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Challenge here, discourse underneath. 1) Carry on Eating Well: Stick with the 80-20 Primal scheme, keep on logging, and do an IF of some measure on days when I know eating is going to be less than ideal. 2) Carry on Lifting: Alternate lifting two times and four times a week. Accept that gains will be slower, but that burnout is less likely to happen. 3) Carry on Keeping Calm: Evaluate the day every morning and see if something can be removed to make life easier. 4) Carry On Adulting: Keep cleaning 5 minutes per day - Priority living room Frame the new prints Frame the Westeros Map Frame and/or find a way to hang the Journey print Hang the Japanese Noren gift Tidy up finances this month

I've started seeing a counselor at my uni to deal with the I-want-do-all-the-things-but-can't-because-I-still-don't-feel-100% fallout. Some of my homework from the last session is to track how I spend my time for two weeks, which conveniently lines up with the inter-challenge break. Challenge goals will be formulated based on the data I collect. Now that lifting is feeling better, I'm also in the process of planning a new lifting program, after using 5/3/1 for ages and kind of stalling. Let's see how I respond to some volume... And now that sleep is more stable, it's also time for me to try some more AIP reintroductions, which I'll track here since I need to keep track of them somewhere! The reintroduction for today (6/27): sugar snap peas. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Updated to add GOALS Goal 1: Evening Routine Start wrapping up the day between 8:15 and 8:30 pm (between 8:00 pm and 8:15 pm if I still need to shower). My hope is that by giving myself a time window instead of a specific time, I'll see that it's, say, 8:21 pm and think "Oh, time to wind down!" instead of "9 more minutes!" I might also move this time earlier if I'm successful during the first part of the challenge. Wrapping up the day = Get ready for the next day as much as I can and have time/energy for (picking out clothes to wear the next day, packing food, packing bags, washing dishes, etc.), Getting ready for bed Spending some time winding down (e.g., with reading or meditation) Goal 2: Mobility Do at least 5 min of mobility work on my rest days. This isn't much, but I just want to get in the habit of thinking about it again, and usually once I've started I'll do more if I need to. Goal 3 (LUYL): Log the good stuff Sometimes when I have a bad day physically (or even if I'm worried about the future because of my health) I can forget how much I've accomplished in my work and personal life, and how much I can still do and enjoy even if some activities (e.g., going to swing dances in the evening) would be too taxing. I'll keep a journal of these things on a day-to-day basis so I have a reminder of the good stuff when I need one. I might also experiment with other mediums besides writing (e.g., photography). Goal: log or otherwise record the good stuff 6+ days/week. Goal 4 (LUYL): Spend quality time with myself I haven't been giving much time for just me recently, and, as an introvert, I suspect that's been stressing me out. Goal to fix that: Give two hours of time to ME on the weekends. To count as ME time, I need to be by myself (at least in a separate room from other people, or with plenty of personal space if I'm outside). Possible activities include going for a walk on my own, drawing, painting, journaling, taking photos, listening to music, reading, etc. Netflix will count if I'm really really tired and don't have much energy, but other things take precedence. Things that don't count: lifting, researching how to draw/lift/do some other skill (i.e., don't collect underpants), working on my PhD, messaging or talking to other people.

I'll mostly continue with the same goals. Goal One: Overcome the Virus and scavage enough for food drink 3l a day and more when I get exercise (track in plant nanny) 3 portions of freggies (paper tracker) reduce unhealthy snacks and take away (not more then once a week, paper tracker) ==> aim for six good eating days a week Bonus 1: prepare a bento for Wednesday Bonus 2: roughly start counting my calories again (preferably on Monday, Wednesday and Friday; track in myfitnesspal) Goal Two: Don't let them outrun you every day: walking or sun salutations or 5 tibetans ==> establish morning routine on Monday and Friday; 20 minutes sun salutations, 5 Tibetans and 10 minute meditation. I try to get it in once a week first and by week four I want to do that more regularly Tuesday: Tai Chi (classes because of public Holidays only on the 13th and 20th June) Thursday: Yoga (classes because of public Holidays only on the 1st, 22th June) Bonus: picking up the fire staff once a week for at least half an hour So I'm focusing on my at home workouts this challenge, because most of my classes won't take place. I'll take it as a Chance to make daily small workouts a Habit again. If I don't go to visit my parents at the beginning of June, I want to pick up my fire staff again. Let's see how it goes. Goal Three: Get your stuff done and don't give in the lethargy Study 15 hours a week again. Bonus for getting all my homework done by Saturday evening. Goal Four: To Do List I'm going to write to-do-lists again and set priorities. 28th May: Finish notes on presentation and discuss with professor 29th May: Finish editing all the photographs for my art project and get them printed 1st June: Hand in art project 3rd June: Finish gardening 10th June: Finish presentation for Monday 15th June: sign up for tests ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Challenge Retrospektive April/May Goal One: Overcome the Virus and scavage enough for food Grade: 75%, B (Last challenge: 62%, B ) I think I was able to get a healthier lifestyle. I didn't get the flu this challenge. I had some cheat days, but I ate less produced stuff. I baked my own cakes and was more in controle of how much sugar I consumed. Again it helped, that I'm tracking my water intake with plant nanny. With the freggies Goal I figured out, that smothies are a good way to get in fruits. This way you can still use overripe stuff, that's sometimes sold with a discount. And I managed to pack my own bentos in the evenng. So I didn't have to spent money on Cafeteria Food. I also realized that Rice balls are really cheap to make. So no more skipped lunch. So for next challenge I'll try to not get in so many cheat days.The rest seems to be fine. I'm definitely going to continue with this goal. Maybe I'm going to use myfitnesspal again. It's just really hard to measure what I'm eating. I'm not cooking alone for lunch. But I'll try to at least roughly track. At the moment I don't want to lose much more weight. I just want to try to not gain ist all back. Goal Two: Don't let them outrun you Grade: 86%, A (last challenge: 96%, A) I only missed one yoga class and added dancing to my challenge for half of the time.But I didn't walk as often as last challenge and that's showing in my statistics. I still have to get in more at home exercise. On rainy or busy days I tend to not walk so much. On These days I should at least try to get in 20 minutes of yoga or do my tibetans. I'm still trying to make that a Habit, so I'll definitely go on with this goal. We have one week off University at the beginning of June. Maybe I should try doing one of these every day for ten days in a row then. Bonus was dancing lessons. Goal Three: Get your stuff done and don't give in the lethargy Grade: 118%, A+ (last challenge: 92%, A) This challenge I got in my 15 hours every week and managed to reach my milestones. I'll try to continue the good work. And definitely helped me, that I was working on homework on days, where I had to go to lessons and save Tuesday and Friday for my papers. I'm not going to aim for higher numbers because of what happened last challenge. Last challenge i had one week with >130% and afterwards I wasn't able to motivate myself for the following two weeks. It's better to get my stuff done every week and not stress myself out about getting in as much as possible. Goal Four: To Do List I wasn'tz able to get in stuff in the morning. Maybe I should instead aim for doing most of my stuff in the evening and stop jumping out of bad in the morning and trying to get everything done. That's just stressing me and I feel that my sleep is less good, when I'm already thinking about the stuff I still have to do in the morning. Like packing my bag. I wasn't Walking as much as I used to last challenge, because I was late and then took his grandfathers offer to drive us. All in all I got more housework done than last challenge. It definitely helped to write to do lists regularly and set priorities. FINAL CHALLENGE GRADE: ~93% = A ANY OTHER NOTES / COMMENTS: I lost 3,5kg this challenge and got measured twice. I'll post my measurements in my battle log in the next few days.

Last we left Red, he was trying to help a frog turn back into a human with the reward of finding the lair of thieves... "NO! That's wrong! Ribbit! You're doing it wrong!" "Alright, alright! I got it! It's wrong! Shouting at me, isn't going to help either one of us!" Red plays out some more chords hoping to pinpoint the proper tune, "No, that isn't it either! Ribbit!" Both Red and the Frog pause, frustrated at the inability to find out the tune. "OK, let's forget it, for now, I've gotten the water required to help you return you to your previous self. How does that ritual go?" "You have?! That's incredible! OK, this is what we need to do, Ribbit!" "Alright, are you ready? Ribbit!" "Uhhh... I think so? What am I supposed to be doing exactly?" "It's simple, just stay right there! Ribbit! I might've forgotten that tune, but I haven't forgotten the magic Master used." The Frog starts chanting and Red feels uneasy as the circle of magic and the both of them began to glow. In a flash of blinding light Red no longer sees the Frog, but a bard in his place! "Hey! It worked! You're back to normal! Congrats!" The now-Bard checks himself making sure that he's returned to his original form. "Yes... I am back... to normal..." Red then reaches for the guitar. "Alright, now that that is out of the way, let's resume our--" *THUNK* "Heh, Fool. Now to tell the Master!" The Bard runs off, opening the doorway himself! * * * Red wakes up to find himself in a cell. "Ooohh.... my head... What happene... Where's my stuff?! Where am I?!" As Red looks around, and he hears a voice, "Master! You see? I brought him to you! Edobar is a good servant! You see, Master?" a shadowy figure approaches "My, my, right you are, Edobar. This one looks like a great candidate for my next experiment." "You spoony bard! You tricked me! When I get my hands on you, I'll--" "And feisty, I like that. Let's see if he can stay this way. Lose consciousness, wash away into the silent sea! Sleep!" Red immediately knocks out once again. Red wakes up once again, groggy and disoriented. "Ooohhh... I'm getting really... tired of... this?" Red looks around and finds himself in a world he's never seen before. "Whoa... Where am I?" Upon looking around, he sees Edobar and his Master, but they look different... "Master! This one is great! It's like he's gone!" "Not exactly gone, Edobar, but merely a shadow of what he once was! He'll have no chance to come back from this!" As the two walk away, Red quickly realizes that he's in some sort of astral state. "Ohh... boy... This is bad! What do I do?! Am I dead? They couldn't have killed me that easily, could they?" "Relax, you're not dead." A voice echoes behind him. "Who said that!?" Red said startled. "Focus. You don't have a lot of time. You need to catch your shadow before you become a permanent resident of this place." The Voice speaks, "He separated your shadow from you, thus turning you into stone, yet you're apparently still conscious. It appears that his spell isn't completely successful, if you can reunite with your shadow, then you can reverse the petrification and come back to the mortal realm." "OK! Find my shadow, return to the mortal realm, and teach Edobar and his Master a lesson they'll never forget!" "Good, now then, here's the trick, your Shadow doesn't actually want to be reunited with you." "Wait, what?! Why?" "Because, it's free in here, if it's reunited with you, then it's back to being bound to you, and of course it doesn't like that, so you'll have to beat it into submission. Good luck." Chase your Shadow - I need to fulfill my hours of shadowing an Orthotist, I've scraped my requirement of 60 hours, but I need to buckle down and get this done! I'm aiming for twice a week for 4 hours each before I go to work, usually during the week. This goal is going to span for the next couple of months, but for this challenge, I need to hit the shadowing twice a week. Beat it down - Basically keep up the Exercise routine. For three days out of the week, I'll be either completing my circuit, or running. On my days off is when things fall out of routine, that's one obstacle that I need to overcome, and Sundays is when I go to Mass (Church) so I won't be exercising then. Prepare the Vessel when you arrive! - So my brothers and I are planning a 5 Day Trip to Colorado (By driving from California) So I have to prepare my truck and myself for that journey, I need to get my truck tuned up, and order, organize, and reserve everything else I may need for the journey.

April/May Challenge (23.04.2017 - 20.05.2017) This challenge will be about time management again. I'll try to incooperate more changes into my schedule and try to get my stuff done while visiting classes. I want to finish my studies without more lags, so this will also be a challenge for my discipline. On the other hand I'll also schedule times of relaxation. I shouldn't take things as they come anymore. At least not, if they take up more then two hours on one day. And I'll force myself to procrastinate less on housework. Fun things are going to happen: I'm making a small cosplay of the Mad Hatter (Alice in Wonderland). I'm not good at sewing and can't put much time into this, but I like this charakter and I'm trying to create my own interretation. And I'm visiting my first ever cosplay ball on the 6th May. I started visiting a dancing course from university. It's not so good for newbies, but it's free and I want to feel a little confident about what I can do again and just challenge myself by trying out something new. I was never good with standard dances or pair dances in general. And it will also be a little odd to do this with I lot of people I don't know. My bf won't join me, so... I'm curious about it. Did my first session on Wednesday April 27 and although there was some frustration and one guy just let me stand there alone, when he realised I was a total newbie. But I still had fun and didn't let it get to my heart. I'm going to do some Tai Chi and Yoga again at university. Visited both classes in week one and both teachers remembered me annd seemed to be happy to see me again. That was really nice. After my next milestone, I'm going to visit a friend in Vienna. He's going to have a concert with his band and we want to cheer for them. And finally see the city again =) Goals: (More or less the same compared to last challenge) March/April – Continuity The zombies are still roaming the streets, so I'll continue what I've been doing so far and try to not lose my brain. I only changed my goals little by little since the beginning of the year building up momentum. This challenge will only be harder because of some milestones I set myself and my first course will start on April the first. The course has high reading requirements, that's why I try to get as much as possible done about two projects, I want to hand in on May 15. Goal One: Overcome the Virus and scavage enough for food With this goal I try to get healthier and improve my immune system. I'm getting a cold frequently. Therefore I’m trying to build some healthy habits and reduce unhealthy diet habits. I'm also trying to lose weight at the moment. These goals helped me to watch my portion size and I changed my regular meals. Usually I was skipping lunch and eating a lot for dinner. My bf usually get's back from work between 7 pm and 8 pm. We usually don't get dinner before 8 pm. Now I'm regularly eating a small lunch with my study buddy and have a smaller dinner portion in the evening. Unfortunately the salad in the evening didn't stick with me for last challenge. I'm buying less fresh fruit and vegetables at the moment, so let's see, how I can still make this happen. drink 3l a day and more when I get exercise 3 portions of freggies reduce unhelathy snacks and take away (not more then once a week) Bonus: prepare a bento for Wednesday last challenge: Goal Two: Don't let them outrun you I got back into walking regularly, but I didn't bild an indoor routine yet. It's hard for me to train outside of classes, so I'll try to do use the courses offered at my university. I can do them for free until I graduate. Let's take at least one positive thing from delaying my graduation. (Had to change my minor subject this therm. :/) Tai Chi Yoga As bonus I'm getting some dancing lessons until May the 6th. Let's see how it goes and if I can get these things into my schedule without feeling stressed again. last challenge: Goal Three: Get your stuff done and don't give in the lethargy I tried to convince myself to study almost daily and at least spent 15 hours a week on study related tasks. Last challenge I got in my 15 hours in 2 of four weeks. It's getting harder, because of my lectures. I'll try to do my homework every week, but I also want to have some progress with my papers. So I'm going to set specific days for my papers. They are priority. Of course it's not cool to miss some homework, but the tests won't start before August, so I'll make my papers my priority for now. I have to get this stuff don, if I don't want to delay my studies further. Study 15 hours a week again. Bonus for getting all my homework done by Saturday evening. last challenge Goal Four: To Do List This is an optional goal, so I won’t grade it. Instead of trying to get in five things and do some recreation, too. I'll try to get in some organisational stuff, housework and so on every day. At the moment I'm doing these things in the morning, when I get up at 7am or in the evening, when I get back from studying. Last challenge I managed to get the necessary housework done without taking a day of from studying. Let's do that again. last challenge

Mistr gets it done - Challenge 27? something like that. My focus for the first three weeks of the challenge is getting ready for my second degree black belt test in aikido. The last week of the challenge will be a rest and recovery week. Final approach to test day goals to keep everything on target: 1. Sleep. I've been struggling to consistently get enough sleep for ages. I don't have time to be tired and groggy. Suck it up and go to bed. Avoid coffee if humanly possible. 2. Meditation. Sitting zen helps me cope with pressure. Even 5 or 10 minutes is better than nothing. 3. Exercise and aikido. Back off a bit to maintain rather than build. Mix up exercise as it seems best day to day. Keep up with mobility work even if I don't exercise. 4. Time management and adulting. Not only do I have a dan test, I am hosting the after-seminar party at my house. I also volunteered months ago to have a dojo meeting at my house this weekend. Oh yes, and taxes are due by the end of the challenge. And work has been busy. Do the things. Tracking: 5 points for each thing done. Positive reinforcement only for now, I have enough stress.

So yeah, being an adult is bullshit. I guess I'm either stressing myself out too much or not enough. My HRV is constant most days, then a huge drop on one accompanied by skin inflammation. Might just be adjusting to the move. Haven't lifted, but I've been walking a lot more, apparently. Anyway, I'm looking to focus on the micro level and just getting a little bit done each day, because time management is murdering all my progress. I will be continuing my previous challenge, focusing on knocking out 2 modules a week. PERKS: My time management is garbage. I signed up for Mind Tools and have a 12-unit Time Management Learning Plan. 1. Managing Interruptions 2. Activity Logs 3. To-Do-Lists 4. Prioritization 5. The Action Priority Matrix 6. Eisenhower's Urgent/Important Principle 7. The Pickle Jar Theory 8. Effective Scheduling 9. Personal Goal Setting 10. Golden Rules of Goal Setting 11. Treasure Mapping 12. Overcoming Procrastination I should be on the last half of the last semester before graduating. I barely made it through the first half, and I'd like to cruise during this half. Focusing on a little every day instead of my usual cramming, I will allot 2.5 hours a week for coursework outside of school. ATTRIBUTE: I got a bit carried away with the GymnasticBodies and tried to really plow through the skills. I'm already on Foundation 3 for lower body, and really moving along for Manna, Side Lever, and Rope Climb, to the detriment of my other skills. The priority is to at least hit one GB skill and one kettlebell skill per day. No rush. Enjoy the grind. I shall be utilizing a similar accountability spreadsheet as I use with the people I'm coaching.

With my senior recital and graduation rapidly approaching (my recital hearing, which is more important than the recital itself, is in 5 days), I don't have a lot of time or energy to devote to a proper assassin's challenge, so I'm taking up some desk work for a while. /failed attempt at sort of themeing Goals: > 10h practice clarinet per week outside of rehearsal and lesson (%) > keep evening checklists of things to do before bed and do them. I must Tame my Monkey! (No more than one thing left undone every night) (P/F daily) > do something for bio outside of class 5 days /week (P/F) > do something for Spanish outside of class 2 days /week (P/F) > no late work! Also no more incomplete work. (%) > accumulate 25 points in Darebee Daily Dare thing (P/F) > pass recital hearing (P/F) > earn 94% or higher on next biology test (P/F) > earn full marks on next Spanish presentation (indigenous cultures; rehearse, do not read) (P/F) > Tame the Monkey (my score > Monkey at end of every week) (P/F *5) > limit phone (especially this) and laptop usage during the day and before bed. Things like using airplane mode or turning it off altogether during bio, practice, rehearsals, etc. Because EMFs are poison. > tennis ball rolling 3 days /week (% EC)

I usually wander around with other guilds from time to time, but we all know where I truly belong... Lately I've been wondering. I'm not much for survivalism and the zombie apocalypse preppers, but I did start thinking about if society were to collapse, where would I fit in? What am I useful for? I couldn't find a good answer. So I decided to start building myself up into what would be a useful, antifragile character in the future. I wrote down what will be a constantly-evolving character spreadsheet that I will be working on for the next 5 or so years. Since I have 4 more days before the challenge starts, I'm looking for suggestions for skill progressions that I could plug into my stats, before I start setting-up my missions. All input is welcome. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PIP ATTRIBUTE: GymnasticBodies. The goal is to hit up Front Lever, Rope Climb, Handstand, and Shoulder Roll at least twice a week. Ideally I'll finish F1 this month, but there's no rush. Front Lever Rope Climb Free Handstand Shoulder Roll SKILL: I just got called on again to assist at the kids class once a week, so I'll have to brush up on some techniques. Goal is to watch our coach's DVD series, 1 a week, and to take notes. Week 1: Week 2: Week 3: Week 4: PERK: My time management is garbage. I signed up for Mind Tools and have a 12-unit Time Management Learning Plan. 1. Managing Interruptions 2. Activity Logs 3. To-Do-Lists 4. Prioritization 5. The Action Priority Matrix 6. Eisenhower's Urgent/Important Principle 7. The Pickle Jar Theory 8. Effective Scheduling 9. Personal Goal Setting 10. Golden Rules of Goal Setting 11. Treasure Mapping 12. Overcoming Procrastination SIDE QUEST is to actively put up content for the Facebook Page. 8-12 links with commentary and 1 blog post this challenge period.

Yep. Time management. The one and only goal for this challenge. And here's why: I suck at it. And my life is going to become a chaotic mess if I don't make it a priority. November has brought a lot of change into my life, and December will do the same. Early in November, I started new medication (wellbrutrin). And that was after finding out that I was misdiagnosed with ADHD. Midway through the month, I started seeing a therapist for CBT. And now here, at the end of it, I landed a new job. Yeah, something finally came out of all that work that started all the way back in the summer. But there is a twist. This new job doesn't pay as much as my current job. At least not yet. And my current job barely pays the bills. So now I will be working two jobs. Yay? And to top it all off, I struggle with depression and social anxiety. In short, I'm going to have a real tough time with the new job until I get used to the place/people. Plus, I tend to get grumpy this time of year. It just irritates me so much that practically everyone assumes that I celebrate Christmas. I don't. And it doesn't help that when I try explaining my reasons most people try to give me reasons why my reasons are silly (i.e. not valid). So, I have to balance two jobs, therapy, workouts, making the apartment not look like a wreck, leisure/fun time, creative pursuits, and quality time with my wife. All while keeping my sanity. I hope I didn't leave anything out, because that's already a lot. (EDIT: I forgot basic self-care maintenance stuff, like remembering to eat, and hygiene.) I can break the goal down into two parts: making a schedule, and following the schedule. I'm sure it can be broken into smaller steps, but I can't see it right now. *Deep breath*

We all have 24 hours in a day. Somehow I manage to spent the majority of it f-ing around on Facebook. Zero Week: Going to try to figure out where all the time goes. Breakdown Monday: 1030 Wake up [WAKE UP TO BREAKFAST--50 minutes] Breakfast to 1120 Schoolwork to 1230 Lunch and video watching to 1430 Gym (and driving) to 1730 Traffic to 1820 School and drive home to 2115 Cook and DDF to 2205 Driving etc, bet at 0000 Tuesday: Wake up at 0500 0600-0700 class GB, school work to 0930 class to 1030 clean, etc to 1200 Take the dogs out, try to sleep to 1730 [OVER 5 HOURS UNACCOUNTED FOR] Schoolwork to 1900 BJJ to 2100 schoolwork, cook, DDF, etc, bed at 0000 Wednesday: 0940 wake up 1240 breakfast [4 HOURS UNACCOUNTED] GB Foundations, presentation, memes to 1600 driving and school to 2100 Thursday: 0500 wake up 0600-0700 class [90 minutes unaccounted] 0830-0900 class 0930-1030 class no idea after until Saturday morning. Eventually I will continue with my previous challenge: weekly task priority list, and CFE programming. In addition I will be working on my gymnastic skills by hitting up GB's Foundation program. 1. Prioritization Same weekly task list in descending importance. It has been working so far. 2. Addition by subtraction Statues are made not by adding, but by subtracting. I will find one thing to take a way per week. 3. Program Minimum GB Skills and CFE Programming. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Week 1 1) Task List: High Priority [x] Grocery [ ] Meal Prep [x] Final Exam (Wednesday) [x] Final Paper (Friday) Moderate Priority [ ] vehicle maintenance [ ] dog park [x] laundry [ ] organize closet Low Priority [ ] writing [ ] Duolingo [ ] organize desk 2) Addition by subtraction: This week will be an attempt to cut out the Ginger Ale (which will probably lead to me drinking more water). I seem to have been averaging 12 cans a week. 3) Program Minimum: GB Foundation [x] Front Lever [x] Side Lever [x] Manna [x] Straddle Planche [x] Hollow Back Press [x] Rope Climb [x] Single Leg Squat Sunday: [x] Rest Day, [ ] 1 hour study, [ ] 1 hour paper Monday: [x] Power Cleans, Pullups, HSPU, Rows, [x] 1 hour study, [ ] 1 hour paper Tuesday: [x] Squats, Dubs & Wall Balls, [ ] 800m, [ ] 1 hour study, [ ] 1 hour paper Wednesday: [x] Power Snatch & Ring Dips, [ ] 1 hour study, [ ] 1 hour paper Thursday: [x] 1-mile repeats, [ ] 1 hour paper Friday: [ ] Bench Press, KBS, [x] Finish paper Saturday: [ ] Run & Pullups, [ ] 200m repeats ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Week 2 1) Task List: High Priority [x] Grocery [ ] Meal Prep [ ] vehicle maintenance [ ] BJJ video (Ryan Hall Deep Half entry) [x] USA Gymnastics modules Low Priority [ ] organize desk [ ] writing [x] laundry [ ] organize closet [ ] dog park [x] Duolingo [ ] grad school application (letters of recommendation, goal statement, CV, writing sample by 15 Jan) [ ] 8weeksout modules 2) Addition by subtraction: Clear email, and unsubscribe from lists. 3) Program Minimum: GB Foundation [x] Front Lever [x] Side Lever [x] Manna [x] Straddle Planche [-] Hollow Back Press [-] Rope Climb [-] Single Leg Squat CFE Sunday: [x] Rest Day Monday: [x] Snatch; HPS, MU, Run Tuesday: [-] Press; Barbara [-] Sprint Ladders Wednesday: [-] Deadlift; Rowing Thursday: [x] 2k repeats Friday: [x] Squat; Power cleans, push press, front squat Saturday: [-] HSPU, SDHP, K2E [x] 100m repeats ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Week 3 1) Task List: High Priority [x] Grocery [x] Meal Prep [x] vehicle maintenance Low Priority [x] FAFSA [x] VA certs [ ] grad school application (letters of recommendation, goal statement, CV, writing sample by 15 Jan) [ ] BJJ video (Ryan Hall Deep Half entry) [ ] organize desk [ ] writing [x] laundry [ ] organize closet [ ] dog park [x] Duolingo [x] 8weeksout module 1 2) Addition by subtraction: Clear open browser tabs on laptop by the end of the week. 3) Program Minimum: GB Foundation [x] Front Lever [x] Side Lever [x] Manna [x] Straddle Planche [x] Hollow Back Press [x] Rope Climb [ ] Single Leg Squat CFE Sunday: [x] Rest day Monday: [x] Clean cycling, [-] Burpees Tuesday: [-] Rest day Wednesday: [-] Push Press & Box Jumps, [x] 30-sec. Repeats Thursday: [-] Thrusters & C2B, [-] Hang Power Clean, Ring Pushups Friday: [-] Bench Press, 400m & OHS Saturday: [x] 60-min Run ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Week 4 1) Task List: High Priority [x] Meal Prep [x] Parking Sticker [ ] grad school application (letters of recommendation, goal statement, CV, writing sample by 15 Jan) [ ] Budget Spreadsheet Low Priority [ ] BJJ video (Ryan Hall Deep Half entry) [ ] organize desk [ ] writing [ ] laundry [ ] organize closet [ ] dog park [x] Duolingo [ ] 8weeksout module 2) Addition by subtraction: Clear open browser tabs on laptop by the end of the week. 17 total on computer. Then proceed to phone. 3) Program Minimum: GB Foundation [x] Front Lever [ ] Side Lever [ ] Manna [x] Straddle Planche [x] Hollow Back Press [x] Rope Climb [ ] Single Leg Squat CFE Sunday: [x] Rest day Monday: [-] Squats, Cindy Tuesday: [x] Dubs, Ring Dips, Power Cleans; [ ] 5-min Intervals Wednesday: [y] Push Jerk, 800m, Muscle-ups, Push Press Thursday: [ ] 800m Friday: [ ] Snatch, Clean Saturday: [ ] 60-min Run

Rangering back up again, due to my incessant need to do all the things all the time. I imagine the main goal in this challenge would be prioritization, time management, and accountability. 1. Weekly Task List Because I've gotten used to [what I perceive as] chaotic and overwhelming schedules, I tend to wing it in life. Not only does it make my schedule even more unmanageable, I tend to miss a lot of important stuff as well. As said in Extreme Ownership, discipline equals freedom. I'll be working on my task list and priorities at the beginning of the week, and do my best to accomplish them. 2. Follow The Program I'm running a marathon on the first week of January, and I'm not sure why. I tried training for it classically by slowly ramping up the miles but the volume was killing me and eating up my entire day (even though I was able to hatch some sweet Pokemon out of it). Now I'm following Brian MacKenzie's 12-week program from The 4-hour Body, as it sounds more in line with my situation and goals (i.e. having a life other than running) and programming for oneself sucks. We'll see what happens. I would also like to maintain 1-2 BJJ sessions a week, and get some handstands in; nothing too crazy--just play and practice. 3. 22 Push-ups I was tagged by one of my students in the 22 Push-ups 10 days ago. I'm doing it. I'm not tagging anyone; I'm just doing it and if someone sees it or makes a donation, great. But I'd like to see it through, with 12 more days to go. Whether the movement is helping or not is beyond me, but I have had my own (now funny) experience(s) with it, so I don't really think I doubt my [primary] intentions. 4. Side Quest: Sleep Tracking Because I love sleep.

Well what do you know?? I actually am ALIVE!!!! It's been a few months since I've spent a goodly amount of time here and rightly so, I've also not been spending a goodly amount of time and energy of my health and wellness. Let's just call it my summertime hibernation Now that that's over, time for me to get my rear back moving and get this body into shape that doesn't involve keeping it in an awkward state. On that note, let's point to what I'm going to use as a focus, a show I haven't fully watched yet: Stargate SG-1 I had seen a couple of seasons and a little of Stargate Universe but the one I didn't touch enough of was Stargate Atlantis and at this point I've now powered through the first season. So, what better source of motivation to get my journeys going again?! Step One: Learning to Power the Gate When they left Earth for Atlantis, the expedition team needed the power of a ZPM (Zero Point Module) to have enough energy to get them from our galaxy to the Pegasus Galaxy. So the way I need to properly prepare for the adventures is to make sure I'm properly powered. Which means I need to very much lessen the amount of junk I'm putting into my body. While macros would probably be best, I'm going to start with something simplier, two meals per week that are cooked from scratch. Now, making food just for myself is sometimes very hard because you don't want to make too much so this might involve a lot of crock pot recipes that will then just turn into the same meal for dinner a couple of times in a row (but if it's cheaper and better for me so be it). Two Meals per week goal. Step Two: Being Combat Ready If I'm going to step out there into the big bad universe, I need to be ready for anything (that we know of). So what I need to do is get down and work on this form, get it to something more like a healthy, functional human being. So the plan is to get 30 minutes in total on days that I work out. Goal is three days per week but more are perfectly acceptable. I'm thinking variations on walking (possibly using the Zombie Run app), squats and lower body workouts, pushups and upper body work. Step Three: Staying Sane Simple goal here, a tired mind is a flawed mind and mistakes can and will be made. So what I need to do, for the sake of my sanity and some consistency, is to make sure that I start following guidelines for getting quality sleep. Now days off work I'm not too concerned with but the workdays are critical. So, typically I will wake up starting at 7 AM for early morning shifts and 8:30 for late morning shifts. The goal here is simple: seven hours of sleep on work nights. With five days of work each week, that means I will be in bed resting by midnight on early days and 1:30 on later days. That is my step in the right direction, to get me back on this path to where I need to be. Let's get this adventure ready!!!

Sleep - Get To Bed As Early As 10:30 PM Gotta get that sleep. I'm still shooting for 10:30, but shooting for earlier seems to help occasionally. If I try to go to bed earlier, I procrastinate earlier. ^ This still remains true. Most nights, i'm going to bed at 10:50-11:20 PM, which gives me little more than (generally less than) 6 hours of sleep. I'd like to bump that up, and I know exactly how to do so. The key is getting myself to follow through. Food - Make and Eat Good Balanced Meals I'm in an interesting state of not knowing what the heck is going on. For a few weeks now i've not been eating a solid breakfast. That had been working for quite a while, but now i'm unsure. There are lots of things going on that could be causing me stomach trouble, a major one being stress. That makes narrowing down the problem really difficult. I'm going to make a best effort to fit a solid breakfast back into my late morning (9-ish) to see if that alleviates the problems. Workout - Practice Aam Ka Jutsu and Kettlebell My martial art is my priority and I want to spend more time training and practicing. The last few challenges, i've split my four workouts per week into two lift days and two training days. I want to try having one lift day (say Monday) and 3 training days (Tuesday, Thursday, Friday). This is a trial run of sorts, for when i'll be back at school next challenge. Code - Work On Projects and Track Time I'm going to continue to work on my projects and log my time. –––––– Feel free to follow along and call me out if I need it. Keep being awesome. Hail Hydrate.

I turn thirty this month. I've a mortgage, the Finch and I are expecting a baby. We're getting buying† a car from my parents. I am on the tipping point into Ætas Adulta, and out of the land of the carefree twenties. It turns out that my priorities have been a little askew. Not terribly much, and when I wasn't in school, it worked out fine. It was a little rockier after I started school but with all this freaking adulting happening, the skew is now causing a bit of strife. I'm also the worst at communication: I tend not to say what I'm thinking during Important Conversations™, for fear of making conflict worse. I'm pretty sure this started as a coping mechanism because when I get upset, my brain jams and often what I'm thinking is unfair or inflammatory, which by not voicing I don't step on anything. The problem is though when the not voicing itself it the stepping in anything. The next five and a half weeks are to prioritize housework and communication with the Finch. I do also need to keep up with my schoolwork, with this self-directed course that I'm taking. While I've started by filling out my Passion Planner for the week, I'm kinda at a loss for what to do for how to fill out chore lists, and then on top of that my mental tunnel-vision makes it difficult to look around the condo and seeing what needs to get done. Week -1: Try to pinpoint what can be done to improve accountability at home and improve communication. Then build the plan for the rest of the challenge. Challenge: Let's do a KISS challenge! Fill out the passion planner every Sunday for the week. Include some Unfrell Your Habitat time for everyday. Unfrell Your Habitat: do a little bit of house work every day. Particularly, because they're the worst: no bed until the dishes are clean. That way they don't pile up. Two outings a week with the Finch that's just us, even if it's just for a Pokéwalk † Since my parents already gifted so much for our down payment, they can't gift anymore without someone taking a big ding in taxes. So I'm purchasing my mother's Honda for a nominal fee to avoid that. It's still steeply discounted from the blue book value.

"The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the Shadow. Let the Dragon ride again on the winds of time." So, here's the thing. I've read Lord of the Rings and some Game of Thrones and I know that there's lots of good stuff out there. But believe it or not, neither of those were really my first epic fantasy. Oh, I mean, sure, I read LOTR as a kid, but like I didn't get it, you know? A lot of it just went in one eyeball and out the other. I think I learned more about it reading the commentaries than actually reading the book itself the first time. What I'm trying to get at is that, for me, the first fantasy series that I really grokked on any level was the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. What is the Wheel of Time about? Basically... it's a free for all. A battle of the sexes caught up in the battle against annihilation. Man versus woman versus Evil. It's epic and awesome, and it's the kind of series where I go back and reread and always find something new to take from it. And with the news coming down that the legal hurdles have been cleared and that a TV series is somewhere in the future, well... the days I have to actually finish reading this thing are numbered. So, let's dig into this. The books have three protagonists at their center, each of whom represents something admirable. Although I don't know if I'll continue with the series as a theme for my challenges, I think I can make do with this lot to start. Rand Al'Thor. "I am tired of running. Tired of you threatening my friends. I will run no more." Rand is a stubborn fellow. He and his friends come from a place where stubbornness is a way of life. Dig deep and hold your ground. My body is adapting to the work at the store. Now I must make my mind follow suit. Set the day's training agenda, and stick to it, no matter what. I always regret something rushed, but I never regret something done late in the day or in the night. Matrim Cauthon. "Blood and bloody ashes!" Mat's a bit of a contrast with the others. He hears the call to adventure and, after the first one, spends a good amount of time trying to run from the call. The call, sadly, knows where he lives, and very often beats him to the place he is trying to go. This one's all about locomotion. I heard there was a GoRuck happening up in Boston in November, and while I don't know if the money's going to come together to make it happen, training as if it could or would is probably going to benefit me. So, there are two things I need to grow comfy with. Moving with a pack, and swimming. So: Find and acquire 6 bricks for the pack Acquire and begin applying Total Immersion Perrin Aybara. "We don't talk about being men, we just are." ("That's why you make such a bad job of it.") Despite his size, Perrin's actually a very gentle young man in the beginning. He is known for being deliberate and careful with his thoughts, and given how the journey changes him, this is a Very Good Thing. Continue mental training with an emphasis on awareness and correction of emotionally useless states. Moiraine Damodred. "The Wheel weaves as the Wheel wills." Oh, Moiraine. The first real badass. More Gandalf than Gandalf to me. There's no hiding that she has a story to tell, but when we first meet her, she's trying to learn stories and to understand and read the Pattern of the world around her. So, a reading challenge. Finish The Eye of the World by the end of the challenge. Don't laugh. It's a big book and I read slow. Though maybe I should pick up something about speed reading if I can. Maybe that would help. ... Time to throw the dice...

"A safari /səˈfɑːri/ is an overland journey, usually a trip by tourists to Africa. In the past, the trip was often a big-game hunt, but today, safari often refers to trips to observe and photograph wildlife—or hiking and sight-seeing as well." "Hatari! (pronounced [hɑtɑri], Swahili for "Danger!") is a 1962 American action/adventure romantic drama film directed by Howard Hawks and starring John Wayne. It portrays a group of professional wildlife catchers in Africa. The film includes dramatic wildlife chases and the scenic backdrop of Mount Meru, a dormant volcano." [credits: wikipedia] Hatari! is one of my favorite John Wayne movies. In the movie, the wildlife catchers are collecting animals for zoos around the world, caring for the animals and having some pretty ingenious ways of capturing them. In this challenge, I'll be setting my sights on the "animals" I want to "collect" for my imaginary zoo. Each element of my challenge will have an associated animal to capture by the end of the challenge. But there's also another Safari in my life: a disc golf one. "Safari Golf – [slang term] This is when players create a new route through an established course. For example: instead of playing the holes in order, players may choose to use the tee from hole one to throw towards hole 6. (Reference: Gypsy Golf) [credit: disctroy] Here's the disc golf safari in my life: Allen (hubby) and I are running this tournament together and playing in the Mixed Doubles division. I have alot of responsibilities for helping organize, plan, and run the event, which is on the last day of the challenge. I also need to work on my game, which is a little rusty after not playing all winter. If you're unfamiliar with disc golf, here you go in a nutshell. It's one of the fastest growing pro/am sports worldwide. So onto my challenge goals, the animals I want to collect for my imaginary zoo: Main quest: Rhino My Rhino is the disc golf safari tournament. I have a lot to do: --Upload regular photos/updates to the Peoria Frisbee Club & Celebrate Recovery Facebook pages --Photograph and edit pics of all the donated raffle prizes and players' packs --Keep track of all event volunteers [and gain said volunteers in the first place] --Keep the CR leadership/PFC leadership up to date on all progress for the event --Produce handouts/fundraising packets/powerpoint slides for CR and keep them up to date and have plenty on hand of the consumables --work on my game (play as many rounds as possible, practice my putts on workout days, get in as much field work as I can) Second Quest: Zebra My Zebra is time management. I need to: --Work on all of my zoo animals in a timely manner and not procrastinate or the fast-moving horse-like thingy will get away from me. --Use a calendar to schedule when I work on things. --Practice the presence of "no". No new projects, no spur-of-the-moment side adventures. I have alot on my plate in April and don't have time to get distracted. Quest 3: Giraffe My Giraffe is my yard. April is when things spring into action and everything is tall and needs to be corralled. My trees, my bushes, my grass. --Get Trimline to either commit to mowing my grass or find someone else. I'm tired of their lackadaisical attitude. --Get out there today, do a review of the yard and what needs to get done, in what order and under what schedule. --Talk with Allen about where we're going with the landscaping and make it a joint effort (I'm tired of doing all the yardwork myself...) --Get the house perimeter sprayed Quest 4: Buffalo My Buffalo is continuing my strength training. I made tremendous noob gainz last month, and I'm going to continue working at it. But, somehow I messed up my right MCL, so I'm backing down on the weight until it heals. I.) work out 3x a week (disc golf is bonus) Each of these exercises is done between 3-5 sets per workout, depending on how I feel --Squats: bodyweight until MCL heals --Push Ups: Wall push ups, working on wrist strength and mobility --Lunges: bodyweight static lunges until MCL heals --Dumbbell Rows: currently 10|30# --Elbow Planks: currently 40 seconds --Disc Golf Putts: currently averaging 7|10 putts from 15 foot distance --Bicep Curls: currently 5|30#, 2|35#MR --Triceps Kick-Back: thinking of starting these again because I know my triceps are weak. I'd been able to do 3 x 7.5# a year ago. So I'll start there. 2.) Weight and measurement baseline for April: Age: 50. Height: 5'8" --Weight: 175.8 --Underbust measurement: 32" --Waist measurement: 30.8" --Hip measurement: 37.2" --Thigh measurement: 23.8" 3.) Track all my food, continuing a +/- 1700 calorie goal. Macro goals: --Protein: 106g --Fat: 76g --Carbs: 149g --Fiber: 25g Quest 5: Monkeys In the movie, they need to catch some Vervet monkeys, and because those monkeys bite, claw, scratch and otherwise cause mayhem, the team has to protect themselves while at the same time capturing the monkeys without harming them. My Monkeys are my social skills. --I will remember my slogan: 'not my monkeys.' As in, 'not my circus, not my monkeys'. I remind myself that other people's monkeys are their issues and their responsibility, not mine. I'm not responsible for fixing people or for being the peacemaker when that means being codependent. --I should keep my own monkeys in check and not let them fling poo at others, especially when I'm under alot of stress like April looks to be. In other words, I will use the relational tools available to me to respond appropriately to people and situations mindfully, rather than knee-jerk reacting. --I will remind myself to not take things personally, and I don't need to act as if every person I come across must like me. Sometimes personalities clash. Sometimes it my monkeys; sometimes it's theirs, sometimes it's both. Live at peace with one another as much as it depends on you; but sometimes it doesn't depend on you. --I will work on prayerfully saying the Serenity Prayer like I used to do, which was a good centering practice.

I'm returning to doing challenges! I gave up after failing challenges and not focusing my goals properly. But I have just finished reading Steve's book and have the motivation to make a difference to my life again! So here we go. Goal: Get to the gym Reason: I haven't been to the gym much recently (thanks to illnesses, injuries and people dying). I need to reintroduce it as a habit in my life. I enjoy getting stronger and want to be able to do awesome things with my body. What: Go to the gym three times a week following the StrongLifts programme to get my lifts back to what I was achieving in 2014. Simple as that. How: Plan when I'm going to the gym into my week. Bonus points: additional physical activities (stop sniggering at the back) like yoga, walks, etc. Motivation: Being awesome and ready for anything life throws at me. Zombie apocalpyse? Survived. Need to save the galaxy? Sorted. Goal: Prepare lunches for work Reason: It is cheaper, healthier and less limited. I calculated how much I was spending buying lunch and tea on work days and it amounts to over £1000 a year. That doesn't include additional treats! Plus the amount of calories eaten and choice of food (as a veggie) just isn't worth it. What: as it says on the tin. The day before I start work I will prepare enough lunches for the week that are relatively low in calories and consisting of lots of veggies and protein. I will also spend time trying to find new recipes to keep the variety up. How: reminding myself of how much I'm spending on food and what it could be spent on. Motivation: Think how many awesome adventures £1000 a year could provide. Goal: Reduce time wasting Reason: I kill the time between getting home from work and going to bed, or my days off, by sitting on the sofawith my iPad and browsing Internet and social media. No matter how bored of it I am I keep doing it. It is easier than finding something to do. Even things I want to do. What: every night after work spend 30 mins with no internet usage. On non work days this will be two hours (broken up in to however it is needed) and does not includetime spent on other parts of my challenge i.e. Gym, food prep. Time should be spent either working on epic quest (e.g. Writing, learning, planning) or other things that need to be done (otherwise known as adulting) How: Every week I will write a to-do list for the week of things that need to be done and I will work on my epic quest list. Bonus: for every extra 30 mins per day Rewards: paying for CrossFit beginners classes if I consistently achieve my goals (it ticks off my goal of trying new fitness things and summoning courage of going into completely new social surroundings). If mostly achieved a new piece of workout gear.

What’s This? What’s This? There’s Yoga Everywhere! What’s This? There’s Smiling in the Air! Hello and welcome to RoseofMay’s third six week challenge! In saying goodbye to Halloween, we begin to approach one of my other favorite holidays: Christmas! What better way to work through this new challenge than with some help from some of the friendly folk of Halloween Town? In this challenge, I am going to continue working with yoga practices, sharpening my food habits, reminding myself of the good times, and simplifying my day with a little practice of time management. Quest One: Sally I am going to be looking for yoga routines that engage your core. I’m certain that nearly every routine and pose does that, but I want to focus on strengthening that area. In addition, I want to work on breathing and finding my center. My goal is to do 15 minutes of core strength work 3 days/week, and 5 minutes of stretching and breathing exercises every day. Quest Two: Lock, Shock, and Barrel...or Calories, Sugars, and Fats I am determined to get into the good habit of keeping track of my food. I also want to put forth the effort to keep an eye on my sugar and fat intake. Staying within my caloric intake is important, but I noticed that despite coming in under that number, things such as sugar and fat would go overboard. Sugar more than anything else. That said, I am going to work to be mindful of the amount sugar things have, good sugars vs bad sugars, healthy fats, and looking for filling foods that will help me feel satisfied rather than hungry an hour later. Calories/Day: Sugar/Day: Fat/Day: Quest Three: Jack Skellington As the weather is growing colder, it means that moods will begin to decline in our house. I have decided to use one of my goals to make sure that I help not only myself, but my Mom. We will take the time every day to make a list of 5 things that make us happy. We will keep them tucked away in a special notebook so that whenever we are feeling down, we can refer to it. I think in doing the above, we will be able to see that there are so many things for us to be happy about should we be having a less than stellar day. Life Quest: The Mayor I need to work on my time management. I know that I could be accomplishing a lot of things if I managed my time better. Stop procrastinating until the last minute for things like projects, dinner, phone calls, cleaning...etc. Get it done early and not worry about it later. Doing this with everyday life will just help make everything go smoother. To accomplish this, I am going to make daily to-do lists along with a weekly to-do list. Instead of trying to narrow down a concrete routine, knowing what I should be accomplishing on a daily and weekly basis will help me prioritize my time. This includes time for myself!

One has not been as active in the Monk's section lately. The madness drives one to solitude, the solitude drives one to madness; and one neglects an entire community of supporters who are willing to keep me accountable. And we all have a meeting place. THE QUEST One With The Universe Declare a schedule at the beginning of the week. Even if I don't follow the schedule to a T, having a schedule gives me a reason to not sit around wallowing in misery (or at least limit the time that I spend doing it). And declaring said schedule, I suppose, would keep me honest, or at least make me work hard to be otherwise. (+2 CON, +2 WIS) The Middle Way Despite keeping to myself, I spend too much time on Facebook. But I cannot just delete Facebook, since it also deals with my work, so I have resolved to follow Intermittent Facebook Fasting. No Facebook from dawn to dusk. (+2 CON, +2 WIS) Embrace The Madness I have a blog, but it remains relatively empty. I have words running around in my head but I never write them down. I shall spend at least two hours a week reflecting and writing on my notebook. (+3 WIS) SIDE QUEST Basic Review A rather overdue belt test is coming up, and I am going to take part in it. No more sandbagging [albeit honest]. Review techniques from the Gracie University's Blue Belt requirements. (+2 DEX, +2 WIS)

Hello and welcome to another installment of the Kyliewyotie show. In this episode you will watch as Kyliewyotie learns to better manage his time, prepare for the addition to the family, lose weight, all while getting stronger! Insert obligatory gif here Goal 1: Manage my time better. I have been good about forcing myself to do my workouts, but lately I have been getting home from work late, taking care of the dogs later, and working out even later, leaving dinner and bedtime for really late. And leaving no time for chores, fun, or other needed activities. I have decided to try and adjust my life schedule to allow for more effective use of my time. I im the process of wokring into a promotion at work, which means even more hours at work, and with a baby on the way I know this current path is not sustainable. Something needs to change and this is my plan. A. Work out in the mornings, this means getting up at 5 am but means that when work is over I am free for other activities. I have taken my normal work out and spread it over 5 days instead of 3, so I won't be cutting anything out, but makes everydays work about 45 mins long. My wife (Heathbar) will be joining me for 3 days in the morning. Were collaborating. B.Use work and walking the dogs to get my needed steps in, aiming for 10.5k. Instead of planning walks while watching videos in the park. C. Fully commit to using my electronic planner, I do so for work, but planning out my chores, and other activities at home will allow me to better use my time. D. Continue to do my wizerscices, getting in bonus exercises is a win all around. Goal 2: Lose Weight Lets keep it simple and say I will lose 6 lbs, that is one lb a week. Starting point to be determined tomorrow morning. My plan of action is to track calories using Myfitness pal, and come in under 2k calories with the allowance of one cheat day. I am collaborating with the Heathbar on goal also. Goal 3: Get Stronger I have been doing the morning workouts for just over a week now, and well its kinda sucks. In all honesty I got really into increasing numbers, and my workouts were were becoming so strenuous, that I just couldn't do them first thing in the morning. So I made the decision to drop 25% and rebuild my lifts. I will post my new starting points and I will aim for a 10% increase, since last time 5% came fairly easy. I am still rocking my body weight routine as well and I may adjust my exercises for more difficult varieties. I will see how that goes through the challenge. My wife is doing the body weight stuff with me and I am solo on my stronglifts. Life Goal: Prepare for Baby Makayla The main goal here is to swap our office (fancy sounding video game room) into a nursery. My wife is awesome, and agreed to a star wars themed room, so that great! It will require a lot of demo and most likely a bunch of drywall work. Flooring will also need to be swapped, paint, trim, etc. the list is pretty long and may not be finished in 6 weeks, but it will have to be done in the next 3-4 months to hit a deadline I am unable to move. Pics before after and during should be expected. I will also be having a baby shower soon, and my wife has told me I need to go pick out baby stuffs with her. So I need to make that happen as well. TL;DR: 1. Not enough time, find more 2. Fight the fat kid, fight dirty if needed 3. lift moar weight 4. baby coming, OMG preps need doing I'm super stoked to be part of NF again. It really helps me to keep my fitness and nutrition in mind while life keeps plotting along.

Started our Accountabililbuddies group because we have our requisite 3 Adventurers and 3 Scouts! The following points will be things we need to discuss. Any other points are welcome. I will put a tally of how many of our group have replied next to each point. Group name! 1/6 Group Focus 0/6 Group goals: do we want them? 0/6 Tracking: How do we track our goals and keep each other accountable? 0/6 Time management aspect of group 0/6 Amount of detail shared / length of posts 0/6 Regularity of checking in for progress 0/6 Anything else 0/6 Check in by posting and I'll cross you're name off the following list to say you've arrived and joined! Terinatum (S) Breadstrings (A) jkiley (A) theholliesangel(A) Risasukka (S) Ithil (S)

Oh gosh it's been a while. Hi again So, the moment I decide to join in the next challenge my life goes CRAZY. That's how life works, isn't it? Main goal: 2 times a week = gymtime. Tuesday night will be Zumba (as has become the norm) and then one more time for some strength based training. (Probably on Saturday morning, or maybe a circuit-style group lesson). Main-sub-goal: Don't go absolutely crazy by suddenly working 5 days a week at two different schools (what have I done?!?!?!?) That's it. No other hidden 'for fun' goals or even thinking about them. If I end up doing other stuff, great. If not but I get to the gym two times a week and I'm able to do my work and not completely feel like a zombie that's all I wish for. Even if I get to the gym two times a week AND feel like a zombie but manage work, that's still a win and thus a level up. ---------- Will probably edit with pretty pictures/gifs and other stuff. But this is the core of my challenge. No, this IS my challenge.

Time to get serious here. Goal: reduce body fat so as to fit in a pair of lovely blue pants. Also: feel strong and in control of my life and fitness. To achieve this goal: 1) Whole30. I thought it might be crazy, but I looked at it closely, and I thought it might work better than what I'd been doing before, namely, giving myself "a day off" from paleo far too often. In practice, this really means for me: eating no rice/styrofoam crackers with butter, no honey or dried fruit, no alcohol. Also: unlimited veggies. I've spelled it out to the husband, so that he doesn't open a nice bottle of red until Dec 9... 2) Time management: already I got my hand on books and resources, and those have been pretty useful. In practice, this means planning ahead, which might kill my sense of spontaneity, but I simply can't continue my life as an improv. (It was fine when I was on my own, but now there's 4 of us). I've started writing down what we've been eating, and just that helps with planning the cooking. I've been planning my daily 17 min of meditation (since week 2 of the last challenge). I've also decided to hire a babysitter who comes in 2 days a week. This will allow me time for myself, and some time for getting back into fitness. 3) Getting back into fitness: I liked the BBWW, so efficient. I bought a membership card for a nice gym (not the closest one, but the nicest), so I have no excuses: I've got the babysitter, I've got the gym, it has to be 3 times a week. Bonus points for going swimming on days off. 4) Sleep: the bedtime of 11pm set last challenge was ok, but can definitely be improved on. 10:30pm. 5) Positivity: this should stem from better planning/time management, reintroducing the BBWW, and getting more sleep. But, inspired by the week 2 mini-challenge of the previous challenge and elsfaire's last challenge, I'm going to put on my schedule to meditate about 17-20 minutes after lunch every day, and also ask myself the positivity questions. Well, to start off with, just the one: what are you grateful for today? This seems like a bit much perhaps. But for the last two challenges, I'd been setting the bar a bit low, so as to guarantee a successful result, and it didn't work that well, things fizzled out at the end, each time. This week end I was listening to a podcast, and two pieces of advice came through that had me stopped in my tracks: 1) work on yourself (do something to improve yourself), and 2) honor your commitments to yourself. So that's what I'm going to do, and I think that stepping up my game in terms of time management will be the key to success.

SleepyGi, Challenge #3: Wrapping up my first trilogy Unfortunately, since the last challenge I have been searching for the bottom, but have instead been freefalling... with a vengeance. Examples include my unwillingness to cook for myself or eat anything with any nutritional value, my newfound interest in overindulging in snacks that I don't even like, and my general apathy toward basically everything. I'm at my heaviest weight in probably a year, so that's not the best. Worst of all, though, I can't seem to get excited about anything, even things I was super-excited about just a month ago. So, that's where I'm starting. Where I'm at is not a pretty place, but it's not so bad if I let go of where I thought I'd be by now. In fact, let's see some quick stats: Weight: 147 lbs Caliper measured BF%: 25.25% I can definitely work with those. Over the next six weeks, I'd love to see some improvement in those areas, but I don't want to let myself get hung up on those numbers. What I need is a healthy lifestyle, so I'd like to spend this challenge taking some strides in that direction, and letting the stats fall where they may. Challenge Quests: -Aresto momentum [3 possible points]: First order of business is slowing down (and hopefully stopping) this dietary tailspin! I need to get back to basics: more good stuff less bad stuff. +1 CON: Drink 10 glasses of water/day. To help facilitate this, I'm using my quart-sized water-bottle and a basic routine: half a bottle with my morning coffee/breakfast, and full bottles with lunch and dinner. This should really help with my headaches (8 glasses/day doesn't cut it) and help stem the tide of overeating. +1 CON: Reduce meals/snacks containing processed foods to 3/week. I want this stuff out of my life, so so so bad! It's like being in a terrible on again off again relationship. Oh bread! You know I'll always love you, but you're no good for me, and I need to move on! +1 WIS: Read 1 article or watch 1 documentary per week on nutrition or meal planning to stay informed and motivated. -"A thousand push-ups" [3 possible points]: In the last challenge I set a goal about the amount of time I would spend exercising or engaging in an activity each day, but instead of taking that opportunity to make exercise a priority I ended up just tracking/counting the amount of activity that I typically get in a day. I'd like to make a pact (with myself) that I will make exercise for exercise's sake a priority, everyday, even if it's only for 5 minutes. +1 STR: Complete NFA workouts 4x/week (avg). +1 STA: Complete C25K sessions 3x/week (avg). +1 CHA: Exercise with someone else at least 2x: go rock climbing with my husband, take a class or find a meetup, walk the dog, etc. It would be especially great to get my close friends or family involved, since right now I spend most of my time [eating] with them. Life Quest: -Master the snarfblatt [2 possible points]: Since motivation has been in short supply, I thought it might be a good idea to put in something fun. I have a basic wooden flute that I'd love to spend more time with. I think it would be great to learn a new instrument, or at least the basic grammar of it. Plus, it would be a guaranteed way to keep music (if we can call the screechy squeaks that are all I know how to make on the flute at this point, music) a regular part of my routine. I need it. +1 WIS: Get at least 6, half-hour sessions in before the end of the challenge. +1CHA: Learn a basic song, record it, and post it here at the end of the challenge, which should be hilarious. And so it begins. I'm at least feeling pretty good that I am actually starting this challenge on time, and I really like the goals that I've set for myself. I hope that I can capitalize on these good vibes!