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I've been a little inactive here lately. The boys have their summer break, and for some reason they want and often need my attention a lot (J is 5 and A is 7 years old now, almost 6 and 8 ). And the time I do have left I have used doing my chores, some work, focusing on getting at least some exercise, tuning my diet and watching youtube :p But now SH (Super Husband for those who didn't know) is home for the last two weeks of their summer break giving me some more time to do the stuff I want to do. Like getting back on Nerd Fitness. I've been playing around with intermittend fasting and kcal counting since May, and I have lost 9 kg's since then. But now my weight loss seems to have stalled a litte, so back to the drawing table it is. My favorite youtubers have given me lots to think about and inspiration for this challenge. For those interested, these are the health and fitness channels I'm following right now: Miss Fit and Nerdy Thomas Delauer Jeff Nippard Grafity Transformation They all use science to explain why some stuff works and some doesn't. They are about health, not a quick fix, not just weight loss. And they all like fasting, but also believe that you should do what works for you. One other channel that I've been following okay, binge watching is Dog Vlog. It's a comedian and his service dog who are hilarious. The comedian got a stutter through an accident, but instead of letting it defeat him, he turned it into a strength. I love his mindset. Now the moment you've all been waiting for: my challenge goals! Main goal: Lose 3 kg before September 3rd while staying as strong and healthy as possible This will make me win my DietBet this month. I haven't lost one yet, and I'm not going to start now :p That said, my pre-game has been strong (the few days between bets when all bets are off, so to speak) and I've gained some weight every time. That's why I joined a transformer. I have to keep up the weight loss for 6 months to win (although I have to lose less weight for a transformer than a kickstarter). So how am I going to do this? Quest1: Food Eat 1200 kcal (40% deficit) each day I can go over by 800 kcal in an entire week. So for example 2 1600 kcal days or one 2000 kcal day (maintenance) I eat 3 meals a day. No snacks, except for the higher kcal days. Some days I will fast, but most days I won't, because eating this little makes me hungry and eating 3 times a day makes me less hungry and less likely to overeat. Yes this will suck, so I will add a diet break after September 3rd where I will eat maintenance for a week. This is proven (according to youtube) to help keep the weight off and to help stick to the plan. Quest2: Fitness There are less zumba and dance classes during the summer break But once they start again (in two weeks), I will go to all of them again. But for now it will be only 2, maybe 3 classes a week (two of them on Tuesday evening). I'm still following the Fitbit Coach program, but added a Darebee workout to increase upper body strength. Because I STILL CAN'T DO A SINGLE PUSH UP. And I'm really frustrated with that. I realize that cutting kcal won't allow me to gain much strength, but I will fight to at least keep the strength I have, and if I gain strength that will make me really happy Quest3: Don't be so hard on myself Even though I lost weight, I'm still overweight. Even though I have gained strength in the last years, I'm still not strong by any means. Even though I work hard, I still struggle to keep up with my chores and don't make a lot of money (barely any). But I'm not going to let this define me, I am not going to let this bring me down. I have persevered all those years and made positive changes, and I will continue to do so. Those brain weasels will be sorry they ever entered my head! So when I screw up, I'll take a step back, see what went wrong and learn from it. Let's do this!

I was feeling inspired, and moved by something that I read in Steve's profile... And realized when I was writing to him, that this was the Battle Log entry I've been trying to write for the last two weeks... Though seriously, it could be that Bastille's album Bad Blood as a soundtrack played a big part... Here is what I said to him: Steve, I know you get a bunch of messages from your followers... So I'll try (I say try, because I am a woman after all... And a long winded one at that) to keep this short. I joined because your newsletters are fantastically entertaining and completely on par with my personality, but for another reason that is far more important: You make me feel empowered. Society and our culture shames people for being outside of what is deemed "normal" size. Commercialized weigh loss programs try to make you feel like you need their program or you will fail... You give messages of hope and encouragement for free. You have created an environment that encourages self-love, not shame... What is the ultimate way to show love for yourself? To make yourself as healthy as you can, in any way that makes you happy and works to meet your goals for yourself... I was looking at your profile to see what you were posting about, if you posted at all... And saw the ignorant post that you responded to... I started reading that person's post, and felt this heavy weight that maybe there are people on the board who think that way... But your response, and the response after from the man who lost almost 200 lbs, was like Thor himself had destroyed ignorance with one swing of his mighty hammer... I have only been a forum member for what...two weeks? But the love, support, and encouragement I have felt was so overwhelming... I honestly didn't understand it, I've been so used to using self-hate to excuse my body size and shape.... And I'm finally beginning to realize that it isn't my size, it's my love for who I am... And doing what I can to love myself by treating my body like it deserves to be treated, like the goddess it is.... I feel empowered by you, and the remarkable transformation of the man that had posted with you.... What he said was very powerful too... (Especially when you are listening to Bastille's CD bad blood in he background lol) I just wanted to say "Thanks." In the shortest way a forum nerd like me can.... In a really long message... Haha My first goal can be considered met... I just didn't know that I had even made a goal... My road to leveling up my life starts at loving myself... And thanks to you and your forum's members... I think I've started that journey... Okay, this may be ALL inspired by this album... But I feel empowered and ready to tackle my life's epic journey. Thank you for getting me started. I am excited to have you and your "minions" by my side the whole way. Big Hugs, Sara Age: 29 Height: 5'8" Weight: 233.4 lbs Target/Goal: Goddess level How will I get there? I am already there, I just never realized it. What will I do to stay there? 1) Take care of myself: get a full night's sleep, work at a job I enjoy, love with my whole heart, and forgive those who have wronged me 2) Take care of my body through exercise: 3 days/week minimum with Bodyweight training at first, progressing to personal training with Clawed_Bear's trainer when he gets back from his vacation, and continue to Crossfit classes when my body is ready to handle the challenge. 3) Take care of my body through food: consume whole fruits, veggies, lean meats, whole grains, and other good foods...and yes, okay, I include some chocolate in there... How often will I do this: Every day for the rest of my life (unless otherwise stated). What I will do when I stumble: Look to the encouragement of the NF community, and take my inspiration from those who came before me. (I think I also just wrote my first Battle Log entry!)

Hi Everyone! My name is Ash. This is my first challenge as a Druid, and I'm hoping to set up a semi-permanent home here. I'm 25 years old, and I have a lot going on in my life. Too much actually. I work a full time job that is draining my soul away in order to pay the bills, and three (yes, you read that right, three) part time jobs to help pay down debt and save for my upcoming wedding. I volunteer with 5 community groups on a regular basis. I have a home with a partner, a dog, and three cats that needs constant attention. I'm getting married in October, and my family is making the wedding planning incredibly stressful. Needless to say, I've lost touch with myself. I feel like I'm just running from one commitment to the next, and I'm certainly not making enough time for myself. I've been caught in a really negative rut recently, and I have a feeling that it has a lot to do with my lack of self-care and needing to reconnect with myself. So, for this challenge, I'm going to focus on making things better for myself. Goal One: Declutter this house! My house if full of crap that I don't need. We moved in May, and there are boxes that we haven't opened, and I have no idea what is in them. My goal is to get rid of (donate, sell, trash) one thing for every day of the challenge. Hopefully this will also translate into our house getting a little bit cleaner. Right now, I can't find my kitchen table, or my counters, or my bathroom floor. It's disgusting in here. Goal Two: Drink water. Coffee has been my life-sustaining force over the past few months, but I know it's wreaking havoc on my body. I'm constantly tired and I get caffeine headaches regularly. It's time to focus on getting some more water into my life again. My goal is to drink 1200mL of water every day. Goal Three: Yoga I have a gym membership that I use maybe once a month. I know they offer yoga classes, so my goal is to try and get to at least three yoga classes during the challenge. Bonus points if I do some yoga at home. Goal Four: Meditate Mindfulness is something that I really need to be working on. My relationships with others have suffered because I've been spending so much time thinking about all of the things that I need to do. I haven't been taking care to spend time for myself, just being in the moment. My goal is to spend some time in meditation every day. It doesn't need to be huge sessions, but just setting aside a few minutes, whenever I get a chance. As an aside, I'd like to spend some time getting seedlings ready for the garden. I'm not making this a goal, because I feel like it adds pressure to get it done, but it is something that I would really love to do over the next week. I have everything that I need, I just need a bit of time to get my hands dirty. Feedback is appreciated! Hopefully this goes well.

So thanks to a kind few, I decided to do a challenge this round. I failed the last 3 weeks of the previous and did not award myself points. I didn't feel as though I worked enough on the challenge in order to consider it successful. I got stuck in a funk and I still am in this funk. But after being a part of NF for a year now, I can't just walk away. I'm not going to give up. So this will be an interesting one. I, like many others, falter around week 3 time and time again. This time, I want to figure out why and prevent it from happening. So using Batwoman's suggestion, this challenge is going to be like a journal of sorts. Main Quest To live in the here and now. To love myself for who I am and gain my confidence back. Getting healthy will be a bonus to being myself. Goal 1: Daily Update (+2 CHA & +2 WIS) This is pretty self explanatory. I will update my thread daily. This will be a bit of a challenge but I believe I need it. This update will be a brief update on my day. Has to be done before I go to bed each night. I also have my self-love/gratitude journal that I will continue to update daily. Goal 2: Hooping practice (+2 STA & +2 DEX) This goal is a carry over from my last challenge. I started off great but when the hoop I was using went missing, I stopped hooping. I have since made a hoop and can get a few turns while waist hooping. I also have twins. So this is for at least 5 minutes of hooping, 5 days a week. Giving myself a 2-day "rest"/can't hoop due to weather or bug problems. Though I can still hoop every day, if I choose. Goal 3: Non-Zero Days (+2 WIS & +1 CON) Every day, I will do something that makes me happy or makes me feel better about myself or my situation. It can be small. It can be big. It can be anything as long as it's something for me. I tend to focus on others about myself. I also don't give myself enough credit. And I will include what I did in my daily update. Diet Quest: Food Porn (+2 CON) I love to cook. And I tend to make pretty healthy and tasty meals. However, I always criticize what I made. Taste-wise, look-wise. I make myself question the awesome meal I just made and I forget the fact that I just made a nutrient-filled meal. So! I want to practice to plate and show off my creations. This should help me realize that I am awesome. Yes, pictures will be taken and shared. Life Quest: No Snooze Button (Late addition. Will figure out points soon) I hit the snooze button too often. Especially on Saturday mornings. I get up at 5:30, make coffee, wake the husband up and then go back to sleep until 9:30 am to 11 am. There's so many things I could get done if I just stayed awake or wake up around 8 am. This will also include weekdays. No snooze. Get up with my alarm at 5:15 each weekday morning and don't sleep in too late on weekends. Make coffee and maybe some squats or lunges to wake my body up. So...yeah...I think this will work out. No life quest this time since my own challenge is basically a life quest. Let's do this!! Tracker Goal 1: 6/7 | 7/7 | 6/7 | 7/7 | 6/7 | 3/7 35/42 Goal 2: 5/5 | 4/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 27/30 Goal 3: 7/7 | 7/7 | 6/7 | 7/7 | 6/7 | 6/7 39/42 Life Quest: x/x | 4/5 | 5/7 | 6/7 | 5/7 | 5/7 25/33 Diet Quest - # of photos each week: 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1

I have traveled from my previous guild, The Adventurers, to join the mysterious Assassins. I've been lured over by circus tricks and hula hoops. My main quest is the same as last time, however my goals are drastically different. I've also taken walking out of my goals this challenge but it is a habit that I have kept up these past two weeks so I will continue walking. It feels good to be out in the sun during the day. Main Quest To love myself for who I am and gain my confidence back. Getting healthy will be a bonus to feeling confident again. Goal 1: Daily hooping practice (+3 STR) I really want to get this down. Hooping is a lot of fun and I enjoy the time spent outside. I want to aim for at least 5 minutes of waist hooping each day. This way I can actually waist hoop. I've been avoiding waist hooping because I haven’t figured it out yet. After the five minutes of mandatory waist hooping, I can move on to hand hooping and other trick learning. I’m also going to try and record at least one session a week, to track progress and correct my form. Goal 2: Focus on the movements (+2 DEX) Once a week, on Saturdays, I want to learn how to belly dance. This will help me with my hooping goal since you need to know how to move your body. I’m not very coordinated when it comes to dancing so this should definitely help. Goal 3: Focus on the positive things. (+1 WIS & +1 CHA) I’m doing a repeat of this one. Spend five minutes each day to write down the positive thoughts. I have a journal this time around so I feel this will be better than my last challenge. I may post some of these thoughts up here. That way I’m more active on my own thread. Life Quest: Put aside $1000 (+2 WIS) This is something that I need to do. I have a ‘bill’ that needs to be paid in July and I rather not deplete my savings account by taking care of it. I’m putting it here so that I keep myself aware of it. I have a tendency to forget about things I don’t already pay on a monthly basis. Diet Quest: Avoid Eating Out (+2 CON) This is partly to help save money and partly to eat better. My husband is on board with idea. Actually, it was his idea. Limit eating out to once a week. We were able to do it this week. Let’s give 6 weeks a try! Here's to an exciting challenge with my new guild!! Tracker Goal 1: 6/7 5/7 5/7 2/7 0/7 1/7 | 19/42 Goal 2: 1/1 1/1 0/1 0/1 0/1 0/1 | 2/6 Goal 3: 7/7 7/7 6/7 3/7 2/7 1/7 | 26/42 Life Quest: 92.5%92.5% Diet Quest: Week 1 1/1/1/1/1/1/1 7 Week 2 1/1/1/1/0/1/0 5 Week 3 1/1/1/1/0/1/0 5 Week 4 0/1/1/0/1/1/0 4 Week 5 0/1/1/1/1/1/0 5 Week 6 0/1/1/1/0/0/0 3 Total = 29/36