Elliott has Spawned!

[Elliott]

Hi everyone! My name is Elliott and I'm 24. I found Nerd Fitness through a Google search of "how to start getting in shape" which means Steve is doing something right with his SEO! I'm glad to have found this group. The material is extremely accessible to me as a gamer and inspires me in a way no other "get in shape" pieces have. Leveling up my life is something I'd like to do because I've found myself in a bit of a rut and wanting more from my life at 7 months sober.

 

A bit about me: I'm transgender, female to male. I'm in the process of starting my medical transition which begins with a few introductory sessions with a therapist to establish an understanding of when and how gender dysphoria was first experienced, and how I continue to work with it in my everyday life. I just had my second session yesterday and we created a timeline of how I'd like everything to pan out. I'll hopefully start on hormone replacement therapy within the next few weeks and wanted to have top surgery soon after that but I learned that better results are generally achieved with a lower body fat percentage. I'm 5'7" and I was 197 lbs in July and pulled the reins in a bit after realizing that. However, I allowed some life stressors over the past couple months derail me from my efforts and I've stagnated at my current weight of 177. I want to take better care of my body not only for surgery's sake but because I miss the active lifestyle I used to live up until my addiction took over. I feel better both physically and mentally when I'm in healthy shape so I'd like to get back to where I'd used to be. I love the idea of this group and I hope to become a regular participant in the Rebellion!

 

My goals: I'd like to first drop some weight and get down to 140. I want to start strength training but don't much enjoy running, unfortunately (and I played lacrosse for 10 years! I picked the wrong sport! Hah!). I loved the weight lifting but not the long distances. I might utilize some sprint training because I do enjoy bursts of speed, but distances aren't enjoyable to me. I'm interested in starting rock climbing; I think that's something I'd truly enjoy. I'd also like to quit smoking at some point because I know it's nothing but terrible for me. It's difficult with such an addictive personality and feeling as though I've got "nothing left", but I hope to replace that addiction with an addiction to my well-being!

 

I found one of Steve's posts where he posed a few things to ruminate on:

 

Determine your goals or habits you want to establish.

140 pounds by April.

Walk 5 days a week.

Cut out soda from my diet.

Full medical transition by September 2017.

 

Determine why you sucked in the past and how you can avoid it in the future.

Laziness.

Ambiguous goals.

Over-exertion too soon; not focusing on little goals I can accomplish every day.

 

Start cleaning up your diet in whatever method works best for you.

No fast food.

No more sodas after I finish those I have in my fridge.

 

Pick an activity that makes you happy and do it a lot.

Walking my dogs.

Potentially rock climbing?

 

And always remember that I can't outrun my fork!

 

I hope everyone is having a great morning/afternoon/evening/night! Cheers!

[SpecialSundae]

Hey Eliott and welcome to the Rebellion!

Sounds like you've made some great progress already with getting healthy.

Two very important questions:

* Favourite games?

* Favourite fitness form?

Anyway, let me know if I can help at all. I'm mostly good on UK matters and lifting barbells!

Sundae

[Elliott]

Hi Sundae! Thank you very much! I've made some progress but there is still so much further to go! I believe one of the biggest things I can work on is allowing myself to be proud of the things I accomplished and not saying "could have done better". I've come a long way and I should be proud of myself!

 

Favorite games are League of Legends and Heroes of the Storm. I know, I'm one of those. I've got a Playstation 4 but also a fiancee who is usually the one to lay claim to the television so I mainly play on my computer. I've got a laptop not capable of running much so such is life. I played through quite a bit of Borderlands and Trine, though, and I really love those games as well! Went through a nostalgic Runescape phase a few months back as well.

 

Favorite fitness form is currently walking my dogs. I cheated and edited my post to be a bit more descriptive up there, but I really enjoy walking my dogs. I don't much enjoy distance running (I wish I did! Perhaps in the future ..) but I do love lifting weights so I'd like to get back into that. I read somewhere that it's not suggested to lift weights while trying to lose fat, though, as you simply gain muscle and don't lose fat? Is that ridiculous or is there any validity to that?! I'd also really like to start rock climbing; I think that is an activity I would truly enjoy.

 

I'll likely come to you for questions regarding barbells! I don't have access to a full-fledged gym, just a small apartment gym but it does offer a wide range of barbells in addition to a pullup bar. That's all I really need!

[SpecialSundae]

You can absolutely ignore the suggestion not to lift weights whilst trying to lose fat. You can't gain muscle and lose fat (in significant amounts) whilst losing weight, but you can get leaner and stronger whilst losing weight.  I lost about 40lb of fat in the year I started lifting!

 

My husband's a climber these days and he loves it. I think it appeals to the problem-solving side of him.

 

I'm basically a childish gamer who loves Kingdom Hearts and the Final Fantasy games from 7 to X-2 (just ordered The World of Final Fantasy to play over Christmas). We even rebuilt a SNES so we can play Super Mario and Mario Kart in their original glory.  

 

Do what you love. That's the most important thing! The best training plan is one you stick to.