DDPY: Beginner Program Week 13

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I'm not the most disciplined blogger when it comes to doing these things, and they are as much for me as they are for my loyal 15-20 viewers that I normally get. Writing just helps me to focus my scatter brain--publishing it gives me some accountability, and no topic requires accountability more so than my weight loss journey.

For nearly a year I've been working on the DDPY program. I really like it and I think it's going to be the way I finally make it to my goals. This report documents my results from the current campaign which only began in January 2020 when I bought the app. I have been working consistently with the program using the old videos and the free work outs DDP broadcasts here and there since September 2019 and off and on since last spring. Before that I've tried all kinds of programs with limited success. At one point going through the Insanity program  I actually lost--to hear the scales tell it--between 70 and 80 pounds, but it never looked like the dramatic weight loss that it might sound like. I think I was what real body builders call "skinny fat". I've long since gained that back, I don't think I've gained any additional. My body seems to have a hard time changing for good or ill. I have had a pot belly for as long as I can remember no matter what exercise  program I'm doing or not doing. There's an old American presidential debate wherein one of the burns is "...it's the economy, stupid!" well in my case "...it's the food, stupid!" I can at least identify the issue, the problem is doing something about it.

There is one more issue--at least one--that I see as a block to my goals. That's the teaching lifestyle. I work normally in what I would call three to four month chunks throughout the year before having a longer than average holiday. For the most part we get a winter break, a spring break, and an extra long summer break. The point being I usually behave during my working time, but then it falls apart big time especially during the holidays and summer months--Spring is usually only a week for teachers, so I don't fall off the wagon as much, but you'd be surprised. The break wouldn't be so bad, but when you come back from the break it also takes time to get back on track--at times, it's taken up to a month for me to ramp things back up...you start doing good again....then, here comes another break. I don't know if you've noticed, but at least for me a month of down time will go by in the blink of an eye vs. one week of consistent exercise that drags by wherein I think I've achieved some wondrous goal...and I expect amazing results from it. Again, good to be able to identify the problem, but how to address it is the issue. BTW I haven't been a school teacher all my life, I've found my civilian job even more detrimental to a regular workout schedule. Maybe if you were independently wealthy the workouts would be easier, but I imagine then you'd always be out enjoying your money and would never come back from vacation mode.

Beginner Program is Thirteen Weeks:

My weight stayed a consistent 113-114 KG. If my stomach is completely empty I can get it down to 112. To keep you from having to convert--that's still on the right side of 250 pounds but just barely. I have been working out 76% of the time--that is 60 out of 79 calendar days. Keep in mind the programs do offer days off, so I'll probably never have 100% and that I count a day as being successful as long as I at least do the 'Wake-up'. I try to follow the prescribed workout for each day, but often I will work out a bit on the 'day off' and I also switch out the prescribed workout here and there. Diet has been horrible. With my self-assessment I rated it...28% eating properly. I will also confuse everyone here by pointing out this progress assessment is "homework" given at the beginning of week 13, so technically I still have a week to turn things around--I'm including the last couple of weeks from December to do the full 13 week stats.

Positives:  (no-scalable) more flexible--although for a fat guy I was already pretty flexible, consistent exercise,  clothes fitting more loosely, overall better posture and focus. Stamina/Cardio seems better but it is inconsistent. Keeping my diet/exercise journal updated. Semi-regular accountability on Twitter--if not in the blog. One big thing was last Christmas we went to Disneyland HK and I fit on all of the rides. No walk of shame for me--which has happened at Six Flags a time or two.

Negatives: The scale. The dietary lapses. Sometimes I don't have common sense. I don't think too many people stop between work outs for a BBQ sandwich, but I have and more than once. I think it was French toast during a morning session. Very Bad. Drinking my calories.

To Do: Everything is about the big health picture with DDPY not just the scale. There are many things that I need to do. Redouble the dieting effort. DDP does no gluten and no dairy himself. Can't say I can do that, but I always wanted to try at least a month and see if it made a difference. I still need the heart monitor. I'm just going to get the Apple Watch, but I need to make sure it's in English so I can use it. Kind of risky buying in China. I listened to and read DDP's own suggested material during the beginner program, but there are several inspirational and informative movies that I haven't watched and I really need to do that for the emotional and mental game that goes along with the program.

Summary: I think it's a good start and when I go to intermediate for the next 13 weeks I really want to to focus on what I'm eating and drinking. I am keeping the food journal but I need to be deliberate with it and write these things down before I eat them. Just like you say out loud when you are formatting a hard drive, I need to say out loud--"I'm eating a Big Mac. This puts me further from my goal" and similar before I eat it. Even if I do eat the thing, at least I've fully thought it through and didn't just stick it in my mouth.

Onward and Upward--who knows when I'll blog again, but I'm consistently on Twitter. The next update on DDPY might not be for another 13 weeks.

Altered State--Cyberpunk 2020

I continue to waste away in Coronavirusville, but on the plus side, I was able to purchase and read through most of Altered States, a new Cyberpunk Supplement for Index Card Role Playing Game.  I think it will help to streamline the rules for "the world's greatest 'cyberpunk' roleplaying game"...or at least the most well-known one. I have run CP2020 campaigns on Roll 20 wherein I tried to incorporate a few ICRPG rules, but now we have something official. Rules-light CP for less than $10.00? Sign me up.  

At some point I might go all in on the AS setting which goes even further into the future than traditional CP, but I really am a sucker for the CP2020 ascetics. I like style over substance, and the 1980's feel, but to each his own. However, one thing I don't like about CP2020 is the bloated RAW and that's where AS helps. 

I am a GM/Referee who likes having a permanent NPC stay with the players. She's not a Mary Sue and mostly gives exposition without my having to come up with a cast of thousands. In my 2020 games, the concept is that the team works to put on a reality show about Edgerunners similar to COPS. My character is a media type that follows them around and records their exploits for broadcast. She's famous with people on the streets, but overlooked by the Network Corporate types. She has plot armor on, but she's about as useful as Dungeon Master in the D&D cartoon was for all intentions. She's also useful for testing out how to build characters, so here's a quick take on how I converted my media darling Coco Lopez into an AS character along with a couple of thoughts on other CP2020 issues that can be taken care of with AS:

-----This part is probably only useful for those with copies of Altered States and Cyberpunk 2020-----

The first bit is all from AS--in my mind the closest in character concept was to make her Truth Seeker Enhanced Human Shifter with the Good, Bad and Ugly tag. I chose Mnemonic Link and Shifter Graft from the enhancement which helps her to record the happenings of her team while remaining in "Embedded" in the group and not look like a somewhat famous TV personality. Equipment doesn't matter, I pick what I want, but I did choose the external augment so she could get cyberoptics that fit with the character. Weapons again doesn't matter much choose what you want, but I added from CP2020  Rate of Fire (ROF) information for how many rounds can be spent per turn along with capacity for firearms that don't show specifics in AS. Also, it does take one round to reload on all firearms--with specifics beating general as always. Coco has no psychic abilities but the option seems really straight forward if players wanted to use them. Links and Bonds again doesn't matter much--players could even use the life path from CP2020 if they are into that kind of thing. 

Next is the CP2020 stuff. Since I want Coco to remain a Media--I just looked at her specific skills from CP2020 and connect them with the most appropriate stat to my way of thinking. Example: Streetwise--seems like a WIS skill to me, so +2 is added to Coco's streetwise checks. If for some reason she needed to make a streetwise attempt--although I'd probably stick with checks for something involving this skill, I'd let her go with D4 effort--possibly D6 if she researched the area ahead of time or used her optics in some way. Also, if the character is using a career skill the roll would be easy vs. DC, a chipped skill would be straight roll vs. DC, and a non-chipped non-career skill would be Hard vs. DC or maybe even impossible like a non-chipped runner trying to read a language he's never seen before. 

Netrunning--always a problem in CP2020--would be largely hand waved here. I would use the AS/ICRPG system all the way. I would let the Decker/Netrunner go into cyberspace but going into all the minutiae of deck building and which programs to load up has never been fun for anyone except the runner player and the GM from my experiences. You could resolve a hack really quickly and let the decker stay with his mates and fight.

It might be a while before I can try it, but I'm looking forward to giving it a go. As to the system I'd give it 4/5 because there's always room to improve, but for the cost? 5/5 you can skip a pizza and improve your cyberpunk game.