I want to start a new life

[andrew]

My entire life I've been misdirected through poor parenting, bad schools, terrible influences from all of my friends, and habits developed that are complete wastes of time.  I blame nobody but myself and make no excuses, that's just my life in a nutshell that I regret.  The one major positive is I enjoyed playing sports and have been in great shape my entire youth.

I eventually experienced a broken heart because of a girl and like a fool I did the worse thing you can do.  Instead of bouncing back I fell into depression and stopped caring about myself.  I found solace in alcohol and numbed myself to the world for about twelve years straight.  If I had to guess I would say I've been sober for a total of ten days in the last twelve years.

Something snapped inside of me and I woke up.  I remember my entire life, even my twelve year drunken stupor, but I feel like someone new.  I feel like I just got transported into this human body and I have full control of it including the memories.  I share absolutely no common ground with the things I've thought in the past and I would never dream of associating with anyone I once called friend.

I feel I got a second chance and I'm starting a new life with positive thinking as my weapon of choice.  I'm going to get in shape again and start a whole new path in life.  I'd like to help myself by recording my progress here as well as talking to anyone who has ever experienced something similar or at the very least sharing stories and advice.

It's currently 7/3/18 and I'm 215.5 lbs.

[mynewunit]

Welcome to the boards. I have been having a much smaller epiphany. I love then new self. Often people struggle to be a better version of who they were yesterday. Becoming a whole new person carries nothing into tomorrow. Is the goal sobriety? Losing weight? 8 minute mile? Dead lift 400?
Brian 7/4/2018 and 248 lbs.

[andrew]

Thanks for the reply. Same with smoking (something I've done for a few years but quit on a whim) I was able to quit drinking. It's only been a week but I feel no negative effects and I have zero urge, regret, or second thought about pouring another drink. If I even begin to have a thought about drinking again I just remind myself I'm a sentient being with the power of free will and I can make the physical choice not to drink. Same with not scratching an itch, or not touching my foot after I stub my toe on some furniture, or any other useless but common impulse people have in certain situations.

Losing weight seems to fall in this same category; I'm going to force my body to mold into what I want it to be. I'm going to create my own diet in the next few months and see exactly what happens weight and energy wise by going cold turkey on any sugar and alcohol. I'll be limiting most foods and eat minimal for a while. Twice a week I'm going to fast for 30~ hours and the majority of my meals will consist of cucumber, lettuce, broccoli, brussel sprouts, tomato, and asparagus. For protein I'm eating a $13~ steak twice a week.

I can see how fighting hunger is a serious level of difficulty when it comes to self discipline. I am getting by through by reminding myself of all the people who starve all around the world and considering their suffering. It makes my somewhat sparse diet seem as though I'm eating like a king and I erase any urge to complain.

I've quickly discovered a limit to my ability to work out. When you're out of shape like I am you're not just weak and vulnerable but contain a very low ceiling of how much exercise you can put up with. If things were simple I would just work out like a mad man but it's common knowledge that you must work smarter not harder. I know the distinct difference between muscle fatigue and joint pain and confusing the two is probably a huge percentage of work out related injuries. (Hello crossfit)

Sadly I'm spending most of my time recovering and making sure I'm not doing any joint damage so running has been a slow start. The last few days I've been doing long hikes and long stretch sessions.

My goal is to join the Air Force. The age requirement is high enough for me to be accepted and I already qualify to join with my schooling back round. Going into the recruitment office out of shape is an embarrassing prospect and I want to slim down before I walk in and begin the process.

7/9/18 and 214.5 lbs.

[mynewunit]

Lots of thoughts. Maybe do this in the reverse order. Train toward your test. You will want 50 push ups in a minute, 50 situps in a minute, Mile and a half around 12 minutes, and Abdominal circumference. So, your workout should reflect these things. Then add in the vegetables of working out, pullups, squats, deadlifts, or whatever. I love the hiking and stretch sessions. Try throwing a few lbs in a back pack for the hikes.

Hunger. This is not a great thing for your goals. If you find the right grocery store in town, you should be able to get a sheet of chicken for near to $2/pound. Cook it with out anything that has calories, ( No to BBQ sauce or salad dressing, yes to vinegar, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder). Look into intermittent fasting or sometimes known as small eating window, where you only eat for like 4 hours a day.

This plan looks great as long as you can keep it going. It kinda feels like if you do slip, you might break a lot of branches on the way down before you start back up. Only push your workout limits once a week. The rest of the week, get the work in. Pushing everyday creates injuries, physical and mental. Getting in your push ups, sit ups and laps, will create more progress than hitting singles and doubles with the barbell everyday. Cutting 3/4 of the food pyramid off your plate will get your weight right and push you to a half gallon of ice cream as a snack. Plan a failure. A cheat day. A reward. Maybe new clothes when you get to a specific weight.
7/9/18 247.8