Advice for newbies- things I wish I had known starting out

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Replies

  • PamelaGatorMom
    PamelaGatorMom Posts: 348 Member
    Nobody at the gym is judging you. Do not be afraid to work out in public. This is about you, and feeling ashamed of your body is useless. Rock your journey, smile at everyone you see, find your confidence, and most important, fake it til you make it.

    THANK YOU TO THE OP!! but ^^^THIS is what I needed to hear today!!

    I just joined a gym last week (it was my 30 pound non-food reward...yes a few pounds early because they had a sign up special & my husband said just do it!) any ways going in I feel so intimidated and awkward so THANK YOU!! When I go today I'm going in like I know what I'm doing!!
  • Seaglass1123
    Seaglass1123 Posts: 500 Member
    Also, buy a good HRM, preferably one w/ a chest strap, so you can accurately track your calories burned. Don't rely on the numbers that MFP generates or the machines. Polar is a good brand :)

    ^^ This.

    Great one! I keep thinking of more to add to this too.

    -TAKE PICS AND MEASUREMENTS.
    -DRINK WATER
    -MAKE FRIENDS ON HERE AND WITH THAT SAID: DON'T BE A ONE-SIDED FRIEND, SUPPORT IS A TWO WAY STREET
    -NOBODY IS JUDGING YOU WHEN YOU RUN OUTSIDE- IF ANYTHING THEY MIGHT BE SAYING "LOOK AT THEM GO"
    -GET A HRM AND USE IT. IT WILL MOTIVATE YOU TO PUSH YOURSELF MORE.
    - START WITH LOGGING ALL YOUR FOODS AND THEN WORK TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF THE FOODS YOU EAT.

    I am sure I will think of more to add.
  • Phrick
    Phrick Posts: 2,765 Member
    Does decaffinated hot tea count as water?

    This will spark a huge debate on here, there are different camps of opinion on whether it counts or not! :laugh:

    My own personal opinion is, if you drank the cup of hot water and then in the very next moment you ate a tea bag, you would of course still count the water so, yes. your tea counts. In my opinion.
  • PlunderBunneh
    PlunderBunneh Posts: 1,705 Member
    Nobody at the gym is judging you. Do not be afraid to work out in public. This is about you, and feeling ashamed of your body is useless. Rock your journey, smile at everyone you see, find your confidence, and most important, fake it til you make it.

    THANK YOU TO THE OP!! but ^^^THIS is what I needed to hear today!!

    I just joined a gym last week (it was my 30 pound non-food reward...yes a few pounds early because they had a sign up special & my husband said just do it!) any ways going in I feel so intimidated and awkward so THANK YOU!! When I go today I'm going in like I know what I'm doing!!

    I used to be terrified of the gym as well. The most helpful thing I found, until I grew comfortable with it, was my music. I plugged in my headphones and started my playlist before I even left the locker room, and that helped so much. I know it's really hard, but if you need help, don't be afraid to ask for it. No one was born in a gym, everyone had to learn how to use the equipment somehow and most people would be happy to help you figure it out. Just make sure you don't pick someone in the middle of a workout or with headphones on :P
  • FLCANDI81
    FLCANDI81 Posts: 24 Member
    Thanks so much for all this wonderful helpful advice, I am still finding my way, and what works for me and what doesn't. I have been tracking for about 3 months now and I am slowly improving my quality of food. I was never a "terrible" eater but there were definitely places I could improve .

    That being said----
    My advice so far

    1) Do IT FOR YOU. In the end, if you are losing to please someone other than yourself, you will fail.
    2) DRINK WATER... I drink 4-5 16.9 oz bottles of water a day at work, I also have 2-3 glasses at home, as well as some hot decaffienated lemon ginger tea at night smtms.
    3) LIVE! You cannot deprieve yourself all the time, just try sticking to the actual serving size rather than the whole pint of ice cream.
    4) Breakfast breakfast breakfast... when I skip.. I eat like a PIG at lunch. Never skip it.
    5) Finding exercise you ACTUALLY enjoy is uber important (yes, I just said uber)....

    I welcome any and all friends.. I love the support as I do not have a lot of it at home other than my husband.. my friends "say" they want to work out w me or walk and then never do. I have a lot to lose... over 50 pounds. I am 5'4'' at 207 right now. My heaviest was 221 last year before I ever knew about this site. I walk regularly and I am currently doing Jillian's 30 day shred.

    Good luck on your journey everyone!
  • amos481
    amos481 Posts: 92 Member
    Awesome!! I will save this to read again and again. :)
  • roadmapmaker
    roadmapmaker Posts: 120 Member
    Nobody at the gym is judging you. Do not be afraid to work out in public. This is about you, and feeling ashamed of your body is useless. Rock your journey, smile at everyone you see, find your confidence, and most important, fake it til you make it.

    So very true! It is a personal journey and when you get halfway there the whole world opens up! Never lose hope there will always be challenges. So go face them head on! Keep your face to the sun!
  • Blancahdz
    Blancahdz Posts: 2
    Thanks for all the advice!!
  • dixiewhiskey
    dixiewhiskey Posts: 3,333 Member
    Great advice! My hubby loves that you mentioned dandelion :)
  • hiyomi
    hiyomi Posts: 906 Member
    Tip: if you are a tiny bit uncomfortable in the clothes you are exercising in, change them ASAP. You will be bothered by them your entire workout. And I mean physically uncomfortable, not because you think you look bad in them xD
  • learnerdriver
    learnerdriver Posts: 298 Member
    -When the gym gets boring- go for a walk outside. Work out your maths- your stride and your time, and calculate what 10,000 steps is- so for 50cm, 10,000 steps= 5km or an hour walk.
    - buy a small sippy bottle around 330ml- its much easier mentally to drink it all
  • ccox0522
    ccox0522 Posts: 1
    I am a newbie. I just started today. Thank you so much for this, it will really help me out.
  • xtanyx
    xtanyx Posts: 53
    My top 7

    1. Realize that this is a lifestyle change and not a quick fix. Yo-yo diets don't work, and people usually gain the weight they lost right back. My advice is to really make a lifestyle change and to start small. And keep progressing as time goes by. There is no point in working out 4 hours a day, only to have a bad diet and gain it all back and do damage to yourself. Just eat healthier and move at least 30 min a day to start.

    2. Do cardio and lift weights. I just started p90x 2 months ago and wish I had picked up a pair of weights sooner. I love what it is doing to my arms! Imagine how much fat and inches I could of shed by now if I had started a year ago, instead of just doing cardio 6 days a week. Now, I do 50% /50% and love it!

    3. Be honest with yourself when it comes to your diary, food measuring and calories burn. you could always invest in a HRM, food scale or other items. It is good to keep track of what your doing, that way if you have a bad week, you could just look back and repeat a good week you had last month.

    4. Do something you love, try something new! Your body can get use to the same routine faster than you think. Go hiking, swim, dance, do your favorite workout video, bike, go running. But keep changing things up with things you enjoy.

    5. Do not freak out if you gain some weight after starting a new workout. It's normal, your muscles usually retain water to repair themselves in the beginning, so give yourself time to adjust to the new routine. Don't give up after seeing a gain, trust me, keep going! Don't become scale obsessive. Put the scale away and take out the tape measurer.

    6. Surround yourself with positive people. I love working out with my bf, and he really pushes me when I need it. Workout with friends if you can, time passes by much faster when you workout with friends. And the journey is easier when you surround yourself with positive people.

    7. Reward yourself! You just completed the couch-2-5k program, get yourself a high five and some new running shoes. Perhaps a magazine subscription after you shed your first 10 lbs. Small gifts keep you motivated. :)
  • AuntieMC
    AuntieMC Posts: 346 Member
    bump
  • linsey0689
    linsey0689 Posts: 753 Member
    Wonderful post not really a newbie but I still enjoyed reading it :)
  • chooselove
    chooselove Posts: 106 Member
    Dilute juice with sparkling water.
  • VanessaHeartsMasr
    VanessaHeartsMasr Posts: 727
    Don't get discouraged when you hit a plateau. I'm going thorugh that now. Some days I say screw it, this isn't working, and end up eating like crap. I gotta stop doing that. I know eventually I will blast through this thing.
  • shannontarantino
    shannontarantino Posts: 3
    Very helpful! Thanks.
  • ethibodaux
    ethibodaux Posts: 29
    I will be re-reading this thread a lot! Very encouraging. Thank you!
  • yksdoris
    yksdoris Posts: 327 Member
    Great post! The dresses, lol! definitely...

    I think mine would be: don't panic! You'll read and hear a lot of very contradictory information (eat 2500 cals! no, eat 1200 and work out on top of that! No, eat 1200 but don't work out! no, eat 2500 and lift heavy! Weigh every day! Weigh once a month!) - take it all on board and feel free to try different approaches out but don't feel obliged to follow all the advice all the time. Do what works for you. Sometimes things take a step back, you'll have a flu and eat too much and won't be able to go to the gym but don't panic, just focus on the things you CAN do and you'll be fine. It's about the Big Picture.
  • Melli_81
    Melli_81 Posts: 13
    Awesome!! I will save this to read again and again. :)
    Me too!

    Thanks everybody!
  • Nikusz
    Nikusz Posts: 69 Member
    overall good advice, but regarding calcium, it seems that the calcium supplements somehow are not as good for everybody as once thought :(

    there is an article on medscape (free with registration) http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/780132 that summarises a new study from JAMA (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23381719) showing that it is not as good for bone fracture prevention as once thought and might even increase the risk of cardiovascular problems (this study found the higher risk only in men but there was another one that found higher risk in women too - http://www.bmj.com/content/346/bmj.f228). so better consult your doctor before you start on calcium supplements because it might not be worth it.
  • mochamama66
    mochamama66 Posts: 2 Member
    Good advice, very helpful. Thank you!

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