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Decided rather than continue the old challenge, I'm gonna just start a new one over. That seems to be the running theme over the last week or so for me, anyway. A lot of old stuff (old habits, ways of thinking, etc) isn't working, so I might as well clear stuff out and start from scratch. The Challenge: Five objectives for this challenge. 1. No alcohol for the duration of the challenge (well, no alcohol for all of 2021, of which this challenge is a small slice, so...) 2. Log everything that I eat for the duration of the challenge. Again, no stressing about getting things down to the last molar unit or anything like that, but at least get something down. Build the habit and all that. 3. NerdFitness progression to pull-ups. There's a post somewhere on the articles about this. Basically, it starts at doing dumbell rows and works its way up until pull up numero uno. I'm starting myself at 25 pound dumbell rows today (found I could do 3 sets of 8 reps with 20 pounds a couple days back, so 25 is the next increment up). 4. Bedtime by 10 pm each night. 5. Wake up with the first alarm each day. This is going to be the hard one. I'm a notorious snoozer (probably because I also haven't been doing item #3.) In a way, goal #4 is more of a support-related challenge for #5. They kinda go hand-in-hand. The Problem: As is becoming abundantly clear to me by the fact that I was initially only going to do three objectives and then I started writing this and three turned into five...I have a little bit of an over-commitment problem. I work myself to the nubs going crazy on self improvement and career learning and piano practice and just stuffing my brain with stuff and decluttering and all that stuff only to wind up in week two in a psychological breakdown that leaves me in a heap on the ground for the remainder of the challenge. In my defense...Goal1 is simply not doing a thing, and I've been not doing that thing for more than half a year now, so that one's pretty much automatic. Goal 2 is continuing what I've been doing in prior challenges. Goal 3 is a heavily pared down version of a previous workout challenge, and Goals 4 and 5 are effectively two sides of the same goal. Did I also mention I'm really good at rationalizing stuff for myself? There's a ton more stuff that I want to work on. I want to be better at all the things right now, after all. For the time being, though, this is what we're sticking with. Otherwise, in this thread, you shall find... -Various piano-related ranting and ravings. Possibly a YouTube piano video or two. -Grumbling about my psychological struggles with depression, understanding how to vulnerability, understanding how to be a human, yada yada. -The occasional pitched personal demon battle. -Some other stuff I'm sure.

My mother died in October (at age 85). My daughter got married in October, and she and her new husband are starting to talk about having kids. This has prompted some new soul searching on my part - and some thinking about what I want to accomplish in my life. And some thinking about what I want to BE as a grandma. (Disclaimer - my daughter is not yet pregnant and doesn't plan to have kids for 2 years, which gives me time to lose 40 pounds .....) I was a "cool mom." My daughter looks back on her childhood with fondness - at horseback riding and rock climbing and hockey and soccer and cheerleading and theater and Girl Scouts and videogames - and appreciates how she had freedom and support (I was involved in everything but cheer) to do a lot of different things. That kinda ended when she went to college and I began to slide into habits of an empty nester. I gradually started to internalize the messages that say "you shouldn't be doing that" or "you shouldn't dress like that now that you're over 40/50/60/whatever." Truth is, I want to have FUN and BE FUN. I want to be the grandma that shows my grandkids how to do cartwheels and handstands. Takes them rock climbing. Knows the names of all the constellations and birds .... and who will dig for worms, go swimming, take them hiking, and can help them find well-hidden geocaches. I don't want to be like all of the grandmas in my family (who are, unfortunately, sedentary lumps perched on top of atrophied, skinny legs) who sit around doing needlecraft, or bake a lot of unhealthy foods, or sit in front of TV or computer. I want to beat the expectations of my family and avoid the stereotypes of what a middle-aged woman does and how she dresses and acts. Specific goals will evolve over time, but .... there's the current list!!! Fitness Lose weight and gain muscle (127 lbs and 21% BF by May 2017 - when my daughter will graduate with her Ph.D.) Do a chin up unassisted (again) Do a crow pose Do a handstand Travel Go to Greece Go to Rome Go to London Do the Unexpected Blackbelt in karate Do a Zombies Run Do the ZR Virtual Race Volunteer as a zombie at a Zombie Run Do a bubble run Do a color run Do an obstacle course run Do a 5K Do a 10K Do a half-marathon Bike to work (at least during decent weather ....) Keep Learning Master's Degree Doctorate Learn modern Greek Get my Personal Trainer Certification Defeat the Fashion Police Wear tights and a tunic Wear tights with a skirt

So I've been out, and not for a lack of trying. I think it's been years since I actually completed a challenge satisfactorily (probably because of the depresso and the drugs 😝). Tried to do the last challenge as @sarakingdom suggested, but I kept procrastinating, and here we are. For those not following the absolute disasterpiece that is my Instagram fitness-turned-meme-page, I haven't really trained since lockdown, I've been sleeping on the couch for a year (because I can't afford to fix the room), depression hit hard and I ended up dropping out of school, and I'm on my second week of withdrawals from 3 different meds, (though I think I'll keep taking one for a little bit more). My challenge is to force myself to be healthy, one step at a time. I'd like to start with the easiest ones, and maybe I'll add more layers once I'm able to make them habits: Take my vitamins Get a workout (very loose definition) in Track sleep and water intake The first part of every game I've enjoyed playing ALWAYS sucks butt. It's a tutorial, you know what to do, but doing it just sucks. I guess this is my Temple of Trials... EDIT: Actually, Goodsprings might be a better representation; waking up at a home clinic after having a bullet extracted from my head. The game was rigged from the start.

Pumped and ready to get slowly chiseling away at my larger goals. Woot! The Backstory I started my Nerd Fitness journey years ago, long before my two kiddos arrived on the scene, and it's been a while since I've been around these parts. (I was AgentKatia then!) Now I'm back at it as a Rookie, trying to make sustainable changes. As much as I want to dive in deep so I can see quicker results, having two kids under 5 has dramatically changed my approach to, well, life. And now I need to learn to chisel. To chip away and reveal the sculpture inside the marble slab, to paraphrase the famed sculptor. Which is an imperfect metaphor for several reasons, but you get my point. The Challenge In the interest of making my goals both super achievable (yay upward spiral) and in keeping with my theme of chiseling, I'm keeping this challenge small. Exercise for at least 10 minutes 6 days a week, and more more than 30 minutes 7 days a week. This is my most important and my hardest one. I want to fit regular movement into my life, but carving out the time (man I'm on a sculpture bender over here) has proven to be my greatest obstacle. I'm still figuring where this will be in my day. Watch this space. I love the FitOn app, so I'll be using that for my workouts. Anything with deliberate movement counts as exercise, from a stretching routine to restorative yoga to light cardio to full on HIIT. That last one is probably not on the menu this challenge, but it's definitely something to work toward. Incorporate intermittent fasting 12/12, 7 days a week. For me, this means don't eat after 6:30. I'll still do three meals a day + snacks, which isn't the truest form of intermittent fasting, but in the past this approach has helped me curb after dinner mindless eating. Be in bed at 10pm on weeknights (Sunday–Thursday). We've been restructuring bed and wakeup times at our abode lately, which has resulted in me not getting enough sleep. So, a 10pm bedtime is a step toward dezombification. The Caveat Because this challenge is all about chiseling, I reserve the right to revise these goals after Week 1 if they're already proving too much. In that case I'll probably make them cumulative—by the end of this challenge I will be exercising 6 days a week, etc. But TBD once we get started. Manifest!

Salutations and good health! I am pleased to have found the Rebellion after mourning the decay of Fitocracy for many years. I have been doing some kind of fitness activity for the past 15 years, but as an overweight office worker it is easy for me to fall out of shape quickly. Recently, the romantic siren call of the Triathalon has caught my ears and I am toying with preparing for one. I've never done a Tri before, and the last time I buckled down and did a training plan (6 years ago) I ended up getting freaked out after getting kicked in the head at a lap swim and yelled at -- if I can't be brave in the pool, how would I withstand Lake Michigan!? But I am a mom now and have taught my daughter that being scared is part of being brave, and so I am ready to try this again. Only ... I don't have a swim suit. Or a bike. And I haven't run a mile all year. Last summer I ran with a friend, but we did slow-paced intervals and I want to be a 30 minute 5K gal. So I'm basically re-spawning. My challenges three are for each aspect of the Triathalon.... 1) Run a 13 minute mile (I know I need a 9:30 for my speed goal, but I can do speed work later) 2) Buy a swimsuit (anyone have a recommendation for large bellies and long torsos?) 3) Save $50/week ($250 total) toward a new bike Here's a picture of my secret possum scarf -- a very expensive silk vestment I purchased to enchant my work day. It is like a cloak of invisibility for anxiety. On the outside I look competent, but secretly I am a shrieking anxious possum. I'm ready to possum-shriek my way through a triathlon! Or at least through the first baby steps of training! My name is Aubrey, but y'all can call me Aubrazilla

Hello old friends and friends to come. Stay awhile, and listen. It looks like it's creeping up on two years since I last attempted a challenge. I once again humbly offer myself to the rebellion in search of inspiration, motivation, and reinforcements in my battle with entropy. Since Diablo 2: Resurrected is scheduled to be released later this year, I thought it a fitting challenge theme for my namesake. It's a remaster, so basically, it's a version of the game that should function more or less the same as the original, but look a lot better. Incidentally, this is exactly how I'd like to re-release myself to the world after The Year That Shall Not Be Named: essentially the same, but better-looking. I have been lifting heavy things with some regularity and something resembling progress since I was last around these parts in late 2019. However, like many, I did put on a few extra pounds in [YEAR REDACTED] and am now making a more concerted effort to remove those pounds. I have a lot of general knowledge around the diet and exercise requirements necessary to achieve my goal, but I don't have a plan for doing so, and I think that's fine. I'm not much of a planner, so I'd like to approach this challenge the way I tend to find success elsewhere in life: by the seat of my pants. Since this is apparently a theme, I'm going to structure the challenge with maintenance goals (original), and stretch goals (remaster). That kinda works, right? I might refine them to be more specific over time, but I probably won't. Work out, drink less. That's the main game. Original Goals: >= 2 workouts per week <= 2 days/nights with drinks per week (weekends, ideally) Remaster goals: 4 workouts per week Work on side project(s) at least once a week Jeez, Idk, eat less/better?? In other news, I'm shopping around for a new lifting program, but I don't have the same enthusiasm for reading and researching that I did a few years ago. Enthusiasm in general has been in somewhat short supply. My current "programming" is just a hodge podge of 60-80% 1rm/7-9 RPE, 3+ sets, 5-12ish reps, and whatever accessories I feel like, depending on the day. It's not much of a program, but it's better than sitting on the couch with a beer. I'm kinda hoping some casual conversation around here can steer me in some direction eventually, but I'm also fine just winging it for the foreseeable future. Also, over the last few months I've been teaching myself game development in Unity, so that's the main side project I've been trying to carve out some time for every week. It's somewhat relevant to the theme, but I don't have any specific goals for it yet either. Happy to talk anyone's ear off about that, but for now I'm mostly just learning and tinkering.

I've been a member of the rebellion since 2014, but I haven't participated in a challenge since 2015! A lot of things have changed around here, in my life, and in the world in general in the past six years. My health and fitness improved a lot, but like many peeps I think, 2020 was a rough go, and the first half of 2021 hasn't been much better. While I kept up a regular lunch-time walk over the course of the pandemic, pretty much everything else fell to the wayside while I kept myself safe and sane. So here I am, ready for a respawn with all of you beautiful people! My overall goal for right now is to feel at home in my skin again. I have a few other things that I'd like to work towards as well, but I don't think this first challenge in six years is the right time, lol. (I dream of running again, but my current cardio ability and dodgy knee need some more time before I can hit the pavement again) SO! To respawn, and start feel better in my body here are my current goals: Nutrition: Every week I make a meal plan, buy the groceries for it and have every intention of following it. However, I often find myself 'giving up' on that plan halfway through the week. So the goal is Eat what I plan and eat out no more than twice a week, bonus points if I build that eating out into the plan. Workout: It's been over a year of just walking and yoga once a week, so I'm going to take this very slowly. I'm going to continue those two things and work towards being able to do a proper push up. I'm also going to continue to work on what I call my 'secret circus' skills, juggling and hula hoop daily. I'm tempted to say I'm going to workout 3x a week like I used to pre-pandemic, but the gym at my office (where I workout) is still closed and I don't think that I can commit to that just yet. So, I'm going to start with also adding in one NF bodyweight workout a week, hopefully working up to two a week by the end of the challenge. Push ups: Starting with incline high plank isometric holds 3 sets/3x week and then progressing to high plank isometric holds on the floor when I can comfortably hold the plank on an incline for 1 minute. Juggling: Practice 10min daily Hula hoop: Practice 5min daily Mindset: Every night, before bed, journal in my Day One app for at least 5 mins about my successes and the things I need to work on from the day - specifically related to working out and nutrition

Background My name is aquadwayne (formerly tgsmith489, but I figured it was time for a change) and I have been active on the nerdfitness forums off and on for 6 years or so. I have done several challenges in that time and lost a lot of weight. I started in 2014 at ~350lbs then over the course of a year, got down to ~230lbs through IIFYM and lifting. During my lifting, I got a bad case of fuckarounditis and changed programs constantly and as a result didn't make much progress in terms of strength. My diet was solid during the week, but weekly cheat meals turned into weekly cheat weekends and when I wasn't cheating I was obsessing over the numbers in my macro tracking app. Needless to say, I had made some healthier changes, but still wasn't healthy. Then my wife, daughter, and I went on a vacation where I took a break from my diet and just never got back on. Though I've made attempts to go to the gym and eat healthier (at times for up to a month), I would inevitably quit and over 5 years got back to the 350lbs I started at. For the past month, I have been going to the gym and eating healthier, starting with a ketogenic diet. I really liked the diet and (for the most part) didn't find it difficult. I lost 12lbs in 2 weeks (mostly water) but then had a gout flareup and was in a lot of pain. After doing research, I found that changing between carbs and fat for a primary fuel source can cause flareups and I didn't want to deal with that so I added some carbs back into my diet. I'm not tracking anything for a few reasons: 1) I don't want to obsess over the numbers like I did before because that's not healthy mentally and 2) When I stopped tracking, I fell into my old eating patterns and habits. I want to change those patterns and habits to make my healthy changes more sustainable. As far as lifting goes, I started with the GreySkull Linear Program and adding in whatever accessories I feel like on that day. I think my squat form sucked though because my knee has been screwed up for a week or two now. It gets really stiff when I don't use it, and I'm not sure if it's because of form, a lack of muscles to support the knee after 5 years of being sedentary, or a combination of the two. I've been doing bodyweight squats with a focus on form (according to Staci Ardison), using the hip abductor machine, doing calf raises if I find myself standing around, and by doing the leg press (one leg at a time to really focus on the quads since I think the leg with the bad knee is weaker). I should note, I've never been good at squats or anything with my knees. Lunges have always hurt when I touched my knee down, and going to depth has always been tough either because of a lack of mobility or because of my big stomach. Goals Continue to focus on making one good choice at a time with my diet and not overdoing it (chicken and broccoli at a restaurant instead of a huge burger with fries, etc) [+1 WIS] Get knee back to a place where I can focus on squats since that's the lift I want to improve the most [+1 CON] Make sure I'm getting in the gym 3 times a week and try to get some extra activities in with the family (going for walks, bike rides with daughter, going to the park, etc) [+1 STR]

The forever rookie. The infinite respawner. The open and curious mind. I seek the mindframe of the ultimate beginner. I'm milythael by the way. I've been away. Whilst away, the roller-coaster of my life has trended down. I'm in the worst shape of my life physically and not doing that great mentally. Oh well, if you are going to reverse the trajectory of your life, it helps to turn around. As I reflect back, for a time NF helped me and I found community here. Hopefully this time I can again. I choose to be a rookie again, though I suspect I've been gone long enough for it to be a necessity. I just realized I seem to be a moderator, maybe. I wonder if I should ask someone to change that. I've always been primarily about bodyweight exercises and physical forms of play, hence assassins. I suspect my first challenge is going to be all about the mental side of my fitness. I've got such a long way to go. *sigh* just keep walking

After so many years of doing variations on the same theme, this challenge is finally going to be something new for me. All of my time with NF thus far has been me focused on meeting the physical requirements for a job with the police. My belief in that possibility has waxed and waned over the years, but that was always my main goal. As I've gotten older, I've felt growing pressure to get my life going (I've been working low paying, dead-end jobs for over 20 years, and been living in my parents' basement for most of that time, and I'd like to be a real adult someday). That pressure has caused me to explored a few job Plan B's recently. One of them has finally worked out, and I start the new job next week. This is the first real live, professional, adult job I've ever had, the first time in my life I'll be making a living wage, and, if all goes well, this will be the job I do from now until retirement. Being physically fit will be an advantage for this job, for a few different reasons, but there are no specific physical requirements, which allows me to shift my focus a bit, and relax a bit. I want to go back to some fundamentals I've been neglecting, and reset a bit on my fitness journey in an attempt to find the joy in it, rather than pushing myself to do certain things I don't always enjoy just to meet someone else's benchmarks. Goal #1 ~ Healthy Eating and Meal Prep The pandemic has not been kind to me in a lot of ways, but specifically it has not been kind to my waistline. I'm not ready to focus specifically on fat loss, but I do need to rein in my eating and meal prep habits a bit. So, for this goal, I'd like to track my food intake with MFP, with a (admittedly arbitrary) goal of 2005kcal/day. MFP makes me set macro goals in order to make a kcal goal (hence the slightly odd number), but I'm not overly concerned with the exact macros, I'm just interested at staying around 2000kcal/day. Food tracking seems a bit much right now, so I'm just going to focus on mostly eating homemade food, only eating when I'm hungry and stopping when I'm full, and staying away from junk food like chips and Wendy's. Related to this, I'll need to be more consistent with my meal prep. Generally, if I have prepared food in the fridge I'll eat it, even if I'm craving something else, because microwaving leftovers is easier than leaving my house to go to a drive-through. If I'm mostly eating healthy food prepared by me, I don't mind getting the occasional healthy-ish takeout (I have several options for this in my city), nor having the occasional treat, but I can't be living on treats alone. Goal #2A ~ Back to Basics I've known I need to work on mobility for a long time, and I've never been able to find/make the time to focus on it. It always felt like focusing on this would take away from my focus on my other physical goals, so I let it slide by the wayside. I'd like to make this a focus, at least for this challenge, and build from there in the future. To this end, I would like to try again to follow the GMB Elements program. So this goal is to just do what the program tells me to do on the days it tells me to do it, and not worry about any other specific strength training. The only thing I need to add to this is the exercises my physio has given me. There aren't many, and they're not strenuous, so I'll add those in before or after the Elements session. Goal #2B ~ I Don't Like It, but It's Good for Me I may not enjoy cardio much but I can't deny that I feel better and have an easier time just in life when my cardiovascular system is in better shape. For a long time, running has been a challenge for me, because I don't particularly enjoy it but I needed to do it, and had to meet certain requirements. It's still the easiest and simplest way to get in some cardio training, and doing it 2x/week seems like a reasonable, but not burdensome, goal. I'm not going to set any particular performance goals with this, and I no longer feel the pressure to improve, so I'm hoping this will make it a bit less miserable for me, and that I'll be better able to accept the short term misery for long term benefits without feeling the need to go faster or longer on a regular basis (ie. it won't feel like failure if I'm tired and need to walk one day, despite the fact I ran the whole distance the last time, or if I shorten the distance because I'm not feeling it). Goal #3 ~ Sleep I'm naturally a night person, and my new job involves some very early mornings (for me, they're probably normal mornings for people with normal circadian rhythms), so I'm going to have to do a major overhaul of my sleep hygiene if I have any hope of being even a little bit well rested. Week 1 will not be off to a good start, as I work until midnight the Sunday before my first day, and I'm certain I'm going to have a hard time getting to sleep through the whole week. The trouble is, I have no idea what routine is going to be best for me, so this is gonna be a bit of a vague goal for now. So, I want to go to bed when I'm tired, or by 11pm, whichever comes first (midnight shifts notwithstanding). I will only read magazines in bed. And no TikTok after 10pm! Goal #4 ~ Exercise the Brain I used to read voraciously when I was younger, but have gotten away from it as Life happened. I'm trying to get back to it, and have had some mixed success over the last couple of months. One thing I do know is, as I've started to read more I've felt more engaged in life, as if my brain is actively engaged in things rather than just observing my life as it goes by. This is a good thing, so I'm formalizing my reading goal by making it a goal to finish 2 books during this challenge. The 2 books I want to read are The Fires of Vengeance by Evan Winter, and The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin, but if any others pique my interest I'm down for switching that up.

Hello, all! I was on here a long while ago working on my fitness and am returning several years later (and several years older - welp!) from an entirely different country and with completely different goals, ready to work on myself again! 😄 Back then I was in my late teens and concentrated heavily on cardio and studying to great success, but I also had far less to contend with back then. I'm quite a changed person now, with a job I love in a city in England, an intolerance to lactose that I was free of as a youngster (boo), and an only slightly detrimental work ethic (total workaholic, need to work on that) - plus a newfound desire to work on self-care since I seem to let that fall second to just about anything to do with work 😂 The preliminary goals I've outlined for myself are going to be: Eating nutritiously and healthily and not just whatever's there/quick. Exercise for mind and spirit. It used to be such a powerful tool for my mental and emotional wellbeing, and I hope I can refind that now! To learn a new skill that's personal to me. I'm leaning towards learning BSL currently as I feel quite strongly about it. Self-care and to utilise my free time in the evenings or days off not just to 'rest for work tomorrow' but to do things for me. The biggest challenges, I think, will be exercising (as this is practically a foreign concept to me now) and studying (something I haven't had to do in, really, any capacity since, well, since I was a student! Haha!) I'm planning on digging up the old Nerd Fitness bodyweight exercise videos I used to love following. I'm also a huge lover of kpop and dancing as somebody who used to be a dancer, so hope to learn a few of the dances as a fun thing to splice into a routine. And now that gyms are starting to re-open I plan to find some classes I can go and attend, namely beginner Pilates as I'm very flexible but have never done anything exercise-wise with it, which seems like a shame! I'd absolutely love to meet some people here and get chatting, so if you're open to it feel free to shoot me a message and lets be friends! I've got today and tomorrow off of work and my plan is to sift through the forums to remind myself of how the monthly challenges work and pick up some tips, and then plan to sketch out something of a routine for myself - so exciting! Thank you so much if you read so far! Its so great to be back again. 😄

Overall, I didn't feel like I made a tonne of progress during my 1/2 challenge. Life just keeps beating me down, so I do feel ok about the fact I didn't make reverse progress. This challenge is going to be simple and straightforward, nothing outside of my comfort zone for now. I really just need to focus on reestablishing habits, in this case, the habit of exercise. Goal #1 ~ Show up for gym appointments (3x/week) While it makes being flexible kinda hard, the fact that I have to schedule gym appointments is probably good for me. Generally, if left to my own devices, I'll let myself slack when I'm not in the mood or I'm tired or I just don't feel like it, and I've been feeling all of these things a lot lately. I will never miss an appointment or let down someone who I've agreed to meet, however, and scheduling my gym time feel like a bit of both (I'm not actually meeting anyone, but with it being a small private gym, and the times I'm picking 2 out of 3 days a week being popular times, I would feel a bit guilty cancelling last minute when someone else would've likely filled that spot). Goal #1 ~ Home workouts 3x/week After gyms being closed down AGAIN, I'm gonna give this home workout thing another try. It's not my strong suit, it's worth the $60/month just to have a place to go for workouts, because even without appointments, I'm more likely to do them. My couch is just so inviting after a day at work, and my room is a place for relaxation (I have a small living area with couch and TV, and a sleeping area, but either way, the purpose is relaxing, not working out). I can at least continue to more or less follow the program the gym guy gave me, with some modifications. It's basically: some form of glute bridge, some form of squat, some form of RDL, push, pull, core, and I can do all of those at home. I have a 20kg bar and 15lb kettlebell, and could probably borrow a 20lb (I think? maybe another 15lb) kettlebell from my sister, who's off of workouts other than walking due to a bad back. I'll have less variety, but I can at least one of each of those with what I have. Goal #2 ~ Run at least 3km (2x/week) It's been a good 2 weeks since I last ran, and while I still don't enjoy it much, with spring in the air it becomes slightly less unpleasant. I can go out to the trail nearby-ish and get some nature time (the trail is not maintained in the winter and is too icy to run on), and as an added bonus, the trail is flat (it's a old rail line) and softer than a sidewalk (it's the same sort of gravel as a baseball diamond), which means minimal effort and easier on my joints. While I know hills are good for me in the long run, the make runs more unpleasant, and right now I don't need barriers to just getting out the door. In a perfect world I'll run on Sundays and Tuesdays before work, and gym Monday, Wednesday (after work), and Friday (in the afternoon), with Thursday being an alternate run day, and Saturday being my do what I want day. And that's it for now. Other things I'm going to think about and work on is eating better (I go back and forth between eating well for a few days then eating only takeout for a few days, and while I can find healthy-ish takeout, I can't afford that much takeout ); going to bed at a reasonable time (1am); and more reading, less mindless TV, but they're not goals for now.

Woah I am loving the new challenge forum set-up (multiclassing ftw!). So hey, I'm Gar. Been on and off the forums since 2012, most active during 2017. Had a bit of a "treading water" hiatus from end 2018 through mid-2020 but ready to respawn with baby steps. Build a Consistent Schedule: 1) Weeknight - In Bed by 22:30; Out of bed by 06:30 (adjustment for Week 4 --> 22:00 bedtime. 5:50 wake up) 2) Weekend - In bed by 00:00; Out of bed by 09:00 3) 20 mins of movement Walking in my neighborhood counts as 1/2 credit towards time - because daily dog walk is already an ingrained & enforced habit Hiking, Yoga, Running, Biking, etc counts as full credit Stretch goal - daily ; Realistic goal - 3x weekly (for stuff other than walking) Other things on my radar: * Declutter 5 items / week * Drink 2 liters water daily * Journal 5 mins daily "Maybe if I act well enough, I'll come to believe it myself" - Abhorsen by Garth Nix

I'm respawning after several years. I lifted and tracked macros 6 years ago and lost 120lbs. Since then, I've stopped tracking, lifting, and worrying about my health. I've had job changes, got married, had a baby, lost a grandfather, and had COVID to contend with. My grandpa died in February and I was very close with him. He is the first person I've been close with to die, so it caused me to re-evaluate a lot of things in my life. His health had been deteriorating for the past couple of years with his lungs working less and less, though he also had a history of heart problems (with a heart attack in 1991). Going through photos, sharing stories, and really reflecting on the time I got to spend with him made it clear that I have some serious changes to make in my life if I want to be to my kids/future grandkids what he was to his. As a result, I'm focusing on getting into a better mindset for myself and my wife/kids. I aim to be less materialistic and instead focus on things that are more important. I want to be a more patient person since I've become so driven by results that it's hard to slow down and enjoy things. I also want to lose weight and get to a healthy state which is sustainable. As I mentioned earlier, I tracked calories religiously and obsessed over the numbers (which I don't think is healthy) but as soon as I stopped tracking, the weight started coming back because I hadn't actually addressed my habits or intuitive eating patterns. This time, I'm going to worry less about macros and calories. I'm going to focus on eating "clean" most of the time while listening to my body for cues. In this case, "clean" means minimally processed foods (vegetables, white/brown rice, chicken, steak, hamburger, with some limited fruits). I'm also focusing on my mindset by trying to shift my thinking from "You should be ashamed for eating that roll with butter" to "Yeah, you ate a roll with butter, but you also made a lot of good choices like having grilled chicken with broccoli instead of a huge burger with fries". I want to give myself credit for successes instead of just focusing on failures. I'm also back to strength training, and although I don't know if I'm interested in eventually competing, I want to be a much stronger version of myself. At the end of the day, I want to make good and sustainable changes so I don't have to meticulously track every part of my life until the day I die. I want to find a balance between health and living life. I want to be a healthier version of myself (mentally and physically) for myself and my family.

Let me know if I've flubbed this opening, the forum has changed a touch in the hot second since I posted outside of anything but my Battle Log ( and even that was intermittent at best ). But yes! I'm here, crash landing, thumbs up outside the crater hole I've left in the front yard. Half-way through a challenge, in the midst of changing things, but when aren't things changing and challenging? My final essay is due on Friday (3k, 99% unwritten), which is mad to think about. I joined the forums when I was starting this uni business (in philosophy), and I'm less than a week off from finishing it (unless I go down the Master's route, probably in Journalism, which is looking more and more plausible). I've realised I'm non-binary (they/them pronouns y'all please), I've had an internship, I got fired from a different internship, I've been diagnosed with ADHD (real recent - only a couple weeks back, have yet to start titration for meds), I've had my first experience with counselling, I lost some weight, I put weight back on, I truly only leave the house once a month, I'm learning to code and pentest, I built myself a dice box for my dnd games, I'm halfway through a playthrough of every Assassin's Creed game, I - Okay, summarising major things from the past three years but also just since I last posted (I have no idea when that was) is exceptionally hard. The dice box is the most recent and the one that I'm most proud of, but I can't wait until lockdown eases and I can go to a makerspace and laser cut some wood to make a more permenant version (I've found out about this thing called a living hinge that I really want to experiment with). The essay, for anyone interested, is on exploring the critcisms of modernisation projects which sparked revolution in Iran and South Korea in the 1980s by comparing the books Shah of Shahs and The Old Garden. Fascinating stuff. I just do not have enough time to finish it and I am getting stressed, despite how interesting it is. Whether or not I get a first in this essay sort of determines whether or not I get a first in my degree because of how close to the border I've managed to do it. Oops. Which all goes to say that I cannot make challenge goals for myself just yet, as I'm still climbing out the crater hole. Once my essay is done, we shall see how it goes!

Acute systems failure due to known glitches with the 202.0 program. Please reboot your system and apply the 202.1 patch. (More details on 202.0 crash here) So far, the 202.1 patch & update is working much better on my end - I'm halfway through a 30 days of yoga series (which is probably the longest I've continued a workout series in years), am back on a 4*10hr shift schedule which is making food prep much easier for me to handle, and I got myself a Fitbit which is a very bossy little helper that also helps keep me on track. So now that last month didn't (entirely) suck, time to hop back in here. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Main Quest: Reclaiming my health I'm moving from aiming for my time, which got entirely away from me last year due to gestures broadly, but that's mostly because I actually have gotten back to a 2 days on/one day off schedule, which should help. SQ1 - Doing yoga before work (4/week) I'm really lucky with my work in that if I go in a bit later than I want to get there, I don't get in trouble - only downside is that if I go in later, I work later to make sure I get in my hours. So last month, I decided that I didn't care if it made me "late" for work, I was working out before I went in with some yoga. Which I haven't done perfectly, due to some muscle soreness from not being used to doing things like downward dog, but on the days I have I've noticed a lot of improvements in my brain, and even on days when I haven't I'm noticing differences in things like my posture. SQ2 - Food prep on days off (2/wk) Prepping a lunch to go with me to work for the following 2 days basically so that I don't have to worry about that the days I'm working, since the last thing I feel like doing after 10-12 hr shifts is typically prepping food for the next day. SQ3 - Getting cardio in VR (2/wk) Because @Starpuck has created a monster, and also because right now Ohio is... awful. Legit, I am NOT going outside into -10 F or colder windchills right now. Plus the stuff on VR is a little easier on my joints than hitting pavement right now, eventually I want to play the rest of the way through Zombies, Run! - but that might wait until a) winter lets up a little bit, and b) I get a bit of weight off and feel a bit better in my knees especially. Which, right now I have P L EN T Y of options on VR between Beat Saber, Swordsman, BoxVR and Vader: Immortal dojo playing -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hopefully this will give me a decent launching off point to start getting healthy again; I'm sitting at about 250 lbs right now and my joints and breathing H A T E me right now. Btw, for anyone who feels like it - I made an Insta for food & workout accountability, since it's easier for me to update on mobile than here is (Tapatalk does not like my phone... no idea why, but it won't let me do things) https://www.instagram.com/p/CLCxj7PpgHe/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link I'll be starting with this as Week 0, and damn it's good to be back.

So I've been on hiatus for most of a year for a variety of reasons (good and bad). But it's time for a respawn, so I'm reaching out again to the support networks I have (the forums here, Connect on the WeightWatchers app, etc) to try and maintain accountability and get regular feedback on things. Yet to do: re-write my Life at Level 50 mission statement/goals (Work changed, and with it, the driving need to drown my frustrations in food and shopping). The previous battle log is here, if anyone wants to visit the unpleasant swamp of the past: https://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/83812-tokidoki-kittys-daily-log/ Going forward: - If not a daily log, at least a weekly one - Revisit and refine my goals regularly (and set them up in smaller, manageable pieces) - Improve my productivity habits / reduce my procrastination habits -- this goes for both work and home. - Address, treat/mitigate my physical pains (through diet, exercise, etc). - Financial success (large savings account) and freedom (no more credit card debt/recurring balance carryovers) - I want to go to Japan and spend a lot of time on experiences and shopping for tea and kimono equipment that I can't get in the States. Need money to do that. :/

Defining's Doggone Deeds | Ch. 1 AKA. Defining Does it Again, respawn 2021 Complete failure to reach literally any goal for 2020 (and no, I can't blame COVID for that since my lifestyle was more or less unaffected by the changes); respawn for 2021? Tasks for the 1st challenge of the year: - wake up with sun salutation (after feeding the dogs and letting them out to pee) - eat within 1hr of waking up - fill a 1L water bottle and consume every day - create new meal plan & grocery list for daily protein & veg goals - walk for at least 30min every day outside of dog walks - aim for at least 1 weight lifting session a week, ideally 2 - high knees/skipping for at least 40min a week (can be broken up however I see fit) - do not bring phone into bedroom at bedtime - decide on first uni course, submit necessary paperwork - practice piano at least 40min a week I'm working baby steps/little bites to get going again. If I meet/exceed these tasks, I can move onto the next progression for Q1 goals.

Hey all, so we all know last year was a doozy for basically everyone. When it started to seem like it calmed down a bit in late spring / early summer, I finally decided to step in the ring with 2020 and try to prioritize my mental and physical health. And 2020 knocked me flat on my ass. My family knew early in the year that dad was dying, but then when his decline came in October / November it was still slow and agonizing. He passed the week before Thanksgiving, then work took back my life until the week before Christmas when we had his funeral, and those of us who could do so safely had our family Christmas with Mom. So now, after a somewhat rough start to 2021 - I'm stepping back into the ring, with some added accountability, and some restructured priorities: Alter Titan - the beta is closed to new players till April for the moment, but much like here the community is super supportive (and they got me to wear a health tracker for HR purposes, which also tracks my sleep - holy smokes is that sucker helpful!!) Even if it means I have to work later, I'm doing yoga before going to work - the short and long term benefits just outweigh the cost of maybe working a bit later (hopefully eventually getting up earlier, but I'm still fighting to get my sleep schedule under control) Actively tracking what's going on with my exercise, sleep and food - which I have added a new IG account for to aid with accountability on there. I can't get on Nerd Fitness very well from my phone (Tapatalk hates my guts apparently) and while I see there's a new Discord (YES!!!) there's no way to keep up tracking on there, but I can keep up with an IG account from anywhere, and update here without the guilt I would feel from not having posted in a week + of not getting on a non-work computer. Fitbit - I just got this thing 3 days ago, and holy smokes is it pushy - but in the best way possible, since it's prodding based off of what past me asked it for, and it's very good at holding me accountable / reminding me that hey, that thing you forgot to do earlier? Please do it now. So long story short - I'm going to try to pop back in here for challenges starting with the next one that I'm guessing will be starting on Feb 14th (couldn't find the calendar for this year in the forums) and happy belated new year, everyone! Hopefully 2021 is much less chaotic in general than 2020 was.

AIM: To be strong enough for adventuring as soon as it's safe. And by adventuring I mean leaving this 5 mile stretch of coast and visiting friends & a museum or art gallery or something. GOALS: Core strength for travel, walking, & carrying luggage. (with partially healed chronic back problem.) Specifically: - can sit for 3 hours without spasming - can walk for an hour on easy terrain - can carry rucksack & kit in that time Mood Boosting: I'd like my magic back please. I've given myself permission to play with fun things without guilt this year, with the tag #diaryofanadventuress on twitter so I can share about it... I want to build a character for this. Just for fun: let's publish a novella. Why not? Then I can do a livingroom book tour for it. ACTION PLAN: Sooo... 1. Back to a basic bodyweight training. 2. Daily walking (min: a mile/20mins) 3. Research herbs for mood to add to soup. Then a soup recipe. Then make soup. 4. Find podcasts to listen to while I walk/train. For research! And to encourage walking. 5. Rename my mp3 player "Nevyn"? Gandalf? Another guru type name? Phryne. So I can learn from an adventuress. 6. Play with the Adventuress character and a backstory for her... Oh! And... 7. Make a plan for my trip, whenever it might come. Maps, itineraries, packing list... Finding all my travel gear again... Can't have an adventure without kit. Maybe if I make it a "performance artwork" and document it I'll keep at it? DAILY CHECKLIST [] Bodyweight training (exercise) [] Walk (time) [] Herbal activity (research/test/use) [] Adventuress Prep (podcast/backstory/trip planning)

Hi there. Been a hot minute. Time to get myself in order. 2020 was a bit whacky (for us as it has been for so many others), but I managed to square away some things which have been on my “to do” list forevvvvver. The good: graduated from my Masters, deadlifted 110kg, and secured full time, ongoing, well paid work. Mr completed his first year of TAFE, and is now working for a forge as a professional (apprentice) blacksmith. Huzzah! The bad: Unfortunately, we got in the very bad not good habit of ordering as much delivery food as we wanted (high score for that fail is a tie between the day we ordered three different dinners from three different places and the drivers all arrived at the same time, and the day we spent $22 just to have coffee delivered. Shameful, both). Related to that, I am the heaviest I have ever been, and the judgement machine said I am 20kg overweight, ouchies. The Ugly: We also went silly on letting money just flow right out the door and are starting 2021 with 5k of computer parts on Zip pay. While we have the emergency fund that could cover it, we decided it was more likely that a cat would need vet treatment that doesn’t have an interest free period if we used that to pay for the computer, so we have to pay it back before the 6month interest free is done. So, with that all in mind, and given that this is a baby respawn challenge, my three goals are: 1. NO DELIVERY FOOD. Date night fund is for outside-the-house dates, Taash pocket money is not to be used on delivery food. If Mr spends his on delivery food, that is outside my control, but do not encourage. Exception granted if I get groceries delivered, don’t be pedantic, you know what I mean by delivery food. 2. BUDGET ON TARGET. I’ve redone the budget to actually account for my pay rise and Mr’s job. Stick to it. Pay off the computer parts, resuscitate the savings. 3. WORKOUT 3x WEEK Kickboxing is on Mondays, I have a regular session 1x week with the trainer, so I am adding just one session a week to my regular routine. This can be a video session on the centr app, a yoga, a swim, bonus gym sesh etc. Get her done. BONUS: Less Facebook. If I twitchy-finger over there, try to come here instead.

It's been a few years, Rebels. In that time I've gained 100lbs, lost multiple jobs, moved back home, and have had my depression go haywire. Now it's time to get things back in order. But first, we need to strengthen the stronghold. \ Let's make it simple. Tracking my meals, Making small weekly goals for myself Working out with my weights at home and making the ultimate goal of bettering my health.

1. Walk at least 15 min a day on the treadmill 2. Go up and down the stairs to the basement at least once a day 3. Journal in this thread as a mindfulness exercise It has been a year. A heck of a year. After all my good intentions at the start of last year I find myself respawning again, but it is what it is. So, teaspoons move mountains, I know this, I've done this-- time to do it again! I'm actually a bit pre-set for success as I'm actually on week 4 of a renewed treadmill gaming habit, so I have that going for me for #1. I've been doing some decluttering and have been somewhat on goal for #2. The mindfulness-- not so much. I want to get back in the daily reflection/improvement habit, so off we go! Now I just have to hunt down all my old Assassin guild folks and say hi. *rolls up sleeves and gets started*

So, here we are again. I should be sleeping, but I couldn't. I have let my last three challenges or so trail into the oblivion due to lots of different things. But mostly sloth. All things considered, 2020 was "good." My relationship survived, and even thrived in many ways thanks to extra time to be together; I taught in every different conceivable mode (virtual, in person, hybrid, synchronous, asynchronous, on zoom and in person at the same time) and only contemplated throwing in the towel a few times; both of us kept our jobs, and my family and his family are all healthy. There were lots of things I could have done...that I wanted to do, that I beat myself up over not doing... but that's really why I'm here...again, facing off against the oblivion: to remind myself what matters. So, that being said: The challenge will be broken into three categories: Need, Should, Want NEED: the "put your own air mask on first" category Take meds Drink at least 80 oz water Relationship therapy goal Get 7 hours of sleep with phone plugged in across the room SHOULD: the "things I struggle to do after work" category Make healthy meal choices: namely: eat a vegetable or eat a reasonable portion Clean or organize something in my home Workout Read WANT: the "gets lost in the endless hours I spend pretending to watch Netflix while I look at my phone" category Working on writing projects Duolingo Learning to play PC games (hubs has been wanting me to do this for years...I'm horrible, but I like shooting things) Experiment with baking So, we are aiming for it to look a bit like this daily Need: 4 Should: 2 Want: 1 But really the main goal is to So, here we go

Hello! I joined NF back in 2017, and really got into the Academy. It was a lot of fun, and I made some progress. I wasn't really active here, but lurked a lot. As time wore on, I also found myself re-spawning a lot. I changed my goals. I changed my name and character. I started over and quit a couple times. I moved on to other programs. Covid came. I was teaching students from home in the spring, and I remembered enjoying the NF Academy so I came back here and respawned. But I never did anything with that respawn. The Academy was still interesting, but too much work on top of the struggles virtual teaching presented. I wanted to do something, but the Academy just wasn't working. In fact I found a different program with a 12 week bootcamp-type setup. Did that and enjoyed it. But I floundered along when it ended. Then I found an online course that focused on more mindset and mental awareness. Stuck at home, I had the summer to focus on myself in a different way than ever before. The holidays were a marathon of overindulgence as usual. But I now find myself thinking differently about things. My life, my goals, my approaches to things. It's been liberating. So I'm back and focusing on becoming a better me. Not some crazy super hero or magical character, but a better version of myself. I'm coming back to focus on smaller changes that can be carried throughout my whole life, not just for crash diets and quick fads. And so I'm here as Jennifer Ocean, the best version of myself. I'm ready to change my lifestyle and continue the changes that this strange time of Covid have started. My interests and focus may shift here and there, like the tides rising and falling, but overall, I am the Ocean, steady and deep.