A wild Me Appears!

[Alter Ego]

Hi Everyone!

I can't believe I finally found a group of people like you all. I am honestly in shock. For years I've tried to get into any kind of shape (except round, I've got that down) by myself with no support from friends or family. I am finally in a good place work and home wise and am ready to send this gut of mine packing.

I am 6'5" and last I checked I was closing in on 400lbs.

Now I am dead set on turning my life around. While I love my computer dearly I think I would love being able to actually run better.

I spend all day sitting in front of computers at work and do pretty much the same thing at home, but no more.

I've realized that if I'm ever going to be any kind of Super Hero I have a lot of work to do, but I am going to tackle this challenge head on and with some kind of big crazy grin.

My Goals are to lose about half my person because I would one day LOVE to do parkour and learn how to fence.

I look forward spending to this challenging journey with all you wonderful wonderful nerds.

Live long and prosper.

[Alter Ego]

Thank you so much for the warm welcome. It feels so good to finally not be alone in this most trying of quests.

I have currently decided to focus on first and for most my diet. I am a pizza fiend. (Too much Ninja Turtles growing up.) So cutting out the massive amounts of grains I consume on a weekly basis is the first task on my long list of things to accomplish. After that I am starting to work on basic exercises and walking. I started 2 days ago and man I have never been this sore, but it feels good to know that some day in the future I will be able to run w/o being winded after 2 mins.

Aside from that I am trying to pay off some old loans so that I can get into medical school. That way one day I can help others and make sure future children don't fall into the same rut I did. It never feels good to be the only kid sitting out every gym class because they just cant keep up, not to mention the ridicule. So I want to do what I can to make sure no kid ever has to feel the way I did.

I kicked soda a few months ago after I realized I was consuming about 4 liters a day. I miss the caffeine, but not the little bit of weight I have lost just by stopping that bad habit.

I am interested in hearing more about those six week challenges, where can I find that info?

Thank you so much for your help.

[Alter Ego]

There is no such thing as too much info. Thank you so much, that pizza thing sounds like an awesome idea. I was looking at the paleo diet, but I'm thinking it would probably be best to slow transition into it, especially since I am on a limited budget and grains are cheaper than fresh veg unfortunately. Diet is going to be a big change for me, but I am confident and stubborn as all hell.

I was wondering about your siggy. How can I get one like that? I am not too familiar with forum posting and whatnot, I tend to be very shy and whatnot. That sig is really awesome though.

I will definitely be exploring all the boards this weekend since I have off. I am looking really closely at the guilds. One of my main goals is to get fit enough to do parkour. It is something I have always been extremely interested in but due to my ogreish size it has never been something I could realistically try. One day though I shall partake in that awesome pastime.

Thank you again for all your help. Please let me know if you need any kind of help in the future I would love to return the favor.

just a few more questions, sorry. I seem to be having problems posting pics. I set up an album but when I try to upload a new window pops up that is just grey and empty. Any ideas? Also I see everyone posting stats and things, is there a page that explains all that stuff. I know I'm kinda lame, but I'm very lost. Thanks again.

[Thilde]

Welcome, Alter Ego! Your goals sound awesome. I can relate. This is my first challenge, and my main goals were to limit grains/sugars/legumes and up my cardio and strength training (links in my sig). I actually went whole hog (ha!) paleo/primal for the challenge, and I'm not going back. Every body is different though and there are many, many different nutritional styles on the forums!

I definitely second Athena's advice: Don't panic WHEN you backslide. It's gonna happen, happens to all of us. Just look at it for what it was, see if maybe you can learn something from it (noticing your own patterns in those moments can be hugely helpful!), and get back on track asap, the same day if possible to minimize your veer distance from your chosen path.

If you're still feeling lost after reading the posts/articles Athena linked, I'd say just take some time to browse the threads...that's what I did for several days, and it was a great way to see how people do the challenges (set up goals, track themselves, comment on other Rebels' posts, etc.) and also to get a sense of the forum environment (etiquette, who the leaders are, etc.).

NF is seriously an awesome, awesome place. I've done more in this, my first, challenge than I've done in my whole LIFE cumulatively. You have some great starting goals, but more importantly it's clear you've got motivation to change, desire to engage/learn, and CURIOSITY...those are what set Rebels apart. Welcome, glad to have you here!

[Cutebug]

Hi Alter Ego!

If you find yourself struggling with the pizza thing at any point, have no fear! Cauliflower to the rescue!

Cauliflower Pizza Crust

It takes a little experimenting. I would recommend not microwaving it, as suggested. It makes it too squishy. Cauliflower pizza crust is amazing! Truly! But you will, of course, still need to exercise restraint in the cheese department <sigh> I <3 cheese.

I've lost 28 pounds in the last 3 months just from going about 70% Paleo and increasing my exercise. It's amazing!

Good luck!!!

[Alter Ego]

Thank you all sooo much for your warm welcomes, it means a lot to know that I am not alone on this journey.

Things were going really well until yesterday. I woke up and was extremely sick so it was hard to do my workouts (though I did give it my best shot). However, I didn't have to worry about eating anything I shouldn't have so that was good at least.

I really love that cauliflower pizza idea! I will have to go out to the store tomorrow and get the stuff. I know how you feel about cheese though, it makes everything soooo much better.

Thanks again for all the encouragement and advice it means a lot. Please let me know if I can ever return the favor and best of luck to you all.