Serial Lurker Finally Sucks It Up

[missappropriatenz]

Hey all,

 

This seems silly given how long I've been reading NF, and how much is said about how powerful these boards are, but here I am finally. I'm a 27 year old female from Auckland, NZ, and I love this place

 

Have lost almost 15kgs from my heaviest (over 30lbs) through 'tweaks' - eat lchf, no sugar, no alcohol (unless it's a very special occasion), increased my water consumption - fridge is now full of vegetables, non-lean protein and low-carb dairy, but I still have a long way to go, and am looking to lose another 20kg by the end of this year (around 45lbs).

 

Have some personal demons I need to really battle this year, which have a tendency to make me pretty anti-social - have signed myself up for ju-jitsu classes to give me a non-work, regular social experience that has no pressure, and let me do something I've always wanted to do, but couldn't bring myself to commit the time to, as during the year I get pretty busy with work, and finishing of my university degree part time - yes, I admit these have been excuses, and I am ready to attack these now. Also totally excited about finally being able to do some mud run type events this year, have always felt like I wouldn't be able to keep up, and that I would be embarrassed, but I have to remind myself that really, no one else cares but me.

 

I'll be honest, the whole ''challenge" thing is very confusing for a first timer, but given I'm probably a level 100 lurker I should be able to figure it out eventually. 

 

Thanks for reading my ramble - anyone in Auckland/NZ, I would love to help organise NF teams for events like 5ks/ mud runs/ cross fit if anyone is keen, or even just adventures off into the bush, otherwise stay strong 

 

 

[TMedina]

Welcome!  And good luck!

[Ocelot]

Welcome - it sounds like you have built some good habits around food judging from your fridge contents, and my only thought would be that battling personal demons and also losing weight aren't always compatible (at least for me)... they are both highly strenuous activities... and if there are demons there are demons and that battle is probably best faced first...? So they can be at least reduced, to take some of the stress away from life a bit... so perhaps focus on building gentle, soul-friendly habits that will EVENTUALLY lead to your weight loss (like eating healthy food, working on muscle building, learning an active hobby or sport like the ju jitsu!) and leave out the 'must lose 20 lbs this challenge! Must stand in front of mirror criticising myself!' stuff (I'm sure you weren't planning either of those, I'm just exaggerating for effect!) If you liked you could also include some self care goals to fortify your defenses against the demons - things like water drinking, sleeping enough, doing nice things, relaxing, etc. Good luck working on your challenge - you can do it!

[missappropriatenz]

Thanks so much for your comments, and I completely agree  - although for me it works in conjunction. I'm not hard on myself about the weight loss - this is more a health thing, my dad passed away when he was very young, and while it was not weight related, it still puts some fear in me (and my doctor). It has definitely been at a slow and sustainable pace, and I think my goal (which works out to about 400g/ just under a pound a week) isn't too strenuous.

 

I more use the healthy habits as a buffer - the more things like that I have in my place, the easier I find it to deal with what may or may not be going on in my head. Having something to look forward to (particularly something outside of work) is a great help, and I wasn't very good at this over the past year, so am trying to set myself up for a bit more success. The holiday period is always quite hard, so I am trying to be focused on this - I know that when I slip up, and don't take care of myself, everything gets a lot harder, and I isolate myself more (vicious cycle) mostly due to not wanting people to see me in such a negative mindset. But I'm a lot better than I was in the past, and I will get better still. But thank you again for your kind words, I do appreciate it.

[Ocelot]

Sounds like you're already ahead of the game! I admire your clarity about where you are and that your goal is already a healthy one and helping you not hindering you in any way. That's a hard thing to do, took me a loong time to get there. I also know about the vicious cycle of self isolation but I think that you are posting here and taking steps and being aware of it is a really good thing. What kind of things were you thinking of planning that you can look forward to? I like that idea - it would be a great side quest to make exciting future plans. There's nothing like those to really cheer you up when you need it... right I'm off to think about doing some for myself! But do join the challenge - then you can look forward to some goal slaying too!

[gizwidget]

Yay, a kiwi (although i like to think we resemble keas more) i'm down south so not much help organising Auckland stuff. But here for anything nz specific :-) sounds like you're onto it already, i may even look to you for inspiration on my own quest.

[OmenBizlar]

haha no way, just about to post my introduction post after being a serial lurker for some time, and i also do (brazilian) Jiu-Jitsu. I've been doing that for a year, and in my first six months doing it i went from 86kg to 72kg, (by just doing jiu jitsu and cutting out crisps and chocolate). It's a good workout!

[missappropriatenz]

First Ju-Jitsu class last night and it was awesome! Thought I would be sitting on the sidelines having a look, but nope, I was in there! Thankfully the teacher had a great sense of humour - number one rule apparently is 'don't get dead'. By the end of the class could already do a wrist lock into a basic leg drop, so feeling pretty good, and will definitely be back next week.