New and taking those first few steps

[Gilman]

Alright, so about time I commit to making a positive change in my life, in regards to my health. Figured that posting/contributing on a forum could help keep me on the right track and make some of the difficulties ahead a bit easier. 

 

I'm 20 years old, a student and for the last year, I've slid further and further into poor diet habits without much exercise. Throughout my life I've often been of the slightly chubby side of things for nobodies fault but my own. This past year was the point in my life where I moved across the country, out of my parents place to pursue an education that I'm very passionate about. It has been a very rewarding experience however it has had a few side-effects. The primary one would be my health. Studying long hours every day, often including the weekends has been a drain on my energy and the energy I used to have saved up to take somewhat care of my diet, sleep habits, exercise and so on, has slowly been draining out in favour of more energy spent studying. 

 

So, I've decided to make a change. The bad habits I have are very clear and don't have a lot of "grey" in them. A general summary of them would be to substitute obviously unhealthy meals with healthier alternatives, set a clear sleep schedule and start exercising on a scheduled basis. As things progress I'm sure I'll articulate more goals but I'd like to get a little momentum first. 

 

I figured having some kind of goal would be a good idea but you'd have to excuse the silliness of the one I have set for myself. You see, a year or two ago I purchase a t-shirt from a taiwanese heavy metal band and I've never been able to wear it because it was too small. Now It's not unreasonably small (meaning it wasn't made for super skinny guys) but always just a little out of reach. Now having gained some weight since I bought it has put if further out of reach but my goal is to be able to wear it without looking like an idiot. Now sure I have secondary goals like having more energy, feeling better and all that stuff but I can't really find an objective way to measure that. If a t-shirt fits or not, that's a little more of a concrete goal for myself. 

 

Oh, and lastly I guess I ought to show of some "nerd cred" in light of the forum theme - I should mention that I've done some freelance work on video games and other types of fantasy/sci-fi/horror entertainment. 

[Grymm]

1 hour ago, Gilman said:

You see, a year or two ago I purchase a t-shirt from a taiwanese heavy metal band and I've never been able to wear it because it was too small. Now It's not unreasonably small (meaning it wasn't made for super skinny guys) but always just a little out of reach. Now having gained some weight since I bought it has put if further out of reach but my goal is to be able to wear it without looking like an idiot. Now sure I have secondary goals like having more energy, feeling better and all that stuff but I can't really find an objective way to measure that. If a t-shirt fits or not, that's a little more of a concrete goal for myself. 

That's a good goal because it's one that can be definitely achieved.  Maybe you can mix fitness and studying.  They say periodic breaks can improve your retention over the ensuing period of time.  If you alternate a simple bodyweight circuit with periods of study, you can knock out two goals at once.

 

Welcome aboard!

[Gilman]

15 hours ago, Grymm said:

That's a good goal because it's one that can be definitely achieved.  Maybe you can mix fitness and studying.  They say periodic breaks can improve your retention over the ensuing period of time.  If you alternate a simple bodyweight circuit with periods of study, you can knock out two goals at once.

 

Welcome aboard!

Hey. 

Yeah, right now I spend most of my study/work time standing (adding up to something like 8-10 hours of standing every day) so at least I'm exercising a few muscles throughout the day, even if it's not a very intensive exercise. Also, due to the nature of what I do all day, remaining mobile while standing is fairly easy so hopefully I won't develop any back/knee problems further down the road. I also opt for walking to school so back and forth adds up to an hour a day. That being said, some proper exercise us dearly needed. 

 

While I would like to mix in some exercise throughout my day, the way my schedule is structured prevents any prolonged interruptions (unless I'd skip my lunch-break or something like that) and sadly, it's not really within my power to change that. The inflexibility of my day has been something of an issue, making me work long and intense hours and then leave exhausted and too tired to cook a proper meal when I come home. This is why I'd preferably want to work-out early in the morning and get everything sorted then (including proper cooking of my lunch/dinner, so that when I'm done with my day, I can just go home and sleep). 

 

I'll be looking through the forum to see if there are some useful tips I can pick up ^^