An Amazon rebels!

[Vibrantella]

Hi all!  I'm still trying to find my way around the boards, that's why I've already set my first challenge, but have omitted introducing myself.

 

I'm 45, tall and strongly built, if still overweight, and find it easy to put on muscle when weight training (sadly, I haven't done much of that in recent decades years), so a calculator I found somewhere on this site told me my race could be Amazons.  I like that!    I don't know which class I'm supposed to be, but I'll research a bit more and decide.  As I understand it, it's not set in stone - e.g. you can be a warrior for some time then move on to something else...?

 

A little bit of history: I was always a big girl until the age of 30 when I discovered the Atkins diet.  I lasted a couple of years on that, then put it all back on and more.  On and off, I kept yo-yoing until I reached my highest morbidly obese weight about a year and a half ago, and got diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes.  I wasn't given any medications, "as it was still early days", so I cut down my carbs sharply and got my blood glucose numbers back to normal.  In addition, this helped me reduce a lot of excess fat and go down from morbidly obese to "just" obese, and now overweight. 

 

I have been "maintaining" around this weight for a few months now, and have another 11 kg to go to be officially within "normal" weight range (BMI of under 25), but I would probably like to go a bit lower than that.  Although, to be honest, I'd much rather just chuck out the scale and go by look and feel!  At present it's more important to me to get fitter, stronger and to tighten up the wobbly bits (tops of the thighs and arms, and the belly - I have always been apple-shaped, probably due to PCOS I developed at the age of 19 - and it's still protruding, though much less than before).

 

So, things that I have been doing already: LCHF diet, vaguely Primal-ish, meaning as little processed food as possible.  Walking to work every day, about 5 km per day.  Occasional meditation (I'm a Reiki Master/Teacher and should really be doing it daily!).  Occasional nutritional movement exercises - I used to have Achilles tendon issues and lower back problems, so read Move Your DNA and am trying to move more, and in more ways, than I have been.

 

What I want:  to continue with healthy eating (for me), to improve my fitness and specifically combat my laziness around workouts.  I have started my challenge with 5 mins of HIIT (kettlebell swing Tabatas) three times a week, as that is already a huge step for me.  In an ideal world, some time in the future, I would like to find a local gym with a trainer who has a body building background.  I don't want to be a body-builder, but I do want to build my body!

 

Oh, if this intro is not long enough already, here's something about my nerdiness.  I grew up as a Sci-fi and Fantasy geek (Asimov, Clarke, Tolkien) but nowadays it's more movies than books.  I found out about NF when my partner, who is an old-school RPG-er, bought the book.  He still hasn't finished it, so I just found the site instead!

 

Phew!  If you read this far, thanks, you deserve a medal, and keep rebelling!

 

 

 

[bker1370]

Welcome aboard.  If you have any questions just ask.

[Vibrantella]

4 hours ago, bker1370 said:

Welcome aboard.  If you have any questions just ask.

Thanks, bker1370!  I think I'll have a look at the ranger guild and see if it's calling to me.

[athousandwords]

Welcome!  A lot of people start in the Rebel guild, but of course you're welcome anywhere you feel like you fit in.  The Rangers will always welcome a new recruit!   And you're correct in thinking that you can move guilds at will - whatever supports your goals best!  

 

Also, congrats on your phenomenal progress so far!  It sounds like we have a lot of the same goals - I'd love to get to a point where I just chuck my scale and feel great!  Focusing on functional fitness is a huge thing around here - I'm sure you (and your partner) will fit in just fine!  Best of luck with your first challenge!