Lurker no more!

[Whitewizard]

Hello everyone! As the title indicates I've been lurking here for a few weeks, soaking up all the nerdy fitness goodness and finally decided to take the plunge myself!

Because no good rpg'er can resist a backstory, here's mine. I was always a fat kid growing up, some of it poor habits on my part, some unlucky genetics. I topped out close to 250 by the time I graduated. In high school I found weightlifting, so I was still the fat kid but at least I was strong. When I came across powerlifting my first year of college I was in love. Finally a sport made for fat kids lol! Well, long story short I didn't get much of a chance to pursue my newfound love. I was diagnosed with a genetic condition causing bloodclots, as well as having been born without a Vena Cava (the big vein that essentially connects your upper and lower body). I spent a week in the hospital with 14 blood clots (ouch) and then was more or less bedridden for several months afterwards while things settled down. Worst of all, I was told no more weight lifting.

I let myself get pretty down about it and put on a lot of weight, back up to almost 230. About 2 years ago I got my act together and dropped down to 180, but I did it poorly. I wound up skinny fat and weaker than I'd ever been. Because I was so unhappy with the results I stopped trying and right now I'm sitting around 200 again. Worse than the weight though, I'm pretty out of shape. I'm only 26 but sometimes I feel a lot older. Additionally, I'm a teacher and it's pretty humbling watching 16 who are stronger and faster than you! So bottom line I want to do it right this time and get fit, not worry about how toned my abs are. This site has some awesome people and resources and I feel great about my chances here! I'm in the process of putting together some good goals and a smart plan to take them down, more on that as it develops.

Thanks for listening, and I'm excited to get started!

[ponita]

Welcome to the Rebellion! Sounds like you've faced more than your share of challenges and I'm sorry to hear of your medical issues. There are so many great folks here, you'll find lots of laughter, support, and motivation. Glad to have you on the team!

[Whitewizard]

Thanks for the encouragement Ponita! Luckily all the medical issues have been stable for a few years (knock on wood) now I'm just trying to kick a lingering case of lazyitis! I love the quote in your sig btw.

[Avistew]

I've had some minor healthy issues, but nothing as bad as yours! Good luck and I'm sure you'll do great

[Whitewizard]

Thanks Avistew, I feel good about it too! Luckily my health shenanigans have been under as much control as they can be for a few years (knock on wood). Although I just spent 9 hours in a car driving back from vacation and my right leg, the one with the clots, was almost twice as big as the left one :/ Hopefully your health issues are resolved too, nothing like adding another layer of difficulty to the challenge of fitness right?