New here

[m.lee]

Hi! My brother has sent me enough links from here that I figured I better truly check it out. So I thought I would just stop in and say hi as I dig through the wealth of information on this site.

I'm a 31 year old single mom. I have a full time job, and own a restaurant, and do some data entry, and teach a Zumba class a week. I just finished the 60 day Insanity workout and I've realized from that how important daily exercise is and that I won't get the body I want until I start really lifting. And I've done weight machines for years. Decade maybe? If it was giving me the results I wanted I wouldn't be here searching for a new route. So, I'm going to start braving the weight room on Monday. I have a personal trainer friend that has offered to teach me how to do everything properly. I'm going to stat by getting assistance from him three lunch hours a week and moving on from there.

I am 155-160 pounds and a size 8 chubby. Not the lean size 8, the kind of muscly but a little smooshy size 8. I don't care where my weight ends up, but I'd love to drop down to a 6 and look great naked. I want to look better in my 30s than I did in my 20s. Vain. Yup. But true.

So, if anyone has a place for me to start on this site, I'm all ears. Or eyes. I have read that a lot of people here follow the Paleo diet. I do that as well, only without the meat. I'm a mostly plant based foodist. I steer clear of grains (but I'm going to steer clear 100%), dairy, and meat. I do cave for sushi about once every three months and eggs, about twice a week. I am not an ethical veggie lover, I just don't like meat and meat doesn't seem to like me. I eat what my body feels it needs though, and eggs seem to be a need of mine.

Thanks in advance for the help and support and I look forward to meeting you!

[ETFnerd]

Welcome to the nerd train. People more aligned to your goals will come along to welcome and advise you, but feel your way around, create a plan that works for you and enjoy going through the process of blowing out your goals. Best of luck.

[ebm1224]

welcome to the community! zumba seems really fun but i've only tried a not-so-great variation of it. and vanity is fine as a motivator so long as you get to the vain goals in healthy ways

[Guest Snake McClain]

You two are like the official nerd fitness welcoming committee i swear.

Also welcome. enjoy your time here and pick everyones brain for as much info as possible. Stay strong and live long.

[Guest Carjack]

Your body might have a change of heart about meat if you start lifting weights religiously.

[m.lee]

I just finished my first weight training session. I'm not sure if swearing is allowed here, so I'll just say holy crap balls. I bow down to all of you "real" lifters. You look like a bunch of testosterone-y punks when I see you from the weight machines. You are a bunch of bad asses when I see you from the weight room itself. I learned the proper form for some Olympic lifting and did some complexes. Crazy 8s with barbells, a dumbell, and a big round weight. My arms are about to fall off. I figured I better type now while I still can.

Thanks for the warm welcome, I can't wait to pick your brains. And I'll have to see how the protein needs vs veganism works out. I'm certainly not opposed to trying whatever works for my body. As long as my taste buds and gut can handle it. My boyfriend's favorite joke is how I no longer have canine teeth. I'm like an herbivore dinosaur.

[Ashzombwee]

Hahaha I thought I was the only one minus canine teeth

I didn't realize it until I was at a friend's party and he was giving me shit about being vegetarian, he showed me his pointy canine teeth as proof that humans are meant to eat meat ...he asked me to smile and show him mine and then started laughing hysterically when he discovered I didn't have them =P

[Guest Carjack]

The guys on machines are pretentious and weak. Stay away from those things if you can do Olympic style lifting instead.

[Guest ZeroTwo]

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/21/opinion/21planck.html

I'll just leave this here.

[ETFnerd]

The guys on machines are pretentious and weak. Stay away from those things if you can do Olympic style lifting instead.

Ronnie Coleman uses machines... He has a 36" waist and 36" thighs. I have a 30" waist and 21" thighs. Heavy leg presses are an integral part of his leg workout.

http-~~-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKrDpyk6MLw

[verin]

Welcome to the nerdiest fitness place ever.

[Guest Carjack]

Ronnie Coleman uses machines... He has a 36" waist and 36" thighs. I have a 30" waist and 21" thighs. Heavy leg presses are an integral part of his leg workout.

Would he be capable of any of that without squats, deadlifts and bench pressing?

[ETFnerd]

Would he be capable of any of that without squats, deadlifts and bench pressing?

Who knows, he's a freak of nature, but we know he didn't get there by just doing squats, deadlifts and bench pressing.

[Guest Carjack]

From my observations, most of the guys using machines are weak as kittens and never accomplish anything without a base of strength built on free weights, so I will continue to bash machines.

[positivelyrob]

I'm impressed you finished Insanity. I couldn't keep up with all that cardio. My joints killed me. Nice job!

[m.lee]

Haha! Thanks for the vegan article. I think malnourished babies are a horrible thing, so are vegans that don't have a clue what they are doing. I have still been eating eggs due to the demands my workouts have needed lately. So, I'm far from twigs and berries. Like I said, I will do what my body tells me to do. But I can guarantee a steak will not be something my body requests. We have a strange diet in my house because my son has severe food allergies. He eats fruits, veggies, and meat only. My daughter doesn't like meat, but will eat fish, and she loves dairy and eggs. I don't like meat or dairy, so I stick to fruits and veggies as well as nuts and I consume a lot of them in their raw state. My boyfriend eats everything. I'm a strong believer in food being our medicine and our medicine being food. I have finally found the optimum nutrition for my body at this point in my life. It will change again, and I will adjust. I do have a few issues with that article. But I don't need to bore you all with my opinions on calcium, protein, and soy. I will say though, that I respect anyone that does their research and makes their own decisions. Whether it is raising children (breastfeeding, vaccinations, circumcision), eating, exercising, or just maintaining overall health, I think people need to read everything out there and figure out what works for them. I don't enter any decision lightly. Thanks for the concern though.

And Insanity was rough. I'm glad to be done with that amount of cardio and daily pounding. I felt like my quads would explode if I did one more day of that. It taught me some valuable lessons. For starters, I'm strong. Also, I can always find 45 minutes in my day for exercise. And finally, that I don't want to be bored in my exercise. I'll skip the treadmill and Nautilus machines daily.

[Guest Carjack]

I will say though, that I respect anyone that does their research and makes their own decisions. Whether it is raising children (breastfeeding, vaccinations, circumcision), eating, exercising, or just maintaining overall health, I think people need to read everything out there and figure out what works for them.

I think people need to stop injuring their kids out of vanity.

[cacodaemonia]

Hahaha I thought I was the only one minus canine teeth

I didn't realize it until I was at a friend's party and he was giving me shit about being vegetarian, he showed me his pointy canine teeth as proof that humans are meant to eat meat ...he asked me to smile and show him mine and then started laughing hysterically when he discovered I didn't have them =P

Hehe, that's funny. You should tell him that plenty of species of deer also have killer canines.

I think people need to stop injuring their kids out of vanity.

Agreed. It is totally possible to raise a kid on a vegan diet, though. As with any diet, you just need to be educated and make sure you're getting all the necessary nutrients.