Plateaus - Great for looking at where you've been, not as good to get where you're going.

[Aife]

Hey all! I'm super excited to have found NF, and I'm really hoping some accountability will help me on my journey.
 

A little (lot of) backstory? Ok, since you asked:

25 yr old female, 5' 8", about 158lbs, mother to the world's greatest cat, studying to be an optician while living in a funky 60's (read: falling apart) house with my nerdy partner-in-crime.

 

I've ranged from "chubby" to "very overweight" through my life. My parents, although they are wonderful, have terrible eating habits, which I inherited. I've always been a nerd, and was more interested in staying inside and reading or drawing than getting any sort of excercise.

 

The summer after I turned 21, I topped out at about 210lbs (Aug 2010). I remember getting on the scale and crying. I knew then that I had to change. Fast forward 8 months - I've moved out of my parent's house and away from the bad habits. Living in Boston, I'm working 2 jobs that keep me on my feet 14 hours a day, eating healthier, cutting down on my drinking, and walking almost everywhere. By the time Aug 2011 rolled around, I was down to about 155lbs and I felt great, had more confidence than ever and was sure my progress would continue.

 

But as we all know. "sh*t happens" and sometimes life gets in the way. I injured my shoulder at one of my jobs, which limited my mobility and has turned into a chronic pain issue that still hasn't been resolved. I stopped working two highly active jobs and switched to a high-stress sedentary desk job. I moved out of the city and into the house in the sticks to live with the man I adore, which translated into not being able to walk to work/etc. It also doesn't help that he's the type who can eat everything in his path without gaining an ounce, so there's constantly the urge to get takeout or eat junk food with him.

 

All of these things combined and more have contributed to the plateau that I'm still currently on. Last year I gained a little of the weight back, and promptly panicked. It was a wake-up call for me to get myself back on the right track. I am still in a much better position than when I started - job that I love, better eating habits and the knowledge that I DON'T actually hate excercise.

Ok, now that I've rambled about my entire life, here's the good part:

FITNESS GOALS!

1. Work out 3-5x a week continuously for a month

1b. Work out 3-5x a week continuously for 6 months

2. Run a 5k in <33 minutes by July

3. Lose 3in off of my current measurements

4. Get my diet to 80%-20% by tracking everything I eat every day

5. Pizza no more than once a week! (sob)

 

Right now my major motivation is just to break out of the rut that I seem to be stuck in. I've got my ideas of where I want to be by my Lvl 50, so the first step is just getting past Lvl 1.

If you've made it this far, thanks! I'd love to hear anyone's ideas or constructive criticism

[The Swedish Ninja]

Hi Aife, Welcome to the Rebellion!

 

Seems you´ve got things in order, now it´s just a matter of focusing on getting it done! 

I know the story of people who can eat anything they like and still not gain weight (I´m not one of them though). I think you should try to get your husband aboard with your plans, since it will make it so much easier for you if he doesn´t snack on candy and takeout while you sit beside with a carrot . Tell him that weight is not everything that counts, eating unhealthy food will have long term effects not visible now, but they will be eventually.

 

Over all, your goals seems great! Have you thought about how much you should run as well, or is running a part of your workouts?

[bmacxtreme]

I wish you the absolute best on overcoming your plateaus and realizing your full potential!  Excelsior, Aife!

[Aife]

I usually do a 10min warmup jog on the treadmill before lifting, and then another 10-15min jog to cool down afterwards. I also walk/run to the gym, which is about 2 minutes from my house. Before I decided to get serious about working out and read a bunch about lifting, I was just going and doing cardio occasionally, either elliptical or treadmill.

My best mile (ever!) was about 9:40, and that was a month or so ago. I can do a 5k in roughly 35-36, or at least I could last time I tried, haha. A bunch of people I work with do a 5k right before the 4th of July every year, so I plan on signing up this time around and hopefully not embarrassing myself. 

I'm interesting in putting more of a focus on getting into a good routine of lifting, since I've never done it before, and I already know that I don't like running on the treadmill enough to do it regularly. Now that the weather is finally getting nice here though, I'll be able to hike more and run outside, which is a little more my speed.

[The Swedish Ninja]

Understandable, running on a treadmill is for Gerbils as someone put it

I think you are doing the right thing by focusing on your lifting, and for next challenge, you can add a 5K a week.