Hi!

[Lyr]

Hey there! I'm Lyr, a new Adventurer. I've been lurking here for a little while, and I've already found the site/community to be incredibly inspiring.

Here's a little background:

I'm 25 and, from the outside, I look like I'm in decent shape. I'm not overweight and I eat reasonably well. I've never exercised regularly, but I can do moderate physical activity without wanting to completely die. Actually, until a couple of years ago, I didn't think much about my health at all. I figured that if I looked okay on the outside, I was probably fine on the inside.

Then, my mother had a heart attack. She was smaller than I was and not yet 50. Like me, she looked healthy enough. But her heart was damaged, and she ended up undergoing open-heart bypass surgery. The procedure was not without complications and her recovery was arduous, particularly because she was in far worse shape than either of us had ever known.

I quickly realized that healthy on the outside does not necessarily translate to healthy overall. Just because you look fit doesn't mean that you are. I realized that I had to take responsibility for my own health and that I should probably start sooner rather than later, given what I was working with genetically.

So, over the past few years I've made changes to my diet and I've become much more conscious of what I eat and how I feel. I've exercised off and on, but I've had trouble maintaining a routine. That's why I'm here now. I'm ready to step up and become as healthy as I can be. I'm eager to jump into the community!

[Hiraedd]

Hey Lyr! Welcome! Sorry to hear about your mom's heart attack and struggle to recover -- that must have been hard on all of you! I hope she's doing well now...and I'm glad that you allowed it to lead you to a place where you decided to take care of your insides as well as your outsides. I'm sure you'll find lots of community here! Do you have any things you'd like to work towards for the upcoming 6 week challenge?

[Lyr]

Thanks for the reply, Hiraedd! She's doing a lot better now, and I try to take the positive from it. While it wasn't fun, it taught me a lot.

For the next challenge, I really want to work on developing a fitness routine. I've started running again and don't completely hate it, so I'm going to work on improving that. I'd also like to add some strength training in. I'm not focusing so much on what I can do this point, so long as I'm doing something every day.

[Laureleye]

YIKES! That sounds like it was scary, but I'm glad your mom is on the mend, even if slowly...and I'm really glad you treated it as a wake-up call and joined. If you want to join the challenge that starts Monday, you'll need some goals. You might commit to a certain number of runs/walks/intervals (or other cardio) per week, and a certain number of strength training sessions per week. I started with just the beginners body weights and thought it was a lot of fun (I always feel like Wonder Woman when I finish). Dash on over to the Adventurers thread and see what some folks are planning, so you can plan your challenge. See you there!