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So, all...I've recently turned 58 and hit my highest weight ever for my 5'10" frame (265lbs). I've been struggling with high blood pressure, visceral fat and a stalled metabolism. I'm out of breath walking up a moderate 100 foot hill to my morning meeting. My current physical state has me overwhelmed, feeling very vulnerable, struggling with self esteem, and caring less and less about the way I look. The bloating and heart-burn I experience lately disgust me, and I have zero motivation to work out. Somewhere along the way, I got lost. Recent efforts this past summer to exercise and eat cleaner did help me feel better, but yielded no results in weight loss after 3 weeks. I was disillusioned to say the least ("crushed" would describe it better). The lack of results I assumed was a product of my age. I always got good results earlier in life, and was never afraid of hard work-outs and daily gym time. But once I got back to work, all the good habits went away...with a vengeance. The good news is, a little over 3 weeks ago, I got the job I always wanted; Executive Chef at a busy hotel overlooking the Hudson river in New York. I have a great staff and an even more awesome management team supporting me. My days mostly begin at 4am and often end after 8pm. Most of my co-workers are surprised at my long-haul energy, and I usually arrive before, and leave after my Sous Chefs. I love my work and the challenge, and want every edge I can get to keep this job and excel at it, along with the rest of my life. I know that improving my overall health and improving my strength and endurance are the keys; but as I said before, I'm overwhelmed. Where do I start? How do I fit a workout plan into my work schedule? What the hell do I eat? I seriously feel like I don't know anything anymore, except that it looks like its time to come back from exile and join the rebellion. I welcome the advice and critique of all...

Kuros, through passed down stories that have become nothing more than legend, is known to most as the "Knight Warrior of the Books of Excalibur," but few would know it upon meeting this unassuming hero. Less bulky warrior and more agile ranger, with a mind sharper than any blade (except Brightsword, of course), Kuros is a servant of light, far more humble than the picture this old keeper of lore will paint for you. Always cloaked and seldom seen, it would be easy to mistake him for an assassin (a poor one at that if he is indeed seen), or a scout. Alas, this is not the case. Jack of all trades, but a master of none, except maybe stillness of mind. The sum total of his attributes is what makes him a force to be reckoned with. Any obstacle or any foe can be conquered, and the only limiting factor is his force of will. With the proper application of blade and bow, mind and manners, Kuros can equally well disarm both the hound of Hades or the daughter of Zeus. Ironically though, given his tremendous capability and power to sway the forces of evil, Kuros has not been seen for many years, and as we approach our darkest hour, the world needs all the heroes she can get. Whispers on the wind have become widespread rumor, and these tell of a broken husk of a man that was once humankind’s staunchest advocate. It is said that he has withdrawn from the world, grieving for a loved one who has passed from this life. If Kuros happens to be reading this right now, know this. This world is merely a doorway to the next life. You will see your beloved again, but not yet… not yet. Take heart. There are many more beautiful lives to preserve and the darkness is ever encroaching. The bell has been rung and the hour is now. The time to reforge ourselves into something new, something stronger, is here. I call upon all the hesitant and all the eager heroes of the world. Our world is at your mercy. Will you not answer her call? Hello everyone and sorry for the over the top RPGing. I had serious fun with that. I'm really looking forward to this experience. Such a cool site and idea. Anyways, my real name is Mike, I'm 27 years old and I'm looking to get fitter than ever. How fit? Like Gimli and Legolas had a baby and that kid grew up in the wild raised by wolves and surrounded by orcs level of fit. I like to do a little bit of everything to be honest with you. Traditional strength routines, cross-fit style circuits, sprint workouts, distance running, and climbing. If anyone's in the Idaho Falls area (just about to move out there from Virginia), let me know if you're looking for a workout partner. Also, that list is by no means exhaustive. I also like to snowboard, play ultimate frisbee and competitive online video gaming. My xbox live gamertag is Terra Unu if anyone wants to add me. Right now I play Overwatch and Left 4 Dead 2 (yes I know it's old) mainly, but I also occasionally get on Battlefield 4, Halo 5, Destiny, Diablo III, Titanfall 2 and Call of Duty: Black Ops III. My favorite games of all time are Rygar, Wizards and Warriors, Donkey Kong 64, Goldeneye, Nightfire, Halo, Left 4 Dead, Jak and Daxter, Champions of Norrath, Fusion Frenzy, World of Warcraft, Counter Strike and the original Star Wars Battlefront games. This last part I'll end up posting in a more appropriate section of the forums, but I thought since I'm introducing myself, I might as well introduce another idea that I think would be great for the site (or terrible, not sure yet). What do you guys and gals think about all our character profiles and quests being accessible via a facebook-like network? I personally think it would be cool to check out and gain inspiration from other people's profiles and keep in touch with one another via a facebook-like interface, but in the style and format of this site with this specific community. Or should I just shut up and go use facebook? Ha, anyways thanks for reading and rebel on. Mike (AKA, Kuros) https://www.nerdfitness.com/character/191847

Time to turn my back on The Empire once again! I need to get my nutrition in order, so this challenge will be all about sorting out my diet, which is in terrible shape at the moment. Goals: 1. Get help to setup a nutrition plan and execute it 2. Cold turkey on video games for this challenge at least. That's it for now, it will involves sub goals I expect which I'll update later once I have the plan. I'm going to setup a session with a nutritionist and ask for a 4 week food plan.Hopefully I can get a session sorted out this week.

OK somehow I posted my new challenge to the old forum so am copying and pasting to the correct forum Posted 13 September 2015 - 05:25 PM I've been away from the challenges for a couple of months and now I'm rested and rejuvinated it's time to respawn. My goal for this challenge is simply to climb back on the NF wagon gently by making life as easy and stress-free as I can. This will involve: 1. Walk! STA+2 CON+2 CHA+1 Fairly simple to explain, I'll just strap on my pedometer, get up and walk around. A = 221k steps and over B = 211k - 220k steps C = 200k - 210k steps F = Under 200k steps 2. Organise! DEX+1 CON+1 WIS+2 CHA+1 Using a blend of the techniques described in Marie Kondo's book, The life changing magic of tidying, the philosophies found in James Wellman's Stuffocation, and the topics covered in the 15 days to a new organised you articles at www.athriftymrs.com I'll be getting my act together this challenge and making life easier for myself. I have worked out 15 categories to cover so I will spend at least 2 days concentrating on each category. I'll record what I am doing on a chart and this will probably involve awarding myself shiny stickers for keeping myself on track. A = 25 days and more B = 20-24 days C = 15-19 days F = Fewer than 15 days 3. For the rebellion! WIS+3 CON+1 CHA+1 There are so many hard-working and inspirational people here at NF that I really want to get back in and surround myself in it all. Perhaps I can pick up some of that awesomeness via osmosis diffusion. So every day I will read another person's challenge, battle log or NF article and will make at least one positive comment. I'll be treating this as a "hard hat" challenge for the whole 6 weeks. Pass = Never miss 2 or more days in a row Fail = Miss 2 or more days in a row

I've been away from the challenges for a couple of months and now I'm rested and rejuvinated it's time to respawn. My goal for this challenge is simply to climb back on the NF wagon gently by making life as easy and stress-free as I can. This will involve: 1. Walk! STA+2 CON+2 CHA+1 Fairly simple to explain, I'll just strap on my pedometer, get up and walk around. A = 221k steps and over B = 211k - 220k steps C = 200k - 210k steps F = Under 200k steps 2. Organise! DEX+1 CON+1 WIS+2 CHA+1 Using a blend of the techniques described in Marie Kondo's book, The life changing magic of tidying, the philosophies found in James Wellman's Stuffocation, and the topics covered in the 15 days to a new organised you articles at www.thriftymrs.com, I'll be getting my act together this challenge and making life easier for myself. I have worked out 15 categories to cover so I will spend at least 2 days concentrating on each category. I'll record what I am doing on a chart and this will probably involve awarding myself shiny stickers for keeping myself on track. A = 25 days and more B = 20-24 days C = 15-19 days F = Fewer than 15 days 3. For the rebellion! WIS+3 CON+1 CHA+1 There are so many hard-working and inspirational people here at NF that I really want to get back in and surround myself in it all. Perhaps I can pick up some of that awesomeness via osmosis. So every day I will read another person's challenge, battle log or NF article and will make at least one positive comment. I'll be treating this as a "hard hat" challenge for the whole 6 weeks. Pass = Never miss 2 or more days in a row Fail = Miss 2 or more days in a row

I'm a little late to the party... My husband and I wanted to join the 6-week challenge, but we were really busy finishing half marathon training! Now that the race is over, we can focus 100% on this challenge! This is my first time posting on Nerd Fitness and my first time being excited about joining a "program" to get healthy. A little backstory: I live in Ohio with my husband and 2 cats. I'm in my mid-20's, and right now I'm going to school part-time for music therapy and working part time for a before/after school program at an elementary school. I'm running around most of the day, and I try to take every opportunity to relax when I can (aka play RPGs for hours on end). I started running a year ago and have completed 6 5Ks, a 10K, and a half marathon. I heard that just running was the best and easiest way to lose weight, but I have yet to lose a pound. I also have a wonderful condition called Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), which is a life-long, incurable endocrine disease. Basically, my hormones are all out of whack. (If you're a dude or hate TMI, you may want to shut your eyes) PCOS causes me to gain weight easily and makes it really hard to lose. It also causes depression, irregular or absent periods, infertility, and nightmarish acne. I'm also at an elevated risk for any cancer you can name, miscarriage, diabetes, high blood pressure... just to name a few. Oh and did I mention it makes it difficult to impossible to conceive? It's lovely. My greatest dream is to have a family of my own, but I haven't ovulated in 6 months. Right now, I literally have a 0% chance at getting pregnant. There are a number of medications I could take for PCOS, all of which have ridiculous side-effects. Vomiting 24/7? Maybe not. When you're diagnosed with PCOS, the first thing they tell you is to lose weight to improve the symptoms. I am 10-20lbs overweight (according to BMI) and I know I could make this a lot easier on myself if I get down to a healthy weight. That being said, here are my stats for this 6-week challenge! CLASS: Ranger MOTIVATION: To be happy with how I look. To be able to conceive a child naturally (no meds or injections). To control my PCOS symptoms. MAIN GOAL: To get to a healthy/ideal weight and be healthy enough to have a baby All my motivations are connected to one thing: losing weight. They tell you that even losing 10% of your body weight can significantly reduce PCOS symptoms and boost fertility. Also feeling good about yourself can do wonders. I want to get down to 130-140lbs. MISSION #1: 6 20-minute workouts per week I want to keep running, but I know I need to focus on strength too if I want to lose any weight. I am planning for 3 workouts to run 20 mins and 3 workouts doing the Beginner Bodyweight Workout. MISSION #2: Eat paleo 2x a day, 5 days a week I do not eat paleo at all right now, so I want to start small. When I began reading Nerd Fitness resources, I saw stuff that really clicked. "Willpower is a finite resource." I always start out all gung-ho, then crash after a couple weeks. Start small, win small. Eventually those small victories will add up to a big victory. I want to eat paleo twice a day for 5 days a week. Whether it's 2 meals, 1 meal and 1 snack, or 2 snacks, I don't care! MISSION #3: Drink 64 oz of water each day My biggest downfall. I almost never drink enough water. And it's one of the best and healthiest things you can do for yourself. I have a 32-ounce water bottle that I can take with me. Rather than filling a small one up like 7 times, it will be easy- just drink 2 bottles. LIFE GOAL: Visit my OBGYN/endocrinologist and start getting my cycles regulated More TMI folks. My cycles are effed the eff up right now. It's also time for my annual lady exam, so I plan on getting that taken care of and possibly going back on birth control short-term just to jumpstart my cycles again. Regular cycles means balanced hormones means losing weight easier. If you read this entire post, thank you! I really need some support to get through this 6-week challenge-slash-year-slash-life. If you have hormonal struggles or PCOS like I do, please let me know! I don't personally know more than 2 people who have it and can relate to me. This main quest is the biggest and most important challenge of my life thus far and I can't wait to get started!!!

Hey everybody Rogue Squadron's back! As always this post will be updated with members and their threads. Be sure to sign up on the sign-up sheet. We also have a Facebook Group, check it out! Usual tips apply, be sure to subscribe to this thread, to your own thread, and to the thread of other Rogue's. Hoping to do some challenges and Google Hangouts this time through. MEMBERS RogueWelkin - RogueWelkin References Kilts In A Clever Thread Name (Challenge 9) Annie1120 - Me vs Myself Part II ScoutSays - Scoutsays... ain't it fun... Living in the real world... Challenge 6 Wovercast - Wovercast Grinds it Out (Battlelog) jcsimmons2 - Time for a reboot [jcsimmons2] Annabelle - I'm going on an adventure! - Annabelle heads to Middle-Earth jofalltrades - Jofalltrades's Daily Log Suelk - My First Scouts Challenge JohnnyShoes - JohnnyShoes continues to redeem himself Tateman - Tateman's 9th Challenge: Time to head back to Spartan KingLeeroy - KingLeeroy's Resolve Face - Challenge 9 SirHammerLock - SirHammerlock #9: ORGANIZE! Gingered - gingered challenge #3: Build those arms, bro dhert - dhert challenge 7 - Rumors of My Demise were Grossly Exaggerated SugarRay - SugarRay's Climbing Challenge! geekilee - Viscura's power begins to grow Spockgrrl - Spockgrrl's search for peace jlud007 - Jluddy's second challenge - Adventure Awaits.....

Hi all! I've joined the chat a couple times and really enjoyed meeting a couple of the regulars in there - Ratchetz (sp?), Catspaw, that other one who changes her name based on what she's doing..., spezzy, and that's just from memory. I can tell that The Rebellion is going to suit me just fine. Lessee... I'm 27, been married for a year. I was in the best shape of my life before my long distance boyfriend moved in--but, as they say, love causes weight gain! I was on track for a while, and even did numerous 5k, including the Warrior Dash, then I had a major set-back. I developed a back injury, seemingly out of nowhere, that set me back considerably. I found it difficult to work out due to muscle spasms and nerve pain. I've regained about 23 pounds over the past year and a half. You can't out-run the fork, especially if you're not moving. I've gotten the issues mostly under control thanks to the help of regular chiropractic care, but I'm still working on physical therapy to re-condition the muscles. It really doesn't help that I'm so overweight. I love to play PC games--I've been playing a lot of Guild Wars 2, and I'm gearing up for the release of Wild Star this weekend. My husband and our friends play board games (like Firefly, and Risk), and card games (MTG), as well as console games (we had a Mario themed wedding). My real-life end-game would see me at about 180 lbs, having fun in 5ks and not experiencing chronic back pain any more. Currently, I'm 243, have back pain daily, and I'd be considered sedentary except for the fact that I stand all day (even though I work at an office). The mini goals that I have to get to the end-game are to: 1. Participate in my first 6-week challenge (I'm already signed up!) 2. Transition to a paleo template 3. Remain committed to daily physical therapy I'm really inspired by everyone's PRs and accomplishments. If you'd like to welcome me and inspire me, tell me (in short) where you were when you started with Nerd Fitness and where you're at now. I love to read success stories. Best, Aminarra

Hey all, Rogue Squadron is back yet again. As Always this post will be updated with members and links to their current challenges. Rogue Squadron is mostly about showing support for our members (and non-members) out on their own topics, but we're always open for conversation in here as well. As always make sure you follow this topic, your topic, and the topics of each of our members in order to get the most out of the group. Good Luck this challenge! MEMBER LIST Rogue Welkin: Kilty Kilty Om Nom Nom - RogueWelkin Challenge 7 Wovercast: Wovercast Breaks Down the Macros Mangostrike: A New Hope, Mangostrike's Back Viriana: Virana: CHALLENGE ACCEPTED! JohnnyShoes: JohnneyShoes knew he shoulda taken that left at Albuquerque SirHammerlock: Sir Hammerlock #7: Concentrating on the important things? ScoutSays: ScoutSays Operation: Lost the Weight - Challenge 4 Part Deux Jofalltrades: Jofalltrades Gets Ready for 28 and Graduation Cookie351: Cookie picks her sword back up and says "Not Today" KingLeeroy: KingLeeroy - Climbing to towers for Challenge 7 Sandylion: Sandylion strikes back Tateman: Tateman Challenge #7: Taking it 14 days at a time Gingered: First Challenge: Get Stronger! [insert nerdy reference here-Gingered] AxiosAdept: Do or do not, there is no try Annie1120: Annie1120 - Fell off the ram, stumbled a bit, time to get back on it. Edit 2 (placed before the first because...reasons): Hey guys, I created a facebook group for any members of Rogue Squadron to join, past and present! It's set so that only members can see posts (but anyone can see the group or members, I should be able to change that if desired). Find it here! Edit: A nice FAQ for anyone that wants one. How do I join Rogue Squadron? Well that's easy. Make sure you head over to the accountibillibuddies spreadsheet and put your name in for Rogue Squadron (if it doesn't go to the right page, we're in the cross guild area these days). Post in this topic saying you want to be a rogue and make sure to include a link to your topic, then go through the topics of the other members and post on them. Fun times! Who can join Rogue Squadron? Anyone, really...anyone. We'll welcome you if you're a Level 1 Rebel or in any of the other class guilds, even if you're sitting out this challenge you can feel free to participate. Beyond that we don't even care what part of the world you're in, I can immediately think of having people all over the US, in Scotland, and Germany so we're open to all comers (just try to keep the topics in English, some of us suck at languages 80P) How many people can join Rogue Squadron? We don't keep strict on the number, if you want to join Rogue Squadron, feel free to join Rogue Squadron regardless how many are already here. How active is Rogue Squadron? Rogue Squadron varies in participation in this topic from challenge to challenge, we mostly focus on heading out to the individual challenges and showing our support there, but if you have questions or other concerns feel free to post them here, we're always willing to chat up here. Sometimes we'll even have a Google Hangout if there's interest. I have a question you didn't answer! Sorry! I tried to get as many as I could here, but if you've got a question...ask it in the topic and someone here will answer it, and if you think it deserves a spot up here, let me know and I'll put it in this post!

So, hi! I'm posting three days officially after the challenge started, but I've been officially into the challenge since the 14th. I'm not a forum person and (insert other excuses)... Writing makes everything official. Short story long: I've been struggling with weight all my life. Genetics, anyone? Diabetes on one side, morbid obesity on the other. On my worst days I got to 90Kg, best ones 65 (when I was a teen and I made a mad diet which was probably illegal). Three years ago I was 85kg and had been around there for a while. After six hard months dieting I got to 71kg. I went slowly up.. then I quit smoking (yay!) and BOOM. I'm 79kg now. Life is a bitch. I know kind of everything about diets, but little about exercise. I've been practising yoga for 5 years now, and I keep moving on with it <3. I like biking and I hate gyms. I'm a lazy person who wants to look like Kara Thrace So, enough talking, this is my challenge. Main quest: 6kg (that's 1 stone, right? I'm from Spain!) in 6 weeks. I think that should be completely doable. After that, everything will slow down, because I usually get stuck in 73-75kg. Goals: Diet: I follow a kind-of-paleo diet. I do get some dairy (yogourths, some milk with coffee, white cheese) and whole grain bread in the morning. The rest is all about meat, fish, vegs. No sugar, no hard carbs (pasta, rice, etc), little fat (I try to cook on the wok and oven, which requieres little oil).Exercise: After close study, Im going for four days of exercise/week. Two would be for the Beginner Strenght Trainning (I alreadly started that yesterday, it was quite tough for me!), the other two will be for yoga and biking.Alcohol - Dear friends, I live in Spain and have a quite busy social life. This means: WINE. Everything is fine when I'm home, but every time I step out of the house... Social life in my area is all about drinking+eating. Yes, go and find a bunch of bikers! You say. I did. After the two hour ride, they went for cider. So I'll just have to stay at home or go for water. My goal here, in order to keep my friends and some strangers, is to stay at 2 wines/week max. I could do better, but I've done it before and it's hard and I want to keep this realistic.Life Goal: Be Kara Thrace? Seriously, I need to boost my self-confidence. I've read the rules and I'm not sure what's the next step All your feedback is so welcome. Cheers!

This isn’t going to be long or fancy. I’m a sword fighter – not a belly dancer… Main Quest: Achieve 20% Body Fat - Goal 1: Substitute healthy foods for sugar cravings (I have an addiction) - Goal 2: Consume sugar only once every seven days (still too much, I know) - Goal 3: Eliminate all grains except some rice (basically paleo) Life Quest: Have a violin or Spanish lesson daily. I guess I’m not allowed to have side quests yet. Motivation: I have discovered TRUTH about food/fitness/weight management and want to LIVE by it – not just know it – so when I tell others about this life-changing truth, I’ll be living it, not just preaching it. I want to eventually get to the point where I'm certified to help people change their eating habits for scientifically proven health benefits, and I can't start unless I live it. Peace and Courage be with you all.

Hey everybody, Rogue Squadron is back in action. As always member list will be placed here in the OP, and be regularly updated as we gain members. Members: RogueWelkin: RogueWelkin: Episode IV - A New Hope KingLeeroy: KingLeeroy's Castle of Grind, Challenge 4. Wovercast: Wovercast Survives the Holiday Gauntlet Tateman: Tateman's Challenge #4 - "Run, Fatboy, Run... To Spartan Race!" SirHammerlock: Hammerlock's fourth time JohnnyShoes: Johnny Shoes can do all the things!! BruceHeat: Bruce is going to hit those numbers challenge! Kort: Kort's Conquering of the Never Ending Wedding Season Don't forget to follow this topic as well as your own topic and those of the other Rogue Squadron members. 80D

Hey all, Rogue Squadron is back for another challenge. All are welcome. Hoping to see some familiar faces again and help everyone stay motivated and keep in the challenge. As always this post will be updated with a list of members and a link to their current challenge. Stay on Target! RogueWelkin - Journey of a Moisture Farmer - Royal Discovery Tateman - Tateman Round 3: Ready to Form Voltron dhert - dhert challenge 4: "Nothing is true; Everything is permitted" redwrecker - Redwrecker really wants a pull up! Aria - "The Force is what gives a Jedi his power..." Aria [Chapter 1] Madddogg - Madddogg's Path to Fitness JohnnyShoes - The Shock Treatment Continues for JohnnyShoes! GypsyHeart - GypsyHeart: Track into the Dark Forest KingLeeroy - KingLeeroy's Castle of Grind SirHammerlock - Sir Hammerlock joining late for #3 Feisty1 - From Damsel in Distress to Big Damn Hero!

Why, hello there. My name is Adam and this is my first post on the NF forums. I am 18 years of age, currently finishing up my last year of high school, and love sports, playing piano, video games, and nature. I would currently classify myself as an ogre/warrior, as I am 5'11", 210 lbs., and around 16% body fat, with a heavy genetic predisposition for gaining weight (whether that be fat or muscle). I have decent muscular development, and definitely need to drop some body fat and maybe gain some lean muscle mass. I am excited to begin my first challenge, as it marks the inception of a great, life-long adventure. I shall therefore call this challenge, Adventure Time!!! This is my challenge. There are many like it, but this one is mine. Main Quest My primary goal l is to drop down to 175 lbs. and sub-10% body fat. This is definitely a long term goal, which I hope to accomplish within 6 months of today. Incredibly and Awesomely Specific Missions ​Eat within macro nutrient profile each day. 65 g fat, 230 g carbs, and 160 g protein, eating the majority of carbs at dinner. Perform 30 minute bodyweight strength training routine 4 days a week. Bio-energetic exercises for 10 minutes every morning along with foam rolling for 20 minutes. Life Quest Continue playing the piano, practicing Hanon exercises for 15 minutes each day, and working on pieces for 30 each day. My goal is to have mastered the first 10 Hanon exercises at the end of 6 weeks, and perfected the songs Waltz in A Minor by Chopin, and One Summer's Day by Joe Hisaishi. Motivation In one of his videos, Elliott Hulse quoted Ralph Waldo Emerson, saying something along the lines of "life is a culmination of all your experiences". It is my dream in life to experience as many things as possible, whether that be related to self improvement, travel, relationships, appreciation of those and what is around me, or giving back. I truly am fearful going into this challenge, as I do not know if I will succeed or fail. This goal I have set is not so much about improving my looks and health, upping my confidence around other people. It is more about improving my inner confidence and focus, not just confidence that is situationally based. I hope not to just reach my goal, but change myself fundamentally as a person. My goal is to become a person who is willing to take on fear of the unknown, and fear of success. I will beat my inner resistance and the resistance found in those around me. This is simply a step towards becoming the strongest version of myself. ---- This challenge will hopefully be the first of many for me, and I am excited to connect with other members of the Nerd Fitness community. (image credit goes to Cartoon Network)

I was laying in bed, awake, the other night, completely hopped up on too much coffee (and not able to sleep anyway because my sleeping pattern is all over the board due to vacation) when I had an idea for getting myself healthy again. I became so excited about this idea that I couldn't sleep for another hour while I processed everything through my head. The next day, I wrote about it in my journal and my idea sounded ridiculous, so I pitched it to my husband and the response I got was not inspiring. It was something like "hrms?" - granted, he was playing wolfpack on ACIII, and he really likes that focus bonus... Either way, I was not encouraged to bring this into the light of day. So, I did what just about any female does... I took my idea to a friend instead- some of you know here around here as PrincessHeather. She was highly encouraging and didn't even think I was being that weird. Which, in and of itself, might be odd. Anyway, I decided to suck it up and make my journey public because *HOPEFULLY* it will keep me accountable. And hopefully I won't crap out, and hopefully I can do this. Do you love how I'm saying "hopefully" as if my decisions and actions have nothing to do with it? Ugh, back to Responsibility 101. Here goes my fitness plan for the forseeable future: I'm going to follow the Rules of the Rebellion. Doesn't seem exceptionally earth shattering does it? But, here is where it gets a little crazy... and by crazy, I mean I'm psyched!. By following the Rules of the Rebellion, I'm going to be putting myself through each and every rule as a personal six week challenge (inspired by NF Official 6 week challenges, which I've done in the past). Each rule gets a devoted 6 weeks +1 rest week. I will be taking 6 weeks to meditate on each and every rule in regard to my fitness and to all areas of my life. I plan on getting stronger, physically, mentally and emotionally and taking some actual steps to smack down some life goals. For those of you doing the math: there are 11 rules, technically 7 weeks apiece = 77 weeks = a year and a half. 77 weeks dedicated to being INTENTIONAL from the ground up in order to make myself healthy and to make my life a life worth being healthy for. Now, I haven't got all the kinks worked out just yet... like rule #5: We understand that fat is not the enemy. How is that a life goal? I'm not sure - I'm hoping to have a Yoda moment when I get that far. But I do think this is possible. And I do think this is worth doing and so I'm going to try my darndest to take care of business and accomplish some big things in my life in the next year and a half. Why now? I'm ready. Mufasa came out of the clouds and said "It is time." Last year, I jumped into the healthy pool and swam around for a little while, and then got out and sun tanned and forgot what it was like in the the healthy pool. Over Christmas, I saw my stomach return flabby again, and I have been noticing my migraines returning since my diet turned crummy (I'm one of those people where light and sound hurts my head and I usually puke and have to sleep for a couple hours to get rid of the pain). Also, my husband would like kids sometime in the next couple years - I would like to be healthy before that happens (Ladies, could you imagine migraines and morning sickness? With my luck, it would totally happen.). I want to grow a healthy kid, and have that healthy kid lead a healthy life. Habits for that lifestyle need to be established now. As a teacher, I see way too many kiddos come to school who are lethargic and can't think straight and who have weird behavior impulses. Moms and dads give the kids suggary snacks and Starbucks(not kidding) to counter the lethargy and then get angry when their child gets in trouble for bouncing off the walls in class. I cannot be that parent. So yeah, now is the time. It feels right. Time to get to work.

Obviously, I'm new to Nerd Fitness. Hi. Call me Tigera. I found NF while trawling through other weight-loss sites. I don't even remember exactly how I found it, but I do know that I spent the next few hours after that reading articles. I'm trying not to sound too cheesy here, but it sounded pretty much perfect. I mean, a website dedicated to nerds who want to get in shape? How could there be something this perfect out there that I'd never heard of? I'm young and female, 5'8" and 160 pounds. I have been asked out exactly once in my life, and don't anticipate it happening again anytime soon. Most of my friends are stick-thin, which I cognitively understand isn't healthy but still can't help envying. Last year, I tried to lose weight by skipping meals. All the weight came back. Now I'm looking to get rid of it more permanently. What are my goals? Weight loss, obviously. Muscle gain. To look really good. To like how I look. To get my black belt (I'm currently a brown belt in Tae Twon Do). To run a 5k in less than thirty minutes, just to prove I can. To do a pull-up. To clean up my diet. To reach Level 10 through the 6-week challenges. To be more organized. To manage my time better. To keep up with old friends more consistently. I've pretty much got a laundry list of things I want to change. Lots of vague generalities, and even more specifics. I know it'll take a ton of work, but I want to get those parts to my life closer to where I want them. I WILL get those parts of my life closer to where I want them. I feel like now would be a good time to say that I've always had a soft spot for the rebel group. I was a Stormcloak before I even knew what they stood for, just because they were trying to overthrow an Empire. I love a good underdog. And I love BEING the underdog. If you win, you get to blow people's minds. They never see it coming. That's what I want to do with Nerd Fitness. I want to blow people's minds. I want to be that girl who people I haven't seen in a while think, "Wow, she's looking good." I want to be that girl who could whup your butt and look good while she does it (yes, I have mildly violent tendencies sometimes . I want to look good in spandex. But right now, I'm just glad to be a Rebel. For the Rebellion!

My name is Travis. I'm an old Gothic kid of 20 years old. I'm married and in a rut. In order to deal with this, I've chosen to kick the bad habits and try to get in shape. I have Crohn's Disease and I'm trying everything I can to beat it WITHOUT meds! I weigh 140 pounds, 5'5" and mostly fat. I'm taking a guess that my body fat is between 22%-25%. I want to get down to 8%-12%. I have started, and certainly enjoy, the paleo diet. I am currently working out with the beginner's bodyweight routine. It's kicking my butt, but I push to do better every time I do it! I eventually want to do more pullups and even at least one muscleup. That would be awesome. I am a nerd of the MMORPG sort. I have played everything from Diablo to WoW. I used to obsess over games, but ever since I married, I have slowly broke from the addiction. I do still play them once in a while, but not often. I am unemployed and in need of work. I'm trying to expand my network as much as possible in order to find work. I've also got a dream of one day owning a Tavern of the sort. You know, for all the elves, orcs, dwarves, humans, gnomes and all the sort to get together for a drink, food, and if the traveler needs a bed, it is provided for them, at a fee of course! Just like the olden days. That is my BIGGEST goal, and I am determined to get there one day! Well, I am new here, and I would love to meet more people, so please do send your replies and let's have a chat! (: