JessOfAllTrades Posted December 23, 2012 Report Share Posted December 23, 2012 I suppose that would be difficult to do on a forum, unless you want me to flood the post with obnoxious gifs. Sparing your eyes, computer screens, and taking the more adult-response, I'll just introduce myself.I'm Jess. I'm 26 years old and currently attending graduate school at the University of Maryland. I'm a life-long geek, avid gamer, and I like to craft. I'm incredibly extroverted, which usually doesn't go with the turf, but I blame that on the performance bug I picked up at some point in my early childhood. I just moved back to the east coast after a three year exile in Texas, which was an eventful time in my life to say the least. I was a teacher in a Houston high school for two of those years, which facilitated a lot of big life changes. My school was made of teacher nightmares. I'd rather not go into detail because I don't want to sound bitter (besides, my students were awesome, so don't worry about that part!), but let's just say I went through a lot of emotional, mental, and physical turmoil during that time. I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety, my weight went up and down drastically depending on the time of year, and I was generally unhappy with life. Add on top of that a lifetime of poor weight decisions (crash diets, some typical body distortion issues, borderline binging/purging through extreme exercise... You get the picture), and a general negative affect, you probably have an idea of where I stand currently - A young woman determined to change her life for the better.I have been working on defining "life for the better," which is why I'm now in graduate school. It's also why I decided to go to grad school closer to home. Mentally and emotionally I'm in the best place I've been for years. I'm now ready to tackle the next part of my life (and admittedly, the most difficult) - my physical well-being. I have been obsessed with the number on the scale for as long as I can remember being cognizant of weight. I've weighed somewhere between 125 and 170 lbs for the past 10 years (I'm 5'6") and have never been happy about it. It's taken me years to realize that the number does not matter if I'm still unhappy with my body. Kind of a late lesson for someone entering their late 20s, but important nevertheless.My boyfriend (a charming Texan nerd I dragged back to the east coast) and I have discussed this topic at length. He too is looking to make some life changes, and you'll probably see him post sometime in the near future. He's the one who found NF and started researching the Paleo diet. After some discussion and reflection on feasibility, we have decided to go Paleo after January 1st and get our butts to the gym. We've started small by trying different Paleo recipes and researching food options (Alas, we are poor. Silly grad school), and have started working out with a strength-training focus. Since I'm currently between semesters, I have a lot of free time to set up some good habits. My goal is to establish these habits now so incorporating them into my hectic spring schedule (20 hours of work, four classes, 100 hour internship) will be easier, and to help my boyfriend as he works to fit these habits into his hectic work schedule now (sales + holiday season = crazy). I'm still in the process of defining my long-term goals, but I have a general idea of what I want - I want to feel strong, I want to feel good without caring about the number, and I want to have more energy to enjoy life. Phew. Sorry, that felt like a lot. I have a tendency to talk at length when it comes to myself - I blame it on my history-based education and my natural affiliation for the bard class. I'm looking forward to becoming a part of this community and getting started (which is crazy, because I've never been excited about dieting/exercise before), and cannot wait to learn from the wisdom of all you awesome nerds.Cheers,Jess Storytelling Rebel | Blog | Twitter "“You've seen my descent, now watch my rising." ~ Rumi Link to comment
sumdawgtwigg Posted December 23, 2012 Report Share Posted December 23, 2012 Good luck on all your goals! Welcome to the rebellion! "It's always the ones that don't do anything that try to bring you down" - Henry Rollins "There is no meantime, there is only now" - The Ditty Bops Trail Blazing Elf Ranger Sumdawgtwigg Level 3 STR-3 DEX-4 STA-4 CON-3 WIS-5 CHA-2 Fitocracy My Game Blog DO IT CHALLENGE! Link to comment
JessOfAllTrades Posted December 23, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 23, 2012 Thank you kindly sir! Glad to be here. Storytelling Rebel | Blog | Twitter "“You've seen my descent, now watch my rising." ~ Rumi Link to comment
junk7321 Posted December 23, 2012 Report Share Posted December 23, 2012 Great to see some more east coasters on here!Get the most out of farmers markets when they are open! You will only have about 6-8 months of great fresh veggies, depending on where on the east coast you are, so enjoy it! Also, if you can befriend some of the local farmers they will give you deals and free stuff! They love talking about the food they grow.Good Luck and Enjoy the Rebellion! Bloody Triangle:https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BzDM2N5evKDwS0JoREdDTUVwQUU/edit?pli=1 My blog:http://meatmethodsmen.wordpress.com/ Link to comment
JessOfAllTrades Posted December 23, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 23, 2012 East coast love - I've missed this place so much (no offense to anyone from Texas). And thanks for the advice! I've always loved farmers markets and definitely got spoiled by having them year round in Houston. I need to do a lot more research on the farms in the area and what kind of stuff they offer (Hoping to find a CSA that works price-wise, but not exactly optimistic). Storytelling Rebel | Blog | Twitter "“You've seen my descent, now watch my rising." ~ Rumi Link to comment
Laureleye Posted December 23, 2012 Report Share Posted December 23, 2012 Good plan to do this together; it will give you some built-in support. Welcome. The hardest part of the workout is lacing up your shoes'"10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Current Challenge |INTJ | MFP | FitBit Link to comment
JessOfAllTrades Posted December 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 24, 2012 Thank you! And yeah, I think the reason I'm so excited to do this is because my boyfriend is on board as well. I can't imagine trying to make such a lifestyle shift when the person you live with isn't doing the same. Storytelling Rebel | Blog | Twitter "“You've seen my descent, now watch my rising." ~ Rumi Link to comment
jakebruno Posted December 27, 2012 Report Share Posted December 27, 2012 Thank you! And yeah, I think the reason I'm so excited to do this is because my boyfriend is on board as well. I can't imagine trying to make such a lifestyle shift when the person you live with isn't doing the same.Actually, there's an article on that... and it was one of the first ones I read here. I didn't want to be that kind of significant other, so... here we are. ...Not all those who wander are lost...JakeBruno, level 1 hobbit adventurer STR 4|DEX 1|STA 1|CON 2|WIS 3|CHA 4Who am I? Where am I going? Where have I been? Link to comment
JessOfAllTrades Posted December 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2012 Yeah, good thing you didn't have to convince me too much. Storytelling Rebel | Blog | Twitter "“You've seen my descent, now watch my rising." ~ Rumi Link to comment
Lydieboo Posted December 28, 2012 Report Share Posted December 28, 2012 Yay! Another nerdy narcissist!Actually, I'm 5'6 too and have hovered around the 165-170 mark for a long time. When I started Paleo about 4 weeks ago I launched at a Queen Mary-sized 172.8 pounds. As of the 24th I had dropped exactly 6 pounds (but my friend at work pointed out I've added muscle so actually dropped more fat than that), just by eating better much of the time and doing a little physical stuff.I'm the opposite, though - not a scale girl at all. I'm sure at some point I'll mention my eyelids (oops, there I did!) and am mostly excited that I can wear every dress in my closet (granted, they're mostly size 12's) after just some food management and some BBW's.My advice: research as much as you can. The amount of information I've found that points to Paleo as an optimal way to manage your food intake is kind of astounding, considering how few people know about it. The more you know about it, the more you're likely to continue being excited about it.Good luck and welcome aboard! Lydieboo, Level 1 Barbarian AdventurerSTR 2|DEX 2|STA 2|CON 2|WIS 4|CHA 3"Only a few people are awake, and they live in a state of total, constant amazement." Lydieboo's Do or Die Winter Challenge Link to comment
JessOfAllTrades Posted December 30, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2012 Thank you for the welcome! And glad to hear you've already had success with Paleo! Yeah, we've been researching constantly to help us get ready for the 1st. Thanks again! Storytelling Rebel | Blog | Twitter "“You've seen my descent, now watch my rising." ~ Rumi Link to comment
Slosh Posted January 11, 2013 Report Share Posted January 11, 2013 Hope progress towards your goals is going well. I was trying to eat following the Eat to Live plan wich is essentially vegan whole foods, but paleo allowing for meat seems a lot easier to follow. I've not been to the east coast since I was very young. I spent a couple years in the midwest, but most of life has been in the Pacific Northwest. 1st Challenge Link to comment
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