The Road to Being a Healthier Gamer: May Update!

So it looks like I've unintentionally started a trend when it comes to these updates in giving them all some form of subtitle. I think this month's will be something along the lines of "Tackling the Plateaus of Fitness and Hobby Alike".

Trust me, it's a lot better than my first thought of "The scale said WHAT?! Nope, try again...Nope, try again...Nope, try again...#%$&!"

Normally I end these articles with my weigh-in for the month, but since you probably can already guess how that went, I'll suppose I should share it with you now. 240.8 pounds. Total weight change was +.6 pounds.

...go ahead, I know what you're thinking...

Okay, now that you're done looking at me like I'm nuts for reacting that way over a half of a pound gained, let's remember a couple significant things. First, since November of last year I've only lost weight and never gained any back. Second, last month was also the first month in well over 5 years that I had seen the number 3 after the 2 in my weight. Maybe it wasn't by much, but it counted dang it, and to lose that accomplishment the next month kinda stinks.

Now, if I were to end it there I think that I could easily call the month disheartening, discouraging and a bit of a failure overall. Thankfully, I'm not going to end it there. There was good too. What kind? Well, for starters I dropped another pants size. I started at a waist 46 (though to be honest, those were getting tight), and am now wearing size 42s. I'm also feeling much more comfortable actually doing exercises, and I can do 20 knuckle push-ups without dropping. Maybe that doesn't seem like a lot to some, but when I couldn't do 5 without dropping 7 months ago, that's significant to me. I know I've built more muscle mass, and also know that muscle weighs more than fat. Therefore, my weightless should slow down if I'm building and toning muscle, right?

However good those points are though, I need to be realistic. I hit a plateau. What's a plateau you ask? Other than a geological term that could be used when describing a landscape, a plateau happens when your body reaches a point that it gets used to the changes you've made and levels off in your weight loss. Everyone warned me that it would happen eventually, and to be frank, I'm surprised it took this long.

Also continuing the trend of tying each of these updates into this hobby of ours, I pose the question: Is it possible to reach a "Hobby Plateau" of sorts?

My personal opinion is yes, it most certainly is possible. Maybe not for everyone, but for me I reached it last year when it came to playing 40K. I played in high school, and a bit of college in 2nd edition, then jumped back into it at the tail end of 3rd, and played all the way up until the beginning of 7th. I spent thousands on grey plastic and resin crack, and spent years converting, sculpting, painting and playing. I love the hobby. I have friendships with those that have become like family to me because of being in this hobby. When I came home from Adepticon last year and realized that I wanted to take a long break from 40K, it was disheartening to me. Very much like it was when I weighed in a couple days ago for my May update.

So are plateaus the end of the road? Can they not be overcome? Of course they can, and the way to do it is simple really. If the plateau is reached by doing the same thing for too long, then logically you can overcome the plateau by doing something different than your new norm, right?

In my goal to become healthier, I'll be doing this by introducing new exercise routines in the mornings to help kick my metabolism, heart and body in gear earlier. I'll also be changing up my eating habits during the day, introducing more meals, but smaller caloric counts per meal, so that I keep my metabolism moving throughout the day as well. I'll be watching the sugars, fats, carbs and protein percentages in the foods I eat closer and try and stick within a certain amount of each per day rather than just watch the calories overall.

In my hobby, I already changed it up and started playing Infinity as you all know by now. It's really revitalized my love for playing games in general, and truly stepped up the challenge to me in my painting as well.

And you know what? I've actually got a bit of an itch to convert and paint up some grim dark models for the first time in well over a year. Probably just some one-off pieces, INQ28 style, but still, the itch is there.

What about you? Have you reached a plateau that you overcame at some point?

Don't forget to back up a post in the blog and register for my 4th blog-birthday giveaway if you haven't yet! I'm considering if we push me to 300 followers by Friday, doing a secondary raffle for some signed and numbered art prints from Black Library.

- Tim