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It's me. Hi. It's a new challenge and I'm ready to Begin Again. During the last challenge I focused more on weight loss: tracking macros, running, and drinking water - and long story short, it worked! I broke out of the 180s plateau and lost about 4-5lbs during the challenge. So Is It Over Now? Of course not, I still have a long way to go trying to reach my End Game of weight loss. But focusing so narrowly on weight loss was starting to feel like Death by a Thousand Cuts. It's time for a Change... so I'm going to Shake it Off. This challenge, I'm telling cardio and macros, "You're Losing Me," and concentrating more on strength training and simple calorie counting. Basically this is me trying to build a better relationship with strength training, to enjoy it instead of just tolerate it. I also want to Speak Now about working on my mental health this challenge. My State of Grace is to actively work on cultivating happiness. Part of that is being more productive at work (because fighting against executive dysfunction gets me Down Bad). The other part is nurturing activities that don't feed on cheap dopamine like facebook and fan fiction. I want more phone-free time: whether it's time spent creating, with my kids, or enjoying The Outside. 🫶🏻 GOALS 🫶🏻 Don't be Delicate Exercise 4x a week (M/T/T/F) Strength Training first, program details here Followed by a 20 min run or 40 min walk Intention: Build muscle and increase amount I can lift while maintaining some cardio for weight loss Mastermind my Food Intake Stay under calorie budget on LoseIt daily Aided by eating low-carb, high-protein but not required Intention: Keep focus on weight loss through simple CICO Water Hits Different Drink 8 cups of water a day Continued from last challenge Intention: Continue to build the habit of drinking enough water Work like a mad woman 6 Pomodoros every work day (work for 25 minutes with a 5 minute break) Light work like checking emails, slack, or Asana doesn't count toward goal Intention: Improve focus at work, get more actual work done, and feel rewarded by productivity flow You Need to Calm Down Chose an enjoyable, non-phone based activity for at least 30 minutes a day Bonus points for doing more than one activity Ideas: - Reading a book (not fan fiction) - Creating something or engaging with art or hobbies - Taking a walk or hike - Visiting with friends - Playing with the kids - Any pastime people enjoyed doing 50 years ago Intention: Kick the cheap dopamine habit (aka doomscrolling) and spend phone-free time pursuing pleasurable slow-paced activities 🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻 So Long Live the challenge we've made - and remember, it's a shiny new NF Challenge, so baby just say YES.

The Last Stand This time around my challenge will be themed after Sabaton's last album, mainly because of the hype for their show on November the 5th. The goals will be the same as last challenge and, just as I did with Arnie's characters, there will be no correlation whatsoever between the theme and the goals themselves. The Goals: Sparta We all know the story of the 300 spartans that faced the persian army in the Thermopylae. The source of inspiration for this song seems to be the movie more than anything else. Sparta represents CrossFit. 3 times a week for a total of 12 classes. Rorke's Drift In January of 1879, just over 150 british and colonial troops under command of Lt. John Chard and Lt. Gonville Bromhead defended the Rorke's Drift outpost against a horde of 3000-4000 Zulu warriors. Whether one does condone british imperialism or not, this 150 brave stood as brothers against all odds, defeating their enemy. Rorke's Drift represents Nutrition. Eat full paleo, with 2 weekly variances. Shiroyama RL counterpart of events depicted in the movie "The Last Samurai", the battle of Shiroyama marked the end of the Satsuma rebellion. 500 samurais(the only remnant of an army of ~20000) made their last stand against the rifles of the Imperial Japanese Army. Knowing that they were marching to their graves, the samurai charged downhill through the bulletstorm to break havoc on the poorly trained lines of imperial infantry. Swords clashed against bayonets on these brave men's last stand, making them part of history. Shiroyama represents study. 1440 minutes total, about 6 hours a week using pomodoro technique. Bonus Track I realiced I tend to go all in on the variances, especially when drinking at the same time. Then I watched this video by PictureFit: and thought "What if I'm throwing my hard work down the pipe on my cheat days?" Let's recap last saturday night out with the guys: a "Cuba Libre", a burrito, a taco, like 4 beers, nachos... yep, that can't be good. I must learn to take variances for what they are: small deviations from my normal paleo diet, not full out feasts. I will reduce booze to the bare minimum and write down all my variances to keep them sort of accountable. That way I expect to see slightly better results. BTW I measured my waist at navel hight today and it was 95cm. That's 0.5cm less than last month

This challenge won't have a theme per se (we know it's going to hell after 3 days any way) but will be channeling characters played by the one, the only Arnold "the austrian Oak" Schwarzenegger. Alright, the Governator is not the best actor ever. That said, I have a pretty basic taste in movies! The characters representing each goal will have no sense or correlation (kind of like Arbold's movies). It's only to add some fun to the same goals as last challenge (I'm going full Tanktimus from now on) Conan - Conan the Barbarian/the Destroyer Conan will represent CrossFit. I shall attend 3 weekly CF classes Jericho Cane - End of Days Jericho will represent nutrition. Full paleo with 2 variances/week. Macros tracking and food pics could be used if needed. Det. John Kimble - Kindergarten Cop Detective Kimble represents study. Study 7,5 hours a week increasing productivity via pomodoro technique (it's been working fine so far). Total study time goal could change depending on week zero results. Since progress bars have gone outta comission with the forums update, and outsourcing them has proven to be impractical; I'll be making my own bars out of "=" simbols. It's a lil' ghetto but as long as it suites my needs I'm ok with it. Conan |====================| 0% Jericho |====================| 0% John |====================| 0%

A ship in port is safe, but that's not what ships are built for. I’ve finally managed to get down to only having one job! It’s very exciting to actually have free time! And my weekends to myself! I’ve got some of the same goals in this challenge as in the last couple, but I’ve taken away my mobility and work ones and added in grease-the-groove and will be adding a stricter food goal than just “don’t be a dickhead” Previous Challenge Stats Weight 164lb Waist 30" Belly 34.5" Hips 39" Thigh 23" Body Fat 26.93% Goals Cadence to Arms I just got a pull up bar to put up in one of my doorways - time to really kick it into gear with moving towards my goal of being able to do a pullup! The plan right now is to (attempt to) do a pullup every time I walk by/under the bar. The way my apartment is laid out means that this should be a lot! I’ll keep track of how many I’m doing per day, and maybe set a number goal depending on how that goes. Walk Away Running and walking goals (still) here. I’ve discovered that I like running in the morning before work, it’s just getting out of bed that’s the trick! I’m going to try and do my weekly run in the mornings, and go for my walk on the weekend. Weekly 5k Half an hour walk once a week End of the Night Sleep continues to be an issue. I’m really going to work on it this time around 11pm bedtime Do morning prep immediately after work Computer off at 10pm & start getting ready for bed - turn off all the bright lights (kitchen, some living room), turn on my sunrise/sunset light in the bedroom Meditate at 10:45pm Reading, knitting, journalling, drawing, or listening to podcasts are ok after 10pm Socializing exemption still exists To help with this, I'm going to make sure I also wake up early on weekends. I'll set my alarm for maybe 7 or 7:30, and then I can stay in bed but I have to be awake. I'm still working on Saturdays right now (hopefully not for too much longer), so that I'll probably just apply to Sundays for this challenge. During the last challenge I needed the sleep more, and slept in late every Sunday, but in theory if I get my bedtime under control this can happen Captain Kelly's Kitchen The List will get finished! Tidying - things that I have to bung out and get organized Dresser - 1 drawer of T-shirts to go through The Corner of Doom - desk to be cleaned off, side table with my printer to clean off, drawers to clean out, stacks of paper to be gone through - Started Wardrobe - just have to get it organized, now that I have a stool and can reach the shelf in it instead of chucking things up and then barely being able to get them back down Bathroom cabinets - under sink and above toilet. Not too much stuff but needs organized and gone through Cleaning - it would be really awesome if I could get all of my cleaning done so that I can feel like it's done (for a while, anyway), instead of doing one thing and then trying to ignore the 5 other things that I haven't done Get all of these done at the same time Dust - Started, barely Sweep/mop kitchen - DONE 1-off stuff Fridge - DONE Kitchen cupboards Under/behind stove - DONE Under/behind fridge Windows Scrub down shower walls - DONE Minimizing One thing in, one thing out 52 things gone - /52 The Spicy McHaggis Jig Week 1 - Worked out some macros based on IIFYM and the "so you're trying to lean out while doing intense training?" that someone posted a challenge or two ago: 2000 calories Protein 175g (35%) Fat 89g (40%) Carbs 125g (25%) I also get one variance/week. I'll adjust these as the challenge goes on, depending on how I go. The Road So Far Week 1: Pullups - got the bar up (finally!) on Sunday morning, started working on them! Walk 1/1; 5k 0/1 11pm 1/7 - could be 2/7 if I get to bed early enough tonight Tidying? Cleaning? Minimizing? - dusted the tops of the cabinets in the bathroom after getting a look at them while putting up my pullup bar. Cleaned/tidied the kitchen counters and the table, tidied the bathroom counter/shower ledge. Took out the compost and 2 lots of recycling. Floordrobe tackled and laundry away. Totals for week (this includes my plan for dinner but that's subject to a bit of change): 12619/14, 000 calories Protein 978/1225g Fat 607/623g Carbs 814/875g Week 2: Pullups - working on them! Walk 0/1; 5k 0/1 11pm 0/7 Tidying? Cleaning? Minimizing? - Not a lot, got papers triaged in the Corner of Doom, cleaned the bathroom (including scrubbing the walls down), cleaned under the stove. Did a compost/garbage/recycling/shredded paper run. Food for this week wasn't great. A bit high on carbs and low on protein. Pretty sure that's attributable to me not being willing to even think about cooking on Wednesday night (0 energy) and having lasagna instead. Totals for week: 13, 885/14, 000 calories Protein 1006/1225g Fat 671/623g Carbs 1064/875g Week 3: Pullups - continuing to work on them Walk 0/1; 5k 1/1 11pm 0/7 Tidying? Cleaning? Minimizing? - Cleaned out the fridge, did some shredding Food? - only tracked Mon-Thurs this week because I was travelling 7400/8000 calories Protein 501/700g Fat 406/356g Carbs 527/500g Week 4: Pullups - slacked a bit on this during this week. Was sore from rugby on the weekend, then was feeling sick, but I did some today! Walk 0/1; 5k 0/1 11pm 1/7 Tidying? Cleaning? Minimizing? - nope. And the floordrobe has made a reappearance Food? 13, 672/14, 000 calories Protein 711/1225g Fat 738/623g Carbs 1082/875g

Jakkals gaan aan. My umpteenth challenge, I've sort of lost track (15?16?) Like last time, small steps towards a new brain. 1. Truth As part of my bravery challenge last time I've found that I tend not to talk the truth. I know why, and it is time to speak what is on my mind and not what I think other people want to hear. And also to myself. This is going to be difficult. 2. Pomodoro Almost every part of tackling my internet addiction problem obsession thingy so far has been a disaster. I also want to learn the Pomodoro Technique, so every day I have to do something important for 10 minutes (baby steps!) 3. Food My weight has been creeping up the past few months. It is not a disaster, but since I want to have a six-pack this year I have to start dropping fat again. I have to learn how to eat slower, and watch when I have to stop. 4. Exercise NF Yoga and Weights. I am still fumbling a bit for a sustainable routine, but I will get there. 5. Cutlery This is the new career/money thing I want to do. One knife a week. I am getting better at it. All of this is sustainable, and a good stepping stone to get to the next level. But do not expect much during the first week, I am still on holiday for a week and will not feel guilty for slacking.

I started taking bjj and kickboxing classes about 3 months ago and love it. But I realized recently that my initial growth will slow rapidly if I don't start training outside of class. That's where drills come into play! I'm setting up a space in my home this week to run through striking, footwork, and foundational bjj movements on a regular basis. I'm also trying to regain my focus when it comes to my writing. Currently, a lot of time gets wasted each day doing "research", i.e. searching the internet until something shiny comes along to distract me. So I'll be implementing the pomodoro technique (25 minutes on task followed by 5 minute breaks) to stay on task. My breaks need to be computer-free time, so some stretching, simple bodyweight movements, or trips downstairs for more tea are all fair game. Last, but certainly not the least challenging, is giving better care to my diet. Historically, tracking calories is obnoxious to me. I'm going to switch things up a little an give myself a daily protein goal that increases as the challenge progresses. I'll start it at 60g for the first two weeks and add 20g to the daily goal every two weeks. So week 3 & 4 will be 80g and week 5 & 6 will be 100g. My hope is that trying to reach a certain number, instead of trying to stay under a caloric one, will be the positive mindset shift I've been missing. To summarize: Challenge Goals BJJ Drills x 2 per weekKickboxing Drills x 2 per weekPomodoro Writing Sessions w/ Breaks away from the computer x 15 per weekMeet Daily Protein Goal (starting at 60g)But wait, there's more! Side Quest - Rescue the short story from certain doom! I have several promising short stories that are hanging out in the doldrums while I work on my novel. To claim victory over the side quest I must pick one of these stories and get it submission worthy by the end of the challenge. So, I think that's everything. I plan to assign points/grading at some point, but really that feels like more than I can handle this evening. Any suggestions for a not-elaborate method of counting are welcome!

So, last challenge, I got started late because I wasn't sure what I wanted to do and went on vacation with my parents for a week and then didn't finish because of a short period of no internet and the fitness room at my new university not having barbell plates for a week and then stressing out about stupid assignments, so I'm trying this again. Main Quest (nerdy phrasing): Achieve my next form (the first one where people can comment on how much more in shape I am so that I can reply "This isn't even my final form.") Getting Focused Part 2 again Objective 1: Stick to my diet, and try to get 220g of protein a dayObjective 2: Continue lifting 3 times per week (SL 5x5)Objective 3: Get an average of 7 hours or more of sleep each nightLife Side Quest: Work on time management I'm hoping this helps me not get as stressed out and helps me do well in my classes while still having time to relax and do other things. I'm thinking pomodoro might work well for this purpose. My obstacle with it is that most things I would want to do take more than 5 minutes (30 minutes can seem quite short as well), so it can feel like just more wasted time instead of a break, so I need to work on how to make the 5 minutes seem worthwhile and refreshing.

I'm horrible and am just now making a post. For a while, I wasn't sure what my goals should be this challenge. I knew generally what I wanted to do, and have been working to keep up with it anyway but wasn't sure specifically. This week, I just got back from a vacation with my parents. The hotels that we stayed at had gyms, but neither of them had barbells, and one only had dumbbells up to, I believe, 45 lbs. This made me realize how much I love lifting with barbells, especially squats and deadlifts. There's something about the feeling of how a bar fits to one's back while squatting that I love especially, and I really missed that while I was away from my normal gym (though I did impress a random kid when I was doing deadlifts with the heaviest dumbbells, which were 75 lbs each at that hotel, which was kind of cool). Anyway, on to the challenge stuff. Main Quest (nerdy phrasing): Achieve my next form (the first one where people can comment on how much more in shape I am so that I can reply "This isn't even my final form.") Getting Focused Part 2: Adjusting Focus Objective 1: Continue sticking to my diet.Objective 2: Continue lifting 3 times per week (SL 5x5), but also work in more warm up. So far, I've only been in the starting segment of SL working up from the bar from scratch focusing on getting the technique down, so I have been a little lazy on warm up lifts, but OH Press is becoming exertive, so I have been thinking I should probably go ahead and get in good habits before the other lifts do too.Objective 3: Auxiliary work. This one is 2 parted.Objective 3.1: Biking 30 minutes 3 times per week to work on asthma. In my previous challenge, I put more focus on this goal and was more ambitious with it, but I wasn't really getting the results I wanted and was spending a ton of time at the gym, so, for this challenge, I'm going to take a step back and try to more closely replicate the progression before my first attempt at C25k.Objective 3.2: Do more work on flexibility. I have been doing some stretching before and after lifting and biking, but I should probably do more. I am naturally quite flexible, but it seems to be dipping down toward average flexibility. My plan is to continue stretching before working out, but, then stretch extensively after working out. I have thought yoga might be good too, but I would need to take the time to learn it too. Life Side Quest: Work on time management I'm transferring to a new school which is brand new, and classes start 8/25. I need to be really diligent about my studies while still finding time to go to the gym and hopefully being able to still find time to relax (I am prone to procrastination, especially when stressed). There are also leisure things which I would like to do that I normally don't because they feel time consuming such as reading. I'm thinking pomodoro might work well for that purpose. I have used it a little for reading so far this challenge period, and it worked pretty well, so I'm going to try applying it to other things. My obstacle with it is that most things I would want to do take more than 5 minutes (30 minutes can seem quite short as well), so it can feel like just more wasted time instead of a break, so I need to work on how to make the 5 minutes seem worthwhile and refreshing. Since I have known generally what I wanted to do for this challenge, I'm going to grade myself retroactively in a bit in another post (this post took around 5 pomodori x.x; ).