Clueless in Illinois

Hey everybody! So, I've decided to make the leap into the world of fitness of which I know zip about. The only things I know anything about are acid reflux and heartburn, which I've dealt with in the past. I need a lot of advice, and I've got a lot of questions and goals.

Financially, I can't afford a gym, at least not until later starting around fall. I don't really mind, because while I'm comfortable with myself everywhere else, well, let's just say I'm too shy to even be on the tennis courts if there are more than two or three other people there. I hated gym in school, but I've played at least twelve hours the past three weeks of tennis.

I'm 21, 5'4", and I (am lucky to) maintain a weight of 110. I'm not a big food person, but I've gotten myself used to eating two to four times a day. I'm down to only a soda or two a day, same with water. I like making pancakes from scratch (2% milk, flour, sugar, basic recipe), and when I make cakes/brownies, they're from scratch too. I make them once or twice every couple of weeks.. Lean pockets, peanut butter sand whiches, the occassional pizza, chicken alfredo pasta, and hamburger helper with a lot of chicken sandwhiches.

Wow, it sounds alot more unhealthy than I thought it was when I type it out loud.

I got free lab testing at the hospital I work at, and was a tad surprised. I have a lot of trouble with my blood sugar dropping if I sleep more than 9 hours, and when I lived at home (I got my own apartment last year), I weighed [a happy] 120lbs and rarely had a problem. Its one of the main reasons I started eating more. My lab tests came back with crazy cholesterol (218, and most of it was the bad kind), a glucose level of 85, and while I can't remember much else, I know it was pretty average according to the lows/highs charts. Unfortunately, I forgot to grab my test results from home, but it had several things if anyone thinks knowing would help me out.

My boyfriend is big into running and tennis, lifts/benches, and eats pretty healthy. He drinks protein shakes daily, and he's even got me taking your basic daily vitamin-packed pills (I chose the flintstone variety, lol). He takes a couple of pills a day, amino acids and one other I can't recall. I want to be able to run with him, but I don't know what kind of diet and exercise plan would be best for me. I am not into taking supplements because its like taking tylenol for every cough and sneeze, in my opinion, unless my doctor tells me I need to take a pill for some kind of nutritional deficeincy or another. I am not into soy, and I can only afford about $50-$75 a week for food, so don't get crazy on me, lol.

I work two different shifts, one 7-3pm, one 3pm-11pm, and I'd say it was safe to walk at night if not for the two muggings a few weeks ago in an otherwise pot-head-infested but safe town. My sleep schedule is pretty screwed up thanks to my being a night owl, and I usually get around 6 or 7 hours a night. I have a 10lb weight, and tennis gear mostly thanks to my boyfriend, who I currently feel mortified about being in a gym with, trying to lift weights infront of, or run with, considering I can only jog for ten minutes straight without killing over. It took him a week to convince me to even wear shorts with tennis shoes (I'm a jeans girl) and start learning tennis. Athletics are my only physical insecurity, and if I could afford a trainer, I wouldn't be trying to find a way online to get my butt in gear both intellectually and physically. I've always had a healthy weight, and my parents are healthy but not freaks about it, so my drive is in the making.

My goals are to be able to at least survive a marathon by this winter (I know, its late, but my boyfriend and I have only been dating for about two months now, if I had done this when I first wanted to get better fit, I'd be in decent shape!). I'm favoring endurance over speed, since I've never been fast anyways. I'd like to be able to lift heavier amounts of weight without having a guy's body because I find it unattractive and gross, but my main goal is to lose what tummy pouch I have even though my boyfriend is telling me I am crazy. I know this is dreadfully long, but I'm bored as hell at work, and if there's anything I can say to help, I am trying to say it!

I can't stand nuts or more than a few bites of granola, oatmill is good with my brown sugar. I love most cereals, and alot of fruits/veggies, but they always seem to be expensive. I've really been watching the nutritional labels, but I have no idea how to get to where I can track them without driving myself batty.

Any takers on this mess? Lol!
 
Yikes, sorry that's so long! If there are any mistakes, I apologize, I'm mobile.
 
Hi,
Congrats on your new dedication to health. Overall, it doesn't seem like a mess to me, based on your weight and height and where I've seen other people start. It sounds like your boyfriend should be able to help you with the basics, but a couple of things to consider:
1) Diet: You mentioned eating 2-4 times per day. I would definitely keep it at 4 and try to eat small and frequent. This will also help with your blood sugar level. Also, even thought they can be expensive, don't skimp on the fruits and veggies.
2) Supplements: I would switch to a multi-vitamin formula more suited to your new activity level. Also, I would add fish oil, which has helped me control my cholesterol and was prescribed by my doctor (though I take an over-the-counter brand). Fish oil is also great for overall health and is probably the one supplement, after multis, that I wouldn't go without.
3) Exercise: I applaud you setting a goal. It is good to shoot high and chunk it down into smaller goals. So with your long term goal being a marathon, maybe your first goal should be to complete a 5k and work up from there. Also, to achieve that initial goal you shoot try to set mini-goals within your training. I am not a runner, but when I was powerlifting this is how I approached my long term goals. Also, I am sure you know, your training should reflect your goals. If you want to eventually complete a marathon, then you need to focus the bulk of your energy towards building up your endurance (running, swimming, jogging, cycling, etc). This may mean cutting back on tennis and lifting, though I always try to keep room for lifting and fun activities.
I hope this helps and feel free to pm me if you have any specific questions. Good luck and train hard!

Doug
 
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