The Mind is Stronger than the Body

And NO. For the last time, I am not quitting this hobby! :)

This blog was supposed to be about my beloved hobby (still is), but I always ended up talking about life and other personal stuff. Perhaps I love to write and share my views on things that really matters to us. For me being an introvert, I tend to think more and express less. But it is undeniable that writing does has its therapeutic properties.

And I feel compelled to write about this. I want to share my journey and perhaps, to inspire you a little to change your life today. So what happened? Well, I decided to make health my priority, that's what happened. Basically, I felt that my life sucked ever since last year. Gunpla has been the focus of my life for many years. Hundreds of hours went into learning, building and competing. From dusk to dawn, I slogged it out at my desk without respite. It was so intense that I never rest! I slept like what? Two to three hours a day. I was perpetually tired. Every morning starts with a bottle of Red Bull. At work, I struggled to stay awake. My focus was like shit. I can fall asleep without noticing it. You can imagine me slamming my head onto the desk, thud!

And after a long day at work, I reached home in the evening, went straight to the workshop, and my kids won't see me for another few hours until 2-3 am. Which means they don't see me at all. I clocked like 15 hours a day sitting down at work and at home. There was little exercising. It wasn't a healthy lifestyle at all.

Age 39 going on to 40, my waist line kept increasing. 35ish inch then and 86kg, I was fighting a losing battle with the "bulge". "I don't feel good anymore." I started asking myself these questions like "Is it worth it?", "Why am I subjecting myself to this shit?" etc. Self-doubt crept in and it got to me at some point. My production slowed, my interest was on the wane.

I thought that was it. I was staring down into the barrel of a gun. The possibility of life without this hobby was not an absolute NO anymore. Suddenly, I was genuinely tempted at the idea of lying on the sofa and watch TV. Oddly, binge watching TV series and movies seemed inviting. I knew something is wrong and needed to be remedied, fast. But it was easier said than done. Especially, when I was totally clueless on how to start.

Then came that lifeline. And from the most unexpected of places, the gym. My wife wanted to sign up with the gym so I tagged along. I have never trained in a gym before and didn't have a good impression of it as well. To me, people go to the gym to take selfies, compare muscles, ogle at girls and all those egoistical stuff. And you know what? I signed up as well! XD

I traded this for my workshop.

And something inside me just "switched on". Yeah, just like that. I didn't have to slowly ease myself into it or talked myself into it. I formulated an immediate target and focused on short terms, manageable goals. I started doing research, even went online and bought myself a 3 month training program from some random trainer and stuck to it like a religion. However, the first thing I did was halved all my carbo intake. I started eating more fruits and vegetable. Then, I cut off my night owl activities and hit the deck earlier. I started to develop a daily ritual. Pack for gym the night before, wakes up at 5.30 am and head there straight then to work. I watch my food intake, cut out almost all the sugars and fatty stuff. I tried to eat clean as and when I can. I kept myself busy throughout the day and slept well at night.

After a week, I felt more energetic and in better mood. After a month, the bloated-ness was gone. So were the usual aches and pains that I associated with age. My waistline shrunk a little as well. But I didn't want to be over-confident. I didn't bothered to weigh myself or measure my waistline as well. Maybe I was afraid I didn't achieve or hit my target. I just keep at it, grinding it out, totally devoted to one cause. That is to go lean.

Progress from Jun to Sep. It was a shame I didn't keep track when I first started working out.

A month ago, I looked at myself at the mirror and almost had a shock. My chubby cheeks were gone. In place of them were two visible cheekbones. Both sides of my face had sunken in. I jumped onto the weight scale and it read 73 kg. Checked the scale once, twice. I am beginning to see my abs again. My relentless pursue to slim down paid dividends! I do not have much bulk or muscular but just lean. Now I think I'm a bit on the scrawny side. Need to slap on some meat!!! Had to change my entire wardrobe as my waistline is 29 inch now!

I achieved it (first phase)! I succeeded even as my friends mocked me (amid jokingly). I proved them wrong. But most importantly, I prove myself wrong.

I am DEFINITELY not going back to that old lifestyle again. To be frank, I put in considerable effort to get to where I am now and I am not going to trip myself over. I feel that there's so much more I can still offer. Obviously, I am not at my optimal level. I will work even harder from hereon to maintain my current form and make it even better. It takes years to achieve a great body. It's not something you can do in three short months. So I gladly take on this challenge. I'll fight all the way for better health and a happy retirement.

And you know what's the best part? I am back on Gunpla and enjoying it even more now, along with my new lifestyle that is. And now, I finally understand this,