How long will it take to get in shape

ThatUserNameIsAllReadyTaken

Okay! I am going to try and keep this short and simple. If there are questions I will be glad to answer them of course.
Up until 5 years ago I was very active, I rarely even sat down and I was always on the move. During the recent 5 years of inactivity I would make efforts to get up and exercise and watch my food consumption, but something would always happen that got me back to being sedentary. The last 5 years have naturally had a bad impact on every aspect of my mind and body.
Several months ago I was back into my routine of daily cardio and resistance I had one day where I decided to really up my workout. Mind you I only have lightweight dumbbells and medicine balls, however I put them in a pillow case so I could have some weight for doing dead lifts and the like. (I'm a tad broke you see and I was just trying to make do with what I have!) Anyhoo, after this particular workout, My heart rate never returned to normal. My HR stayed at 120-140 the rest of the day. I went to the urgent care who prescribed a beta blocker after diagnosing me with sinus tachycardia, and referred me to a cardiologist, this cardiologist did an EKG, a treadmill test and an electrocardiogram. He has given me the all clear and says I simply need to regain confidence in myself. I am nervous though because I don't know what caused the tachycardia that day still and I am no longer taking the beta blocker.
SO NOW WHAT? I'm afraid of having another heart issue and I don't really kn ow how to go about getting back into a good routine. I have taken the chair away from my desk and I am standing up even as I type this.
so My questions here are
1) How should I get back in the work out habit?
2) How long will it take for my body to get back in shape?
3) Could the sinus tachycardia have been due to being out of shape and doing too much too soon?
Help me out here folks! I really need and want to get my ball rolling again!
Well, this wasn't so short and simple after all now was it?

amazingbabydoll

I googled it &...
1. Start slowly. Walk every other day for at least 30-45 mins. Eat relatively healthy. Do that for two weeks, see how you feel. Are you able to go for longer or faster walks? Are you able to cut out all processed foods & eat strictly healthy? If so then do so, but listen to your body!!
2. What's your height, weight, & weight/body goals?
3. Yes.

eldamiano

That was certainly not short and simple.....

Falcon

it's a life style change and not meant to be a short and simple

a simple thing you could think about is 10 minutes of walking and slowly work your way up to thirty minutes.

ThatUserNameIsAllReadyTaken

Allow me to clarify, I do not mean for a lifestyle change to be short and simple, I was referring to the length of the post, but you knew that.
Second, I am ABLE to go for walks and things like that, I was doing dance aerobics along with resistance work as well for 3 weeks prior to the "incident". I have googled and pretty much found that same info. It is frustrating that the answers to my questions are so hard to find. I don't know why I had the tachycardia after that one workout, and I wonder if it will happen again? What caused that. I did not get an answer from my cardiologist when I asked. I also had a thyroid check up and my thyroid is good, adrenals good, cortisol good. How long did it take for other people to get adjusted to a work out? Should I just start with simply being on my feet more? I just don't know what the best thing to do is. I tell you what makes it hard to tell what my body is really doing, I panic now when my heart rate gets up in exercise and that causes my heart rate to stay up because of being anxious about it. I'm pretty ticked at myself now for ever getting married and having babies if this is what my health will be like as a result. My husband has made it damned near impossible for me to ever get time to myself enough to get regular exercise no matter how I try to sneak it in. I find myself sneaking off to the bedroom and locking the door for 2-3 minutes at the time trying to get in jumping jacks or squats and lunges or running in place. Now I'm just venting.... anyhoo... I don't have money to pay a babysitter, and I don't know anyone around here who I would trust with my kids anyway. I need to find a way to break through this without killing myself.

Wheelhouse15

If you have a medical condition it's best to discuss this with your doctor and have your program supervised if you have the insurance to cover this. Normally, it would be an easy thing to start up a program and be back in the swing of it within 90 days but I wouldn't know if that's wise without knowing what caused your issue.

Best of luck and stay safe.

ThatUserNameIsAllReadyTaken

Wheelhouse15 wrote: »

If you have a medical condition it's best to discuss this with your doctor and have your program supervised if you have the insurance to cover this. Normally, it would be an easy thing to start up a program and be back in the swing of it within 90 days but I wouldn't know if that's wise without knowing what caused your issue.

Best of luck and stay safe.

I have done that and he simply did not answer these questions for me.

MKEgal

Lovengratitude wrote:

How long did it take for other people to get adjusted to a work out?

Looking at my diary, it took about a month before I started exercising every day. I give myself 1 day off a week, and usually take it, but not always.

When I started this January, I went 3 days a week & walked on the treadmill starting with 10 minutes, and adding 5 min at a time. I was doing about 2 mph at first. I felt really lame, but I knew I needed to start slow.

I worked up in minutes & speed until I was doing 30 min, alternating every few minutes between 3 & 3.5 mph.
The next time, I tried the elliptical... for 10 minutes at maybe 3 mph, 'cause that's all I could do. It kicked my butt.
I've slowly worked up from there so now I recently did an hour on the elliptical at 5 mph.

All along, I've been doing weightlifting every other day.

Should I just start with simply being on my feet more?
I just don't know what the best thing to do is.

Check with your doctor for recommendations or prohibitions.
Many people start with walking. As long as your doctor says it's OK, start where you are, work up to at least 30 min per day. More is better, and there's almost no downside.

Here's the American Heart Association page with info about exercise.
http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/PhysicalActivity/Physical-Activity_UCM_001080_SubHomePage.jsp

My husband has made it damned near impossible for me to ever get time to myself enough to get regular exercise no matter how I try to sneak it in

That's sad, that he doesn't want you to get healthy.
Take the kids with you on your walks, esp. if they still fit in a stroller. They'll love it.
Can you find someone in your area (maybe through MFP) with whom you could exchange babysitting? 1 hour, back to back - you watch their kids while they walk, they watch your kids while you walk. Maybe it'd even work to be in a park so the kids are distracted & you can keep an eye on them while you walk the perimeter?
Or take them outside & run around with them. If they're small enough, use them as weights.

MKEgal

Wheelhouse15 wrote:

If you have a medical condition it's best to discuss this with your doctor

Lovengratitude wrote:

I have done that and he simply did not answer these questions for me.

Then ask again. Part of his job is to help you understand your own health. If not him, then one of the nurses or PAs should be doing patient education.

If you have insurance, call the patient advocate and tell them the doctor is refusing to answer your questions, ask what you should do. Maybe they can help you find another doc who's willing to interact with her patients. (And if I were the insurance co person, I'd dock his pay for that visit with you, because he didn't do his job right.)

MKEgal

And for strength training, here's a quick body-weight workout you can slip in several times a day.
This article describes the exercises and has a link to the ACSM paper which discusses it in more depth.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/09/the-scientific-7-minute-workout/

ThatUserNameIsAllReadyTaken

I was hoping someone who with a similar experience would come and shed some light. I suppose such a person isn't stopping to comment. Thanks anyway for taking the time to respond everyone. I appreciate the effort.

ThatUserNameIsAllReadyTaken

just popping in with an update in case it would be helpful to anyone in a similar situation. I have discovered that when I ovulate my heart rate tends to go a little higher than normal. It will usually stay high for 2-3 days when my ovulation begins. I went back on my calendar to that one day where my heart rate remained elevated after my workout and it was during the days that I would have been ovulating. Also during the following months I have made a point to check my calendar and I notice physical signs of ovulation on days where my heart rate is higher than usual. .I will ask my Dr about this on the next follow up, but I figured it's worth putting it out there. Maybe it will be useful info for someone else.