New Year's Resolutions 2018

[Master_Craig]

Did anyone try to stick to their 2017 new year's resolutions? 'cuz I sure as hell didn't.

Post your goals and plans below. Keep us up to date to so you can try and be accountable!

 

[MattAY]

To be honest mine isn't very trackable! I broke up from a 4-year relationship last year and am now living with my parents again for the time being.

So my resolution is to basically sort my shit out haha!
- buy a house
- new job
- get fit again.

That kind of stuff.

 

[COMaestro]

I never really do resolutions, because 9/10 times they seem to be unattainable, and failing to meet a resolution can be depressing. Hell, even silly stuff that you resolve to do but end up being unable to do feels like failure. Last year I wanted to play every board game I had in my collection. That started out as just 59 games, but grew to 69 over the year. Overall, I only managed to play 40 of them because I just don't have as much time to play games, board or video, as I would like.

I haven't finished my game of Pandemic Legacy, which has been really awesome when playing, but it hasn't been touched since last May or June, I think. I haven't finished the main campaign of Imperial Assault, which I began with family and friends back in 2015 and was one of the games that did not get played at all last year. I own a number of games, some of which for years now, that I have not even had the opportunity to play at all! I guess that is my resolution for this year: to at least play each game I own that I have not played before at least once, which is only 19 games. 18 now since I played one of them this weekend.

 

[Longo_2_guns]

My resolution every year is to simply be a better me than last year.
Or, alternatively, don't fuck up.

So far, I've kept true to both.

 

[Master_Craig]

I'm not very good at new year's resolutions either. I try at first, but like a lot of people, I tend to just forget about them and go on with my life, which is kinda sad.

This year, here are my hopeful resolution attempts, in no particular order:

1 - As always, lose body fat, get stronger, eat better.

2 - Read actual books more often, not just magazines or words on my computer screen.

3 - Draw more often and in particular, try to make my own bloody website and return to web comics. I have an idea, which I might post in another thread later.

4 - Help my friend get his driver's license. He's nearly thirty one and he doesn't have his driver's license. He can be slack at times, but he wants help.

5 - Be a better partner to my partner. I try my best, but I think I can improve.

6 - Be of better help around the house. I've been doing a lot of house work and cooking last year, but again, I think I can improve.

7 - Go outside more often, as I spend a lot of time indoors.

8 - Get out of my comfort zone and try to talk to more people, more often, face to face.

9 - Try cosplay again.

 

[NegFactor]

Pretty straightforward stuff for me...due to a crippling illness, my ability to do a lot of stuff has been pretty limited. Four surgeries in and no dice so far, but there's a promising surgery with a 90% success rate on fixing what's wrong in me that I get to have a consultation about (and possible scheduling) this Wednesday. So...

1. Do my best Travolta/Cage impression by getting my face ripped off and put back on (though hopefully I will still have the same face afterwards)
2. Sleep all the sleeps.
3. Get back on track for both of my majors.
4. Go back to work, perhaps via tutoring.
5. ???
6. Profit!

 

[Master_Craig]

Man, that sounds horrible. I'm sorry to hear about your illness and surgeries. I can't imagine what that's like. Your latest surgical option sounds promising, so I wish you all the best and hope everything is successful and that you're okay. Please keep us all up to date with your progress.

 

[used44]

Good luck with your surgery and welcome to GR!

 

[Paul Tamburro]

Good luck with the surgery, @NegFactor, and welcome to the forums.

 

[NegFactor]

Thanks for the encouragement.

Now post some more resolutions, people.

 

[Master_Craig]

Thanks for the encouragement.

Now post some more resolutions, people.

Sure!

I'm doing pretty well so far with one of my resolutions, being my first one, " As always, lose body fat, get stronger, eat better."

A few weeks ago, I recently underwent a body fat scan through a DEXA (dual energy x-ray absorptiometry) scan. I was not happy with my results. I carry just over 30%, which is pretty huge, making a total of 35kg (77 Ibs) of body fat.

On the plus side, I am carrying 82kg (180 Ibs) of lean muscle mass. My total body weight, last weighed three weeks ago, is 118kg (260 Ibs). My goal in the next 6 to 12 months is to lose 15% body fat, and get to a weight of 100kg (220 Ibs) or less.

I'm on a new diet program in conjunction with my training program, and I think it's helping. It's only been just over a week, so obviously it's way too early to tell or notice a difference, but I'm pretty positive about it all. I have noticed however that my strength has gone up, as my one rep maxes for bench press, squat and dead lift have improved.

Bench press: 125kg (275 Ibs) - previous best was 122.5kg (27o Ibs)
Squat: 180kg (396 Ibs) - previous best was 175kg (385 Ibs)
Dead lift: 210kg (462 Ibs) - previous best was 200kg (440 Ibs)

A few of my colleagues at work have found out about what I'm doing, so they've decided to join in and make it into a competition, "The Hungry Games". Pay a hundred bucks to join, person to lose the most body fat (not weight) at the end of six months will win the pot. It's a nice way to try and stay accountable!

 

[NegFactor]

I gotta work on my weight but I can't until after surgery is taken care of. I'm currently at my highest weight I've ever been...not terrible per se, but I am definitely overweight. Odds are though that if everything goes well, my weight will probably naturally fix itself, so here's to hoping for that. I've never really been one for exercising -- I see the merits of it, but I rarely find myself in a position where I have the 1) time and 2) energy to go do it. Maybe that'll change this year. Good luck on your weight aspirations.

 

[Master_Craig]

Thanks, man. I appreciate that. I'd also like to say again - all the best to you with your surgery, I hope everything goes well.

As for weight loss... with all due respect, I think we all have the time to do it. I suppose the trick is, finding said time and making it into a priority, followed by a habit and routine. For parents with children, they certainly do not have the time, as their time becomes their children's time.

As for energy, I agree to a degree. I find that when I come home from work, that's when I'm most tired. I could fall asleep so easily if I wanted to. The trick I have... well, okay it's not really a "trick", I just force myself to go to the gym or to judo class. I feel better once I'm there doing stuff.

I suppose another trick is to try and find a form of exercise that you can physically do, but also enjoy doing. Running on a treadmill for half an hour to me sounds absolutely boring, so I would never do that nor would I try and force myself to do it.

Of course... I don't expect you to go running out the door right now. Your surgery is coming up! I think the most important thing is just to go through with that surgery and do whatever rehabilitation work that you may need to do afterwards.

 

[NegFactor]

Well, forcing myself isn't feasible at this point -- a lot of the issues I mention are issues due to what I'm dealing with, so the surgery will hopefully clear those issues. Right now, I can't drive anywhere and my energy is so far past lethargic-dead that I can't even stay awake during a 90 minute movie in many cases. The weight gain I've had is just the equivalent of a side-effect to what I'm dealing with, which is why I believe I'll scale back down just fine once I have surgery.

I will say that I never force myself to do anything because I've tried doing that in the past and I eventually realize that if I have to force myself to try and do something, I'm not really putting my heart into it and I like to give a hundred percent effort if I'm going to do something. Half-assing it just doesn't cut it for me.

 

[Master_Craig]

That's fair, man. I think your priority would be on getting better! I think exercise and stuff can come later down the track when you're all good and sorted.

 

[COMaestro]

For parents with children, they certainly do not have the time, as their time becomes their children's time.

Amen to that!

...once I have surgery.

Best of luck to you, NegFactor! May the surgery be soon, go well, and you recover quickly.

 

[Jason Faulkner]

I made a resolution to eat better and go to the gym. However, I made a secret second resolution that I wouldn't be disappointed in myself if I broke the first resolution, so it's okay that I'm a month behind on actually doing anything.

 

[COMaestro]

I made a resolution to eat better and go to the gym. However, I made a secret second resolution that I wouldn't be disappointed in myself if I broke the first resolution, so it's okay that I'm a month behind on actually doing anything.

You win either way! Excellent!

 

[Master_Craig]

I made a resolution to eat better and go to the gym. However, I made a secret second resolution that I wouldn't be disappointed in myself if I broke the first resolution, so it's okay that I'm a month behind on actually doing anything.

And there's nothing wrong with that!

The way I've been taught about exercise and diet is to try and stick to an 80 / 20 rule. So... imagine your diet, whatever you eat, is a 100% pie. 80% of that pie should be healthy foods, while the other 20% can be unhealthy foods (the key word being "can"). Obviously the less of the latter, the better the result, but at the end of the day, we all have lives, we all like to have fun and sometimes, "life happens". However, the important thing is to not totally give up and let life continue to happen, which is a bit easier said than done and can honestly take some time.

At the end of last year, my dad was hospitalized twice within a space of two months. At the same time, my boss was also being an unpleasant person at work, e.g. deliberately trying to put pressure on me, to stress me out and trying to guilt trip me into coming to work instead of taking time off to see my Dad, and my partner also fell quite ill as well. It was during this time that my fitness goals absolutely suffered, as I skipped going to the gym and I was resorting to junk food as a means of feeling better, and for quick/easy food. Going back to "life happens", this lasted for almost three months.

Luckily and most importantly... both my Dad and my partner are much better, thanks to their required treatments, and my boss? He no longer works here. I have a new boss and she's awesome, so with those worries and stresses gone, I can finally get back on the horse with my fitness goals.

At the end of the day, you can only do what you can do. While I do believe that health should be a priority if possible, I think other things in life are obviously far more important.

 

[Paul Tamburro]

@Master_Craig Glad to hear that your Dad and partner are better. Finding a health/life balance is definitely tough, especially in stressful times.

Cycling has been my go-to method of exercise, as I find that even when life gets super busy, you can still fit it into your day-to-day schedule unlike going to the gym etc. I go out on my bike and run my errands while still getting my exercise, maybe even pick up a coffee along the way to ensure that I won't be exhausted when I get back to work.