Full Speed Ahead

[Kuuujooo]

I stumbled upon NF over a year ago and now its finally time to put the pedal down. I'm just getting organized so excuse the length. I'd love to hear advice!

 

 

I'm 6' 210lb twenty-two year old and can't remember ever being satisfied with who I am. There isn't a day when I look in the mirror and get that overwhelming feeling of disappointment. Every time I tell myself things have to change - I know what I need to do JUST DO IT DAMMIT. But alas it never happens. A big part of my issue is I smoked weed almost daily since I was 16. It was always a part of my life. When I would feel bad about something, often how I felt about myself, I would get high. When I would get high I would eat and get sad and repeat. I told myself and friends I would quit over 200 times (to the point they'd laugh when I said it again). Like so many people was stuck in a cycle.

 

I recently accepted an amazing job for the summer and it finally gave me a reason I HAD to quit. I'm extremely proud to say I've been clean for 21 days which is the longest time since I was a sophomore in high school. I'm at a point where I wake up and don't even think about it. I can't put into words how free I feel. But now I'm quickly realizing the damage my lifestyle did. My eating habits, my laziness, my excuses - they're all right in my face now. I have to do something about it. This isn't just about getting my body in shape. Its about becoming the greatest me I can be - to be epic as some might say What I love most about this site and the people on it is the attitude. There aren't excuses. Anyone can be amazing. It takes being educated. It takes being committed. Its not about the hour in the gym its about the 24 hours in your day. Like I said, I found NF quite some time ago. I knew this wasn't a place to fake it so I moved on. Now I'm ready. Head down, eyes shut, full speed. 

 

I start my job in exactly 60 days. I'm going to use those days to start anew.

 

First and most important: Diet

I eat like crap. I can't even believe how bad I eat. MCD daily, pizza at least twice a week - this is where I need to make the biggest gain. I've known about paleo for a long time and its really the only diet that ever made sense to me. With contents of my cabinets now in my trash its on. I'm committed. If its not in the guidelines its not in me. While I realize this is a huge shift I think one advantage I have is just how terrible I do eat. Since I can't have fries or a greasy slice I'm already forced to drastically shift what I eat. The only thing I've ever cooked in my apartment is frozen pizza so if I'm going to change that it may as well be paleo. I'm really excited about discovering new foods and learning to eat like a human. 

 

Fitness

I already started doing cardio these past few weeks but its not enough. I have multiple free gyms on my campus and will start lifting Monday when they open. My philosophy with weights has always been to do a highish number of reps (10-15) at ideally a weight which makes the last rep almost impossible. If people have advice to the contrary I'd love to hear it. Since I'm just getting back into it I expect at least a week to learn what my limits are and to begin challenging them. I know its going to take pushing myself constantly and that's what I want. I've outlined times in everyday of my schedule specifically for weight training. 

 

Lifestyle

The biggest thing I hate about myself is how I always find a way to do just enough. I never push myself beyond what I'm comfortable with. I think my diet and fitness issues are merely a symptom of this. It all changes now. I'm going to be active on this site just to force myself to be accountable. I'm going to start going to bed earlier and waking up earlier. 

 

 

To all you out there

There's so much more I want to say, but I really need to thank you for the content you provide. The motivation and the resources. If you have advice I'd love some. If you wanna joke about dumb stuff I enjoy that too. I work in data analytics so if any of you out there do too I'd love to chat. Tomorrow will be my first experience shopping for food I can be proud to eat so I'll have a post about that. 

 

 

 

 

 

[IrishMartian]

Welcome! Congratulations on making a start. 

 

I feel like too much a newbie myself to offer much in the way of advice, only a year into my own attempts to improve my health and fitness, but you are definitely off to the right start with diet the hardest, but simplest, but most important thing. And the thing I've struggled with the most.

 

I suppose I could say when you fail, learn from it, let go and keep going. Get better at failing until you have it down to an art form, where you can fail, assess, improve and move on. That's what I've learned so far. Also weight lifting is awesome and I wish I could shake my younger self by the shoulders and scream "Start weight lifting, start squatting now! NOW!". Don't muck around with bicep curls and all that stuff you 'think' you need to do but focus on the starter programs with simple compound movements. Starter program descriptions here: http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/24268-an-overview-of-the-various-strength-training-programs/

 

That's my biggest take away from getting into weight lifting and reading these forums, 'accessory' movements like the stuff you see on tv and magazines are a waste until your at an intermediate level.

[Machete]

Sounds like you mostly know what you want and what you have to do in general. It seems to be an issue of willpower. Contrary to what The Biggest Loser teaches us, it doesn't have to suck. You don't have to suffer, you merely have to be patient and objective. Fitness is simple, but not easy. Starting is good. Just don't crash and burn too early. Like anything, these skills take time.

[Kuuujooo]

Came back here to check out the picture I posted just to remind myself. Honestly it's crazy how quickly my body is responding to diet changes. Probably a good deal of water weight but I had to buy new jeans today (the ones I owned were already a little loose). I can definitely see a change in my belly and jawline. I think I'm lucky and always had a solid metabolism, but I kept myself down eating like a pig on a daily basis. The only thing I'm still struggling to cut out is cheese, but since I'm running a substantial calorie deficit (can't even get close to my baseline with the foods I'm eating) I don't really see it hurting too much. Energy has been down noticeably so that's something I'm watching. While my energy is down though I feel better about myself going out and getting dressed. My focus for this next week is making sure I'm getting enough water intake (which I think I've been lacking) and trying to get more balanced with my meal schedule. Unfortunately having to prepare my meals for the first time in my life with school and work means I've skipped a meal here and there. Not something I want to continue. May start pre-preparing meals. 

 

p.s. Had pizza with a friend last night and ended up only taking a bite before I told him he could keep it. It was so heavy tasting it was like my body was saying no. 

[Raincloak]

congrats. keep up the good work! Now that you're kicking some ass, how about taking up a sport? Lots of clubs in college that would love to have you, and it'll help you stay busy and meet cool people.

Do stay off the weed. It kills your drive, and also makes you want to eat too much. And smoking doesn't do your heart or lungs any favors. But you knew that already. If you want to try something similar that is actually good, breath-focused meditations are just as relaxing and the side effects are much, much nicer.

[Kuuujooo]

Thanks for the encouragement Raincloak! I hate to make excuses but I'm working 30 hours a week and am in 19 credits this semester. Finals start next week so its really been hard just finding time to walk away from my bed or desk and make a meal. I've always enjoyed basketball and I know there's a club on campus so its something I'll definitely look into for the fall.  

 

The weed isn't really an issue anymore. I can't smoke right now because I'd risk my upcoming job. I'm a little worried about what happens once that time has passed but I've already phased out most of my friends from that time in my life so hopefully that helps. I consider myself successful for my age but honestly I'm surprised I've made it this far with how big a part of my life weed was. Its not something I ever want to go back to. I'll take your advice and look into meditation though! Again thanks for the encouragement!