I walk up to the quest board...

[Blackbeetle13]

Hey there folks! I'm new here and looking for a community that can guide me in my quest for better health. I am currently 396 lbs, the heaviest I have ever weighed, and I am looking to make changes in my lifestyle to hit my initial goal of 300lbs. I am based out of the Northwest Arkansas area, work a third shift position 5 days a week, and sit at a desk for my job. I'm a lifelong nerd and gamer, picking up my first D&D books when I was 9 years old at a second hand store. Any advice/guidance on where to start is much appreciated, as is meeting up with anyone based out of NWA. I'm looking forward to the battle ahead and welcome all allies. Take care!

[Hyperion]

welcome to the rebellion Blackbeetle! i can be your asskicker if you want one. we also have a secret fb accountability group with four great persons plus me. you are welcome to join if you want! hit me a pm if you are interested!

[Blackbeetle13]

Thank you for the welcome and the offer! I'll shoot you a PM and we can talk some more.

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Welcome to the rebellion. You have a good initial goal defined, now the question is how are you going to go from 396 to 390? Eating well and working out are the best ways, the trick is to find an eating plan and a fitness plan that will work for you. Check out Steve's blog, there is a lot of good info over there.

[Blackbeetle13]

Currently I'm trying to find an eating/meal plan that works for me and my girlfriend. I understand that Paleo is the go to solution here, but do you know of any other healthy eating plans that have been met with success? As for exercising, I've started going on long walks daily, I'm doing upper body work outs 4 days per week, and I've added small changes to my life(taking the stairs at work, parking near the back of the parking lot, standing more at home) that will add more movement to my life.

[Hyperion]

Well i don't know if others have been marketed with such a success. Basically any meal plan with right calories could do the job. It's about finding one that fits you and then starting to tune it up.

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Vegeta is right, any diet works if you stick with it. We talk about Paleo here because it works for a lot of us, but there are a lot of Nerds who do other things as well. The biggest thing is eat real food; stuff that's been too processed is not your friend.

[Noname123]

I'm going to throw in my two cents here- both Tank and vegeta are right. Additionally, you're looking to build lasting habits at the start. You don't have to jump in 100 percent all gung-ho I'm going to revamp EVERYTHING!!!! mode- that can easily overwhelm or burn people out. 

 

Start with the little things. Do you drink soda? Replace it with diet soda and then phase that into carbonated flavored water. What's the worst thing you eat? Find a HEALTHIER alternative- it doesn't have to be wholly 'healthy' food to start out with, just healthier than your current choice and then transition that into something healthier yet two weeks down the road. 

 

Start taking a few little walks here and there and build off that. Have physical goals you want to achieve and pick something AWESOME- like trekking through the mountains, learning parkour, just something that really grabs your attention- and break that down into a plan. Don't put a timeline on it, just make logical achievable goals that make sense and logically progress towards your end goal. Think about that awesome goal any time you want to skip your action- think about that amazing thing that you're leveling towards.

 

The Challenges are a great way to start, build a community and get motivated. Reward yourself not with cheat meals and food, but tangible items you want to avoid falling into the 'cheat slide'. All these  little steps will eventually add up and you'll slowly go from one lifestyle to another. It's not fast, it's not quick and it is challenging but it sticks. And you'll have those built habits rather than trying a diet you might not stick with a few weeks down the road. 

[Hellany]

What Slates said about the Challenges - I'm doing the Assasins Star Trek themed challenge right now and it's just plain *fun*. It makes me look forward to the time I set aside for it.