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Few general questions for a serious beginner!

lindsayventura88
lindsayventura88 Posts: 7 Member
edited November 2024 in Getting Started
Hello fitness community! I have a few general questions. I a 27 year old female , 4'11, approximately 110lbs. In general I have always been relatively Petite. I started my fitness pal yesterday because I am gaining weight. I usually hover around 105-107. I was in shock when the button on my jeans wouldn't fasten. I rarely eat out but live a relatively sedentary lifestyle. I work from home and the only real exercise I get is from playing ball with my dog. Lately, I have been drinking way ore often than usual. 2-3 glasses of wine or 1-2 whisky on the rocks 4-5 times a week. My goal weight is 100-105. I just want to be all around healthier and less... Doughy. I also have a arm/shoulder injury on my left side and I really want to build up the muscles.
Now to my questions. What kind of exercise routine should I start? I've been doing the exercise bike for 25-30mins a few times a week and I started a beginner strength training program. Do I need more than this? I literally have no clue what I am doing. I have never really exercised in my life!
I am trying to go low carb With a 1200 Cal limit. I did great yesterday but almost everything I ate was fat. Dairy,dairy and ore dairy. I am figuring this is probably not great. I have been looking up low carb meals online and everything is loaded with cheese and bacon it seems. Maybe low carb isn't for me? Should I be measuring everything I eat and drink? Down to the cream in my coffee?
Thanks for all the help!

Replies

  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    Get a food scale and weigh everything that is not liquid. Why are you doing low carb? For health reasons?
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  • snickerscharlie
    snickerscharlie Posts: 8,578 Member
    Completely agree with reducing the alcohol consumption. That will save a boatload of calories right there.
  • lindsayventura88
    lindsayventura88 Posts: 7 Member
    Honestly, the only reason I picked low carb is because it is what is popular right now. I really do cook/eat a lot of carbs. I cook dinner most nights and it usually includes rice or potatoes and bread. I figured it wouldn't hurt to eliminate some carbs.
    I had already made the decision to eliminate alcohol. The holidays really bumped up my consumption although, that is not really an excuse for drinking 5 nights a week. It's good to get confirmation that was a smart decision.
    With the exercises. If I feel like I could push myself harder, should I? I am actually enjoying it but I don't want to over do it. What is a safe way to gradually increase my routine?
    Again, thank you so much for taking the time to answer any questions and help me out!
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    I also agree with the alcohol point.

    Rather than doing low carb, what might make sense is to start logging what you eat now and then look it over and see where it would be painless to cut calories. When I did that I did find that I could easily save calories in lots of places without missing them -- I did switch over to salads with protein instead of sandwiches for lunch (or I brought a lunch that was mainly meat and veg) and I was more careful about sticking to a smaller serving of the potato or pasta I had with dinner, with lots of veg and lean meat too, so that probably reduced total carbs, but it wasn't actually low carb -- it's more about what will be satisfying for you.

    You also probably don't need to do 1200 calories, especially as you will be active and want to preserve muscle mass. But in any case remember that the MFP method is that you add back in calories from exercising, the goal it gives assumes no exercise.
  • schandler1011
    schandler1011 Posts: 83 Member
    edited December 2015
    I'm 28, 4'11" and 115 pounds! boy do I know about that doughy feeling!!! I was at 135 when I started, I don't know what the heck happened! :) I also enjoy beer lol
  • blankiefinder
    blankiefinder Posts: 3,599 Member
    You don't need to do low carb unless you want to. Most of the successful posters on here used moderation. If you can't control yourself, then you may have to make adjustments for that. http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10257474/starting-out-restarting-basics-inside#latest
  • lgrix
    lgrix Posts: 160 Member
    To increase your routine, add 10% / week. So for the bike, you can either increase the time or increase the intensity. For the weights, are you doing reps? If so, when you finish, you should feel that you could not do 5 more. If you feel you could keep going, increase the weight.
This discussion has been closed.

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