New to Nerd Fitness.

[marklroper]

Hi all,

 

I'm new to Nerd Fitness and am looking to speak to others and try and get some advice as to what I should be doing now to reach my new goals.

 

Most people seem to introduce themselves with their back story, so here's mine.

 

I'm Mark & I'm 28 years old, 5ft 10". 3 Years ago I was planning my wedding, 7 months before the wedding date I went to get myself measured up for my wedding suit...this was the shock I needed. My waist measured in at 38.5" and weighed 15st 7lbs. This made me depressed, I didn't want to get married when I looked like this, I would have to see these photo's for the rest of my life, show my future children & grandchildren...something needed to be done!

 

Up until this point in my life I had never attempted to take care of myself at all, I ate too much (of the wrong things) Drank too much alcohol and did little to no exercise at all, If I wanted to get in shape then I was going to have make drastic changes, and quick. My first step (and I still consider one of the best decisions I've made) was to begin cycling to work, I hadn't cycled since I was a child but I lived a mere 3 miles from my work, which has secure lock up facilities for bicycles and showers/changing rooms on site. It was a no-brainer, makes me healthier, quicker than the bus and I save money. I quickly started to shed the weight and dropped around a stone in the first couple of months, but it wasn't going to quick enough,

 

At this point I decided to join a gym and get some advice from one of the personal trainers there. I had NEVER been in a gym before in my life! Weight training & strength training quickly became a regularity in my life and the personal trainer at the gym was putting me through my paces. This was all great and really helped me change my outlook on life and by the time I got married I'd managed to drop down to 13st 6lbs and was feeling much better and happier for it.

 

However, since my wedding I haven't given up, I've carried on with my training, carried on with my cycling (Even completed Coast to Coast by myself last year) and managed to drop down to 12st 9lbs.

 

Around 3 months ago my focus changed, Although I had lost almost 3st since I was first weighed in, my body fat % had only dropped from 28% down to 21%. My new target was to now drop this down to 10% - 15%... time to change my diet. I started calorie counting and focussing on my macro nutrients but my weight training took a step back. I stopped going to the gym and was determined that I would drop to my target body fat % with diet & cardio.

 

I'm now down to 11st 6lbs and 16% body fat, I am happier with where I am but I have lost too much body muscle and would've continued to do so if I had carried on down the path I was on. I'm still determined to get my body fat % down and too see some muscle definition, but I can't lose any more muscle mass.

 

So, there it is, that's my fitness story so far, and this is where I have ended up. Tomorrow I am going to my local farm shop and I am starting my journey down the paleo path. I'm going to be hitting my strength and weight training hard again and I will see where this takes me. What I need from the community here is a helping hand towards what strength training will help me acheive my goals the most.