You guys!

[CarlyK19]

Hey!

I am super excited I found this site, you all may be just what I am looking for! (Found it through a link on Fit and Feminist to Staci's story-awesome job girl!)

My name's Carly, I am a 20 year old college student living in North Dakota (ahh so they DO have internet in ND...) and studying to be a nurse.

In high school I was a varsity athlete, both hockey and softball, which kept me extremely busy and in great shape. I ate like a typical high school student and wasn't as lean as I would maybe like to be but over all, my fitness level at that time is my current goal. High school is also where I was exposed to lifting weights, (barbell and free weights) which I absolutely fell in love with.

Although I avoided the Freshman Fifteen (largely through excessive time on the elliptical, major muscle loss), I noticed my body changing a lot the second year. Sophomore year found me with a boyfriend who loved McDonald's and 6+ hours a day in front of the Xbox more than any sort of activity or healthy food. My weight didn't change a whole lot while I was with him, I probably only gained like 6 or 8 pounds total, but the composition of my body felt all wrong. I got tired doing things I used to do without a second thought, my arms and back ached after every shift I worked at the hospital (I'm a CNA) because I wasn't strong enough to hold or support patients comfortably anymore. My clothes started feeling snug in the wrong places and I was just generally unhappy with the way my body looked and especially felt.

I am no longer with the couch-surfer and I have been working to reclaim my body since this past August. It was sporadic for quite a while but a few weeks ago it occurred to me that is never a "good time" to go to the gym, it takes a concerted effort to make time. Now that I have deliberately made this a part of my life, I feel ready to make some real changes.

Sorry this is way long, I am just super excited about all of this! I have some good lifting routines and I'm still trying to get my body used to lifting again to avoid injury. I am interested in what you guys do for cardio (if any?) and diet tips that you may have. The Paleo diet looks really interesting and would definitely be a change for me. I eat fairly healthfully but I loooove bread and dairy. I also live at home with my parents (I mean...roommates...) so I have a little less control about what's in the house and for meals and things like that. I do enjoy healthy foods and feel like I make decent choices but the pan of Christmas fudge is hard to say no to some days. Any advice on combating the food choices of the people you live with?

Thanks for reading, sorry again this is so long! Glad to be here!

**One more thing! In September of 2008 and again in June of 2010 I had my right knee scoped and a significant amount of cartilage taken out both times (sports related). Running or other really high impact activities suck for me, I end up with a knee the size of a cantaloupe. I'm not bone on bone but it's close in some spots so any suggestions on some activities that are nice to the knees (especially cardio, lifting doesn't seem to bother it as much) would be much appreciated!**

[bigm141414]

You forgot the "HEEEEEEEEYYYYYY" at the beginning of your post title

Welcome to the forums. Kick back, relax, have a look around.

Have you tried swimming? Great cardio/workout without the impact on the knees that running causes.

[ETFnerd]

Hi Carly. Welcome to the boards.

My gym has one of those treadmills submerged inside a pool. That may be an option if that's available in your area, maybe through your PT program. Heard it's a great workout.

[Guest guest4729]

Hi Carly. Welcome to the boards.

My gym has one of those treadmills submerged inside a pool. That may be an option if that's available in your area, maybe through your PT program. Heard it's a great workout.

On a side note, I'm super jealous that your gym has a treadmill inside a pool. That sounds awesome.

Otherwise, welcome to the forums! I just joined the other day and I've already learned SO much.

As far as cardio goes, perhaps you could do a fast walk? I would assume that would cause MUCH less impact on your knee but still keep your heart rate going higher that usual. Otherwise perhaps a stationary bike because it's only a small circular motion? If those don't work I'd totally say swimming!

[Shortkaik]

Welcome! Sounds like you've got the right attitude about making this change.

For cardio, I like to go for morning runs in the summer (fresh air, apparently it's good for you or something) and in the winter I'm playing in a small non-competitive soccer league at my office, although a lot of communities have adult sport intramural leagues you can look for. That's where I get my cardio in, mostly.

As for food, well, I haven't really gone paleo but I have cut back on a lot of the non-paleo things and try to eat real, balanced meals. I live with my boyfriend and his two kids every other week, so I understand about sharing meals. This means I do a lot of the cooking myself, and while I fill my own plate with the same things as everyone else, I often replace about half of what I would normally eat of the dinner roll/pasta/fries/etc with more meat or veggies. That's my compromise and it works well for me, but if you can go all out, give it a shot. Hopefully your family will be understanding!

[CarlyK19]

I just registered for an adult swimming class at the Y where I work out , I'm predicting that I will be the youngest one there by at least 15 years (as with most aquatics classes at my Y) but I'm excited about it! I was quite the little fish when I was younger but got out of the pool to pursue other activities and have found that I actually a pretty bad swimmer, although I still enjoy doing it. I never thought to swim as means of a cardio workout because I feel like I would kind of just be floundering around and not accomplishing much. Signing up for the class is kind of taking swimming back and hopefully making it in to something that works for me. Thanks for all the great suggestions guys!

[ziffy]

Hey there. I snapped my achilles back in 2009 and extensive running bothers my injury as well. I have replaced it with both the step machine (NOT the stairmaster, which is basically just a stair treadmill and HURTS my achilles) and the Concept 2 rowing machine which may be the best excercise of all time. On the step machine I've come to really enjoy intervals and I use the rowing machine either to warm up or for sprints. Doing 1000m on the rower as fast as I can doesn't hurt my ankle one bit and gives me a great cardio boost to my workouts.

[The Tin Man]

Welcome! I don't have much to offer in terms of low-impact cardio advice that hasn't been mentioned already. Bicycle or elliptical? No matter your choice you should consider HIIT (high intensity interval training). If you haven't read Steve's article about it here it is.

I never thought to swim as means of a cardio workout because I feel like I would kind of just be floundering around and not accomplishing much.

Seems to me that flailing around while swimming for distance/time would burn even more energy than swimming efficiently. I know that if I swam for cardio that would be the case: I'd burn twice the calories in half the distance of the people who can do the strokes properly!

[Crooked]

Welcome to the Rebellion! Sounds like this will be a great fit for you. A bunch of people here follow some variation on the paleo diet. I also live with my parents/roommates, and living with a paleo dieter has been challenging for my mom, but I think it works out ok. Personally, I don't do cardio per se - I Crossfit, so we do metabolic conditioning (MetCon) workouts that serve as high intensity interval work. In addition to swimming for low-impact cardio, I recommend rowing - there's no impact on the knees and it is truly a full-body workout.