Ready to go, finally with a plan!

[etergen]

Hi everyone! This doesn't necessarily mark the very beginning of my quest to become a healthier, fitter person, but rather the beginning of the first time I've ever done it with a specific plan that I actually really feel like I can follow. I used to always used to go with the "OKAY I'm gonna eat healthier and exercise more!" route in my attempt to lose weight and get in shape...obviously, that resulted in no results. Within the 6 months or so I've TRIED to do more specific things—counting calories, a month long yoga weight loss program, biking to my destinations whenever possible—and, although I saw some small (and not always lasting) amounts of progress, they all just didn't really work for me. BUT all this trial and error has helped me start to figure out what does NOT work for me, and I feel way more equipped to do what I need to do to see results.

 

SO, here's the basic plan to start. Strength training: I read up and have decided to begin with Rippetoe's Starting Strength program. I will lift 3x per week using the five basic moves outlined in the book—squat, bench press, deadlift, press, barbell row (in place of power cleans for now). I will follow this for at least a month or so until I start trying to change it up. Yoga: I started doing yoga regularly about a month and a half ago and have really grown to love it. I am going to try alternating days of lifting and days of yoga, and we'll see how that works. Diet: I have a long-term goal of trying to go Paleo-ish. I'm not sure that I'll ever want to go full Paleo, but hey, maybe I'll love it and completely crossover. But for now I'm slowly working towards that, cutting out just one or two things at a time and slowly. I'm not going to calorie count, I've been doing it for a couple months and find it more stressful than anything. In doing it though, I've become more conscious about my choices and how much I actually need to eat to be satisfied without going nuts. I'm just going to eat smarter and cleaner and see how that goes for a little while and then I'll reasses.

 

That's about it! I'm feeling great about it all and about my life in general. Being in my freshman year of life, just some months out of college and with my first real grown-up job, I feel like I'm really ready to start moving in a different direction, in every possible way, including my health! I'm way excited to be a part of this community and can't wait to see what's in store for me and everyone else.

 

Cheers!

[wildross]

Welcome aboard!  Lots of us are fans of Mr Rippetoe.  We tend to congregate in the Warriors forum.