Cuckoo flys the nest

[Cuckoo]

Hi Nerd friends,

 

I have been lurking here for the past week or so and have just joined the Rebellion today. I'm hoping that the forums and blog posts here will keep me inspired and give me new things to think about on my weight loss journey.

 

My story starts in December 2012. I had recently relocated to Scotland, UK and my parents were visiting for the first time for Christmas. I was having a fantastic time until I saw the pictures. There was a picture taken on Christmas morning where I look as big as my 17 stone (224 pound) dad. That was the picture that broke the camel's back. I was mortified that I had let myself get that big!

 

My new year's resolution was to lose weight. I didn't really make that resolution with as much conviction as I would like, however 8 months on I'm still at it, and enjoying it. I started with MetaFit classes - HIIT bodyweight workouts. I did these three times a week during my lunch break for about 6 months. I loved MetaFit and I managed to lose 2 stone! I couldn't quite believe it. But at the end of July I had some bad news; the instructor was moving away and classes had to stop.

 

There are other instructors in my area, but I felt I needed to change things up a bit, so here I am. I've recently taken to strength training, with small amounts of cardio mixed in. I've bought a gym membership and spent a grand total of 21 hours in my gym last month which I think is quite an achievement. I don't have any trouble finding the motivation to get to the gym as it's my favourite part of the day. It's the eating that has slipped. I don't follow any diets, I just try to make healthier choices. Recently I've started snacking more so I think I will have to start a food diary to get on top of that. And as of yesterday I have started Intermittent Fasting.

 

My goal is simply to look good. I want toned arms and a flat stomach with that line down the middle. I don't have a goal weight that I'm working towards but I think I still have a way to go in terms of fat loss

 

Stats:

Height: 5"4

Start Weight: 83kgs (182lbs)

Current Weight: ~73kgs (160lbs)

 

I'm hoping to be a regular on the forums and to make some friends with similar interests and goals as me, so please say hi!!

[girljen]

Hi!    You've been doing well so far...having some buddies here to check in with helps, too! 

 

Strength training is SUPER FUN, btw.  I started lifting back in May and now I'm hooked.

[Cuckoo]

Hi Girljen,

 

Thanks for replying I think it will be nice to know some friendly people. As I've recently moved I don't have very many friends IRL, especially not ones I can share my fitness aspirations with, so I'm hoping to do that here instead.

 

Strength training IS fun isn't it!? I must have started at the beginning of July and I'm really enjoying it. At first I didn't really know what I was doing so I used bodybuilding.com to find some exercises I thought I might enjoy and put together a few workouts for myself. But then I managed to bag myself a free personal training session and she turned what I was doing on it's head. She told me that I should be doing heavier weights for less sets and focusing on my legs, chest and back as they are the three biggest muscle groups. So on the leg press I went from doing 6 sets of 15 reps at 63kg to 3 sets of 12 reps at 100kgs. I was dead chuffed to find out I could lift 100kgs! So I think that's going really well. I'm due to take another progress picture soon, so hopefully I will see whether it's actually working

 

Cuckoo