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Welcome to round two! I am going to try this again. I have most of my challenges sorted I think (mostly just tracking), and so I wanted to share the first draft. Nothing like a deadline to get your behind in line. I stole @fleaball's chart (thanks for permission!), and have updated it with my own challenges. The theme of this month's challenge: Nourish Nourish body 1. Do something physical each day. I have the option of Volleyball, tennis, and/or yoga and will track that. I also occassionally take walks at work, and regularly walk the pup, but these are not included. - Side Goal: Yoga every damn day. With the added bonus of volleyball or tennis. The season for my indoor volleyball is picking up, so once both get started it would be 2x/week 2. Practice Pushups: I REALLY want to be able to do a push up. I will practice 3x a week. 3. Each as many veggies as possible. Goal is at least 50% Veggies for all of my meals. I am also working on getting local/sustainable meat and eggs for protein. 4. Cut the sugar: This is mostly for tracking. I have sugar, I lose the day, I don't have sugar I win! Nourish mind 1. Hour walk with pup: This is so good for me. The goal is 3x a week, in a seperate place than my street. Good for the pup too, and I hope to take advantage of fall 2. Magnesium: Daily 3. Declutter: I was going to do the minsgame, but I think I will aim to rehome at least one item a day for the challenge. I had my sink explode (well water explode from the pipes, but sinks exploding sounds more fun), and I had to get rid of a bunch of stuff. So that went well. I will aim to get stuff OUT of the house 1x/week 4. Defeat the snooze: one snooze, and one snooze only. Pass or fail, everyday. 5. Reading > TV: Choose to read a book versus watch tv 5x/week. I have a couple of good looking books that I really want to get through. Nourish bank account: In the wake of my car issues last challenge, I need to get on track with my savings and spending. The challenge (currently), is that I am stocking my freezer with local meat, and that is not the cheapest thing, but hopefully I can revisit my grocery budget and drop that down. 1. Touch base with finances: check my bank account/budget at least 5x/week. 2. Bring food to work: Both breakfast and lunch and snacks. This will be marked as complete if I do not buy anything at work. I am going to aim for 26/28 days of the challenge, with a couple of opportunities for something special (only while I use the money up on my card). 3. Only shop with list: This will only be tracked when I purchase something. If I added it to a list before I got in the store and only shop with said list I get a point, if I buy anything that is not on the list, I get nothing. 4. Online purchase after 24 hours: Same as above. If I purchase anything online that I have not considered for at least a day once it is added to my shopping cart I lose a point. There might be an exception as I am buying a small freezer portion of beef to split wiht my neighbor. I added it yesterday, but I don't know if it will still be there. I will update as I consider more over the next couple of days. I am currently using the spreadsheet to track, and am also going to make up a bullet journal spreadsheet. I am also going to set a reminder to track each day before bed. I might add back meditation, but less times a week. Everyday worked for the first couple of week last time, and then got away from me. I am also going to work on figuring out loot that doesn't detract from my decluttering goal.

Hello. This is my second challenge, and since I can't seem to decide which guild to join, gonna stay with Rebels for a little bit while! Xia Dong from Nirvana in Fire While I was trying to decide which guild to join by discussing with a fellow D&D player friend (spoiler: failed), there were--- archetypes of character being brought up. A Rogue with the lacquered veneer of Bard, a loner (?) human-favored-enemy Hunter/Ranger, a Bard with Fighter capabilities. Should I incorporate dance into it? Will I end up taking Body Combat? ...Anyway, finally decided it's too early in my fitness journey to even try deciding on a class/direction to pursue. It'll just distract. In the discussion the character/officer Xia Dong from chinese drama Nirvana in Fire was mentioned and I thought-- that's not a bad idea. Nimble, practical, slightly awkward/stiff but not in the least lacking common sense. Let's go for that. So far, this is what I'm going for: Dexterity-based class that can survive (thrive!) in both civilized world/ urban setting and wilderness. Ability scores composition would be DEX/INT/CHA (sometimes substituting CHA/WIS with INT) with CON before STR. Live sincerely, sensibly and practically-- but still socially flexible when required. GOALS I. Reduce Burden Excess girth limits movement. 163 cm/ 5'4", small frame. Starting weight 64.1 kg (141.3 lbs) at the beginning of Week 0, target weight 62 kg (136.6 lbs). Weigh everyday. Meal prep (enough for) 5-6 days out of a week. Count and log calories with MyFitnessPal. Aim for 1200 calories/day. Random Encounters: Socializing-proofing. Choose which eating-outs/feeding company are worth the calories and arrange intake around them. II. The Body is A Vehicle Stamina, flexibility, core strength and pliability. Build CON (stamina) Do cardio/walk around total of 3 hours per week (while listening to audiobooks/ lectures). Start preparing for bed 11.30 and sleep at 1 at the latest. Wake up around 7.30. Raise DEX & STR (flexibility and muscle strength). 60 minutes of Ballet Beautiful, 2 times per week. 1 session (45 minutes - 1 hour) of Bellydancing/Yoga for bellydancing basics per week. Learn to self-massage sore muscles. III. Necessary Evil That is The Capital Appearance and social skills. Take better care of appearance (nail, teeth, skin, hair). Get rid/ KonMari-away unloved/unsuitable clothes, accessories and makeup. Pick a social skill/etiquette book to read/summarize. Do concrete actions in order to interact better with people. Good luck and see you around!

Introduction: Hi, I’m elvenengineer and this is my second challenge. I’m a female, 21 years old, and I’m currently a college student, studying civil engineering (Graduating in May!!!!!!). I’ve always been underweight, but I really want to get stronger. Just reading NF has led to a lot of changes, and I could definitely feel myself getting stronger. I started the StrongLifts 5x5 program and am now on Week 3!!! Had to lower some of the starting weights, but oh well. Main Quest: Get stronger in my upper body! 3 sets of 5 pull-ups or chin-ups is the overall goal, along with 3x20 pushups (where I was several years ago – but I had horrible form) Quest 1: Workout 3 days a week - StrongLifts preferably, but if I get sick or injured, walking is acceptable (this happened during the last challenge and I didn't have it built in - always learning!) I'm loving StrongLifts - it's really working for me. Measurement: A = 3 days/week, B = 2 days/week, C = 1 day/week, D = None Reward: A = +1 STR, +1 CON B = +1 STR, C = +1 CON Quest 2: I really need to work on my mobility. My goal here is to do a dynamic warmup, like this one before each workout, and stretch for AT LEAST 5 minutes after. Measurement: A = 3 workouts, B = 2 workouts, C = 1 workout, D = no workouts Reward: A = +2 DEX, B = +1 DEX, C = +0.5 DEX, D=0 Quest 3: Get 8+ hours of sleep per night. School always crazy, so this is going to be tricky. Measurement: A = 7 days/week, B = 5 days/week, C = 3 days/week, D = 1 day/week, F = None Reward: A = +1 CHA, B = +0.5 CHA I know charisma seems kind of an odd, but I tend to get very grumpy when I don't sleep, so it's appropriate. Also, I only did badly at this one week in the last 6 week challenge, but since the end of that challenge I've been less dedicated, so I really need the accountability. I feel like it really makes a difference in my strength training. Life Quest: Read a book every week (6 books total at the end of 6 weeks is also acceptable). This should be easy (I read one just over the last weekend), and it's something I love, but it also tends to get pushed to the wayside. Completed: +1 WIS Motivation: Working/studying in a very male dominated field means that physical strength often equals respect. People are surprisingly impressed and automatically assume me more capable when I can help them lift and move things. Also, I just love the idea of being able to lift my bodyweight someday and being able to move things heavier than I am!

Introduction: Hi I am Manarelle and this is my second challenge. I started using the Rebellion's guide to bodyweight training four months ago when hours of cardio were doing nothing for my knee problems or my weight. I got from 200 lbs to 175 with cardio and cutting out snacks, but I hit a plateau mid-2014, and got discouraged. I got through my first challenge, but recognized that (as usual) I was trying to do it all at once. Since I have a full-time job and take online classes toward my Master's degree, my schedule's already a little full, so I need to back up and identify just a few important things to keep myself in balance. (Especially since spring is supposed to be coming soon and that means gardening!!) Main Quest: Keep a healthy balance between work, school, and hobbies. Quest 1: Workout 3 times a week, either HIIT or BBWW Measurement: A = 3 times a week, every week, B = 3 times a week, most weeks, C = 2 times a week. Quest 2: Log my food. All of it. Even homemade. Measurement: A = every day, B = 6 days a week, C = mostly 6 days a week Quest 3: Use the Irish dance warm-up and stretches when I work out to improve balance and flexibility. Measurement: A = 3 times a week, every week, B = 3 times a week, most weeks, C = 2 times a week. Life Quest: Make 1 skirt that I really like, and can wear to work. Measurement: No grades, just pass/fail. Motivation: In an effort to keep it simple I'm not going to mess with points yet, but since I'm quite familiar about working to keep a GPA up, here goes: Mostly As: Treat myself to a professional massage Mostly Bs: Treat myself to a day at the range. Mostly Cs: Treat myself to some quality bath stuff. One step at a time!

SUMMARY In order to become who I want to be, I want to setup the foundations. I rocked the first challenge, and that kickstarted my lifestyle change. I still need to achieve the minimum level necessary to start pursuing the rest of my goals: train parkour, finish losing weight, keep lifting heavy things, etc. But thankfully I've learned a lot so far. If this was a book, this would be the first chapter, where the protagonist (whom we met in the prologe) starts his journey, without anything seemingly special about him. (current) MAIN QUEST - Initiation test Become leaner, fitter and Healthier. SMART goal breakdown: lose 15kg (goal is around 70kg before july 1st), be fitter, healthier (aiming for stricter paleo this time). GOALS 1. LEANER (paleo cookbook edition) - While keeping eating paleo at least 80% of the time, record kitchen adventures: at least 3 recipes per week. (+3 WIS if 75%+ success), lose some more weight too! (+2 CHA:if at least 2kg lost). habitrpg.com setup > HABIT+- paleo/primal meal HABIT+ cook healthy food HABIT+ Work on recipe. 2. FITTER (reprise) - 3 times a week bodyweight (+3 STR:if 75%+ success), 1 sprint (+2 DEX:if 75%+ success). habitrpg.com setup > DAILY+ Bodyweight workout. Mon, Wed, Fri DAILY+ Sprint session. Sat 3. HEALTHIER - Go to bed before 3am, sleep at least 6 hours. (+2 CON if 75%+ success on rest time). habitrpg.com setup > DAILY+- Leave office before 2 DAILY+- Go to bed before 3 DAILY+ Slept minimum of 6 hours LIFE SIDEQUEST - Rather than learning something (which I'll end up doing anyways, because I know myself) I decided i want to do at least 1 productive (not daily task) thing every day (monday through friday). e.g. fixing that wall I've been postponing for 3 weeks now, sewing the seam of that trouser, crafting that one thing my wife wanted... habitrpg.com setup > DAILY+ Do something m-f Things accomplished during challenge. MOTIVATION LGN MINIQUESTS None yet Note: to learn more about how I use habitrpg to aid me on this quest, read this thread.

NOTHING IS TRUE, EVERYTHING IS PERMITTED. I have always fought alone. But one man cannot defeat the templar order, so I have joined with my fellow assassins. Together, we will cleanse the corruption from the holy city of Rome. Together, we will forge the Brotherhood. If the title and opening lines didn't give it away, and since this will be my first Assassin Challenge (did my first with the Rangers), this challenge is going to be Assassins Creed themed. Based off of the pure Epicness that is Ezio Auditore. A little backstory, this will be my 2nd official challenge, and since I ended up unwillingly quitting my first one (went to teach at a summer camp without internet) I am going to dominate this one. So far my workout are primarily strength based, trying to loose fat while building up muscle slowly. Mainly weighted pullups, shoulder presses/ handstand pushups, deadlifts, & squats. I've also begun training for the NC Rugged Maniac which is May 16th so I've been trying to get my 5k time down and jog a little bit more. Anyway here are my goals: An Assassin must be able to move fluidly though his surrounding, & let no objects stand in his way: To do this he cannot be caring around any extra weight. Therefore my first goal is to drop 6lbs and/or 2% body fat. (+ 3 CON) An Assassin must be agile with excellent balance and strong stability. Be able to climb and hold his position for long periods of time. So my second goal is to practice handstand training at least 3 times per week, and I will know I've succeeded in this goal if I am able to hold a free standing handstand for at least 30sec at the end of the challenge. (+4 DEX, +1 END) An Assassin must be strong, determined that his way is the truth and motivated to carry out his plan. Thus my third goal is to maintain my strength training workouts 3x per week, while also maintaining an average weekly step total of 10,000 per day. [as measured by my Fitbit] (+3 STR, +2 STA) An Assassin's resources are sometimes his best allies. Money weights us all to the ground so to be truly free he must build up his resources and lessen his burdened of debt. Consequently my final life goal is to pay off extra $500 towards my student loans or $300 per month. (+ 3 WIS) I will begin posting my workouts and some other stuff later today. I am also participating and an awesome new RPG/ accountabuddys group: The Assault on Brightwater, which should be some extra motivation and help towards achieving my goals and I'll let you guys know how its going once we start! So who's ready to join the Brotherhood?

Late again! I promised myself I'd start this thing on time! Anyway, My goals remain mostly unchanged from my last challenge. 1) Main Quest- Weight loss: I'm cutting down to 1200-1400 calories a day along with keeping track, and on track, on Weight Watchers. I'm also exercising whenever and wherever I can, as well as playing DDR and working in the Hot Foods kitchen for schooling. Two pounds a week, here I come! 2) Life- School: I'm going to finish Hot Foods by doing everything I need to do. Furthermore, I will go a bit ahead in my workbooks so I can work on that research paper on Food Sustainability. It has to be four pages long, include something about fish/seafood and it's due January 9th. Lateness won't be accepted in this case, so hopefully I'm not tardy in this respect as well. 3) Fitness- DDR: I want to get to Standard/Difficult levels of awesome. I'm actually doing really well, right now. I'm doing fours, fives and beginning on sixes, when I have my energy. I'm going to be grading myself DDR style, just for fun.

Hello everyone! I'm Kitsu and I would like to start my path as an assassin. My main goal is to become a UK size ten. I dunno how long this will take me but I am ready to do this!. I am currently about to start my year abroad in Japan. This is going to make good food choices either really easy or really difficult. Last challenge I followed a primal diet but with rice being my main food source this is no longer possible. I would be open to suggestions of a good diet plan to follow. I want to take advantage of being in Japan by joining some sports classes. I am interested in both Kendo and Archery which both run at my host university. I want to utilize these in my challenge this time. In the last week of the previous challenge I fell off the wagon with my workouts. The climate here is very warm and very humid so I would like to find a workout that I can either do in the morning before it gets too hot, or in the evening. My life goal for this challenge I want to center around trying not to get homesick, so something like doing one social activity a week might be an idea. I'm looking forward to starting the challenge! I just need to figure out my goals more specifically. >.<

Wooh Wooh!! First challenge as a Monk and second overall. Time to get to it then: http://youtu.be/bQAULthTBvA I've been too sedentary, this time around I'm determined to get moving. BBWW, walking to Morodor and KickBoxing are what I have on my plate for this challenge. I also need to eat more like a Saiyan; veggies and meat are the way to go! I also need to use this time to gauge my center, so it's on with the Yoga and meditation. I really need to learn consistency, so I will offer myself bonus points if I can keep on track. On to my goals! #1: Gohan's Wilderness Training: No more messing around! M-W-F are my Beginner Body Weight Circuit days and T-Th will be my KickBoxing/Yoga days. Bonus points for not skipping more than 2 workouts a week. +2 STR BONUS: +3 CON #2: 10x Earth Gravity Training: Keep up with my 100 Pushup Challenge every day and hopefully be up to the big 1-0-0 by the time this challenge ends. Bonus Points for not skipping more than one workout a week. +1 STR +2 STA BONUS: +2 DEX #3: Eat Like Goku I need to explore my options as far as paleo goes. I've found that I'm in love with veggies (broccoli in particular) and I'm sure there's room for more. I also need to mix up the menu a little more. Add in seafood when finances allow and get down with some spare ribs since they're apparently super cheap at the Latin Market down the street. Bonus Points for eating one new veggie a week till the end of the challenge. +2 WIS BONUS: +1 DEX Side Goal: Gohan's Study Regiment: Collection of ze informacion. I need to keep up with my new Coursera classes, and read more. I'm also trying to learn spanish with Duolingo, so far so good, and I need to make using the app a habitual thing. +2 CHA So There it is. I don't have a way to get exact stats but my weight as of the moment is around 220 and my waist size is "36. I want to be around 200 and a 34" by time this challenge is over but it's more of a guideline than anything. As for my collection of information goal, I've started with Tim Ferriss' "4 Hour Chef" and I'll be reading along with the audiobook. Hopefully I'll finish it faster that way.

Hello Great Wide World of Nerdfitness, It is I, Kerri, trying to bounce back from the ankle injury I acquired during the last challenge. I started running and ended up with posterior tibial tendinitis. Because this is my life! I get reevaluated by the doctor in a few days and hopefully I will be getting out of the boot and slowly start back on my running practice. As such I have decided to go ahead and start this challenge. I do realize that I'll have to play a lot of this by ear but I'm prepared to deal with that. Main Quest: - My goal is to finish recovery and get back to running, to continue working out in any way I safely can, and to work toward being as awesome as I possible can. Mini Goals: 1) To finish rehab and when I get permission, to buy some appropriate running supplies and to start back on my beginners to 5K training. A- for Best Behavior. B-For slightly less then best behavior. C-Bad Girl D-Crap!!! F-You Failed 2) I want to complete the 30 day plank challenge. A-Complete whole thing. B-1 miss a week C-2 misses a week. D-3 misses a week F-4 or more misses a week 3) To plan and prepare at least 7 meals a week. A-7 or more meals. B-6 meals. C-5 meals. D-4 meals. F-3 or less meals. Life Goal: -I want to work on acting a little more like an adult. I need to start making my student loan payments and save money for a new car. I also want to do laundry, dishes, cooking and cleaning. Plus canine care. Pass or Fail.... Alright guys, here we go!!!!

My starting weight for this challenge: 138 lbs (I posted some before-after photos in my new member thread.) My main goal for this challenge is to be fit enough to run a 5k in October near Halloween. My motivation? I've never really thought of myself as a marathon runner, but I've improved my running so much in the past 6 weeks that I'm finally seeing it as feasible, and I want to push myself to get there. I can run about 3k (20 min) now and I will try to increase incrementally by 5 min until I get there. To do this, I have 3 sub-goals. 1) to go running everyday, excluding dangerous weather conditions or injury 2) to eat healthier by cutting out grains and sweets (except fruit) 3) to do weightlifting/strength-training every couple days. Since this is only my 2nd challenge, I don't have any side quests. My life quest is to participate more in social activities, since I find this uncomfortable. I suppose I'll post weekly over here and I might create a daily battle log tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Hello fellow Adventurers! Last time was my First NF challenge. I think I did pretty well. Learned a few things, and am ready to kick this next challenge up a notch, One bad thing I did in between challenges was to revert back a little. I haven't done a true workout since last time. Eating has been ok. Sleep I have stayed up a little bit. All that is changing now Now I know between challenges, I am not going to revert back to the old ways at all. It is just better that way. So on with the new! My Main Quest: I signed up to run a Spartan Sprint Race in December 7th down in Malibu,Ca. I need to work on quite a few things to get ready for this. Mostly I need to lose weight, and get stronger. To do this, I am going to focus on extra exercise, and I am going to attempt to slay the sugar dragon. 1) Do The Whole 30 plan. This I think might be one of the toughest challenges for me to get going. This goes further then my must eat veggies goal last time. No more processed, well, anything really. I just finished reading the book It Starts with Food. Even now I am unsure if I can do this, but I am just going to go for it. I won't know until I do it 2) No snacking! Last challenge I was just going for no late night snacking. Now I am cutting it out completely. Part of the Whole 30 plan is no snacking, but I think it is important enough to warrant it's own listing. This won't count towards a pre or post workout meal if I need to start those. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. 3) Exercise to be done 6 out of the 7 days. (Workout 3x, 60k weekly steps) Monday, Wednesday, and Friday will be workouts following the Rebel fitness guide. Extra cardio on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. So this will be another jump from my goal last time. I am going to make it mandatory for me to do the intervals on workout days, plus the extra walking on the days off. I am going to track my daily steps via my fitbit one. I copied the Walking to Mordor challenge sheets to my google drive, and will start up this challenge for fun and tracking of my daily steps My Side Quest: 4) Be a better Bowler This might be considered exercise and not just a life goal. I need to practice bowling. I have had one coaching session when I was in Reno with Mike Jasnau. He help line up a few things for me to work on. Not practicing for score, but working on technique. 4 to 5 specific parts to work. 10-20 shots each one. Also recording for review. My plan is to head over to the bowling alley every Sunday and get a lane to practice on. There is some things I can work on at home as well to help out. So I don't absolutly have to actually go to the bowling alley for them all, but I think it helps. My Motivation: I want to get healthy. Not just for myself, but for my kids. I want to show it can be done. I want to get healthy the right ways to show my doctor I don't need to get on their stupid liquid diet plan whenever I ask about food issues. I want to be like the people in the biggest loser fighting to get to 1'derland (under 200lbs in weight) ​I want to live a better life for myself. I never thought I would live to see the day that I would wish I could run again, or I could try to do pull ups. I want to be able to set goals that I think are impossible, yet get them done. This challenge has some of that in it for sure. One of the best memories I have was setting a goal to run a 1/2 mile in under 3 minutes. I was in 6th grade, and we just were getting introduced to running the 1/2 mile then. I saw the fast people getting it done. That first day I said before I leave that school I will run it in under 3 minutes. 6th grade we all rebelled against everyone. I don't know if I ever truly ran it. 7th grade we did the half mile runs, and mile runs twice a week. I think my best times we only in the 3:30 times or so. The last day of 8th grade PE. I was 225lbs then. I decided I was going to go for it. My friend was on the sidelines with a broken arm. My teacher said go, and I was off like a sprint. I remember just running so fast. Our course wasn't all track, it went around backstops and such on the school grounds. I remember passing kids like a blur. I kept going for the one faster kid in our group. Passed him coming into the last turn. I see my friend jumping up and down yelling for me to go. I was still just running so fast. Faster then I think I ever had. I crossed the line at 2:57. I did it, just barely, but I did it. I beat everyone that day. I just wished that carried onto rest of my school years. ​So that is the kind of stuff I am looking to do again. I can jog a little know, but I want to run. Anyhow, that is for other future challenges I think Grading! 1) The Whole 30. This is a sort of all or nothing challenge. I will attempt to grade it anyway A: Completed the whole 30 day program, and kept with it the rest of the challenge! B: Completed the whole 30 day program, but only continued a week afterwards. C: Completed the whole 30 day program, and stopped there D: You gave a good try, but failed to go a complete 30 days F: Didn't even give it a try 2) No Snacking. Will tie in greatly with the first challenge. A: Wicked, no snacking the whole challenge! B: Ahh so close. Just those one or two snacks did you in! C: Some days you snacked, some days you didn't. Really Meh effort D: Well, you sort of tried to have a few days there with no snacks F: Hmm, new nickname needs to change to Sir snacksalot? 3) Exercise 6 of 7 daysA: Sweet, You might be a little sore, but I bet you are feeling great!B: Got in all of the exercise and most of the stepsC: Only completed 1/2 the stuff. Not great.D: Well, at least you got a little doneF: Failed to exercise and walk. 4) Bowling practiceA: Practiced all the stuff, and recorded for reviewB: Practiced all, but didn't videoC: Practiced most D: hey, got some practice on one or two times at leastF: You did actually want to get better, right? Walking to Mordor spreadsheet for tracking my steps every day.Stats! Starting weight 318lbsLeft Bicep: 44cmRight Bicep: 43cmLeft Forearm: 33.2cmRight Forearm: 33.6cmChest: 134.8cmWaist at belly button: 144.4cmNeck: 49.1cmLeft Thigh: 72cmRight Thigh: 72cmLeft Calf: 50.9cmRight Calf: 48.3cm Week 1 Summary A- (got a B in one of the goals)Week 2 Summary CWeek 3 Summary CWeek 4 Summary BWeek 5 Summary A!Week 6 Summary A! End of Challenge Wrap up!

His eylid sopened slowly stil heavy from last night and the smell of stale wine and cheap perfume still hung in the air of his room. With a groan the half-elf swung his legs over the bed frame and stood up. He poured some cold water from the jug on the washing stand and as he splashed some of the cold water on his weary face he slowly became awake. Thoughtful he stared at the blurry image on the polished metal hanging on the wall wondering why he got so hung up in this town when he sat out with a spring in his step to see the world a few months earlier. He pushed open the wooden shutters to let out the gloom and smells and the smallcity stretched outbeneath hissecond story window. In the distance the mountains already had a crown of white. "Hmm...Winter is coming." he thought as he took stock of the last weeks and decided that somethign had to change again... So yeah basically i took the last challenge off after doing quite well on my firstone. But somehow i misse dsomething during these weeks and now i am back.Goals yet to come...

Ok. My main quest is simply to get back to a dress size of 6. I am currently in a 10, so I expect this to take at least a year, but if I can achieve it sooner, you won't see me crying! Before knowing about the challenges on NF, I had decided to cut flour out of my diet. I was very successful with this, and kept it gone for probably 8 weeks. It has started creeping back in small items. I tried to figure out where the problem was coming from, and I've decided it's fast food. So my first goal is - NO MORE FAST FOOD. If it has a drive-thru window, you won't see me there! When I was in a size 6 - 3 years ago - I was doing the P90X program. I currently run 5k 2-3 times/week. I will continue this (I don't want to loose what I have worked so hard to achieve in running) but my second goal is to add the weight training of P90X to my workouts. I will not be doing the entire 60 minutes each day. Instead, I will do half - 30 minutes or one run through each exercise. My third goal is to just drink more water. I think that will help with the amount of food I eat, and what I choose to eat. 8-10 cups/day is reasonable. I will edit/update this point later with a picture of my motivation and a description. I still need to get a picture of my motivation up, but I'll go ahead and post what it is with a description. ... I want to be healthy for my family. I don't want my husband or my children to have to care for me as I age because I didn't take care of myself in the best way that I could.

So this is my second challenge and as much as I would prefer to not have to admit it my first challenge was spectacularly unsuccessful. I remember being here about 7 weeks ago and writing up my first post and having a look at others first posts and being surprised at how many people were back for their second challenge who had struggled in their first. I was, and am usually, quite cocky and wondered what the problem had been for all of these other people who had failed to meet their expectations and was sure that that wouldn't happen to me blah blah blah and I sucked big time. So this time I have the value of hindsight as well as a little humility, just a little, to hopefully help me along the way. The character arc of this quest if you will is to transform myself from a person who is unhappy in his physical appearance due to being about 25kg's (55lb's) from the top end of the healthy weight range for my height, to someone who has progressed down that path with some conviction. While I understand that the world has moved on from BMI measurements it is probably about the best measure for me at this stage. I am not sure that I will ever drop 25kg's and I am not sure that I would be totally happy with my body at that weight but it would be nice to have the option or make the choice willingly rather than just allow emotion to dictate what size pants I wear. So for the purposes of this 6 week quest my main aim is to lose 3kg. 1/2 a kilo a week is definitely doable if I follow through on my 3 specific goals. 1, I will cook healthy foods 5 nights a week. Last challenge I had a goal to cook 5 nights a week and I did that and this time I am upping the ante and want it to be healthy food 5 nights per week. 2, I will exercise for 20 minutes 3 times per week. I absolutely tanked on this goal last challenge and was very disappointed in my performance. This time will be different. In August 2012 I walked 106 km pushing a pram. There is no reason why I can do that over the course of this 6 week challenge. 3, I will reduce my chocolate intake to less than 100 grams per week. This has been a huge stumbling block in the past that I have been able to subdue but recently it has gotten out of hand again. 4, I will drink more water. I bring a 750ml bottle of water to work everyday and I usually take home about 250ml - 500ml so it's about time that I made it a daily task to finish off the water. My inspiration/motivation is my daughter. She is 14 1/2 months old and she is by far the best thing I have ever done. She amazes me everyday and even on the worst days she is able to extract a smile from me.

HELLO NERDFITNESS FAMILY AGAIN! And we are back with another challenge! I can't believe it! So for this challenge my goal is to LOSE WEIGHT. I am 150lbs today and I want to at least lose 15lbs. Then I would have reached my ultimate goal weight of 135lbs. The things that I will have to do to lose the weight include: 1. Exercising three to four times a week for a minimum of 30mins to an hour. 2. Preparing my food for the whole week (prepping every Sunday) and eating six small meals a day. 3. By the end of the six week challenge, I want to be at least 70% Paleo. LIFE QUEST: FINALLY CLEAN OUT MY CAR. I still have my books, binders, and notes from my days as a college student. FITNESS SIDE QUEST: Try crossfit for the first time. Guam now has two boxes that the public can join. The boxes were on base and I had no access.

Hurrah! Another challenge! Alright… after a week off to rest, rejuvenate (and eat all the chocolate). It is time to throw myself back in battle. For my next trick I will be performing much the same but with added super powers. My schedule for the next 6 weeks of this challenge will be quite different. Evening lectures have finished for semester and I have taken some days off work prior to my exam. After week 3 of the challenge I will be uni free but working for a couple of weeks, then in the final week I will be off work for a proper holiday. We are going to go camping for a week, the location won’t be decided until the night before because we like it that way. The following week, for my next post challenge break will be spent in tropical far north Queensland on the Great Barrier Reef… Woo Hoo!!!! But first, there is work to be done… Goal #1 [Diet] – Down to ration packs Intelligence: Building on my last successful campaign of quitting soft drink (7 weeks clean now and counting). My next challenge is to eat clean and primal for breakfast and lunch each day. To get there I am scheduling 2 hours each Sunday to get to the supermarket and come home and prep everything for the week. Cook ahead for the win. I still get to eat whatever I fancy for dinner to satisfy my current need for variety, although of course I will be keeping an eye on the calories. Results: Eat paleo/primal before 5pm everyday +4 CON A: 42/42 days B: 40/42 days C: 38 /42 days Goal #2 [Fitness] – Where the rubber meets the road Intelligence: So I have bought my entry into the 10km Sydney Bridge Run in September this year and the aim is to finish it non-stop. I have a little more time in my work/study schedule for the next 6 weeks so I can focus on using the Zombie Run 5km app to get my continuous running distance up. The dog stays home this time so that I can concentrate. I might be able to smash 20 mins but I don’t want to set my sights too high at this stage. Results: Run 20 minutes non-stop +4 STA A: 20 mins + B: 15 mins + C: 10 mins + Goal #3 [Fitness] – Stretch for the moon, land among the stars Intelligence: My strength has improved due to my previous push up challenge and the NF Fitness Guide work outs. I’m going to be doing 2 strength workouts a week, but I would like to focus on stretching because I don’t feel very supple or nimble at all. This will probably be the easiest and most relaxing of my goals to achieve. Result: 1 hour of yoga per week +3 DEX Goal #4 [Life] - All the things!!! Intelligence: Last challenge, my study goal was a damp squib. I want more fun! And variety! There are a bunch of things that I have been putting off until the end of semester, when I have time. None really fit neatly into a goal and so I have come up with this little game. At the risk of being accused of squeezing many goals into one, I am going to score points every time I do something I’ve planned to do, or an otherwise life enriching thing. I can award myself points for things that aren’t on the list if I think that they deserve it. I can do nothing for 5 weeks and do fifty things on the last day if I want, it is totally flexible. House buyingGo to a viewing (+1)Get a pre-approval for the mortgage (+2)Make an offer (+2)RelationshipSpend 15 or more mins listening to someone and asking them questions (+1)Date night (+1)Random act of thoughtfulness (+1)Visit family (+1)Call my Dad (+1)Do something cool1 hr working on a new skill (+1)1 hr reading a novel (+1)1 hr learning a new song on the guitar (+1)30 mins doing Cantonese vocabulary (+1)1 hr gardening (+1)Cook a new recipe (+1)Result: Score 50 points or more +4 CHA Bring it on

2nd challenge after a break, Whoo!!! I seemed to have lost my way last time... this time I'm gonna try something a little easier. Last time there were 4 goal, this time, only 2!!! Also, I lost motivation and direction, so this time I will break down each weeks goals! ++++++++++++++++ Goal 1: Eat Clean Basically I want to clean up my diet and move towards eating Paleo. week 1: get rid of all the junk foods that I am able to, no candy, chocolates etc... Getting ready to eat healthy, sugar detoxing!!! Drinking lots of water, starting to eat salads, etc... week 2: read up on paleo food blogs and recipes, LEARN TO COOK ALREADY!!! Find 2 - 3 recipes and make & eat throughout the week. Also planning groceries and lunches, etc... week 3: keep doing what I'm doing; cooking, planning, eating, food shopping... week 4: while continuing how to cook, and adding a few more recipes! week 5: More recipes!!! and finding healthy alternatives! week 6: Should at least; have a routine where I plan, cook, and eat healthy Paleo (or close to it) meals. ++++++++++++++++ Goal 2: Lift Heavy I want to become stronger, but weight loss is my main goal! week 1: Exercise two days this week (yoga, tai chi, Rebel Fitness) week 2: Exercise 3 days this week (rebel fitness) week 3: Exercise 3 days a week (increasing weights an reps, etc) week 4: Exercise 5 days a week, (strength train, easy exersice, etc. rest day x2) week 5: Exercise 5 days a week, (strength train, easy exersice, etc. rest day x2) week 6: Should at least; improved strength based on lifting data, (ex: went up from 5lb to 15lb) working out at least 3 - 5 days a week! --- So what do you guys think? too much too soon? Any advice would be great!

Introduction: My name is Garrett and I live in beautiful Colorado, and I have never been to the top of Pikes Peak. That will change this year. I have four wild and active Things (kids), one girl and three boys, a beautiful fiance, two dogs and two cats. I am a 10 year Air Force veteran, three years separated now and just joined the AF Reserves. While I was in the AF, fitness and health were always a struggle for me. Keeping my weight and waist size down was a constant battle that I usually lost. When it came time to do the yearly fitness tests I always squeaked by or failed a couple times, almost killing myself in the process. Things got worse when I separated and I reached an all time high of 250 lbs. Almost two years ago I reached the breaking point when I looked at myself in pictures posted on Facebook that I was tagged in. I had to do something. Since Thanksgiving, 2011, I have been on several different diet plans and exercise regimes and finally made it down around my pre-enlistment weight of 190 lbs, 187 lbs was the lowest I got. Along the way I found that the Paleo diet and those diets that closely resembled it were the ones that I saw the most progress on. Now I am on Nerd Fitness and reading the posts pretty religiously. I have been following the Rebel Strength Guide and Starting Strength, by Mark Rippetoe, for my weight training. I am ready to continue on my own Quest of Awesomeness, lean up and increase my overall health and fitness. This is my second challenge on here and I really look forward to working with all of you and feeding off of each other. I joined a challenge in January this year. I have two jobs and 4 kids now. I am getting married July 13th (the day before the end of this challenge and I want to pick up where I left off and continue to make progress towards the “level 50†me (and look good in the tux . Starting Character: Level: 2 Weight: 187lbs Chest: 42†STR: 6 Race: Human Abdominal: 32.5†Neck: 16.5†DEX: 1 Class: Ranger Arms: 15†Thigh: 24†STA: 5 Age: 32 Body Fat: ~12.5% Waist: 36†CON: 5 Height: 5’11†Calf: 14.5†Lean BM: 164lbs WIS: 6 Body Fat: 23lbs CHA: 6 Diet: I will get back on track to “cleaning up my dietâ€.I will be eating at least 80% of my food as Paleo.I will do this by planning further ahead for my meals (thus far my greatest weakness in this regard); bringing Paleo friendly snacks/meals to both jobs.I will be using intermittent fasting (IF) to supplement and balance out my diet and hopefully boost my fat loss.CON: +1Fitness: I will make fitness a habit and take steps to improve my overall health by:I will make strength training a habit at least three times a week. Continue with the Barbell Brigade/Riptoe inspired weight training 2-4 times a week at the gym with body weight exercises supplementing on weeks when I can only get two gym days in. Current: 10 Pull-ups; 50 Push-upsGoal: 15 Pull-ups; 60 Push-upsI will run/sprint at least 5 miles a week.This will help me reach my long term goal of hiking to the top of Pikes Peak. Current: ~8 min/mileGoal: <7 min/mileI will work on my overall flexibility.This will improve my squatting technique and other areas as well . Current: ~3-4 inches short of toesGoal: Touch my toes sittingSTR: +2, STA: +2, DEX: +3Fitness: I will improve my overall body composition by:Decreasing overall body fat (not weight)(maybe even see my abs for the first time?). Goal: -5 lbs/-2% or more of body fatIncreasing/â€toning†my chest and arms (visual progress or increase in measurements).CHA: +2, CON: +1Level up in Life: I will improve my overall financial situation by:Working out a budget and debt reduction plan and stick to it for the full six weeksPutting away money towards an emergency fund. Current: $0 savedGoal: $200 savedWIS: +3

Well, the last 6 week challenge I tried was almost a total failure. I think I've addressed some problems so now i got no reason not to start again! In being the overtly automotive nerd I am, I'm gonna give this challenge a theme. Might even make it more fun. Step 1- Power to Weight Ratio- Quickest way to get a little bit better at everything is to shed a few pounds, so Goal 1 for this challenege is to lose 15 pounds, or 4-5% body fat. Currently- 5' 7.5", 197lbs, 20%BF(Army tape test standard) CHA+2, STA+1 Step 2- Extend the Rev Limiter- For some extra top-end speed, i will practice running with proper form, with specific focus on foot cadence and breathing. This Goal is not quite measurable so I'll have to "feel" it out to see if I'm improving myself. DEX+2, STA+2 Step 3- Torque X Rpm / 5250- Well, the second way to increase power is the brute strength of torque, So for this goal I'll make it to every Strong lifts work out I do. 3x a Week over 6 weeks, so 18 work outs total. STR+3, CON +1 Step 4- Reprogram the Computer- Everything comes from the brain so by the end of this 6 week challenge I would have finished up a few Army courses and started my introduction into online college courses. WIS+3, CON+1

Greetings, fellow Scouts! 2nd challenge, did well the last challenge, already lost 40 lbs, so I know I can do this. This challenge will be pretty much like the last one. GOALS! C25K I'll continue to do the C25K app 3x a week and get to running 1/2 a 5K by the end of the challenge. Bonus: Sign up for a 5K. +5 STA Body Weight Training I have my own body weight training routine I made to do 3x a week on my non-run days. (Link to my routine here.) Bonus: Be able to do 10 regular push-ups. (I can't even do two.) +2 STR +2 STA Paleo I've been doing Paleo and sugar free for 5 months. I vow to continue this and additionally not eat out or eat complex carbs for the next 6 weeks. +3 CON Spanish/French I homeschool my son (7 years old) and have been teaching him Spanish. I'd also like to learn French, so this will be the mental training. +3 WIS I log my daily food intake as well as exercise on the LoseIt Website and app. BONUS! A progress picture for you. Before/During - 30lbs lighter. And here's an awesome picture of leg progress during the last challenge 10 more lbs lighter (before is on the right, during on the left, sorry for the mix up): I would like to lose 10 more lbs during these 6 weeks. I know I can do it!

quick links: couch 2 5k battle log: http://nerdfitnessrebellion.com/index.php?/topic/21930-jedimind-couch-to-5k-log/ jedimind’s 2nd challenge fitness tracker: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AqaTE0ToA8ZPdGdZVEtENlI0cE5wR2dHeTVmUWNRY0E#gid=0 hey scouts, i wanted to introduce myself to the guild for my second challenge. i’ve already started a couch to 5k routine and am hoping to finish that by the end of the challenge. that would be ahead of schedule so i’m not sure how realistic that goal is. jogging a 30min 5k would be my main goal that the other ones are designed to support. so with all that in mind, here are the goals: Couch to 5k i will participate in the c2 5k program 3 times a week. this will bleed over to my next challange a little, which is fine. it’ll be the main focus of my challenge which is why i wanted to visit the scouts! +3 STA +1 CON Beginner Bodyweight in order to round out my training i’ll use the beginner bodyweight routine from the main site. i will not be pushing myslef to make large gains in this area, as my main focus is on my distance abilities +2 STR Mind & Body 1. yoga as a warm down from my workouts 2. mindfulness meditations throughout the day 3. using my sleep tracking app, and sleeping for between 7-8 hours a day these life goals came from my lsat challenge, but are modified to be more realistic +2 DEX +2 CHA +2 CON Learn Spanish i have some super basic kitchen spanish at my disposal, but that’s all. this challenge is to spend time teaching myself more +3 WIS my last challenge focused on certain exercises on certain days, as well as sleeping at a specific time every night. this program was difficult to keep up with perfectly, and caused a lot of frustration. i’m trying to keep myself motivated by making my goals more flexible. i’m going to do however many reps i have a chance to do, when i have a chance to do them. i’m using a google doc to track my progress and compile my grades (so i don’t have to think about it once a week, laaazy!) the link to that is right here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AqaTE0ToA8ZPdGdZVEtENlI0cE5wR2dHeTVmUWNRY0E