Assassin-in-training!

[Edward Collett]

Hey there! My name's Isaiah, but I'm more commonly known in the online world as Edward Collett (not a Twilight reference, I swear!). I'm 19 years old, 5'11'', and I weigh a substantial 325lbs. I turn 20 on August 30th, and I want to have something done by then instead of moping around and waiting for something to come find me. When people guess my weight they usually guess somewhere around 220-230, so I guess I'm doing something right there? No idea.

 

I've struggled with my weight since I was young, because there were so many other things I was dealing with my health didn't take precedence. My family's been through a lot over the duration of the last fifteen years or so. Between physical abuse, homelessness, bullying, and depression I never really made exercise or my health a priority. But that's about to change.

 

I stumbled upon Nerd Fitness when researching parkour, which is something I've been interested in for a long time. I really want to get in shape enough to be able to do it, because I think it has a lot of benefits and has usefulness in real-life situations (you never know when you'll need it to escape a horde of zombies). It's not something I'm open about to people I know, because a) They laugh at the thought of me attempting to do something like parkour, and the complete lack of support that I have at becoming healthier. My household's grocery list contains chicken nuggets, frozen pizzas, chips, bread, and lunch meat. There's not much room for anything else, and we can't afford much of anything else. Before finding the rebellion I was a lone wolf searching for his pack. I really hope I found it.

 

Thanks for reading! I could type for hours on here about my life and interests, but if you've endured reading what I've already written I'm sure you're bored enough already. I look forward to meeting my fellow rebels, and changing my life for the better.

[rbudding]

Hey Isaiah (or Edward, whichever you prefer)

 

I'm about to turn 25 on August 28th, so we almost have the same birthday.  Just thought I'd note that .  

 

I really just want to encourage you on what you may call the outset of your fitness journey.  Don't let anyone, ANYONE, discourage you in your dreams of doing parkour or anything else in life.  You don't necessarily have to tell anyone else, but keep that fire inside of you and know that you can do it.  When I first started martial arts at age 12 lots of my friends thought I would never stick with it and that it was dumb compared to football and other traditional school sports.  4.5 years of incredible hard work later I earned my 1st degree black belt.  If I had listened to their discouraging comments I would have quit at the start.  

 

I also have had problems with depression, so I understand that aspect.  I fight it every day, and last spring I actually ended up in the ER three times.  It makes it difficult to even get out of bed, much less pursue goals and exercise.  But exercise and training is actually one of the best things you can do in that situation.  It always makes you feel better.  

 

Sorry for the long post.  I guess I just saw a little bit of myself in your writing.  Keep striving for your goals!

[Edward Collett]

Thank you so much for the supporting words! Depression has made such an impact on my life, both good and bad. I've been able to overcome every obstacle thrown at me, and now it's time to overcome the biggest and most difficult: my weight and fitness. Everything I've gone through in my past is being used as fuel to help me defeat it again. With the support of my few friends, and those I've met so far on NF, I think this is going to be the most beneficial challenge I've had to take on. Thanks so much.

 

PS. It doesn't matter if you refer to me as Edward or Isaiah. Edward Collett is my "super hero" name.

[DrVornoff]

I empathize.  I have clinical depression myself.  I was 19 too when I decided to try to turn things around.  That was late 2003, just after a depressive episode where I contemplated suicide.  In the ten years since, I haven't had a single episode.  I know where you're coming from in that regard.  You have my full support in your quest.

[MissRoseblood]

Hi Edward, I have depression and anxiety so I understand how much it takes out of a person to deal with that part of life.  My brain is non-stop negative thoughts, especially when I'm trying to workout. Start questioning why I'm even bothering to work out cause I'm a failure, or don't deserve any better, I've had to stop in the middle of workouts because I can talk myself out of them or even finish a workout and bash my hard work.  Sorry you have to deal with so much BS in life right now but reaching out and posting all that is really brave.  I didn't expect to reveal this much this quickly, but I figured if you could do it, so should I.  Thinking having this community will help though.  

Of course you should train to escape hordes of zombies and Terminators too.

MissRoseblood

[Edward Collett]

I'm glad to have all of you with me through this journey. We're all here for one another, and we will see that we all succeed and get through anxiety and depression. Thank you for the supporting words.

[Gray Coyote]

I have to throw my chip in on the depression issue, and of course weight problems go hand in hand with this. (Recently several medical/psychological studies have confirmed this)

 

I found that the elimination of sugar, a near primitive diet, and strictly following a routine of strenuous work-outs not only helped but eliminated my bouts with depression and killed any anxiety.

 

Is that any type of medical advice, of course not, but I am completely happy with the results. The work is hard, but working-out is much less expensive than pharmaceuticals, and the body looks better and is much stronger for it...

 

Best of luck E.C. I can tell you my journey with fitness has been excellent and full of great things!