Amateur Shark Bait Here!

[GreenEyesBright]

Hows it going?

So long story short: Life fell apart, realized it wasn't much of one, and now since I have absolutely nothing left to lose, I figured I'd stop chasing other people's dreams and start chasing mine which is to be a Field Research Marine Biologist aka I want to be the bad ass chick who's scuba diving in the waters (No Cage!) and analyzing behaviors of sharks. Am I crazy? Most likely! But its been a dream of mine for over 20 years. So I sold everything I owned, got accepted into school to finish my Marine Sciences degree, and moved to Savannah because I got tired of fantasizing about living near the beach.

How does Nerd Fitness fit in? In order to achieve my goals, I need to be in great shape. Especially if I want to be taken seriously in a mainly man's world. NF's philosophy of a total life change got me excited because here was a resource made for people like me. Nerds with no clue how to even get started. When life was handing out how-to manuals, I was probably looking through the fridge for a Coke.

My plan is to start the Paleo diet, weight-training, and find cardio I like. (I hate treadmills, would rather just run outside.) Did try P90X and Insanity but I got bored after a couple of weeks. I prefer working out outdoors unless its weights.

Short Goals: Strict Paleo diet for 30 days

Weight-training (No idea where to begin with this so doing research on it)

Walk/Sprint/Run - I walk an average of 20 miles a week and already dropped say 60lbs in 18 months but I want to sprint farther and eventually be able to run on a regular basis just for fun.

Level 50:

Working at my dream job while taking research trips around the world.My PhD or my Masters degree. A solid family life. Healthy and in the best shape of my life. Certified scuba diver.(Strictly materialistic here: Own a boat and a truck.) And a published author. (Total publish or die mentality.)

Any tips?

[eupleridae]

Wow, kudos for making that tremendous life change! More power to you! I'm quite new so I'm not sure if I can give decent advice, but I can say that there are lots of different ways of doing cardio that aren't treadmills. My understanding is that any activity that gets your heart rate up for a decent period of time counts as cardio.

[alexgator]

This is so great! Sharks are cool :] Maybe you'll see octopus too!! They're my favorite.

Congrats on the 60lb loss already, that's inspirational. Reach for the starssss we're all rootin' for you!

[GreenEyesBright]

Thanks E! The life change wasn't by choice, but after giving myself a few weeks of moping, I figured what the hell now I can do what I want. I will def look for other cardio which I have found dance workouts and kickboxing to be fun.

Alex- 60 lbs - The "Mad as Hell" Diet works like a charm once a lifetime. Thanks for the input!

[andygates]

Get friendly with the dive clubs, bum gear at first (it's expensive) and get your certs. There's a lot that you can't get in the gym -- gear skills, swim skills, weird dive familiarization stuff that I only ever touched on -- but the learning curve isn't too steep. Get stuck in!

[GreenEyesBright]

Andy I'm looking forward to it! Figured I'd get in much better shape since the thought of me putting on a wetsuit right now terrifies me (Serious vanity issue here!) But I will look into getting my certs and diving clubs. Thanks for the input!

[ebm1224]

welcome to the community and congrats on all your progress already! i love savannah!

[ETFnerd]

Welcome to the nerd conga line. Looks like you're headed on the road to where you want to go. Good luck!

[maegs]

Congrats on making all those changes & going for your dream! Diving with sharks with no cage definitely sounds crazy!

Since you like working out outside, how about hiking/trail runs for cardio? I've been doing the treadmill thing but running outside, especially in hilly areas, definitely makes it a lot harder

Had to do it:

[GreenEyesBright]

Maegs- That was hysterical!!! I love that movie too, but I can't believe I forgot that scene!

ETFNerd- Thanks. Saw your video of the Nerdee. Pretty complicated looking stuff. I applaud your efforts though and willingness to put the videos out in public.

[Durandal]

Welcome! It sounds like you're well on your way. I've only recently began to eat a more Paleo diet and I'd be interested in hearing how your transition to Paleo is going - let me know if you want to compare notes.

[GreenEyesBright]

Absolutely D! I could use all of the motivation I can get! I'm waiting on the two books I grabbed from Amazon - The Paleo Solution (21 day challenge) and the Primal Blueprint. I know there are small differences but I like to do solid research when approaching a new challenge. What was the hardest thing to give up on Paleo?

[Durandal]

The hardest thing to give up was definitely sugar & desserts. I had a major sweet tooth and I like to bake stuff, which is a bad combination! Nowadays I still bake, but I give away most of what I make to my friends and co-workers. Honestly I feel so much better after cutting back on those things, I don't miss them anymore.

[GreenEyesBright]

D- I got lucky there. My new place doesn't have a stove so I'm forced to use a george foreman griddle/crockpot so that will make things a lot easier. Plus I'm the only person there so what I buy is all I eat. Poor me, I don't buy junk food at the store just because I hate the looks that I think I get. Same reason why I don't get fast food. Foodwise I'm a decent eater. Its all the daggone liquid calories!!!