Wednesday, September 03, 2014

Weight Loss for Game Programmers

When I started my first job after University, I got fat.
Not crazy fat, but my trouser size went up 4 inches, and my friends were joking about it behind my back. (Thanks guys)
I wasn't aware of it until someone pointed it out. I then recognized that I didn't like the trajectory I was on, so...
First I did some profiling:
  • At University I walked about 90 minutes a day. Now I got the bus to work and walked about 10 minutes a day.
  • Due to the lack of funds at University, I used to eat less fatty food. The company I was at was next to a fantastic sandwich shop, where I would regularly buy colossal meat sandwiches which would make Vikings envious. Then I'd often get take out in the evening.
  • At work there was free soda, and I had a five cans a day Coke habit.
Then I made a few optimizations:
  • I had to walk either to work or from work once per day. If I get the bus in the morning, I had to walk home at night.
  • Instead of Coke, I would learn to love the fizzy lemon water instead.
  • I could only have Viking style sandwiches on Friday, and the other days I'd have turkey or tuna.
  • I had to do boot camp class at the gym once per week.
A few months later I was back to my normal weight. I think this worked because:
  • The 'If I don't walk in the morning, I walk at night' rule gave me options.
  • The alternative sandwiches and soda were pretty good in their own right. I wasn't too draconian.
  • The Viking Friday lunch gave me something to look forward to.
  • Going to the gym once a week was achievable and didn't get boring.