Coonsicle creeps out of the lurker zone

[Coonsicle]

I've been reading nerd fitness for a few years now and lurking around the forums without posting, but since I'm about to start a new chapter in my life it seems like a good time to start new things and introduce myself.  I guess I should start this thing with a bit of background and move on to what my goals are and what I'm doing now so here goes nothing.

 

I've been pretty active my whole life, involved in organized sports in some capacity since I was six.  First softball then soccer, basketball, lacrosse, field hockey, and a bit of rugby, I've even done some boxing as a fun fitness thing.  Through the course of high school I became and then remained the big girl on the team (sadly, not in height).  I definitely could have put more time and effort into training over the years but my bigger issue has always been food.  I have very little self control with snacking when I'm at home and don't always make a huge effort to pick something healthy when I go out.  When I'm buying my own groceries I can leave the snacks at the store or choose to bring home only one or two small things for the week, but when I'm living with my family and there is less healthy food available I tend to put together the first thing that strikes my fancy rather than put thought into what I'm making myself.  That said, dinners are generally healthy, which makes the leftovers generally healthy, but with the snacks still there I don't always make the best choices when I'm hungry after work or after a game.  

 

The past few years I've been in school, working as a lifeguard and swim instructor, and officiating field hockey and women's lacrosse games. As anyone reading may guess I've been pretty busy this whole time and haven't always put my fitness or healthy eating first. As such my weight has steadily gone up to 220, which is unsustainable for a 5'4" woman.  I've developed a couple injuries in the past couple of years reffing and, well, how quickly I heal from that shit has gone downhill steadily since 25 and I've only got a bit over 6 months until 30 smacks me in the face so I need to get on top of this now.  

 

Things in my favor right now, I'm about to move to North Carolina for grad school (which they pay you for sometimes, baller) and won't have to have a second job outside of school (my assistanceship is a combined TA/RA position, so there's work involved but all in the same building).  I'll be in my own place, keeping snacks out of my domain (finally control of my own bat cave!), continuing to lift things up and put them down (details below) and possibly building up to a half marathon in May of 2018.  The last time I was in my own place with a consistent schedule I was running several times a week, swimming before or after my shifts at the pool, and eating well.  Without doing any serious food tracking, just living a generally healthy way, my weight was hovering around 180 and I was feeling good.  I'm hoping I can get myself in a similar pattern when I move but do more lifting this time around (I'm fairly certain I lost some muscle when I lost weight before, contributing to some of the weight I put on when I went back to school).  

 

So, what am I lifting up and putting down?  As of today for sets of 5 (unless otherwise noted) my highest sets are (in lbs):

Deadlift: 205

Squat: 145

Bench: 95

Overhead press: 80 (to be fair, the last rep at 80 is a push press not a strict press)

Barbell row: 105

Romanian deadlift: 135 (sets of 8 here)

front squat: 115

Assisted pull ups with the black resistance band, I don't know exactly how much resistance this provides but it's the most heavy duty one we have, shrug.  On the assisted pull up machine I was using 120lbs assistance before I decided to try the bands. 

 

As far as running goes I've been doing 2-3 mile runs with a pace of about 11:00 per mile.  My Achilles tendon on my left leg has been bugging me a bit since the beginning of this past lacrosse season so I'm increasing run frequency and distance slowly to not aggravate it too much.

 

Goal wise I want to continue increasing my lifts until I stall out on the big lifts, slowly increase my running distance to a 6 mile long run by Thanksgiving (hopefully while getting faster, which does tend to happen), and get down to at least 180 in the short term.  I'm not sure what my final "goal weight" would be, but I'll be going more based on how I feel and look if and when the time comes.  I started officiating D3 lacrosse in the spring 2016 season and if I want to progress there (which I do) I need to get faster, be in better shape in general, and not get the injuries I've gotten in the past few years because my weight is putting a lot of stress on my body when I sprint.  

 

So there you have it, I'm a life long athlete who wants to get in better shape and remove the "for a big girl" people mentally add to the "you move pretty well" I get from time to time while being a kick ass lady in STEM. 

[Wobbegong]

Welcome to Nerd Fitness, Coonsicle! Or perhaps, "welcome to the land of posters" and out of "the land of lurkers." Although even among those of us who post, there are a large number who lurk as well

 

Sounds like you've got some fantastic plans in place and a good starting point with the independence of grad school (and your own bat cave! It makes such a difference). I love seeing that you have no "goal weight" -- weight is just a number! You'll know when you're the right size for you, and in the meantime, you can focus on the process instead of the product. 

 

We're just coming up on the last week of our current 4 Week Challenge, so maybe take some time to think about some short-term goals you want to reach or habits you want to build and set out to achieve them over the next 4WC? You probably know this already, but you can check out a few other people's challenges, especially in the Rebel guild, to get a sense of how to start out and what the challenges look like. 

 

Let us know if you have any questions and best of luck with your transformation!

[zeroh13]

Welcome! Congrats on taking that leap from lurking to posting!

 

Is sounds like getting your own place is going to make all the difference. It's so hard to avoid temptation when it's just sitting right there.

 

One tip, if you want to minimize your muscle loss, make sure you're getting enough protein. 

 

Good luck on your journey.

[Coonsicle]

Thanks guys.  

@WobbegongI'm considering signing up for the next 4 week challenge, but I know myself well enough to know that remembering to post / making it a priority to post a few times a week is definitely not my strong suit. With all of the changes all at once that will coincide with the start of the new challenge my goals would have to be pretty general (ie, finding my way around the university fitness center that will be my new gym, figure out what time of day will be my best gym time, etc.) but would be good goals to start with anyway. 

 

@zeroh13 I am definitely making sure to get protein with every meal.

[sylph]

On 7/29/2017 at 1:16 PM, Coonsicle said:

I'm considering signing up for the next 4 week challenge, but I know myself well enough to know that remembering to post / making it a priority to post a few times a week is definitely not my strong suit. With all of the changes all at once that will coincide with the start of the new challenge my goals would have to be pretty general (ie, finding my way around the university fitness center that will be my new gym, figure out what time of day will be my best gym time, etc.) but would be good goals to start with anyway. 

Challenges aren't for everyone; I slip in and out from time to time myself. Adding one more thing to worry about while you're settling in to your new place might help keep you in a routine or might just be ONE MORE THING that you're having to deal with. You can always play it by ear as you go. There have been plenty of 'whoops, I didn't post in my challenge this week' posts along the way for lots of us. The Challenge Police won't come get you. Promise.

 

Welcome to NF!