Saying hello and requesting advice

[Kevin88]

Hello fellow rebels!  My name is Kevin.  I live in the beautiful midwestern municipality of Kansas City, Missouri.  I'm a longtime nerd with a large comic book collection, shelves full of role-playing game materials going back to the early 1980's, and a love of Star Wars, the Legend of Zelda series of video games, Japanese pop culture, new wave music, cult classic movies, etc.

 

I work a very sedentary job - eight hours (or more) in front of a computer screen.  I do not have a good history of regular exercise.  There have been times in my life where I have exercised regularly and have done so to good effect.  Unfortunately its never been something I've enjoyed and it's never been long lasting.

 

I signed up for Nerd Fitness Camp 2016 at the end of March.  At the beginning of April I started a mostly Paleo change in eating.  Unfortunately, since the end of May, I've been slipping.  I've got roughly two and a half months before Camp and I want to come in to Camp with a good momentum and habits (and a few less pounds).

 

I'm reviewing the blog entries on building good habits, beginning paleo, meal planning, and exercising without a gym.  I appreciate any advice and encouragement anyone reading is willing to impart.  Thanks!

[thegingerdances]

Welcome, Kevin!  Congratulations on the progress you've made and on two months of Paleo!  That's fantastic.  The best advice I've heard about exercising is to do what you love.  If you don't like lifting weights, try CrossFit.  If you hate running, try Zumba.  The world is full of amazing ways to exercise.  If you haven't found something you like, keep exploring.  I've dabbled in yoga, Zumba, ballet, powerlifting, and calisthenics; each of those was fun and wonderful, but when my goals or circumstances changed, I found something else.  

 

Of course, this advice also applies to food.  Why are you slipping from your Paleo diet?  Are you bored with your routine?  Try adding some new veggies or exploring new recipes.  Are you craving foods that aren't Paleo?  You might be suffering from nutritional deficiencies (or the human condition of wanting what you can't have).  If so, try relaxing your diet to include some non-Paleo stuff on certain days.

 

Alternatively, try gamifying your life.  Make every workout a mini-quest with a Zelda theme!  NerdFitness has lots of nerdy workouts for you to try, and they're so much fun when you play the appropriate soundtrack while working out.  (Listen!)  If you're just stuck in a rut and need an extra push, working some peppy music and nerdy indulgences into your workouts could make them infinitely more fun--it's worked for me!

 

As for your job, I'd recommend setting a timer to go off every thirty minutes to an hour.  Take a moment to stand, stretch, and walk around.  It'll keep your back healthy, increase blood flow to your brain, and possibly prevent repetitive stress injuries.  It's all around good for you to work a bit of movement in, too!  You can also go for a short walk or run up some stairs every few hours.  (It's better than coffee!)

 

Hope some of this helps!  If you have any questions on specific things, feel free to ask.  Again, welcome to NerdFitness--may the Force be with you!

[Guzzi]

Lots of good advice from thegingerdances (as usual! :wink:).

 

I've heard a lot of people say the same thing as you... They jump in and go 100% paleo and do bodyweight circuits 4 times a week for about a month then lose motivation and start to slide (ok, so yours is mostly paleo and two months but you get my point).

 

I think that many people just try to take on too much too soon. Maybe you can sustain that level of enthusiasm in the short term but it is really difficult to keep that momentum up longer term. That's why the challenges are so useful, it lets you set yourself realistic, manageable goals that are the foundation of good, lifelong habits. It will also help you to build friendships, get some accountability and most importantly, have some fun. 

 

The one piece of advice I always try to give new members when they start a challenge is to keep their goals simple! It's tempting to say "I'm going to eat paleo for 4 weeks" but it's not really very helpful in the long run. It's far better to say "I'm going to make one meal paleo each day" so that you can build a habit of eating a paleo breakfast, lunch or dinner. 

 

In your case you could try setting yourself to try something new, a new food or recipe maybe? Just to try and reignight your interest. 

 

Whatever you chose to do I hope you find your place in this community. Good luck

[Jaelinn]

As the two above, I'd suggest to make small, simple goals. For example, I wanted to start drinking more water. I've never really drank a lot of water, I didn't like it, so it was difficult for me. I started out small, with a goal of drinking just one bottle of water every day for a week. Then I stepped it up to two bottles of water for two weeks. And then finally I stepped it up again to four bottles of water for 30 days. I'm now on day 23, and it hasn't been that difficult after the first couple of weeks. It might take a while, but small babysteps can work wonders! Don't try to change everything at once, but have small goals and successes instead, they will add up in time. 

 

Gamifying your life is also an idea! I'm playing with this as well, you can join me if you like? I've been making my city into something resembling a city from World of Warcraft (with inns and stores and tailors) my bike has become a horse named Ferreo, and I'm training to become an assassin. Suddenly bodyweight training is not just bodyweight training - it's preparation for being able to jump over fences and climb walls, Assassin's Creed style! 

 

Good luck.