New to getting healthy..advice greatly appreciated!

C

cornfedhonky

New member
Hi everyone,

First time on the site, I had a look around and was inspired by what people are doing here. I hope to have some success of my own to share with you. A little about me:

I'm a 29 year old systems administrator so my job mainly consists of sitting in a chair 8 hours a day staring at a screen. I've always been a big guy since high school and never really had a problem with that. I've always eaten whatever I wanted and now that I'm a bit older it's definately catching up to me in a bad way. Currently I'm 5'11 and 325 lbs and my self image has gone down the drain. I'm finding myself depressed a lot and very lethargic. I feel like it's now or never for me to turn things around and I have a real desire to get in shape and stay in shape.

My problem is I have NEVER exercised, I know nothing about proper dieting, and as hard as it is to say I'm pretty lazy and weak willed. I've thought about joining a gym but honestly in my current shape I'm too embarrassed and self-conscious to work out with other people around. I feel like I need to find some type of routine or regiment to get on and stay on but I'm not sure what is best for me. I've looked into some of the online programs/dvds you can order but I've received mixed reviews on alot of them. So here I am, I was just wondering if anyone out there has been in a similar situation and had any advice for someone who knows absolutely nothing about taking care of themselves. Thanks for reading.
 
Welcome aboard. :)

Let me be frank: You're worrying too much about how "right" your first step on this journey is. And that's pointless once you factor in pretty much *anything* will work at the stage of the game you're at.

Whatever gets you moving more and consistently will do the trick. So start out slow and pick a handful of things you don't mind doing. Maybe a couple of nights per week you can go for a walk, a couple of nights per week you can follow a dvd, and a couple of nights per week you can do some body weight resistance training.

If that's too much, scale back and built up a tolerance for more work.

On the diet side of things, start out by making better food choices. Foods that are considered healthy tend to be much less calorically-dense than their unhealthy counterparts. They also tend to satiate better.

Planning out the foods you'll buy at the store as well as the foods you'll eat each day in advance will go a long way.

In very general terms, avoid processed crap as much as you can. Stick with whole, natural foods and try to balance out your meals and snacks.

Protein sources - grilled chicken/turkey breast, lean ground beef, lean cuts of steak, fish, pork tenderloin, eggs, low/no fat dairy, nuts, protein powder, etc.

Fat sources - fish oil pills, fish, extra virgin olive oil, avocados, nuts, natty peanut butter, etc.

Carb sources - Veggies, fruits, whole wheat bread/pasta, rice, etc.

The foundation of your food should come from protein, healthy fats and fibrous veggies. This will be the filling stuff that essentially self-regulates calorie consumption.

This is just very general stuff... nothing written in stone.
 
There are a lot of details to balancing healthy eating and working out and as you learn more, you'll realize there's always more to learn.

BUT.

As Steve said ... at this stage of the game, any change is going to be a good change and will make a difference.

When I first started losing weight, I didn't count calories or know much about macro nutrients or percentages, or any of that. What I did was start thinking about what I was putting in my body. I started paying attention to labels and content of food. I started looking at where my food came from.

I made a choice nearly 4 years ago now to cut way way way back on processed and packaged foods. If it has artificial ingredients or high fructose corn syrup or things I can't pronounce in the ingredient list, I don't eat it. I made an effort to eat more fruits and veg - I took that whole "apple a day" thing seriously and made sure I had an apple for a snack every single day. I made sure that I had either fruit or veg or both at every single meal. And I switched from drinking soda, juice, and other things to a cup of coffee in the morning and then water after that.

I lost my first 20-30 lbs just by making those changes in my diet. As I lost more weight, I became more interested in learning about diet and nutrition and that's when I began counting calories and paying more attention to my macro-nutrients.

I don't always eat perfectly - sometimes I eat things I know I shouldn't. Sometimes I indulge myself in a junk food snack or meal. But for the most part, now that I've been eating this way for over 3 years, I couldn't go back to the way I was eating before. I can't eat that kind of food in that kind of quantity any more - it makes me sick.

But my whole point is - right now, where you are ... small changes will have big results. So don't wait ... just get started.
 
Hey thanks for the advice guys. I should probably already know this but by "whole, natural foods" you mean no pre-packaged from the store or fast food correct?

The reason I was thinking I should get on some type of program is that I'm a creature of habit, It's very easy for me to fall back into patterns if I don't have something set in stone that I have decided I'm absolutely going to do and not go back on.

I am definitely going to follow your advice and immediately switch to water only and cut out all unhealthy and fast foods. One of the obstacles I see myself running up against is I work 8-10 hours a day 6-7 days a week and I travel alot for my job as well. Any suggestions for healthy alternatives for people who don't always have the time to cook and travel a lot? Thanks again!
 
I should probably already know this but by "whole, natural foods" you mean no pre-packaged from the store or fast food correct?
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Yes. My rule of thumb is that if it's something that my grandmother couldn't have bought, I don't eat it. :)

One of the obstacles I see myself running up against is I work 8-10 hours a day 6-7 days a week and I travel alot for my job as well. Any suggestions for healthy alternatives for people who don't always have the time to cook and travel a lot?
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I tend to do a lot of travelling for my job as well, so I know how hard it can be. Do you fly when you travel or drive? That makes a difference - if you're driving you can put a cooler in your car and stock it with healthy snacks. If you're flying, you're kind of at the mercy of the airport restaurants.

Even so, you can learn to make healthy choices at fast food places. Wendy's is always a good place to go - you can get a grilled chicken sandwich on whole grain w/out mayo, or a baked potato with broccoli, or a cup of their chili (which is actually reasonably healthy).

Learning what is and isn't healthy will help you to make better choices when you have to eat out. Again, focusing on whole foods helps here. As you learn, you will be able to look at a menu and understand what would be a better choice. All of the major fast food places have nutritional information online, so looking at that information before you go out will also help you to learn what is better for you.
 
Hey thanks for the tip, I didn't know you could get whole wheat at wendys. Unfortunately, I do usually fly when I travel. It looks like I'm going to have to do some research on which restaurants offer the healthiest alternatives. Does anyone have any good sites with quick, good recipes using natural foods? I'm single so usually when I do cook I'm looking for something fast and easy....that's probably what got me where I am now. =)
 
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