Back in August of 2015, I had the bright idea to start a weight loss competition on The Christian Nerd Podcast. My cohost, Ron, and I decided that we would both try to lose weight and the loser would have to buy the winner a copy of Star Wars: Battlefront. Ron won that competition and I had to buy him a video game, but we both lost weight, which was great.
Then a little over a year later, I had the bright idea to run another competition with Ron. We had both put back on some of the weight we had lost, so another competition seemed like a good way to lose those pounds. I won that competition and Ron had to buy me a copy of Battlefront 1, a tremendous game that I haven’t played as much as I should have.
Apparently it’s really hard for me to keep off weight or lose weight if I’m not involved in a competition, so I started another one in April. Instead of just doing it on our podcast, though, I decided to run it for our Slack group, The Octogon. The Octogon is our group for people who enjoy The Christian Nerd. People from across North America hang out online and talk about Jesus and nerdy things together. It has become my favorite way to interact with people and I’m still amazed that people have actually gathered with The Christian Nerd as a common thread.
So we ran an eight-week competition that ended last Friday. I’m happy to say that I won, but winning wasn’t the best part about it. The best part was how everyone kept encouraging each other. People who have only ever interacted with each other online were supporting and encouraging each other to keep exercising and to keep eating right. I loved reading how people had tried to lose weight before, but weren’t able to so until participating in our MyFatnessPal challenge.
My favorite part about running The Christian Nerd for the past six and a half years has been getting to meet new people. I knew that I wasn’t the only nerd who loved Jesus, but connecting with others who have the same passions has been great. And The Octogon has helped those connections go even deeper as I’ve gotten to know so many more people who enjoy The Christian Nerd.
I’m humbled that anyone would even read my posts or listen to our podcast. I’m humbled even further that people would say this small corner of the Internet has had a positive impact on their lives. But if I can help people see how God is already present in their favorite nerdclinations or help a few people lose some pounds, then I’m all for it.
If you would like to join The Octogon send me an email and I’ll get you added.
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