I'm going to make a change...

[Weazley]

This is a lot longer than I thought it was going to be, but very much found myself unable to stop writing!

I’m Louise, and after poking around, reading and exploring for a week, I have finally decided to introduce myself. I'm 26, weigh 76.5kg (or 168 pounds). I'm 171 cm (5 ft 7â€) and decided I need to get serious about making a change.

My History:

When I was in university, I did what a lot of people do, and stopped all exercise and discovered alcohol. After my first year, I had a put on a bit of weight and I took back up running which I had enjoyed through my teenage years (at that time encouraged and enjoyed with a boisterous Labrador) but found that this time it was hard, and didn’t seem to pay off as much as it did in my younger years. After getting a severe fracture in my foot (avoiding a cast only because I needed to get on an airplane a week later!) I gave up on running too. Over the next few years my weight increased dramatically until I was around 80kg (176 pounds), maybe even more. That was, and has been my heaviest.

My biggest problem was that I didn’t think I had a problem. I didn’t see myself as fat or overweight. [i look back at photos of that time in my life and feel physically sick. I was a chubby faced, unfit and unhealthy person.]

After realising I was in a rut – professionally, relationship-wise, mentally and (although I didn’t know it at the time) physically. I panicked and decided I needed to escape my life. So I did. I gave up everything I had and packed a bag and moved to England. Within 3 months I had dropped 20 kgs (44 pounds). And I don’t know how I did it, I just assumed the extra walking/site-seeing and lack of meat (because I was a cheap backpacker) just had an amazing combined affect.

For a few years I was great – and then I settled myself into the London lifestyle and the weight started coming back on. I’d also taken up smoking, and had an irregular hour, stressful and demanding job, where we all ‘blew our steam’ off every night/day at the local pub by getting absolutely wasted.

Fast forward another two years, and I was in a very unhappy place. I decided that I was no longer on the right path in life and (surprise, surprise) ran away from it all - but this time to Sydney.

My Present:

I’ve been in Sydney just over a year and a half now, with a (desk) job I love, a great relationship and good friends. I got a gym membership, ate (well what I thought was) healthy and was pretty content with life. However, my life took a major blow late last year when I was diagnosed with cancer. They caught it early (my oncologist said that in the last 20 years of practice he has never caught my ‘type’ of cancer at such an early and treatable stage). Two surgeries and four hospitalisations later, I’ve been given an all clear, and my last test showed no cancer (Yay!). And I’ve been lucky enough to not need chemo or radiation therapy. However, it has meant that over the last 6 or so months I’ve had to spend weeks upon weeks of resting up and even when I was good enough to get on my feet having to ‘take things slow’. In total about half of the last 6 months have been either in hospital or recovering at home. I was also given an ultimatum by my doctor of “You can get better, or you can keep smoking.†I chose smoking… nah just kidding I kicked the filthy habit. I’ve had the odd slip up here and there (particularly at the start), but rather than going “oh well, I’m a failure I can’t do this†and keeping smoking I acknowledged I fell of the wagon – and got back on it again.

However between that and the weeks of bed rest, this has had the (not entirely unexpected) consequence that my weight has now creeped back up to around 75kg (165 pounds).

My stomach has never really recovered the way everything else has, and the scars across it make me incredibly self-conscious. Added to that, I’ve never like my thighs, or legs in general really, and I’ve always had red and blotchy arms which I have always covered up…. But today is the last excuse. Because I need to stop complaining. Enough is enough, and I need to do something about it. I’m sick and tired of making excuses, and don’t need them in my life. If I hate the way my legs look in shorts, well darn in I’m going to do something about it.

By chance, I started reading about how bad sugar was for the body, which quickly turned into looking at primal and paleo diets. And it just makes sense. I’ve always wondered how I lost so much weight when I first moved to England (you know, avoiding the ‘heathrow’ curse) and in hindsight, although the walking probably did amazing things for me - my housemate/friend (a newly diagnosed diabetic) was struggling and (being supportive) we cooked meals which fit in with his new dietary needs – no sugar mostly. But also because we had to carry everything from the shops (about a mile away) we also ate less of those “hard to transport by carrying†items like bread (it always seemed to get crushed), rice and potatoes.

Suddenly over the last week, things have been clicking together.

My Future:

I don’t know what the future has in store for me. But I know what I want to accomplish in it. I want to join up for the next challenge, I want to level up my life, I want to be healthy and I want to be strong.

My major goals are: (to be completed by end of the year)

1. To move to a 90%+ primal diet and lifestyle.

2. I want to have fun exercising again.

3. Get to my goal weight of 65kgs (143 pounds)

My current goals are: (to be completed in the next 2 months)

1. Do 10 proper push-ups

2. Run 5k without a rest

3. To incorporate more weights into my workout

4. Do a pull-up/chin-up

Anyway I’m really looking forward to this, look forward to meeting you all and excited about being a part of the NF community.

[Hermione Gainser]

Welcome to the community!

Glad to hear the cancer is gone! And congrats on quitting smoking. I hear that's a terribly painful addiction to ditch.

Looks like you've got some great goals. You should join us on the next 6 week challenge!

[CakeBanisher]

Welcome, Weazley! So glad the cancer has been defeated! Also, super job giving up smoking, that's wonderful that you were able to push yourself through something as difficult as I suspect that is. I think it's interesting that you discovered eating in a more paleo way seemed to work for you without really trying. Sounds like everything really has started falling in place for you Best of luck!

[Weazley]

Thank you all for your support!

I've seen the Couch to 5K - and is exactly the sort of program that I think will work well for me. Although heard on the radio on the weekend of a 10K coming up in a months time - and despite my "No excuses" - I won't be in the country for it!

I've seen both the articles for the pull-ups, which have really motivated me to go for it. There is an assisted pull up machine at the gym, but I want to find a bar at one of the local parks and see if I can switch to doing inverted rows instead. (No table at my tiny studio apartment!). And gives me a good opportunity to wander through all the local parks so I'm not complaining!

Oh and Cakebanisher? Love your pic. I've got a ragdoll cat called Pippin (named after Peregrine Took from LOTR, lol I am a nerd) and its a great photo and makes me happy