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I have thought about how to get out of my funk and found an easy cure: new beginnings are what I live for. so today I start a new challenge. the game is to get out of different wards in a hospital, win and move in with the girls or lose and dissolve slowly at "Shady Pines" orthopedic goals: walk a minimum of 30km each week. Do this just like last challenge, by hiking 2 to 3 times with dogs and friend and moving the dog daily. do an early evening session 3x/week of the NF bw circuit or kettlebell workout. I may be alternating those ... psychiatric goals ( addictions): back to the old game of limiting the cigarettes to 25 each day. bonus if I get down to 20 again! have 2 alcohol free nights per week, 5 days with little to moderate drinking 1-3 glasses of bubbly/wine eat veggies daily and stay in your caloric budget. neurological goals ( brain function ) do Duolingo French every day whenever you feel upset or hyper: meditate sleep 9 hours/ night ( this might seem a lot but Im taking medication that makes this necessary ) the cafeteria and garden goals: do something fun and creative 3x/week.. keep looking for a creative project tend to your garden see you guys tomorrow! ❤️

Hi Everyone. Been lurking for a while. Decided I wouldn't join until I chucked my vape. I smoked for years. Then I went to vaping. Vaped for years. Then I switched from 18mg of nicotine to 12. Then from 12 to 6 three months later and then from 6 to 3mg. Then on to zero! 15 months all told from "Reduce" to "Quit". I've been nicotine free for 4 months as of today. The mechanical habit has also really dried up as well since going zero. A week ago I decided that today would be a logical day to give it all up, even if it was nic free. Chucked my kit in the trash ten minutes ago with pride and confidence. Next Up: Cutting back on the salt and getting my BP to a respectable number. -Cy Jefferson County, Colorado

Hi there. Hope to receive some help. Will tell you my short story. I was a heavy smoker and one day I've decided to give up that habit. It was 2 weeks ago. I was doing my best to manage, but now I'm almost on the verge of a nervous breakdown. I became too nervous and too irritating. I started eating too much, but then I've realized that I didn't want to be fat and ugly. I decided to go to the gym to leave my energy and bad emotions somewhere. BUt guess what? I came to the gym with vape. One of my friends recommended it to me and I thought it would be a good alternative not to smoke cigarettes, and not being so aggressive. But the administration of this sport club made me leave this place. They didn't allow me to be there with vape. Is that forbidden? Then I started googling it and found this article - https://vapingdaily.com/health/ I've seen a lot of people vaping in public places, but why I was not allowed? Or maybe someone can recommend me another way of quitting smoking without vape? Would be grateful for any help.

Greetings! Just finished reading up on this 4 Week Challenge plan, so let’s give it a shot. First, a quick introduction. I posted earlier in ‘Rebel Introductions’, so I’ll try to keep this short and sweet. My name’s Chris. I’m (almost) 32 years old. Currently active duty military in the Navy. Looking to shed some weight and become a legitimate parkour athlete. Currently catching up on “Game of Thrones” (NO SPOILERS!!! I’m only halfway through season 5.) Replaying “Horizon: Zero Dawn” to get ready for the new DLC. And working my way through “The Wheel of Time” series (NO SPOILERS!!! I’m only on book 4.) Anyways, here’s the 4 goals I’ve set for myself during this upcoming challenge and how I’m going to meet them. LOSE 10 POUNDS Track every meal I eat in my Fitbit app, using it to calculate calories so I’m at least -1000 calories each day. Avoid processed food as much as possible by buying as much local and organic stuff as is available. (I’m very fortunate to live somewhere that makes this pretty easy.) Follow the NF workout plan to workout every other day (After taking the fitness level test, I’m currently on Level 3.) Take nightly walks through the neighborhood with my wife (weather permitting). Avoiding liquid calories by drinking water (I cheat a little by having a glass of milk a day.) Weighing and measuring myself weekly, along with taking progress photos. Log every workout in detail to keep track of how I’m doing. Take on BERSERXES THE SQUAT KING at the end of the 4 weeks. (I don’t even care if I fail. I just want to see where I’m at by then.) QUIT SMOKING (I’ve tried cold turkey, and it never sticks.) Week One: Limit myself to 8 cigarettes a day. Week Two: Limit myself to 6 cigarettes a day. Week Three: Limit myself to 4 cigarettes a day. Week Four: Limit myself to 2 cigarettes a day. Join the Navy’s Smoking Cessation Program (May or may not be possible depending on my schedule at my new command.) Carry a box of toothpicks with me to chew on when I get cravings and have used up my cigarette allotment for the day. START A RETIREMENT PLAN Speak to a Command Financial Specialist after reporting to my next command. Sit down with my wife to go over our finances, and speak to a financial advisor to help us determine how much to put away and where. Come up with a budget and figure out where to cut costs. MAKE PROGRESS ON THE NOVEL I’VE BEEN TRYING TO WRITE SINCE I WAS 5 (Yes, 5. I’ve had this idea for nearly 27 years.) Watch one less episode of TV a night and use the available time for writing. During each writing session, reach 500 new words written. Stop obsessing over getting the perfect opening scene and just write the damn thing. If I hit a roadblock and can’t figure out where to take the story, work on the backstory for any of the characters. Figure out which actor would play each character if it were a movie/TV show (It sounds dumb, but I’m a huge movie nerd, and “casting” the character can actually help me write them.) CLEAN THE APARTMENT Clean for at least half an hour each day. Always clean dishes as I use them. Empty the dishwasher every day. After doing laundry, fold the clothes as soon as they’re done in the drier and put them away. Sweep the main traffic areas of the apartment once a day. Divide the apartment into four quadrants, and have one cleaned and organized per my liking at the end of each week. And that should do it. I’ll start officially tracking my progress on Monday, just because it makes the most sense with my work schedule. I have no idea how often I’ll update my progress on here. This is probably going to sound weird to some people, but this is literally the first forum I’ve ever posted on, so I’m getting used to it. I prefer to sit back and watch the internet from the sidelines. Wish me luck! Chris

Duhigg's habit formation process has been working extremely well for me. So far, I have achieved: KH1: Exercise 7 days/wk. Never missed a day since 11/17/16 KH2: No M (Something private). Kept everyday since 12/28/16 KH3: No RR (road rage). Kept everyday since 02/07/17 Although the above habits were difficult and all required a lot of effort, they pale in difficulty next to my biggest demon, which is smoking. KH4 will be the keystone habit of NOS (no smoking). I quit smoking on Mar 7, 2017 and I will be using this challenge to keep my focus on ensuring that I do not start again. With smoking, its all or nothing, and smoking once is total failure. Keystone Habit Development KH4 - NOS: No Smoking Secondary Goals Although the Keystone Habit development process mandates working on only 1 major change at a time, I will be including some low effort secondary goals as part of my challenge. These are either past KH's that I just want to monitor as a way to continue embedding the habits in my mind, or shorter term projects that I have already been doing for some time. KH1 - Daily exercise KH2 - No M KH3 - No RR Salads 5/wk min (low effort, I already eat more than this, just want to make sure I don't slip off) Night time crap - No goal, just log result here regarding how many nights/wk I do not eat crap. Just doing this to get the subconscious working on this issue. VBA - Spend at least 5min 5days/wk learning VBA coding In order to avoid confusion, please note. For changing lifestyle habits, I strongly believe in working on only 1 major focus at a time. The secondary goals included above are designed to be very low effort. The first 3 are previous KH's that I have already worked on for between 1 month for the most recent to 4 months for the oldest. However, in order for a habit to become as automatic as brushing your teeth every morning, it can requires months of monitoring to ensure the habit becomes a fully embedded routine in the brain.

Although it's the fall season, in terms of phases of my life, I've realized I've been in a season where I've done a shitty job taking care of myself. Not physically, my lifting goals are chugging along, and while diet can always be more consistent (might sneak a goal in on that front actually), apparently there's more to being a whole and healthy person than picking up iron bars and putting them down again (sounds wrong, I know, personal worth and your wilks score are supposed to be interchangeable!). This month I'll be channeling my inner hobbit because those guys have life figured out. Apples, good conversations, fried mushrooms and a great pipe tobacco - plus they're so short they should be able to easily squat 2x bodyweight! Write like Bilbo - he may have sucked at picking book titles ("there and back again"? Bet he would have named the Hunger games, "shooty girl accidentally starts revolution"), but he sure wrote up a storm. Between journaling and working on creative writing, I'm aiming for 1000 words a week. Best if that can be a daily 100-200 count, but life happens and no sweat if I churn it out in one catch-up day. Eat like Fatty Bolger - unlike Mr Fredegar, I don't have the luxury of Saruman taking over my community and forcing me on starvation rations to make my cutting efforts successful. Instead, the part of the fallen Maia will be played by MFP, and my challenge is just to log every day. My diet is fairly monotonous, i still tend to space on logging (user name is laghail on MFP). Maybe once my cut is over, Frodo will show up and scour my local Merry-olde-England-lite pastoral community from the tyranny of mechanized industrial development, in an distended metaphor about how you can never go home. Might be a tall order. Meditate better than Frodo - I think Elijah Wood nailed the brooding pensive nature of Frodo. Poor chap was obsessed with his doomed wish to live in the shire and his inevitable exile haunted him throughout the tale. To do one better than Mr Frodo, I'll be using the app Calm and Alan Klima's material to meditate 5 mins in the morning, and 15 mins at night. I'd speculate on how I'll doubtless reach a grey haven-like enlightenment by the end of the challenge, but that seems equal parts certain and gauche. Yoga like Sam - remember the disjointed scene in the return of the king, where Sam deals with Shelob, then dons a set of luluemon leggings and goes through a series of yoga poses to deal with his homoerotic angst over poor naked Mr Frodo? Yeah, that was an odd little section, probably for the best when they cut it from the movie. But like Sam, I'll be practicing yoga twice a week at least. Smoke like Pippin - not only did Peregrin Took have a dope ass name, he also smoked a mean pipe. Part of self care is recognizing I need to enjoy life instead of just rushing to keep up with my schedule. One leisurely pipe bowl of tobacco a week. If I have a dog leash or a book in hand while i do so, bonus points, but purposeful enjoyment of a relaxing hobby, and it makes me more like Pippin? #WWPD? Be stuck up like Lobelia Sackville-Bagginses - Bilbao's grasping cousin that was so haughty that Frodo would don the one ring just to escape. But the one thing about arrogant know it alls, they have great back health. The stiff posture, the nose in the air; their spine alignment must be fantastic. I'll be going in for weekly chiropractic adjustments (since they're fully covered) to get a bit more Lobelia in my life. Based on past experience, I need to post every day or I'm not going to get much out of the challenge process. I'll be brushing up on my gif game for sure.

So I'm finally posting my new challenge! I've already started today, but finishing the last one yesterday buggered up the preparation side somewhat. So without further ado.... Why have one festival themed challenge when you can have two? At the end of week 1 I'm off to Ramblin' Man Fair: Not a camping weekend this time, just two day tickets, so shouldn't be quite such a pause in my goals for this. I love a bit of classic rock and prog, so this should be a great weekend out with my Dad. To Goals! The Final Countdown - 25XP What? Finally counting down my smoking, to be virtually smoke free by the time the next challenge rolls around. Why? I'm sick of not being able to keep up with people, be it walking, swimming or manual work, because I've spent the past 11 years deliberately destroying my lung capacity. I'm also training for an OCR at the start of October, and running training and smoking do not mix. How? Follow these rules: No smoking at work At last challenge, no smoking at home, at the gym (or climbing gym) or in the car Count how many cigarettes I have and track on here This should mean that I have several completely smoke free days throughout the month, and only really smoke socially. I have however set the XP really high as I'm expecting to fail a fair bit whilst I adjust. Still of the Night - 10XP What? Get to bed at a sensible time, and get up at a sensible time too Why? Because I need sleep to recover from workouts and get stronger, not to mention to keep me sane and awake at work. And I hate sleeping in and rushing or feeling like I've wasted half a day. How? Every night I will be in bed by 11pm, or within 1 hour of getting home, whichever later. No more "up to bed at..." though, must be in bed, lights off, by that time. Workday mornings I will be out of bed by 7am. Punishment: I will do 1 burpee for every 5 minutes late I get to bed, 1 burpee for every 5 minutes late getting up, 5 burpees for every time I hit snooze and 20 burpees if I turn my alarm off and go back to sleep. Seen this work for a couple of people, so hopefully it'll work for me too. Runnin' Wild - 15XP I forgot Lemmy drives the truck in that video... What? Get in some running training in preparation for the OCR. Why? In preparation for the OCR, I just told you! It's 14km, I want to make sure I complete it, and hopefully complete it without too much injury. And the futhest I've run in one go is 5 miles, so definitely going to need a lot of training. How? Stick to the Runkeeper plan I'm currently working on - usually means running 4 times per week on days beginning with T and S. Blind Man - 5XP What? Track weight and body fat % weekly. Why? I'm not currently calorie/diet tracking, or sticking to any sort of plan. I'm just trying to eat sensibly intuitively. So if I'm not tracking what's going in, I at least need to keep an eye on the result, otherwise I'm blind to it (see, the song totally fits). How? Sunday nights, before bed, weigh self and then measure self and input into this handy spreadsheet. (Not my work, all credit to @Geek On Fire for making this). Killer on the Loose - 10XP What? Keep up strength training the the gym and bouldering. Why? Because I want a level of functional strength that I'm never held back from enjoying myself by my body. Plus the aforementioned OCR, the bouldering particularly will help with that. And because it's fun. And of course to look good naked . How? 2 sessions minimum in the gym or bouldering per week. Bonus: +5XP for 12 sessions in the challenge. A Better Man - 15XP What? Sort myself out to sort my house out (or vice versa?). Why? Because tidy house tidy mind, and also it would be nice to be able to have friends round without worrying about the state of the place. And hopefully if I keep on top of the simple things it will make my life easier. How? Do the following every week: Clean kitchen or clean bathroom Hoover either downstairs or upstairs At least 20 minutes tidying a room Run a load of washing at the weekend, and put out to dry Prep breakfasts on a Sunday (preferably for the whole week) Housekeeping: I expect to find some loopholes in my challenges as I work through - I will enjoy them for the week and then all known loopholes to be closed on Mondays. Expect profanity, long rambling stories and a lot of Pokémon GO! in this thread. Please feel free to join in with any of these. All units may be in metric or imperial, SI or non-SI, Gregorian, Julian or Aramaeic, Lunar, Solar or Nebular, or just plain made up. So that's pretty much all from me, lets rock on with this one!

Officially met the bench mark of 1 month of NOS (No Smoking). Mar 11 - April 11 How I did it: 1) Built up a bunch of small successes unrelated to smoking in the 3 months prior to my quit. Most of these were fitness related. That built up my confidence. 2) Started taking Wellbutrin. Not sure how big an affect this had. I tried it before and failed to quit. But I was using it this time so it probably helped. 3) Committed to quitting and stayed focused. Decided this was my only measure of success for the last month. Everything in life was second to this. 4) Although I did not join it, I when to whyquit.com quite often for inspiration, information, and just to see I was not alone in the struggle. I strongly recommend anyone quitting to use this site whether they join or not. It's the most informative site their is and is totally nonprofit which means its not influenced by drug companies trying to sell NRT. (although whyquit.com advocates not using any drugs to quit) 5) Whenever I was having overwhelming urges or particularly hard struggles, I came here to distract myself and get refocused. Endlessly whined on my challenge thread and battle log about the struggle (and will continue to do so as needed). This helped distract me and got me through the constant urges and helped me say no to that consistent voice in my head saying "just 1 more". 6) Got support from others on NF. Just knowing others were reading my threads and giving me feedback was a huge help. Thanks to all for your support. I mean it when I say I would not have gotten here w/o you. Now I must be even more diligent. Reaching a milestone is cause for celebration, but can lead to dropping your guard (and the dark part of your mind will use it to suggest you deserve a reward or you can handle the occasional smoke now). Milestones are great, but as a nicotene addict, I have to remember "one day at a time". Some days will be good, some days will be a real fight. But everyday will be free from nicotene. How I looked at cigarettes on Day 0 of NOS: Me on day 3 of NOS: Me now: (Unfortunately I've picked up a new habit. I've started posting gif's.)

Well, I was doing pretty well on the "not smoking" front, but it's exam week and I was really jonesing for one...or a whole pack. I'm giving myself until the end of my semester on Friday to smoke, and then it's over! Forever! I'm getting rid of my lighters, I'm not buying more cigarettes, it's just not going to happen. But it's hard!

So I figured since I have been dorking around on this site a whilke it is time to make a log and put a little solidarity to my goals. I have a tendancy to be flighty A little back story... I spent almost 3 years working steady night shift and fully living on nights. I usually spent my off days in my basement playing games so as to not wake the rest of the house. I also have a very very sedentary job, like I can't believe they pay me to be here sedentary. So all those factors led to me being very weak, out of shape and flabby. Back in March 2014 I had my moment when I had to dig some petrified ash out of a very small firepit. 5 minutes pounding a dig/tamp bar had me hurting bad for days, and I used to use this thing daily for my old job. I have never been inclined towards fitness my whole life. Before school, I always worked physical jobs or was forced to exercise in the military and kept in good enough shape, so I was starting from (mostly) absolute scratch! So I tried P90X3 and hated it, Focus T25 and really hated it (Shaun T really aggravates me lol) and got into weight training. I started on Strong lifts and really enjoyed it but about 5 months in I hadalready had a real good left shoulder injury and a couple small right shoulder injuries from piss poor bench press form. Now I'm back on the wagon with a gymnastic ring training program and using free weights for lower body work. I have been using the rings for about a month for pull/chin ups reverserows and dips, but today I started the Gold Medal Bodies Rings One program. I also got my copy of Allen Carr's Easy Way to Stop Smoking today and really hope this works. Short Term Goals stop smoking...forever get below 20% BF 20 strict ring pull ups...at 5 currently lol Long Term Goals finish Rings 1 and 2 without being a punk or running towards a new shiney get below 15% BF Longer Term Goals I'll reassess that a year from now lol Stats Height : 5'7" starting weight : 167 current weight :161 starting BF% 27ish Current BF% 22ish ( guessing off pictures of other peoples BF% )

I had been a smoker for about 4 years, a pack a week until about six months ago. My religion was telling me to take better care of myself and I listened. With my own strong will, I stopped smoking cold turkey on December 21st. I'm pretty darn proud of myself!

About the time I started working at McDonald's, I suddenly lost the desire to drink pop. I've been sticking with it ever since. I quit smoking much the same way a few years ago. I've also started eating salads at work for my employee meal. I've just been levelling up all over.the place! I finally.checked my credit score, and this month will be my first payment towards play tuition so I can go back to school. Guess.who feels like a real grown-up?

I half-failed in my previous attempt at a 6 week challenge, I stopped completely after about a week when people started cutting into my workout times. I think I was trying to move too fast, too soon. However, it wasn't all for nothing. In the time since I began my first quest, I have partially achieved some of my goals. 1. I have dramatically cut down my smoking to about 7 cigarettes per day. This may seem like a lot, but a month ago on August 13th, I was smoking a pack and a half to two a day. That is equivalent to 30-40 cigarettes in a 24 hour period. and 2. I did not drink pop or eat junk food during my challenge. This is considered a win. Didn't even miss them. However, with the exception of the first two days, I still only eat once per day. I hear the phrase all the time "Just eat when you're hungry". But that only happens once a day. A Special K bar and I'm good for at least 8 hours. Not healthy, and considered a failure from me. Main Quest - My main quest is, in the next few months, that I want to reduce the stress I hold in, and finish laying the ground work that my previous challenge started. Quest 1: Quit smoking (take 2) I still smoke. But I believe quitting has become an achievable goal. I will still grade this pass/fail, but it will be determined on whether or not I am still smoking at the end of the 6 weeks or not rather than the second I put one to my lips.. Quest 2: Exercising Beginner Training For Parkour (MWF) Follow suggested routine according to the article to the best of my ability. Just the beginner's parkour this time. The everyday training last time made me lose motivation because my schedule felt so full. I am a beginner. I need to slow down and try not to take everything on all at once. Grading will depend on whether or not I stick to it, and how many days I am able to work out in the time remaining. Still no pull up bar in my home, however I will replace that with more push ups and stretches with my pilates bands to compensate. Quest 3: Breakfast, Lunch Dinner Eat 3 smaller meals. Whether I'm hungry or not, I never eat breakfast. Something as simple as a hard boiled egg can go a long way to fixing my eating schedule. Will be graded on how many times per week I am successful. Life Side Quest: Tone down procrastination. I am a heavy procrastinator. I know I'm not the only one. My goal with this quest is to do some of the things that I've been putting off to make my life better. These things are: 1. Get a job. 2. Spend more time with my dad. (I only visit him 1-2 times a month and I really should get to know him better. Parents had a messy divorce that, 10 years later still affects me, my parents, and my 3 siblings.) 3. Clean my room. (and keep it clean) 4. (Unfortunately) put my black cat Nero up for adoption. I can't afford to feed him for very much longer. 5. Write at least 2 chapters of my novel idea. 6. Start and finish the halbred for my Denmark Cosplay. Motivation: Youmacon is on Halloween. I want to be able to go there and be able to walk around the convention without getting winded, or be tempted to just run into the fast food joints and scarf down a ton of dollar cheese burgers. I am stronger than that. Height: 5'7" Weight: 230lbs Hip: 49.5 inches Bust: 47 inches Waist: 39 inches Neck: 14 inches Pants size: 16

So about 6 weeks ago I decided to actually do something about the way I looked and felt - for real this time. - Joined a gym through awesome discount at job (works out to about $24 per month with a rebate, which is fricking fantastic in NYC) and have been going at least twice a week, if not 3-4 times. May not be the highest intensity workout ever, but at least I'm not sitting on my ass. - Made it a thing to eat all my CSA veggies and generally eat less crap and take out (especially for lunch). - And probably most importantly, I quit smoking. From a pack a day to an e-cig to nothing at all. And I haven't stabbed anyone, which is a major plus considering it's a 17 year habit (which is really freaky to write down actually!!). So how am I doing? I feel pretty good with my fitness level - did a charity walk/family event last weekend where I was on my feet for at least 8 miles per my semi-trusty pedometer in one morning which kicked my ass in years past, but was completely fine to go to gym the next day. No smoking and breathing is better, and the weird smokers hacking cough is dying down. Been pretty good about bringing my lunch to work, eating breakfast and all that jazz. Honestly, I ate like crap for a few days through the worst of the wanting to smoke. And I'm still not eating 100% perfect all the time but the past few weeks or so have been fairly good and better than I was before this whole thing happened. But... I'm gaining weight. Pretty sure this is some weird smoking metabolism side effect thing, but it's totally not cool. Trying to be patient and see what happens in a month or so, but really really frustrated right now. So feeling healthier, no smoking, but gaining weight.... 2 out of 3 counts?

I'm new today I just joined the Rebellion today after following the blog for a few weeks. I am a science teacher in London so a total nerd, although I have an active social life. I have was motivated to do something about my health as I have started to become a heavier and heavier smoker, and after 10 years of smoking I wanted to destroy that filthy habit but wanted to focus on exercise and diet that would keep my metabolism up (it drops when you quit smoking). I hate the quit smoking websites as they are all about "NOT SMOKING" (its impossible to keep trying NOT to do something without focusing on something else), and to be honest I wanted to think about positive goals that I could distract myself with. I also broke my leg last year (I drunkenly jumped over a wheely bin and broke my fibula) and that meant I stopped exercising for a LONG TIME. I made excuses to myself the whole time, and I ended up drinking and smoking too much. The ending was that I gained about 22lb heavier than my original weight in only a few months. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! I quit smoking almost a month ago, and every time I feel like I want a smoke I eat LOADS of vegetables or lean meat to fill me up (close to a full Paleo diet, but occasionally I like toast, or a burger!), or I run, do press-ups, planks etc. I know have more motivation than I ever have done as I feel I have SO MUCH MORE ENERGY... can't wait to try the six week challenge. Like to see myself as a slightly chubby LINK from the Legend of Zelda... a massive underdog but with the Triforce of Courage, anything is possible. Looking for tips for good fitness / achievement goals. Please share with me. Alex

This is my first challenge, looking to -kick smoking, -get back into a bodyweight routine 3 times a week, -get back on the paleo dietPretty big goals to be taking all on at once but hoping to find a good accountabuddy to help aswell as encourage other adventurers. Living and working in South London, UK STARTING POINT STATS:Weight: 77kgHeight: 5'8"Max Reps: Push ups x20, chin ups x5, plank 4 minutesCigarettes (daily): x15Cigarettes (my girlfriend): x10Photos: (will up load this week)Diet: Very un-paleoEND GOALS: Weight: 70kg Height: 5'8" (wish I could get taller!!) Max Reps: Push ups x30, chin ups x8, plank 6 minutes Cigarettes (daily): x0 Cigarettes (my girlfriend): x0 Photos: (will up load at end) Diet: Pure Paleo My story: I know I can do this because I've done it before. I started a paleo diet and exercise regime in January, I wasn't even smoking then. I did really well and reached my end goals after 7 weeks. Once I did I just stopped exercising, and stopped paleo and started smoking again! Not sure why!! I had managed to kick smoking in February 2012 after my GF had a lung operation but since she has recovered she started smoking again and by March this year I started again. Half initially in order to guilt trip her into stopping too but this didnt work and now I'm a smoker again. On top of this challenge i would like to convince my GF to quit as well, this will be TOUGH. I look forwards to meeting some inspiring and fun people and also to hit my healthy goals again. --DIREKTOUR starting point. Whatever you want to include here - weight, height, starting lifts, photos (you should take photos even if you do not post them!)Your goalsHow you plan to achieve those goals over the next 6 weeks.

Hey folks! Not sure if it's an appropriate 'woot topic' seeing as I haven't technically achieved anything but I'm feeling good about it... Aside from the 'Woot-factor' of just having joined NerdFitness and taking the steps to improve my life in the last couple of days... I just quit smoking *dances* Cheers, Jimmy.

So here we are ... I've pressed start, I've created my character, I've read the game manual ... Time to get started! What's this? A tutorial level?! But I want to start NOW. Tutorial Quest #1: Consume With Intent (+2 WIS, +1 STA) My bag slots are not limitless, and I must consider carefully before eating and drinking. I'm tracking my reasons for eating (irrespective of the calorie count). To determine why I eat and when I eat, I'm asking myself the following questions. At the end, I'll have a comprehensive log of when and why I'm consuming my resources. Am I hungry?Is this a scheduled meal/snack time? (I do best when I eat regularly at the same time every day)Am I eating for pleasure?Am I self-medicating? (Also known as "emotional eating," but I dislike the negative connotation of the term)Am I having a craving?Tutorial Quest #2: Rehab (Stretch & Strengthen Feet x2/week) (+5 STR) I'm usually a dancer, but I've recently had problems with both tendonitis and plantar fascitis that's taken me off my feet. I desperately want to return to dancing, so I need to work on both stretching and strengthening the muscles, tendons, and tissue in my feet. Tutorial Quest #3: Practice with your weapons (Beginner's Bodyweight Workout X2/week) (+3 STA) Bodyweight training is not my specialty. In fact, I kind of dislike it. But since I can't currently do any of the things I do like, I'm going to do this. Hopefully, I'll be a stronger and better balanced dancer when I go back. I'm modifying it slightly by doing "stepping jumping jacks," since jumping is definitely something my body doesn't like. Tutorial Quest #4: Preview the End Boss (+4 WIS) Some day, and it will be a "soon" someday, I will quit smoking. I've tried numerous ways, and none have been successful in the long-term. After evaluating everything I've done, I think it's because basic level programs ignore my personal challenges. But to actually take those into account, I need to figure out what those are. A simple brainstorming list of triggers isn't cutting it for me - need moar dataz! I'll be tracking the following things: Date and time I smokeWhy I think I'm smoking that timeHow I'm feelingStrategies to defeat that particular urgeMy Secret Weapons Have It Everywhere: I've got my super tracking sheet in Google Drive. I can update my tracking on my PC, at work, on my phone, on my tablet ... there's no way I'm more than 3 feet from being able to track. Excuse busted!Track Proactively, Not Reactively: In the past, I've often "forgotten" to track things. I think "oh, I'll track that later," and when I get to the end of the day, I've forgotten so much of it that I feel discouraged. This time, I track first. Lunch time? Take 2 minutes to update while leftovers are heating. Having a cigarette craving? Write it down and then go outside. Not only will it help me track, it will make me actually think about what I'm doing.YOU! Yes, you're my secret weapon. I have to come back here and report, right? I see how well everyone is doing on their goals, and I'd hate to be the lone spot of blackness and having to come in here and report "uh, um, I didn't track." Worse yet, I don't want to disappear. So y'all have my permission - nay, my encouragement, to poke me if you don't see me on here for a few days. True to form, I already have a detailed spreadsheet set up to track all of this. It makes me all warm and fuzzy to make lists and spreadsheets, and it ensures that my goals are actually measurable. If I can't put in on a spreadsheet, it might not actually be a quantifiable goal. I'm feeling pretty good about these, even though it's frustrating resisting the urge to start by doing too much. Yeah, I know my weakness.