nerd alert!

[gwenster89]

hey everybody! so, this site is awesome. i honestly have no idea how i even found it, but i'm so glad i did. i've known about paleo and high intensity workouts and all that jazz for maybe a couple of years, but pure knowledge, in my case anyway, apparently does not automatically yield results. so here i am. i recently just got back on the weight loss/healthy lifestyle horse after the most backwards thing happened. i'd been thinking i was unhappy cuz i was overweight, and eating sh*t because i felt like sh*t, yadda yadda yadda. and then i finally realized that my happiness shouldn't depend on my weight or my looks at all, and once i stopped caring about how i looked, i decided to start doing things that made me feel good and proud of myself, and i started going to the gym and eating clean! isn't it weird how that happens?

so anyway, i'm actually about 10 days into my own little mini paleo challenge. i'm eating 100% paleo (loosely... including honey in small amounts and fatty dairy) and going to crossfit! again, it's only been 10 days, and i've gone 10 days lots of times and then took some serious left turns, but i have to believe this is "it" or "it" will never work.

i'm looking forward to the challenge that starts in january, and i've been thinking about some of my goals, so here's what i have so far:

go to the gym 4x/week

lose 10 lbs

eat 4 servings of vegetables a day. i eat so much meat, fruit, and nuts, but definitely not enough of those greens.

my level up goal is to ask for a raise at my job. i'm a baker (yep, my life is flour, sugar and butter!) and the owners of the restaurant are a tad stuck up, but whole foods ain't cheap! anyway, i'm looking forward to the challenge and i hope everyone on here had a day they're proud of, cuz those days are just the best

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Welcome to the rebellion! Glad to have you aboard and good luck on the next challenge!

[Laureleye]

You've already made a great start, and have some well thought out goals. Can I recommend a modification to your weight-loss goal? I had a similar goal in my first challenge and because I was doing strength training and adding muscle, I didn't lose as much on the scale as I thought I would. I'd suggest taking your measurements at the beginning of the challenge and setting a goal of 10 lbs or x-inches or 1 dress size. You in LA the city or LA the state? Good luck and welcome.

[gwenster89]

thanks so much everybody! yeah, i think you guys are onto something with the 10 lb loss thing. i honestly don't even care about the actual number. in the end, i just want to be healthy and look good in a bikini of course i'll think about that one. and i see what you mean about the gym... if it was a normal gym, like the 45 minutes on the elliptical and then some sort of "circuit," there's NO WAY i would be able to stick to that. 45 minutes on an elliptical for me is 45 minutes of my life gone to COMPLETE waste. luckily, it's not that type of gym... i joined crossfit a week ago, and they have boxing classes and power lifting classes as well. i will never get on an elliptical again in my life. EVER.

[gwenster89]

oh! and i'm from los angeles, not louisiana

[Porkchop]

Hey Gwenster, Ben. First of all good luck on your paleo thing, more power to you because without carbs Id probably crash out. I know what you mean about the eliptical too. Ive been doing 30 minutes on one and 30 mins on a treadmill this week and feel like a hamster on a wheel. Other than feeling (and probably looking) like a complete tool, it can all be undone by me grabbing a cheeseburger on the way home. How do you like crossfit? They're popping up all over. I periodically see groups of people around my neighborhood doing boot-camp style group exercise and running with weighted backpacks. It must work because they all look great, seems more interesting than traditional methods anyway. Good luck and nice to meet you

[gwenster89]

yeah i know what you mean. doing stuff like the elliptical and treadmill honestly never made me feel like i accomplished anything. that's why crossfit is SO AMAZING. the workouts are usually 15-20 minutes and you are dripping in sweat by the end. and my effing god, you feel like you can fly by the end. such an insane difference of how accomplished you feel in half the time.

moral of the story: if you can shell out the cash (cuz it's a lot), i would 100% recommend joining a CF. they'll usually let you try it out. i just decided to eat out one less time a week and make coffee at home instead of going to starbucks to pay for it. you'll eat/caffeinate way better that way anyway. let me just warn you, on your first day, you will literally feel like you're gonna die. even the first week. but stick with it, and all of the sudden you'll notice yourself getting stronger, your stamina increasing, and your mental strength going through the roof. good luck!!