A Little Help for a Newbie

G

ggsherman

New member
Hey there,

I am looking for some information as I have never really bothered to worry about how I ate, how I exercised - etc... However, I am wondering how to start this.

I am 22 years old, about 5'8" and weight 175lbs. Now, I'm not 'fat' but I could be leaner and would like to be healthier.

What I am trying to obtain is my athletic build once again; however, I am uncertain of how to go about things when it comes to eating for the most part.

I would like a little help with a 'dieting' program to use. I do love fruit/vegetables/meat, etc.. I'm not too picky of an eater, but when it comes to what I should be eating, and when I should be eating it and when/how I should exercise, I don't know how that works.

I usually run every single day, either a long jog or on the tredmill for a cardio work out (consist of walking/sprinting 5-6 times within 20-25 minutes) and also lifting weights 4 times a week. I also play a lot of tennis, so I know I am getting enough exercise.

If someone could help me out, give me actual foods to eat and when to eat, that would be wonderful. I'm not to savvy with the carbs/fat/protein idea of food, so tell me to eat more carbs than fat, intake and outtake will just confuse me. I am a computer programming, not a health expert. :)

Thanks, I appreciate it in advance,

GG~
 
Welcome to the site GG!

Sounds like you've got the exercise thing under control, what you need is a good measure of how many calories you should be eating in order to facilitate your loss and then to choose wisely to fill that need. I find sparkpeople.com to be VERY helpful. You plug in your info and your goal weight along with your activity level and it tells you how many cals you should eat per day and will even give you suggestions as to what your diet should look like, if you find you need help coming up with meal ideas.

You may want to consider starting a diary, that way people can come by and encourage you, give you advice, but most importantly it helps to keep you accountable. I find that I really watch what I eat when I know the whole forum will be reading it. :p Also, when days get tough, it feels really great to have people lift you up and to know that people believe in you. These guys and gals are the best support system anyone can have...trust me I know, they've gotten me through some tough times.

Check into sparkpeople, the membership is free and we're here to help you along the way. This can not be viewed as a DIET, it has to be a lifestyle change in order for it to work. If you merely do this to get the weight off and go back to eating unhealthy or too large portions, etc...its just going to come back. I still enjoy food, very much so...but I've learned that I don't have to overindulge to do so. I still get my chocolate, but I don't need to eat three kingsized bags of M&M's. I've learned to eat to live not live to eat. I still eat so many of the foods I loved before I just prepare them better. No more white bread, I eat whole grain or whole wheat instead. No white rice, brown rice instead. I don't fry anything, I grill a lot, bake some. I use whole wheat/grain pasta...and my daughter hasn't even noticed.

It's about losing weight safely and adapting a lifestyle that you can maintain. It's ok to have icecream sometimes, even the real thing, but there are also so many low fat versions that are JUST as good. If you look hard enough, and I have, you can find healthy alternatives to prepare just about anything. Life doesn't have to be miserable to loose weight and eat healthier...but it takes some work to do the research. Luckily joining this place does a lot of that leg work for you. There are AWESOME recipes in the recipe section and if you browse people's diaries you'll find things tucked in there too!

But the FIRST thing to know is ALWAYS eat breakfast. BOOOOY did it take me a long time to figure this one out! I HATED breakfast, couldn't eat that time of day, but I made myself and now its a habit. Your body has to be fueled to loose weight, you have to eat to lose and I just didn't get that before. Don't skip meals, don't starve yourself. I eat three meals a day and 2 healthy snacks. Today my midmorning snack was a baggie of sweet seedless grapes and my afternoon snack was a 100 cal pack Hershey snackster (chocolate chips, chocolate cereal puff and something else...but it was chocolate lol). If you don't eat enough and often enough your body will go into starvation mode and hold on to fat for dear life...b/c it's afraid that it won't get more food. It makes perfect sense to me now, but it took time to sink in. Not eating enough throws off your metabolism and while you may lose some, your body will quickly shut down...which will greatly frustrate you. Also drink LOTS of water. Try to drink half your weight in water everyday...your body has to stay hydrated to let go of that fat too.

Ok...I'll stop now, I'm overloading you and I don't want to do that. It is a process not a quickfix, a lifestyle change not a diet. I look forward to getting to know you and cheering you along the way and dusting you off when you need it. Best of luck to you! :)
 
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Hey :)

Thanks for the reply. Very informative.

As for the snacks, I am not sure what to eat there. I don't eat very much junk-food, but I do eat cheese. :-/ I think that's part of the problem there!

Breakfast is a meal I usually skip, but I will try to atleast have some fruit for that meal. I usually do end up starving myself until dinner, but I'll try to be a little more careful with that.

You stated something to help me determine how many cals I should eat... I'm not good with calculating any of that, actually. And sort of embarassing in a way as to see myself do something so easily, wrong. *Chuckles*
 
Sparkpeople does it all for you, no adding, no miscalculations, no worries!:)

Healthy snacks: you said you like fruits and veggies so

Broccoli
strawberries
grapes
celery
you get the picture

Weight watchers has the GREATEST snacks, ice cream and other wise. Look through NiaPage (Tammy's) diary...she can find all the WW yummy snacks.

Also stuff like
Fat free pudding
Fudgsicles...ummm I LOVE these, fat free and I think only 60 cals each!
cheese is fine, in moderation...just like anything else. I eat extra sharp w/2% milk with triscuits

Hmm, what else?
reduced fat or natural peanut butter
nuts: almonds are great
raisins
Any of the 100 cal snack packs
low fat or low sodium Lays


I'm leaving out TONS but these are the ones that popped in my mind
 
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