Search the Community

I joined up with the Rebellion at the start of the the previous (ending today) challenge but I haven't gotten around to writing an official introduction until now. I'm about to turn 26, average height at 5'4" and I'm currently at 148 lbs. I joined up with the Druids because I wanted to add Yoga into my routine but I've become increasingly more drawn to and motivated to do body weight exercises so I may just switch professions over to the Assassins. I'm a kids pastor and so although I have a typical nine to five job in the office during the week it's not all spent behind a desk. However, I do spend more time at a desk than I would like (I'm actually looking into cheap, easy ways to convert my desk into a standing desk. So if anyone has any good suggestions I'm totally open). I am an introvert and have a tendency to be a bit of hermit but I try to get out and be active as much as I can. I joined a gym at the beginning of this year and although I haven't made it into the weight room (that cost more $$) I've enjoyed being able to take Zumba, Yoga, and Pilates classes. I started with Zumba about a year ago in an attempt to get out and be active. I wasn't actually trying to lose weight but I wanted to be able to have the energy and range of movement to keep up with my kids. Even though I'm only 25 I already feel old when I'm hanging out with the kids (I tire out a lot quicker than I would like) and I don't want that feeling to continue to progress. I figured that I probably would lose at least some weight with Zumba as I have heard some great stories from women who have lost quite a bit. However, after about 6 months my weight was still the same. So I decided to start counting calories. At that point I wasn't really watching my diet - I wasn't too horrible but I also wasn't paying too much attention to my eating. Well, frankly counting calories sucked. I hated it. I downloaded the MyFitnessPal app, put in that I wanted to lose 1 lb every two weeks and was given a max of 1310 calories a day. I stuck with it for about two months, got really annoyed having to count everything, lost nothing and was constantly hungry. So I decided to toss that idea and went back to not really watching what I was eating. Then about a month later I found out that my best friend, fellow Rebel Vrasile2, had started an Eat Clean diet and lost about 10 lbs in a month. I asked her all kinds of questions, read The Eat-Clean Diet Recharged by Tosca Reno and decided to give it a try. I liked what Reno had to say about NOT counting calories and eating MORE food. Well, I ate twice as much food in a day than normal and lost 8 lbs in my first month. And I wasn't worried about staying under a calorie amount! Yay! I've lost a total of 10 lbs altogether over a period of about 5 months, which doesn't sound like a lot but it's noticeable and I feel so much better with all the healthy choices I'm making! I haven't lost a pant size but it looks like I have, if that makes sense. My weight hasn't decreased too much but seems to have shifted somehow. So now that I'm eating clean and staying active in classes at the gym 4-5 times a week I'm working to increase my strength. I'm currently at 5 pushups, 3 good inverted rows, and about 12 pistol squats. I'm still researching bodyweight strength training to make sure that I'm following a good routine but thanks to our Fearless Leader I think I'm off to a good start. So that's my journey in a nutshell so far. I hope to one day become a beast at pushing or pulling my body over or through any obstacle just in case the Reaver's ever make another appearance. It's going to take a while to get to that point but I'm definitely in it for the long haul!