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I started my first version of this back in the middle of the last quest of 2014. I did well for about a week, but then the holidays happened and we went out of town, and the preparation for that got me completely off track. (Not to mention my husband's pay-schedule changed and we were scrambling to reschedule all our bill payments and still be able to afford groceries.) We were surviving mostly on rice, ground beef and Little Caesar's $5 pizza for a while, which made focus and motivation difficult. We're back on track financially now so it will be a lot easier to afford healthy food going forward. I've also simplified my workout process, as I realized by making it more complicated than it needed to be I was psyching myself out. Three SMART goals Workout, both strength training and High Intensity Interval Training, at least 5 times a week. This will involve: Strength Training at least 3 times a week HIIT at least 2 times a week Individual goals within this step: establish full-body strength training routine and be comfortable with it by the end of the challenge - this should include increasing weight, time and/or reps for each exercise every week; increase to 10 intervals at a time when doing my HIIT workout. Continue to wear my Fitbit daily (taking one night off a week to charge it) and track all exercise, food intake, and sleep each day. I have a food plan on my Fitbit account aimed for a 500 calorie deficit every day. The best way to measure whether I’m tracking accurately and being honest will be by my weight; my hope is to lose 1.5-2.5 pounds per week (weighing on Sunday mornings). Strive for a 40% protein, 40% fat, 20% carbohydrates balance, following Paleo guidelines as much as possible. Limit my eating out to three times a week, and avoid eating out at lunch as much as possible. It’s harder to find good food for lunch that meets my current dietary needs, while if I eat out for dinner with my husband we tend to eat healthier and be more careful. (This will also help financially.) Life Quest: Take steps to boost my confidence in three other ways by the end of the challenge: Complete application process to UIU so I can start working towards my bachelor degree again. Start tracking how much time I spend each week reading, watching TV, playing on the computer, writing and doing chores - this is so I can start making improvements on how much time I spend idle and how much time I spend productive. I’m an introvert, so some idle time is a necessity for me to recharge my batteries, but I know I spend too much time being idle right now. Start taking better care of my appearance so I appear more professional at work. I don’t want to become vain, but I do want to look like I take care of myself. This means occasionally ensuring I have the time to put on make-up and do more than brush my hair in the mornings. Ultimately, this comes down to getting enough sleep during the week so I can wake up in time to do a little “grooming†in the mornings. Motivation: I want to improve my health so I can start a family, sometime later this year is the goal. I want to build good habits before then so I can be the best person I can be for my kids and give them a good example. A more immediate Motivation: my cousin is getting married on February 7th. Even if I don’t look at that different by then, I want to FEEL different and more confident in myself by her wedding, knowing that I’m well on my way towards building good habits that can continue for the rest of my life. No Attribute points at this time for me, but I do want to outline how I want to measure each of my Quest steps at the end of the challenge. Workouts A = 10-12 Strength Training workouts, and 7-8 HIIT workouts completed by February 15th B = 8-9 Strength Training workouts, and 6 HIIT workouts completed by February 15th C = 7 Strength Training workouts, and 5 HIIT workouts completed by February 15th D = 6 Strength Training workouts, and 4 HIIT workouts completed by February 15th F = 5 or less Strength Training workouts, and 3 or less HIIT workouts completed by February 15th Fitbit and Weight A = 26-31 days tracked on my Fitbit, and 9 or more pounds lost by February 15th B = 21-25 days tracked on my Fitbit, and 7-8 pounds lost by February 15th C = 16-20 days tracked on my Fitbit, and 6-5 pounds lost by February 15th D = 12-15 days tracked on my Fitbit, and 4 pounds lost by February 15th F = 11 days or less tracked on my Fitbit, and 3 pounds or less lost by February 15th Eating Out A = Eating out 12 or less times B = Eating out 14 times C = Eating out 15 times D = Eating out 16 times F = Eating out 17 or more times Life Quests Completing UIU Application = Pass/Fail Tracking Idle and Productive Time A = Track all 4 weeks, and show at least 10% reduction in Idle time B = Track all 4 weeks, and show 5% or less reduction in Idle time C = Track 3 weeks or less D = Track 2 weeks or less F = Track 1 week or less Appearance/Grooming A = Get 8 hours of sleep 90% of the time, and do hair/makeup 8 or more times during the work week B = Get 8 hours of sleep 75% of the time and do hair/makeup 6-7 times during the work week C = Get 8 hours of sleep 60% of the time and do hair/makeup 4-5 times during the work week D = Get 8 hours of sleep 50% of the time and do hair/makeup 2-3 times during the work week F = Get 8 hours of sleep less than 50% of the time and do hair/makeup 1 or less times during the work week