The PhD Fat Cyclist

My name is Abdullah and I am a PhD candidate at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand.

Oh, did I mention that I am fat?

Muscular body of an athletic youth gone down the drain. That pretty much sums up how I look like.

That's me in the picture up there with my two boys, Adel and Adam, taken slightly more than a year ago.. And as you can see, I am a bit of a train wreck. But looks aren't really what I care about at this stage. I know it sounds cliche, but I want to be healthy enough to play with my children (I have another one on the way, and it's a he too!). I want to have enough energy to at least keep up with them full speed, at least for a full hour of all out playing. I want to be able to run without feeling like I was hit by a double decker bus. I want to live to see my boys grow up, and have children of their own. I want to enjoy my children, and my grandchildren, as my father is enjoying his golden years as a doting grandfather.

To do this I need to lose weight.

A lot of it.

I've tried diet fads before. Some have actually worked for a few years, but the weight always manages to find its way back. Doing a PhD doesn't help much either, sitting for hours on end, reading, writing, researching. All that sitting. Day in and day out. Something somewhere has to give.

And so, I decided - this is where it ends.Today I bought a new bicycle. I invested in a good one, which I hope will be worth the years I will add on to my life. And to strike while the iron is hot, upon getting the bike, I started on a bike ride that I had not tried in years - to go further than just going round a few blocks. I got on the bike and I rode. I rode and I saw the sun setting, shining its last golden rays into a magenta sky. I rode and I saw the world slow down, and not just whizz by like when I am driving my car. I rode and felt the fresh summer breeze on my face, heart pounding, feeling alive.

But it wasn't all a bed of roses. My muscles were not used to the punishment I was meting out. My lungs were not used to having to pump so much oxygen in and out of my body. I was out of shape, and my whole body was screaming this fact out at me. But I held firm.

Oh, and did I mention that I have carpal tunnel syndrome as well? Basically I can't apply too much pressure on my wrists, otherwise they get numb really quickly, and many times I would feel a burning sensation tingling through the hand and fingers. I am now wondering how much riding my wrists would allow before then pack it in.

But I am committed.

So this is me trying to undo some of the damage caused by my weight by shedding the pounds - and trying to write up my PhD at the same time. This blog will document the trials and tribulations, and I hope the successes that I will face in my journey, whether I manage to do what I set out to do, or fail in the attempt. I invite any reader who comes this way to leave a comment or two, or perhaps even share their own journeys with me. It would be an honour and a pleasure to have you as a reader and a contributor.