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Somebody with no emotional attachment please check my math. Stats: 5'4" 29 yo female, 161lbs librarian/writer, standing desk and light walking most of the day I am trying to cut down to 21-23% BF, have recently increased my exercise volume, and am having trouble sticking to my calorie goals because of hunger. Currently, I eat 80-90% paleo, trying to hit 1800 calories a day. I don't mess with trying to figure out exercise calories and subtract or eat them back; it's too subjective for me. I do SS 3x a week, followed by 15-20min of kettlebell intervals. On alternate days I use the Zombies, Run! 5k app and do an at-home, Crossfit-style WOD. I take either Saturday or Sunday off. I have been lifting since November, but increased the other in the last month. I really like this amount of exercise; I enjoy doing this. But I am STARVING. Last night I ate my prepped dinner (after avoiding cookies at the management meeting all day), and still felt empty. I pulled all the tricks - drank water, got out of the kitchen, called a friend and talked for 40 minutes - and was still ravenous until I went and got more food. I am trying for 1800, but hitting more like 2000-2100, with carbs in the 120-range instead of under 100. I have always tried to plan from the point of view that we underestimate our intake and overestimate our output, and when I used a TDEE calc, I put my activity as sedentary to light. But today, thinking I might give myself a little credit, I put in "works out 6 days a week." The number it spit out was 2484 for maintenance. Subtracting 300 a day for weight loss, that would put me squarely at the 2100 that is a little less than I would like to eat, but maintainable. But my brain tells me that this cannot possibly be right, because, all evidence in my face, I still do not think of myself as someone who "does that much." I am also a 5'4" female, and we are screwed in the calorie burn department. I want to squat 200. I want to run 6 miles. I want to do pull ups one-frikking-handed in front of my old sixth-grade gym teacher. But I also want to do it without jiggling and without starving. Can someone please weigh in on whether my math should be different? Do I keep struggling for 1800 and failing, or do I give 2000 a month and see?

Hi there from Germany! Guess what - I am new here. I found this forum and page by accident. We do not have pages like that in Germany - at least AFAIK. I am 30 (going to be 31 in a few months), female and have to cats and a boyfriend. My weight is currently too high to mention *lol* no seriously - it is somewhere around 83kg and I my height is about 171cm give or take one centimeter... I started losing some weight a few weeks ago but as I got older since the last time I tried (I was 16 back then and lost about 18kg withing like NO time...) I just realized it got harder as well - not only is it harder to stick to my diet but I have something called a working-life as well that tends to fuck with my goals regularly (I am a teacher and there is LOTS OF CHOCOLATE and stuff lying around in the staff-room) *lol* I wanna be honest - I need some encouragement to stick to that goal of getting back to about 70-72kg... Especially because I actually LIKE myself the way I am - I just do not like how unsporty I am (and the fact that every kilo I put on makes the motorbike suit fit worse and the motorbike slower!). I did running a few years ago and I loved it - but my knees are giving up on me, so I am afraid I will have to stick to short distances here... I might need to find another sport to do here... Another goal would be to create something like a work-life-balance. I tend to work A LOT (talking about 10-12 hours a day here...) and my friends started to complain about that months ago - but I did not listen. It did not do me any good. The next year will not be the easiest one, because I was asked and so am going to become class teacher of a really difficult class - what means even more workload... I need to learn to focus on relaxing again or I am pretty sure it will burn me out one day - just because I love my work that much... I don't know if you know what I mean...? TL/DR: My goals are... ...getting fit again ...create a work-life-balance Cheers! Mieze

Hey guys! Can't say I'm new to NF exactly, I just mostly lurk then disappear for a while, but I'm trying to change that! I'd really like to find a NF buddy that is in a similar life situation as me. Of course I'm open to befriending anyone! But for my personal accountabilibuddy (and me for them), I think it would be awesome to find my "twin" in a similar stage in life. (Is that weird? I'm worried this is weird). I'd love to find someone who is: Female In their late 20's - early 30's Married / in a committed relationship No kids (yet!) Looking to lose 20-50 pounds I'm a chick who recently turned 32, am a week away from being married 8 years, no kids yet but maybe in a year or two, and I am trying (once again!) to lose this stubborn extra 30 pounds. I have a desk job, and struggle to get myself to exercise. Focusing on my eating is key for me, but I know working out is something I need to do too. On that note, hello to all reading this! I'd love to meet you too!

So this is only a "semi-challenge" since I started too late to join the February challenge, but what's the sense in waiting till March to start improving? Quick background: I was about 85-90 percent Paleo last school year, which worked GREAT for me. I felt great, I looked great, I was active... those were the days. During June I stayed on track by lifting weights and running, but at the end of June my weight room access stopped and my therapist told me to stop running. Combine that with the stress of starting college three hours away from home this past autumn, and it's been not-so-good ever since. I tried veganism for a while, and health-wise that just doesn't work for me. I can elaborate more specifically on this later if anyone's interested. But now I'm trying to get back to "full" Paleo, aka that 90% sweet spot I love so much. I work out six days a week, so my exercise isn't a problem-- my diet is the main focus of this mini-challenge of mine. Without further ado, my GOALS: - Eat 90% Paleo for the WHOLE MONTH, but don't beat myself up if at the end of things that number is more like 85% (Single's Awareness Day is coming up, after all!) - Track my food intake every day (nothing fancy, not tracking calories or macros, just becoming more aware of what I'm eating and how much) - Identify warning signs of and work to stop binge eating - Keep up my great exercise schedule, using perfect form and (hopefully) breaking some PRs Join me as I find and activate my inner SHE-BEAST! (Posting nerdy pics and gifs the whole way, of course!) And if anyone was curious, my 10% non-Paleo is natural peanut butter. Oh, you decadent legume, I just can't quit you.

Main Quest: To get ready to train for competing in my first powerlifting competition in 2017 My name is Rachael, I'm 28 and I have three children. I started weightlifting heavy about 3 months before I got pregnant with my second child. What a difference in that pregnancy! We then decided to have a third child right away and so with just a bit of kettlebell training I went through a third pregnancy 9 months after the last - I definitely noticed that hitting me harder than any. My youngest is over 1 year old now and I don't plan on having any more so I'm ready to get serious about training for powerlifting. I'm a long way off but my first goal is to get back to the 75kg 1RM deadlift I hit right before my second pregnancy. I am also interested in just being active each day so on my non-lifting days I am doing things I enjoy like swimming and running (30 min max) while staying in my aerobic zone to help with heart health without burning too many calories as I get skinny really fast if I'm not careful. I am currently 50kg, with a weird loose belly, but I used to be around 47-49kg. I do not have a weight aim as I'm naturally a very slim person so I'm ok where I am. I think I should be able to add on about 5kg per week to my deadlift at the moment, starting at 30kg x 8. If I can get up to 60kg x 8 that should equate to a 75kg 1RM and then I'll give it a go. For my squat, I'm currently working on form and doing goblet squats with just 8kg. I have a 12kg and 16kg kettlebell at home so I hope to be at a set of 12 x 16kg by the end of this challenge. It's not much but I don't have access to a squat rack or spotter right now. Bench press: I need to work on my core a lot after these last two pregnancies as I still have some muscle separation going on. My goal right now is to work on my push ups and graduate up from knee pushups. After that I'll try and work on floor press while finding a solution to my lack of a spotter at the gym/rack at home. Fitness: 1. Deadlift 3x6 34kg 2. Squat 12 x 12kg 3. 3x3 regular (non-knees) pushups Level up your life: 1. Go to sleep before 11:30 each day Looking forward to doing this with you all!

Name: Aminarra, aka "MegsFitness" Before pic: http://i.imgur.com/WBx6RqI.jpg Before Measurements: Occupation: Corporate Fleet Management Resolution Previous Fitness Experience: 2 years on SparkPeople, 3 years with Weight Loss Warriors, 3 attempts at Weight Watchers, 1 attempt at Herbalife; 4 years high school strength training, 1 obstacle 5k, 10+ regular 5k Races, greatest weight loss 42lbs. Current Level of Fitness: Sedentary. It's been 2 years since I've worked out consistently due to a severe back injury after the Warrior Dash. "End Game" Goal: Working out 4+x/week, Settling at a healthy weight, ideally ~180, but more importantly having functional strength and physical health. Short-term Goal: Begin working out 1-3x/week, at a beginner level to become re-acclimated to the fitness world. Begin reintegrating Paleo Lifestyle into eating plan Plan of Action: Use Nerd Fitness to launch new fitness goals; integrate fitness guild with gamer guild for inspiration. Generate weekly goals in the areas of nutrition, exercise, and personal. Update status on goals at least weekly. Outside of NF: https://megsfitness.wordpress.com/

Long time lurker, sporadic participant and dedicated student. I have tried doing the challenges, but the timing never works out for me, so I am going to give this daily log thing a crack. My goal: Do a pull up. Then do some more. And get stronger and lose a little weight (goal is to lower bf%). Stats: Female 150 lbs 5' 3" 21 yr Chest - 38" Waist - 31" Hips - 40" former athlete Approach: 1. Bodyweight training 2. Karate 3. Active Rest Days 4. No binge eating! My diet is pretty clean, so I need to focus on energy in/out. It's the student stress life that really gets to me and makes me just eat loads of food at 10 pm. I will not go full paleo, but I do have my own kitchen and plan on making pretty much all my meals. So far, I have followed a MWF bw schedule with Karate TR and active rest on SaSu for the entirety of August (from sedentary). Using startbodyweight.com I will basically follow that schedule. I am switching to a split schedule in September so I can do more exercises for bw. This is my schedule this week: M- 6/6/6 split squat, 30s/30s/30s alt. lunges, 6/5/5 pushups, 4/4/4 inv. body row, 45s/45s/45s plank T- Karate, W- 7/6/6 split squat, 40s/30s/30s alt. lunges, 6/6/5 pushups, 5/4/4 inv. body row, 45s/45s/45s plank R- Karate Skipped b/c of sprained ankle F- 7/7/6 split squat, 40s/40s/30s alt. lunges, 6/6/6 pushups, 5/5/4 inv. body row, 45s/45s/45s plank Sa- active rest Su- low intensity bike ride to campus (~2mi) This is currently a mix of the bw guidelines from the NF blog and the startbodyweight program, but as I said I will be switching things up to go full startbodyweight in September. Not too sure what will be daily in this log, maybe food? I have problems finding cheap/no time recipes so maybe that will be my daily approach. Edit to add some info I might have left out: Yes I have goals to get stronger and lose weight, but I know they don't always work at the same time, so I want to lose the weight first.

Hi everyone, Got started this morning after lurking around for a year or so. Broke my leg playing roller derby last year and have been a slob since. Still having trouble with the leg, won't be able to ever skate again, but sick of feeling like a slob. Did the beginner body weight workout this morning, stuff I would have found ridiculously easy back when I was skating had me out of breath in no time. Scary how quickly you lose fitness. So I'm hoping to lose 50lb and generally get fit again. High impact sports are not an option anymore, but hoping I can get strong and build up a good level of fitness and get back hiking at least. I live in a beautiful part of Ireland and my hubby loves hiking so hopefully once I build up stamina I can join him again on some of the more strenuous hikes. Diet wise I'll be doing mostly paleo, I'm familiar with it and have done it before with good results. I don't eat too much meat though, so that will be a bit of a challenge but I'll get there. I'm an avid cook so enjoy the challenge there although with full time university and clinical practice (I'm a student midwife) it can get difficult to find the time, but no more excuses. Look forward to chatting with and learning from you all! Deb

Hello! My name is MaidofRus, I'm a 24 year old woman basically just starting her fitness journey. I've done challenges in the past with varying degrees of success but I've never really accomplished my main goal, which at this point is to be active and exercise regularly. I've just started a full-time teaching job so I'm going to be starting out slowly. Main Goal: Keep Calm, Be Prepared, Be Active Be Prepared: Sleep 8 hours every single night. In bed at 10pm school nights. A: 30 nights sleep B: 25+ nights sleep C: 20+ nights sleep F: 15+ nights sleep Be Active: Exercise three times a week for at least 5 minutes. A: 18+ exercise sessions B: 15+ exercise sessions C: 12+ exercise sessions F: 9+ exercise sessions Keep Calm: Meditate for two minutes or more every day. A: 40+ meditation sessions B: 35+ meditation sessions C: 28+ meditation sessions F: 21+ meditation sessions Life Quest: Find one hour a week to craft or read. Rewards: Yoga Strap (Passing with B's) Work out shirt (Passing with A's and B's)

Hi, I'm Amelia! My introduction post is over here. This is my battle log! This will record both food and work outs. For the food log, I'm going to log the food on my iPhone and upload the notes here. In the beginning it will be general food recordings to work on accountability and habit creation. My long term goals: Walk more (in the USA, car capital of my life) Do one real push up Do 10 real push ups Run a 5k Run a 10 k Learn parkour Figure out and take parkour courses/training. Take rock climbing classes Learn to like vegetables Stop drinking diet coke. 1. Food - 70 points per week Eliminate french fries and potato chips in my meals. I don't eat either of those foods any more. Stop snacking on candy in my day to day life because I don't eat candy! Eat at least one green, orange or red vegetable a day. And no future me onions and vegetables in tomato sauces doesn't count. 2. Exercise - 30 points per week NF's Beginners Strength Training- The plan is three times a week on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. (​So far I've completed last Friday and this Monday. Yay me!) The three Boss secret moves to watch out for... Unhealthy Eating Assault. Critical Attack. Airport and train station snack counters that are filled with miles of candy cakes, cookies, bagels. I will be able to defeat this secret move by equipping my tool belt with healthy snacks and enabling will power mode. To do this player must procure alternative snacks before arriving to the boss scene and equipping the pants check feature. Pants still too tight? Will power engaged. Failed to do either? Lose 10 pts. Final Temptation Binge Attack. Critical attack. This boss move is usually seen right before the player leaves a destination for the last time. Player will need to engage foresight mode. To do this player must use her inner-eye feature to see that there will be future opportunities to sample local cuisine. Fail to utilize foresight, lose another 10 pts. Procrastination Strike. Semi-critical attack. However, this boss move can be used repeatedly to deplete the player’s stamina. Player will be able to overcome this move with a dodge-and-go combination move. To do this player must evade the procrastination's attack by engaging in some type of physical activity. Failure to dodge-and-go will lose me 10 pts. Each week I'll tally up my score. If I reach 100 pts for the week then I won that week's boss battle! Yay me! Finally I'm including my "before" pictures even though they're not before they're actually right-now pictures. Because here in Wonderland that's what people seem to do.

Hello! So I have read a lot about Paleo and IF and they both sound great. But for women, there seems to be some downsides, ESPECIALLY with IF. Does any of my fellow female rebels have experience with Paleo and IF, particularly the later? I would greatly appreciate your experience, advice, knowledge, and expertise!

Hello! About Me: About 150cm tall, 43.2kg, 19 years old, Asian. My Goals: Get a flatter stomach Have a more defined 'V' 15-18% body fat. I've read the how to not suck at making goals thing but i'm not sure how to phrase my goals. I've just ordered a body fat caliper so I'm waiting for that to get delivered, but I'd say I'm somewhere around the 22-25% range, depending on whether I've eaten or not. I really want to bring that down to about 18%. I'm really uncomfortable exercising anywhere outside of my room really, cause I feel like people will judge me and I just get really self conscious. The available exercise equipment I have are: 1 3kg weight 1 5kg weight 1 jump rope. I tried to do about 500 jumps a day in the past but that only lasted for about 2 weeks. The people living below me commented on the noise to my mum so I didn't really wanna continue. It's just about impossible for me to follow the Paleo diet right now since I don't cook and meals are taken care of by the family. I plan to do the 'Beginner Body Weight Workout' along with the warm up routine listed somewhere else on the site. Do you guys have any tips on, say, improving confidence (not giving a damn what other people think about me) and losing weight? *I absolutely detest running. (I have 0 stamina. Absolute 0) Thank you all for your time in reading this.

Hey, I'm looking for some advice about my diet. I'm a female climber, who is trying to lose a bit of weight/ get leaner. At the moment I'm not overweight, but I'm at the high end of healthy for my bmi, and would ideally like to be about a stone lighter. I weigh about 137 pounds (I am about 5''4), and I work out for about an hour 5/6 days a week. This is a mix of climbing (at a high intensity) and weights. Sometimes I do HIIT. I don't want to lose muscle, although I guess some loss is probably inevitable. When I'm not working out I am completely sedentary haha (I am a student- I sit down and revise/ netflix). Does anyone have any guidance as to how many calories I should be eating, roughly? I am confused by all the different advice on the internet, I've found everything from 1200 to 2000 calories recommended for me per day. I've been following the every other day diet for the past few weeks, but got fed up as I started getting light-headed whilst bouldering (not a great combo). Thanks v. much for any advice : )

After the 6 week challenge is nearly over, i will go on with a daily battle log. My introduction. Main Quest Feeling comfortable in my body, because of weight-loss and being more selfconfident! 3 smart quests 1st quest: running two times or 10km a week (at least) --> focus on 10km under 1h I'm a member of two running communities, nike and adidas. Wanna focus on the adidas people, because a good friend of mine is now a member too. Best would be two runs with them, because there are goodies for a lot of participation. I'm using my tomtom watch (+ nike running and runkeeper) for recording and evaluation. 2nd quest: Bodyweight workout at least 3 times a week --> focus on a strong back / core I'm using the NTC training app, doing a lot of core, stomache and back training. Also a friend of mine invited me to do crossfit with her, because she is a member in a studio and wants to be a trainer 3rd quest: Sleep around 8h at night! Sleeping too much (12h) or too less (4/5h) the night. Plan: Get up befor 9am also when having a free day + just short afternoon napping after work. 4th quest: Cut sugar use! --> once icecream a week Atm i escalate with sugar. Eating a whole B&J a day, also cookies etc. So i have to cut it! I love fruits, so i will concentrate more on them, than on sweets. Motivation -"Little by little, one travels far" Better a short workout than none! - be my own superhero, epic eileen! Inspiring people, being cool, someone you look up to, for being strong, creative or whatever. - fitting in my 3 too small dresses / 3 training shirts and I feeling comfy in a bikini. - running a half-marathon end of summer. Life Quest Enjoying life more, use my time well, leave the comfort zone! "All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us" Upcoming events 20th June: Nike 10km run 14th july: starting new fulltime job 23th august: half marathon 31th august: starting new apprenticeship ----- Now i will clean up my flat and after that having a BBQ with my guys while playing the best game of thrones game ever!

Something I love about hero stories is that typically the main character gets knocked down (sometimes very hard), but they have the resilience and ability to get back up. I posted my story in the Respawn forum, but figured I would start a daily log here to track as I work on getting back up. Since I'm coming back between challenges, my goals here are a bit more long term than the focused 6 week challenge goals. Inspirations: Black Canary - Yeah she has sonic super powers, but she trained in classical boxing techniques, and was the hand-to-hand combat instructor in "Young Justice". She can go up against tough villains, and kicks serious butt.Xena - Need I say more? I grew up on those shows, and "warrior woman" is tots my jam.Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson - Do yourself a favor, and check out his twitter or Instagram. He's always so positive about his workouts, and just exudes "can do" spirit.Nikkita - International spy/assassin trying to make past wrongs right, fighting the good fight, and protecting the people she cares about. Heck yeah!The Flash - Regardless of super speed, he's another all around positive dude, who takes care of his enemies with an inspiring level of compassion. Villains: Darth Desk Job - I sit. A lot. I'm an engineer and spend my 8-5 behind a computer.Sally Sweet-Tooth - DAMN YOU SALLY!Theodore Travel Bottom - I have to travel for work quite a bit in the summer, and am usually headed to areas with limited food options.The Stressinator - In addition to travel, my job can be hella stressful, and I'm shit about self care when work hits critical mass. Allies: Husband Man - Not every epic tale needs a love story, but mine has one. Husband Man has my back in any fight, and I have his.Perpetual Motion Puppy - Some side kicks fight crime, others chase squirrels.The Extraordinary League of Family Peeps - We team up from time to time to fight crime, bag summits, and see exotic locales. Goals: Food goals - I've been an ovo/lacto vegetarian for about a year. I'm sticking with that and would like to continue working on reducing the presence of animal products in my meals. I'm also working on eating more fresh prepared meals as opposed to pre-packaged or restaurant meals. Specifics: Reduce meals out to 2 or fewer per week.Only have dairy or eggs in one meal per day.Do weekly meal planning with Husband Man.Hit up the farmer's market at least every other week (when I'm in town) for a veggie I wouldn't normally buy at the super market.Stop visiting the snack drawer at work by planning breakfasts and lunches.Fitness goals - Kick it Canary style! There is a boxing gym near my work, that I'm going to check out.Start lifting at the rec center with Husband Man.Take Perpetual Motion Puppy for a walk before work every day. Bonus mode: get a hike in with her on weekends as the weather warms up.Take lunch walks during the day to get away from my computer (even for just 15-20 minutes).Adventure goals - More hiking, fun travel and playing outside. Non-negotiable quality of life vices: Scotch/whisky/bourbon - I have a couple of fingers of one of these less than once per week (every other week - monthly would probably be more accurate).Ice cream - One scoop or less per week (at least in the summer the ice cream parlor in our town is the best thing ever). Game plan is to earn it throughout the week via workouts and otherwise clean eating. Teaming up with Sally Sweet-Tooth from time to time keeps her in line overall.Video games - FFXIV is my jam, Husband Man and I play with friends near and far, and it's an important part of our social schedule. With the right attitude gaming doesn't have to be a destructive pursuit. I'm a little nervous posting all of this, but being accountable is important, and solidifying and tracking goals is the name of the game. Let's do this!

Ok so what can I say? How about a little fact profile... Height: 5'4 Weight: 10st 4lb Ideal Weight: 9st What I Am going to do to get there: eat more fruit and vegetables, exercise at least three times a week, keep this thread updated every day to keep track on my progress ​Challenge started: 12th March 2015 Well there's my life in a nut shell. Since moving into my own place this year I've gone from 9st 8lb to that and obviously I'm not happy about it! Ideally I want to get fit and loose weight but motivation is an issue. I just come in from work so tired! Oh, I work as a groom on a horse yard and ride most days as well, yet another reason to loose weight so I can ride more horses and fitter so I can ride better. I think most the exercise I will end up doing is running as it's something I rather enjoy but I want to try and find other interesting sporty things as well so all suggestions welcome! Anyway here's what I suppose is basically my diary...

Like most normal females I have been under the assumption I need to eat little calories to lose weight. I've been dabbling in weightlifting the past 6 months and have decided to take it a bit more seriously and try to become strong. I'm in the process of cleaning up my eating and have a plan of attack, but after reading stuff I'm afraid I'm not eating enough (1000-1200 calories a day) to be healthy. What is a good way to measure you're eating enough without counting calories, and if you are, how much should I be eating. Honestly I'm terrified of eating more and just simply gaining all the fat back. I know if I continue strength training it shouldn't happen, but I'm really afraid. Any tips? Recommendations?

Hello Rangers! I'm returning to you to achieve one of my most desired goals: Main Quest: Do a push up! Work out: Do a push up work out three times a week. I'm using FitDaily Pushups as a starting place. STR +5 Track my progress: Once a week I want to weigh myself and take measurements. In addition I'm going to write down every work out I do. I'm going to weigh myself Tuesday mornings before breakfast, just to be consistent. WIS +4 No gadgets after 10:30: This is a repeat goal, but one that worked so well. I'm going to stop using my phone and computer after 10:30. CON +3 STA +2 Life Quest: Start a Spiritual Practice For this goal I'm going to start a spiritual practice, something small that I can do for five minutes everyday. To figure out what I'm going to read the book Imperfect Spiritualty and based on that book make a decision. WIS +1 Grading: A +90% B +80% C +70% Rewards: For every five successes in a row I'm going to give myself a small reward. I only need eight more small rewards to get a manicure!

Stats: Current weight = 188.6lbs Goal weight = 115lbs Height = 5ft 1in Age = 32 I am looking to join a new gym and to move from cardio machines to free weights. The new gym will give me an induction and workout a routine for me. What exercises should I be doing? I have been looking at starting strength, just nervous to go into the free weights lol

Hi everyone! I'm new hear and have just started my weight training about 2 weeks ago and cleaning up my diet about 3 days ago. I am a 23 year old female, grad student (desk job most of the day), work at williams/booster juice 3 days a week (on my feet for 4 hours), 20 min weight training 5 days a week (15 lb weights-curls, butterfly, triceps, squats etc, just at home exercises) and 40 min ta week cardio (stairs). I am 166cm, 115-120 lbs and eating 2500 calories a day. I am trying to eat a lot of protein ~130g and limit trans fats and sugars. I want to gain muscle and strength and a healthy lifestyle. This is a big (and exciting change for me as I have suffered from anorexia for 3.5 yrs-on and off from relapse and recovery, gaining and lose a large amount of weight 3 times). I am really excited to start this journey and am looking for any advice on nutrition and exercise! What should I do?

Hey guys, I'm new here and I'm new to free weight training as well. Right now, I'm trying to figure out if I should gain weight or lose weight. I'm 5'1 and 114 lbs. I'm basically skinny fat and most of the fat is on my stomach (especially noticeable when I sit down). At the moment, I'm eating my maintenance calories as I'm still learning form when weight lifting. Any advice would be appreciated, thanks in advance!

Hey Guys, I just started a bit of weightlifting and working on pull-ups/chin ups. Even though I''m not lifting too heavy yet, I'm already seeing callouses form. My friend who is "training" me suggested that I get gloves, but I'm not sure what kind I should buy and I don't want to spend a ton of money on something that won't work for me. I'm a female with very small hands and I'm afraid some of the gloves that have a lot of padding would interfere with my grip. I also don't want to go too expensive, preferably under $20. However, if the gloves are literally the best thing since sliced bread, I'll go over the $20. Does anyone have any recommendations? Thanks!

Hello Rangers I'm new here and I never thought I would be in this guild. My name is MaidofRus, I'm a 23 year old female currently living in Russia, and I want to be a dashing warrior, as in I am going to participate in the Warrior Dash in Iowa on August 16. As of this moment my level of fitness is practically non-existent. I don't run, can't do push ups and definitely can't do pull ups. But all that is about to change! Main Quest: Complete the Warrior Dash in under an hour. Goals: Warriors are fast: Run three times a week, probably M,W,F, following the C25k plan. Ideally I will do one trail run a week. STA +3 Warriors are strong: Do a split Beginner Bodyweight Workout six days a week. Squats and lunges on run days, push ups, pull ups, and core work on the other days. STR +3 Warriors are awake: Brush my teeth and remove make up every night and be in bed by midnight or 11, depending on my work schedule, six days a week. Saturdays are my optional days off only if I am hanging out with friends. Sleep takes priority over everything and everybody, except in emergencies. Every day I do my "full" bedtime routine is worth a quarter of a bonus that can be used to make up missed days. CON + 2 Warriors take care of themselves: Stretch after every workout. Also take an additional rest day when I need it. Unless I am seriously ill or not feeling good I should not take two additional rest days in a row. CON +1 DEX +1 Side Quests Warriors speak Russian: Practice my Russian every day, starting at 15 minutes and adding 15 minutes every week until I am doing an hour and a half every day. I must do flashcards everyday, but I am allowed to make up missing time within the week. Also spend 5 minutes reading everyday. WIS +1 Warriors participate: Follow my two PVP's, my two accountabilitibuddies, and possibly one more nerd by posting at least twice a week. Also find and do six new cool things in Tomsk. CHA +1 PVP: Mutant Money Makeover: Read and complete Total Money MakeoverC25k with Mommawolfie: Be able to run a 5k by the end of the challengeGrading: A: 90%+ B: 80%-89% C: 70%-79% D: 60%-69% F: 50%-59%

Hello! So I am looking for someone I can talk to over the next couple of months to keep me responsible. (And of course, to bring support to in return!) Right now I am still working off a spinal injury so my start is rather slow. I have 17 weeks until the start of the Fall semester and I want to be in a better place by then. I have four goals I want to hit: 1. Get out of pain (via stretching, yoga, and therapy). 2. Lose 20 pounds. (Estimate.) 3. Eat primal without eating out much. 4. Try to get to 20 one arm push ups. So a bit about me I guess. I'm 22 years old and work as a freelancer doing graphic design and writing. I have a dog named Voodoo, a beta fish named Budo and a really cool partner. I've been playing sports or doing physical hobbies my whole life and I guess I've always been strong and slightly overweight. I'm a tomboy who loves sparring, wrestling and baking. Two years ago, I was out for a half a year with a knee injury and eight months ago I got hit in the coccyx and been in pain since. I've come to nerd fitness to get support and ideas. I'd consider the ideal partner someone who: 1. Is a biological female but is a real tomboy. 2. Is on Facebook and wiling to exchange names to talk. 3. Is a Martial Artist 4. Has been injured before. 5. Is a Monk or Warrior type. 6. Is looking to lose 30ish pounds and then gain it back in muscle! Of course, I'm more interested in someone active to talk to! Thanks!

So a few years ago I tore a muscle in my lower left back (3rd quadrant, I believe). The first time around, I didn't let it heal properly and developed a mass of scar tissue that left it very stiff. I was able to break it up with a few trips to the chiropractor but the muscle was still very weak and (surprise surprise) I injured myself again last October that put me out of work for a week. Since then I've been working slowly to build my lower back muscles back up, using mostly low-impact exercises and pilates. I really want to start weight lifting, but I'm scared that I might injure myself again. Any advice on how to get started the right way?