Disappointment Management

Second weigh in is in the books and I'm a little disappointed in my results. My previous weigh in showed that I lost 9.3 lbs in 2 weeks and I know that was probably a bit too high so I was aiming a bit lower and hoping for 7 lbs. Unfortunately when I stepped on the scales I saw I had only lost 2.8 lbs though. I know, I know, I should be happy with any progress no matter how small but it was a bit of a disappointment to go from 9 to 3 so quickly.

I allowed myself to sit and wallow in disappointment for a while just to get it out of my system. I feel it's important to let those feelings out rather than bottle them up and try to put on a happy face. After feeling as though I had spent enough time on it I then started making plans for the next weigh in. First, I decided that I was eating too many cookies and my morning snack had to go, Bam. Next up was my coffee. I had been planning to try to drink it black, and since I didn't particularly like the taste to begin with no milk and sugar didn't seem like a huge stretch, Bam. Third I decided to tackle the stairs. I wanted to start taking the stairs but the people I usually go on break with don't have the same goals so we always took the elevator. I made a new friend who I could take the stairs with every day and now the stairs are part of my morning routine, Bam. Goals in hand I started feeling motivated instead of disappointed.

With the weigh in came news of this month's challenge which would net the winning team a few lbs off of their totals giving them a better chance at the competition. The announcement wasn't exactly… well received… by most of the competitors though. At first it was telling us that we had to complete a minimum amount of 5 different exercises and the first team to complete them all would be the winners. The amounts were about what someone in training for an upcoming event would maintain so they were all pretty lofty goals. That combined with the fact that some of the people in the competition were overweight and had joint issues led to some unhappy campers. Burpees are torture and should not imposed on people you like. After receiving some emails they changed the competition to whatever team had the highest total number of exercises at the end of the month would be the winners.

Once the announcement was accepted and circulated my team went into full on motivation mode sharing tips and issuing friendly challenges. One woman shared a squat challenge as something to aim for since squats were one of the counted exercises. I in turn challenged her to double up on so we could both really flex out some high numbers. The team aspect of this competition has been a huge help for me. Having a group with similar goals where you can offer help or a friendly push is so helpful when you're feeling under motivated. I have them to thank for a lot of my progress both personally and in the competition.

What I've learned.
Be careful when you set your goals. Goals are necessary and are a big help when you're trying to achieve something but beware of setting too high of a goal. The backlash of not achieving a goal can sometimes set you back further.
When you do feel disappointed make sure to embrace that feeling. Don't push it off because it won't go away. Let yourself feel it then think about improvements you can make. Use it to fuel a positive change and that disappointment might wind up helping!
Teamwork, teamwork, teamwork! Find a group that has the same goals in mind. You can play off of each other and the energy from a good team can be super helpful in your #weightlossjourney!

Snacks and first weighin

Late update incoming!

Two weeks down and my first weigh in has come and gone. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that I had lost 9.3 lbs!

It's hard to pick out any one thing to attribute my success so far to but if I had to pick my top reason I would say it would be my calorie counting. Counting calories has really made me evaluate what I eat and has made me realize that so many of my meals were far bigger than they needed to be. It also helped with snacking because I would look at my calories and think hmm, if I only need these many calories and I'm already at my limit, am I actually hungry? Most often the answer is no but for the few times that it isn't I have some small snacks to satisfy those little cravings.

I've also changed the way I buy food as well. Instead of buying one large item and getting a good deal I've instead been buying a greater number of smaller items. I know that I wind up spending more this way but I also know myself and that my own lack of self control would cause me to eat the entire stash. But, if I buy smaller portions I can eat a single grab a single portion, walk away, and then the cravings are easier to control.

Some people reading this have pointed out that counting calories doesn't mean you're eating better. You could eat nothing but pizza in small amounts and theoretically stay under your calorie limit but a diet of pizza alone would be extremely unhealthy. These people are 100% right and this is by no means a diet guide. This is my own personal experience and I visited a doctor to learn if there was anything I should be watching out for. In my case it was the sheer number of calories that was the greatest danger so that is my starting focus. Once that is under control I can work on other parts of my diet like lowering my salt intake for example.

I suppose the number one take way from this should be that before starting any changes in your diet you should visit a doctor to see if there's anything you need to keep an eye out for. Assuming that you're in the same situation as me and weight alone is your biggest hurdle then counting calories is the way to go!

What I've learned:
-Buy a greater number of smaller items to help fight snacking.
-My body sometimes snacks out of habit, keep an eye on those calories to know if your body needs the food or not.

#weightlossjourney

Weight Loss Week One

Week one is down and I'm feeling super motivated!

Calorie counting has been a great help. I can't count the number of times where the simple activity of finding out how much that extra food would cost me then entering it into the ap on my phone has made me turn down seconds, or skip a section of the meal I know is particularly calorie laden. Just yesterday I was eating a chicken cesar salad and was surprised at how many calories are in one. The meal was also served with garlic bread which I love but as I sat and stared at it (guessing at how many calories it might contain) I realized I wasn't hungry to the point that I needed it. In fact, I saved some of the salad and the garlic bread for my girlfriend to have for lunch the next day!

Counting calories hasn't been my only hobby though, I've also started adding some cardio to my weekly routine. Cardio has been the bane of my existence for as long as I can remember. It was something everyone had to do and since I was overweight, I had to do even more. For a while I managed to assuage my guilt over skipping cardio by doing weight lifting instead. Where cardio was boring, weight lifting was fun. Where cardio was long, weight lifting was quick. Where cardio seemed to do nothing short term, weight lifting gave noticeable results almost weekly. Now as I look back at my previous experience with cardio I realize that most of my issues stemmed from a lack of motivation and giving up too early.

I want to be healthy and make a change. I'm surrounding myself with positive people and activities while also putting an end to all the half truths or trades I've been doing with myself.

Speaking of activities, the company I work at is having a biggest loser competition! While I don't know much about the t.v. show this friendly competition is different. Anyone who was interested reported for weigh ins where their weight was kept 100% private. Then the keeper of the weights divided all the participants up into six teams. Each team has three months to lose weight and at the end one team will be picked as the victors! Being placed in a team is surprisingly motivational. I hadn't realized how much it would help to have people to talk to about the same issues I'm having. We've been swapping tips, issuing challenges, joking around, but most of all, motivating each other! You're not just exercising for you, you're working for the whole team. You won't just hurt yourself by eating that chocolate bar, you're affect the team. While that second one may seem a bit negative, sometimes that little extra thought has been enough to stop me from doing something I really shouldn't have.

All in all, this week has been an amazing one and I look forward to my team's first official weigh in next week!

What I've learned
Overestimate your food's calories and underestimate the ones you've burned. Nobody's perfect so we will all forget to enter food sometimes. It could be as small as big as an entire meal, or as small as the dipping sauce. Overestimating your calories can counteract those mistakes and even if you don't miss anything you'll be pleasantly surprised in the end.

Being part of a team rocks! From motivation to tips an advice, having a group of supportive people is enormously helpful. I know I've gushed about it already but I can't recommend it enough for anyone out there trying to lose weight

#weightlossjourney

Weight Loss Journey

I've decided to start documenting my weight loss plans for 2016.

Previously I hadn't really taken it seriously. Sure, I went to the gym and everything but I never really committed to losing weight, just growing muscle and looking manly. In my head I thought that growing muscle was just as good since it would help me in the long run and while that isn't a necessarily a lie, I know now that it was a cop out so I wouldn't force myself to commit to the real cardio I truly needed (and hated) to do. Now I'm stopping my muscle focus and switching almost entirely to aerobic.

This isn't just some new years resolution either. I am overweight and need to make some changes in my life if I want to live long enough to retire. It's a serious issue I've danced around for long enough and now I need to fully commit to making a change. My hope is that by documenting the process I will be encouraged (or maybe guilted) into continuing.

Here are the tools I have at my disposal:
The Lose it ap for iPhone. I'm counting my calories being as honest as possible so I can't just splurge and eat an entire cake or something. This should give me a good idea of what I should and shouldn't eat.
The gym at work. In the same vein as doing weights instead of cardio, I also told myself that doing cardio over lunch would cause me to smell bad all day at work. Now I'm not letting that continue and am taking an extra ten minutes out of my lunch so I'll have the time to shower and change. No more excuses!
An irish gal with a temper. My girlfriend has been after me not to eat too much and I've tried to sneak around her to get the food I've wanted. I'm officially asking for her help and want her to give me the tough love I'll need. One thing if you're reading this though, I refuse to give up pizza cold turkey! But I will instead go for an extra walk with you to make up for the splurging <3 br="">
Here's what I've learned:
Oh wow bread buns are bad for calories. 300 for a single little fluff that barely tastes like anything? That's the first thing that needs to go!
I put way too much milk and sugar in my coffee. I didn't realize that with enough of those, my coffee could be as much calories as an entire meal!

Here's to a productive 2016, good luck everyone! #weightlossjourney

Bus Karma

Have you ever experienced the joys of bus Karma? Bus Karma is the rare event when someone is rewarded for positive behaviour or punished for negative behaviour… all while enjoying the use of public transit.

It's a theory I've been working on for quite some time now. I'm a huge fan of the concept of Karma and a firm believer in it. I don't believe that there is some cosmic force ruining people's day because they stole someone's digimon cards when they were six, or high-fiving people who shared their last donut. I do however, believe that if you are an all around shitty person, bad things will happen to you. Just like if you're a generally nice person, good things tend to happen.

Let's take a real world example. Someone who's rude all day long should expect the cop who pulled him over to give him the full fine instead of a warning when he cracks a particularly offensive joke. Conversely the nice guy helped his friends move might be surprised when that same friend takes him out to lunch to say thanks.

Bus karma is this same idea, just applied to public transit. That little old lady who got onto the packed bus could probably use your seat, why not offer it to her? Suddenly your favourite spot opens up and you get to sit with a perfect view. That jerk who bumped into a stroller without apologizing as he hurried to get that open seat? I bet he doesn't realize it's open because someone spilled coffee there.

In the end it might just be my naivety only making me remember the good times while forgetting the times when I did something good without anything good happening in return, but if that same thought process makes me happy at the end of the day then maybe that was in fact my reward.

Robocraft

I haven't written anything in a while and as much as I'd like to say I've been busy with work, or helping my fiancé with university or working on my children's story, I can't lie to you. In reality I've been spending every spare moment on a new game… Robocraft.

When I say every spare moment, I mean it. When I'm not playing it, I'm building vehicles in it. When I'm not building vehicles, I'm watching YouTubers for inspiration. When I'm not watching YouTube, I'm trolling the forums.

For god sakes don't play this game! Save yourselves! Get out while you can!

In Robocraft you build an almost Minecraft style vehicle like a tank, car, plane, or anything under the sun, strap guns to it, and kill your friends in the traditional team death match format.

As you play you earn experience and RP. Experience increases the level of your account, unlocking more and more parts for you to use, while RP is used to buy these new parts. A micro transaction system can be used to buy Galaxy Cash, or GC for short to buy up these parts much faster. Or you can use this GC to purchase premium days where you're given double rewards every match while also giving anyone participating an extra 5% reward. A nice little bonus for anyone playing 100% free.

With the inclusion of mech style walking legs my absorption into the game had become complete as I created bot after bot with those parts, trundling my way into battle.

You can find Robocraft online at RobocraftGame.com or in the Steam Store but if you like having free time, relationships, or a proper sleep schedule, keep your distance!

Soma

Image from SethNemo of deviantart.com

Soma is a survival horror video game from Frictional Games who you might know as the creators of the Amnesia series.

Let me first start by saying that I am a giant, bearded, scaredy cat who can't play a survival horror game to save his life. This isn't just a weak attempt at self deprecating humour, it's important that you know this so that when I tell you how much I loved this game, you realize how much a handicap it started with for me. I'll attempt to give this game the kind of review it deserves while remaining as spoiler free as possible.

Soma isn't your typical survival horror game. Where most games rely on cheap jumpscares and horrifying visuals to get your heart racing, Soma is more of a cerebral game that sets a creepy atmosphere and 90% of the scares you get are all in your head.

The game tells the story of Simon who, after a car crash in which his friend dies and he sustains a serious brain injury, signs up for an experimental brain scan to try to find out what can be done to help. After a the bright flash of the scan Simon opens his eyes to a dilapidated yet somewhat futuristic facility. After some searching he finds out he has been brought several years into the future and this facility's occupants are semi-mechanical monsters who attack him on site.

This game is an odd one to review because the game doesn't follow the typical idea of working towards a goal then being given a huge reveal that sets the tone for an epic finale. Instead, the twist is revealed pretty early on and the rest of the game is spent thinking about the implications of everything you find out. You are also given the occasional ethical decision where the choices are never black and white causing you to agonize for hours afterwards wondering if you made the right decision.

My first experience with the game was through a let's play by the YouTuber Markiplier. His playthough was not only entertaining but he also gave his input on several of the ethical debates brought up in the game. If after reading this you're still not sure if the game is for you, or you can't afford the $29.99 price tag then check his videos.

Soma takes the best parts of several games to make an amazing thought provoking, psychological thrill ride. From the Bioshock reminiscent level design to the Amnesia-like fleeing in terror, Soma is a beautiful game that gets my seal of approval.