And the Walls Came Crashing Down...

[ReachingForTheStars]

Hey all!

 

I'm a 23-year-old newly married Bostonian.  My husband is an IT guy, and I'm a radar systems engineer.  Together we make a great big bundle of nerdy, geeky, Japan-obsessed, bookwormy awesomeness!

 

Since I left home to seek my fortune (aka went to college), I've been steadily losing fat (if not always weight) and getting curvier (in a good way - smaller waist!).  The only problem?  I haven't really been getting any healthier (or stronger), and any weight loss was bare minimum.  The reasons that I've been losing for so long are that 1) my parents no longer controlled my food, and my budget didn't allow for much more than straight breakfast, lunch, dinner, 2) I had easier access to a gym (which I barely used), and 3) the college lifestyle kept me moving around.  Now that I have a cushy desk job, a lot of those benefits have been taken away, and I didn't work hard to capitalize on them at any rate.  Even though I still don't keep snacks around the house (just not something I do), our budget allows for a lot of eating out, and I my sedentary job makes it so I have to schedule movement into my day.

 

Over the past year (since I graduated and got a job), I've realized these things and tried to turn myself around (mostly using the gym here at work).  At first, I was doing well - cooking meals at home, bagged lunches, consistent workouts.  Me and the hubby even used a Groupon to kickstart a passionate love for rock climbing and went at least once a week!  I had lost a good 10 lbs in a few months (a record for me), was increasing weight in the gym, and improving my difficulty level in climbing.

 

But, as the story always seems to go, I took too much on at once and allowed life to get in the way.  I was taking three online MBA classes at a time, planning a wedding, trying to self-learn Japanese, working of course, AND trying to stay healthy by cooking meals and hitting the gym.  Well, of course, it all came tumbling down.  My Japanese studies completely halted at some point.  We were eating out more than ever because I wasn't keeping up with meals.  I was determined to take the time for the gym, but all that I had taken on was making me so tired that I would sleep through my alarm, getting to work later and leaving later, leaving less time between then and getting to bed.  So, going to the gym ended up taking time away from my classwork.  Luckily, my wedding was still several months away, but the plans were leaving my stressed on top of everything else.  The ultimate result?  I failed all three MBA classes.  This was a huge blow to me, as my academics have always been my top priority, and it was also a lot of money to waste, especially right before my wedding.

 

So what did I do about it?  I slowed down and took things in chunks.  I swept the Japanese to the side.  My diet and fitness became secondary.  I took just two classes the next semester and focused exclusively on those and delegated my wedding planning as much as I could to my husband, my parents, and my in-laws.  I watched what I ate just enough to maintain my weight (for the wedding dress! xD) and went to the gym when I could.  I passed my classes with flying colors, and the wedding came right after and couldn't have been more perfect!

 

Then I took on my very last class, which I'm in the middle of now.  I'm much less stressed and have way more time on my hands, so it's time to bump up the priority on my health.  I've been staring at NerdFitness for over a year now, absorbing the stories and getting pumped up - temporarily.  Now it's time to make it permanent.  Time to form lasting habits instead of "activities" that I "won't have time for" when disaster strikes.

 

My initial goal is to reach 150 lbs. (down from 164.5).  Eventually, I want to reach 130 and build strength from there.  I want to do a pull-up, I want to have the strength to do silks, and I want to climb rock walls like it's my job.

 

To do this, the first thing I want to do is master the Beginner Bodyweight Workout.  So far, I can get through the sets, but my form suffers toward the end.  I'm going to move back to knee push-ups so that I can relearn proper form and really get ALL the way down to the ground.  I'm also nixing bread from my diet as a first step towards a Paleo diet.  By the way, can anyone recommend any good Paleo breakfasts?  I realized that I've always eaten bagels, toast, cereal, pancakes, etc., and I'm sort of at a loss for this one meal, especially since I'm iffy about eggs (which I seem to see a lot of).

 

So yeah, that's my story.  Wish me luck!

[Thetemplarreservist]

Go get it kick arse and you can do it....and anyone on here would be willing to answer any question you have.

[Elastigirl]

Welcome! There are quite a few avid rock climbers here (especially among the assassins)

Good call on the BBW-good form is more important than cranking out big numbers with bad form

 

On breakfast-just about anything you would have for lunch or dinner. I like leftovers. Today I had cooked ground beef topped with sauerkraut.  Or take canned fish (tuna, salmon sardines) mix with a bit of olive oil, chop up some onions, season and you are set. If you want the egg route, the egg monster is a good selection. Get a 9 x 13 pan, put in cooked ground beef and bacon, top with about 12-15 eggs. Cook at 350 for 45 minutes. You can season as you wish or add in veggies or change them meat, Make a big batch of soup and have it in the morning. Soup is a good way to start the day in the winter

[ReachingForTheStars]

Ooo, good call on the sauerkraut.  I'll definitely have to use that more since it's something I love.  And I never thought of soup.  That'll be nice and easy on my tummy first thing in the morning.  Especially when we get to the summer, a nice chilled soup would be awesome!

[ReachingForTheStars]

Btw, here's a "before" photo (taken right after my workout yesterday 10/30/13):