WXStormer starting a reboot on life

[wxstormer]

Greetings and Salutations...

 

I'm a fellow nerd who needs to get a restart on life.  I'm of the older variety and need lots of help.  I'm currently 42 years old type II diabetic who weighs an embarrassing 378 pounds (though I have lost almost 20 pounds since being diagnosed as a type 2 in March) and am approximately 6'-1".  I'm in the Central Texas area (think between Austin and San Antonio).  In my past life, I was an engineer (environmental), but now I'm more a programmer and infosec type person.  My calls to geekery?  I'm an engineer.  Isn't that enough.    I'm also a gamer (to a small extent, I still suck) on either of the XBox systems (wxstormer is my gaming tag - so hit me up if you want target practice).  I just finished a computer science program (to transition out of engineering).  I'm an Aspie (well, more particularly I'm a high functioning autistic who wasn't diagnosed until 3 years ago).  

 

What Am I Doing Now?

 

I have been trying to maintain a "workout" at least 4 to 5 times a week.  Generally this has been using 2 mile walks at differing speeds around my neighborhood.  However, I think I have progressed from this (by pulse rate rarely goes above 125 walking anymore) and am starting to do something similar to the C25K program where I have an interval of jogging then walking.  I started that on Saturday and my ankles have been killing me.  I also have been following a keto diet to some extent and minimizing the carbs I get in a day.  My diet is a wreck, though...  There are many foods that either make me sick or interfere with a medication that I take.  Therefore, my diet consists of meat (beef, pork, chicken, turkey are all acceptable) and a limited variety of veggies (tomatoes, lettuce, cabbage, carrits, corn, peas, green beans, onion, garlic, bell peppers, and potatoes [which I am trying to stop]).  I don't do any type of strength training yet.  I've been told that I have bad form, but I need to get back in shape.

 

What Do I Plan Doing?

 

Work on a modified C25K plan to build my walking/running stamina.  I can do a 5K walking, but I'm doing 22 minute miles.  That just sucks.  I'd like to do this at least 3-4 times a week.  My challenge is that I live on the top of a hill, so I never get a cooldown period and must think about doing one myself.

Hit a gym and start doing a little bit of strength training.  I have strength, but they are in my hands and legs.  I have a difficult time carrying a 50 pound bag of concrete.  When I was back in college for the CS degree, I had a workout buddy that kinda got me started.  I think the most I benched was like 90 pounds using free-weights or 110 on the machine (I'm a scaredy cat when it comes to free-weights).  Leg presses are no problem.  I never tried any squats.  I need and want to do all of these things.  

Change my diet.  I'm trying to eat more veggies, but my diet still sucks.  

 

My Goals (in order that I would like to complete them):

 

I'd like to be able to hike more.  I used to hike trails in the Austin and Seattle area, but I'm not in shape enough to do it anymore.

I'd like to be able to walk a 5K (I can walk one now, but my time is horrible).

I'd like to be able to run a 5K.

I'd like to be able to run a 10K.

I'd like to be able to snowboard (haven't been on real snow, so this would be a challenge).

Go climb a mountain.

Find a life partner and marry her..  this will be my hardest one..  

 

Other random things:

I'm a musician in a local community band - tuba.

I'm a sound guy at church.

I'm a storm spotter and amateur meteorologist.

 

Gaming World:  wxstormer on XBox360/1 playing mainly BF and the CoD games (with a little bit of Titanfall).  I'm a member of an Adults-only recreational gaming clan (PorkChopPlatoon) and am used frequently for shooting practice. 

 

In lieu of having someone as a workout accountability partner, I use a twitter feed where I post my walks/runs/activity/weight log/blood sugar log/etc.  I feel that if I'm out in the open enough, I can disgust myself enough to push forward.  You can see this using twitter ID:  @jeffreyfitness (http://twitter.com/jeffreyfitness).  I'm also on MapMyRun with the username jeffreycentex, so feel free to friend me or whatever.  If you are in need of an accountability partner, let me know.  I know I sure need one.

[reala728]

what? xbox? after all the mess they made?? lol i suppose they're doing right lately if anything...

 

anyways. walking is ALWAYS good. even if it doesnt boost your HR the same way it makes a HUGE difference. dont underestimate walking.

 

the diet you describe is also something that takes a bit of getting used to... but i learned fairly quickly to get into it. what i do is:

-get a crock pot

-add chicken breast from the nearest meat market (within walking distance)

-chop veggies while watching youtube videos or netflix (specifically carrots, yellow and green onions, broccoli [stocks as well], and potatoes [simply leave them out since you're trying to cut them])

-add veggies with seasoning

-add beef broth (just cause i LOVE beef, anything else will do... or nothing even) to turn it into soup, and make the ingredients last 3x as long.

-press button

 

thats ME. you can change tons of things about this, but the simplicity and longevity of meals simply cant be beat. i started out with more meat then veggies, but now i feel like i could completely cut the chicken and still enjoy eating it every night... but i need protein, so i gotta spend that $10 per week on chicken. if you dont like the idea at all thats fine too. different things work for different people ya know? thats what you (we're) here for.

[Nianne]

Welcome!

 

I did a C25K program just like that a while back. I started about three months before my first 5k was scheduled. By the day of the race I felt great, but I still wound up doing a few walking intervals during the race (and was far from alone in that!). It actually took me about a year before I could go several miles with no stopping. My point is, progress is progress, even if you don't fit the calendar.

 

And you should join the six-week challenge that starts June 9th. We'll all be accountability buddies together!

[Guzzi]

Hey! Welcome on board. 

 

Sounds like you've made some pretty big changes already, 20lbs is a lot to lose, well done.  We're just at the end of a 6 week challenge and the next one starts in 2 weeks time. If you're interested in joining in you should have a wee snoop at some peoples threads in the challenge forum to see how it all works, and maybe steal some ideas.  There's also the accountability groups in that forum too which you can join to get some support.

 

Everyone on here is really great and I'm sure that you'll enjoy it and make fantastic progress with your weightloss and fitness

 

Guzzi