#4 - Health is Important

Mrwhosetheboss is a tech YouTuber based in the UK.

If you've never heard of him, think Marques Brownlee (MKBHD) but British.

His videos are extremely entertaining and he puts an immense amount of effort into every second of them.

In the video I've linked above, Arun talks about how health has been something that he's pushed to the back of his mind because he's been grinding hard to find success in his chosen career path, something I (and probably everyone) can relate to.

He shares his 10-step process as to how he plans to reduce his weight and body fat percentage, improve his sleep quality, implement a more balanced diet, drink more water, reduce his caffeine intake... as you can see, he's not just changing one aspect of his life, he's changing many. And he's tying in his knowledge of tech to help him achieve this goal.

This video resonated with me for a number of reasons:

1. He posted the before video. Most people who post these kinds of videos on YouTube only do so after they've seen progress and then show the before/after comparison. In my opinion, it takes a great deal more courage to be vulnerable upfront and make the promises prior to seeing any changes. There's a lot more at stake, because now, if you fail, you've not only let yourself down but you've set yourself up for public humiliation.
2. I relate to Arun a lot because he's a brown guy.
3. He's got a massive following of over 11M—so it's not like me making this pledge to my YouTube subscriber base of 350—he's got millions of eyes on him.

Then, 3 months after that video (which was a few days ago) he released the following video showing his 100-day transformation.

It's inspirational to see how much progress he's made.

It gives me hope that I too can get to the fit aesthetic that I've always wanted to, but never prioritised enough to actually achieve.

Even though intellectually I know that health is the most important part of life, my lifestyle is yet to reflect that.

It's not that I don't do exercise, or don't try and eat healthily, it's just that I let other things get in the way of health.

I've always thought of myself as a healthy person, yet I've had elevated cholesterol levels for the past 2 years now and I've not changed anything about my lifestyle.

It's time for a change.

Now is when I'm making my health and fitness a priority.

This is my pledge to me (and you).

My Health Goals

1. I will exercise every day.
   • Resistance training workouts at least 3x per week
   • HIIT session at least 1x per week
   • Run ≥6km at least 1x per week
   • Other cardio at least 2x per week
   • Posture exercises at least 2x per week
2. I will drink 3L of fluid per day.
   • Metamucil at least 2x per day
   • Caffeinated tea/coffee limited to maximum 3 cups per day at least 6x per week
   • Juice/soft drink/bubble tea limited to maximum 1x per month
3. I will eat two serves of fruit per day at least 5x per week.
4. I will meditate every day.
5. I will journal every day.
6. I will stretch every day.
7. I will not use any distractions (e.g. phone, Kindle, TV) when I'm eating, so that I'm more mindful and better able to listen to my body.
   • Disclaimer: I recognise that if I'm in a group, this may not always be possible
8. I will not eat fast food more than 1x per week.
   • Disclaimer: I acknowledge that this may not always be possible, especially when travelling
9. I will take the supplements I need to.
   • Omega-3 fatty acid capsules 2x per day
   • Iron tablet 1x per week
   • Protein shake at least 1x per day

To help me stick to this plan, I've devised the following health habit tracker which I will use to build momentum and prove to myself I can maintain these habits long-term.

[insert here]

The issue I've always had is that once I miss one thing, I fall off the bandwagon, as I have this ingrained "all-or-nothing" philosophy inside me.

But such a perfectionist attitude is not condusive to long-lasting change.

I'm trying to internalise a more healthy mindset, where it's ok to miss a workout one week, or not get my two serves of fruit in every day and instead of comparing myself to this "ideal" version of myself, comparing myself to where I started from.

You can follow along with my progress by checking out this link to my spreadsheet which is updated in real-time.

Resource #1 - Tweet

I'm slowly making my way through this list of documentaries.

The Last Dance, a documentary about Michael Jordan's career, has been one of the best documentaries I've ever watched and I highly recommend that everyone should check it out.

In America, basketball is more than a sport. It's a culture.

Resource #2 - Book(s)

The Kingkiller Chronicles is one of my top three fantasy fiction series of all-time. I just finished reading The Name of the Wind (Book 1) and it's an all-time great.

If you're into fantasy, check it out.