Checking in!

[TheDisapprovingBrit]

Hi, 

 

It's a new year, so time to stop putting things off and take a bit of control of my life. I've been lurking for a while, so here I am to actually do something. Starting with a wall of text. 

 

I'm 35, male, in the UK, and every year for the past couple of years I've made the same mistakes - "It's the first of January, it's my new life" and, gym membership in hand, I'm psyched. I go to the gym religiously for a couple of weeks, before I "just skip a day to let my muscles recover properly" and never go again.

 

This year, it's a change of approach. I want to improve my lifestyle in four key areas - finance, exercise, diet and work; but I'm not going to throw myself into anything that I can't sustain. That means no wasting money on gym memberships that I know from experience I won't commit to. It's all about the small lifestyle changes that work around what I already do, and don't intrude on what little spare time I do have. 

 

First, instead of driving to work, I now walk the two miles each way. That  means I'm arriving at work refreshed, but not exhausted. It gives me two half hour chunks of time to myself, where I can reflect on what I want to do with the day, or wind down and daydream during the walk home. It's also saving money on both gym membership and fuel. 

 

I've also found out that a couple of friends like to go to a local climbing centre at the weekend - I've been climbing before and loved it, but I lost touch with the friends I used to go with, and didn't realise any of my current friends liked to climb. So I've asked them if I can tag along with them when they go - making it a social activity rather than a workout means I'm far more likely to stick to it. 

 

For my diet, step one is simply to add veg. I'm not looking to completely change what I eat just yet, but by making sure a third of each meal is veg, I'm making a decent and easily sustainable start that I can build on, and cutting down on 'filler' carbs like potato or pasta. I've also installed MyFitnessPal to track calorie intake. 

 

The challenge I still need to address here is work lunches - I've never been a salad fan (although a NF article I read about finding my "gateway vegetable" will hopefully kick me into life a bit here). For now it's either sandwiches or fruit boxes, but I'm still looking.

 

Finance wise, the first thing is just to track my spending better. Just like calorie tracking, it seems that just being more aware of where money is going means I'm no longer wasting it as much as I was. I'll tweak my actual budget over the next few months, when I have a better idea of how much I really need to spend on my day-to-day living. 

 

For work, my big problem has always been motivation. Simply eating breakfast and walking to work means I'm already less tired when I arrive now, making it easier to focus. Along with that, I've started taking an 'inbox zero' approach to start and end the day. My first and last jobs of the day are to review anything still on my radar, and categorise it to give me a clear idea of my workload. 

 

I'm loving a lot of things about NF, and hopefully getting a bit more involved will help me stay motivated! 

[MagicAnatomist]

You have a very healthy attitude about your goals and a very good approach to achieve them! Best of luck and welcome to NF!

[Sunday]

What a clear view you have of your goals and your path!  That's a terrific way to begin.  I understand the not liking salads thing -- I'm okay with them in the warmer months, but cold romaine and spinach just doesn't do it for me in January.  If you like eggs, you might try a quiche with veggies.  (Telling my husband it's a scrambled egg pie seems to make it easier for him to eat.)  There are lots of ways to get them in -- you'll find what works for you.

 

Best of luck as you begin your journey, and I hope to see you on the boards!

[TheDisapprovingBrit]

I love quiche, and my girlfriend makes them pretty regularly. We don't usually have veg in them, but looking at changing that is definitely a good idea. I used to be able to buy something called "Fish fusions" which was basically like salmon in a chilli sauce or something along those lines - granted, it's still processed and not as good as cooking fresh, but they were microwavable, so those along with a steam bag of rice and veg made for a pretty healthy and tasty lunch at work. Sadly, they don't seem to make them anymore, and their replacements aren't microwavable. The microwave rice and veg is still an option, it's just a case of finding a few things that will go with it.