I'm a Health and Fitness Writer. It's Ironic And It Shouldn't Be.

[PinnacleOfJimbo]

Hi guys. This is the first time I've posted on a forum in probably nine or ten years. Once upon a time I used forums as a way to escape from life in middle school - where no one wanted to be my friend. I found friends online that shared my interests, and it got me through some really tough times. Fortunately, I grew as a person and now I have just the right amount of friends, and an active (I think it's active) social life. Anyway, though I don't know any of you, I feel safe posting here because a place just like this was once a refuge for me.

 

It's been a long time since then. I went to college, got myself an English degree, and went out into the world. I even got married! I make my living as a health and fitness writer online. The money is good and the work is pleasant, but I'm not a health guru. In fact, the next time you see an article that says "10 ways to get flatter abs for swimsuit season" there's a good chance it wasn't written by someone who knows what they're talking about. It was written by me or someone like me, who gets paid to google this stuff and cobble together a list of exercises and/or recipes. I got the job because I can write, and because someone asked me to do it. There was no interview process or test to prove my knowledge, it just happened. I'm glad it did, because it allows me to work from home and have the lifestyle I want, but it doesn't change the fact that I'm not exactly the poster boy for health and fitness.

 

In fact, I am about as far from a health expert as you can get. I've always suffered from weight problems. It was the cause of a lot of my social issues in school, and it has followed me through my life. Despite a thousand and one weak-sauce efforts to start getting healthy and eating right, it never seems to stick. Why? I'm not sure. I've certainly come up with enough excuses and people to blame.

 

I have been trying to cook more, especially since I got married, but my meals end up tending toward the carb-heavy and fried variety. My wife is Moroccan, and if you've ever had Moroccan cuisine, you know it can be heavy. Everything is oily and fried. It's all delicious, but probably not good for my heart. My wife seems immune to it - she can eat couscous and fried bread all day and she's still skinny as a rail. In fact, she has trouble gaining weight. We have opposite problems, so sometimes in my efforts to get her to eat more, I end up eating too much. I'm rambling. Back to the topic at hand.

 

I have a lot of bad habits. I am a horrible procrastinator, and that affects every part of my life. My health, my work, and even (in the past few years) my hobbies. It's easier to bounce back and forth between my favorite websites than to even commit to reading a book or writing a short story. I never accomplish anything until it's down to the wire. The only thing I am consistently good at is making time for my friends (sometimes at the expense of work or my health).

 

As I type, it is getting close to 4 am. I'm tired, but I'm frustrated. Recently I've been playing Heroes of the Storm with my friends, and we played tonight. I love the game because I'm a big fan of Blizzard, and I've been playing their games since I was a kid, with the original epic Orcs vs Humans. If you've ever played Heroes of the Storm or any MOBA, you know things can get tense. I got in a fight with one of my best friends tonight. Over a video game! I felt terrible for hours after. I don't want to be an angry person. I don't want to be a stressed person.

 

I found Nerd Fitness through my work. It has become a frequent source of information. I've recently had to buy new pants (last year I was a 34 waist, now I'm a 38) and I decided that I needed to start putting some of what I've learned to use. I can't go on like this. Not just gaining weight, but generally not being in control of my life.

 

I want to lose weight and become stronger because I want to have control over my life. My ambition as a writer is to report on the things I like (comics and movies) and to eventually put something creative out into the world. I want to have a schedule and a semblance of discipline, so I can accomplish my goals while staying calm and happy. Anger is in my genes, but being angry is the worst.

 

The Doctor once said that good men don't need rules, and you don't want to find out why he has so many. I'm not a good man. I'm lazy and angry and apathetic. The problem is, I don't have enough rules to make up for it.

 

I hope this all makes sense. It's late and I'm sad and stuff. I'm looking forward to getting to know people here.

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Welcome to the rebellion. Most of us suspected what you have said about those "Fitness" articles for a long time, that's what makes us (and you) rebels.  You have a lot going on, and as I'm sure you know, you didn't get that way overnight, and you will not get where you want to be overnight.

 

The good news, however, is that you will get where you want to be.  Fitness is not one switch you flip in your head. It's not even one long activity. It's multiple good decisions piled up over a long period of time. You have already made a good decision, to join the rebellion. You will make more good decisions over time. Don't try to make them all at once, you'll burn out. Start with one to three good, small, measurable changes, and make them over a period of time where you can track them. Start small.

 

May I also suggest that if you want to be a good man, you must first believe you are a good man? In other words, let your next good decision be to stop telling yourself you aren't a good man. From now on, whether you feel like it or not, start telling yourself you are a good man (because you really are). Lazy, angry and apathetic are not states of being, they are adjectives, and unhelpful ones for describing yourself when you are working on positive changes.  Give yourself good messages and you will start seeing good results.

 

You got this, and I'm proud of you and happy you're one of us.

[ultrablaze]

A lot of this hit very close to home for me.

I had a very similar time in early high school, and I broke out of my shell somewhat in university but I was still lacking any real self-confidence and was totally out of shape. I have been here only a few months, but you will be amazed how fast your body and feeling about yourself can change with a switch in diet and exercise, I still can't believe it. This is a great resource to get started, both for information and support, and more knowledgeable people then me will be able to help guide you along with making the right choices there.

I had always been a huge gamer, and spent endless hours at university playing LoL to keep in touch with my high school friends who played a lot, but I realized it was really just stressing me out, having us argue and just eating away all of my free time. I know some people don't feel that way, but when I start on something, be it a game or otherwise, I can get very competitive and I want to see myself progressing and if I don't (I definitely hit a plateau), I had to keep playing more and more to improve, but I wasn't and it was driving me nuts. Online games are hard in this regard, because you can sink in epic amounts of time on the quest to improve, without it really having much positive impact on your life and well being. I quit games cold turkey 4 and a bit months ago now, not saying I won't come back to them in the future, but it is amazing how much available time you feel you have when you suddenly cut out gaming if you are a huge gamer.
I started this process by saying I wanted to get myself off to a proper start, so I set out to spend a month with no TV or games or time wasting. Just cooking, work, socializing, exercising, reading, new hobbies etc. And it was such an enjoyable fantastic time I have carried on. You might want to try setting a definite, short time frame that you can try these kind of changes on and see how it goes. I know if someone had told me 6 months to a year ago that I was going to cold turkey quit games, I wouldn't have believed them, but when it is just for a short period it seems a lot more feasible.
You don't necessarily have to be so extreme, I'm more of an "all in" kind of person about these things, another very valid option is lots of small, incremental permanent positive changes you can make, that don't seem like much but help you build momentum.

I have also been a horrible procrastinator all my life, I don't really have much advice to give there because I'm still working on it, just that I functioned exactly the same way throughout all of my education. I'm finding setting short periods of time and small goals/deadlines towards whatever I'm doing helps keep me on track, and I make myself accountable on it to a friend or on here. It helps keep you on what you are doing and limit the ever so easy opening of a tab to browse around cracked or some similar site. For example on this Morning I will get *specific small task* done by lunch, I block my computer from letting me access the internet, and tell someone I know I will have this done by lunch or I will buy it for them.

I don't know if any of this will help, but I felt the need to say something because a lot of what you said reminded me of myself, know there are probably a lot of people here who will identify with what you said. I felt totally stuck in a rut, but change and improvement can happen really suddenly even if it seems impossible, and I'm certain it is possible for you as well. You will find the help and support you need to get there.

Welcome to the rebellion.
 

[PinnacleOfJimbo]

Thanks, new friends. I already feel better.

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Glad to help. That's what the rebellion's really all about. It looks like all three of us on this thread struggle with procrastination, let me share something my counselor told me. After listening to me for a while he said he didn't think I was lazy (which is where I thought my procrastination originated) but rather a perfectionist. In other words, if I couldn't do something flawlessly the first time I didn't want to invest time in that thing for fear I'd "fail."

[SgtCap]

I understand how two different nutritional requirements can play havoc on you, My ex wife was a vegan although its a healthy lifestyle it wasn't for me. I truly believe in a past life I was a T rex! lol. I also know the feeling of being angry with life and feeling like you cant control. What I did is I took the anger I had over things I couldn't control and used it in the gym as motivation and fuel. I find that it helps a lot!!! Find what motivates you and grab onto it with an IRON GRIP and never let go.

 

Good luck!!!

[shaar]

Welcome to NF!  You've already done a Good Thing by setting your intentions and wanting to improve your well being.

 

I used to play a lot of MMO's... I used to drink a lot, eat a lot, sit on my arse all weekend and get angry and stressed over video game drama.  UGH.  As much as I love MMO's (and I do) I credit a lot of my success with no longer being subscribed to one currently.  I've always been a gamer and still am, but it was slow going unshackling myself from the consta-gaming... and with slow little changes I found that I really didn't mind not playing as much as I used to!  I LIKED *gasp* doing other things and hobbies, and being healthy!  Which seems crazy, but it can work if you put your mind to it!!

 

We're here to help whether you're announcing an awesome life achievement or need to vent about something, or just let us know how your day went.  Keeping a Battle Log here is a great way to stay accountable and make friends that will do the same.  Good luck, Rebel!!!

[PinnacleOfJimbo]

Thanks guys. I'll start a battle log soon.