I also posted this on the DecidingToBeBetter subreddit with more detail and updates

In June of this year, I decided to effectively take a month off of life to completely reset myself and my body. I felt unfit, lazy, unproductive and more than anything I felt like I needed to change my routines so that I didn't feel like shit all the time and move forward with my life.

I got really lucky in that my two college roommates moved back home to their respective cities for the summer so I have my apartment to myself from mid-April until the end of August, so I was in complete isolation and didn't have any obligations, and at the moment I don't have a job as I'm in the interim between graduating college and going out into the world for a career in my field.

I had enough money saved to sustain me which means every hour of the day was completely mine and everything I choose to do is completely optional. I figured that up until now, whatever I've been doing - the patterns I've created and the routines I've been repeating hadn't been working, so it was time for a change.

June 5th, 2016 was my day 1.

The first thing I did was lay out the parameters: (Taken from my DecidingToBeBetter post which is why it's all in present tense).

No social media - facebook, instagram, twitter, and snapchat, are currently all deactivated and will remain so probably far beyond these 30 days. My only connection to the outside world is via texting and the facebook messenger I've decided to leave on

Eat and Lift - I've been very skinny my entire life and I'm going to change this. I'm using this month to get into consistent eating and working out habits so that moving forward these things will become second nature to me. I will work out a few times per week and eat as much as I can (within the realm of proper nutrition) so I can make the biggest gains possible.

Yoga and Meditation - Just as my body needs to be vastly improved, so too does my mind. I will take at least 30 minutes everyday to turn off my phone and center my mind by doing yoga and meditation. I am a big proponent of mindfulness and I believe that taking time each day to regain your mental equilibrium is something that every single person should be doing in their daily life.

No more porn - This is a big one for me because I've been addicted to it for a long time and it's desensitized me to actual women in a sense. As of now, I have 5 days under my belt and already I can feel some very good differences.

I will only use the internet to be productive - I waste a lot of time on my laptop and so I'm limiting my usage significantly. I'll only be using it for the following: Information on working out/eating, looking up where to buy things I need, and obtaining necessary information towards my goals. But as for the next 30 days, at the very least, reddit, news sites, social media, and all the other time wasting websites I go on will not be part of my day.

I will read more - I have a bunch of books that I've been neglecting and I plan on doing a lot of reading within the next 30 days.

I will write my thoughts - I will spend an hour or so each week writing down my thoughts, goals, and whatever else comes to mind that I feel should be noted.

No alcohol - Everyone I know is constantly drinking and partying and I really just don't feel like it anymore. I will completely abstain from alcohol and limit my in-person social interactions to things like coffee or lunch.

These were hard to adjust to but got easier as the days went on. I found it amazing how much better I felt when I changed my diet. I cut out refined sugar, coffee, and tea and instantly lost a good portion of my body fat. I switched my snacks from pizza pockets to bananas and almonds and instantly felt way better. I was making changes and it felt great.

Groceries bought on day 1

Oranges, salad, onions, baby carrots, bananas, mushrooms, 2 cartons of free range egg whites, 2 containers of greek yogurt, 2 containers of 1% cottage cheese, 2 cartons of almond milk, 2 cartons of organic free range brown eggs, boneless skinless chicken breast, and boneless pork loin.

I stopped drinking which was a real problem when I was in college as not only is there a campus bar, but I also live around the corner from one which I frequent quite a bit. Stopping porn was also big too as it gave me much more free time. This has been a big problem for me and putting a stop to it is a must for any sort of progress in my life. It leaves me devoid of energy, both mentally and physically and to not feel like that every single day anymore feels so much better.

Getting off social media felt great. It was so liberating not to give a shit about likes, posts, posting my pictures and rants, and anything else. This particular change gave me a lot more free time and it actually shocked me how much time I do spend on social media just browsing and doing meaningless bullshit. It's clear to me now why so many TRP posts preach getting rid of social media altogether.

There was literally no downside to this. I felt immensely better almost immediately just from changing what I ate and changing my routines. I was finally getting off my ass and doing things that were productive, and if I was on my ass, I had a book in my hand. My time finally meant something and I realized just how much I can get done in a day when all the distractions are gone.

All in all, it was an amazing month and I learned a lot. After the 30 days were up, I decided to keep these routines going. I began drinking coffee again but that's about it. I eat much healthier and in turn I feel way better than I used to on a day-to-day basis.

My only regret is that I didn't lift as much as I should have, but in the end, I started up stronglifts near the end and I've been going good with that for about 4 weeks now - still haven't missed a rep. I'll definitely continue to lift for the rest of my life. Feels fucking great to start taking this seriously.

One would think I'd have binged on everything I missed out on in the month but that wasn't the case at all. I felt like I had crossed a bridge in my life and that there was no turning back from here. My old life was over and all the shitty indulgences that had gotten me nowhere in life were done with and I'm now ready to see exactly what I'm capable of.

I highly recommend this to anyone. Just take some time to change your habits and notice how much better you feel. If you can't do a month, do a week. You'll be glad you did.