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That's right! 🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳 This challenge began exactly on my 36th birthday! And because I'm a sucker for resolutions, I've often enjoyed making birthday resolutions as well as New Year's resolutions. It's just another way to mark a year, right? So I'm extra in love with a challenge starting on the exact same day 😁 Most of my birthday resolutions this year have to do with stuff other than what I normally put here, but for the sake of kicking everything off together, I'm going to try my best to put it all here in a way that will make sense with these challenge formats. Quest One: Move! I don't think I've had a proper workout in close to a month now, primarily due to the school year starting back up. I'm working like crazy just to keep my head above water and the World Languages program progressing. In order to not backslide horribly, my goal is to just get 5 workouts in - theoretically and hopefully once a week, but if I end up doing all 5 on the last 5 days, well, okay. I know myself well enough to know that's a real possibility! Also I have another ultrasound coming up on September 29th which might end up restricting my exercise again if all goes well (walking is still okay though). Quest Two: Fuel Well Even more critical than usual when I'm working this many hours! I have a few goals here: Task One: Stick to one Diet Coke a day. I'm mildly grumpy about this, but I've done it every day since Sunday, so I might as well stick to it. It's better for me anyway... Task Two: Stop buying so much breakfast! I've resorted to buying breakfast WAY too often lately, and it's both not good for my health and also stupidly expensive. My goal here is to buy breakfast only 5 times (or less!) during this challenge. Options from home include frozen muffins (I make a big batch and freeze them for later so they're always reasonably fresh), cream of wheat in my giant thermos, egg wraps, and if I'm really desperate, cereal in a bag. I also have a box of instant oatmeal at work as a backup plan. Quest Three: Manage Work This is the giant thorn in my paw right now. I have 4 preps (classes I have to prepare a lesson for daily) as well as an additional advisory-type class that needs infrequent prep work. I am also in charge of my department social media, spearheading the expansion as well as the honors program plans, and run two extracurricular activities including all fundraising, bookkeeping, community events, etc. Task One: Post on the department Instagram at least once a week, ideally highlighting each class at least once during the challenge. Task Two: Complete a rough outline for at least one unit in each course (which are all 7 units in total). Currently, I have: 2 rough units for Spanish 2 - next one barely started outlining 1 rough unit for Spanish 3 - next one has resources gathered but nothing else 1 rough unit for Spanish 4 - next one has resources gathered by nothing else 6 rough units for French 1 - next one barely started outlining 0 rough units for French 2 (the next class to add in the expansion) - no start at all yet Now, do I know that my rough outlines don't translate perfectly to detailed daily plans? Absolutely, no battle plan survives contact with the enemy. But having these done greatly reduces my planning and resource-gathering time when it is "go" time, not to mention they make me look awesome to my boss and my boss' boss! Task Three: Gather information and resources from other districts and Jeff City and present my best argument to my boss about why she should support us implementing DELE certification. Task Four: Implement Hispanic Heritage Month school-wide activity via advisory classes, begin planning and preparing Día de Muertos ofrenda Task Five: Language study of my own: 5 intermediate or advanced Dreaming Spanish videos Japanese practice every other day (I went back to katakana because holy bejesus am I bad at that system) 1 DELF A1 practice test (should be easy as heck, but I haven't used my French extensively in several years so I'm starting low) Quest Four: Make Time to Play Two weekends ago, my husband and I made a pact to take an entire 24 hours off from school work...and then we found ourselves sitting around the kitchen table, staring at each other, talking about how hard it was not to be grading right then and how we weren't really sure what to do with ourselves. However, it is also true that an entire school year at this pace is a surefire recipe for burnout. Task One: cut out all the skirt pieces for my ruffled wrap skirt. Should I get further than that? Yes, but I'm starting slow - here's to hoping a low bar will help me get things done! Task Two: decide on layout for log cabin blocks from completed quilt block swap. I only have 16 though and feel like I'm going to want/need more... Task Three: bum around at least once a week. That means comfy clothes, often some kind of snack or drink, and something not very mentally taxing, even if it's only for 10 minutes. It might often be a YouTube video or TV show, favorite book in English (my favorite living author released a new book back in June and I own it but haven't even opened it yet!), a non-frustrating bit of handsewing or embroidery, could be a fun bit of baking if I'm feeling more energetic, even just daydreaming for a moment - whatever works to get me some mental downtime!

I have drank about 8-10 cokes a week for a while. In 2011 I stopped drinking cokes for a few months & lost about 15 pounds from changing nothing else but drinking no coke. I want to cut cokes out for at last the whole 3 months of June, July, & August. I will stick with water, milk, and occasional sweet tea.

I used to drink a lot of pepsi Max every day but decided to migrate to a caffeine free version to aid my anxiety. As far as I see it, if it's sugar free, caffeine free and helps to curb my craving for something sweet, it can't be all bad. Am I wrong? Some people seem very against anything with artificial sweetners so I was wondering what the general consensus was here.

So here I go again. Wow, it's been a long time. I'll summarize some major life changes: Getting close to a one year anniversary with my girlfriend! Over a year at my IT job Been off my medicine (depression, anxiety) for over a year So now that the good is out of the way, on to the less good. I got really out of shape again. After a photography-related accident, (fell off a cliff) I could not walk for 6 months. Needless to say, health and mental outlook suffered. I've been walking again since January, so time to respawn, reload, and destroy this challenge. 2019 Master Quests Lose 63 lbs. Eat Better Be Active Get Out of Debt Review/reduce spending Organize debts Contact creditors regarding settlements Become Much Better At Magic Education Practice Become A Much Better Vocalist Education Practice Perform a magic show Practice favorite effects till perfect Build a cohesive routine Research volunteer opportunities Build my photography business Do a few TFP photo shoots to build buzz Consistent marketing Prospective client engagement Whew! That's a lot of quests! I should probably just buy a quart of pralines and cream, a 2 liter of mountain dew and watch 14 hours of youtube videos right? #$CK NO! Let's break this *$%^ down into manageable pieces: S.M.A.R.T. Goals: Drink no more than one 21 once soda a week during the challenge (date night, movie, etc) Maintain 90% or better daily calorie goals Hit 5000 steps a day (average) Perform magic set for one open mic night

hello everyone, i am Ashley and i want a healthy life. i drink 4 bottle of 60cl pepsi a day. i was bigger than i was now. i lost some weight but my new biggest it 114.5 kg, about 250 pound. i am 5' "3/ 160. like i say i drinks a lot of soda. i am unhappy with my self. i drink then i am sad. i didn't take my healthy good care. i drink a lot of pepsi. how do i change for pepsi to water? do i go clod turkey ? how do i change pepsi to water to a new habit? thank you for your help. p.s. i am new to ask for help thank you.

Hi All, It has been quite a while since I last challenged myself here at NF and I feel like it's time to write my activities down again. Backstory I was running, lifting, and eating fairly well with NF’s massive help back between 2013 into some of '16 when my back (already bad) gave out and running was taken off the table. {Mind you, just writing that made me think to myself that "running was taken from me" which implies that a good deal of my resentment is still keeping me pinned down to what used to be.} So that is why I'm here again. That and I love this community! I gained back 70 pounds of the 91 that I lost. It was really tough to love myself through this. I wasn’t willing or able to really look at me so I left NF and my goals far behind. Through another two years of therapy and several really tough but GOOD life decisions, I have come to a time where I am willing to chance a fail or two in hopes that I find another passion (not that it has to be as awesome as running was for me) that keeps my eyes looking forward and able to see the present for what it is, not what I demand it to be. So… Goals 1.) consume 12 oz of Dr Pepper or less each day. I am kinda doing this now but without much ‘goings on’ in my days, it can be tough to grab another to satisfy the empty place inside. Which of course it doesn’t even do that so go figure the human mind! 2.) get outside and walk (any time or distance) at least 4 times/week. Not entirely sure where I should put the times/week on this one. I know everyday would only set me up to fail so that’s out. And twice seemed too easy, I think. So I’ll give this two weeks and adjust if need be for the second half of the challenge. 3.) Water, Water, Water Drink 40 oz per day This is really important. It’s tough for me to drink water after I’ve had a DP so if I can’t make this happen on a regular basis than DP will have to go. It has to anyway, but I don’t want to start with that this time. Although, funny. It was one of my first goals here at NF back in Feb 2013. Ha! Life) Draw I have a drawing class starting on the 7th which I’m psyched about so this should help me add to a weekly amount of drawing. I will also be doing maps for my worldbuilding. So, drawing every day! Yup, I said it. EVERY DAY!!! I can do this, I just have to realize that it’s what I want. Which it is. This goal is about ‘doing’ the regular thing. I think starting a habit with a life goal is better as I’m less likely to judge myself harshly if I slip up. OKAY I’m Back!

A Little History, Baby. (taken from my Respawn thread) A select few of you may remember me. I came, I did some challenges, I dropped some weight, and then life started life-ing me and I disappeared. In early 2015, I weighed 255 lbs. I joined a gym, started eating better, found NF, and in around 18 months, I'd just about scraped under 200 lbs, got myself a nice suit, and life was going... better. But interest started to flag, and a combination of work-related stress, family dramas, injuries, illness and dark depression took hold, and I went under the ice for a while. It started with some niggling aches and pains, which, after an extended period of doctor and hospital visits, were diagnosed as calcific tendonitis in the rotator cuff, and bone spurs in the neck. As I attempted to get those under control, my wife lost her mother, and my own mother's dementia gradually progressed. She suffered a series of falls and spent a large chunk of the early part of this year in and out of hospital for weeks at a time. We're getting some support with her care now, which is helping greatly, but the dementia is only going to worsen as time passes. With all of this in the background, I completely neglected my own well-being, quit exercising, ate like crap, didn't look after myself mentally, and spiraled into a dark place. I could feel my health worsening as my weight increased, to the point where everything was becoming uncomfortable, and I felt constantly sick, tired, and sore. At the end of July, I made the decision to rejoin the gym and go completely cold turkey from my arch nemeses, chocolate, cakes and fizzy/energy drinks. On my first visit back to the gym on August 1st, I weighed myself. 257 lbs. Back to square one, literally. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $100. I Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In) So, since then? I weighed in for the first time at the end of August - the plan is to weigh in at the start of each month and go from there - and I'd dropped the first 9 lbs. Tomorrow (Friday 15/9) will be 7 weeks since I started the vice purge. In that time, I've had no chocolate whatsoever, and one custard/fruit tart and a mouthful of cloudy lemonade a couple of days ago, when, in my defence, I was high as a kite on painkillers after being rear-ended on Monday. I haven't been to the gym this week yet (see previous sentence), but I'm on the road to recovery and planning to go back for a gentle session either tomorrow or Saturday. Where Do We Go Now, But Nowhere? Here's where. Weight - Right now, the primary target is getting back to One-derland (that's sub-200 for the uninitiated.) I'm only going to step on the scales on the 1st of each month, or thereabouts. The initial weigh-in I did was on the electronic scales at the gym, so I'll stick with that too. Food and Drink - Stick to the plan of no cakes, chocolate or fizzy drinks of any kind, possibly allowing for a slight relaxation of the rule between Christmas and New Year. Other than that, I'm not ruling any foods out. Drinks will be limited to water, coffee (no more than 1 a day, 2 at the weekend), and red wine or single malt whisky (which I'm growing increasingly fond of) at the weekend. No more eating late (i.e. anything after 8pm) as it triggers horrendous trapped wind episodes for me. I've had three in the past month, and the pain is like nothing I've ever experienced. Working out - the goal remains 3 a week for now, just building it up gradually. The current workout is as follows: Cross Trainer: I'm incrementally building it up by going up 1 level and 1 minute each progression. Started at one run of 5 minutes at level 5, and last visit had me doing one run of 11 at 11. Once I start getting comfortable at a level, I'll step it up. The end goal will probably be 15x15 twice in one workout, to start and finish. Treadmill: Fast walk, 6km/hr for 15 minutes. I might change this up as I go. Rowing: When time permits for now, do 1000 metres. I'm currently between 5-6 minutes. I'm going to aim to get closer to 4 minutes, just to see if I can. Physio: Always finish off with the exercises the physio has given me for my neck and shoulder. I've been discharged from physio now, I just need to keep on top of the mobility and make sure it doesn't recur. I Had a Dream, Joe Things in the works - besides the fact I want to get my ass back into reasonable shape by at least Christmas, I've got a couple of events in the calendar as motivation. At the end of January, I'm taking SWFS (SomeWifeFromScotland to any new followers) to see Miss Saigon for her birthday. It would be nice if I could get back into my suit by then. If not, I would at least like to not look like a complete schlub. Two weeks after that, I'll be going to hear Henry Rollins, one of my absolute heroes, speak in Glasgow. If it's at all possible, I'd like to get a chance to shake his hand and tell him what an inspiration he's been to me for the best part of 30 years. Finally, we'd made it our mission to go on a family holiday next summer, having not been abroad since 2012, and next June will be our 20th wedding anniversary, so we're off to Kusadasi in Turkey at the end of June. Need to be rocking that bikini bod. Papa Won't Leave You, Henry, So There Ain't No Need to Cry Finally, I've been in a better place of late. I need to make sure that continues. So, some non-food and fitness type goals to help me keep my head above the water as winter approaches. Don't Isolate! Stay connected to my NF family (Doodlies Assemble! Perkele!) Stick with my daily Bible recommended reading plan (read the entire Bible in 365 days, still on target) Make more time to paint and create That'll do, Donkey. Shall we?

So my new years resolution was to start being more active, eat better and get off the soda for good but I don't know where to start. I have the worst time committing to a workout routine and I can't resist the temptation of fast food and soda. What's the best way to kick my bad habits and lose the pounds.

Guess who's back?! (No, not Slim Shady....) It's been at least 6 months since I last took part in a proper challenge (holy crap, it's been so long!). I realize this one is coming a few days late, but I've had all kinds of shit going down lately and I'm slowly catching up. There's a lot to fill you all in on, but I'll do my best to give you as brief of a synopsis as possible before moving forward with my challenge goals. For those who don't know or remember me - HI! I'm your friendly neighbourhood Ranger-Cyborg who has a hankering for adventure, crafting, video games, and overall badassness. Last you guys really saw from me was a month or two after my second ICL surgery, where I had my contact lens implants replaced (hence the cyborg bit). Thankfully, everything is going great on that front! At the time, I was getting back into the crossfit game, doing some urbexing, and had recently purchased my replacement car after hit and run totaled my previous one. My boyfriend and I were living on the Massachusetts coast line and trying to get our collective 'stuff' together - sorting our individual mental health problems, improving the living situation, and doing general growing up/adulting. The present... I am continuing to go to therapy for depression and anxiety after starting last spring; it has been incredibly helpful, but opened up a lot of old wounds that never properly healed. Long term, this is good, but it has made me question a lot of things in my life. I became (and still am to some degree) unsure of my surroundings, priorities, and, most disturbingly, myself. It's brought about A LOT of introspective thought and having to figure out what's really important to me. I'm still working on it, it's not a done deal, but pieces are coming into place. I have a better idea of what path I need to be on. As for my car, I'm still loving the hell out of it, and she runs and drives like a dream. Even with the snow, ice, and low temps we've had recently, she's been swell! Now, onto some major changes. For starters, my job has been sucking the life out of me, and I've been looking to move on for a few months now. It's gotten to the point where I am just so apathetic about my work and it takes all of my effort to even get out of bed in the morning (granted, depression doesn't help with that). Luckily, a friend knew of a position that was opening at her company and offered to pass on my resume. Long story short, I should be receiving an offer letter in my inbox any day now Received the offer today - JOB ACCEPTED!! Time for the next steps Secondly, Shaun and I are no longer together. I came to the realization during my introspection that I wasn't happy in my relationship and hadn’t been for a long time. There were a number of factors involved - some had been there since the beginning, and others had come up over the last year. Ultimately, I ended it, but it's turned into a bit of a nasty situation. In any case, I have moved in with my college friend for the foreseeable future. Even with this big bad thing slowly settling itself in the background, it's brought about some good things too - I'll be closer to my new job, I have unlimited access to my friend-turned-roommate's 3 kitties (Max, Momo, and Goober), and I've made new friends and am working on strengthening my pre-existing relationships. I've also started seeing someone else, which has been an adventure in and of itself (especially since I was not expecting to get into anything new for a while, nor was I looking for it. It just kinda...happened). Lastly, due to my move, I am no longer participating in crossfit. It’s not something I want to give up completely, but I’m going to have to hold off for a bit because of the way my finances are right now. I’m bummed about it, but I gotta do what I gotta do. I think that’s all the big, or at least the most prevalent, stuff that tends to show up in my posts. So, shall we move along to the goals?

Let's do it. I have been trying to get in better shape for a while. I used to be more active but a lot of people say that. It is hard sometimes to remember where I used to be in many aspects of my life. I want to be more reliable physically, increase my endurance and strength and become more capable physically and mentally. There are so many resources out there and I want to use them efficiently and NF is one of those communities I want to be an active part of. i'm going to try to keep up the theme of 'official /technical reporting' in my challenges, mostly as a creative exercise. First Challenge [02/29/16 - 03/25/16] Code Name: "Nemean Lion" Main Quest: Increase physical activity and improve fuel source utilization S.M.A.R.T Quests: i) Reduce soda and sugary beverage intake to x ≤ 12 fl. oz. in one day ii) Ensure fruit intake to x > 1 cup in one day and vegetable intake to x > 1 cup in one day iii) Complete x ≥ 20 minutes of moderate cardiovascular exercise (RUNNING/JOGGING) 3 times per week. Life Quest: Read x ≥ 60 minutes in one day. Reward: Submit order request: One [1] book "Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six." Motivation: "it does not matter how slow you go as long as you do not stop" :HoosierNerd

The No Soda PVP Challenge (Other Noxious Beverages may be substituted) I am throwing down the gauntlet in personal challenge to any and all nerds who have a soda habit and want to kill that damned sucker! Note: If your nemesis is another beverage you want to kick, you can play, too! Just make the necessary substitution in your post. Soda addiction is THE major obstacle to my weight loss goal at this point and I am creating this challenge out of sheer frustration. I resist for days, only to eventually succumb to the combined allure of cold wetness, sugar, and caffeine. And the temptations will only get stronger as the weather heats up. (I live in Phoenix, AZ, USA.) The only way I can see myself kicking this is through a PVP where I activate my competitive streak and risk extreme humiliation if I fail. I do not want to celebrate my first Nerdversary (May 30) having failed to beat this thing. No cheat days, no "just a sip," no excuses. 100% soda free for 47 days straight. How about you? What dream is your soda habit keeping you from achieving? What does it cost you in terms of health, happiness, and self-respect? What level do you choose and how many days are you willing to target? Are you in? C'mon. I dare you. Are you nerd enough? (Signup directions below, along with the roster of players.)

Greetings! I'm proud of myself, I did really well during the Jan 4-29 challenge and I've formed some good habits by sticking to my goals last month. One I am really proud of is no soda! I need to keep breaking bad habits this month. Here are my challenge goals: Diet: start cutting out other sugary drinks - by last week of challenge consume none Diet: start limiting processed foods - 1 meal/day Paleo Fitness: work out 4x/week with at least 2 days of yoga each week Level Up Life: Get 8 hours of sleep during work week. I've also been walking when weather allows and counting my miles towards the Walk to Mordor challenge. I'm not very far yet, but I've recently re-read the LOTR books and am really enjoying the process. Can't wait for warmer weather when I can really rack up some miles!

I debated on what to call this thread and what to write here. This isn't my first challenge but in a way it is. See I've been here before. I joined NF back in November of 2012 and did a lot of challenges. Last year I tried, emphasis on TRIED, to comeback and called it a respawn but I don't want that again. Hello 2016, goodbye old threads and old Jonesy! Long Term Quest : I can't get away from this quest until I work my butt off, literally. I can't wait until I conquer this quest but for now, losing weight is my long term quest. Over the course of the next 2 years I want to lose 150lbs. Main Quest: I want to stop wheeze every time I have to run upstairs or walk farther than normal. I want my lower back spasms from bending down, to go away. I want to be able to walk without my lower back muscles contracting and cramping. Seriously, it puts a damper on window shopping and walking 5Ks! I sort of miss doing 5Ks. Exercise/Food: 1. Go to the gym at least 4 times. M gym membership payment gets reimbursed from my work if I go 4 times a month. There is no good reason I should not be doing this. Grading : A 4+, B 3, C 2, D 1, F 0 2. Stretch and strengthen lower back, knees, arms & shoulders 2 times a week. Back in Junior High School, I had to do physical therapy for my lower back because of a sports injury. Every day I would do my stretches in Pyscial Education while all the other kids did different warm ups. Doing these again with some new stretches added in will be a great way to help with my main quest. Grading - How many days I stretched : A 8+, B 5-7, C 2-4, D 1, F 0 3. Limit soda to 1 can a day. I've been drinking way to much soda. Kind of goes hand in hand with eating poorly for me. Grading - How many days without soda : A 26+, B 18-25, C 13-17, D 10-13, F 0-9 Life: 1. Read 4 books this challenge. I'm the leader of a book club and we read 3 books a month. Last year I fell behind and have to make up on a lot of reading in order to be caught up on books this year. I currently have 9 books I need to get caught up on. I won't be making that difficult goal but I have in 1 month but I can get 4 in if I cut back on Netflix. Books : Magic Slays, Death Masks, Slave to Sensation & The Geomancer (Switched out Black Widow with Slave to Sensation because library did not get in Black Widow in time) Goodreads Profile Grading : A 4+, B 3, C 2, D 1, F 0 Starting Weight : 329 lbs

Every time I get an email from NF, or spend time re-reading Academy articles, I am motivated to dump out all my pop and drink water (doing this right now). This has happened multiple times but I always start pop again very shortly after, Hope it sticks this time!

Priscillia Keeps It Simple Don't worry, we'll get to the dragons next time (I hope)... I'm not feeling very creative in the challenge front, all I want is to cement some stuff from last challenge and take advantage of the gorgeous weather while I sort through some life/adulting crap. For the Soul Take a walk, run, bodyweight workout, play in the jungle gym, just SOMETHING outside once per week 'Cause being cooped up inside sucks. It's actually pretty and decent temperature wise, so I want to go outside. It'll also bring back some habits from a previous challenge last year (before the snow really hit). For the Mind Daily Meditation (1-5 minutes, preferably first thing in the morning) Try to be positive I found that daily meditations (esp in the mornings) have made my work days so much nicer. Unless I'm doing a yoga class with meditation time, this is EVERY DAY. I will also try to be positive about stuff, because the other people I live with aren't. Also because when you're being positive it attracts opportunities (this one won't be tracked, but I feel like I need to at least write it down to slooooowly start). For the Body 1 soda at home per week max 1 treat from the work kitchen per week Drink tea like a madwoman (okay, and water ) I've realized last challenge that I don't drink much soda at work (in fact it's tea, hot chocolate (if I'm on a bender) and mainly water) so I won't preoccupy myself with that. Work treats in the kitchen are a different story. Same for soda at home, though I now have this 2L ice tea (like, made with loose leaf teas) jug at home I'm digging. Boss Battle: The Garage Start going through storage stuff in my Dad's garage I'm going to be moving out sometime this year (I hope), so I need to get rid of stuff that just doesn't mesh with me any more. I also need to find out what I DO have so I can cover more bases. MOTIVATION To feel better, more energetic and stronger. To regain control and not let the crazies affect me. To start the next chapter in my life on a good base to build upon.

THE DARK LADY PRISCILLIA Will become a total BAMF in life and profession. 'Cause BAMFs are awesome. WELCOME TO THE DARK SIDE Where curses get thrown like candy (but we don't eat those, though we could steal them from little kids to make them cry...) and minions fall down like the cannon fodder they are! CrucioImperioAvada KedavraMinionsDistopia CRUCIO +2 STR +3 STA Pain Tolerance for pole classesLeg Raises on non pole days (might add different things later)I shall learn to love the pain! ALL THE PAIN! So during pole classes/Jams, the goal is to tolerate the pain for a few more seconds every time UNTIL I GET IT. IMPERIO +3 DEX +2 WIS Daily Relaxation (Yoga, Meditation, Trigger Ball/Roller, Stretches, Bath)Theraputty (3-5x per week) (just upping the amount since I'm doing more pole)The Imperio curse makes you feel like you're floating on air, it relaxes you immediately... To help force my will upon the meager peasants I need to learn to control myself, and my stress first. Hopefully it'll also keep more cannon fod-ahem- minions, alive. AVADA KEDAVRA +2 CON +3 CHA Defeat the Sugar MonsterWeek 1-2, 3x per week allowed MAX at homeWeek 3-4, 2x MAXWeek 5, 1 ONLYBy week 6, NO SODASSame for treats in the work kitchen...Those damn Light Wizards keep eating all these sweets and are corrupting my minions (who are hiding amongst them!). DAMN THEM. So I shall lead by example and conquer their stupid Sugar Monster. Because I'm a Dark Lady. And I'm a BAMF (or at least one in training). (yes, this is soda at home, treats at work. I'll work on soda at work later... and then get back to the grains) MINIONS MINIMIZE! Sell/donate/get rid of things you don't need!Sort through paperworkI'm going to be moving out sometime this year, so I need to get rid of all my useless minions. They're not worthy of knowing the location of my super Dark Evil Fortress of Doom. BUILDING MY DISTOPIA The location of my super Dark Evil Fortress of Doom has not been chosen. I need to continue to build my business foundation to create my fortress! Continue business development for an income property. MOTIVATION To feel better, more energetic and stronger. To regain control and not let the crazies affect me. To start the next chapter in my life on a good base to build upon. ... now I need to add some Bellatrix gifs later

Hi all! I've done a bit with my daily battle log, and it's been up and down, as I try to work out how to get going. You know how in The Fellowship of the Ring (the book), Gandalf tells Frodo about the ring, and Frodo proceeds to sit around his hobbit hole for a few months eating a lot of breakfasts, and even once he truly gets going on his quest, he still spends way too much time chilling with Tom Bombadil? It's been like that. I need a challenge - something I can fail at to drive me to succeed. I need Black Riders running after me. Main Quest: Obese no more. This means losing about 100 pounds. Quest 1: Stop drinking sodas and sugary drinks by the end of this challenge. Currently I have about a 5 a week soda habit. I plan to taper off as follows: 4 sodas in week 13 sodas in week 22 sodas in week 31 soda in week 4last two weeks NO SODAS. Two whole weeks without a soda is better than I've done for about 3 months. Quest 2: Exercise 3 days a week - at least 15 minutes for high intensity (BBWW) and 30 minutes for moderate intensity (fast walking). I want to maintain success on this quest throughout the entire challenge - 3 days a week is not that hard. I should be able to do it. One major liability: I have surgery on Thursday, November 13. However, it is not the type of surgery that should stop a person from hopping on a treadmill. According to my doctor, there may be some pain the weekend following the surgery, but mainly I will be recovering from the effects of anesthesia for 2 days and I should be basically fine. Walking is highly recommended as soon as possible following surgery, and I should be able to get back to squatting and lunging within a week or two, depending on pain. At any rate, even if i'm just going for walks the week after surgery, I CAN exercise that week. No excuses short of completely unexpected results. Oh, and what's that other thing that might interfere with exercise during the next 6 weeks? Oh yeah, the holidays. Holiday shopping, particularly. No excuses though - 3 days a week. Quest 3: By the end of the challenge, track my meals every single day. For some reason, daily tracking strikes me as hard. But it's also what leads to the most success for me with weight loss. So I will work my way up as follows: Track 5 days in week 1Track 6 days in week 2Track 6 days in week 3Track 7 days weeks 4-6Life quest: Put $100 in savings. Savings is tough right now, and I'm working on a long term goal of having $1000 backup and then chipping away at debt after I have backup established. I am prepared for the holidays, thankfully - I've spent the year putting savings away each month specifically for holiday shopping. But $100 is still a major accomplishment during the holidays, because this is the time of year that I am most likely to eat out. Motivation: I want to keep adventuring for my whole life. Perhaps this is just the luck of genetics, but I have avoided pretty much all of the chronic diseases of obesity. I have only recently started having some issues with my blood pressure, but even that isn't yet at a point where I need medication. I can control my blood pressure with diet. I SHOULD control the blood pressure with diet. Additionally, my doctor pointed out to me that although I don't appear to be at risk for any chronic disease based on my current status, we all suffer joint degeneration as we age, and I will suffer far less if there is less weight on my joints. I like being an independent person. I like being able to go where I want and do what I like. I will better be able to keep doing that if I lose weight. Once the 6 weeks is up, I can make it up to Level 2! And that's awesome, because I LOVE leveling up. Seriously. I have done SO much blacksmithing in Skyrim just to level up. It's an addiction, albeit a great addiction for the purposes of this challenge. Here is what I plan for point allocation: Quest 1: Stop drinking sodas and sugary drinks: CON - 3 Quest 2: Exercise 3 days a week: STA - 2 STR - 2 Quest 3: track my meals every single day: WIS - 3 CHA - 2 Life Quest: Put $100 in savings: WIS - 3 I believe that's everything I need. Of course this is my first quest, so if there's anything I've left out, please let me know!

Just wanted to share I'm on day 10 of going cold turkey from pop/soda. As a 34 year old male who's been drinking easily 2 cans of Diet for easily half my life, it's a big deal. Here's to 10 more days and then 10 years!

As I looked back at my life, I realized that I had never really put in effort. Not just toward fitness, but toward anything. I had spent 24 years coasting through life on my cleverness. But not anymore. Not after what happened yesterday. I was sitting in my comfortable home in the village when I saw smoke rising in the distance. There was way too much smoke to be just a campfire. I started running. Forest fires are terrible things if they get out of hand, and it was up to everyone to do their part to prevent them. Unfortunately, I was terribly out of shape and was panting and had to slow down to a walk before long. I swore at myself. "If this is bad, it's your fault. If you could run further you might have been able to stop it." I hadn't even seen what was going on yet and already I was blaming myself. So I forced myself on as fast as I could, jogging when possible and walking when I was too tired. Once I covered the ground I saw that there seemed to be some kind of fight going on. A group of all kinds were fighting against a dragon. Despite their numbers, they kept being driven back. But no matter how many times they fell down they kept getting up. Some of them had grievous wounds and I was amazed at their perseverance. After I stood and stared for a while one of them noticed me. "We could use a little help, you know," the stranger said, with the slightest smile on his face, as if this were just another day. At this point I realized that I knew nothing that could help them. Faced with a life or death situation, I realized that my quick wit had absolutely no value. Filled with embarrassment that I was of no use whatsoever, I hung my head. I think the stranger knew what that meant, because he went back to fighting the dragon. Shortly after this, the beast was slain. Knowing basic first aid I tried to help tend to the wounded. I was amazed that despite the fact that I had done nothing to help these people seemed to accept and encourage me. After a short time the stranger approached me. "I'm so--" I started, but the stranger cut me off. "There's no need to apologize. Everyone starts somewhere. Just promise me one thing." "What's that?" "The next time you find us, come prepared." I nodded, and he walked away. The people were all leaving, most of their own accord. The ones who were having trouble were being supported by others. I was a truly inspiring site. When I got back to my village I learned that those were the fabled guilds. I had always thought that they were separate and that there was great competition between them but I learned that when it was necessary they would work together flawlessly, putting any and all animosity aside for the greater good. So today when I woke up, I started to develop a plan. A plan to get into shape. A plan to be able to both cover distance quickly and have the strength to fight afterward. Eventually I would pick which guild I wanted to join, but for now I just had to get started. But I had learned from others' mistakes: I knew I had to start slowly. So here, written down, is my plan. MAIN GOAL: Run a Tough Mudder A friend of mine is trying to convince me to sign up for one in September. I'll decide at the end of this challenge if I want to sign up for that one or wait a while before trying one. I'd also like to lose fat and gain muscle, but that will come with the training. The first thing to do is to stop poisoning myself. Diet Goal: Drink Less Soda Week 1,2: <=4 sodas/week Week 3,4: <= 3 sodas/week Week 5,6: <= 2 sodas/week The second thing I need to do is learn how to cover any distance. Fitness Goal: Ride My Bike Week 1: Ride my bike one-way (to or from work) once Week 2: Ride round-trip once Week 3,4: Ride round-trip once, and one-way once Week 5,6: Ride round-trip twice The third thing I need to do is gain speed, so I can cover the distance quicker. Fitness Goal: Sprint Week 1: Beep test Week 2,3: Sprint workout once Week 4,5: Sprint workout twice Week 6: Sprint workout twice + beep test Grading for all goals is the same: A for all 6 weeks on target B for 5 weeks on target C for 4 weeks on target Starting Stats (as of 4/16/14) Height: 5'7" Weight: 156.6 lbs. Neck: 15.125" Chest: 39.875" Waist: 34.5" Bicep: 12" Thigh: 21.5" As I looked over my plan, it seemed like it could work. Next time, I'll be ready.

About the time I started working at McDonald's, I suddenly lost the desire to drink pop. I've been sticking with it ever since. I quit smoking much the same way a few years ago. I've also started eating salads at work for my employee meal. I've just been levelling up all over.the place! I finally.checked my credit score, and this month will be my first payment towards play tuition so I can go back to school. Guess.who feels like a real grown-up?

Hi! If sugary sodas are your nemesis, like they are mine, and you are participating in the upcoming 6 Week Challenge, you may want to check out this Player vs. Player (PVP) challenge. Hope to see you there and we can all work on kicking those empty calories out of our diets together, using some friendly competition!

If sugary sodas are your nemesis, like they are mine, and you are participating in the upcoming 6 Week Challenge, you may want to check out this Player vs. Player (PVP) challenge. Hope to see you there and we can all work on kicking those empty calories out of our diets together!

A little under a year ago, my wife and I discovered Soda Stream. The Soda Stream machine is what carbonates our tap water, and the Soda Stream syrups are what add the flavoring. My question is, does anyone know if this stuff is good? Because it really does taste good. And looking at the nutritional label, I see good stuff... 1. No preservatives 2. No high-fructose corn syrup 3. 35 calories per 8 oz glass 4. 8 grams of sugar 5. 8 grams of carbs 6. 10 grams of sodium This seems too good to be true. It tastes better than the brand name stuff, and is relatively cheap. I've gotta know if there's some sort of catch to this thing, because comparing 8 grams of sugar for a cola versus 27 grams of sugar for a Coke seems really good. I really like my soda, and I am trying to cut down, but is this stuff okay to enjoy every so often? You can compare their own nutritional facts to other sodas at http://www.sodastreamusa.com/TasteNutritionInfo.aspx

I was a poster child for the cola companies. I probably went through at least 2 12-packs of sugary sodas throughout the week and weekend at home, and several 20 ounce bottles per day at work. I started phasing them out about a month ago, backing down one less can this day, one less bottle and can this day, etc. Now I'm a water-addicted freak, and I'm down 21 pounds. I haven't had a pepsi, mountain dew, or other form of liquid sugary death in a week. I've done this before, the longest I managed was 3 months before "rewarding myself" became "full on soda binge", but I just don't see myself going back to drinking in excess of 1500 liquid calories a day after this. Woot! I'm Soda-Free!

Hey all! I'm back after getting married and shooting canons for four months! However, the summer took it's toll on me physically and mentally. It was a rough one with all sorts of stress and backstage drama and I developed some unhealthy habits that I need to get rid of, so this challenge is all about fixing those things. Main Challege: Get back on track! -This challenge isn't about any major goals, changes, or anything of the like for me. It's all about evaluation, making small changes, and moving forward. I'm at a point in my life, career, and health where I need to focus and re-evaluate. Goal 1: No Soda -I'm not a huge fan of soda and honestly don't like the taste that much. But, in the summer when I live without air conditioning, I drink a lot of it for caffeine and sugar to get through my shows at night. Basically, Dr. Pepper and I have become too good of friends the past few weeks. This is an absolute. I will drink no soda during the course of this challenge, no exceptions. I've gone years doing this before, so I know it's totally doable, I just need to have a little bit of willpower. Goal 2: Get outside and move -I just spent all summer living in the woods, doing an active job, and spending a lot of time outside. Now that I'm back in a city apartment, it's incredibly easy to spend all of my time inside or at work. So, for this challenge, I'm committing to spending at least 3 hours outside moving each week. This can be broken up in any amount (if I go for a 3 hour long hike one day, it counts. If I go for 6 30 minute walks, it also counts). This is all about forming the habit of going outside and moving instead of spending all my off time on my couch and computer. Goal 3: One Paleo meal a day -I was in a situation this summer where I didn't have very much money due to having to pay rent on my apartment in DC for the majority of it. Because of this, I ended up back on a pasta-heavy diet due to food costs. To help get back on track with healthy eating, I'm committing to 1 Paleo meal each day. It doesn't matter which meal or how big it is (for example, I had a banana for breakfast today and, because I'm moving back into my apartment and won't have time to go shopping until tomorrow, that may be what counts today. It's not ideal, but it's a start), as long as it's paleo. Life side quest: I'm at a place where I'm waiting to hear about a job that would be full-time and year-round, which is a huge change for me. Whether I get it or not, I'm at a point in my career where I need to sit down and evaluate what I want out of my work and what my goals are. So, sometime during this challenge, I'm going to sit down and think about where I want to be in 5 years, what I want to actually do with my life, and a few basic career goals (that go beyond my current "never work retail again"). So, that's this challenge. All of this is completely doable, it's just a matter of getting it done. It's all about the little changes that will eventually lead to a happy, healthier me, instead of doing too much at once (which is always my problem across the board).