Am nerd. Will fit.

[Finch!]

Hi, I'm Finch!

I found this place after reading random Paleo life websites. I'm here because I'm a nerd and I'm not as fit as I'd like to be. I'm not huge, I'm not thin, but I'm definitely not happy with how I look or how I perform.

Anyway. I'm a 27 year old single Australian guy. I spend a lot of time sitting down. My parents and I run a geological software business and I guess I work full time as a computer nerd (FreeBSD and Linux systems administration, software design, etc) and also study full time (Bachelor of Communications with a journalism major). On the side, I trade gold to fund adventures... which we'll get to in a minute. I'm also a food and wine nerd: I'm a wine judge, food travel enthusiast, I love cooking and eating, and I eventually want to get in to food and wine and travel writing. I'm doing a ten day introductory course in May as part of a huge food nerd event nearby. I even have plans for postgraduate studies, either in food/wine/gastronomy or international relations and global security. Can't get much more different than that, hey?

Basically, I'm busy and I sit down a lot, I drink too much, and I love food.

I enjoy adventures, and they're part of the reason I'm here... in a fairly roundabout way.

I am a scuba diver. I spend a lot of time in Thailand each year, diving and doing diving courses. I'm planning to spend three months there from late November, on a place I think of as my second home: a little island in the Gulf of Thailand named Koh Tao. I'm going to do a divemaster course and I want to have a beach friendly body. So that's a goal, I guess. Look good naked (or at least in shorts!) by November.

However, there is one HUGE obstacle: I am going to have to have surgery on my left shoulder to remove bone spurs and fix the labrum. No later than July if I want to be recovered sufficiently to be able to enjoy the trip.

Some figures: I'm 177cm tall and, at the moment, I weigh 78.5kg. About one month ago I nixed grains from my diet and started eating in a slightly modified primal manner. Before that I was slightly overweight: 83kg. It didn't look great.

I'm reasonably active: I lift weights in a gym for 45 minutes, twice a week. I have a personal trainer to help me avoid doing things that will ruin my shoulder (or at least cause pain). An ex girlfriend is a pilates instructor, and once a week she punishes me with one hour of core strength fun. I play golf - usually about once a week - and walk the course. I'm working on including sprinting in to my weekly routine... the goal is for 2km of sprinting each week. I'm at 500m so far, but could easily do 1km if I weren't so slack. My gym has Crossfit sessions, but they just don't work timing wise. I'd like to try them if I had the chance.

Here are some photographs!

A friend got married in October 2011. I was a groomsman. I'm on the left, with the fat chin:

This is me in 2007, with the girl he married. My neck and chin are kinda the same thing.

Coincidentally, with the dude who got married touching me. 2008. NECKCHIN.

I tend to look like this, although I'm not normally on a farm with a shotgun, and I don't normally dress like that. But you can see the neckchin at work:

Neckchin 2010.

An ex girlfriend and I. Kinda neckchinny. July 2010.

I don't even look good in a wetsuit. I'm the dude in the middle, with the bulging stomach.

And finally, yesterday. I actually took these whilst writing this post but the forum was busted when I tried to post it and then I had to go out... so they're as near as I can get to "right now." Never before seen near naked photographs of me on the Internet, complete with face and junk concealing black squares, unshaven face, un-manscaped chest. Left is tensed, right is relaxed. 78.5kg.

So, what am I going to do to acquire a beach friendly body by November? WELL... the easiest option is to trim the hair However, there's much more to it than that...

1) More paleo eating. Drink less (I'm a wine judge, I drink wine. It's like death and taxes), reduce fruit consumption, reduce cheese and cream consumption. Eat more bacon and fish.

2) Sprint more.

3) Walk more. More golf if my shoulder can handle it (it can't).

4) Lift heavier things.

5) Introduce some kind of intermittent fasting routine. I'm thinking Mondays and Thursdays. To be evaluated.

6) I want to take up some kind of martial art, but I don't know where I'm going to find the time. I like the idea of Wing Chun.

So, in summary: 27 year old male. 177cm. 78.5kg. Weights, pilates, golf. Scuba diver. Shoulder injury. Look good on a beach by November. Win at life.

Hi

[Book]

Welcome... uh... let's see. The initiation, right. Hmmmm.

Like all new members, you must prove your loyalty to the cause. In your case... you must take in a steady stream of nerds who will now make the trek to Australia in order to experience just a *bit* of all the fun you're describing. Geez... great food, great wine, scuba diving, golf. Nice. *And* you get along with ex-girlfriends? Okay, now I know this whole post is just a set up. If only there were an initiation. Oh well.

Seriously, welcome. I'm sure the people here can provide the support you need to achieve that goal!

[Finch!]

During December 2010 and January 2011 I was in Thailand on a scuba diving adventure. The photograph above of me in the tech setup (two tanks! Double the win!) was taken in January 2011, in Thailand. My days consisted of sleeping in, diving in the afternoon, drinking enormous amounts of beer at night, and eating lots of Thai food. Aside from the beer intake, I had eliminated most grains, legumes, potato, and other starch from my diet. It was high protein, moderate fat, low carb (if the beer is ignored).

In that time I lost about 8kg, and felt fantastic. I had a ton of energy, slept well, and was loving life. I returned home and piled the weight back on, despite lowing my beer intake from ten a day (I said it was an enormous amount!) to a few per week. I also had a few stomach issues when I returned. It wasn't pretty, but I think it can be attributed to a nasty sinus infection I picked up and the ensuing antibiotic routine killing all the nice bugs in my gut. In July last year I went back for nearly a month, and the same thing happened: drink beer, eat Thai food, lose weight. I was barely in the water due to injury (on my first dive of the trip), so I doubt it could be put down to exercise alone...

Anyway, it's been nearly a year since I returned home from Thailand after several months there and a few weeks ago I started thinking about my time there, and how I felt upon my return. I was surprised when I realised that I lost weight eating what I thought were unhealthy foods: fried omelettes, curries laden with coconut milk, stir fries (OK, I didn't think they were too bad), and so on. I ate a lot of meat, fruit, vegetables, and fat. Carbs were limited to beer and occasional noodles, rice, and French fries - probably only twice a week, I guess. But beer was a constant.

Life in tropical paradise was like this: Wake up at 10am, wander down the hill to the beach via lunch by 12:30 to hit the afternoon dive boat. Two dives, about 60 minutes each, then return to the dive resort. Beer from 5pm to 2am. Stagger home, sleep, repeat. For months. It was fairly physical - lifting tanks and gear, swimming, walking up and down hills from home to the beach, playing games on the beach at low tide, climbing hills on my days off, and dancing like an idiot on the beach until dawn. I'm 27 so I think I'm too old for crap like that but I had an awesome time, and I'm going back for more.

I've been looking in to the diet I had and I've been contrasting it with the diet I have at home in Adelaide. It's not a bad diet, but I do eat a lot of carbs: I am a bread junkie, I love beautifully cooked pasta, I eat rice and cous-cous with meals, plenty of crackers with tuna and dips, and so on. I love fruit and vegetables, don't eat a whole lot of dairy, and meat and fish are a large component of my diet... but the grains? The grains kill me.

I eliminated bread, rice, cous-cous, and potato from my diet a couple of weeks ago. At first, the cravings for carbs were strong. I wanted bread. I missed bread. All I could think about was the fantastic wood fired bread from my local bakery. These cravings passed after a week.

Since I've nuked grains I've found that I sleep better, bounce out of bed with more energy, have less irritation caused by allergies (my eyes were permanently bloodshot due to pollen and other nasties in the air), recover better from gym sessions, am more attentive and think better, my stomach has settled down, and I feel great. But feeling great and being great aren't the same thing, so it's time to work on the being awesome part of life

[Finch!]

Welcome... uh... let's see. The initiation, right. Hmmmm.

Like all new members, you must prove your loyalty to the cause. In your case... you must take in a steady stream of nerds who will now make the trek to Australia in order to experience just a *bit* of all the fun you're describing. Geez... great food, great wine, scuba diving, golf. Nice. *And* you get along with ex-girlfriends? Okay, now I know this whole post is just a set up. If only there were an initiation. Oh well.

Seriously, welcome. I'm sure the people here can provide the support you need to achieve that goal!

Ha!

Hey, the door is always open. Have couch, can provide. Couch surfer duties include being awesome and not smelling like cabbage (don't ask). Seriously, too. When I travel I invite random people to visit and sometimes they even do it. No murders yet, just sore heads.

I'm the first to admit... life is pretty awesome now. In fact, it's fantastic. I'm very, very lucky.

Life sucked a few years ago, but I woke up one day and decided to do more... fun stuff. Travel, road trips, activities - now I'm allowed to shoot things, fly things, I can play golf and lawn bowls without people laughing at me, I can dive inside shipwrecks using weird gas blends, drive a truck (I don't even know why), ride a motorbike without crashing tooooo badly, climb cliffs, jump out of aircraft and survive!, taste wine and judge it and even write about it - and now I don't live to work. I work to have fun. It's the best decision I've ever made. I was miserable, now I'm happy.

I started university straight outta high school when I was 17. I finished a degree when I was 20 and from 20 to 25 I was pulling 100+ hour weeks working. I hated it, and it was killing me. Good money, but definitely not a career or life I wanted to continue. If I didn't make that decision I think I would now be the most miserable person on earth. Or dead. So I bought plane tickets, a stupid car, guns, hired a guy to do half my job for me, went back to school to do something I actually liked, and tried to figure out a way to live happily without hating it. A lot of my friends are in similar positions but haven't done anything about it. They're either too scared or have too many commitments. I'm incredibly lucky to have such a flexible job (well, I'm the boss) and nothing really tying me down. Apart from school, but because I'm choosing to do it it's easy. It does cramp my style a bit but if I weren't doing it my brain would be sludge and I'd be stupid.

But anyway. Thanks for the welcome

[morethanjustamom]

Ha!

I can dive inside shipwrecks using weird gas blends,

Are you one of those nitrous junkies?

[Finch!]

Are you one of those nitrous junkies?

Nitrox! And yeah... I dive nitrox over air. Oxygen enriched air is delicious. Also good for hangovers

The weirdest gas blend I dive is trimix, but it's stupidly expensive and I rarely go deep enough to make it worthwhile. I don't think I've ever dived it outside the qualification course! The eventual goal is to be qualified for trimix rebreathers so I can dive in gnarly wrecks and not blow bubbles. But that's a long way off yet. Rebreathers are expensive and scary, and I'm cheap and don't like scary things.

[morethanjustamom]

Nitrox! That's what I meant, just tripped over my spelling there, lol.

My husband and I learned to dive about four years ago. I wish we had more time to commit to it, because we both love it, but life/kids/work keep us too busy to go out more than once a year.

[Finch!]

Nitrox! That's what I meant, just tripped over my spelling there, lol.

My husband and I learned to dive about four years ago. I wish we had more time to commit to it, because we both love it, but life/kids/work keep us too busy to go out more than once a year.

Diving is amazing.

I don't like the beach and I hate the ocean. I'm terrified of sharks and I never really thought about diving until I went on an adventure after getting jack of boring life... in 2008, I think.

I was in Thailand, going to some island to meet up with some guys I'd been rafting with in northern Thailand a couple of weeks previously (three days white water rafting! DO IT!). The boat was packed and I was tired... and I fell asleep. When I awoke the boat was nearly empty, and I'd missed the island I was going to. I spoke with some guys and asked what was going on. The boat was going to Koh Tao. What's Koh Tao? What happens on Koh Tao? We're going diving... do you want to come with? Sure! I was only there for four days.

I loved it. I've never felt so... at home before, both on the island and underwater. I did an open water course and went back nine months later, dragging six friends with me. They loved it, too, and I know the experience has changed lives. I keep going back, and I know that I will live there for a while. It's inevitable. I keep going back for more - I'm lucky to be able to find stupid airfares. $250 from Melbourne to Bangkok? Lock it in.

But, being a nerd, I wasn't a huge fan of the recreational side of diving. The courses are lowest common denominator, everybody passes, basic science, "Remember... diving is fun! Here's your certification!" style instruction. An epic lifestyle for sure, but I wanted more. So I started along the technical diving route. "Remember... diving is fun!" is now "Do it right, or you'll probably die." The courses are much more thorough and the harassment is also kinda fun. Think... air being turned off, masks being knocked away/stolen underwater, legs being tied together, mysterious equipment malfunctions. It teaches self sufficiency and required redundancy, and also lets me do cooler stuff. Hanging out with turtles and whale sharks is fun but I really want to hang out in history. World War Two wrecks, and so on.

It sounds weird, but I'm terrified of diving locally. Too many sharks, cold water, average visibility. It's another fear to overcome, I guess, and if a shark is going to eat me then so be it.

Come to Thailand in January. I'll take you guys diving

[morethanjustamom]

I actually let my husband talk me into going on a shark dive with him in Roatan back in 2008 (I know, but I'm a sucker for the guy), but then our plans fell through.

We haven't done technical classes yet, but I am interested in the rescue diving classes, where they do stuff like you talked about above. The only thing holding me back is the night dive, because I'm terrified of diving in water I can't see in, and the small amount of illumination from a spotlight doesn't make me feel any better. Hubby (aka Mr. Adventure) seems to think that would be the coolest part.

I've loved diving with turtle and tarpon, hunting for underwater diamonds, and diving wrecks, but I agree with you. Wrecks and history are the coolest. We have access here to several sites in the US of sunken aircraft carriers and the like. Very cool stuff.

[AKLulu]

Welcome to the Rebellion! Sounds like you're getting a good start already pulling people in with your diving adventures and Aussie charm We're glad to have you and now I know if I ever venture to Adelaide, I've got a place to stay. Sweet!

[Finch!]

I actually let my husband talk me into going on a shark dive with him in Roatan back in 2008 (I know, but I'm a sucker for the guy), but then our plans fell through.

We haven't done technical classes yet, but I am interested in the rescue diving classes, where they do stuff like you talked about above. The only thing holding me back is the night dive, because I'm terrified of diving in water I can't see in, and the small amount of illumination from a spotlight doesn't make me feel any better. Hubby (aka Mr. Adventure) seems to think that would be the coolest part.

I've loved diving with turtle and tarpon, hunting for underwater diamonds, and diving wrecks, but I agree with you. Wrecks and history are the coolest. We have access here to several sites in the US of sunken aircraft carriers and the like. Very cool stuff.

I've dived with bull sharks before. They're nasty creatures in cold water (like where I live) but kinda nice in warm water (like tropical paradise). They're big and fast and I chewed through my air when they were around so I guess I was pretty nervous

Night diving is awesome. It's... unique. Underwater animals behave completely differently, and the experience is completely different to diving during the day. It helps if you're diving at a site you're familiar with, so you know the bottom depth and roughly how to navigate. I almost prefer night diving to diving during the day!

Welcome to the Rebellion! Sounds like you're getting a good start already pulling people in with your diving adventures and Aussie charm We're glad to have you and now I know if I ever venture to Adelaide, I've got a place to stay. Sweet!

Haha, thanks for the welcome! When you rock up, bring wine. That's rent

[GreenEyesBright]

Welcome to the rebellion. I want your life. That is all.

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[The Shogun]

Welcome to the rebellion. I hate neckchin too. I hate it with all my guts.

[knightrider]

Sprinting, swimming laps and lifting heavy weights in short reps will fix it as long as you are eating Paleo at least 80% of the time. Diet is more important than exercise. You could probably negate that before but now that you're coming up on 30, the game changes (nastier hangovers and lower tolerance to some foods). oh and welcome to the rebellion!

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I am here: http://tapatalk.com/map.php?2mzqc3

[Finch!]

Welcome to the rebellion. I want your life. That is all.

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I never want my old life again. Ever. My new life is amazing and I couldn't be happier, though I have sacrificed a lot to get it. My income is less than half what it was, I broke up with the girl I thought I was going to marry because she couldn't handle the way I wanted life to be (she's very career driven and wanted kids NOW and I wanted them... in ten years time, maybe), I've moved out of the place we shared and back with my parents. But it's not all bad - they travel a lot, too, so in reality we're only around each other six months a year and it makes my much reduced income go further. We don't always see eye to eye or enjoy living with each other but the benefits - for all three of us - mitigate the bits that don't work so well.

A lot of my friends are lawyers, engineers, doctors, pilots, in their late 20's. They're on seriously good money but most of them are hating life. Too much work, too much stress, too much debt, too much of everything except fun and time. They and their girlfriends and wives have pretty much settled down for the 30 to 40 year plan: career, marriage, kids, house, debt, and usually... dissatisfaction. They all want to do it differently but they can't. Or won't. They're doing what society expects, what their family think is normal, what is seen as what people do before they die. I want something else: good stories, good times, good relationships, good people, big adventure, and to live comfortably and happily without stress and without the constant feeling of being dissatisfied with life that I used to feel. The path I am pursuing now will eventually take me there, even though it might not be particularly lucrative.

Thanks for the welcome

Welcome to the rebellion. I hate neckchin too. I hate it with all my guts.

Thanks! Neckchin is evil. I've had one for years and I really don't want one any more. It's gotta go. It's definitely a goal.

Sprinting, swimming laps and lifting heavy weights in short reps will fix it as long as you are eating Paleo at least 80% of the time. Diet is more important than exercise. You could probably negate that before but now that you're coming up on 30, the game changes (nastier hangovers and lower tolerance to some foods). oh and welcome to the rebellion!

Hi! Thanks for the welcome!

Coming up on 30... yikes. I'll be 28 soon. I've worked out that I'll graduate from this degree on or around my 30th birthday. Woah.

I can/do sprint (though I am slack and need to do more) and I lift heavy things in small-ish sets. No more than 10 to 12 reps per set, for any given exercise. I know about the 5x5 and similar approaches, though I'm not sure if they will give the results I want. I don't want much bulk, I want lower body fat, no neckchin, and bigger muscles without chasing the absolute size that those routines seem to be about.

Diet is mostly Paleo. Beer gets in the way, but is being reduced. To zero. This week. Feels good!

Sprinting is definitely easier than swimming at the moment - my shoulder hates me swimming, so I avoid it. I'd like to get back in to it when my shoulder is OK, and when I am in tropical paradise I swim a lot. Usually underwater in scuba gear without using my arms, but it's still counts

[Morrigainz]

Welcome! I think I love you. If I weren't already married I might want to marry you. Also bonus: Australian accent.

All kidding aside...sounds like you've got a great attitude. I've found everyone here to be enormously helpful and awesome. And nerdy. So I am sure you will fit right in!

Also...I have a neckchin as well. A photographer once told me to stick my chin out, and voila! Less neckchin. But it's still there...my arch nemesis.

[AKLulu]

Haha, thanks for the welcome! When you rock up, bring wine. That's rent

Oh, I'm all for wine payments.... just so long as I still get to partake

I never want my old life again. Ever. My new life is amazing and I couldn't be happier, though I have sacrificed a lot to get it. My income is less than half what it was, I broke up with the girl I thought I was going to marry because she couldn't handle the way I wanted life to be (she's very career driven and wanted kids NOW and I wanted them... in ten years time, maybe), I've moved out of the place we shared and back with my parents. But it's not all bad - they travel a lot, too, so in reality we're only around each other six months a year and it makes my much reduced income go further. We don't always see eye to eye or enjoy living with each other but the benefits - for all three of us - mitigate the bits that don't work so well.

A lot of my friends are lawyers, engineers, doctors, pilots, in their late 20's. They're on seriously good money but most of them are hating life. Too much work, too much stress, too much debt, too much of everything except fun and time. They and their girlfriends and wives have pretty much settled down for the 30 to 40 year plan: career, marriage, kids, house, debt, and usually... dissatisfaction. They all want to do it differently but they can't. Or won't. They're doing what society expects, what their family think is normal, what is seen as what people do before they die. I want something else: good stories, good times, good relationships, good people, big adventure, and to live comfortably and happily without stress and without the constant feeling of being dissatisfied with life that I used to feel. The path I am pursuing now will eventually take me there, even though it might not be particularly lucrative.

I like this attitude. I think that's kind of where I'm at. I mean, I still want a house and kids and everything, but mostly I just want to be happy. I could have gone on to get my masters or doctorate and become a veterinarian or human doctor, but you know what? I'm pretty happy right now as a fish tech. The people I work with are awesome and I get to spend all summer outside. Other than my dog, I have no dependents, so who cares if I'm not getting rich? Well I might care a little... but that's mostly because I wish I had enough money to travel... and own a house where I can take care of foster dogs.

Welcome! I think I love you. If I weren't already married I might want to marry you. Also bonus: Australian accent.

You know.... I'm single...

[GreenEyesBright]

Fish tech? Please explain more. I'm in school right now for marine sciences but theres so many different aspects of it and I just want to get to the fish already Currently in class doing experiments on density (watching blue dye swirl in a large fish tank for an hour to stimulate glacier melt. Not what I imagined at all.)

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[Morrigainz]

You know.... I'm single...

But do you have an Australian accent?

[AKLulu]

Haha, if you're more interested in the fish, you should have done fisheries science I actually have my bachelor's in general biology and wanted to work with mammals... I actually told people that I never wanted to work with fish But the thing is, I grew up commercial fishing (for salmon) in Alaska and "working with fish" back home means working in fisheries management and not only would I have had to hear how upset everyone was about the way it was being managed at work, I'd have to hear it at home because my whole family is full of fishermen! So that's why I didn't want to work with fish.

Here in Portland, I was lucky enough to land this job as a fishery tech and am liking it pretty well. I think fish tech is a pretty arbitrary title - basically means "does whatever the biologists/superiors want them to." With this position I've done sea lion hazing (scaring sea lions away from fish ladders at a dam with fire crackers shells shot from a shotgun); helped with surgeries to put acoustic tags in adult steel-heads; taken scale samples, fin clips, and measurements of Chinook salmon at the same dam; done topographic surveys of streams with other included metrics like pebble counts, habitat unit delineation and estimate of riparian vegetation; and processed (dried, sieved, and weighed by size) loads and loads (192 2-gallon buckets to be exact) of gravel taken from areas in those streams that looked like they'd be good for spawning; now I'm doing computer stuff - QA/QC on data, data entry, simple analyses. Not really the short version of what a fish tech might do, but the list goes on!

And the school part is definitely not always exciting, but later you may have a chance to tell somebody about what you learned while watching blue dye swirl in a large fish tank and they might be really interested! I always love sharing my knowledge with other people

[AKLulu]

But do you have an Australian accent?

No, but I thought he was supposed to take care of the Australian accent part for me

[Morrigainz]

No, but I thought he was supposed to take care of the Australian accent part for me

Oh. Oops. I totally misinterpreted.

Well I guess you will have to live my dream of marrying a hot Australian...

[Book]

Is this when I get to totally nerd out and go all Beavis and Butthead?

[AKLulu]

Oh. Oops. I totally misinterpreted.

Well I guess you will have to live my dream of marrying a hot Australian...

Haha... well... there's no guarantee there. Finch! hasn't read this thread recently it seems... but if not him, there may be some other Aussie out there willing to have me Or Kiwi.... or Norwegian... or Scotsman... this could go on forever

[unicornassassin]

I love how obsessed you are with your neckchin. I'm that way with my batwings.