Programmer, Scientist, Nerd?

[monkcoder]

Welp, I've been following the newletter for a while now (~6 months I guess) in cognito and I decided this morning, that it's time for a(nother) change.

 

My story? Well, here goes nothing...

 

I've been large all my life. Plain, and simple as that. I've adapted to this lifestyle and I even got comfortable with it. This is NOT okay for me anymore.

 

Triggers that are helping:

• I turn 30 in November.
• My twin brother has been skinnier than me and we even have a naming convention that I WANT to change: He's Trent, I'm Brent. T for Tall, B for Big.
• My twin brother is also getting married in 1 year May 3rd. All the groomsmen are skinny, 'cept me.
• I'm tired of living this size. I want to buy normal clothes at normal stores at normal prices.
• I want to be healthy and strong. I've never run a mile completely and that's something I want to work toward. (and then run my first 5k, 10k, 1/2, etc)
• I want to go places, do things in a way that a fat person couldn't. I also want to learn how to rock climb...like bad.

So, with that, here's some more details as far as where I'm currently:

• I lost exactly 30 pounds last year (value was recorded on Jan. 1) just by walking some and watching when I eat foods (like not eating after 9pm). Woot!
• Since then, I've been a little slack on this and am now up about 10 pounds from where I started January 1. BUT, that's going to change asap.
• I basically have 1 year for this transformation to happen (yes, I am predicting a transformation here) and that leaves me with 52 weeks of new goals that I can conquer. My path will be slow (change one habit each week), but it's the slow turtle that wins the race always.
• I weigh myself every day (or most days) except the weekends. I understand that our weight fluctuates greatly day in and day out and it's the overarching trend that counts. That is what I'm going for, but as a scientist, "if it cannot be measured, then it cannot be changed".

And a little bit about me:

• I have a Masters Degree in Physics where I studied theoretical space weather (CMEs are awesome!). I want to go back to school to get my Ph.D. definitely.
• I currently work as a scientific programmer at NASA. It's been interesting...
• I do photography as a hobby, sing lovely tenor, and have become a minimalist more and more each day.

 

So with that, I wish to thank everyone here for reading this and for the resource that's available. Y'all are awesome!

- Brent

 

P.S. My 1st week's goal is to cut soda. I tried it last week and failed brilliantly. This week, I shall conquer.

[Ba'sini'on]

WOOT! Another twin!!

 

I totally know how you feel, my twin was always the skinny one. It was depressing that I had to look harder to find my size, and she could find her stuff faster. Awesome goal with looking great for your twin's wedding, your going to look awesome I bet. It would be cool if you just showed up after finishing your goal and no one recognized you!

 

You lost 30lb.! WOOOOOOOOOOAAAAH!

 

You go Brent!

 

Fell free to PM me if you have any questions!

[StarGazer]

CME's are awesome indeed! I was studying for my Masters/PhD in Solar Physics (focus on Solar Flares) before I realized that I was miserable and graduate school was not the right fit for me. To be fair it was not the school, my advisor, or what I was studying because all of those I liked. It was the actuality of doing research that did not mesh with me. Still not sure what is the right fit for me and I miss the solar community at times (especially in the summer when my friends are off at SHINE), but at least I'm a *lot* happier than I was on the whole.

 

Where are you working at NASA? Goddard?

[Laureleye]

You've got a lot to look forward to.  You've joined the right forum for help and motivation.  You might want to jump into this thread - it's got a lot of great folks in the discussion.  Take some measurements and before pictures, not just weight.  It can be a great motivator to have other change indicators.  Welcome to Nerd Fitness.

[monkcoder]

LostOne1775:

 

Yup, totally not identical either! I'd love to show up and knock the socks off everyone. It's be awesome for them to be like: "Woah! Who are you? Wait, I know you! Woah you've completely changed!"

 

StarGazer:

 

Yea, I actually loved doing research though. Something about solving equations, and pressing on to get another result just boost my heartbeat. Also, I'm at Goddard, but I did my Master's down near Marshall. Kinda miss that place, but I needed to move on as the Physics Comps got me. I'm working on trying to get back into that field, but for now, I have a job and I can't complain.

 

Laureleye:

 

Thank you and yes, it's quite lofty. I'll definitely read that thread (thanks!) today. I was just thinking this morning as well that I should get at least some evidence before the transformation starts. It'll be a great motivation later on I believe.

 

 

 

Plus, those that I know up here can definitely see the change from last year's 30lbs. It wasn't a ton, but it still made a noticeable difference even in one year. I can't wait to make this year's change even more so! Thanks y'all!