As I used to say in Everquest, Hola.

[dhert]

I stumbled upon Nerd Fitness by chance (well, by thinking, 'is there anywhere nerds to go for fitness advice?' and then googling "Nerd fitness"). Needless to say I haven't be disappointed.

 

A little background:

 

I'm a 29 year old nerd soon to be father of two (first is currently 2 years old and requires a ton of energy to keep up with). Over the course of my life I've only once struggled with weight, but have always struggled with unhealthy practices (overeating, constant snacking) and just being out of shape (no real energy to do things and no stamina when I do). Since coming here and discovering Paleo, I've decided to make a change in my diet for the better. 

 

The one time I struggled with weight was 2 and a half years ago, I weighed 220lbs and was constantly getting sick. I went to doctors and they couldn't figure out what was going on with me, ended up getting let go from the place I was working because I was just constantly in pain. Needless to say it became a fight for my life. My Wife (the genius in the household, it would seem) put 2 and 2 together early on and said it was my lactose intolerance coming back (which I hadn't had to deal with since before I was 5).  Turns out she was right; We cut dairy out of my diet and I dropped 40lbs over the course of 6 months. I got a new job where I was constantly on my feet and kept it off for about 2 years.

 

The Present: 

 

Now I work IT for a company and spend most of my time sitting at a desk. I've been there for 2 months and I've climbed back up to 200lbs. I was also either bringing in something unhealthy or ordering food everyday (and getting Starbucks every morning, I have had an unhealthy addiction to Starbucks). That stopped this past week, I am cooking something healthy every night and portioning it out so I'd have some for lunch the following day.  I eat an Orange every morning (this has been going on for about a month now) and have incorporated a Lara Bar or Clif Bar as extra fuel if needed before lunch. I no longer drink any pop and pretty much have a glass of water on my desk constantly after the regular coffee I bring in from home every morning is gone.

 

This week I started running almost daily after doing a quick warmup. Vibrams have helped me reform my running practices (I was a natural heel striker, which you feel every pound of in Vibrams). I've started out doing the 20min Hotel Workout and last night 3 starred all the level 1 Angry Birds workouts (except for planks, since they seemed a bit shaky; taking that one away from myself).

 

The Nerd: 

 

As noted above, I played Everquest. I played A LOT of EQ. I was all about pushing myself to be one of the best on my server and being in a competitive high-end guild.  Sleepless nights and 48 hour gaming sessions are not foreign to me (though something that is definitely in my past).  When people started leaving EQ, I got on board with WoW. My wife, girlfriend at the time, joined in (up til we were done leveling our first characters), then I went back into focusing on being the best virtual Warrior I could be and getting into a high-end guild; Again I succeeded, but I was raiding 4-6 hours a night 6 days a week (this almost destroyed my relationship with my wife).

 

Since, what I describe as the decline of World of Warcraft, I have sworn off those type of MMORPGs. Now I play mainly shooters and Action RPGs when I have free time, which is hard thing to come about with a very active 2 year old.

 

The Future:

 

I want to be able to play with my kids, like there is only us on the playground. I want to show them how to play and be healthy through it (I've been eyeing the playground workout on the website).  If that means weird stares from families on the playground, then so be it.

 

I also want to have the endurance and fitness to run a 5k, 10k and half marathon. I want to someday do a full marathon, but mainly I want to be Agile and have Endurance.

[Teros]

well hello and welcome! Rpgs were a weak point for me as well.   Sounds like your goals are very assassin-y.  will you be jumping into the 6-week challenge? 

[dhert]

I've been looking into the 6 week challenge and the Real Life Roleplaying (which is completely awesome). I wasn't sure if I would be able to jump in mid-challenge or have to wait til the next one, honestly.