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When you first get your Driver and become a Kamen Rider, the path is never always crystal clear. You may win a few battles here and there, but there's an element of struggle. You're not sure how to use this power that you've been given. While you're struggling with that, your battles keep seeming easier and easier until you hit your first hurdle; a new opponent who's stronger than you. That's when it becomes clear; all those previous struggles were meant to prepare you for that first power up in order to defeat said opponent, so you can find your purpose. Sure, I feel like I've won a few of these first battles last challenge, but a few opponents that ran away before have returned, and they brought friends. I'm not at that hurdle yet, but I know it's coming. It's time I focus on what I'm really struggling with this month in order to be ready for my soon-to-come power up. Goals for this challenge are as follows: Continue to attend class a minimum of two times each week and stretch daily. I did well with class attendance last month, but I relied heavily on gaining that sticker to do so. Going to add it again so it becomes a habit that no longer needs a sticker. Stretching didn't go so well, so it's back to get better. Continue to journal daily and track all food and drinks in MFP. I did well with the journaling, but it followed the same as the one above; get dat sticker. I'm keeping it until I don't need it and adding my tracking to it as well. This is something I started recently, but it's been sporadic, and I don't want it to be, so there. Follow elimination protocol for caloric drinks, especially coffee-containing substances. I feel like I got a handle on my treats, so I'm moving on to a sub-par habit that I've picked up. I've been drinking the not-optimal coffee options for caffeine (see this chart for reference; I'm mocha and frappuccino -.-). This usually only happens when I succumb to Big Food, but I'll need to be extra conscious about it for when I do. Typical protocol; toss 1/4 for first two weeks, then progress to 1/2 for the second. Eat a home cooked or prepared meal for breakfast AND lunch a minimum of three times a week. Yeah, I know I was working on vegetables last month, but I really noticed just how badly I struggled with just EATING the food I brought to work and being too lazy in the morning to get up early enough to eat at home. It hurts my gut, waistline, and wallet, so I'm going to focus on this for now. It doesn't need to be squeaky clean, but it should still increase the quality of my food and decrease the quantity. I'm set with my strategy, now it's time to implement! Here comes Week Zero!

I know that I've been yo-yo-ing here on challenges a lot lately, but I think I figured it all out. I stretched myself a bit too thin, trying to take on too many things at once. So, I'm here to start from the very beginning, with what I know works best for me . Because in the end, all that matters is what works for me. And so here it is: I'm going to start my official Kamen Rider Training. Yeah, I know it's pretty obnoxious and childish, but it can get me really excited and motivated (read: HYPED). Part of my goals for the year include being much more authentic, even over here on the forums. So, that includes more honesty, more asking for help when it's needed, and MORE KAMEN RIDER! For the month of January, here are my simple starting goals: 1. Eat ONE CUP of vegetables DAILY. Kamen Riders know what best fuels them to fight for justice and humanity. For me, that means more vegetables. This sounds quite manageable to me. 2. Eliminate 1/4 of all treats. This basically means that I can still have treats when I'm craving them, but I toss 1/4 of whatever it is before I eat it. This has worked wonders for me in the past to successfully stop eating something (when I remember it), and I think treats (which means desserts of the refined sugar variety) isn't too big or broad of a category to overwhelm me. It's still a bit on the broad side, and I might still have trouble remembering, so I'm not going to upgrade to 1/2 for the full month. 3. Attend capoeira class a MINIMUM of TWO times each week AND spend a MINIMUM of TWO MINUTES correcting leg and hip muscle imbalance. Kamen Riders know how to fight, and they certainly know how to KICK. I have a tendency to not go to class when I don't feel like it (or when I lose sight of commitments, lose sight of my value, that kind of thing), so I'm slowly transitioning myself to the default of "JUST GO" when that happens. I know that I always feel better afterwards. And with the kicking comes hip and leg health, so I'll be stretching (using Focused Flexibility) and doing some PT exercises to correct muscle imbalances in the legs and hips. Getting up and doing them is hard, so I'll start with just two minutes each day and go from there. 4. Journal daily. Kamen Riders never forget their purpose, or when they do, a friend beats them up fights them until they remember. Knowing that small, progressive steps IS the best thing for me, I was inspired by Staci's sticker tactic and my own love of journals and journaling that I decided to combine the two. Instead of stretching myself out and having more than one place where I'm tracking my stuff, I'm going to put these hardcover journals I collected to use for tracking EVERYTHING, keeping it all in one spot. This should allow me a chance to be reflective and keep me present to everything I want to be changing and why. It'll also give me a place to brainstorm and keep notes as to how things are going so that I can better evaluate what I'm doing. I'll spend some time every day journaling; food tracking, logging training sessions, breaking big goals down into smaller steps, and just reflecting on my thoughts and feelings for the day, even if it's just for a minute or so every day. We're just getting started here. I'd have more of it finished (and this thread up sooner), but there's SO MUCH STUFF TO DO around the house that I've been spending a good deal of time getting that stuff managed this weekend. Become a more responsible adult is on the list of things to accomplish this year. Well, there it is, the new beginning of my journey. I didn't mean to be THAT long winded about everything, but hey, I'm being authentic and refuse to edit it. Let's Henshin!

This will be the second time that I've re-spawned here. I'm not really upset about it. In fact, I'm quite excited. There's almost no better feeling that a fresh, clean start. I've struggled for the past six to seven years to get this right, but I've finally come to truly realize and accept that "right" and "perfect" don't matter, only what works for me. I have a tendency to do too many things at once, big or small. I stretch myself too thin, keeping up with so many places where I've set goals. I forget what those goals are very easily. I lose sight of my commitments, and therefore forget myself and my value. It's hard to make changes when you can't remember what you're changing and why. I'm here not to let go of all that, those things that I've learned do not work for me. My past threads are just that, like old tactics and beliefs, things better left in the past. I'm starting from the ground up, here and now, with what I know works best for me. Slow, steady, and simple. So, Let's Henshin!

Welcome to my brand new, daily(ish) battle log! I’m your host, SkiBlue. I’m glad that you’re here; thank you for your support and interest in my quest to level up my life. This is where I’ll be sharing my progress on what I like to call my life improvements; things that I’d like to work toward, build habits around, and will level up my life. This won’t really be taking away from me participating in six week challenges; on the contrary, the challenges will allow me the chance to hone in on specific priorities and trouble areas, while this log will give me a central place to update my progress for accountability and pursue other things outside of the challenges. I’m greatly excited for this; I’ve always struggled with enjoying the process, and now that I do, that will be the focus of this log, since sharing it with the Rebellion in the first place allowed me to make that final leap. Here is the most recent, comprehensive list of life improvements that I’m either currently working toward or in the process of planning to: reach and maintain a healthy body composition improve my relationship with food develop a regular sleep routine to build a regular sleep cycle become more active; get stronger and more flexible improve posture and reverse sitting damage develop money management habits develop habitual home management (improve adulting skills) develop time management skills at work and home include more socialization and appreciation include more hobby-work and skill-building As I work down this list, I'll update the log with the specific steps I'll be taking to make these changes possible. I’m hoping that with the Rebellion’s help, I’ll make those habits transition from daily checks to ways of life. If you’re still curious, head over to my list of concrete goals for leveling up my life, the things that this log is working toward, slowly but surely.

At first, I wasn't sure if I should do a challenge this month, but realized that with this being the holidays, I definitely need it. I was also gonna do a Kamen Rider OOO theme, because December is my birthday month, and with Birthday Cake President, it would fit... Plus, an Anhk motivator wouldn't hurt... Okay, maybe it would. But I think I'm too hyped over all of the Neo-Heisei series bugmen in spandex that I don't really want to limit myself, now that I found out I'm not alone in my fandom. So here are the four major points I want to work on for the next month. They're obviously going to be quite similar to last month's, since they're not quite habits yet and need to be. 1) GET UP IN THE MORNINGS. Yep. This one's still giving me issues. 2) Eat enough food. I'm not eating enough, especially when I'm eating strict Paleo, so the goal for this month is to just get 2k calories consistently. This will obviously involve tracking food. I'm not going crazy and eating everything though. Grains will be limited, and I'll be trying to focus on getting as much protein as possible (130g) and having at least 1 cup of veggies in a day. 3) Progressively eliminate chocolate and cookies. The office candy is now an after-thought. I don't even want it anymore. However, Christmas means COOKIES in my family, so for the first half of the month, I'll be eliminating 1/4 of all sources of chocolate and cookies, and then progress to 1/2 in the second half of the month. 4) Move those hips! Still having leg and hip muscle imbalance issues, so I'll be spending up to ten minutes daily on strengthening exercises and stretches. Let's do this challenge with no continues!

Hi. I'm back. I haven't really gone anywhere, just took a break. But now I'm having issues remembering and keeping track of the things I want to be changing, so here I am again. For the time being, my mission is to become a morning person. A good deal of my issues stem from my tendency to stay in bed until the very last minute every morning. Well, no longer! It's time I get hard-boiled about my commitment to myself and my health. This challenge will focus on making the most of my mornings. Goal 1: Get up! Alarm is set to 6AM on weekdays and 7AM on weekends (to try to keep my sleep schedule consistent). I will be using the Distant Alarm tactic to make sure I stay up when the alarm goes off. I'd do a gradual time increase for my alarm, but since the Husband's alarm needs to be set for the same time, I think I can Ranger myself through. Goal 2: Eat breakfast! Breakfast is important; therefore, it is the meal that I will focus on this challenge. Breakfast should be composed of animal protein and starchy carbs (for optimal thyroid function). I will aim for about 40-50g of protein, 35-55g of carbs, and 20-30g of fat. I may end up having a protein shake to help get those numbers up, but the bulk of the meal should be food that requires chewing. These are the key ingredients that I'd like to include in a morning routine. Morning people (mostly) have morning routines. I want one. I'm making it a priority. Goal 3: Move! My hips are still suffering from lack of mobility and uneven strength. I will be spending time every day doing a PT routine for my hips, legs, and core that involves some resistance training and stretching. Goal 4: Eliminate! I'm going to continue tossing out 1/4 of refined sugar cravings, to rewire the brain. In the words of the two men that are one detective...

This will be my first challenge after my respawn (excellent timing, really). Keeping it short and sweet: Main Goal: lose 20lb by December 22nd EAT CLEAN! Continue on the Whole30 for the entirety of the challenge. +5 CON STRETCH! Spend time every day doing PT routine for my anterior pelvic tilt. +3 DEX EXERCISE! Strength training three times a week (Sunday/Tuesday/Thursday). +3 STR, +2 STALife Quest: October is the time for COSTUMES! +1 WIS, +1 CHA Complete costume designs: Orange/Black tunic set; Mando armor set; Paladin armor and attire set.Spend time writing prose (converting story/character notes into prose from TTRPG games).Basics that I've been trying to work on for a while, but I'm determined to see this through (as indicated by my respawn thread). I'm already Day 8 into the Whole30, but I don't think stopping at 30 days will be enough time for me to break out of old habits and food cravings. I plan on doing a full reintroduction period afterward, but I will probably take a slow roll approach. My APT always bugs me; I focus a good deal on the physical therapy aspect during leg day (Sunday), because I focus on deadlifts, but the PT routine needs to be done every day. Part of that also includes NOT SITTING a lot. So, I'll have to move around more often at work. Strength training is down; Sunday is leg day, Tuesday is push day, and Thursday is pull day. It's just a matter of getting out of bed in the mornings on Tuesday and Thursday. But, seeing as I've been waking up at 430am since Week 2 of the Whole30, it shouldn't be a problem. And seeing as how I've been hording Ren Faire costume supplies and materials for YEARS, I think I need to get them going, since I always show up to the Faire at least once. Edit: for motivation (and other) purposes, I've decided to change the theme of this challenge from Mandalorian themed to.... if anyone is familiar with Kamen Rider. If you are, awesome! If not, I understand completely.