Greetings From Adelaide, Australia!

[EmCarter]

Greetings from Adelaide, Australia!

 

My name is Em and I'm new to the rebellion. I made a new years resolution at the beginning of this year to get fit for a couple of reasons.

1. In 2012 my Dad, who is overweight like me got diagnosed with diabetes and high blood pressure. I don't really want to go there.
2. I'm starting to get a few health problems of my own from being overweight
3. I miss punching things and I want my black belt. I got to brown belt black tip in Taekwondo but I had to give it up for a year, and haven't been able to get back into it.(I tried, but the fitness gap at the brown belt level killed me).
4. I hit triple digits on my scales (metric triple digits) just after Christmas and I nearly died of shame.

I've been overweight since I started high school. I've tried lots of things to get the weight off since I left uni, but nothing took. I did Taekwondo for quite a while. It kept the weight down and got me fitter, but didn't knock it off (that probably had something to do with the 2-4 cans of high caffeine energy drinks I was drinking every day). About a year and a half ago my body and mind went into meltdown (mostly because of all the Red Bull) and I stopped drinking energy drinks but I also stopped Taekwondo at the same time. The weight started to creep up again. I bought a house about 6 months ago, and I started to eat more junk and buy my meals from the work cafeteria. My weight started to creep faster. I hit 100 kg and said ENOUGH.

 

So, why is it going to work this time?

• I got me a buddy in the same situation. We got a gym memberships at the same gym and we're equal parts encouraging and competing.
• I'm not just dieting or exercising, I'm trying to build healthy eating habits and make exercise part of my routine.
• My exercise plan is a mix of cardio and strength (if anything, it probably leans towards strength, because I'm enjoying it more)
• I'm getting my nerd on! I've got an engineering degree, and I work as a computer programmer, but I never have approached getting healthy like I approach a problem at work! Research, plan, execute! Stick to the plan unless it's clearly not working! Measure and report your progress! A old school friend put me onto this site and it's now my first port of call for fitness info.

Its taken a while, but I'm starting to see some gains. I know I'm getting stronger, because my spreadsheet tells me so. I know my cardio is getting better, because I can run further on the treadmill in 10 minutes than I could at the beginning of the year, and I feel like I'm recovering faster. I'm just starting to see the weight move too.

 

My greatest enemy will probably be my diet. I love food, and at work I have quick and easy access to lots of bad foods. I also LOVE to bake, and I'm not too bad at it either.

 

What do I bring to the table? Well, one thing I kind of got a bit obsessed with when I got sick was gardening. Once you get going, it can be a super cheap way to get super fresh veggies! Nothing more fresh than picking it straight off the plant. I'm still trying to get my garden in my new house setup (My garden is typical northern suburbs CLAY, and the previous owners let the garden go), but that process itself may be a story worth telling.

 

 

[Laureleye]

Yes, seeing what are parents are going through can be quite a wake-up call.  If you want to lose any serious weight, you'll need to get your diet under control - the beginner's guide to healthy eating is a good starting place.  Click on NERD FITNESS, and select FREE RESOURCES.  Building up a garden would be a great level-up goal for the next challenge (starting 4/15 I believe).  Welcome aboard.