Hi inspiring peeps!

[Alexandra]

Hi guys!

Discovered nerdfitness almost a week ago and it's had a real impact on me already. I got totally inspired by Staci's awesome success story - you rock Staci! For the last 5 days I've been essentially Paleo which has already made me feel less sluggish (aside from a few headaches - possible carb crash/not eating enough) and I'm planning to eat as near to Paleo as I can as much as possible. I also got a male friend to help me with doing some weight training. Totally believe in this lift heavy (even for girls ) philosophy! Before this I’ve been mainly doing spin classes which I find are amazing and are making me feel more toned.

I do feel like a bit of a noob though at the moment ^-^

I’m 25, 5”5' and around 53kg though haven’t weighed myself in a while as I don’t tend to fluctuate (even when I've tried to lose weight, or even not been very active at all) and also don’t really believe in scales!

My aim is to lose weight (I'm lucky in that I don't think I've got a huge amount to lose) and tone up/get stronger and feel better. I’m thinking of coupling 3 weight training/bodyweight training sessions a week with two or three spin classes a week. How do you think that sounds?

I can’t really launch into the weight training properly until I have a guide to follow and I’m thinking of getting The New Rules of Lifting for Women but is there any other guide you recommend me following?

Bit of background - When I was younger I was in great condition, super active, did gymnastics until I was 11 and loved it so much I'd spend a lot of my spare time practising. I can still do a few things like handstands and handsprings today. I stayed pretty active and was healthily thin until 17, when at school we were exercising once or twice a week if lucky, mostly revising for exams and I'd never had to watch my weight (in fact I was one of those lucky people who could literally eat what I wanted without gaining weight until then!) and thinking back I probably wasn't eating that healthily. Then I went to university for three years and fast food/alcohol didn't exactly help. I'm not fat by any means but I'd like to get into my peak condition, look better, feel better, level up(!) etc.

In the last 2 years I've actually been pretty good, last year I trained for a half marathon which I completed in around 2 hours 15 minutes in October 2011. Since then exercise has been a bit on and off but I joined a gym last November and have gone through cycles of motivation! I got bored of running on the treadmill and started to go to all sorts of classes which definitely mixed things up. Since finally being brave enough to enter the sweatfest that is spin class, there's no going back and I#ve been going pretty consistently around 2/3 times a week.

So I think that's pretty much me!

[bigkislowski]

Welcome! :] It's nice to see a fellow gymnast and your goals are pretty much what have been going through my head the past few weeks as well.

[Porkins77]

Wow, a half marathon seems like an insurmountable task to me at my current fitness level. Kudos for accomplishing it!

See, you came for inspiration and ended up BEING an inspiration. Thank you. And welcome!

[vintageenvy]

Welcome to the rebellion! When I first started Paleo, I went through about a week of headaches/fatigue/grumpiness, but I think that's just your body adjusting to a new way of eating. Especially if you were eating a really grain heavy diet (like most of us did!). I think Paleo should help your body tone up a little more since it forces your body to burn fat rather than carbs first.

Major props for the half marathon! I think mixing in the weights with spinning should work really well as long as you really enjoy the spinning. I think your off-day exercises are more about doing what you enjoy rather than what you're "supposed to do".

Can't wait to you kick some more ass here!

[nadianeytiri]

Hey Alexandra, welcome aboard woo! I was hit by the university weight gain too, was so active up until I started, then alcohol and shit food really f'ed things up for me big time, and I gained 2 dress sizes- depresso! I subsequently lost them again +1 , and I couldn't believe how much better I actually looked but mostly felt inside until it started to fall away gradually... It feels so good to be in tip top shape! I'm not there yet, unlike you my weight fluctuates quite frequently and quickly so I've to be extra diligent. I'd love to do spinning classes but my legs just balloon, and I'm pear shaped as it is, so running's my drug . Wishing you all the best on your new journey, may it bring you lifelong joy + happiness!

[Alexandra]

Nice to meet you bigkislowski! I just had a read of your intro, we definitely have similar goals and I feel just as intimidated by lifting as you! I'd recommend finding a guy to help you get started and feel confident using stuff on your own, or a gym buddy so you can spot each other! Good luck

Porkins77 - Thank you! I never thought I'd do a half marathon either, but it just takes a bit of perseverance! I literally started out just leisurely running round the block a couple years before and then got into running a couple of miles with a friend and adding an extra mile on every now and again. Once we could do 6 miles entering and training for a half marathon just seemed like a good idea, it wasn't too out of reach!

Hi vintageenvy! Thanks for the tips and encouragement - you people are all so friendly!

nadianeytiri - Inspiring story - massive congrats on losing the weight you wanted to! What do you mean about spinning making your legs balloon :| I find it good for toning and weightloss so this confuses me?