A belated introduction and a tonne of questions....

[Cookie]

So I have been hanging around for over a month now, throwing in my 2c worth here and there, but have never quite made the time to do a proper introduction, so here it is

Part of my reason for not having introduced myself before now was that I was still working on my goals and my plan - it's all starting to come together now and I have a heap of questions I would appreciate any and all help with.

*edited to add at the end - if you don't have a spare 3 hours, I have bolded some specifics below where I would love some help and advice

So, first things first - the boring stuff.

I am a 34 year old mother of 3 from Brisbane, Australia. I was a slender (though fairly athletic) child and teenager. I hit my late teens, early 20's, lots of drinking, less activity, the usual story and started to gain weight. Then in my mid 20's, I got pregnant with my first child and put on a whopping 40kg+. Most of which stayed with me well after my son was born. Around the time he was 2, I was 90kg and decided to get my shit together and lose the weight. I didn't go all starving myself and eliptical trainer, but I counted calories (and discovered at 1800 cals per day I could still lose weight at a reasonable pace), ran a few times per week, cycled a few times per week, and played 3-4 games of netball. I nearly always ate back my exercise calories. I say all of that to explain that I wasn't just about getting skinny, I wanted to be fit and healthy. I hate being fat, but being 'skinny' has never been a goal of mine either.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, I got my weight back down to about 63kg, was pretty happy with where I was, and got pregnant again. Cue another 45kg+ gain that didn't go away, waiting until my second son was 2 (it seems to be a magic turning point for me), starting exercising and watching what I ate again, losing some weight, pregnant again. Vowed not to gain as much weight as previously, and managed to still put on an impressive 30kg with baby number 3, who is now 9 months old.

There will be no more babies for me. This is the last time of doing the hard yards just to get where I am not very unhappy with my body. I am trying (and failing) to keep this brief, but pretty much I was about 99kg when he was a few months old. I started watching what I ate without much real effort, and got down to 93kg. In early December I started counting calories and exercising where I could, and went down to 89kg. Around that time I found NF and realised this is the way for me. I went Paleo early January, well I suppose not strictly paleo because I still have a few cups of coffee with whole milk per day, but otherwise I am pretty good.... and intially was losing weight at an alarming rate, despite eating heaps.

Weight from early January until now has gone from 89kg (196.2lbs) down to my current weight of 83.6kg (184lbs). Most of that was in 2 weeks, and I have pretty much hit a standstill from then. So I have gone from worrying about losing weight too quickly to wondering why the scales are hardly moving, but my diet is pretty good, so I am just guessing it will all even out eventually. Patience, Grasshopper and all that.

There is the background. I will move onto the important stuff now.

Goals

I know I can't lose fat and build muscle at the same time. So right now, my goal is to preserve muscle mass as much as possible and lose fat. I want to be fitter, and stronger. I want to have more energy to run my business and play with my kids. Once I get my body fat% down to somewhere I am happy with, I want to work on building muscle.

Diet

As I said up there ^, I went paleo early in January and so far, it suits me fine. I will probably keep my 3 coffees with whole milk per day indefinitely, but other than that, I am not struggling with anything yet. I accept that sometimes there will be a non-paleo food that I will really want, and it will be ok to do that sometimes. It's a lifestyle, not a diet.

I do think I need to count calories for a while, due to my weightloss stalling. If it is just a case of needing to be patient, I am ok with that, but I suspect I am not having much of a calorie deficit due to my love of fatty meats.

I worked out that my BMR is about 1590, and allowing for a light activity level (I eat back exercise calories), takes it up to 2190. I am breastfeeding, so that is another couple of hundred, so about 2400. So I am going to aim for about 1700 calories a day, more on exercise days.

I have also worked out that I have about 49.5kg lean body mass. So I have set my goals at 110g protein per day, 80g carbs per day, and 190g fat.

First question, I based 110g of protein on my body weight, 80g carbs on general reading I have done about paleo, and the 190g fat is basically just the amount to make up 50% of my diet. Is this right?

So yes, allowing for any corrections or advice (which I am open to), I think I have my diet pretty under control.

Exercise

This is an area where I could really do with some advice.

This is a huge issue for me, I am chronically time poor. Really, really time poor. Not having time isn't an excuse for me, it is a fact of life. I run a reasonably sucessful business, have two small children at home full time, and my partner has 2 jobs. Spare/work out time is incredibly limited for me, especially out of the house.

I have always loved netball, and will return to playing one night a week in a few weeks. I love running, but am struggling to find the time. I am working on this though.

I really want to lift weights, and am keep to try crossfit. There is a crossfit gym near me, but realistically, it probably isn't an option for another few months time wise. I think I would also like to get rid of a bit more fat before I start too.

So I am wanting to start working out at home. I guess my main question is, can I do it myself? With no experience? And where to start?

The beginning of my plan is to start a basic body weight work out, and then slowly add in equipment as I need it. Can anyone suggest where to start with getting my initial work out together? I have done a tonne of reading and researching (and youtubing) on the innynet, and I think I have read so much I have overwhelmed myself.

I purchased the Rebel Strength Guide, and am currently reading the Body Weight Brigade part, is this the best way to start? And where to from there?

Eventually my plan is to have pretty much everything I need to work out and lift weights at home. Money isn't a huge issue (i.e we are not rich and cannot afford to install a commercial gym in our home, but within reason we can afford what we need), but is it even possible to learn all I need to learn via online research and places like NF? What equipment would you recommend at what stages?

I don't even know what I want to ask, any advice here would be really helpful

Thanks if you made it this far!

Finally, the only things that make me a nerd is that I play xbox when I have time (usually any version of Halo) and that I like to plan. A lot. As you can see above

[BarefootDawsy]

Hey Cookie, nice to have another Aussie on board!

First off, congrats on your weigh loss to day, that's fantastic

I can totally sympathise with the time poverty. I have 2 kids myself, and my wife an I just don't seem to have time to do anything anymore. If you hadn't inidicated that you were going to start them already, I would have suggested doing bodyweight exercises. The RSG is a great place to start.

At the very least, try to do 1 exercise a day, even if it's for a few minutes. A few people around here (myself included) do the #PlankADay twitter challenge. Basically just do a plank every day for as long as you can. It's a simple exercise but will build up most of the muscles in your body.

Beyond all that, the best advice I can offer is to get organised and if you can, get up before the kids and do some exercise (I normally run at 5:30am).

Anyhow, welcome to the rebellion!

[Sco]

Heyo! And welcome, slightly belatedly.

Definitely go with the body weight workouts, and you can certainly start at home with no experience. There are all sorts of progressions from easier bw exercises to more difficult ones, so you really can start anywhere, anytime. Steve has a routine on the site, the Beginner's Body Weight Workout, which could give you some ideas. There is also another set of BW workouts called Convict Conditioning, which starts you off with easier exercises and then builds up to the harder ones (you can go through as many of the steps as you want). I mention that because it has different workout planning ideas that allow for a busy time schedule yet still fitting in a workout (though you would have to buy the book - one downside).

That being said, really, anything you do counts. So if you have a few minutes you can do a plank or two (or three, four, etc). Or squeeze in some squats here and there. Wall push ups, knee push ups, full push ups, etc. Just sticking in a set or two during your free time. Anything is better than nothing!

So that summed up (more or less):

1) YES to the the body weight workouts.

2) Look at the exercises, pick the level of difficulty (starting easy, then moving up to harder ones. Example: wall push ups, incline push ups, knee push ups, to full push ups).

3) Squeeze in said sets here and there throughout your day if you don't just have a big chunk of time to work out. Anything is better than nothing.

4) Find what works for you! There are a lot of options, so you can definitely try things out.

Hope that helps a little bit - if just to spark some ideas about how to structure progressions and such. Good luck!

[Benny P]

Welcome to the rebellion!

You can always give this a go

http://nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/03/10/angry-birds-workout-plan/

And look at some of the other stuff steve has put up, there's heaps!!!

Ps. I'm From Australia too!