70 thoughts on “The February Reboot Check-in That Happened in March”

1. I just watched @midnight (it was hilarious) and I was thinkinkg 1) that is a very nice shirt and 2) I swear Wil looks thinner, either he’s lost weight or that shirt is magic. Great job Wil and thanks for entertaining us all these years, appreciate it 🙂

2. Wil Wheaton: Crushing it since he stood down Jack Bauer back in 86. Good job man, very inspiring.

3. You looked great on @midnight (and you and Chris wore the same colors which was adorable). Not only more trim, but more happy. I’m so glad this reboot is working for you. I hate exercise but I think I will pick up Zombies, Run! because it’s seemed to do so much for you. I’ve also scheduled my first actual psych eval because I’ve been having difficulties with nightmares and anxiety and you’ve maded me realize that it’s okay to get help. Keep up the good work, and thank you for all you do!

   1. *made. What a horrible typo.

   2. I’m really proud of you, for going to get en evaluation. That’s big effing deal.

      (and you and Chris wore the same colors which was adorable)

      So funny you mention this. I didn’t realize it, until Anne told me after taping.

      1. You two are the One True Bromance to rule them all.

4. I get that loving to exercise and missing it when you don’t thing too. Though, in my case, at least, I don’t think it’s the exercise I miss as much as the story of the zombie apocalypse. I also did have one day this past week where I REALLY didn’t want to go out and do it for the first time since I started in December; I don’t know if it was just the rain/snow mix that day or if MY depression was also being a dick. It felt weird not wanting to go find out what happened next, but I’m sure it won’t be the last time that happens in my quest to get my weight and cholesterol down to a level my doctor and I are comfortable with and at least I was able to conquer the feeling and go out anyway. (Yes, I even go out in the rain/snow ’cause I’m a bad ass like that.)

5. Great post Wil. I’m trying to crank out the next installment in my SciFi book series, (Book 1 was The Martian Conspiracy). Finished the puke draft of The Callisto Deception about a month ago, meeting my goal of doing at least 600 words per day, but it’s hard to measure productivity during the editing phase, which sucks because that makes it harder to be motivated. Definitely a better writer if I cut down on the beer, good advice.

6. Fan fucking tastic Wil! Congrats on an overall amazing lifestyle! Your weight and running and eating are amazing to me, simply mystifying. The reading and writing I think I am doing well keeping on par. The movie thing I substituted creative internet entertainments and content. Though I dedicate more free time to it and chalk it up as “working”. Depression has actually decreased overall, though still have two or three really bads days and then five to six good or better days… So I am okay with that. Gonna start doing more active time and maybe implement audio books for reading time in conjunction with activity, cardio training etc. Dunno. You are an inspiration.

7. Fantastic to see the progress Wil. I’ve been doing the same, but without the ‘plan’ you’ve got going on. It’s made me sit down and do the same, ’cause I’m similarly motivated by targets/games/numbers. I’ve been a Zombies, Run! fan for years and years, but haven’t managed to finish the 5k program. That’s going to be item #1 on the list.

   I’m really interested to hear about your check in’s over time; particularly as my 27 year old son manages Depression and Anxiety and ADD. He struggles with focussing on the aspects of managing his mental health, but does usually do better when he’s exercising regularly, sleeping well etc. He’s still learning about how to manage that though, and the irony of ADD et al, is that it’s just that little harder to be consistent.

   ANYway – thanks for the posts, they are really helping and making a difference.

8. I’m so, SO proud of you.

   1. I concur.

9. Really awesome update. I’m curious how you deal with your anxiety and all the travel that you do? I’m a very anxious flier, and I’ve got a prescription for some drugs to take before I get on the plane, but I try not to use them unless I really need to. The worst is the anticipation anxiety that strikes a month before a trip, and I can’t medicate with sedatives the entire time before a flight…

   1. I’ve flown so much in the last few years, it’s become mostly routine, and I don’t get the panic attacks like I used to.
      But to make things as easy as I can:

      I I carry one anti-anxiety pill with me all the time, and knowing it’s there is usually enough to help me calm down.

      I also do what I can to minimize the things I dislike about air travel: I get there early, so I’m not stressed about missing my flight. I take a big bottle of water with me, so I don’t get thirsty. I sit in an aisle seat, so I don’t feel smooshed. I have noise-canceling headphones and music, so I don’t get bugged by noise. I have my book, my iPad/Android Tablet/Laptop with a couple of movies or whatever if I want that.

10. I saw your Willicious burrito reaction video yesterday and the first thing that came to mind was that you were looking really good. Fit and healthy. I’m super excited for you!

11. Wow this is so not what I was expecting when I (mis)read the title “The February Robot Chicken That Happened In March” although as an in-before-ten guy myself I can relate to several of these.

12. Hi Wil – long time fan and lurker. I want to say kudos to you because we’re about the same age and I can empathize with how hard it is to do a midcourse correction like this. I’ve just moved to Los Angeles from Wisconsin, so having a garage as living space is a new experience – I’ve made that my workout center and am intensifying my own exercise routine too. Im inspired by your reading resolution; i havent read any good sci fi in two years so I am going to follow your lead. And, I need to start writing, too. Thank you for being public about this process.

13. What’s the food tracker app?….(stands poised with pencil)

    1. There are a lot of different ones, and I don’t identify mine because I don’t want to sway your decision. Just look in the Play Store or App Store and you should be able to get one you like.

14. So happy for you! I started “running” today, too. I put it in quotes because I actually walked briskly for 30 minutes, which is what I assigned myself because I was sick recently so I’m totally out of shape and I wanted to start with a goal I knew I could accomplish. Important part: I started.

15. I’m so glad that you are happy.

16. I’m flying (panic attack!) alone (panic attack!) to Vegas on Monday to have a mini-reunion with my underachieving profoundly alcoholic sister (panic attack!) and overachieving L.A. judge brother (gulp, gulp, wheeze!), and I’m neither a drinker nor a smoker, nor do I have the slightest idea how to score any weed or Xanax (wtf did I get myself into?!). Sometimes it helps me to envision the things that cause me fear or anxiety as something I hate, and then air-box the shit out of it. Trouble is, this upcoming trip is so damn ugly I can’t bear to look at it…which makes for some really impotent punches. Sigh

    But enough about me… Congrats on the lifestyle reboot, Wil! I’ve been a fan since “Stand by Me”, and happening upon your blog today (because I just couldn’t believe that was you in “Sharknado 2”, but it was, which made me wonder if you’re married, which I learned you are, which led me here), I enjoyed a panic-reducing chuckle reading your candid account above. It’s good to know we’ll have you around for years to come and popping unexpectedly into shows like “Dark Matters”. Also, I love that you capitalize and own “your” Depression. Mine’s named “Dirk”, and I bitch-slap him a lot…

17. This is so supportive to read Wil. Thank you for being so open. A few blogs back I commented about warming up being different these days from when I was young. I’m pushing 60 now, and have ME/CFS (or whatever they’re calling it this week) for almost 25 years. I tried warming up like I’ve been reading about, and it didn’t work for me. I also have a condition where my body doesn’t sweat much, so it takes very little for me to overheat, and in my ME/CFS land (it’s not a one size fits all, so it won’t apply to all with it), that can be the thing that gets me bedridden for a few days. But I did start a morning stretching routine, and I found that changing the order of stretches I do brought immense improvement in my range of motion/mobility all day long, without crashing me too much. You and your readers are the inspiration for this. And yes, I’ve had the same feeling, I want to do the warm up in the morning now, without really thinking about it, if that makes sense. So thanks to you and your readers for the ‘keep trying until you find what works’ nudges. And I think you graded yourself too harshly on writing. Maybe next month there won’t be as much acting, and you’ll have the time to write more? Those two things, I think you might need to give them ‘flex time’? It’s not like you weren’t writing because you were choosing to do nothing. That would rate a lower mark? Just thoughts…

18. All the things you’re doing are classic tools for managing depression and anxiety. Sometimes it takes us decades to figure out we’re our own best medicine. And that it takes WORK. Thanks for sharing your score card.

19. Okay, okay, FINE. All your awesome self-care is making my conscience kick me repeatedly. I do a physical reboot every year starting in January, because I give myself Halloween through December to totally indulge. I agree that the result of eating really well and getting fit makes me feel awesome, and I sleep better. But . . . I’ve been meaning to do some of the other sorts of self-care for . . oh . . . um . . . years? I have a job that I’m no longer enthusiastic about but that nonetheless is very demanding. So I pretty much spend almost all of my very, very limited free time doing mindless things. Playing round after round of solo Pandemic (or other game) on my tablet. YouTube crawl. I really need to set some goals, like you have, to read more and write more, or otherwise nurture my creative self. My mind then inserts an endless series of “buts” (snicker), and I need to ignore those. Why is it so much easier to eat healthfully and focus on fitness than it is to do the rest? Anyway, thanks for sharing and for being inspiring Wil.

20. When you first set out on this thing I definitely thought to myself “I don’t think he needs to lose weight but go team you for working at being healthy”. Seeing you on @midnight I saw what a difference it has made. Definitely never thought you looked chubby or anything, but it looked like this has really made a difference for you. Seriously, go team you b/c I’ve been saying I need to read more and exercise more and I only did well on the reading part.

21. I totally love your list. In the throes of getting my own life re-boot underway. Other than the beer thing, our lists exactly match.

22. Well done! My depression has been kicking me in the butt (and down the stairs) perhaps I should make a re-boot plan as well. It can’t hurt.. can it?

23. So my flight to Vegas is in about 15 hours, and every one of my nails has been chewed to the quick. It didn’t help that my husband asked me at dinner time, “So, I’m guessing you want an egg sandwich for your last meal…?” Last meal? He quickly corrected himself, “In Michigan, I mean.” Great. So I guess I’ll be dying in Vegas, then, likely on the tarmac after my plane crashes. Maybe it’s true that some things do stay in Vegas (read: my mangled remains, if the airliner hasn’t done me the solid of cremating me amid the delightful aroma of jet fuel). Sigh

    My imminent demise has me worrying about my eight year-old son, who is a bona fide mama’s boy, and how he’ll handle my untimely passing. I’m also worrying about the dogs, and the cat, and the caique, and the ferret and the cat and the fish, all of whose survival hinges upon my survival. (If anyone notices a blaze in the skies above Grand Rapids this coming weekend, then I have died and it’s our collective funeral pyre.) All this worrying has made Dirk (my depression) raise his ugly head, and the bitch-slap that usually keeps him in line is working for naught. And Dirk, really, is what I wanted to say something to you all about who have shared here that you have a Dirk of your own – and please forgive me, Wil, because I know this isn’t my blog. But I’m passionate about talking to people about depression, because so many people are ashamed to talk about it, which doesn’t help a single one of us who grapples with it and its far-reaching affects.

    Eating better, exercising and getting adequate rest are all great helps, but let’s not overlook medication. I take Zoloft for mild bipolar depression, because it equalizes me. Now, I don’t have manic episodes often (twice a year when I’m not on meds), but when I do, my highs are oxygen-deprivingly high and my lows are knocking on Satan’s door low. Both are scary scenes – scarier than flying kind of scary. The Zoloft puts me midrange between the high and the low, which is a little lower than “the norm” (whatever that is), but I’m not having moderate but frequent mood swings and knee jerk outbursts like I do off it. My family finds me easier to live with, and I like myself better on it, too. There’s no shame that the chemicals in our brains are unbalanced and that medication can help harmonize our brains and our moods. There’s also no shame in talking about it, as the courageous Wil Wheaton has demonstrated by brave example.

    Meds don’t make things perfect, because there are always going to be times in life when situations rather than chemical imbalances most affect our moods (such as my flying, and possibly dying, tomorrow). But in the final analysis, it’s better to be open about these things together than to suffer alone.

    Thanks, Wil, for the courage you have engendered in your readers to talk about their depression. It always helps to know we’re not walking this road alone.

24. Great Wil power! I’m afraid if I had to give up my Four Roses bourbon for an extra few pounds though, I would not fare so well.

    1. Baahaha! “Wil power”! Excellent! I love me a good witticism!

25. Was it not the great Wil Wheaton who said this:

    “Probably the hardest thing to do is to accept that, at 13 and probably all the way to 25 or so, you’re constantly changing. What works for you one week may not work at all the next week, and you have to give yourself permission to make mistakes. You have to be kind and gentle with yourself, and just do your best to be the kind of person you want to be around.

    Be kind
Be honest
Be honorable
Work hard
Always do your best and accept that “your best” varies from day to day
Be the kind of person you want to be around
Stand up for yourself
Stand up for people who are unable to stand up for themselves


    Bravo Wil !
    Happy is good !

26. ps…Wil, somewhat unrelated, but have you scheduled your week around the first day of issue ceremony for the Star Trek stamp series with the United States Postal Service ? I’d like to attend the event and get a first day of issue envelope cachet and a couple of sheets of the stamps signed by you for my stamp collection.

    The stamps are part of the 50th anniversary celebration of Star Trek and were created by the United States Postal Service’s project’s art director Antonio Alcala.

    Star Trek fans and stamp collectors from all over the world will be there.

    The stamps are fantastic. Here are some superb closeups of them:

    http://www.bleedingcool.com/2015/12/31/usps-to-release-4-new-star-trek-stamps-for-2016/

    Do you know if the release date has been confirmed ?

    I can start making plans to attend the event.

    Thanks Wil.

    ds

27. I fell off my list a bit, but depression didn’t get me this time! I’m back on it. Good job, Wil! Thanks for the inspiration.

28. I’ve been trying to set myself a few goals lately, and I’ve felt like I’m regressing a fair bit …

    I’ve been trying to go out (I work at home, so getting out the front door is a big deal) and wake up early, not just 5 minutes before I start work. I’d say that going out at least once every night worked for about a month before I didn’t bother any more (got tired of telling my wife I’m only going out for a walk!) and as for getting up early, I’ve been so anxious and depressed that I’ve not felt like I’ve got any motivation for getting up. I’ve been considered buying some roller skates to do some exercise throughout the summer here though!

    I think you’re doing well despite your hash criticisms of yourself. You’re juggling a lot of things in there at once.

    I do wonder though, why you think it’s important for you to read 35 or so books this year? Do you feel that you get something from it? I don’t really like reading fiction, I usually immerse myself in science and technology books and I’ve not been able to really get into any fiction since I was about 15 years old.

    Play more games! <3

29. Aces! I have a similar reboot in mind but it’s starting in a month with a new lease. I fight with similar issues myself so I’m inspired by your example.

    (Isn’t Kelly DeConnick awesome?! I also have a huge boioioing for Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky as well. Sex Criminals I cannot recommend highly enough for its hilarity but also honesty when it comes to relationships and depression with/without meds).

30. Happy for you, Wil! And I really enjoy your updates. <3

31. Since you’ve been cutting out alcohol has that also cut back on your home brewing significantly or do you still brew for just the joy of it or as a father/son activity and give most of it away?

    1. I haven’t done any homebrewing in a few months, but that’s just because I haven’t had time.

       I was going to do a porter this week, but the dogs got into my grains last night and decorated the floor with them, so I need to go pick up more before I can get to work.

32. Kelly McCullough’s new book, “School for Sidekicks” sounds like something you might like to read. It goes quick and is pretty engaging.

33. Considering your interests I’d be astonished if you haven’t read this already, but if by some chance you have not read Neil Gaiman’s Sherlock Holmes/Cthulu mythos mashup short story “A Study in Emerald” it’s really cool, and available for free on Neil’s website. I only mention it because I just discovered it myself, mainly because I’m binge watching Tabletop lately and as a result spending a lot of time (and too much money, damn it!) in local gaming shop’s lately, spotted Martin Wallace’s game of the same name, and thought I’d look into the it’s origins.

34. Yeah for happiness! Yeah for meeting goals! Absolutely terrific, Wil!
    I need to do all the same things (except alcohol – I don’t drink) and have not been anywhere near as good as you at accomplishing them. I’ve been concentrating on exercising and have not achieved any of my goals, which I have beat myself up with using a large bat with nails sticking from it, but it turns out that is not motivating me. But I’ll keep trying.
    Thanks for sharing that — it was very inspirational.

    1. I don’t know if this helps you or not Maureen, but I was at a support group for Parkinson’s recently, and a physical therapist who was the guest speaker gave us a handout and one of the motivations was, ‘Something is better than nothing. Do small things when you can throughout the day.’ I try to build stretching into everyday things like dusting – stand a little further away, knee lunges to get to lower things. It may not be cardio, but at least I’m less ‘creaky’. ; )

35. I’m currently on the 3rd audiobook in the Expanse Series, and I’m amazed at how wrong SyFy got it. Not that the show is bad per se, but the books are so much better. However, they’re character driven, not plot driven and SyFy just missed the mark on almost every single one of the main characters. The books quite remind me of Firefly, without the western themes.

36. Nicely done, Wil. Good reminder that I haven’t really taken the time to see how I’m doing on my own categories of improvement lately. Happens with journaling, but there’s something about looking back to see what’s happened during the last few months. That’s when you really see the results and your progress.

    While I don’t struggle with depression myself, I have people in my life that do, and the way you write about it really makes it easier to understand from an outside perspective. It has also helped me realize how lucky I am to be (as I’m at times described) “chronically happy” (which doesn’t necessarily make it that easy to hang out with me, I suppose 😛 ).

    On a different note, what do you know of Steve Kamb and Nerd Fitness? He’s got a book out called Level up your life, and I thought it was a good read on how to create quests out of the things you want to achieve in life. There’s a website and all where you can create your quest and add XPs that you collect when you finish your quests. It’s a fun way to add gamification to life, and definitely if you’ve grown up with video games 🙂 They way you wrote about running made me think about that.

    Keep writing, and keep doing Table Top. Love it 🙂

37. Oh, my God. I never thought of grading myself. Ha!
    I would flunk sleeping, ace moving-watching, but other than a few blog posts, I’ve been rewriting. Does that count or is creative writing every day a requirement on the curriculum?
    As far as your “paused” scene goes, I would go back to “word vomit, stream-of-conscious writing.” Don’t be logical or plan out what happens next, just GO… one word at a time.
    You are a reading BEAST! I’m reading Gaiman’s Neverwhere, but Mr. Vandemar and Mr. Croup keep lulling me to sleep with their London Below shenanigans.
    Keep up the good work, Wil.

    1. Neverwhere is a cool book. The BBC did a decent TV series for Neverwhere that is worth watching. The fellow they had playing the Marquis of Carabas was terrific, and current Dr. Who Peter Capaldi is in several episodes.

       1. Cool! I’ll check it out.
          I’ve been listening to the BBC podcast with Cumberbatch and McAvoy. Amazing!

          1. I had no idea that existed! I just looked it up after reading your post and found the link – I’ll definitely be listening to that tonight. Thank you so much for the tip 🙂

             Wil’s reboot is apparently causing a general upward trend in cultural awareness.

             1. Good thing we have Wil. 🙂

             2. Just listened to the first episode – wonderful! And in addition to McAvoy and Cumberbatch we get Natalie Dormer, Christopher Lee, Anthony Head – woohoo! Thanks again!

       2. Wait what. I need to go find this.

          1. It’s right here! http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01r522y

             1. OH BOY!! Thank you!!

38. Congratulations on your progress Wil! With your empowered ability to drink less (or not at all), are your homebrew days over? I loved shocking my freeloader friends on brew day that I was brewing a Wil Wheaton original. “Wil brews beer?” “Nah, he doesn’t brew beer, he’s a celebrity.”

    I just watched the brew day you did with Northern Brewer. Great episode. If you ARE done with homebrewing, I wish you continued luck in your future endeavors and look forward to your next project. “That’ll do pig…….that’ll do.”

39. I’m reading all of your experiences about food that is served on a cruise line, especially with all of that salt and fat that the chefs don’t hesitate to add in front of you. I’m a hopelessly overweight man child whose attending a cruise on December and I hope to whatever is up there that I don’t get hypertension as my souvenir.

    1. I’m dramatizing it for comedic effect. If you make sure your server knows that you need a low-sodium meal, they’ll ensure that’s what you get. You can even talk directly to the kitchen, if you want.

40. I loved your post. I am inspired that you have set goals and kept them. I have challenged myself for the next 31 days to oil pull every morning. It is going well. I hope you achieve your goals and yay for the curve!

    1. thanks for this suggestion! I may decide to give myself a similar task/timeline!

       1. I just outlined how my first week of oil pulling has gone, you should check it out. You can find it at http://momsimperfectperfections.wordpress.com

41. Thanks for this. Found it as an Editors’ Picks feature on discover.wordpress.com. Just the read I needed tonight. Hope your day is filled with kindness … Marianne

42. Way to go, Wil! That’s all. 🙂

43. Hey Will – Keep on keeping on fighting the black dog. Glad that you have manage to give it the slip for time being. It chases us many of us without discrimination. I wrote about it a bit on my own blog too. Good luck and cheers. Alex

44. Wil, you are so honest about everything you are going through–I can’t help but cheer you on as you examine where you are—good on you for caring enough about yourself to keep moving forward no matter what’s on the path. I am in the middle of a major weight loss (lost 90 lbs in 2015, working on the last 70 now) and am learning to just put one foot in front of the other. Oh, and when I saw you on @Midnight my first thought was your face looked slimmer and you just looked healthier, so good on you for that too!

45. I have two words, thank you. I am new to blogging and I’m also about to embark on my own journey to change my self (image) and life. I happened upon this post and when I saw that you were the author I had to read it. I’ve been a big fan of yours for years. I found it very inspirational and also gave me several things to think about adding into my own plans and goals. Your blog also reminded me to set short term and long term goals, along with realistic goals. Thank you so much for sharing, great job on your A and your success in your goals. I look forward to reading more.

46. Great post, brutally honest with a dash of sarcasm.

    1. Well, now I’m going to make business cards, just so I can have that underneath my name.

47. I’ve been in kind of a funk….for the last few years. My wife keeps on telling me that I’m depressed and I need to go “talk to someone”. I keep on putting it off thinking it’s just because I hate my job, or the traffic sucks, or I’m not exercising anymore. Reading your post makes me think I need to write down my goals if I ever want to get myself out of this. Keep it up Wil!

48. Wil, I gotta ask..how do you run without getting..er..shall we say..digestive troubles? I started a Couch to 5K program last summer and had to quit about a month in because every time I went to run, I would have digestive issues that would leave me doing a hideous (and rather smelly in some cases D:) walk of shame back to my house. It didn’t matter if I ate right before, didn’t eat before, drank a ton of water before I ran, didn’t drink water before I ran…ran in the morning or mid-evening when it wasn’t so goddamn hot (this is Texas, so yeah..it’s hot), ran when it was hotter than the devil’s nutsack out. I tried to eliminate every variable but I kept having digestive issues. I’ve heard this is a common issue with runners so I was wondering if A) you’d ever had this problem and B) how you solved it.

    Thanks.

49. REALLY proud of your successes, Wil! I have managed to keep up on the one “goal” I set for myself in January (which was to blog daily, only for that month, but I’ve kept it up even since then). I’ve also recently purchased a fitness tracker, which so far only counts how many steps I take and how long I sleep at night, but it allows me to strive for 10,000 steps per day, which is hard to do if you have No Reason to leave the apartment. But I’m going to keep at it, and maybe I’ll venture toward a Zombie, Run! kind of deal, if my step count gets “good” enough to warrant the purchase of running shoes (I’ve never been a person who runs).

    I already eat pretty well; I drink very little, as long as I keep it out of the house; my reading is pretty much limited to a variety of blogs, and I often fall behind on those, but that’s something I can strive toward; movie-watching is time-contingent, like it is for you. But I, like everyone else here, am definitely motivated by your check-ins. Thank you.

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