But I *like*...veg..tables...

[Dav Ghtroc]

Hey there, Rebellion!

 

Just stumbled across NF on the 7th and am really excited to get on board with all of this.

 

A little bit about me (in true nerd fashion):

 

Name:      Robyn Ainsley

Race:       Human

Gender:   Female

Age:         26

Height:     5' 6"

Weight:    211.4 lbs (today)

 

I was a skinny little kid until I hit 9 or 10 and have been overweight since then: slowest runner in school, last pick on the team, always wanted to go on adventures but got winded too easily.  I got lost in Star Wars for years and loved every bit of it.  Grew up, quit a lot of stuff that brought me pleasure (mainly video games) because I knew it was also holding me back, and lost quite a bit of enthusiasm in doing so (still a great choice that I don't regret, but didn't really know where to go from there in the self-improvement department).  I had an "ah ha!" moment years ago while trying to level up a character's archery in a video game where I thought to myself, "Hm, I'm sitting here for hours learning how best to click a mouse/press a button.  Without my computer I don't have much in the way of skills.  That is somewhat unsatisfying."  So, I decided to do some archery and have been on and off for the past ten-ish years.  I've started to try to do archery actually well within the past year or two.  (Before, I was mostly just lobbing arrows haphazardly because it got me outside more.)  The thing is that if I'm going to do something, I want to do it well.  There are very few things that I can say I do well enough to be satisfied with how well I do them.

 

I tried low-fat for about a week once and felt miserable even though it was starting to work.  I've never really done any serious dieting because everyone I knew who did that just ended up eating the same stuff again and putting on the weight.  As a kid I already knew just from watching people that it didn't work and was, ultimately, uncool.  I tried portion control with no understanding of the sugar thing and found it very unsatisfying--it left my usually-chipper self quite grumpy and I picked "fat and happy" as my preferred alternative.  But I've really wanted to change things up.  A couple of years ago I read some food books (Kingsolver, Pollan, Salatin) and loved what the people in them had to say.  I cooked a lot and tried to do the unprocessed/local stuff, but hadn't seen enough arguments about sugar and grains to know to stay away from them.  Nothing really changed and I didn't feel much better eating all unprocessed, so I went back to a lot of quicker foods (also made some big time commitments that have severely limited my cooking).

 

Within the last year I read some stuff on bodyweight training and thought that was really cool, got a book from Amazon, and realized about a day into it it that at 200+ lbs there was no way I could do even the "beginner" workout exercises in there; ergo, I gave that up pretty quickly.  But I wanted to be in shape!  Finally, about two weeks ago, I was convinced something needed to change and started googling to see if there were any easier bodyweight workouts that I might start.  I stumbled across NF.  I was amazed.

 

See, there have been a couple of things I had right: I just don't care for breads.  That is, store-bought pastries do nothing for me (cookies being an occasional exception); homemade cookies/bread is a different story, but I don't make either much these days.  And I really like vegetables.  Always have.  When I found the paleo blogs here, I was thrilled: I didn't have to feel guilty about eating "fat-laden" eggs for breakfast anymore!  In some ways, I've been eating what I like and doing my best not to feel too guilty about it (hopped off the "trying to avoid fat" bandwagon shortly after reading the aforementioned food books).  This, as it turns out, makes the jump into paleo-ish pretty easy: the foods it promotes are most of my favorites anyway.  The food that's not on the approved list is a lot of stuff that I just ate because I thought I was supposed to.  Sugar was a whole other issue, but I kicked that one after what shall be henceforth known as "The Day of the Gonzo Headache" (sadly, I did not get over it with the ability to speak fluent Mandarin Chinese).  Sweet potatoes and apples helped get me through the rest of that week (not too many of them, but enough to curb the other side effects).  I plan to eat as close to paleo as possible when eating on my own (most of the time) and not worry about it if I'm eating at my parents' and they have spaghetti or whatever.  On the rare occasion that I eat out, I'll be looking for something paleoesque and not put out if I have to eat a sandwich (oh, darn!).

 

Not quite two weeks later, having implemented a lot of this, I feel awesome: I'm more focused, I'm eating less because I'm satisfied with what I eat, I've started sleeping better and waking up refreshed, and I have a plan!

 

Here's what I'm doing for now:

- beginner bodyweight workout every other day

- walking at least ten minutes a day on the off days

- eating paleo fairly rigidly whenever I'm in charge of the meal (I will still have biscuits with my tea occasionally, but I've cut out adding sugar most days)

- working on posture (been a sloucher my whole life)

 

Current goals:

- get to the recommended three reps of the bodyweight workout (got to two this week!)

- get down to 180 lbs this year (preferably more, but aiming "low" because I'm not sure what I'm capable of, speed-wise, right now)

- do a handstand, ideally within two years

 

That last one is really important to me.  Doing a handstand is something I was scared to do when I was little, and currently appears impossible.  I don't think it is impossible and I know if I can do one I'll be in better shape than I can ever remember.  I want to run, I want to jump, I want to climb trees!

 

The Ranger class fits me to a T.  I know I'm supposed to do a challenge before joining a guild, but I'm breaking the rules and joining early.  (Hope you Rangers don't mind.)

 

And now, having been much longer-winded than I intended, I'm going to end this thing before it becomes a novel.  If any of you actually read all that, wow--thanks!

 

Cheers,

Robyn

[Super Sam]

Hey welcome to the rebel squad (we don't actually call ourselves that, I'm just trying to be cool). I can tell you have some pretty good willpower based on all those changes you've implemented so far. Great set of goals too, I like how your weight is only one of many things you're aiming for. Lowballing what you hope to achieve also seems like a good idea, you can surprise yourself 

 

I'm 5'8 and I've gone from about 180 to 150 so far, and one major thing that helped me was eating a lot of oatmeal and chicken noodle soup. Basically foods that are filling but with low calories. But you seem to be doing well with the diet thing, everyone has different things that work for them.

 

Nice to meet you 

[Dav Ghtroc]

Hooray, a comment!

 

Thanks for the encouragement, Sam!  Nice to meet a fellow Ranger, too.

[Elastigirl]

Hi there and welcome. I am a Ranger too.  Love your handstand goal. I never could do a handstand or headstand as a kid, too scared to try. Did my first wall headstand as part of a mini challenge competition. That inspired me to try more stuff, and now I can do a crow, headstand, and against the wall handstand. Still working on the unassisted handstand, but that is an eventual goal of mine too

[Dav Ghtroc]

Woah, Elastigirl, that is awesome!  How long did it take for you to be able to do those different head/handstands?

[Cataleya]

I identify so much with so much of your intro post. Let's be friends.

 

<is 26, 5'5" and started at 208lbs. Not a fast runner. Wants to gain the skills she sees in video games/comics/television instead of just watching it happen. Working on bodyweight stuff and struggling to find a workout that works for me. Trying to kick sugar. Also dislikes dieting.

 

It took me about 9 months and a support network of roughly one other person to get to 188lbs., and due mostly to winter I've been stuck thereabouts. I think you'll do much better hanging around here, with how wonderful everyone here is.

[Briniel]

Welcome to the Rebellion! I really enjoyed reading your intro (yes, I read all of it ), it sounds like there's a long way behind you with several dead ends but you've finally found something that works for you and motivates you to stick with it - that's awesome! I love your current goals, mostly because you've considered what you want to achieve short- mid- and long-term. And because I'd also like to be able to do a handstand

I hope you'll have a great time here (I know I do) and wish you all the best on the journey!

[Miw_Sher]

Welcome to the rebellion!

 

you will find as you stick around here that failed attempts are only learning points on the path to your goals. handstand is one of mine as well, actually.

I am coming from a very similar position as yourself. I was really bad in sports in high school, never ran fast, never was able to do a push-up. I have always been chubbier than the other girls in my class. Now I can start seeing ab definition and I recently knocked out one clean one without an issue, and I have since added two more reps. My next goal is pull-ups.

The most important learning point for me is that a little goes a long way, I started out barely being able to do knee push-ups, and i just increased reps on those. Then one day BAM full push-ups.

I wish you the best time here and am looking forward to seeing you around!

[Dav Ghtroc]

Thanks, Miw_Sher, that's really encouraging.

 

Definitely taking it slowly and steadily, but am excited by the little improvements I've seen.  Two weeks ago I could only reach maybe 8 inches above my toes.  Now I'm down to about 3--nearly there!  Not sure that I ever expected to be able to touch my toes again.

 

I assume pull-ups are one of those things you have to be able to do to do a handstand, so am looking forward to the day that I can do one of those, too.  Good luck on your quest!

[Dav Ghtroc]

Thanks, Miw_Sher, that's really encouraging.

 

Definitely taking it slowly and steadily, but am excited by the little improvements I've seen.  Two weeks ago I could only reach maybe 8 inches above my toes.  Now I'm down to about 3--nearly there!  Not sure that I ever expected to be able to touch my toes again.

 

I assume pull-ups are one of those things you have to be able to do to do a handstand, so am looking forward to the day that I can do one of those, too.  Good luck on your quest!

[Elastigirl]

21 hours ago, Robyn Ainsley said:

Woah, Elastigirl, that is awesome!  How long did it take for you to be able to do those different head/handstands?

I was able to do a wall headstand fairly quickly, and the free headstand probably about 6 weeks. The handstand even against the wall took a long time, because I had to build up shoulder and wrist strength. I worked up to it by doing non-vertical planks against the wall, working at getting them more and more vertical. I did daily practice for several months.

[Butternut]

Hi Robyn!  I'm fairly new too, and I'm excited to read your story because it sounds like your on the right track and got the right idea.  

 

Being a fan of vegetables will help you.  

 

Its amazing when you read about grains and wheat and get a different outlook on them.  I've been going thru that for about a year, but in the last two months I've been pushing it more and more not to have any, and lately I don't ever crave them.  The longer I go without the stronger I get, but once I hit a time I do eat it, for instance last night my husband and I went out and got a deep dish pizza from our favorite magical pizza joint and we ate one slice, but today I found myself being ok with eating other breads and grains.  I'm letting myself do it today, just to give myself that go ahead, but I can't wait to get back on track.

 

I listen to health podcast to keep me in the right state of mind, and Steve was on one of the ones I was listening to so I cam here, and I'm excited to find some cool support.  So welcome and i can't wait to hear how you do in the next few months!  

[Dav Ghtroc]

Not sure how I missed answering your post, Butternut.

 

I know what you mean about slipping back into eating grains.  I spent the weekend with friends and let myself get pizza and Chinese (actually did pretty well with the Chinese because there were vegetables and chicken at the buffet and I stuck to mostly those).  Suddenly I wanted to eat all the other grains all weekend.  But, I mostly did not do that, enjoyed the pizza with no guilt, and used such to fuel my determination to exercise the next day and get back in the groove of things.

 

Overall, all is well.  Thanks again for the comment, and sorry I missed it earlier.

[scottiek]

Hi Robyn! I'm new here too, this is my first day of official NF workout. I'm glad you're finding early success with this! Like you, I like vegetables. Brussels sprouts, carrots, broccoli, just about anything. I really like the approach here. I've dragged myself through p90x once and had good success, but #1 it was very difficult and time consuming for me and #2 as soon as I was done with the first round, I think my mind said "we're done!" and I relapsed within months. The slow, steady approach of NF appeals to me. Just making incremental changes, seeing how it goes, not letting slip-ups get in your way. Best of luck to you!

[Dav Ghtroc]

nuqneH, scottiek!  I've found the NF approach to be just right for me.  After a little more than a month I'm still sticking with it and enjoying the process.  Good luck to you, too!

 

Q'apla!