So a few days ago I decided to join a gym. When I stood on the scale and saw a number so high that I didn't want to continue upwards anymore... it was a breaking point for me. I found a gym that was open till 11 pm and I went there the same evening and joined it.
So here I am, all the good intentions in the world, but I'm a beginner and don't really know much. I've done the usual research on the internet and found some beginner workouts (http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/begi...ss_program.htm is what I'm going with for now). But some of them seem to say different stuff and confused me a couple of times. Some sites say that for fat loss you want low weights, high reps (up to 20), while others say you want weights which allow 10-12 reps max. There is also the debate of machines vs free weights.
There's also the balance of cardio and weights. What I plan on doing at the moment is 3x strength (with a short 10-15 min extra cardio afterwards, excl. warm up and cooldown), 2x cardio every week and 2 days rest (weekends). Is this a good point to start out with?
When it comes to nutrition, the first and obvious change I decided to make is cut out all the junkfood from my diet. I used to eat very unhealthy, pizza 2-3 times a week, lots of deep fried stuff (4 times a week or so), lots of soda, etc. For breakfast and lunch I'm going with sandwiches with different stuff on it, usually with chicken (homemade sandwiches ofc), or cereal (no sugar) and soup. Still working out what kind of dinner would be best, since I'm not that great at cooking (actually a complete noob at cooking really). So I'd appreciate some advice on that if possible.
Last but not least, pre- and post-workout meals: what to take and what not to take? For post workout I thought it would be good to take a piece of fruit (thinking of a grapefruit personally, since I like those) and some yoghurt or cottage cheese (called 'kwark' in Dutch, not sure if it's exactly the same as this, and ofc the lean or low fat versions).
I know this looks like a lot, but I'd appreciate any help I can get.