Starting Out

[mouse1]

Hi, I just found this website and I am very impressed with the info that is available.
I have always been in o.k. shape but haven't worked out much since last fall. I did a 1/2 marathon walking, but walking just keeps me about the same weight so I want to start seriously working out. I am going to start following "Cursors" general workout that I had found in previous posts. My main problem is motivation, I have trouble getting up to workout in the mornings, I used to be able to get up at 5am without a problem but now it is much harder, but I am going to try.

My main questions are:

I am vegetarian so I am modifying the basic foods to what works for me, but if I am 5ft 4.5inches and 150 pds and I am trying to get down to about 135-138 and working out with weights and cardio for about 45-1hr a day, should I be aiming for 1500-1800 calories or higher like 2000-2200? I know a lot of the nutrition stuff so keeping the ratios correct and not doing the useless refinded stuff is o.k. but it seems like I have trouble finding the correct amount of food to eat.

I take a multivitiamin every day but I was wondering about calcium? the program doesn't have much dairy (I don't care for cottage cheese) so I didn't know if I should be taking an extra suppliment for that.

I also have questions about the lower stomach. I have had 6 kids, (didn't keep all of them, I was a surrogate) but the last was a set of twins and they did a c-section and I have a bigger lower abdomen than I would like. I know that dropping some more weight will help but are there any more specific exercises that can help tone that area?

I am looking forward to seeing some results, I know that I will never be the magazine type, but I am hoping that I will get to like what I see in the mirror.

Any suggestions or comments are appreciated.
thanks so much,
mouse1

[cursor]

Hi mouse1. Welcome to the club.

The fact that you're vegetarian certainly shouldn't pose a problem in meeting your goals.

If I were you (you want to loose some excess weight), I would adopt some moderate caloric target as a starting position -- say 1800-2000 calories. What those calories actually mean to your body will logically depend on the food choices you make. Spread that target number of calories into 5-6 smaller 'meals' during the day. This will allow you to moderate/control your metabolism.

Speaking of metabolism, note that when your metabolism's rev'd up (like near your exercise sessions), your body can very effectively process more nutritients. Conversely, when you're sitting on your duff watching TV (or whatever), understand that your metabolism is lower and it will not be able to efficiently process lots of food.

Will you be fixing meals separately for yourself, or will you be joined by other family members in your efforts to change eating habits?

[mouse1]

Thanks Cursor, You know a lot. I have learned quite a bit reading your comments and articles. It is really nice to find someone who is logical and straight-forward!

I make meals for my hubby (who is not in good shape but he hasn't decided that it is important for him yet, so I just make sure that there is healthy food around) and my 2 boys still at home, they are 14 and 17. They are pretty good at eating healthy, always some sort of vegetable and not too much junk food. Usually, I will make chicken or beef for them, grilled a lot and then a starch and vegetable. I add a soy burger to mine so that works out o.k. I have a pretty basic set of meals that we rotate thru.

I was tracking carbos and protein and fats for a while and I still was too much on the carbs and not enough on the protein so I am working on improving that. I usually have a protein shake for breakfast, either Ketoslim or a homemade one. Then string cheese and whole wheat crackers for snack and then salad and soy burger for lunch. It is late in the afternoon that my plans go bad. I get bored and don't feel like doing much and end up munching on what I can find, so I am focusing on changing that.

Is it usually just personal preference for time of exercise? I know I can't work out too late or I don't sleep because I am too wide awake. I do walk the dogs in the morning but I am trying to get so that I do cardio again in the morning so that it will wake me up. Weight-lifting usually drains me so I try to do that more in the afternoon/evening but it is too easy for me to brush it off. I don't enjoy weight lifting much. I have tried to put a positive spin on it but it takes a lot of effort.

But right now, I am ready to make the effort because I am not pleased with my size or strength right now.

So I am making lists ( I do well with lists!!) and am focusing on me and what I can do for the next month!

thanks,
mouse1

[Shamrock]

You've got the right motivation so far but I wouldn't say the right attitude. You're basing a lot of how you're going to plan your new life on your old life. Try starting from fresh!

To extrapolate on that, what I mean is don't say lifting drains you. Look at it as it used to drain you. After a 2-3 weeks when the dreaded beginner's DOMS subside you should get a nice energetic high after your workout (a lot of blood and endorphins are going to be pumping through those veins). Don't be afraid to try new things, if you don't like how your past workout/eating habits have been working why would you base your new workout/eating habits off of their precedent??

Scheduling wise there isn't much of an advantage to working out in either the morning or afternoon or evening. Do what fits your schedule and remember its not a big a deal as it feels like now. One hour of solid weightlifting is more than enough, you have 24x in a day use them!

The only suggestion I would offer up, is to take things pretty precisely right now. By that I mean get onto a site like fitday.com and track your meals like a labrat. In most cases people don't truely understand their diet to a "T", they just make vague assumptions. You did post that you've tracked your micronutrient intake before, but try it for 2x solid no B/S weeks. Don't be afraid to rethink your grocery shopping either. If you find yourself snacking on junk while you're bored, Don't Buy the Junk! Forget about the others in your household, if they want that type of food that much, they'll go to a store and get it.

Good luck!

[cursor]

I like Shamrock's take on the workout attitude. Think of it in terms of becoming energized, rather than being drained. If in fact you do feel excessively drained, then it's possible that you could do some tweaking to both the timing (and quality/quantity) of your nutritional fueling and the duration of your exercise.

[mouse1]

Wow Shamrock, that gives me something to think about. I do need to work on the motivation and the reasoning and how I am going to go about this change in my life.
thanks for the kick, I need it.!!

[Shamrock]

No problem Mouse. Sometimes the warmest wake-up call is a cold slap in the face.