Decent CHA score, could use more STR & CON

[TwoToneWA]

I'm a 25 y/o professional living in Seattle, WA. My first character in DnD was a Human Bard with a penchant for getting our party nearly killed with my failed diplomacy checks. (back in the days of AD&D 2nd edition, checks were much harder than these newfangled systems.   )

 

My Story

While I've been quite fortunate in my professional life, I've often prioritized that piece of my life over my personal health. I have a demanding job that frequently requires 10-12hr days and a fair number of weekends, all of this usually spent sitting at a desk. Additionally my job is 70 miles from where I live so I typically spend about 2.5-3hrs in the car each day.

 

With all that time spent commuting or at work I rarely make time to cook a decent meal for myself, tending frequently to eat out and not really ever taking into account what I'm actually putting into my body. The only time I've had success in eating decently is when I set aside time over the weekend to plan/cook my next week's meals so I don't worry about it during the work week.

 

And finally, I've struggled with a physical challenge as I was diagnosed at 18 with Dysplastic Trochlea in both knees, and while I've had surgery on one knee (which was only a temporary fix), I have avoided dealing with the situation for far too long.

 

I'm 6'5 and weigh about 215lbs. The extra weight is particularly painful on my knees.

 

Why I'm Here

Most men in my family struggle with their weight and some various health issues, and I can see that at 25 I am headed toward similar challenges. I plan on having a family someday and I want to live a long and active life that I can share with them. So my goal is to get "fit." Which for me is going to mean losing some body fat, adding some muscle and most importantly making a structural change in my diet.

 

I decided that after a number of failed starts over the last few years, that this time I needed to look for a support structure that I could work with and hold myself accountable to. I had been turned onto Nerd Fitness by some PAX friends of mine and while I spent a fair amount of time reading the blog, I never really did much with what I read. I'm a total gamer and the approach here is a perfect fit for me. I'm excited to finally be getting involved.

 

The Good News?

In the last few months, my housemate has introduced me to strength training. He has a power cage in the garage with a bench and a pull up bar. He's been very helpful in showing me the ropes and keeping tabs on my form. His friends come over a couple times a week to use it and I've found them to be a really helpful group to learn from and they help keep me motivated.

EDIT: 7/6/14

Found out today that my housemate (also owns the house) will be moving and selling the place so looks like it's bodyweight exercising until I can find a gym or afford my own weights. Darn.

 

 

Anyway, that's it for now. Thanks for being such a welcoming bunch!

 

-TwoToneWA

[Chris-Tien Jinn]

Welcome to the Rebellion!!  I used to be a DnD player and occasionally still do jump in on a campaign.

 

You do have a bunch of challenges - you probably want to start with one or two barriers and chip away at changes over the long haul.  My year+ current RL campaign is a quest for a golden statue.  Yeap, total geek.

 

I'd say the strength training with your housemate is a TOTAL win.  Keep that up.  For one thing, building muscle will also boost your metabolism.  Then .... probably work at cleaning up your diet.  I'm also terrible at cooking and usually eat out for lunch, but I'm trying (shut up, Yoda!) to make lunches fun with a bento box system.  Geeks love Japanese, right??

[TwoToneWA]

Thanks! I'd like to find another group someday to play with, I miss having a good DnD group in my life. Guaranteed 4hrs of hilarity.

 

Yea - When I wrote down everything I wanted to do I ended up with close to 30 things that could all be 6 week challenges. I definitely want to keep up my strength training at home, but my first challenge is gonna be the transition to a healthy diet. Awesome epic quest! I like the way you've structured out your challenges. Is that the appropriate section for me to post my own challenges or would that be the battle log?

 

Japanese food is absolutely fantastic and Bento Boxes rock! Good luck.

[Chris-Tien Jinn]

I think most people pick either the epic quest or the battle log. I think battle logs were meant for daily logging of food and workouts.  The epic quest was more for life quests like Steve does (seriously ....  living like James Bond ... epic).  Since I keep my daily updates in my challenge thread, I went with the epic quest section for my life overhaul.  And since I put the links in my signature (so I can find them .... LOL), it really doesn't matter.  We are very casual around here. 

 

[Aerinity]

I love your post title. I'm generally pretty good on the CHA and STR, but my DEX could undoubtedly use some work it's pretty.... Pathetic. /weeps

 

Also, I hope your living situation works out for the best, and I hear the focusing on the career bit. May I ask what industry you work in?

[TwoToneWA]

Thanks! If every attribute were perfect we'd already be demi-god characters 

 

Appreciate the good wishes, I'm hopeful that I'll have that resolved soon so I can refocus on the personal goals. I work in politics - lots of fun, but very demanding.

[ChristArtist]

Hi TwoTone....

Welcome!

Just for the record - were you going to join up for the challenge this time?

You kind of missed this last one! ;-)

 

Knees knees knees knees....oh those bleepin' knees!

My knee caps do not track straight...I have the grooves, they just pop out...One son has surgery to 'fix' that while in the Navy, then was discharged for being disabled.

Oh those knees!

Mine just keeps tearing the meniscus...well, until there was no more!

 

So - knees...so sorry!  But, I'm sure that you know, as I do, we have to strengthen the surrounding stuff, so that our knees hold up as long as possible.

 

I'm confused about your weight...215 at 6'5"?  That doesn't sound to horribly extra on the knees...

just my opinion - but you may just need to build muscle...or, that old adage, replace fat with muscle - but, I don't know your information.

 

What I do know is that if you are starting out to rehab...you might not want to jump into a full on program...

And, if you haven't done a challenge yet - you would start as a level 1...http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/33328-challenge-instructions/

All of the guilds deal with building muscle...and I think that every one of the guilds has someone that has had knee issues!

 

I am in adventurers because of weight loss - and not wanting to tie myself down to a guild JUST yet...

so, think about what you want to do...and, if you want to discuss knee ideas with me...let me know...I'm just a PM away!

[TwoToneWA]

Thanks ChristArtist. Yah, I wanted to join the last challenge but didn't realize you could join in the middle of the challenge period. My bad!

 

Sorry to hear about your knee issues as well as your son's. You're exactly right though, strengthening those muscles is vital for the longevity aspect. I'm not sure when I'll be scheduling the surgery, but probably closer to the end of this year. It's going to be tough because it's my right leg which will mean I can't commute for a bit afterwards. I haven't figured that out yet.

 

I used to be about 185 at this height and it felt a lot better than my current weight. That said, the weight thing isn't the biggest issue for me. I think I'm what is often referred to as "skinny fat" as I don't appear to be much overweight but my suits usually hide my gut pretty well. Ultimately I want to lose some of the excess fat and put it back on as muscle. I just figure best to get my diet under control first and then add on the muscle building side of things into the mix.

 

I can appreciate not wanting to get tied to a particular guild. I have a desire to get back into martial arts and meditation so I might be a good fit for the monks, but I'm not sure. I'll have to do a challenge and figure it out after that!

 

Thanks for the offer! I may well take you up on it. Anyone with knee issues can appreciate the hesitancy to sometimes jump right into being active so it's nice to see people on this board be so encouraging.