n00b alert!

[CakeBanisher]

Hi, I’m Kelly. I’ve been lurking around here for quite some time (on and off for over a year, in fact) and figured I may as well join already :-) I’m nineteen, 5’2, weigh about 160 pounds, and am in horrible shape.

Last year in March, I weighed 190 pounds, ate like an idiot, and was always sick and tired. In an attempt to stop feeling like that, I stopped eating processed carbs, gave up my three bowls of pasta a day and replaced them with a lot of cooked spinach and chicken, and dropped about 30 pounds. But, I did zero exercise. Bad Kelly.

Then my freshman year of college hit, and I fell off the wagon pretty spectacularly. I didn’t gain too much back, but I didn’t really eat anything healthy and (shocker!) felt sick and tired all the time…Not great for your first year of college. Or any other time, for that matter.

My biggest issue actually isn’t the “eat real food†end of the deal, it’s the exercising. I am a violin major in college, and I have to play a lot, on a lot of instruments. Thus, I am ultra-paranoid about hurting myself, since very minor injuries can put me out of commission. I also have a history of hurting myself and ending up unable to play, or do any other sort of physical work.

Since I was 10, I’ve had very bad, sometimes debilitating, muscle spasms in my neck, shoulders, and back, along with what I suspect is a pinched nerve in my right shoulder or arm, and, when it flares, incredible lower back pain. So, basically, I’m afraid to do anything physical. However, I started doing the Beginning Body Weight Exercise posted here, very carefully, and that seems to be treating me okay (other than my being weak as a twig – I can’t do pushups to save my soul). Thus, I am regaining some hope :-)

So, here I am. I’m ready to sort myself out, and get back to my habits of last year, as they make my life a whole lot more enjoyable. But this time, I don’t intend to fall back to my old ways. I suspect that being at a healthier weight, and regaining some strength might help some of my long-term issues. Also, feeling sick all the time majorly stinks.

Thanks for reading! Any advice, encouragement, or tough love you want to offer is much appreciated :-) Looking forward to the journey!

[Daneb]

Welcome, Kelly! I'm Dan, also new here, and kind of in the same boat as you (college student, trying to balance school and healthiness and everything). Good luck with your goals! See ya around the boards!

[CakeBanisher]

Thanks Dan! Yeah, school is hard enough without this whole health business. I totally understand your wanting to get back on track, too. A worthy goal! Let me know if you find any magical secrets to balancing everything

[SirEarl]

Welcome! And don't worry about it too much! Plus, it'll actually help your playing! Just be sure to do everything properly. I'm a multi-instrumentalist and occasionally a songwriter, so I understand how overly cautious you can be. I don't know if you'll notice it playing the violin(I just started learning), but you'll definitely notice it playing piano. Which I assume you play a little bit as a music major. I'm training to be a boxer, and it hasn't affected me(except maybe an hour or so after a work out). Just don't work yourself too hard if you've got a recital or sonic assessment the next day!

[CakeBanisher]

Thanks for the words of encouragement, SirEarl! Yeah, piano is one of my main instruments, but it never occurred to me that getting stronger would effect playing it. It should have, but my mind just somehow never went there. Good to know That's awesome that you play and write songs! While training to be a boxer, no less. Good luck with learning the violin!

[betsywhim]

Welcome, Kelly - from one (former) Michigander to another!

[CakeBanisher]

I'm been to my regular doctor, and talked to a few other people (in therapy, basically) but no real specialist. That's on the to-do list over the summer

[skulblaka]

Welcome! I'm also a college student and new here My thought is the summer is a great time to start a routine so that I can go back next semester with habits in place. I wish you the best of luck!

[Laocoon]

Welcome, and thanks for your reply! Well if there's one thing hard to do while trying to eat right is to meet friends and go to college (that's my experience). But my friends will have to cope with me eating healthy; I'm taking charge in my life. And so can you! As for college: be inventive and stay on the right track, because life isn't simple if you want to get the most out of it. Eating paleo, for instance, means a lot of 'resistance' but that is where you can amaze yourself by showing spine!

Keep it up!

[Britt]

Hi CakeBanisher,

You posted on my introduction post, so I thought I would post on yours!

I am a musician as well, earned a degree in Music Ed, and a masters in trumpet performance. So, if you ever wanna chat about being a college music major, feel free!

I am horrible at push-ups as well. But when I have exercised regularly in the past, even doing them for a week made me soooo much stronger.

Good luck and hope to hear more about your journey.

[CakeBanisher]

Hello, Skulblaka!. Yeah, my hope is also that summer will be a good time to get things together and get into a routine. That way when college attacks again, I won't just go "ahhhh, school, panic!" and crash and burn, like last year.

Laocoon, thanks for reminding me to stick to my guns, food-wise. I was living on campus last year, and the eating options there were really not very good. So, this year, I will work a bit harder to make sure I have decent food around. The motivating words are very much appreciated!

Hey Britt - Music majors, unite! No one else in my family is going that path...I'm surrounded by engineers and computer programers. So, I may take you up on that offer Thanks also for the encouragement on push-ups. They are rapidly becoming the bane of my existence...