So if any of you decide to quit...can I have your stuff? :P

[The Hammer]

As an ex-MMO player who has been viewing fitness and training in the MMO-frameset, I was totally stoked to find this site.  Right up my alley as far as the thinking and approach goes. 

 

Quick background in fitness:

 

I'm an endomorph who left high school at 5'7, 160 lbs.  I basically stayed there until I was 22 and started playing Dark Age of Camelot waaay back in 2000.  I was so slothful and addicted to that ****ing game that my weight, over the next 8 years, ballooned to 260 lbs!  I was a mess.  My doctor told me I was pre-diabetic, had high triglycerides, and high blood pressure.  Beyond that, I was depressed and life just generally sucked.  I used MMOs to escape the real world, which was slowly getting worse.

 

In 2009, a buddy at work in a similar situation, who also played DAoC, made a good point that if we didn't want to be forever alone, we'd better get to the gym and do something about it.  I hired a trainer and was faithful to it for a year.  My body fat percentage dropped from 34% to 20% and I was getting big gains in the strength department with my weight dropping to around 205 where the weight loss seemed to stall despite ramping up cardio.  The reason was that I wasn't tracking calories and was still overeating. 

 

In 2010 I read an article that suggested that happiness could be found in rediscovering something you used to enjoy as a child.  Immediately I thought of cycling.  I used to ride my bike EVERYWHERE when I was little.  Then I turned 16 and the bike started collecting dust.  So I went down to the bike shop and bought a fitness hybrid, a Trek 7.2 FX.  Over the next year, I ramped up my riding and got to where I could ride 50 miles, maybe a little more.  In the fall of that year I bought a used aluminum road bike and moved to Southern California from Nebraska.

 

One thing led to another, and in June of 2011, I successfully completed my first double century (200 miles in one day) with a time of just over 15 hours.  My weight was still hovering around 190-210 though because again, I still wasn't really controlling my caloric intake at all.  Quite often, I would justify overeating "because I was on a bike for 6 hours today/yesterday/whatever." 

 

In October of 2012, I got a new job that was 43 miles from where I live by bike and started doing full commutes several times a week on my brand-new full carbon/all Ultegra road bike.  In May/June of 2013, I was racking up 500 miles a week and really getting strong on the bike.  My weight had dropped to 165 lbs and I was really feeling strong.  ....Then I cramped one day during a cycling event and couldn't walk for two weeks due to severe dehydration and electrolyte imbalances.  Whoops.  During those two weeks, I almost instantly put on 15 lbs, most certainly water weight, but then I kinda ate like trash and piled on an additional 10 lbs.

 

So here I am, 190 lbs, ready for a new challenge.  I'm going to make sure I get enough fluids this time around and track my calories while using an intermittant fasting strategy where my eating window will be 2-8PM each day. 

 

I'm excited to be here and look forward to our adventures.  I guess I'm a scout because of all my endurance cycling.  Hopefully I can find a good pick-up group and pwnz0r 30 lbs of body fat in the next several months.....

 

Yeah, I use Strava.  I like it for the most part.  Especially the little "Weekly Goal" bar that fills up as I pile on the miles.  Makes sense to a gamer nerd like me. 

 

http://www.strava.com/athletes/hesker

 

[ravnos]

Welcome to another ex-MMO player/cyclist!

 

I used to play WoW, but then as they started implementing more changes my enjoyment of the game decreased further and further. Now I play Minecraft... but that's a whole 'nother story.

 

Welcome aboard and good luck with your goals. I just started paying attention to my caloric intake and whatnot as well, it's a solid plan. I mountain bike, so 500 miles a week seems kinda crazy to me, but I guess that gets balanced between the hills and whatnot that I'm hitting.

[The Hammer]

Yeah, when you're riding a ton of miles, rest assured that not every mile is created equal, especially when you factor in elevation gain, weight of the rider, and the rule that it takes 4x as much power output to go twice as fast.  I played WoW for about a year in total, but it never really got ahold of me like DAoC or Eve did.  I played DAoC for something like 7 years and Eve for 3 years.  At the end of it, I think I actually liked the grind more than the end-game. 

[ravnos]

Yeah, when you're riding a ton of miles, rest assured that not every mile is created equal, especially when you factor in elevation gain, weight of the rider, and the rule that it takes 4x as much power output to go twice as fast.  I played WoW for about a year in total, but it never really got ahold of me like DAoC or Eve did.  I played DAoC for something like 7 years and Eve for 3 years.  At the end of it, I think I actually liked the grind more than the end-game. 

Oh, oh I know. Cycling can be brutal (nice sig. btw).

 

Yeah WoW was fun in Classic/Burning Crusade, but then it all went downhill because all there was to do was grind gear. They took all the skill out of the game by making the classes nothing more than pressing the right buttons in the right order *yawn*.

 

Eve looks cool though, the guitarist in my band plays it.

[Sifter]

Welcome to the NF community!  Saw your comment on my battle log and thought I'd check out your thread....I am implementing intermittant fasting this weekend, window will be 10-7.  I'll have to keep tabs on your progress....oh, and I'm a scout too.  Be sure to check out our challenge forum.  Some very inspiring peeps.  Definitely keep me striving for excellence.  Good luck!