I'm Joining the Rebel Alliance: About time too!

[tryk79]

Hey NF-ers,

TK here. I'm posting this thread to air my game plan for my Nerd Fitness lifestyle and, hopefully, get some feedback. I'll also give some back ground.

Well, I grew up overweight. Since about age 8 and gained weight exponentially fast. I ate without knowing about portion control or what was healthy. I only knew that sugar taste good. By age 13-14 I weighed 205lbs at 5' 9" (gross, I know). My awakening came when I went to the doctor (at age 15) and overheard the doctor telling my mom that if I continued down this road, I would contract diabetes. He also said the further down the road I went, I would eventually dig a deeper hole and contract more health problems. Thus, I resolved that day to change my lifestyle: a complete overhaul. I started by dieting the very next day. I researched as much as I could for a solid week and figured out the basics. I didn't exercise much. The most exercising I did was walking and light weight lifting every so often. After one year (April '08- April '09) I lost a total 65lbs! I got down to 140lbs. But my body composition was pathetic. No muscle, and loose skin (which Im still battling). So, I started running at age 17 and weight lifting. I managed to get up to 155lbs with 20% body-fat. When I joined college in the fall of '10, I joined the cross country team. At that time, I did not know much of how the body worked. During the fall season, I went from 155lbs, to 135lbs. I thought it was weird that I ate double what I was normally eating, but still losing weight (mainly muscle and a small amount of fat). After that season I resolved to figure exactly why the body does what it does. That brings me to now: 19 years old, 174lbs with 18% body-fat at 5' 11". My body composition is not what I wanted it to be at this time. I wanted to be 175lbs with 8% body-fat. I feel at a loss on how to get to those numbers. Any advice (diet, exercise, mental health) is much needed and wanted. I am tired of doing what everyone does: counting calories and lifting weights with some occasional cardio machine. It may have worked to get the initial weight off, but it isn't working to get me to where I wanted to be by now.

My plan is simply this:

Workout:

Cross-fit and essentially any workout that includes lots of body weight moves and interval training. I rock climb almost everyday as well.

Diet:

Paleo diet as best I can. Lots of chicken, veggies, some fruit, lots of nuts, and no fast food/soda/processed foods.

Any advice is invited.

Thanks,

TK

[BadWolf]

Welcome! Do make sure you eat enough food, it sounds like you're very active, which is great! Counting calories isn't always bad, counting them along with macros can give you an idea of what you need more or less of.

Good luck!

[tryk79]

Thank you! I am looking forward to this new lifestyle change. What should I do if I have more body fat than I want?

[BadWolf]

I'm no expert, but these NF articles explain it all pretty well. It's great that you want to lose the body fat, and not just "weight". The first talks a lot about gaining muscle, but read through the whole thing, it talks about lowering your body fat as well.

The second is the Beginner's Guide to Healthy Eating.

So, essentially eating right and working out right.

Hope this helps!