Brooding Antihero Arrives

[Jennifer Ocean]

Greetings, fellow Rebels! My name is Shadow, and I am new here. I just signed up for the Academy, and am already having a blast. Here’s the opening narration to my epic life journey:

“We find our hero living deep within the oppressive humidity of the Florida Swamps. Or escaping the torpid heat, as it were, for her preferred view of life is best seen from the arms of an over-stuffed recliner. Shadow Stormtide, known merely as Shadow, is a typical anti-hero: very quiet, a bit of a loner, cynical and sarcastic, even pragmatic to a fault (rules can be broken to achieve an end, right?). As she emerges from the shadows she takes her name from, we prepare to see exactly what kind of person she is, what she can become, and what kind of epic life she is prepared to live.”

 

Some backstory: I’m an introvert. (And I lurk, a lot. Trying to break that habit.) I’m a vegetarian, and I eat horribly. As a child, I was a picky eater, and my pediatrician told my parents to let me eat what I want, and that when I was ready to eat good foods, I would. Guess what? That’s some kind of BS, because of course as a kid, I quickly decided to subsist on chips, peanut butter sandwiches, candy, goldfish crackers, and french fries (my “veggie”). Upon reaching adulthood, I did not magically start eating salads and green things. At 29, I now have a great-wall-of-china sized mental barrier when it comes to trying new foods. Food is my Majora’s Mask Giant Moon of Doom, watching wherever I go, lurking in the background. Needless to say, with a diet like that I quickly became overweight in middle school, in high school, and beyond. Crash diets worked for short periods then I would gain it back. Exercise? Meh. Video games and reading are more fun. I did do some running, purely because you earned shiny medals (almost like achievements…wonder why that was appealing?). I quit after getting plantar fasciitis. A doctor told me to get orthotics, and that my feet were horribly flat. She was an idiot. I chose to switch to walking instead. I recovered. No more running.

 

And here we are today. I realize, of course, how terrible my lifestyle is for my long-term life enjoyment. I was at a loss for fixing it, though, especially as stress from work piled up, and the days became agonizingly hot and humid. (Florida. Its Not A Dry Heat.) Deciding to start with my food situation, I started googling about veggies and stuff. I found NF. Then I found the Academy. Then I watched a youtube video about cats, and I went to bed. I wasn’t going to join, not with that price tag, but I kept thinking about it, and thinking about it, and finally decided to just do it. Might as well check it out, especially since I love video games. Having joined, I can’t tell you how exciting it is to have found a site that combines fitness and questing. I love everything so far, and even though I’m only on level 1 of every module, I feel like I may have finally found a lifestyle change I can do!

 

Anyway (how many words are we allowed on a post? Sorry to you people who don’t like reading!), I’m excited to start working out. I’m excited to slowly learn healthy eating. I’m excited to learn to manage my stress better. This anti-hero is ready to step into the light!

[zeroh13]

Welcome, Shadow!

 

I'm a vegetarian too. I tend to eat horribly if I don't pay attention to what I put in my mouth. But thankfully I'm a lot better about it than I used to be.

 

Turning exercise into a game definitely makes it a lot more fun. And hopefully along the way you find a type of exercise or sport that you like.

 

I hope the Academy works out for you. I've never tried it, but I have had a lot of success with doing the four week challenges. You're welcome to join in if you want a little bit extra accountability. We're on the last week of our current one, but there'll be a new starting soon.

 

And you can post as many words as you're willing to write!

[Machete]

We might have to start a group here.

 

[Garris]

Welcome from Canada!

 

We like to extols the virtues of small sustainable changes, start by going for regular short walks and cutting sugary drinks out of your diet and then the sky's the limit !

 

 

[Isaac Clark]

Hey there, welcome to the forums! 

 

Getting over mental hurdles involving food can truly be a monumental task. I've been tackling my issues with binging and eating unhealthy foods for a long, long time and I still slip up every so often. But progress comes with time, and a few mistakes mean nothing in the grand scheme of a new lifestyle.

 

Anyhow, best of luck! I hope we'll see you around more

[Jennifer Ocean]

Thanks for the welcome, everyone! I don't have facebook, so I'll be posting a lot of my academy triumphs and trials here, I hope. I plan on joining in on the 4WC as well once a new one starts. I just have to keep reminding myself that this will be a slow process, and to take things one step at a time. I'm not the most patient of people.

 

Machete, yes, power to the Swamp People!

[Wobbegong]

Welcome Shadow! I love your avatar picture... is it a spotted eagle ray? It's tough to tell at that angle, but it's a beautiful pic!

 

4 hours ago, Shadow Stormtide said:

Thanks for the welcome, everyone! I don't have facebook, so I'll be posting a lot of my academy triumphs and trials here, I hope. I plan on joining in on the 4WC as well once a new one starts.

Awesome! There are a lot of people with the Academy who also like to hang out on the forums, so you'll fit right in. Since you've got a little time before the next 4WC starts, why not take advantage of it and start thinking about some of the changes you want to make? There are lots of ways to approach it, so you can visit a few other challenge threads and take a look to get some ideas, and check out the planning worksheets (which are totally optional) here. 

 

4 hours ago, Shadow Stormtide said:

I just have to keep reminding myself that this will be a slow process, and to take things one step at a time. I'm not the most patient of people.

Absolutely take it slow. You're looking for long-term, sustainable change. Going at it really gung-ho may feel good at first, but you'll get tired out quickly and definitely won't make it through to the end results you're looking for. The community here isn't going anywhere, so why rush? 

 

[Rowena Nightwolf]

On 7/30/2017 at 6:56 AM, Shadow Stormtide said:

Thanks for the welcome, everyone! I don't have facebook, so I'll be posting a lot of my academy triumphs and trials here, I hope. I plan on joining in on the 4WC as well once a new one starts. I just have to keep reminding myself that this will be a slow process, and to take things one step at a time. I'm not the most patient of people.

 

Machete, yes, power to the Swamp People!

 

I do not have Facebook either... which I thought would be a challenge to participate in the community, but Im feeling great about how active the NF forum is!  I, too, have to keep reminding myself that this will be a slow and steady process and to stay focused.  In the past, I have dived right in, rushing rushing and then I fail because i took on too much.  Steve's articles and this forum are really helping me to take it slower and that Im not the only one starting at this point in the journey.  

 

I was the same way... when I stumbled upon the Academy, I was instantly interest, but then saw the price and say "no way".  But I couldn't stop thinking about it and being excited about it.  Now that I have joined, I feel the money was completely worth it and for the first time in my life I feel like I am on the right track to fitness and healthy eating.  I've actually cut back on video games just because i have been thinking about my life as a game and forgetting about video games... that has never happened before   Its great!