Please like me.

[SalaManda]

Heyyy

 

Been lurking about trying to find a place to plop down my story so here I am.

 

I'm 26, a female sort, 5 foot 9ish, I'm an all over gainer/loser and I weigh 235 lbs or so. (been scared to weigh myself lately.) I am entirely out of shape, sad to say, last time I was in shape was in my teens when I swam competitively. 

 

I want to feel stronger and better. This is more important to me than weight loss in general, but weight loss still matters. This is sort of a new outlook cos until recently I was obSESSED with my weight and every calorie in or out. In 2010 I smashed into a wall of depression and forced myself to eat less than 800 calories a day and I did end up losing about 50 lbs but it was a terrible time. 

 

The restrictions I'm facing are that I live in a flat with whiney, volatile neighbours so I can't make a lot of noise with DVDs, I can't join a gym because I'm unemployed (living in the UK with my boyfriend while he goes to uni) and I just can't afford them. I know cardio's good, but from what I read weight training is essential and I just haven't got the resources to do it. Sad me. 

 

I'm curious about the paleo diet, but my boyfriend's a total carby junk food addict and it'd be really hard to have that stuff in the house and NOT eat it. 

 

I just wanna be better than what I am now, and what I am now isn't a heck of a lot. (or too much. I don't know. This is scary.)

 

I would love to have the support of a community and I really hope that's what I"ve found here. 

 

Anyone have suggestions of where to start? 

 

And, HI EVERYONE! 

[Einar]

First off welcome to the Rebellion, and congratulations on taking the first step.

Start with body weight exercises.  If you're worried about making too much noise take it outside, go find a park.  I don't know what you have availiable where you're at but your limit is your imagination.  Feel embarassed about just starting out?  Don't be, every starts somewhere, but if it seems overwhelming try to find some place or a certain time of day where it is more secluded.  Try to find someoneto work out with, no matter how ridiculous you may feel doing something, it's been my experience that you feel less ridiculous when you have a partner that you can look at as having to go through the same thing you are.

Most importantly, just get out there and do something, just move your body.  Steve has written some great articles highlighting workouts that can be done without a gym and there are a lot of resources availiable out there with the same theme

[Laureleye]

You don't have to go paleo to lose weight; you do need to eat fewer calories.  Working out is great, but it will not get you there without changes to your food.  My husband has a panty shelf (above my line of sight) for his junk; maybe you can try something like that.  Interestingly, you'll find that after you've cut the junk out for a few weeks; a) you won't want it as badly; if you eat a bunch of it you'll feel rotten.  Good luck.

[Elastigirl]

On the NF main site, look under the resources sections. There are several bodyweight workouts you can do at home. And make some small easy changes in your diet to start with: cut out pop, chips, lessen the amount of bread, cut out dessert. Just pick one or two of these options and work on them

[tee-jay]

Hey there! I'm about the same place you are and, from my experience, paleo works great. Of course, some people's bodies react differently to different foods. Can you afford any free weights? If not, definitely take a look at You Are Your Own Gym. There's a book and an app. The app has built-in exercise routines from beginner to badass, and they work. Can't wait to see how you progress! Best of luck!

[SalaManda]

Thanks new internet friends! \o/

 

Yesterday I went to this place called "outdoors" and the air was -moving-. I think this is pretty good progress. Reading the hell up on bodyweight stuff, thank you kindly. 

 

As for food, I haven't got many vices except popsicles and I looooove to cook. (yesterday I made a lasagna completely from scratch. Like. The pasta and sauces too.) And the recipes I've found for healthy (especially paleo...) are so uninspiring. "step one. Find animal. Step two. Kill it. Step three. Make a fire, put the animal in the fire. Step four. Throw some goddamn vegetables on it and eat the damn thing!

 

This is okay but quite boring. Am I whining too much?

[mrrichpearson]

Hello 

 

I am UK based too, I have just started here and i have been reading up on paleo for a while and learning to cook with it . Top tip appears to be not to go 100% paleo right away, I was tipped of that i need to do it as a slow progression and then work up, the welcome and advice you get form the fellow rebels will help a lot. 

 

On the cooking specifically paleo Italian food is difficult, near impossible as pasta is a main staple but the salads work well, my most successful area has been in eastern Asian food, so many fresh flavors and options the majority of which can be made into a healthy paleo meal with relative ease. 

 

Enjoy! 

[Morrigainz]

Lots of delicious paleo recipes. Check out Nom Nom Paleo  and The Clothes Make the Girl - two of my favorites.

 

Also, not sure where you are coming from knowledge-wise, so just in case you didn't know - your body needs more than 800 calories a day to survive. The recommended MINIMUM is 1200.

 

Regarding exercises, others have provided great links, but I can add a couple more: bodyrock.tv and Zuzana Light's website. Quick backstory/explanation: Zuzana Light is a girl from the Czech Republic (I think) who used to do erotic modeling/pornography. Then she discovered fitness, moved to North America, and launched bodyrock.tv with her husband Freddy. They have since split, and as far as I know, bodyrock.tv is still going with a new host (I didn't like her and I was getting into lifting heavy so I haven't been over there in a long while) and Zuz started her own thing.

[SalaManda]

Lots of delicious paleo recipes. Check out Nom Nom Paleo  and The Clothes Make the Girl - two of my favorites.

 

Also, not sure where you are coming from knowledge-wise, so just in case you didn't know - your body needs more than 800 calories a day to survive. The recommended MINIMUM is 1200.

 

Regarding exercises, others have provided great links, but I can add a couple more: bodyrock.tv and Zuzana Light's website. Quick backstory/explanation: Zuzana Light is a girl from the Czech Republic (I think) who used to do erotic modeling/pornography. Then she discovered fitness, moved to North America, and launched bodyrock.tv with her husband Freddy. They have since split, and as far as I know, bodyrock.tv is still going with a new host (I didn't like her and I was getting into lifting heavy so I haven't been over there in a long while) and Zuz started her own thing.

 Thanks for the resources.  

 

I knew even when I was eating about 800 calories that it was a terrible idea but when I was in that place mentally I really didn't give a crap. It was just one more chip in with the rest of the bad decisions I was making. 

 

I'm keen to find more delicious paleo recipes, so thanks again!

[Elastigirl]

Made these Mexican Meatballs with enchilada sauce the other night http://everydaypaleo.com/?s=mexican+meatballs I served it over sautteed cabbage, but you could also use sppagetti squash.

[SalaManda]

Seriously, that nomnompaleo blog is incredible!

[SalaManda]

got some shopping being delivered tomorrow, definitely gonna try that meatball recipe on cabbage

[catspaw]

If you're looking for more paleo inspiration, I'm a cooker like you (love to make food!) and store my favorite paleo recipes here:

http://pinterest.com/leangainspaleo/

 

You can ignore the "workout day" versus "rest day" stuff -- that's just for my own thing -- but hopefully you'll find some inspiration in there for really tasty food.

 

I also recommend the book Well Fed ($19.39):

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/061557226X/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=061557226X&linkCode=as2&tag=cn071-20

 

It's my favorite paleo cookbook.

[Chris T]

Hello!

 

I'm new to NF.  But, I was there with the same weight.  I'm 60 lbs lighter now.  Be positive!

 

You've gotten a lot of good advice so far. I wouls only add two things:. 

 

1. Try different activities until you find one that's fun. Just jump in and try them.  You may feel like a klutz at first. That's normal.  Your body will develop muscle memory and the next time will be easier.

 

2. If you can't do Paleo the "Eat Clean". Basically, don't eat anything that has been processed. So, no sausage, fake cheese, crackers, cookies, candy, etc.

 

 

Good luck!