Requesting assistance in beginning transformation process

[ft_laudi_86]

My name is CC, I'm 23, 5'5 and about 185 lb. Since there is no better time to begin getting healthy than today, I have made the decision to make changes to both my diet and exercise regiment. While I would like to think I have a very solid base of knowledge regarding both dieting and exercise, starting today I am going to remove any and all preconceived notions of how to eat healthy and exercise properly, and start from scratch. So, I am reaching out to the BB community to help me get started.

My first goal is to create a semi-strict diet that will begin my journey from binge eating and making excuses for a 3rd helping of dessert to making good decisions before I put a single simple sugar or carb into my body. I would like to hear any and all tips of how many meals a day I should be eating, what types of specific foods I should stock my fridge with, and how much water I should be having a day.

My second goal is to begin a cardio workout routine that I can follow. I am a full time student, near full-time employee of a major bank, and attempting to create several start-up companies within the next 6 months. Therefore, efficiency is important, as I will not have two to three hours a day to dedicate to exercising. While I would eventually like to begin to build muscle, I know that the first step is removing all the excess fat my body has unfortunately become accustomed to. My knees hurt within a minute of running, and my back begins to send excruciating pangs of pain after loading the dishwasher, which requires me to be bent for several minutes at a time. As pathetic as that may be, it is these daily reminders of how inactive I have become that I look to this forum for assistance and help with getting my physical life back on track.

A little history about myself, perhaps to paint a better picture as to why I'm doing this now;

I have always been relatively short and a bit overweight, somewhat due to the fact I am an identical twin and was born almost seven weeks early. While growing up, I loved playing sports, and excelled in basketball, tennis and soccer. However, my stamina and endurance was always an issue, and by high school my inability to keep up with my peers ended any wild dreams I had of playing sports in college. By the time college came around, I had been diagnosed with ADD and depression, and over-eating and binge eating were my coping mechanisms. Long story short, while I have made significant life changes that allow me to be excited about every morning I wake up, I also realize that I am still significantly overweight. Heart disease, chronic back pain and diabetes all run in both sides of my family, making this decision to begin the process of getting and staying healthy all the more important.

I look forward to any and all constructive comments and suggestions, as I have had several people refer me to this site, and I look forward to contributing my own ideas and thoughts later on.

Regards,

CC

[ZidaneValor]

Originally Posted by ft_laudi_86

While I would eventually like to begin to build muscle, I know that the first step is removing all the excess fat my body has unfortunately become accustomed to.

I would still lift weights at least three days per week, especially if you have lower back issues. Start with low weights and eventually work your way up. Once you get the muscles stronger, you should be feeling less pain.

As for advice, I would scour through the many articles on this site first and then ask questions based on those:

Bodybuilding.com - Training Articles

Bodybuilding.com - Nutrition Articles

[ft_laudi_86]

thanks for the response, I will be looking into these articles for assistance

[jasontaketa]

Originally Posted by ft_laudi_86

My name is CC, I'm 23, 5'5 and about 185 lb. Since there is no better time to begin getting healthy than today, I have made the decision to make changes to both my diet and exercise regiment. While I would like to think I have a very solid base of knowledge regarding both dieting and exercise, starting today I am going to remove any and all preconceived notions of how to eat healthy and exercise properly, and start from scratch. So, I am reaching out to the BB community to help me get started.

My first goal is to create a semi-strict diet that will begin my journey from binge eating and making excuses for a 3rd helping of dessert to making good decisions before I put a single simple sugar or carb into my body. I would like to hear any and all tips of how many meals a day I should be eating, what types of specific foods I should stock my fridge with, and how much water I should be having a day.

My second goal is to begin a cardio workout routine that I can follow. I am a full time student, near full-time employee of a major bank, and attempting to create several start-up companies within the next 6 months. Therefore, efficiency is important, as I will not have two to three hours a day to dedicate to exercising. While I would eventually like to begin to build muscle, I know that the first step is removing all the excess fat my body has unfortunately become accustomed to. My knees hurt within a minute of running, and my back begins to send excruciating pangs of pain after loading the dishwasher, which requires me to be bent for several minutes at a time. As pathetic as that may be, it is these daily reminders of how inactive I have become that I look to this forum for assistance and help with getting my physical life back on track.

A little history about myself, perhaps to paint a better picture as to why I'm doing this now;

I have always been relatively short and a bit overweight, somewhat due to the fact I am an identical twin and was born almost seven weeks early. While growing up, I loved playing sports, and excelled in basketball, tennis and soccer. However, my stamina and endurance was always an issue, and by high school my inability to keep up with my peers ended any wild dreams I had of playing sports in college. By the time college came around, I had been diagnosed with ADD and depression, and over-eating and binge eating were my coping mechanisms. Long story short, while I have made significant life changes that allow me to be excited about every morning I wake up, I also realize that I am still significantly overweight. Heart disease, chronic back pain and diabetes all run in both sides of my family, making this decision to begin the process of getting and staying healthy all the more important.

I look forward to any and all constructive comments and suggestions, as I have had several people refer me to this site, and I look forward to contributing my own ideas and thoughts later on.

Regards,

CC

I recently lost 50 pounds for a trip to hawaii and to get in better physical shape. I was at 240 pounds and dropped to 190 pounds. I made a thread on how I lost the weight including my cardio routine and a little about my nutrition. Give it a read here http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=116607381

let me know if you have any questions and hope this helps you out some...

[ft_laudi_86]

Originally Posted by jasontaketa

I recently lost 50 pounds for a trip to hawaii and to get in better physical shape. I was at 240 pounds and dropped to 190 pounds. I made a thread on how I lost the weight including my cardio routine and a little about my nutrition. Give it a read here

let me know if you have any questions and hope this helps you out some...

Thanks for the link, that is an astounding transformation, congrats on your success!!!

Right now, one of my biggest concerns is how much/what should I be ingesting for breakfast? At this point, I am concerned primarily with eating fewer calories to lower my weight, and while I would like to think I can schedule 5-7 meals throughout the day, 3-4 is more realistic given my lifestyle. Do you have any tips as to what is best to get my metabolism started in the morning?

CC