TyrantLizard stomps in, devours the lawyer, and says hello

[TyrantLizard]

Is this what they meant when they said I should go paleo?

 

Hey all! I'm excited about starting my first challenge tomorrow and thought I'd post an introduction. I'm a 32-year-old Canadian woman who moved to Boston when I was 27. I used to work in corporate law but now I work on an organic farm at the edge of the city. I love reading, farming (obviously!), learning languages, music, travelling, history, camping, hiking, research, making stuff, and playing video games (especially strategy games, RPGs, and MMOs). 

 

A little over two years ago I was obese, sedentary, and really out of shape. I was average sized until about 17, when I started putting on 5-10 pounds per year. Back then, I had the attitude that brain was much more important than body, and I focused all my efforts on academics and sedentary hobbies. I told myself I didn't care about my weight; I told myself only superficial people cared about weight. Eventually I had to admit it had a real impact on my happiness. I realized my attitude was unhealthy, and I took on a mission to make myself into more of a well-balanced human.  

 

In the past two years I've come a long way. I lost 90 pounds and went from a size 22 to a size 14, plus drastically improved my overall fitness level, and gained a fair bit of strength. Somewhere along the way I found Nerd Fitness (I think I was researching proper squat form) and I signed up for the newsletters. They were entertaining and motivational but that's as involved as I got with NF. 

 

Now I find myself in this weird limbo. When I started, my goal was just to get to a "normal" size, and I did that. I'm in better shape than I've been for about 15 years, but I don't feel done at all. I want more, and I feel like I need to move to the next level. I want to lose a bit more weight and further improve my strength and endurance. I'd be even better at my job if I could move a little faster and maintain intense effort for longer, so that's definitely a source of motivation. Plus I'm in it for health and for the rush that comes with accomplishing challenging physical goals. 

 

I checked out the forums here at NF because I'm heading into uncharted territory and I know it'll be easier if I have a community of similarly motivated people to back me up. I feel like I have the motivation I need, but it looks like you guys can provide information, support, and entertainment that'll make it a more fun and successful project.

 

My plans involve a combination of lifting and endurance cardio. I track my food because I find it's the best way to keep myself eating well and I get a lot of motivation from tracking metrics...everything from food to weight to lifting progression. My challenge thread is in my signature, and I'll add my daily battle log link as soon as I have one.

[RES]

Welcome (again, since I've already subbed to your challenge thread )

[Gilgamelissa]

You're hilarious   Welcome aboard! Good idea about logging lifting progression -- I think I'll start adding that to my own food / fitness diary. 

[Deslok]

Welcome to the rebellion. Always good to see another person who lives in the Boston area joining.