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say that five times fast ;-) In a nutshell-- I lost major CON points while at grad school, so I'd like to build back up my energy and strength in order to return my zest for life! This summer I have the free time and the motivation and everything is bright and beautiful again, so I am harnessing this potential for self-improvement! [Grad school was worth it, for sure, but dear god for anyone considering it you had better be sure you want to go through with it before applying. I have always been an excellent student, but grad school kicked my f**king ass.] I joined in late last time, completed three weeks of my challenge, and plan on continuing that until this challenge starts (see link in signature). I've done a decent job over the last 1/2 challenge getting into a habit of exercising and being more mindful of when I'm hungry, what I eat, and why. I'll be using what I've learned about myself to create better goals this round. Main Quest: Lose 1/2 to 1 lb/wk to get into fightin' shape, gain muscle and strength, create good habits so I will have the energy and ability to do fun things and enjoy/engage with life. Starting conditions: 5'6" height, 163 lbs weight, 31% body fat 3 weeks of YAYOG complete*** 17 miles hiked at 3 parks 1. Nutrition: Make my calorie goal on MFP, averaged over a week and make good food choices. In order to conserve willpower points I can't restrict myself too much or get hungry too often, so averaging over the week allows some days to go over and others to go under, based on how I feel and activities of the day. This round I will be eating back calories from exercising to incentivize maintaining these habits. The real challenge will be filling those calories with good foods (lean protein and veggies, nuts and beans, occasionally protein-rich dairy or whole grains) and not indulging too much (my dear friend beer... also making good choices at restaurants). Scoring-- 1 point for every week I average a 400 calorie deficit or less per day (assumes 1800 maintenance minus 1400 ideal calories, exercise and weight loss will change both numbers) 1/2 point for every week I average under maintenance but above deficit goal. Final-- +4 CON based on percentage of total possible. +1 CHA (since most of my poor choices occur when I'm around other people) based on percentage of social days that I stay at calorie goal 2. Exercise: Get strong, be active! Exercise 5 days a week. My main goal will be to do 4 You Are Your Own Gym workouts a week. This is flexible with other activities (plus the extra day), depending my interests and social activities during the week. Other activities that count: 2.5+ miles running and/or walking, 20+ minutes hills or sprints running, 20+ minutes of yoga, hiking/backpacking, bicycling (not sure of appropriate effort measure yet), 30+ minutes intensive housework/etc, and possibly others, rock climbing who knows we'll see. Scoring-- 0.2 points for every exercise activity, for 1 point per week total. Final-- +3 STR, +2 STA based on percentage of total possible. may switch out a point for DEX if consistent yoga or hills/sprints happens consistently. 3. Life At least three job hunt related things a week Read 3 books 2 hours reading city planning news/blogs a week +2 WIS

Hello! I'm a new Recruit. I'm interested in Ranger, Druid, and Scout professions, but since I can't decide I'm going to settle for Adventurer for now. :-) Specifically, my favorite fitness activities are: bodyweight strength training, yoga, running, hiking, bicycling, and brewing beer (shhh). I recently graduated from grad school, which took a toll on my health (mental, physical, spiritual), so now I'm on a quest to Level Up all those areas of my life I've been neglecting (for the sake of academic levelling up). I think I'm supposed to wait to post this until the next challenge begins, 5/24/15 (??), but I guess since I started two weeks ago, maybe it's okay if I post this now? Anyway my first posted challenge is: * Fitness: continue You Are Your Own Gym 10-week bodyweight strength-building program, 4x week. (I'm currently on week 2.) * Nutrition: eat healthier! be mindful of what I eat, focus on making good choices and small victories. I'm not setting specific food goals this round, except to not eat fast food 4x week. This should be an easy goal since I'm not on campus pounding out papers every day, and I have the time/inclination to cook. I've started tracking what I eat on MFP to help me pay closer attention (and because I love data tracking). * Life: apply for full-time jobs, and hopefully get one. (I'm currently working a part-time internship.)