New and In Need of Guidance

BriannaHope96

My name is Brianna.
I work 2 part time fast food jobs.
I'm currently taking medication and it has resulted in weight gain. I have gained 6+ pounds over the past 2 months. I'm not comfortable where I'm at but every time I try to work out or eat health I always lose confidence and steam. I'm afraid of going to the gym and when I do go I stay on the treadmill because I don't know how to workout. Please help. Thank you.

kommodevaran

Just eat like you ate before you gained weight.

socioseguro

Hi @BriannaHope96
Welcome to MFP
I recommend you read MFP Most Helpful Post at the beginning of this message board
here is a link
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10300331/most-helpful-posts-getting-started-must-reads#latest
Buy yourself a food scale, weigh everything you ingest, log it at MFP
If you eat at a deficit (calories burned higher than calories ingested), you will lose weight
Good luck in your healthy journey

leemckernan143

I feel your frustration. I gained 30 lbs because of medications and that type of weight is almost impossible to lose, especially if you are still on the meds. Also, I can't exercise. I have managed to lose 15lbs using MFP and I can tell you what helped me.
*I am on 1000 cal/day
*I eat many of the same things everyday. It makes shopping/eating easy. I don't need much variety. 1 pouch tuna + 1 tsp mayo
1 Chobani yogurt + 1/4 c grape nuts
1 nature Valley protein bar
2 eggs
Veggies, fruits, cheerios, chicken to get to 1000 cals
*Drink water - it does help. Have 1 glass when you get up and 7 more before night time
*I'm down to 2 cans diet soda/day so far
*Have a treat (NOT a binge) 2 - 3 x / week. This counts towards your calories. I like small gourmet lollipops, anything Skinny Cow - especially vanilla ice cream/salted caramel, 2 squares of chocolate 72% cocoa or higher, 10 gummy bears
*Don't leave the house hungry. For you, don't go to work hungry, pack your lunch, drink water. Don't eat fast food.
I hope this helps a little. Good luck, stay strong. Strive for health and happiness.

603PIPER

Hi Brianna,
I know the gyms can be intimidating. Depending on what your resources, I would look into starting out with a body weight routine. I find the convenience of being able to work out at home helps me stay on a program, you don't lose motivation when you think about having to drive to the gym and then come back, I've skipped many a workouts in the past because of not having enough time to go to the gym.

I'm starting over again, and the majority of my workouts are done at my house without any equipment or weights. I've found road running to be easier than treadmills because your environment changes and it add's more resistance with the change in elevation.

The workouts are usually higher rep body weight exercises.
On a leg day, I will do 10-20 frog leaps, lunges, body squats in a circuit and repeat 3-4 times.
Full body exercises are good too like bear crawls, bur-pees, mountain climbers.
I also use a jump rope in the winter months when my road is too messy, once you get the hang of it you can get a good cardio workout in a short amount of time.

Programs like P90X, insanity or T-25 have worked for me in the past as well.

If you have any questions feel free to reach out!

courtneyfabulous

Yeah try at home workouts first- body weight exercises first, then get some free weights/dumbbells and do a bit of that. Fitnessblender on YouTube is a great resource. There's som other good ones too. Bodybuilding.com is a great resource. Scott Herman fitness & Live Lean TV also have some good tutorials on weight lifting and more gym based/weight lifting workouts (both of those are YouTube). You will feel more confidant in the gym if you have done some research and tried some of the stuff at home first.

You might want to get a personal trainer if you can afford it, or start going to the gym with a friend who knows what they're doing & can show you, or join a group fitness class at the gym...

Also starting a workout program is good, then you only need to learn the specific exercises from the program (look them up before you go to the gym so you know what equipment to use and the correct form). With a program you can also track your progress over time and get better at each exercise- better form, more reps, more weight, etc.

Nutrition is probably the most important for stopping & reversing the weight gain- definitely need to be in a calorie deficit, eat healthy nutritious food, and stick to proper macros. But working out & putting on some lean muscle will also help. Muscle requires calories to maintain, fat doesn't- so it's best to increase your lean muscle & decrease your body fat for a higher metabolism. And I think exercise helps keep your metabolism higher, it can tend to slow down when in a calorie deficit but not exercising, right?

Good luck! And have fun at the gym!