Nerd Girl Reporting for Duty

[QuarterDollar]

Hello all, I'm QuarterDollar and I'm a nerd girl from Washington, DC. I'm pretty young and probably shouldn't be doing something like this, but how can I listen to what all my friends and family say ("You're perfect and don't need to lose weight! You're too young!") when I hate the way I look and feel? It's summer time and I don't want to rot in front of the computer any longer. Before I get into the health things, though...

 

I love RPGs and I'm a big fan of Pokémon and World of Warcraft. My favorite video game, though, is Portal 2. My all-time favorite book is The Lord of the Rings, which I'm convinced is the best thing to exist ever. I also adore Harry Potter (Ravenclaw, anyone?) and The Hunger Games. I'm a member of the therianthrope community, a subculture of humans who believe themselves to be...non-human. In my case, I feel more like a sea lion than a person. Apologies for how weird that sounds, but I didn't choose the therian life. You could say the therian life chose me.

 

I set that up so i could make that joke, by the way. Onto the fitness goals:

 

My main goal is to lose body fat and find some inner peace, since I don't like the way I look and I could feel better. I already meditate a lot, so I guess that's already a part of my lifestyle. However, the body fat thing could use some work. I am around 28-30% fat right now. I'd like to be a 25% within two months. Is it possible? Gods, I don't know. But I can sure as hell try. If anything, I want to feel better and have a few healthier habits by the end of the summer.

I guess you could consider me a level 1 hobbity-man-thing. I fit the bill of a hobbit but I'm too tall. I like the idea of being a Druid, but since I'd really like to also focus on losing body fat, I want to turn my goals towards being a Scout as well.

 

I suck at commitment. But I have to make an attempt or I'll fail for sure

[El Exorcisto]

Define "too young" please... I've seen footage of an 11 year old girl squatting over 200 pounds raw (she started powerlifting at 8). Your idea of getting rid of body fat is cute, but not really a goal, believe it or not... at least not yet. Your goals need to be much more open ended than that, like "I want to get really strong" or "I want to sprint really fast" or "I want to be able to run, a lot, for a long time, a really long distance..." Weight loss and fat loss come as side effects of getting healthier, not the other way around. The human body evolved to store fat when food is in surplus and physical requirements were low, like, um, every day since th industrial revolution. You need to force your body to adapt to a new stimulus so it has a reason to eat fat and not store it. Define your real goals, and I am sure the relevant folks will be here to help guide you. I am a strength guy myself, and highly suggest you read the story about spezzy, one of the women here that powerlifts and crossfits. If what she has done isn't what you had in mind, someone will help you out where you're going.

 

On a lighter note, Welcome!

[QuarterDollar]

Fourteen. I love swimming, but hate doing strokes. Maybe swimming for endurance might be what I want to do. I'm not sure yet. I'll explore around and see what floats my boat.

And thank you for the welcome xD

[Ba'sini'on]

 

SPAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACE! GOTTA GO TO SPACE!

[Jetikus]

The Cake is a LIE!

 

And it's possible to lose about 3% body fat or more. Try the Paleo Diet for 60 days. I lost 7.1% body fat during my first round. The links on my signature are proof of that.

 

Good Luck, and may the odds be ever in your favor.

[CrisciMalosh]

Let me be a word of caution dear. 

 

Fourteen is a tumultuous time for any young woman... especially a nerd woman. You are surrounded by unrealistic images of what some suppose that beauty is, what healthy is, and what you should look like. Nerd girls are not immune to that pressure, if anything we feel it more acutely. 

 

It is admirable to want to get healthier, but you are still growing, and your body is still forming. Eat clean, absolutely! Exercise, definitely! Also remember though, that as a woman, you will hold onto fat to help you develop your more womanly attributes... and as you gain height (which at 14 is still very likely) your fat will be proportioned differently. 

 

What does your doctor say about your goals? At your age it is crucial that you get the right amount of the right foods, and to also find peace and love for yourself, JUST THE WAY YOU ARE. It takes true inner peace, true inner love, to make the sorts of positive changes that you want to make, and to own it. Hold your head high, find pride in yourself, and the health will follow. (a plus, holding your head high encourages great posture, which builds your core muscles)

 

As for your goals, I agree that a simple 'lose body fat" is a little too loose, and I also caution on that. You said that you were interested in the druid class. Focus on inner peace and love, and eating healthfully. Your body fat will do what it will until you finish puberty. What you feel about yourself, and what you fuel yourself with are important.

 

I'm sorry for sounding so preachy. It's really lame and such, I know. I just feel very strongly about this issue. I was there. I know something about what you are going through. I am here if you want to listen, or not. Good luck.

[Barfly]

Good call, Crisci!