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Finally getting back into a routine with the arrival of baby #2! It was recommended by @Sloth the Enduring to consolidate threads so I’m going to be posting my challenge and daily logs all right here. Still a bit sleep deprived but will be posting more soon. Thanks for all the well wishes!

I decided to formally go ahead and do a battle thread since it seems like I am actually sticking with this fitness stuff. (Touch wood.) I've never been good at online introductions, but I'll do my best. I'm a nerd, obviously. My hobbies are medieval re-enactment (mainly through the SCA,) archaeological experimentation, woodworking, writing, Scottish country dancing and pipe smoking. I also run a podcast on Viking Age History called Norse by Northwest. I'd always been a fairly outdoorsy person with fair fitness, but I moved from Scotland to the US and gained a ton of weight. (A few images below to show the journey so far.) I struggled with it for a long, long time and just couldn't seem to shed a pound. Eventually I went to my Doctor who went through a lot of options with me and convinced me to try a month of Phentermine. That actually worked really well. I lost weight at a reasonable and healthy pace and was only on it for one month. But it led to a further diagnosis of Chronic depression related fatigue. Basically, I needed a stimulant of some kind added to my antidepressant to really get me feeling human. The antidepressant stopped me from being suicidal, but I was still just trapped in a fog and never able to really engage or get anything done. So I got put on a really low dose of Adderall and it has totally changed my life. I feel like myself again. I have a reasonable amount of energy. I'm actually happy. I get chores done during the day and I'm not completed incapacitated by having to make a decision on a thing. At any rate, I started hitting the gym every weekday on my lunch break. I would do two days of weight training and three days of the C25K. On weekends I'd attended fighter practice for the heavy armoured combat I do. I've now completed the C25K and I am running 35 minutes twice a week and doing weight training three days a week. My 'Big why' is twofold. First, my Daughter, Freya, was born in November of 2017 and is growing like a weed. I want to be fit enough to keep up with her and healthy enough to be around for her for many years to come. I also really want to look better in my medieval garb. I make clothes that I am really proud of and then I put them on and think about how much better they would look if I were a bit more trim. It's vain, but maybe not too bad of a thing. My goals are modest. I don't expect washboard abs or biceps as thick as my neck. I'd like to get rid of most if not all of the beer belly and have better strength and endurance. I'm making good progress so far and trying to just stay patient and continue to make healthy choices. So, on to the pictorial proof. Pictures of me from before I moved to the US where I was in really good shape. Then pictures of me after I moved to the US and was really fat. Finally, a chain of progress pictures showing my weight loss over the last few months.

Apropos of nothing... it's really hard to google "Crossfit Gif" and come up with something that isn't making fun of it. Just sayin'. So, an introduction, since I don't think I've been here before and you probably don't know or care who I am. My name's Thrillho. I've spent most of the last 3 years with the Monks, training for the Tigerbalm Internationals, training for West Coast Championships, training for two non-consecutive Ellismanias... I like to fight. I'm not particularly good at it, but I like it. I'm 36, 6'3", 272 lbs, father of three, and we've got a busy-as-feck life. My wife is in school full time and works full time, my kids are 9, 11 and 15 and have a crapton of activities, and we've all got our share of fun health quirks. My weight has yo-yo'd over the years between 240 and 270, though considering I started at 335, that's still not bad. Not great, but not bad. I've got my fifth Storm The Hill Mini Marathon this year in September, and I'd like to make this my best showing ever (after last year where my time slipped by two minutes, and my son's IMPROVED by TWELVE MINUTES.) I've taken the last month off of martial arts, due to mental health and stress issues, and it's already showing massively in my fitness level. SO... I moved all my weights and my punching bag into the garage, and I'm trying to get into a new routine with my dang dog. See, no-one else really walks the dog, so I spend about two hours a day doing that. The dog doesn't let me JOG... some herding instinct causes her to try and physically stop me if I start running. So... that's out. So I'll just use my time with her to walk and loosen myself up, and... well, I'll get to all that in the challenges down below. I've also got a whole dark pantry full of food issues, which I will be working on concurrently with this challenge, but by and large this challenge is just about the exertion side. So! ... ok, challenges will go here as I eventually start thinking of exactly what they'll be. Plus, I need to find some fun gifs to go with them. Probably Supernatural related.

Not sure how to start this, so I'll just do an intro. Im a 34 year old Carpenter with 2 kids. During my younger years I was always sick, never that physically strong. When I got married at 22 I was 140 lbs( I'm six feet) when the doctors figured out I had an anxiety problems. I started taking medication and I was no longer sick. But a lifetime of bad eating habits finally started to catch up with me. Fast forward to 2015 and I was 32 and 286 lbs and riddled with anxiety. i decided to start fighting back, I crash dieted 1200 cals a day( no excersizes , hated the idea) and I got down to 237, hit a period were my anxiety got the better of me and went back up to 256. my reboot came In January 2017. I hated everything about myself and I was making my family miserable with me. I needed a change. Working in in construction I had always thought I had gotten strong, but when I found the beginner body weight program from Steve I realized I was not. I did the beginner body weight from January to March adding weights and trying to progress. In March I bought a bench some adjustable dumbells, and did a basic upper lower split until now. back down to 228 lbs i finally have solidified some goals for fitness and have tried to program around those. I want 10 push ups, and 1 pull up, and 1 chin up. new program Push ups - 4,4,4. - add 1 rep to 1 set every next workout Scapula pulls - 9,9,9 - add 1 rep to 1 set every next workout body weight rows - amrap at lowest position possible, move up to finish 10,10,10 leg assisted pull ups / chin ups - 5,5,5 - add 1 rep to 1 set every other workout Pistol squat - guitar bench 2nd height 10, 8 ,6 - work up to 10 ,10 ,10 lower bench ( as time allows) compund dumbell excerise, bench press, shoulder press, stifled dead lift Mon/Wed/Fri Tue/Thur - stretching, some kind of walk or possible hiit Nutrition- My fitness pal has me at 1850 cals a day for 2lbs a week, but I have been losing more like 1 lbs a week. Mental health - currently in group counselling and meditate 2x10 mins a day Current Long term goal - move my body anyway I want to As my 3 year old daughter says - " let's do this"

So, I flamed out last challenge and I haven't really gotten back on the horse just yet. I was going to start working out today (really I was!) but my sister in law woke up feeling sick and I had to spend what would have been my workout time watching my daughter until she started feeling better. Anyway, I recently discovered the Art of Manliness podcast and I have been sort of binge listening to catch up. I got a bunch of ideas about health and fitness in the process and I tried to work one or two of them into my challenge this go round. As I was putting it into a spreadsheet this morning my daughter kept running over to me, banging on the keyboard and running away giggling. I got frustrated but not mad because a) she's one and a half and b ) she is adorable. But I ended up taking the computer somewhere she can't reach and finished up. When my sister in law was feeling better, I went to work and began listening to the AoM podcast again and one episode featured a strength/fitness trainer who was discussing his philosophy which involved tailoring workout programs to the individual. He mentioned that, as a father who doesn't really compete anymore, his workouts are structured so that he won't be a wreck the rest of the day trying to recover and said that the workouts he formulates for people take their life into account and sometimes he just fits in some exercises while he is on the playground with his kids. I processed this for a minute and then revelation: WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING!?!? I just got frustrated with my daughter for trying to play with me while I spend most of my mornings segregated from her lifting heavy thing or copying the movements of some guy on a screen! After the initial feeling of remorse/stupidity, I decided to make a few adjustments to my challenge. My Primary goal for every other challenge has been: "Build muscle, loose fat, look like a superhero" This time it is: "Become Superdad" Of course I know there is more to being a superdad than spending time with your child and being able to bench press a truck. But this is a start and we will evolve from there: Q1: Physical play with my daughter at least two mornings a week. (it's not as stingy as it sounds, I do play with her every evening and put her to bed every night) Q2: Lift Twice a week, sprint once a week. (As beneficial as play can be, I need something a little more challenging than my daughter can provide, plus I want the big muscles) Q3: No grains or processed sugar on weekdays. (Dipping my toes into paleo seeing how it works out) SQ: 95% completion of my work goals BTW: I turn 30 on the fifth. First challenge as an old man! Superdad AWAY! *jumps* *fallsonface*

Probably the nerdiest thing about me is that I LOVE to watch anime. Probably the thing that I DO most often is MOM stuff. (in fact I am giving my daughter a bath right now!!.. well she is playing with toys in the bath.. I am sitting on the toilet next to her typing.) I'd like to find other people who are dealing with marriage, kids, keeping up with nerdy past-times AND trying to get healthy (in whatever way you choose). Because if we are honest with ourselves our first priority is NOT fitness (what?!!). It is probably our families, but we can STILL do it!! It is difficult, but not impossible. There are days where you meet all of your goals, YES!!! There are days where you barely make it out covered in finger paint and poop, Noooo! So we... We who battle everyday to keep fitness in the mix. We who finally get the kids to bed and instead of collapsing on the couch choose to do push-ups or a work-out DVD... We can do it!! Who is with me?? If you are participating in the 6 week challenge please let me know!

Alrighty, then... time to get this done! MAIN QUEST: To weigh 190 lbs by September 8, 2013, and to have a body fat percentage of <15% by Dec 31, 2013. Mission #1: Eliminate soda and other sugary drinks from my diet, completely. I currently drink around 500 calories a day in soda and other sugary drinks. By eliminating these, alone, I shed 3,500 calories (that's one pound) per week from my diet!!! I will replace these drinks with 100 ounces of water each day, supplemented by teas (unsweet) and coffee (black) as needed for now. A: No sugary drinks in a day; 100 ounces of water. B: No sugary drinks in a day; 75 ounces of water. C: No sugary drinks in a day; 50 ounces of water. D: One sugary drink in a day; 50 ounces of water. F: 2+ sugary drinks in a day or <50 ounces of water. Mission #2: Prepare (and eat) five Zero Willpower Eating System meals each week. The ZWES was designed by Six Pack Shortcuts. It focuses on preparing healthy meals on Sunday and freezing / refrigerating for consumption throughout the week. Five meals a week is a great start, I think. Next challenge around, I will kick this up a notch. A: Five ZWES meals in a week. B: Four ZWES meals in a week. C: Three ZWES meals in a week. D: Two ZWES meals in a week. F: 0-1 ZWES meals in a week. Mission #3: Perform Six Pack Shortcut exercises five days a week. I will start with their Insane Home Fat Loss program for two weeks, then switch to the Six Pack Shorcuts program with two extra workouts of IHFL each week. A: Five SPS workout days, with two extra sessions of IHFL. (Or simply five IHFL workouts the first two weeks.) B: Four SPS workout days, with two extra sessions of IHFL. (Or simply four IHFL workouts the first two weeks.) C: Three SPS workout days, with one extra session of IHFL. (Or simply three IHFL workouts the first two weeks.) D: Two SPS workout days, with one extra session of IHFL. (Or simply two IHFL workouts the first two weeks.) F: 0-1 SPS workout days, or no extra sessions of IHGL. (Or simply one IHFL workouts the first two weeks.) LIFE QUEST: Start every day with an Hour of Power, and a Next-Day Planning Session every night. My Hour of Power will consist of: My workout Deep breathing exercises Gratitude Bible reading JournalMY MOTIVATION(S) I am so frustrated by how difficult it is to play with my kids. I feel sore and winded every time I try getting down to play with them, and that makes me cranky and unable to be totally present for them both. Also, I want to enjoy adventures with my wife and keep my... umm... bedroom stamina high! I want to be able to devour her on a regular basis (and have her WANT me to devour her because of my sexy abs and arms)! Finally, I am sick and tired of being seen as the un-athletic friend! I enjoy playing sports, but I lack motivation because I feel winded and unable to perform at the level of my friends. NO MORE! My wife, Rachel My daughter, Kate (1 yr, DOB 4/18/12) My son, Jack (1 mo, DOB 6/25/13)