Check-In #1

When it comes to starting new things, I tend to approach it in one of two manners. Either I plan it out meticulously beforehand, or I dive right in Leeroy Jenkins style. I feel like I may have chosen the latter method, but I don't think it's going to be a problem.

My goal is to try to walk for an hour four times a week. Usually I'll go to the park listening to podcasts on my cell phone. This week I went and did something to that effect three times. On the third time (yesterday) I also walked to the store, a round trip which was about an hour long. So I will say I achieved my exercise goal for the week.

I've been keeping tabs on my weight all week out of curiosity, but the number only matters to me during my weekly weigh in. I will make it a habit to check my weight Saturday evenings after I shower. Seems like the best time to me.

During my free time, I'll occasionally read the blogs of others who are losing weight. These people usually have lost a lot more (or need to lose more) than I do. At least double mine. It feels weird to talk about me losing weight when there are others who are in positions where it's so much more vital. But if nothing else, it's a source of motivation. I mean, if others can lose two hundred pounds in the course of a couple years, why can't I drop a comparatively meager 65 pounds?

I don't intend for my weight loss to be rapid. My goal is 140 pounds and the sooner I reach that, the better. Even still, if I return to college in three months having only lost 15 pounds I'll be happy. And I certainly don't expect to drop all the weight in three months. If I do, then awesome. But if not, if 15 is the most I muster, then at least I've made progress, and that's all I can ask of myself.

So, enough blabbering. *Dramatic suspense* My weigh in for this week is 200 pounds. That is a net loss of five pounds. I'm pretty happy, this is a strong start. Will I have this kind of loss every week? Maybe for the next two or three weeks but I don't expect it to last longer than that.

60 pounds to go, and boy it feels good to see that number getting smaller.

The Start of Something New

I really didn't want to do it. I didn't want to face the reality, but I had to know what I weighed. I couldn't make a plan unless I knew my starting point.

Presently I weigh about 205 pounds. Nine months ago I was 65 pounds lighter. I can only imagine what kind of havoc and stress this has put on my body. Part of me expected me to be in the 210+ range, so at least there is that much relief. Even so, my BMI is currently a 30. That's obese, and definitely not good.

Time to put together a plan. Perhaps right now - it's been a long day - but I will start being more proactive. Better diet, more movement. I want to lose at least 15 pounds this summer. That might seem like a low goal but I really don't know what to expect. I'm not sure I really know what I'm doing.

Operation Skinnydude

That's the name for my plan to get thin. So what have I done to advance this in the past week? Not terribly much. Was able to snack a bit less, and a couple days ago I took a 40 minute walk around campus in the nice weather.

I think most of my weight loss will probably take place during the summer. It's not exactly an all you can eat buffet at home compared to the dining hall. It'll be warmer so I'll sweat some pounds off and I'll be a lot more physically active. I've seen very recent pictures of myself (less than a month old) and I do not like what I see. At all. 

I Need a Hobby

With classes concluding and me not having much else to do with my time except study, I am finding myself very bored. There just isn't much of anything catching my attention anymore. A lot of my time is spent surfing the web, but that's hardly a productive hobby. I want something to do in my free time that I can be passionate about.

As it stands my main hobbies are Minecraft, writing, and programming. Honestly, Minecraft is a video game and doesn't really offer much beside maybe an hour of daily mindless entertainment. I briefly had a let's play series on YouTube about it. Perhaps this summer I will make some more videos. But otherwise it's not a worthwhile hobby anymore.

Writing is enjoyable but I'm constantly hitting writer's block. I have an initial idea in mind for a story but I just can't seem to make a full fledged story out of it. One of my life goals is to write a novel but I don't seem able to make stories long enough to be a publishable novel (about 70,000 words). It's a fun experience to make a story, but if nobody's ever going to read it, it's rather meaningless.

I've developed a habit of spending about an hour a day doing web programming on my own time. It's something I want to do as a career and being a computer science major in college I get my fill of programming every day.

I am in need of something to do with my time.

I need a hobby.

"Ideal Hobby"

What kind of things would make a good hobby for me?

• One where I could use my natural talent for critical thinking.
• One that takes me away from my laptop.
• One that is a mostly solitary activity.
• One where I could meet up with others in some kind of club on a routine basis and discuss with others what I've learned during my free time. This would be a good way for me to make new friends as well.

Through some introspection I've come to two things I would enjoy as hobbies, and can't really decide between which.

"Philosophically Speaking"

Something that's really fascinated me for the past couple years is Christian apologetics, which is defending the faith using reason. A large part of this uses philosophy. Occasionally I enjoy ruminating over things and it might potentially be fun for me to look more into philosophy.

I think theology is a branch of philosophy. There are a lot of ways people have tried to understand the Bible and how to live the Christian life. My desire to understand what I believe and what doctrines are true leads me to explore theology further.

"History Buff"

There's something about history that I like. It's sort of the story of mankind, except the characters are real and the events affect us to this day. The rise and fall of empires, structures of governments, wars, and so on are fun to read.

Right now three specific pieces of history interest me: history of the Roman Republic and Empire; church history; British history. All three are entities that have or had lasted for over a thousand years. The have influenced the entire world in some fashion. All three are also noted for being rather structured.

History of Rome is sorta what I am leaning most toward right now, which church history not too far behind. The two are pretty connected since Jesus's land was owned by the Roman Empire in his time. My attention is being captivated by events taking place between the foundation of civilization and about AD 0. History as a hobby would involve mainly reading. Incidentally, it's also got philosophical elements.

"Run!"

A secondary hobby that would good for me to pick up, as a matter of dropping weight, is running. I like to run. Win-win. Shoot, I could listen to history podcasts while running.

Can anyone suggest good hobbies for me?

Shawn, Lose that Weight Already!

When I arrived at college, I weighed about 140 pounds. For a person of height 5' 8", that was actually relatively skinny. In the first three months I was there, I gained 40 pounds. I briefly lost about 6 when I returned home for a break, but since then I've probably put that weight back on - and then some. I don't even know how much I weigh now, and I don't want to.

The last time I was overweight was at age 12. As I grew in my teen years the weight and height sort of balanced out and things turned out alright. But this time I don't have the help of adolescence. I don't like the physical condition I am in. Because I gained weight so rapidly, I have stretch marks on my legs. Even just trying to reach across a table or desk to grab something has become a little more of a challenge.

This is unhealthy, and I don't intend on staying like this. I'd prefer to live a long and healthy life. That can't be done when I'm 50+ pounds overweight. Something needs to be done about this.

Diet and exercise are the two most commonly suggested things, and I think those are what I want to go with.

This begins my path to a healthier weight. My goal is 140 pounds. How will it be done? Snacking less, being more active, healthier choices in food. This will take a few months for me, but it has to be done. My life literally depends on this. I've set a precedence here by posting on Saturdays. I will try to keep this habit consistent.