Unexpected Reboot Needed (lengthy post soz)

[ROOCHOP]

Hi

Joined the Rebellion a few months ago, and since have had a minor involvement (boooooooo me). Myself and my wife had been following various gym programs and making all the usual mistakes that people make these days.

Once we found NF and looked into the philosophy, methods, and like minded people; We soon realised we had found a home. Unfortunately this is where it all went wrong.

We switched our diets to primal (as much as possible) and changed our workouts to heavy compound lifting, had more fun and started to see the results that had previously evaded us hooray!!! everyone relax we have done it!!!

Balls had we, we became so complacent and relaxed about the whole affair, we have both continued to read Steve's articles (all hail Steve Kamb) and we have continued to train and play, but (all before the but is bulls**t as my Nan says). We have not taken it as seriously as we should, dropping sessions if we felt like it and not making it the priority it once was, still getting results, just not the results we could.

So, here I am again, ready to pull up me socks and take care of business, a bit of info about myself will follow so please comment, advise and encourage where you see fit.

At the moment I dont have a plan as this is really the first stage of getting back on the horse, I will be following the Barbell Battalion stage 2 workout and on my rest days one or more of the following will happen. Canoeing, Rock Climbing/Bouldering, Track Cycling, Swimming, or Running.

The main obstacle to overcome is with eating, not that we eat badly, just we are a struggling family of 3 with only one income (my wifes, repping the stay at home dads)

This does give me the time to train its just the difficulty of ensuring that we have the right calories on the budget we have (all advice welcome, please remember we are in the UK though so dont have access to many of the products that you do in the states) I am a very decent cook and do very well at keeping us fed with good fresh food on a low budget but it does seem that in order to get the results we want then it is pricey.

Right time to wrap things up with what I am after from this fine Rebel Army

1, Effective healthy eating on a budget

2, What group should I join

3, How to recognise areas of change

4, Training that will compliment strength training

Also I have not as yet done the 6 weeks challenge so looking forward to signing up on the 18th, any advice on this would also be good.

Short version - I dont know where to start

Cheers Guys

[RunningGirl]

With regard to effective healthy eating on a budget, it's pretty obvious so I'm betting you already know this, but it's always MILES cheaper to buy your fruit and veg from a green grocer rather than a super market. My sister likes to eat blueberries for breakfast. At the greengrocer stall over the road from my office you can buy a big box for £1. At the Waitrose practically next door it's something like £2.49 for a much smaller box.

The same goes with fresh meat. It'll work out a lot cheaper of you bulk buy at a proper butchers shop and freeze meat, than if you buy from a supermarket.

[ROOCHOP]

With regard to effective healthy eating on a budget, it's pretty obvious so I'm betting you already know this, but it's always MILES cheaper to buy your fruit and veg from a green grocer rather than a super market. My sister likes to eat blueberries for breakfast. At the greengrocer stall over the road from my office you can buy a big box for £1. At the Waitrose practically next door it's something like £2.49 for a much smaller box.

The same goes with fresh meat. It'll work out a lot cheaper of you bulk buy at a proper butchers shop and freeze meat, than if you buy from a supermarket.

Wayhay!!! always nice to see a fellow Brit on here.

Good advice on the places to shop, already do the weekly Wednesday market for the fruit and veg as well as a friendly butchers, they are few and far between though. To bulk up the quantity and keep the price down I do frozen veg and chicken (small bit of dextrose and water added but nothing else) this is mainly for lunches so bread and such is not used.

[Morrigainz]

I'm struggling with the cheap Paleo eats as well. My grocery bill has skyrocketed since I started buying mostly meat and veggies. The frozen chicken is a great idea. What about eggs? Those are fairly cheap. If you do fruit, check the caloric content - things like bananas have more calories than berries. Of course, they're higher on the glycemic index, so...do what you will with that. I really like cottage cheese and whole-fat yogurt (although the nice organic yogurt is not el cheapo).

As far as the workouts, you have a good plan. Just make sure that you don't overwhelm yourself - I know many of us on here (myself included) have that problem - we take on too much and then get burned out. What is your goal? Are you trying to build muscle? Lose weight? Body recomp?

Recognizing areas of change - take pictures! Steve recommends biweekly. You can also take measurements to see where you're at.

[ROOCHOP]

I'm struggling with the cheap Paleo eats as well. My grocery bill has skyrocketed since I started buying mostly meat and veggies. The frozen chicken is a great idea. What about eggs? Those are fairly cheap. If you do fruit, check the caloric content - things like bananas have more calories than berries. Of course, they're higher on the glycemic index, so...do what you will with that. I really like cottage cheese and whole-fat yogurt (although the nice organic yogurt is not el cheapo).

As far as the workouts, you have a good plan. Just make sure that you don't overwhelm yourself - I know many of us on here (myself included) have that problem - we take on too much and then get burned out. What is your goal? Are you trying to build muscle? Lose weight? Body recomp?

Recognizing areas of change - take pictures! Steve recommends biweekly. You can also take measurements to see where you're at.

Poop! forgot eggs, yeah eggs to. Fruit is kept to a minimum, maybe 2 a day as snacks. So by the looks of it I have the food nailed (steer clear of treats though) just need a bit more faith in my own ability there.

Workout wise, I would like to be fitter and bigger, however everything I read says I am too big already so I guess turn fat weight to muscle weight.

5' 10"

84.8 kg

21% BF

I think if I am honest, I have reached a stage where I need to push on to the next level and have got stuck. No clear goal in mind as the last 6 years has been about my wife and various issues there (personal to her so will let her spill the beans if she wishes) all of a sudden we have found a community and method that helps us and I have no idea where to go.

Lost is probably the best way of putting it

[Morrigainz]

Well, paleo/primal will definitely help with that. I'm not an expert with this stuff for sure. So if you're trying for body recomp, I would suggest the lower-calorie fruits, as long as you are keeping them to a minimum - maybe even like one a day? And nuts and seeds can be good, but I would minimize those as well. If you're stuck at a plateau, you might try cutting back on or eliminating dairy for a bit.

You could also check out the "Official Leangains/IF Thread" (too lazy to link right now, blah). Leangains is all about gaining strength while shedding fat.

Others could probably give you more specific advice than me, since I still struggle with diet.

ETA: 21% bf is still really good!

[ROOCHOP]

Well, paleo/primal will definitely help with that. I'm not an expert with this stuff for sure. So if you're trying for body recomp, I would suggest the lower-calorie fruits, as long as you are keeping them to a minimum - maybe even like one a day? And nuts and seeds can be good, but I would minimize those as well. If you're stuck at a plateau, you might try cutting back on or eliminating dairy for a bit.

You could also check out the "Official Leangains/IF Thread" (too lazy to link right now, blah). Leangains is all about gaining strength while shedding fat.

Others could probably give you more specific advice than me, since I still struggle with diet.

ETA: 21% bf is still really good!

Thanks GSS

Whats the Half Dwarf Warrior business?

[Morrigainz]

From the most recent challenge To make it more nerdy for us RPG types, we picked races and classes. It was awesome.

Here's the link.

[ROOCHOP]

From the most recent challenge To make it more nerdy for us RPG types, we picked races and classes. It was awesome.

Here's the link.

Looks cool, looking forward to my first 6week challenge session, thanks again for the info

[shadowkat]

Hey ROOCHOP, I'm a bit of an expert at eating on the cheap/relatively healthy - although not necessarily paleo... *sigh* god I'm sick of being poor!

A big staple for many years has been pasta and sauce - so cheap dry pasta, cheap tomato-based sauce, plus added tomato, mushroom, grated carrot, spinach etc etc for extra vegie kick. Sometimes we'll grill some sausages and chop them into the sauce, or crumble in some feta, for extra protein. And whatever herbs/spices take your fancy. Certainly not Jamie Oliver, but not bad. If you get some mince, then it becomes spag bog. Make up enough for a couple of nights, or one night and a few lunches.

A big stirfry lasts a few nights - fry up whatever vegies you like, a bit of meat if you want, beat a few eggs and chuck them in as well - then serve with rice or noodles, or have by itself. Soy sauce, oyster sauce, chilli powder, coriander etc for flavour.

And I've started getting into curries too - made a great vegie curry the other night - onion, garlic, sweet potato, potato, chickpeas, tinned tomato, curry powder and cumin. Made enough to last the 2 of us 3 nights.

Meat is expensive, so we only have it a few times a week. I buy on special where I can, make enough for leftovers wherever possible, and never dismiss the possibility of having baked beans for dinner occasionally!

Good luck with your reboot

[ROOCHOP]

Hey ROOCHOP, I'm a bit of an expert at eating on the cheap/relatively healthy - although not necessarily paleo... *sigh* god I'm sick of being poor!

A big staple for many years has been pasta and sauce - so cheap dry pasta, cheap tomato-based sauce, plus added tomato, mushroom, grated carrot, spinach etc etc for extra vegie kick. Sometimes we'll grill some sausages and chop them into the sauce, or crumble in some feta, for extra protein. And whatever herbs/spices take your fancy. Certainly not Jamie Oliver, but not bad. If you get some mince, then it becomes spag bog. Make up enough for a couple of nights, or one night and a few lunches.

A big stirfry lasts a few nights - fry up whatever vegies you like, a bit of meat if you want, beat a few eggs and chuck them in as well - then serve with rice or noodles, or have by itself. Soy sauce, oyster sauce, chilli powder, coriander etc for flavour.

And I've started getting into curries too - made a great vegie curry the other night - onion, garlic, sweet potato, potato, chickpeas, tinned tomato, curry powder and cumin. Made enough to last the 2 of us 3 nights.

Meat is expensive, so we only have it a few times a week. I buy on special where I can, make enough for leftovers wherever possible, and never dismiss the possibility of having baked beans for dinner occasionally!

Good luck with your reboot

Hi, thanks for the advice shadow. cutting out pasta and rice etc is the only thing that has had an effect on weight loss so while it's cheap it's a no no in our house.

Curry is a speciality of mine, and fits well with primal eating. If you want any tips or recipes then let me know.

Beans on occasion is definitely not a bad things so will keep that in mind.

thanks again my cousin from where women blow and men thunder.