Nerd Fitness Academy - Notes
Mindset/Philosophy
- Three goals to keep in mind: be happy, be healthy, feel and look good. Crucial foundation here, and I love the way NFA articulates it. If I am meeting two of these (looking good and being healthy) without being happy - let's say, by eating consistently low calorie amounts - it won't be sustainable. Fun isn't optional.
- Strive for efficiency. I have a lot on my plate, and I don't need to shift massive quantities of time towards fitness-related activities to be successful.
- Do my best to avoid two in a row. When I slip up from a given goal (and I will), try not to let it devolve into negative momentum.
- Small tweaks, small changes, built gradually.
- Weight: 253.8 lbs
- Neck: ~16.5 in.
- Chest: ~47 in.
- Bicep: 13+ in. each
- Waist: 47 in.
- Hips: ~44 in.
- Thighs: ~27 in. each
- Calves: ~18.5 in. each
- Important to nail this down. It's easy to start change, but what will help sustain me when it gets touch?
- Try to get beyond the vague, surface, "I want to get healthy." I mean, I do want to get healthy. Why else? What's at the core?
- Yes, I want to look better and feel more confident in myself. That's true.
- Yes, I also want to improve my health. It'll be good to walk and bike and fence without feeling winded, and reduce my risk of heart disease. Also true. Also important.
- One more. Something more personalized.
- I've allowed my life to stall out, excusing myself from challenging different areas. I don't want to stay in this static stage. I want to see what's next.
- Make the goal identity-based, about who I will be, not about what I "should" do.
- Employ language of "doesn't" rather than "can't." Like, "I don't eat junk" rather than "I can't eat junk." Incorporate it into identity. Remove restraint/emotion from the equation, as the Academy guide puts it.
- I have to create five goals. Who I want to be. Let's aim for small and specific.
- I will be someone who only rarely eats sweets.
- I will be someone who eats a limited number of calories rather than binging.
- I will be someone who fences actively and competitively.
- I will be someone who eats most meals at home rather than out.
- I will be someone who holds weight around 190 lbs.
- Last element of the "mindset" unit.
- Make six changes to my environment, my home or work.
- For the first three, remove steps to building a good habit. For the second three, add new barriers to prevent falling back into old habits.
- ...
- I sat here for a while trying to think of habits, and I just don't know. I can definitely think of habits, but they feel forced and out of place. So I'm tabling this for the moment. I'll try to create six solid habits as I continue through the units.
