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This is a short cycle, but I’m determined to roll into this new year on track. At the start of this challenge, I’ll be on vacation celebrating my 40th(!!!) birthday with friends in a place I never imagined I’d actually get to visit. I plan to OD on junglescapes, Insta-worthy healthy food, yoga, boutique shopping and (hopefully) some culture. While I’m put, my goal is to maintain or increase my yoga schedule (a solid 2x a week - hoping for 3), and look into which other classes I might want to get into. Word around the campfire is that more friends are moving on, so I need to do what I can now to mitigate that shit. I will also continue to try and not eat like an asshole, aim to finish at least 1 more sewing project, will continue working on dog training, and hope to spend more time outside and off my couch. It is the “good” season, afterall. It would be a shame to miss it. Holiday 2019, let’s do this!

Regular Gnoll, Regular Gnoll! Hello all! Welcome to my NEIN Challenge! Which, of course means no challenge. And is a great reference to the new campaign for Critical Role, which I love. Totes <3s. Anyway. It's zero week now, making next week Week 1, but I will be in sunny California starting on the 21st and for a whole week. Those of you who know me, or are somehow my twin (Hi @karinajean!) will understand that starting a brand new challenge without the chance to focus on the new lovely goals you set up, makes for a MEEEEEHXPERIENCE! So I am not challenging this time. Just a sort of battle log-esque thing, in the forums for challenges, to remind me to not lose track completely. This week, I will focus on getting some lifts and exercise in before I begin traveling. 3 Lifts ☑ ☐ ☐ 2 Moves ☐ ☐ I will eat healthfully, with the food I have here, so I do not spend money before the trip. I will not eat snacks (salty or sweet) unless I am feeling a little hungry. Food is for filling and tasting, not just for tasting because yum. Breakfast at work will be the last couple eggs and the oatmeal I already bought weeks ago. Lunches at work will be Tuna Melts because I had English Muffins left over from last week's shopping. Snacks of apples and yogurts as per usual. Dinners at home Mon Wed and Fri. Tuesday dinner is either those rice shrimp bowls or Chipotle (bowl, no rice) if our friend wants to go out before our trip. Thursday is local taco place because it is SO much better than crappy Chipotle. Snacks at gamer house will be a single healthful sweet + skim or almond milk. A single serving of popcorn if I get real noshy. I will aim to get 3 days of art on the tablet in before I go on my trip. ☐ ☐ ☐ I will aim for 1-2 sketch days IF able to do so without incurring other stress for trip needs. ☐ ☐ Vacation Readiness Checklist Print directions out. ☑ Print receipts and confirmations. ☑ Write contact list out for my sister. ☐ Write emergency contact list for me. ☐ Write up To Pack List. ☐ Check camera and pack components. ☐ Find Atlas! ☐ Flight Info for our Drivers. ☐ Where am I going you say? Death Valley National Park for 3 days, then shifting south to Joshua Tree for 3 days, back up to Vegas to hit Red Rock Canyon or maybe kayak Lake Mead and then home! If nice weather will not come to me, then by the Travelers Knickers, I will go to it! Getting really excited too! And as of right now, not anxious/nervous at all!

Ummmmmm ..... sooooooo ..... last challenge is over??? I kinda lost 11 days there while I was away, aaaaaaaand forgot that challenge was one of the reasons I was keeping (slack ass as it were) contact with my friends. This cycle looks to be little better galavanting-wize. I'm theoretically off to Abu Dhabi next week (leave it to DH's job to approve travel at the very last minute possible), and Challenge ends the day after I get back from DH's first real vacation since the move - in Sri Lanka. So. Probably won't be starting any lofty fitness plans this cycle. Will continue to Keto to the best of my abilities. Hoping to post a 'what i eat in a day' video this month ... super meant to for all my keto newb friends last month but flaked. Will continue to take pupper for her walks as long as the weather holds out. Will continue with my socialization so I don't goes crazy. Will continue to keep minimalism in mind as I spend more time than I'd like cruising the malls. Will continue to do what I can to try and yank DH out of his self pity/adjusting to a new location spin. Will formulate a plan that is going to cost a little money and not be as convenient as I want it to be re: fitness going forward. I'm going to have to compromise and I DON'T WANT TO. But, self-motivation is absolutely not happening if this past ... ummmm ... year? Two years? has taught me anything. I don't has it without that carrot of race bling to dangle in front of myself. I'm currently trying to wrap my brain around committing 4 weeks to a personal trainer - and paying for that. Don't Wanna. Friends Love Him. He Will Come To My Building. WHINE. NOPE, STILL WHINING. CONTINUED WHINING

I am heading to an epic vacation in Glacier National Park starting August 11th. I've dreamed of going there for quite some time, but only within the last year has my dream transformed into blossoming reality. I was at first going to go by myself, somehow... But lucky for me, two awesome friends heard my plans and decided that they wanted to come, too! We have a camping cabin reserved for four nights, and one night we'll be sleeping in a tipi on the Blackfeet Reservation. There'll be horseback riding, whitewater rafting, kayaking, and much hiking in the mountains. I'm from Wisconsin, no mountains here, so that makes preparing somewhat difficult. In this last challenge before the trip, I want to make some improvements while I can. The stronger I can get now, the better off I'll be for the trip. Which I am so excited for, I can hardly stand it, btw... The big issue for me at the moment is I've had a flair-up of lower back pain that hasn't bothered me in nearly a year. That sucks. It means I have to take it easy for a bit, and not do the squat challenge I was hoping to do to get my legs ready for climbing. But there's still plenty that I can do, and if my back improves, the squats can still happen. In the meantime, I thought I'd test out a few weight loss 'tips' to see if they'll help me drop a little bit for V-Day. 1. 12 Hour Food Deficit - I'm testing this dieting tip that recommends a twelve hour gap between the last thing you eat at night, and the first thing you eat in the morning. Since I'm prone to snacking at night, I think that cutting myself off by 8 or 9 pm, so I can have a timely breakfast in the morning, is a good plan. 2. Drink Water - Some calculator said I should drink 140 ounces a day, based on my weight. That seems nuts to me. I'd never leave the bathroom. But more water is supposed to be beneficial. I do drink water, but I intend to drink two cups at home in the morning, two cups before each meal - breakfast, lunch and dinner - and another in the evening before bed. That should get me at least 80 ounces of water every day, which is WAY more than I currently drink. 3. Pack Food - There are lots of temptations to be had in the world, lots of bad choices to be made at any restaurant or cafeteria, and some choices that seem good but probably aren't. So I will pack my all my food for work, that's breakfast, lunch, and snacks, and will eat my own food, 95% of the time. That should give me the allowance for occasionally eating out with friends, but not much else. This is for the best, definitely. Life Goal - Write! I'm supposed to be doing Camp NaNoWriMo right now, working for 20 hours on editing a novel I wrote a few years ago in an effort to get it published. I think I've done about an hour an a half so far, so I really need to get cooking on this one, and I need to continue that after the month is over as well. Lot's to write. So my goal is to spend at least 10 minutes per day on writing/editing. This way once I get started, I'll hopefully continue and go longer than just the 10, but at least I'll get 10 a day if nothing else. This challenge will take me 28 days closer to Glacier, and when it's done, I'll have a little less than a week to go. EEK! Better get to work!

Originally I wasn't going to post a challenge thread. But I will just miss y'all too much. I will be working some of the time while I am overseas (three weeks out with two weeks of vacation, so I cut a deal with the devil...) So if I'm already working, I have to check in. :-) Bae and I are going on an ADVENTURE most of this challenge. We'll be hitting Copenhagen, Berlin, Cinque Terre, Florence, and Rome. We have been together for 6 years and never taken a vacation (aside from traveling to visit family and some weekend camping trips.) This was supposed to be our honeymoon, but that's a whole crazy story I won't bore you with. The point is we are happy and doing what we want to do. I want to accomplish four things while away: Consciously make the choice to be present. Travel is stressful for me, but once I'm there I'm good. I don't need to get overwhelmed. Just make space and take a few breaths. Write every damn day. This will be a great opportunity for me to reflect and get some clarity. I bought a new bujo and a little field notes book with the Chicago flag motif on the front. No excuses. Only check email and work during the time I have agreed on w/ my job (Mondays and Tuesdays ONLY) Do bodyweight exercises 3x/week. If I can find a gym to train w/ barbells, cool. But I'm not going to count on it.

(moved from Battle Log Section) This will be my official Blog for all of my traveling adventure summaries Adventure 1 – Road through History and Liberty Saturday I have returned from a weeks’ vacation. I was at Williamsburg Virginia. I go on this trip almost every year for the past 6 to 8 years. This time however due to being a part of Nerd Fitness, I have turned my trip into a quest. I broke it down to multiple parts to grade my growth Nutrition- To eat healthy throughout the week Knowledge- to learn something new Adventure- to travel new area and gain new experiences I will not lie to you all and tell you that I have done what I have set out to do. Some aspects I completed with flying colors. On the other I have failed and will make up for it on the up and coming weeks. The quest of Nutrition, like other, vacation I have failed at. Throughout the week I kept a food log to watch and see what I would each. In the nicest of ways, I ate crap. Burgers, Pizza, so on and so forth. The Knowledge portion I believe I have grown in. I believe that anytime that I go to Williamsburg, Yorktown, and Jamestown that I learn something new. I learned about the JD Rockefellers Jr. who reconstructed Williamsburg from the past. I was able to see new archeological sites that are bringing and rewriting history even now. Adventure, now this was something that I can say was complete. This year I have traveled to two now areas within near Williamsburg, more close to Richmond, The Berkley Plantation and Shirley Plantation. Both of these sites were full or massive amounts of history. My girlfriend and I walk through the gardens and house tours to find out mysteries that once I never had known. We have also walked miles around, in, and through the Colonial Areas of Williamsburg. We attended a concert within the Governors Palace. We danced at the Raleigh Tavern Billiard Room. We listen to ghost story There was so much to do and yet we ran out of time. I, since then, have put myself on a schedule were fitness and discipline due to my failure of the Nutrition portion of my trip. I am walking to and from my bus stops to work each day; to is a ½ Mile and from is 1 ½ mile. I am currently doing the academies workout, to ease myself into the hardcore working out. I will be the fittest I ever been for the next Spartan Race and other OCR’s that I am doing. I will be in shape and happy for my Next adventure Item Received for Trip: Print (Surrender at Yorktown) and Book (Common Sense by Thomas Paine) Please Comment, Question and thank you.

I have had many ups and downs recently. I went zip-lining! I had to unfriend and block my closest friend in town because, long story short, she's crazy. I saw the Grand Canyon and stuck my toes in the Pacific! My boyfriend dumped me with no explanation or apparent motivation. Good times! But I'm focused on keeping a positive attitude and getting back on track. Thus I've popped back up on Nerd Fitness to give this another go. But this time I have a secret weapon.... My Motive-ca-tion Jar! In this jar, I shall deposit funds earned by completing my goals. All funds earned during the course of the challenge will be deposited into a new savings account devoted to funding my next amazing trip. I'm thinking either Italy or Glacier National Park - two places that I really want to visit. Goal 1 - Don't Half-Ass Tracking I'm a member of Weight Watchers and have been for quite some time, but I kinda suck at tracking. As a result my weight has been moving in the wrong direction lately. To remedy that situation, I really need to start tracking again. Track all foods and beverages consumed - 20 days = $10.00 - Each day above = $1 Goal 2 - Fake It Till I Make It at the Gym I had a membership at one place - but first of all it kind of smells there and the locker rooms are gross, and second of all my ex-friend goes there and I don't want to run into her. To avoid drama and to get a fresh start, I quit the old place and joined a new gym, both done this evening after work. Xperience Fitness is my new hangout, and I think i want to try some classes and whatnot. I do a lot of walking on my own, but I actually want to get stronger so I can hike and go rock-climbing, and lose weight so I can hike and go rock climbing. I think I can find a combination of activities there that will help me. Probably. I'll figure it out. Workout at the gym - 10 days = $10.00 - Each day above = $1 Goal 3 - Sleep! I've been trying to get to bed earlier so I can get that seven hours minimum and still have enough time to shower and dress in the morning. Snooze alarms are my curse. If I'm lights out by 11:15 I should be semi-asleep by 11:30-ish, awake by 6:35-ish. This a plan, I think it can work. I'd better go to bed soon or tonight won't count! Lights out by 11:15 p.m. - 20 days = $10.00 - Each day above = $1 Goal 4 - Share with the Group I'm going to keep posting in this thread, even if nobody else pays much attention. The thing is, somebody might pay attention to this thread every once in a while, so I want to be able to share with that somebody how awesome I'm doing on a regular basis. Hopefully. Accountability check-in - 20 days = $10.00 - Each day above = $1 But Wait! There's More! Because I'm motivated to earn funds for this trip to either Italy or Glacier Park - whichever I land on first - I've thought of some other ways to earn money for the Motiva-ca-tion Jar. No penalty for failure, but the more I succeed, the greater the rewards. Other ways to earn $1: - Try a new recipe - Explore a new location - Eat 5 fruits and veggies in one day - Plank for 10 minutes cumlative - Resist a serious temptation - Floss five days in a row - Remove 50 things from the apartment (trash/give away/sell) - Drink 64 oz of water 5 days in a row. It's lights out in a few minutes and I still have to brush and floss. I'll check in with weight and measurements tomorrow. I'm glad to be back. Goodnight!

Sandwiched I'm late to the challenge because I was on vacation. In Australia. Where I managed to catch one of these guys... One of four region exclusive Pokemon!! And it turns out I need to exit the challenge early because I'm heading to Mexico September 11th-17th (I'll be building houses in Tijuana!). Therefore my challenge shall be called "Sandwiched." Like sandwiched between traveling? Do you see what I was thinking when I came up with the title? I am very tired from Australia so maybe it's not clear to a well rested nerd but I'm going with it... Haven't totally thought this through but its been a long time since I've been able to do a 4 week challenge that even though I can only put in two full weeks I still wanted to play. I'm going to keep it simple - get back into my crossfit (heading there now actually), play a little more Pokemon Go with my youngest before he goes back to school, maybe a squat/sit up challenge. oh and it's my birthday next week so something fun for that... lots to think about. I'll be back.

Wakfu is getting a season 3 airing this year! It won't be available with English subtitles until sometime later but I am still excited. So, theme. I am also going to be on vacation for half of this challenge, with a week in Ottawa and a split week at home before and after the trip. I'm not sure but this may be my longest vacation in 10 years. Images may or may not be relevant :-) Maintenance goals: Judo when available - classes will be irregular this summer Stick to budget, track expenditures Walk 70k + steps per week Keep a day/evening off per week to spend at home Get out once/month - Cousin's Wedding, does vacation count? Cardio with Apps ZombiesRun once per week, especially now that we have a group. Run at least one mission with Ingress Run around with Pokemon Go This will work for going to Ottawa as well, and I may be able to get my Mom to go out with me on a walking mission. Bonus: Drag the guys out with me on a mission or Pokemon catching jaunt. This will help when it arrives. Seriously Try the Kettlebell Kettlebell 2-3x/week while I'm home Find a weight of some kind at Mom and Dad's place, if i feel like it. Supplement Yoga if inclined Explore Media from More Countries Most of my media comes from the USA, Britain, and Japan. I don't even consume as much Canadian media. Already owned/easily accessed media includes: Big Book of Science Fiction - Short Stories, includes some from non-Western countries The Enchantment Emporium - Canadian, by Tanya Huff! Music on Youtube Finish 1st season of Dark Matter - Canadian Wakfu - France Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries - Australian Charlie Jade - co production between several countries, set in South Africa Short films? The Three Body Problem - Chinese, by Cixin Liu Bonus: work on French in Duolingo Keep Food Budget Down (continued) Pick up less treats - good for me anyway Get basic meat and veg from Victory - cheap and local Bulk supplies from Costco but only what I need Incorporate more black beans and a little less protein Use slowcooker Rock on everyone.

This Challenge--- I have no idea yet. Rambling brainstorm coming in - music at the bottom: I want to get "Them" to give me a confirmation for a spot in the licence class I wish to take in September (I got the sponsoring settled, but "they" (=not them) took their bloody time.) I will be in Vienna, Austria July 6th through 10th. I have already organised and tentatively looked up knitting meets that fall withing the time frame (I have wool shopping plans) and am hoping the trip will be as awesome as I think it'll be. Mum booked the whole trip (bus: shudder - and hotel: 4 stars) as a package thing, including sight seeing tour of the city on day one there (which because of the bus ride through all of Germany to Vienna via Prague taking 16 hours or thereabouts is actually day two of the trip). I am much excited, I don't think you can read it in my words here, I am actually, truly, utterly psyched. I haven't traveled since I went to sweden with friends the year I graduated AND was pregnant with my now 12 YO son. Mind Blown. I will take as much of that trip in as I can, take some pictures (but more looking and experiencing than watching it through a camera) and I will take some wool with me, something that'll keep reminding me for months to come, while I knit, and years (hopefully) to come while I wear, whatever it'll become.... I'm a tactile person like that, this really speaks to me. I need to cook better. Log more. And that is not negotiable. I need to get my legs to work properly. PT and all that. And I need to start really training for the Mudrun in early October. Sustainably. That is my first braindump of a thought for next challenge. I will run my challenge June 13th 'till July 10th, making my vacation the long straight before the finish line... I should look up fitness options in Vienna... maybe they have indoor playgrounds there... *research mode engage* Speak soon Katrin

I'm keeping this challenge modest because I'll be on vacation for a week in April (Las Vegas and San Diego area), and because in March, I was struggling with some overambitious parts of my challenge. The main goal is to keep a routine despite taking a vacation. I've also got a few mini-challenges in mind for my weeks at home. Fitness and diet has been going well, so I just want to keep up my established routine, and continue the slow, steady progress I've had for the past three months. I want to become a better writer, but I've been really struggling to make steady progress on this goal the last few months, in part because I keep splitting my focus between a whole bunch of related writing goals and then doing nothing. I've thought about what long term goal would give me the most satisfaction, and that's either fiction writing, or well-researched science writing. I've got a couple of stories I'm in the middle of, and I don't have easy access to scientific journals. So I'm working on writing fiction. I want to finish a long fan-fiction story I started last October. I've got a couple of short stories I'd like to improve. That's enough for this month. No writing a blog, no looking to write for other people, just a chapter a week of a story I'd love to finish. I'm giving slightly different goals on vacation than I have at home. Normally I eat out about once a week, plus every day at the very predictable, accommodating work cafeteria. On vacation, it will be something different every day, usually with too much food. Trying to lose weight when I can't predict my meals is very difficult. Instead, I'll focus on not overeating. If I do that, I won't gain any weight, and I won't loose the mindset of thinking about what I eat. My bike will be unavailable, as will my gym. On the other hand, I'll be walking in general a lot more than I would at home. So I'm going to focus on not losing my workout routine, and using the hotel gym at least twice. I'll have more time for writing than I would at home, and no job to sap my mental energy. But I don't know how much time I'll actually have. So I'll just stick to the same goal both at home and on vacation: sit down and get wome writing done. Home version: Fitness: Keep up what I've been doing. 2 exercise classes per week, plus biking. Biking can be replaced with something else if I want. Goal now is 12 miles per week or more, which is my usual 6 mile loop at least twice a week. I'd like to up this, so I'll be recording how far I actually bike each trip. I've given myself a long term goal of buying myself a new bike if I ride this one 2000 miles. Basically, I want to buy an expensive new bike, but I can't justify it when I don't use the one I've got very much. Diet: Same as usual. Moderate carb. Once serving carbs per meal, plus unlimited veggies and 2-4 fruits per day. At least one veggie per meal. And if I feel like I'm not doing this, start tracking my food again. Writing: Write at least 100 words towards my fan-fic story per day. Better would be 1000+. If I finish the story, I can switch to editing at least one page per day. I'd really like to write a chapter a week, but writing any amount will beat writing nothing. Cleaning: At least 10 minutes per day. I need to set a timer, and clean until the timer goes off. Vacation version: Diet: Don't overeat at restaurants. Ask for a to go box before I start eating, if needed, just to get the extra food out of sight. Have at least one fruit or veggie per meal, even if I have to bring it with me. Buy fruit and veggies to keep in the hotel room so there's something healthy to snack on. Celery or cucumber and hummus are always good, plus a bunch of apples and bananas and probably a can of peanuts. Fitness: I'll generally be more active than usual. Goal number one is Don't Irritate the Plantar Fasciitis. This means no hiking. This needs to be mentioned, because hiking is normally a central feature of my vacations, and the people I'm with know this. I've gotten enough better that I think I'll be able to be on my feet all day with good shoes and pavement, but rough terrain irritates it fast. I've found some kayaking to do instead one day, and if there's enough interest, I'll look into a bike tour day. For strength and conditioning, I want to do a structured workout in the hotel gym at least twice during the week, even if it's very short. Depending on whether they have kettlebells, I'll either do a Simple and Sinister kettlebell workout, or a weighted beginner bodyweight workout variation. Writing: I'll bring my computer. The goal is the same as at home: write every day, finish a chapter per week. Cleaning: Yay for maid service :-). Oh, and I also started a long term tracking log. I'll be tracking leveling up there, as well as marking progress towards the long term stuff that doesn't show up directly in shorter challenges. I couldn't get the link to work, so here's the long version. http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/80494-fiddles-long-term-log/#comment-1860623

So hey there fellow Rangers. Last challenge, I flaked out a bit in the end. I was a little sick, but really I have no excuse. I did have some positive momentum, and I want to continue to build on that. This challenge will provide me with one big obstacle. The Family Vacation. There will be a couple of days of travel. Most likely, I'll have to write those two days off. Probably something like 7-8 hours of driving February 13th-20th will be vacation time. That week, I will modify my goals. I want to still keep on track, and be able to enjoy the time off. We are heading down to Carlsbad, Ca. There will will be minutes away from Legoland We have 2 days passes. Monday the 15th will be the first day there. Not sure when we'll hit up day 2. We also plan on hitting up Disneyland one day. I need to check in on the new Star Wars things there! Goal #1: Eat even more veggies! So last challenge I did well getting in 1 veggie a day. This challenge, I am upping it to 2 meals a day. This will be an every day challenge. 2 points per day for grading. Goal#1 vacation modification: I will still try to do what I can to follow this goal while I am away from home. So this means stocking up on things to eat there at the house we are staying at. I am going to do the best I can when eating at the theme parks. Will still grade, but move to 1 point per day. Goal #2: Do something everyday! I want to continue to work on the same workouts I did last challenge. This time, I am adding weight for one of them, and upping it to 3 full sets of each exercise. I also want to walk each day. I may attempt to start to get running again, but I want to really get in the habit of doing something each day first. 3 workouts a week, and walking each day. Sundays will be my "off" day, but I have other plans for that day 1 point for workouts, 1 point for each day of walking. Goal #2 vacation modification: The days we go to the theme parks, I should get plenty of walking in. I still will do workouts, only I need to modify them a bit. I won't bring weights with me, so I need to skip some workouts, substitute a different workout in, or attempt to use things as weights to left. Milk/water jugs etc. I will plan for bodyweights, and adjust as needed. 6 non travel days during vacation, so I will score a point per day for exercise. Goal #3: Time to work on a routine! This goal is going to involve a few things, but the overall theme is to help me get into a routine to get up and get my workouts done. This might have to span a few challenges, We shall see. I am not setting a time to be in bed. I am setting a time to be away. So each morning, I will be up at 7am. Then I need to get in my workout and/or walking done. I want to add more, but for now, this is what I will focus on. Each day will be worth 1 point. Goal #3 modification: Not too much to change here. Workout days, I still get up and workout. Other days, I will just focus on getting up at 7am. It depends on the days agenda for walking. Will still score 1 point per day here. Goal #4: It's time to get some projects done I might have a bit of trouble with this goal. Looking at my calendar, I see I really only have one full weekend, and one 1/2 weekend to work with. Still, I press forward There are a few projects around the house, that I just haven't gotten too, but desperately need to get going. 1 point for each task. Go through my bowling balls. The idea here, is to see which balls I might want to keep, then figure out what to do with the others. I need to get the specs done, and pictures taken. that way I can sell them to buy more bowling equipment haha.Clean up the backyard. We have some recycle things in the back yard, and time and sun have broken bags. There are lots of cans and bottles to be picked up, and taken to recycle.Go through my computer stuff. Time to e-waste things I don't need, and get my desk and computer area fixed up. I'm tired of having to look through all the tubs to find things.Clean up the garage. This isn't that bad. It's mostly some boxes we had down from Christmas. there is a little bit of cleanup to be done too.Goal #4 modification: Nothing I can do for these while I am away The real test will be to see if I can get them done, even with vacation in there. Ok, that pretty much sums up everything. I'll be making sure to take plenty of pictures, and trying not to buy all the things Grading: Week 1 (1st-6th) - 22.5/27 - 83% Week 2 (7th-12th) - 0/26 Week 3 (13th-20th) Vacation week - 0/22 Week 4 (21st-26th) - 0/26 Goal #4 completed - 0/4 Challenge point total - 0/105 Measurements: Location - Before/After = Difference Neck - 19.96 in / Chest - 57.67 in / Waist - 61.77 in / Bicep (L) - 18.11 in / Bicep ® - 17.4 in / Forearm (L) - 14.21 in / Forearm ® - 14.21 in / Thigh (L) - 32.08 in / Thigh ® - 32.08 in / Weight - 371 lbs /

I used the same name as my last challenge, because this time it’s a pun. I’m hilarious. Hi, I’m NeverThatBored and this is my fourth challenge. I’m trying to get fit for a lot of reasons - to make shopping for clothes and looking nice easier, to be able to keep up with people when they do something athletic, so that I don’t feel limited by my body, to get rid of annoying aches and pains, to hopefully lower my genetically high cholesterol, etc. After a blip in my second challenge, my third challenge went very well! I was able to meet my goals, but I didn’t see the same (any) weight loss that I saw with almost the same goals for my first challenge. I think that even though I was still staying away from grains/sugar, I started consuming more carbs because I started thinking of more things I could eat. Or the 5 days throughout the challenge where I was traveling really threw me off… Anywho, it’s a new dawn and it’s time to move forward. Even though I do a bunch of different things, I limit my challenge goals to my basic building blocks of fitness. Everything else is extra, but I won’t beat myself up if it doesn’t happen. I’m making the building blocks a little more advanced each time. Main Quest: Lose the rest of the 30 pounds to get back to my happy weight (15 lbs to go) Goal 1: Strength+ I’ve been doing a modified BBWW and I think I’m just going to keep modifying it for now until I figure out a better way to strength train. I also participate in a bootcamp class that uses a lot of bodyweight movements, so I count that towards strength as well. For this challenge, I need to do at least 3 of either modified BBWWs or bootcamp workouts per week, even while traveling. For the BBWW, I’m doing: 20 squats 15 push ups 20 lunges 15 dumbbell rows 15 dips 2 30 second one-legged planks and 1 30 second regular plank 30 jumping jacks Possible modifications I can make include: Increasing reps Adding mountain climbers Replacing some jumping jacks with burpees Decline push ups Adding weight for squats, lunges, or rows Buy a pullup bar and make use of it Add more core - flutter kicks, roman twists, side planks, bicycles, or vertical leg crunches Goal 2: Walking+ Last challenge I walked 104/100 miles. I’d say I could just walk more miles, but there’s only so much time in a day. During Week 4, I started rucking on some of my walks - that just means carrying a heavy backpack while walking. This challenge, I’m going to walk 102 miles for the easy divisibility, and go rucking for at least 51 of those miles. That means 8.5 miles per week of rucking and 17 miles per week of walking. Goal 3: Primalish Eating+ Last challenge I aimed to be grain/refined sugar free 100% of the time on normal days and 50% of the time while travelling or having my boyfriend staying with me. This is the critical area for weight loss, so this time I’m upping my game and trying to figure out how to make this more successful. I am going to: Avoid grains Avoid refined sugar Reduce dairy (a little cheese on my eggs and yogurt 1-2 times a week is fine, for example, but I’ll avoid snacking on cheese or making cheese-heavy dishes) Avoid sweet potato chips and vegetable chips Avoid eating after 8pm (exceptions for getting home late and not having a chance to eat sooner on evening class days) I have a TON of traveling planned during this challenge, so it will be hard. I'm going to stick to this plan 100% of the time that I'm not traveling, and then follow a custom plan for each little trip to try to minimize the food damage. I'm going to do some over-planning in a second post below this one, if you're curious about the details. Life Quest: Reading+ Last challenge I read for pleasure almost every day, except for unusually busy or traveling days. This time I’m going to incorporate reading for self-development too. I’m still thinking about how this will work, but for now I’m going to say I should still read every day, but this time try to complete 1 book about something career-related over the course of the challenge. Possible Weekly Schedule Sunday: BBWW Monday: Aikido Tuesday: Bootcamp Wednesday: Rest/yoga Thursday: Aikido Friday: Bootcamp/BBWW Saturday: Rest/yoga EDIT: Mini #1 answers I am in fact fantastic at creating random parody songs. I'm also fantastic at bop-it. For some reason they stopped producing them and for a while were only selling them for like $70 on amazon. I recently saw a price drop and got one, and now I've been playing it a lot. I'm terrible with directions - so terrible that once when I was in college (a senior, no less) someone asked me for directions to the gym, and I could not tell them how to get there, even though I'd been there a million times before.

While I'm sure most people here are pumped and ready to get back into the swing of things...I'm not. I have 3 days of challenge and then I'm off to sun, sand and relaxation in JAMAICA! I'm extremely excited, this is my first hot holiday, and the start to a very travel-exciting 15 months. (January 2015 - Jamaica, Sept 2015 Camp NF!!!, March 2016 -Europe!!) So it's really hard to set challenge goals when the first 2 weeks will kinda be a wash. The other thing that's tough for me is because I'm a fitness instructor, I start up a bunch of my classes in the end of January, and from now until the end of April, my schedule is a bit crazy. So I'm setting out some small goals to try to ease into the new year of challenges (PS. I'll hoping to hit the end of February challenge hard, and be ready for it!) Main Quest - Be a badass who looks killer in a bikini and can do a pull-up (aka, the ultimate in badassery) For those who don't know - I love practicing aerial hoop/lyra and in March, I'll be taking another step towards teaching it! The super cool upside is that I get all the free practice time I want, and 50% off classes at my studio! Yay! So my goals are also to do things that will help me in hoop - the pull up for sure, and also flexibility and mobility is another pretty big goal for me. Goals 1) Drink 3L of water/day - with my trip coming up, it's hard to set a food goal, and I'll have to see how things are when I get back. With that in mind, staying hydrated is definitely a step I can take towards keeping my body in check, so water it is. I find this hard at the best of times, but especially in the winter. While on vacation, this is a bit harder, so the general goal is to stay hydrated, and not be hung over. lol 2) Stretch/fascia rolling daily - I'm really needing to work on my flexibility for hoop and and also focus on self-care a lot more. I really believe in the whole holistic aspect of health and fitness, and with what I've been reading about fascia is just fascinating (yup, I just did that), and so I need to a) finish reading The Role Model (about half way now) and continue to roll, ideally daily. For this, I really plan to instagram daily either a stretch sequence, or rolling, or something related to it for accountability. If you're all instagrammy, follow me and cheer me on @jbean86 AAAAAaaaand 2 goals is going to be it for the physical side. My 2015 mantra is the idea of "doing more with less". Experiences trump stuff, less is more, etc. As part of that I'm trying to purge my house, use up what I have, buy a minimum amount of stuff. This is really inspired by me wanting to move across the country in 2 years. I figure if I start downsizing now, I'll be happier, but also ready to move when the time comes. And who knows, it may been sooner than 2 years, and if the right opportunities come up, I want to be ready. Well...readier. lol Life Goals 1) Clean and purge my house. As part of this, I also want to finish up projects that have been started, including decorating my condo. I want a nice place to live in, but also when it comes time to sell it, I want to have a showing-ready place. Basically, I'm a grown up (without kids) and there's no reason I can't have a nice looking place. lol To make this more trackable, I want to set aside (minimum) an hour per week (with the exception of week 2) to make an effort to do something towards this goal. 2-ish) I've been toying with the idea of journaling again. I did it as a hard hat challenge a while back and by the end of it, I really liked it. Maybe I'll try to add this when I get back from holidays. There you have it folks. Simple, but do-able. Tracking: 1) Water 1/7 0/7 0/7 0/7 0/7 0/7 2) Stretching 1/7 0/7 0/7 0/7 0/7 0/7 3) Cleaning 0/1 0/1 0/1 0/1 0/1 0/1

Hello everyone! My current challenge is to lose 10 pounds, and I'm almost there. Trouble is, I'm about to go on vacation. I'm afraid I'll backslide and gain some of the weight back I've worked so hard to lose. Does anyone have any tips for eating right while on vacation? I bought a cooler already to encourage myself to pack some of my own lunches, and I'm going to try ordering from the appetizer menu sometimes. Like, what would be good things to pack? I'll be gone a week. Any other tips would be much appreciated

Ok, so I've only been on this diet/lifestyle change since Saturday morning. It has been 4 days. I've very mostly very good.... I did, however, spoil myself yesterday and have a hot chocolate (100% cocoa, hazelnut milk, 3 sugars), as well as some squares of high-grade dark chocolate. So not perfect but not awful. And today, my two colleagues and I were rewarded for exceeding our commission targets and beating 80+ other stores (HELL YEAH!). We were rewarded with a big box of Cadbury's white chocolate fingers. In the past I'd normally have 15-20 of them, and more if on offer. Today, I had 5. So I enjoyed them, rewarded myself for the hard work, but didn't go overboard. And I think that's what important - not that I had some bad things today, but that I had a small amount as a reward and made a conscious decision to not eat any more. Anyway, back to the topic in the title. So I weighed myself 4 days ago, and wasn't going to weigh again until I was 2 weeks into this whole thing. But because I had the hot chocolate and things, I wanted to weigh myself today. 6lbs I've lost. 6lbs!! I don't know if this is water weight, if this is a little, a lot, or average. But the fact that I've lost weight in such a short space of time...well...it gives me great self-esteem and further motivation for..... ....my trip to Serifos in October!!

So I'm off to Serifos in late October 2014. My goal is to lose as much weight as possible, but sensibly, between now and then...but also changing general lifestyle. Anyway, I'm currently 5'6 and am a size 20-22 (UK), depending on what style of clothing I'm wearing. Today I needed to get a nice summer outfit that would be a goal to fit into. Here it is: From Tesco, so not expensive. The top is loose and will have a tanktop with it eventually. It's a size 14. The shorts are a size 14. 22 to size 14 is a lot... but I tried them on earlier and, surprisingly, there is only 3 inches that I need to loose before I'll be able to wear these with the button done up. So I think that's pretty attainable. I had two books arrive today (Paleo food book, and a Primal Blueprint book), as well as 20-min workout DVD that only cost £5. So I am keeping motivated, for now. Long may it continue!! Night all Bluehorn out.

Hi all, I have started and failed two challenges in preparation for going on a cruise vacation in December. Well, its December and obviously that plan didn't work. I have spent the past few days mulling over this predicament. I feel like the time for me to do something about this is now and not to put it off until we come back from vacation. That said, we will be on a cruise ship with (hopefully) yummy food and drink. Does anyone have any advice on how to stick to a paleo/primal way of eating while still enjoying vacation? This is exacerbated by the fact that I love food and cooking and am looking forward to trying new foods. I am losing my taste for bread, so I am not worried about that, but would like to enjoy an occasional dessert and to try cocktails. TIA

Hey dudes! Long time lurker...first time poster. After following NF and making a few of the sort of "staple" changes (regular body weight work outs and eating 80-90% paleo) I've dropped almost 15 pounds in two months. The thing that I'm probably most excited about is just how little urge or desire I have to fall back into my old habits. I've lost weight in the past by super stringent calorie counting and virtually starving myself...but I think in the back of my mind, I was always thinking "man...I can't wait to hit my goal weight so I can eat a whole pizza in a sitting again" This time it feels very permanent and I'm super stoked. BUT My buddy and I are going on a road trip out east tomorrow to see one of our favorite bands play their last couple of shows. It's going to be an awesome trip and I'm wicked excited, but I know its going to be 4 or 5 days of me eating garbage and drinking a lot. Anyway, sorry for that wall of text just to get to my point, but I'm wondering if intermittent fasting might help me better manage the trash I'm going to be shoveling into my face for the next couple of days. If so, would you recommend I fast for 24 hours starting today, or that I just only eat for 8 hour windows over the course of the whole trip? Any tips or ideas are majorly appreciated...thanks!

Fitness Goals (+4 STR): Pull-ups Starting point: currently at 20 lb one-arm dumbbell rows (3 sets of 10-12 reps) Current plan: continue to do dumbbell rows each upper body workout until I reach 30 lbs (hopefully in 2-3 more workouts), then switch to bodyweight rows on the smith machine. Once I get to assisted pull-ups, I can work on those at home every other day. A if I can do one unassisted pull-up (+2 STR) B if I can do one slightly assisted pull-up (+1.5 STR) C if I can do 4 sets of 20 bodyweight rows (+1 STR) D if I move up in weight on the dumbbell rows F if I don’t do anything Push-ups Starting point: currently at 4 sets of 10, 10, 5, 5 push-ups off my coffee table Current plan: progress to 4 sets of 20 push-ups and then move to the floor for “real†push-ups. On the current schedule, adding 5 reps to 1 set per workout, I should reach floor pushups by March 17th and have 11 days to improve on floor push-ups after that. A If I can do 4 sets of 20 push-ups (+2 STR) B if I can do 4 sets of 10 push-ups (+1.5 STR) C if I can only do 4 sets of 5 push-ups (+1 STR) D if I don’t make it to floor push-ups but I’ve made progress on coffee table push-ups F if I stop progressing Note: All my workouts include back exercises (like back rows, lat pulldowns, Olympic bar rows, etc. as well as chest exercises like dumbbell bench presses, dumbbell chest flyes, etc. So I’m working on those muscle groups outside of doing pull-ups and push-ups. I do push-ups every other day at night and I do upper body workouts on a flex-week schedule: Week 1 is M/W/F, Lower/Upper/Lower. Week 2 is M/W/F Upper/Lower/Upper. Diet Goals (+2 CON) I'm going to do my diet plan on a point system (using positive reinforcement instead of negative). 1+ pt for each day I avoid office goodies (this allows me to redeem myself for a previous meal slip up, like that burger I had yesterday, but it depends on whether or not there are office goodies to resist) 0.33+ pt for each meal that contains a fruit/veg and protein. An ideal meal for me is 1 cupped palm of carbs (optional), 1 palm of protein (approximately 4 oz), and 2 cupped hands of fruits/veg. I eat "meals" 3x a day, so one day gives me 1 full point. I need to get some blueberries up in my morning oatmeal! 42 points are possible for the meals, so I'll break it down like this: A - 40+ pts (95%) +2 CON B - 35+ pts (83%) +1.5 CON C - 30+ pts (71%) +1 CON D - 25+ pts (60%) +0.5 CON F - 0+ pts (0%) +0 CON Level up your life goal (+2 WIS): Book a vacation A if the vacation is totally booked, flights, hotels, activities, etc. B if the vacation destination and dates are finalized (this involves lots of discussion with the man) C if the vacation destination is narrowed between a few choices F is the vacation falls through If it's booked or planned (A or , that's +2 WIS. This is particularly difficult because my significant other/travel buddy is essentially on-call at his job, so planning what we're going to do this weekend can be difficult. Beast Mode/Berserker Challenge (+1 CHA): Stairmaster: I’m going to get my butt on a stairmaster (not the one with the paddles, the one with the stairs that go in a loop). I got on one at a gym a long time ago and nearly passed out because stairs are not my friend (apparently) and I think I was conflicted with pride (no, I will not go slower!) and it has turned me off of stairmasters since. But they’re a great way to get an intense workout. 20 seconds of courage to walk over and get on one. If I make it for 10 minutes, yahoo! If not, hop off before it’s unpleasant and/or decrease the speed so I learn it’s not a torture device. Then perhaps, I’ll do it again! Smith Machine: I'm scared of most unfamiliar gym equipment, so learning how to move the bar on a smith machine for bodyweight rows is going to require 20 seconds of courage to walk up to it and fiddle around until I figure it out. I also still feel like an outsider in the weight area because I'm a woman, so here's to "manning" up and getting over myself!

For my 30th birthday on June 22, 2013, I want to Level UP my Life. I want to wear a bikini for the first time in my life, on a beach, in public, AND I want to treat myself to my first ever dream vacation of a lifetime. (Plus this would be ticking off a major goal of mine this year- travel outside Africa!) I've chosen to embark on one of these two vacations- an 8-day Thai island-hopping tour, from Koh Samui to Koh Tao and lastly to Koh Pha Ngan, all in Thailand OR an 8-day tour of Bali. The Thai tour starts on June 17th, and the Bali tour starts on June 22 (prices are relatively similar). So I've a little less than 6 months to get my body beach ready. The first image I've attached is of the Thai tour, the second of the Bali tour. The rest are dream-board images, if you will, so I can keep myself steady on my goal and remind myself of what I will achieve. Let's GO! MAJOR GOALSby 06.22.13 Lose 20-30 lbs on or before June 22, 2013 Exercise 6 days a week (strength, body-weight and interval training) Eat healthy Kenyan meals (no junk/fast food) Get a workout buddy Toned arms and flat tummy (my problem areas) Buy my flight ticket Book the holiday Buy my bikini/sMILESTONES by 06.22.13 To be added as I go along. Pay for a 6-month membership at my local gym (01/06/12- I can't afford a bulk payment for 6 months. So I'll pay monthly for now) Complete at least 3 six-week NF challenges OR replace one with one Insanity Fitness 60-day challenge Work out 6 days per week, starting January 7th, 2013. Track progress (weight loss, inches lost, days worked out, workouts etc) in these threads-->> Miss K's First Challenge- 01/07 to 02/18/13 Eat healthy 6 days per week, with one cheat-day. If I miss a cheat-day, I can't have it back. Try as hard as possible to miss cheat-days and remain healthy. Track progress in Miss K's Battle Log. Lose 5 lbs Lose 10 lbs Lose 15 lbs Lose 20 lbs Lose 25 lbs (or gain muscle... yet to define exactly what this should look like, or how it will be measured) Lose 30 lbs (or gain muscle... yet to define exactly what this should look like, or how it will be measured) Buy at least 3 bikinis Before and After pictures (post on or before June 22, 2013) Remain positive (how this will be measured, I don't know yet)