How to start?

ayamourada92
ayamourada92 Posts: 62 Member
in Getting Started
If I would like to know more about body muscles and how to workout at home without going to a gym, which websites help me know more about body muscles and nutrition?

Should I follow calories or macros to lose weight if I am a beginner? As I sometimes have more calories left by the end of the day and I have exceeded the maximum limit of carbs.. so what should I do?? Thanks 🌼

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  • ayamourada92
    ayamourada92 Posts: 62 Member
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  • ayamourada92
    ayamourada92 Posts: 62 Member
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  • megmo20007
    megmo20007 Posts: 101 Member
    I personally follow calories vs. macros. I think as a beginner it's easier to understand how much you're consuming with calories vs. macros but that's just me. MyFitnessPal sets to a certain range on carbs, fats, protein, etc... but all people are different. Honestly, you need to experiment a bit to see how your body responds. I've never really stressed too much about going over on certain types of foods but I tend to eat a lot of protein and always go over there.

    Regarding working out. I'm a gym person so I won't be much help on that front. I would say it could be helpful to invest in some bands and potentially some weights if you plan to workout at home.

  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,760 Member
    ayamourada92 wrote: »
    If I would like to know more about body muscles and how to workout at home without going to a gym, which websites help me know more about body muscles and nutrition?

    Start with the nutrition basics in this thread, especially the part about macros:

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/819055/setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets/p1

    In addition, eat plenty of varied, colorful fruits and veggies every day.

    That'll get you reasonable nutrition, then you can work on getting food choices aligned with your macro goals, and learn more about nutritional details later. Lots of people here don't even go to that depth of detail, and do fine.

    As far as muscles and workouts, I'm going to assume you want to gain muscle, i.e, do strength workouts. If so, take a look at the recommended programs in this thread:

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you/p1

    Despite the title, it's not just weight lifting. It includes bodyweight programs you can do at home with minimal/no equipment. You might need to buy a book or something for some of them, but I'm pretty sure some are free.

    If you're not sure how to do a particular exercise, or want to know about which muscles and exercise works, some of those strength programs will cover that, or you can learn a lot by doing a web search on specific questions, watching YouTube videos by qualified trainers or physical therapists.
    Should I follow calories or macros to lose weight if I am a beginner? As I sometimes have more calories left by the end of the day and I have exceeded the maximum limit of carbs.. so what should I do?? Thanks 🌼

    If you're a beginner, and your main goal is weight loss, it's calories that directly determine body weight.

    Nutrition, like carbs-protein-fats, maybe can have an indirect effect on weight loss, because poor nutrition can make us more tired (so we rest more, burn fewer calories) or increase appetite (so we can't stay within calorie goal). The direct effect is still calorie level.

    If you're within calories, but have exceeded carbs, that's not very important by itself. But it implies that you may be low on protein or fats, which are essential nutrients. If that happens, try to work on finding eating patterns that get you closer to your protein and fats goals. Again, that's for health, feeling full, exercise performance, and that kind of thing. It's the calories that control weight loss.

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