Nerds are cool. They make the world go round.
So I recently (about five days ago) joined an online fitness community called NerdFitness. I found it quite by accident when I was googling for material to use in a presentation to an at-work healthy living support group. What I found was an article about the 10 things that successful fit folks do.
In the process of reading the article (and, let’s be honest, correcting the grammar errors in it), I was introduced to the website and what they do here. I recognized right off that parts of their “program” were not very compatible with what I am sold on doing, but also that much of what happens here is what I need—particularly the weekly challenges to add “quests” to my life, so that I can “level up” in my fitness.
Get it? It’s like getting fit and staying fit is a video game, and my goal is to level up my fitness to level 50. Along the way, we fight the “bosses” and do that by completing quests and doing exercises. It also addresses nutrition and , most importantly for me, the mindset of a fitness winner.
So I bought into it. It’s a one time fee and then I’ve got access to the group/materials/routines for life. We’ll see.
This morning—my 4th day of tracking my exercises, I actually increased the weights I use on two of the routines, and added more. And I’m not even all the way into the program (there’s a lot of time investment in learning and assessing and “on-ramping” before I really get to jump in. I’m still learning, but these are exercises I know to do and I know are a good starting place. Good for me.
I look forward to the challenges and quests. I have developed a set of quests for my character ( Bear Keymaster), and assigned loot (rewards) for each of them—tools that will unlock when I complete a task or move to the next level.
And so, right now, I am player 1 in this game of fitness. It feels good to have a plan and to be working on taking care of myself.
Press play!
Wednesday, May 23, 2018
Sunday, May 20, 2018
The Druid’s Quest
I am commandeering this blog. I started it years and years ago, and it sat here idle for the past three years, so I’ve erased all the wisdom of my past (wow! It’s sobering to think how easy it was to erase myself!), and am turning this blog into a new story. This is the story of my journey to health and fitness.
I know this might be more exciting if I were a 20-something young stud who posted photos of his muscular bod on a regular basis. But I’m not. And I won’t (if I HAD a muscular bod, maybe I would post photos, but I am currently not in possession of said commodity). But maybe YOU don’t have one of those either. Maybe you, too, are being smacked in the face with your mortality and sagging jowls. Join me if you want. Or don’t. I mean, it’s really up to you.
Last week I did something that has the potential to help me on this journey. Now, I’ve been on the journey of weight loss and getting healthier for a few years (a few of those old posts that I deleted were eerily similar to this one). And like it has for many of my friends, what started out hot ran cold pretty quickly. Oh, I’ve been plodding along. Thanks to Weight Watchers, I’ve lost 30 pounds. I’m not giving up on that program.
Before I move on, let me answer your question—Why Weight Watchers? Well, Oprah for one. I knew it would change once the “O” got involved, and it has. The program is more encouraging, liberating, and sensible than ever. I am totally convinced it’s based on solid science, and it’s the only program I’ve ever been able to be successful following. Besides, my weekly meetings are terrific,and the leader is a hoot. I get a weekly shot in the arm from hanging out with these folks.
Then why do more? Because I am a sly little liar. And I lie to myself all the time. I tell myself that if I can manage to make the scale at Weight Watchers go down a little bit this week, then I can do whatever I want the rest of the week—no one is watching. I can eat that bag of gummi bears and a whole freakin’ pizza. I might be losing weight slowly, but I’m NOT getting healthier any day soon.
I know my life is more than that half hour a week, and like a good addict, I know I need more meetings and direction, because left to my own devices, I will always take the wrong turn offs on this journey. (See what I did there? I’m using a road trip metaphor).
I’ll write about my new start later, but let me just say that one of the first steps of this new program/group is to take “before” photos. 4 of them. One from the front, one from the right side, one from the left side, and you guessed it, one from behind. For the past few years I have looked at and cringed at the “before” photos I took when I joined another program. I was overweight. I don’t know why I was smiling in those photos! But that has been the mental image in my head for the past three years or so.
Well, let me tell you these new photos—the ones I took two days ago—are like participating in the ice bucket challenge. They are a shock. I have let myself go. I got comfortable in the lie that all I needed to do was cut back on bread and ice cream, and I would slowly get better. But what these photos show me (and NO, ABSOLUTELY NOT, I will not show them to you!) is a man who gave up on himself while lying to himself that he still cared. My shoulders are turning inward like they are trying to snap into my sternum. My whole posture looks like it’s trying to curl up into a ball. Can we say “lack of core strength”?
In truth, my pics look like a man who has been repeatedly put down and insulted. He looks defeated and resigned to a sad life. I’m Eeyore! I’ve turned into Eeyore!!!
This will not do. I’m climbing back into the convertible, and getting this show on the road! (Road trip metaphor again). I’ve got some great ideas about how to start, and this new program will help me with new maps and directions to get me where I need to go, all with a little fun along the way.
Here we go!
I know this might be more exciting if I were a 20-something young stud who posted photos of his muscular bod on a regular basis. But I’m not. And I won’t (if I HAD a muscular bod, maybe I would post photos, but I am currently not in possession of said commodity). But maybe YOU don’t have one of those either. Maybe you, too, are being smacked in the face with your mortality and sagging jowls. Join me if you want. Or don’t. I mean, it’s really up to you.
Last week I did something that has the potential to help me on this journey. Now, I’ve been on the journey of weight loss and getting healthier for a few years (a few of those old posts that I deleted were eerily similar to this one). And like it has for many of my friends, what started out hot ran cold pretty quickly. Oh, I’ve been plodding along. Thanks to Weight Watchers, I’ve lost 30 pounds. I’m not giving up on that program.
Before I move on, let me answer your question—Why Weight Watchers? Well, Oprah for one. I knew it would change once the “O” got involved, and it has. The program is more encouraging, liberating, and sensible than ever. I am totally convinced it’s based on solid science, and it’s the only program I’ve ever been able to be successful following. Besides, my weekly meetings are terrific,and the leader is a hoot. I get a weekly shot in the arm from hanging out with these folks.
Then why do more? Because I am a sly little liar. And I lie to myself all the time. I tell myself that if I can manage to make the scale at Weight Watchers go down a little bit this week, then I can do whatever I want the rest of the week—no one is watching. I can eat that bag of gummi bears and a whole freakin’ pizza. I might be losing weight slowly, but I’m NOT getting healthier any day soon.
I know my life is more than that half hour a week, and like a good addict, I know I need more meetings and direction, because left to my own devices, I will always take the wrong turn offs on this journey. (See what I did there? I’m using a road trip metaphor).
I’ll write about my new start later, but let me just say that one of the first steps of this new program/group is to take “before” photos. 4 of them. One from the front, one from the right side, one from the left side, and you guessed it, one from behind. For the past few years I have looked at and cringed at the “before” photos I took when I joined another program. I was overweight. I don’t know why I was smiling in those photos! But that has been the mental image in my head for the past three years or so.
Well, let me tell you these new photos—the ones I took two days ago—are like participating in the ice bucket challenge. They are a shock. I have let myself go. I got comfortable in the lie that all I needed to do was cut back on bread and ice cream, and I would slowly get better. But what these photos show me (and NO, ABSOLUTELY NOT, I will not show them to you!) is a man who gave up on himself while lying to himself that he still cared. My shoulders are turning inward like they are trying to snap into my sternum. My whole posture looks like it’s trying to curl up into a ball. Can we say “lack of core strength”?
In truth, my pics look like a man who has been repeatedly put down and insulted. He looks defeated and resigned to a sad life. I’m Eeyore! I’ve turned into Eeyore!!!
This will not do. I’m climbing back into the convertible, and getting this show on the road! (Road trip metaphor again). I’ve got some great ideas about how to start, and this new program will help me with new maps and directions to get me where I need to go, all with a little fun along the way.
Here we go!
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