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Hi! I used to hang out here a lot....then I had our second child and life became insanely busy for.....a couple of years! Now I'm back, and hoping nerd fitness can help me once again. I got so much out of being part of this community in the past - and I want to get back to some fitness goals. Right now I'm looking for help, choosing an exercise programme and diet plan. I'm feeling lost with exercise in general, and like I've lost so much knowledge of what to do and how to reach my goals. Some basics about me: Mum of two (read - I will never be happy with my stomach!) I play Roller Derby (during season we train 3 x a week - so that's fairly good cardio). Right now we're on break. 65kg, 168cm I'd call myself moderately fit - in that I'll do 200 burpees or run up a hill near my house or play an intense derby game and not die. I currently eat a mostly low carb diet - no sugar, no pastas, breads, etc. I eat a lot of salad. But I don't track my diet the way I used to - I just generally try to have more protein than carbs, no rubbish (apart from a cheat day), salads and veges instead of sandwiches and pastas etc. Goals: - Lose fat, get more muscle. My bum is SO FLAT - like, seriously, where did my ass go?! - Get stronger. I don't want people to be able to push me around when i'm on the derby track. I want to hit people harder. - Feel better when I look in the mirror/I'd like my clothes to be slightly looser - I don't know if it's because I'm in my mid 30s now, but I feel like it's harder for me to stay the size I want. I've done 5x5 stronglifts before and liked it. I've just finished Core de Force (beach body) and found it good for my balance (which is good for derby) but haven't really felt like it's made much difference to my strength or fitness, and I feel particularly bummed out about it because it's meant working out EVERY day for up to an hour....and with two kids I really resent spending my tiny bits of free time on exercise that doesn't make much of a difference! Ideally I'd love an exercise programme that is going to give me good results, but not mean working out every day of the week. I also know that I need to partner it with the right eating plan for things to work. I'm happy to work hard when I work out - I like to feel like I've DONE something that makes a difference!

Once upon a lifetime, I was a proper warrior. I worked out five days a week, was in the best shape of my life and was relatively healthy all things considered. Then fate saw to it that my path would change, and I took on a new life leaving behind my tools of warfare for ones better suited to education and cultural awareness. I want to get back to being that physically fit, so that I can once more meet my foes on the battlefield in combat. TL;DR: I used to be a soldier, was in smashing shape and then got out of the service. Now I play rugby and roller derby, and I want to get into good enough shape that I can be a contender in those arenas. Would I love to have the lean muscle mass of Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers)? Oh sweet baby jesus, yes. Will I? Probably not. But I'd settle for some good exercises for cardio, significant lower body strength, flexibility and endurance. Help me formulate a fitness plan that isn't going to rule my life (workout 3x a week), and won't be daunting for someone who doesn't enjoy busting his bum. I've looked at roller derby specific workouts, but there's a paywall. *sigh* Stats: Sex: Female Height: 5'10.5" (That half inch matters, damnit!) Weight: 157 lbs Measurements: Not yet, getting a DEXA test next Saturday. Will update thereafter. Injuries: Knees prone to fits of "fuckoff!", and lower back problems due to rubbish posture. Exercise will help both of these things. Exercise preferences: Weight lifting, body weight exercises and yoga are probably all really good starts. I hate cardio to high heaven, but I know it's necessary. Also, as we've clearly illustrated with my choice sports, I don't have a problem taking a punch or throwing one.

Well, that sucked. Just before Christmas I feel off the wagon, hard. I shouldn't berate myself too much, but it was a bad time. I stopped going out to walk, I ate more sugar than is really advisable, I didn't get to the gym nearly enough. All around, it was a mess. But hey, one bad month =/= total failure. I need to respawn, and I'm working on a useful plan for that. I think part of the issue is that I've had a hell of a time coming up with good rewards. Up until now, I've been using food as a reward. It wasn't until early last month that I realized how much I was doing that. I started feeling bad about that. When I feel guilty about what I'm eating, I tend to eat worse - usually much worse. That rapidly turns into a guilt spiral, and nothing good will come of that. However, I think I've found a replacement. I was part of a huge secret Santa type gift exchange with fellow roller derby officials. My gift package included a couple of tea tins from Adagio. The Melisandre blend that she got me is AMAZING. The tea is expensive enough, especially with shipping, that I shouldn't be getting a ton of it. A tin every couple months should be doable, though, and it would make a very nice reward. My goals for this month are to get back to the physical activity I was doing a couple months back. I've been going to practice regularly, but I've been much worse about gym workouts. I'm on the Academy level 3, which should be good. The activities are difficult, but don't feel impossible. Unfortunately, my gym doesn't have anything that can be easily used as a pull up bar, and besides, there are no boxes to stand on anyway. I'm not going to use any of the lifting machines, because it seems like peak asshole to stand on a bench to reach the not-actually-a-pull-up-bar. Oof. Any suggestions for good replacement exercises would be appreciated. I'm taking the walks of the list, at least for now. It's below zero out right now, and no amount of good intentions will get me to spend more time outside than necessary in these conditions. Going for walks will be bonus points, but requiring it will only lead to guilt for avoiding misery inducing cold. (I know that there's gear out there for cold weather activity. I just don't have the money to pick that up right now, especially for only a couple minutes a day. Here's where realistic expectations come in.) I also need to get on the financial health wagon. I didn't do the name change paperwork in Dec, which is pretty much inexcusable at this point. I changed my name over 2 years ago, ffs. So, that's back on the chart for this month. I also will be assessing my budget. Because of some dental work at the end of the month, I doubled my FSA contribution. My margins are thin enough that I need to account for that extra $50/mon. My goal is not to change my habits directly, but just to watch the effects of my choices. Given my financial history, paying attention regularly will likely be enough. Tracking sheet:

I do not have a fancy theme this time around. Maybe I'll think of something and add it later, but right now, I'm going with simple. Last challenge went really well, overall. This time, I'm going to keep pretty much the same goals with only a bit of tweaking. Eat better some more: Upping the total meals cooked at home to 10 per week. Going to keep dinner set at 2, but add 2 lunches as well. I'm also avoiding wheat, to see if it has any effect on my asthma. Bonus points for eating paleo, but I'm not going to try to track that. Get in shape: Formerly "get bendy." I still want to work on my flexibility, but some of the yoga stuff I'm going for isn't exactly focused on that. However, I like what I'm doing, I think it's working, so I'm going to stick with it for at least one more challenge before I switch this up. Clean the House: Didn't quite get all the rooms picked up/deep cleaned. I've got about 3 weeks until we're likely to have some company, and I would like to have the house fully cleaned by then. Setting the due date on this one at 11/10. After that, daily maintenance. Fancy status tracker: Eat better some more: Lunches - 0/8 Dinners - 0/8 Total Meals - 0/40 Get in shape: Workouts done 0/22 (subject to adjustment if practices get added/subtracted) Clean the House: Finish cleaning the house: Not Done. Daily maintenance 0/10 (cuz that's all the days left in the challenge after part one that we won't be traveling on) I'll come back and edit this so it looks pretty later on. I'm also going to keep posting my zero week updates in the last challenge thread, so look there if you want to see what the costumes end up looking like.

Yay Halloween! One of my favorite holidays! Time to start making costumes, and work really hard to get in shape to wear mine! So many exclamation marks to start! Let's see...goals... Eat Better: Building on my goal from last challenge, I'm going to keep working on cooking at home more. This time, I'm going for 8 meals/week cooked at home, with at least 2 of them being dinner. Not going to track this right now, but I'm also going to try to eat more paleo. Might try to track it later, but for this challenge the focus is really going to be on cooking meals at home. Get Bendy: I need to increase my flexibility to get better at roller derby. Also, I'm planning to be Black Widow for Halloween, so, ya know. I've got an awesome strength and mobility (beginning cross training) program for derby that I'm going to be doing twice a week. It goes for 6 weeks, and since I started it last week, it'll finish at the same time as the challenge. I'm also going to do yoga or other stretching for at least 15 minutes on non-practice days. Pretty much straight copying this one from last challenge. Edit: realized our practice schedule has changed, so I needed to adjust the number of workouts to get in. Clean the House: I'll come back and edit this one after zero week, because exactly what it entails will change a bit depending on what I get done this week. I have two rooms and the storage closet left to deep clean in the house. Then the whole thing will be done. I would like to get that taken care of this week. If I succeed, the challenge goal will be maintenance of the house - everything picked up and put away before bed, no dishes left out. If I don't get that done, I'm going to incorporate getting it done into the challenge in some fashion. Edit: We got part of the remaining two rooms picked up, so week one goal is going to be cleaning up the rest of the house. Then weeks 2-4 will be keeping it picked up. Make the Costumes: Exactly what it says. I have a tiny Captain America and Winter Soldier to make, as well as a full-size Black Widow. And I need to make/acquire a Hydra pin for Husband. If I can get them finished by the end of the challenge, awesome. If not, I've got one extra week. I would really like to have them done by the end of the challenge, so I don't have to go crazy doing everything last minute for once, and can actually enjoy Halloween and the various events we might want to go to in costume ahead of the big day. Score card for easy tracking: Eat Better: 0/32 meals, 0/8 dinners Get Bendy: 0/21 17 workouts (edited to account for a couple extra practices that got added over the course of the challenge) Clean the House: 0/21 days picked up, 0/2 rooms cleaned Make the Costumes: 0% done

Last challenge I realized something: I have been doing a spectacular job of figuring out things that DON'T work. Which is great, but it's not really getting me closer to my goals. So, I have decided to take a slightly different approach this time. And also go with a slight Exalted theme, because why not? Earth Aspect: I need a solid foundation to build healthy habits on. I also want to build the same foundation for my kids while they are young, so they don't have this same struggle when they're grown up. Like the Earth-aspected dragon blood, I will be rooted! Goal: Put dishes in the dishwasher after every meal. Run the dishwasher when it's full, and wash the stuff that needs to be cleaned by hand at least once a week. Also spend 15 minutes every day putting away laundry/toys/misc "stuff," and/or vacuuming/sweeping/mopping/dusting. Dishes washed: 0/4 House cleaning tasks: 0/28 Wood Aspect: Like the wood dragon nurtures the plants, I need to nurture my body. Goal: Eat food prepared at home at least one day (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) each week. Using pre-marinated meat counts, frozen or boxed meals do not. Days cooking: 0/4 Water Aspect: Go with the flow, adapt to the situation. I need to work on my flexibility to get better at roller derby, and also to help avoid injury. Goal: I will do at least 15 minutes of stretching or yoga on non-practice days (so, shooting for 5 days a week). Days of yoga/stretching: 0/20 I think that's plenty of goals for now, so Air and Fire will have to sit this one out. Maybe next challenge? I plan to use Zero week to try to work on some meal planning, and also to prepare for derby assessments on Sunday. Really, at this point there's not a whole lot more I can do to try to get ready, so I will make my zero week goal to drink enough water so I'm not going into assessments somewhat dehydrated! Days drinking at least 8 cups of water: 1/7

Last challenge was a 50% success. This challenge will be similar to the last one, but I have decided I need to shift my focus for my second goal this time around. Goal One - maintain an average of at least 13,000 steps/day, composed of exercise converted into steps and actual steps walked. This goal has a finish date of July 31st, so it doesn't run quite all the way thorough the four weeks (though it does continue during zero week). If I succeed, I will earn $100. I nailed this one last challenge. I'm sure I can keep it going. I will have to think of something else exercise related to replace it for the last two weeks. I'll figure that out later. Goal Two - get the fat loots. Or, save money. I think I can actually kill two birds with one stone with this goal. My current primary not-needed expense is we eat out way too much. Especially at lunch time, since I've gotten slightly better at making dinner more often. So, the goal is to not eat more than two purchased meals (either from a restaurant, the prepared-foods section of a grocery store, or TV dinner kind of things) a week. If I'm lucky, besides making the bank account fatter, some of that fat will come off of my midsection, since we'll theoretically be eating healthier.

Simple challenge this time, I hope. Main goal: maintain a 13,000 steps/day average, including actual walking/running and other exercise converted into steps, for the course of the next two challenges (technically, June 6 through July 31). Reward: $100 gift card, courtesy of the office exercise challenge. Secondary goal: fix up my diet and lose some of this fat in time for my vacation. Reward: new bathing suit, possibly a bikini if I lose enough. The plan: For my main goal, it's to be to get up and walk more during the day. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. I've also got roller derby practice twice a week (which counts for lots of steps, yay!) and I'm going to try to do something exercise-wise every day I don't have derby (typical choices will be yoga, pilates, Zumba. I may attempt to start running, as well). For the secondary goal, I'm going to just jump to the Academy diet level 7. I've printed off the meal plan and have it posted on my fridge, and I put together a rudimentary shopping list for it (hopefully I can get that fixed up soon). I won't be able to start that during zero week, because there is much crazy right now, but so far I've been doing a pretty good job of not eating grains or sugary things. I'm not going to stress about having something with grains and/or sugar sometimes, but mostly I don't eat them now. I will get my starting stats recorded before the challenge actually starts, and hopefully I'll have some good progress to report at the end of it!

Trying to work on leveling up my diet, and not rambling too much in setting up my challenge, because I don't have a fancy theme or anything. See that picture? I look like a bad ass, don't I? That was my first thought when I saw it. Sadly, my second was that my gut is still quite a bit bigger than I'd like it to be. The fact that my waistbands fell in 3 different spots, and I'm leaning over, aren't doing me any favors, but still. I've been doing ok on the NF Academy quests so far. I think I even made a bit of progress last month. I'd like to make a lot more this month, though. I am currently sitting at diet level 4. I should be at diet level 5, but I kinda fell apart the last few days, so I effectively need to start over. Which brings me to Goal One: complete the quest to reach diet level 5! I need to replace a carb with a veggie at lunch or dinner for 12 days out of the next 14. Or, I guess, just eat an extra veggie if I hadn't been planning to have carbs with the meal? If I'm good, I'll have this complete by the end of week one. After that, depending on how much of a struggle it was, I'll either stay there for a week or two until it's solid, or jump into going for level 6. This is the part where it starts getting hard without Husband working on it with me. I may hang out at level 5 until he's getting there, just to not make things too hard for me. He's supposedly going to start after he graduates, but I don't want to wait until June. Because Goal Two: lose the fat! I would like to drop 2% body fat, or a 1/2 inch off my waist. I have no idea how well those correlate to each other, but I would consider either one to be a success. Going after my gut specifically is pretty much a pure vanity goal. I'll admit it. I do want to reduce my body fat for health reasons, as well. Avoiding the heart disease that runs in my family is a big motivation for me. I'm also hoping that by reducing my body fat I'll get some improvements in my endurance for derby, since I won't be hauling around extra weight. Speaking of derby... Goal Three: Do your exercise! I've got a mentor from my league now. She gave me "homework" to do on top of coming to practice. For this week, I'm supposed to do 30 squats a day, in 3 sets of 10 spread out over the course of the day. I'm also supposed to check out some derby-focused workout she gave me the link to. On top of that, I've got some rehab (I guess? Not an injury, yet, but setting the stage for one if not fixed) exercise for my back/shoulders I'm trying to do. I've been hunching somewhat in front of my computer at work too much, and my shoulders are starting to get stuck that way! Yikes! I need a lighter weight for my exercises, though, because the muscles are so bad I can't do 10 lbs. Going to try to pick that up tonight, and probably some tiny dumbbells for the boys so they can exercise with me. The goal is to do those 3 times a week. I think I'm going to hold off on starting any of the NF exercise quests for a bit, because when you look at what's there, and then consider I have a full time job, two little boys, and derby practice at least twice a week, that's a lot! I do NOT want to burn myself out by trying to do too much at once. Bonus Goal: Move more! This is another continuing goal from last challenge. I've been making pretty good progress on this, aside from the couple of days when my tracker wasn't working. By the end of zero week, I'll hopefully be done with a week of 700 points/day. So I'll be going for 800, and then 900, and maybe even up to 1000 points/day over the course of the challenge. I suspect I won't get through all of that, though. Bonus Goal Extra: The exercise challenge at work starts on June 6. To win the $100 gift card, I need to average 13,000 steps/day. Skating for two hours twice a week counts for enough steps that I only need a bit over 8k steps/day to meet that target. I so got this this year! Especially if I can manage to get up to 900 points/day, not counting my skating, by the end of the challenge. So, really, this is a goal for the next two challenges, but I guess my bonus goal here is prep for that?

My data gathering is complete, and, as became clear in the first week, my biggest issue is planning /time management. I have a plan to deal with that, and that plan is to let someone else do most of the planning! In the middle of last challenge, Husband and I joined the NF Academy. This challenge will be all following the plan contained in there. Plus some roller derby, and hopefully a bit of cycling. My goal for week 1 is to get through the mind set stuff, and then start the actual challenge with the nutrition section. I haven't read through that part in great detail, so I don't know how far I'll be able to get in 4 weeks. Which means scoring will be based on following the plan, however far I get. I'm also still doing roller derby, and in fact I'm going to be trying out for a league on the 19th. I'm very excited and a little bit nervous about that. Especially since I haven't been on skates in over a week because I got sick, and I'm not likely to be back on them until late this week at the soonest, because I'm still getting over the flu. So, I really hope I have a chance to recover before then and I don't get out there and look like I haven't been on skates in forever. I'm still theoretically still working on cycling so I can start riding my bike to the bus, but I haven't made it to the class in so long I'm pretty much starting over with that. For a life goal, I would like to get my garden planned. I have a feeling by the time I can get anything ready it'll be too late to start from seeds, but I can still get small plants to put in there! Edit: Can't believe I forgot to mention that I'm also working on increasing how much I move around during the day. For that, I cut my goal for steps down to 5k per day, to start. Once I've met that goal for a week, I'm going to increase it by 1000, and then repeat, until I'm back up to 10k/day and meeting that consistently.

Last challenge was my first after being on holidays. I needed to get back to eating well, and by tracking my intake after I got home I seemed to get that under control. I also needed to get back to cross-training to improve my strength and speed for Roller Derby... And that didn't get done. I am struggling to maintain my energy levels at work by eating enough, let alone throwing in exercise as well. This time around I'm going to attempt some basic exercise to cover the basic things I need to improve on to get better at derby; strength and cardio. I'm going to do some quick HIIT exercises 2x a week because they don't take long and work well, and I'm going to work on doing some push ups and dips to get some upper body strength going. I also seriously need to get my sleep schedule into gear, because its one of the only variables left that could be affecting my energy levels. 1. Sleep 11pm - 6am turn the computer off by 10:30pm. I think this is one of the things that's stopping my energy levels being as consistent as I would like. Even the weekends need to be consistent!! 2. Cross-train!! 2.a HIIT session 2x week 50 sec work 10 sec rest for 5 intervals. Total 5 minutes Running knee highs – as fast as you can, pump your arms Low jacks + arms – stay as low as you can, pumping your arms up to the side Burpees + clap – jump and clap above your head at the end of the move Switch jumps – split stance, quickly switching feet with a jump Skater jumps – try to only have one foot on the floor, jump laterally and use arms Rest 2 mins 2.b Push ups & dips 3x week upper body strength is just as important as super legs in derby. This is a good start. I don't hate push ups, and I can quantify exactly how much better I'm getting at them. 3. Tick things off House-Moving List things to be done to make my new house more perfect THE HOUSE MOVING LIST: Get a mailbox - done, just need to put up Organise internet - waiting for tech support - still. Call the electricity company Order Gas Bottle Build a dog-fence Put in doggy door - completed (thanks dad!) Clean old house - Put bins out at old house Grab lemon tree from old house Take a load of rubbish to the tip Change addresses at various places (requires mailbox!) - Vehicle license + new license photo. - Car Insurance - Debit card - Superannuation - Work - Dentist - GP clinic - Spotlight (:P) Unpack Rooms; - Formal lounge - all the spare furniture is in here - move extra furniture to the shed - Ensuite - need to move a chest of drawers in for storage space - Craft Room Just gotta put my desk back in there Misc. Things Put up a washing line Oil the hammock stand Change ensuite shower head Stockpile wood for winter Got a good few weeks worth at least; ~ 8-10 wheelbarrow loads for now.

Now that I'm refreshed and relaxed from a two week holiday I think this is a good time to reboot my healthy lifestyle goals for this year. I know what I want, I just struggle to find and/or stick to a routine that works for me XD 1. Leave the house, do some exercise, 1x a week. I went to the gym a few times on the cruise ship and rather enjoyed it! I'd also like to incorporate some outdoor skating to improve my skating skills; these both entail me leaving the actual house; its only the idea of leaving the house that stops me - once I'm out and about I'm happy to exercise! Just once a week is a good start to supplement my 2x week derby training. 2. Clear 1x surface "hot spot" and keep it clean for the week. By the end of the challenge I should be keeping 4 small areas of the house clear of rubbish and dishes and things that are not put away. I hate that my house is never as clean as I want it to be because I am definitely happier when I'm on top of the housework. Starting small and building up does work for me with housework, but keeping the momentum up is the hard part! 3. Something something something... Nutrition. Track what I eat. I'm getting too slack with what I put in my body. I definitely feel better when I eat less refined food and more vegetables and protein. That's it. This can't start until I actually get home from my holiday though; I'm currently still in Singapore. We get home Wednesday so I'll start this on Thursday.

My last challenge I crashed and burned, because my entire family kept getting sick. One thing after another, sometimes all of us at once. Not fun. I have also had a bit of trouble recently coming up with good challenges, mostly through a combination of not really knowing where to set my goal and having some trouble laying out a solid plan that works with my life. I have a plan to fix that this time! This challenge won't really be a challenge. It will be a month of data gathering. I'm going to list all of the many things I would like to work on, do my best to work on them as life allows, and record every day how I did. After that, I can see what's going well, what I have a long way to go on, and where I can best start making improvements to get things rolling with the small changes. I will set my next challenge based on all of that. Scoring for this one is going to be solely based on recording things. Each day I record how I did will get me 3.85 points (for a total of 100 by the end of the challenge). 50% of my level-up points will go into wisdom, the rest will be distributed based on what I did best. List of stuff I want to work on: Roller derby Cycling Taking the bus to work on non-roller derby practice days Eating better Getting more sleep/getting to bed earlier Improved flexibility Weight lifting Fat loss Pullups Let the data-gathering commence!

So last challenge I (for whatever reason) rebelled against my own challenge plans and decided I didn't wanna do any of them. Great start to the new year, Stoney! I am now at T-23 days before Mr. Tea and I leave for our first overseas holiday and I'm stressing about all the things that I need to do before I leave, so that will be the priority this challenge. That and cross-training for roller derby, because that's alway necessary! Goal 1: Holiday Planning! - Do all the things before you have to leave (23rd of Feb!) Organise travel sickness fix 20/2/16 Prepaid debit card for spending money - bought, registered and loaded, ready to go. 12/2/2016 Travel Insurance completed 1/2/16 Organise travel documents - extra passport photos -15/2/16 - photocopy of passport - printed, 3/2/2016 - print flight tickets - printed ,3/2/2016 - print cruise tickets - printed, 3/2/2016 - print travel insurance pages - printed & filed 15/2/16 + put this somewhere safe! 17/2/16 Crochet project for flights - packed 15/2/16 Carry on bag for flights 15/2/16 Pack! 17/2/16 Travel Journal for interesting things & useful info for each country visited given to me as a present 19/2/16 Goal 2 - Cross Train... Like you're about to go on holiday with endless supplies of food! I planned to alternate my workout schedule throughout the year, so February is Aerobic and Recovery-focused Month. 0 / 3 yoga days 0 / 3 cardio days (training counts) M-skate/cycle T-yoga W-cycle/run/skate TH-yoga/meditation F-skate/cycle/run S-yoga/meditation S-meditation/rest Goal 3 - Go to Hogwarts!I'm going to chuck some of my quests from last challenge into the Ranger mini this time around, see if that makes it feel a bit more fun (cleaning goal, I'm looking at you!) The "Classes" I will be taking this challenge are;Charms: Make housework fun History of Magic: watch a doco on netflix about something interestingHerbology: 3 meat-free daysDefence Against the Dark Arts: meditate & journal feelingsSo when I am called on to do said quests I shall do them.

2015 was a great year for me, but I want to make 2016 even better!! There are already big plans in progress for this year, but I don't want to be totally underprepared for everything. The first few things to happen to me this year will be the new roller derby season and us going on holidays, then moving house soon afterwards. I want to continue building habits to make all of these things go smoothly so I can enjoy everything this year throws at me! Goal 1: Exercise to build Strength and Confidence Fitness levels are handy for roller derby. I am also a better skater when I have confidence in myself! 2 Yoga Sessions 3 Body weights sessions Goal 2: Fight the Grime! Follow Fly Lady's routine. The very most basic one for now! Daily self-care routine: Brush Teeth, wash face, get dressed to shoes Declutter a room for 15 minutes daily Clear and wipe the kitchen sink Do something with the laundry Goal 3: De-clutter the Darkest Corners ... of the house. Throw out 1 box of stuff weekly, donate 1 box of stuff weekly. Goal 4: Holiday Planning! These things really need to be done before I go away or I'm going to be stressing last minute. I also know that I am totally able to put these things off until last minute even though they need to be done. Organise travel sickness fix - make a dr's appt Plan tours for holiday Prepaid debit card for spending money Buy a Suitcase.

Walking into the domed training area, Terror lifted the visor on her helmet and glanced around. 19 females of all shapes and sizes stood waiting in readiness. Their eyes showed determination and strength - and Terror had no idea why she or these women were here. None spoke, only looked amongst themselves and the unfamiliar space. Some seemed alert and wary, whilst others seemed as if being in this space was their birthright. "You have been chosen", a deep voice cut through the tense silence. A short but muscular man stepped from the shadows, each stride forward purposeful. Terror felt there was a sense of grace in his movements, akin to the cats she had left on her homeworld. She felt her gaze drawn to this man, quietly spoken but compelling. "Let me introduce myself. I am Commander Rex, the trainer of the Dames - an elite response squad who are deployed to some of the most dangerous situations in the galaxy. Our mission requires strength, agility and tactical knowledge - skills which each of the 20 recruits in front of me have demonstrated through careful observation by our operatives" 'Observation?' Terror thought, 'All I remember is being put on a shuttle without any information as to why - and no choice whether to go. I'd know if I were being observed, due to my... well... no one wants to be near the misfit.' "However" Commander Rex continued, "...we can only take 14 operatives in the field at a time. You must undertake a range of training to ensure you are fully prepared for battle - should you be selected. Each of you will shortly be taken into different sections of the training area to undertake a baseline test, from which we will tailor your individualised 4 week initial training." Main Goal: Make game roster for my Roller Derby league A Team (14 players) "It is of vital importance that you each become one unit together - so please remove your helmets. Look upon the faces of the women you will fight alongside, work intensely with and possibly die for." Terror hesitated. The voices screamed she was in the wrong place, there must be a misssssstake, she wasn't ssssspecial and didn't dessssserve to waste everyone's time - the difference is her voices weren't just in her head. With a deep breath she lifted off the helmet, and let them out. The green snakes uncoiled from her head and writhed loosely around her shoulders with a gentle hiss. The other women took a step back. "Ah, Miss Tops - you have let your secret weapon out I see. You have been chosen not despite your... oddity but instead because of it. They make you particularly gifted in communication and awareness, a vital skill for the Dames. And, I assure you ladies, they are harmless." Rex smiled. The other recruits smiled gently at Terror, but did not step closer. "So - the first of your 3 areas of training. In order to best facilitate your neural connection to your own reflexes, and to help create the hive mind which our successful warriors must demonstrate - I have developed a neural-development serum each recruit must imbibe daily. I call it the Habitual-Hydro-Objective, or H2O." Goal One: Drink more water A: 3L per day = 5CON B: 2L per day = 3CON C: 1L per Day = 1CON "You must also work on your strength for power and endurance in battle, plus your agility and dexterity in order to counter enemy moves before they have even made them. To this end, you must undertake a strict training regime, outlined below" Goal Two: At least 2 strength workouts per week (on top of team training 3x week) A: 2 workouts avg. per week = 3STR 2STA B: 1.5 workouts avg. per week = 2STR 1STA C: 1 workout avg. per week = 1STR Goal Three: 10 minutes agility, 3 times a week A: 3 per week = 3DEX 2STA B: 2 per week = 2DEX 1STA C: 1 per week = 1DEX Terror nodded. She wouldn't listen to the voices - and if they got too loud she could always tie them in a scarf. The women turned to leave. "One final directive ladies" Commander Rex called after them. "Each month you must have a detailed monitoring evaluation with one of our medical staff - to check your wellbeing and progress. There will be no excuses." SIDE QUEST - One date night minimum per month with Hubby (no work!) As Terror walked from the domed hangar with the other recruits, she couldn't help but think this was a beginning of a whole new chapter of her life. And she was ready for it.

My time in this place is nearing it's end. My skills as a rookie Roller Ranger have kept me alive this long. The city has been good to me, it provides food if you know where to look as well as a means to get around if you know how to use it. The many slopes, rails and artificial surfaces suit wheels well. Outrunning the other scavengers is all part of survival in this city. My mentor has taught me well; he has shown me how to look after my body, how to fuel it for best performance, how to look past the bad and find the good. But now it is time to strike out on my own. He has his paradise and I have mine. I have heard tell of a place on the coast. Long flat surfaces to skate, lush green plants to eat, sunshine that doesn't have to fight through smog. I will journey there and make the coast my new home as others have before me. I will pass through the gates and evolve into a Roller Ranger. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It's been a long time coming and I'm more than ready to take the next step in my evolution. My motivation to continue my fitness journey came when I discovered a passion skater for roller skating. I joined my local roller derby league and morphed from my embryonic to my larval stage. Now it is time; the imago stage calls! (A cool name for a cool thing!) It has been a cracking couple of year learning my sport and I may be getting way ahead of myself but I have felt lately that I've made a bit of a leap forward in my understanding of the game. I'm more confident because I feel like I actually know what I'm doing and can help my pack without waiting for the pack leader's call. Of course, I've still got loads to learn and I have a lot of developing to do physically but I am ready to take more responsibility for myself and for the team. Once I was a wide-eyed little lady clutching her bootlaces and skating around the outside of the track. Now it's time to graft those suckers to my feet and become a Roller Ranger! Upon completion of this 6 week challenge I enter the pupal stage to (hopefully) emerge be-skated and colourful! I will be gifted with a new name and some new beauties from the artists that are Wikko Skates. If you haven't seen them check them out here and here! I have already started the process of ordering my own set of bespoke skates that will serve me for the rest of my skating days not only am I super stoked, I am super keen to be worthy of them. So without further ado... Goal 1 (+2 STR, + 2 DEX) Workout 4 times a week. I currently have a 2 day split routine that keeps my workouts short so I don't feel like I've used up all my evening and giving enough time to relax afterwards before bed. Or course, I had to give them roller derby names so I call Leg / Back day "Beware the Booty!" day and Arms / Chest day "Brace Me!" day. My partner is a bit of a compendium of knowledge so he helped me work these things out as well as making our meals. So to make this work I have to workout 4 times a week. I can't miss one or it'll send the split out of whack. A - 24 workouts B - 20 workouts C - 16 workouts D - 12 workouts Goal 2 (+2 STA, +1 CON) Walk 150-200 miles over the 6 week. That's 5 miles a day. To stop me getting the bus when I can walk and get me out the office at lunchtime. I walk a lot anyway in my day-to-day existence but I've started to get a little lazy in terms of getting a cheeky bus ride when I could easily walk and eating my lunch at my desk in the office. I want to stop that and get out more when I can rather than stay in the comfy zone. A - +170 miles B - +150 miles C - +130 miles D - +110 miles Goal 3 (+2 DEX, +1 CON) Be more active during the workday. I've gotten myself a desk job. Something I never wanted. It isn't completely a desk job but a lot of it is me sitting behind a computer all day. It leaves me feeling splodgy and crap so I want to make sure I stand up more and wander around the office. Even I the weather is crap I'll go out for a walk, get some natural light and some fresh air and eat my lunch inside if needs must. I can do the mobility nerd fitness workout when I have the office to myself too. With my new lunchtime walk as well I'm going to make sure I at least get up and stretch once in the morning and afternoon. Getting up to go to the bathroom or make a cuppa doesn't count. Getting up to go do some physical work elsewhere in the mill does count. I could take a walk around the mill or go stretch in our storage room. I'm going to put a reminder on my computer to pop up at 11.30am and 3.30pm to get me out of the office chair for a bit. A - 30 days B - 24 days C - 18 days D - 15 days Life Goal (+2 WIS) Read at least 30 minutes a day, or at least one chapter, which ever comes first. I love reading and should do it more! It shuts me off from the worries of the day so I'll make sure I read as a way to wind down. I can do this on my big bus trip on the way to work or even at the end of the day before I go to bed. I even have a mental strength training for roller derby book I can read if I fancy it A - +37 days B - +30 days C - +25 days D - +20 days Side Quest (+1 WIS, +2 CHA) I'm venturing off to Scunthorpe for work midway through week 2 and coming back at the end of week 3. I'll be gone for about 11 days at the end of which I have a roller derby bout. My side quest is to make sure I act responsibly and healthily over those days, do a bodyweight workout in the hotel to reach my 4 a week, no alcohol, no crap food, no overdosing on tea or empty snacking. In previous tours I've got into a habit of big dinners, quick crappy lunches, snacks, too much tea and a beer or two with dinner in the evening. I want to make sure that I workout, don't drink alcohol, don't snack on crap and eat more healthily. I've written in my diary when I will do my workouts to get my 4 in a week and I'm going to practice the ancient art of discipline to stop getting carried away with my colleagues after we finish for the day.

Oh wait a minute....not THAT kind of Cat.... That's better I really need a whip like that...my birthday is very soon *hint... I should probably put a R rating and NSFW disclaimer on my challenge threads at some point... So my last several challenges I have determined what is working for me, what is not, and noticed some things I need to work on...this has brought me to the conclusion I need to become a Cat(woman) C.atatonic - Cats are probably the most well rested animal out there, where as I, am not...according to my fitness tracker on a good night I may get 4 out of 6 hours of 'restful' sleep. For now I am going to focus on sleeping 7 hours, then we'll work on the quality...then increasing the quantity. A.gility - Cats are agile, I need to do yoga at least 2 times a week to improve agility and flexibility. Really no excuse on this one since we do it at work 2 days a week as well as off skates training to help with my agility on the track. T.raining - Okay cats don't need this but the theme is working for me...in addition to derby training I need to do kettlebell, and I'm doing four 5K's during this challenge, actually one is 8K (which does not count the 5K this Saturday!) W.oman - you need to finish school...course work is a priority this challenge on nights I don't have practice, turn in one lesson every two weeks. Breakdown is like this: Catatonic - 30 points Agility - 12 points yoga, 18 points off skates training Training - 12 points 5k's, kettlebells Scoring 2 points each DEX, STR, CON Derby practice is its own scoring, 18 practices and points. Scoring 2 points each STA, CHA Course work possible 24 points, for 2 WIS. and I have a pretty spreadsheet to help me keep track of it all....

This is my 14th challenge here at Nerd Fitness. You would think I'd have it all together by now and not need to continue to plan my life around every 6 week period of the year. However I know damn well that the moment I stop gamifying my life by participating in these challenges will be the moment I drop everything and revert back to the fast-food loving, couch-surfing lump of flesh I was nearly two years ago. Quick recap for those of you who haven't seen me around - I am a 24 year old human of the female variety living on the southern coast of Western Australia (that's in Australia!) working in hospitality in a locally owned small cafe in the "city" of Albany. I am currently stumbling my way through minimum skills training for Roller Derby, which despite being pidgeon-holed my entire life as the unfit & uncoordinated child of my family, am loving to death! Therefore any of my fitness and nutrition decisions are currently revolving around whether or not it will benefit my skating career. It is giving me something to hold onto for motivation when I have none left and need to decide on things like what to eat or whether to stay up all night playing The Sims. SO! Without Further Ado, Challenge Number 14 shall proceed as follows; Teagarden is Subtle, Like a Brick. or will be, once she learns how to hit people on wheels! Main Goal Enjoy Every Day of 2015 Current Goals: Become combat-ready for roller derby Become good enough to be an awesome jammer (get faster, hit stronger) Keep feeling healthy and happy like I have been the last 3 months Prepare for the next period of my adult life (purchasing a house!) Quest #1 - Do Physio-prescribed exercises daily (6 / 14) Getting stronger entirely will have to wait until I can rehab my knee to be completely trustworthy and so I can skate again. Quest #2 - Keep Breathing (2 / 6) Do 1 HIIT session every week. My lungs need to get used to hard and fast movement in short bursts, because that's mostly what ends up happening while I'm skating. I would do more then one session but as I'm already skating 5 hours a week for derby training I can't afford to burn myself out. Bonus points for cycling daily to rehab my bung knee. Quest #3 - Feed the Demon (9.5 / 42) Eat 140g 100g of protein daily. no point working out if I am just burning any muscle away instead of building it up onto my skeleton. I am not the biggest or the fastest skater so I need to work harder to make my presence known, and to do this I need to eat the right stuff! like, chicken, and steak. And protein shakes. Quest #4 - Farm the Gold ($625 / $1,500) Drop $250 into my savings weekly. I have a budget written out which takes into account the rent / mortgage payments I don't currently pay (because we rent from my mother-in-law and I pay all the bills while Mr. Tea pays the rent; it works out even in terms of paying our living expenses) but $250 is almost what I will be paying once we buy our house and start having to pay it off. If I can put $250 into my savings every week until April (when the tenant moves out of the house we intend to buy) I should have around $30,000 I can use as a deposit to make our overall home-loan smaller. I've also slacked on this a bit lately and this last week especially has seen me haemorrhaging money as all my objects reach their used-by dates. Bonus Quest - Save money to update items EDIT 19/11/2015: Donate extra money to worthy causes that you would otherwise waste on inanimate objects $50 donated so far. Ranger's Gonna Ranger: Star Wars Mini Challenge! Week 1, General Movement: Cycle 30kms (30 / 30) - complete! Week 2, Stealth and Tracking: Sneak around the bird watching walk, sneak up on birds (0 / 1) failed due to sickness Week 3, Rangerly Hobbies: Find a Geocache! (3 / 1) complete Week 4, Rangerly Showcase: create food using leftovers, photograph Week 5, Week 6.

Becoming a Cyborg - 2nd GIG (^ I might be replacing this with one on my laptop, not sure yet) This is the second and last part of my Cyborg missions, ended up going a little GiTS heavy as opposed to general cyberpunk buuuuuut it works. As most (if not all) of you know, halfway through the last challenge I had corrective surgery on my left eye. This week, zero week, is when I have the second surgery on my right eye. In fact, it’s actually scheduled for tomorrow morning (Oct 28th). As a forewarning, I will be going dark for about a week while my eyes get back to semi-normal. I have no idea what to expect with both eyes healing, especially as far as halos/streaking/glare - which makes reading difficult at times. Though I’m sure it won't be a problem, I ask that you all be patient with me as far as posts and replies. I’m crossing my fingers hoping that this glare stuff does not become a problem, but it worries me immensely. In any case, I am wicked stoked for this challenge, as I will finally be able to ease my way back into a workout routine. Playing couch potato got really old about 3 weeks ago. This is going to be run a little differently than my previous 2 challenges, but in a way that I believe will be best in order for me to accomplish my goals. It’s going to be a point system where objectives are broken down into sub-quests - some will be ongoing, while others are one-time deals. There will be some tweaking, so please bear with me. Without further ado, let’s get to the good stuff _____________________________ Objective A: Section 9 Training Goal - 175 150 points This one is all about fitness - crossfit, roller derby, home workouts, and a bit of flexibility and derby specific training thrown in the mix. Previously, I was planning on starting crossfit 2-3 weeks in, but now I know that I have to wait a full month before I can start anything quite that strenuous. As for derby, I won’t be allowed to participate in contact drills so I’ll be joining the newbies in the basics class. The plan is to gradually ramp up the activity, with crossfit happening the last week or week and a half (I CAN’T WAIT). Except for week 1, all activities are expected to continue through to the end of the challenge, unless completed (Pandora). I don’t have a specific schedule laid out, but I’m aiming for 5 days a week of some kind of activity. Week 1: •Walk (2pts) Week 2: •Keep a workout log/journal (1pt/entry) •Balance or Jumping practice for Derby, 10+ min (2pts) •Darebee’s ‘Age of Pandora’ workout program (2pts/chapter) •20 min yoga (5pts) Week 3: •Attend Open Skate once a week (5pts) ->I will be avoiding this for now, at least until I start Derby again •Derby practice (5pts) -> pushed out to an undetermined date due to eye complications Week 6: •Join Crossfit!! (15pts) •Crossfit classes (5pts) **Added Agile 8 to workout plan (2pts) _____________________________ Objective B: Nix the MREs Goal - 175 points While I’m not necessarily eating horribly, I really could do a lot better. There’s still a bunch of sugar and tons of carbs going on (I’m looking at you, pasta). I’ve decided to take the NF recommended approach and move towards a paleo/primal diet. Long term, I can’t say if I will be strict or not, but I want to give it a serious try. Therefore, I aim to complete 30 full days of paleo/primal eating. This doesn’t necessarily mean in a row, or that I will stop once I've hit 30. For data collecting purposes, I'm also going to track my food using YouFood - previously twogrand if anyone is familiar with that. I might post a meal or two every now and again on here, but it's probably going to be me making a lot of stir fry in my nifty new wok- YAY WOK! Negative points will be given for things I'm trying to cut down on. •30 Days of Paleo (2pts/day) •Track my food in YouFood (previously twogrand) thread/battle log (2pts) •Only 1 snack item per week (5pts) •Weekly Meal Planning (5pts) •Organize and clear out the pantry (10pts) •No overeating on Thanksgiving!! (20pts) •Additional snacks (-5pts) _____________________________ Objective C: Jack out of the Net Goal - 150 250 points This is the section for all other life stuffs, mostly outside of the internet and NF, and is a little all over the place. •Moolah for Kevlar Jeans, $217 (.5pt per dollar) I have been waiting for these amazing women's motorcycle jeans to pop up on kickstarter for almost a year now. They FINALLY dropped yesterday and I jumped on the early bird special. Shaun ordered the men's version from last year, and I've been waiting and waiting to snag a pair of my own. I have until Dec 5 to put aside all the money I need for these, which shouldn't be hard to do. I just need to be diligent about it. •Keep up with a Battle Log (2pts/entry) I'm going to be starting a BATTLE LOG!! I probably wont have it up until week 1 or 2, as I don't think I'll have time between now and 7am tomorrow morning to do so. Maybe I will, I dunno *shrugs*. Anyway, this will be a place for me to post between challenges, about non-challenge related stuff, and various other things. Definitely not strictly fitness related as some are, but not completely off topic either. A healthy mix. Feel free to follow if you're interested, but no hard feelings if you don't (I'll link it in my sig when it's live). •Check in with fellow Rangers' threads (2pts/day) I'm making it a goal this time because I was really bad at it the last challenge. I'm going to set aside time to follow up on all the threads I'm following and maybe check out a few others if there's time. Unless someone has exploding thread syndrome (ETS) again haha, this shouldn't be a problem. •Knitting time (2pts/hour) Gotta put in more time for knitting and/or crochet projects. I need to finish the cowl I started, and I have a sweater than I'd like to start at some point before the winter is over. •Dishes, 5x/wk (5pts/wk) I am so bad at this, so I'm taking this challenge to work on it. Have to do them before I go to bed, 5x per week. End of Story. •Get out and about (10pts/outing) Basically, I need to stop being a hardcore homebody and go out and do something for a change. Go to another paint night with my sister when she's home for the holiday. See a movie with some friends. Get a group together and go to K1 for go-karting fun. Whatever it is, I need to go out and be with other people because I'm too cooped up. This is going to test my anxious introverted self a bit because it means reaching out to people, which is something I'm really, awfully terrible at. I feel like I'm a bother. It may not seem like it here on the forums, but I'm very introverted and shy in person, even sometimes around my friends. •Clear out my closet (15pts) My closet is close to exploding with clothes, so I'm thinking it's time to pare it down quite a bit. I'll sort between donating and chucking. •Reorganize the kitchen (20pts) I've been in my apartment a little over a year now. The way everything is organized worked back then, but not so much now. I have more cooking tools and equipment and it's time to do some rearranging. The pantry goal in Objective B ties in with this one. •Unnecessary spending (-5pts) If I'm going to save all the money for my jeans, I'll need to cut down on unnecessary spending. Points will be docked. _____________________________ Upcoming events in this challenge - Thanksgiving is the big one. My mom is hosting it this year, and I've been told to bake an apple pie and make a dish for dinner. I'm thinking butternut squash of some kind. - Nov 21 I have a mandatory all day derby 'retreat' where we will be planning stuff for the next season. Thankfully it's only down in Plymouth, so there wont be a lot of travelling on my end Moved to another town slightly farther away. Paleo may be a problem here, but I can probably pack something to bring. I'll have to find out. *this is up in the air, I may not need to go - Dec 3 is Shaun's 28th! I have to plan something for him - maybe some karting, or a movie. We usually keep it low key. I'll make some yummy treats instead of a cake. I do have another tracker sheet for this round, found here

Well. Last challenge, I fell flat on my face. Especially at the end. Oops. Time to go back to basics (yet again), and re-start on the right track (again). I keep doing this. But, two steps forward, one step back is still making progress, because I never go back quite as far as I initially started. No crazy themes this time. Just simple goals to get back on track. Goal one: Sleep! Really need to shift my schedule to getting up earlier in the morning, so hopefully I can fit in my workouts before everyone else wakes up. That'll also free up my evenings for other things, like spending time with my family and making dinner. So, I am aiming to be in bed by 9pm. Also going to attempt to keep the same schedule on the weekends, since I keep hearing that makes it easier. 5 points for getting to bed on time. Subtract one point for each half hour late I get to bed. Goal two: Rehab! Working on fixing my diastasis rectii. I've had to take 2 weeks off so far, because of being sick. Which puts the end of the plan right about at the end of this challenge. I've got a battle log I'm using to track this goal, since it's longer than one challenge. Scored weekly. 5 points if I did it, 0 if I didn't. 3 points if I did, but am a day or two off the schedule. Goal three: Life goal - sewing! I have much sewing to get done, stat. A couple presents for friends/family with new(ish) babies, a skirt for me, and Halloween costumes for the whole family. I need to have the presents finished by the end of the first week of the challenge (well, only one of them has the hard deadline, but it's easier to do them all at once). The skirt is flexible, but I do need some more clothes that fit. And, the Halloween costumes have a rather obvious deadline, though I'd like to get them done by end of the challenge so they're ready for festivities before the actual day. That, and I'm probably going to be on a business trip the last week of October (supposedly back in time for Halloween). Scoring...pass/fail, I guess? Either the stuff will be done or it won't. Goal four: Roller Derby! I'm trying a new sport. Both because it looks like fun, and because I need something IRL where I can make some friends. My first practice is September 14. Woot! Points for skating, I guess? I have no idea how I should score this one.

Placeholder. Teagarden's 13th Challenge Stubborn Like a Rock Current Quests Pass Fresh Meat Beat the 27/5 Motivation Spring & summer's arrival More Strength = Better Derby More Protein = More Strength Less Sugar = More Energy to Exercise (1) Nutrition Eat my bodyweight in Protein. Or, just about. 140g a day should do the trick (0.9g*my bodyweight in lbs) Cut 1tsp of sugar out of somewhere in my life every week. Use 1 day a week to prep food to make life easier. (2) Mind Meditate. Whenever, just do it. xD Post a gratitude / reflection weekly on the past week or whatever needs reflecting on. (3) Fitness Go to all mandatory derby training sessions (Mon, Wed) 1 HIIT session or 30min run p/week (Between derby sessions, skating sessions also count) 1 Body Weight routine p/week (Thurs/Fri) 1 Yoga session p/week (Thurs/Fri, can be done w BW session) I'm feeling very calm about this challenge; like I know I can achieve these things and I have reason to do all the things planned; I just need to prove to myself how consistent I can be.

I used my 20 seconds of courage a few months back to sign myself up to the local roller derby league (a league so new that there isn't even a whole team of players yet) which surprised absolutely everyone I knew because I am the uncoordinated, unfit, flailing, klutz of my social circle. I also had absolutely no roller skating experience (excepting a few times on rollerblades back when I was a very small girl) so I went in with no skills whatsoever but all the determination to learn. Turns out I love the feeling of flying around with wheels on my feet and I rose to the challenge of not being able to do things the first time around (something my perfectionist nature hates with a passion. xD) Today (on the 18th of october, 2015) I successfully passed the testing requirements to pass the "Fresh Meat" stage of roller derby - meaning I'm allowed to hit people now! xD It's only a small part of the journey to becoming a full roller derby player, but I never thought I could do anything that required coordination or fitness or even strapping wheels to my feet for pete's sake! xD My next step is to now pass Level 2, which is contact skating and strategy and stuff, so that will be a whole new learning curve, but I'm so excited for all the new things I get to learn. And I get to keep skating!

Holy sh*tballs guys, I get married on 10th October. Me right now: Between starting my job proper (hey I'm a pharmacist woo-hoo) and working over my contracted hours (oh hello 60 hour/5 day week, you're a delight) and finalising plans for my wedding, my fitness & health have taken a nose-dive. I cannot post regularly, honestly this is more for me than for anything else, but I am going to try to get my crap together before i get married and jet off to Rome for a week (bring on the Honeymoon!!) So my quest is simple: Maintain health prior to wedding 1. Eat well Make my lunch every day and make sure it's something low-FODMAP and good for me.No more take aways before the wedding!Cut down on the wine & cider2. Exercise on occasion Working odd hours is not conducive to exercise, I miss skating practice quite a bit due to work, so I need to make more of an effort in this respect.Try swimming - it might be expensive, I might not like it, but I want to have a goStart running - some days I work 2pm - 11pm, these are ideal times to run on a morningContinue lifting weights - I'm aiming for once a week, twice a week if I can manage itSkate once a week - this is a hard one as I never know when I'm working week to week, but we'll have a go!3. Keep calm I'm working on breathing techniques to lower my stress levels - I gave myself an ulcer in the last two weeks from stress - not good!Do yoga on occasionKeep on top of wedding prep - ensure diary is up to dateTalk to Rob & my mam about my worries - a problem shared and all that I'm hoping after my honeymoon I can really dig back in with my fitness leading up to Christmas, but it all depends on work *sigh*. In the meantime, let's get ready to get married!

I bombed out of last challenge because I took on way too much during a time I knew I was going to be super busy with work, so this time I'm cutting it waaay back down to just two quests. This should also help me focus on a new direction my life is about to take, in that I'm starting roller derby! wooo! I might add in another quest before the challenge starts but right now this is all I'm going to focus on. QUEST 1 - NUTRITION Pt. 1 - On work days, I will eat 3 big meals. Pt. 2 - On days off, track everything that goes in my body. I've put on weight, and I need to stop the upward trend. Weekends are tricky because my motivation for everything goes away so that's why I need to track what I eat; the knowledge that I have to log what I'm eating generally stops me eating quite so much bad food. Work days are often full on and I spend the whole day on my feet, so I just need to eat enough to stop myself falling over. A breakfast smoothie gets me through the morning, a good lunch will get me through the afternoon and dinner should hopefully fill me up enough to stop me fading away. QUEST 2 - DO THE DERBY (training) GO TO ALL TRAINING SESSIONS. This is non negotiable. I will have a team of people depending on me one day and I want to be in good shape to help us win all the points!... One day when we finally play a real bout. I think there is two sessions a week, on Monday and Wednesday. I must organise my life so that I have no reason to not attend. Also there's a minimum attendance for training so I have no choice in the matter really. xD - Plus, on WEEKS 1, 2 & 3 - do 30 minutes of yoga on an off day from exercise (and preferably work but whatever happens) - In WEEKS 4, 5 & 6 - do one Bodyweights session compromising of Push, Pull, Leg and Core movements, working on them calisthenic moves I've been wanting to be able to do. This is in addition to yoga and derby training. QUEST 3 - BE THE DERBY (knowledge) (new!) Spend 1hr a week reading about / watching videos about roller derby. This could be reading the rules, or watching bouts or tutorials about skating techniques or game strategy. I need to start understanding the game I'm eventually going to be playing! That is it. Simples. In case you were confused, "Rolling Stoney" is my derby name