Ok, so apparently some people do read this blog (namely Sarah and my mom). So here you are guys, a brand new post from me! And, since it’s been awhile, it’ll be a really long one.
I have two problems that are of moderate concern to me. The first is that I don’t seem to have enough money, and the second is that I’m overweight and out of shape. I’ve decided to change some things about my lifestyle to help address both of these concerns; I’d like to outline these changes here, to you, with the idea that if I tell people about them there will be more accountability and more incentive to not fail.
First, some background. In December I flew to LA to go to a couple concerts, and I also flew to Toronto for Christmas. This, combined with normal expenses, Christmas shopping, and some serious lapses in judgment on eBay, led to me racking up quite a lot of debt on my credit card and line of credit. Thankfully the problem is more or less under control now, but it was still frustrating. To help get it under control and ensure that I didn’t make it worse by continuing to spend like crazy, I instituted life change #1.
- Do not spend more than $20 per day.
Obviously this is not a hard and fast rule, and there are exceptions to go along with it. First, that limit does not include paying bills, which is an obvious necessity. Second, I know that sometimes I will go over that limit and that’s not something I need to beat myself up about. Finally, and I think this is the most important, debts and balances are not allowed to be carried over from one day to the next: if I spend $17 on Monday, it does not mean I get to spend $23 on Tuesday. Conversely, If I do spend $23 on Tuesday, I still have $20 to spend on Wednesday. The reason I’ve decided on this particular implentation of the rule is because if I was carrying balances I know I would use the kind of logic that said “Oh, it’s ok to buy this thing, I’ll just spend less tomorrow”. That’s not good, it leads to trouble.
Alright, so this rule has been working out fairly well. I have gone over some days, but there have been plenty of days that I was under my limit too. Most importantly, it forces me to make smarter decisions with what I’m spending money on. It’s in no small part because of this rule that the December/Christmas credit card bill is paid off. It might seem silly, but having the goal is also nice mentally, because when I meet it I have a sense of accomplishment. Yeah for me.
One thing I noticed about this new rule is that it brought on other changes in my lifestyle. I had been eating out a lot and getting a lot of take out, both for lunch and dinner. The new limit put an end to that. I’m eating at home, and I find that I’m going to the grocery store every day or every other day and buying only the food I need because the limit doesn’t allow me to buy a lot of stuff in advance. It also means I’m buying way less junk food and wasting less of the food I do buy. Since the grocery store isn’t super close to where I live, it also means I’m getting out and walking around more. It seems that working towards fixing my financial problems is also helping with my being fat problems. Yeah for me again.
Truth be told, I appear to have lost weight since starting this. But I did not have a scale and I had no way to verify or quantize this. That brings me to life change #2. I have been reading a lot online about lazy fat jerks like myself who sit at a computer all day and do nothing but get fat, and then turn their lives around. They all have various tips, many of which I’m trying to implement, but one stuck out at me. One dude suggested to weigh yourself every day. I know most people tell you to only weigh yourself once a week or something because your weight can fluctuate and it can be disappointing. However, I’ve heard a number of people that have lost weight and kept it off saying to weigh yourself frequently, and I think this every day thing is a good idea. Armed with the knowledge of fluctuation and a spreadsheet to track progress, I think it’ll help me set goals and monitor when problems come up. (As an added geeky bonus I’m also going to keep track of my spending and see if there is a correlation between how much I’m spending and weight gains/losses. Finally, my stats class might come in handy.)
- Weigh myself daily and track progress
Alright, at this point I know either you’ve stopped reading out of sheer boredom, or you’re shouting at the computer “what about exercise, dipshit?!”. Well, since I walk everywhere I go I would argue that I am getting more exercise than a lot of people that spend their whole lives driving everywhere. However, clearly I do not get enough and need to work on this. I’ve always been incredibly unmotivated to exercise and find it really, really boring. I’ve tried listening to music, I’ve tried watching TV. It’s just stupid and boring and I hate it. Then, over Christmas, I tried playing Nintendo’s new Wii console and it was awesome. If you don’t know about it, the controller works by monitoring your motion which means you have to actually move to play it. It comes with a game called Wii Sports that includes boxing, golf, baseball, tennis, and bowling. After playing for a night I woke up sore all over - it turns out it’s actually a pretty good work out. And, the most important thing is that it was really, really fun. I did not feel like I was exercising, I didn’t get bored, and I left wanting more.
Some of you may scoff at the idea of playing a video game to exercise, but I would like you to go read this guy’s story. He was basically an overweight jerk like myself and decided to play his Wii for 30 minutes a day, every day, for 6 weeks to try to lose weight. He did not change anything else about his lifestyle. He still ate shitty and didn’t do any extra exercise. The results are on his page, but basically he lost 9 lbs, improved his Body Mass Index, and lost 3.5″ around his gut. I call that results! So life change #3.
- Exercise with the Nintendo Wii
The main problem with this life change is that I don’t have a Wii. They’re actually really hard to come by right now, so I might have to wait a little while for supply to catch up with demand. When it’s more readily available, though, I will buy one and try my own Wii Experiment.
So that’s it, three things I’m doing to try to change my life around. Let me know what you think in the comments, as long as it’s supportive. (Also, I’d prefer if nobody gives the standard “You’re not fat, you don’t need to lose weight” comments that I hear a lot. I am overweight. I may not be obese, but I am not in shape and do need to lose weight.)
