Nerd Fitness! and other stuff

[Guest Jo-88]

I recently have been taking my health and fitness very seriously. I don't own a car so I bike everywhere I go, I quit smoking several months back, I have eliminated junk food entirely, no sodas, no artificial foods at all. I eat real food, and my body is thanking me for it. In fact I am a nose away from breaking the 200 Lb barrier that has been laughing at me for over a year (lost 20 lbs in 2 months). So I have been researching ways to increase my health and fitness up another notch (the whole body approach, not just for looks). I ordered a juicer the last time I got paid (haven't received it yet though) I will be doing a juice fast for 2 weeks then switching to a paleo diet. I did a paleo diet for 6 months in the past but I made a mistake, I treated it as a "diet" instead of a "nutrition framework" (which is what the word diet actually means). Part of the reason it finally failed was because I didn't give myself any leeway, so moving forward I will allow myself 2 meals per week that are not Paleo (I will still keep them marginally healthy though, I have a thing for curry and sushi... rice isn't paleo) and one weekend a month I will do juice only (I may increase, or decrease that depending on my results). Some would say that going vegetarian or vegan would be the way to go, but our biology and physiology is pretty clearly omnivorous... so paleo is better to me, gives me at least some animal protein and plays to our natural state. Basically I have to stop dieting for short term gains, and start fundamentally changing the way I view nutrition and exercise. But first comes my diet, only after I am comfortable with that will I increase my exercise (one thing at a time).

Unfortunately I am still too large for my frame so I can't do high impact exercises. Which is why cycling has been awesome for me, it is zero impact... you should see how big my thighs have gotten, there is so much torque packed in there it's scary (the muscle added weight, but there is less fat so I know its *good weight not bad)... but here pretty soon that won't be the case and I can start adding more exercises into my weekly routine. My goal has always been to be naturally strong and healthy not artificially strong, in otherwords I intend to keep weight training to a min and instead use my own body weight (that's to keep my bulk down too... I want to be firm but not bulky or ripped). I also want to increase control over my body, being fit is pointless if you can't control it... muscle stability, hand eye coordination and increased propioception are the name of the game. So I think I am going to take up Yoga which should help with the muscle stability and propioception. Not sure what I am going to do about hand eye coordination yet, I don't think video games are going to cut it anymore haha! Unfortunately I can't stand organized sports or team sports so that not an option (if I don't enjoy it, I wont stick with it)... but I will come up with something. But again, I will add one thing at time, habituate it, then and only then add something else.

I was recently diagnosed with exercise induced asthma, which I have suffered with for a long time and just didn't realize that that's what it was (it took some severe attacks that almost caused me to black out in order to see a doctor)... anyway now I have an albuterol rescue inhaler which gives me more confidence to push myself further. There is nothing scarier than not being able to catch your breath for 30-45 min... not cool.

All of this ties into the whole body/mind approach that I am taking with my transition... its not just enough for me to change my physical sex, I need to be as mentally and physically fit as my genetics will allow (without looking like a body builder, that's gross to me... but to each their own). I will not consider myself successful until I reach that goal. My family thinks I am being too hard on myself, but I think that's just excuses, I am 25 y/o it's time to starting being real with myself... I have been a fat lazy slob most of my life and it is completely unacceptable. Now is the time, not next month, not next year, NOW! (and no I am not just saying this because its Jan 2... I have been at this ever since I moved to mountain view 4 months ago and riding the bus no longer became an option).

ANYWAY, so today I was researching some new stuff and I came across a really cool site I thought you guys might appreciate. www.nerdfitness.com its got some really good info and will make you laugh (especially if your a geek/nerd like myself). Also has good stories of nerd fitness success haha! I loved seeing that kind of thing, puts a huge smile on my face

[Guest LizMarie]

Read the Paleo Spaghetti article! I made that a few weeks ago and loved it! The spaghetti squash was an amazing and new thing for me too. I may make spaghetti squash just to have by itself (olive oil, salt, pepper, bake, fork out the "noodles"...) or with stir fry!

[Guest Jo-88]

OMG spaghetti squash!! I have never seen anything like that before That is the coolest thing I have seen in awhile! Thank you for sharing

[Guest Mia J]

Spaghetti squash is almost a staple in our house. We have grown it ourselves and will almost always have one on hand. There are lots ways to prepare it. You can use it as a side dish or for a main dish. You can boil it or bake it or even use a microwave.

One of my favorite ways is to cut it in half lengthwise and remove the seeds. Then I bake it until the flesh can be scraped out into a bowl being careful not to damage the shell. I then start putting it back into the shell layered with ground meat or sausage and pasta sauce. I top it off with cheese and then bake it again for 10 minutes or so to melt the cheese.

Mia