Nothing will stand in my way!

[Phlox]

Hello!

 

I've finally come around to join the rebellion, too. My name is Nadine, I'm 34 and live with my boyfriend and our three cats in Wolfsburg, Germany, So don't be surprised when my English sounds strange to you - I do my best.

 

I've stumbled upon NF a few months ago - I'm loving it. Thank you, Steve. (Btw, I work at McDonald's.)

 

You'd be hard pressed to find something similar in German. (I wouldn't even try, but my boyfriend's English is not good enough to read the articles here.) But you know - Germans can be really uptight when it comes to nutrition. It's a bit like Bush's war on terrorism - you are either friend or foe. If you don't eat a 100% Paleo, you can't be serious about your health and fitness. Duh. Anything but motivating. But I digress.

 

Right now, I weigh 100kg/220 lbs at 1,62m/5'4''. Probably 51% Body Fat Percentage, but I don't know for sure. (Navy Method) It doesn't matter - it's the easiest method and I only need to know that it gets less over time. I've been more or less overweight all my life, with a few years of a healthy, normal weight when I was between 20 and 25. I worked in a hotel, which can be a prime work out. All this lifting and 10-12 hours a day running around the premises, cleaning rooms, serving guests... I lost 66lbs in 3 years. Then I went to University to study languages, but had to quit because of 1. no money and 2. no motivation. And I got depressed. Partly because I wasn't sure what to do with my life and partly because I gained weight rapidly. Finally, I went to see a doctor who diagnosed hypothyroidism. (which can cause depression and unusual weight gain, both) But no apologies: I really ate a lot, too, and I still like big portions.

 

WelI... now, 5 years later, I start to get problems with my knees and my veins. No pain, yet, but I'm quite aware of an overall degeneration of my body.

 

I'd probably be dead by now if I had to work in an office instead of running around all day long.

 

I'm a pretty good cook and know a LOT about nutrition. It's been kind of a hobby since I was 11 or 12. In theory. I just can't stand to read something like: "Don't eat cereal." and not to know WHY. Another reason why I appreciate NF - not only rules, but reasons.

Diets usually didn't work well because I easily lose interest. I eat healthy for a week and then it gets boring and is simply too much effort to plan and cook differently for two people.

 

Lucky me, now my boyfriend wants to lose weight, too, and especially get rid of his health problems (heartburn, probably Roemheld-Syndrome). Just a few days ago, it was always like: "I don't like salad, I don't like spinach, I get heartburn from tomato sauce, can't you cook a lasagne that doesn't make me fat but still got a lot of cheese?" Duh. It's no fun this way. Now he's doing his own research and doesn't object when there is chicken stir-fry or vegetable soup without any noodles for dinner. Or, gasp, when I pack him some fruits in his lunch packet.

 

Though I did get a "look" when I told him that I wanted to start weight training with barbells.

 

I don't have an elaborate plan, yet, but we haven't eaten bread, noodles and sweets for 3 days. I baked some low-carb-bread today with eggs, almonds, lineseed, just a bit of shredded wheat and lots of quark (curd cheese? cottage cheese? it's not exactly the same). Like, mostly Paleo, but I don't plan to get rid of dairy any time soon.

 

Also, I have a few goals: my first real, complete, perfect PushUp would be a milestone. To get rid of 10kg until March 1st. (Maybe more, but I'm terrified of getting a pendulus abdomen. Slow and steady.)   Main goal: less than 25% BodyFatPercentage.

 

Tomorrow, I have an appointment at the Gym so I can learn to do a perfect squad and dead lifts. I really hope they know what they are doing there and don't try to get me to use the machines or do 20 reps with light weights.

 

Have fun!

 

P.S.: My probably most nerdic moment so far: An inflamed vein because I spend 200 hours playing "Skyrim" in just two weeks.

 

 

 

 

 

[Teros]

Welcome to the rebellion!  I am trying to do a pushup as well. I had over 120 pounds to lose back when I first started here. I've made some good progress. I went from wall pushups, to desk-ups, to tire-ups.  I'm almost able to do regular pushups.  When you make goals, just make sure they are specific, measurable, and realistic.  No one can lose 20 pounds in a week, although we all wish we could.

[citizenkade]

The Beginner's Body Weight Workout is perfect for moving towards that perfect push-up: http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2009/12/09/beginner-body-weight-workout-burn-fat-build-muscle/

 

Start with the wall, then use stairs until you are able to get on the floor and make yourself proud! I used the stairs for three weeks to help get my muscle memory back, it works really well!

 

Welcome to the Rebellion!

[Basement Cat]

Welcome Phlox!

 

Yep, I'm trying to do a real, tippy-toe push-up too. As CK said, start with the wall and work your way down.

 

Don't worry, your English is fine. A lot of us here don't speak English as a first language, myself included. Good luck with your training and keep us posted!

[Lady Eleventy]

Welcome to NF!

Your english is wonderful, and congrats on starting out getting healthy! It really is a great help having your significant other in the same mindset and being supportive of your choices. My husband decided that he too wanted to go paleo with me and working together makes the changes so much easier! Go for your goal, you can change for a better you

[FatBrando]

Willkommen! It sounds like you've got the right attitude and a great start. One thing that helped me go from having to do push ups on the counter to where I am now (declined push ups, with my feet elevated) was You Are Your Own Gym. It's a really in-depth body weight program. The body weight program that citizenkade linked is also a great place to start. Good luck on reaching all of your goals!

[Phlox]

Thank you all! Sry it took me so long to reply - our internet connection has been down for 3 weeks (!!) now, so I can't post regularly. I really miss this community.

 

It's been a whole month now, and December was quite successful, even though we took a bit of a break during the holidays.

 

So far:

- I started weight training at the Gym. 10 minutes warm up on some cardio machine, 40 minutes weights, another 10 minutes cardio afterwards to relax again.

No free weights, yet, because I realized that I first need some basic training for 6-8 weeks, so my left side and my right side are on the same level. I do benchpresses, upright rows and bent-over rows and squats at the Smith machine. Well, I read Steve's article about possible problems with the lower back when doing Squats at the Smith machine, but so far it feels good, and I will keep it up until I can easily do at least 2x12 reps with perfect posture with 20kg or more (44lbs). (Right now, I can only benchpress that much.)  I'm lucky: the muscles in my lower back, pelvic and the Erector spinae are comparatively strong, so I never had any problems with my back - probably because of my lordosis, because I actively use those muscles to improve my posture when walking around.

 

I DO practice real squats, too, so my body will remember the movement and posture when I'm ready to move on to free weights.

 

- Nutrition: No noodles for a whole month! Some grains, like a little bit of rice and some bran in bread. And still a lot of potatoes.

 

- I lost 5kg (12lbs?) in the first two weeks and managed to keep the weight off in the last two weeks. Also, I realized that I only need to lose another 4 kg until Valentine's day to have lost 20kg in 12 months. RAH! (Like, a short diet here, more exercise there, but nothing consistant until now, but at least no yo-yo-effect.)

 

- My boyfriend even lost 7kg and got rid of his heartburn and migraines, so we sure will stick to the nearly-no-grain-policy.

 

Ok, gotta go to work now. Thanks again for your encouragement and tipps.