Fuck the Freshman 15 (Warning: Memoir)

[Zach L]

Fitness Nerds,

 

Summary: I'm a nerd, Sports causing not to have to worry about weight, sports end, prom weight loss, post-prom slump, freshman 15, today, problem= lack of motivation, solution= blog?

 

Finally a group where I'll fit in. The label nerd definitely fits me well, but I embrace that. Recently I have been reflecting on what my goals were this time last year, which was a significant year for me. I was a couple of weeks out from moving away to college. Moving away really only meant 100miles to Baylor University (I live in Dallas), but nonetheless still a daunting task. 

 

Up to that point I had never had to worry about weight issues really because I was active in high school. I played high school and club ice hockey (in Texas? what?!?! wouldn't the ice melt?!?!). Although, despite playing hockey pretty much everyday I still was on the heavier end and certainly was never the one looking forward to taking my shirt off at a lake house or pool. My weight at the time hovered around 190, which I always wanted to get down, but part of my role in hockey was to be the big physical guy, so I never had anyone really encouraging me to lose weight.

 

Senior year roles around in high school and I was going to prom with my new (and still current) girlfriend whom I had been chasing since freshman year (don't judge). She is a workout-aholic and had been telling me about these Insanity workouts she was doing and boy did I think she was crazy. Well hockey season had ended by then and I needed to lose weight for prom so somehow she convinced me to do all 3 months of Insanity. You really start to appreciate the name of the program once you finish it, pure Insanity. It had worked though and I lose about 15-20 pounds and looked fairly muscular and fit. 

 

Unfortunately, the happy part of the story ends after prom. I gained the weight back slowly over the summer and right before I left for college I was back at 190 again. My goal was to lose the weight in college. After all there is a "free" gym on campus. Well as you may have guessed....that did not work out very well. It turn out having a cafeteria on the way to the gym is very distracting and counter-productive.

 

My freshman year I did what I had promised not to do, I gained the Freshman 15 (Amazing how accurate that is btw...I weighed almost exactly 205 when I came home for summer. fast forward to now, before my sophomore year, 3 months later and I still weigh about 205. 

 

My biggest problem when it comes to fitness and weight loss is motivation. I am the personality type to be super motivated when other people are expecting me to workout with them(i.e my girlfriend the workout-aholic). Unfortunately, my girlfriend lives another 100miles down the road in Austin, TX. 

 

The Plan: I want to start a weight loss blog and document my weight loss and body transformation. I can track my workouts and calorie intake. I may even get a body fat percentage monitor and track that as well. I would get an enormous amount of motivation from people interacting there. I also just have an interest in blogging. I am interested in workout like boxing, interval, running, sports, and anything else you can think of. I may even train for a half marathon? let me know what y'all think?!!? Names for the blog?!

 

Authors note: This was way longer than I planned... sorry to bore you with my life. 

 

You're fat nerdy friend,

 

Zach

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Welcome to the rebellion. I have seen Baylor's gym, it's crazy (they once decided I wasn't qualified for their Ph.D. in Religion program). The student fee they charge you for it could be one point of motivation right there. If you want people expecting you to work out, why not head over to the recruit section and jump in to the six week challenge. We are only on week two, so it's not too late. People may not be physically working out with you, but they can help keep you accountable.

[mmoran0032]

I like the goal of a half marathon (way better than the full, IMHO), and I'm sure Baylor has one on campus at some point during the year (most colleges/college towns do), so in addition to the student fee motivating you, going right for that and paying the registration fee could also be a good motivator. You would need at least 12 weeks to build up to that distance/endurance, and maybe 16 to be on the safe side, but it's doable. One of the biggest hurdles to starting distance running is the mental aspect of keeping your legs moving for an hour or more straight, and doing that on a weekly basis as you train. On the other side of the coin, finishing a long run is usually pretty straight forward...getting a decent time is the hard part.

[Tyburn Lil]

I hope you're still hanging around, motivation and prompting is what this site seems to have in cart loads.

And I laughed my head off at your accidental(?) grammar slip.

"You'(a)re fat nerd friend"

Yes, I know, that's why we're all here

[Aegle]

Welcome to the Rebellion Zach. I'm also a college student and suffered from the Freshman 15. Nerd Fitness is a great resource and community that can help support you on your weight loss goals. But remember, it's not just about weight loss--it's a lifelong journey towards a better you. Think about your motivation, or reason, for getting in better shape. This shouldn't just be superficial (i.e. looking better) but about how it can enable you to live a better life. May the Force be with you xP