any tips for a newbie?
 

hi everyone,
im ami and i am a 24 year old full time college student/full time worker. I started working out when i was 22 and i weighed 242. the first 50 pounds came off so easy..i barely had to do anything. I finally got down to 160 (very hard) and slowly its came back on..i now weigh about 200.
Im a busy busy person and im also a vegetarian so its been hard for me to get alot of protein and not eat processed foods while at work and school.
I started dieting again about a week ago..just wondering if anyone has any tips for dieting..workouts..whatever! I need help :)
ami
before
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pi...&id=1506649578


so far!!
Ami Kik's Photos | Facebook
Ami Kik's Photos | Facebook

Do you own a bike? If not you might consider getting one, it's a great way to burn calories and get to class on time. In your situation I would also consider looking into the campus recreation center. Admission is usually included with your tuition, and generally speaking the equipment is top notch. You might also look into joining some sort of fitness/sports group. When I was in college I played volleyball once a week, and I found a racket ball opponent who I played once a week as well. Keep in mind you don't need to play a sport well in order to play, I'm the worst racket ball player ever, in fact I've never won a match - ever. Oh and the other thing I would suggest is to never never never take the elevator, take the stairs instead.

As for protein you might consider getting some protein shakes or supplement powder. I've recently discovered the ready to drink Atkins chocolate royale. They taste a lot like chocolate milk, and make a decent mocha when mixed 50/50 with coffee. I'm not actually doing the Atkins diet at all, I bought them for my husband who is a border-line diabetic and doesn't eat breakfast very well. But when I was craving chocolate the other day, the package caught my eye, and they aren't too bad. There are similar ones from Special K and Slimfast.

One thing I miss from my college days is walking to kill the time between classes. Or walking the building going up one stairwell, down the hall, down the next stairwell. Tones the buns very nicely. I had fabulous assets back then :p

Ami,

Do you want to be facebook or fitday buddies...I'm looking for buddies to provide support and accountability. I'm new to fitday & facebook, so I don't know how to add you, but my facebook name is the same as my fitday name -- fitgirl63 (i'm thinking positive!), my email is [email protected]

thanks everyone for the great advice! there are def huge hills by my school :)

fitgirl63-i would love that! i was just thinking how great it would be to have someone to talk to/be accountable to because i really dont...and i think my friends are sick of hearing about it :) I added you as a friend on facebook.

Start a weight lifting and cardio program. All women should weight lift unless recommended not to by a doctor. Dedicate 45 minutes to 1 hour three times a week to exercise.

There are too many misconceptions amongst women about weight lifting. Female bodybuilders do steroids, that's the reason why they look like men, they grow facial hair, their voices deepen, and their jaws widen. Fitness models who work out 5-7 days a week in the gym who do not do steroids are lean, feminine, and sexy. Muscle burns calories.

Supplement with zero carb protein shakes (whey, casein, soy protein) and low carb veggie shakes, they are easy to make and easy to carry with you. Eat salads with low carb fruit and veggies with low carb and low fat salad dressing with nuts, seeds, flax seed to supply protein. Eat whole grains and completely eliminate white bread, white rice, white pasta, white tortillas, candy, potatoes, and breakfast cereal (besides low sugar ones which can be difficult to find) from your diet. Drink predominately water and tea with no sugar or artificial sweeteners.

Prepare meals in advance, store them in the fridge, and take them to class or work, and have meals already prepared when you get home from work.

Eat numerous small meals throughout the day (5-7 meals) as opposed to eating one or two large meals.

Cut your daily maintenance calories by 500.

Zig Zag you calories if you plateau, and carb cycle if you feel drained from low carb dieting.

I posted this in another thread but it seems to apply here, so sorry for the repetition if you have seen it there...

I think that it is really important for you to find out what works for you and your body, so there will be some trial and error. Not all diets/workouts will work for all people. Be patient with the process of experimenting and make small changes over time until you come up with a plan that works for you.

The bottom line is that fewer calories taken in than burned is going to result in weight loss, no matter what diet or exercise routine you take. You could follow the best plan in the world and if it is not something that you can sustain and are comfortable with, you won't stick with it. You may also need to be flexible enough to change over time, as your body gets used to what you do, so change it up every few weeks (this applies more to exercise than food) Best of luck to you!

Bodybuilding.com has great plans for fat loss and toning up. I was 300 lbs and now im at 195 and ready to build muscle too. you have to eat right and take it slow or else you end up with extra skin.

Dom - do you find excess skin with your weight loss? I know people that have had the bypass surgery and they have excess skin. It's one of my fears for when I meet my weight loss goals (optimistic)

Hey,even i started off today, ihave gaind tremendously over the last year due to unemployement,but now with my job its very hard to acuatlly join a gym and i have slight arthritis too which prevents me from doing any strenous exercises.Although i will turmn 27 in july i feel like am double my age.
I would love to have a fit-day support buddy,as my main problem is lack of consoistencty,i get bored from the same food and then i rebel :confused::(