Time to put myself out there

[Wingfoot]

Hello there.

 

So, not only am I new to NerdFitness, but I've never actually posted on a forum anywhere, ever.  I probably should have chosen the user name "Lurker86" or something.  Anyways, if I do this wrong, please bear with me.

 

Back story -- I have been overweight my entire life, and kind of just viewed it as part of who I was.  So whenever I gained more weight, it didn't seem that important because I figured once you're fat it doesn't matter whether you're more fat or less fat.  But a couple of years ago, when I hit about 255 pounds, I suddenly had a harder time doing the things that I enjoy.  This was an eye-opener.  I was used to being the fat girl but NO WAY was I going to be the girl who couldn't go hiking anymore.  So I educated myself about food, and started walking a lot, and lost some weight.  And over the course of a couple of years I managed to lose around 65 pounds, and that's great.  But now I'm kind of stuck.  I'm 32 years old, female, 5'4" and hovering just above 190 pounds.

 

I'm really happy with the way I eat.  I'm a vegetarian (for other reasons) and don't eat processed foods or drink my calories.  I track my calories, protein intake, carbs, sugar, and iron.  My doctor's blown away by my awesome cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar, etc (gotta love the assumptions people make about your health when you're fat).  So I think it's my exercise that needs to change to break through this plateau that I'm in.  Which actually makes a lot of sense to me because what I'd really like, even more than being smaller, is to be powerful.  I want to run and climb and do handstands and maybe even fly.  I started backpacking in the past couple of years, and those trips make me feel like an Amazon.

 

My friends are great and supportive, but none of them are going through a process like this.  Most of them have always been thin and fit and don't really get what it's like to be struggling to run.  And to be honest I'm an intensely private person and I'm not really good at talking about my weight because it's been a sore point in the past.  And much of what I struggle with when it comes to exercise is mental.  I'm just really afraid that I can't do the things I want to, and I kind of psych myself out.  I've been trying to learn to run for ages, but I'm still stuck doing short intervals and I'm fully aware that it's a mental issue.  I also get distracted by all the other things I could try doing and spread myself a bit too thin.  So, I decided to join the site today so I can participate in the 6-week challenge and focus on a specific, measurable goal.  I'll go over there and write my challenge post, but I guess I was kind of figuring as long as I was entering the community I should do that whole 20-seconds-of-courage thing and introduce myself properly.  It would be pretty cool if I could get over my shyness and maybe get to know some like-minded people and become an actual active participant in the community.

 

Anyways.  Sorry for the long rambling introduction.  Hope I see you around.

 

 

 

[liamwenham]

Great post- As a fellow newbie its awesome to see over like minded people working towards determination to get into great shape! Best of luck with your weight loss- and make sure to keep us posted!

[GoofyGoober]

Oh hey, cool, I'm a totally experienced lurker who's new at actually *posting* on forums too . Hi, Wingfoot! I just found Nerd Fitness a few days ago and I'm excited to join and _participate_ in a community for once... yay us In case I don't do an actual introduction post, I'm a 28 yo single mom, grew up on a farm and used to be very fit but have completely neglected my fitness (although my health is and always has been pretty good) in the last 10 years and I'm ready to turn that around. I work two jobs to pay the bills and have limited free time to spend lollygagging around online but I'm determined to interact enough to remain accountable and reach some goals. First order of business, joining the 6 week challenge!

[Wingfoot]

Great post- As a fellow newbie its awesome to see over like minded people working towards determination to get into great shape! Best of luck with your weight loss- and make sure to keep us posted!

 

 

Thanks Liamwenham!

 

Oh hey, cool, I'm a totally experienced lurker who's new at actually *posting* on forums too . Hi, Wingfoot! I just found Nerd Fitness a few days ago and I'm excited to join and _participate_ in a community for once... yay us In case I don't do an actual introduction post, I'm a 28 yo single mom, grew up on a farm and used to be very fit but have completely neglected my fitness (although my health is and always has been pretty good) in the last 10 years and I'm ready to turn that around. I work two jobs to pay the bills and have limited free time to spend lollygagging around online but I'm determined to interact enough to remain accountable and reach some goals. First order of business, joining the 6 week challenge!

 

Nice to meet you GoofyGoober!  It sounds like you have a lot to juggle right now, and it's awesome you're going to make the time for yourself to join the challenge.  Good luck!