Hello from Connecticut!

[Vortex271]

Hello to everyone!

I never thought I'd see a forum like this for self-proclaimed 'nerds' but it's great to know there's a spot on the web for all of us!

I just graduated college with my degree in Chemistry, though my personal success on top of my diploma was walking across the metal stage in May (in the middle of a lightning storm) 30 lbs down from when I started 2010. I did it through strength training, weightlifting, and a lot of greens in my diet. I'd successfully dropped from 246 lbs to 210 lbs, which doesn't sound like a lot, but it dropped me from a tight size 38 waistline to a lose 36/good fitting 34. Never felt so good. Moved to Connecticut to start a graduate program in inorganic chem and we had a Hurricane (Irene, girl knows how to party) and a freak winter storm (still have the emergency buckets next to my toilet in case of another weeklong outage.) During this time, I've dropped to 202, but that's been muscle loss/fat gain since grad work is mainly a ton of desk work, power lunches, and minimal exercise time.

I've got a gym membership, coming off of a Baker's cyst on my right knee from a bad lunge, and I hope to hit a target weight of 190 OR a pant size of 32. Timetable isn't set in stone, but I'm looking at the six-week challenge and thinking 10 lbs, 6 weeks, maybe worth a shot. (Weight to me isn't my main goal anymore, but building muscle = lower % body fat = good. I don't care to be one of the fat Americans anymore.)

My plan is to push high weight, try cardio two days a week, and go back to being mostly vegetarian (with the exception of chicken and fish). I'll try to keep updated here, but as I'm sure you all know, time is fleeting in grad school. I can't wait to get in touch with you all, and feel free to email/message hellos/suggestions whatever- sometimes keeping up correspondence with folks is a great motivator.

Oh, name's Curt btw.

[ETFnerd]

Hi Curt. I dropped from 255 to 161 this year. Also a desk jockey. We should compare notes. Welcome.

[Siha]

Welcome to the Rebellion, Curt!

I think you'll find a ton of desk jockeys here(I'm one myself). You seem off to a great start, and your goals look realistic an attainable. I say why wait until the next six week challenge. You could start today if you wanted to!

If you haven't looked at them yet, may I recommend you check out the body weight exercises on the site, too? They really take no time at all, and are an excellent way to burn off steam and 'I've been sitting too long' jitters. No gym required.

[BrendanTownsend]

Welcome to the site, Curt.

[Vortex271]

Hello everyone! Thanks for the replies! ETFnerd, Sihna, BrendanTownsend, it is good to meet you.

I'm liking the idea of starting this new challenge, I've been working on the knee and it's mostly back to spec, so we'll have to see if we can't get it going. I'll take a look at the body weight exercises here, sounds like something interesting to add! Looking forward to further conversations on here and hopefully some decent progress over the next few months!

[Optimus Prime]

I recently had knee issues myself. I did my first 5k since the injury on Thanksgiving and while I wasn't satisfied with the time, it was nice to be running again. Those physical therapists really do know how to work wonders. Welcome to the forums.