Combining two RPGs into one for ultimate fitness (or at least the start of it)

[breadstrings]

TL:DR is at bottom of wall of text.

 

Hi everyone,

 

I've had a battle with my weight for as long as I can remember. I was one of those "chubby" kids that I now realise are actually overweight or obese kids. I fell more into the overweight category for most of my life based on Western BMIs, and have always thought that I didn't need to do anything because I was always in the "high normal" area. 

 

Then I started medicine and learned that BMI was based on western data, and that Asians (like myself) had a "normal" BMI around 19 or 20 rather than 25. Suddenly my BMI of 26.5 didn't look so borderline overweight anymore. I fell solidly into the overweight category, and now I realise that I've just been trying to find reasons for not changing.

 

My parents have told me for years that I needed to lose weight. In fact, it was my size that contributed to my knee dislocation 5 years ago, but I've always said it was because of the sport I was playing.

 

I don't have any drastic numbers that could inspire a good story should I succeed, but it won't stop me from trying seriously this time. The last remotely successful venture into weight loss was when I was 14 where I almost starved myself and ran across the length of my house (indoors because I was too ashamed to go outside) for roughly 3 hours a day. I lost maybe 2-3 kg in the 3 months that I tried, with a strict diet and hard exercise regime and lost motivation to continue because I was feeling so run down and lacking energy.

 

I'm currently using HabitRPG as a productivity app, which is basically an RPG to complete your tasks, and one of my party members suggested I try NerdFitness because it had busy people like me, able to lose weight. This was after I'd complained about not having enough time to look after myself and having a fellow med student mock my inability to climb three flights of stairs without almost dying from exhaustion. It didn't help that the docs at the top of the stairs laughed at me and told me I needed to get more fit.

 

So I checked out the site 7 days ago and have since started the habit of exercising at least 10 minutes a day. I'm happy to say that I've maintained this so far. I've attempted a very, very slow transition to the Paleo diet, by simply increasing my portion of veggies and decreasing the amount of rice I eat. I doubt I'd ever be able to eliminate rice all together, since it's such an inherent part of my culture and upbringing.

 

I'd love some tips on how to substitute rice in Asian dishes, since it's something I struggled with every time a diet says to "cut out carbs". I almost faint with the thought of never having rice to eat.

 

TL:DR - So in conclusion...Hi! I'm Breadstrings and I'm new to the NF forums.

[Evermist]

Hey, fellow Asian (Singaporean Chinese!) here. it's great that you're determined to work on everything - starting is half the battle won! All the best, and don't hesitate to reach out if you need anything or have any questions!

As for substituting rice, I agree - having grown up with rice as a staple food, imagining a life without rice triggers an instinctual recoil. It does seem like you're going the right way, though, because gradually decreasing the amount of rice you eat is definitely a good starting point. For now, you might want to just focus on that You could, if you're looking for a marginally better option and haven't already tried this, also try making the transition from white rice to brown, by mixing in more brown rice into the rice you cook and slowly changing the ratios until you reach a point where you are comfortable eating brown rice alone. (side note: it is pretty hard to find substitutes for rice, and I've been searching too! But if I do find one, I'll let you know?)

Also, you can choose to take part in the upcoming 6-week challenge, which starts on Monday! It's a great way to start building habits or reinforce those you've already built, as well as to meet new people and get advice and encouragement!

All the best, and welcome to the Rebellion! I'll see you around

[breadstrings]

Thanks bananasheena, I'm Cambodian-Chinese.

 

I have been making the transition from white to brown rice, although due to the very different cooking times (Jasmine rice takes half the time), I'm worried that mixing the two would cause one type of rice to be overcooked whilst the other is undercooked.

 

Due to the majority of asian dishes simply tasting better with jasmine rice, my biggest hurdle is convincing my family to adopt the brown rice. I find I quite enjoy eating brown rice, it's kind of chewy and fun to eat. Like a workout for the mouth. 

 

Thanks for the encouragement with reducing the amount of rice. I'm happy to know I'm on the right track. I'll definitely have a look into the 6-week challenge since it starts beginning of this week, which is quite fortuitous.

[LionHeart_BadgerSoul]

I'm happy to see someone else on Nerd Fitness using HabitRPG! I was just searching the forums for mentions of it -- which is how I came to your thread -- because I have found it incredibly useful for my own productivity (it helped me completely kick my 2048 habit, for example ). That's awesome that you're a wiki scribe... I am thinking of trying to become a code contributor some time (or blacksmiths, I guess they call them).

[breadstrings]

I'm happy to see someone else on Nerd Fitness using HabitRPG! I was just searching the forums for mentions of it -- which is how I came to your thread -- because I have found it incredibly useful for my own productivity (it helped me completely kick my 2048 habit, for example ). That's awesome that you're a wiki scribe... I am thinking of trying to become a code contributor some time (or blacksmiths, I guess they call them).

 

We definitely need more blacksmiths. The best part is that it's never to late to contribute. There's apparently a whole guild on HabitRPG of people using NF but it's not very active...and I haven't linked anyone there to here. 

 

I'm surprised there aren't more of us! But I guess the art style normally turns people off. XD I remember I hated the pixel art...and then it grew on me...and now all my desktop screens have the map of Habitica in pixel Art. 

[LionHeart_BadgerSoul]

We definitely need more blacksmiths. The best part is that it's never to late to contribute. There's apparently a whole guild on HabitRPG of people using NF but it's not very active...and I haven't linked anyone there to here. 

 

I'm surprised there aren't more of us! But I guess the art style normally turns people off. XD I remember I hated the pixel art...and then it grew on me...and now all my desktop screens have the map of Habitica in pixel Art. 

Haha, I think the pixel art is frickin' adorable. I've been switching from class to class to obtain all the equipment just so I have more costume options... AND YOU GET PETS. AHHH.

[IndraTzal]

Ok just stumbled across this thread and HabitRPG.  This looks fun!  I'll have to look into it!  Great goals and it looks like you are off to a great start.  Don't give up and remember it takes time.  We're here if you have questions.