New Recruit Reporting In

[awhitelie]

Hey guys, thought I would introduce myself. My girlfriend found this site and intro'd it to me a few days ago, and something clicked in a big way.

I've always been a huge nerd and was once upon a time a pretty serious athlete (rowing, water polo). I moved to the UK for college where I also found a part-time gig at a fancy booze shop and spent a lot of time acting in and directing stage shows (during which I picked up a nasty smokes habit, of course). Needless to say, fitness slipped to the wayside.

I graduated two years ago and picked up a job working for a tech startup that had me traveling 5 days a week, working 12 hour days if I was lucky. I managed to shake off the smoking during this time, but never got further than that. Last August, I was goofing around and stepped on my girlfriend's brother's skateboard, and promptly shattered my ankle. One year, two surgeries and a full round of PT later, I've been back on my feet for a few months (along with a gnarly scar and a new, less travel-heavy job). I'm still working stupid hours, but I've found something I really enjoy. The only thing missing is the fitness I prided myself on a long, long time ago.

When I was in college my dad, who had always been about 100 lbs overweight, took it upon himself to start a ketogenic diet that led to him shedding the extra pounds and eventually taking a job with the company that facilitated his nutritional success. Now he's killing it helping other people lose their extra weight, too. My girlfriend has always been fit, and she's always been a big advocate of eating clean and natural. She's been gently guiding me to get my act together. I've humored her, but only barely. A little cardio on an irregular schedule.

I've had the right influences around me, but only been giving renewed fitness a half-assed try.

Not anymore.

I know myself, and I don't really do anything at half-volume. When I quit smoking, I woke up one morning, knew I finally wanted to stop and told myself I wasn't going to smoke anymore. And I didn't. No backing down, no excuses. That's what clicked in me yesterday, browsing NF. I want this now. I'm going for it because there's no good reason not to, and I know pushing myself into a new challenge at full-tilt is the only way to go.

Fortunately, even after a few years of totally ignoring my health and three seasons effectively spent on a couch, I'm not doing terribly. I'm a big guy (6' 4"), and currently clocking in at 238 lbs.

I'm going to shed 15 lbs overall, losing more fat than that but packing it back on in muscle. I've never had any definition, but that's going to change. I feel like I have at least a base in good practice and good form, and I'm cleaning up my diet immediately. I hit the gym last night with my first set of body weight circuits, and I''m splitting my exercise between those and interval training to start. I've set up a food tracker on my iPhone to track and appreciate exactly what I eat, and I'll be taking my weight, full measurements, and BMI every Friday morning along with snapping a photo in the mirror.

Oh, and did I say I was as huge nerd? I think I did. I've always loved games, and been in and out of WoW for about four years. I picked it up again this winter, and have been hugely enjoying getting my daily questing done as a mental break from a high stress job. I'm a touch OCD, and definitely don't like to skip a day when I don't have to. So I decided to tie this dynamic into my plan. I gave my girlfriend the URL to my Battle.net parental controls, and if I miss a day on my schedule I get locked out of the game (and naturally Diablo III when it comes out) until I complete it. I call it fitness attunement. Honestly just the act of saying "if you wimp out, you can't do X" is enough to push my competitive streak into overdrive. But this is a convenient vehicle to keep me on track.

I'm ready to roll.

TL;DR.

I'm kicking my own ass starting: now.

[Loren Wade]

Welcome! You've found the right place then. We have lots of help, support, and nerds here.

Welcome to the Rebellion!

[Tom Kenobi]

I second Loren's welcome! You definitely found the right place man. I can relate to reading a bit here on NF and then making up your mind, no more half-assing it, I'm gonna do it! Keep it up man, there are ALOT of supportive nerds on this site.