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Diet Goal 'Knowing is not enough, we must apply'. — Bruce Lee - Be accountable for my nutrition Respect my intermittent fasting schedule (11:30am - 7:30pm)Track what I eat and drink every day and share it publicly. (myfitnesspal account here)Bad Guys: Coffee AddictionSocial Pressure from Peers I eat withPower-Ups: Green TeaOrigami (Origami replaced Smoking on anxiety-dealing ways list).Future Boost: Performing the 'I Told You So' Dance to my Doctor next time I check on her (I told her I'll weigh less instead of just maintaining my weight).New Smaller Clothes Fitness Goal 'Willing is not enough, we must do.' — Bruce Lee - Be accountable for my workouts Never miss two workouts in a row.Track and share your workouts.Bad Guys: Snooze Button (I train at 4AM)Power-Ups: Two Steps from Hell.Future Boost: New Smaller ClothesMr. Incredible Lifestyle (I want to do that nodding thing in front of the mirror). Martial Arts Goal 'Using no way as a way, having no limitation as limitation.' — Bruce Lee - Be accountable for your training Train at least twice a weekTrain at least once a week with someone elseBad Guys: Willpower Suckers (The things when I get home after work)Power-Ups: My Training PartnersMotivational Videos (like this one)Dojo Rivalry (Someone opened up a TKD "school" in my neighborhood, I can't let that happen).Future Boost: Black BeltMy Dojo Life Goals Bookend my Days ‘Take Pride in your Pregame and your Pregame will take care of you throughout the day'. — Brett McKay (Art of Manliness) I've been following these routines on and off the few last weeks. They set the tone of the rest of my day and when I successfully follow them, everything becomes easier. As the quote says, they take care of me. I just want to make sure I do them religiously and not just occasionally. My Morning Routine: · Wake Up Before Sunrise (4AM) · Drink a Big Glass of Cold Water · Perform Vigorous Calisthenics · Take a Cold Shower · Groom · GTFO 'I Have A Plan... Attack.' — Captain America My Evening Routine: · Write a new entry in my journal · Create a Daily Attack Plan · Yoga · Self-Compassion Meditation · Cool Down Shower · Bedtime Story · Lights Off Bad Guys: Willpower SuckersEvery TV Series that I watch.Power-Up My whole routines are a power-up in themselvesFuture Boost: None, I'll just enjoy the ride. Track all expenses and stick to my budget. 'What am I, some sort of wizard?' — Spezzy Bad Guys: The Neverending List of Useless Crap I Want to BuyPower-Up: "Look at how much you've saved!" ReminderFuture Boost: My Christmas List!

I'm writing my new challenge:

A new challenge! Allow me to begin with a brief update on my life. Last time I wrote to you it was on the eve of a job interview. It was a promising position in my city's Hebrew Social and Sports Club where they have a primary school. It was an opportunity to stay doing what I love (teaching) with great benefits and a very attractive paycheck. It was almost perfect for me and I really really wanted it. I say almost because the school is far from where I live and that implied a deadly commute and a whole new routine. The good news is that I got the job =D but I had to change my whole lifestyle around this new position. My workout, my fasting, my sleep, my study habits... all affected by this new routine. I felt like I was suddenly hurtled into chaos. The fact that I'm starting this thread two days late it's proof enough that keeping up with my healthy habits it's going to be a challenge. So I decided to follow the advice of "an old hag who talks too much" from one of my favorite videogames: Flemeth from Dragon Age. "Hurtled into chaos, you fight... and the world will shake before you." The Challenge is to make sure I stay in track with my healthy habits in spite of the chaos of my new routine. Diet and Fitness Goals Uno: I will keep tracking what I eat and make sure I fast (16-8) on weekdays. Now that I am a productive member of society have a regular paycheck, I can afford healthier food, but with money also comes the possibility to buy and eat whatever I feel like. So I want to make sure I don't fall prey of my anxiety attacks and eat whatever is at hand instead of a healthy choice. Dos: I will follow my workout routine and make sure I train Ninjutsu at least twice a week. My workout routine also changed entirely. I can only workout an hour or two before bedtime and I'm usually low on willpower by then, so it's going to be a challenge to remain on track. Also, mid-challenge I'm traveling to start training for the black belt with my shihan sensei and I want to show him that I'm prepared and ready and not at all rusty and dusty. Tres: I will take care of my willpower levels and make sure I do several things through the day to refresh my mood and willpower. We already know the importance of willpower and I believe without taking care of it, I'm going to fail. So I want to make sure I use these "power-ups" to stay with energy, calmed and with a healthy mood all day. For me, it means Respect my Sleep Routine (Lights off at 10pm - Waking up at 4:00am, Brief nap sometime during the day).Keep a constant practice of yoga and meditation.Remain accountable and share my progress on Nerd Fitness.Keep a tidy, organized and clean environment. (I'm crazy like that). Life Goal Catorce! I will read my assigned readings and make sure I study at least 2 hours every day. After I've returned from the school, all I want to do is sit down and play videogames or watch TV until It's bedtime and my grades and studies are suffering. So this will be also very hard. If I accomplish these things, I can look forward to try new things and to make serious progress in my healthy lifestyle, in my job and in my studies and eventually earn the title of Champion of Kirwall. “There are men who struggle against destiny, and yet achieve only an early grave. There are men who flee destiny, only to have it swallow them whole. And there are men who embrace destiny, and do not show their fear. These are the ones that change the world forever.” ―Flemeth

"Hyaku" -or- "How I stopped being a Hermit" by Spauracchio Since I quit my job last october, I’ve been living like a hermit: barely getting out of my cave ...ehm... room, having fewer possessions, snarling at the sun like a vampire would, etc. Even my friends started to call themselves "Hermits United" as a Doctor Who joke. If I want to move forward, I need to change that. The main theme behind this challenge, as the title suggests, is the number “Hyaku” or “Hundred”. Diet & Fitness Goals 100 Kilometers The Problem: I've got used to the comfort of my bedroom, or as I call it: “My Happy Place”, my place to make the world disappear and recharge batteries (I’m a INTJ if you know what I mean…). That has affected my level of physical activity, since I used to walk a lot, and my level of comfort being outside doing things. The Solution: To get out of my comfort zone and get used to the routes around home and progressively workout outside more. The Plan: to go out and walk at least 3 km per day, three times a week. 100 Repetitions The Problem: No money, no schools fees, no lessons. I gotta train on my own. And sometimes in the midst of my training sessions I over indulge myself with rests or early breaks. The Solution: In the spirit of the famous quote “I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.” I’d practice 100 repetitions of several movements during my martial arts training and only stop after they’re done. I’m including both martial arts in this lists: Wing Chun and Ninjutsu techniques. The Plan: Three times a week: heavy bag drills and katas. Wing Tzun’s Chain Punch Pak Dar, Tan Dar,… (both sides). Ninjutsu’s Sanshin no Kata Ninjutsu’s Kihon Happo Koshi Sanpo Waza. 100 Recipes The Problem: I haven’t got any money to buy groceries, I need a job for that (see bottom). But when I do, I don’t want to lose any time planning meals or looking up for stupid simple recipes or meal ideas. So I’m doing what I can right now to eat healthy. (I keep doing my usual habits of drinking water, tea, no added sugar, fasting, etc… but I didn't want to focus any challenge energy on them… again.). The Solution: Put together a cookbook (hello, evernote food!) of stupid, simple, cheap, fast, healthy, recipes with the ingredients on a side to make meal planning easier. The Plan: 6 weeks, 100 recipes, posted online, saved on evernote and/or dropbox folder. Life Goal Stop being a Hermit: Find a Job. The Problem: No Job, no money, no nothing, niente, nada, zero, kaput. The Solution: Use my superpower (languages) to my benefit and look up for jobs in companies that need multilingual staff. (Airlines, hotels, etc). I could stick to education… but that’d make no difference to my problem stated above. I could explain this more but it’s a very sad a depressing story, so I’ll just wave my hand and say: wibbly wobbly “developing country” wimey. The Plan: Open my address book. Collect some debts and favors. Call some friends. Update resume. Sell my ninja skills to the highest paying shogun. Do whatever it takes to find a job before this challenge ends. Ready or not, Here I come!

New Year, New Inspiration. During this year I'll work very hard to turn my life into an RPG - something between Dragon Age and Assassin's Creed - and focus on level up in my Epic Quest - which is being reviewed and rewritten - and I'll use these 6 week challenge to evaluate and keep myself in track. This challenge's theme is: travel. =D Inspired by the adventures of a hobbit I'll get off my comfy chair and go out on adventures and visit old ninja friends and masters but I don't want to give you any spoilers so let's get to it and see the goals. Diet / Fitness Goals Persevere. I've been struggling to keep in the old habits. Eating clean and working out. I do it, but not with enough consistency and discipline. Since last challenge I've been looking for ways to work on this and when I read about an productivity advice from Jerry Seinfeld in one of my favorite websites I knew I had found it. Something very similar helped me when I quit smoking, I gained momentum and then I simply didn't want to smoke because I didn't want to start counting again. So, what's this goal all about? Simply, I'm not breaking the chain. I want to be like one of those japanese villagers you see in The Last Samurai, remember? So every day, from the moment I wake up, I'll devote myself to my goal. The idea is simply sticking to my workouts and to my diet but I'll also focus on doing at least one thing to approach that goal. Stick to my workout, eat clean, drink green tea, drink a couple of tablespoons of coconut oil, take the stairs, drinks lots of water. At the end of the day I'll be able to say "I did _______ in order to lose some weight". To read more about this long-term goal, go to my 2013 Epic Quest post [title and link TBA] Travel. So, most of you know I'm training Wing Tzun on the weekends but I also train Ninjutsu. The thing is, my sensei lives far away and his nearest dojo is at least three hours away from me. That, of course, has slowed my ninja training which worries me since I dream of becoming a ninja master and opening my own dojo. I've also trained with some amazing people who live around the country, and I've been invited to visit them and train with them but I've postponed so many times already and I'm changing that. Why can't you get another instructor, Shogun? You ask. Well, would Luke choose another instructor over Yoda, or over Obi Wan? Of course not. There are some instructors in my city, but no one like this guy. So, I'm travelling at least twice a month to train outside my city, visiting my master or old training partners. This would represent quite a challenge, specially considering the "not breaking the chain" thing. Social. I'm getting out of the Monks Guild and knowing the rest of the Rebellion as well as I know you. I'm participating more and being more involved with the Monks Guild. I'm also telling my friends and family about my goals, thus increasing the fear of failure and eliciting support. I'm creating a battle log in Nerd Fitness and tracking in Google drive also, so I can get some amazing graphs later. The idea is not keeping my goals to myself. So, I'm telling people about my goals and I'm participating with at least three post in NF forums outside the Monks Guild every day. Also I'm posting in every thread inside the Monks Guild at least once a week. Life Goal Unplug. You may not know this, but my computer broke down... again. If you think that making tracking and socializing workouts a goal without a computer you clearly don't know how Monks are. Don't you remember the little Monk who trained jumping out of the pit with weights on his legs? When he took off the weights his jumping skills were out of this world. Same thing here. Oh yeah! my goal... Since my computer is gone. I noticed I've been more productive and doing more things I enjoy for longer periods of time also. Reading, Meditating, Writing, Origami, Obssesive planning and cleaning (I'm that crazy, shut up). I don't want to lose all those things when I get my computer back, so I'll work on those habits so when I get my pc back I keep doing them and from more than mere minutes. I'm doing at least one of these things for more than 15 minutes every day. Mmm... I should make "write shorter challenge posts" a goal. Monks, Allons-y!