Where do I start?

Hey Everyone...... I am new to this whole workout thing and I don't know where to start. Yesterday I tried to boost myself up and run around the block and I almost killed myself doing so . So today I started off walking. It felt more to my past and I was happy I wasnt gasping for breath. So does anyone have any suggestions on what where and how I should start my new workout plan and dieting plan?

A few things you should remember while starting out:

If it makes you sweat, but not be in pain, than its good.

It wont take too long to clear out your lungs, but you shouldn't be going anaerobic (gasping for air) for too long of time. Cardio wise, you should set your pace for something that is enough to make you sweat, and your lungs should be clear enough to be able to carry a conversation (but just barely). If you run as hard as you were for an extended period of time, you're going to unnecessarily be fighting against your own will power, but it is still ok to hit that stage occasionally in a workout. The key thing to remember about cardio I find, is that maintaining a pace is more important that working too hard then stopping entirely. Some people recommend HIIT, which for example is running as fast as you can for 30 seconds, stop and walk for 30 seconds, and repeat the cycle for about 20 minutes. I prefer to do lots of cardio at a high cardio intesity while maintaing my breathing. I sweat a ton, and burn just as much as someone doing the HIIT, but found that it isn't as bad on the joints, and easier to enjoy and gauge progress.

Dietary wise, just be practical. Diets are short term answers that give short term results. Eat what you like, but control portions. Avoid refined sugars, excessive fats, and protien make sure you're getting at least half your body weight in grams for protien.

Weight trainning is also key, but if you're not aware what to do there, find a friend who knows or get a personal trainner to setup a program.

Wow... thank you so much that does help me with my thought process and my up coming plans to do my fitness life correct this time.

Hey Everyone...... I am new to this whole workout thing and I don't know where to start. Yesterday I tried to boost myself up and run around the block and I almost killed myself doing so . So today I started off walking. It felt more to my past and I was happy I wasnt gasping for breath. So does anyone have any suggestions on what where and how I should start my new workout plan and dieting plan?

Hey girl!

Welcome to our site!

What does your diet look like now? Maybe post an example of a typical day so we can take a look and make suggestions based on that. I personally don't agree with the "eat what you want but in small portions" technique to fat loss. Just speaking from personal experience, I don't do well with tiny portions. I would rather have a HUGE bowl of fruit than a few bites of ice cream or two slices of healthy homemade pizza over 1/2 a slice of unhealthy stuff ANY DAY. I think when alot of people diet, they think they have to cut their portions and starve themselves... this isn't the case and it is the reason why so many people fail when it comes to dieting. I'm also a firm believer in making healthy lifestyle changes where you learn to choose healthy "clean" foods over junk food. I believe that healthy eating needs to be a way of life, not a temporary or short term change.

When i talk about "clean foods" I'm talking about things that haven't been deep fried, processed, or loaded with a bunch of chemicals. Examples would include:

Protein: skinless chicken breast, lean red meats, lean cuts of pork, fish, eggs/eggwhites, soy, low fat dairy, turkey
Complex carbs: Fruits, veggies, oats, whole grains, legumes
Healthy fats: nuts, nut butter, avacados, flax, fish, olives, olive oil, coconut oil,

In addition, i'm a firm believer in eating every 2-3 hours to keep your metabolism firing and keep your energy levels stable. Eating every few hours will also help to ensure that you never get too hungry and binge. Instead of eating 3 solid meals a day, I like to eat 6 solid (smaller) meals each day with each meal containing a protein and complex carb and atleast 3 of the meals containing a healthy fat. A typical day could look like this:

Meal 1: 1/2 cup oats, 1/4 cup blue berries, 4-6 eggwhites 1 whole egg
Meal 2: 2 low fat cheese sticks, apple, almonds
Meal 3: sandwich on whole grain bread, lunch meat or tuna (don't eat the tuna everyday though as it is quite high in mercury), side salad with olive oil vinegarette dressing
Meal 4: 4 oz grilled chicken, veggie sticks, almonds
Meal 5: large salad with lots of veggies and 1/2 cup black beans, lean protein
Meal 6: 1/2-1 cup low fat cottage cheese with 1 tbs almond butter

For your workouts, I would stick to the walking for atleast a couple weeks, maybe adding a bit of distance, adding in a few hills, or picking up your pace every workout (or every other) to continually progress. You definitely don't want to overdo it from the beginning as you could set yourself up for injury. Going from a totally sedentary lifestyle to intense exercise is not a good idea. You could also add in a few body weight exercises such as lunges, squats, pushups, dips to get you started. Do you have access to a gym or personal trainer? If you don't have any experience lifting weights it would help immensly to get started with a personal trainer, even if its only for a couple of sessions, to ensure that you get started on the right foot.

Feel free to ask questions if you have any. Great job on taking the steps toward a healthier lifestyle!

Cassie