Fell off the wagon...respawn!

[Highlander1010]

Oh man...almost 3 months since my last post.  Wow...and that long since a day of good eating and exercise as well.  I fell off the wagon with the most massive THUD and I couldn't get up.  I really wish I had

or the like...

 

Suddenly, this weekend, I finally found the inspiration to say enough is enough.  Enough sugar filled foods (and there were many).  Enough white carbs (potatoes, rice, bread, etc.).  Enough procrastination (I'll get it right after the holidays...boo!).  ENOUGH!

 

Yesterday, I had my first day of Paleo eating in 3 months.  I felt great!  I was a touch hungry, but nothing that I couldn't overcome.  I also identified that video games (yup - you heard me right) are preventing me from getting the 8-9 hours of sleep I really need nightly to both be a happy, healthy person and to get my butt out of bed earlier in the morning to workout again.  Not to mention that video games are preventing me from spending more time with my wife in the evening after our son goes to bed.

 

So...what is going to happen now?  Well, here is my new plan.  It is a short-term plan as I work out the longer term bits.

 

Highlander's Short-Term Plan (Month of December):

1. Restart Paleo only eating                          (Done)
2. Restart visiting NF daily & reading            (Done)
3. Work my way back to Level 9/10 eating    (In Progress)
4. Finish playing "Dragon Age: Inquisition"    (In Progress - because I'm not good at quitting mid-story)
5. Quit video games                                      (After Step #3 - investing in sleep & my wife will have more tangible benefits)
6. Start going to bed by 10 PM                      (Not Started)
7. Start waking up by 6 AM                            (Not Started)
8. Start working out from 6:05 to 6:45 AM     (Not Started)

From there, I have a mid-term plan to go after.

 

Highlander's Mid-Term Plan (Next 1-2 Months):

1. Clean out our spare room                          (Not Started)
2. Rebuild spare room into Batcave               (Not Started)
3. Find people to hold me accountable          (Not Started)
4. Find a workout buddy?                              (Not Started)
5. Define my life goals (what is my "why"?)     (In Progress)
6. Define new health goals                             (Not Started)
7. Create a longer term plan (3-6 mo.)           (Not Started)

Along the way (as is evident above) I have learned some things that are so critical I felt like I should share them, though they are a bit embarasing at times.

1. I am wasting my life playing video games
2. I as substituting TV/Video Games/Food for dealing with life challenges and reconnecting with my wife
3. Lack of proper sleep, eating and exercise makes everything else in my life worse
4. I am creating many of my "problems" on my own, often in my head (assumptions) vs. what really exists
5. I create a lot more stress than actually exists

So I'm working on these as well, which I believe overall will benefit my life even further.  The truth is, I've learned that video games are an escape I created years ago to deal with issues in real life (bullying).  But even though I'm not bullied anymore, I still resort to a habit of video games to escape problems/stress/percieved issues in life.  And as a result, I neglect to have actual connection with my family and friends, in a meaningful way, that would enhance my life and give me more energy, accomplishment and happiness than can be found in those games.

 

Real life is messy, hard and challenging.  It is certainly easier to die again and again in a video game...to respawn smarter than the last time...than it is to risk failing in real life.  But the reality is, for those people who really love you, who care and are invested, it is better to try, fail, learn, grow, try again and etc. than it is to not try at all.

 

So that's it for now.  I am going to invest more of my time in real life and more of my efforts in my health and happiness to get more out of the next several decades of my life than I have in the last several.  And I'm aiming to be more present here to get motivation, to share, to be motivated, etc.

 

But I also have to find some folks locally to keep me accountable, because the interwebs are really, really, really easy to ignore too.  It's not that I don't appreciate it (thus being here and writing this), but I need someone in my face from time to time or someone sitting beside me to help me up when I fall, so I can keep getting stronger.

 

Cheers!

Joel

[Aegle]

It's great that you're taking the first steps to getting back on track and regaining control over your health. Have you heard of Mark's Daily Apple? It's a website about primal living and good health.