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POP QUIZ: what's the difference between being a truly successful (potentially mad) scientist and just messing around making things explode here and there? THE QUALITY OF YOUR NOTES. I was here last in June (oh god so embarrassed) and since then I've still been super busy, still been going to cross-fit 5x a week (I KNOW I LACK MODERATION OK), tae kwon do 2-3x a week, and eating not terribly. Over the last couple of months though I've said to myself: SELF, you know what would make you a more effective human being? if you were keeping better notes. * I don't know how much food I need to keep fueling my body at my current pace (I am moving at a rate of approximately NO MODERATION). * I don't know really how much stronger I'm getting, every new PR feels like a snapshot totally independent of time and space (but it is totally dependent on gravity, I will have you know) * I don't know what my body is supposed to weigh. I know I'm on the soft side - and I've been having a cookie bulk over the holidays as is appropriate - but with all the weights I've been lifting I need to find my new normal idea for how heavy I ought to be while living here with planet earth gravity. I'm up from when I started crossfit but also up from when I started the cookie bulk even more. I need a challenge to get data to support my FUTURE GOALS, which are: show off my new muscles a little big by debulking (post cookie bulk), see if it's possible to fit in some running, and oh also yoga. I'm pretty solid on showing up to my regular workouts but not so solid on the supporting habits that will get me looking the way I want to look and performing the way I want to perform, so this challenge is focused on rebuilding those habits. Goal 1: Finish this challenge. ok, that sounds preeeety self explanatory but I went back and checked and I started and did not finish 5 challenges in 2018. That's right, every challenge I started, I did not finish. I also didn't finish my last few challenges in 2017. Now, 2017 was a pretty rough year for me personally, and 2018 was hard for me as well (as it was for many of us), but beyond basic chemistry and thermodynamics, being healthy is really about having good habits, and you all are my good habit. measurable outcome: post here several times a week. write up challenge in my hobobujo and update / track against those goals. TAKE BETTER NOTES PART 1. Goal 2: Find your food balance. Take better notes part 2 - LOG FOOD. I've used the loseit app in the past and am comfortable with it. I'm going to try not to worry about calories, but rather, log everything I'm eating so I can start to pull apart that thermodynamic calculation of how much I need to be eating to power my body. When I first started at crossfit I pretty much ate avocado toast every day and it went pretty well for me, but the cookie bulk in December has for sure fluffed me up. I am also going to try not to eat like an asshole, so I can get a pretty clear understanding of what my natural food budget looks like right now. measurable outcome: log the things every day. Goal 3. More recovery activity. I've been hitting crossfit hard, and tkd hasn't been the most gentle pursuit either. I need to do more stretching and flexibility work. I would like to work in more walking and yoga into my already ridiculous schedule. I have a subscription to Do Yoga With Me and they have a Flexibility for Busy People course that I should be able to work in. I can walk at lunch, it's not horribly snowy and icy yet this year. And also, I have a few hundred dollars in my flexible spending account that I have to use up by March, so prioritizing chiropractic and getting massages are a big part of this too. measurable outcome: aim for 5 recovery activities every week. backstory. I'm karinajean, 41, live in NY state, commute to NJ about an hour each way where I manage projects and clean up hazardous waste. I joined the NFA in October 2013 and transitioned over to the big scary boards (ahem, these forums) in April 2014. Since I discovered NR, I've lost about 25 lbs, tore my ACL / had it replaced with a cadaver ligament and rehabbed it, ran a bunch of running things, took over instruction for a class at the dojo, started with some weight lifting, and have increased by weight by about 20 lbs (note NOT all clean muscle). CURRENTLY I practice tae kwon do several times a week, take weapons and boxing classes in addition, and have a long-time overarching fitness goal of doing good form push- and pull-ups. I accidentally started doing crossfit in February 2018 and have been attending classes regularly since then. I have a crazy mean (yet super sweet) cat and live with my husband full time and my younger stepdude 1/2 time. the 2nd stepdude is In college out of state. I motorcycle, knit and spin, and am endlessly ignoring how messy the house and yard is. I'm an ASSASSIN because I like doing all the things, and because I want to be able to do push-ups and pull-ups -- these seem like very efficient movements that will exercise my upper body and core, and if I can do those and run and do martial arts (NINJA) I will feel totally strong and fit and capable. The MERMAID comes in because I saw it in a dream when I was a very young child and I believe it to be true. also kittens. you see how it goes.

Hello to everyone! I'm Ingagr, just turned 38 and been overweighted for 15 years. Back then I used to play rugby, strenght train and low speed medium distance running for cardio three times a week. I got married, a degree in forestry engineering, a house, a couple of dogs and a small pack of cats. I quit all my sporty activities, settle down as sedentary and started gaining weight. One good new: four years ago I managed to quit smoking. Now I feel I can move forward and begin training and building healthy habits. So I sign up at a gym (functional, bodyweight train, strength train and cardio mostly) by june (winter here deep south america in Argentina) and two weeks ago I started to take care of my nutrition. I am not going in any restrictive diet. Opposite to that I eat whatever I want, "just" measuring myself in the quantities I eat. Of course "whatever I want" does not mean junky food, sugars, sodas, etc. I am trying to take baby steps, one by one, building healthy habits, focusing in changes rather than objectives. For example: my objectives are not weight losing but not to skip my workouts and take care of my meals. Weight loss will be a consequense of my objective but not an objective itself. My height is 1.88 m (sorry to Americans, I use metric system ). I started with a weight of 135,5 kg and today I am 130,8 kg. Weekend was fine, went hiking everyday with my dogs to the park a few blocks near my house, care about meals. Saturday night I ate home made pizza (a tradition here) and a half liter can of beer. As I said, I do not any restrictive diet! Today I made my bed early in the morning after waking up, went to work and after I'm going to gym to workout. I will try to keep this log updated daily. Thank you all for the support. For the rebellion!

HAPPY NEW YEAR PEACHES! It's back to basics for me this year. I need to be ACTIONABLE and ACCOUNTABLE. I know I know, that's what my GOALS are supposed to be. but it's not about them, this is about ME. I need a firm reboot and a hard reset and I need to get my head back into the game and out of the clouds and some other silly analogies etc etc etc. I have too many I WANT TO DO'S and not enough THIS IS WHAT I AM DOING, and I need to get back on to a plan before I can start to really attempt the millions of shiny that I want to chase. So, January is for resetting. Goal 1: 30 days of yoga My body is wrecked y'all. I mean, I'm not INJURED or anything - but I'm stiff and sore and I have twinges and I do yoga now and then and don't have the mobility and flexibility that I really want to do. So, I'm signing up for the 30-days of Yoga by Adriene on youtube, and I'm going to do it every day. * FYI potential yoga people doyogawithme also has some great challenges but the durations of classes is between 15 minutes and 75 minutes for them, and I really just don't have the time in the morning to do this. Goal 2: track food I haven't been tracking at all for ages! so, every day, track the things in loseit. EVERY DAY. just write it down! what's the big deal? Goal 3: push-up progressions This should be simpler than it is, apparently. 3x8 of push-up progressions. do them every day. there's a lot of push-up progression options out there. I'm at counter height, I'd like to move to chair height, and then a lower box or negatives. SIDE PARTY also, start to seriously look at things you want to do. * I mean, do I want to run? or am I just feeling lazy / it's 5 deg F outside right now? * what about weights? if I start weight lifting on tuesdays after tkd with my dojo owner, how can i fit more weights in? dust off the new rules of lifting for women? work on that at the same time? * what will my mornings look like next month? will I have time to keep doing the yoga? * what does my diet need to look like to get where I want to be? or at least, to get a little less holiday belly? * oh, did I want to try pole dancing classes at that place near my house? these are all complicated things that I don't know the answer to. THEY REQUIRE RUMINATION. Also in the interests of SUCCEEDING I declare a monday start. also, still doing the tae kwon do, etc. etc. etc.

Ella Olga Babygoat Torturekitty Murderclaws is my cat, potentially an ensorcelled fae creature, and a pretty good example for what I need to do this challenge. So I'm going to emulate my witchy familiar beast and get on track! Goal 1: Have a routine. Every morning Ella does the same things. She wakes me up, snuggles in bed, walks me to the bathroom, races me downstairs, questions me loudly on why her favorite treats aren't immediately available, herds me around the kitchen, and then takes a nap in her kitty bed overlooking the yard. If I am out of her routine - like, if I am at home later in the morning than she thinks I should be, she is frustrated at me. it's pretty hilarious! but I need a routine too. so: write down my exercise plans on a calendar and do them. this is how I got started, and it's how I stayed successful for the first year or so I was here. Goal 2: Stay Fit for Jumping Torturekitty is great at jumping. she has to get on and off of beds, dining room tables, the chair we put her food on to keep it away from mice, and also, she needs some extra air so she can bite us above the knees when we piss her off. so to prepare for jumping, I need to focus on some bodyweight things. I also need to minimize the impact on my body from throwing myself against the ground. push-ups and pull-up practice during the week, with daily practice ala the 100 push-ups plan, so I can get better at it. Also, do the yoga because it fixes my extreme lifestyle (and by extreme I mean I'm either throwing myself against the ground or I'm sitting still for 9 hours a day at work). Goal 3: Run from Bad Smells Ella will poop in her litterbox and then sprint around the house. She was kind of feral when we got her, and I wonder sometimes if she is getting away from the bad smell so that larger predators or threats can't find her when they come to check it out. Regardless, I need to do more sprinting around. We are planning to run a 5K on Thanksgiving, so I need to do the running thing. follow a 5K or even a 10K training plan during the weeks up to the run so I am in (more) peak form. OK! let's get to learning! TEACH ME, ELLA! edit for backstory! I'm karinajean, 40, live in NY state, commute to NJ about an hour each way (so lots of time in the car). I joined the NFA in October 2013 and over the last 4 years I've gone from 206 to around 184 with a crazy long plateau and about a year of a slow creep up that I am trying to creep back down on again over the 6 months. I practice tae kwon do several times a week, take weapons and boxing classes in addition, and have an overarching fitness goal of doing good form push- and pull-ups. I have a crazy mean (yet super sweet) cat and live with my husband full time and my younger stepdude 1/2 time. the 2nd stepdude is currently in college out of state. I motorcycle, knit and spin, and am endlessly ignoring how messy the house and yard is. I'm an ASSASSIN because I like doing all the things, and because I want to be able to do push-ups and pull-ups -- these seem like very efficient movements that will exercise my upper body and core, and if I can do those and run and do martial arts (NINJA) I will feel totally strong and fit and capable. The MERMAID comes in because I saw it in a dream when I was a very young child and I believe it to be true. also kittens. you see how it goes.

Why hello, friends. I think I can do this again. I came to post a challenge and I guess this is a zero week too! awesome! I don't feel under any pressure at all! UM last challenge was a little meep. I got through the first two weeks really well! of course, I was pre-vacation, and then on vacation. and when I got back and my knees started hurting and I realized that I was suffering from an anxiety hangover from the last..... oh 4-6 months.... I shut down a little. week 3 was a bad week, and week 4 was a week of doing JUST ONE THING. I would go for a walk. or do a yoga thing. or just do one thing. And I had 3 weeks of serious acupuncture sessions to fix my knees and legs and they're doing GREAT, and I am getting new running shoes, and the older kid graduated from high school, and work is in a weird lull that is ok by me, and I finished my volunteer obligation as secretary/treasurer at my alumni association, and my dad is doing really great, and I feel like I can BREATHE again. so, I'm getting back on this horse! and this horse is an amazing SPARKLECORN! and this challenge is going to be SUPER AWESOME. Goals: Goal 1. Work the food thing. Stay on target with the calories. try to increase protein. eat your csa veggies. be cool. Goal 2. Do a thing every day. just a thing. a pokewalk, a stretching session, tkd, running, these are all things I like. Goal 3. Don't bag out on this challenge. This seems pretty simple, right? ok lets go.

HI TEAM AWESOME. So, last challenge I tried to have fun. it's important! I did ok at it, but it was still hard work. I'm realizing that I need to get off the STRUGGLE BUS and get on the SPARKLE BUS. before I can do that, though, I need to practice a tiny bit of austerity. The last several months have been all about being sweet and kind to myself as I work through a ridiculous schedule and a lot of family pressures and crap like a tree on my house. I've been super gentle with myself and not managing my diet carefully, allowing myself to sleep in more and go to bed later, and not exercising at all because WAAAAH I'M TOO TIRED. if I want to turn this fitness train around, I need to stop with the TINY EXCESSES, and get on the STRAIGHT AND NARROW. Goal 1: STOP THE TINY EXCESSES or more positively framed, I will: * go to bed at my bedtime every day so that I can * wake up on-time and leap from bed all healthy-like every morning. * stick to my caloric goal which means NOT eating all the snacks at work and NOT drinking beers all the time. Goal 2: Prep for a run There's a 10K on May 21 and I am running SUPER LATE in preparing for it. So, I am implementing DRAMATIC TRAINING PLANS. I'll be mapping out the Hal Higdon 10K novice plan, with tkd as my cross training, and in a way that will maximize the 4 weeks I have to get ready for the run as best as I can. ALSO, listen to your body while you're running, karinajean, and fiddle with foods so you are eating the best you can and not feeling starved (aka fill up on protein, not cake). Goal 3: Don't break yourself With all the running and the shortened schedule I have to focus on restorative activity too. So, that means yoga. do it in the mornings when I'm not running. STRAIGHT AND NARROW LOOKS LIKE THIS: logging my stuff here on nf. logging in the hobobujo. don't eat back exercise unless you're starving and then by all means eat it back but try not to do that in the form of beer and ice cream (though there is room for beer and ice cream in a healthy lifestyle). measurements before the end of April. do an interesting comparison between heart rates for a run of set distance at the beginning and end of this period. show you the weekly exercise plan drafted out every week! I declare a Monday start! so: START!

ERMGAH I AM LATE. I don't have a challenge figured, out, so I think I'll do the same thing last time. it.... kind of worked out? stemmed the upwards weight, anyway. got me back in the habit of gymming. MAIN QUEST LOSE FAT. This could be signified by either losing weight, or using fancy schmancy tracking tools (wifi scale, skulpt device, measurements, photos) to double check. * so.... actually compare photos this challenge, hmmm? Goal 1: Exercise More / Don't Break The Chain I need to do something every day. Running, TKD, going to the gym and doing weights, SOMETHING. If I can't do a formal thing exercise for at least 30 minutes (20 if it's running, plus a cool down at the end), these are my options for not breaking the chain: * do at least 5 sets of 100 jumping jacks * go for a real 30 minute walk. Poke-walking counts. just WALK. * hula hoop practice for at least 15 minutes. * other things that are like these things that will be good for me Goal 2: Eat Less / Eat Better STICK WITH THE PLAN, STAN. I did really good last month, keep it up!!! my loseit plan is still set at losing 1 lb a week, which is a 500 calorie / day deficit over where it thinks I actually am. ALSO I am going to start logging half and half in coffee / milk in tea. --> do better at this, I totally skipped it last month. Goal 3: Put the NERD back in NERD FITNESS. Use the tools! Track food, daily weigh, dust off my nutty excel spreadsheet and fill in the last few challenges. ALSO weekly photos weekly measurements weekly or MORE skulpt readings. * do better with measurements. Fix the skulpt. * and most importantly! USE THIS TOOL! the forums are like my A+ Number 1 tool for success, and that needs to include WEEKLY CHALLENGE RECAPS as well as mostly nearly every day daily check-ins! ok let's get on this.

I'm busy, really busy. I have a lot of things that I do and that I want to do well. I'm kind of in a funny exploratory place right now, where I'm trying to figure out how to do all the things I want to do, how to do them well, and how to feel like doing my very best is enough. Maybe I am totally delusional but I'm starting to wonder if maybe it IS possible for me to DO ALL THE THINGS. let's see, ok? I mean, it feels delusional, after I could only barely check in during the last challenge. but I'm up for it. * restrict the calories last challenge reminded me that yes, when you diet, it works. I did 2 weeks of a mild cut + good exercise and I saw my weight start to trend down instead of trend up. which is GOOD. SUPER GOOD. so, keep restricting the calories. * do the exercises. same old set of things: running tae kwon do body weight. I really need to work this back in, it's not going to be optional / as you will any more. this challenge I want getting this more incorporated into life as my ultimate measuring stick. my husband is super into running right now, and I'm so excited for him. he's got this super busy program mapped out and maybe out of FOMO I started to look at other training programs also. for YEARS I've avoided intermediate training programs because they have you running 5-6 times a week, and it's just super hard to think I can fit this in to my already packed life. BUT, I am going to increase my distance, and maybe start BW days with a little warmup run (or finish them with a warmup run?). example intermediate training program. work up to 4-5 days of running eventually, instead of 3. * get the sleep. yo, this is imperative. without sleep, getting up for regular exercise is nearly impossible. I have 2 late meetings during this challenge, so the rest of the time it's UP TO ME. that said, there's potentially 2 work trips to manage round, but I should be able to get this straight this week. * do your best. I've been thinking about all the things that I want to accomplish, and where my goals lie. I took the first step today to start working with a life coach, and for the next 4 weeks I want to really establish that process and confirm if it will work for me or not. I am really happy with my life. I'm really happy with all my interests and opportunities, both personal and professional. But I feel stressed about them - like I"m not being responsive enough, or that that I'm not able to make enough room for them. I want so figure out some tips to help with those things. so, do your best means do this. and do your best. the things I want to track are: how about them calories? did I do the bw workouts? did I get the sleep? and did I do my best. ok! let's do all the things!!!

Hey, everybody! I'm new here, but I wanted to share an achievement I'm pretty excited about. Tomorrow, I test for my red belt in Tae Kwon Do. Assuming I pass, that means I only have one belt before testing for my black belt. Over ten years ago, my wife talked me in to trying a tae kwon do class at a local school. I wound up dropping out before I took my first promotion test. Years later, I went back when my daughter wanted to start. It has been several years since I went back, and there have been times when I've taken a break for a few months. But I am really excited to reach this milestone.

Wow, May was... May was a lot. it was a lot of stuff, and I did it all, but I didn't feel awesome while doing it. June is here and I feel like I'm not prepared for summer! So I'm doing a "SUMMER I AM HERE AND I AM LOVING IT BY GEORGE, LOVING IT OR ELSE" challenge, in the sense that I need to have some regular things figured out so that I can be my awesomest all the time. So this challenge I WILL SEIZE SUMMER LIKE I SEIZED THIS TINY FRUIT SNACK FACSIMILE OF RAPHAEL. MONKEY WRENCH we are going on an Epic Journey with the boys cross country for 10 day right at the end of the challenge. That's right. Seventeen, Twelve, my husband, and I. it's going to be amazing. and possibly smelly. we are camping and I don't really know how long we will be in the car every day. so, the end of week 3 and all of week 4 will be.... interestingly patchy. OK GOALS GOAL 1: MORE PROTEIN, MANAGE CALORIES. MORE PROTEIN went really well last challenge! I averaged in at about 144 g. For this challenge I want to get above 120 g. I ALSO would like to keep eating at about 2000 cal/week, and I have been very flexible in eating back my logged (via fitbit hr) exercise. I'm a little worried about this goal while I travel. We'll see. GOAL 2: MOVE MY BODY I did slack a little while I was overwhelmed in May, and I want to get back into good form. Good form means getting better at * YOGA - I did some yoga on friday and MAN it felt good and MAN it pointed out that my leg and hip flexibility actually really is not doing so hot. [bonus I can do this on the road, also]. I would like to do 1-2x a week yoga * HOOPING - I do want to practice and get better. I got a much smaller and lighter hoop, and I really need to practice to be able to hoop on-body with it. I'm planning to ring a hoop on the road also. yo, though, I'd be happy to get in 30 minutes a week for this. * RUNNING - my next race is a 5 mile run on 8/7. That means that, until we get back, I need to stay comfortable with 3 miles so I can crank it up to 5 miles during the month of July. 3.5 miles would be better until I leave. I would like to do 2-3 x a week running. * OF COURSE TKD. of course. To my benefit, I am also participating in a "be fit" challenge at work which tracks active minutes. I am currently in the top 25%. If i keep yoga-ing and running and hooping I will stay good, but I really do need to keep up. The top contenders are exercising at about 1+ hours a day. I'm coming in at about average of 45 minutes a day. This challenge runs for 6/1 to 7/31. also LEAVE ROOM FOR THE MINI. GOAL 3: MORE DISCRETE AND USEFUL MEASUREMENTS Here's something I didn't do at all,and which I am super disappointed in myself from last challenge. so, I'm going to do it this time. I will be lenient on this goal while I'm traveling, though. LIKE, I won't be able to weigh myself, because I have a wifi scale and I am NOT going to travel with it. and it would be pretty weird to take underpants photos in rest area bathrooms, for example. but the rest of the time: * photos every week, and for sure start and finish. * use my goofy skuplt thingamabobby every week, and for sure start and finish. * tape measure every week, and for sure start and finish. ok and also backstory! I'm karinajean, 39, live in NY state, commute to NJ about an hour each way (so lots of time in the car). I joined the NFA in October 2013 and over the last 2 years I've gone from 206 to around 183. I practice tae kwon do several times a week, take weapons and boxing classes in addition, and have an overarching fitness goal of doing good form push- and pull-ups. I have a crazy mean (yet super sweet) cat and live with my husband full time and my stepdudes 1/2 time. I motorcycle, knit and spin, and am endlessly ignoring how messy the house AND YARD is. I'm an ASSASSIN because I like doing all the things, and because I want to be able to do push-ups and pull-ups -- these seem like very efficient movements that will exercise my upper body and core, and if I can do those and run and do martial arts (NINJA) I will feel totally strong and fit and capable. The MERMAID comes in because I saw it in a dream when I was a very young child and I believe it. looking forward: I have a bunch of 10Ks lined up for the fall, which I'm excited by. we are, as is our tradition, going to the beach in August. I'd kind of like to spend July in some kind of a cut, maybe not eating back my exercise calories (that's worked really well for me in the past). if I'm going to keep eating this much protein I would like it to be more fun, too.

Quick intro! I'm karinajean, 38, live in NY state, commute to NJ about an hour each way (so lots of time in the car). I joined the NFA in October 2013 and over the last 2 years I've gone from 206 to around 180. I practice tae kwon do several times a week, take weapons and boxing classes in addition, and have an overarching fitness goal of doing good form push- and pull-ups. I have a crazy mean (yet super sweet) cat and live with my husband full time and my stepdudes 1/2 time. I motorcycle, knit and spin, and am endlessly ignoring how messy the house is. I'm an ASSASSIN because I like doing all the things, and because I want to be able to do push-ups and pull-ups -- these seem like very efficient movements that will exercise my upper body and core, and if I can do those and run and do martial arts (NINJA) I will feel totally strong and fit and capable. The MERMAID comes in because I saw it in a dream when I was a very young child and I believe it. And! it's my 39th birthday on April 15! challenge backstory! I've been here at NF for just about 2 years (nerdiversary on april 14th!) and lately I've been working on my SHOWING UP. I'm trying to believe that my baseline level of activity is actually worthy of being considered ACTIVITY (can you believe I have imposter syndrome around this?) and that I just need to show up and keep on keepin' on to stay healthy, happy, and fit. Goals! Goal 1: keep eating and tracking I still don't have hazard-quality information about how my body uses food. Honestly, I may NEVER have hazard-quality information about how my body uses food... but I want to grow the karinajean database of information. but! I need to add to this. progress status photos and measurements on a weekly basis, please. Goal 2: keep using my calendar tracking system and keep doing the things and telling you about them. I like this calendar tracking plan. it works for me pretty nicely. Goal 3: Show up and have fun! it's spring, y'all! I need to just show up and have fun! like, here, in my back yard, at my birthday party, on the weekends, in the library with a candlestick (oh wait).... Larger items to pay attention to: * having a birthday party with hula hoop instructor on APRIL 16. * 4th degree black belt test still tentatively scheduled for MAY * currently training for a 10K to be run on MAY 15 * it's spring and my yard is a mess and I need to BUY AND PLANT SOME BIG TREES * I need to get my attic dry-walled. it's a big deal and is going to be a huge pain (because there's currently things in it) but it is TIME. you know what will be fun? when this is OVER. * oh, and my motorcycle! we got the tarp off of them last night (thanks strong winds) and I need to FIX THE THROTTLE CABLE and RIDE IT EVERYWHERE.

Quick intro! I'm karinajean, 38, live in NY state, commute to NJ about an hour each way (so lots of time in the car). I practice tae kwon do several times a week, take weapons and boxing classes in addition, and am trying super hard to do really good form push- and pull-ups this year. I have a crazy mean (yet super sweet) cat and live with my husband full time and my stepdudes 1/2 time. I motorcycle, knit and spin, and am endlessly ignoring how messy the house is. I'm an assassin because I like doing all the things, and because I want to be able to do push-ups and pull-ups -- if I can do those and run and do martial arts I will feel totally strong and fit and capable. I know I did it to myself, but I named my last challenge "karinajean over-commits," and I was right. I totally over-committed, and it was brutal by the end of the challenge because I didn't have any capacity for last minute changes or additions. * GOAL 1: food tracking. I'm reaching a funny place where I need to figure out how hard I want to work on my diet to get more results. um. I don't know how to answer that, but hopefully I will by the end of this challenge. So part of this goal is to think about how much I am willing to give up or add in, or generally otherwise change. ALSO, I've been getting interesting results from my charge hr, namely: I don't burn very many calories during a day where I don't exercise on purpose. that's super key to understand, and I guess I really do need to figure out how to do something every day. which leads me to: * GOAL 2: do something every day, but don't do EVERYTHING every day. I'm in a really good place with running right now, and I'd like to continue hitting some good mileage. I think that if I can maintain a 3x a week running schedule (though - I haven't been doing that over the last 2 weeks, so I need to work on it a little better I guess) that would be pretty good. this running thing will be a mix of, like, a 3 mile | 2 mile | 4 mile or maybe more run. BUT, I really am getting close to the wire for my "ups" in 2015. So, because Raptron is brilliant and amazing, I'm going to add in the pull-up challenge. And because it's good for me, I'm going to do really good form push-ups every morning - possibly in the bathroom next to the tub before i get into it, but I am going to DO THEM. * GOAL 3: show up for your own life. I was super over-committed last challenge and the end of that was a lot of being over-committed at things for other people. I need to work back in that stuff that I want to do for me. I'm great at fitting in the dojo stuff, but not so great at the crafting. so - I'm going to fit in stuff for my own life. I need to make sure I've got room in my schedule to breathe, and that I am working in my own fun as I go along. that fun includes knitting and spinning, making a clean room and keeping it, possibly konmari cleaning the house... there's lot of stuff I could be doing. it doesn't all have to be running around to get boys to events and to make sure there's dinner to be had for husbands. make sure I'm doing things for ME and to make sure that *I* have an easy and comfortable life instead of making everyone else comfortable all the time. To this end, well. I saw this really neat bullet journal idea. I'm going to steal it and use it. so far for columns; push-ups, pull-ups, running, filling in my new 5-year diary every night, and checking in with you all! .... I don't know what else, but I'll get that sorted too.

Ahhhh, spring. The roses are blooming, and a new challenge approaches!

So I totally bombed the last challenge by getting sick and only sleeping and working for 3 weeks. Couldn't quite get it back together after that. So I'm going basic on this challenge, to get myself back in the groove. Long-term goal - to get and stay fit and healthy. Motivation: my son and husband - I want to enjoy a long and healthy life with both of them. I will be 55 when my son graduates from high-school. I do not want to be a burden to him. Also, I want the term "bad-ass chick" to apply to me! My husband and I started Tae Kwon Do 2 weeks ago (our 6 year old son has been going since April last spring). Hubby is able to go every day, but I have to work outside the house and my schedule isn't as flexible. Sigh. Goal 1: Attend 3 TKD classes per week. Practice at home 30min, 3 days per week. +3 DEX, + 1 STA. 10 Pushups and 30 situps to be done as part of home practice. More if becomes easier.Need to get go bag set up for work, so if I get off early I can attend extra class by this Sunday.Find some stretches for hips/legs to become more limber.Holiday weeks - missed classes ok if dojo closed. - Practice at home!Goal 2: Drink at least 1700ml water every day. +2 CON. Goal 3: Cardio at least 30 min. 3x/week. +2 DEX, +1 STA. 1st 2 weeks = running. 2 days intervals, 1 day distance (5k). Race on 11/23rest of challenge: any cardio that lasts at least 30min. Core work bonus! Yoga counts. Extra TKD class counts.Goal 4: 50 Pull-ups training 3 times per week. +2 STR, +1 STA. Bonus pts: Finish challenge with 90% on each goal. +1 WIS, +1 CHA. Skadi ring (or similar, depends on budget). will post some starting stats later.

Right. So here it is. I attempted another challege a few months ago, and failed. I was trying to do too many things at once. While I think taking away the attribute points is a bit extreme (and while I'm confused about how people could be confused about calculating them--it's not very complicated) in some ways I think it is a good idea. It might help me, anyway. Here's the background for my challenge. I've been a 1st Kyu Brown Belt for more years than I care to remember, and that needs to change. Pretty soon, I'll be leaving for college and I won't be able to continue at my studio. Basically, it's down to now or never. Also, I broke my collarbone about a month ago. It's lots better now, and I have an appointment with the bone doctor in a few days. Hopefully, he'll clear me to go back to regular class (although I know he won't let me go back to sparring and Krav Maga for a while). Anyway, I'm going to use the break as a way to ease into the exercise/diet plan I have scheduled for myself. I want to wake up before school (5:45-ish), practice karate, and shower. I'll go to class without eating breakfast, because I've started doing IF (8 hours eating/16 hours fasting). When I get home, I'll either strength train or run, depending on the day. If I have karate class in the evening, I'll go. It's a lot and I'm starting from a bit of a stand-still because of the collarbone, but I had good momentum before the break and I'm trying to recapture that. Plus, I'm not starting all this at once. I'm working up to it all as the break (and my doctor) will allow, which will let me ease in and hopefully stick with it. So. The challenge. MY QUEST, AS I HAVE CHOSEN TO ACCEPT IT: Get my black belt by February. Which means get recommendations to test in December, appear before the Board of Review in January, Pre-Test in late January/early February, and test in Feb. FIRST MISSION: Practice karate every morning M-F, and do bagwork on the weekend. Weekday morning workouts should be strictly 30-45 minutes total (includes warm-up and cool-down). Weekend workouts can be any length. SECOND MISSION: Strength training every M-W-F after classes, and running on Tu-Th. This will be AS ALLOWED BY DOCTOR/BREAK. There aren't any time constraints on the strength workouts--just however long it takes to finish my routine. Tuesday running will be straight endurance--30 minutes of running. Thursday running will be intervals. On the weekends, I will go for a long walk. THIRD MISSION: Attend as many karate classes AS ALLOWED BY DOCTOR/BREAK. Hopefully, this will immediatly include all Mainstream classes. I'll be watching Krav, and hopefully will be able to go back to Krav, Sparring, and Self-Defense sometime in the next month. LIFE MISSION: Keep records of EVERYTHING. This is something I have trouble with (and something I won't be able to score myself on later Challenges without) so it's going in. Every time I workout, it goes in my notebook. The start and end times go in. So does everything I did. Every time I weigh myself, it goes in. Any thoughts, worries, panicked moments, etc. go in. Every Monday, I will post The Week In Review on this thread. I won't be posting more often than that just because it's more convenient to write everything in a notebook. There we go! That's my Challenge, and this time I'm sticking with it!!