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[Doctorwhom]

Hi everyone! I've kind of been lurking on the forums for a while and decided it was probably time to introduce myself and give a little backstory. While my IRL friends are supportive, I love meeting and interacting with people who are as passionate of health and fitness as I am.

So yeah, backstory! We're going to go waaaay back to 5 year old me who contracted Lyme disease and landed in the emergency room briefly because that sets the stage for the rest of my life so far. I wasn't actually diagnosed with Lyme until I was 10 and by then it was really too late to do much with the typical round of antibiotics they usually go for in treating lyme. I had developed a plethora of allergies--food and seasonal--as well as other unpleasent conditions. At this point in my life I was probably the skinniest I had ever been. I wasn't eating because to 10 year old me, EVERYTHING made me feel bad. The first doctor I saw, told me to eliminate my allergens and put me on around 10 different supplements plus an antibiotic. At that point I was aware of being allergic to milk, eggs, corn, shellfish, peanuts, pork, and your typical pollen/dust/Mother Nature punching you in the face deal. Try telling a 10 year old to give up ice cream. I took my supplements which must have helped considerably because I ballooned out. Not sure my exact weight through these times but I remember thinking I was the ugliest thing on the planet. This brought on a lot of negative thinking about myself in general, like, why did I deserve this? Why was I, who had so many dreams, cursed with this body that constantly hurt?

Fast forward through 8 years of chronic worsening pain, more weight gain to the heaviest I have been at 5"6 and 160 pounds, developing anxiety and depression, dealing with self-harm and overall looking on the horizon and not seeing myself living past 20.

I can't exactly pinpoint the moment before my 18th birthday that I decided crap had to change but it happened and that's what mattered. I decided to go the entire month of March vegan which would cut out all my allergens and fulfilled the new beliefs I held against the slaughtering of animals--which btw, if you eat meat, I don't judge ;D--. March turned into April, April turned into May and I decided I was feeling good enough to start trying some yoga and running which I did all summer and got down to about 140.

That fall I transferred from my community college near home to two hours away at an all women's univeristy to continue working on pre-med. I didn't change my diet much but all through that fall semester my health declined rapidly until winter break which I spent entirely in bed. I made the decision to go see another doctor although I had very little hope in them. I was diagnosed with Hypothyriodism and put on hormone replacement for that which did squat. Two general practitioners and an endocrinologist later as well as countless other drugs and I'm back where I started with happily no pills to be popping.

I decided to start exercising again because I knew that made me feel better last summer so I jumped full force into that and started remembering those dreams I'd tucked away through the years of pain like, walking around on my hands and jumping across buildings, running marathons and riding a horse in the Olympics, so many things that I just wanted to be able to reach for and I could taste the idea of them again. I guess you could say it kind of pushed things into perspective.

March came around again and this time I have up all social media--Twitter, tumblr, Facebook, Instagram--in favor of using that time to better myself. I got a membership to the huge gym in my college town and as a part of what I have dubbed "Superhero Training"--a challenge I'm doing for 30 days with my wonderful cousin/twin--I have done so much I thought was impossible. I've taken yoga, Pilates, HIIT, and cycling classes there just in the past week and I went rock climbing which I didn't even know I really wanted to do that badly since I'm kind of scared of heights. I've finally been able to do a couple normal push ups and kick up occasionally into a handstand. These past ten days I've also worked my diet around again to avoid all gluten/grains--except quinoa--/corn/processed foods/refined sugars/night shades and I started eating fish to get in those good nutrients and protien.

I now weight around 131 which unfortunately was mostly due to being sick for the past few months and not eating a lot but I refuse to see the only bad now.

Sure things aren't perfect and I'm never at 100% everyday but I'm getting there. I don't know why these things happened to me but I don't really care anymore, worrying over the reason why, or how long I have on this planet or if I'm going to make it is a waste of time I could be climbing the doorframes in my room pretending I'm an assassin or going to 6:15 am yoga classes or enjoying a plate of plain beets and quinoa because they make me feel good and that's how I want to spend me time and energy now. Adventuring through my up and down life with a smile.

[Chris-Tien Jinn]

Welcome to the Rebellion!!!

 

Gotta hand it to you, you've got spirit to come back from undiagnosed Lyme disease.  Ugh!!

 

There are lots of ways to use Nerd Fitness to help you keep on that excellent trajectory you've started for yourself in college. Personally, I love the 6-week challenges.  Lots of companions and focused goals give you a chance to try things out and see what works best for you.   It's never too late to start a challenge, either!!  Jump into the Level 1 Rebels (http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/forum/352-level-1-rebels/), introduce yourself, and set a few goals for the next 5 1/2 weeks. 

[Doctorwhom]

Cool! I saw the 6 week challenges but I thought it was too late to be apart of it XD I'm starting to realize how much effort and time has to go into these goals that I have but I also have a hard time setting time frames because I want it to be challenging but also realistic I guess the 6 week challenge forum probably helps with that?

[thegingerdances]

Doctorwhom--welcome!

 

And yes, the six week challenges are tremendously helpful with goal-setting!  Best of all, you have lots of experienced nerds who can give you tips on goal setting.  That way, you won't be disappointed if you can't go from five body weight squats in week 1 to twenty pistol squats in week 6 (which is probably impossible, unless you are Wolverine.  Or Hugh Jackman.  Basically the same thing).

 

Feel free to run your goals by us, either here or through a personal message.  We also have a place on the forums where you can ask about work out routines, diet, goals, etc.  It's never too late to start the challenge--I hope you'll join us!