Hello!
I've been lurking on this thread for months now. I would like to join you all but I am not sure what exactly to do.

I have done various components of healthy living, but never together. In college I did weights with no cardio and bad eating (gained weight). Last year I did BFL with WW and lost lots of weight but didn't gain any muscle because I don't think I was eating enough.

My biggest concern is eating. It sounds crazy, but I don't know what or how much to eat. I have counted WW Points for so long that it is engrained, but I know I'm not doing it right because I'm always trying to see how much junk I can fit into the points. It seems like if I try to eat really healthy I start craving junk. Do these cravings go away? Do you all give yourself anything like a cheat meal or a cheat day? I have found that a cheat day is no good for me because I find it hard to get back on track. I have a problem with carbs, especially refined carbs. I don't keep a lot of cookies or snack junk foods in my house because I can become addicted.

And about weight training: I'm not a member of a gym--do I need to join one? I have some dumbells here but not many. Since I haven't been weight training in about a year, I thought maybe I would start with like one of those weight training tapes like the FIRM. Do you recommend or not?

Basically, I'm a little overwhelmed by starting all of this at once. I don't have a certain goal in mind or an event to lose for. I would like to lose about 20 pounds, but I want to lose fat and gain muscle.
Could anyone offer some suggestions?

Hi there and welcome out of lurkdom
I'm not the official greeter, I'm sure she'll be along soon. If you did BFL but without the BFL eating, why not try plain BFL and do the eating correctly, so that you do gain muscle? Skip the free day, and just have 1 nice meal. I know what you mean about getting derailed by it. I didn't use the free day until about week 8 the first time I did a BFL challenge, and it was a disaster trying to get back "on". I never should have started it! The advantage of doing BFL for your first foray into "putting it all together" is that the plan is completely laid out for you and you don't have to worry about counting calories or nutrient ratios, or figuring out lifting splits. Once you've done a full 12 week challenge, you'll have the tools and know your body well enough to be able to put together your own program sucessfully.
I do think you'll need to join a gym. I have quite a bit of equipment at home, but found that I quickly outgrew it, or needed a safer way to do exercises. Look at various gyms in your area- some give 1 or 2 week free memberships to prospective members. Right now is a real slow time for gyms, and most where I live are offering all sorts of promotions to lure new customers like reduced enrollment fees, inexpensive personal training packages, etc. Just be careful about signing long-term contracts. My gym is on a month to month basis, and I wouldn't sign anything that locked me into more than a year's membership. Make sure you like the facilities, that they are clean, you can stand the music that's playing, whether they have any classes that you might be interested in taking. If you are interested in personal training, make sure that the trainers have recognized certifications, not just a 1 day in-house training session to become "certified".

Ask away- someone here usually has an answer and we all have opinions

Mel

Hi Christena,
Welcome!
I don't have a lot to add to what Jack and Meliris have said...I agree that joining a Gym is a good idea for all the afformentioned reasons and also because, once your there, you kind of 'have' to work out. There is no (or less, anyway) chance of getting distracted by the TV or phone or just starting and not finishing.
My biggest challenge, as well, is the eating clean part. I love the working out part..,no problem with that, but once I get derailed from my diet it is a struggle to get back on track. I am in the process of 'regrouping' myself. I have found that once you do it (eat clean) for awhile, you "feel" so much better... your body reacts differantly. You sleep better, your workouts are better etc. The cravings do tend to subside. I don't know if it is physiological (like your body is getting what it needs) or psychological (your so happy , you just don't want it) or both, but the cravings do get less.
One swim in the sugar lake (ie: refined carbs),though, and your blood sugar and insulin are thrown out of whack and it's craving city.
Been there.....
I am just starting back on my own clean training diet after a 3 day 4th of July eating festival and I can feel the cravings going away. My body is saying "Thank you!"

Point being, it DOES get easier. Just get back on that horse. Even if you have to do it again and again. It will get easier. We are all here to help

P.S. Wer'e all here to GET help too! It's an awesome support network. Welcome, again....

XOXO
L2L

Thank you so much for all of the advice. I will be posting soon. I'm checking on joining the YMCA this afternoon. I'm excited. Hopefully being accountable to a group will help me stay on track.

Welcome Christena WE luvs NEWBIES here

I guess *I* Ilene am the "official" greeter .... Just pretend you're at the Wal-Mart of Weightloss...

Oh,you brought back memories of my old WW days....where days were filled with junk but as long as you had the right "points" you were good!! No wonder I was tired, weak, hungry, cranky, PMSy, bloated AND hungry ALL the time.... For me WW helped me with my portion control and made me realise that half a cup was a portion of pasta and not a plateful and 4oz of protein was more than enough...

What WW didn't show me was that I needed WAY more protein because I was weight training... This is what BFL has taught me... BFL has also taught me that eating every 2.5 to 3 hours will curb those cravings for refined carbs.

A suggestion on the cookies in your house... If you live alone, DON'T keep any junk around... If you have a family like I do, have them hide it ... My moto: Out of Sight, Out of Mind!!

Hope this helps and join us on the main forum... I think we're a great group of gals......