New and desperate!

[jade68]

Hi there, i'm new here. I am in terrible shape and need to get straightened out asap.
A little about me, I'm a 42 y.o female, and have let myself get 20-25 lbs overweight. I look and feel horrible and am totally depressed and self loathing and it is affecting my entire life.
I am a very short (5 ft.) lady and I do NOT gain muscle well at all. In fact it looks like i don't even have any. :(
I need help with what to eat, exercises to do, etc. I have at my disposal an elliptical, a small home gym, and some dumbells, I have a barbell but it is so hard for me to use it as it is very long and it's a bit heavy for me.
Many years ago I followed a low carb diet and really looked good. I don't know why I have no energy to stick with anything now.
HELP!

[ROCKETW19]

Hi there, i'm new here. I am in terrible shape and need to get straightened out asap.
A little about me, I'm a 42 y.o female, and have let myself get 20-25 lbs overweight. I look and feel horrible and am totally depressed and self loathing and it is affecting my entire life.
I am a very short (5 ft.) lady and I do NOT gain muscle well at all. In fact it looks like i don't even have any. :(
I need help with what to eat, exercises to do, etc. I have at my disposal an elliptical, a small home gym, and some dumbells, I have a barbell but it is so hard for me to use it as it is very long and it's a bit heavy for me.
Many years ago I followed a low carb diet and really looked good. I don't know why I have no energy to stick with anything now.
HELP!

quick suggestions for ya. You are asking for so much info I will give you the short answers.
Diet should be complex carbs lean meats and veggies
exercise I would do a circuit. Meaning start out at say curls then go straight to squats ect ect no rest just hammer them out I would shoot for the 20 rep range. I would also use the elliptical for a min of 30 mins.

[BEAST]

Agreed with rocket. Also please post your daily food intake so we can make some adjustments to it and please don't post what you think we wanna see, post your actuall daily food intake.
And try to set long term goals, don't worry about how much you can loose in one week. If you do everything right your goal is to loose 1lbs of body fat a week

[jade68]

quick suggestions for ya. You are asking for so much info I will give you the short answers.
Diet should be complex carbs lean meats and veggies
exercise I would do a circuit. Meaning start out at say curls then go straight to squats ect ect no rest just hammer them out I would shoot for the 20 rep range. I would also use the elliptical for a min of 30 mins.

Thank you so much!!
About how long should this circuit last? What exercises would be best?

Agreed with rocket. Also please post your daily food intake so we can make some adjustments to it and please don't post what you think we wanna see, post your actuall daily food intake.
And try to set long term goals, don't worry about how much you can loose in one week. If you do everything right your goal is to loose 1lbs of body fat a week

I will post my meals starting tomorrow. Should i post in this thread?
Thanks for you help.

[dna9488]

to see everything work in sync, it will come down to your diet. You must keep it clean to see the results you want. You're also going to have to be patient and not expect the results you want happen overnight.

Agreed with what Rocket and Beast said above. Go ahead and post your diet in this thread.

[Bouncer]

yes, post your diet in this thread.

[jade68]

Okay, well breakfast was 2 eggs and 3 slices of precooked bacon, bottle of water.

[FitnessBrat]

Hi Jade, welcome to SM...

When you say you have access to elliptical, etc, does that mean you don't have access to a gym at all? Are you doing any cardio at all?

Your first meal of the day is fairly significant, and sorry to say, but yours is no good. You have mainly fat, little protein and no carbs. Are you eating no carbs on purpose?

[jade68]

I can't go to a gym. The elliptical is at my home. No I haven't been doing any.
I am trying to get in the habit to do it, but it's hard to fit it in sometimes.
I can make time to do it, it's just making myself do it. :)
I am trying to avoid carbs. I find that I feel better, more energetic and get less tired when i have less carbs. When i eat the eggs and bacon I feel satisfied for a long time and don't get hungry shortly after breakfast. What are good breakfast options?

[dna9488]

I can't go to a gym. The elliptical is at my home. No I haven't been doing any.
I am trying to get in the habit to do it, but it's hard to fit it in sometimes.
I can make time to do it, it's just making myself do it. :)
I am trying to avoid carbs. I find that I feel better, more energetic and get less tired when i have less carbs. When i eat the eggs and bacon I feel satisfied for a long time and don't get hungry shortly after breakfast. What are good breakfast options?

If you're trying to lose fat, cardio 6 days a week on that elliptical. Do a quick google search to find out what your Basal Metabolic Rate is and eat slightly below that or right at it.

Keep posting up your food. So far, your 1st meal isn't that good. The reason you stay full and satisfied is because of the fat in the bacon. Kick out the bacon and have 3 or 4 egg whites cooked in olive oil and some whole grain bread.

[jade68]

okey dokey :)
I really appreciate your help!
can i have a whole egg in there too? I really don't like the whites.

Lunch was some leftover spaghetti (whole grain) with prego and some ground beef. I didnt' measure but it was probably 1c or maybe a bit over *noodles*.

[ROCKETW19]

breakfast eggs and oatmeal.

[dna9488]

okey dokey :)
I really appreciate your help!
can i have a whole egg in there too? I really don't like the whites.

Lunch was some leftover spaghetti (whole grain) with prego and some ground beef. I didnt' measure but it was probably 1c or maybe a bit over *noodles*.

1 yolk won't kill you. Keep a good track of what you ate and when you ate it. Also, make sure to be getting in plenty of water.

[jade68]

dinner was green beans, chicken breast, sm. baked potato with some marg., diet coke.
Tonight b4 bed i got hungry so i had a fiber one bar. And later a piece of whole wheat with some pnt btr and coffee.

[dna9488]

dinner was green beans, chicken breast, sm. baked potato with some marg., diet coke.
Tonight b4 bed i got hungry so i had a fiber one bar. And later a piece of whole wheat with some pnt btr and coffee.

Try to eat a small meal every 3 hours. Keep it low carb, high protein, and mid fats.

No need for that small baked potato at night, if you want to have a potato, eat it earlier in the day. Also, the margarine and diet coke are not needed. If you want to drink something sweet, get crystal light and add it into water.

Fiber one bars are full of sugars and carbs. If you want fiber, eat some spinach and chicken before bed or broccoli and chicken.

You can do better than that. It will be hard at first, but over time it will get easier. just be patient and give it time.