Hello from Ohio

[pita_cula]

So.. here goes..

 

I'm a 25 year old female web developer who spends a lot of time on a computer, inside.

 

I'm 5'2" with a small frame, 150-155 lbs, and believe me, I don't look good with the extra weight.

 

I've gone through various bouts of realizing I am overweight, and trying to lose weight, and somehow falling off my fitness wagon, and then getting overweight again.

 

I was always a fat kid, and when it came time to join sports as a middle-schooler, I joined the cross country team. I ran laps and laps and stopped eating my peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and wow, I lost weight! And I was getting to be a fast runner!

By high school, my coach threw in weight training. With weight training, I was losing more weight and looked and felt great at 121 lbs. I loved running in the woods!

 

Enter crazy life happenings between 16-17, and I gave up on running, rebelled against everything I knew, and ended up going to college early to stay out of trouble in high school.

 

By 18 and 19, after moving out of my parents house, I was getting really overweight. 160+ lbs was my heaviest, and I was eating at least two $0.99 cheeseburgers at lunch at McD's every day, and buying meals full of carbs that you zap in your microwave, and mainly consisted of macaroni or rice.

 

One day, I realized I had to stop. What was happening with me? I was fat, unhappy, and had constant migranes. What happened to my sleek running body? What was I eating? I had no energy.

 

I started running again, and spent 7 or 8 months training for a marathon in 2006/2007. I ran the marathon in 4 hrs 20 minutes, and had spent most of my training relying on a delicate carb/protein ratio, highly reliant on soy products.  Did I mention I decided to become a vegetarian at the beginning of this running journey, so that I -had- to avoid most fast food places?. I almost passed out at the end. I almost couldn't walk for a few days. I did it all wrong, but I survived.

 

Having survived that, and being back to a weight I felt better at, I decided cycling would be better for me. Less stress on the body. I started riding a 20-mile round trip commute to school/work that summer after my May marathon, and fell in love with cycling.

 

I started looking at ingredients in food, and found a comrade that would become my partner that also cared about the food she ate. We were both vegetarian ingredient nazis at this point! The next year I moved closer to campus and my commute was closer to 5 miles round trip. I began to learn about more vegetables from my partner's mother. I wanted to grow my own vegetables and stop eating scary poisons on my food. I graduated from college at 20 and went to Europe to work on organic farms. I worked hard, but didn't work out. The physical labor kept me in shape, and when I got home, I was decently skinny. Before I left for Europe, though, I suffered an injury to my lower back (compound fracture of the 5th lumbar vertabre) which I had not really known about until I got an xray in Europe. I spent 3 months doing physical labor with this injury, and I was in major pain. The doctor told me I would never run or bike again. I felt depressed, and angry.

 

When I returned home, an American doctor told me to get chiropractic care, stretch, and start being physical again. Major relief. I started biking again, but didn't lift weights because I was still scared, and I heard running compresses your spine and I didn't need more of that. I also started a new job where I sat all day (great for the back), and life start spiraling into a stress mess.

 

After a year and a half at my job, I left to work on farms again. I had gained weight, spent too much time indoors, and missed growing food. I worked on organic farms for a few years and just got back into working an office job again about a year ago. I am 30 lbs overweight now and I don't want to keep going down this path. I want someting that works, something I can stick to, and something that doesn't involve running or cycling hours on end to get results. And I want to keep doing it, so that 4 years from now, I'm not looking for another new solution. I want to get healthy, and stay healthy, for life.

 

So here I am.

 

In two weeks, I'm going to go get a BodPod analysis as my base line. (I'm leaving town for a week, or I'd do it sooner).

 

I live in a very small house and weather deters me from working out outside in our crazy weather here in Ohio. I'm considering joining a gym 2 miles down the road and building my workouts based on what I find here on Nerd Fitness. I also want to get on the Paleo wagon again, because I am gluten intolerant and have be slipping the last two years into buying GF foods that compensate for the wheat of my diet. (GF bread, breadcrumbs, pies, coffee cake... And not enough vegetables or meat).

 

Any other women in their 20's have a similar yo-yo?

 

I want to get on a plan that works.

 

Here's my weight chart, done to the best of my memory:

 

 

[SjardisDead]

Hello,

Iam honest here I dont really know what a BodPod analysis is (according to googel you measure your body fat percent?).

Because of your back problems you could ask a physiotherapist to show you exercises you can do without risking more back issues or to strengt your back muscles to support your spine.

You can achieve a lot even if you only change your eating habits.

 

I wish you much success.

 

[pita_cula]

Starting my first challenge!