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I'm turning this into a six week challenge because I can. Also, this series of challenges has growth as a central theme, and growth is continuous. Last time around I did indeed experience growth, and with that came knowledge. I'm putting that knowledge to use in this challenge and taking on a more freestyle kind of format. I do have goals, and in-particular I want to get myself into race-shape before I kick my season off at the beginning of January, but I'm taking a slightly more relaxed and reactive approach in order to accommodate the unexpected events that keep cropping up and my emotional and physical reactions to them. I've gone back to paper and pen, planned the next section of this path of mine, and given myself some guidelines in order to help me keep moving forwards. This challenge I will run. This challenge I will do yoga. This challenge I will lift. This challenge I will do body weight exercise. This challenge I will also study, read, knit, draw, cook, clean, and work towards achieving the best balance in life I can. If there is one hard and fast rule that can never be changed then it is this: there is no such thing as an unacceptable or wasted day. Rest is vital, emotionally and physically. GOALS AND GUIDELINES Run, but only on days off (almost always twice a week) Work out, but only before work (and just twice a week for the next six weeks). Also included under this goal is grip working, specifically working on my grip with cold hands. This can be done up to three times a week for the next six weeks. Study, at least half an hour on days off and at least fifteen minutes on workdays (and on work days, always before work) Keep stress low. Make time for fun and creativity every day, especially after work. And that's it. There are more things, but they're like background noise at the moment. The above is what I am primarily focused on. It is my hope that keeping things relaxed like this for a short time will help me make and keep the habits I'm trying to form, and then next time around I can work on SMART goals. In addition to all of that, I will update daily and check-in with others as often as I can. Doing that is one of the things that helped keep me going when things got tough and tiring towards the end of last challenge. Let's see how this plays out.

So since I am in a much better mental state these past couple months and have moved back into my house after the ex left I figure I can now focus on the next 5 months. I have a lot of cleaning/purging to do in my house of junk as well as clothes and kitchen things. I need to buy some more furniture and set some things up here and there. My back yard is an overgrown mess and the garden is a nightmare. The garage is ummm, did a hurricane already come? So I am going to set some 5 month goals in here and refer back to them over the next couple challenges as well as challenge goals and weekly goals moving forward.

Yeah, I'm back again for another crack at this habit making thing. One thing that can be said of me is I at least don't give up for good... even if I'm terrible at follow through >_< But one day, this may stick, so I'm going to keep forging on. This challenge has a few incentives to stay on track though, so that will definitely help. I am currently in the thick of a 6 month diet bet, that I have already paid in full, so if I want to see my money back, I need to get my butt in gear! I also am signed up for 4 more 5k runs this year, one each month - August, September, October and November. Again, already paid for these, so if I want my money to not go to waste i need to train and actually see some progress. I liked the set up I had the last time I did one of these challenges, so I will be setting a spreadsheet with different goals and each time I complete one I get the assigned number of points for that item. My total of points at the end will determine my grade for the challenge and also my rewards. I'll be linking the spreadsheet eventually and at least weekly post my current point total and the highlights of the week, but in the meantime some of the goals that will be on the sheet will be: Complete c25k training 3xs a week Complete Beyond Flexibility mobility exercises 3xs a week (will likely be completed after or before run as my stretching. I am focusing on the "I just want to feel good" focus which is an upper, a lower, and a full body mobility exercise each week) Log all food eaten and drinks drank - this can be done on paper, in mfp, or just photo logged, this challenge I am only focusing on tracking what I eat and when, not so much the calories yet, because that gets overwhelming fast. Starting next week I will also be completing the Core Play exercises as well. I will also be working on 10 minutes of drawing practice daily. I'll also be practicing being patient with myself, so I will not beat myself up over not reaching 100% completion, it's not healthy. But as long as I do SOMETHING everyday, it will be building those habits and creating the me I want to be.

Last challenge got a little derailed by some rather intense fatigue issues, among other things, so this challenge is essentially going to be something of a repeat now that those fatigue issues are being dealt with and my life is somewhat more stable. I'm not aiming for the stars, not even close, I'm aiming for the second rung of the ladder. One step at a time and all that. In a way I'm quite lucky, this challenge will officially kick off right when I get a week off of work, so I'll have time and space to implement these changes and enough time to build up some momentum to carry it all on when I do get back into it. So here we go: One: The Continuous 5km 2x5km runs weekly These will happen on the days I am not working given that my commute involves six miles of walking. I enjoy it, but right now I am not at the stage where I can do that and put proper focus on a run in the same day. Depending on how the fatigue management goes, I may take to running in the evening rather than first thing in the morning. Two: Movement 10mins of movement immediately after getting up Right now that seems like a far more manageable goal than the one I had previously. Movement can be yoga, primal, tai chi, anything that helps me shake off the sleep and get myself ready for the day ahead. Three: The Elusive Pull-up 2x workouts weekly It won't happen this year, but I am determined it will happen next year. And for it to happen I need to lay the groundwork. Having a definite goal makes it easier to run, so I'm finally applying the same principle here. It doesn't change all that much about my workouts, just shifts the focus slightly and gives me some solid motivation. Four: The Sugar Demon Cut the sugary junk cold turkey Protein shake every morning 2.5l water daily Cold turkey worked very well for me the last time I tried it in conjunction with giving up the sugary junk that kept slipping into my diet, so here I am again. I will not eat chocolate, cake, sweets, or anything of the sort for the duration of this challenge. I am prepared for the withdrawal symptoms and know I can push through them. I know I will feel better once it's all out of my system. Five: Everything Else Daily creative time (sketching/knitting/guitar) Finish the bedroom (paint, put the mirror up, fix the curtain rail) Daily learning (Duolingo and CoE course) This list is always going to be subject to change, but these are the main things I wish to focus on at the moment and the things I want to figure out how to integrate properly into my life once again. And there we have it. Zero week will be a warm-up of sorts. Some elements of this challenge will be introduced during the week so I can start to form a picture of how it will work and whether or not I'll need to make some last minute changes. Though really, if at any point it needs to change, it will. I'm trying very hard to let go of stubbornly sticking to a goal just for the sake of it. Flexibility, and indeed adaptability, is the way forward for me.

I did it!!!!!! I finished the 5k this morning! I did my training program which was: 5 minutes walking 1.5 minutes running 1.5 minutes walking 3 minutes running 3 minutes running Repeat from 1st run 5 minutes walking (cool down) After that it was a lot of walking followed by random walking/running until I reached the 5k mark.

Hi everyone, I'm back! 😃 Took a break due (from the forums, not exercise) to the whole Covid thing. I was not sick & neither was my family; it affected my mom mentally, however, as it advanced her dementia because routines were interrupted.

I don't know what's going on. That's a staple in my life right now, it seems. It does bother me, but ultimately it's beyond my control. Instead I need to focus on the things that I can control and stop causing myself unneeded stress by worrying about what I can't. Sounds simple, but I haven't quite managed that little trick properly in almost three decades of life. I worry about the things beyond my control plunging me back into darker moments, and maybe that's something I'll never be rid of. But I have found something that gives me some comfort, something I read online a while back that says that when you fall into darkness it doesn't have to mean you've hit the bottom, it means you've just been planted and are ready to grow. That's what I choose to believe. And so I will focus on nurturing that growth. One: The Continuous 5km --- 2x 5+km runs weekly Last challenge I think I did quite well with running, frequently running longer distances than I expected I could. In doing so I've unearthed an old goal, to run 5km without stopping, and will be working my way towards this for as many challenges as it takes. For now I've decided to keep things at two runs a week, albeit slightly longer runs than last time. Two: 35 Days of Movement --- Yoga every morning --- 3x primal movement, tai chi, or mobility exercises I miss my morning yoga, simple as that. Therefore I will get myself back into the habit. I will also add in other forms of movement three times per week, working it around run and workout days. I do this sporadically anyway, I just need to firm up a schedule of sorts and stick to it. Three: Heavyweight --- 2x workouts weekly I also miss lifting. And how I'd feel when I noticed I was getting stronger. The obvious answer is to start working out with regularity again, and, now that my home gym is 95% complete, start hitting the weights properly. Four: The Snack Conundrum --- Cut the crap --- Protein shake daily --- 2l water daily Admittedly the snacking issues has crept up on me again, and it's causing disruption in what were once relatively healthy eating habits. It's also making a mess of my skin, which is extra incentive to stop it. Therefore I will going cold turkey on junk food once again. Five: Everything Else --- Morning and night meditation --- Daily work on one project --- Finish decorating the bedroom --- Update daily And that's that. Relatively simple. If it turns out that I do go back to work during this challenge then a few things will need altered, but I don't know if that will happen or not. It's one of the more frustrating unknowns right now, truth be told. In the meantime I will continue on as I have been and do my best to make full use of the time I have. I'm once again starting right from zero week, although zero week itself will be a sort of testing week to see if anything needs tweaked or fine-tuned. I'll start measuring my progress towards my goals from week one.

This challenge is actually a rerun of last year's Wall-E and EVE challenge. It will have two parts: a single main challenge goal, and a weekly supplementary micro-habit. I really love micro-habits and had great success with them last year, but changing my whole routine when I changed jobs meant they disappeared with their cues. Let's bring them back! The Mighty Maxi Goal - Hercules Run at least 3 hours a week. Last challenge was 2.5 hours, and 2 hours the challenge before that. So far the number has been manageable but motivating. I am still roughly following the First 50K plan so it should be 4+ hours, but realistically speaking that won't happen most weeks. Typically I miss one or two runs for some reason, and I would like the flexibility to swap out a run for a hike now and then. I am still planning on running a solo mountain ultramarathon in September so this is a priority goal. The Mighty Mini Goal - Atom Ant Zero Week: Open my planner when I wake up in the morning (before checking my phone). Week One: Check in with my stomach before and midway through meals, and assess how hungry I am. Week Two: Get dressed (in workout gear when appropriate) immediately after breakfast. Week Three: TBA Week Four: TBA Week Five: TBA

Welcome to my Not Reboot It feels like I need a reboot. A do over. Press stop, wait for everything to come back up, and pick up where I left off. There is an issue with doing that. You never fix the problem I'm an IT guy. My career has advanced and I do some pretty cool shit if I'm honest (I build bits of internet infrastructure). When I was a young man, rather over confident but still only in the education part of my career, a friend of mine came at me with something I'd not come across before. He told me simply. "Your first reaction should never be to turn it off and on again." It might work. It might clear the problem away. It might be necessary to fix it but the first step shouldn't be to reboot. It should be to identify the problem. Or as I like to tell our support staff. "Define 'problem'". If you never find out what the problem is it'll just come back again. So rather and rebooting I'm taking my do over to look at me right now and to figure out what needs to change for me to go forwards. Of course the number of problems you can find at any given time can be seemingly infinite and this isn't an exercise in seeing how many problems can be identified but to solidly define a handful of known issues. So for this challenge I'm going with these: I oversell training resources My eating is currently all over the place Training Resources: Overselling is a term used in my industry to describe the common practice of selling more capacity on a shared system than the system is technically able to sustain. With the idea that not everybody will be using all of the 'guaranteed' resources all the time. This can and does have consequences In training I push more than I am able to sustain and it's not always obvious that I am doing it. Fatigue tends to catch up on you unaware. You can plan for it and you can mitigate it and you can take advantage of some extra few percent of training effect but I genuinely think that this model isn't worth it. So I'm trying to build a sustainable and scalable training model for myself. One that will provide me with the results I'm looking for without the pain So the plan is simple but the execution is going to be a little troublesome. I have a virtual race this Saturday, a 20 mile run that I am hoping to get below 3 hours. So that's going to be a hard run for me. At the very least I'd like to get a 20 mile PR (currently 3:15) since I'm feeling confident I'm in a place where I can actually pull that off. That said I've never actually tried to do what I am going to attempt so all bets are off Once that is over I am going to be resting a little through week 1 so this experiment isn't going to get underway properly until week 2 but there is no reason I cannot start as I mean to go on. I've set my current mileage limit at 30 miles per week. I don't intend on going above that for the duration of the challenge (I'm not going to be 100% strict on that 31 miles isn't going to make the difference) but the goal is to keep it at about 30 miles. I'll be doing a speed workout and a threshold workout each week. The goal is to keep a training log along with a session rpe. I'm going to be using this to keep track of my load. The goal for my load to remain fairly constant for the entire challenge but I expect week 1 to be quite light Eating: Okay as a knock on effect of my long term illness my hunger sense seems to have gone a little crazy. So my goal here is to keep a food log and it's more of an attempt to make sure I'm actually eating enough rather than too much because I've been skipping a lot of meals because I don't know that I"m hungry until I actually start eating. I'll take this over feeling like I was going to throw up every time I ate for 6 months but it's presenting a new problem for me. Simply being mindful of it might be enough to fix it. Well that's it An overall goal for this will be to try and make sure I update every day. Since keeping the logs is kind of the point of the challenge

Starting Monday, May 4th, the government round these parts will be gradually lifting the lockdown and quarantine measures, with a view to a full lift by late June or early July. While they haven't done much to contain the virus besides impose lockdown (as opposed to, say, strengthen public healthcare) social isolation has kept the numbers surprisingly low. Now, with the measures gradually rolling back and still no real plan apparent, the strategy truly seems like the image posted above and I can't help but worry that frustrated people will storm out and potentially re-circulate the virus. Either way, I'd love to do a "May the 4th be with you" challenge, but I'll leave Star Wars to the master @EricMN and go Hunger Games instead for this challenge, which basically covers most of the "return to normality" period. Workouts In case you didn't notice, I'm joining the Scouts for this challenge. I started going for night runs after Easter and it seems like it'll be the only viable option until any workout-specific locations begin to operate again, probably around September. For this, I'll be employing the "never twice in a row" rule: I can miss a day of running, but never two days in a row. Nutrition Speaking of running, you may recall Rule #4 of the Rebellion: You can't outrun your fork. It's not about (over)training to burn fat and excess calories, it's about getting your eating habits in check before you even consider working out. Obviously, lockdown was mostly about cooking, eating and not being very physically active. I've slipped back into eating large servings of food, more sugary items than I actually like and a bit of mindless snacking, all of which saw me put on weight. Now I've saved up some mental fuel, but quarantine isn't holidays;it takes a toll and I'll need most of that fuel for my return to the world, so making big changes here would be foolish and short lived. Instead, I'm going for sustainable baby steps as I'll be tracking my weight and eating every day on my phone app. Networking I'd like to up my NF game, both in terms of consistent posting here as well as keeping up with other people's threads (and, you know, actually read stuff instead of speed-reading it). Between this challenge and the return of my pro wrestling narrative thanks to the recent release of Total Extreme Wrestling 2020, I should have enough motivation to stick around so I'll be using a quid pro quo approach: no posting on my own thread until I'm done catching up with other threads. I also need to get a new job and sort out my financial situation, but that's not something I could make into a challenge goal, especially with The Uncertainty still raging.

27APR2020: 191.2Lbs - Fasting; 1.98mi run/walk (2min/3min intervals) 28APR2020: - Not fasting; 1.68mi walk w/ doggos 29APR2020: - Intermittent Fasting (16:8); 1.68mi run/walk (2min/3min intervals) --- Break in all attempts at everything, for no real reason --- 09MAY2020: 2.12 mi run, with warm up walk and cool down stretching afterwards 10MAY2020: 2.19 mi run, with warm up walk and cool down stretching afterwards (husband came out too!) 11MAY2020: Unsurprisingly, my legs are very sore; taking the hint and taking a break.

Jedi Masters have a canon-long history of going into hiding when their plans went sideways. Obi-wan Kenobi went to Tatooine. He evidently didn't hate sand, even though it's all coarse, and rough, and irritating. And it gets everywhere. Yoda went to Dagobah. Mudhole? Slimy? His home this is. Luke Skywalker went to Ahch-To. And refused to answer the door. That puts me in good company as I practice social-distancing while my world remains on hiatus during the COVID19 shutdown. From the comfort of my home office, in front of the standing desk I knocked out last weekend. "Practice". Seriously, people, as an introvert I've been practicing social distancing almost my whole life. Pandemic social-distancing and potential quarantine is like the Introvert Olympics and I'm going to win all the gold medals and look like Usain Bolt in his prime while doing it. The challenge for me won't be social distancing, it will be to not allow myself to shut down while preparing for a Shelter In Place order. I don't want to let myself lose the healthy habits I've been started to regain over the first part of this year. Goal: Strength Training For all of January and a good part of February, I was staying consistent with a gym regimen. Somewhere at the beginning of March I came down with a case of influenza (tested), which knocked me out for the better part of two weeks. I was just starting to feel like myself again when the State mandated gyms and spas to close, which meant my gym was closed. Fortunately, our gym has an amazing owner who has built up a large Facebook group for gym members support, and the trainers are all broadcasting their classes online. I've got weights at home. I literally have no excuses for not working out. Goal: Three strength, boot camp or crossfit-style workouts per week. Follow the recorded live broadcasts if my work schedule doesn't accommodate doing them live. Goal: Cardio Training This one's not hard. I have good running shoes and good running gear, and most of the snow is gone. I don't like cold weather, but that's an excuse. I should be running multiple times per week while it's still allowed. Goal: Run three times per week. Non-Goal: Nutrition The bad part about being stuck at home is that boredom leads to eating. The good part is that it's harder to go out to eat, even though takeout is still a viable option and being widely suggested as a way to support local businesses through the economic disaster that will accompany the pandemic. The other good part is I already know how to batch prep for meals and there's less of an excuse now as to why I'm not doing it. I'm not going to track my macros because I'm not in that kind of headspace right now, but I generally understand what 1800-2400 calories is when I'm batch-prepping. Non-Goal: Eat sensibly and avoid snack binging while home. Goal: Self Care This is the tricky part. We're only a couple weeks into widespread social distancing and I'm seeing a LOT of people reporting issues with anxiety and depression. I'm worried about my kids as much as I'm worried about myself. Kids were scheduled for spring break this week, but got an additional week off as schools cancelled the previous week to give districts and teachers time to prep for distance learning. Additionally, my three adult kids all work in the hospitality industry - restaurant, barista, hotel - and two of them are temporarily out of work and the third would be, but his hotel is still under construction and he's on the management team trying to open it to... no guests any time soon. Nobody is panicking and it looks like the social safety nets that are supposed to be in place will do what they should to help, but I'm concerned and I'm already a worrier and a habitual caregiver who needs to make sure I am taking care of myself. No green milk.

I think this challenge will be about finishing up some unfinished business. Last Feb2019, I DNF'd an ultra in South Carolina. Then, on the first week of Feb, I saw an inagural race for the Prisoner of War Ultra - Marksman 50K in SC on Feb 15, 2020. This is a chance to finally put a check mark on SC. Week 0 - POW Marksman Ultra 50K completed in 10 hours 39 mins and the cut-off was 12 hours. Finally, I have my hydration dialed in now just using Tailwind, Emergen-C powder, and Himalayan pink salt. No more Endurolytes, salt tablets, pickle juice, and what not! Zero tummy issues. For nutrition, I ate 1/2 PB&J bagel. I drank half cup of chicken soup at the aid station with a small brownie. Then, 1/4 slice of pizza on the next loop. Really did not eat much. Used my Hokas instead of the winter boots. Used the silk sock liner and wool socks with liberal amount of vaseline on my feet, re-applied on every loop equals no blisters. I did have a black toenail on my middle left toe due to the slipping on the muddy ground. 'Need to figure out shoelace configuration next time to avoid black toenails issue. The 50K has 4 loops of around 8.35 miles and the bathrooms are only in the start/finish area. It is harder and has more elevation gain/loss than the Jan 25 ultra. I was very slow on the first loop and struggled with the uphills as I have not been practicing on any hills at all. Plus, it has an epic river crossing. Considering this is 3 weeks after the Jan ultra, I think overall it was a good race. Week 1 - Planning, thinking, and resting week. No running. Will update weeks 2 to 5 after the planning week. Week 2 - Weekly Mileage goal: 25 miles Week 3 - Weekly Mileage goal: 25 miles Week 4 - Weekly Mileage goal: 25 miles Week 5 - Weekly Mileage goal: 25 miles Here are some race photos. start/finish area pre-race meeting. 50K starts at 10am and finishes at 10pm with 4 loops of 8.35 miles. muddy trails. by the time it was dark, you cannot tell which trail is muddy or not. just plow straight through on the last loop. hmm... didn't practice for mud!!! lake craig or lake johnson, i forget they had a rope to help you cross the river. the highlight of the race! misery was had by all... for this little wooden square! Check out their FB album for some really epic river crossing pics: https://tinyurl.com/sskvf8c

Hi all Former rebel lured back for the anniversary 👋 While I would normally hang my cape in the Assassin's den, I'm hobbling into the scout's camp this time around because I have a half marathon in about 8 weeks and let's just say that while the carbo-loading has been going fantastically, everything else has not 😂 So my challenge goals are simple: 1. Run 3 times a week with a focus on hill training 2. Intermittent fasting (16/8) with at least 2 veggies per day. https://www.strava.com/athletes/659978

Hi Rebels, Restarting after a few years off forums, I've changed my username etc for a true respawn. A bit late to the party thanks to the bushfires. The smoke haze that has settled over my town has brought home how much I need and appreciate exercise for my health and wellbeing. There really is nothing like being able to do nothing fitness related to make you appreciate it. The gym has been closed and it is too hazardous outside. The gym finally reopened and I have been getting back into my fitness routine but I thought some accountability after about a month off (and being basically sedentary during that time, and breathing a lot of smoke!) would be a great way to respawn. My endocrinologist encourages me to try to exercise for an hour a day (I'm a type 1 diabetic) and I'm keen to get back to it! Goal 1: 30 minutes of yoga every day - Post run OR - Pre strength OR - Sunday on it's own - I'm doing YWA's latest new year 30 day challenge. I also meditate with Sam Harris' Waking Up app. Goal 2: 30+ minutes of jogging 3 times a week - Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday - Currently doing this on the treadmill because of the air quality - I can't stand treadmills without a distraction so I am using Zombies, Run! - I can comfortably run 5-10 km but have decided to go back to basics to prevent injury and am doing their 5k program. The 10 minute free run at the end makes for a good balance between drills and a jog. Goal 3: Barbell training 3 times a week - I've been lifting for about 6 months after a break of a few years - I've recently changed from Stronglifts to Wendler's Beginner Prep School from the book Forever 5/3/1 - I've deloaded by 10 kg. Possibly unnecessary but I am treating this as though I'm recovering from injury. Life Goal: Prepare my mind and body to tackle my last year of grad school head on I have between 12-15 months left before I submit my thesis. This year is going to be awesome and difficult. I'm keen to stay on top of my health which can quickly go haywire when I'm stressed. This week, my laboratory was still closed because of the smoke in the building, I am taking advantage of that time to prepare for the year ahead and will continue to do so this challenge. There are a couple of fellowships I want to apply for, some papers to draft out and experiments to plan. One thing I want to be strict about this year is my waking and sleeping times. So I'm planning to experiment a bit with timing of things, and alarm placement to improve my chances of this. Let's do this!!!

I love New Year’s! For me, it’s a fun time with lots of hope and dreams but not a lot of heavy expectations. I’m thinking about bigger-picture year-long goals, but for this challenge, I want to keep it pretty simple. I'm starting during zero week, so these are all 6-week goals. Focused flexibility: This is a stretching program from a company called GMB. They recommend 2-week cycles after which you re-evaluate your flexibility and switch things up as needed. I’m going to do 2 cycles (total of 4 weeks) with the goal to stretch every day. If I miss a day, I can make it up with “bonus points” (described below). Drink water. I’m annoyed that I have to make this a goal, but I think I have to make it a goal. At least a liter every day. Selzer or herbal tea also count. If I miss a day, I can also make this up with “bonus points” Run 150 miles [6 weeks]. Treadmill counts. In a pinch, other cardio machines count (10 min = 1 mile), but only to get me up to 25 miles in a given week. Clean the bathrooms. Yup another exciting deep cleaning goal. I’ve done these in previous challenges and been really happy with the results. This time I’m not going to list all the details of cleaning jobs, but I’ll just note that it does include Mari-Kondo-ing all the cabinets. Bonus point activities: Practice pincha mayurasana (peacock feather pose) Strength workout (can be mini-workout…at least 5 sets counts) Go to spinning class (bike, not textiles) Go to big city yoga class And I still have quite a substantial sushi list to work on....

A few days following the start of this new challenge will mark the date I entered this world....50 years ago... Not too bad for an old lady if I do say so myself... Recap from prior challenges this year below I've lost a lot this year, a lot has changed for me...if you had asked me before where I would be at this point in my life it would damn sure not be here! My marriage is essentially "married companions" we love each other but more than that is not happening in the foreseeable future...we do enjoy each others company and we are a 'safe space' for the other. I used to think I was interested in dating, but right now I find I'm more interested in working on me...I have a tendency to lose myself in relationships, and I'm a pretty awesome individual that doesn't need to go anywhere just because I'm with someone...so this is going to be about 'finding' and keeping me! I had a goal of losing 50 lbs by my 50th birthday...I got halfway there...I'm re-committing myself to losing the rest, and working on losing the excess rolls that seem to not want to go anywhere! I want to not jiggle when I move and try to get rid of this 'hip dip' thing that I've had most of my life...wish me luck I also had a goal of running a 5k entirely and completing a 10k, neither one of those happened either but I did set a new PR for my 5k...the 10k should be done by the end of the year and I have a goal to train for a 15k in March. I'm okay if I never completely run any of them, I run intervals and that's more than I ever did before! The Plan.... Run: I'm following NYAR 10K training plan currently, so points for when I do what is scheduled (including rest days) Eat: Continue making the 24 hour plan, eat on plan when hungry, stop when full. Calm: Three times a week (at least) take time for me, this can be journaling, crocheting, or time to read. This also includes excursions with friends, or anything else I want it to! ommit: (yes I know, spelling, but work with me here) anything that does not work for or serve me...this year is about being a bit selfish. I'm also going to 'ommit' some debt this year, we'll pay off the first major expense and possibly get two eliminated! I have a goal of completing 10 items on my bucket list between now and my next birthday, hopefully by my next challenge the following will be completed: Get Passport Visit Key West Go Parasailing Go Snorkeling (I was going to say scuba diving but I'm claustrophobic so we'll see how snorkeling goes first) Get my motorcycle license (again...been 30 years since I had it) That's one a week...should be a good start! On with the show! Disclaimer, I'm a kinky lesbian in an open relationship. My threads used to have a tendency to get rather interesting (it's been years but I can hope it happens again ) and I have had people unsubscribe because of that...

Stay on Target This is mostly going to be a riposte re-post of a thread I created super late last challenge. One - Sorry for ghosting! Had to go focus on myself and all that stuff. Work still sucks, but it's getting better. Or at least I'm working on getting it better (communication ftw). But hey, I'm back and ready to do things! Two - I signed myself up for a half marathon (November 3rd). These goals are probably more at home in the scouts forum, but honestly just like the rangerly aesthetic so yeah. Anyways, the goals... 1) Stick to the Plan Tues / Thurs Runs - Moderately hard effort, focus on running without walk breaks. Distance less of a concern versus going out and getting a weekday run in, but prefer to run for at least 20 mins Weekend Runs - Saturday or Sunday (depending on weekend obligations). Easy effort, focus on getting the distance in. Preference = Under 14 min/mile since that's the race cut-off pace. Cross Training - Walking, Yoga, Stationary Bike, Strength, some combo of those 2) Regular Check-Ins NF Coaching - Daily check-in Forums - Updates (this thread) 5 out of 7 days & interact with others as often as possible (super introverted over here, I'll do what I can without ghosting again. but I've been having good days lately so should be alright) 3) Hydrate Track Water Consumption Aim for at least 2.1 L daily

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It has been a challenging year for me and I am looking to get myself back focused on “me” . Up till June I was doing so well....lost 10 lbs even...now that is all back on my ass and I am feeling it.... I can not get into the Challenge proper until August 12th ( have a animathon conference to attend this weekend out of town) but I will jump on in and get myself on Track adn hit this hard on Monday 12th . Here is my game. 1 - Three weeks ( till end of August) of cleanse diet followed by the rest of the time testing food back in– this is a non negotiable as I have developed ugly dermatitis on my arms and I think it helps to eat better. 2- Consistency with my workouts – Holly shit sticks this gets hard for me... I will play a bit with this during this challenge but I am aiming to get up and do early AM workouts Monday- Friday My workouts are truly a mix of everything in my home gym deep down in the catacombs. I want to get stronger faster and just better in my overall fitness by next spring……For this initial challenge I want to work out being more consistent that is all, the training plan will come later. Even if I roll out of bed and do 10 push ups - for this challenge i will count that as a win Game Plan - I will update weekly Monday – Clean Eating & AM workout Tuesday – Clean Eating & AM Workout Wednesday – Clean Eating & Am Workout Thursday - Clean Eating & AM Workout Friday – Clean Eating & AM Workout Saturdays - Clean Eating & Rest/Active Rest Sunday – Clean Eating & Endurance Workout

So I vanished for a little bit there yet again. That wasn't planned I just got very, very sick to the point where I basically spent the majority of the last week sleeping and feeling simply exhausted. Apparently the stomach bug was going round the office. If I were to hazard a guess I kind of beat the crud out of my immune system doing a 30 mile Race followed by a week of camping and hiking and that bug decided to set up home. I am going to just do a write up for MvL and my vacation and meeting up with @iatetheyeti in Edinburgh for a day and I'll do them here just cause I want to show off some of the pictures I took of the outstanding landscape (although for those who follow me on strava I've already spoilt that!) I'm feeling a lot better today. Let's prepare for something stupid. I might have done a thing back in the early part of the year when I was feeling very confident and before my mental health decided it was time to take a headlong dive off of the highest cliff. Sooo I have yet another 30 mile race in my near future and this one is going to require a little more grit than my last one. It's going to require burpees. Now my obstacle proficiency has come a long way since the last time I ran a Spartan and I'm reasonably confident about the vast majority of the obstacles. For a time... After running 30 miles an 8 foot wall is a lot more challenging than if you'd only run 15 miles. I'm also running in the age group competitive wave so the burpees are mandatory. This is gonna be fun Oh just to spice this Challenge up I've also got 2 or 3 races (unsure if I can get to one of them) and the very beginning of my holiday to Scotland. GOAL 1: DO YOUR BURPEES Minimum 30 per day. Rest Day respected. So burpees. As slow and deliberate as they need to be need to come a mainstay in this one challenge I have leading up to the race... Goal 2: Plan your food. I have soft calorie targets of 2300-2400 calories most days and 3000+ calories on my long run day but the goal is just to get back into the habit of meal planning and tracking. Goal 3: Run All the Miles, Do all the lifting I coach myself with running. I don't really have a plan. I have a template that I use and I try to use my own judgment with gauging exactly what I should be doing and how to progressively overload and when I need to pull back. Based on that I'm just going to put down a mileage goal of 150 miles over the 5 weeks. That should be a low estimate For lifting I will be using the Barbell Medicine Endurance template for this challenge. I will probably cut the program short but I like it as a method of getting good quality strength work in without spending too much time or stress. Run 150 miles over 5 weeks Lift 3 times per week. Goal 4: Read and Research I've got a bunch of running books that I've been meaning to read. After MVL I have had a little more interest in foot care so I'm going to tackle that one first. Take 10 minutes to read every day

Goals: - One Rabbit Stew coming right up! Get more protein, try for 3 protein shakes a week in place of some other snacks. - Nibble yer bum! Drop 5kg this challenge. If necessary track calories, prefer not to... - Run away! Run away! Do a run or some weights related to running 3 times a week I have my first 10k on 15 Sept so the challenge dates line up well for prep but I have to make sure I actually do it......

I haven't had a decent challenge this year it seems. Though I mostly have maintained, I really went full on self sabotage mode this last month. I tried to reflect a bit on what was happening. I have the anniversary of my Mother's death coming up on August 20th. That usually that hits me closer to the date though. I know that in the back of my mind, I have been fearful of what happened to me last time I lost this weight. We I first joined Nerdfitness in 2013, I had a great go to start off. Dropped down 257 lbs. Then seemed to bounce between 260-280 the next year. Then everything went sideways, and I gained everything back. I left the forums in shame, but finally found my way back. I had an amazing 2018 run. Losing 110 lbs for the year. Then this year I have been doing the bouncing between 250-270. All the while, that failure still lurks in my head. Today, I am sitting at 280. I seem to keep trying to make things work, but then giving in to whatever garbage at night. Thus erasing everything I am doing. My damn brain is really trying to make me do this crap all over again, isn't it? I am refusing to go back above 300. These last few weeks, I have been listening to some motivation type speeches. I linked one in my last challenge thread. So, I came up with an idea. This challenge, and really the challenges for the rest of the year. I need to Go Beyond, Plus Ultra! I am going to set impossible goals for me to reach this year. By my birthday (November 2nd), I am going to have these goals met. #1 - Be under 200 lbs #2 - Run a 30 minute or less 5k #3 - Do 1 pull up Easy, right? To meet this, I will have to lose over 80 lbs in 4 months. I will have to shave probably 8 minutes off my 5K time. I will also have to actually do a pull up, and the best I can do now is hang from the bar for a bit. Each one kind of fit together though. I lose weight, I will get faster. As I get stronger and lose weight, eventually I will hit that magic point that I can get the pull up done. So why the impossible goals. It seemed like a lot of these inspiration videos had common themes. Setting goals when everyone else said it was impossible. Having that time frame where it must get done. I never had my "big why" moment for why I want to lose weight and be healthy. I have the same "Be around for my kids" answer. Really though, I want to be the best version of myself. I want to be stronger, faster, and just a much healthier version of myself. What I think can drive me forward on these goals, is the idea of what if. What if, I can actually get this done? That will be one hell of a self esteem boost haha. Of course the flip side is what if I fail. That What if has always been there in my life. Kept me from many things. What if I fail? Well, I still succeed. If I truly give this my all, then I can be ok with not making goals. I will be just that much closer to reaching them. I look at it like a bowling game. If I do my very best and bowl a 250 game, but the person I am bowling against bowls 260 I lose the game. Still I gave it my all. I can be mad at the outcome, but not the performance I had. I felt like I wanted to have a little theme this challenge. My Hero Academia shall be that theme. From Crunchy Roll: In the show All Might choose Izuku to inherit his powers that he can pass on. Before he can do that though, Izuku has to improve his body. He has to push his limits so that he can be able to handle the All for one Quirk. Like him, I have to push my limits. Go beyond, Plus Ultra! Goal #1 - Get back to Keto, do Intermittent fasting, track all the things This challenge, I need to get back into the food eating 100%. I am going to use Chronometer to track food. I am going to use LIFE Fasting to track my fasting. I also have looked at my macros, and want to keep a certain calories remaining tracked. This should help a ton with weight loss. Since I have been off the full keto wagon for a bit, I can expect a pretty big drop in weight right away. I also need to check my glucose numbers. Type 2 never really goes away, and I bet my numbers have been spiking recently with my poor eating. 1 point - Calories never above 2100 per day. 1 point - Remaining calories 1000 or above each day. 1 point - Under 20g net carbs tracked each day. 1 point - 18 hour + fasting tracked each day 1 point - Blood Glucose tracked once per day 5 points per day, 35 points per week Goal #2 - Workouts, Running, and Walking I am going to restart the RunDouble 5k improver program. This time I will run every other day. I need to get hitting the weight as well. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday will be the workout days. Hopefully, I can expand this to maybe having 2 workouts during the days. I also want to do other workouts on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturdays, but let's get consistent with 3 days first. My goal is to hit 10,000 steps each day as well. Nothing super fancy, just walking. It will help me mentally as well as physically. Saturday or Sunday will be my "rest" day. I still don't want to just turn into a pile of goo on that day though, so I can still go walk or do something fun. 3 points - Workout 3 times per week. 1 point per workout per day 3 points - Getting in all runs for the week. (4/3 runs per week) 1 point - 10,000 steps per day (5,000 on "rest" day) 7 points per week. 13 points per week Goal #3 - Rest Equally important to all other goals, is to make sure I get my rest. I know in one video Arnold Schwarzenegger said to sleep 6 hours. People say they need 8 hours just need to sleep faster haha. I don't think I quite subscribe to that idea. I have been staying up way to late, and getting up early too. My sleep has not been great. So really I need to get back into the grove. this challenge I am actually going to try a little less reading, in hopes of getting to bed a little sooner. With school coming up soon for my kid, I will have to be getting up earlier again. If I can get use to getting to bed sooner, then I might try getting up sooner as well and getting workouts or whatever polished off before school time. first steps first. 1 point - 10:30 PM off the computer and get reading. 1 point - 11:00 PM off to bed. I do have one exception. I have a later night game session with my friends in World of Warcraft. Usually only running a mythic dungeon or two. So I just need to get myself logged off as soon as we are done. Then ready a little to settle the brain, and then off to bed. 1 point - Saturday off PC when done with dungeons, ready for 20-20 mins, and head to bed. 2 points per day 14 points per week. Goal #4 - Plus Ultra Make time to check in daily. Fit in some meditation and/or positive affirmations from time to time. Kill this challenge, feel great, live up to the ambassador title again. 1 point - Checking in 7 points per week So there it all is. I wanted to use Week zero as my perfect start. Nothing is ever perfect though. So I am up late to make sure this gets posted. So while it isn't perfect, it is a start. tomorrow (Tuesday) I'll be tired, but it's time to engage. I will not let myself regain any more weight. Time for the fit me to win out again, over that other side that is trying to keep me down. Measurements: (Week 1 / End of Challenge) Neck - 17.08 in / Chest - 47.91 in / Waist - 51.37 in / Bicep (R) - 14.56 in / Bicep (L) - 14.48 in / Forearm (R) - 12.08 in / Forearm (L) - 12.08 in / Thigh (R) - 25.66 in / Thigh (L) - 25.31 in / Weight - 268.9 lbs / Points: Week 1 (08/05 - 08/11) - 0/69 Week 2 (08/12 - 08/18) - 0/69 Week 3 (08/19 - 08/25) - 0/69 Week 4 (08/26 - 09/02) - 0/69 Week 5 (09/03 - 09/08) - 0/69 Total: 0/345

Talvi wants to find balance Hi there, sorry I'm a bit late but I'm in need of sorting myself out and it is better to do that sooner than later, right? I'm a few months post-relocation and a few months into my new job. The post is super interesting and enjoyable, but between the steep learning curve, increased responsability and the workload, I have been a bit stressed and I have stopped taking care of myself. I don't mind getting a little obsessive about the job, but I need to strike a better balance for my longterm survival and wellbeing. So the plan for the next two weeks is to make time for exercise, to make time for homemade food and to book a holiday for September. 1) Exercise twice a week I need to plan this in advance, so that I actually make time for it. Plus this challenge should provide a little accountability. Any exercise would great. Running, bouldering or yoga are my favourites. 2) Eat well Plan my meals in advance, so that I don't have to think about it when I'm hungry. I should cook most of my own food and bring my own lunches to work. Of course, I'm allowed to eat out if I'm not at my usual place of work or if I'm being social. Just try not to snack during the day on biscuits and try to order less sugary things if I'm eating out. 3) Plan holidays I have planned to take time off, but I'm being absolutely ridiculous in actually making decisions and following through with my travel plans. It isn't good for me or my partner, so I will plan and book this September holiday so that we can enjoy it with the minimum amount of stress involved. Plus it'll be nice to look forward to after the rubbish logistics are out of the way.

If I don't exercise enough, I get grumpy. Since nobody wants that, my challenge is simple: exercise at least an hour per day, six days per week. This can be climbing, running, walking, biking, yoga, etc. It does not have to be intense, as long as it is something. It should be easily doable, but those have been my famous last words before . To keep my hips happy, I will also do at least 4 hip-stretches per day, which can include things like lunges, pancake, etc. Let's go!