Boston Newbie

[ktravtothemax]

Hi all,

 

I'm very excited I stumbled across the Nerd Fitness community.  I am a geospatial analyst and developer working on cloud-based imagery analytics for a start up in Boston.  I am a 5'8" woman who has been a soft 150lbs for the last couple of years.  I used to be super athletic and strong (I was a rower and a runner and lifted for both) and I lost much of that in college when I became extremely sick and barely was able to stay enrolled let alone awake in class.  As a result I lost much of my strength and my overall fitness has declined to the point that my body is super weak.  My tipping point was when I tried to start doing push ups after my chiro recommended them to help strengthen my back, and I could barely do one or two knee ones.  

 

My goal is to get strong and lean with weight training and some interval cardio, and the number on the scale is not something I typically care about.  I want to be able to do a pull ups and lift heavy weights and just generally feel like a powerful badass.  A side goal and timeline is that I am getting married in June and I would love to feel strong and sexy, and I know strength training will be the way to get there.  I want to make this not only a short term goal for the wedding but a lifetime change.  My fiance is a big support and wants both of us to make an effort to start and keep a healthy lifestyle for ourselves as well as our future family.  I have seen what being unhealthy has done to my side of the family (diabetes, blown out knees, obesity) and I want to avoid that at all costs.

 

Diet-wise I am gluten free because of a wheat allergy, which forced me to completely change the way I eat, and I typically avoid anything that has been processed other than the occasional gf bread for a sandwich.  I however love cheese and other dairy and have an awful sweet tooth, so I want to make incremental changes to eat healthier.  I am already restricted, so my past thinking is that I would be loathe to restrict anything else, but that is not working.

 

I'm super excited to get started, and can't wait to chat with everyone!

 

K

[Machete]

Hi. You already have the right mindset. I's suggest finding a strength program you can follow, like Stronglifts, Wendler's "5/3/1", or Rippetoe's "Starting Strength". I'm all about strength training (to an extent). Dairy isn't too bad either. Some people go semi-Paleo, incorporating dairy in their diets. I personally like dairy, and it's usually how I satisfy my sweet tooth. I have made a lot or concoctions and experiments with whey protein that have been better alternatives to my passion for cheesecake.

[ktravtothemax]

Hi. You already have the right mindset. I's suggest finding a strength program you can follow, like Stronglifts, Wendler's "5/3/1", or Rippetoe's "Starting Strength". I'm all about strength training (to an extent). Dairy isn't too bad either. Some people go semi-Paleo, incorporating dairy in their diets. I personally like dairy, and it's usually how I satisfy my sweet tooth. I have made a lot or concoctions and experiments with whey protein that have been better alternatives to my passion for cheesecake.

 

Hi! Thanks for the strength training suggestions!  I am going with an A-B alternating workout focusing on upper vs lower body that alternates push and pull movements.  I've had some success with the semi-paleo the last couple of weeks, and I actually have a protein recipe I am trying tonight.  Do you (or any one reading this) have any good sweet tooth satisfying recipes you'd recommend?  

[Machete]

A lot, actually, but most involve dairy. I've been eating a lot of low-carb grain-free pancakes the past few weeks (I'll have to look for the recipe). I blend iced coffee with whey and heavy cream, adding a bit of cinnamon. I used to throw vanilla casein, heavy cream, cream cheese, and frozen blueberries into a blender for a nightcap. Chocolate-covered protein balls (made from protein powder and almond milk-moistened almond flour) is also a good one, and if you're in a hurry just dump a scoop or two of protein powder into two cups of plain Greek yogurt to make high-protein, low carb pudding.