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Consider this a respawn journal. I took part in a couple of challenges in Summer last year, but as soon as university stepped up and I was travelling a lot between school and family, I lost my way again. This year at university has been harsh - obviously, the work is harder and there's more of it, but a bunch of personal stuff has been going on too. But I'm done with excuses. I really struggle with self-regulation and admitting mistakes. Always justifying what went wrong... I have decided to start a casual battle log to try and remain accountable but flexible - life's unpredictability makes it difficult for me to have a solid routine, but I am going to try and keep as much 'stuff' going as I can despite this. So, here is where I will track whatever I am working on at the time, whether that be my diet, my studies, my mental health etc. My general goals are to incorporate healthy daily choices alongside keeping up with the demands of university, and see if I can truly become more accountable to myself through using this log. Perhaps I will return to the 4 week challenges at some point, but for now, this is getting me back into facing my decisions and tracking the ones that went well and the ones that went not so well, in my physical health, my mental health and in life in general. So, hello if anyone is reading this! I can't promise this thread will be interesting or regular or inspiring, but hopefully it works for me. Uplifting song for this post - Two Steps From Hell / Never Give Up On Your Dreams

Challenge #2 of the year. Let's do this. My last challenge went really well for me. 96% overall score. It was exactly what I needed in my return to the Nerdfitness forums. With in one month, I have stopped taking all my medication and lost 22 lbs. With seeing success in the last challenge, this challenge will be very similar. I will add in a few more upgrades to my challenge goals, to push myself a bit more. Hopefully, this will enforce the habits to have them as a good base for the rest of this year, and beyond. Now, on towards the goals for this challenge! Goal #1: Keto on, and add in IF I have successfully ate in the keto method since the first of the year. I figure I may as well continue that on. This challenge, I want to add intermittent fasting back into my eating habits. Now, I may need to adjust the eating window from time to time, but I am going to go for a consistent 18/6. 18 hours of fasting, 6 hours of eating time.My window will be 11 am to 5 pm. This should cover most my needs for times I need to get eating in by. I still need to track everything in MyFitnessPal. Goal #2: Walking, Walking, Walking... I started off last challenge going for 3 days a week to walk on. Eventually moving up to 5 days. This challenge I want to start off with 5 days a week of walking. Eventually moving up to 6 or 7 days, or possibly staying 5 days, but increasing step count. My eventual goal is to get back to running, and possibly adding in body weight workouts. Goal #3: You must still get Sleep I did well last challenge with closing down everything by 11:30 pm, reading till 12:30 am, then getting to bed. Though I have been able to easily slip back into night owl habits in the last few days. I need to have this again. I also notice I wake up a lot more while my wife is getting ready for work. So to get more possible sleep, I am going to try to get to bed 30 minutes earlier. Shut all things down by 11 pm. Then read till Midnight, and head to bed. I'm going to grade on reading as well, because it is too easy for me to not read, but still get to bed on time. Goal #4: Start and finish Introduction to Linux I figure for a bit of fun, I'll take an online course. I've played with linux from time to time, but don't know a lot. This means time to take this class I signed up for awhile back https://www.udemy.com/introduction-to-linux-centos-7/learn/v4/overview Looks like 26 lectures, so I'm guessing enough to last the month. Grading: Goal #1 - 7 days, 3 points per day. 1 point for IF, 1 point for tracking, 1 point for under 20 net carbs Goal #2 - 5 days, 1 point per day of walking. (may get adjusted during the challenge) Goal #3 - 7 days, 2 points per day. 1 point for reading started at 11, and 1 point for heading to bed at 12. Goal #4 - 6 points per week. Almost one per lecture course. Weekly points: Week 1: 37/40 points - 92% Week 2: 38/40 points - 95% Week 3: 0/ points - Week 4: 0/ points - Overall challenge score: Measurements End of last challenge/Start of new challenge/Finish: (taken Feb 5th) Weight: 345.6 lbs / 340.2 lbs / 335.4 lbs Neck: 19.68 in / 18.85 in / 19.60 in Chest: 54.72 in / 53.74 in / 52.95 in Waist at bell button: 59.84 in / 58.66 in / 58.07 in Bicep (L): 16.37 in / 17.08 in / 17 in Bicep (R): 16.33 in / 17.04 in / 16.61 in Forearm (L): 13.34 in / 13.46 in / 13.22 in Forearm (R): 13.58 in / 13.58 in / 13.50 in Thigh (L): 29.44 in / 28.70 in / 28.58 in Thigh (R): 28.30 in / 27.99 in / 27.71 in

I have been absent due to some real life issues and such but I am back Since I have been away I have gotten braces on my teeth. 2nd time I have had them. Overall Goal: Lose 40 lbs by June 9th Challenge Goal: Lose 5 lbs 1. Walk 30 minutes daily 2. Drink 20 oz or more of water each day 3. Body Stretches; each morning and night

Here I go again. Re-spawn. Now that I'm married, returned from a fantastic honeymoon and back into the swing of things, some changes have been made and continue to be underway. At my wedding in July 2017, I didn't quite reach my goal weight, but I was happy enough to fit in that dress and still be reasonably passable and not feel like a stuffed sausage. I weighed in at 149, then. After the wedding, Keven and I gained a significant amount of weight back in a short amount of time -- relaxed and eating what we please, little to no exercise, winter hibernation setting in, and having fun on our honeymoon, I ballooned to 173 pounds! Both vowing to go back on the diet when we returned, the first week of January, I since lost 13 pounds at my last weigh in on Feb 3rd, only to gain 9 pounds of it back this last week. It happened to both of us. Burn out and stress. This week I'm refocused and ready to go all the way and so is he. Goal is to get to my goal weight of 135 pounds before my 41st birthday in August. Maybe get pregnant before I'm 42, 43? First, how is it possible to gain 9 pounds in a week, I ask? It can't all be real fat! I can't help but feel that a lot of the weight is water retention, salt and waste (okay BLOATING) and yes of course some stored fat. Today I start the challenge by continuing on our low carb diet, I know the weight will appear to melt off, like 2-3 pounds a day for a week, then I'll start getting into real extra fat loss at least that is my theory, and it will be more like the normal healthy 1-2 pounds a week. I felt I wanted to track my progress again using NerdFitness. Love this place! Thought of it last night and said I'd revisit you today. And what do I find? A new challenge that started today! A serendipitous moment? Hmmmm...well here I go, continuing what I started in January and then some... A new positive attitude going in instead of dreading it. I can say I started off reasonably well by going to bed at 10:30 last night. I woke up early, 10 minutes of yoga, and drank green tea. Did not leave myself enough time for breakfast though. The Challenge Basics: 20 net carbohydrates daily Drink more water Daily morning yoga routine Drawing MINDING THE DETAILS In keeping within the 20 net carb total, in effect training my metabolism to burn fat instead of sugar the following foods are on the list- Avocados, chicken, Beef, Pork, Pepperoni, Turkey, Eggs, Bacon, Salmon, Tuna, Spinach, Kale, Tomatoes, Onions, Celery, Asparagus, Green Beans, Limited variety of nuts and seeds, Blueberries, Blackberries, Greek Yogurt (not the low fat kind), Cheese, Pickles, Jalapenos, Homemade blue cheese dressing, Garlic, Mayonnaise, Olive Oil, Coconut Oil (contingent on affordability), Real Butter, Herb tea, Limited Coffee with cocoa, Stevia, and cream, Water, Seltzer water, 6-12 oz diet Pepsi (now aspartame free!), and limited dark chocolate. One cheat meal every two weeks, or every 6 pounds of weight lost with a conscience effort to keep the portion size reasonable. Drink more water - I have a 32 oz water bottle at work, goal is to drink at least half of it there. Daily 10 minute morning yoga and mindfulness routine - includes coinciding side goals Setting a 10:30 pm bed time curfew Involves actually rolling out of bed at 6:15, 6:30 at the latest 10 minute yoga Mindfulness Drinking green tea Eating breakfast before leaving for work Art and Drawing - also includes coinciding side goals - paves the path towards a longer life-time goal that leads to being a prolific artist, and stoking the fire of artistic passion and inspiration Setting and keeping an hour appointment with myself twice a week, no exceptions, to do nothing but draw something An artist date once a week where I do something artistically whimsical and inspiring Mindfulness Meditation Tomorrow's plan Everything I did today with some mindful effort: Waking earlier Morning Yoga Breakfast before leaving for work Walking to work 7pm - 1 hour of drawing That's it. Here's to a successful day ONE in mental attitude, and doing most of what I set out to do before I even knew there was a challenge starting today.

It's nice when things cross over. I've known my partner over 5.5 years. He loves running and ridiculous hikes in the Lake District. I like sprinting (if I have to run). The place is insanely beautiful - I've been four times since I met him - but I have no endurance muscle, and after eating all the things I've packed in my rucksack I still feel wobbly and have to go home early after a couple of hours. To this day I don't know if my symptoms were hypoglycaemia or a general lack of fitness. It breaks my heart knowing I'm holding him up, which is why I end up leaving. Paying to stay in a place I don't get to see is also pretty depressing. After starting Strong Curves this year, I can report that those 20 rep sets of high step ups and endless glute bridges pay off in the real world! I didn't really feel anything in my legs or glutes today, though the descent aggravated my knee. Only annoying thing was overheating in subzero temperatures - it was sunny and I ended up trudging though snow in yoga leggings... Views were what I imagine Swiss Alps in summer to be. Didn't get dehydrated and didn't have to keep stopping for water/al fresco peeing. My cardio is still pretty poor, but I did well to keep up with someone who's been climbing this region since he was 12. I was planning on doing the bodyweight version of Strong Curves while I'm here, but I really don't need to. 29,600-ish steps (we walked a couple of miles on the road back to our cottage) 10.4km/6.5 mile hike 2414ft of ascent I just wanted to share with you how quickly your body can change for the better, and how ridiculously happy that can make you. I have also eaten and drunk all the things (~2700 calories), and it feels good. I hope I can move in the morning.

Sooooo, this is kind of a reboot, well okay it's a complete reboot. I've been off the challenge boards for .... a long time (has it been a year? or even longer??) and I wish I could say I kept fit in the meanwhile but I didn't I did well in many other ways, got independant in my work and love it, even though it means temporarily less income. Deepened my meditation practice and love it, both in my work as well as personally. In consequence dropped a lot of stress, tension and short temper with kids, I guess my whole family loves that At the same time I got lazy though in terms of fitness. Budget cuts led to dropping the pole classes, I didn't kick myself to do any at home, started going to yoga classes again instead which are cheaper and closer by, but somehow didn't make it there regularly either (many excuses, but none really valid) and now I lost so much strength and gained so much weight back that I look a far cry from my profile pic So no more of this!! If I could change shape before, I can do it again! After all I am a fire dragon Will start slowly to make sure I have no excuses and build up over the coming challenges some more. What is really important to me is that fitness does not prioritize over work. Simply because work means income and as much freedom I have being self-employed and working from home, as tempting it is to procrastinate on anything that doesn't have a scheduled appointment and oooof I'm REALLY easy to fall for procrastination! So in the past whenever my fitness picked up, my work slowed down and right now I simply can't afford that. A good balance it will have to be. Ideally I'll shed some body abundance and gain some financial abundance instead Will still give it my best, of course, will just have to give my best on both work and fitness. You guys will hold me accountable, please shout at me when I slack and just ask me if I'm truly giving it my all. Thank youuuuuuuuu Here goes Shape Shifting Part 1 My motivation theme for this series of challenges (I might need more than one ) is the world of His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman. The people there have demons each which are like a part of their soul that lives in a separate body yet close to them all the time. The demon is usually in the shape of an animal and children's demons can shift from one animal shape to another quite often and easily. As they turn to teenagers the demons then settle on one shape which they will stay in for the rest of their lives. For the series of these challenges, I'd like to become as flexible, courageous, energetic and curious again as a child. So I will aim for three shapes of demon to have part of me turn into: Octopus - Strength If I feel a bit squishy around my middle, I might as well get strong squishy Octopus are awesome beasts though... strong, nimble and very adaptive. I'll have to build versatile strength for this one. Daily 10 Doing 10 chin ups from tip toe, 10 knee push ups (yes, that's how weak I've gotten ) and 10 knee tucks from hanging - every single day, no excuses 120 minutes of yoga / week Becoming not just strong but also nimble again, one session at a time. Yoga classes go over 90 minutes, so I have to go more than once or do some extra at home to achieve this. I know it will be so worth it! Caribou - Endurance This goal is mixing fitness and work, it's my "just keep going" goal as every step will get me lighter on my journey and closer to my work projects 10 000 steps per day counting with my fitbit over course of the day; working from home I get max 3000 - 4000 steps per day, in order to get the 10 000 steps in I have to go for about an hour walk, which will have the extra benefit of fresh air and temperature resilience, yay 30 minutes writing per day I've been asked by quite a few people now, if I can't write a book on meditation as they love my guided ones... and yeah I'd totally love to do that, have just never ventured out to actually do it. I get inspired and all enthusiastic and as soon as I sit down to write anything, all the doubts rush in and tell me I don't have anything worthwhile to say and the whole blablabla. The thing is I won't know if I have it in me or not, if I never write it! Have started writing notes and snippets over the last 18 months and now it's time to give it some more shape. It doesn't matter if I add more snippets in those 30 minutes or structure and assemble what is there already, as long as I spend the time focused undistracted on the project. Eagle - Farsight 45 minutes or more personal meditation per day, to detach and rise to larger perspective again; the goal is to surrender into the unlimited field of the loving intelligence that creates life and co-create from there. Venturing into unknown possibilities again and again until I dare do more of that in every day life as well. This practice varies from day to day in how well I can open up for it, but in general it makes me really happy, confident and inspired, plus I do feel a strong health benefit as well. Currently I use the meditations of Dr. Joe Dispenza, very cool stuff! Let's go conquer water, land and skies Happy challenging everyone and thanks for having me back

Discipline A good assassin practices discipline, and great assassin lives it. Instead of focusing on different aspects of being an assassin, Snuggles needs to focus on improving the discipline in her life. She needs to focus on the things she can control and actively change. Physical #1: Working on the back. I have joined a Pilates group that meets twice a week. I also want to get back into my physical therapy. Week #1 of my challenge: Focus on physical therapy 3 times Week #2 of my challenge: Focus on physical therapy 4 times & Pilates twice Week #3 of my challenge: Focus on physical therapy 5 times & Pilates twice Week #4 of my challenge: Focus on physical therapy 6 times & Pilates twice Week #5 of my challenge: Focus on physical therapy 7 times & Pilates twice Physical #2: I need to do something physical every day. Things to include are walking at least 2 miles, hiking, weight training, knife practice or something else. Week #1 of my challenge: 3 times a week Week #2 of my challenge: 4 times a week Week #3 of my challenge: 5 times a week Week #4 of my challenge: 6 times a week Week #5 of my challenge: 7 times a week Bonus: I would like to average at least 70k steps a week and 10k a day! Prize to be determined… Diet: Snuggles needs to start interacting with food in good ways again. I need to eat breakfast 6 days a week. Sunday Brunch is acceptable if I get at least a piece of fruit early. Week #1 of my challenge: Week #2 of my challenge: Week #3 of my challenge: Week #4 of my challenge: Week #5 of my challenge: Tracking is King: Finally Snuggles needs to start incorporating her many interests into her daily routine. (The To-Do Chart has returned!) In the past my chore chart is a wonderful indicator of what works and where I need work. It gives me a weekly visual so I know very quickly where I need to focus my energies. I will use this along with my Fit-bit to track food and activities. Activities include French, Knife Defense, Knitting, Lockpicking, Game Night, etc. Week #1 of my challenge: Week #2 of my challenge: Week #3 of my challenge: Week #4 of my challenge: Week #5 of my challenge: Builder Goals: I will be starting fresh so this challenge will be spent focusing on creating a baseline. Week #1 of my challenge: Week #2 of my challenge: Week #3 of my challenge: Week #4 of my challenge: Week #5 of my challenge:

It’s the beginning of a new year and I need to get back into my fitness and eating routine. Happy New Year! Main Quest To live a healthy and balanced life by exercising and trying to eat healthy. My Motivation I've successfully dropped weight by counting calories so my diet will mostly be staying the same with 1200 calories per day M-F and then blow meals on the weekends. Although I’m going to try to limit it to one day, rather than both Saturday and Sunday. I enjoy doing themed workouts and for this challenge it will be Star Wars in conjunction with the release of The Last Jedi (which I loved!). May the Force be with you! Smaller Quests 1. "Do Or Do Not. There Is No Try." - Yoda Walking When I'm in Europe I’ll be walking everywhere, so I need time to get into proper walking shape. This challenge will be heavily focused on walking as many miles as possible. I usually do 2 miles at a stretch, several times a week on a treadmill. For this challenge, I’m upping that to adding in another walk early in the mornings before work. While space travel and transport on planets was likely done by some type of vehicle, there’s no doubt that training to be a Jedi involves a lot of physical activity, which includes walking. Rey herself walked a lot on both Jakku and in searching for Luke, in addition to her other Jedi training. Scoring: x/50 miles in 5 weeks Reward: +3 to STA & +3 to DEX 2. "Help me DuoLingo (Obi-Wan Kenobi). You’re My Only Hope!" - Princess Leia French I’m going to Europe soon so I need to get back to practicing French. Since I found it difficult, I know I need to practice every day. I want to practice at least three DuoLingo sessions each day, once a day. I also find that I practice more regularly in conjunction with a challenge here. As a member of the Rebel Alliance, I would encounter many other species and cultures. Although despite something like either translator microbes or the babel fish being available, still being able to speak and understand another language would be useful in the Outer Rim Territories. Scoring: /35 Reward: +3 to WIS 3. "Never Tell Me the Odds" - Han Solo Editing Edit ‘Bonita Blue’, my 2017 NaNoWriMo win, once a week by getting through 3-4 chapters at a time. The story currently has 18 chapters so this seems reasonable. Scoring: x/5 weeks Reward: +3 to CHA 4. "I'll Never Turn to the Dark Side!" - Luke Skywalker Sweet Treats I have a terrible sweet tooth, particularly where processed sugars are concerned. And since, over the holidays, there were tasty things everywhere, I need to focus on less sugar in my daily diet, especially as I move into the new year and getting back into more exercise and healthy eating again. It’s a good goal to have for the first challenge in 2018. Because of my blow meals on weekends, I’m going to try to only have sweet treats 2-3 times per week, Monday through Friday. Eat healthier by cutting down on the sweet treats to 2-3 times in the 5 day week. Scoring: /15 days Reward: +3 to CON

Well 2017 has been a nice year, but also a struggle. I've done two challenges since getting back on NF and I'm ready to start the new year strong!! I wish to use these few days before January 1st to set a baseline for my goals this challenge. So here are my goals: #1 Intermittent fasting I don't know what my baseline is at the moment, hence my statement above. I also don't know for how many hours to aim. It's gonna be between 14-16 hours probably. I wish to focus on eating 3 meals and no snacks regardless. Some sweets here and there on occasion so I don't falter. If I go 14 hours it'll be like 9-19 feasting and that sounds really normal to me. Sooooooo I need to figure out my eating schedule as it is right now and then adjust. #2 Drink 2 bottles of water Different from my previous drinking goal, I wish to focus on drinking 2 bottles of water regardless of other intakes. So no more counting mugs of tea and glasses of water. I have a bottle and I need to empty it twice each day. #3 Walking This is still a 1 time a week goal. Other exercise goals are for later. #4 Therapy exercises I will keep this goal till I'm nailing it XD I will be happy if I get a 25% on this one #5 Take medication Most importantly laxatives. But also my supplements. Let's see how I do this time [emoji3] As always I'll be tracking things in more detail on my Google sheet. (Link in my signature) I made a handy progress sheet to see how I do over multiple challenges ^^

Greeting fellow rebels and new recruits! (I know the new challenge doesn't start until the new year, but why not start early? Besides, life is a continuous challenge and you can't exactly put that on hold.) A little bit about me: (sorry for everyone using tapatalk and unable to have spoilers hide the spoilers) As my title says, I am on a journey for self-knowledge. I decided to go down this rabbit hole after listening to an internet video from the school of life titled "The Dangers of Thinking Too Much; And Thinking Too Little." A certain passage really stuck out to me since I personally relate to it and the illustrated person in that little excerpt looks like my internal self. Here's the blurb: we deploy knowledge and ideas that carry indubitable prestige to stand guard against the emergence of more humble, but essential knowledge from our emotional past. we bury our personal stories beneath an avalanche of expertise. the possibility of a deeply consequential intimate inquiry is deliberately left to seem feeble and superfluous next to the supposedly grander task of [insert [insert pompous topic] I'm not sure if it's the posh accent or the large words, but it really struck close to home. I listen to too many podcasts about the past and present social world. And I listen to those at work when it's too quiet at work and I'm too afraid to be left with my thoughts. So this time I'm going to face these inner thoughts head on instead of filling it with non-self-knowledge. Also, I'm really disappointed in the forums lack of mental health section. I notice a lot of rebel mention the words "mental health," but there's no general place within the forum to turn to. I've looked up the phrase in quotations and gone through most of the topics and did the same. Either I completely overlooked it or there's nothing really here. Both of which is a shame. I'm going to be seriously editing my quests before the new years so these are just a rough draft: I'm completely leaving out the phrasing of "goals" since that means an end and physical and mental health are continuous processes. It's not like some master cleanse where you diet for 4 weeks and go straight back to old habits. Quest 1: Nutrition I'm going back to the smoothie drinking since I already know how to make a bomb drink, it's easier to eat than my normal meal prep lunches, and it's faster to consume so there's more time for me to do other things at work like journal prompts or reading a book. no bread or sweets no fast food track food on MFP Quest 2: Workout Last year I was really into my workouts. I really liked the 7-minute workout even though it turned into more of a 28-minute workout with the storyline quests. And the Fit for Battle app was super great at helping me build up my stamina. As much as I want to go to a gym it would be bad timing since the new year is starting Walk dog at least 5 times a week get step count in daily Quest 3: Mental health Maybe I'll start writing journal prompts so I can map those inner thoughts and find those patterns. Or maybe I'll do something with my bullet journal. Or just read a book or online article mention it here and write about how I can apply that to myself or my mental health routine if I can ever settle on one and repeat it long enough to call it one. journal prompt x5 weekly meditate for 5 minutes unlock the hidden mystery that is the counselor Quest 4: Level Up Your Life I'm going to practice Spanish every day and met my exp quota.

I have to start this thread by saying (and hoping I don't jinx it!) WE FOUND A HOUSE!! We have a contract, and a closing date (January 18th) we will have to see if third time is a charm...we also have pre-approval and closing costs but I digress, we had those with the last one but hurricanes happen... A lot of the below portion was typed out over several hours into an open post...if it doesn't all make sense I apologize in advance... I will be fine tuning and refining this before next week...but as I stated at the closing of my last challenge In my head I keep saying I need to ignore the scale and such and just do what I enjoy and makes me feel good...but that's difficult when I want to break down and cry every time I look in the mirror...I can't stand to look at pictures of me from 6 years ago, or heck, even 3 years ago...wouldn't exactly say I was healthy then but I think a combination of what I did then and what I do now...I know whatever I'm doing now isn't working so I need to rethink it...On January 2nd I'll be here 4 years...always thought I'd be closer to my goals by now, not further away. I used to be the person that went out and had fun, I need to do this again. The job that I had (restaurant management) left little time for eating (mostly done on my feet) and a lot of walking/moving, I need to do this again I used to be the person who didn't worry about what they ate, not saying that was the best thing for me to do because a lot of it was junk, but maybe I don't need to obsess as much as I do now... I used to only eat once or twice a day, when I was hungry....and stop when I was full...I need to do this again I used to be the person who worked a 12 hour shift, got her homework done, and still made time to do the things she really wanted to as long as her schedule allowed...if it didn't then I didn't feel bad about using the time to catch up on sleep...maybe I need to do this again as well... 1. Move every day. Back then they didn't have fitness trackers, but I was on my feet 10-12 hours a day so I know I got a workout in. I have a desk job now but I have a lot of leeway, during season this will be easier but during the off season it's too easy to sit at my desk and not do much. I want to start getting at least 10,000 steps a day, and one day of kickboxing a week. The first two weeks I will start with 6,000 steps (5k distance) and increase from there. 2. Eat when hungry, stop when full. Counting calories and carbs is not working for me. I need to stop obsessing over having breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day. I'll eat when I get hungry, if that means I don't eat breakfast then so be it. If lunch isn't until 2pm that's fine. The only thing is it has to be real food, not fast food, not junk. Mostly veggies and some protein. 3. Beyond checking in here (which I still intend to stick with 3x a week) I need to stop making plans and canceling them for whatever reason...be it my wife is working late, I talk myself out of it, etc...work obligations notwithstanding...or if sleep really is an issue (which should not be the case before season). I am also going to be taking that long-awaited (by my boss) vacation to set up my house after we close things should be a lot easier after this gets done...can't wait till I can open a door and let the dogs out into the yard!

Welcome to Fair Middle Earth, my fellow Hobbits! should you accept the challenge - I urge to consider carrying the RING OF POWER through most of Middle Earth. Now the purpose here isn't just to wittily drop LOTR references (tho' that would be nice- who doesn't like a Great LOTR reference)? but to revel in the challenge of walking ALL the way to Mordor in 2018. 3405.5miles! .... I see there is nice little history to this challenge (https://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/93325-walk-to-mordor-and-back-again-2017/) congrats to all those that slogged along most of that way in 2017. Lets start it again! so anyways. I myself would prefer something of a text based approach: I shall check my distance and glory in my current destination...

Welcome to the not at all serious, but hopefully light-hearted and entertaining, War of the Walkers! You can't be something you're not Be yourself, by yourself Stay away from me A lesson learned in life Known from the dawn of time Respect, walk Being a fan of Pantera is not required to join this challenge. I just like the song The war begins tomorrow, on November the 7th, and will end on November 30th. Among the expected casualties are Sedentary Lifestyle, Bad Habits, and Lame Excuses. This challenge is open to anyone who wants to join, and our goal is to go for at least one walk every day. They don't have to be outside, if you have access to an indoor option like a long corridor or a treadmill, feel free to use that. Our goal here is to get up and move around at least once a day, not to force our way out into the freezing November weather and suffer the rain and sleet. The challenge will span a total of 23 days, and for every day you get up and walk at least once, you get a point. First one to 23 wins! Wait. That's not going to work, is it? Let me try this again: Get yourself to a total of 23 days with at least one walk, and you will win. The grand prize, for all lucky hard working winners, is the formation of a new and healthy habit. And bragging rights. Massive bragging rights. To avoid confusion later on, here is the small number of simple rules all challengers who join will be expected to follow: A walk is at least 10 minutes long. Feel free to go for longer, but you need to be up and moving around for at least ten minutes in a row. Talking for five minutes, taking a break and then walking for five more minutes, does not count as a walk for the purposes of this challenge. Only walking counts. Running, cycling, swimming, rollerblading, crawling, riding your combat trained mastiff into battle, or belly dancing for ten minutes, are all great things. However, doing any one of them will not give you credit towards this challenge. Walking twice tomorrow won't make up for a missed walk today. We're counting the number of days we get at least one walk done, not the number of walks we can fit in before the challenge ends. If you don't get a walk in during the day, you have to come here and tell everyone why. This is a very important rule. Equally important: No one is gong to mock you or be mean to you, no matter what the reason is. Challenging each other in PvP doesn't mean we are going to be jerks to each other about it. We're going to hold each other accountable, but we'll do it respectfully. Progress goes on this spreadsheet. Anyone who wants to join this challenge is welcome to do so. If you join after the 7th, simply count the days to find what your maximum number of points are going to be, and aim for that number. Let's walk, everyone!

Walk to Mordor and Back Again (2017) All who dare step outside The Shire will likely encounter many nasty adventures. The journey is not for the faint of heart, as the typical traveler must endure years of commitment. There will be other brave souls making the trek, providing much welcomed support and company, but only you can put one foot in front of the other. The fate of Middle-Earth hangs in the balance... are you prepared to walk to Mordor to destroy the One Ring? Begin Your Journey Now! Whether you have been trekking to Mordor for years or just looking to get started, you are welcome to join us at anytime. All miles/kilometers count. You decide how you want to accumulate distance. This is your adventure! (ex. my journey has included walking/steps, hiking, running, biking (distance/3), and swimming (distance*3)) SPREADSHEET Open the spreadsheet, click on the 'Sign Up' tab at the bottom of the page, fill in all fields labeled in yellow, and begin tracking and logging your distance in the appropriate monthly tab. “It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.” - Bilbo Baggins

The Battle of Wonder Woman & her Mighty Cats In Africa lives a woman, with short dark hair, a magic lasso, and an affinity to cats. Big cats, small cats, wild, tame; cats in many forms. This is Wonder Woman! She has been battling Dr. Stressor and Prof. De-Energizer for many a challenge, but in the last one, they drove her to her knees in an epic mental battle. They cut off her long locks which was the power to her physical strength. However, before they could deal a final death blow, her strong, tenacious, not-up-to-hype Super Friends rushed in to save her, and spirit her away to Africa. Her land of birth. Her stronghold where she can gather the tattered remains of her energy shield and strength, stand up and fight again. With her mighty lions by her side, she can face her two formidable foes. Not to win an epic all out battle, but to beat them back, slash them down little by little each and every day. To do this she has to get sound sleep, build her strength through various exercises, and each and every morning revel in the splendour and tranquility that is an African sunrise. No way around, only up and through. Did you know? I received this topic via email and of course it peaked my interests. So I thought why not a cat-themed challenge. I'm not going to score myself for a win or loose, I'm just going to try and equal, but preferably beat my last challenge's results. I realised that if I skipped this challenge, chances are very good that I won't be able to get back up and go on. So I'm here. Touch wood, but I'm not seeming to struggle with food or snacks at the moment, but definitely with exercises and routines. My energy is low, physically and mentally, but if I don't get back into routine, especially to train, then I can't get my energy levels up and my stress levels down. My own little lion, who has fought his way into our hearts, and terrorises the birds (and dogs, and neighbour's cat) in our garden every day. Stampy Cat, the night he sneaked into our house. He was +-4months old. Stampy Cat, almost 2yrs old and yes, he (almost) rules the roost. --------------------------------------------------- 00 --------------------------------------------------- MORNING ROUTINE: Up at 5h00/5h05 - 11 points/days to equal Bible Study - 20 points/days to equal Morning exercises: either routine 1 or 2 - 11 points/days to equal EXERCISES: Playball is finishing end of November. I was used to walking around the field while Rocco played. Now I'm going to have to make the effort to get up, go out and walk. Main focus is on Self Defense, Walking on a Tuesday OR Thursday, Strength training. So at least 3x a week. In between I have to get to gardening, which are sometimes a low impact exercise, and at other times a lot of strength training. WATER: 1/2 point for each 500ml bottle of water/juice/milk (no caffeine or alcohol) or mug of tea (herbal/rooibos). I almost never have juice, milk, milkshake, cooldrink, alcohol, etc. Main drinks are water, coffee, rooibos. So if I do have something else, which does not contain alcohol or caffeine, then it will count. 35 points to equal. READING: I am lagging behind on the two books that I'm reading. Dropped away totally sometime during the last challenge. I would like to read at least two chapters of each a week, but I should preferably get a move on now. I'm not doing myself any favours by not finishing this. NEW (sort of) Devotional: Spiritual Warfare Survival: Stop Walking on Eggshells SLEEP: I did really well by end of last challenge. In bed on time for more nights than those I went to bed late. I don't want to loose the momentum, but I realised due to my stress levels, I need more sleep. If in bed by 21h45, and lights out by 22h00 then 1 point/day; 23 points/days to equal If in bed and lights out before 21h45 then +1 All cat images welcome...

Ash Raine kicks open the door to reveal.... her first assassin's challenge. \o/\o/\o/ In true assassin style I'm aiming to start to transform my body into a lean, mean, sneak-from-the-shadows machine. Or at least a leaner, meaner, sneakier one I'd like to reduce my body fat percentage and increase my strength, and I'll be doing this through a focus on nutrition, body weight exercise, and walking. Oh, and handstands, because they make me happy. I'll be incorporating elements from my newbie challenge and changing up the scoring to make it more interesting. Quest 1: Strength Following on from my Newbie quest I'm going to continue the BBWW, but upping it to twice a week (Wed and Sat). Scoring: 10 points per round completed. Plus 1 point for each rep over the goal in the third round. Quest 2: Stamina I've enjoyed my daily walks and seeing how far I've walked in the last challenge. For this quest I'll continue to walk everyday, hopefully moving to a run jog wog (walk/jog) for some of them. I'll get 10 point for every km above 20km across the full 4 weeks. I'll also get 10 additional points for every km I run wog. Quest 3: Nutrition Veggie powered! I'll get 10 points for every day I eat vegetables. Defeat the evil sugar overlord: I'll get 10 points for every day I skip a sweet treat. As it is my birthday on Dec 14th I'm not aiming for 100% daily completion (also, I know myself), but I'd like to come out with at least 200 points for this by the end of the challenge (20/28 days) Quest 4: Handstands Daily handstands. Points for every second above 5 seconds on a free handstand, or 10 points for a 30-second hold against the wall. Mini Challenge I've been playing along with the Batman Mini even though I technically wasn't an assassin last time, and have been loving it. So I aim to continue to help track down Gotham's super villains with a sub goal of making a contribution to each villain's capture. <smokebomb> </smokebomb>

Well, my isnpiration for this challenge is the hunger games... Allthough the books where awfull, and the movies were kinda meh... I don't know, let's see where this goes. This month's challenge is all about getting hungry (Hunger Games... you know... )Well, not really starving-to-death-hungru, but kinda hungry... I decided I really need to know if I'm hungry, thirsty or just want to put my teeth in something tasty. That's why I will start intermittent fasting. So I will set a time I can start eating each week. If I feel good enough to keep fasting I can fast longer. Goal 1: Intermittent Fasting/Diet Week 1: Breakfast around 12:00 PM Week 2: Breakfast around 1:00 PM Week 3: Breakfast around 2:00 PM Week 4: Breakfast around 3:00 PM Coupled with this I want to try a low carb diet for this month. And then I just mean skipping as much as possible bad carbs: pasta, bread, white rice, candie, cookies, fruit juices, pudding, cakes,... (the list goes on)... you get the idea... Cheat day to give me some hope is on saturday. Goal 2: wake up every day around 5:00 AM Well, I have to get up every morning to keep up with my enemies! And, it makes me active, some alone time in the morning, I get to make a planning for the day. etc... It will probably be the hardest the first week. Goal 3: drinking 3l water/day Just staying hydrated, something I find very difficult! Goal 4: do something active every day So yes, this wouldn't be about fitness if I wouldn't do something about that, so I made a list with activities I can swap between. It's a ll about getting my body fit, mobile, more functional... Not necessary about getting more muscle. If I do a certain activity I will go more in depth describing what I did more in detail. For me it will be better that wayto see if I make any progress. Activity 1 Hill sprints Activity 2 Walking 1 hour Activity 3 Yoga Activity 4 Strength training Activity 5 Swimming The ideal routine would be like this: (but that is crazy, maybe I can get there in a few months) - Yoga and walking every day - Strength training 2-3 times a week - Hill sprints 2-3 times a week - Swimming 1-2 times a week

One thing I need, is to be more disciplined in sharing, posting..etc. so sorry I have been lax in that. There are nights when I remember "Oh yeah I havent posted on NF" and I just feel so tired and just am like "no Ill go to sleep.."..so no more of that. Main Goal: Lose 40 lbs of fat by August Challenge Goal: Lose 8 lbs 1. Walk 30 minutes each day 2. Exercise other than walking each day Each day planks glute bridge calf raises body stretches 3. Drink 20-40 oz of water a day.

Ryuu Levels Up! NF Challenge #10 11/26-12/23 100/100hp 0 Exp Health Crystal 1 [+50hp] I had originally planned to get this challenge up and running a lot earlier in the week but because of my surgery (had my wisdom teeth taken out last Saturday) and the resulting pain and recovery I've had delayed my start date for this challenge. For this challenge I'm going to try and analog leveling system to gauge my progress as well as a health bar and see how I like it/ if it is practical to use. Goal 1: Nutrition I will record in My Fitness Pal 7/7 days per week and try to be within +200cal of my 1800cal goal each day. ~+200= -0hp // ~+300 = - 5hp // ~+500 = - 10hp // >+600 = -25hp Current lbs: 161.2 BF% 21.8 % Waist 32.25 Hips: 33.25 Goal 2: Yoga I will do yoga everyday, 7/7 days per week ~5min +5xp // ~20min +10xp // ~1h+ +20xp // *2h+ +10hp +40xp Goal 3 Walk I will walk everyday for at least 5min, 7/7 days per week with the goal to be at least 5000+ steps per day 0-2000steps = -10hp +0xp // 2000-5000steps = -5hp +5xp // 5000 - 8000 = +0hp +5xp // 8000- 10,000 = +5hp +5xp // 10,000+ = +5hp +10xp // *20,000+ = +10hp +20xp Goal 4 Draw I will draw/ sketch everyday, 7/7 days per week, primarily jewelry ideas ~5min = +5xp // ~20min = +10xp // 1h+ = +20xp// *colored/ finished & posted online = +40xp LEVEL CHART Every Level: Increase Max HP by (Lv x 5) & Restore HP up to: Lv 1-5 +25hp, Lv 6-10 +35hp, Lv 11- 20 +50hp, Lv 20+ +75hp Every 3 Levels: Gain 1 Health Crystal (HC = + 50hp) Every 5 Levels: Gain 1 Loot Item BOUNTIES [Extra Experience/ health] -Finish a Book +100xp -Clean out Workout Room +50hp -Prep a meal +5hp (per meal) LOOT TABLE -New Book -New Workout Outfit - $20 towards a massage

Action absorbs anxiety. My cousin used this phrase recently, and it's a concept I apply all the time, but I'd never heard that phrase before and it's been stuck in my head ever since then. I moved away from my home of 4 years in NY a little under 2 months ago, and it's been a struggle to adjust to being in a new place. I'm staying at my boyfriend's place, but he's the only person I know here. I don't have any friends or family, and I work from home so I don't even have work people to socialize with during the day. Plus, I just had wrist surgery so I haven't been able to go to my usual activities like Aikido. I miss having friends, even just friendly acquaintances, who I could regularly see and spend time around. I miss knowing how to get around. I miss having a familiar grocery store to go to. I miss a lot of things. I knew exactly what I was getting into when I made this decision, but the struggle is still there. I've been doing a pretty good job of exploring the area and getting out. i did some yoga classes for a bit before I had the actual surgery, I've made a list of different parks and such to explore and I've gone to explore them. I've found doctors, etc. But the anxiety's obviously still there, and it builds up when I don't take enough action. So, this challenge is all about taking action. A little background -- I've been focusing on one habit per challenge this year instead of tackling a bunch of things at once: So for Challenge #9, I want to continue to take action in different categories. I'm not sure I can really call this one habit, but whatevs. 1. Fitness I can't do a whole lot with my wrist recovering, sadly including running. So instead, I want to focus on the things I can do. There are two categories. A - Walking. I get 1 point per day that I walk 60 minutes, and I get a second point for any additional 30 minute increments. B - I get one point per other fitness activity I do. I'm aiming for 4/week. I have a weekly stretch video and a yoga video (with slight modifications) that I can do. I can also do some workouts made up of squats, lunges, dead horse crunches, bicycles, flutter kicks, russian twists, etc. since none of those things should bother me too much. I'll be flexible about which ones I do. 2. Food Since I won't need any extra energy for the low intensity stuff described above, it's actually a great time to focus in on diet. If I end the day feeling like I made mostly good choices and with a net positive effect on my waistline, I get one point. If I make a good decision in a restaurant (which is a huge problem area for me) I get an extra point. 3. Work Working from home can be challenging. It's harder to get into the swing of things. I've been working on a project with very few intense deadlines, so that makes it even more challenging. I get work done, but I always sort of feel like I should do more. It's kind of embarrassing because I've always been a hard worker, but between an old manager who never assigned me work and working from home, I've somehow accidentally overridden my good habits with lazier ones. So. I get one point for the morning and one point for the afternoon. I earn these points by doing more than I have to - either helping someone out, or getting ahead on something, or whatever. 4. One-Time Tasks I have some one off things that always need to get done. For example, I'm planning to go to the DMV on Monday to register my car, since that's kiiiind of overdue. Also, there are places I want to explore in the area. This one's harder to score because it's not necessarily something that I need to do daily and the target score will flex depending on my to do list for the week. I'll write out the list later and decide the scoring requirements week by week for that one. 5. Recurring Tasks This can be anything from doing my laundry to doing some extra tidying, etc. I'll get one point per day that I do a recurring chore. I can get extra points for extra tasks. Bonus Points Any time I take an extra action specifically as a way to handle and manage anxiety, I get a bonus point. This can happen across any of the above categories. Rewards I'm planning to figure out some sort of reward system for this challenge. There's a base score I'm aiming for in each category, and then bonus points I can earn in most of them. So I'll create some reward tiers and each extra tier I hit will earn an extra reward. TBD.

Repost with some edits from my Battle Plan Been offline here for way too long and have slipped back a long way from where I wanted to be this year. For some reason I always have a weird feeling of being a disappointment when I really fall of the wagon to getting back online and updating because I really feel like I've disappointed all my online friends on here, a stupid feeling I know but a strong one none the less. But after a lot of struggling and beating myself up I've finally got back on and want to try and finish out the year strong. Around the beginning of the summer I hurt my back pretty bad which really thrown me off, and it has been a constant battle between the back pain and my own pity party because of the back pain causing me not to really want to do anything. I traveled around a lot this summer (want to Italy and Greece and to Tennessee) and overall had a great time but I know it wasn't the best for my back since sitting down tends to be what causes me the most pain and those long plane rides were painful . Plus having to stop exercising just made me hate myself and just snowball into bad eating habits on top of no exercise. Needless to say I'd gained some weight over the past few months which just added more snow to the snowball. Then once the school year started back I got the icing on the shitcake and was informed that my classroom had flooded over the summer and they still hadn't finished the floor. One week till the start of school and I couldn't even get into my classroom to start setting up, every day they told me that it would be ready the next day and then the next day would come and it still wouldn't be done. That continued for two weeks, into the first week of actual school and I couldn't even get into my classroom to start setting up for the year. Needless to say that didn't help my stress levels or my back, and made my work hell for the first month and a half of school. Finally, I decided that enough was enough and I wanted my life back. I was tired of life happening to me and being caught up in the shitstorm that my life had become for the last few months and decided to take back control, so I started with what I could do and I decided that I was going to wake up early and do yoga every day, so I started doing yoga every morning. So far I am 24 days straight of doing as much or as little yoga and I can. About a week ago I even decided to double down and signed up for a year long unlimited membership at a great local yoga studio and so far I love it and it's (or at least seems to be) helping out my back. Taking that victory and trying to keep up I've gone ahead and started making some goals and have a plan for the next 4 week challenge: Ryuu Survives Aincrad (_____/200) 1 HS The idea of MMORPGs and grinding levels has been on my mind a lot recently because its a lot like real life having to grind to get to the next level. Its a long (and mostly boring) process, but once you really get into the game or the activity the grind can become relatively fun. For this challenge I'm focusing on the grind, trying to build sustainable habits and get some level ups along the way. In past challenges I've used hit points to good success so I'll be using them again. Stat Bonuses- Goal One: Nutrition- ____/7: ____/28 Record Nutrition and be close to 1700 cal. Every 7 days of Recording = +1 Health Crystal (HS) Within >200: +0hp, >300 off: -10hp, >500 off: -25hp, 600+: -50hp, No Recording: -100hp Ultimate goal to loose ~2lbs maybe 1-1.5 bf% Start lbs: 165.2 BF%: 22.8 Practice my Sword Arts- Goal Two: Yoga Everyday- _____/7: _______/28 Yoga Everyday, for as much or as little time as I can, just do it. ~5min: +0hp 20-30min: +5hp 1h+: +10hp Explore the World- Goal Three: Walk Everyday- ____/7: ______/28 Walk everyday for 5+ min, Mindfully: Concentrate on my day, the future, the sights and sounds of nature...exc 0- 5000 Steps: -10hp 5-7000 Steps: +0hp 7-9000 Steps: +5hp 9-10,000 Steps: +10hp 10-15,000 Steps +15hp Find Magic in Words- Goal Four: Read Everyday- _____/7: ______/28 Read everyday for 20+ min. 0min: -25hp ~20min: +0hp 1h+: +10hp

Damn, what a handsome bunch of assholes you are. Hold on, let me capture this wonderful Kodak moment. Beautiful. That one’s going in the spank-bank folder. Now, down to business. You losers know why I called you all here. You invaded my fucking universe and all claimed to be the one true Deadpool. You've been involved in all kinds of fucked up shit and I'm the one getting the blame for all of it. This bullshit ends now. We're going to have a little competition to determine who is the best and the one and only Deadpool. Whoa whoa, hold your horses guys and gals, it's not going to be a fight. We all have the same super power and if we start slicing each other up, it'll go on forever, and I'm gonna be left sweeping up a huge fucking pile of severed limbs. We're going to settle this like little kids and have a race. Only in this race, the fastest one doesn't win. You have four weeks to get as far away from here as possible. The Deadpool that's the furthest away in 4 weeks time wins. Oh and one more thing. Attempting to screw over your competition is wrong and will not be tolerated…. Nah! I'm just fucking with ya! Be the deplorable bunch of ugly ass mercenaries that you are! You wanna hack of someone's leg so they have to hop for the next 3 miles until it grows back, go for it. Actually, do that, record it and share it to the Facebook group, it'll be fucking hilarious. I wish you all the worst of luck and I hope you all fucking kill each other. Now you all wait here while I….. head out this back door……… for no reason whatsoever...... Later, dickwads! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is the same as the previous "how far can you go" PvP that we ran a few months ago. Except this time, you get to be Deadpool! Select your Deadpool variant by putting your name under your selected character on the sheet. Put your name and character selection on the logging page Character & Logging Sheet The Rules This is for running and walking only, no cycling! Running / walking can be outdoors or on a treadmill The challenge is for any miles that are additional to any "regular" miles you may do. So, for example, a daily walk to work or walking around a grocery store this doesn't count. Log all runs / walks on the spreadsheet. It doesn't have to be full miles, part miles are allowed. The person with the most amount of miles at the end of the challenge wins! This challenge is open to all. There are 15 characters on the sheet, so if more than 15 people want to join in, you can either add your own DP variant or let me know and I'll add some more Good running everyone! And remember to run like the taco truck is pulling away!

Second challenge since returning to NF! Last challenge went quite well (if you happen to know my challenge track record XD) I have some goals I wish to work on... far too many! I wish to deal with some things related to autism as well. Hopefully I will manage! Going to be a real challenge though. I gave my goals a priority :3 hopefully that helps! Goals Diet #1 Don't buy snacks to and from work #2 Only eat planned breakfast - Try to not eat lunch as extra breakfast. Lunch = 12:30 - Experiment with drinking water instead #3 Don't eat work snacks - No Sinterklaas snacks before December 1st. - Make meal plan for Christmas. Exercise #1 Do therapy exercises (~30 min/day) Life #1 Addiction management - Make plan for addiction / obsession management - How to avoid addiction while still doing things I love. #2 Track energy levels #3 Write - NaNoWriMo - DnD campaign (optional/depends on sessions)

Korranation's back onboard I had to take a break from the challenges for a bit. Here's a little backstory to it So here's the goals/objectives part. Part One - Food Pictures - take pictures of all food (excluding repeating meal prepped items). Totally stealing this from Deffy Tracking - Put all items in MFP the night before Snacking - all processed food snacking is banned. I found snacking on baby carrots gets me through the workday and working on a pomegranate gets me through the evening. Part 2 - Health Workout - I'll either do +30 min on the rowing machine or the modified NFA workout Sleep - Go to bed minus looking at the phone before 10:30 Water - drink +8 cups of water. Or drink 2 cups of water 30 minutes before every meal. Part 3 - leveling up Language - practice Spanish on duolingo every day. Gotta keep that streak bonus going. Learning - spend +30min every day prepping to apply for grad school. That means either writing a personal letter, reaching out to old professors for letters of recommendation, and studying for the GRE... or doing classes at khan academy or reading peer-reviewed papers. Loving - Do some self-care every day/evening. (e.g. some work de-stressors, other non-work ideas, avoiding the non-profit compassion fatigue pitfall, yoga... LET DO THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It’s been awhile since I participated with the Warrior’s Guild, and since I was made a Warrior Ambassador too, I’m back and ready to lift all the heavy things again! And since this challenge runs over Halloween, my favorite holiday, it’s werewolf themed again! Main Quest To live a healthy and balanced life by exercising and trying to eat healthy. My motivation I've successfully dropped weight by counting calories so my diet will mostly be staying the same with 1200 calories per day M-F and then blow meals on the weekends. I've managed to put on some muscle in an effort to become stronger by weightlifting and I’ve discovered that I love lifting heavy things! I enjoy doing themed workouts and for this challenge it will be werewolves. For several reasons but mostly because 1. I love them 2. they’re the best fantasy monster and 3. they’re amazingly fast and incredibly strong beasts not to be messed with. This is perfect for a warrior challenge! Smaller Quests 1. Big Beastie = Weight lifting It’s time to get back to lifting all the heavy things! I’ve missed it, so it’s time to re-set and lift stuff again. I like it, it makes me feel better about myself and it’s got practical, real-world purposes. Werewolves are, first and foremost, destructive forces with incredible strength. Most werewolves are particularly strong in the upper body, although they’re really just all-over slabs of muscle. Scoring: x/5 (1 for each weight achieved) Bar Curls: 20lbs → 25lbs Bench Press: 60lbs → 75lbs Deadlift: 65lbs → 80lbs Pullups: 3 → 6 Tricep Pullovers: 20lbs → 30lbs Reward: +5 to STR (+1 for each completed) 2. Loup Garou = French I’m going to Europe this winter so it’s time to learn a new language! I’ve already given French a try and it’s hard, so I need to practice to be ready by February. I want to practice at least three DuoLingo sessions each day, once a day. This will be difficult because of my schedule on weekends and going to Grand Caymen in a few weeks, but I need to do this and I find that I practice more regularly in conjunction with a challenge here. One of the most famous werewolf legends is that of the French loup garou. It’s even got a cousin in New Orleans called the rougarou. Scoring: /28 Reward: +4 to WIS 3. Stalking = Walking I’ve done running for challenges and I’ve done walking and I think walking is actually better for me personally. I’ve seen better weight loss and toning results because of it. It doesn’t make me break as big a sweat as running does, but it makes my legs stiff in new and painful ways so that’s gotta’ count for something! Also, my husband walks A LOT and I want to be able to keep up with him better. And while in Europe I’ll be walking everywhere so I need time to get into proper walking shape so I’m starting early. The third week of this challenge will likely get tricky for this though as I will be in Grand Caymen and thus, underwater scuba diving most of my days. Hopefully, I can get to my 20 mile goal without needing to walk a lot while on vacation. Werewolves are the perfect predator; not only are they incredibly strong, but they’re also excellent stalkers. They are silent and deadly that not only rely on their inhuman strength, but also on their quiet stalking skills. Scoring: x/20 miles in 4 weeks (5 miles per week, at the gym) Reward: +3 to STA & +3 to DEX