New and need some answers

M

mandapanda73737

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Hey everyone,
I just found this forum and am really excited to hear lots of good advice. I have been working out and dieting for a while now. I was doing the Atkins diet for a while but not seeing any results. and i guess that i am just fed up with fad dieting and i just want to be healthy and eat right. but still lose some pounds and tone up. so i went shopping today and bought alot of low fat and whole grains and stuf like that. I guess what my question is, is how should i go about eating healthy and how should i spread out my cardio and weight training? i want to do it all right this time so that i look great finally. If anyone knows what i should do i would appreciate some advice. thank you!
 
strengh train each muscle once a week, for about the first few weeks, before you start hitting them twice a week.
example:

monday: chest/arms
wednesday:legs/shoulders
friday:back/abs

do whatever muscles on whatever day you want.
do cardio in between strength training days. get atleast 1 day rest each week.

for diet, each about 6 meals a day. about 200-250 calories a peice. about 2-3 hours a part. drink lots of water, i drink about a gallon+ a day. take a multi-vitamin. take an EFA (essential fatty acid) supplement. fish oil is good, mostly make sure to get good fats like poly/monounsaturated fats. no saturated fats.
 
In addition to Corple's great advice....Eat lots of fresh raw fruits and vegetables. They provide fiber, loads of vitamins and fill you up without many calories and minimal fat. A good trick for weight loss is to eat an apple 5-10 minutes before your larger meals. The dense fiber in apples fills you up and keeps you from loading up on calories. Refrain from refined carbs (sugar and flour are evil) stick to whole grains.

This may be a little extreme since you are just starting out but a great way to jump start your metabolism is to eat mostly fruit until noon, and do some type of exercise first thing in the morning (brisk walking, jogging, yoga). Fruit is the easiest food our bodies can digest, and gives you tons of energy. Also by exercising first thing in the morning you continue to burn calories more efficiently throughout the day, but I also find it gives one more energy. This of course may not be realistic if you have a hectic schedule in the morning. I force myself to wake up at 5:00 and do my run before I have to do anything else, it has made all the diference in the world to my general sense of well being.

By the way I am against all fad diets, especially Atkins. My parents did that and their cholesterol levels after trying it were worse than ever. I don't even like the word "diet" because it implies changing the way you eat for a temporary period of time and expecting a permanent result. I recommend approaching food with an attitude to change permanently for the better. Don't fill your engine with cheap fuel, you're all you've got.
 
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RedJade said:
A good trick for weight loss is to eat an apple 5-10 minutes before your larger meals. The dense fiber in apples fills you up and keeps you from loading up on calories.
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A very recent study showed that eating a grapefruit before a large meal caused overweight women with no other activity to lose 3.6 lbs over 12 weeks. Why? Fiber and water content. It's good to eat lots of fruit and vegetables too because they contain a lot of water content - which will fill you up and provide you with essential hydration.

RedJade said:
...do some type of exercise first thing in the morning (brisk walking, jogging, yoga) ... by exercising first thing in the morning you continue to burn calories more efficiently throughout the day, but I also find it gives one more energy
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It's been proven. Also, in the morning your body is at it's best state (though you may not realize it looking in the mirror). It just had a night's sleep (you did take time to get a great night's sleep, right?) and so your body has been repaired from the day before. Once you get some nutrients in it after breakfast (you are eating breakfast, right?) then you have a full tank of gas in a newly refurbished machine. This means a better workout and more energy throughout the day.

If you wait until later at night, you energy levels are lower, your body is slumped from a day of carrying yourself around, and your systems are worse-for-wear than at the beginning of the day. This results in less satisfactory workouts.

RedJade said:
I recommend approaching food with an attitude to change permanently for the better. Don't fill your engine with cheap fuel, you're all you've got.
Click to expand...

See how these fuel/engine analogies keep popping up?

Changing your diet is DEFINITELY a lifestyle change. So, it may be better for you to adopt one or two changes and cement them into your mindset rather than trying to absorb everything at once. The most important thing is that once you start doing these things, that you continue to do them even once you reach your target weight. You'll be much happier and healthier for it.
 
RedJade said:
By the way I am against all fad diets, especially Atkins. My parents did that and their cholesterol levels after trying it were worse than ever. I don't even like the word "diet" because it implies changing the way you eat for a temporary period of time and expecting a permanent result. I recommend approaching food with an attitude to change permanently for the better. Don't fill your engine with cheap fuel, you're all you've got.
Click to expand...

I totally agree with you there. I just recently came to terms to dieting sucks! And eating healthy is the way to go. I mean, i am not overweight at all. im 135 lbs. plus i have some muscle tone, i'm done with all those "quick fix's". They always bring me back to square one and it gets frustrating. I just started my lifelong healthy way of eating today. and i feel 100%. I did my workouts too. I usually do them while my son is taking his afternoon nap because otherwise he hangs on my legs while i'm doing my cardio arobics! Thank you all for your advice!
 
Fil, I disagree, not on your point though. I feel I get a better workout late afternoon/early evening. The morning workout may be more beneficial, but I feel I can push myself further and harder in the evening.
 
Yeah, I know a few people who are this way -- they need some time to settle into their own bodies. When I work with other people though, I tend to get better workouts out of them and myself earlier in the day as a general rule of thumb - not set in stone, of course.
 
It takes the central nervous system about 90 minutes to be running at full speed after you wake up. If you're really interested in training at full intensity, waking up and going to the gym will have some limiting factors.
But of course, its better to do that, than to not go at all.
 
yeah i really cant workout in the morning becuase i need to eat first thing or else i feel faint and sick. and then obviously i cant workout on a full stomach. ive been sick the past week and havent done a thing. im kind of mad about that but i know once i start up again i will feel much better. I started eating an apple before my meals and it seems to help alot with not overdoing it during the meals. im likeing that and i feel like i am starting to lose some inches. i hate scales with a passion so i'm not sure i will jump on one anytime soon unles i see some serious results. well i gues thats it for now. this Forum has definately helped me reshape my life and hopefully my body soon.
 
mandapanda73737 said:
yeah i really cant workout in the morning becuase i need to eat first thing or else i feel faint and sick. and then obviously i cant workout on a full stomach. ive been sick the past week and havent done a thing. im kind of mad about that but i know once i start up again i will feel much better. I started eating an apple before my meals and it seems to help alot with not overdoing it during the meals. im likeing that and i feel like i am starting to lose some inches. i hate scales with a passion so i'm not sure i will jump on one anytime soon unles i see some serious results. well i gues thats it for now. this Forum has definately helped me reshape my life and hopefully my body soon.
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Go to bed earlier and wake up earlier to have time to eat before working-out.

Sorry you're feeling sick.... ugh... but you're right - you'll feel MUCH better when you feel up to working-out again. What a remedy exercise is!

Good idea having some fruit before a meal! Better yet, have a huge green salad with a little oil & vinegar dressing

take care
 
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