New Guy Here

AmethystIce

Hey all, just joined MFP and I'm really excited to be here. Right now I'm cutting out carbs from my diet and exercising everyday but soon I hope to change that to twice a day. I've only been doing small things like crunches, weights, and squats. If anyone could give me some advice on how to do better I'd appreciate it. Hope to make some really cool friends here

MariamRodriguez12

Good job cutting out carbs and exercising. But exercising every single day isn't good for your body, you need to give it at least one day to recover. Because when you work out you tear your muscle fibers and when you rest they repair themselves forming new and stronger muscle. Crunches don't do anything to be honest unless you involve some kind of weight. Weights and squats are really good for bettering your metabolism and burning calories. Remember once an exercise gets easy up the reps and the weight!
Feel free to add me as your friend

navyrigger46

Pick up a barbell, and put it down, do this repeatedly, and don't be afraid of carbs, they are not the Devil.

Rigger

Barbellarella_

Hey all, just joined MFP and I'm really excited to be here. Right now I'm cutting out carbs from my diet and exercising everyday but soon I hope to change that to twice a day. I've only been doing small things like crunches, weights, and squats. If anyone could give me some advice on how to do better I'd appreciate it. Hope to make some really cool friends here

um yeah, you don't need to cut out carbs, they're your friend. And listen to what Rigger said, that was pretty good.

heres a great place to start.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

jasonctyler

Congratulations on joining MyFitness Pal, and welcome to the community!

Before I get started I'll say in advance take my suggestions with a grain of salt, I'm no professional, just sharing what has worked for me.

If you like working out I can give you a boat load of suggestions, but off the top of my head the biggest three for me are my HIIT kettlebell, battle rope, and weight lifting regimens. HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training, a practice where you are performing a certain exercise at a prescribed (usually explosive) rate, and take a short rest or recovery break, keeping your heart rate in a desired range to burn calories more quickly and efficiently. There are lots of videos on youtube for these types of workouts. Other than that, bicycling has been a real joy for me to incorporate into my life, I don't find it as tedious as exercise machines or walking, and it's still pretty low impact yet effective.

I'll intone what other's had already said about carbohydrates. They're not the evil monster you've been lead to believe. Quite the opposite in fact. They're your bodies preferred energy source, the key is moderation in everything, and finding the right carbs (e.g. fiber dense natural or minimally processed carbohydrates such as whole grains, fruits, vegetables and legumes. Whole grains include -- certainly not limited to, however -- whole grain breads and cereals, brown rice, whole wheat pasta, quinoa, whole grain couscous and bulgur. Legumes include lentils, chick peas, soybeans and black, pinto, navy and lima beans. As well... although they lack fiber, low-fat milk and yogurt especially greek yogurt are rich in nutrients such as protein and calcium and are classified as good carbs, let me also not forget to mention nuts and seeds) to replace the ultra processed or refined simple carbohydrates with.

The same can be said for fat, oh yes I did. Fats are an important part of healthy and balanced nutrition: They provide essential fatty acids that help regulate our hormones, keep our skin soft and elastic, deliver fat-soluble vitamins, and are a great source of energizing fuel. I know it is really, well... it's easy to get confused about good fats vs. bad fats but I'd go as far to say, you simply couldn't live without them, I mean our brains are what... nearly 60% fat?

Some examples of good dietary fats (eg. monounsaturated & polyunsaturated) are olive oil, canola oil, sunflower oil, peanut oil, sesame oil, avocados, olives, nuts, peanut butter, soybean oil, corn oil, safflower oil, walnuts, sunflower, sesame, and pumpkin seeds, flax seed, fatty fish (salmon, tuna, mackerel, herring, trout, sardines), soymilk or almond milk, and tofu.

Examples of bad dietary fats (e.g. trans fats and saturated fats) are high-fat cuts of meat (beef, lamb, pork) so go lean and trim as much of these fats as possible, chicken with the skin, whole-fat dairy products (milk and cream), butter, cheese, ice cream, palm and coconut oil, lard, commercially-baked pastries, cookies, doughnuts, muffins, cakes, pizza dough, packaged snack foods (crackers, microwave popcorn, chips), stick margarine, vegetable shortening, fried foods (French fries, fried chicken, chicken nuggets, breaded fish), and candy bars.

Now obviously I'm not saying you can't or shouldn't eat any of these foods, the key word is moderation! While others may or may not agree I'm personally a firm believer in a 80% clean / 20% whatever food I want/like split in my diet. I'm good at moderating my intake and find deprivation or abstinence from certain foods causes me to crave or binge when I do cave in. Others are the opposite, in fact it is really up to you. You are your best advocate.

Some suggestions if you like to work out, especially lifting heavy weights, and depending on what you're looking to accomplish (bulking, maintaining, or cutting weight) these macro ratios are good starting points:

bulking/gaining weight
Carb: 40-60%
Protein: 25-35%
Fat: 15-25%

maintaining current weight
Carb: 30-50%
Protein: 25-35%
Fat: 25-35%

cutting/losing weight
Carb: 10-20%
Protein: 30-50%
Fat: 30-40%

If you have a physicians or nutritionist/dieticians recommendations obviously I'd follow those... and remember to take my advice with a grain of salt. I use MFP for logging with an IIFYM (if it fits your macros) approach with pleasing results so far. I also exercise and workout like crazy

On that note, good luck, and again... Welcome to MyFitness Pal!