To Those Just Starting Their Fitness Journey

First of all, welcome to IBSFit! Simply making a commitment toward one's health is so unbelievably important, and beyond that, making an effort to educate oneself is a crucial initial step. This site contains a lot of useful information for those of all levels, ages, and experiences. However, most of the guidance here is geared towards those with some baseline knowledge regarding lifting, fitness, and nutrition.

There's absolutely no shame in not knowing something at first. Everyone has to start somewhere, and it's not at all difficult to gain a basic understanding of certain topics that this site touches on, such as macronutrients, muscle groups, and symptom terminology. There are a lot of great resources out there to learn about fitness and nutrition for beginners, including a number of knowledgeable Registered Dietitians and Certified Personal Trainers. There are Dietitians who specialize in GI conditions, and can work directly with you to provide nutrition education catered to your specific needs, including ways to stay fit.

When I began lifting, my parents bought me this book and scheduled a consultation with a personal trainer. To this day, the majority of my lifting knowledge is still derived from those pages. It was imperative in allowing me to put together a safe, effective, science-based routine right from the start, which helped me both avoid injury, and see the progress I needed to motivate myself to continue. I'm not advocating specifically for this book, as there are plenty of other great options, but rather for establishing a good baseline level of knowledge using reputable resources.