Spartans! Helmets on and lets move out!

[joweaver88]

Yes I changed the title, I can't be outgeeked lol! And yes it matches my avatar... haha

 

Hello my name is Jo,

 

Here is a bit on my background... I know rule #1 says you don't care where I came from, but I am going to tell you anyway... you can care or not, that's your prerogative also this is long but I promise its worth the read And please please call me out on anything that is inaccurate or sounds stupid (as far as my goals at the bottom are concerned).

 

I am a 5'11" tall 25 y/o woman living in the Silicon Valley area (I work in the video game industry as an IT manager) but I am originally from FL. I have been unhealthy for about as long as I can remember... back in 2007 I peaked at 305 lbs. I hated myself, hated my life, I was lost and a step away from death (at least it felt that way, I was still really young so probably not... but it doesn't matter).

 

Flash forward to 2014 (hurray!) and I now weigh 205 Lbs, so over the last 4 years I battled with my weight, it yo-yo'd so many times... but I finally settled in at 205 lbs about 6 months ago and it hasn't varied much (100 lbs is a heck of an achievement, but its still not where I need to be). 6 months ago I also quit smoking cigs and pot... which lead to a pretty big boost in energy. 

 

4 months ago I moved from San Francisco to silicon valley, when I got here I realized that I cant depend on public transportation at all... so I purchased a single speed road bike. I ride my bike back and forth to work everyday and I ride it anywhere else I go (except grocery shopping, I get a zip car). I have absolutely fallen in love with cycling, it can be such an adrenaline rush! Over the last 4 months of regular cycling my weight hasn't gone down but I have gotten skinnier and my thigh muscles have doubled in size and strength (they are solid, instead of all squishy) so I think that's a good indication of increased muscle mass.

 

In fact I got to the point where my legs are so strong that I reach cardio/respiratory exhaustion looong before muscle exhaustion (I am going to change the gear ratio soon, to increase speed and resistance). However although my speed was increasing my endurance hit a wall pretty early on. I kept struggling with adding distance and getting nowhere, it got to the point where I actually hurt myself. I had a black out scare, I lost control of my breathing (luckily I made it home and into my apartment before fainting) and after a few minutes I passed out... woke up a few minutes later with my dog licking my face. So I made an emergency appointment with my doctor (in restrospect I probably should have gone to the ER), at first she thought I had an embolism and a heart attack and started freaking out on me.

 

They did a bunch of tests including blood work, an EKG, and a sonogram of my chest cavity... thank god my tests said my heart was 100% healthy with no indications of a clot, all levels were exactly where they need to be. What they did find though was that my blood O2 saturation was too low, and that my bronchial tubes were contracted and I had a small amount of fluid in my lungs... turns out I had undiagnosed exercise induced asthma. Anyway I was prescribed an albuterol rescue inhaler, I am supposed to take 2 puffs before I exercise... and let me tell you, WHAT A DIFFERENCE! I can feel my endurance increasing, pushing myself feels good now instead of painful! (if you have breathing problems, seriously go see your doc)

 

So that's what has happened up until now... so I want to tell you guys my goals/plans and maybe you can help out. So I have unusual fat distribution for a girl... its more like a guy, fat goes to my stomach not my hips and butt. So I have this nasty muffin top and my upper body appears too large... it makes me look like a guy and I hate it. In fact I have no idea what its like to wear feminine clothing... I wear guys clothes because they cover my body. I want to know what its like to be able to feel feminine and comfortable in my body. But its not just about looks, I want to be the healthy supercharged version of myself, the improvements I have made up until now have given me a hunger for more. I WILL get healthy, somehow, someway...

 

I have limited will power so I know I have to make changes one at a time, habituate those changes and then add something else (of course I will continue to improve my cycling as I go, that's a given).

 

Step one: I need to detox myself... I have digestive issues that are painful so first things first is to bring my digestive system to a neutral state, so to that end I plan to do a 2 week veggie/fruit juice fast (I have a nice juicer).

 

Step two: I will be switching to a paleo diet, however I have already agreed to allow myself two cheat meals a week so as long as they are still healthy meals (I like sushi and curry, both of which can be healthy but they have rice which is not paleo). I actually did a strict paleo diet for six months in 2011 but I failed because I didn't allow myself to eat the foods I like ever, I have to give myself a small (very small) amount of leeway. I will also augment my diet with natural juice to keep my digestive system working nice and efficiently.

 

Step three: I need to start doing exercises beyond cycling, I need to be working out my whole body not just one muscle group. But I want to start with low impact exercises that use my own body weight.

 

Step four: Once I have gotten comfortable with exercising using my body weight I will go see a personal trainer and join a gym (my health insurance gives a good discount and there is one literally right across the street from my apartment)... I need to learn how to weight train properly.

 

Step five: Once I am comfortable with weight training I want to learn yoga to further increase muscle control, flexibility and propioception. (I will continue to cycle as my primary cardio exercise, although I will probably start switching that up from time to time with an elliptical or a stair master) 

 

 

So how does that sound? Reasonable? Too much? Not enough?

[thoughtsothu]

First of all, Hi! 

 

Secondly, I know you say its not a lot, but 100lbs is! Congrats!! We all need to start somewhere! And I'm glad you're okay. That whole spell sounded scary. 

 

As for your goals. I think those sound good! I think doing what's comfortable and what you like is key to success. Of course, you have to push that comfort level though. As far as the food - I don't really like how you called it a "cheat meal" cause it sounds like your "cheating." It just sounds negative... 

Don't get me wrong, I use(d that phrase too... but I'm trying to stay away from negativity. So instead of calling it "cheat" I call it "reward." So like, maybe I've been really really good with my eating habits that week, I will allow myself a reward meal/desert. That way I feel like I'm working towards something instead of taking something away. 

[joweaver88]

First of all, Hi! 

 

Secondly, I know you say its not a lot, but 100lbs is! Congrats!! We all need to start somewhere! And I'm glad you're okay. That whole spell sounded scary. 

 

As for your goals. I think those sound good! I think doing what's comfortable and what you like is key to success. Of course, you have to push that comfort level though. As far as the food - I don't really like how you called it a "cheat meal" cause it sounds like your "cheating." It just sounds negative... 

Don't get me wrong, I use(d that phrase too... but I'm trying to stay away from negativity. So instead of calling it "cheat" I call it "reward." So like, maybe I've been really really good with my eating habits that week, I will allow myself a reward meal/desert. That way I feel like I'm working towards something instead of taking something away. 

 

Yea that is a better way of looking at it, didn't really think about that I try not to read too much into semantics but you're spot on with this!

[thoughtsothu]

It's something I learned recently and really liked so I thought I'd share =]

 

Good luck with everything!! 

[Basement Cat]

Welcome Jo!

 

100 lbs is nothing to sneeze at! What a great achievement! Your goals sound pretty good to me. Here, have a link to bodyweight training resources:http://www.nerdfitness.com/bodyweight-training-resources/

 

Find a routine you enjoy and go with that! Good luck!

[Lady Eleventy]

Hia! Welcome to the rebellion!

All of your goals are pretty great, not going to lie. I too have diestive issues, though for other reasons, and let me tell you, paleo really helps. I see a nutritionist because my insides are special and and she sings the praises of the paleo diet for people with diestive health issues to the high heavens! I hope it works for you as well as it works for me. It is hard to maintain if you go cold turkey, or at least it is for me. So to get into it I limited non-paleo carbs to midday meal to start out with, but that's just me. I wish you the best of luck with your quests!

[DChristian]

I like that you're taking one thing at a time - it's way too easy to get overwhelmed!

 

Rice is one of the least harmful "cheats", so I wouldn't worry too much there.

 

What kind of juices are you planning on drinking? I would suggest that you be cautious there - juicing fruit gives you all of the fruit's sugar with none of the fruit's fiber to slow your body's absorption and prevent insulin spikes - a sugar bomb.

 

But still... take it one step at a time, you're doing great!

[joweaver88]

I actually plan to do primarily veggie juice with just a tad bit of fruit to make it palatable (think Fat sick and Nearly dead).

[DChristian]

Yeah, then you're probably good

 

I'm a hardcore carnivore, so my initial reaction is "to hell with juice!", but it sounds like something my veggie-obsessed wife would do well with. 

[metalheaddoc]

My advice, to be taken with a grain of salt

 

Two weeks of a veggie/juice fast is overkill. Where is your protein? fiber? I don't believe in the whole detox thing anyway. I wouldn't do it for more than a day, at most.  I take a veggie shake every day cuz I hate veggies, but I know they are good for me. I run mine through a blender so I get all the fiber. 

 

Painful digestive issues? See a GI doc before you self diagnose or start Paleo. Make sure its not something medical. Not saying Paleo won't help (I don't do paleo so I have no experience), but pain is more of a red flag that needs a workup. 

 

When it comes to weight training, emphasize the back of your body. As a desk jockey who cycles, you probably spend a lot of time in lumbar flexion. Quads are getting worked on the bike, but you need to balance that out with glues/ham work. Similarly, at the desk, you do a lot of activity in front of you. Do extra pulling work for the back to balance that out. 

 

Yoga is good. Refeed meals are good. Perfect compliance is pretty much impossible. You gotta leave room for stuff you crave, just occasionally . 

 

Posture makes a big difference in how you look too. Learn about it and pay attention to it. It's hard to change cuz it's mostly unconscious habit. 

[Jason Bourne]

Sounds like this is the perfect place for you! I hope that you can find a guild where you can grow, and other people that enjoy the same things that you do. We're so glad that you've joined the Rebellion! 

By they way, love the Spartan reference. You can't watch Master Chief do his thing without wanting to go punch through a brick wall.  

[joweaver88]

More of a kelly-087 reference than a john-117 reference, but halo spartans nonethless!

 

and to metalhead... my digestive issues are severe gas pains and constipation, it is diet related I have already seen a doc about it.