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A very busy April through May made challenging, and even hanging out here with any regularity or focus, a pretty daunting task. So I sort of loosely hung out, updating my own thread just to keep somewhat in the habit- but otherwise fell off the NF boat! But I think I am ready to return. There's nothing too out of the ordinary planned until mid to end of July so I think I can get back into a good routine. Which actually - is not to say that my past weeks have been terrible. I weighed 5lbs on Thursday of last week, than I did on the Friday before my vacation started in April. And I did this without tracking cals in or out, just getting outside to walk and run whenever I could, and eating normal work foods and snacks and not pigging out when I ate out. So I think I am kinda doing the Intuitive Eating thing (though I never did finish the book and at this point, can't really see myself cranking out the last 80 pages or so.) Anyway! ON TO NEW AND BRIGHTER THINGS! I just finished Acen weekend, so my anime mood is very high! But my D&D floon never leaves. However, it is also summer-ish and so ALL OF TEH OUTSIDE GLORIOUSNESS! First ... a message from our sponsor, the 3 H's of Full Metal Alchemist. Hohenheim, Hughes and Hawkeye. So yeah that turned out awesome and fun! One of my all time favorite characters from one of only a handful of anime's that have earned a 10/10 rating from me! Now onto what the heck we're doing here this challenge. Step 1) Do the Challenge! * Like, make up some goals. Track the goals. Show up and post about it. And follow your herd! Step 2) Do things that make you gooder! * Don't stress about perfection. Do the little things every day that add up. Step 3) Profit. Goal #1 Exercise and Body Goodness I love the feeling I have when I am not being a lazy poof. The trouble is, I am not super good at talking myself up and into action, when the poofness has hit ultra levels. Basically, suns out guns out is quite accurate for me, and I am often motivated to get outside, walk, run, bike, do something! But when it rains or is cold and cloudy? So Goal #1 is to NOT be like Mustang on a rainy day. Be like Hawkeye. My strength training has really slacked off - to the point that I am going to have to start from scratch. Rather than do the things I was doing and likely feel terrible about lost progress... AND because I will want to be able to be outside in the sun even if it's a "strength day" - I am going to get into some full on body weight, calisthenics, yoga, etc training for my strength. That's where you peeps come in. I need some suggestions on what where who and why. Overall Goal: 5x a week, do stuff. Be move-y, bend-y, lift-y, pull-y, push-y. Just get out there, with intention and do things that keep the body in a state of progressing, rather than regressing. Goal #2 Food are friends, not fish. Wait... what? Keep up with the UN-war on food. I've been doing really well with just being a person who eats because that's what persons do, and not going bonkers. I still have the places and times and moments that are super hurdles. (Do not bring Jewel brand soft baked cookies near me. Just.. don't.) There's not a great way to track this because as soon as you start reporting in with any detail on what you did or didn't eat... well you're back to treating food like a THINGUS, instead of just a thing. So this goal is more just me admitting up front, that I am working on this, and the updates likely won't be more than 'Food was on fleek' or 'Had a hang up at this moment, will adjust next time by <insert ideas>.' Goal #3 Keep learning. Never stop playing. Be silly. Art and D&D and other avenues of creativity and brain happy activities. Do them. As often as you can, and want to. But don't force them past the healthy level of routine building insistence. I am really still enjoying art, and want to continue to get better. I've gotten and have always been, lazy in regard to taking next steps on educating myself in this. I mean, Raxie loves to dance, and can do a lot of dancing on her own, and she's glorious at it ... but she seeks lessons and instruction to improve her technique- which will allow her to be better even still on her own! So I need to start poking at resources that will REALLY REALLY show me how to do what I'd like to do. That might even involve finding a class at a community college, or an online course that I ACTUALLY SIT THROUGH AND DO! Art 4x a week - because that's not a crazy goal, and because sometimes I can talk myself out of it easily, even if I would super enjoy it once I settle down. If I absolutely have a brain day that sucks, and feel no creative juice... don't force it. D&D prep will be a thing to, but more of an: Eh, when the ideas strike roll with it. But don't over burden yourself with prep so that it becomes unfun. Reading. Do it. You have come to really enjoy it. Don't fall out of this new habit. Goal #4 Get super serious about Finances. Goal : Become a Home Owner This is terrifying and exciting. But the thing I can do right now, that won't induce stress comas, is get the finances into a pseudo mortgage situation and see what becomes feasible livable and where my monies are going. This task will have side tasks that are mostly one and done, but will be tracked here. Basically... get ready to jump the nest. Hopefully, less dramatically than this. ^

say that five times fast ;-) In a nutshell-- I lost major CON points while at grad school, so I'd like to build back up my energy and strength in order to return my zest for life! This summer I have the free time and the motivation and everything is bright and beautiful again, so I am harnessing this potential for self-improvement! [Grad school was worth it, for sure, but dear god for anyone considering it you had better be sure you want to go through with it before applying. I have always been an excellent student, but grad school kicked my f**king ass.] I joined in late last time, completed three weeks of my challenge, and plan on continuing that until this challenge starts (see link in signature). I've done a decent job over the last 1/2 challenge getting into a habit of exercising and being more mindful of when I'm hungry, what I eat, and why. I'll be using what I've learned about myself to create better goals this round. Main Quest: Lose 1/2 to 1 lb/wk to get into fightin' shape, gain muscle and strength, create good habits so I will have the energy and ability to do fun things and enjoy/engage with life. Starting conditions: 5'6" height, 163 lbs weight, 31% body fat 3 weeks of YAYOG complete*** 17 miles hiked at 3 parks 1. Nutrition: Make my calorie goal on MFP, averaged over a week and make good food choices. In order to conserve willpower points I can't restrict myself too much or get hungry too often, so averaging over the week allows some days to go over and others to go under, based on how I feel and activities of the day. This round I will be eating back calories from exercising to incentivize maintaining these habits. The real challenge will be filling those calories with good foods (lean protein and veggies, nuts and beans, occasionally protein-rich dairy or whole grains) and not indulging too much (my dear friend beer... also making good choices at restaurants). Scoring-- 1 point for every week I average a 400 calorie deficit or less per day (assumes 1800 maintenance minus 1400 ideal calories, exercise and weight loss will change both numbers) 1/2 point for every week I average under maintenance but above deficit goal. Final-- +4 CON based on percentage of total possible. +1 CHA (since most of my poor choices occur when I'm around other people) based on percentage of social days that I stay at calorie goal 2. Exercise: Get strong, be active! Exercise 5 days a week. My main goal will be to do 4 You Are Your Own Gym workouts a week. This is flexible with other activities (plus the extra day), depending my interests and social activities during the week. Other activities that count: 2.5+ miles running and/or walking, 20+ minutes hills or sprints running, 20+ minutes of yoga, hiking/backpacking, bicycling (not sure of appropriate effort measure yet), 30+ minutes intensive housework/etc, and possibly others, rock climbing who knows we'll see. Scoring-- 0.2 points for every exercise activity, for 1 point per week total. Final-- +3 STR, +2 STA based on percentage of total possible. may switch out a point for DEX if consistent yoga or hills/sprints happens consistently. 3. Life At least three job hunt related things a week Read 3 books 2 hours reading city planning news/blogs a week +2 WIS