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So here's what's on my mind going into this challenge. I finally had some time to try to sort some thoughts out... Escape to Reality, what does that even mean? About 6 months ago, I finally went to see a therapist. I was struggling with depression issues, and addiction issues. I finally admitted I needed help and even though I was terrified, I made the commitment to get help, rather than continue the cycle of depression and denial. Here are some things I learned about myself. I have identity issues. I’m a typical American 40+ year old mother. After college, I put my life on hold, helped my husband through grad school by working (not career related), then we moved, bought a house, I started going back to school, but then kids happened, and somewhere along the way I got lost. I didn’t feel a strong sense of identity anymore. My life for the past 15 years has been a series of reactions to what my family needs, with moments of self-indulgence with no real purpose thrown into the mix. Some wonderful things have happened, and I made some choices when I needed to. On paper, my life is good. But I felt like I lost the opportunity to develop my own personal identity. As a coping skill, I created not just one, but several fantasy identities in my head, definitions of the kind of person I thought I was supposed to be. I was supposed to be supermom – the mother who nurtured and supported her children and husband. You typical 1940s housewife who baked, and cleaned, and tucked her children into bed at night. Made nourishing meals and helped her children flourish. I was supposed to be a bohemian artist, who filled her house with creativity and open-mindedness. Since I couldn’t afford to bring my family to the world, I was going to bring the world to my family through art and culture and a desire to explore wherever my/our curiosity led. I was supposed to be a successful business woman. I am a creative person, so I should be able to make some kind of business out of all the things I produce. Maybe an Etsy store, maybe work craft fairs around the county, maybe have an online business. I was supposed to be able to take all of these wonderful creative and entrepreneurial ideas and build an empire with them to support both my creativity and my family. You can see where I’m going with this. There are at least a dozen more stereotypical identities that I had somehow compartmentalized as defining who I needed to be. The problem was – I wanted to be all of them, simultaneously. My guess is that it’s a common phenomenon for women my age. We work to be supportive, and provide our lives with very little support for ourselves. So I had these false realities tumbling around in my head of the kind of person I identified myself as, and when I inevitably failed to be perfect examples of them, I would get depressed. I developed a coping mechanism of reading to escape. Reading put my depression and my disappointment in myself on hold. For a few hours I could escape into a different world where everything turned out for the best, and happily ever-afters existed. Unfortunately it became an addiction. Every time I would start to feel bad, I would reach for a book and put everything else in my life on hold – my responsibilities, my family, my health….. So after a marathon weekend of reading 5 romance novels, and letting my 11 year old son go hungry, and my house being a disaster, I decided to get help from a therapist. The sessions were raw and ugly and scary, but I finally got to a place where I think I could actually acknowledge how screwed up my thoughts have been. So now I feel like I’m on the very beginning of a quest – to find my true reality. I face the constant battles of falling back into where I was before. I have to constantly challenge myself to ask if how I am feeling is because of something that is real, or because of what my mind wants to be real. I’m working with addiction recovery practices, reading a lot of Buddhist writings, trying to make meditating a part of my life. I’m trying to take life one step at a time and acknowledge moments for what they truly are. I said before that I felt like I lost the chance to develop my own personal identity. But what I’m learning is that my personal identity is already established. It is who I am, in this moment, with everything that has happened to me up to this point. I have refused to look at it; I have refused to accept it because it isn’t what I dreamed of being when I was 18 years old. It’s time to jump down that rabbit hole, and find out who I really am, and what is truly real. So while I start to move forward with all of that, this is what I'm going to focus on for this challenge. I'm keeping it as simple as I can. My goals are a challenging for me in the sense that they are creating new habits that I want to be part of my life, but hopefully not so overwhelming that they can be done with the amount of effort that I can muster. 1.Exercise: workouts 3 days a week. 2. Exercise: try kettlebell swings 1x per week 3. Healthy Eating: prep salads for each day of the week on the weekends 4. Life: chores: 5 dailies and 1 today chore. Every day. One daily must include a minimum of 10 minutes a day in my shop. Loot for A averages 1. moon yoga mat 2. dumbel fractional weight magnets 3. two serving spoons 4. A silk pillow case

Keep It Simple Stupid I had my challenge prepared but looking it over it felt like too much to do. So its back to K.I.S.S. Goal 1: Fitness MWF Bodyweight Workout Bodyweight Squat 8-10 Reps Push-Up Variation 8-10 reps Pull/Chin-ups 5-8 reps Plank hold for 15 seconds 3-5 Rounds, 30 seconds rest between rounds TTS/S Running Tuesday: 3,3 km Thursday: 3,9 km Saturday/Sunday: 5 km Monday-Sunday #5 Minute Flow Goal 2: Diet Clean up my fridge and cabinets and fill my fridge with 1 healthy snack (fruit, paleo snack) and add 1 after 2 weeks Cook something new every Saturday Goal 3: Level Up My Life Meditate Daily for 5 minutes with headspace. Clean everyday with Pomodoro (5 minutes are all the same, cleaning dishes and wiping down tables the 15 minute is below) Monday: Vacuum Tuesday: Clean Toilet Wednesday: Clean Bathroom + Wash clothes & hang them Thursday: Vacuum Friday: Clean Toilet + Clean up clothes Saturday: Clean Bathroom Sunday: Vacuum + Mop the floor Monday: continue Goal 3.5 Work on my Batcave - Put all my old clothes in bags and send them to Salvation Army - Clean up my workout/wash/rubbish room - Buy a Yoga mat - Buy a few Resistance Bands - Sell my old Guitars - Put my bed sheets in my clothes closet & the laundry basket in the washroom closet - Re-organize Kitchenware Going back to KISS, perhaps ill add some kind of Skill when the challenge really starts but for now i'm keeping it simple. Summer Break & Prep Week will be mostly focused on my Batcave goals Since were talking about K.I.S.S

Jonesy’s Oh, Bother Last challenge was a struggle to find the determination to follow through with my goals. This challenge I'm going to keep it simple. Me, keep things simple, yeah ok but I’m gonna try real hard. At least for the challenge. Haha Fitness : Workout 12 times Health : Meal Plan each week & eat at home at least 15 times Life : Make a reasonable to do list and accomplish at least 4 items Keep it Simple!

Brutal Bears Goes Retro Intro Starting Weight: Coming Soon Ending Weight: Keep it up like pinball Go on a walk or hike everyday. Simple. Something to help cut some weight Swing the Master Sword Lift 3 times a week. Assemble a Guild Connect online everyday. Build a group of support! That is it. I want to keep this as simple and back to basics as possible!

KISS - Keep It Simple, Stupid! Ok, so I was planning on a ludicrously complicated challenge this time round (which may be on the cards still in the future), but I realised a lot of my problems may have been caused by getting overwhelmed and trying to do to much, So this challenge I'm going to KISS. Stick to Workout Plan - 30XP What? Stick to my current workout plan Why? I'm training for an OCR. Warrior Run 2nd October. And I'm mildly terrified. How? Follow this weekly plan: M: Circuit training T: Run W: Legs/Shoulders T: Run F: Back/Chest S: Short Run and [circuit training or bouldering] S: Long Run and [circuit training or bouldering] All runs are as per a Runkeeper plan I'm doing (erroneously titled sub-65 minute 10k), but I might switch out the Saturdays for Parkrun as that's generally the same length and it's nice to run with other people. Sometimes life will get in the way, and that's fine. But try to plan ahead for this to miss as little as possible. And sometimes I may get hurt or need a rest and that's fine too. But in that case I still need to do as much as I can safely, and if I can't do that focus on recovery through stretching/yoga/foam rolling. Get Free of Smoking - 10XP What? Set myself up to get free of smoking. Why? Not because it might kill me long term, oddly enough, although that clearly should be a concern. But because I know I can run faster, hike further, and feel better if I give it up. How? Read "Allen Carr's Easy Way to Stop Smoking" minimum 3 hours per week (I'm a very slow reader). This book was recommended by @deftona and @mr_willes, and I've since found out that it was also the book both of my parents read when they gave up, which is encouraging. Once I've read the book I will formulate a Plan* *Plan should not merely be a plan, but should be sufficient to warrant the capital P. Weights and Measures - 10XP What? Track weight, measurements and body fat percentage. Why? Because I'm not calorie counting or on any kind of diet plan, and I need to see if I can keep getting away with just intuitive eating. How? Weight and measure myself, before bed, minimum 4 times per week. Then calculate body fat % using this handy spreadsheet. Report figures on here. Sleep - 10XP What? Get to bed at a decent time, and get up at a decent time too. Why? Because I like working out in the morning before work, for how much time it frees up and how quiet the gym is. And weekends are busy and I don't want to waste the days. How? This one's in two parts: To Bed: In bed by 11pm or within an hour of getting home, whichever later. 1 point for on time, a bonus point for every 10 minutes early, -1 point for every 5 minutes late. Goal is 7 points per week. To Rise: Up at 7am on weekdays. As punishment 1 burpee for every 5 minutes late getting up. Goal is to not do any burpees. Don't Mow the Lawn - 15XP What? Tidy up the damn house! And generally be an adult. Why? Because, whether I like it or not, I am in fact an adult and I don't want to live in a shithole. How? We have a list at home of chores to be done. Mrs and I are running our own private PvP of who can tick off the most each week, and the loser each week has to mow the lawn (which we both hate). The goal is simple, never mow the lawn! Clean your Teeth - 5XP What? Clean my teeth. Why? Because I would quite like what's left of them to remain inside my head. How? With a brush! Joking. Clean teeth minimum twice per day, minimum once with sonic brush. Floss minimum once per day. Yes, this one's back. I thought I could manage this without it being a goal, but apparently I'm a terrible human being. Other KISS rules: Follow less fewer people: I hate this rule, but truth is I've been a pretty shitty friend on here for the last couple of challenges. In my effort to do all the things and keep up with everyone else, I've actually not kept up with anyone. So I'm going to try and follow fewer people, and instead focus on actually keeping up with them. If I'm not following you this time around please don't take it personally, it probably means that I think you already have a great support structure on here and you just don't need me. Handily the people with the best support structure tend to be the ones with threads that run to dozens of pages! I've also changed my notification settings so I can now keep up with them. So if you do need me, you can tag me and there's now a fair chance I'll see it. No extra work: No PvPs, no Ranger Mini, no random push-up challenges (I seems to have done some sort of push-up challenge every month since I started here). With my plan, and a bit of badminton with a mate, I'm going to be exercising about 10 times per week. That is more than enough! Housekeeping: Measurements may be in metric or imperial, because I want to make damn sure no-one's happy all the time! As always, the challenge starts on the Monday (22/08) and runs to Sunday (18/09) For those of you wondering, yes I am doing a festival again this month. The theme's gone though as it's Purbeck Valley Folk Festival, and I don't know enough of the acts to put a theme together.

Hey all you wonderful people <3 My brain has been a terrible jerk lately. Depression and anxiety have been far too high for me to function. So it's time to work on battling the brain beast, and try to get back to what has worked. So....daily to do list! That's my only goal. It worked well before I got derailed by a break in my routine, and then it was just so hard to get back on track. No use dwelling on that though because the only thing I can control is what I do right now. So here we go....

Good Afternoon Fellow Assassins, Welcome to yet another wonderful challenge. May I first apologize for my lateness in posting my challenge and also for my complete disappearance in the last challenge. I was sick for a large part of March and way super stressed the whole month so I just didn't do a challenge. There are other things but we'll get to that shortly. Anyway, the Respawn Assassin is back again because that's how a Respawn Assassin do but this time I won't be writing any stories. Do not fret, however, as my story will be written at some point just not this month. Anyways, onward to this challenge! The Problem: I am simultaneous super ambitious and super lazy. This frequently results in periods of high productivity and energy followed immediately by periods of nothing but sitting around and wallowing in my own self-pity. This needs to stop. Seriously. This is what happened in February and March. Furthermore, I need to stop doing Nerd Fitness Challenges in such a way that I either try to break myself or torture myself until I dislike doing these at all. Not good either. The Solution: My answer to this problem is to use this challenge to interject several habits into my life that I call "Too Easy To Fail." By that I mean that these habits are so easy that it would be harder for me to convince myself to not do them than to just do them. I've also chosen not to keep working on the story I was composing in my last challenge due to the fact that having to keep adding on to it put a greater deal of stress on me than I would have liked and led me to not updating my challenge as much. Though I plan on eventually continuing that story, I'm putting it off for now. ...Gets Managed So this challenge is highly based on a quote that I really like which goes: "What Gets Measured, Gets Managed." This basically means that if you want to change or improve something, you should keep track of what needs to be changed. My goals for this challenge are all keeping track of various things that I want to change. These goals are: 1. Keep a Food Journal - Write down everything I eat and drink 2. Record Stair / Elevator Usage - Keep a tally of when I use the elevator and when I use the stairs 3. 5 Jumping Jacks every morning - Make a red X on a calendar everyday that I do them 4L. Record Study hours - Keep a tally of the number of hours spent studying each day The important thing about each of these goals is that, with the exception of the jumping jacks, all I have to do is keep track of things. I don't have to eat healthy, I just have to keep track of what I eat. I don't have to always use the stairs, I just have to keep track of when I do or don't. Even the five jumping jacks is way too easy to not do. The thing is, however, keeping track of these things, as the quote suggests, will lead to their improvement. By keeping a food journal, I will be more likely eat healthy because I'm thinking about it more. So yeah, this is my challenge. Super simple, super easy. So yeah, here we go.

Brutal Bears Keeps it Simple Introduction Goals: Bear Form Lifting: Upper-body Lifts: 6 Lower-body Lifts: 3 Stag Form 35 miles walked/ran a week Week 1: check week 2: check week 3: check week 4: ya-something and stuff Owl Form All school done/week: 1 Yoga at least 3 times a week: Fox Form Go on at least 3 hikes/geocaching: 1 Pic coming soon

No not this: This: Welcome to Challenge 16, wow where did all the time go?! I've been struggling lately with getting back on track after a few crazy months at the back end of last year so this challenge is all about getting my old habits back and keeping it simple and acheivable. Goal 1: Lift twice a week I was going to make this 3 times a week but I need to get a habit going so I will lift on Thursday and Saturday. Goal 2: No sugar Ah the sugar monster has crept back into my world and needs to be banished once again. Goal 3: Squash I need to get back to playing squash. I tore 3 ligaments in my wrist 6 months ago, they are finally feeling strong enough to try playing squash again, but the thing is to play squah you have to actually play squash...! PVP: Walkers! I'm going to walk 150km's during this challenge, want to join me? Everyone is welcome Let's get started! Mwahh!

This challenge I'm getting in the groove. To me the groove is all about routines that make me feel awesome, like working out, yoga, and flossing. It's also about just being happy. Also maybe because I can't dance so I live in awe of every SYTYCD contestant and Step Up star -- their talent and fitness level. This challenge may be an excuse to watch allll the dance movies as inspiration! Last challenge went well for me; I fell off the metrics wagon but the overall high protein-lower carb moderate-quantity eating tendencies stuck and I lost a few pounds (and a pants size!). Right now I'm definitely eating over the 100g carbs/day, so I'll work on reining it in but not stressing out. After the plantar fascitis-wrist cyst combination discouragement episode, I'm ready to get back to the gym. It will help that the bf is leaving town in a couple weeks so I won't be prioritizing spending time with him. Main long-term goal: Be Anti-fragile I'm way too young to be feeling as unhealthy as I do, and I'm ready to get in take-on-the-world shape. Ways to measure this-- body fat ~20-25%, capability to get through Crossfit class more than once/week, get up the stairs without being out of breath, have clothes fit better, have more energy. Main challenge goal: Comfortably fit into my jeans. They're size 8 or 10, and I'm sooo close--they fit pretty well except when I sit down. Gotta work on that muffin top. Since it's finally jeans weather in Cali, I'd like to feel great when I wear them. Sub-goal #1: Daily core/squats/calf-rolling/chinup-pullup work (+3 CON, +3 DEX) Sub-sub-goals: 2 chinups (I mayyyy have lost the ability to do 1 due to not working at it. gah) +1 STR 1 pullup +1 STR 1000 total squats +1 STR Average 10,000 steps/day +1 STASub-goal #2: Be awesome at life Sub-sub-goals: Start an investment account outside my 401k +1 WIS Finish Christmas gift prep by end of Nov +1 CHA Record all eating and sleep +1 CON Meditate 5min daily +2 WIS This is my attempt to simplify from last challenge. I'm not doing metrics this go-around, and I'm tracking steps and sleep weekly with my new Fitbit. Ideally I'll hit the gym ~3x/week, but it's not a primary goal.

Hello Everyone! I'm a week late to my sequel, but I have a decent excuse. I just completed my Masters Thesis and Oral defense last week so I think I can forgive me. Maybe you can too! Starting today I need to set up some rules! Following my happy, happy graduation and receiving my degree in Ruling-the-Masses from the Princess Academy I'm set to get married. Two months to work hard. Lets do this! My simple plan: Goal 1:Eat better Lunch and dinner half veggieseat fruit for breakfast/dessertmilky/alcoholic drinks twice a weekGoal 2: Exercise more regularly Exercise five days a weekweightlifting twice-three timescardio/HIIT and pilates/yoga twice a week Side-quest: Spend some time volunteering at the local community center and animal shelter.look for a job I'm just going to assume that I'll need to be more specific along the way, but for now this is the basic framework!

I've been making great strides at developing new habits, make great changes and evolving into a better me. After a short break from the forums and challenges I'm so ready to jump back in I previously sucked at updating these so I'd love to be held accountable to checking in often, as I love the community. My end of year summer goal is to lose 20lbs. I would like to achieve this at the very latest of September 15. I want to do this on my own, no relying on other people to help me. In case the scale doesn't move, my ultimate goal is to lose my belly fat which exists due to pregnancy and surgery. I want to erase the physical evidence of my illnesses and regain my confidence. I have a wonderful fitbit that is helping me track my efforts, I've been doing much better than the beginning of the year at being more active, and I've tried a ton of new foods or ways of eating foods that I never would have before. So I guess the How! 1 - Limit my sugar intake. I can have sugar but not often and preferably in healthier forms such as honey or stevia. This should allow me enough flexibility that I could take my kids for iced cream or have s'mores but not have sugar control my cravings and eating habits. Ultimately I would love to keep sugar out of my regular day to day routine. 2 - Be consistently active. Right now I do yoga once I week but I want to get moving and be more active on a more regular basis. There is a running group starting that I'm hoping to join, but even just hoping to walk more, run up and down the stairs, play with the kids in the yard, anything. As a starting point it would be great to have a minimum 15 minutes of activity each day. 3 - Get dressed daily. Even if it's into yoga pants or sweats but get out of my pajamas and be ready to go or be active at all times. Create more yes opportunities and less no's for the kids by being dressed in something we could at least go to the park in each day. 4 - Spending fast. No spending on unnecessary things. No toys, no extras, no material things. We can spend on experiences though so a trip to the zoo, maybe go to the drive in, those types of things are good. This should help us clear out the house of excess items, use up what we already have and encourage us to be more active and present this summer. This does not include the previous habits I have already been doing like tracking what I eat in myfitnesspal, drinking more water, meal prepping and eating at home as much as possible. I still need to keep these up. Would love some buddies and some help so please feel free to connect! Looking very forward to this challenge!

Last challenge I found myself a little bit vague and wandering, lacking a sense of purpose. Without set restrictions on what I could and couldn't eat I found myself indulging more and eating more stuff I knew I shouldn't be. I still made improvements physically - running for longer and doing more push ups - but I know I can do so much better. So this challenge I'm going to be focussing on improving my physical form more then any higher consciousness type challenges typically found over at the Druids. Shape shifting as a druid requires a certain knowledge about one's true form… And mine has gotten a bit hazy and well, pudgy. If I am to be the best druid I can be I need to know what my body is capable of, push those limits as far as they can go, and make those new limits my norm. Hence me joining the ranks of the Rangers this time to really buckle down and put some serious hours in. I don't want to be "sort of" or "kinda" fit, I want a clearly defined body shape with clearly defined muscles, as well as knowing my body's abilities. I want to put a number on my deadlifts and squats, and I want to have a total of exactly how many push ups I can do, and pull-ups (eventually) instead of this "I can lift some weight sometimes!". No more. No more of this vagary flaky "I might do this but I might not" shenanigans, I'm Keeping It Simple (Stupid!) This time around. Them's The Rules! Eat. Intermittently. Between 12pm - 9pm 7 days a week. (42 days) STA +4 I prefer to have a coffee for breakfast and eat bigger at lunch and dinner, so I'm going to experiment with this this challenge. I was going to try primal again but apart from making me fat if I have too much, my body doesn't have a problem with bread and dairy, so I will allow them but limit my intake. I've worked my way off milk anyway, but bread is something I haven't been able to give up yet. So instead of that I'm going to try fasting. I'll also count my calories for at least the first two weeks and see exactly what I'm eating and what I need to change. I've been too vague on this too. TDEE: 2000cal. I'll be aiming for around 1800cal every day so hopefully slowly I shed the little bit of excess fat around my stomach, and go from there. Motivation: I want to stay around 15-17% BF, eating enough protein and fat to help my body recover and build muscle and keep me healthy. Sleep. (42 nights) CON +4 7.5hours a night. Every night. No exceptions. Getting to bed by 11 should give me more then enough hours sleep and I might even coax myself into get up earlier. If this isn't long enough after two weeks I'll up it to 9 hours. Motivation: I want to feel awake when I get out of bed. I want my morning coffee to be optional, not a necessity. I want to be able to spring out of bed and greet the day. Run. 3 days a week. (18 days) DEX +4 Finish my C25K program, move onto a 10k program as that is staggered nicely and I feel like I'm accomplishing something. Otherwise if it's raining and cold outside 2 HIIT workouts spaced throughout the day. Motivation: Rule #1 is cardio. Lift. 2 days a week. (12 days) STR +2, STA +1 Deadlifts and squats etc, bodyweight workouts, the Rebel Outcast Workout etc. Keeping up my motivation for actually doing hardcore exercise is hard for me, hence the extra stamina point awarded for completing this. Motivation: I want to be able to deadlift and squat my own body weight. I want to be able to do 20 push ups. And I want to do a chin up. At least one. I'll will be keeping track daily through my Battle Log (Starting from around page 19) and update here weekly with my scores for each section. Also for a change I made myself a pretty spreadsheet to colour in and type numbers into which you are welcome to look at. And I've also made an MFP account to log food. All the accountability! Starting Stats: I'm not expecting these to change a whole lot, but out of interest I'd like to see if anything changes, and where on my body it does. Weight: 64kgs Measurements (in cm) Neck: 32 Chest: 72 Waist: 69 Hips: 85 Thigh (both): 51 Upper arm (both): 27 BF %: 17.2 Deadlift: 20kgs Squat: 11kgs Push ups: 1x7 Pull ups: 0

I am making small changes to my diet in an attempt to eat healthier. Less sweets, more fruit & veg - that type of thing. This challenge, I'm trying to experiment with a weekly meal plan before going to buy my groceries. Only thing is - it's not working at all. Yeah I end up eating all the food I buy eventually. I just never actually follow the meal plan past a day or 2. I'm finishing up my last year of college and don't have the motivation to cook every day. I was making 1-2 batch meals that could carry me through each week but fell out of practice when life got busy. I am looking into picking this up again but wonder - is it bad to spend a few days eating the same thing? Obviously I would eventually get bored always eating the same exact thing, but would I be suffering nutritionally by not mixing up the meals every day? Example Meal Plan: Breakfast: 1/2 c oatmeal, banana, peanut butter Lunch: 2 eggs w/ kale, peppers, onions, and/or bacon Snack: Apple or carrot sticks, etc Dinner: Chicken breast w/ sweet potato, broccoli & cauliflower

Still not out to win prizes, just trying to heal and enjoy life while I'm doing it. Apparently I can't (don't know how? maybe it's not possible) retroactively tag this challenge. If I could, 'chronic lower back injury', 'rehab', 'walking', and 'simple' would all be included. Challenge #5 Main quest: Make my back better (as better as it can be *hopehopehope*) and protect it while staying active. Support goal A: Establish a daily walking habit. STA 5 Method: Walk every day of this challenge, and the next, and the next, et cetera... Support goal B: Improve lower back strength, durability, mobility and decrease pain. CON 5 Method: Complete the prescribed (by the osteopath) # of sets of my back exercises every night for as long as the doctor says I need to [the rest of my life]. Bonus support goal C: Improve lower back strength and overall core strength. Method: Increase hold times in plank position, beginning with a 20-second hold. Glossary: walk: at least 20 minutes spent putting one foot in front of the other for the sole (Ha! *ahem* Sorry.) purpose of working out (does not include time spent walking to/from car, buildings, etc. just to get myself from point A to day: a 24-hour period which contains somewhere during it safe weather/outdoor conditions suitable for walking (I won't be penalized for circumstances outside my control which prevent me from walking) bonus: a 'no pressure' goal; no frequency requirement assigned to it, no x-amount of minutes to reach; testing the water to see if my lumbar discs will stay happy in a plank Disclaimer: Nope, this challenge doesn't quite follow the rules- I mean the rules to qualify for prizes. It'll be okay, promise.

Ok kids....I'm early, but I'm planning on spending the better part of this next year (at least...it may turn into a much longer stay, even permanent residence) in the Druid forest, so I figured now was as good a time as any. My name is Bekah and I am not new to the Rebellion, and I am a special type of Druid, but they have wayyy too much shiny stuff over in the Assassin's camp and I need to get and keep my core focus before I branch out again. What is my core focus, you ask? Getting my yoga practice consistent and getting this weight off once and for all, and keep reading, because I love it. That's it and that's all. Simple, easy, straightforward...it works for me that way. I love to overcomplicate stuff until I do nothing at all, but no more of that. No challenge grades, no Stat points, nothing except leveling up each challenge. I LOVE Ashtanga Yoga, although there are no local classes here, so I am on my own, but I'm okay with that mostly. My plan is just to work my way through the Primary Series and get to the point where daily practice is second nature. I am also going to do daily meditation for 10 minutes, using the book Meditations from the Mat and I'm going to have a calendar with star stickers as my way of keeping track of my practice days, and will post photos of said calendar. As for the weight loss: No Gluten, Dairy or Allergens and stay Feingold.I am also going to eliminate sugar using the program in the book Your Last Diet This makes the weight fall off and stay gone, it's just not easy. I am also going to participate in the Biggest Loser 3.0 started by AlienJenn when it begins, and that is it. No other goals, no more detailed plans. I will also be keeping track of this in my planner using smiley face stickers. Keep it Simple Silly! My plans for reading include finishing the Wheel of Time Series and then finding a comprehensive list of the classical works in literature and reading those. Challenge Goal Recap: 1. Read "Your Last Diet" book and eat breakfast with protein daily until it becomes habitual. (Step One in the book) Keep track of breakfasts eaten daily by smiley stickers in my planner. 2. Practice Surya Namaskara A and Closing Sequence and Savasana every day except Saturdays, Moon Days and Girlie Holidays and Do 10 minutes of meditation folowing Savasana using the Meditations from the Mat book entry for that day. Keep track of practice days (or meditation on non practice days) by star stickers in my planner. 3. Finish Reading "Lord of Chaos" (Book 6) and start on "A Crown of Swords" (Book 7).

Main Quest: Make exercise and healthy food consumption an enjoyable, consistent, and permanent facet of my life. 3 Missions: 1.) Run or bike at least twice a week. 2.) Limit to one empty calorie snack a day. 3.) When possible, take stairs instead. Life Quest: Do all Christmas shopping before December 7th. My Motivation: Enjoying a physically unburdened life as I age and improved mental health. Reward for Successful Completions: Mission 1: Buy a good pair of running shoes. Mission 2: Buy a runner ID. Mission 3: Buy performance running socks. Life Quest: Buy a reflective vest.

Rob stood at the edge of a bluff, overlooking a forested valley. Set in the side of the cliffs on the other side of the valley from him, Rob could see a cave. If the information all those Bothans died for was correct, Rob should find Jim inside the cave. If the information all those Bothans died for was correct, the 10 miles that separated him from that cave were treacherous, and filled with traps. He ran when he could. Large, deep trenches had been dug into the valley floor. The trenches were the work of magic, for only the most powerful magics could have scarred a network of canyons. At times he could jump across the trenches, other times he catapulted from swinging vines to cross the canyons. The journey was difficult, but in time, Rob had traversed the valley and its network of canyons. Crouching behind thick shrubs, Rob could make out the entrance to the cave and he could see that it was guarded. Four powerfully built, but lightly armoured guards stood next to the entrance, two on each side. There was no way he could sneak around or behind the guards, a direct frontal assault was the only thing possible. I wish I had a bow and arrow… he thought. With a sigh, he stepped out from behind the bush and made his way towards the guards. When Rob was about 20 feet away, two guards walked out to meet him. Without word, they attacked. Rob ducked and weaved between blows from their heavy maces. His shield took a pounding while he swung his sword, leaving a red gash in the belly of one of the guards. The injury created a brief window that allowed Rob a chance to step back. It wasn’t long before the guard closed the distance with a furious bellow and he charged. Rob dodged, and just as he was about to bring his sword around, a loud voice boomed: "IT IS FINISHED!" All four guards vanished instantly. Confused and wary, Rob walked into the cave. It was dark, except for a flickering light in the distance. Rob ran. As he got closer, he could see the silhouette of a person slumped on the ground next to the fire. He ran faster, and soon reached the man he assumed was Jungle Jim. He was still breathing, but only barely. “Who….†Jim wheezed, “….are….. you…†he finished slowly. “Never…mind. No…. time… Here…. Take…†and lifted out his hand. Rob reached out his palm to take what it was that Jim wanted to give him, but as he raised his hand, Jim died. Rob quickly grabbed Jim’s hand before it hit the ground. Then there was pain and only dark. In the darkness there was a voice: “Warrior, in death, I gave you my life and all its experiences. The power I held is now yours. Go! You must head to the Island of Light and finish what I started…†Eventually Rob awoke and thought about what Jim’s voice had said. He could make neither heads nor tails of it. He had never heard of the Island of Light and if he did have Jim’s life and all it’s experiences, they still didn’t shed any light on what he needed to finish. One thing he did note, however, is that he felt stronger than he did before. Faster as well. He even felt bigger. Rob was sure that something had happened to him when he touched Jim’s hand, and he knew that he needed to figure out how to use the power Jim had given him – or even what it was. One thing he did know is that his failure to make it here on time had probably cost Jim his life. He wasn’t going to let Jim down again and Rob resolved to figure out what it was that Jim had started and finish it. Or die trying. His best bet for figuring things out was to go back to Jim’s gym and talk to Jim’s guards, so he wasted no time and headed back immediately.

OK, here are my simple goals for the next challenge: 1) Exercise on Monday, Wednesday, Friday: squats, planks, push ups, pull ups, one-legged hip raises - 3 sets each 2) Eat no sweets, sugar, unhealthy snacks etc. Exception: one piece of dark chocolate OR one cappucchino per day. 3) Eat 5 servings of fruits and/or vegetables per day. 4) Write 20 Minutes per day.

The next six weeks are going to be CRAZY. My last day teaching (and working 70 hours a week at two jobs) is tomorrow, which means that I'll be back to working one job (yay normal life!). Then, on June 24th, I am moving to Tanzania for the next two years. Cue chaos. Amidst the chaos and the move and the culture stress bound to ensue, I want to keep in reasonable shape. But I realize that any complex or time-consuming goals simply won't happen. Thus, simple goals. 1). Stick with something I already do. Commute by bicycle to work at least twice a week. 2). Get back on track. Do a simple body-weight routine at least three times a week (10+ pushups, 30s planks, 5+ pull/chin-ups) 3). Mind over matter. Stick to my life goal of reading my Bible every day. No matter how crazy life gets.

Rincewind is best at running for his life. So am I - basically. I do endurance running. But I am pretty weak and I struggle with establishing an exercise routine (and sticking to it) to become stronger and more agile. - So today Rincewind is starting to learn some spells and write them into his magic book. - Will the worst wizzard on earth discworld finally do some magic? This is my first challenge - and I'm pretty late. So here are my small goals for this week. I will give 1 attribute point for each goal - hope that is acceptable? 1) Exercise routine [WIS +1] Write an exercise routine for 3 days strength and 3 days running. 30 to 60 minutes each. Has to be fun. Has to include a lot of variation. Has to be combined with music/youtube/etc to be fun. Consider doing it outdoors. 2) Nutrition plan [CON +1] Create a basic nutrition plan with 5 meals / day. Has to be 100% vegetarian and 80% vegan meals. Eat fresh plants every meal. Consider aspects of paleo. Plan protein consumption. 3) Make it real - make it easy. [WIS +1] Do at least 1 set of exercises w 5 reps following the newly-written routine (1). Eat 5 meals a day (2). Observe my nutrition habits. Take notes. Collect ideas how to make changes. What can I do immediately? What has to be planned? What would be the easiest way to get there? Communicate changes with my wife. 4) Build a support group. [CHA +1] Get in contact with at least 3 people who share my visions. 1 Has to be closer than 10miles to where I live. Los geht's!