Greetings from a friendly Canadian!

[bzchristina]

Hello, hello! 

 

I'm Christina, and I've been a lurker for some time now. I credit NF as one of the resources that has re-sparked my interest to become healthier and fitter. I'm a 20-something university student from Vancouver, Canada. Once upon a time, I dated a bodybuilder who taught me lots about exercising and eating right. I was once in shape, but have let years and years of schooling and extracurricular involvement get in the way of being healthy and feeling good. I started my final year in Fall 2013, and just didn't feel healthy. Halfway through, I've made a commitment to myself to live a healthier lifestyle and get back in shape. 

 

I finally decided to join the forums because I'm looking for a community of supportive and like-minded people who I can share this experience with. 

 

Goals

• Reduce body fat to 20%
• Build more muscle
• Waist measurement of 26'' (66cm)
• Be balanced: Strength in both mind and body
• Feel, look and be strong! 

I'm not too concerned with my weight, as long as I get stronger, and achieve my desired measurements. 

 

Starting Point

• About 25% body fat
• Waist measurement of 31" (~79cm)

I've been eating healthier and started exercising in mid-December. Since that time, I've gone down by about 2.5", and have lost 4lbs. I feel much more confident and stronger. I'm finding myself feeling very energized, and have been waking up earlier and not needing coffee to stay awake. So far so good! 

 

Exercise Plan

• 4 days of strength training, consisting mainly of squats, deadlifts, pull-ups and presses
• Warmups consist of a 10-15 minute run, along with jumping jacks, pushups, planks and burpees
• Every morning (including off days), I do sets of squats, planks and burpees
• 15 minute meditation each morning

Diet

• Mostly Paleo. Planning on moving to strict Paleo
• Have cut out grains, dairy and legumes
• Balance of vegetables and lean meats (mostly chicken, beef and seafood)
• Occasionally find myself cheating with tiny nibbles of friends' chips or chicken wings. No bueno! 

Lifestyle Changes

• Have cut out coffee. Throughout the day, I drink green tea and water
• Taking more frequent walks
• Started meditating and journal writing again. Great way to keep track of progress and motivate myself 

So far, everything is working out and I'm seeing results. One of my concerns is cardio. For the goal I have of reducing my body fat (but also gaining more muscles), do I need to prioritize cardio? As of right now, I don't really do much cardio, except for some running for my warm-ups. 

 

Another concern is my diet. I started mid-December, which was probably the worst time to start. I managed to survive the holidays by reducing portions, but did break many of my guidelines (ate bread and rice). I've been able to transition to a mostly Paleo diet, but find myself breaking the rules again once in a while. Is an occasional cheat meal okay? Are there guidelines to 'cheating the right way'? 

 

Thanks, and looking forward to getting to know you! 

 

Edit: forgot to mention my nerdy interests! Back when I had free time, I played GTA, The Sims and Portal. I love documentaries about society, psychology, economics and history. I'm also a bookworm who always carries a book to read. My favourite deck to play in Magic are mono-green and green-red.

[Becoming-Bane]

Glad to have you.

[Barfly]

Hi!

Welcome to NF. You have some really great goals here; looks like you're on track.

I wouldn't worry too much about cardio, unless you're planning to race. You'll lose fat mostly through diet - calories in/calories out - and by building muscle. Muscle burns calories.

Cheat days? Meh. Whatever protocol I happen to be following, I use the 80/20 rule. That allows me 4 cheat meals each week. No big, I just don't go crazy with it.

Good luck and let us know how you're doing.

Barfly

[Barfly]

Hi!

Welcome to NF. You have some really great goals here; looks like you're on track.

I wouldn't worry too much about cardio, unless you're planning to race. You'll lose fat mostly through diet - calories in/calories out - and by building muscle. Muscle burns calories.

Cheat days? Meh. Whatever protocol I happen to be following, I use the 80/20 rule. That allows me 4 cheat meals each week. No big, I just don't go crazy with it.

Good luck and let us know how you're doing.

Barfly

[Barfly]

Oops

[Basement Cat]

Welcome to the rebellion, Christina!

 

As Barfly has pointed out: don't worry about cardio. Just pick an exercise you enjoy and stick to that. Here is an article by Steve talking about this: cardio VS interval training VS Weight training

 

Also: what level of fitness are you at right now? If you are a beginner, don't work out the same muscles every day. your body is not accustomed to quick recovery yet. If you are more advanced, go ahead.

 

Diet wise: first don't think of them as cheat meals. You are making a conscious decision to eat the stuff: own it! The 80/20 rule is good, as is the "never two days in a row" rule.

 

You might want to try the "30 days Hard Hat Challenge"

 

On that note: good luck with your goals and keep us posted!

[citizenkade]

Hi, Christina! It looks like you have similar goals to Teagarden, you might want to check out her battle log for inspiration. Regardless, you just kicked open the door to the greatest support group on Earth! Good luck, and welcome to the Rebellion! WOOOHOOO!!!

[CommanderFrou]

Welcome fellow Canadian

 

I would also tell you not to worry too much about cardio. For me at least, diet was definitely the biggest game changer in how I looked and felt. Do something that you enjoy, you'll be more likely to stick to it If you want to get a little cardio in your routine without taking up all your workout time, you might want to give interval training a shot. I've been doing my cardio this way for a while and I really enjoy it because it leaves me with more time to lift things Here's another NF article on it if you're interested! 

 

Good luck with your goals!

[Barfly]

Canadian? I thought that said Californian..... nevermind...

[Basement Cat]

Canadian? I thought that said Californian..... nevermind...

Well, she is in British Columbia, which is just above California. It's not that far off. 

[Barfly]

Ok, close enough

[bzchristina]

Thank you so much for the warm welcome! 

 

It looks like you have similar goals to Teagarden, you might want to check out her battle log for inspiration. 

 

She sounds awesome, I'll definitely be checking out her battle log! 

 

Also: what level of fitness are you at right now? If you are a beginner, don't work out the same muscles every day. your body is not accustomed to quick recovery yet. If you are more advanced, go ahead.

 

I'd say that I'm somewhere in the middle. A few years ago, I used to exercise much more often, but went through a period of inactivity. You definitely make a great point though. When I started working out again last month, I thought I could just pick up where I left off. Wrong idea! Body was extremely sore afterwards.