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Here I am for another comeback! One of these has to stick eventually... I have no idea how I left things in my last challenge, or even how long ago that was, and I'm way too lazy to check, so some updates which may or may not be known: I got a new job with a Real Adult Paycheque™. This has allowed me to get a shiny new computer, which makes these forums much less of an onerous task (my 13 year old Mac would get me there eventually, but it left me lots of time for idle contemplation and getting distracted). It has also allowed me to indulge just a bit in my Ranger Brain and join a HEMA class. Between work, holidays, and events being held by, or attended by, the class organizers, it's been a while since I've gone, so this might take a bit to really settle in, but I've enjoyed what I've done and plan to keep with it if I can. It has also allowed me to try a new program for weight management, so hopefully I can shed a few. Alas, the Real Adult Paycheque™ has not yet allowed me to move out of my parents' basement, but hopefully that'll come some day... Along with the new job and the new-found financial security (ish), my mood has taken a definite upswing. Though the job is more stressful than my previous one, mainly because I care about it and want to do the best job I can do, rather than that I find it overly stressful in and of itself, so my sleep (already not great) has suffered a bit. I still have my down days and struggle to get my arse off the couch, but I'm feeling like I'm in a place where I can move forward, albeit slowly. So, my goals: Goal 1 ~ The Dude Abides By the macro goals, that is. The group I joined is called the Focused Adipose Reduction Team (yes, that spells FART, and yes, that was on purpose, apparently), and among other things, the person running things gives you macro goals to abide by. This is nothing new to me, but it's the same goal every day, unlike previous programs I've tried, which is nice and simple. It also requires periodic check-ins, daily weigh-ins, and participation in a dedicated Facebook group (not usually my thing), so this goal is mainly about the macros but also about Doing the Other Things Too. Goal 2 ~ Run, Forest, Run! So apparently my goals have a movie theme going on...? I used to run regularly, and hated every second of it. I do, however, feel much better just in general when my cardiovascular health is better, and running is the least of all evils when it comes to cardio. Also, while gyms are open again, there's nothing stopping The Unvaccinated Masses from spewing their germs everywhere while Dancing to the Oldies, or whatever, so I'm not real cool about going, so running outdoors is about all I've got (home workouts will not work, I've given up trying and just accepted that's how it is). My physio suggested trail running, since trails are rugged and require more focus than sidewalks, and are also softer on the ol' joints, and I didn't hate the idea. I've been working through an injury that was aggravated by running, so it's been a while, and I need to take it slow. So the goal is to go for some kind of run 3x/week. I went today on a trail that I've walked my dogs on many times and am familiar with, and it wasn't horrible, so this will be my starter trail (plus ample doggos means ample excuses for a short break, cuz you can't not say hi to the good bois and girls). I'd like to be able to do the whole trail without stopping by the end of the challenge (breaks for pats notwithstanding). I'd also like to walk on my off days. I've never preferred to run 2 days in a row, and usually the other days would be gym days. I'm not gymming at the moment, though, so walking will get me a bit of activity without being overly taxing. In a perfect world I'll run Monday, Wednesday, Friday, then walk Tuesday and Thursday with swords on Saturday and rest on Sunday. On the weekend where I have to work, I won't make it to swords so I'll do an extra walk that week. Goal 3 ~ Goodnight, Sweet Prince I'm sure Kenneth Branagh has made a movie of Hamlet at some point in time, if nothing else... Stick to my bedtimes. This has long been a contentious issue for me, and one I struggle with constantly. Right now, in a sort of ideal world, my bedtime is 10:30pm on work nights and 11pm on non-work nights. I rarely meet this, but I'mma try again to be diligent about it. Goal 4 ~ Moving 'Boxes' I'm sure there's a movie quote somewhere using a box as a metaphor, but I've not seen that movie, so just imagine your own reference here. My boxes are metaphorical (though there are a few actual boxes kicking around), and are related to a clean room. My room is habitually a disaster (I hate putting things away and I don't know why!), and actually I'm ok with it. What I'm not ok with is being ok with it (this has been a lifelong internal conflict), so I really need to clean (I've been ignoring this directive for some time now and reading Kishi's goals made my brain go ping, so I'm adding this goal). I'm going to try to 'move' one 'box' per week. My boxes consist of the following: The Floordrobe, The Office Corner, The Carpet, and The Other Random Detritus. I'm only listing 4 despite it being a 5 week challenge (it is a 5 week challenge, right?) because The Office Corner in particular, but also possibly The Other Random Detritus, might actually end up being a box consisting of 2 or more sub-boxes that must be split between weeks, because all work and no play makes obax a cranky human (this is a surprisingly recent realization, believe it or not). And that's it! Some other things I'd like to work on is reading more and vegging in front of the tv/my phone less, and picking away at the writing course I signed up for (it's free, and has no set due dates, which is good because I can work at it whenever, but also bad, because I can procrastinate forever with no consequences...). No formal goals for those, though, just some things for me to keep in mind.

Time for another challenge! I'm on vacation for week 1 and another vacation in October. Decided this would be a good challenge to just keep on working on the habits I've acquired. During vacation: The only eating skill I will focus on is to eat slowly, and to really enjoy the food and the moment Mr.Incredible has the week off. Part of the week we are in San Diego, and part we are at home. So , maybe I will get workouts in. Or maybe not. Whichever is fine The rest of the time Fitness Continue with the running app on NF. Pick a arm workout to do and do it Food: Practice the eating skills Especially focusing on delaying before unplanning snacks, plating a well balanced meal, and eating slow. It might be nice to track , but I seem to be horrible at that, so we shall see Life: Continue making weekly and daily plans. Continue Bible reading fall yard work I'd really like to spend more time doing creative stuff: weaving , scrapbooking. I'm pondering how to actually make this a habit Edit to add @Nymeria reminded me that rings were a good arm workout.Which reminded me that I had been working on L-sit, but paused when the pressing got intense. So, I think I will resume that. And then maybe do handstand work too. Doing skill work sounds like a good break, and something that works well with me being gone part of each month.

With two successful challenges under my belt so far in 2021, I’m back and ready for another! ...Well. Actually. No. Not quite. Technically, I’m at the beach for the next two weeks. So… if you’re reading this, there’s a good chance I’m sitting in the sand with a piña colada in my Yeti right now. Sorry. 😬 But I’m not going to let all that good momentum go to waste! I’m definitely going to enjoy the hell out of this vacation, but I am committing to sticking to some of my goals, and hitting the ground running when I get back. This will (mostly) be a challenge in two parts: 🏖 Weeks 0-1 🏖 and 🏃 Weeks 2-5🏃 with three main focuses: Diet, Exercise, and Habits. DIET 🏖 Weeks 0-1 🏖 My goal for these first two weeks is just to eat mindfully and try not to binge eat just because I can. At this point, Intermittent Fasting 16/8 is almost second nature, but I know I’m going to struggle with not eating after 8pm if we’re doing something fun like drinks by the pool or a special dessert. Paleo/Primal will also be a challenge because we’re doing group meals and it can be hard to eat grain-free when someone is making, say, baked spaghetti. So I’m just going to do my best. And to make the game more interesting, being mindful of my goals during the beach weeks will have a direct impact on how much I have to buckle down during the second half of the challenge. IF 16/8 at least 4x a week Each Primal meal I eat earns me an extra “non-primal” meal in weeks 2-5 🏃 Weeks 2-5 🏃 Time to recommit! I’ve been having really good success with a “primal-ish” diet - basically no grains, no high fructose corn syrup, no legumes. But I’m comfortable with limited amounts of dairy, exceptions for condiments, and starchy veg like white potatoes. IF 16/8 at least 6x a week Eat Primal-ish most of the time: 1 non-primal meal per week + any extra meals I “earn” during weeks 0-1 EXERCISE 🏖 Weeks 0-1 🏖 I know that exercising in the southern heat, on vacation, is going to be a challenge, so I’m cutting myself a good degree of slack here. This is mostly for the sake of “keep it up, don’t lose that momentum.” Run at least 20 min, 5 times Bodyweight workout, 3 times 🏃 Weeks 2-5 🏃 Last challenge, I finished the C25k and consistently did the NF Beginner Bodyweight Workout. Now I’m working toward my ultimate goal of a sub-30min 5k and supplementing with some strength training. I’d like to find an ST workout that I really love, but I'm not sure if that’s going to happen with this challenge, so keeping up the BBW is fine too! 1x long run per week - starting at 30min and adding 5 min each week 2x 30 min runs per week - focused on speed 3x ST workouts per week HABITS Here’s where I break from the Phase 1/Phase 2 approach because the habits are critical - all challenge long. So they just need to get done. I’ll be tracking these in Habitica and there had better be a 35 day streak at the end of this challenge. Drink 8 cups of water Floss and Brush teeth No nail biting And that’s it! Usually I like to include a creative goal – bullet journaling, organizing, self-care – but honestly, I feel like this is enough for now. I may come back in and add something when I get back from the beach, if I feel like I need more of a challenge. But I’m pretty sure that coming down from the vacation high is going to be challenging enough.

Hi nerds I haven't really sorted out in my head how this challenge is going to work. For a start, my next race is in 3 days time, before the challenge starts, so I am just trying to keep calm and crosstrain between now and then, and for the next 5 weeks, I guess I'll just do whatever the husband is doing in this book I'm reading. How come Steve never tells us about this good stuff? Probably subscriber-only content I suppose. No wait, there has to be a better plan than that. Um... So between now and Saturday, rest legs, do arm and core related exercise instead (I've been doing this the last few days since I got back from my epic bike ride anyway). To include at least one river row, because the weather is right for it, read Gaelic children's books, generally tie up loose ends of Gaelic learning. Saturday: Kew Gardens 10k run. Beat one hour or die trying (I am actually feeling pretty good about my chances of at least one of these outcomes) Sunday: rest, weigh myself, drink beer in the allotment, fall asleep in the greenhouse, wake up lightly grilled. Monday onwards, challenge proper: 6 days moving per week to include one long run, two short Dont eat like a dickhead Revamp my morning routine and start building a daily Portuguese session (I've planned this out separately here so I won't go into detail but it'll be quite time consuming so will crowd out a lot of other things from previous challenges like Gaelic, meditation, dancing etc. I still have some poetry though because learning Portuguese poetry is part of the plan. I was so surprised at how well my memory coped with learning that way that it seemed like something I should incorporate into my study. OK, mark it on my map and let's do this

I had a good run and still am feeling mentally and physically well. But there's things I want to build up better again: get back into running after 6 months of injury. have a 12 week running plan I want to follow. Its pretty daring to start in October when the wheather gets real shitty, but it would be nice for my mental and physical health as well as the dog-childs happiness. Have looked at lots of plans and will only run twice a week plus a third day with a short bodyweight program. my budget has been so small that I asked friends for help often. its slightly better now with my project friendship point income but still!! I want to learn to live within my budget even if that means I cant eat keto! Last month I spent 40Euro on vitamins alone and even if I felt awesome thats just not acceptable. Either I can dial down my keto costs or I have to try other forms of healthy eating after all. experiments are needed. This time I will try the 4 envelope strategy of putting my weekly money in 4 envelopes and only using the money that is in there. maybe I can set apart a "fun fund" of 50 euro to do spontaneous stuff. also my goal is to save 30 euros in October to build a emergency fund. prep food on weekends. I dont feel like cooking healthy meals every day. next possibility to prep is on Tuesday when I get paid. do sober October. I have had drinks again and am fine with that but would love to try a whole month sober. If thats too hard I will aim for maximal dry days. I started a great online meditation course and didnt have time to follow it really. ist a 21 day course Want to use the next 3 weeks to build in meditation and the audio listening into my morning routine. seems like a tall order for me to get this done. Its 3 weeks only and I can try out what sticks. There will be no self punishing! Only honest effort and self love! I missed you! ❤️

So for the next 2 weeks(9/11 - 9/25) I will be leaving sunny wonderful Florida to spend time at my cabins in Wisconsin. Highs in the 60s and lows in the 40s. It is going to be quite the change. Goals for the challenge Workout of some sort daily 10k steps daily Eat whole foods(mostly paleo with limited dairy and maybe one whole grain serving daily). Two travel days are cheatish days(morning food and some beer). Also some freeze dried camping food reviews for content. I may choose to have whiskey once while up at the cabins but other than that strict. Daily hobby 50XP of Duolingo daily Read 10ish pages Post a picture of dinner Examples of WODs Ruck Run Circuit training Weight lifting Hobbies Minis Content creation(youtube videos and launch channel) Fishing Model rockets Building things(fish tank stand) Board games Currently also running a PvP warm up for Rucktober. I need to market Rucktober and get some sign ups. The PvP for the warm up is here if anyone is interested.

Greetings program! . . . wait Alright let's get to it! Goal 1 - RUNNING! Just signed up for the Oakland 2022 Marathon!!!! Got to figure out a training plan but first we have to keep the running habit happening We are looking to run 3 days a week with distances of 3 to 5 miles during the week and 5+ on the weekends. We are also signed up for a 5K on Sept 12th which should be a good test Goal 2 STRETCH To keep from having trouble running - we're going to try to do 3 days of yoga between the runs. This will likely be very low impact and boring yoga but still Goal 3 Training Plan To go with all this we need a plan, I'll be looking into what's out there and try to find what will work for us. Goal 4 Savings With our recent home purchase we are running low in our savings - so we'll be rebuilding that emergency fund while trying to figure out what's next.

Whew. It has been a hell of a summer. And today marks the official end of my summer break. If you followed my last two challenges and you were let down that I kind of dropped off, I apologize. A lot has happened in life the past few months (good things, mostly, but still a lot). I'm keeping this challenge simple and familiar, while also blending a routine I tried to stay consistent with during my last two challenges: daily poetry. But I also need to get back to routine now that I am returning to work. So, I am focusing on my morning goals: 0415 wakeup drink a full glass of water prayer/meditation/scripture reading breath exercise (WHM, box breathing, etc.) strength workout (at least 15 minutes) cold shower Some bonus goals: read a poem/write a poem every day walk at least 12,000 steps every day seek adventure and beauty every day And that's it. As I said, keeping it simple, trying to rediscover some neglected pieces of myself before I dive into anything crazy. Oh, speaking of crazy, I am planning to participate in a 15 mile group run on trails this Sunday in the New River Gorge, which recently became the first (and only) national park in West Virginia. Wish me luck.

Oh god, is there a new challenge already? OK: Still trying to learn the dance from last time Choose a poem and learn it by heart Bike adventure - ride my new bike from here to Cambridge and back. Done! 10k run on the 23rd - be prepared! Then revert to one long, two short per week Eat sensibly - paleoish and use some sort of portion control That'll do.

Well here we are again, hoping this is not another case of insanity, doing the same things over again, and expecting a different result. I feel like I always start these challenges with the best of intentions to update regularly and keep with it, but it always fails for one reason or another. Usually it's the simple fact of trying to do too much all at once. So we're going to try things a little differently. We're going to give myself grace, and wiggle room, and we're going to keep it simple stupid 💋. I always feel guilty, because I want to cheer others on and check out their pages and keep updated with what's going on with everyone else, but I feel like thats where everything starts to spiral out of control; that guilt when I fall behind. So this challenge, I will be focusing on myself for the most part. If I have the energy to respond to comments, or follow other people's challenges, awesome! I'll do that! but, if I don't, that's perfectly fine, I really need to work on myself, and that's not selfish... that's just reality (I'm typing this just to remind myself. If you write it out, it becomes truth, right?) So my focuses this challenge will be as follows Fitness: I am working on c25k program, and am aiming for 3x's a week, but with how easily I've been getting overwhelmed lately, I am going to be content with as few as 1 run per week. 2nd Fitness: I will also be getting back to work on some bodyweight/flexibility work. I haven't decided if I will go back to doing core play again (since that's supposed to be a 6x's a week program, and that's just too much for me right now, and I don't know how scaling it back to 1-3x's a week will affect the effects of the program) or just work on the beyond flexibility, which will still work my muscles, just not quite as rigorously, and is a program designed for 3-5x's a week, so it is easily scaled back to a doable amount of times for me. So I'll probably be doing the BF, but it's still up in the air and I still have a few days to officially decide. I'll let you know when I make a decision, probably lol. Nutrition: I have started using an app called Eat This Much, which helps you plan meals based on your caloric needs and macros without me having to do all that math myself. The nice thing about this app is also that the meals are actually foods I regularly have on hand, and find delicious, and am not too scared to attempt cooking, and also the ingredients don't cost me an arm and a leg to get. So my plan for this challenge is to eat at LEAST one meal from the plan each day, but aim for 80% on target meals. I also have been using the Ate app to track my meals, although very sporadically, so part of this goal is also to log all my meals on the app. So what is all of this going to help me accomplish? Why would I put myself through all of this? (You may not be asking this, but I sure do some days... especially on run interval 7 of 8💀) The fast and loose explanation is, I would like to lose 100 lbs. The more nuanced explanation is: There are several things I really really want to do, but often times my body, and lack of stamina hold me back from doing them, like gymnastics, dancing, and running (which a newfound torture that I love ). There are also things that I want to do that my heavier body make more expensive and therefore unattainable, such as clothes shopping, or making my own clothes. Lastly, I really want to set a good example for my son of eating well, exercising regularly, taking care of myself, both physically and mentally, and just generally being a happy healthy adult. I want to show him how fun this lifestyle can be, and all the things you can do with a functional body. Alright, here goes!

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

Greetings In this challenge I will be keeping it pretty simple Running/exercising: follow the training program I worked out in April up to the date of my 10k race, then come up with a new one. Eating: sensible eating at the start of May. Its my birthday soonish and I'll just eat whatever then and afterwards I'll go full paleo, no exception, no excuses, just lose some weight, fatso. Meditation: not really. I have a couple of weeks left on my subscription to the app. I'll be listening to the remaining courses but not planning to make meditation a big part of my life, just probably trying to explore the implications a bit more in my day-to-day. Or something. Dancing: starting out fairly easy: I'll practice some dance for 5 minutes a day - probably the running man just to get used to the leg coordination (I think that's what is going on in this picture 👆 right.... Right?) After the race I will go much harder, aiming to get passably OK at one thing (I am thinking the piu-piu dance) Not kelladactyl level good or anything but not actually shamefully shit. I'll settle for that. I feel good about this goal. I don't know how it'll end up but it'll be fun to try and I am going to throw myself into it. Ad Victoriam!

Hello world! I'm excited to log my fitness journey. I want to be accountable and I want to share. Life has gotten off the rails lately and I want to get in charge of my now. Thank you for stopping by! April 19th Start of my journey. Here we go. Let's keep this up. Attached is me today! Today, I'm running about 2 miles to and fro the playground with my daughter, Rowan. I'm going to try to do tonight some at home booty body weight exercises. I lifted yesterday. It's a deload week and I had a lovely time at the gym. Still getting the courage up to take my daughter to the daycare there- I'm freaked out about the cesspool of germs no doubt layering every surface there. We shall see! Trying to decide whether I want to track my macros. In the past, it has contributed to some disordered eating to be frank. I'm in this to help get my mind healthy as much as my body. I've been struggling w/ depression and w/ the introduction of some pharmacological intervention as well as conscious choices and mindfulness I've been feeling a lot better. I eat pretty healthy, snack a bit because of the mom lifestyle. I meal prep for my husband's lunches, toddler food for my little 13 month old bundle of joy. I'd like to start meal prepping more for myself, too. xxoo QUEST Hobbit frame of mind daily walks/runs outside w/ the pooch, baby Rowbug, and possibly husband (if I can convince him) weekly hike weekly dinner w/ in laws, my parents, and friends finishing permitting for the TINY HOME!! Fitness life GYM 3x/week (continue Strong by Bret program Hip thrust 3x10: 155p in one month squat 3x3: 145p in one month Run x2 week w/ family Elven Studies lecture/reading x2 per week

My Goals... My Goals Never um... Changes I'm a Mighty Mighty Man, I'm Young (ahem) and I'm in my Prime (cough, cough) Keeping it simple this time, sticking to what I need to do and what I've been doing, but doing it better. Not expecting miracles but aiming to get back to the level of fitness I had about 5 years ago, which seems achievable with some effort and consistency. Basically, be able to run fast for a sustained length of time, have some upper body strength, be able to do a bridge, and not feel like my belly is always getting in the fucking way. I Don't Want To Set The World On Fire Week zero is prep: fix my bike, review my morning routine, get the allotment organised, clean up my eating (which took a real nosedive towards the end of the last challenge) And then 1. They Call Me The Wanderer Move ever day, including at least one long run and two other runs per week 2. Hack, Whack, Choppin' That Meat Eat properly: porridge for breakfast and paleo for the rest of the day, no booze 3. Civilization? I'll Stay Right Here Carry on Meditating* This is becoming a habit now - I've only missed 3 days since the start of the year, I think. I'm still undecided about it though. I only really feel like about one session in five is effective. The others are just me sitting there thinking about stuff and not really engaging. I think I need to do more prep beforehand to get things out of my head - you know, make notes, turn the oven on for breakfast, drink something, that kind of stuff. So that I don't have so many distractions. I think I need to make this challenge period a make or break for this one. Either i find a way of making this more reliably useful or I give up on it and use that ten minute slot for things that are going to benefit me more. I still feel like there's something to be got out of it but that maybe it's not something I'm suited to and maybe I'm better off cutting my losses. Hm... *=now there's a Sid James/Kenneth Williams film I'd love to see

I always struggle to start these things, so let's just pretend I had some kind of cool opening line, okay? Last challenge went surprisingly well for me, despite the fact I was pretty far into my deep dark hole of despair when I started it. While nothing has actually changed (yet) - I still haven't found a better job, graduated, gotten pregnant, or met any of my other goals - I am pleasantly surprised to report that I'm actually feeling...cheerful? Optimistic? Is that even possible? It has honestly been years since I felt like there was any real hope (legit think I've been on the downhill part of the roller coaster of life since about fall 2018) and suddenly there's a pinprick of faraway light at the end of the tunnel. I just hope it's not a train. This also means I feel pretty good about, as in the title, picking up the pace a bit. I'm going to try not to mess with last challenge's "category quest" set up too much since it worked so well, but also keep pushing myself forward - I was definitely getting a little bit lazy by the end of last challenge because it was so much "anything goes" and I could have done more than I did. Quest 1: Move! I got decent at moving around more frequently last challenge, but it's been 99% all short YouTube yoga and family walks (usually 2-3 miles, not terrible, and we live in a very hilly place so it does get the heart going sometimes - but I also know I'm not getting a ton of benefit for the hour or so it takes to do it at toddler pace). 1. Two workouts a week - again, counting anything that gets my "intensity minutes" tracker thing on my cheapo Garmin watch going (helpful to tell if my yoga/walk is actually doing enough to get my heart rate going, also sometimes records activities I hadn't thought about like playing "Mommy Monster" where I roar and try to chase my kid by running and dinosaur stomping at the same time) And one of those workouts should be... 2. Go running at least once a week, even if it's only a mile (or less)! RE says I shouldn't go more than 14 miles a week (running and walking combined) but at my level that shouldn't be difficult to stay under. Note for this quest: This might have to change after I talk to a surgeon (waiting to hear consultation date, but hopefully in the next few weeks) about repairing issues with my c-section scar - it never healed quite right and may be a factor in our fertility issues, among other things. If the surgeon says I should stop doing something, obviously I will stop doing that thing. Quest 2: Eating (slightly) Better So I'm slightly up on my weight (not bad, but a few pounds - still under 150 at my last weigh-in, but barely) and I'm really starting to feel the pull towards fitted summer dresses. If nothing else in my life is going well, at least I can look damn cute while navigating it, right? Plus, you know, having energy and all those other things I'm supposed to say I care about more than fashion (but if I'm being honest, it's like 50-50). I'd really like to get back to the 145 or less range. Also, maybe it'll help convince my kid to eat more than just cheese and raisins? 1. eat 3 meals a day, which for me mostly means "eat breakfast". Doctor says my natural 2-meals-a-day habit isn't good for pregnancy, so I'd better get used to it now. I've been doing okay with my overnight oats, but even just grabbing a banana will count. 2. Avoid drinking all my calories! No more than 6 sodas a week. This has been creeping back up (even though I'm only drinking the mini 8 ounce cans these days) and I want to make sure I don't backslide. That's only one day a week without, surely I can manage that without great stress, and I have an eye on dropping it to 5 before the end of the challenge. Also I'll also cap myself at 2 beers a week even though I'm pretty sure I'm rarely over that anyway. 3. Eat more plants (particularly fruits and veggies, I'm good at eating grains hahaha). This should get easier as we enter spring/summer. Hard part here is that I'm not honestly sure what my baseline is - I feel like it's not a lot at all, but it's also not zero - so I'm going to keep a food journal for the rest of week 0 and set an improvement goal from there. Having this on my mind does mean I'm more likely to eat these foods during my baseline week, but I'm going to try to be as honest as possible with myself about if I normally would have eaten that or not. Quest 3: Language Still the primary driving factor behind grad school and the career issues. The idea here is that more time in the target language = smoother interviews and an easier admissions to/time in my next grad program (yes, I'm the special kind of person who has a second MA all picked out already, it'd be stupid helpful for my career to have both and there is an excellent local program that will allow me to earn my degree in "Romance Languages" rather than just Spanish or just French). 1. 5 minutes of listening or practice speaking in either Spanish or French OR 3 pages of reading in either. Daily and could be mixed (for example, a 3 minute French video and 3 minute Spanish conversation with my husband would count as 6 minutes total for that day and thus a checkmark.) 2. Weekly journal entries in either Spanish or French, minimum 3 pages in the little notebook I just grabbed for this purpose (it's a pretty small notebook, I promise haha). All 3 pages don't have to be written at once, as long as they're written in the same week, but that could also be just one longer session.

So I have been struggling on my challenges for a few years(understatement), but I thought deeply and realized what made me really happy when I was most active on NF around 2015. It was a rucking PVP. Taking this knowledge and what I need to do to improve myself I enrolled in the weight loss PVP for the next 10 weeks. I am right above 170lbs and would like to get below 160lbs by Memorial Day weekend, specifically Saturday May 29th. I leave for a week long vacation in the Florida Keys and am staying on the water and will be bringing my boat. I think that whole week will be spent fishing, snorkeling, spearing, swimming, boozing, and eating fish. So obviously my one goal is to lose some weight. I also need to exercise daily. Yes daily, no rest days. Every day will include a 30-45 minute ruck(more if I am up for it). After the ruck I will lift Mon/Wed/Fri and then run Tues/Thurs/Sat. Sunday is going to be a hard 2 miler since one of my goals this year is to get that sub 6:30 pace. Each workout is followed by my stretching routine. I need to seriously restart my eating habits. I have been pretty good the past couple weeks but now need to crack down. I meal prep for work and do great during the week, but the weekend is the put it all back time. So I am going to attempt to eat only whole foods with a lot of veggies. I already am there 5 days a week. Also as far as alcohol goes, no more IPA's and thick bois. I need to stick with mixed drinks, wine, and white claws/ultras. I also need to limit myself to Friday and Saturday only, as well as 2-3 on each of those days. Maybe I will try something where I can have 3 or 4 drinks per weekend. I'll play with it. Goals: Weigh under 160lbs Ruck 100 miles Run 50 miles Continue to hit my 2021 goals

I spun out last challenge in the last week to week and a half. Work stress, relationship stress, blah balh blah. I had just gotten cocky with about 90 days of staying on course so thats about time for me to screw up. So 3x workouts per week minimum. By week 3 take a run. Dont go more than 3 days without posting or commenting. I get in a bit of a cycle with that. So I dont have my sheet in front of me but I did squats today. I was getting dressed to lift when a half dollar sized wolf spider ran out of my knee sleeve on the ground and I made a decidedly un-warrior like sound before grabbing a shoe and smashing it. I have woken up 6 straight days with a pounding headache. i have put water on my bed and IBU in hopes that if I notice it in the middle of the night again I can get ahead of it.

Hi Well it's been awhile. It's been a bad year lol but there are some bright sides I suppose. Unbelievably I have managed the single best training block of my life. Although it's been disrupted a little this week while I deal with emotional stuff and I have a lot of people who care about me and feel like I am of some importance, and that is good. This Challenge is about Letting Go and moving on. I'm using the death of my DND character as an analogy because I don't want to go into the details about what I'm really talking about here. I was hurt, a lot, by people I trusted. When they hurt me they stole my voice to speak out about it. I made mistakes but I do not know what I did to deserve it. The worst thing I ever did was stand up for myself and if it was ever anything else I do not know because I was never told. It's not me who is avoiding facing it. let's move onto Tilean. Meet Tilean: She's dead. Her story was a tragic one and did not end well. I've been involved in a DnD game with @Jarric, @DarK_RaideR, @iatetheyeti, @Mr_Willes and a few others. Tilean was my character, a level 6 wizard with a fondness for setting everything she saw on fire. She was great. Outwardly fun, rambunctious, assertive and (over)confident, but she hid a tragic tale. Inside she was angry. Ao so angry. She would lash out at the whole world over what she saw as an injustice done to her and her sister. She was angry at the gods and with the devils and anything that sought to assert authority over anyone. She was largely misunderstood. Her ruthlessness was mistaken for evil intent where in her mind she'd never hurt anyone that didn't really deserve. She was just stopping them from hurting anybody else she always did what she thought was right but might have enjoyed doing it a little too much. Last session we were fighting a bunch of Frost Giants. They were attacking an Inn that belonged to the family of Pheelie, one of our party members (played by a non member :)) .This was one of the party members that Tilean was particularly fond of and the only member of the party that Tilean thought was genuinely just a good person (she didn't consider herself to be a good person). During the fight one of the giants peeled off of the pack and came after the two casters: Tilean and Pheelie. Tilean disabled the giant with a spell and was ready to get out of harms way but Pheelie shot off a lightning bolt that ended up snapping the giant out of it. Two turns later and Pheelie was in a really bad position in arms reach of a Frost Giant and our front line was far too busy with their own problems to help. Tilean could have saved herself quite easily but she ran in to grab Pheelie and teleported the two of them into a position with better cover and out of easy reach of the giant. Then the giant broke a piece of masonry off of the Inn and threw it at Tilean. She went from full health to instantly dead in one round and it was a shock to everyone. I might be reaching for connections but this event seems to have set off a chain of events that lead me here. Which I may elaborate on later somewhat, but I'm somewhat interested in this idea. Was Tilean just an outlet for my own anger? A place where it was safe for me to be angry and rage at the world? Did she need to die? Did I need to lose that crutch in order to let go and move on? Anyway. Challenge itself 1. Come here write how I am feeling today. Try and catch up with all the people I've lost touch with and make new friends 2. Go out to run 6 days per week. I'm running a lot right now and will probably babble about that but I don't not run. I love my running, it's the one thing I do just for myself. Right now though I really don't want to trap myself into a running program. Fitness programs are fundamentally flawed. They miss out the single most important component in the whole thing. You. Where you are today should determine how you train today. There should be an overarching plan but the goal should be long term consistency (years of consistency, not days and weeks or months) and whether or not on this specific day I ran 4 miles because I'd not slept well instead of the 6 that I'd planned is insignificant. You, your body and how you are progressing should dictate your progression, not a line on a piece of paper. So my plan right now is 6 miles a day for 6 days a week but it's a mid term goal and something I'm trying to build to comfortably and currently I'm not quite there and I'll get there when I'm good and ready. I could force it but there isn't a good reason to do so, but many good reasons not to. It's hard to genuinely overtrain (overtraining syndrome it's a very serious condition, most people never get close) but it's really easy to progress faster than your body can keep up with. Especially when you start getting older. My goal right now is not to bend my body to my training but my training to my body but it's a different approach (might call it intuitive programming) and doesn't lend itself well to solid goals. I know what needs to happen to get better at running and it's not a rigid adherence to a plan. Run a lot, sometimes fast. I've programmed my own training for a long time now and I've come to the conclusion that a very long term plan that progresses with you and not despite you is always better than any short term gains you might be able to achieve by overreaching. Right now my running is better than it's ever been. I'm sold on this approach

Hey y'all! I'm Sparkle, a 24-year-old lady in the final months of her master's degree eager to join the Nerd Fitness party. Long time lurker, first time poster, as some people would say. My class/leveling system is a trifecta of broad categories. First, there's the badass fitness stuff (Assassin class). Then there's learning creative talents and indulging my need to Make Cool Stuff (Magelet class, aka Fledgling Magic Maker). Last but not least is gaining independence and the skills needed to jump into new situations gracefully, skills like learning new languages and traveling solo (Princess class). Because I'm a fantasy-obsessed nerd of the first water, I couldn't resist creating a "best version of myself" character and writing a fantastical story to mirror my real-life challenge adventures -- read the results in the spoiler below! As a first-time challenger, my goals are going to be pretty simple this time around. Assassin Quest: The Adventure Begins Go for a run at least 1X per week The weather is finally nice in the midwest, so that means I can get back into running! Huzzah! I've missed it over the winters. Nothing far or fast, just a mile and a smidge, but one day I'd like to get a mile time of 8:20 or below, so this is a good start. Magelet Quest: Come Away, Come Away Take (at least) 10 minutes each day to do something actively creative - turn creative wishes into action and bring them to life I have lots of projects I'd like to do in future, so rather than waiting for the ideal long, uninterrupted chunk of time to start them, I can work on them incrementally now. For this challenge, that means tracing out the line work for a series of Arendelle-inspired skirts and a Cinderella-inspired dress and skirt, so the visuals are ready to be printed and cut into stencils when the time comes. In the depths of business school, at a time when I'm deeply missing the work I used to do day in and day out as a design major, these "daily design snacks" will help keep me from going bonkers over Econ and Finance. Princess Quest: Into the Unknown Apply to three design positions per week The job hunt begins in earnest! Looking for design positions in my home city of Seattle means I have to balance school and job-searching, which is a little weird -- it's been tough to make time for job stuff when I feel like school stuff always has to come first. Making job stuff part of this challenge means I have a solid goal and accountability. If you've made it to the end of the Great Wall of Text, well done you! Get yourself a cookie or something, you've earned it.

I'm still here, still putting in the work. Just time to redouble the efforts and keep moving forward. Not going to lie I'm not thrilled with my own lack of interactions of late so I'll be focusing on that with the new challenge. Running remains my main activity cause I've love it. quest 1 - going the distance Didn't get to double digits in the last two challenges but will keep pushing. Running is a high point of my day 90% of the time, so getting to run more is a good thing. quest 2 - limit the booze Still keeping this going - I've been doing a bit too much boozing thanks to the year long lock down. quest 3 - can't run then walk Morning walks are the other main activity in my life, I'll try to be more present with my wife during our strolls through the city and be mindful of what she's saying as well as having ideas to add of my own. quest 4 - get more social Feeling the distance between myself and friends growing all the time - will try to do one ping a week to friends to just try and catch up.

I'm in a little bit of a slump training-wise. I need to either commit to marathon training or not. And I have a small nagging injury (my toe joint...literally a small area) that I'm starting to become more concerned about. My "old lady back" is being a little cranky, and I'm sick of it. I'm taking zero week to figure out a plan. Zero week goals/strategies 1. Try more-or-less following my running plan, but scale back if feeling pain...cut any workout short, and/or take a day off. 2. Ice daily...this helps a lot 3. Try to figure out which shoes might be better/worse. Take the trail shoes out of the rotation and mostly wear the new road shoes. 4. Minimal pull-up work...does it hurt my back?? 5. Repeat the good yoga for back pain video. 6. Try another yoga video 7. Aim for at least 10 min "body work" every day (yoga, focused stretching and/or foam rolling) 8. Get out of bed by 6:45 every week day. 9. Come up with a plan for the rest of the challenge. Challenge Goals 1**. Placeholder running goal: Walk outside every day for at least 10 minutes. 2. Get up by 6:45 every week day (shifting earlier through the challenge) 3. At least 10 minutes of yoga or body work every day 4. Quick strength 2x per week (modifying as needed). 5. Read up to page 150 of "El amor en los tiempos del colera" (I found this on the giveaway pile at work a couple years back and was never willing to put the work into slogging through it. I've read a bunch of novels that were translated into Spanish, but it's a lot harder to read something written by a native speaker. Figured I could manage ~5 pages a day). ** I'll replace #1 with some kind of actual running goal if that seems like a good idea. The snowdrops? I have a bunch around my house, and last fall planted a bunch of new bulbs. Yesterday, as the snow was falling I realized that a chunk of winter is over and the snowdrops will be coming up soon-ish...probably some time during this challenge. I'm not much of a gardener, but decided it would be fun to put a little garden log in my BuJo. The snowdrops should be the first real entry...

Back for more of the same Fast Travel Get faster, get stronger, do something every day, no exceptions Craft Squirrel Stew Eat Paleoish, no booze Protect the Commmmmmonwealth Continue with the daily meditations following on from last time (summary here) and see where it takes me You Feel Well Rested Morning Routine starting at 5 (get to bed early) good posture, language work (Duolingo +one other thing) and cross one item off the to do list per day.

The last challenge has helped me to be consistent and accountable. I want to continue to build on these gains and improve other things that are not going well. The goals for this challenge: 1. Neck Stretches/Shoulder Mobility - In the last challenge, I have the exercises in my daily plan but I fail to do it. I tried doing it after I wake up or before going to bed but could never consistently do it. I need to improve on this. So, the plan is to do these exercises during the Daily Stand-up call at 10am. 2. Minimalism - Simplify. Try something every week along the concept of Use It Up, Wear It Out, Make It Do, or Do Without. 3. Run/Walk - I've managed to make this consistent to the point that it feels effortless. Continue with the Monday to Thursday run/walk and Friday/Saturday/Sunday grocery run/walk. Listen to the Holy Bible audiobook on these run/walk. 4. Meal Plan/Tracking/Symptom Tracking In My Journal - Using a digital OneNote journal has become almost like a habit from the last challenge. I will continue to use this tool not just to plan my meals/food intake but also track the time/description of symptoms, then I can start to figure out some of cause of my allergies, inflammation and pain.

nothing fancy - lets do the work quest 1 - double digits distance didn't make it last time around - going to keep pushing. quest 2 - body weight work eh - no luck on this last time, so let's keep it simple - 5 pushups, 5 sit ups, and 5 squats per trip to the bathroom - excluding morning shower quest 3 - limit booze nightly drinking has gotten out of hand - need to scale it back a max of 1 drink per week night. quest 4 - weekly (virtual) social interaction 1 chat a week - this could be my D&D or ICRPG game

I started some challenges in early 2020 and that just got derailed when the pandemic happened. And life just passed by literally. Hoping to be more mindful and actually get something done, I am doing this challenge following Zipf's Law - Principle of Least Effort. According to Wikipedia: "The principle of least effort postulates that animals, people, and even well-designed machines will naturally choose the path of least resistance or effort". Keep things easy so you set yourself up for success. 1. Run/Walk - 3x a week. Last year, my total mileage was 557.4 miles, mostly walking. 2. Journal - Write daily, either using the 5-minute Journal or morning pages method to plan the day. Write gratitude list. 3. Meditate - 3x a week in one form or another. This is probably the hardest of all the goals. I've been trying different ones but just not getting traction. 4. Neck Mobility/Shoulder Mobility Exercises - Been having neck and shoulder pain. I have the exercises listed. 'Just need to do them. 5. Read - Daily in audiobook or in print.