Over the past few weeks, I have realized that the primary impediment to being able to achieve everything I want is my health. I am tired of chronic pain and frequent injury and sickness. I am fed up with being exhausted all the time. I am over having to rest for two days after spending a day working on the house.
Last summer, I bought a Fitbit, which has encouraged me to get up and move more frequently during the day. I have started taking a walk in the parking garage every day after lunch during the week. In this way, I have lost nearly 20 lbs since last summer. I am no longer considered “obese”. My clothes fit better and I have more energy. But I still have a lot of pain, in my back and in my legs. It is time to step it up!
To that end, I have joined an online fitness program called Nerd Fitness Academy. The program begins with changing your mindset, then focusing on nutrition and exercise improvements. However, the selling point of the program is that it is modeled like a role-playing game. You select a character “class” based on your training and health goals, and then complete “quests” to level-up your character. Starting quests include simple things like walking for five minutes a day, logging your food daily, and drinking plenty of water. And the community support on the forums is amazing!
I plan to follow the program diligently. My missions for the first week are to take my “before” photos and measurements, walk each day this week, and log my food daily. For food logging, I am using My Fitness Pal, where you can see my food logs if you are interested. I have designed trackers in my bullet journal as well.
My friend loaned me a 20 lb kettlebell, and I have fallen in love with kettlebell workouts. You can get an amazing workout in 10 or 15 minutes! Nerd Fitness starts you out with bodyweight workouts, so I plan on alternating between the two. I have started watching videos on YouTube for inspiration, and I post my daily progress on the Nerd Fitness forum, for which I get “experience points”.
I am very excited about the possibilities of this new program. I don’t feel like I will be giving anything up, and with a focus on weight training, I should be able to reduce my body fat and build muscle which will help with my pain and fatigue. Already, my back is feeling a little better. And I am excited about working out every day.
The positive changes in my life, and the possibility of better health, are already improving my spirit. We will see where this new path takes me!