Hello All,
I've read some on the previous posts and i could tell that i could probably get some good advices from here.

I'm a 21 yr old female and I'm overweight by a big amount. I'm 5'9" and weigh 240 lbs. I registered to gym recently becuause i'm really dedicated in getting in shape. I've never participated in sports, even when i was kid. Unfortunately, i've had very overprotective parents that wouldn't even let me go out and play. So here I am, after 21 yrs of sedentary lifestyle. That's gonna be the challenge of my life!!

I started working out 2 months ago and i've been going at least 3x/week for about 1 hour of exercise (cardio, weights and stretching). I really like the feeling when i leave the gym and i must admit that i've been feeling a little bit more energetic. But because i have a chronic fatigue condition (it is mild but it's still there), the hardest for me to go to the gym is getting up and do it. It's not even about the effort, the embarassment or anything of the sort. It's getting me out of the house that's the challenge. I've lived with the idea that i need to get as much sleep as possible so all my life, i've been sleeping 12-15 hours nights!!! Needless to say, that i'm getting older and i have more and more commitments and activities to do, i need all the time of the day that i can, but that i can't achieve. I can never get up early and get things done. Anyhow, that tells a bit of the type of person i am.

So now that i've gotten the taste of exercise and feeling good and in shape, i need some good advice on making sure i'm maintaining that habit and get the best benefits possible from it. First, i want to find out what supplements i can take to increase my metabolism and my energy levels. What should i eat? I'm am lactose intolerante and drink rice milk (i hate soy). How often should i really be exercising and for how long?

Right now, what i do is 30 minutes of cardio (speed walking on the treadmill at 3.7rpm and an incline raging from 2.5 to 8. Then i strettch for about 10 minutes and then do weights for the remianing 20-30 minutes. I do abs (with the machines), my back, my legs and my arms. Is that good or is there a better way to do this?

Sorry for the long post, but appreciate anyone who took the time to read and hopefully reply with some suggestion for me!! :-)

Jah bless,
VoodooQueen

hello, I have been lifting for about 4 months now, and what i do is high protein lower fat foods, and eat small portions throughout the day. That means no butter biscuts or fastfood like that. I live in the south and everyone hear eats breakfast out at some fast food place. I can't handle the food around here for breakfast because it is like asking for a heart attack. Also if you want to lose bodyfat you should do a lot of cardio, but eating right is very important and if u can stay on a good diet and excersise schedual then you should be fine.

oh, if you want a way to force yourself to go to the gym get a lifting partner then if you don't show up u will hurt him and yourself so you will probably go a lot just to help your partner.

hope i helped a little bit and good luck

It sounds like you have a good idea of what you are doing.

I recommend only do weights every 3rd day. Instead do cardio 1 hr or more. It's the long term cardio that burns the fat and your heart rate doesn't even have to be way high.

Spread your food out throughout the day with 3 meals and 3 snacks. Give up the soy milk IMO. Take calcium supplements instead, especially do it at night so you dont get sleepy in the day.

If you use caffein it could be making you tired when it wears off.

Congrats on making a conmmitment to your health. It can be hard to get started, but it gets easier and easier to maintain. I grew up asthmatic and was told to sit out during gym class and all the physical activities, so I was the skinny pale kid in the corner most of my childhood, too. http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

Anyway, it looks like you are on the right track. Theres a couple things I would change about your exercise routine, however. If you only go in 3 days a week, then doing a full body resistance training session each time would be a good idea. You need to make sure you hit all your muscle groups each time; back, chest, shoulders, biceps, triceps (can be part of compound exercise for back and chest), abs, calves and legs (glutes, hams and quads). Google for "exercise muscle" and check out the links for examples of various exercises to do for each muscle. It will help you get some variation into your workout, too.

It might also be helpful to do resistance training first and cardio after. Your body uses glycogen to fuel your muscles for resistance training, but if you burn most of it doing cardio first, you're going to have lower stores of energy where you need them (and your body will be more likely to use fat as fuel during cardio after).

As far as diet goes, list what you eat now in a day and we'll see if theres anything that needs to be tweaked.

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Keep your body lean, your blood clean and your mind sharp. -Rollins

[This message has been edited by Naxis (edited 08-11-2003).]