Can I be a Ranger-Assassin?!

[Talila]

Well HALLO! (My Drunk Kitchen reference, anyone?!)

My name is Katie, and I'm a nerd. It started with Zelda back in grade school, progressed to FFXI during high school, and now I'm terminal. I have never been thin, but in high school I think I looked pretty good. I met my boyfriend (5 years and going strong) through FFXI and moved from Chicago to Michigan to be with him and I sort of just ate whatever I wanted and never worked out. Fast forward to 2010 and I went to France for two months as a part of my major (Secondary Ed - French). When I got back and went though all the photos I had taken, I realized something needed to change. I looked like a cow compared to all the thin Europeans I was hanging out with!

For me, it's been a slow process because I wasn't very dedicated at first. I started out at 182lbs (I'm 5'5"), and lost around 15lbs in that first year through using the elliptical a few times a week and reducing my calorie intake. This past year, I decided I wanted to be a runner and started following the Couch to 5k plan. Pretty soon, I was jogging a mile without stopping. That was a huge victory for me, as it was something I couldn't ever do in middle school & high school. Then I decided I wanted to run a 5k without stopping, so I partnered up with a girlfriend who skis with me. She coached me and ran with me for almost three months, and when the Ann Arbor color run was in town two weekends ago, I jogged the whole thing without stopping! Another huge victory! Definitely worth some experience points towards my life

Running and adjusting my diet a bit has led to another 15lb loss. In the last month or so I've also started lifting 'heavy.' Heavy for me is only 10-15lb dumbbells, but hey, it's a start. I've dropped another 5lbs or so, but am currently in a stand-still with another 10-20lbs to lose. I'm thinking that I'm just building muscle while I'm losing fat, which is why the scale hasn't changed. Anyways, I think this community will be a fun way to keep myself motivated and I find myself agreeing with a lot of the philosophies here.

tl;dr - I'm a nerd who also runs and lifts. I play WoW, D3, Skyrim, city building games, Halo, and some stuff on Steam. I also love reading and use a Kindle because it is awesome. Nice to meet you all!

[BinaryPhoenix]

Great to meet you!!

And of COURSE you can be a Ranger-Assassin!

[Jiigigaw]

First, welcome!

It is great to hear your decision to both join us and to take control of your health! Awesome on the running as well! I also note that you are from Ann Arbor, and wanted to point you here.

http://www.nerdfitness.com/community/showthread.php?8213-Mitten

Second, I'm new here as well, and have been just reading the forum contents like mad! SO take what I say concerning your primary question with a grain of salt. You can absolutely list yourself as a dual class Ranger-Assassin. The site moderators and guild leaders would still like you to only participate in one guild during a 6 week challenge though. The reason is the competition for the stickers and the grand prize T-Shirt. One guild winner each gets a sticker, and then one of those winners get a T-Shirt.

That said, I have seen posts that imply people participate in the unique challenges given by each guild anyway, they just only post their unique 6-week challenges in a single guild. Oh the wonderful complexity of it all!

Anyway, welcome and cheers. GO GREEN! GO WHITE!

[Morrigainz]

GO GREEN! GO WHITE!

ahahaha. Yes so welcome and all that...and super awesome on the lifting. There are LOTS of ladies on here who lift heavy (have you read Spezzy's story yet???) including myself. Congrats on your continuing weight loss AND your non-stop 5k - that's fabulous.

As for weight loss tracking, have you also been taking progress pictures and/or taking measurements? It's not all about weight - it's about how you feel and if you think you look good nekkid For instance, I'm 5'3" and somewhere in the range of 140-150 lbs...a bit more fat than I want but I'm really not concerned about getting back down to 125 (when my husband called me a "stick with boobs").

[Talila]

Thanks for the welcome all!

Yes, I keep track of everything via MyFitnessPal, including measurements. I keep saying I should hide my scale in the closet because I know it is the devil, but I have yet to actually do that haha. I also have progress pics, but they are stored deep in my hard drive where no one but myself can find them! I pull them out sometimes when I'm feeling particularly stalled-out and they remind me of how far I've come xD Still don't feel completely awesome without clothes on, but I'm getting there

[canadianpotato]

I want to be a Ranger-Assassin as well -- do I just alternate challenges in the ranger guild and the assassin guild?

[Panurge]

Parkour to you!

[Thilde]

YES, MDK FTW! The taco is the most versatile fruit! Also, congrats on your epic 5k accomplishment....that is awesome! Welcome!