Advice Please

[flowerpot]

Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum and just want to say thank you so much for offering honest, healthy advice on exercise and diet. I found the site whilst trying to find out more about 'good' carbs,and I also want to get exercising and need your help.

I've not long had a bout of sciatica down my left leg and all the advice I could find on the web was that my muscles were unbalanced. I want to start toning up while losing weight, but I'm worried that I'll make my muscles even more unbalanced if I don't get it right from the start.

My other problem is I don't have a clue about all the muscle groups and how they effect your posture etc, I have no idea what started the sciatica and I don't know where to start, although I've been doing yoga for a few weeks to get stretching and to loosen up a little.

Anyone able to point me in the right direction on where to start with toning up please. Unable to join a gym at the moment, so I only have home to get started. I've never been keen on exercise, but realise my life has to change and this is the start!

Many thanks for any advise

[Boss Man]

Hey there .

I think the primary focus should be diet. If you can allow the body to get rid of some excess fat and water, without necessarily exercise that might cause stress, pressure or shock, to the area(s) affected, then that will help relieve some stress or pressure, making it a bit easier to exercise, when there's less negative weight around the muscles and joints.

So what meals do you eat and what tiems do you eat?

[flowerpot]

Many thanks for the advice! For the last month I've been concentrating on losing the weight! I've been on diets all my life and finally realised that they were never going to work - took me long enough to figure that out eh! Anyway, I wanted to eat fresh, healthy food and I've cut out all processed and pre-made food and only buy fresh ingregients, making up meals from scratch. I've lost about 7lbs and I'm not needing to loose the weight quickly - I don't want this to be about a diet at all and i want to loose it so that it stays off for good, I want to start feeling good about myself.

I eat three meals a day at the moment. Breakfast is usually yogurt with fruit,(used to be toast) lunch is chicken or other meat with a potato or pasta salad,or a sandwich, (always used to be sandwiches and crisps) then dinner is fish/meat with veg, and again it's with either pasta, rice or potatoes. (cutting down on the portion sizes now as I have a sneaky feeling I'm eating far too much of everything!) I know for sure that I'm eating far too much potato,pasta, bread etc and was looking at this web site to try and find out what the 'good' carbs are and how much I should be eating of them as I don't want to be on an atkins diet, but eat a healthy amount. I also eat fruit for dessert or for snacking when I'm hungry, (not something full of sugar). Starting to feel so much better since cutting out the junk, but have a way to go with the weight loss. I'm 5'9" and weighing in at 211lbs at the moment, and for me to admit to that weight just shows how determined I am to do something about it now!!!!!!

Anyway, thanks for spending the time to help me and any advise will be welcomed and followed!

[DanielJames]

If your diet is good then you will be able to maintain your physical level good.