Ready Player One

[janeaddams]

Hey Fellows Nerds!

 

I'm a 28 year old lady living right outside of D.C. Not sure how much information is too information as far as intros go, so here goes nothin':

 

Thanks to my parents' disregard for nutrition and disinterest in physical activity, I grew up a chubby kid who kept growing into an overweight teen. Five years ago I hit the self-loathing wall and decided to take matters into my own hands, which left me 80 pounds lighter. 

 

After battling the (very unexpected) emotional and psychological shock of that transition, which included a few years of disordered eating habits, I started the much longer road of working on a healthy mind along with a healthy body.

 

Today marks the final day of my first Whole30, which has completely changed my approach to appreciation of food. I'll absolutely be sticking with a mostly Paleo diet from here on out. I've also dug myself out of treadmill land and have gotten back in the the weight room this week, which is the direction I'm planning on steering my workouts for a while. (Extended cardio is way better left to summer hikes, anyway!). 

 

Needless to say, I'm totally psyched to have found a place where other like-minded folks are battling their own monsters and coming out the other side stronger and better. 

 

For all those that made it this far: Any advice? Tips on where to start (I know I'm a lot late for the June 8th Challenge)? Want to be my virtual buddy?

 

Let's do this!

 

[Mrcipher]

Good title choice - I take it you read the book ?

 

Welcome to the NF boards!

 

What kind of workouts are you planning to do in the weight room ?

 

Cheers for extended hikes. Walking is an awesome form of cardio.

 

My advice would be twofold:

 

1. Don't be too hard on yourself as you build your new habits. Sometimes we "fall off the wagon" and that's fine. Let it pass and get back on, rather than use it as an excuse to do more of what the old-self did (whether it's missing a workout, or not eating as you wanted to that day). In other words, forgive yourself because you're human, we can't be perfect all the time !
2. Make changes incrementally. It's the accumulation of a bunch of small changes that make lasting impacts. I draw a comparison to a tiny stream versus a flood and the effect on a mountain - the former seems insignificant but over time that stream can cut a gorge through it, whereas the flood makes a big splash and alot of noise but passes by quickly without any permanent changes.

Well done on your accomplishments so far and good luck! You'll find success and support here.

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

What MrCipher said. Make small changes at first, have a good plan, and go forth and be awesome. Welcome to the rebellion and especially to the hallowed halls of iron.

[Noname123]

Welcome fellow DC nerd! (There's a meet up thread if you look through the meet ups)

 

I'm in the Germantown, MD area myself! 

 

I've been on track for over a year and get so excited when I see people looking to take steps to change their lifestyle to being more active and feeling better! 

 

What are you goals? Do you have physical ones as well as ones for nutrition? And the best thing I did was slow changes. I didn't throw my entire pantry out and replace it all- I tried that many times before and I'd fail each and every time. When something runs out I'd make a conscious decision to replace it with something better for me (Pizza turned into fries, which turned into sweet potato fries which turned to squash over the course of 6-7 months as my 'drunk food') And then I started the alcohol challenges to reduce drinking....replaced white grains with whole grains and then replaced those with egg whites (I'm reintroducing some whole grains while I try to build muscle now actually!) 

 

It's all about the little choices. Before you know it the little choices become habits and your entire lifestyle is revamped!