Hello...N00B here

[Dodgehtr]

First off I've been looking around here on NF and there is tons of information Thank you.. I've been working on making changes in myself for the better. I started this year out 5'9" at 175 lbs, not morbidly overweight but I could stand to loose a few pounds, and smoking about a pack of cigarettes at day. I injured my foot in Feb and after several trips to the Dr. I will be seeing a specialist soon. That slowed me down but I still progressed 17 March 2012 I quit smoking Going strong and feel great. Problem is that I gained about 20 pounds since in my recent trips to the Doc he says my BP is to high and that if I lost 25lbs it would help and put me on meds anyway. Talking to my Brother(who led me here to NF) he suggested the Paleo diet to help drop the weight. He thinks i could work for me since it worked for him (he lost 40lbs). So to start with a 6 month goal I would like to continue the no smoking return to a weight of 175 and get my mile time <10 minutes.

[Gonestarfishing]

I'm trying out the Paleo diet too! I've found the most difficult thing about it so far is that you basically must prepare all meals from scratch...there are really no shortcuts with processed food. Definitely a good thing in the end, but it will take me some time to change my routine up a bit to make more time for cooking. I've been doing a lot of research about Paleo and a lot of people say that they end up spending a lot more money on groceries. I tend to think that I'll actually be saving money by not going out to eat or getting expensive takeout food for lunch every day.

[Oklibrarian]

Depends on your definition of cooking, actually. Most days for lunch I take some precooked chicken strips (you can find 'em in the freezer section), a single serving pack of frozen veg, nuke for a few minutes, stir in a dollop of guacamole and eat. It's quicker than a tv dinner.

[tigersheart]

I'm trying out the Paleo diet too! I've found the most difficult thing about it so far is that you basically must prepare all meals from scratch...

While technically this is true, and at the beginning I had the same difficulty of "what the heck can I make???", as I have learned more, it has become extremely easy to cook and fast too. I have many paleo meals I can make that take less than 30 mins to make from start(prep time) to finish, as well as the more involved meals...but i am generally lazy when cooking so I go for the fast and easy

[Dodgehtr]

Since summer is beating down everyone's door. the last couple of days have been grilling. Chicken breast, pork loin and steak. I'm glad for the steamers in the frozen food section for the veggies. I'm sure there is more out there but I'm still learning. One thing I have found is that finding a snack can be a pain if you didn't bring on with you. The vending machines at work are loaded full of junk.

Gone--As I have learned most of my life most things worth it aren't easy keep at it and the rewards in the end will be worth the sacrifices.