please help!!

[cnthom87]

Hi! Im a new member and I really need some help. I am joining the military, but have to lose weight and tone up before I can. I have never really had any kind of exercise routine, just played some sports to keep fit. Since I have quit and have gained weight, I know I need to lose it, but don't know how to go about putting together a routine and diet to lose the weight and tone up as quick as possible in a healthy manner. If any one can help me, I would really appreciate it. Thanks!

[flowerkitty]

You've come to the right place. However, before we can help you, you're going to have to help yourself a little. There is a lot of information on this site, but it could be very overwhelming and confusing at times. So start here.

Read this:
http://abcbodybuilding.com/13weeksto...urningdiet.php

This is the basis of the "cutting" diet used for this site. There are things to customize to your own liking and needs, but this is where you start. Become familiar with it. The first step is nutrition, not training.

Look over this and try to make a mealplan for yourself. Pick out what proteins, carbs, and fats you will need, and when you will be eating them. When you think you have something put together, post it in the "In Depth Nutrition" section of the forum. Theres a lot of activity there, not much here in the women's section.

Once you have your eating plan down, you will have to start a routine heavy on weight lifting and light to moderate in cardio. This what goes along with the 13 Weeks to Hardcore Fat Burning Diet: http://abcbodybuilding.com/13weekfatburningworkout.php
However, since you seem to have never weight trained before, I wouldn't suggest starting off with that. I would suggest to get aquatinted with it, so when your body is ready for it, you'll know what to do.

For the first month or so, weight training 3x a week with 1-2 exercises per body part should be enough. Go here: http://abcbodybuilding.com/slideshow...6&subId=37 and pick out 1 exercise per large body part. Try to pick out compound exercises such as deadlifts for the back, bench press for the chest, squats for the legs, etc. Do not do anything you cannot handle. There are many different approaches to this, and you do not have to follow what I say exactly. If you need more help on this topic, most your sitution, hieght, weight, etc. in the "Harcore Training" forum.

I am going to copy something here that I posted recently for someone else because I think you can benefit from this too:

ABOUT NUTRITION

Find out how many calories you need to maintain your weight, and take a couple hundred off of that, between 250-500. However, as a rule of thumb, you shouldn't go under your weight times 10. So if you're 130lb, don't go under 1,300 calories.

for the structure, I would suggest this:
Before and after your workouts, eat protein and carbs.
Before bed eat a slow digesting protein (such as something with casien: cottage cheese, or plain yogurt) with healthful fats
Everything else should be green leafy veggies, healthful fats, and lean protein.

It would look something like:

pre-workout:
oatmeal/whey
post-workout:
sweet potato/canned tuna (no mayo)
snack:
big salad/chicken breast/olive oil
dinner:
fatty fish/green veggies
pre-bed:
fat-free cottage cheese/fish oil

ABOUT TRAINING

you should pick a few exercises and do 3 sets of about 9-15 repititions. You should take about 60-120 seconds of rest between each set. You have to get a heavy enough weight to have you fail around 12-15 reps. This means on your third set, you should NOT be able to do a 16th rep. Personally I try to stick to around 12 reps. Once I can go over 12 reps on my third set, I take note and use a heavier weight next time. Usually using a weight heavy enough to only do 1-6 reps is for strength training. I encourage you to do a couple exercises each week in this range, to change it up a little, and also build your strength. But normally stick to the 9-15 range. Don't be afraid to lift heavy, although possible, it is terribly hard to build even a small amount of muscle mass on a calorie deficit. However, if you have never weight lifted before and are doing this correctly, expect a decent amount of muscle/strength gain.

In a nutshell, read over the 13 Weeks diet, make a plan for yourself and get it critiqued in the Nutrition forum. Make a post in the Training section about a beginninger's weight training program, I'm sure they can help you out more than I can in that area.

Don't forget having people instruct you is no replacement for learning on your own! So don't stop reading and learning and posting and good luck!

[cnthom87]

Thank you so much! I just didn't know where to start because I've never done this before!

[l0stsheep]

Awesome post, Flowerkitty!

[flowerkitty]

Thanks LostSheep!

[Adam Knowlden]

No doubt! Kitty is awesome!!

[flowerkitty]

Aww thanks again! You guys make me feel all nice!