Hi :)

[jediknightingale]

Hi! My name is Corey. I live in Lawton, Oklahoma where I work in IT for a local bank and attend school full time. I also am a single mother to a 3 year old wild man and a mini-pig named Randolph I sit behind computers all day and my department loves food too much but last summer I decided to get in control. I lost some weight and then abandoned my plan for a heavy course load in the fall. I picked it back up this January and have been working to lose weight and keep my diet under control. Since January, I have lost 20 pounds the unhealthy way (diet pills, water, and 500 calorie diet). Although new clothes makes me feel great, I would feel much better if I could tone up and gain some strength. I have absolutely no idea where to start as far as the gym, and am looking for quick and easy recipes/snacks so I can actually stick to my plan. Well this is all I can think of for now, good night!

[ebm1224]

first off welcome to the community! secondly, you need to ditch the pills and up the calories substantially. 1200 calories seems to be the generally accepted BARE MINIMUM to be healthy...though you'll likely need more than that esp if you are working out. anything less your body usually thinks it's starving.

so, where to go from here?

1) just eat what you want when you want it. and use a website like sparkpeople.com to track what you eat. i'd recommend doing this for a week or two to get an idea of where you are. look at things like how many grams of protein you get, how many carbs, and how many fats. also, look at your overall calories...and how many servings of fruits and veggies.

2) try to exercise for at least 30 minutes at least 3 days a week (but no more than 6). depending on whether you have access to a gym or if you're working out at home, you can do free weights, weight machines (not as good as free weights but not a bad way to introduce yourself to the concept of lifting), cardio machines, or just walk outside.

if you give more specifics, i'm sure we can offer even more help

glad you're here!

[jediknightingale]

Thanks for the advice! I am trying to find a meal plan that 1. tells me exactly what to eat (I am always on the go and incredibly indecisive therefore I skip meals way too often simply because I do not have time to figure out what I want) 2. provides everything my body needs without meat (I don't want my pet pig to think he is only being raised to be dinner one day).

I will be exercising at home for the next 4 weeks, once this 8 week round of classes is done I will have time to go to the gym 5 days a week. What should I do at home to prepare myself for strength training at the gym? Like I said I have NO idea where to start, I was always scared to look like the Hulk so usually just run/play racket-ball/bicycle/or swim at the gym. I definitely do not want to start going to the gym with the strength of a baby bird.

Anyways, thanks for the welcome! I found NF recently and am very excited to learn how to become and stay healthy! I also want hot abs for the summer time lol

[Conk]

Welcome! You are now the third Corey on this site. Crazy, because I never find any in real life spelled like that.

[ebm1224]

i agree it is really tempting to find a plan that tells you exactly what to do. in my personal opinion, though, that is not real life. if you feel like that is the only way for you right now, though, there are lots of websites/magazines out there will diet plans you can follow. sparkpeople.com (the website i use to track what i eat) i believe also has that option and is fairly customizable (sp?) so you can tell it not to include certain foods or food groups. perhaps a good middle ground would be to plan all your meals for the week in advance - it will take some of the decision making out of the equation.

do you not eat ANY meat? or just no pork? i don't know much about vegetarian eating (despite that my sister has been one for almost a decade now). there is a vegetarian section of the forum for specific help on that issue.

while you're at home working out you can do things like workout dvds (there are even some on netflix or youtube), walking, running, or bodyweight routines. there is a great beginner's body weight routine on this site (check under old articles or search for "beginner body weight"). just find something you enjoy. if you start with the body weight routines, once you get to a gym with actual equipment you may be a little overwhelmed. your gym likely has alot of resources for you...so use them ask if someone can show you the equipment and how to use it. alot of gyms offer a free personal training session when you first sign up...it's usually mostly a sales pitch but you'll get one on one time with a trainer and can ask alot of questions and get some recommendations. if your gym offers classes, that's another great place to start. you'll get a better idea of what kind of exercise you enjoy and the environment can be very motivating.

just a few suggestions to get you going in the right direction

[ShieldofSteve]

I can help with most veggie/vegan meal planning. I have built diets for friends and I am well researched on that topic. Learning more about Paleo, but there is a lot of overlap between the two worlds save meat of course.

Good luck to you. If you have any ?s feel free to ask the board or PM.

[jediknightingale]

Thanks for the recommendations everyone! I just signed up for Spark People and Steve--I will definitely be messaging you. I am definitely willing to follow a meal plan/shop & prepare plan. The diet pills I was taking completely ruined my appetite and I usually ended up with random little snacks like gluten free oat clusters. I have basically been eating like a squirrel for a few months and am ready to turn it around!

Right now I am 5'4", 122 lbs. so does anyone suggest how many calories I should be eating since I will actually be working to burn them off?

[ashleyb]

Hello everyone. I am Ashley Brown lives in Pasadena. I am a dietician and want to share my experience here. Great to be a part of the community.