As some of you know, for the past few years, I've taken a greater interest in health and fitness. I feel really good about that, but the thing is I don't want to just feel "good". In the words of my guide for all things awesome, Jes Lacasse, I want to feel awesome. A couple days ago, I came across a website that wants to help me do just that: Nerd Fitness.

A couple months ago, I had seen a nutritionist who had recommended the Paleo Diet as a solution to my chronic fatigue and general feelings of grossness - which I think is the proper medical term. Of course, she said not to start while I was on tour because that would be crazypants, but now that I was almost back in Ottawa, I had decided to actively look into it some more. Which is what led me to Nerd Fitness, Steve Kamb and this post in particular. His proficiency with linking back to previous posts and articles sent me down the rabbit hole and I spent well over an hour reading through everything. I was incredibly inspired by many of the transformations he profiled on the site and realized that this was something I wanted to do too.

More on that in a second.

The website is also waaaaay more than just a fitness and nutrition guide. I started reading post after post relating to living a better life in a way that I could totally dig: through sci-fi and video games.

I remember playing the Sims or World of Warcraft and starting to associate things I did in my real life to video game quests (i.e. Just learned a new recipe? That's another 10 points to my cooking skills. Or I need to go to the bathroom know, the toilet bar must be low... Don't lie. If you're a video game nerd, you've probably done the same thing.)

For more on that, check out his Ted Talk:

If you can't watch the video, know that Steve decides to turn his life into his own personal video game, levelling up every time he completes a quest on his Epic List of Awesome. This. This was something I could get behind.

Honestly, go give Nerd Fitness a look. Posts the spoke to me in particular include no longer saying "I don't have the time" but "It's not a priority" (makes more sense when you click on the link) and having specific goals in mind (inspired in part by Tim Ferriss' 4-hour Work Week, which is an awesome book you should definitely read).

So, back to me.

A month ago, while having brunch with a good friend in Ottawa, out of the blue she asks "Do you want to go to Thailand with me?" Since this past year for me has been all about living a more spontaneous and adventurous life, the word "Yes" came out without hesitation. Two nights ago, the tickets were booked thanks to an incredibly good deal. We fly to Bangkok on February 13th and will be spending 21 glorious days wandering Thailand and the surrounding areas.

That's when everything finally clicked together. In order for a goal to be ~~SMRT~~ S.M.A.R.T (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound), it needs to have a deadline. February 13th is mine.

To do what, you might ask (if you've actually been reading this far)?

In the past, I would say "get into shape" or "have visible ab definition" or something vague like that. And after reading through the some of the amazing transformation articles on Nerd Fitness, I am more convinced than ever that the scale is a big fat fatty fat liar liar pants on fire so it's not about losing weight either. No, it's going to be about body fat percentage. Although I can't check with a device, the images in this post make me think that I'm in the 24-26% range. I would like to be in the 17-18% range.

So there you have it: I want to have 17-18% body fat by the time I fly out to the beaches of Thailand on February 13. Since working out hasn't done all that much to change me, the problem then is my diet. I will therefore reach my goal by continuing my strength training but also gradually changing my diet to a Paleo Lifestyle.

I'll be posting updates and photos here in the weeks to come. Encouragements welcome in the comments section.