*salutes everybody*

[PointyEnd]

Hello world!

Harris here: 36, female, into foil fencing and other combat sports, FUN SIZE at 5'4" and 135-ish pounds, ready to quit being sick and tired and convert a blob of undifferentiated mass into a lean mean fighting machine.

I shattered my right tibia pretty spectacularly in February of 2011, and have a plate and nine titanium bolts in it now. Since then it's been a long, slow, painful upward climb back to decent health -- and at this point, I'm probably in better shape than I have been since college. But it's not enough. I want to learn parkour. I want to place in the top half of the E-and-unders at the Pomme de Terre fencing competition next year (29th out of 57 last year, w00t). Goddamn it, I want to do ONE PULL-UP.

I've also got endometriosis. And a four-year-old. Fellow uterus-owners, feel free to hit me up about any and all lady-issues, I haz them.

I am just starting out at Shaolin kung fu, and is it ever kicking my ass. MORE CHI! TRAIN HARDER!

Inspired in no small part by all you NerdFitness acolytes, I'm on Day 2 of not eating grains. It's kinda rough. I could use some help staying on task.

Cheers to you all.

[KentMcCann]

Hey Harris!

Sounds like you're on a pretty good path! I love meeting petit girls who do kung fu. It's like you guys are concealed weapons or something!

As for the no grains thing, it can be a struggle. Grains are the foundation of the standard american diet, and avoiding having them around is almost impossible. Just stay strong, you'll start noticing the positive changes soon, and then it'll get easier and easier to stay the course.

I often find the hardest thing is people offering me (free) grain based foods... I usually just tell people I have a gluten intolerance and they leave me alone. However I'm also lactose intolerant, yet somehow people never stop pushing icecream on me... oh well.

Best of luck!

[PointyEnd]

Thanks Kent! All you people with the before/after pictures are hella inspiring. I am going to take some 'before' pictures this week, in the hopes of being one of those people someday.

The spaghetti. It's taunting me. I kind of flew into a rage earlier today, going WHAT THE WHAT, EVERYTHING IN MY GODDAMN PANTRY IS FORBIDDEN. But I know if I can get through a week or two, it'll get easier.

[BlkIronEpee]

Way to take the plunge, you found my blog I'm here to officially offer support. Grain bad, swords good. Stay strong.

[PointyEnd]

GRAIN BAD, SWORDS GOOD.

I should make that into a big sign and tape it to the shelf the spaghetti's on. Which is going to have to stay where it is, ugh, because EVERYBODY ELSE IN THIS DAMN HOUSE EATS SPAGHETTI.

/yelling

[BlkIronEpee]

I feel your pain, my shelves are lined with bread and pasta, it mocks me.