Getting my nerdy fitness on.

[shutupndance]

Hey there fellow nerds, my name is Julie and I am originally from southern Maine, but now live in Western Australia with my extremely nerdy and smokin hot husband Ben.

I've struggled with my weight my whole life, but have (almost) never had a strength or endurance struggle. I grew up dancing and would spend over 10 hours a week dancing--which I never realized was a work out, until I left college and stopped dancing. My legs are strong and I know I am a powerhouse of awesomeness under this (thick) layer of lame fatty fat fat.

Ben and I have slowly gotten away from white flour and grains in the past couple of years, so when we stumbled across this site and the Paleo lifestyle we realized we could not only give it a try, but it would be a welcome change.

My workouts usually consist of circuit training (Jillian Michaels stuff), weights and cardio at the gym (short bursts of cardio between strength exercises) dance class once a week, and classes like BodyBalance or yoga once a week. I hate boring work outs and I like to keep things mixed up and different. I'm interested in shifting to more heavy lifting and strength training, but I don't think I'm ready just yet (mentally). I thought Staci's transformation was incredible and would love to go that route, but at the moment, that section of the gym terrifies me.

My biggest struggle with the Paleo diet is going to be going easy on the weekend drinks, for sure.

We've cleared our house of all processed foods, breads, grains, cereals, etc. etc. Our schedules are chaotic so it's really important for us to always prepare for the week ahead.

I have counted calories forever and to say that I'm terrified to give that up is an understatement. (I really and truly hate counting calories. I am much too obsessive for that to be a healthy habit.) Reassurance that I will lose weight and build muscle without counting is greatly appreciated.

Looking forward to rebelling with all of you amazing nerds!

[AKLulu]

Welcome, Julie! Sounds like you have a great start on diet and exercise! If you ever have any questions, don't be afraid to ask around!

[Egg and Lettuce]

Welcome to WA, Im up north and welcome to the boards.

[gymell]

Welcome!

I hear ya on the boring routines. Nothing makes me lose motivation more quickly. It's so easy to get into a rut, and I do much better when I have a plan laid out for me to follow, where I can set goals and hit milestones. I haven't done any JM programs, but I've heard they can be good. Another program you might like is the New Rules of Lifting for Women. It has a lot of variety and is a great introduction to lifting. There is also a helpful forum for it at JP Fitness Forums. Also you might take a look at CrossFit, which includes a lot of high intensity metabolic conditioning as well as weightlifting.

[tigersheart]

welcome and good luck on your goals!

[VorJoshigan]

Welcome and good luck. Sounds like you know what you're doing, but could just use some cheerleaders. Like us.

With regard to your calorie counting, I find that I absolutely have to journal everything that I eat in order to stay on plan. I don't really count the calories, though it's interesting reference information, but if I don't journal my eating, I go into autopilot mode. For me right now, autopilot mode means eat anything in front of me, when I'm bored, when I'm thirsty, when I'm hungry, when I'm in the vicinity of food.

That makes me think of Luke in Star Wars where he shuts off his targeting computer - force or not, I need to be the one flying this craft instead of leaving it up to my thoughtless impulses.