The Short Version: Name: Mark Age: 36 Weight: 288.6 Location: Los Angeles area Activity level: More than moderate and getting busier Diet: Improving...slowly Goals: Healthy lifestyle and long life TL;DR My name is Mark and I found this place while looking up exercises. I read a few articles and got hooked. After a few weeks I bout the Rebel Fitness Guide and registered. After a couple weeks of experimentation, I have embarked on the Level 1 Rookie routine today and I WILL make this a permanent part of my life. In the past I've tried running, working out, and nothing has worked for me. Nothing clicked. Except Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. When I started training three years ago I was 330 pounds. I fell in love with the art and today weighed in at 288 pounds where I've leveled off over the last year. I train 4-5 times a week and that has been the biggest factor in my weight loss. But that's all that I've really done...so far. As I mentioned I will be working through the Rebel Fitness routines in addition to my BJJ training. Here is my plan: Monday: Workout A during lunch. Training at night Tuesday: Cardio workout at lunch. I'm going to be using the C25K program. Wednesday: Workout B during lunch. Training at night. Thursday: Cardio at lunch. Fight Simulation at night. Friday: Workout A during lunch. Training at night. Saturday: Possible training in the morning. Cardio around noon (or earlier) Sunday: Some friends and I get together early to spar at the gym. We usually go about 2 hours. I realize that this is a LOT of new activity to get used to, so I have to be careful. Getting to training is already automatic so I will be training myself to hit the gym during lunch. Luckily it's only a mile away. I plan to weigh myself every Monday morning and take pictures to track progress. Throw in some measurements too for laughs. Diet will be my biggest hurdle. While I've embraced juicing and making smoothies (increasing my vegetable load), I've got a long way to go. I like to eat the refined stuff and it is like pulling teeth to change my ways. I've looked at different diets including Raw and Paleo, but neither felt completely right. As I've watched more an more documentaries on food and read more books, I am moving towards a mostly plant-based diet which will include raw and Paleo elements. It's going to be a battle for sure, but I'll keep at it until I get it right In closing, it's time for a change in my lifestyle and I think the Nerd Fitness community is a good place for me to document it. I know where I want to go with this, but I don't know where it's going to take me. I'm not too worried about it though. - Mark
