Let me just dust this off....

So, it's been a few years since I've used this thing. That's fine. It's here as a resource for me, more than it is for you. I'm going to use this space exactly as I always have. A bit of writing practice, a bit of talking about the games I love, and a bit of talking about my fitness plans and what I'm doing with them. So, all the same good things as always. I'm going to start out with the fitness stuff. I find myself beginning the year at a rather hale 228#. Some years ago, I was dreading the notion of being 200#, so, I've clearly not bothered enough with my own health in the last few years. There's lots of reasons for that, but the largest has become simply that I like eating the way I have been. It isn't healthy for me, though, never has been, and honestly, I'd like to actually do something about it. So I shall. I'm going way back to a notion I had a couple years ago. The year of Thor. Now, a flabby, out of shape, low stamina and frankly weak me is a far, far cry from being Thor the Mighty. But, I figure all of those things can be fixed with enough effort, sweat, and giving a fuck. That last one being the most difficult for me. The Thor thing stems from me really wanting to go and do either Thor, or some similar character this year for Halloween. So, there's 10 months of time to try to get at least some of the way there. And, I know it's possible to do - I just have to want it. With that comes the notion of defining what features make Thor. As far as fitness is concerned, well, Thor doesn't have a gut. Second, he's got some decent back and shoulders, with at least some definition in the arms. Depending on the artist (or movie), he's also got good legs. 10 months may not be enough time for me to get all of that in place. I figure, I can do something about the gut by losing some weight. And I should be able to do something about the shoulders, arms and back. The chest thing will have to sort itself out. I'm hopeful my tits will flatten out into something that I can dress up as pecs. I'm setting the first goals for 2 months. End of February, exactly. The 28th. I weigh myself weekly, on Tuesdays (to give the weekend indulgences time to settle on my ass), so that works fine. I weighed in at 228# on the 2nd Jan, which is if nothing else, the baseline. I'll be focused on cardio for the next 2 months, and changing my diet in what should be a complete overhaul. These two features combined should be enough to make significant changes. I'll also go back to calorie counting, with a nice goal of 1800 daily. I will have to look at my macros to be sure I'm not missing anything or over indulging in carbs (which is most likely). I'm going to try to work without too much of a net for this first bit. I feel like a nice conservative goal of 210# is good. That's marginally more than 2# per week. Attainable and also very safe. But, another part of me is reminded that I tend not to be extreme enough. Ultimately, I'd like to get down to somewhere between 180 and 190#. A nice 185# is a stable number for me, but I'd need to get there. That said, losing nearly 50# in 2 months is far too quick. 3# per week puts me at 204#, we can round that up to 205# and call it good. That's also possible, I think, but requires more effort. So, more effort it is. So, Feb 28th, I'm gonna be 205#. Afterwards, I've got 8 more months to go, and 20# more to lose to hit my ultimate goal weight, which, at the same pace would mean end of April to get down to 185. I have a feeling it may take me longer than that, so I'm not going to concern myself with that for now. The following 8 months, will have me put more strength work back into the program. Get work done on the arms and back and shoulders to get those up to where I want them. Add in some shape that's not marshmallow. Specifics will come as that date gets closer. Unlike some of the other times I've done this, I'm not going to go about with lots of other measurements. I will satisfy my data tracking urges with calorie counts, workouts logged and pounds on the scale. That said, I also want to start tracking more of what I'm doing as far as cardio is concerned - give me a bit of a timeline of sorts. I used to use Fitocracy for that, but it's been broken for me since 2011 or something, so whatever. I'll do it here. I was in the gym yesterday for 30 mins on the stat bike, and then 30 mins on the treadmill. Just looking to start getting back some stamina, and increase the total energy expenditure through the day. I'm looking to make this a 5+ day a week thing for the now. The year of Thor starts.