jebleroyr

Thank you for the suggestions Derek. I am just having a hard time finding any juice that doesn't have sugar added, or is high enough calorie count to really help get me there. I have thought about protein shakes but that whole topic is daunting. There is so much yes and no about it I have stayed away from it for now. Right now my calorie goal is 2700 and by my rough estimate I am able to get to 2300 or so comfortably but that last bit is a stretch.

It has been quite a while since my last update. Life got the best of me and I didn't have time to both work out and update this, so I chose the former. So onto what I have been up to. I have made it to be able to do a full routine with minimal breaks. I can already feel myself improving, now the squats in my warm up don't burn my legs out, I am able to keep really good form on all of my exercises. Today I even threw in half of another rotation because I finished it too early and still wanted to get my full 45 minute workout. I have been thinking of stepping up to the intermediate workout, but the thought of pull ups and chin ups is freightening. I am thinking of just modifying the beginners exercises to be a little more advanced, Adding the bar to the squats, weighted lunges, raising my feet on the pushups, that sort of stuff. Each time bumping up the difficulty of one workout or at least once I can do the modified one comfortably then add a new one. As far as diet goes, I have completely cut out fast food and soda, I have cut out a lot of bread as well. Sugar is really difficult to cut out I have found. Almost everything has sugar in it nowadays. I have been eating fruits and veggies with each meal, but I am having a hard time to reach that 2700 calories a day. It seems like I physically can't eat enough to reach the 2700 calories a day I had set for myself. So I have just been eating as much as I can. Overall I feel healthier, my joints have stopped cracking and popping from normal daily activities, I have a lot more energy, and I feel a lot happier. Now to try to figure out my diet more and really get it going. More to come when I get a chance again.

First my starting stats: Age: 21 Height: 5'11" Weight: 125lbs (I have to measure and weigh myself here soon because it has been quite a while, those are just my best guesses as to what I am at now. Also possibly a before picture to help track progress.) Starting this a little late as I am a few days behind my first workout, but better late than never. I finally broke down and started exercising the other day. I had been thinking about it for a long time but wasn't able to get started until I found this site. As soon as I found this site I began my journey. I have stopped drinking soda, keeping myself to water and natural fruit juices and the like. I also stopped eating fast food, Which was extremely difficult due to my schedule, but I have managed so far. Already I can feel my health getting better. I am able to wake up easier, I can go throughout my day without getting tired, overall just better. Since Tuesday August 26 I have started doing a morning warm up that I found on here, it has really helped me with getting up in the mornings. Also on Tuesday I did my first workout. I started with the Beginners Bodyweight Workout, which I was only able to get through two sets before I felt like puking. So I stopped after that and went to cool down. It was then that I realized how out of shape I really was. I knew I was out of shape, but that was a big eye opener. Earlier Today (My today is August 28th-29th since I work nights) I did my second workout, I did the bodyweight workout, and I was able to get through a full two sets, and my last one I cut the reps in half because I didn't want to risk it. Good thing I did because by the end I was really dragging along. I made sure to keep as good form as I could, focusing on quality over quantity. Right now my goal is to complete a full Beginner Bodyweight Workout with good form and minimum breaks. Hopefully by my next workout (Saturday 30th) I will be able to get through one full workout. Also to continue changing my diet to a more healthy and paleo friendly one. Speaking of which if you guys have any suggestions on recipes I would be glad to hear them. My final goal is to complete the 300 challenge, it seems like a bit of a long shot, but I need to have something to push myself towards and right now that is what I am focusing on. I am a little weary of weight training because I have scoliosis and don't know how my back will handle it, but I am hoping with stretching and taking it careful it will help strengthen my back (Maybe even correct my spine some?). I also have bad knees but I can already feel they are starting to get better just by working them and keeping them active. I have less pops and cracks in my joints than before too, starting to feel less like an old man and more my own age hahaha.

Good to know! Now it is time to start building my meal plan. I work 3-4 12.5 hour shifts every week, so do you guys have any suggestions on meals I can make in bulk or can make quickly the day of since I don't have a lot of time on my work days to make food?

Thank you for the link, it was a big help. If my maintenance is 2500 calories and I am planning on bulking for excercise should I eat 2700 every day or only on the days I work out? I plan on working out every other day as I have read that is a good routine to follow. And since I don't want my weight going to fat I don't know if I should eat in excess every day.

How much should I look to aim for in calories? You hear a lot about the average being 2000, but if I am weight training what should I shoot for? 2500? more? And is there a way to easily monitor my calorie intake/requirements?

I am looking at starting to change my diet to something healthier and the paleo diet is something that interests me. However you see so much about how the paleo diet is supposed to help you lose weight. As I am already underweight by quite a bit, I am looking to pack on weight to help with muscle growth, and to just make me healthier. But I have read that with the paleo diet it is hard to over eat, and over eating is what you are supposed to do to pack on weight right? So what would I have to change in order to put on some weight while using the paleo diet? Or is the paleo diet even a viable option since I am underweight? Is there any suggestions you could give in order to help me add weight to help with my muscle growth? Any and all input is greatly appreciated, thanks again.

Thanks for some of the tips. Time to start digging into the forums to start my journey. I have already started with dropping soda. A quick and easy first fix, but a good first one to make. Now time to learn some recipes and change my meals over to healthier options. I downloaded the app on my phone so next time in the store I will make my shopping a little more healthy. Are there any recipes you would recommend I start with? mainly for breakfast since I am having a hard time with that.

Thank you for the recipe, it looks good, I will have to give it a try. Once of my concerns about food when cooking in bulk is I don't know how much to prepare for 1-2 weeks in advance. My eating varies day to day and I don't want to be wasting food or going hungry because I made too much or too little. Also for exercises I don't know what ones I should steer clear from, with scoliosis I heard deadlifts can be bad for your back. But a lot of strength training focuses around deadlifts. Is there something I can do in its place? What about any other exercises that would be hard on my back? And what about workout routine? For strength training heavy and low reps is supposed to be the best, but endurance you want extended periods. And what weight do I start at? So many questions, I wish I had more time to look around here but I only really get time while on my breaks at work, which I should really use to be doing some exercise but don't know where to start.

I found this site just a few days ago and have been reading a few of the articles on my breaks and I figured it was about time to try to get myself going. So here I am, and hello to all of you. Just going to start off by saying I am really shy and nervous about this, so sorry if I rant. I have recently been neglecting my physical health and it is starting to take its toll. Off and on I start to think "Man I should really try to get in shape. . ." but something always comes up and I have to put it aside. After finding this site and reading a few articles it has been a real kick in the butt that I need to really get started. I am still tentative on where to start so I was hoping that by opening up and coming here I could get some help and get myself over that first hurdle. A couple things about myself. I love anime, manga, role playing, video games, computers (Hell, I even work at a microchip manufaturer), biking, tabletop gaming, my Jeep, and parkour. I am tall and skinny. . . REALLY SKINNY. I am 5'11" (Last time I measured about a year ago) and 125 pounds, at best. Its not that I don't eat, I eat food all day long and sit on my butt playing video games or watching movies or tv, my job is even sitting at a computer or at a tool. I just can't seem to put on any amount of weight, I have stayed relatively the same weight for over 3 years or so. I love to ride bikes, mainly BMX racing, but recently I have neither the energy or the drive to go out and ride. And when I did, I have no fat on me, so any muscle I was trying to build at the same time was the only thing I was burning, and was getting nowhere. My main dilemma, I want to strength train, but I hear so much about how when you strength train you lose endurance and flexibility, and I want to still be able to ride my bike for extended periods and still be flexible for parkour or other activities. But if I ride my bike too much, I feel like I am just burning muscle since I have no fat. I also have bad knees, which I would assume is just from not using them and I just need to get up and start doing something. As well as scoliosis, so I am worried if I do start weight training I will just strain my back and cause more back pain than I am already in. Which is another thing that has always put me off of starting to work out. A lot of what I eat is fast food, simply because I work 12.5 hour days 3-4 days a week and stopping for a quick meal before or after work is easier to do than make a meal at home, espeially since I don't have time. So there is my mini-rant, I would love to hear back from you guys, with any tips/pointers/suggestions/or anything else you have.