Hi, I just joined. I’m happy to find a place with such a wealth of good information. My dilemma is this, I cannot(at this time) afford a gym membership. I will hopefully soon, but I need to catch up on some…cough cough…bills.
Anyhow, I’d love to find new, and inexpensive ways to get a great workout at home.I have many workout videos, but I am not sure if they suit me. I do have a medicine ball, and hand weights, and strength elastics. Please guide me in the right direction. I see myself getter bigger and I am not happy, or healthy.
My diet is poor. I just dont know the right foods to eat. And I have acid reflux again. I was over weight before and lost weight by starving myself ( I know bad! That’s why I’m not doing it now), back in 2002. And most of the weight I lost has come back. I dont want to be big anymore. Help.
Heres my stats:
Age:30
Height: 5’6
Weight: 152 Lbs
Problem areas: Stomach and thighs. My lower legs are long and lean- get that, its only the top half that’s fat.
Dilemmas: Addicted to sweets and salty snacks. No idea what excercises to do, havent the slightest idea how to eat healthy.
Goal: 130 Lbs. Lose weight. Eat healthy. Excercise daily. Toned legs, abs and arms.
you could always invest in a se of dunbells, and maybe a barbell. not that expensive for a cheap set, just to get you started. argos do them not that expensively (around £30) and they have a bench at around £50 if you could stretch that far.
that way you could easily get a good routine put together by one of the more experiensed guys on here. trust me there are guys on here who will get your muscles bulging,n just take what they say religiously, read up on the nutrition and diet articles on here and get everything planned first.
i wont offer ny routines as im a nube as well, but seriously, invst in some weights as you can always jog, swim or walk for cardio so theres no excuse for that.
Job #1 is eating healthy. That should be your top priority. My advice is not to try to make a radical change. Start making small changes. For instance, if you’re not eating a nutritious breakfast then start there. Wake up each day and make yourself some steel cut oatmeal (oatmeal is one example…but a good example). Once that becomes a habit make another change. Slowly and slowly keep doing it. What you’ll notice is that the more healthy food you eat the more your palate changes. I’m at a point where junk food now turns me off. It a lot of ways, I’d rather NOT eat it.
I’ve tried going all out and changing everything at once and the problem with that is it becomes too much and you find excuses to give up. I had to go through that a few times and eventually made small changes. Now, all those small changes have built up.
Great tips everyone! I’m excited to make a healthy change. thanks for all the nutrition threads.
Digity, I liked your idea with changing one thing at a time. Wish I woulda thought of that. I have been trying to change my eating habits all at once and within days I am burnt out and sick of the healthy foods. Gradual change- I like that.
Millar, thanks for the advice on the dumbbells. I have some somewhere. Guess I better go to the storage shed and see if they got placed in there.
Doublesided, thanks for the excercise threads.
I’m off to strategize some eating and excercise plans.
Don’t be too gradual though! Resolve to be reformed within say three weeks. That gives you time to ease into things. I really recommend you get a bench, barbell and some weight plates. That’s really all you need.
I think the key is that each small changes builds on the next one. Once you’ve committed to eating a healthy breakfast and you find it doable then it’s no longer such a big stretch to also have a healthy lunch. Things should snowball from there. That’s the best way. Build some lifestyle momentum and let it fuel the next change. But yeah, don’t become stagnant. You need to have a deep sense of commitment to want to change.
The commitment has to be strong, but the execution needs to be done wisely. Sometimes our commitment outweighs what we can really handle and you have to be cognizant of that. Learn to be flexible. If you’ve bitten off more than you can chew take a step back and get back at it. The absolute worse thing you can do is just give up when these hiccups inevitably arrive.
Make yourself a dragging sled and some sandbags and you will be praying to go to a gym for rest and relief from the afore mentioned beasts. Like several other people mentioned, get your diet in order. Hard training will not make up for a shitty diet.
Thanks dane. Wow! She is pretty hot. The first woman I saw when I came to this site was Jamie Eason. Now that girl is hot!! I’d love to look like her.
I tell ya, it’s great to see women can still be toned (buff, whatever you wanna call it) and still be beautiful! Gives me hope!!
Thanks for the read dane. Another excercise to add to my routine.
Besides a healthy balanced diet, should I be taking any supplements? And are supplements the same thing as vitmains?? I know, total newbie question.
I hear alot of people saying (to other people on the forums) to take their supplements. Now I wonder should I be taking them too?
[quote]babegurl77 wrote:
Besides a healthy balanced diet, should I be taking any supplements? And are supplements the same thing as vitmains?? I know, total newbie question.
I hear alot of people saying (to other people on the forums) to take their supplements. Now I wonder should I be taking them too?
[/quote]
Yes, vitamins not already coming from your food are supplements. If you’re a beginner don’t get more than a multi-vitamin. Supplements won’t help you unless you fix your nutrition first.
[quote]babegurl77 wrote:
Thanks dane. Wow! She is pretty hot. The first woman I saw when I came to this site was Jamie Eason. Now that girl is hot!! I’d love to look like her.
I tell ya, it’s great to see women can still be toned (buff, whatever you wanna call it) and still be beautiful! Gives me hope!!
Thanks for the read dane. Another excercise to add to my routine. [/quote]
keep in mind they’re both gorgeous and more than likely lift heavier weights than me and many other guys. so, down the road do not be afraid to train with weight that is heavy for you.
Some random thoughts based on what advice I’ve gotten
Start a food log. If you’re anything like me you’ll be amazed at how poorly you eat. Once you start to get your diet in check and regular physical exertion you will find that those craving subside. I used to lose my mind if I did not get chocolate on a daily basis (even a little morsel would suffice) but those days are behind me. Makes the Holidays a lot more tolerable in that regard (with junk being shoved in your direction at every turn).
While I have not found a routine here yet, there are some good exercises you can accomplish with little to no equipment. Consider a google on “body exercises” where you will find links like:
There is actually quite a lot you can accomplish just “throwing your weight around”, and that might actually play better into working your overall physique.
A small set of dumbbells won’t set you back a lot of cash, or consume a lot of floor space. And eBay can be an OK resource if you’re outside a major metropolitan area that might typically be considered a good market for used gear… If you live in the city there’s always walking or stair climbing. I’ve got a friend who’s a volunteer fireman, and he’s in incredible shape simply from doing all kinds of basic body stuff with a backpack full of paving bricks! But I don’t advise swimming
Thanks for the tips Don. Very useful. Lol- I cant swim as it is. Could you imagine trying to swim in a weighted backpack. Oh my. Haha.
I had a friend that used to work at 24 Hour Fitness, measure me today and find my body fat. He calculated that I have 33 percent body fat.
Today was my first diet day. I did great. I kept within my allowed calories, and I ate healthy food.And drank NO soda. I did have a Go girl tho. I tried some new vegetables today (I hate veggies!). I had snap peas- dont like them, and red peppers- they were good. I also tried wheat egg noodles and they were delicious. I only had alittle bit tho.
So, I am proving to myself that I can eat healthy and its not the end of the world.
