Hello from the Caribbean!

[Brndy]

Hello there! Introduction time.

I'm a 23 year old guy in the Peace Corps. I was a swimmer in college, and dabbled in the weight room with few results. Now I'm in the Caribbean living in the poor part of a city with no lap pools and no gyms within my price range (volunteers get paid only enough to live on, thus the title "volunteers"). One of our wonderful doctors told me I need to start eating better and exercising more to combat my frighteningly high blood pressure, so I hit the internet (which I'm fortunate enough to have in my site) to look up body weight exercise routines and I ended up at Nerd Fitness.

After trying out the routine (loved it) and reading a LOT of the articles, I've concluded this is a pretty neat place. I'm on another fitness site whose goal is also to level up its users (y'all can probably figure out what it is), but I never got the sense that it was a supportive place. It seemed more like a place for those who were already good at fitness to keep track of and (dare I say it?) brag about their prowess. Not a very helpful environment for someone who struggles with motivation and self-confidence.

So here I am, recommitting to fitness and healthy living while living in a zinc shack in the middle of intense poverty. I'm a role model for the kids in my community, and I want to inspire them to make healthy eating choices and exercise more. I've read about the paleo diet and it sounds...well, freaking delicious. Alas, rice is a staple here and not eating it is not an option. I live with a wonderful host family and not accepting their food would be tantamount to saying I think they are horrible people. So while I eat a carb-heavy lunch, I still have control over my breakfast and dinner, so I'm trying to make it as paleo as possible on a limited budget. Lots of veggies, lots of eggs, probably almost never meat. So it goes. (I know, I know, excuses.)

That's where I've been and where I am. Here's where I want to go:

• Teach myself to like running. There's a 5K on Thanksgiving and a half-marathon next May. I'd like to run both.
  
• I don't want to jiggle when I walk. Seriously.
  
• I want to wake up and be excited to exercise and ride the high it gives me throughout the day.
  
• Lots of pushups, pullups, and situps.
  
  

I'm excited to meet y'all and start leveling up! Say hi, and see you around the forums! (Oh and if anyone has any questions about Peace Corps, feel free to PM me!)

[Googolplex]

Welcome!

Lots of people here eat Paleo but it's by no means the only option. The most important thing is to figure out what works for you, in the circumstances in which you find yourself. (It's hard to go wrong with lots of veggies though.)

What do you see as your hurdle with liking running?

[Hiraedd]

Hey Brndy, welcome! I admire what you're doing, and love your goals! Good luck with them!