Many starts, no success

[NatStinaK]

I've been reading NF for several weeks now. It's the only fitness website that I've been able to enjoy reading and learn a lot from at the same time. It's the only place where I've learned that there was a difference between weight loss and fat loss. I'm a 5'2", 30 year old woman, and I currently weigh about 303 lbs. This is the highest weight I've been and I haven't been a "normal" or average weight since I was about 7 years old. I'm just recently getting back into the gym after having to take almost a year off. Before that time off, I was only doing cardio and didn't learn that strength training was the way to go until close to the end where I had to stop going. Now that I will be going back regularly, strength training will be my focus and I will use things I enjoy (zumba, swimming etc) to replace the treadmill and elliptical that I find extremely boring in place of any cardio.

My main problem will be the nutrition. I've been reading a lot about eating Paleo and it makes complete sense to me. It's gonna be hard to stop eating bread and starch, and I'm a little mad that I've been believing that wheat and multi-grains were okay. I absolutely love fruit and fruit bowls, so cutting back on the amount of fruit I eat isn't gonna be fun. My veggie intake could definitely use some work and I was wondering if anyone here drinks their veggies. It's a great way for me to get nutrients in if I don't feel like eating lots of vegetables throughout the day.

 

I could use a lot of support, I usually don't follow through, I've had a lot of starts but not yet a finish or a continued success. I don't want to be skinny, I want to be fit and healthy. I want to play sports for the love of it, and be able to keep up. I want to go to amusement parks with my son and ride the rides with him, and I want to be able to comfortably participate in obstacle runs.

I'm gonna be here for a while folks, reading, posting, learning, doing. (Fingers crossed for that last one).

[JPrev]

On the nutrition piece, unless you have a disease, there's nothing wrong with grains.  I like this site for the most part, but the die-hard paleo talk is really misguided.  The only thing you can say against grains is that they're easy to overeat and pack some calories.  If you're able to control your overall calorie count, though, you won't have any issues.  Most of the ripped people I know love their bread and chocolate milk (not a grain, I know).  It's all about calorie balance.

 

The single most important thing to have to become fit is discipline.  Read that again: it is not about motivation.  Your motivation will always come and go, and especially at the start it'll be absent for more often than it's present.  If you can start with small goals and build off of them, you WILL succeed.  Genetically speaking, it's impossible for you to fail so long as you remain disciplined over the long haul.  If you watch your overall calories and make consistent, well-informed changes, you WILL become fit.  It's in your DNA.  All you need to do is steer yourself in the right direction.

[NatStinaK]

On the nutrition piece, unless you have a disease, there's nothing wrong with grains.  I like this site for the most part, but the die-hard paleo talk is really misguided.  The only thing you can say against grains is that they're easy to overeat and pack some calories.  If you're able to control your overall calorie count, though, you won't have any issues.  Most of the ripped people I know love their bread and chocolate milk (not a grain, I know).  It's all about calorie balance.

 

The single most important thing to have to become fit is discipline.  Read that again: it is not about motivation.  Your motivation will always come and go, and especially at the start it'll be absent for more often than it's present.  If you can start with small goals and build off of them, you WILL succeed.  Genetically speaking, it's impossible for you to fail so long as you remain disciplined over the long haul.  If you watch your overall calories and make consistent, well-informed changes, you WILL become fit.  It's in your DNA.  All you need to do is steer yourself in the right direction.

Thank you for the reply JPrev, and thank you for the encouragement. The sentences in bold are especially appreciated and are worth writing down myself to refer back to when I need to get my head in the right place.

I don't have any issues with wheat or grains, so I'll be glad to keep my oatmeal.

[Nightside]

Personally I avoid grains like the plague, just read "Wheat Belly" to see the problems caused by eating wheat and other grains.

Google "Diet Doctor" same info regarding grains on there and numerous other blogs and websites.

Loosing weight is 80% diet and 20% exercise and IMO Paleo is the way to go, I have lost about 45 pounds that way and kept it off without hunger pangs or discomfert.

Good luck.

[Brovatar Korra]

Hello there and welcome to the rebellion! If you heed JPrev's advice, you can't go wrong. Looking forward to seeing you around in the forums and cheering you on when you decide to tackle your first challenge!

 

I also personally love my morning oatmeal. I like to add a tablespoon of flax seed and a handful (1/4C) of blueberries.