Help a Newbie

[NeedAClue]

Good Morning Everyone

I am new to this board & I need some help

I am a 29 year old woman. 5'3 & I weight about 142 pounds.

I know that seems like alot but I honestly have no idea where it all goes since most people think I cant weigh more than 120.

I am small to medium-framed..I guess I'm more small than medium..I didnt even begin to weigh 120 pounds until after I was 24..I dont even think I weighed 100 pounds in 8th grade..so that would make me pretty much on the small side

Like most Americans I have a weakness for carbs.
I have noticed the effects it has on my system like making me feel tired, heavy & sluggish but I cant seem to help it.

I am a real big night eater..I can go all day without much but it seems like as soon as the sun goes down..I want everything.
Yeah I know it makes sense especially if I'm not eating much during the day.

I'm not sure exactly how my metabolism is. I do know that since school (I went back to college..YAY!) has started about a month ago..I have lost weight!

I guess the walking & going up the stairs has helped..I find that weird since I have 1 class per day..so maybe my metabolism is a bit fast..or maybe it was in shock that I actually did something!

I tend to shift between eating right & exercising..to being a lazy bum

So anyway to make a long story short...I need diet help & motivation. Not to mention cooking lessons.

I would love love LOVE to lose more body fat (mine is probably 22%) & eat properly without being bored stiff! I must mention that I'm NOT the greatest cook either!

Due to school committment (and money issues) I cant join a gym right now. BUT here is the equipment that I DO have at home:

A Bike & I also have a stationary mount for it..although I'm not so sure how much the mount its helping me indoors

A Jump Rope

Rollerblades I can barely skate in them things but I do have them!

3 & 5 pound weights

So thats it! I'm hoping that thats enough to start the transformation. PLUS I do have a VCR & I have taped various exercise programs on TV.

I'd just like to show off my body ONCE before I die! I especially want nice abs kinda like Brickgirls but hmmm that might be a bit much

I figure I can start slow since the summer season is gone but I would like to start

I apologize for the length..any suggestions are welcome

Thank you all

 

[RottenWillow]

Hi, all you mentioned in the way of a goal(s) it to lose more bodyfat. So you have no interest at all in gaining muscle? Fat loss is your only fitness goal? You mentioned abs like Brickgirl which would require a hell of a lot of torso work.

If your bf really is only 22% then you're already comparatively lean. How low do you want to go? If you get as low as 15-16% then you'd be substantially leaner than the vast majority of american women.

Before anyone could start handing out advice thought you need to provide a much clearer picture of your diet. What specifically do you eat, and when?

 

[spatts]

Abs like brick's aren't about torso work, they are about diet. Ask her.

Fat loss, as a matter of fact, is about 99% diet. That's why few succeed at it.

You would be better off, IMO, getting some heavier weights and a new diet. Cardio is overrated for fat loss. How many fat people do you see that can go for an hour on a treadmill? Oprah ran a marathon for crying out loud. Anyone can build endurance.

Here's what worked for me:

Weights alternating heavy one week and moderate the next, for example:

Monday: legs
Tusday: back and rear delt
Wednesday: off
Thursday: Chest and tri's
Friday: shoulders and bis
Saturday: abs

On, for example Thursday, do shoulders light and bis heavy (start with the heavy) and then the next week shoulders heavy and bi's light. Heavy being about 90% of max and light being about 60% of max.

Cardio 5-7 days a week max (start with 3 non-training days) first thing in the morning, empty stomach, OR AFTER WEIGHTS. My longer sessions were of moderate intensity, moderate speed, longer duration: walk up hill at 15% grade, 2.5 mph, for 60 min...point being, keep the heart rate between 135-140. I added a second cardio session in the evenings, 20-30 min, and straight protein after that, but only if one session and a clean diet aren't cutting it. At least two of my 3 weekly sessions were HIIT Sprints on an eliptical or track. The key is to leave ammunition in the tank. Start with no cardio, when you stall add a few days, then a few more. When I get down around 10% I have to do moderate/long cardio in the AM and sprint in the PM. I used no AAS/AS or thermos to do this, and had success with the 3 times I used it. If you have time to train twice a day, I'd do cardio in the AM on an empty stomach and weights in the evening when fueled.

My cutting diet looked like this:

http://www.asylum-strength.com/spat-cutting.htm

You would have to alter the times by when you train, and cycle the carbs 3 days low (.5g/kg body weight) and 2 days high (2.0g/kg body weight), or high on training days and low on non training days. You would also need to adjust for YOUR BMR. The diet in the link represents the 100g CHO median; this means that low days were around 50g CHO and high days were 150-200g CHO. Almost all starchy carbs pre-workout, and fibrous after.

1Kg = 2.2046 lbs

Remember when figuring the carb intake to subtract out the fiber. For example: 2/3 cups green beans has 7g CHO, and 4g fiber, then your total CHO is only 3g.

...oh, and WELCOME!

 

[RottenWillow]

Abs like brick's aren't about torso work, they are about diet. Ask her.

IMO diet is a given, you dont get 6% bf without it. But you can be very lean, like my boyfriend, and still not have abs and obliques that even approach Brick's.

 

[spatts]

Sure. Most people are victims of abs that look like this:

 

[NeedAClue]

Good Evening Anya & Spatts



Well Anya..my bf was just a guess on my part. I haven't had it tested & I know that I'm not obese but thats my guess..around 22-maybe 23% bodyfat. The majority of it..that I see..is in my thighs. I do have a pouch on my lower stomach but its not something that you can visually see through my clothes so I'm not that bad but when I look in the mirror..I know things would be firm & strong.

Oh yes definitely I would love to gain some muscle..I failed to mention that.

15-16% would be fine. I don't want to go too low but low enough to visibly see the work I've done. Also I have a question..will a lower bf make me colder? I'm one of those ALWAYS cold type of people. I dont know if thats a diet issue..a genetic issue or a body fat issue..but if a lower bodyfat is gonna give me the shivers..I'd like to know now so I won't be caught off guard..lol.

My diet??? Oh brother..it consists of both good AND bad things I must say

I might eat oatmeal in the morning..a fruit salad for lunch..but on the way home..I'll hit Wendy's & then grab some pretzels & chips before I go to bed. Very bad I know.

Or I'll skip breakfast due to laziness..grab some candy before class & before I leave for home..I'll buy some carrot sticks & celery sticks for a snack.

I dont drink much soda..lately I've been drinking alot of tea.
I dont have any structure to when I eat..or (as you can tell) what I eat..I'm very much grab & go although I know that thats not the best way to do things.

I guess I would love for things to be low-maintenance but I'm gonna assume that its not gonna work like that

Thats basically it. Today I went to Wendys..again..and I had something from the candy machine. I need to cut that out.

I figure working on the diet part will be the hardest part of it for me. I'm gonna exchange junk food for fruit yogurt & nuts & see how that goes.

Thanx so much for your advice Anya & Spatts

Tee

 

[spatts]

Fruit and yogurt are high in sugar. Swap it for asparagus.

 

[dzulboy]

aspargus make syour peee stinkie ewwwwww eat any gree vegetable good rule of thumb and red potatoes and brown rice. and if your a bad cook buy some seasoning you knowyou like and a george foreman grill that damn thing cooks everything sound slike you don't lift alot either right? your school doesn't have a gym at all? check into that adn if not just try running for what you want.... if you don't mind me asking what ethnicity ar eyou?

 

[NeedAClue]

Good Morning Everyone

Hey Spatts..what am I supposed to snack on then? Sheesh!
I'm not training for anything so I figured I'd have plenty of time to lose bodyfat by the summer

Asparagus? I haven't had that in so long..oh man...lol.

Hey Dzul

You're right..I don't lift at the moment either..just trying to gather enough info to do this right

I go to community college at the moment & they don't have a gym but they do have various fitness classes

I'm African-American..I should have mentioned that but I didnt think it would make too much difference

I do have a foreman grill..haven't used it much but I'll have to change that

Anything else you need to know that might help me?

Thanx again!

 

[NeedAClue]

Nothing else??

 

[BrickGirl]

Where is your current water intake?

 

[NeedAClue]

Ooops not too great but Brick..I'm one of those always cold people! I do drink alot of tea..not sure if thats good enough but I already wear 2 shirts a day & its not even winter! (I'm in NJ)

My intake is better than it use to be but definitely nowhere near a gallon a day

If I had to guess..I'd say maybe 5 glasses of water a day

:-/

 

[BrickGirl]

You will not drop fat without sufficient water intake, I would start off slowing and work my way up to 1 gallon a day, during contest time, I get up to 2 gallons a day, but water is VERY important.

 

[RottenWillow]

You will not drop fat without sufficient water intake,

But "sufficient" must vary significantly from one person to the next. I've lost fat pounds, not water pounds, without drinking more than 4-5 glasses water per day. Metabolic rate and body type are important factors to consider.

 

[BrickGirl]

Just think what you could have done if you drank more water than you did

 

[RottenWillow]

Just think what you could have done if you drank more water than you did

Can you fill in the biology of it? I've heard this before but no one I've talked to has been able to explain why drinking more water would aid fatloss, apart from making your stomach feel a bit more full.

BTW Brick what was your bf% in your avatar? Had to be 5% at least!

 

[BrickGirl]

Without enough water, the kidneys can't function properly. When this happens, some of the load is transferred to the liver. The liver metabolizes stored fat for energy. If the liver is doing some of the kidneys' work, it burns less fat. We workout a lot, we sweat a lot, drink your water!

 

[BrickGirl]

Also water flushes out toxins and other metabolic waste products from the body. Water is especially important when following a "high protein" diet, as it helps remove excess nitrogen, urea (a toxic substance), and ketones

 

[RottenWillow]

Without enough water, the kidneys can't function properly. When this happens, some of the load is transferred to the liver. The liver metabolizes stored fat for energy. If the liver is doing some of the kidneys' work, it burns less fat. We workout a lot, we sweat a lot, drink your water!

Makes sense...I already know it is in a similar way that alcohol can add bodyfat. It requires the liver to eliminate alcohol from the bloodstream thereby keeping the liver from his other functions.

Thanks

 

[NeedAClue]

Thanx for all the advice ladies

Hey Spatts..I love your cutting diet but is that ideal for a newbie??

I'd think I'd have to SLOWLY get to that point..if I just right in..who knows..I might crash & burn fast

Can anyone suggest a starting out clean diet? Something I can work with now..and then ease into something close to the cutting diet?

I'm already having a hard time trying to decarb myself

Not to mention how I feel like shedding bodyfat right now is gonna make me freeze this winter how do I handle that?

Anyways..thanx to you all

Tesha

 

[JJFigure]

I snowboard, and I still manage to survive on the mountain even with low bodyfat levels. You adjust.

Spatt's diet IS a clean diet; you don't necessarily have to drop your kcals below maintenance if you just want to start eating clean. But when we talk about eating clean, the type of foods she included in her diet are the types of food we're talking about.

 

[jenscats5]

Hi Need a Clue!! I'm in Delaware so I'm close to your neck of the woods. My diet isn't always the cleanest & I struggle daily too to eat clean. Stress makes me want to eat crap at work and my boss always keeps candy on her desk.

I started out slow with changing things & replacing foods with better alternatives then eventually eliminating them. Like chips with goldfish (you get more per serving) then I eliminated snacks & now don't crave them. Chocoalte cravings are helped along with Diet hot chocolate (25 cals per svg + calcium & that's 8oz of water), caffiene free tea, protein powder milkshakes (chocolate), stuff like that. People at work now think I eat "weird" and I'm losing the bf slowly.

The women on this board know their stuff so listen to them!! Oh and for when you're cold -- Cuddleduds make great undergarments & they are thin but they work. As I'm losing BF I'm a little colder too.

 

[Daisy_Girl]

Funny how everyone is different - I'm typically one of those "cold" people too, but as I have dropped BF and gained muscle, I am always HOT now.

If you are always cold, just plan for that. You know you will always have to dress warmer than those around you, always bring a sweater, drink hot drinks, etc. Don't use a fear of being cold as a reason NOT to reach your goals.

Jencats had a good way of eliminating "bad" foods, especially if you don't typically have good willpower. BUT, if you aren't eating clean, the BF will come off MUCH slower and you won't be maximizing your time in the gym. I used to think it was better to "ease" into eating clean, but found that just leads to more cheating - at least for me. Now, I have to go balls-to-the-wall with dieting or I cheat very frequently.

Eating clean doesn't have to be boring or hard. You can get really creative with spices, marinades, food prep, etc. Try different kinds of fish, meats, veggies, etc. I have found that eating clean can actually be kinda fun - you get to experiment to find out how to make typically "boring" foods taste new and different - plus the changes you see to your body can be SO motivating.

 

[NeedAClue]

Thanx everyone! I think my problem is that I'm a bit hard on myself.

I tend to want to get things right the first time & if they aren't..I become disillusioned & disappointed...I have to get over that

I have to start simple & keep experimenting one meal at a time

 

[Nonerz]

My boyfriend calls me "the furnace" because I am so warm when I snuggle up with him. I never used to be that "hot." I think it is my metabolism kicking into gear. I attibute it to my frequent meals and regular training. Don't let your fear of being cold be an excuse not to lose body fat...dig deep now, that's just an easy way out!

One thing that has helped me...I CLEANED OUT MY PANTRY AND FRIDGE!!! Toss the crap that you have and don't buy it anymore. Other small things...I've also switched to spray butter and low cal dressing...balsamic vinegar is great--only 5 cals! I actually look at the labels of food before I buy it. Diet is the hardest part for me and believe me, I'm no expert. But if you are going to learn everything before actually getting into motion, it will be painfully slow.

Start today.

Go for a walk...a brisk one...or run! I didn't have a membership to the gym at first so I would take my dog for a morning run. Then I ran in the evenings as well. It was a great way for me to get started...get moving.

Start today.

MAKE TIME to cook. You can get some eggs/eggbeaters and make omelettes...that doesn't take much time. I stock canned veggies (not the best but good when I need a quick meal) in my cupboard. I have those frozen soy burgers and garden burgers in the freezer...you can pop them in the toaster and they are quite tasty. USE YOUR FOREMAN GRILL! I love mine! Everything cooks in under 10 minutes! Just do it...do it today.