From Lurker to (Newb) Rebel!

[BlackTezca]

Hola!  Former Lurker, now official noobie rebel here!  It's been pretty interesting and exciting to read up on the challenges and the fitness tips here that I finally decided to take the plunge and come out of the shadows!

 

I'm Puerto Rican, but raised a military brat, so I can't say I was raised on the island.  I'm used to moving around a bit during my childhood, teenagehood,, and beginning of adulthood, before settling down in beautiful, high altitude, low oxygen, Colorado.  I'm pretty short with a quick temper (prone to rages at things I read on tumblr), and while I never been heavy, I'm definitely not thin either, so I (and my husband...and my friends...and ALL my family members) consider me a dwarf.

 

I'm a geek by interests and a geek by profession (programming FTW).  I love anime, cinema (especially the superhero genre or animated films), and while I'm not a hardcore gamer, I love RPGs (Dragon Age, MMORPGs like SWTOR), action adventure games (Diablo franchise) and playing god (Sims).  I'm also very curious and I like to learn about...random topics; if I hear a term or concept that is interesting, I end up reading as much as I can about it on the net (Like Warhammer 40k.  No idea what it was until the hubs mentioned it, spent hours reading about).

 

So that's all cool and all, but I haven't gotten into why I am here.  I'm here cause while I've never been large, just average, I never been really fit, or seem strong.  I weigh more than I am comfortable, I carry more fat than I'd like, and if I don't watch my diet, I can end up diabetic (though my nuclear family is fit, the older generation are not and it's in the genes).  Sure it's not a big deal, I guess, but I want to feel strong physically and mentally.  I want to feel like I can protect myself and the people I care about, and I don't really feel like that (Jesus I sound like a shounen protagonist).

 

Towards the end of the summer I decided to work out regularly, doing a variety of HIIT, bodyweight strength training, some yoga for flexibility and to help with back pain (being a programmer does that to ya...), and finding kickboxing workouts to de-stress.  Most of these work outs I do at home and have progressed from doing 30 minutes to 45 - 55 minute work outs 5 to 6 days a week.  Since I get sluggish after work, I've taken to waking up early on weekdays to make time for my workouts.

 

I've always been drawn to kickboxing and martial arts because of the stress/rage relief it provides, and from watching boxing growing up.  I like punching, kicking, etc, and what I would like to do, hopefully this coming year, is find a gym to train (my face is too pretty for sparring  , but I love the moves and the increase in coordination).

 

Working out has been easy for me to pick up (it's always easy for me to go back to working out, even though I'm a code monkey), but the biggest change I'm doing, the hardest change, is my diet.  I thought I could just eat less, but still what I'm used to eating (chocolate, sugar, processed bread, lattes, cocktails, fried things, the usual).  However, that didn't help me LOOK fitter.  I thought I could out-fight or out-HIIT the food I ate.  Nope.  When Nerdfitness finally spelled out what I've been so desperate to ignore, that  you CAN'T out-run your food, it sunk in.  Not only that, but the kind of calories I put in really did matter.  So...*deep breath* I'm cleaning out my diet, cutting the carbs (especially processed ones), no more diet ginger-ale, and the hardest one, my weakness...cutting out as much sweets can I can.  Ain't gonna lie, it's tough but has to be done.

 

My goal is to, like I said, feel strong, and eating those kinds of food won't give me power or make me fit.  I added a progress bar, aiming less for the numbers on the scale, and more for how much muscle I have over my body fat.  I'm pretty damn late for the challenge, but I have plans for the next one coming up and I will be ready.  Due to the kind of training that helps me relax the most and is the most fun, I consider myself a monk, though I wouldn't mind getting in some muscle building either .  If I be more like Chun Li, or Lucia Rijker:

I'll be pretty darn happy.  I mean I have the hair at least.

 

Oof that was long.  Excited to be here and to work with yas.  Peace!

 

[TheMormonRebel]

On the bright side, since you are a dwarf it's easy to aim for the knees!!

[BlackTezca]

On the bright side, since you are a dwarf it's easy to aim for the knees!!

 

Oh yes, aim for the knee caps.  In movies they never do and I always end up screaming about that!  At least at my height it'll be easy!

[TheMormonRebel]

Oh yes, aim for the knee caps.  In movies they never do and I always end up screaming about that!  At least at my height it'll be easy!

It'd be way easy! Plus, whenever someone asks you 'how the weather is down there' you can reply "There's a hurricane of pain coming in!' and punch them.

[BlackTezca]

I like that one-liner!  I'm gonna steal it!

[TheMormonRebel]

That can be your new fighting name! Hurricane of pain!! 

 

Do I sense a friendship coming?

[BlackTezca]

mmmmmmmaaaaaaaaaaaayyyybeeeeee.....

[TheMormonRebel]

Sweet. I'll be the krogan and you can be the drell! 

[BlackTezca]

Considering I love the hell out of some Thane, I'll take it! 

[Teirin]

You will fit right in here :-) Welcome to NerdFitness and the Monks!  Please stop by the Courtyard to say hi to everyone if you want.  You may also find our Kitchen thread useful.

[BlackTezca]

You will fit right in here :-) Welcome to NerdFitness and the Monks!  Please stop by the Courtyard to say hi to everyone if you want.  You may also find our Kitchen thread useful.

 Thank you!  I'll make sure to stop on by and check out the Kitchen as well!

[Bekah]

How have the last couple of weeks gone foodwise? I know its Coquito season (Irefuse to look up an authentic recipe bc I'd either die of acohol poisoning or drown in it!)

[BlackTezca]

They have gone great!  I've been pretty good at keeping bad food at bay except for maybe one day every other week it seems, so I've been able to make consistent progress every week.  Next week will be the worse week I am sure of that, but honestly, I'm not gonna get hung up over two or three bad meals