AHOY THERE

[justanothernerd]

Thought I'd post something in here by means of introduction (duh).

 

Just spent ages writing the first post of my Daily Battle Log thread, so I'm just going to recycle it here as an intro. Sorry if that's too annoyingly lazy. Bises x

 

The Situation

 

Two years ago I started a Daily Battle Log and didn't follow it up with a single update. Not one.

 

Obviously, that didn't go quite as planned. No point dwelling on the past though, because two years ago is not today, and today I'm ready to commit to change.

 

The past two years have been full of positive change: I finished school, got a job, discovered tumblr (rather belatedly), moved into my own apartment, fell in love. I've also been accepted for the final selection process for an amazing IT school in Paris. It's called 42 and it's nerd heaven and I'm going there for a month-long entrance exam in September.

 

I feel like everything's finally come together and I'm ready to embark on real life. The only thing holding me back is my lump of lard excuse for a body --- in two years, I've gained 15kg. As of today, the situation is as follows:

• Weight: 78.4kg (173 lbs)
  
• Height: 170cm (5 foot 6ish)
  
• Belly: 102cm (40 inches)
  
• Thigh: 68cm (27 inches)
  
• Very out of breath walking up two flights of stairs to my apartment.
  
• While I do go to a weekly dance class, I am embarrassingly incompetent and feel like death before the warm up is even over.
  
• Poor skin due to poor diet, poor adherence to doctor's orders, and never getting any sun because I'm always inside.
  

Goals

 

While my physical appearance is certainly less than ideal (in society's terms at least), I don't want to focus on working towards an aesthetic goal. My main concern is the things that my body can't do in its current state. Therefore, my general long-term goal is to have a stronger, healthier, faster body, that can sing, dance and run up stairs without gasping for breath like a dying whale. I am young, and I want to feel young and do young person things.

 

With all this in mind, I've come up with a list of fairly simpe things that I want to be able to do by September. My month at 42 marks the start of a whole new adventure, and I want to go into it healthy and capable in mind and body.

 

By 1st September 2015 (99 days from now) I will be able to do the following without feeling like I'm dying:

• Run 5km
  
• Hold a 30 second hand stand
  
• Do 30 push ups
  
• Hold a 120 second plank
  
• Cycle to my nearest train station (12km of hills)
  
• Swim a length of a local swimming lake
  

The Plan

 

Every week for the next 14 weeks I will:

• Run for 30 minutes twice a week
  
• Swim for 30 minutes once a week
  
• Cycle for 30 minutes once a week
  
• Do a basic body weight workout three times a week
  
• Have one rest day a week
  

Every day for the next 99 days I will:

• Practice handstand training for 10 minutes
  
• Eat 2 portions of lean protein and 3 portions of healthy veggies
  
• Drink at least 8 glasses of plain water
  
• Take all my medications
  
• Spend at least 30 minutes outside
  
• Go to sleep by 11pm
  

I will gradually increase the nature and intensity of each workout, but I will keep the frequency and duration constant to keep a routine I can stick to. When I am away from home and cannot swim or cycle I will replace it wth a run. I will track my commitment with a chart on which I will mark off each completed daily and weekly requirement as they are completed. I will write a short daily log by 10.30pm every evening, and post weekly summaries to reflect on my progress every Sunday morning by 10am. I will take photos and measurements every Sunday morning to keep track of my progress.

 

For every week successfully completed without missing any of the daily or weekly requirements, I will reward myself with a healthy lunch out with a friend.

For every month successfully completed I will reward myself with a weekend camping trip with a friend.

If I don't miss a single requirement over the whole 99 days I will reward myself with a weekend in Paris.

If I successfully fulfill each of the 6 goals by September, I will reward myself with a new haircut.

 

I guess all that's left is for me to go and be healthy for the rest of the day, and check in this evening with my daily log.

 

À bientôt,

 

Mimi

[Basement Cat]

Welcome to the rebellion!

 

That's quite a plan you set up there. I don't want to sound discouraging, but it sounds like you're trying to take on a lot in very little time. 3 months is pretty short to go from 0 to 100, as it were. A reward system is good, but you might want to have 'lesser' prizes for meeting part of the requirements. A bronze and silver medal so to speak. Even if you don't achieve a perfect score, you will still have achieved a lot. 

 

Good luck and keep us posted!

[Ilham]

Wow. Just wow. It's great to see such enthusiasm! But I'm sorry to say I share Basement Cat's concern, that's a LOT of exercise and a lot of decisions, you might feel discouraged in a while after quitting a comfy lifestyle "cold turkey" like that. Willpower is finite, perhaps you could gradually ease into your programme. I would advise maybe adding the workouts/changes gradually? Especially since you say you're incapable of climbing two stories without being out of breath, imagine the soreness and disappointment after trying that plan out the first week. I'm sorry if this sounds discouraging, but you seem so motivated, I would hate to see you burnt out three weeks in.

Je te félicite en tout cas pour ce post super motivant, bon courage .*

 

*Baguette speak for "thanks for a motivating post and be brave".