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Soooo, this is about good habits and sleep. 3 weeks of work travel straight is a good way to fall into workaholic habits especially if you're prone to them (which I am), so let's re-establish some work-life balance and get back to the point where I'm not trying to also work in my dreams again plz. Simply: Get home by 6:30 every day Sleep 7-9 hours per night move at least 30 minutes every morning Continue with good food habits Make an appointment to get what I think is new-onset Raynaud's syndrome* checked out and otherwise be more proactive in advocating for myself on the health front going forward mainly cuz I have a bad habit of ignoring things until they become impossible to ignore. Five goals. That's it, that's all. *My hands and feet turn a lovely shade of corpse-white in the cold this past few weeks. And go numb. Not even super cold. If I'm outside long enough to scrape off the car and it's colder than -5C out, my hands are pulling the corpse look. With gloves on. And then it burns when warming up. Raynaud's is symptomatic of a number of nasties, several of which run in families and which I've got family histories of, including the connective tissue disorder that runs in my family.

"I'm prepared to scour the the Earth for that motherfucker. If (ENERGY) goes to Indochina, I want a n*#$$# waiting in a bowl of rice ready to pop a cap in (her) ass!" last challenge was nothing to write home about. life happend an i was mostly overwhelmed. i want to find a way to keep building my own business as a social worker, studying psychology, moving, reducing cigarettes and losing weight without it being too much to handle. so im back with a new set of mini - goals intended to maximize my physical and mental energy. GOAL I "You remember Antoine Roccamora, half black, half Samoan, used to call him Tony Rocky Horror? "Yeah, maybe. Fat, right?" " I wouldn't go so far as to call the brother fat, I mean he got a weight problem. What's the n*#$$# gonna do? He's Samoan." week 1: prepare 3 healthy dinners for the week. start each day with a bowl of quinoa, fruit, eggs, selfmade muffins or oats.week 2: prepare 5 healthy dinners for the week. start each day with healthy food like described above.week 3: prepare 5 healthy dinners for the week. also prep 3 meals to take to work. selfmade breakfast.week 4-6: prepare 5 healthy dinners for the week. healthy breakfast. take food if you are away from home at lunchtime. no fastfood until end of challenge.count calories at myfitnesspal daily.lose 3 kg this challenge to finally get into the double digits ( 99 kg/ 218 lbs) dont gain because of quitting smoking.GOAL II So,tell me again about the hashbars? Okay, what you wanna know? Hash is legal there in Amsterdam, right? Yeah, it's legal, but it ain't a hundred percent legal. I mean, you can't just walk into a restaurant, roll a joint and start puffing away. You're only supposed to smoke in your home or certain designated places. And those are hashbars? Yeah. It breaks down like this: it's legal to buy it, it's legal to own it, and, if you're the proprietor of a hash bar, it's legal to sell it. It's still illegal to carry it around, but that doesn't really matter 'cause... get a load of this: if you get stopped by the cops in Amsterdam, it's illegal for them to search you. I mean, that's a right the cops in Amsterdam don't have. [laughing] I'm going, that's all there is to it, I'm fuckin' going. Yeah baby, you'd dig it the most. i dont smoke weed. still the cigarettes need to go. ive tried to quit several times during last challenge and went literally insane. now i have ben reducing them which is usually not recommened but works well for me. during last challenge i reduced to 23. this challenge i want to get down to 20/ a day.week 1 reduce to 22week 3 reduce to 21week 5 reduce to 20changed goal: stop smoking completely on monday 09.23th. battle plan.... nicotine patch. GOAL III i want to get more physical energy and improve my mood. i have almost recovered from my inflamed archilles-tendons. a trial run showed that i can run a mile almost without pain. still i need to be careful.i get back to my playout concept of giving myself the option to move in whatever way i want. there is 3 rules though:1) move at least 2 hours for week 1 - 3 of the challenge. week 4 - 6: make that 3 hoursnew goal: move at least 1 hour a day, get sweaty at least once a day.2) go move in nature at least once a week and stay outside for an hour 3) this challenge its about getting back into it with playfulness. no improvement necessary! GOAL IV during last challenge i had to fight insomnia. goal for this one is to get back to good sleeping habits and using plant based pills ( non of the adictive, bad stuff!)sleep 8 - 9 hours every night.( weird, but i need that much to function..) not more, not less.prepare going to bed by calming down ( read, listen to soft music, dim the light, get the right temperature and fresh air into bedroom....)

**********quick note: the links are to songs that popped into my head as I was writing this. I'm going to think of them as the soundtrack to my challenge********** The Motivation: Doomsday I'm a graduate student; I'm getting a PhD. Now, this may sound impressive but let me quickly disabuse you of the notion: in reality, this means I'm an indentured servant. That's right folks, I've sold my soul to my PI (<-stands for principal investigator, aka the professor I'm working with to get my PhD) and so for the next four to five years (I'm two years in) the term 'work-life balance' is a far off mythical dream-- just kidding! This is NerdFitness! There are no such things as far off mythical dreams, only goals you work towards...right? For two years, I've been watching my fellow graduate students pack on the pounds, get bags under their eyes, break out, freak out, and complain constantly... then (July 15th) I realized that I was the pot calling the kettle black. Accordingly, the epic quest, the dream, the giant monster that must ultimately be vanquished to this sound track: establish some vestige of work-life balance. Because my graduate school friends are mostly miserable, they aren't the most supportive crayons in the box (assuming crayons can be supportive). They tend to look at me, say that I need to not make them look bad (by trying to work out more, trying to sleep more, etc), and then move on. Terrible! So, I'm turning to the rebel army for support. The Goals Goal the first: Warrior's Call With very little time (can anyone say 60+ hour weeks?) and even less energy, getting my butt to the gym is a struggle. Since I’m currently training for the level 1 test in Krav Maga, I need to slay this monster. Goal: Go to the gym 4x a week, at least two of these sessions have to be Krav Maga (24+ gym sessions total, 12+ of which are krav) Grading: I'll give myself a point for each gym visit and track them weekly A: 24+ pts (12+ pts krav) B: 18-23pts (9-11 pts krav) C: 12-17pts (6-8 pts krav) D: 6-11pts (3-5 pts krav) F: <6pts Loot: Awesome workout clothes! RYU women's fight shorts Since I’ll be increasing my weekly workout schedule from 2-3 times a week to 4+, not only will this improve my strength and dexterity, but it should also increase my overall stamina. Goal the second: Summit I need to get on a schedule! Or at least some semblance of one... Goal: make 2 slight changes to my life 4 days a week (not necessarily on the same day) for a total of 8 changes. Slight change one: get to work by 8:30am 4+ days a week Slight change two: get 7+ hours of sleep 4+ nights a week Grading: each change will be 1pt (2pts max per day) A: 48+ pts B: 36-47 pts C: 24-35pts D: 12-23pts F: <12pts Loot: TBD Goal the third: Jump Around I’m in pretty good shape, but I haven’t been able to get under 140lbs for the past 3 years (graduate school isn’t kind to fitness goals). That ends now. Using some of the principles from this site, I want to exceed my goal and get down to 138lbs. I'm also working out ALOT as a part of this challenge: if I can't get down to 138lbs because I'm adding muscle while loosing fat, I don't want to fail if I'm actually meeting my aesthetic goals. Accordingly, I can also beat this goal by getting down to 20% body fat. Goal: Get weight down to 138lbs or 20% BF Grading: A: 138lbs or less OR 20-21% BF B: 138.1-140lbs OR 21-22% BF C:140.1-142lbs OR 22-24% BF D:142.1-144lbs OR 24-25%BF F: 144.1+lbs OR 25% BF Loot: TBD Starting Stats: Goal related: Gym: 2-3x a week (working on increasing to 4+) Sleep: 3-5 hours a night (working on increasing to 7+) Work: Arrive between 7:30am-10:30am (working on getting there by 8:30am) Weight: 145lbs Other: Female Height: 5'4'' BF%: ~25% (photo method) Squat: 50lbs Deadlift: 40lbs Pullups: 2 (unassisted) Running mile: 12:34 Swimming mile: 38:47 Progress Tracker If you have any suggestions (music, fitness, or otherwise), I'd love to hear them!

Nerd Fitness: Six Week Challenge 29 July 2013 – 8 September 2013 Action Plan Pick Three goals that work TOWARDS my main goal. Specific Measurable Countable Track-able Pick One life-related side quest, called my “Life Quest.†Anything to do with life not directly fitness related. Does not need to take a lot of time. Has to be challenging for me. The Main Quest Goal By September 2014 I Want to be in the MOST Fit Shape of My Life. The Underlying (Six Week) Quest Goal Build Muscle, Get Stronger, Lose Fat, and Prepare for a 30 Day Juice Fast Commitment I want to achieve with Underlying Quest Go to Gym at least Five Days a Week for the Next Six Weeks and Stay at least Two Hours Each Day Time frame I want to achieve Underlying Quest Goal Six Weeks How I benefit by achieving this goal By Achieving this Goal I Will Improve My Health, Feel Better, Look More Attractive, and Set Myself Up to Succeed at Completing a 30 Day Juice Fast. What's My Motivation? My Motivation for My Main Quest is to Be Healthy for Myself and for My Family. Within the Next Year I Want to Achieve More Physical Fitness than I've Ever Achieved. With a Solid Level of Fitness I Will Feel Better about Who I Am and I Will Maximize My Chances to Have a Successful Business and a Great Family Life. The Life Quest Complete My First Coursera Course (notice I said COMPLETE and not START). -Rather coincidentally, there is a six week Coursera course that goes on for the exact time frame of this challenge in a field of study that I've been wanting to dive into: Exercise Physiology. -I will complete this course and organize my notes from the course to provide freely on my website. -I will obtain a certificate for completion and officially begin my journey into being a professional fitness guru! I'm an aspiring Ranger (woot, woot) so feel free to hit me up if you want to take on this Six Week Challenge as a team! -Anton