Introduction of joeyb

[joeyb]

Hey everyone,

I found this site the other day and have been reading article after article from Steve. I decided to jump on board because a little extra motivation never hurt anyone.

I decided to start losing weight back in August. I was doing pretty well by doing hundred pushups, two hundred squats, etc. programs until I pushed myself a bit too hard while running and ran two days in a row. Next thing I know, my legs are killing me for the next week, then a vacation, then it got cold, and that was it. Then, about a month ago, my friend's dad died at the age of 53. My grandparents all died young and my dad has had several health problems crop up over the past few years, so I decided it's time to really kick it in gear and get shit done. I decided to use Lent as an excuse to get started and hope that it carries through once I get through that initial 6 weeks of pain. Really, all I want, is to be able to do the things I want to do without my health getting in my way. That includes sports, running (literally) to the store, etc.

I am 25, 5'10", and 260lbs. I'm a computer programmer, so I sit/stand (standing desk) in front of a computer all day. It has not helped me over the last 5 years that my company has free snacks and Soda/Pop/Pepsi machine. I decided I'm a half-dwarf assassin. I figure I'm pretty average height, I'm overweight, I have a beard, and I love beer; half-dwarf fits perfectly. I tried the gym membership thing and it's not for me, so body-weight exercises and assassin, it is. It's hard because a lot of my life up to this point has been about the dwarf part of me, meaning I drink a lot of good beer. I'm talking the 10%, 300 Calorie microbrews. However, I know that if I ever want to get to the slimmer, assassin human-half, I need to ignore that other part, or at least tame it. I think the biggest obstacle I have right now is that my wife hasn't had the same epiphany that I had, is a pretty picky eater, and isn't ready to make the same level of commitment I am, which means that meals are a bit trickier. That's actually how I found this site. Someone on the Fitocracy forums posted a link to Staci's story in a thread about how to motivate your spouse. After reading that, I read Saint's story. I knew exactly how both of them felt when they wanted to start losing weight. So, I have probably read half the articles on this site in the past 3 days. I just decided a little while ago to jump into the 6-week challenge, but I figured I should post here first.

What I've done so far is cut my beverage choices to basically water, milk, and occasionally something not-so-great like juice or wine. I've cut grains out unless it's 100% whole grain, and even then I'm trying to minimize that. I'm also focusing on what to add rather than what to take away. I eat some large portion of veggies every day, be that a salad at lunch or a steamed pack of vegetables at dinner. I'm working on trying to find recipes to cook actual meals so that my wife and I can move away from frozen meals. I'm also focusing on getting lots of protein from chicken, cottage cheese, natural peanut butter, and smoothies with yogurt. None of this is too hard for me because I enjoy all of these foods, but it's the convenience of frozen meals, restaurants, and cereal that is starting to make things difficult by comparison. Hopefully, though, I'll get more efficient and, as I start to lose weight, I'll be able to control my portion sizes even more than I already am.

I'm still trying to figure out what my goals are. Part of the reason that I like this site as that he thinks like me. My goal was never to lose weight; it was to get healthy. I figured if I started eating right and exercising the weight would take care of itself. I only decided to weigh myself recently so that when I do get to a point at which I deem myself healthy, I'll have evidence of what I accomplished, making it that much more epic. Anyway, I used to hate running, but I find myself craving it now. So, I've set 4 goals for myself: run a mile without breaks, run a mile in under 8 minutes, run a 5k without breaks, run a 5k in under 25 minutes. I'm still trying to figure out what my goals are going to be for body-weight exercises, but it's probably going to be somewhere between the beginner and advanced routines that Steve has for goal 1. Goal 2 will be to complete advanced in normal mode. Goal 3 will be to complete advanced in nightmare. Goal 4 will be to complete advanced in hell. (This is nerd fitness, so someone has to get that reference, right?)

Now that I've written my entire life's story, I look forward to seeing everyone around on the board.

[hutch]

Hi joeyb, from another newbie!

It's awesome and inspiring that you've picked yourself up after a rough patch. Yay for resilience!

(Also, I love that you posted about your role-playing class. At 19, 5'5'' and 160-ish lbs, I'm mostly dwarf myself, training to become a ranger/monk. Dwarfs unite!)

Wishing you all the best.

[j3m4090]

dude .... except for the married part...u and me are =....nothing like tearing down a 12% triple Belgium ale xD....welcome btw

[HughMannity]

Add me to the dwarf clan! I'm 5'7" and currently 217lb. My mother's family's from Cornwall, England and were miners for generations back. So yea. Dwarf. Chaotic Neutral Dwarf.

[joeyb]

dude .... except for the married part...u and me are =....nothing like tearing down a 12% triple Belgium ale xD....welcome btw

If you are up for it, we can do a race to the bottom...

[DaveSix]

Is this the official dwarf thread? Count me in!

And welcome, Joey.

[Morrigainz]

Pretty sure I am a dwarf as well..although..don't female dwarves typically have beards? Sadly, I lack one.

At any rate, welcome! You've got some great goals for yourself and I have no doubt that with your determination, as well as the support of all the crazy nerds on this site, you will persevere!

[So Late So Soon]

I too am a dwarf but ,sadly, like MirGSS I lack the amazing dwarf beard.

I think one of the hardest things for me to do when i started to get healthy was to stop drinking pop and other things like that. And if you aren't sure what your goals are right now i'm sure there are some nerds around that can inspire you. Just remember that everyone here wants you to succeed so don't be afraid to ask any questions you may have!