Another newbie looking for advice (I know I've come to the right place)

[Grendel]

Hello to all,

I've been reading this board only for a couple days now, but already am impressed with the amount of information and participation here. A little about myself and what I am looking for: I am a 25 year old male, living with my 21 year old fiance. We have been living together in Dallas, Texas for about 6 months. We don't eat all that well, but not extremely bad. We're not very active right now (we were running several times a week, but she hurt her toe very badly and we've been clinging to that as a cop-out to put off picking it back up). We've decided we're ready to get back into working out (more than just running, our apt complex has a nice weight room) and into eating right ('clean', as you guys put it). I am very impressed and interested in the diet that Adam recommends to Jean-Paul in this post. What I really like is that it's not about exact portion control and counting things like carbs and cals. This is something we (my fiance and I) will have to phase ourselves into, we don't have the money to throw a buncha stuff out and replace it all right away. As far as the diet + workout combination, we're looking mostly for fat loss and muscle retention, and later I will shift more towards cutting and toning muscle and some build. She wants to tone and remain lean, I want to build some but not get too bulky (just enough). I am 5'4" about 165lbs (I'm not fat, just starting to get a beer gut, I was lean and mean when I was in the USMC) and she is 5'2" about 135. We both want to lose 10 - 15lbs and then switch to a muscle retention and building (for me) process.

The problem right now is that I don't know where to start. I don't really have much experience with free weights (I worked out at the YMCA as a teen, mostly on machines, some free weight work, and obviously alot with the Marine Corps but that was all calisthenics and running).

I know this has all been long winded and I apologize. I just need some guidance on starting pretty much from scratch on working out and switching our diet. I thank everyone in advance for taking the time to read this.

Thank you,

-Peter & Camellia

EDIT: Just a bit more about my schedule. I work full time, set hours 9am - 6pm Tues through Sat, so it will be easy for me to make a workout schedule though I will have to do it after work. My fiance's schedule changes slightly from week to week and she works at least two closing shifts (5pm to around midnight) every week. I will be able to keep a very consistant schedule, while she will have to adapt a bit.

[Johnka]

Hi Peter & Camellia. Welcome to the forums, and as you said, you've come to the right place [img]smile.gif[/img]

Thanks for providing so much background information! You both sound like you're on the right track already. The diet you saw from Adam Campbell sounds perfect right now. You always have the option for fine-tuning later down the road.

In the meantime, you can find recipe ideas here, and if you have time, start reading-up on nutrition articles at sites like johnberardi.com.

Also, since you're here in Dallas, head over to Central Market and take advantage of their wonderful produce section. Veggies and fruit are essential components to any diet, in addition to sufficient protein and good fats.

As far as workout routines, you could post a question directly related to this in the Training Discussion portion of this forum. There are plenty of experts over there who will point you in the right direction.

Good luck, and keep us updated.

[Grendel]

Johnka, thank you for your post and making us feel welcome!

We live right behind the Central Market @ Lovers & Greenville (is that the only one?). We love fresh fruits & veggies, we just don't eat near enough. I love to cook, and everything cooked at our home is done by me (with the exception of the brownies and cakes she makes once in a blue moon). I need to print out the diet that Adam posted and also to do as much research on nutrition as I can. If I can come up with a comprehensive list of ingredients, I'd like to basically write out our diet on a weekly basis. That will help me alot to make myself a list to work off of. Any tips there would be great. I think what I'll end up doing is buying all our meat at Sam's (what I do already) and our produce at Central Market (again, a slow process to phase into as we adjust our budget).

Now I need to do a little research/posting in the training forum to get that started. Thanks again, and any further advice/guidance from any and everyone is much appreciated.


-Peter & Camellia

[Q.]

I just now noticed your post. Welcome!

You are in the same vicinity as where I used to live when I was in high school. Now, I live in Wimberley but drive in to Austin almost every weekend to shop at Central Market. I love that place but have narrowed my shopping list down to 2 lbs of salmon every week to grill and put in my lunches for work. MMMMMM. I also pack almonds from CM. I do buy some veggies there but also use my local grocery store.

As to losing weight, it's fairly simple conceptually... you have to burn more calories than you consume. Personally, I don't count calories regularly but I do check in at FitDay occasionally just to keep a rough guess of my intake based on what I normally eat. You might want to check it out to at least give you a feel for it. Johnka is the expert in this category and has it down to a science... and it shows!

As to the burning calories part, you will probably find that there are some folks here who like to do only resistance training (weights) and others who prefer the "aerobic" of "cardio" style training. Most will use some combination of the two. As johnka said, look through the training section and ask questions... there's a lot of great advice from some really knowledgable folks there.

Best of luck on your new endeavor and look forward to hearing of your progress!