OMG I'm at it again!

[willhemoth]

Hello all you people out there! My name is Will, and very happy to be here on Nerd Fitness! My joining comes at a time of transition, as a string of epiphanies have brought me realize I need to make major changes in life, and need to make them stick. One of my major changes is my perspective on fitness is that it is a form of self love and self-respect, and to see how far I can go while hitting milestones just for fun.

 

You know that feeling you get when you see someone who you wouldn't want to be, and then see you're doing the EXACT thing they're doing that got themselves in that problem? Well, that was me looking at my family, where health issues are abundant: mental illness, cancer, diabetes...all of it is devastating, but most of those issues were avoidable. So I decided to make the changes because I wanted to see myself do better.

 

As for my goals, I want to run 5 miles as a minimum, lift about 100 pounds with each major muscle group, and adopt more healthy habits. After that, it's a matter of pushing further than that just to see how far I can go. Anyway, I hope I get to talk to most of you! 

 

Question: What's the one thing in your life that made you decide to make a change for fitness? And what would you say is/was your largest obstacle to overcome in becoming healthier?

[MarylandBill]

Hi and welcome.

 

For me the thing that made me realize I needed to take action occurred about a month ago and I saw myself at the heaviest weight I had ever been.  Back in my 30s I had hit 285 and that scared me before into loosing a ton of weight... but after my wife and I started having kids, I let bad habits creep back into my life... and finally I realized I was as heavy (even slightly heavier) than I had ever been).  I needed to make some changes.  Now, I kind of cast about blindly for a while before finding Nerd Fitness, and now I am working on body weight exercises.  I have basically only taken a few steps... but they are a start.

[willhemoth]

Hey hey! Nice to hear from you MarylandBill! Thank you for sharing! 

 

I just started having that problem myself. Came close to weighing 200 pounds after being 150 most of my adult life thus far. It can be really hard to take care of ourselves when we have so much to do. Sometimes we don't realize it's happened to us until WAAAY late in the game.  I do know for certain that having a family is an honor worth sacrificing for, with all the stress that comes with it to keep together. 

 

I'm happy you were able to take action; a few steps in the right direction is a step away from a fatal one, right? So what I'd like to know is what have you been doing so far as your first steps? I'd like to see if I'm on the right track, too.

[MarylandBill]

Well since you ask.  

 

Step 1, cut refined sugar out of my diet.  I am also trying to make sure I just don't replace them with artificial sweetners.  I still give in occasionally and have a diet soda, but one or two sodas a week is better than the 2-3 a day I was drinking before.

 

Step 2. was body weight exercises.  Not a lot, some inclined pushups, some squats, a few others to start building some muscle.  

 

Step 3.  Rowing machine.  Got it last Thursday so I am still ramping up on it.  But put 15 minutes on it tonight and it left me panting, and my legs and arms feeling pleasantly spent.  My ultimate goal is to be able to row 10,000 meters in a single session.  

 

We will see how it goes from here.

 

--

Bill 

[Sandavia]

Hi Will! 

 

I really identify with your inherited concerns! Cancer, anxiety, depression, alcoholism, blood pressure issues- all across the board. Largely stemming from unhealthy lifestyles! I think you've done one of the hardest parts already, stepping out into the light and saying you want to make some changes. That's what I love about Nerd Fitness so far. The support is great! 

 

For me, I had a health crisis of my own that began at the end of last year... In a six month period of time I had strep 4 times, 6 other infections, was on antibiotics more often than not, and had used all of my sick time for the year by April. Coming from a family of fixing the symptom instead of the problem, I didn't even have a primary care doctor so I went and found one. After a long conversation she sent me for a sleep study and it turns out that I have not-quite severe sleep apnea. 24 interruptions per hour, less than 45 minutes of REM sleep a night, and I stopped breathing for 2 1/2 minutes a couple of times. I must have always been sleeping next to some heavy sleepers with all of the tossing and turning I was doing! 

 

Fast forward to today: 4 months after I received my CPAP machine and I am 25 pounds down, fitting into jeans from 5 years ago, sharper, have wayyyyy more energy and haven't changed anything in my routine... yet. Like you, I'm ready to get started and started my first challenge. 

 

Have you joined the current 4 week challenge yet? 

[willhemoth]

Well since you ask.  

 

Step 1, cut refined sugar out of my diet.  I am also trying to make sure I just don't replace them with artificial sweetners.  I still give in occasionally and have a diet soda, but one or two sodas a week is better than the 2-3 a day I was drinking before.

 

Step 2. was body weight exercises.  Not a lot, some inclined pushups, some squats, a few others to start building some muscle.  

 

Step 3.  Rowing machine.  Got it last Thursday so I am still ramping up on it.  But put 15 minutes on it tonight and it left me panting, and my legs and arms feeling pleasantly spent.  My ultimate goal is to be able to row 10,000 meters in a single session.  

 

We will see how it goes from here.

 

--

Bill 

That's awesome! I've been cutting back on sugar consumption as well. I had a friend who would drink nearly 1 liter bottles of root beer 3-4 days a week. That with bad eating habits and a trucker job gave him high blood pressure, hyper tension, and obesity; that soda started it all, though. I myself replaced soda with mostly green tea. Have you thought about using stevia? If you have to sweeten something, it's good if you're consuming less, anyway, I would think.

I we know you'll reach your goal in rowing 10,000 meters. I'm curious, though: why the row machine? Are you looking to get into rowing as a sport? That's be cool!

[MarylandBill]

8 hours ago, willhemoth said:

That's awesome! I've been cutting back on sugar consumption as well. I had a friend who would drink nearly 1 liter bottles of root beer 3-4 days a week. That with bad eating habits and a trucker job gave him high blood pressure, hyper tension, and obesity; that soda started it all, though. I myself replaced soda with mostly green tea. Have you thought about using stevia? If you have to sweeten something, it's good if you're consuming less, anyway, I would think.

 

I am interested in stevia for coffee, but I also wonder if it might turn out to have some of the same problems that other alternative sweeteners.  

 

8 hours ago, willhemoth said:

I we know you'll reach your goal in rowing 10,000 meters. I'm curious, though: why the row machine? Are you looking to get into rowing as a sport? That's be cool!

 

Well, before I discovered Nerd Fitness, I decided I wanted to get a machine that would allow me to work out at home since getting to the gym is just too hard right now (3 kids age 7 and under mean its tough getting to work on time, let alone leaving 90 minutes early to hit a gym).  As I researched machines rowing machines floated to the top (as it were) for two reasons.  The first is that the cost vs. quality curve on rowing machines make them a relative bargain; you reach gym quality machines at $900 and some very good machines for about $600.  The quality of most other cardio equipment at that price level is somewhat iffy.  The second is that a rowing machine is suppose to be a great full body workout... and so far that certainly seems to be the case, both my arms and legs are pretty tired at the end of a session.  Once I add some push ups, I am probably exercising every muscle group in the body.  

 

--

Bill