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WOO! Second challenge! Quickie run-down Main Quest: Weigh 230 pounds by January 1st, 2014. Goals: 1.) 120 minutes of cardio a week. 2.) 80g of protein a day, 1 vegetarian day a week. 3.) BBW once a week. Life sidequest: -1 hour of deliberate religious stuff (meditation, prayer, study) a week. Elaboration Main Quest I need to focus on weight loss, for a bunch of reasons, mainly to make it easier on my back. Also, it's just a number I can use to gauge my fitness, etc. Goal 1 Last challenge, my goal was 90 minutes of biking a week. Some weeks I scraped by, some weeks I DESTROYED 90 minutes. Like 200+. So, I'm upping it to a 120 minutes minimum average. Goal 2 I tracked my food last challenge, and tracked my protein for a week as part of the mini-quest. This challenge, I want to make sure I get lots of protein (without going overboard) to build some muscle. Muscle burns fat better (I've heard) so that's how this fits into my main quest. I went vegetarian for a few months a year or two ago, and really liked it, plus I want to eventually go paleo, so this is a step towards that long term goal. Goal 3 I did the BBW last challenge, and ALMOST got through it three times in a row. Now, I just want to make it a steady part of my weekly routine. Life Goal This is a mental health thing as well as an I-really-need-to-study-my-own-beliefs thing. I may or may not have mentioned that I'm an Anglo-Saxon heathen, but it takes a lot of independent study. Which is something I've been failing on. Could be just meditation, prayer, writing, crafting, genealogy research, lore reading, whatever, as long as it's deliberate and in done in a certain mindset. I'd like for that one hour a week to be straight in a row as well. Rewards: Goal 1: 4 STA Goal 2: 3 STR, 1 WIS Goal 3: 3 STR Life Goal: 4 WIS So, some of you know me from last challenge, some don't. I was an adventurer then, and now, and might be for a while. We'll see. Regardless, I am back for round two, and pumped. Here goes. ----------------------------- WEEKLY REPORTING Week 1 Goal 1: 112/120 minutes Goal 2: 497/560g Goal 3: 0 BBW circuits Life Goal: Done! Mini-Challenge: Done! +1 WIS Week 2 Goal 1: Goal 2: Goal 3: Life Goal: Mini-Challenge: Week 3 Goal 1: Goal 2: Goal 3: Life Goal: Mini-Challenge: Week 4 Goal 1: Goal 2: Goal 3: Life Goal: Mini-Challenge: Week 5 Goal 1: Goal 2: Goal 3: Life Goal: Mini-Challenge: Week 6 Goal 1: Goal 2: Goal 3: Life Goal: Mini-Challenge:

Alright first challenge, come at me. Starting Point Weight: 270 lbs Blood Pressure at rest: 116/71 Heart Rate at rest: 60 bpm I can get through the BBW circuit once with a little back pain, twice and I'm reeling in pain. I can easily bike to and from the shopping plaza by my house (comparable distance to work). I can easily hike into our tent in the woods (~30 minutes up hill in the woods) and a good trail near Cuckold's Cove. Goal 1 (Fitness) Hike (with Princess) once a week, bike outside for 30 minutes 3 times 90 minutes a week total. EDITED: Can't bike even close to 30 minutes straight outdoors, that was unrealistic. I CAN bike a BUNCH in smaller increments. May up the total to make it more challenging. We'll see after week 1. (Princess is a certain someone who has committed to hike with me once a week, but she's not on NF). My family has a tent set up in the woods year round that we try to go into every now and again, there are some great trails around me here in the city that are pretty scenic, and there are decent bike trails all over the city that start right next to my house so there's really no excuse. I will also bike to work as often as possible. The point is to be doing these things outside so I may even do some in bad weather if we have a week of rain or something. I also have a stationary bike as an absolute last resort. 4 STA, 1 CON A: Hike 1x a week, bike 90 minutes a week. B: Hike 1x a week, bike 60 minutes a week. C: Hike 1x a week, bike 30 minutes a week. D: Hike 1x a week, bike <30 minutes a week. F: No hike, bike less than 90 minutes a week. Goal 2 (Fitness) Make it through the BBW Circuit 3 times by the end of the challenge. I'll do the BBW circuit 3 times a week, with a 10 minute stationary bike warm up, tossing in about 10 minutes of a heavy bag routine 2 times a week. 3 STR, 1 DEX A: Through the BBW circuit 3 times in a row. B: Through the BBW circuit 2.5 times in a row. C: Through the BBW circuit 2 times in a row. D: Through the BBW circuit 1.5 times in a row. F: Through the BBW circuit once at a time. Goal 3 (Nutrition) Track everything I eat, track weight every week, eat healthier. I'll have a little notebook on me all the time to track food before I eat it, and I'll be weighing myself every Tuesday. Eventually I will be going at least gluten free if not full on paleo, but for now I have no real diet changes planned, I just want to get a baseline of what I'm actually eating and then adjust. I'll probably update the diet plan after two weeks if I make any specific changes based on what I see I'm eating. 2 WIS A: No days missed. B: 1-4 days missed. C: 5-8 days missed. D: 8-10 days missed. F: >10 days missed. Goal 4 (Life) Pay off remaining $1600 tuition balance so I can go back to school in the fall. Has to be done, else I'll be delayed far too long in finishing my first degree. I need to save around $280 a week, which shouldn't be too hard because I just got a better job. Thing is, the job isn't really starting full time for a week or two so it might be rocky starting off. As long as I have the money saved by the end of the challenge, it doesn't matter I was short one week and over the next. 3 WIS Pass/ Fail --------------------------------------------------------- Progress: WEEK 1: Hike: SO DONE(A) Biking: 83/90 minutes (A-) BBW: 2/3 (D) Heavy Bag: 0/2 (D) Food tracked: 7/7 (A) Weight Tracked: 268 (A) Money saved: $300 (A) Mini-challenge #1: DONE! FOTB! (+.5 WIS, +.5 CHA) End of Week 1 Report: Goal 1: A- -DESTROYED that hike are you kidding me? -Bike changed from 3, 30 minute trips to a total of 90 minutes in a week. I got 83. Come on, I could have biked 7 minutes, I've just had a rough couple days. Does the killer hike and extra walking make up for that? No. Goal 2: D -2 BBW workouts, no heavy bag at all. That fits my criteria for a D exactly and unfortunately. -The BBW workout really did a number on my back and shoulders, as did the 6 hour downtown walk with a bookbag which didn't need to happen because it's not one of my goals. I was going to say I need to stop the walking and being out enjoying my new found confidence, but that's rubbish. What I need to do, is come up with a better grading system. The goal proper is to get through the BBW circuit 3 times by the end of the challenge. i should be grading myself based on how many times I can get through the BBW circuit, not how much I train to do so. Updated grading next week. Goal 3: A -Tracked everyday! Simple as that! Didn't necessarily eat all that healthily, but tracking was the goal. I'll add my weight after I weigh tomorrow morning (Monday morning will be exactly one week done, makes more sense to me to do it then than right now after just eating a bunch). Goal 4: A -$300 added to the save pile! Right on track! WEEK 2: Hike: DONE (A) Biking: 92/90 minutes (A) BBW circuit completions in a row: 2/3 (C) Food tracked: 7/7 (A) Weight Tracked: 268lbs (A) Money saved: Not paid this week (F?) Mini-challenge #2: 5/5 days with protein intake met! (+1 CON) End of Week 2 Report: Everything went pretty well I guess! I'm only at a C right now for goal 2, but getting through the BBW circuit twice was huge so I'm pleased with my C (FOR NOW!). Got all my biking, hiking, and tracking done so that was good. I wasn't paid so I didn't save, but so long as I average that $300 a week I'm still golden. On to week 3! WEEK 3: Hike: Squeaked at the last second! (A) Biking: 204/90 minutes (A++) BBW circuit completions in a row: 0/3 (F) Food tracked: 7/7 (A) Weight Tracked: Not tracked (F) Money saved: Another $300 in the bank! (A) Mini-challenge #3: Stretching done on three days (heavily physical/ workout days) (Done, +1 DEX) End of Week 3 Report: Pretty good week. Tired a lot, but kept going. F on the BBW is only because I didn't ATTEMPT any run-throughs this week, just some related upper body exercise to get a bit stronger. Hiking and tracking done again. Biking DONE. Over twice the minutes of my goal, and basically a half hour straight, so I'm super pleased with that. Saving done, but might be slightly undone out of necessity this week. Regardless, the total at the end of the challenge is what matters, because pass/fail and what not. WEEK 4: Hike: NOPE (F) Biking: 24/90 (F) BBW in a row: 0 (F) Food Tracked: 6/7 days (B) Weight Tracked: Not tracked (F) Money saved: Not paid this week (-) End of week 4 report: Worst week I think. It was so rainy and miserable, which meant I couldn't really bike to work, and my mood was horrible. But it's over now. WEEK 5: Hike: DONE (A) Biking: 216/90 (A+++) BBW in a row: 0 (F) Food Tracked: 5/7 (B) Weight Tracked: Not tracked (F) Money saved: Total of $500 in the bank. (-) WEEK 6: Hike: DONE X2! (A+) Biking: 110/90 (A+) BBW in a row: 2.75 circuits (B+) Food Tracked: 1/7 (C) Weight Tracked: 258 lbs! (A) Money saved: Total $500 in the bank. (F) FINAL REPORT: Goal 1: 6 Hikes (averaging 1/week), 729/540 possible biking minutes. Grade: A+. Reward: 4 STA, 1 CON. Goal 2: Made it through 2.75 circuits in a row. Grade: B+. Reward: 2.75 STR, .75 DEX. Goal 3: 33/42 days (9 days missed). Grade: D. Reward: .5 WIS. Goal 4: $500 in the bank. Grade F. Reward: Nope. Mini-challenge 1: FOTB! Reward: .5 WIS, .5 CHA. Mini-challenge 2: DONE. Reward: 1 CON. Mini-challenge 3: DONE. Reward: 1 DEX. Starting stats: Level 1 Ogre Adventurer STR: 4 DEX: 1 STA: 2 CON: 4 WIS: 3 CHA: 1 Post-Challenge stats: Level 2 Ogre Adventurer STR: 6.75 DEX: 2.75 STA: 6 CON: 6 WIS: 4 CHA: 1.5 Overall, I'm pleased with how this challenge worked out. Yeah I totally failed the money goal, but that was a combination of miscalculating my income, the timeframe, some unexpected bills, and setting a bit of an unrealistic goal for myself. But, lesson learned. I destroyed my first fitness goal in a way I didn't think was possible. It WASN'T possible when I first started this challenge. Bike for 2 hours? Hike for 5? Your crazy. But I did just that. A couple times. Bike to work? HA! That's a joke now. Barely breaks a sweat. When I first tried it, it wiped me. Very proud of that. I also lost 12 pounds during the challenge, which is actually 22 since I first decided to join NF. Not too bad I think. More important than any of these numbers though, is how doing this has made me feel. All of my tight pants fit now. I can wear a smaller size shirt and not feel AS gross. I had to put a new hole in my belt. I can carry myself better. I'm less fatigued by everyday life. My life IS better and is GETTING better. Because of that, this challenge has been nothing but a success. I'm fed up with accepting the state my life was in, and I'm doing something about it. This challenge, yeah I didn't do spectacularly, but I', learning. Everybody's first few steps are faltering and tentative, but soon enough they're running.