Tomorrow finally came

[Payton_B]

Hey there,

 

I am 25 years old, and I am your pretty average guy. A few months back I just happened across Steve's TED Talk (Okay I am as average as someone can be while doing things like browsing TED Talks) I thought it was pretty cool and just kind of went about my business. Fast forward until last week, Someone I knew on Facebook posted the same exact video. As I began watching it really clicked with me. After doing some research on the site and looking around I decided I would like to get involved with the community.

 

I have never been in shape. I was overweight through school and into college. Over the years of poor eating habits and an inactive life style I am now 390 lbs (Probably the most depressing thing I have typed in awhile.) I decided that wasn't going to "diet" or anything like that. I was going to change how I did things entirely. So I went out and bought the things one would use to start cooking. I am pro microwave user, but when I decided I would really try and cook something real for the first time I was really excited. I got all the food ready and began cooking. My thoughts were "Chicken and Broccoli can't be that hard" (and it isn't) but I still managed to expertly burn it in ways that truly amazed me. I have since in the last week have tried again and didn't much better but it was comical first step out of the gate.

 

Tonight (Right after I finish typing this) I am going to go use my gym membership that I get free through work, but have basically never used. Ill be honest, that is pretty terrifying to me, but exciting at the same time. I look forward to the coming changes and this seems like an awesome community of people to be involved with.

 

I have said "I will start changing my life tomorrow" since I can really remember. Well Tomorrow has finally came. It's a long road, but today it gets one step smaller. Look forward to getting to know everyone.

 

-Payton

[EmbracingChaos]

Welcome to the community!  That's awesome you've started to learn how to cook, I'm certain you will only improve.  Using your gym membership is a great idea, just be careful to have fallback activities in case "making it to the gym" just doesn't happen on some days.  It's easy to get unmotivated when you can't do the "big thing" that you've set for yourself as the standard you must live up to.  I'm a big believer in the small changes (Optimus Prime) theory of making large changes.  Pick the right direction (aka lose weight), but choose a small/easy daily task that you can succeed at first thing in the morning if you so choose (aka take a 1 mile walk daily).  You can then build off of the momentum and let inertia take over.  Another great tool is the Seinfeld method of a creating a chain calendar.

 

I enjoy learning foreign languages, and one of my favorite websites is All Japanese All The Time (though I know zero Japanese).  There are some great general motivational posts on there and great information on how to make changes in your life.  For instance, this article on How To Accomplish Great Things: Small Victories, Winnable Games is how I approach the majority of large changes I make in my own life.  Anyway, enough soap-boxing for now, and I hope you keep on cooking and making it to the gym.  If you need help with anything, please feel free to reach out.  Congratulations on making the first step into the rest of your life!

[Raincloak]

Good job getting your handsome self into the kitchen! I'll tell you, even expert cooks (like yours truly) burn food once in a while. The trick is knowing what burns easily and how hot is too hot. If you know how to use a microwave you are already well on your way; many amateurs don't even know that much.

btw, if the stove and oven intimidate you, you CAN prepare perfectly adequate chicken and broccoli in the microwave. I recommend steam-cooking the broccoli (put in bowl, add spoonfuls of water, cover, nuke til steamed), and for chicken, stick to boneless meat and put some kind of marinade on to keep it moist. Making chicken taste good is actually a bit trickier than it sounds, so don't feel bad if it takes practice. You might find eggs and ground meat easier to start with.

You can also try blanching your veggies. It's really hard to burn anything immersed in hot water. You can boil chicken to cook it too, although it will turn out bland (but you'll get soup out of it!) Oven roasting does give better flavor, but you can overcome a mediocre cooking job with good seasonings.

enjoy the gym! Let us know how it goes.

[jimmy73]

It's great that you are starting to make changes. Keep it up and know that anybody that is worth knowing at the gym thinks it is awesome that you are there. I love to see big guys at the gym trying to change their life because it takes A LOT of guts to make that decision. Don't get discouraged if you don't see radical changes at first, like Dory says "just keep swimming". Good on you, and good luck. 

Jimmy

[Payton_B]

Thanks for all encouraging words and suggestions! The gym went really well last night. I decided to work one of the dumbbell workouts I found on this website. It consisted of Goblet Squats, DB Bench Press, Pushups, and a round of planking. I also did a 20 minute warm up walk at the beginning and a 10 minute incline walk at the end. At first I didn't know if it was going to be enough, but I was soon corrected and felt adequately like dying when I left (A bit of an overstatement...but still)

 

I am getting ready for a hiking trip with my father next month so wanted to at least do some walking outside every day. So I woke up this morning and went for a mile walk this morning. I am going to attempt cooking again for tonight while I am at work (eating out at work is majorly hurting me health wise and financially) so I am hopefully optimistic about that. I feel sore but overall really great. Once again, thanks for all the encouragement!

[Lady Aislyn]

Welcome to the Dark Side, my friend.

You should check out the Rebel Meet-Up's section & see if there are other rebels in your area you can meet up with! In the words of Gordon Bombay, "ducks (or nerds, I guess) fly together".

As for cooking, *Jedi mind trick wave* a crock pot is the droid you seek. Get a cheap one from a Goodwill with a timer built in so it automatically switches from 'cooking' mode to 'keep warm' mode & it'll never overcook on you. Five minutes of chopping veggies & meat in the morning, toss in some spices a little water. When you get home from work, dinner is already done. BOOM! Problem: vanquished.

[redtomato501]

I echo both the "small changes" and "crockpot" suggestions - both are great! Congrats on learning to cook chicken and broccoli, that's definitely a great place to start! No real advice, otherwise, sounds like you're already making some really good, sustainable changes... way to go, Payton!