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Hi all! I need some help finding a lifting plan that works with my half marathon (and soon marathon) training. Running is my sport and my primary focus. But I know strength training is crucial for injury prevention and just general health. I want to start doing big lifts because frankly, I don't want to waste hours at the gym when I can get a workout done in a few moves. But I can't find a lifting program that won't get in the way of my training. And everything online is long lists of exercises I don't know how to put into a workout. A couple notes. I'm in between training cycles right now. Next one picks up December 16th. So I'm just doing maintenance running, which seems like the perfect opportunity to start adding lifts. My run schedule once training starts is Tuesday (Speed work), Thursday (Easy Run), Saturday (Long Run). I would like to do two days of lifting. Should I just bite the bullet and hire a trainer? -M PS. Robin Wright as Antiope is my body goals!

Hey y'all! Military kid settling down at a college in the south, trying to be her fittest self. I like weightlifting but I mostly do bodypump classes because I'm really nervous about lifting weights by myself. I used to love running but I've gotten out of the habit, I'm working up to it with long jogs. I'm really insecure about my body and I want to work towards being more fit and confident - i guess that's my ultimate goal. I'm home for the summer and trying to stay on track with my fitness goals, which got really off course around the end of the semester (when it comes down to passing accounting and going for a run, accounting always wins) I love nutrition and healthy cooking, my girlfriend is gluten free and I can't have dairy so we eat mostly paleo. Tips for paleo thai food are very welcome; that's our next challenge. I'm trying to build structure in my routine by walking every day (since I live in suburbia and work a desk job over the summer) and also running and doing small workouts throughout the day. If anyone has good sites for online workout videos I would love suggestions! Right now I'm just using youtube to look up old bodypump classes. I also love learning languages, travelling, knitting, dancing, hiking, and making friends! The last part is where you come in, I'd love to get to know some other rebels on similar quests!

Hi all! I dont know if there are any other rebels signing in from Italy but here is at least one... ciao! I'm trying to get back on track, actually I'm trying to get better than I ever was before. I've been a runner for a while but have slacked off recently... my diet was never great and it showed in my performance and energy levels. I finally ditched the desk job I hated and am teaching and translating freelance. Psychologically speaking I'm in a much better place than I have been in the past to make some serious changes to my lifestyle. My aims are to bring my distance back up to marathon level (I had almost hit the distance before I threw in the towel before) and lower my times on the 5 and 10ks. To do so, I need to lose fat and gain muscle so I'm hitting the gym a couple of times a week and going as paleo as possible (pizza once a month is simpler unavoidable here)... keep your fingers crossed for me and if anyone is on a similar journey or has completed one please let me know, I'd love to hear from you! ciao for now la scozzese

Hi! I'm a big fat newbie (heheh see what I did there) and I'm getting (back) into running. I'm hoping to run into (okay okay I'll stop now) some cool folks who are also runners, joggers, walkers, and perhaps are interested in sharing our journey or just encouraging each other. Before the new year I was getting into a nice cycle of run/walking 3 miles 3/week, but I've been seriously struggling to keep it up in January, likely in part because I'm not on vacation anymore. Argh. My current goal is to get in at least one jog this week, and then try and get back to the three a week next week. My main struggle is that I tend to get up late, but I prefer running earlier in the day, because as a fat runner, there are less peanut gallery comments the earlier I get up. I know I need to just ignore the idiots but sometimes, it's hard, and I let them into my head. Hopefully talking about this stuff in a friendly forum will help me banish the haters and keep on moving to my goal of running a 5k in March. Woohoo!

Hello! I wanted to introduce myself here in preparation for the next six week challenge! I've been reading the Nerd Fitness articles for around a year, and they have had a huge impact on my life (for the better)! Since finding NF, I have lost nearly 2 stone, and hugely overhauled my diet. I am now right at the upper limit of a healthy weight (according to my BMI), and in the best shape I have ever been in in my life. I took up running a year ago after a lifetime of hating exercise, and found that I was actually capable of doing things with my body, which was a great revelation. I ran a half marathon last month for the first time and felt so proud of how far I have come. Now I have got my body basically under control and into slightly reasonable shape, I'd love to get fit, flexible, strong, coordinated and generally feel like the master of myself, rather than like someone who just lives in this body! I recently used my 20 seconds of courage to enquire about ballet classes in my city, and although I'm absolutely dreadful at it, I'm getting better. Anyway, I'd love to hear from anyone, and especially fellow ballet beginners, those who are working out 'what next' after getting to (or near to) their target weight, or anyone who's far too far away (and poor) to ever be able to go to Camp NF - it looked amazing and I'm so jealous! Anyway, I'm rambling. Can't wait to meet you all. Please say hi!

I though it would be fun for people who love Zombies, Run! to have a place to get together and talk about the app, storyline, and things that we have experienced along the way and to show off things that we have done out of love for the game. If you made something or bought merch share it. I made this shirt.

Hi everyone! I am quite new here! Although I signed up over a year ago I think, I never actually made it on to the forums, or even used any of the advice for that matter. But it doesn't matter, because its always better to start late rather than never. My name is Melissa, I am in my mid-twenties, attending university for archaeology. Before this I was a video editor for almost two years, but that ended about a year ago when the company lost a ton of funding. I love reading fantasy and adventure novels, and obviously I spend a lot of my time studying at the moment. The reason I joined (or rather the reason I re-joined) is because when I was working a regular job from monday to friday, I was going to the gym in the evenings and running on the weekends, but when I lost my job I went through a depressing time when I couldn't figure out what to do with my life. So with all the stress I and money pressure I had to quit the gym, and instead I turned to eating. Eating has been the biggest set-back for me, I feel like I have no control over it when I get in front of something greasy and salty. I moved back home to go to school, and my mother and her boyfriend do not understand how the way they eat and the food that they keep in the house affects me. This is by no means an excuse, I need to learn how to control myself, but I do wish they would at least try and help. Food is my biggest struggle at the moment. But aside from that I really enjoy running, and I have set a goal for myself to run a half marathon in October. I can't wait to get more prepared for that! I have no trouble exercising when I get in to it, which I have already started. My struggle is with food. Anyways it's great to be here! If you have fitbit and would like to add me, please feel free! I need some friends both here and there for support //www.fitbit.com/user/35DPM5 Cheers! Melissa

Hello All ! I've been a looonnggg time lurker , first time post(poster?) now. I'm hoping I don't break any protocol rules here.. but I figured it might be better to post than not to ! And away we go.. I'm 22 years of age. 5'4" . Got *GROSSLY* obese over a period of around 4 years post 14~15 years of age after I qualified for a premier engineering institute ( have always been a little pudgy , gained all that extra weight due to a lot of sitting on my arse and studying and being an egotistical little chump and not going out to even hang out with people , forget getting in my weekly exercise .) I call this the POMPOUS PEAK point in my life Found NF exactly a year ago today. Not that just finding the website was enough motivation for my triflin' ass appetite and laziness. I graduated with a weapons engineer degree ( Bachelors degree is considered graduation in my country , India btw. ) in the top 5 of my class but got rejected in a ..shall we say humiliating .. yep , extremely humiliating manner at the physical test when I applied to my dream job. We were supposed to run 7 km , I was wheezing like the oxygen had been drained out of the air by 1 km itself. Cried my broken heart ( more like broken ego) out for a week a.k.a the CRYBABY REVOLUTION. Then slapped myself figuratively and literally and got to getting my fat arse in shape. I have been doing a lot of running around. Apart from designated ' exercise time' , have been leaving my car at home and walking to places within 2 km of my place. Cycling to places within 10 km. Taking the car to places further off from that. Threw away all the junk food the night of the CRYBABY REVOLUTION in my life . Haven't eaten any for the last year except 3 slices of cake .. one for my birthday , one for my parent's anniversary , one for my grandmother's birthday. I went completely paleo for 8 months , post which I have been incorporating cottage cheese and a drugstore-variety probiotic drink . I did a 'Nature Trail' 4 months ago. 5 km. Walked , didn't run . Came in last. Took 95 mintues extra after the runner before me. But I wasn't wheezing ! At all. Did a Lake Trail run last monday. 11 km. Walked ( Power walked.. or fast-walked would be a better term) the first 5 km . Ran the next 6. Came in 27th ( Total of 50 runners.) I've gifted myself a gym membership today. Worked out a plan that has lifting , cardio and yoga in it , haven't hired a personal trainer or anything like that yet , want to give it a shot on my own . Will still stick to running nature trails plus this. Just won't be running more than 4km everyday. For starters . I'm not sure if we are supposed to post about our emotional development as well...but I'm going to write it down . I'll edit it out immediately if it's not supposed to be posted . Just let me know . Anywho .. have apologised to my friends who I dumped so unceremoniously at the pompous peak . I must've done something really good in my previous lives because they were gracious enough to not only take me back but to be an active part of my daily workout routine ! Almost all of them are running alongside me ( though majority of them are waaayyyyy faster than I am. ) We all take turns organising hiking trips every weekend. Found my dapper , supportive and most importantly super-nerdy boyfriend amongst all the reconnection. My relationship with my parents has improved tremendously as well. Especially since I have taken the ardous task of cooking for all of us off my lovely mother's hands. Adopted Tarrant , who is the cutest , most supportive and hyperactive dog to have ever existed , hands down . Bonus point .. have somehow managed to develop a sense of humor . Went from being Snobby McSnob to Scobby Doo. I quite like being Scobby Doo Posting here was a sort of catharsis for me . And I would love to know your opinion on what else I could add to my routine/ or change in it. P.S. I will be moving to Finland in September 2015 . I have noticed there aren't that many Indian NFers , but if any are in Finland ( or anywhere a train ride away) .. I look forward to connecting with you ! TL;DR : Lost around 100 lbs by changing my diet and running , running and more running.Went from being a pompous crybaby to a decent human being.Getting closer to my dream job.Would love to hear whatever advice you want to give.Still trying to find the courage to post my timeline of weightloss , will do that soon ! P.S.S : Just re-read the post , and I realise I forgot to mention..I'm female

Okay, so Mistborn has nothing to do with the video game that inspired the thread's title, but who says we can't intermix our nerdiness? The name is the easy one to figure out, since it is the series name for the books by Brandon Sanderson. They are really, really good and I recommend them to anyone seeking a great fantasy trilogy to read. The title, of course, is inspired by one of the oldest and greatest RPG series: Dragon Warrior. Those were the good old days of 8-Bit RPG glory! I turned 30 this summer and am tired of being overweight. I've been able to get stretches of time where I could lose some weight and inches, but it always comes back because I always get lax in my discipline. I have good discipline in other areas of my life, but for some reason can never seem to manage my fitness or my eating. Especially not the eating. It doesn't help that I work at a desk and people bring in goodies almost every. single. stinking. week. Ugh, no wonder I haven't seen or felt the results I've been working hard at. I've been running 2-3 times a week since May. I have my first half-marathon coming up on October 19th, and while I am excited about accomplishing that goal, I know that I will feel better, look better, and have an easier time with running if I lose some of this excess baggage my body is clinging to. Any pointers or words of wisdom from runners will keep me going. I have my 14-mile long run on the 5th before tapering down, and I need a motivation booster! Main Quest: Complete my first half-marathon and maintain the running momentum afterwards. Goal 1: Complete the remaining scheduled runs as follows: 30 Minute Runs on 9/25, 9/30, 10/2, 10/7, 10/9, 10/14, and 10/16 3 Mile Runs on 9/27 and 10/11 14 Mile Long Run on 10/19 Goal 2: Create a running plan for the end of October, November, and December. Have the October runs be shorter runs to recover and resume long runs in November, focusing on increasing running speed now that endurance/distance has been improved. Goal 3: Eat/drink more natural foods. Turn to meats, vegetables, fruits, and nuts/seeds for the primary source of daily fuel and water for fluids. Life Quest: Read the Bible daily with my wife & pray together daily. While improving my physical wellness this is the perfect time to find improvements in my spiritual life, too. Motivation: I'm tired of not living up to my maximum potential. Small changes done daily can reap great results.

Ahaa! Well, hello again! I go by the name of Haniya (Hun-nee-yah; Atilla the Hun "hun") but for short you can call me Hans (yes but don't kill me) YES! Tis me again, yah! My awesomely musical and bubbly self, ready to grow and learn and defeat my demons FOR THE SECOND TIME WITH THIS CHALLENGE! Basically, a Pakistani girl doing my BDS (an undergrad of third year) I am 19; standing at 57 kgs(56. HA!) and 5'1? (I need to update this soon) with a flabtastic body. Body that made me anxious everytime I saw myself in the mirror, a body that never failed to flatline my self esteem to zero but do I accept this? NAY! I DON'T ACCEPT! ALSO, THE FLUFFY BUNNIES DON'T ACCEPT! I declare that I've lived long enough with this and now—against all odds— stand to change things so here I am! Determined and clueless as ever! but with my fluffy bunny buddies I shall conquer my fears and rule the world! (Mwahahah) I LOVE RUNNING SO MUCH. WIND AGAINST MY CHEEKS, BURNING LEGS, EXHAUSTED MIND~ everything about running is like awesomastic! Apart from that! I also love watching and playing sports with my favourites being soccer (football), cricket, golf. Music also plays a big part in my musical of a life—who doesn't like music, right? My genre preferences—if you asked—would be: pop, electronica and just downright instrumentals; if the rhythm and beats are good enough. Violin and piano are the loves of my life with the guitar skippingly following behind and whenever they're played, I feel like drowning myself into their magical harmonics because music is the right kind of heavenly for me. Moving onto video games and lastly Disney. Two seperate topics spearheading my life. I can't describe by words how important these are for me so you can just only imagine my love for them. Lastly, I will tell you about my dream in life and that is to seriously help the people of the world. I am going to help by being a motivational speaker/comedian/whatever—travelling all around the world (kind of like Lilly Singh a.k.a IISuperwomanII; my favourite youtuber) and making nations burst out in laughter. Yep! Basically, making them forget about their worries and teaching to them love and smile even in their darkest of days and bleakest of nights (I am a great listener too so if you need anyone to talk to—I am here ) M. A. J. O. R G. O. A. L: 1. Lose weight (5-10 kgs at best) 2. Add points to my stamina, endurance and strength tally. 3. ADD MUSCLE AND LOOK MY BEST IN CLOTHES THAT HAVE NEVER FITTED ME (partially achieved it) 4. Feel comfortable in my body. (Mirror to NOT intimidate me anymore) M. I. N. O. R. G. O. A. L. S 1. Cardio three times a week (Monday to Wednesday) for half an hour at most. 2. Beginner body weight training. 3. Clean eating! (VOT IS CLEAN AND EATING?) 4. Water!!!!!!! 5. No junk food or soda. 6. Reduce sugar intake MINOR. MINOR. GOAL: 1. Learn to sing (Ellie goulding is like my idol) 2. Understand the art of writing and maybe perform the same wonders with words like the novelists and authors that have done it countless times before me (with grammar, punctuation—the works.) 3. FOOTBALL!! (soccer because I am crazy about it) 4. BOOKS! LOADS OF BOOKS 5. Learn to draw?? M. Y. M. O. T. I. V. A. T. I. O. N: Well~ that's a hard one because I've got many but the people who top my list are three: 1. Ellie Goulding: singer and my Idol; herself and her music basically inspire me to achieve best possible. She is my health and fitness goddess and like her, I want running to basically fuel my life. I cannot express my love and respect for her and she's the reason I am where I am—a runner. 2. Lara Croft: My childhood idol; I've followed her since childhood. I've always admired her abilities and strengths Jumping here and there, fighting off creatures and swinging from vines—basically I want to be her! 3. Merida: Tremendous bravery, grace and mean archery skills—who wouldn't be her? 4. Black widow: PSSH! DOES IT NEED ANY EXPLANATION?'! Anyway, I think I am done? So, let me know if I've missed anything? WISH ME LUCK! (I NOW RIDE ON TOWARDS MY NEW LIFE! WOOOOOOOOP)

Hey guys! I've been seeing a bunch of stuff about the IIFYM way of eating and basically it's that you eat really whatever as long as it fits your calorie and macro goals. When following this I of course would not be eating pizza and candy, but I do like that if I wanted to sneak that extra piece of chocolate cake in once in a while I can. I've had some problems lately with binging at night and I feel like it's because I'm not getting the right ratio of macros, so I am kind of intrigued by IIFYM. The one issue, though, is that I am a runner and am currently training for a marathon. Is this way of eating okay for a runner, or is it more for people who lift/ do less cardio? Also, how would I adjust my macros on days where I have long runs (i.e. 17 miles)? The macros I have would not be enough to cover a day on which I do a run like that. Anyways, my macros are: 1630 calories 225 g carbs 96 g protein 19-24 g fiber 38.8 g fat I'm petite, 5'1" and 96-97 lbs, and am looking to maintain my weight. So what do you guys think about doing IIFYM? Any other suggestions? Opinions? Experiences? Thanks so much!

Hey everyone! I'm very new to this community and wanted to take a chance to say hello! I'm Ashley and I'm 25. I don't generally like to define myself by my food choices but if I had to I'd say I eat mostly vegan and mostly raw. I juice and/or blend on a daily basis and just don't enjoy eating meats. I have a stomach condition called gastroparesis which means my stomach is paryially paralyzed and doesnt contract to digest food properly. Because of this I try my hardest to eat as healthy and clean as possible and do whatever I can to make digestion easier. My history: November 2012 I started my weight loss journey. Like many it comprised of lots of cardio and scant calories. My body wasnt getting the nutirtion it needed and I was literally making my gastroparesis worse to the point where I was having aversions to food and becoming malnourished with talk of feeding tubes by my doctors. Needless to say, in the calorie counting community I was involved in, I was look at as 'lucky' for having this condition and difficulties eating because of it...can we say 'INSENSITIVE?!" So 20lbs down and unhealtheir than ever I decided to stop with all the weight loss garbage and 'learn to love myself' which, in regards to me personally, ment I was giving myself an excuse to be fat. I was 'sick', my body hated food, give myself a break right? I have enough to deal with just with the gastroparesis right...WRONG! Letting myself get laxed on fitness or nutrition are both very bad things for me. I either put myself into a flare with my gastroparesis where I can't eat anything and end up with low potassium in the hospital, or I end up stuck in a flare gaining weight because all I can bring myself to eat is processed carbs. At my lowest weight of 138 back in August 2013 I was not eating enough food and working out way too much. Since then I have tried to increase my calories but then holidays happened and life happened (including my dad having a stroke when he was staying with me for the holidays) and I've ballooned back up to 158lbs...my starting weight in November 2012 was 160lbs. So we've come over a year and I have lost and gained 20lbs. I'd be lying if I said I didnt know what I needed to do to make lasting improvements; my problem is not sticking with them. But, giving myself some credit, i've come a long ways learning new habits to incorporate...i just need to stick with them for extended periods of time. Which leads me to here...Nerd Fitness...not sure how I happened upon this site, but I love it so far and hope to become an active and motivating part of the community. My husband has a goal of gaining about 50lbs and my goal is to lose about 40lbs. Hopefully with us pushing each other, and having the resources of this community, we can be successful. He will be increasing his protein, calories, and lifting weights (LiveFit Program). I've been eating clean (but the goal is to do this on a regular), lifting weights (already a few weeks into LiveFit program), light yoga 3x/week, and running weekly for long term marathon training. Hoping to find some friends on here to help encourange and motivate each other!

As with everything else the way I dominate a world is a different from how most worlds may be dominated... :-) Some background. Before July 13 2013 I hade essentially done no exercise for close to ten years, before then I had done some once a week with some friends (floor hockey). With no I mean infrequent, I liven in Colorado so I did ski every now and then as well as go hiking in the summer. But nothing planned and nothing to improve over just living at a mile high. On July 13 I decided to learn to enjoy exercise. The operative word here is enjoy. I have gotten started with running or other exercise regimens before and I know I can do it from a purely mechanical standpoint, but I wanted to get it to a point where I actually liked it and not just the effect of it. So I got up from the coach and got started with the "Get Running" app (the original C25K - Coach to 5K - running program). I skipped a few weeks in the middle of it so I completed the nine week program early on the last day of August with running 5K in just under 40 minutes. I was completely beat, never before or after have I been that exhausted. On the high from that run I set my main quest for 2014. 2014 Main Quest: Run Stockholm Marathon May 31 Yes, even though I feel I can do it and it is no longer a wonder but just hard work, it still feels awkward just to say it. However I announced it to my world on Facebook on New Year's Eve as goals that are communicated are supposed to be easier to meet than goals that is your secret. Main quest for this challenge: Run 25K Short enough of a description and still it will require me too keep my eyes on the ball the whole time to have a chance. To this point I have completed 19K one time and 17K several times. So I need to add 1K-2K per week to get there. Time does not matter, it is a matter of getting used to distance. Goal 1: Run at least 3 times per week with at least one being longer than 20K. This is of course the main goal geared towards the quest. A combination of shorter and high intensity is preferable to build all aspects of running, but the key is running so I will rather do a run I am in the mood for than to follow a schedule too hard. Grading: A - completing three runs five weeks B - completing three runs four weeks and so on. Goal 2: Compose and start using weight training circuit. I am doing some after my runs, but I want to do less then and instead add in a weight circuit for my non-running days. This will help with running as well as with avoiding injuries. I am planning to look at the beginner weight circuit here on NF and combine it with one on a running site I follow to make one that is my own. Grading: A - Having defined one and done it 6 times B - Having defined one and done it 5 times C - Having defined one and done it 4 times D - Having defined one and done it 3 times F - Having not defined one or done it less than 3 times Goal 3: Crack 100 000 steps in a week Getting to over 100 000 in a calendar week (Monday-Sunday) would be cool! I include running in this, but I've still not gotten over 80 000 more than just briefly. And getting more steps in will help overall fitness and well being. I'm trying to get off and on the subway two stops from work and walk the rest of the way. If I can make that a habit I think most of the difference to get to this goal may be achieved. Grading: A - Cracking it 3 weeks or more B - Cracking it 2 weeks or more C - Cracking it 1 weeks or more D - Only getting over 85 000 steps. F - Not getting over 85 000 steps a single week. As for a lifestyle goal, I have followed Paleo as a general guideline since August. I've pretty much lost 3 kg/6 pounds per month since then. My goal now is to just continue that. I started over 96 Kg (211 pounds) and hope to maybe get as low was 66 Kg (145 pounds) around the time of my marathon and then add on 5 Kg/11 pounds as an everyday weight and keep it there. Lifestyle goal: Reach 77 Kg/169 pounds Grading: A - 77 kg/169 pounds B - 77.5 kg/170 pounds C - 78 kg/171 pounds D - 78.5 kg/172 pounds F - >79 kg/173 pounds Time to get busy!

Ok first off, can I just say how much I love this site?! The perfect blend of fitness, encouragement, and most importantly - seamlessly infusing Nerd-life into our real (and sometimes less space battle/Tardis/zombie filled) -life. Main Quest: To either lose the last 10lbs I've been struggling to lose -or- slim down 1 pant size (I say 'or' because I build muscle really fast for a girl, and muscle weighs more than fat, so I've been seeing my body slim down, but the scale doesn't necessarily move. Kinda frustrating, but still obvious progress) Continue running 4x/week (M,W,F,Sat) but add strength training the other 3 days (usually while I'm watching some sci-fi movie/show on Netflix)Drink 70-80oz of water every day. This is ridiculously hard for me for some reason.Increase my daily runs from 2.1mi to 2.75miLife Quest: Finish our basement! We've been saving up and it's past time to buy the insulation, drywall it, and put in flooring. I'd like to not be scared of spiders and/or other unsavory creatures lurking in the darkness when I do the laundry....... Ok, it's really not that bad guys, I just want a finished basement. Haven't figured out how I'll score this every week, probably just keep track in my handy dandy, timey wimey Doctor Who 50th Anniversary planner (as seen below)

Texwardo had a hankerin' for beef, beans, beer...anything tasty. Sitting at his desk all day, and snacking every time he walked past the chuck wagon, he put on a lot of weight. In the 25 years between age 30 and 55, Tex went on countless diets, losing 10-20 pounds each time. He always lost focus, quickly putting back on even more than he had lost. When Tex passed the 300 pound mark at one checkup, he said, "Enough is enough!" Tex finally got serious about losing weight. He bought a wifi enabled scale and started logging every mouthfull of food or drink with an app on his phone. Between February 2012 and April 2013, Tex lost 145 pounds. Tex started running in November 2012. Using a couch-to-5k program, he reached the point where he could run 5k without stopping. His first race was on January 1, 2013. Since then, Tex started using the Galloway run-walk-run method and increased his stamina. Between January and May, Tex ran an 8k, 10k, 14k, and two half marathons. Tex feels great at his new weight. However, his body has not caught up with his weight loss. His skin is saggy, and he has little upper-body strength. Tex wants to change that over the next year, building muscle while maintaining his current weight. He also wants to continue improving his running speed. Tex also wants to publish a book in 2014 on his primary area of interest, the people and machines that launched the missions to the Moon in the 1960s and 1970s. Current attributes: Strength 1 | Dexterity 1 | Stamina 4 | Constitution 2 | Wisdom 4 | Charisma 3 Long-term goals: (1) Run a half marathon in 2 hours 10 minutes (2) Maintain weight at or below 160 pounds (3) Be able to do 90 crunches (4) Be able to do 75 pushups (5) Write a book on Kennedy Space Center facilities during the Apollo era, to be published in 2014 Goals for the current Challenge: (1) Run a minimum of 20 miles per week: +2 CON, +1 DEX (2) Start doing "The Morning Workout" (attached) 4 times per week - initially at 1 time through the routine each day, working up to 2 times per day by the end of the challenge: +3 STR, +2 CHA (3) Maintain weight at or below 160 pounds: +1 CON, +1 CHA (4) Complete the outline of my book and send it to three people to review: +5 WIS

Hey Everyone! I'm super new to Nerd Fitness - just came across the site yesterday! Fell in love with it immediately and decided the Rebellion found me just in time. Here's a little bit about myself. Make me your friend if anything in here jives with ya! Me and my chub: I've been overweight since I was 16. I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism after 8 months of significant weight gain and presumed I was doomed (insert pity party here). Even though I was a dancer, I ate like crap, which was re-inforced by my parents habits, and never lost weight, just slowly put more on. In college I was very active but my eating and newly added drinking habits did not help the situation. I peaked at 160 lbs, which is a LOT on my 5'2" frame. I entered graduate school determined to make a change. In 2009 I lost 23 lbs over 8 months, finally getting back into the upper end of the healthy range, and managed to keep it off for almost 2 years! I even ran a half-marathon. Then came 3rd year of med school. All the good eating habits and exercising went out the door in an attempt to survive the crazy hours and studying. I re-gained most of the weight I had lost AND I injured my ankle when I restarted running a year ago since I completely deconditioned over the 12 months. Now one year later, I'm 10 pounds above a healthy BMI, not completely recovered from my injury, still not eating well even though I know what I should be doing, still not back into a regular exercise regimen, and about to start my residency training in 3 weeks. FML. Nerd qualifications: So I'm not a traditional video-game playing nerd. Sorry . I've always seen the appeal but never got into it. BUT I have both a MD and a PhD, have seen every episode of TNG, have seen all the StarWars, love Firefly and MythBusters, have made model rockets for fun, have read a decent amount of sci fi novels, have been known to snort when excited... and so forth. Goals: Use the Rebellion to get on and stay on track during my residency training!Finally get down to a healthy weight and get chiseled so it's easier to maintain.Change my eating and exercise habits for good so I don't have to work to stay healthy, it just becomes the routine.Set an example for my patients. If I can do it working ~80 hrs/wk, anyone can. Well, maybe not a surgery resident or an associate in a high-end law firm but you get the idea.Embrace my inner Nerd and kick some a$$.~Sruthi