My manifesto

[Shamus]

Hi guys I am really excited to be here. I am a 38 year old man who is tired of being trapped in his own body. So by a curious twist of fate ended up here and decided it is time to change my life. What follows is something I wrote over the course of a few days and then posted to facebook for all my friend and family. So what follows is My Manifesto.

So it has been a while since I posted anything and I wanted to let you know why. I took a trip the other week and it allowed me to clear my head. Simply speaking: I am unhappy. My grades suck, I am in constant pain, while I have made progress in my physique I am still a fat bastard, I am lonely, and frankly feel like I could drop off of the face of the planet and very few people would give a damn. I feel that I am spinning my wheels and going nowhere. Further, I cannot remember when the last time I had any form of sustained happiness or contentment. Now, this is not a post to garner sympathy from you my family and friends, it is a declaration of WAR. The only person responsible for my health and happiness is the guy who stares at me in the mirror. So that being said I have reached the point that I am going to do something about it. Some of you will get this and others won’t: I am JEDI. I have lost this somewhere over the last few years, stumbled from the path. I have let the dark side and all of its mundania slowly creep in and take over my life, well that ends now, today! As of this moment I choose my destiny. Not anybody else, me. Now, these are all pretty words but without a specific plan they are meaningless. So here it is:

1) I need to get off my ass and make sure that I have a doctor that is going to help me with this chronic pain. I have suffered from this shit for 3 years now and have basically taken no action on it. I have excuses why I didn’t, such as if I admit it then it defines me and other such bullshit. But let’s be real has ignoring it helped? Um that’s a big fat negatory. So, quit fucking around and do something about it! So, goal one is to take care of this issue, face it head on, quit running scared, and if it cannot be defeated, then it can at least be minimized.

2) I made good progress with my weightlifting class this semester, I lost some weight and for the first time in my life actually had some muscle definition. Since school got out however, I have not been to the gym not even once. So once again this ends now. I am going to go to the gym 3 times a week.

3) I want to lose 25 lbs by EOFP. For those of you that don’t know that is a rogue party a couple of weeks after faire ends. So, roughly, middle of August. Why this is nowhere near the amount of weight I ultimately need to lose it is a beginning. I am going to accomplish this goal by four main points:

1) I will drink no more than 1 alcoholic beverage a week. I was thinking of cutting alcohol out completely but realized that with faire that is unreasonable.

2) Soda no longer is an acceptable drink choice. In fact I am going to consider it poison.

3) Water, lots and lots of water. I am going to start getting at least my daily 64 oz and then work up to drinking a gallon a day

4) Food. As one of my recent favorite websites (nerdfitness.com) states: you can’t outrun your fork. And that 80% of losing weight is in your diet. Therefore, I am going to be on a restrictive eating plan focusing on real food such as meat, vegetables, fruit, and nuts. If it comes from a package or a box and has shit in it I need to sound out then it is not getting eaten. From here on out this body is a temple, a beat up, in need of renovations, and a new coat of paint temple, but a temple non the less.

Everything else such as the grades and the sense of loneliness I believe are symptoms of either the chronic pain or the fitness levels. So, hopefully, they will resolve themselves as the other issues do. If not I will readdress them.

So my friends this is where I ask for your help. If I am around and decline a drink this summer, don’t take it personally. If we are going out to eat and I am eating rabbit food while you enjoy a big juicy hamburger or whatever, it is not a slight to you and as I ask you not to tempt me, there is no judgment being cast on you. This is simply where my life is right now. I will not be joining anyone for dessert. This does not mean you shouldn’t have it. Once again this is me and my choices for now, don’t deprive yourself and for god’s sake don’t feel guilty over my choices to not indulge. Lastly, my friends I ask you to keep me accountable. This is my journey but having a friendly reminder that I am on it can do nothing but help. Ask me how my diet, or my weight training, or anything else is going. I won’t think you are nosey, I will simply think you care.

I am taking this journey for me, and by me. No one else can change that guy in the mirror. I want to be happy, healthy and frankly look good naked and who knows maybe by taking this journey when the temple that is my body has been renovated I will find someone to worship it

Love always,

Shamus

p.s. I am jedi

[Karma Stu]

Dude this is a fantastic post!! Thanks for sharing this with us and welcome aboard!

If its support in your new way of life that you are after then you have come to the right place. (I'm guessing you have read the article on here about forming your own Jedi council?)

Good luck with the journey.

[ryanmercer]

Nice

[chickenstitch]

Wow that's an epic journey! Well done for getting started

[VorJoshigan]

Welcome. Sounds like you're headed in the right direction.