# COMPLETE newbie female - please help :)



## xxk10xx (Aug 11, 2012)

Hey!

I am a complete novice at training and dieting but im unhappy with how i look now and my boyfriend has been using this site to help him and showed it to me and the information is incredible. I am trying to loose some body fat before I start worrying about anything else, I am about 5' 5" and 11 ½ stone but it is my size not weight that bothers me - im 12/14 on top and 16 on bottom. I have been going to the gym but after reading other posts on here I now know it's my diet that needs sorting out. Please could somebody give me some pointers? For the past week i have been eating:

Breakfast : 2 Poached eggs on brown toast (sometimes with mushrooms) OR 2 wheetabix with honey and s/s milk

Snack: A banana/apple

Lunch: Chicken/Tuna/Prawn/ham salad - just a little olive oil if dry

Tea: Chicken/Salmon with brown rice and veg

(yday this way only 1181 calories and i burned 300 on treadmill so know i need to up it, but not sure what to include)

I already feel less bloated as my weakness is bread and used to eat all day, so thats good but i have been using my fitness pal (so good!) and once I have done some cardio at the gym im well under my calorie intake for the day so I am not sure what else to eat? I do drink a lot of cups of tea as well - should i cut down on this?

As for at the gym, I have been doing running, rowing, cross training and some arm machines but I want to get involved in some light weight training as this seems to be the way forward. However, I have no idea where to start and my upper body strength is appalling so will have to start of light lol I am only working part time atm so have a lot of spare time on my hands so thought this would be an excellent time to make a start.

Most of all I am focused and excited to get going so any help would be really appreciated 

Thanks, Kate x


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## alexyZZZ (May 2, 2012)

Best of Luck Kate,

My mrs has started in a similar fashion to yourself, although hasnt taken the UK-M plunge yet 

Sorry i cant give you any solid advice, maybe a protein shake post work out each day just to add some cals and protein...

But welcome to UK-M and enjoy


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## xxk10xx (Aug 11, 2012)

Thank you  x


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## phoenixlaw (Mar 5, 2012)

Hi and Welcome!!

I would advise 6 smaller meals a day and actually going over 1.181 calories to make this diet sustainable. Less carbs was key for me. Also with regards to tea its fine until you put milk in it. Someone told me that tea without milk before a meal can reduce the amount of fat absorbed but as soon as you add milk it cancels out any benefit. Intermittent fasting also works for me.

Listen to your body and don't weigh yourself every day. Once a week at most.

Good Luck!!


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## Thunderstruck (Sep 20, 2010)

Good on you on getting started, im sure most on here will tell you to learn the compound moves first, squat, bench, military press, bent over rows, deadlifts etc, have a look on youtube for good technique guides. Or you could start with the resistance machines at the gym to get your strength and confidence up first before going onto free weights.

Get the good solid weight training in then some decent cardio afterwards and be patient with seeing the results appear as it takes a little while for the body to show your hard work. :thumb:


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## xxk10xx (Aug 11, 2012)

Thanks! I'll get on YouTube now  xc


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## Marshan (Aug 27, 2010)

Welcome Kate and all the best!!


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## AK-26 (May 29, 2011)

Alright Kate :thumbup1:


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## Arnold2012 (May 5, 2012)

If you get chance in a morning u could try fasted cardio, but for me lower carbs has been very affective, i try to have a carb meal like oats or brown toast for breakfast with a protein shake or eggs and eat a high protein low fat diet throughout the day, my only other carb meal comes after my traning, also i would advise against carbs after 6pm, thats worked for me anyway, hope this helps  good luck  x


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## Al n (Mar 31, 2011)

Welcome to the forum Kate.


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## FAKEBL00D (Aug 14, 2012)

Hi Kate and welcome aboard, i'm newbie myself but so far the responses and reads (sticky's) on here have been 2nd to none.

hope you find what your looking for.


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## Hartman (May 11, 2011)

Hello and welcome! Good luck with your goals


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## DigIt (Jun 20, 2012)

Don't forget to include the milk you put in all those cups of tea as cals, milk is pretty calorie dense.

Food wise theres plenty to eat

Chicken fish ex.lean mince steak eggs beans

Oats pasta rice potatoes

Nuts and seeds, plenty of fruit and veg :thumb:

5'5" 11.5 stone you need more than 1100 cals, try aiming for 1600 minimum. Eat to get your body into the routine of using food as energy therefore burning off everything you eat as your body gets used to being fed regularly and enough. If you don't eat enough (maintenance) your body will favor storing calories as fat


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## Magnum26 (Jul 19, 2012)

Welcome to the forum hun


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## Uk_mb (Feb 18, 2011)

Just hope u last longer than the other female members that point out their sexuallity in their first thread title


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## PurePower'99 (Aug 15, 2012)

Hi kate! I don't know whether this is too fast for you (and it's pretty expensive too) but to fill in on more calories when you don't think you've consumed enough it would be a pretty good idea to try out protein shakes!

They can actually range from about 300-1000 calories! anyway good look kate!


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## xxk10xx (Aug 11, 2012)

Thanks everyone! what sort of nuts would you suggest? And if I was to get a protein shake does it matter which one? X


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## alexyZZZ (May 2, 2012)

xxk10xx said:


> Thanks everyone! what sort of nuts would you suggest? And if I was to get a protein shake does it matter which one? X


Just to start you off, go to any of the following:

MyProtein

BodyBuildingWarehouse

Pro-10

BulkPowders

etc all bulk whey protein suppliers, and just buy a 1kg bag of Whey protein of a flavour you think you will like, and take a look at the nutritional values (will al be fairly similar) and have as many scoops as you feel neccessary


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## xxk10xx (Aug 11, 2012)

Cheers! I'll get on it tomorrow when I get paid


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## PurePower'99 (Aug 15, 2012)

for nuts I would suggest brazil nuts, they are packed in protein and give a real boost in training and progression... a handful a day would be good enough!!!

Oh and for shakes I would suggest:

post-workout usually contain around 300-400 calories so a pretty good calorie amount

pre-workout is usually around the same as post-workout

But mass-gainers are calorie bombs!

some can contain 1000-2000 calories per scoop! though I don't know whether you would want that because thats what alot of people use to bulk up!

anyway, good luck again!


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## xxk10xx (Aug 11, 2012)

Haha okay thanks. I love brazil nuts


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## xxk10xx (Aug 11, 2012)

Right I've sorted out some sort of plan now please could you let me know what you think? ordered some protein shake too to try should be here this week.

Gym first thing unless i'm in work early then i will go before tea

Breakfast

•	1 bowl of porridge with skimmed milk

•	1 portion of fruit

•	Green/fruit tea

Mid-morning snack

•	1 slice of wholegrain toast

•	Glass fruit juice

Lunch

•	Chicken, tuna or ham salad in an oil dressing

•	Portion of fruit

•	125g low fat yoghurt

Mid-afternoon snack

•	A hand full of brazil nuts

Evening meal

•	A portion of mixed vegetables.

•	A 100g portion of lean red meat, chicken or salmon

•	40g (uncooked weight) wholegrain rice

Work out (4x per week):

Chest press

Lat Pull-down

Shoulder press

Ab Crunches

Bench press

Lunges

Squats

Leg press

(should i split this up on different days/add more if i do split it?)

20/30 mins cardio

On a wednesday I will be going to spinning class.

Grateful of any comments comment 

thanks!


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## xxk10xx (Aug 11, 2012)

ps. that food adds to about 1600-1650 calories now, not including any protein shakes i might have!


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## VanillaFace (Aug 15, 2012)

Hey! Good luck with the training, I find getting started is the hardest bit!! I use My Protein normal whey because it's cheap but if your looking to lose weight maybe try a Diet whey with very low carbs. Hope everything goes well for you and if you want a female to chat to :thumb: x


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## Keeks (Oct 22, 2010)

Hi there! Good luck with your goals and welcome aboard! Theres loads of useful info on here and even more helpful people so Im sure you'll get to know what you need to know! :thumb:


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## JaneN40 (Aug 18, 2012)

Welcome!  I'm a newbie here too. 

Are you able to get a 'programme' for weights from your gym at all? There are a couple of high profile books out - new rules of lifting for women is great for making you realise we just need to do what men do.. on a slightly lighter scale on weights, but not massively so. 

Cardio I've heard should be after you weight lift.  Also muscle is denser than fat, so takes up less space, so forget the muscle weighs more than fat myth that soooo many diet stuff throw at us women!  There is a great image online somewhere of 5lb of fat, and 5lb of muscle and how much leaner that muscle is. 

Glad you've got a supportive / knowledgeable training buddy in your OH! lol Mine is a couch potato sadly but he's great at baby sitting and does support me. 

I lost my baby weight at 1200 cals but have recently had to 'up' my intake as stalled for a long time. Depressing but it's worked, I've lost 5lb in the last month and 3% body fat (according to boots scales) lol.

Good luck!


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## VanillaFace (Aug 15, 2012)

xxk10xx said:


> Right I've sorted out some sort of plan now please could you let me know what you think? ordered some protein shake too to try should be here this week.
> 
> Gym first thing unless i'm in work early then i will go before tea
> 
> ...


I would split your exercises into separate days and add more.

Like arms, back, shoulders one day, legs the next, but do your compound exercises on both. That's just the way I do and I find it works for me, there's a lot of people on here with much more experience than me that will probably say something different.

For example, when I'm doing my arms, back and shoulders I'll do

-bicep curls

-side raises

-front raises

-bench press

-Tricep dips

-lat pull down

-pull ups

- dumbbell fly

-Shrugs

-cable rows

Usually do 3 sets of 12 for each, but might not do all of them in one day. I start every session with 5mins on cross trainer, 10 mins interval training and 6-8 minutes rowing. And I'd do my squats and dead lifts at the start of each session though I didn't start doing doing dead lifts until recently 

How many reps/sets are you doing?


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## xxk10xx (Aug 11, 2012)

VanillaFace said:


> How many reps/sets are you doing?


Great thanks! i am doing 3 sets of 12 reps then 10 then 8, and will work up to 3 sets of 12 as i get a bit stronger if that makes sence? lol


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## xxk10xx (Aug 11, 2012)

VanillaFace said:


> Hey! Good luck with the training, I find getting started is the hardest bit!! I use My Protein normal whey because it's cheap but if your looking to lose weight maybe try a Diet whey with very low carbs. Hope everything goes well for you and if you want a female to chat to :thumb: x


This is where i have ordered from  ive ordered normal whey but wish i had ordered the diet whey now, will maybe get that next time cos i only ordered 1kg to try the flavour out x


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## xxk10xx (Aug 11, 2012)

JaneN40 said:


> Welcome!  I'm a newbie here too.
> 
> Are you able to get a 'programme' for weights from your gym at all? There are a couple of high profile books out - new rules of lifting for women is great for making you realise we just need to do what men do.. on a slightly lighter scale on weights, but not massively so.


Ill ask at the gym about this tomorrow


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## VanillaFace (Aug 15, 2012)

What flavour you get? The good thing about them is they have sooo much selection! I have chocolate smooth but it's a bit too sweet for me so I'll probably try something different next time.

Well good luck with your training and I hope you get all the help you need!


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## Milky (Nov 30, 2008)

Bonjourno Kate,

add 4 ltrs water to your daily intake, this will help with hunger etc and flush out your system.

Re protein, l personally use Pro10 and Bulkpowders are there service is impeccable.

Try not to eat any carbs in the eveining and yes your spot on about bread bloating you, pasta also does this for me.

Good luck in your goals.


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## xxk10xx (Aug 11, 2012)

VanillaFace said:


> What flavour you get? The good thing about them is they have sooo much selection! I have chocolate smooth but it's a bit too sweet for me so I'll probably try something different next time.
> 
> Well good luck with your training and I hope you get all the help you need!


Ye i thought chocolate might be sickly so i got the strawberry cream one  thank you !x


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## xxk10xx (Aug 11, 2012)

Milky said:


> Bonjourno Kate,
> 
> add 4 ltrs water to your daily intake, this will help with hunger etc and flush out your system.
> 
> ...


Bonjour! oo good point about the water i don't think i have been drinking nearly enough tbf so will make a conscious effort with this now


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## Goose (Jan 29, 2009)

How are you getting on? is your diet still consisting of the below-

Breakfast

• 1 bowl of porridge with skimmed milk

• 1 portion of fruit

• Green/fruit tea

Mid-morning snack

• 1 slice of wholegrain toast

• Glass fruit juice

Lunch

• Chicken, tuna or ham salad in an oil dressing

• Portion of fruit

• 125g low fat yoghurt

Mid-afternoon snack

• A hand full of brazil nuts

Evening meal

• A portion of mixed vegetables.

• A 100g portion of lean red meat, chicken or salmon

• 40g (uncooked weight) wholegrain rice

??

Any weight loss and hows the training? I ask as looking at the diet it needs changes which will benefit you but I dont want to crash on your diet so to speak if things are going well.


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## dipdabs (Jun 14, 2012)

Good luck with your goals hun!


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## ian73 (Feb 1, 2011)

Aye best of luck :laugh:


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## xxk10xx (Aug 11, 2012)

Hi goose!

Sorry only just seen this. I haven't been able to have my snacks because my gym doesn't open until 9 so I'm having breakfast after that about 10.30 and so don't need a snack before lunch. Also I've been really struggling to find brazil nuts! For tea unless I'm in work in the evenings and need the energy I haven't been having rice with tea and I have found not having these carbs at night is helping me sleep. I have also been having a strawberry cream protein shake (25g) after each workout which is delicious. Official one week weigh in today and I have lost 3.5 pounds. I am made up  but I know this will slow down. Measurement-wise I've lost off hips and waits and gained 1/2 an inch on arms. However thighs one is 1 inch bigger than the other lol

Please do give me any advice you were going to on my diet or anything though. I am all ears! X


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## JaneN40 (Aug 18, 2012)

Just dropping by to say Hi and well done! 

No great advice, but a warm welcome!


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## infernal0988 (Jun 16, 2011)

welcome


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## xxk10xx (Aug 11, 2012)

Tried it in a light soy sauce and honey combo which my mum makes and was really nice  does anyone have any other ideas to jazz up the chicken on some days? Thanks x


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