Hello everybody! *Hi Doctor Nick!*

[TorqueLover]

Oh man, where do I start.

 

Whelp I'm Stacy, and at the ripe ol' age of 31 I am here to get healthy for the last time. I hail from the great land of cheese and beer (Wisconsin, for those of you who aren't from around these parts). A bit about me: I am a gearhead (auto & moto), 3rd generation female motorcycle rider, dog enthusiast, photography buff, smart ass, have the vocabulary of a well educated sailor, I don't girl good but clean up nice, and not much of a nerd to be honest. I enjoy Star Wars and LOTR but not as much as some people I know. My only claim to nerd-dom is that I work as a trainer at a technology company and know their computer and mobile OS's like the back of my hand, and I understand the cloud.
 

The back-story:

I was a very active kid. Gym was always my favorite class, and I actually wanted to be a gym teacher when I grew up. I grew up right behind a YMCA so I lived in the pool growing up. At 12 I started developing serious back problems and by the time I was 16 I was having back surgery on a ruptured L5 and bulged L4. This put a damper on my physical capabilities and made me question everything whether I could do an activity or not OR if I did how much would it aggravate my back.

 

I started my health journey in 2006 while I was going to school for photography. I ballooned out to my biggest, weighing in at 220lbs. I cut out a bit of the crap from my diet and started swimming since I conveniently had a pool in building. I had good success but like they say, you can't out run (or swim) a bad diet. Since then I have fluctuated between 170-200 lbs many times. Seriously, my weight record looks like an EKG. In 2010, 3 months after my wedding, my father passed away suddenly due to a massive heart attack at age 55. He was a career military man who served his country well, volunteering for Afghanistan/Iraq and to help with Hurricane Katrina along with many other things. He was a great man. This really got me on a health kick for a bit but yet, I couldn't stick to it. My back would go out or something stressful would happen to punch me in the face and kick me back to where I started or at least down a peg or two. I recently had a huge success working with a local dietitian and when I followed her guidelines (no crazy drinks/supplements, she preaches eating real healthy food) the weight just started pouring off. I dropped 30 lbs, down from a size 12 to a size 6! Then in late December my Father-in-law had a massive stroke and after 3 weeks in ICU, he passed away. This along with many other stresses during this time wrecked havoc on my mind, body, and diet.

 

My why...

• I don't want to be in pain anymore. When I don't eat like I should it causes inflammation and eventually my back will go out.
• I want to be happy again. I know when I work out my disposition is always more positive.
• I want to eat better to have a sharper mind and clearer thoughts. When I have kids I want to pass down good eating habits unlike what was taught to me growing up.
• I don't want to waste the money on re-buying clothes again and again because I can't fit into them anymore.

 

Goals:

• I’m somebody that will cook healthy meals three days a week, and no longer eats fast food. I will cook 3 meals each week in order to eat healthy.
• I'm somebody that will try a different class once the current one ends. I will find one class every time the current class ends in order to make sure I find the exercise style I like.
• I'm somebody who will be well rounded in cardio, strength and flexibility. Here's looking at you Rangers. 
• I will start with my Foundation training to strengthen my back 3 days a week in order to get myself to the point where I would be comfortable moving onto other more challenging things.
• I'm somebody who doesn't sit down and watch tv for hours on end. Which is true, but I have been sitting more and more recently. I will make a game out of our favorite shows every time we watch them in order to keep active while still enjoying the shows. i.e. Every time Archer & Lana get into a fight do 10 crunches. or Every time the Todd makes a sexual innuendo do 5 curls. etc.

 

Well if you made it this far thank you for reading my intro. I hope to get some serious motivation because my bucket sure is empty.

 

-Stacy-

[Bob the Bardbarian]

Sounds like you're ready to get out of your comfort zone.  Excellent.  If you're looking for motivation, you need only to look inside yourself.  Remember your reasons for wanting to change, your big "WHY", and nothing can stop you.

Welcome to the Rebellion!  Now go forth, and kick some ass!

[Eirlys]

Good luck Stacy.

 

My brother is a Dr Nick (well, Nicholas anyway) so I wanted to rudely speak on his behalf and send some well wishes from the both of us!