Hellloooo everybody. Ummm. Where do i begin.. A little bit about myself. I'm 18 years old living in Sheffield, UK. I'm currently working as an Administrator at a University. I've just moved out of my parent's house and I've bought my own place in Sheffield (formally lived in Rotherham). So, new town, new people.. meeting new people is not my forte.. eek. Okay okay. I've been on and off dietting and exercising for quite some time. Did what most girls do, exercise a lot and eat less. But of course, it can't be kept up forever and all the weight i lost went back on afer about a year. Back in March 2013.. I was at my heaviest weight of 150lbs (well, from what I'd measured anyway.. I was a lot worse a few years back!).. So because of this, me and my boyfriend (now ex) decided to try out Insanity together. I managed about 2 and a half weeks then I quit. Again, I piled on all the weight and never went back to it. Onto the pole dancing aspect of my life. I think it was about a year ago that I decided to give it a go.. Absolutely no idea why it just sprung to my mind to try it but it did and it was perhaps the best decision of my life! I've gotten stronger, used muscles I didn't even know I had, lost weight and met some great people along the way. Then came June 2013... I had a pole photoshoot booked in for the 8th June.. It gets to the 1st June and I'm like holy s***... I look terrible and I have a photoshoot in a week. So that was the start of the turning point for me I think. I started poling frantically and went full paleo for the whole week. I think I lost about 4-5lbs in that week. So anyway, the photoshoot went brill and then came through the photos. Belly hanging out everywhere, not looking fab in the slightest. not happy!! This one to be exact! So that brought on round 2 of Insanity and the REAL beginning of my weight loss journey. After going full pelt into Paleo for that week. I really did find it hard to want to go back to eating carbs. I slowly started to introduce good carbs back into my diet.. brown rice + sweet potatoes etc. And for me.. the week of paleo is really what sorted my nutrition out. Ooooh and I'm also stocked up on protein shakes! mmmmmm chocolate smooth. As for Insanity, I completed a month and then I went on holiday and didn't get back into it oops. Then I started talking to a friend of mine who body builds. He helped me a hell of a lot with nutrition and even though he was male and I female.. it seriously game me the need and motivation to get strong and fit. I decided from that point that I wanted to start weight lifting. AND THAT'S WHEN I CAME ACROSS NERDFITNESS!!!!!!! I was searching online for techniques for a deadlift and NerdFitness was the first thing I clicked on. From that point I was HOOKED. Spending my days and nights reading article after article on nutrition and exercise and lifting and got my head around a plan of action. Especially loved the article about Spezzy! A massive inspiration for me! So.. last week began my weight training. Starting small. 3 strength days (with a bit of cardio) a week then of course a few pole classes a week (and my pole at home). Starting squatting 30kg and deadlifting 25kg (Terrible I know, but I need to get the technique right before I think about going up in weight). Nutrition.. Very protein based. I tend to stick to a protein brekky, a protein bar for morning snack, a good carby thingy for lunch, meat for afternoon snack, meat for dinner. Plenty of water, limiting sodas as much as I can. (even then I only have diet sodas). I have a cheat day most fridays (it's cake friday in the office.. how can i resist ). So in summary, I feel up to now, I'm on my way.. getting there.. no turning back for me. As of today, I am currently 132lbs. So that's an 18lb loss since March 2013.. (more impressively.. when i really started my programme in June I was 146lbs so let's go with that..) 14lbs loss in less than 2 months! This is me yesterday: I do feel like I've forgotten plenty but I won't bore you...... Yours truely Gemma "getting stronger and bendier every day" Taylor
