QuothTheDragon Intro

[QuothTheDragon]

Hello there!

 

I'm QuothTheDragon/QtD/Quothy/Dragon/Katie....I respond to almost anything related to my username at this point. I'm a 23 year old software engineer living on the East Coast of the US. I program robots for a living! (Not quite as glorious as it probably sounds, but still an awesome job). I have a crazy Shiba Inu named Chihiro (anyone get the reference?) who is keeping me more active than I used to be, but it's not enough. 

 

I found NerdFItness on a Google search a couple weeks ago and was intrigued by the premise. I finally decided to try out the community and all tonight. Everyone seems like an amazingly supportive bunch and I think that could really help me along (and I'd love to help others as well!). 

 

I've been overweight since I was six. For as far back as I can remember, I've felt like my body doesn't fit my mind. I have enough self-image issues to fill a book and my confidence level varies by day. It took me until I was 19 or 20 before I could even tell myself I thought I was pretty.

 

I currently let my weight hold me back in every aspect of my life. I want to learn to ride a motorcycle? I'm too big for that, so what's the point? I want to go to a rave with my friends? But what will I wear? Nothing looks good on my body. I want to ask my best friend on a date? But why would he like me? I'm just...me.

 

I'm done with that attitude.

 

I currently weigh ~229 lbs and am 5'6". This is down from 237.8 lbs at the start of the year. I love to run and just finished a 5K at a personal best time of 46:45.6. I really want to do a half-marathon by the end of the year. After reading Spezzy/Staci's story though, I realized that I want to get strong too. I never want to feel held back by my body, I want to feel empowered by it.

 

I'd like to aim for getting down to around 150 lbs, then evaluate where I want to go next.

 

Wow, that was really cathartic to write. Um...sorry for the long post? This is probably the best start for me mentally. I don't think I've ever really admitted to a lot of that.

 

I welcome any kind of advice you all have. I do have access to my apartment's gym, but I think I'm going to start with body weight exercises and running outdoors. I'm currently trying to bring my daily intake of carbs down to around 100g, as they are my weakness and my enemy. 

 

Oh yeah, my nerd cred! I'm a fan of Star Wars (IV, V, VI), Star Trek, anything Tolkien (I've read the Silmarillion...), and various scifi/fantasy novels. I'm a casual gamer, but more often that not I don't have the time (and when I do, it's Pokemon usually). I also write fanfiction and original scifi/fantas stories. It's a dream to get published one day. I'm also a classic science/technology nerd. I can nerd out for hours on a variety of topics, space is a favorite.

 

Thanks,

Quothy

[Hazard]

You had me at Studio Ghibli.

[QuothTheDragon]

You had me at Studio Ghibli.

 

 

If/When I ever get another Shiba, it will be a boy named Nigihayami no Kohakunushi...Haku for short, of course.

 

Now I want to watch Spirited Away lol.

[thegingerdances]

Welcome to NerdFitness, Quothy!  (All of your names are awesome.  All of them.)

 

You have definitely come to the right place!  We are so stoked to have you.  Congratulations on the weight loss and the awesome first 5K!  *applause* 

 

Your long-term goals look pretty awesome, especially the weight loss goal--knowing when to reevaluate your goals is a valuable skill  How often do you run at present, and how do you "train" (i.e. running 20 minutes a day, running 6 times a week, alternating sprints and long distance...)? I'm not a runner, but I'm curious how you approach this as someone who loves running!

 

Will you be joining us in the upcoming challenge?  It begins April 14! 

[QuothTheDragon]

Welcome to NerdFitness, Quothy!  (All of your names are awesome.  All of them.)

 

You have definitely come to the right place!  We are so stoked to have you.  Congratulations on the weight loss and the awesome first 5K!  *applause* 

 

Your long-term goals look pretty awesome, especially the weight loss goal--knowing when to reevaluate your goals is a valuable skill  How often do you run at present, and how do you "train" (i.e. running 20 minutes a day, running 6 times a week, alternating sprints and long distance...)? I'm not a runner, but I'm curious how you approach this as someone who loves running!

 

Will you be joining us in the upcoming challenge?  It begins April 14! 

Haha, thanks! Your name is pretty awesome too! 

 

That was my first 5K this year >>. I actually did a 5K and 10K last year and managed to drop down to about 220 lbs. Then my mom almost died and had to get surgery and was in the hospital for two weeks. Fast food became a quick and cheap option while I was running around taking care of things at my parent's house, driving my grandmother around, etc. I ended up gaining almost 18 bs (that's so ridiculous to think about now), which was 3-4 lbs higher than I had started at. I definitely fell off the running bandwagon XD

 

Right now, I'm working my way back up to 7 or 8 miles a week and doing one longer run (3-4 miles) on the weekend. I'd like to do a 10K on May 31st, so that's a good goal to have. Races just provide me really easy short-term goals and I love the energy surrounding them

 

I'm moving at my body's pace right now (pushing, but not too hard). Having almost 230lbs to carry isn't healthy for my knees and I don't want to cause any long term damage. I'm alright with just getting a it faster as I lose weight. Speaking of which, I dropped 0.5 lbs down to 228.6 lbs. One more to go until I get 10 total!!

 

I was planning on figuring out how the whole challenge thing works today. It sounds like fun though! I'd love to!

 

I also see that you're an assassin, how is that? That's the one that really spoke to me. I want to get strong and have control over my body. I've also never rock-climbed before, and that's one of my goals to hit this year

[thegingerdances]

Oh, my goodness!  I hope your mom is doing better now!  Don't feel too bad about gaining weight during that period; the important thing is that you are moving forward now.  Yay for another half-pound lost!  *happy dances*

 

Your running plan sounds awesome!  Being around supportive, excited people all running for the same finish line is awesome--that's one of the amazing things about the forums here.  You can always find people with the same goals who are just as excited as you are!  

 

The assassins guild is awesome--everyone is so supportive and helpful!  Of course, that's true for every guild.  We have a lot of rock-climbers, traceurs (parkour!), and gymnasts.  I'm just a noob, so I don't have any specialty--just trying to build up my strength with body weight workouts and general life improvement.  I have fellow newbies and lots of experienced members encouraging me, sharing in my struggles, and offering me advice on life/workouts/diet.  It's awesome!  

 

I might end up joining the rangers, druids, or adventurers for the next challenge, though--my short-term goals are a little less assassin-y this time around.  (Side note, guild hopping is welcome here.  If you want to be a scout for six weeks and then be a warrior for the next challenge, you totally can!  You can also socialize with non-guild members, so don't feel guilty about following a monk's thread just because you want to.)

 

Quick resources for the challenge:

Challenge Instructions

Challenge FAQ

 

You can also look at the recruitment pages on the forum for each guild--the moderators are super helpful and would love to meet you!  And if you want to get to know the mods, click here for the list of names.  Nuala was the amazing woman who recruited me for the assassins and encouraged me to join.

 

I've been around for a few challenges now, so feel free to message me with any questions you have!  

[QuothTheDragon]

My mom is doing much better now! It's really just more motivation to get healthy and stay that way, since the problem could be genetic. I kind of won the genetic anti-lottery lol. I already deal with hypothyroidism and PCOS, I don't want anything else. She is also trying to get in shape, but will be extremely limited for several more months (She's allowed to "walk briskly" at the moment and that's it). 

 

Thanks for the happy dance! I think I'm gonna cry when I get under 220, it's taken forever. I know I'm gonna cry when I get under 198 'cause that's the lowest I've been since early high school (somehow got there freshman year of college while eating Chick Fil A 3x a week). I think I'll see more improvement as I bring my carb intake under 100 g/day. I might eventually go 80% paleo, but we'll see. 

 

The assassin's still sound amazing I like the idea of being able to hop around though. There were a lot of things in other gilds that attracted me too. I love martial arts, for example. I think I need to get more in shape first though. 

 

The idea of trying something like gymanastics for me is both terrifying and awesome. I was always the person scared of doing the front rolls and all. I read the article about "Do Sh** that Scares You" article and it's really inspired me I'm also determined to get my motorcycle license and buy a bike by the end of the summer. I think I'm a closet adrenaline junkie. 

 

I'll start thinking about what I want to do for my first challenge this week. I should probably make getting at least 7.5 hours sleep a goal. I'll gain a couple pounds in a week if I don't sleep right ><

 

I'll definitely keep you in ind if I have any questions. I think I'm more excited today than I was last night!

[thegingerdances]

I'm glad she's doing better!  Walking briskly is a great place to be  

 

Genes can definitely be a kicker.  The benefit of fighting genes is that you KNOW every victory is entirely through your efforts!  Your own awesome success will be a result of your hard work.

 

You don't have to wait to do what you love, though!  If you want to start doing martial arts, sign up for a class!  You'll lose weight and get stronger as you kick and punch.  (Of course, your doctor can tell you if you should hold off on certain activities that might stress your knees or hips.  Even then, you could probably find a modified version that would be easier on the joints!)  

 

I feel the same way about gymnastics.  Heights are so scary that looking down makes me dizzy  Sleep is an awesome goal, though--I made bedtime a priority this time and feel so much better for it.

 

I'm so stoked to see where you end up!  You'll be in the Level 1 Rebels for the first challenge, which will boost your chances of success and let you hang out with all sorts of awesome people!  From there you can join the assassins, adventurers, monks... Anything is possible!  Good luck!

[QuothTheDragon]

The martial arts thing is more of a financial barrier than anything else. Everything around me is ridiculously expensive. I am starting to do a morning workout with coworkers who are pretty hardcore in the morning on Tu/Th. We'll see if I can handle the 5:30 am start time though! 

 

My doctor is cool with me running and all, I'm just a worrywart But my knees do swell a bit whenever I increase my mileage. It'll get better as I drop the weight. 

 

My attitude all day has been fantastic! I realized I pretty much managed to eat paleo all day today, which is good (though I do count low levels of dairy as ok, which is a bit different). 

 

I'm going to start putting together my first challenge early this week. I have a paper due next weekend, so I want to get the challenge done before it needs to be done.

 

Thanks! Good luck with your goals too!

[thegingerdances]

Sounds like a plan!  I can't wait to see how your first challenge goes!