progression: Week 0: Start getting used to keeping a count of the number of fruits and vegetables I eat in a day. Week 1-5: Week number is the number of servings of fruit and veg I should get each day, and also the number of meals I should plan for the week that include a serving of vegetables. Hydration I want to drink more water. Now for me I know this comes easily if I just... Have the water readily available. I have a large bottle for this purpose. So instead of getting my morning water in a glass, every morning when I get up and get water, I'm going to make sure my bottle is clean enough for use and I'm gonna fill it. Then I'll drink some from it. I will try to keep it on me - going to try and find some post it notes and put them around my house where I often sit or wander asking "do you have your water bottle?"

Hellooooooo, The GOALS!! - Workout the PHAT program!! Last challenge i did 5x5 to get my strength back and during that challenge i hit my plateau for the time. So its time for a new program and i always wanted to first get some base strength back, then do some bodybuilding and strength training and then go back to purely strength based. I hit that base strength part and now im going to do Layne Norton PHAT program for both strength and size.Its 5 days a week (mon, tue, thu, fri, sat) - Drink more water!! Especially in the last 2 weeks i noticed i've been getting a lot of cans of either Coca Cola Zero or Monster Energy and besides not being great for you its also expensive AF. So i want to NOT drink those drinks again while at home and instead drink more water again and a Sneak Energy shake here and there. - Mobility/stretching in the morning!! I've lost quite a bit of mobility and i want to get those back. So im going to do some 5 Minute Flow in the morning with some banded stretches. -Cleaning the apartment!! I got this nice new apartment since half november and so far i havent done any actual DAILY cleaning. I just let stuff pile up a tiny bit and then clean stuff. So i want to get back to daily cleaning (have the kitchen clean, pillows and such at their spot, vacuuming etc). I got a Roomba so im gonna have that do a few runs through the apartment during the week but i would still need to do some vacuuming myself on spots it cant reach. So those are the goals, lets GET IT!!

So... It's been a while. How are you? I used to be a regular around these parts but fell by the wayside around three years ago. A whole lot of things got derailed around that time, including my fitness journey, and despite a few ad hoc attempts over time I haven't really managed to get back on track. The last couple of weeks have been pretty good, though. I've started going for regular walks again (with intermittent short bursts of jogging) and I've been fairly restrained in my sugary snacking despite receiving a lot of chocolate for Christmas. And it always helped me to stay focused by checking in here and report my progress, so I thought it was time I get back into that habit again too. Haven't got any formal goals at this point besides mindfulness about making healthy choices. Things like grabbing my water bottle instead of a fizzy drink, going for a walk when the weather's nice even if the couch is more inviting, and actually writing about it all here to keep these things front of mind. See you around!

Goals: 1. Log all my food, no matter how horrible. 1.1 Begin incorporating more protein and vegetables 1.2 Start reducing anything that doesn't make me feel good 2. Move!! 2.1 FeelGood Plan workout Mon-Wed-Fri + fun activity Sat 2.2 Walk the dog at least 1 mile every Mon-Wed (Thurs-Sun high potential to be out of house) 2.3 Yoga on rest days and workout days as needed for extra stretch/cooldown 3. Journaling! 3.1 Scripting journal with gratitude, mantra, 3-6-9 manifestation, and one step forward 3.2 Daily journal, dear diary style to get down all the thoughts So far, on Jan 10: 10/10 days completed!

Hey all, back to jump in on the challenge. Even if a bit late I turn the big 50 this year in November. I really, really want to be in a better place with my health. I wrote down some goals I would like to achieve on or before my birthday. In the perfect dream scenario, be under 250lbs, able to do 10 pull ups, and running 10k distance. Hopefully, close to getting that under 30 minute 5k. Blood sugar levels are good, and I am off as much medication as possible. Level 50 in Pokemon Go too (very very doubtful) Now these may entirely be too much to try to get to in such a short amount of time. Though I think I can get the running in, or close to it. Pull ups and weight will happen how they want on the journey haha. Level 50 in Pokemon Go sounds like a good idea, but pretty much would not happen. I'd have to ear like 320,000 XP a day. 45-46 took me 8 months haha. Now big goals, but I have to start smaller. Get much smart goals to wok my way to my eventual goals. This New Years hasn't started the best for me mentally, One reason I hadn't posted. It took me to say just do it to get the post going haha. Now for anyone that has seen my challenges before, this shall be very familiar goals. Some possible issues happening during the challenge: We have just changed insurance, so I will have to get a new doctor setup, and try to get an appointment asap. Will need medicine I am sure. I might be really really trying to look for work. Not exactly easy after being stay at home Dad for going on 13 years. Goal#1 - Sleep As always, I need to get sleep in a better place. If I am to do the exercise and losing weight I want, I need to be able to have some recover. Gains made at rest My son is out of school for another week, but I am ready to get things on track asap. For now, the focus is on shutting down things at 10pm. Then get to reading. At 11pm I need to head to bed. I'd like to get it a bit later, but during school times, I need to get up earlier. I want to give myself the best chance to get the rest I need. There may be some nights I do get to bed later. Like bowling night, or the night I catch up on TV watching with the wife. I'll figure those out as they happen. 10 points per night, all 7 days. 70 points on the week. Goal#2 - Food Now this first week, I am just not ready for what I originally had in mind. I also just started tracking again yesterday. I wasn't going to start tracking, but it just kinda was what my brain said to do haha. Week 1, I want to focus on tracking my food. No real calorie limits or anything. In my head I'm like under 2500 calories, but we will see. I've been really thinking of focusing on my real hunger signals. Not the random I just want to eat something. I also want to just start making better choices. I wanted to come into the challenge starting to do a lower calorie higher volume type diet, along with some meal prep. I think that might be more of the focus to start up week 2. For now, week 1 is just to track what I eat. I also am tracking my morning blood glucose numbers week 2 - Will decide later 10 points per day, all 7 days. 70 points on the week. Goal#3 - Exercise It's time to get more active. To start, I am going to walk. 15 minutes a day. Hopefully, I will use the Pokemon Go daily incense as a way to make it fun too. I am also including times when I am out walking in stores with the wife. Like the last couple of days we had been out and doping stuff. I want to run, but at my current weight, it would not be good based on when I did it in the past. After week 1 I want to move to a 2 x 15 minute walk, or a single 30 minute walk. Then continue to start building it up from there. I think I will be ready to start running in about 20-25 lbs lost and if I am getting in the 3 mile walks like I use to. So first goals first. I do want to start working out too. Week 1, it's enough to just walk for me right now. My brain is barely having that haha. I have a pull up bar that apparently can hold a lot of weight. I hadn't opened it yet. It's been sitting here for a really long time. I have some assistance bands too to try to help out for some workouts. Unless I just want to get started in week 1, workouts I will start doing in week 2. I figure some bodyweight with some dumbbells home workouts to start myself up. Then Week 3 or 4 maybe I can also add in the apartment complex gym to get in some weights. Will just have to see how things are progressing. Maybe I go earlier to the gym here if I get my wife going too. Week 1 is just walking each day 10 points, 70 in the week. Week 2 will add more Goal#4 - Downsize stuff I've tried to really get through some stuff, but it hasn't been consistent. I don't want to be like "I have to do 1 hour each day" or something, then get overwhelmed by that. I am making it really small. 5 minutes. If it's just organizing something to prepare for a larger group, that's fine. 5 minutes a day, I can handle that, right? Of course, I will work on things longer then that, but 5 minutes could get me started. Also any days that I have tv watching days, I can always take a box of something of go though it. I've got my cards to organize and get rid of, comics to get all boarded up and gone through to see what I might keep. Then all the other house stuff. I have computer parts and such that I haven't used. Just kept for "Just in case I might need it" Which has saved me a few times, but honestly, I have too much stuff for these new days. Might even go though the DVD/Bluray stuff too. We have plenty that I haven't touched in years. 10 points a day, 70 on the week So there is my challenge. Things may change. My brain is fighting me, but I just need to keep fighting. Thanks to @fleaball for checking in on me too. I appreciate it. I will do my best to stay involved in this challenge, and hope to get to support others Measurements: (Probably coming Tuesday) Chest - Waist - Bicep (L) - Bicep (R) - Thigh (L) - Thigh (R) - Weight - Challenge points Week 1 (01/01 - 01/07) - 0/280 Week 2 (01/08 - 01/14) - Week 3 (01/15 - 01/21) - Week 4 (01/22 - 01/28) - Week 5 (01/29 - 02/04) - Total points -

Not a resolution person, but I totally get the cultural fresh start, new beginnings, etc feelings. So gonna roll with that. I'm coming off a stomach bug that an adorable little germ factory shared at Christmas. It knocked me out for a sold 48 hours, but add about 3 more days so far with an uncertain stomach. At least it meant I didn't overconsume anything on NYE. This also adds to a nice fresh start to the year, if a slow and conscientious one. Here's where are hero wakes up.... ready for the inspiring music...? What I know so far: It was a rough year. All sorts of my self care things were dropped as my energy went into supporting another's emotional collapse and preserving my world as best I could. We seem to be out of the deepest depths of that, with allowances of course. This all shows a need for a refocusing on kind caring for myself and setting boundaries about emotional support, which is it's own form of kindness- allowing room for growth. The old man I just met, would you believe it was this guy, because of course it would be gave me tasks to start my journey so I may learn my way and establish a strong base to work from. I'm worth it tasks: - AM care; take vitamin, allergy meds, and do skin care. 5 min -PM care; contacts cared for, skin care, oral care, comb hair 10 min able body tasks: -2xweek min walk/run -3x week Elements -rediscover healthy lunch mojo homeward bound tasks: -10 min 3x week cleaning -pick a paint color and if able start best life tasks: -complete my battle plan for this year -hold boundaries with calm caring -acknowledge when I am the problem, but refuse to be a handy outlet for thoughtless lashing out learning tasks: -find a Tunisian crochet project -continue machine tech training It looks like a lot but ultimately should be fine. Most of these are just tweaks or gentle steps forward on what already is established. And I know I won't have any problem if I can just break/interrupt the stupid net surfing habit that has developed.

It has been 0 days since my last sprained ankle. If I do nothing else in 2023, I would like to stop spraining my goddamn ankles. Barring that, basic daily goals for the first challenge while I figure out my shit: - 15 minutes of activity - 1 vegan meal - use prescription toothpaste at night - track all my food somehow to discuss with my nutritionist; maybe in Cronometer, maybe photos, maybe a list, doesn't really matter so long as we can track trends And also, don't sprain my ankles. That one's important.

Totally fell off the NF map in 2022, but more importantly, not off the cliff when it came to many of my goals! After a few too many health things, including closing out the year getting over COVID, I'm ready for some new beginnings. Body: I want to continue to cement my fitness goal as functional movement and increases when they come, rather than the more unhealthy cultural goals I implicitly hold. A. Continue 2-3 strength workouts per week; continue daily walks Goal: Introduce a flexibility program 3 times per week. B. Became too impulsive. Goal: Limit fast food, aiming for no more than once per week; fruit and/or vegetable per meal Mind Goal: Daily reading, professionally and leisurely Spirit: continued contemplative prayer Goal: New daily devotional pattern of reading and prayer Bonus Goal: I have begun a writing project. Spend three days a week, minimum, an hour each day.

Okay, not all health & fitness related, but some things I keep saying I want to do but never actually do. (I'm actually doing really well on the health & fitness stuff.) 1. Work on the master cookbook: I've got a bunch of random recipes I've been meaning to put together in a binder, and never really get around to it. I want to work on this for at least five minutes a day. 2. Finish the brown quilt: It's about half quilted, and I can easily finish this one in the five week challenge. Fifteen minutes a day. 3. Book reviews: I'm a book reviewer, and I need to actually review some books. One to two book reviews a week. 4. Declutter the office: I have TOO MANY BOOKS. Ugh. I need to purge my bookshelves. Five minutes a day. 5. Nutrition tracking: When I track, I lose weight. I need to do this every day. 6. Walking / cardio: At least 30 minutes 3x / week. Probably a bit more than I should have on my list, but hey, it's resolutions season. Why not reach for the stars?

2022 flew by for me. Unfortunately all the progress I made in the beginning of the year was undone and I’m my new heaviest weight I’ve ever been. The tail end left me tired, exhausted, and out of spoons. But it wasn’t all bad; it was a big year. A few notable mentions for 2022 were: - made some good soup, bread, jam and other canned goodies - got some big house tasks accomplished - got Daisy ❤️🐴 - learnt how to trim Daisy’s feet - made raised planters and grew tomatoes, raspberries and strawberries - car is finally paid off - tried fly fishing - went cross country jumping with Daisy - did fall camping - got Winnie ❤️🐾 - took my first dressage lesson - I finished 5 paintings I’m really proud of and have 2 in progress I had a bit of a mental decline near the end of this year and I still don’t feel 100%. I’m happy to say there have been some improvements. My feet are also still not great but they are a lot better and I’ve been doing small walks with Winnie as part of her training. 2023 Goals - Get work skills up to date - Lose 50lbs - Improve stamina, core, flexibility and balance - Plan wedding - Try agility with Winnie - Continue Winnie’s barn dog training - Continue on improving my look - Paint 1 painting for myself - Keep working on improving Daisy’s feet - Read the Hobbit (started) , Paper Girls, Walking Dead, Gwenpool - Continue making my house a home That’s all I can think of for now. Some of these aren’t very SMART goals. I will try to figure out what I want my 1 year of progress to look like and how to accomplish it. Challenge goals: - Daily Winnie training - Lose 5lbs - Drink 2L water - Practice 12:12 IF - Floss and brush every night - Take pill every night - Cook dinner 5 times a week Other goals: - decide about/arrange Rooks lump removal surgery - finish Dani painting - beat God of War - sign Winnie up for Agility - attend at least 2 social obedience walks with Winnie

Back story: Former teacher turned SAHM. Then, husband got covid November 2020. Was hospitalized three times, almost died twice and now, two years later deals daily with covid-long haul. OG NF members may remember that my husband (was) an iron man triathlete. At the time covid tried to take him down he was on two competitive cycling teams as well as an active cyclocross enthusiast. Anyway, that's all changed. It looked like he was heading towards retirement which meant, I had to go back to work after 20 years as a SAHM. Luckily my teaching certificate was current, and I have been able to pick up back-to-back leave replacement teaching positions. But since I am having trouble getting hired for a full year contract in my home district (do not want to commute) I decided to go back to school to earn my MEd. I'm ALMOST done. So close. So, so close. But that's been the story of my life for the past couple of years: I'm back to school, again. Both as a teacher, and a student. It's stressful, being a student and, basically, a "first-year" teacher at 54. I'm exhausted. I've gained a ton of weight. My energy is super low. I'm in survival mode. I'm like a deer in the headlights. So why add a challenge into the mix? Accountability. I thought, why not make it a triple shot of school... Back to School NF Challenge Body: Joined the January Whole 30. Starts January 2nd. Will keep a food log of some sort. Mind: We do mindfulness in school, it's part of our curriculum. Bring those lessons home - do some headspace or something mindful. just breathe. at home. everyday. Spirit: Go outside. Take a walk, every day. Appreciate the world around me. Give myself grace to take a break. I'm talking just a walk here. No playing Pokémon Go, no hills/or power walking, just a "look around and appreciate" walk.

Christmas has finally come and gone, and while we have one holiday that has been pushed back, I am ready for normal to return. Emotionally I am spent from holidays that had extra baggage. Surgery and the holidays is not something I want to repeat. Especially when the Agents of Chaos (Eldest and Youngest) have finals start the day of surgery. As far as surgery, supposedly it went well. They removed the torn piece of cartilage, I am going back to PT and they said all is well. However, the swelling that started this whole misadventure in my knee from 2 years ago and is still there is “just arthritis”. I have grade 3 of 4 arthritis in my knee, and the scope pictures are so interesting since it looks like my knee is full of spider webs which is the degrading cartilage. Nothing to do about the swelling, but if it bothers me, we can try draining it in a few months if it is still there. It’s depressing since I did all of this and the answer is “Still swollen, sucks to be you and losing weight helps”. Knee replacement isn’t’ for another 9-14 years since “that’s when we replace them” but I see the actual surgeon (who I met the day of surgery) in Jan, so more questions for him. I have been working with their PA this whole time. In the meantime, I am trying to get back to what I was doing before all of this started. Since the surgery 2 weeks ago, I am barely walking. Boxes all but fell apart, and I have to be back to work in less than a week. I want to move on and go back to the “well, this sucks, but make the best of it” I know my weight has jumped with the lack of activity. My depression and anxiety are a mess, but I need to do something. At the same time, I know I am not able to walk like I was yet. I have very little pain unless I get going too far, but I get a ton of stiffness in it. Walking is helping, but in small spurts. No 2 mile walks for a bit. I built the challenge around knowing I am healing. As such, I have adjusted my walking goal to 5000 steps, when it was 10,000. 4 hours moving instead of 7, no long walks, just 2 short 5 minute walks. I lowered the water from 60-20 oz and I feel like I am starting over with nothing to show, which makes all this worse. And I don’t even need all the boxes in an area, maybe half the boxes if that. Maybe I can get motivated to actually do something now, knowing this is what it is. Boxes posted below. Each category has a Needed number which is how many I need to get to mark the box. Goal Value Description Strength Needed 1 Raised Arm Circles 2 1 Ride Bike 5 minutes 1 Calf raises Flexibility Needed 1 Wrist Extension Stretch 3 1 Wrist Flexion Stretch 1 Physical therapy? 1 Toe Touch 1 Warrior 1 1 Cresent Moon pose 1 Ankle Circles Life and Family 1 Brush Yappy dog 1 Brush Ninja dog Needed 1 Water 1 indoor plant 4 1 Check next day calendar 1 Spend time with Agents 1 One good thing 1 NF status update 1 Talk to Hubby Future Me Favors 1 Floss in morning 1 Take Morning Vitamins 1 Find one way I am not like mom 1 Read a book Needed 1 Take Bloodpressure 5 1 Out of work by 4:30 1 Check orders account 1 Nightly downtime 1 Floss before bed 1 Be in bed by 10:30 Daily Skirmishes against Chaos 1 Desk Needed 1 Clean off file cabinet 2 1 Clean off tall dresser 1 Clean off nightstands 1 Clean off Dresser Campaigns against Chaos Needed 1 Pick up one furtumbleweed a day 2 1 Empty out car daily 1 Pull one gross thing from fridge or cabinet 1 Purge 1 thing a day Walking 1 Walk 5000 steps Needed 1 Walk 5 minutes at lunch 3 1 Walk 5 minutes in morning 1 4 hours with 250 steps 1 Walk to Mordor Fuel Needed 1 No eating after dinner 3 1 Take Probiotic 1 < 4 bottles of tea 1 Eat Breakfast 1 Eat Lunch 1 20 oz of water

I have things to celebrate from this past year: 1) I completed a TV pilot script and sent it out to screenplay competitions. 2) My husband and I bought a house. 3) My husband and I got a puppy doggo. Despite these joyful occurences, I am trying to understand how 2022 - a whole 'nother trip around the sun - went by so quickly. Was I sleeping for roughly a third of it? Yes. Yes, I was. Nonetheless! During December, I mulled over why I might feel like the year went by too swiftly, and I believe that it's because I lacked physical and spiritual fulfillment. I am a recovering couch potato who once was fairly active. The year before last I would go on hikes weekly with my infant (who's now almost 3 - wow!) carrying his heavy self on my person. I went for runs with my kiddo in the jogging stroller. I did dance cardio, yoga, kettlebells, erg rowing... man! I also was more "active" in reflecting on my spiritual self during 2021. 2022? Not so much. Anyway, that was 2021, and 2021 felt like a good long year despite being in the thick of pandemic-ness. Just comparing here. So yeah - I have decided that I would like to focus on a couple of things for this year: - Finding the joy in exercising consistently again. - Spending more thoughtful alone time contemplating and developing my spiritual side. To kick things off, here is my first challenge of 2023: 1) Exercise for 30 minutes or more 4x per week. Can be broken up into a couple of smaller sessions in the day so long as they total greater than 30 minutes in sum. 2) Spend at least 10 minutes each day writing in journal about spiritual related questions and thoughts OR practicing mindfulness. 3) No alcohol. Dry challenge! There are other things I would like to do and may write about during this challenge, such as writing progress and acrylic painting, but officially aiming to do those things more consistently are things for upcoming challenges. I have enough on my plate.

Been doing a lot of reflecting. Having your Saturnalia festivities interrupted by having to evacuate the house due to pipes busting will do that. Mostly just seems to be an appropriate moment in my life to get back into the challenges. I experienced something of a mini-mental breakdown last week that had me staring at my basement wall from the time I clocked out of work until going to bed that night. I think I just broke under the stress. I've been existing as a Work Completion Machine(tm) in some capacity or another since I began my career change. At the time, it made sense to prioritize building my reputation as a guy who got shit done. That, and my anxiety never let me shake the fear that I was always just one wrong step away from being thrown out on my ass. And then there was my relationships, also mostly driven by fear. Will I get kicked out of the tribe for being too liberal? Or not liberal enough? Or for being an atheist? For speaking my mind? Because I didn't bring a casserole or a bottle of wine to the dinner party? In other words, I kept putting everyone and everything else ahead of myself. To the point where, when my therapist, a few sessions back, asked me what my values were, I had no answer for her. I've lost track of my identity. And, at the same time, I find it leaking out everywhere. I inject my identity and my ego into conversations so much that every interaction feels like one of those ninja course challenges where I'm trying to verbally dash across the spinning log to say all the right things, crack the right jokes, and not offend the wrong sensibilities. My social interactions become this weird dance where I'm both trying to shield my ego from danger while also ordering it to dance for other people's entertainment. That changes now. This challenge is dedicated to me. I'm putting my own mask first. I'm looking out for my needs and my wants. And I'm starting by taking on my demons. I might turn this into a narrative. Could be fun. A sort of demon hunter thriller. At least build in some form of gamification. We'll see. For now, this challenge is still a work in progress. Challenge Goals. By 2/4/2023 (end of challenge): 1. 170 minutes meditated (5 mins per challenge day less 2 cheat days). 2. 10 salads prepared (2 per week). 3. 2 braises prepared. 4. 2 bicycle trips. 5. No more than 12 video game hours. 6. Update NF daily. 40 hours extra work (i.e. work in addition to my usual 40) by the end of the challenge. -------------------------- Challenge progress: 1. 26/170 minutes meditated. 2. 2/10 salads prepared. 3. 1/2 braises prepared. 4. 0/2 bicycle trips completed. 5. 8/12 video game hours. 6. 5/40 extra work hours. Last updated: 1/8/2023.