Welcome to Geek Fit, Readers of Doom! No doubt you are curious as to the nature of the posts that are soon to grace the fine pages of Geeks of Doom under the banner of Geek Fit. I’ve decided to provide you an introduction to myself and my vision for this little column in this, my inaugural contribution.

First and foremost, I have always been a “geek.” I grew up like many of you, playing video games, reading comic books, dreaming of having my own super powers, and what it would be like to shake hands with an Aes Sedai, or battle a beholder beside a loveable rogue and a brutish barbarian. My life revolved around the imaginary worlds created by the likes of Stan Lee, Douglas Adams, Neil Gaiman, Gary Gygax, George Lucas, and Shigeru Miyamoto. Unfortunately my passions offered little inspiration for me to leave my couch.

To me, sports and fitness was something that would simply get in the way of my after school television schedule. After all, who wants to get all sweaty and tired when you could be watching Dragonball Z and enjoying a delicious Mountain Dew in the air conditioning? Then everything changed for me when I found out I was going to become a father. I could write 10,000 words on the subject of what it feels like to become a dad, and it still wouldn’t begin to scratch the surface. Needless to say, I decided it was time for me to take a little better care of myself so I could make sure I would be around as long as possible for my daughter.

When I started my journey towards a healthier life I weighed 320 pounds, was a size 44 waist, and had just graduated to a size 3XL t-shirt. Now, less than 2 years later, I weigh 230 pounds, am a size 36 waist, and wear a large t-shirt. Healthy living is a part of my life now. It’s not something I have to force myself to do, in fact, I downright enjoy it.

So what does any of that have to do with being a geek? My journey has been long, but it has been fun, and I owe that to my geeky passions. I want you to know that you can work a full time job, read comics, play video games, drink beer, eat good food, raise a kid, and still make time for fitness. I want Geek Fit to be a place you can come for ideas, inspiration, and information. There is no doubt that fitness is a fad, complete with more dos and don’ts than you can shake a staff at. I was lucky to have some solid resources to help me along the way, and I want you to have that as well. In these articles you can expect to find stories about my experiences.

Ever want to know what all the P90X business is about? I don’t know myself, but you can find out when I try it out next month. Looking for ways to have fun and still get in shape? Believe me, if I hadn’t found fun ways to work-out there is no way I would have stuck with it. I’ll be reviewing the latest gadgets and gear to help you keep from wasting money and still get that tech fix. Antioxidants, Omega-3 fatty acids, protein powder, oh my! Eating healthy doesn’t mean eating grass and paper, and it certainly doesn’t mean starving yourself. I’ll walk you through some of my favorite resources for great tasting, easy to make healthy recipes as well as what diets are all hot air. Lastly I want to open up my inbox to your questions. I’m going to make myself a guinea pig so that together we can find out what works and what doesn’t.

The bottom line is that for the vast majority of my life, the most exercise I got was when I got up to go get another drink. The feeling of being somewhat in shape and being able to shop somewhere besides the big and tall section is one that I think everyone can and should feel. I hope you enjoy my articles as much as I enjoy writing them. If I can help just 1 person feel better about themselves, or just feel better in general, then I will consider my time well-spent. We all know the story of the quiet, unassuming nerd that one day discovers powers that forever change his or her life. I believe that everyone has a power inside of them and I want to help you find yours.