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So I know it has been a while since I have posted. There has been some stuff going on but mostly working out at work during lunch with my co-workers. So the level of accountability has been pretty good. However, I felt that I needed to reconnect with this community because of all the great ideas and encouragement that everyone provides! So let's see if I remember how to do this: Fitness Update: Currently I am training for 2 things in September. The first of which will coincide with the end of this challenge! September 9th I am running a Spartan Super race. It will be my second Spartan race and 4th obstacle race. I am really looking forward to it since 2015 was the last Spartan race I have done and I loved it. I am doing it in Michigan so if any of my fellow assassins or rebels in general are going to be there, let me know! The second thing I am training for is a half marathon. I did the race last year with my coworker and we are signed up to do it again this year. The nice part is our work is paying for the entry so all we have to do is train for it. I am feeling like I have run more in preparation than I did last year so that is a positive. How am I going to achieve these goals you ask? 1. Master Class 2.0 For those of you that have done the You Are Your Own Gym program before you will be familiar with the program hopefully. I have actually done this one 2x before (once in 2015 and once this past spring). However, I am stepping it up a little this time through the program. I have condensed the program a bit so there are less rest days in between so that I will finish it a week before the Spartan race. So currently I am on Week 6 Day 1 today and I will complete Week 7 Day 2 on Saturday this week. Sundays I have been taking off. So far I have not noticed any side effects from doing things this way. Most weeks I end up combining 2 of the workouts in the same day so I end up getting 2 days off (usually abs and pull happen together). So the goal for this challenge will be to complete the remaining 24 workouts (starting today). Complete: 0/24 2. Run for Fun! I know some of you will say that run and fun do not belong in the same sentence but I have been enjoying running recently. I think there are 2 things that have helped me. First, I have recruited my wife! She is part of the Hogwarts Running Club and has been following them for a while. Last year I got her to do a color run with me. We didn't train as much for that one so we ended up doing a run/walk for the 5K but made it through. This year, we are doing a little more of a stretch goal and aiming for a 10K. Last week she was able to complete a 5K without walking! The race is at the end of September so we have a little bit to go before the race but I think we will make it. Right now the goal is to run 3x per week with her. Complete: 0/15 (Including this week) 3. Yoga Time I have been trying to incorporate more yoga into my routine mostly for the stretching aspect. So in the mornings I am trying to get up before work and do some yoga. Last week, I was aiming for more consistent sleep so I skipped out on the yoga (except for Saturday), but I would like to make it more consistent than that. So my goal is to complete 5 yoga session per week. For those of you wondering, yes it will be using the NerdFitness Yoga videos! Complete: 0/25 4. Eat all the (right) things! I have been doing a better job recently of cleaning up my diet. It is not super clean but it is getting there. The next big hurdle for me is eliminating late night snacking. I have a tendency to eat really well at lunch (I pack my own for work). Dinner is usually also decent, but then comes the 9 o'clock munchies... Usually it happens while we are watching a movie, Netflix, or TV show. It wouldn't be bad if I have a greek yogurt or something healthy but at that time of night, we all know what kind of things are consumed. So my goal for this challenge will be to only eat healthy snacks, if any at all, past 8PM. Complete: 0/28

It was a warm sunny fall afternoon. Assassins were playing tag in the playground, when all the sudden out of the woods came a man. He was wearing a hoodie hoping to go unnoticed. Then from the playground someone shouted, "Isn't that Mikroftt?!?! He has been gone for so long!" Mikroftt takes off his hood and steps out from the treeline. "Yes," he says, "It is I." The assassins come over to him and all greet him. "Welcome back!" they say. "It is good to be back." he replies. For the past few months, I have been absent for the most part from this wonderful group. I have been checking in once in a while but not nearly as often as I should. I have been working out at lunch with a co-worker in our work gym. I have noticed a big improvement in strength over that time, as we were mostly doing weight lifting. However, I wanted to change things up a bit and get back to body weight training, so I decided to see where the next challenge was. Looks like I checked at just the right time! 1) YAYOG (+3 STR +3 STA) - I have started the Master's Class workout again. I am on week 4 so by the end of the challenge I will be on week 8/9 of 10 weeks. So by the start of next challenge the goal will be to complete the Master's class. On off days, I want to do yoga so that I have some consistency in exercise. 2) Plank (+3 DEX) - When working out with my co-worker, we did a plank series and made it up to 3 minutes. I would like to try the Spartan 300 plank this time. 3) Lesson Prep (+3 WIS) - Another change this fall has been that I have taken over leadership of the youth group. The other guy is still involved but he is busy with some other things and wants me to have the opportunity to lead. We have weekly meetings on Sunday night so my goal will be to prepare a lesson each week before Sunday afternoon. To kick things off in style, I have a half marathon this weekend. I am hoping to finish in under 2 hours but we will see. I am doing it with my coworker so it should be a good time either way.

The last three weeks were great, what with driving „home“ to visit the family and meeting everybody that I haven’t seen in six months, and receiving awesome presents like a Tardis cookie jar with sound effects. Yay. For my figure, however, the last three weeks were really, really bad. I didn’t expect anything else, to be honest. Whenever I am home my mom and grandmom act as if I might starve if they don’t feed me copious portions of food whenever possible, and then there’s the cookies. My mom made ten different kinds, my grandmom made thirteen different kinds. Sigh. And I can’t just not eat them, I’d feel guilty if I didn’t. And after all that eating I wasn’t in the mood for doing sports at all, so I did nothing, absolutely nothing. However, I am determined to get back on track right away now that I am back. So, in the next four weeks I will get back my momentum. These are going to be my quests: Quest 1: As usual bodyweight training with the YAYOG App. I’m still stuck at the Basic program, but I am getting a little bit stronger every day and one day I will actually make it to First Class, at least that’s what I tell myself every time my weak arms give out under me. Quest2: One yoga session per week, generally one the Nerd Fitness Yoga sessions Star A, Star B or Deep Stretching Quest3: To get off of the biscuit eating habit that is trying to establish itself after the last three weeks, I will not have any sweets after dinner. Life Quest: My sister’s birthday is in early February. I will make a birthday present for her. This is gonna be interesting, mainly because I have no idea what to make, yet. For Christmas I made this: https://www.dropbox.com/s/g7z2fsncjou9xah/File%2004-01-16%2014%2020%2027.jpeg?dl=0 The banner says “If life annoys you throw glitter on it.†It’s all edible sugar décor, because my sister is a pastry chef and loves baking. I’m open to suggestions what I could make for my sister. She loves everything Sheepworld (and has pretty much everything they make by now), baking and making pralines.

Quest 1: YAYOG four days a week. I have gotten used to doing YAYOG during the last two challenges and I still like this kind of training, so I’m going to keep it as my quest number one. I’ve finished the 10 week basic program of the YAYOG app. However, I had to adapt many of the arm exercises to waay easier in order to able to do them . Therefore I will just repeat the basic program, this time trying to minimize the changes I have to make to the exercises. Quest 2: Yoga on one day a week. I still love yoga, so that will be quest number two once again. Quest 3: no sweets after dinner For quest 3 I want to focus on food, more specifically on my current habit of eating sweets. I’ve been quite bad with that the last few weeks so I am challenging myself to not eat any sweets after dinner from now on.

During the last six week challenge I started the You Are Your Own Gym 10 week programme, and I loved it, so this challenge I will continue with that. Because I was sick last week and had to repeat another week during the last challenge I'm starting this challenge with week six of the programme and just repeat week 10 at the end to fill the challenge weeks. The other two quests will stay the same as well, so here's the overview: Quest one: do the You Are Your Own Gym 10 week program, which means training five days a week. I am doing the basic one, starting with week 6. Quest two: Do Yoga once a week. I enjoy Yoga and do not want to miss it so I will do it once I've done the YAYOG-workouts for that week. Life Quest: Papers! Papers everywhere! It is time I tackled the mess that is my “filing system†and finally put together all the things I need to do my taxes. I am so terribly lazy when it comes to these things, so I'm forcing myself to do it by making it an official quest. <- That's what I wrote at the beginning of the last challenge and while I did make a dent in the pile, I am far from done, so this quest will have to continue *sigh*

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

Another successful journey completed. Since becoming a Time Lord companion earlier this year, I have journeyed to find the missing Tardis and then spent some quality time finding balance between Tardis maintenance and time travel. And so, here we are, on the brink of a great disturbance in time and space, and a respectable milestone of centuries. We have made it past 2002, close to crossing centuries, but something is amiss. There is danger lurking here. As the Tardis is prone to do, we have stopped in a strange place. We found ourselves aboard another ship referred to as Discovery One by its few inhabitants. The Doctor is being elusive but he is quite suspicious of the computerized brain of this vessel, calling itself HAL. I fear something will have to be done before we can get any further on our own journey. There is a secret plan to reset the vessel’s brain, saving its inhabitants and I have my part to play in this mission. (I know I’ve mixed by science fiction but I just couldn’t resist) This challenge is about resetting the programming of my brain. I’ve done well on challenges so far but I need to be more anti-fragile. For this challenge I am not expecting to lose as much as the previous ones. The goal is to break down some mental barriers to prepare for future travels. I would be happy with 6 pounds. Main Quest: Reach 1992 to find my true self. Goal weight – 160lbs. Quest 1: Avoid the scale. I am addicted to my scale. Sometimes this dependency gets me through rough times and sometimes it creates rough times. I need to experience a little distance from the number from the scale. I am now below 250 and it has been so long since I’ve been below this milestone I feel like I am in unchartered territory. I don’t want to get weirded out by the number on the scale. I will weigh at the beginning of the challenge, and again at the end of week 1 since that’s when my YAYOG PVP ends. I will weigh again at the end of weeks 2, week 4, and finally at the end of week 6. Measurement: +3 WIS A – 0-2 peeks B – 3-4 peeks C – 5-6 peeks Quest 2: Reset button, aka Food Battles I’ve been eating practically the same thing every day for 2 challenges. It’s not that I need variety, but when I eat something outside of what I am familiar I lose all capacity to think through the decisions. I prepare too much and don’t realize I’ve eaten too much until it’s too late. Some foods I avoid at all costs because I don’t feel capable of handling those in a smart way. I must find ways to incorporate variety into my meals without sacrificing sanity. This challenge has 2 components, one is to introduce more variety into my menu, the other is to confront foods I have a history with and reset my thinking so that I can be in the same room. I’m not planning on logging my food everyday on MFP, but I will use it as a tool in food battles. Food Battle Variety – I will cook something other than my go to meal at least once a week. This can be for any meal of the day and it doesn’t necessarily have to be a new food, but new since doing challenges. These meals should have about the same calories and macros as the ‘go to’ meal. Food Battle Control – I will also attempt to confront 1 food that taunts me and try to work it into my calories and macros. There are a variety of ways to do this and I’m not really sure what will work best. This is really new territory for me and I’m sure I will learn a lot from this. This could entail eating these foods on a cheat day but still controlling portion size, or re-creating the dish to be healthier, or possibly just a portion control thing. These foods in particular wreak havoc on my portioning skills. I enjoy these foods too much and I eat purely to enjoy myself – even when I am so full I am no longer enjoying myself. Measurement: +2 WIS, +2 CON This will be measured with a point system. For any battle attempted, +1 point for a success, -1 point for a failure. The max is 12 points and min is -12 points. A – 9 pts B – 7 pts C – 5 pts Quest 3: Astronaut Fitness Since I am stuck in space with other Astronauts, I need to stay fit. My YAYOG PVP will end after week 1 of this challenge. I haven’t been focusing on cardio due to the PVP but I really enjoy the bodyweight workouts. In an effort to retain the balance from last challenge, I will replay the last 4 weeks of the YAYOG program but only 3 days a week, doubling up the core workout with one of the arm workouts. Then add in cardio activity 3 times a week. For the cardio last challenge I found I was just skating through. I want to focus more on intensity but that’s not an excuse to but the workout short. This time I will be measuring a combination of time and intensity using a point system. Intensity measured on a scale of 1-3 and then multiplied times the total number of minutes. I’ll be tracking on this spreadsheet. Measurement: +3 DEX (Cardio), +3 STA (YAYOG), A – 22/25 YAYOG; 1140+ cardio points B – 17-21 YAYOG; 960-1139 cardio points C – 13-16 YAYOG; 840-959 cardio points Life Quest: Get Creative The holidays are coming and I like to make gifts. I have many creative outlets but I just haven’t had time to dabble in any of them. I like jewelry making, painting, crazy quilting, random art projects, and your run of the mill DIY repurposing projects. It’s time to get something accomplished. At least once a week, I’d like to do something creative. Measurement: +2 CHA A – 5-6 B – 4 C – 3 Measurements Starting weight: 240.4 Body Fat (calipers): 43.4% Body Fat (fancy machine at gym): They got rid of it *Shakes fist*

Unashamed & Abundant Life Main Quest: To live life abundantly and unashamed. Committing to living with purpose and not letting how I feel dictate what I do. Goals: 1. Awaken – Death of the Snooze Monster Rise by 6:00 am every day and STAY UP! Facilitate wakefulness by prepping clothes to dress in, a glass of water, keeping the clock on the other side of the room, and turning on the lights right away. 2. I'm a Gym! Complete six weeks of body weight training as part of the 10 week program on my YAYOG app. 3. Guiltless Eating. Romans 14:22-23 “...Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith...†The context of those verses is about bearing with people who think differently and following your conscious. I don't know what I should be fueling myself with (Gluten free? Paleo? Crazy RAW?) but I have a pretty good idea what I should NOT be eating (donuts... third helpings of anything... etc). Until I figure some things out I'm going to just make this part of the challenge be about eating without regrets. So when I pray before I meal I will make sure I reflect on the food I've set before me. Life Quest: 1. Complete Bush Craft skills for Beginner Level Patch. Bush Craft. http://bushcraftusa.com/ Think “boy scouts†but with more knives, fires, and make-shift stuff and fewer politically correct rules and safety guidelines. It'll make me get outdoors with my sons to enjoy God's creation. Our afternoons should look like this: Setting stuff on fire, sharpening knives, making tarp shelters, snaring small animals (preferably the ones eating the chickens...), and generally having fun. Motivation: 1 Cor 10:31 "Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." This quest is about killing the hypocrisy I see in my life. God bears with me through all my crazy and offers love when I don't deserve it. With Him on the throne, I'm not a slave to snacks, nor am I a victim of sloth who wastes away precious time daydreaming in bed. I am unashamed of Him, and He is unashamed of me – not because of anything I do, but because of what He has already done on my behalf.

I am back for my third 6-week challenge on NF. My first two were very successful - helping me get started on my path to fitness, including a lot of strength training, cardio, and more than 30 pounds of weight loss. Now I need to make sure I don't fall off the wagon, because it would be so easy to relax with the holidays approaching. My four goals for the challenge are: Exercise for at least 45 minutes every day. I am continuing this goal from the last challenge, but upping the goal to 45 minutes. I will do several different types of exercise during the week to keep my muscles guessing -- YAYOG workout, swim laps, ride my bike, hike, karate, etc. +2 DEX, +2 STATrack all of my meals in MFP every day and finish under my net calorie goal each week. This is a continuation of a goal from my last challenge. Once again, I have configured MFP for a 750 calorie deficit. +2 CON, +2 CHAComplete at least 5 weeks of the YAYOG PVP challenge. This is also a continuation of a prior goal. The initial 10-week program will be done by next weekend, but I need to continue to do the work during this challenge. +4 STR Take an online continuing education course. I have to get a certain number of continuing education credits every year to maintain some of my certifications, and I am behind schedule with at least one of the programs. My goal is to take an online course. If it lasts longer than 6 weeks, that is fine, but I need to complete the expected amount of work for the duration of this challenge. +3 WIS The exercise goal will earn points like this: 45+ minutes = 3 points 35-44 minutes = 2 points 30-34 minutes = 1 point The MFP, YAYOG, and education goals will earn points like this: 5+ weeks = 3 points 4 weeks = 2 points 3 weeks = 1 point There are 12 possible points for the challenge. Here is my grading scale: "A" for 10+ points "B" for 9 points "C" for 7-8 points Challenge Status as of the end of week 6: Goal 1: Exercise Minutes 100%100% Goal 2: MFP Tracking 66.67%66.67% Goal 3: YAYOG 100%100% Goal 4: Training 100%100%

"My daddy's smarter than Einstein, stronger than Hercules, and can light a fire with a snap of his fingers! Are you as good as my daddy, mister? Not if you don't visit the Gatherer's Garden, you aren't!" Aaaand I'm back! Grad school's been hella busy (did I seriously just say that?), but I'm ready and excited to start my first 6WC as a n00b assassin. I've decided on a Bioshock theme this time around, since I've recently been thinking about the games (thanks, Timehop). Who's ready to evolve?? Main Quest: Slim-Down Okay, so this wasn't actually a usable gene tonic in the games, but it was certainly advertised! My long-term main quest is to decrease my BF% from 24-26% to 14-16%. Let me go ahead and restate that it's a LONG-TERM goal, just to remind myself that patience is a thing that will serve me well here. Fun Fact: In Rapture, you could choose to receive either the Slim-Down or Telekinesis plasmid for free with a root canal. I've had 2 (or is it 3..?) root canals already, and I've yet to get a free plasmid with the procedure... ='[ Quest 1: Extra Nutrition, Fountain of Youth (+3 CON) Rapture probably isn't the best place to grab a snack, seeing as the edibles mainly consisted of things like alcohol, potato chips, and canned goods. Thankfully, I'm in Athens and have access to grocery stores. For this challenge, I'll be cutting out grains and limiting dairy (super loose, "paleo-my-way" type), as well as intentionally drinking more water. Should be attainable, seeing as I already don't eat many grains/dairy, though the local bakery (Fluff) is constantly calling my name, and I've got one hell of a sweet tooth. Drinking enough water during the day is more of a struggle for me than I generally realize, but it's nothing I can't fix with a bit of determination. I'll be tracking my meals/water on TwoGrand, which my friend will be using for added accountability. Goal: Drink all of the water and stick to no grains/limited dairy 90-100% of the time; I don't expect perfection--my best will do just fine ;] Quest 2: Sports Boost (+3 STR, +3 STA) While this technically is more about speed, I'm tailoring it to be a bit more broad (does that mean I also have the Clever Inventor tonic? I'm going with yes.). The goal for this quest is to work out 3-4 times a week, likely doing more than that when possible. I just bought YAYOG, so I'm going to look into that in the upcoming weeks, hopefully checking out the program tomorrow morning (I generally start my week--and therefore my challenge--on Sunday). I'll be typing up a more specific program tomorrow when I'm not dead tired. Goal: Work out 3-4x per week; I'm a hero! Quest 3: Armored Shell, Human Inferno (+3 DEX) This goal is all about injury prevention and maximizing potential, though I wish I were actually going to be a human inferno. I'll be working on flexibility and mobility, therefore increasing my body's defenses (injury prevention) and offenses (maximizing potential). Similar to the role of water in my life, I've tended to neglect this area of fitness, so I've decided to make it a main part of this challenge. Goal: Perform mobility routine once a day (add some simple stretching through the day), 5-7 days a week; I'm going to shoot for every day, but I realize that habits aren't formed overnight. Life Quest: Brain Boost (+3 WIS) Another gene tonic that's only sort of mentioned in the games. I've just past the halfway point in my first semester of graduate school, and I've been doing really well in my courses. With only a bit over a month left, I'm determined to keep that trend going and kick ass for the rest of the semester. I've got a couple projects and a presentation left to do, so I'll be focusing much of my brain power on those. Goal: Finish the semester like a boss because I'm awesome ;D ---------------------- Well, now that I've finished my novel, I think it's bed time. More on this tomorrow, my friends.

My main quest is to lose weight (fat, mainly) and fit into size 6 uniform pant (Waist: 28"; Hips: 37.5"). Something had been keeping me from posting my new challenge early. I’d been working on it in a Word document for about a week, and even though I felt it was ready to go by middle of last week, I refrained. Now, I know why. And reason meant my overarching, multi-challenge main quest needed to change. I’d gone back to school (full time) this semester to pursue a new, different career. One that would require me to work at least twice as hard (20 hours per week → 40+ hours per week, including weekends and holidays) and make probably ¼ of my current hourly rate (and I should get a nice year end bonus in December and a fairly nice raise in July.) On Saturday night, my husband finally asked the question he should have asked in August before we made this decision. “What’s really wrong with your current situation?†And, instead of giving my standard off-the-cuff answer, I really gave it a hard, hard thought. I mean, I work 20 hours per week, doing a job that I’m actually really good at when I apply myself, and make more per hour than a lot of people make in a day. So, why would I want to make such a drastic change? The answer: Self-Confidence. When it comes down to it, I’m uncomfortable in my own body right now. I’m carrying a significant amount of extra fat. My clothes don’t fit (and clothes shopping spirals me into a very, very unhappy place.) The extra weight, as is the norm with me, screws with my hormones and keeps my face broken out. So, I walk around in ill-fitting, starting to look 'worn' clothes with a broke out face, minimal and cheap makeup (because I hate going to buy 'good' stuff when my face is a mess.) I feel bad about how I look, so my posture sucks, making me look worse. I walk into a room and instead of owning the room – I stare at the floor. I work in a male dominated field, where meek women (and men, I assume) are likely to fail – spectacularly. I'm a meek mouse in bad clothes. So, I’m not continuing in my current program of study after this semester. My pursuance of this endeavor was (likely) done out of a feeling of desperation. My lack of self-confidence (in a male dominated field) has crippled my ability to be a productive team member and left me feeling hopeless. In many ways, this career change was going to be a Band-Aid on a problem instead of a solution to the problem. My husband offered that I should make “ME†my full-time job for the next 10 months (and longer, if necessary.) So, I’m dropping a full time school workload to pursue a full time ME workload. (My husband is seriously the best!) My Main Quest: APLOMB The idea here is to do a series of smaller sub-quests that will have me walking into a room and owning it. Here are some of the things that I need to happen to rebuild self-confidence: body redesign, (re)learn how to be a little more girly-girl, improve athletic performance, intelligence boost, streamline life, regain my strong work ethic… 1. Run, Girl, Run I quit running a few years ago – between all the naysayers that were touting the evils of ‘cardio’ and the fact that I ran two distance races either untrained or sorely under-trained in 6 months – I just quit. I've started back and am wrapping up Zombies 5K training now. Next, I’m moving on to Season 1. Zombies has helped me regain my love of running. I’m hoping to continue to rebuild my capacity and maybe pick a race in 2015. Maybe. The goal for this challenge is to complete Season 1 of Zombie, Run! App. That’s 23 missions, or an average of 4 runs a week. I will be completing 3 as 30-minute runs and 1 as a 60-minute run. [+3 STA, +2 DEX] A 20+ Runs Complete (100% award) B 18+ Runs Complete (75% award) C 16+ Runs Complete (50% award) D 13+ Runs Complete (25% award) F <13 Runs Complete (0% award) 2. Finding Inner Strength Over the last two years, I’ve run the spectrum of Wendler to CrossFit to two coaches. I have strength. With proper training and consistency, I can move a big amount of weight. However, I do tend to broaden out when I’m lifting heavy. Right now, that’s not what I’m looking for in an exercise program. A few weeks back I heard a quote that basically said, if you can’t control your own body weight, you shouldn’t even be touching a barbell." I’ve always kind of bypassed the body weight exercises, other than the ones thrown into a WOD at CrossFit. The goal for this challenge is to follow a body weight strength training program. I plan to follow the YAYOG app for an average of 3 days per week. For scheduling, these will be done on the same days as my 30-minute runs. [+3 STR, +1 CON] A 20+ Workouts Complete (100% award) B 18+ Workouts Complete (75% award) C 16+ Workouts Complete (50% award) D 13+ Workouts Complete (25% award) F <13 Workouts Complete (0% award) *In the spirit of full disclosure, I'm still doing CrossFit 2x/week. I will continue that, which will end up being 5 days of some sort of weight training. 3. Rock-a-bye, Lull-a-bye Sometimes, I think I have (self-diagnosed) Adult Attention Deficit Disorder. I have a hard time staying focused on the task at hand. I can be incredibly scatterbrained and very disorganized. This problem is compounded when I’m getting inadequate sleep. Lack of sleep also slows recovery and tends to leave me in feeling drained. With the husband living in another city, I’m finding it challenging to wind down and go to bed for an adequate amount of time. This is likely affecting my recovery, my health, and my ability to get stuff done at work. Whereas I used to get 7-8 hours a night, I’m down to 5-6.5. The goal for this challenge is to average 7.25 hours per night for the duration of the challenge. [+3 CON, +1 WIS] A 7.25+ Hours / Night Average (100% award) B 7.0+ Hours / Night Average (75% award) C 6.75+ Hours / Night Average (50% award) D 6.5+ Hours / Night Average (25% award) F <6.5 Hours / Night Average (0% award) 4. Minimalist Move With the pending move to the new city in ten months, I’m realizing I don’t want to move all the stuff we’ve accumulated in the twelve years we’ve lived in this house. My goal for the next ten months is to really start selling/cleaning out/throwing away the stuff that we don’t need. Plus, if I’m going to revamp my wardrobe, I need to make room for new stuff. I cannot squeeze another item on my TWO closet racks, my shelving system is crammed full, I have FOUR large storage containers in my closet FULL of clothes that don’t fit or don’t fit comfortably. (Size 0 to size 10). I have a six drawer chest packed so tight I can barely open the drawers. The goal for this challenge is to eliminate $2,000 of stuff. (Calculation: If the item is sold, the sale price goes to the goal amount. If the item is donated, the lowest fair market value, according to Goodwill Valuation Guide, will be used. If the item is trashed, the item will be valued at $1. So, if we sell our old sofa, which is sitting in the garage, for $50 - $50 counts. If we donate the sofa, Goodwill gives a value of $30-150 for sofas, so I get to take $30 from the goal amount. If we had to throw the sofa away (not likely), I’d only get $1. Note: If the item would generally be deemed worthless (i.e., papers that need to be shredded and trashed) then no value should count to the goal amount.) [+1 CON, +1 WIS +1 CHA] A $1750+ eliminated (100% award) B $1250+ eliminated (75% award) C $750+ eliminated (50% award) F <$750 eliminated (0% award) During this challenge, I'm going to do a few 'mini' quests that don't award attribute points, but award other goodies. I'm also over in the PVP No Soda Challenge. Hi!!!

I am still attempting to reach my true self back in 1992 and find my destiny in another dimension. The Tardis has been found and I am now a verifiable Time Lord companion. We came across the missing Tardis in 2006 and are now able to travel with more ease. Having exceeded my expectations from the first leg of my journey, it is time to up the ante a little and get the Tardis moving and in good condition for the long haul. This is still expected to be a long journey. Of course, along with the new title is new responsibility. I can not simply be consumed with 1992; The Doctor has other responsibilities. The Tardis will not help me reach my destination without proper upkeep and balance; they can be quite unreliable. Tardis destination set for 2002, target weight 245. One additional rest day is now enabled to allow for other duties. This challenge is about balance. With the new devotion to fitness, other things are sliding as there is less time. This has caused failure in the past and must be avoided this time around. Goal 1: Be a smart companion Increase rest days from 1 to 2. This will ensure I don’t burn out and so I have time for my life. But, in order to not fall backwards (or forwards since we are speaking in terms of time travel) I am increasing intensity. Part 1 – Strength Training 4x/week This will be from the ‘You are Your Own Gym†book and PVP Challenge Measurement: +3 STR, +2 DEX A – Reach ladder rung 7 B – Reach ladder rung 6 C – Reach ladder rung 5 Part 2 – Cardio of some kind at least 2x/week, focusing on intensity rather than distance. One of these sessions will double up on a strength day in order to accommodate 2 rest days. Measurement: +3 STA A – 2x/week at high intensity (relatively) B – 1x/week high intensity or 2x/week less intense C – 1x/week less intense Goal 2: Fish Fingers and Custard Eat right. I did start eating better beginning last challenge but it wasn’t one of my goals. In order to feel comfortable with rest days I want to be able to keep myself accountable for what I am eating. To do this, I intend to use MyFitnessPal to track food intake. I eat basically the same thing all the time so I don’t necessarily need to do this on a daily basis. My plan is to shoot for 1500 - 1600 calories on workout days and 1200 – 1400 on rest days 1450 calories every day. This may be updated per the YAYOG plan. I am eating paleo-ish. To allow for life getting in the way, I am allowing some cheats. However, any cheat action triggers a roll 1d4 + 5. That determines how many days until the next cheat is allowed. There is some wiggle room in what counts as a cheat. I try to pay attention to my body and if I have a day where I am particularly and genuinely hungry, I’ll add little more but it must be a good choice. This also allows for me to keep my metabolism guessing a little. A cheat, for the most part, consists of eating sweets, going out to eat without being able to approximate my normal meal, having unhealthy snacks or meals. I am open to editing the calorie expectations if I feel like I am not getting enough or getting too much. Measurement: (weekly average) +1 CON, +1 WIS A – No illegal cheats and calories maintained within +/-100 every day B – 1 illegal cheat or 1 day exceeded calories C – 2 illegal cheats or 2 days exceeding calories Goal 3: Flexibility I had some issue last challenge with soreness that exceeds the normal range. I am a very poor stretcher. I don’t like to do it and when I do, sometimes it is half-assed. I want to have a specific stretching routine for each type of workout to match the muscle groups worked, preferably 5-10 minutes minimum per work out. And on rest days, to stay flexible and active, I want to try some yoga. This doesn’t require much. Maybe I just learn a new pose and try it home, or put a few together for a mini routine at home. I have an app that has yoga poses. If I like this, I may take a yoga class. Measurement: +2 DEX, +1 CON A – Yoga 2x/week = 12 B – Yoga 10 times C – Yoga 8 times Life Quest – Tardis maintenance The Tardis is a mess. It looks like no one has cleaned in weeks (6 weeks actually). As this challenge is about balance I plan to tackle different projects around the house that have been ignored. Some of these areas need cleaning, others need organization. I won’t make a list now as there are too many to choose from. I will grade on how many are accomplished. Measurement: +2 CHA A – 6 areas tackled and completed B – 5 areas tackled and completed C – 3-4 areas tackled and completed Additional Fitness Activities: Heroes Vs Villains YAYOG PVP Challenge [edited] Additional Lifestyle Campaign: In the spirit of balance I am adding one additional element to my challenge. I log into NF way too often during the day (when at work). Work is getting exponentially busier all of a sudden and I have grading for school to do at the same time. I need less distractions from my work focus to stay balanced. To accomplish this endeavor I have created punishments for logging in during 'off' times. Off time begins at 9am until 4pm with an allowance over my lunch hour to check in. That check in must not exceed half an hour or punishment takes effect. This will begin on the Monday the challenge starts but I will attempt to train myself beginning now. This is not graded. Punishment will be dealt out using the following punishment table using a roll of d20. 1 roll for each offense. Roll Punishment 1-2 3 burpees 3-4 10 tricep dips 5-6 10 hamstring curls 7-8 60 sec plank 9-11 5 min on row machine 12-13 10 squats 14-15 10 incline pushups 16-17 add 1/2 to next walk 18-19 do a household chore 20 Critical Hit - no punishment!

More specifically, a dragon! (You can see where this is going) I just had to indulge my love of HTTYD and Toothless. Main Quest: Onederland by 1/1/15 (after that, keep moving down to 150) I really wanted to make my main quest feel a bit more obtainable and make it a little more short-term than 150 lbs. That, I can definitely hit next year. Mission #1: What am I eating? I have three main focuses/focii/whatever's-right here: calories, protein, veggies. Calories: 1600/day Protein: Aiming for 100 g/day, will pass with 75 g/day Veggies: At least 1 serving/day I can earn a total of 3 points/day, 126 possible points through the challenge Mission #2: How am I going to get there? Karate: 2x/week YAYOG: 4x/week Running: 2x/week 'Cause I'm a beast. 1 point each, 48 possible points through the challenge Mission #3: Keep it clean Continue on with making cleaning a weekly thing, 'cause it's important. 6 possible points total. Life Quest: Don't be a slacker! School has started again, which means doom and gloom. I want to focus on not procrastinating. I'm starting with a total of 6 points. A point gets docked each week if I leave something to one day. This means discussion posts have to be done over at least two days during the week. No cramming allowed. I lost a point each time I leave it all till Sunday. I'm also participating in two PvPs, both linked in my sig. If all goes to plan, I'll be 12 lbs lighter by the end of the challenge. Starting measurements to come on Monday!

Main Quest: Decrease body fat to 20-24% while maintaining a healthy eating plan and increasing strength. Quest 1: Complete YAYOG BAISC workouts each week. 6WC will cover weeks 2-7, first 5 weeks are 4 workouts/week, last week is 5 workouts/week for a total of 30 workouts. (STR 3 and STA 2) A - 28 sessions B - 24 sessions C - 22 sessions Quest 2: Eat 1g of protein everyday per lean lbs of body mass and keep calories under 2000/day. Based on current measurements IIFYM recommends (CON 2): GRAMS per day CARBS: 278, PROTEIN:120, FAT: 48, FIBER: 37 - 46, CALORIES: 2023GRAMS per meal (4x) CARBS: 70, PROTEIN: 30, FAT: 12, FIBER: 9 - 12, CALORIES: 506A - 40 days B - 34 days C - 32 days Quest 3: Improve flexibility through stretching/yoga/myofascial release 3-4 times a week. (DEX 2) A - 22 days B - 19 days C - 18 days Life Quest: Follow fellow challengers and at least one positive interaction on a daily basis. (CHA 1) A - 40 days B - 34 days C - 32 days Motivation: I want to be comfortable in my body and be able to do things that I enjoy. I also want to develop healthy habits so that I don’t succumb to the various diseases that are in my genetics. Starting Measurements: Weight - 184lbs Neck - 15 Chest - 37.75 Waist - 34.5 Hips - 41.5 LR Thigh - 23/23 LR Calf - 16.625/16.5 LR Biceps - 14.25/14.25 Messed around with a the four different ways that Waldo detailed for calculating body fat DOD - 34.9 YMCA - 27.9 YMCA Mod - 26.5 Covert Bailey 30+ - 38.1

I joined NF about 8 weeks ago and completed my first challenge last week. It was a great experience for me, and I did really well against all of my goals. Now comes the next step, which I am excited to take as a member of the Rangers. My four goals for the challenge are: Exercise for at least 30 minutes every day. I am continuing this goal from the last challenge, because it worked really well for me. I will do several different types of exercise during the week to keep my muscles guessing -- YAYOG workout, swim laps, ride my bike, hike, karate, etc. Not all of it will be high intensity -- my body would break down if I tried to do this much high intensity exercise 7 days a week. +2 DEX, +2 STA Track all of my meals in MFP every day and finish under my net calorie goal each week. I have configured MFP for a 750 calorie deficit, just like I did in the last challenge. I am participating in the 10 weeks, 20 pounds PVP challenge, so this goal will support my PVP. +2 CON, +2 CHA Complete at least 4 weeks of the YAYOG PVP challenge. +4 STR Process all of my 2014 photos. I am a photographer in my spare time, but I tend to fall behind in doing my post-processing work. My goal here is to complete processing all of the keepers from 2014. Although it takes time, photography is a great creative outlet for me, and it helps to make me a much more well-rounded person. +3 WIS The first two goals will earn points like this: 6-7 days = 3 points 4-5 days = 2 points 2-3 days = 1 point The YAYOG goal will earn points like this: 4 days = 3 points 3 days = 2 points 2 days = 1 point The photography goal will earn points like this each week: Processed 3+ photo shoots = 3 points Processed 2 photo shoots = 2 points Processed 1 photo shoot = 1 point There are 12 possible points per week, so there are 72 possible points for the challenge. Here is my grading scale: "A" for 54+ points "B" for 42-53 points "C" for 36-41 points I have two motivations for my quest. The first is to help me keep up with my elementary school age kids and make sure I am healthy enough to be fit and active when they have their own kids (many years from now, I hope!). I also need to set a better example for them about healthy eating and exercise. The second motivation is to help me get back to martial arts. I am a black belt and love to both teach and train, but my fitness level gets in the way of my training. Because of the progress I have made so far, I am planning on returning to training before the end of this 6 week challenge.

Ah, a Serenity/Firefly themed challenge... My 14 year old daughter is more knowledgeable than I am as she's watched it more recently, but maybe I should take the opportunity to catch up. (She has just asked for a brown coat she can wear to school -- unfortunately http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/14c4/ is both impractical and out of my budget but we'll find something.) I get Mal in that character quiz. I can see that -- especially at work. I have a team and I'd like to think I take care of them the same way Mal takes care of his crew. There's taking care of my family as well, though that has a different dynamic. Main quest Build strength. My long term goal is to do a pull up. I've never done one in my life. I'm still a long way away, and from experience it'll take a long time, but that's okay. Three goals towards that quest: (Captain Hammer rather than Mal Reynolds, sorry....) Complete You Are Your Own Gym (YAYOG) basic 10 week program. I'm on the third week now so I won't actually finish this in six weeks, so the goal is just to stick to the program. YAYOG is the main thing and it's pretty challenging, so don't want to take on anything else really ambitious. If I have to pick another two goals here, they'll be: Eat protein. Have 25g extra protein on workout days. Get sleep. At least 7 hours a night, ideally more. The tricky bit here is that I might need to reshuffle my schedule so that I can do workouts in the morning, which means getting up earlier. Life quest Raise the next generation of browncoats. The plan for this is to teach my daughters some kickboxing/striking drills and/or basic Krav Maga. I've taught them a few things and they're both interested, but generally when I do this I find myself just trying to remember striking sequences I learned in classes rather than having any kind of plan. Over the challenge, I want to put together six lesson plans/short workouts and try them out with my girls.

I fell off the face of the planet during the last challenge, so I can't really consider it a success. But I did learn lots of things about myself. I've since thrown myself back into the health thing full-force, and I'm ready for the next challenge! I've tried changing my lifestyle several times over the last several years, and this year is the only time it's "stuck." After some reflection I realized one reason I've been able to stick with it this time is that I've given up all the girlish "rescue fantasies" of my youth. Instead of waiting for some outside force to save me from myself, I've begun to take full responsibility for my own life--my own state of happiness / depression, ennui / fulfillment, activity / inertia, all of it. I've lost 34.5 lbs since January 9th, and I want do everything I can to not only keep from backsliding, but also to continue on the path of becoming the badass I've always wanted to be. Goal: Work towards becoming a powerful, badass lady-assassin. 1. Get strong: continue (and finish out!) my "You Are Your Own Gym" 10 week bodyweight program. 2. Track what I eat every day. Not so concerned with calories this time -- I'm hoping that high quality nutritional intake = better gains & performance. 3. Do something to really challenge my body at least once a week, ideally something that requires a little bravery. For instance, for the last 2 weeks in a row I've gone on strenuous hikes by myself. Each time I thought about quitting halfway up the mountain, but I didn't. I was doing something that made me hella nervous, and this made reaching the summit all the sweeter. Life goal: So, I've lost a bit of weight and none of my clothes fit anymore. In the next six weeks, I will replace every item in my old, frumpy, oversized wardrobe with one that makes me feel sexy and powerful. I'm gonna try to pick clothing that expresses something of my personality, too, disregarding trends and whatnot. No more hiding in non-descript, over-sized hoodies (as comforting as that can be). I know fashion is pretty a shallow expression of badassery, but since I have to buy new clothes anyway, why not buy a few things that bring out my inner assassin?

Story: Main quest: Uncover the next section of the map by exploring and learning, while also becoming a better assassin along the way. Motivation: Now that I'm finally comfortable in my skin for the first time in my life, it's time to work on feeling like a badass. Empowering myself with new knowledge and novel experiences should be a step in the right direction. I. Try a new activity per week. I’m fairly new at being active, so I'm not sure what sporting activities I’d enjoy. Every week I’ll find a new activity that gets me outside, meeting new people and challenging my body. I'm also going to push myself into doing some activities that make me nervous. I might do: A. climbing B. yoga C. swimming (currently I can only doggy paddle) D. dance E. boxing F. archery Edited to add: hula hooping, aerials, pole dancing, rafting or kayaking, skating, hiking a CHALLENGING trail II. Food Exploration: Each week I will either A. try a new, healthy food (eg. a fruit or vegetable I’ve never eaten before) OR B. find a delicious-sounding, healthy recipe & prepare it I will also keep up my new, healthier eating habits by limiting breads/starches/grains, not adding sugar to coffee/tea, and eating at least one serving of fruit or vegetables with every meal. III. Challenge my body through a new bodyweight routine. I’ve ordered You Are Your Own Gym: The Bible of Bodyweight Exercises. I’m expecting it to come in the mail late next week. In the meantime, I’ve downloaded the companion app & started the novice track. Not only does it have a database of bodyweight exercises with accompanying video to show how they’re done, but it also schedules a 20-30 minute exercise session a day on your own fitness level. In addition to the bodyweight exercises I will also walk, do biking intervals and/or DDR at least 3 times a week. IV. Life Goal: Increase my wisdom stat: read more! I'm a nerd; I like to read. I like to understand what I'm doing, and the more I do fitness, the more I realize there are lots of things I don't understand. I want to be able to make smart decisions for myself without relying solely on second-hand information. A. Read You Are Your Own Gym in its entirety by the end of these 6 weeks. B. Complete at least 1 book (other than YAYOG) every two weeks, preferably a health-related book. C. Sift through fitness articles and read 2 3-5 quality articles per week, NOT ones that are rehashing outdated info or trying to sell some sort of quackery. Find out what sources / publishers are the most reliable & trustworthy in the fitness world.

I am brand new to Rebellion challenges, but not so new to life (52 and counting LOL). I began a lifestyle change in diet last year by eating paleo, and also began focused excersizing using Mark Lauren's YAYOG (You Are Your Own Gym). I have had some success with both, but also have had stretches where I fell off the wagon with both. I recently (the last few weeks) began earnestly following both regimens again as well as beginning a 21 Day Sugar Detox, and believe that the Rebellion Challenge will be a way of not losing focus, as I will have people who I hope to rely in holding me accountable to my goals. I am shamelessly borrowing a format to post my goals which IndianaEddie borrowed from another Nerd Fitness member...so here it is: Main Quest: My quest is to replace my body fat with muscle; I have gotten my weight down to what I believe is optimum for me (having gone from 205 lbs to 175 lbs since last year), and now want to replace the fat that stubbornly still holds a claim to my waist area with muscle in all other areas, thus increasing my body strength. Motivation: My motivation is to make my life much more enjoyable, as well as creating a better chance of being around and an active part in my kid's and grandkid's lives...for a long time . Sub-Quest: 1. Begin and maintain Mark Lauren's YAYOG Basic Ten week excersize program - set up for 4 times a week. 2. Finish 21 Day Sugar Detox and continue with 100% Paleo lifestyle Life Quest: Being a Christian, I want to spend more time in reading the Bible and time with God so that I may better order my life, increasing enjoyment of life, and lessening stress. Stats: 11/13/2013 Height: 6' Weight: 175 lbs Waist: 36" Chest: 40.5" Neck: 16.5" Thigh(Left): 22.5" Thigh(Right): 22.5" Bicep(Left): 13.5" Bicep(Right): 13.5" BF%: 18% (By Internet calculator - plan to have my Dr do it next checkup...but it's a starting point.) Will accept any suggestions, and any help with accountability...the quest begins This is me before beginning Paleo and Body Weight training last year. This is me a few days ago after falling off the wagon for a few months, and restarting my new lifestyle again just a few weeks ago.