Small girl desperately seeking strength and energy reporting in!

[GeekStar]

Joining the rebellion, figured I should check in first thing! Some interesting things about me:

-I actually am a nerd for a living, I vend at geeky conventions. Sci-fi, anime, comicons, steampunk, I sell my stuff at them all. I make handmade accessories and costuming. I LOVE all things imaginative and nerdy.

-I read too much fantasy as a child and always thought I would grow up to wield a broadsword. Then I grew boobs, and it went downhill. But I never stopped reading too much fantasy.

-I love this site. It is common sense advice that I understand, with my people all over!

What are my goals? Lets use some more bullet points!

-I want to gain healthy weight. I want to be and look stronger. I want to not look like a tiny waif-ish girl. I want to feel better, be less tired, and have more endurance. Hopefully all this will heighten my appetite as well.

-I am underweight, or at least not fit and more small then I would like. Hovering around 100-110 most of the time and 5'5". My genes work against me in that respect, and it actually kinda sucks. I am tired all the time, I can't gain weight, I don't enjoy food or eating most of the time, I am generally physically weak, and I am crazy sensitive to simple life joys like caffeine and beer. People treat me like I am anorexic some times, with this crazy mix of jealousy and disgust. I have NEVER wanted to tried to make any of these things happen, my mom is smaller then I am and tells me all the time she couldn't gain weight until her 30's. Stupid genes. I want to gain positive weight and be stronger, healthier, faster, and more superhuman in general.

-As mentioned above, I always thought I would be strong and intimidating when I grew up, like all the best heroes. So I am going to have to work for it. I want very badly for some of my more awesome cosplay to look really good and intimidating. I have a female Bowser costume and a female Darth Vader, and it just doesn't do them justice to not look more toned in them It is also a hell of a lot of work running a business, and I have no time for feeling or acting unhealthy anymore. I want to be in shape and kick ass.

-I procrastinate and get distracted like crazy, so I haven't ever managed strength training before, but this site seems like the best shot I have had in a while. You guys are obviously awesome and helpful, thanks in advance!

What am I doing to get there?

-Beginner Body Weight Workout. I like the build muscle part, and it is short and sweet so I can't say no. I am starting interval training on the off days.

-Eating more. And maybe slightly better. My eating habits are pretty clean, I love fruits and veggies and lean meats, but I do eat whatever I can get in my face when I have a slight appetite which is a lot of sweet bread kinda stuff (I work part time at a coffee stand) So when I start having a real appetite I want to make sure it's built on more and more good foods.

This was all kinda discombobulated but I am tired and have been staring at my computer screen for too long, so I hope it explains somewhat! So awesome to meet you all!

[Laureleye]

We promise not to be mad 'cause you can't gain. I think you've got a great fitness plan going. Have you considered getting your extra calories from nuts, avocados, and olive oil (on veggies, etc)? This would give you better quality calories than sweets. Are you going to join the next challenge?

[GeekStar]

I need to figure out how to eat more nuts, I usually just look at them and think "I should eat those". Avocados are the best thing ever, I hate when I can't afford them or they are not in season, I do try to eat as much as I can of them. Olive oil is something I have heard before but had forgotten about! And I really just got here so I am still sorting things out, I hadn't looked at the specifics of the challenges. Thanks for being supportive!

[The Saint]

Welcome! As someone who also has a pretty (we'll say effective) metabolism, I can sympathize with how you feel right now. But after a few years of playing around with changing my weight, I realized that number really has no effect on how strong you are or how good you feel. So I would recommend focusing on gaining strength rather than weight (happens much faster and is a lot more satisfying). As far as your alertness and energy levels go, I agree with Laureleye, aiming for naturally high fat foods will give you more energy to burn which is a good thing in your case. To her list I will also add coconut oil for cooking, and 'fattier' red meats as well (contrary to popular belief, fats form sources like these do not cause unhealthy weight gain, they just give you a fair amount of longer lasting energy). But one of the best things I added to my diet is Bieler broth, which is great for adrenal health, which mainly effects alertness and allergies. I posted how to make it on my battle log under Day 10, check it out and see if it is something you would like to try, I will vouch for it's effectiveness. Good luck and feel free to let me know if you have any questions!

[surge_supra]

Wow the more I spend time on these forums the more I realize how much I have in common with people! Always felt like the odd ball but never here.

I'm 5'4" now 125lbs but I couldn't get past 105lbs at one point. I hated the way I looked--I felt like this useless twig and wanted to be like Link and save the day but couldn't even pull myself up a ledge @.@. I've spent quite a few years going in many different directions, from strength interval training to running (that didn't work lol cut weight too much) to eventually powerlifting and martial arts. Through all of this I hurt me knees countless times and my lower back began to suffer (especially because I'm an EMT and lifting heavy people tends to do that...'specially when you're tiny like me). And then one day I was eating maybe 2500-3000 calories a day (of mostly oreos lol) and going to the gym and doing sets of 8 reps to failure and I randomly got huge muscles and looked ridiculous. I was suddenly 130lbs and my upper body looked like a truck (an unattractive truck really...) Went maybe 70% paleo and joined a gym again full-throttle making sure to add in yoga and now I'm at a comfortable 125lbs and ready to really strength train again.

Moral of my too-long-story: it's all diet BUT the more you work out, the more you'll want to eat beacuse your body will beg for the food. So just as was mentioned before: concentrate on working out, the rest will follow

Welcome to the rebellion and feel free to PM me or anyone for advice!

[GeekStar]

Welcome! As someone who also has a pretty (we'll say effective) metabolism, I can sympathize with how you feel right now. But after a few years of playing around with changing my weight, I realized that number really has no effect on how strong you are or how good you feel. So I would recommend focusing on gaining strength rather than weight (happens much faster and is a lot more satisfying). As far as your alertness and energy levels go, I agree with Laureleye, aiming for naturally high fat foods will give you more energy to burn which is a good thing in your case. To her list I will also add coconut oil for cooking, and 'fattier' red meats as well (contrary to popular belief, fats form sources like these do not cause unhealthy weight gain, they just give you a fair amount of longer lasting energy). But one of the best things I added to my diet is Bieler broth, which is great for adrenal health, which mainly effects alertness and allergies. I posted how to make it on my battle log under Day 10, check it out and see if it is something you would like to try, I will vouch for it's effectiveness. Good luck and feel free to let me know if you have any questions!

That recipie looks super awesome! And I totally understand and agree with the rest. I am no fitness guru, so I'm just throwing a bunch of words out there until I have some structure I know I can work with! I am going to focus on gaining strength, I assume the weight will come with it!

[GeekStar]

Oh my goodness, I just now read about GOMAD and it is blowing my mind a little. I already love drinking whole milk....so this could really really hep/work! Thank you so so much!!

[GeekStar]

Wow the more I spend time on these forums the more I realize how much I have in common with people! Always felt like the odd ball but never here.

I'm 5'4" now 125lbs but I couldn't get past 105lbs at one point. I hated the way I looked--I felt like this useless twig and wanted to be like Link and save the day but couldn't even pull myself up a ledge @.@. I've spent quite a few years going in many different directions, from strength interval training to running (that didn't work lol cut weight too much) to eventually powerlifting and martial arts. Through all of this I hurt me knees countless times and my lower back began to suffer (especially because I'm an EMT and lifting heavy people tends to do that...'specially when you're tiny like me). And then one day I was eating maybe 2500-3000 calories a day (of mostly oreos lol) and going to the gym and doing sets of 8 reps to failure and I randomly got huge muscles and looked ridiculous. I was suddenly 130lbs and my upper body looked like a truck (an unattractive truck really...) Went maybe 70% paleo and joined a gym again full-throttle making sure to add in yoga and now I'm at a comfortable 125lbs and ready to really strength train again.

Moral of my too-long-story: it's all diet BUT the more you work out, the more you'll want to eat beacuse your body will beg for the food. So just as was mentioned before: concentrate on working out, the rest will follow

Welcome to the rebellion and feel free to PM me or anyone for advice!

thank you thank you! This sounds REALLY familiar, but you are much farther along then I! I appreciate the support so much!