Student, Mommy, Nerd

[Krisis]

Greetings, fellow nerds!  I'm Kris.  I'm 26 and live in Utah.  I've been married since 2006 to a fellow geek and gave birth in 2008 to a small geek-in-training boy. My husband is a software developer.  My son, Toby, is 5 and we call him Toby-Wan Kenobi.  The Force is strong in that one.  I'm currently a stay-at-home mom and also a full time student at Brigham Young University.   

 

Obviously I love Star Wars.  I also love Firefly and was responsible for introducing it (back in 2005) to my university's Science Fiction/Fantasy club.  The club is how I met my husband :-)  He is more of a Trekkie than a ... Warsie?  But that's okay, I still love him.  I like The Next Generation but that's about it.  I love Fantasy too, like Legend of the Seeker and Tolkien and stuff like that (no Game of Thrones though.)  I don't do video games but I love movies, TV and books.

 

One of my all time favorite books is a recent(er) release called Divergent by Veronica Roth.  It's kind of The Hunger Games meets Harry Potter.  There's a movie coming out next year but the books are the best and you should read them!

 

As far as fitness goes, I suck at it.  I've been obese since I was 6 years old so I've never known anything different. I stupidly, purposely developed an eating disorder in my teens to try and lose weight and obviously that backfired greatly.  I'm trying to lose weight now the right way/the healthy way.  My poor husband has gained 75 lbs since our wedding (my pregnancy meant we ate out a LOT, but I couldn't keep anything down so I didn't gain any weight but he sure did.)  Our son is ridiculously active and I don't have near enough energy to keep up with him.  Besides, being this unhealthy in my twenties totally sucks.  I've missed out on some awesome stuff throughout my life due to my weight and I'm tired of it. 

 

I have a Fitbit Flex tracker if anyone is on the Fitbit site and wants to friend me there (my username is Krisis86 there.)  

 

Salt Lake City is having its first Comic Con in September and I'm hoping to drop some poundage so I can cosplay without feeling totally redonkulous.  I won a pass to meet Ray Park and I'm so excited!  

 

tl;dr: I'm an overweight mom who needs to lose weight so she can keep up with her family and also fit into the desks at her college.  

 

-Kris 

 

PS The attached picture is one of my proudest parenting moments ever - the day my son battled Darth Vader in the Jedi Training Academy! 

[Krisis]

Thanks Athena!  I actually just registered for a beginning weight lifting class today, so that'll be one of my courses starting next week.  I also have access to my husband's work gym, which I am going to try and go to in the mornings 3 times a week. 

 

As far as diet, I am still debating about trying out paleo or not.  It's hard because my son really needs to gain a lot of weight and I have to feed him EVERYTHING IN SIGHT but I end up eating while he's eating too.  So mostly I am going to be trying on cutting down on that, and also keeping us from eating out as often as we do (which is a lot.)  

[Chris-Tien Jinn]

Hi, Krisis!!  My hubby and I met over J.R.R. Tolkien, and I'm a total fan of Star Trek, Star Wars (my avatar is my character in Second Life roleplaying a Jedi Knight), Firefly, and too many others to name.  I read a lot and do computer games too.  Unfortunately, work and research curtail my fun too, too often.

 

I'm wondering how you like the FitBit.  I was thinking of getting one - in part to see how badly (or well) I sleep and to encourage me to move more.  

[Krisis]

Hi, Krisis!!  My hubby and I met over J.R.R. Tolkien, and I'm a total fan of Star Trek, Star Wars (my avatar is my character in Second Life roleplaying a Jedi Knight), Firefly, and too many others to name.  I read a lot and do computer games too.  Unfortunately, work and research curtail my fun too, too often.

 

I'm wondering how you like the FitBit.  I was thinking of getting one - in part to see how badly (or well) I sleep and to encourage me to move more.  

 

Oh dude, the Fitbit is AMAZING.  I can't recommend it highly enough.  I have tried a BodyMedia Fit, a Jawbone Up and now the Fitbit.  The Fitbit kicks the other two out of the water.  Seriously.  

 

I love it because it's easy to wear.  The Jawbone was stiff enough that it was distracting on my wrist and the BodyMedia was an armband which drove me nuts.  It's also WATER RESISTANT which is a huge deal cuz I can leave it on in the shower.  

 

It seems pretty accurate so far.  There are a few kinks in the app software, but it works perfectly 98% of the time and I am sure that the kinks will be worked out as time goes on.  I think they are very reasonably priced and so far mine has been very, very sturdy.  

 

I don't like the food tracker as much as I like the one on, say, MyFitness Pal.  I think it's because it's so new, but it doesn't have as many food items as I am used to.  So I just use the My Fitness Pal to track my food intake.  Hopefully they will update the Fitbit one as time goes on.  

 

Seriously, can't recommend it enough.  It's fantastic.  It's taken the guesswork out of calories burned and steps taken and tracking my sleep is pretty darn awesome too :-)  

[El Exorcisto]

Welcome to the new world, Krisis. Trying to do this all at once is a recipe for failure, so you should probably skip trying to cut back too aggressively on what you eat, and focus on building your body first.

 

Resistance training is the biggest part of the puzzle, but it take time to see results. In order to get really tangible results you can't be operating in too much of a deficit or it turns into all work and no gains. Increasing protein and fat intake while paring down carbs is a good start, but again, don't go crazy. Paleo is cute, but this is all about taking steps, not altering your life in a day.

 

Listen a lot at your weight training class, but also be wary. In my commercial gym expeiences they tend to live and die by their shiny weight machines and fancy hamster wheels. These are hinderances, not boons. If your weight training doesn't at least involve dumbbells, although a barbell is preferred, then the person teaching it has no desire to see you stronger, just poorer by your gym dues. I recommend you pick up Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe, check out Stronglifts.com, or download Jim Wendler's Second Edition of 5/3/1 from JimWendler.com. The first two are all about making fast progression working off of "newbie gains." The third is a slower program, but a little more variable as well. My wife is having a hard time progressing at Stronglifts, so may end up transitioning into 5/3/1.

 

All three programs revolve around the olympic barbell, so if your gym doesn't have one along with a squat rack to go with it, then the gym you are in does not want you to get stronger. They also probably frown on loud angry music, grunting and screaming a barbell off the floor, and dropping said barbell loudly on their floor. Dont be scared of weight training, and don't listen to the trainers that just won't shut up about the eliptical. "Cardio" is cute, but weight training keeps your metabolism spiked for much longer, and the additional muscle mass is the gift that keeps on giving for decades.