sylvanides Posted December 16, 2015 Report Share Posted December 16, 2015 Hello! I'm Emily. I'm new to the forum, and new to strength training. Here's my backstory: I found about the forum because my friend sent me a link to Staci's story. (He is the one encouraging and helping me to train. He also showed me how to do the five stronglifts exercises). I could relate to her story very much, because I've also struggled with an eating disorder (anorexia) in my past. I've also traditionally kept myself excessively thin through cardio, but I never focused on building muscle or strength. But recently I've become more interested in getting strong. My goals are to build muscles and improve my bone health, and in general to feel better in my body. Even after my first session, I realized that the feeling of successfully squatting even the empty bar far exceeded that feeling of exhaustion that follows an intense cardio session. My challenges... well, I guess I'm struggling a bit just because I'm so weak... I struggle a little too with fears about lifting incorrectly. (For example, I think I deadlifted incorrectly the other day, because my lower back and hamstrings are quite sore. I also worry a bit about the diet and nutrition side, in terms of getting enough protein. I'm a vegetarian, (although I eat fish and eggs occasionally), and I don't eat dairy. (My dietary choices are based on environmental concerns). ATM, I'm also trying to gain weight more generally because I dipped a little during my exam period. I'm very eager to chat with other vegetarians and see where they get their protein! A related challenge for me, though, is that because of my past struggles with anorexia I want to avoid becoming too obsessed with food. I worry that might be a slippery slope. My dad was concerned a little with me entering a gym again, for similar reasons, but I have found (similar to what Staci discussed in her story) that weight involves a totally different set of motives than cardio. And I've also found that I'm more inspired to- have a more positive attitude towards- eating when I think of it was fueling myself to get strong. That said, my experiences with eating disorder have- I hope!- given me a lot of empathy for anyone who is struggling with body image issues, and with getting over the concept of exercise as a means to burn calories. Anyway, I'm very excited to join this community. I'm also a video game fan and the idea of relating to strength training like leveling up a character really appealed to me. I'm so happy this forum exists and am looking forward to meeting you all! 1 Quote Link to comment
Lita Posted December 16, 2015 Report Share Posted December 16, 2015 Hey Emily! I understand where you're coming from. I too have a history of a wide variety of disordered eating behaviours (overeating, restricting, overexercising) and have to be careful about how I train in order not to slide into a relapse. I'm also a vegetarian, though I do not eat fish and I do eat eggs and dairy (living in the cheese state, it's hard to be dairy-free ). Welcome to the Rebellion, from one new recruit to another! 1 Quote LitaWood Elf Recruit | Level Zero|| STR 0 || DEX 0 || STA 0 || CON 0 || WIS 0 || CHA 0 |||| Battle Log || Challenges: current || Link to comment
Basement Cat Posted December 17, 2015 Report Share Posted December 17, 2015 Welcome to the rebellion! Good on you for wanting to get stronger! As for protein, here is a website that lists 25 vegan options. You should find something to suit your needs in there. Good luck! Keep us posted! Quote Current form: Chubby House Cat (lvl4) Weight objective: 20% S. 4 P. 6 E. 4 C. 7 I. 8 A. 4 L. 5 Battle log Current Challenge Handy linky. Link to comment
sylvanides Posted December 18, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2015 Thanks so much to you both! That website is great. I didn't know that oats and broccoli were such good sources of protein! Quote Link to comment
m rips Posted December 19, 2015 Report Share Posted December 19, 2015 Hi Emily! Although I'm not a vegetarian, I also have a history with eating related disorders (restrictive eating, bingeing.) I still struggle today with bingeing, but it is rare. Anyway, just wanted to say hi and for you to know you are not alone in your journey Quote Link to comment
MellieMc2 Posted December 19, 2015 Report Share Posted December 19, 2015 Hi Emily, I have to stay away from scales or limit it to once a month. My perfectionism takes over and the craziness begins. It helps when my goal is being healthy instead of losing weight. I am also new and learning new ways. Quote MellieMc aka Bluemyst (I've had this handle since CB days!!)I am a new recruit. pre-apple, pre-pc generation. yes I have actually dialed into a mainframe to run a programI want to get healthy so when my granddaughter says, "Grammy jump!" I can.I am an Elf in spirit, but resemble a fat dwarf. Time to transforn. Link to comment
Fdcosa_out Posted December 28, 2015 Report Share Posted December 28, 2015 Hi! I'm also new and have a history of disordered eating - and I'm a no-dairy pescetarian too (veggie + fish)! Good luck on your journey Quote Call me BlueWhen the going gets tough, the tough get going. Link to comment
WingedBeastie Posted December 28, 2015 Report Share Posted December 28, 2015 Welcome Emily. Another for the disorded eating group (bingeing and restricted eating as well) Quote Race: Qunari Profession: Rebel Level: 1STR 1 | DEX 1 |STA 1 | CON 2 | WIS 2 | CHA 3 Link to comment
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