If I might be allowed to share quick words on this topic...
I'm an eight year combat Veteran with the U.S. Army; five years of active duty (including a year in Iraq), and three with the National Guard while going to vocational school full-time and being a single Father. Life is hard all around. Each of us is the main character in our own stories, and often times we overlook the backgrounds of others because of that. In honesty, anyone's background is irrelevant when discussing on this thread. It's whole purpose was to touch on weight loss. We, who have been here much longer than D353R7 PUNK, know the rules and workflow of the forum, and should jump at the opportunity to help/advise a newcomer eager to help others. I do agree that this thread's topic belongs in the General Discussions section, but I also remember how confusing everything was when I first joined. All the Stickies, notes, postings, people, PMs, WIPs, etc. I can easily understand why D353R7 PUNK may have thought that this was, literally, the only place where Noobs are allowed to post.
D353R7 PUNK, I'm speaking directly to you now. Stop saying you're military, because you just simply aren't. I understand your want to join up and be a part of something great. Why do you think I did it, myself? But, having not served, yet, and not having even been through the actual training makes it hard for you to say that what you offer is "military standard". When you meet your physical goals (I honestly hope that you do) and join up, I think you're going to be very surprised to see how drastically different, and more intense, the real thing can be. I'd like to respectfully ask that you stop portraying yourself as a member, or ex-member, of the Armed Forces until such time as you have joined up, officially. Myself, personally, I find it a little offensive that you commercialize your efforts to help on the 405th by attaching yourself to a goal, rather than actual actions. You say that your a Mixed Martial Artist, so why not use that to promote yourself instead of the military? There are a lot of 405th members who come from a military background, either in their history or their present lives. I'm sure the last thing you want to do is offend any of them, accidentally. I would hate for you to join the 405th, and have nothing but negative experiences when the point of the site is to meet new friends with similar interests.
I hope that your weight loss program works out for you, and that you get to join up as soon as you'd like. If you have any questions concerning Army training, feel free to PM me.
-M
P.S. One thing that is done for over-weight Soldiers is strict dieting. I'm talking about controlled intake of your proteins, carbs, calories and more. Planning out meals weeks in advance, serving up smaller portions, having four to five smaller meals in the day rather than two or three larger ones. That last approach really helps to boost the metabolism, which in turn helps you burn off weight faster and in a much healthier way. Good Luck! =^D
