4- FAQ

(Well, not really frequently asked, since I’m writing this before the blog is actually announced to the world. Some of these were, however, asked by a couple of friends I’ve shown the blog to, and the others are simply questions I anticipate.)

  • Is all that you write true/real? Yes, to the best of my knowledge. What that means is that, while the facts are all true (again, to the best of my memory), my interpretation of them may, from time to time, be wrong. For instance, it’s possible that, at one time, I theorize that A happened because of B, but some time later I arrive at a better explanation (it was C all along).
  • Don’t you think you’re exposing yourself too much to the world? Perhaps in a way I am, especially in the “baseline” series of posts. However, I see this in a different way. Do you know those “before and after” ads, which show a fat guy in one picture and the same guy, now athletic-looking, in the later picture? The baseline posts are the equivalent of the “before” picture. And much like the guy in such an ad, in the future I won’t be ashamed of my previous state; much the opposite, I’ll be proud of myself for having improved so much, for having gone so far. At least, that’s the idea.
  • Isn’t all of this kind of self-centered? What does the rest of the world care about your life, your health, your progress in solving your problems, and so on? While I sincerely hope that this blog can help and be useful to other people, its main goal is helping myself — by telling any potential readers about what I’m doing, with complete honesty, and to shame myself into not giving up at the first obstacle or when I lose the initial enthusiasm. I’ll try to be interesting, and share some fun and/or insightful experiences, but there will surely be some posts where I do little more than write about what I did that day in terms of food, exercise and so on; those posts are mainly for myself (though, if they inspire other people, so much the better).
  • Hey, I’ve known you for 20 years, and I had no idea of that! Yes, that’s predictable. Most of what I write here — especially in the “my baseline” series — is something I’ve never talked about with anyone, so it’s natural that it’ll come as a surprise to many people who “know” me.
  • I don’t “speak” metric! I, however, do, what with being Portuguese and all. Fortunately, it’s easy to convert: just ask Google. Just type what you want in the search box; for instance, “85 kg to pounds” or “1,80 m to feet”, without the quotes.