No more excuses!

[Deadpool]

Greetings fellow rebels!

I, like most people here, am embarking on a new journey: making better choices and healthier habits. I'll take a few minutes to type a quick intro about me and why I'm here.

About me: I am a nerd, a cube dwelling, star trek (and wars) loving, comic reading, D&D playing, Magic gathering, science wielding nerd. My occupation is engineering, and I love it. I've never played sports, however in high school I was in marching band and scouts, which is where most of my physical activity came from. But once in college, my physical activity declined, and stayed that way after I got my cubicle-dwelling job. I'm not going to lie, gyms are scary... Especially when I work on an air force base and even though I can use the base gym, it's full of people who are already fit... There's no pudgy engineer section of the gym. And for a self conscious guy like me, that was a death knell to getting fit. Or, now as I realize, a convenient excuse to not work out. But no more excuses!

Why I'm here: Last month was the most fundamental changing moment in my life, I became a dad. Now I have more reason than ever to be around for a long time, and I've seen my genetics go unchecked (my aunts and father) and that's an unacceptable future. I'm here to turn my momentum around, and get on track to be healthy. In addition to new found fatherhood, a trio of signs convened last week: I played ultimate frisbee and got overly winded within 5 minutes, the button from my dress pants popped off in a comical subway commercial fashion, I carried my son in his car carrier for about 30 minutes, and I thought my arm was going to fall off. The time is now.

I'm here to get fit for myself, my wife, and most importantly, my son. I hope to get to know the community here at NF, from the little I've seen I think I've become part of something special.

Edit:

After rereading the Rules of the Rebellion, I realize (almost) everything I wrote violates the spirit of Rule #1 "We don’t care where you came from, only where you’re going."

So after a bit of thought, here's where I see myself going:

Change of Diet:

Unlike all the times in the past I'm going to change my diet smartly to lose weight. No more 'health foods' but eating more better food, less crap. Perhaps one day I'll go full Paleo, but small steps.

Diet Goals:

-Buy nothing from the snack bar at work it's all horrible.

-Join the water club at work, and cut down on soda consumption

-Eat less processed food, more whole food. Fresh fruits and veggies, lean meats, nuts etc. This will be challenging, as time at home is streched thin as it is with the baby, not leaving much time for food prep and cooking. But, No more excuses!

-Lose 20 lbs, then lose 20 more. I put my weight goal here beccause I am a firm beleiver of Rule #4. "We understand that you can’t outrun your fork."

Change of activity:

Basically, get active again! I want to balance strength and cardio becuase I am so lacking in both departments. I'm undecided on where I will focus my fitness goals in the long run, but for now, I just need to increase my ability to even engage in excersise

Stamina goals:

-Be able to run a mile without stopping. It's a small goal, but I have to start somewhere

-Be able to walk for a full hour without stopping.

Strength Goals:

-Do a pull up

-Be able to do the full set of beginner bodyweight excersises

Habit Goals:

-Use the full three hours per week of PT I'm allowed to do at work, every week.

Change my Appearance:

Currently, I don't like the way I look without a shirt. Or even in certain shirts. I'd like to get back to wearing larges/mediums again. While part of changing my appearance is changing my physical dimensions, the other part is working on my self confidence and being comfortable in my own skin.

Appearance Goals:

-Go shirtless at the beach without feeling embarassed

-Feel/Be sexier for my wife

-Cosplay as Deadpool at Dragon*Con or Megacon

Taking on all these goals all at once would be setting myself up for failure, so I'm starting small and taking one day at a time. This time I'll be successful. As the new poster I jsut put over my desk says, "Don't give up something you want for something you want now. No excuses!"

[tanrazz]

Deadpool always makes me laugh. I hope the movie comes out all right!

I don't remember seeing other NF thoughts on it, but putting a deadline on goals has helped me--I use it as an intensifier. I try to be realistic, though. I've read that losing one, at most two pounds a week is reasonable and healthy, so I give myself 2 and a half months to lose 10 lbs. If I can run a quarter mile now, I give myself two weeks to run half without stopping. As you meet your goals, you get a better idea of better timelines for yourself.

Congrats on your new dad-ship, too. I became a mom in January, albeit a step-mom to a 10-year-old girl. It's intense and scary as heck, but it's definitely motivation to try and be a better me so I can be a better example. Of course, I only eat junk food while I'm at work. *sigh* One step at a time, right? Good luck to you!

[BruteSquad]

AWESOME AWESOME.

I just wanted to let you know that as far as the challenge of making food is concerned I got a freezer, a big one. I cook mountains of food at a time, usually some form of protein and freeze it. Microwave worked for the crap out of a box, it works on healthy stuff from the freezer too! I usually spend a couple hours on the weekend doing this.

Second point on food. The crock pot is your friend. Fill it with a good mix of food at night, stick it in the fridge. Just remember to pull it out and plug it in before leaving for work...

Oh wait... I meant to say glad you are here!

[Deadpool]

Thanks for the food tips, BruteSquad and the advice on making deadlines, tanrazz.

I was thinking about picking a few goals, and hopping into the 6 week challenge, even though we're half way through it. Is that permitted?