My Creation Myth (Luthien Joins the Rebellion)

[Luthien]

Hello, Rebels!

 

I'm Luthien, and I'm new here.

 

I've been reading NF for a long time, but finally decided to join in the fun! Here's a little bit about me:

 

I was skinny until about age 10, and then the poor health habits of my family started to show up on my body. 15 years later, the struggle is still real. When I graduated from college three years ago, my weight was the most out of control that it's been...ever. In fact, I can barely look at pictures from my college graduation (and best friend's wedding) without cringing. Since then, I've lost close to 20 lbs., just through eating less junk and exercising occasionally. Right now, I tend to fluctuate within 5 lbs. (+/-) of a number, depending on how well (or how poorly) I've been caring for my body.

 

In my family, there wasn't a good model of what a healthy meal looked like, so even after I moved away for college, it took a long time before I actually understood (1) how to cook, and (2) what "healthy" meant (you mean I shouldn't drench my salads in Ranch???). Now, I really enjoy healthy cooking, and love looking up new recipes to try--ask me about Bacon-Acorn Squash "Burgers"....yum!

 

My favorite type of exercise is dance - in almost any form, but I also enjoy yoga, walking (I live very close to a large, lovely park), and bodyweight strength-building (though this is still new for me).

 

As I just reached my 25th birthday, I'm ready to get serious about being healthy and getting in shape. I'm tired of making excuses for myself, and believing that it's not possible to change what my body looks like. Not only this, but part of my immediate motivation is a trip to Europe in October. I want to be able to wear sleeveless shirts/dresses without being embarrassed, and also to have pictures from the trip that I can look on and enjoy seeing myself with friends in cool places.

 

So, with that being said, here are some other things you should know about me:

• My B.A. is in English -- I wrote my thesis on the use of songs in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings
• I have been a singer since I could talk, and studied both English and Music (voice) in college, so I deeply appreciate (all) the performing arts.
• I'm a big fan of Tolkien & Superman.
• I am a Seminary student working toward a Master of Divinity with an emphasis in Youth, Family, and Culture.
• I thoroughly enjoy Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series (only about 5 books into the series right now...)

Thanks for reading! I'll see you around the forums!

[Noname123]

Another Sword of Truth fan Let me know when you finish the series, we'll have a chat  

 

Welcome to the rebellion!!! 

 

You really made me snort with the Ranch comment haha- it's funny that so many people (including myself!) used to think that salads filled with bacon bits, cheese, croutons and ranch were healthier than other meal options when in fact......just....nope. 

 

A good place to start would be to think about what you want- to drop some lbs and tone up arms maybe hopping into the challenge area a week late or starting a battlelog to lay out nutrition goals and think about which of the many free workout resources you may think about doing (they're on the resources tab off the main NF page!) 

 

Grats on taking the first step and joining the rebellion  

[Luthien]

Another Sword of Truth fan Let me know when you finish the series, we'll have a chat

 

Welcome to the rebellion!!! 

 

You really made me snort with the Ranch comment haha- it's funny that so many people (including myself!) used to think that salads filled with bacon bits, cheese, croutons and ranch were healthier than other meal options when in fact......just....nope. 

 

A good place to start would be to think about what you want- to drop some lbs and tone up arms maybe hopping into the challenge area a week late or starting a battlelog to lay out nutrition goals and think about which of the many free workout resources you may think about doing (they're on the resources tab off the main NF page!) 

 

Grats on taking the first step and joining the rebellion

 

Thanks for the pointers on where to find resources! I did join the challenge late yesterday!

 

Yeah, so many things I used to consider "healthy" were actually packed full of sugar and/or bad fats, and probably hurt my health more than they helped it. Thank goodness for finally seeing the value in real food!

 

I'm looking forward to this journey. (and to finishing Sword of Truth! There are so many books to get through. I feel like I've got to be through a significant chunk of the series, but by book number, I'm not even halfway...!)

[Luthien]

UPDATE:

 

So, as you can see, it's been 6 months since I joined up - and I've done absolutely nothing. Shortly after joining NF, I was launched headlong into the hardest 7 months of my life. I was severely depressed, though I didn't realize it until about 4 months in when a friend pointed out observations he had about what was going on. Thank goodness for good friends who can see what I can't.

 

During most of that time, I was heading to the gym at least three times a week, and my body wasn't changing hugely, but I was noticing some shape changes. But in July, I began to struggle with fainting while working out. No, it's not related to eating/not eating. We've looked at that and ruled it out. But it's messing with my ability to get through certain kinds of workouts. Bummer.

 

That's really thrown a wrench in things and I haven't been able to get back into the groove. I'm also struggling to make food at home - to make healthy choices, period.

 

Haha, this sounds like it's a lot worse than it really is, but I feel terrible about not being able to keep it up. I suck at accountability, and need some help. This is all about becoming a better me, right? So I gotta start where I'm at.

 

Starting over, take 2.

[Hyperion]

Change those workouts. If for example squat causes fainting, replace the squat with leg extensions and leg press and so on. Do you write your training weights up?

[Luthien]

Change those workouts. If for example squat causes fainting, replace the squat with leg extensions and leg press and so on. Do you write your training weights up?

I do write down the weights I'm using. My issue usually comes before I even make it to strength training. Any kind of "dynamic" warmup or even mild plyometrics will derail a whole workout for me (so I avoid these as much as possible). I need to find new ways to warm up my muscles gently before training. I think that will help a little bit. I've also started talking to a trainer at my gym, who can hopefully help me figure out how to work out well and effectively.