Post Christmas blues

heybarbsy

It's taken me 4 months and I've lost 11kilos. I'm just under half way to my goal and I need to lose a total of 25 kg, ..doctors orders.
After my Christmas food and drink indulgences I am now ready to start on my second phase. I'm looking for lots of motivation. I love swimming and this morning I swam one kilometer. A good start but I am very hungry. I am aged 63. Counting calories seems to be my saving grace. Does anyone else out there love swimming or should I just walk? I swim one kilometer three times a week. I don't seem to lose much weight when I swim?

Machka9

heybarbsy wrote: »

It's taken me 4 months and I've lost 11kilos. I'm just under half way to my goal and I need to lose a total of 25 kg, ..doctors orders.
After my Christmas food and drink indulgences I am now ready to start on my second phase. I'm looking for lots of motivation. I love swimming and this morning I swam one kilometer. A good start but I am very hungry. I am aged 63. Counting calories seems to be my saving grace. Does anyone else out there love swimming or should I just walk? I swim one kilometer three times a week. I don't seem to lose much weight when I swim?

Do both!

Also 3 km of swimming each week isn't a whole lot of swimming. It's a good thing to do, I wouldn't recommend giving it up, but it isn't going to burn a lot of calories. If you can, gradually start increasing the amount you swim. Every couple weeks go slightly longer ... maybe try going 4 days a week.

Plus walking. Can you walk to and from the pool? Is the pool located near a park ... maybe you can go for a 1 km walk before your 1 km swim. Or maybe you might prefer going for a walk later in the day. Swim in the morning, walk after work. And again, build up gradually.

m0nster2

1km is 1000 meters. That's a pretty good swim distance. I swim 1250-1800 meters 3 or 4 times a week. Swimming is great for toning, cardiovascular health, and it's something you can do 20 years from now, when you're 83. There's just two problems I have with swimming - one, hunger. Two, I don't lose weight either. Still, if you enjoy it, keep it up.

Also, how long does it take you to swim 1km? It may be better to aim for speed rather than increasing distance.

heybarbsy

Thanks so much for replying! It takes me 50 minutes to swim 1 kilometer (1,000 meters). I stay in for anther 30 minutes and do exercises.
I walk to the pool and back but that is less than a kilometer... not far. I love swimming the best so I wont ever give it up but I will make a bigger effort and walk some extra kilometers on the alternate days. I will let you know how I go! Thanks again! I'm now feeling more motivated... but I wish I could take my mind off feeling so hungry! Ha ha

middlehaitch

I'm 62 and my goal is to swim a km before April. I learnt late

If you are hungry maybe review your rate of loss and increase your calories. Also, if you dont have one, a food scale will help keep you accurate.

With regard to exercise, you already do quite a bit of cardio so finding a resistance programme to help keep your muscles and bones healthy wouldn't go amiss.
I have started All Pro which is a weight lifting programme, if you don't fancy that kind of thing look at a body weight routine like Nerdfitness. It will augment the resistance work you are doing swimming.

Cheers, h.

skinnyinnotime

Keep swimming, it's fantastic exercise for your body.

BewitchedBelinda99

I love swimming and i have dodgy knees so my dr told me to go twice a week. Just waiting on a new swimsuit, i hope it fits. I'm not a very strong swimmer though so will increase gradually. I agree it's great exercise.

arditarose

Swimming sounds great. I have the post christmas blues and WISH I had easy access to a pool. Seems like it would be very calming.

That being said...you don't lose weight from the swimming, you lose it from your calorie deficit. Swimming can help pad or make the deficit a little larger.

girlwithcurls2

There's a great group of swimmers here at mfp. I'm not sure if this link will work, but if you search Swimmers! in the groups, you should find it: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/122-swimmers

I'm a late learner and have found this group to be most helpful. They'll give you ideas about how to mix up your workout, encourage you to try new things, swim faster, or just share triumphs and frustrations. 1km might not be a whole lot for a 1 day workout, but maybe you just need so shake things up. Is your other 30 min exercising in a class? Do they have an aqua fitness class? I try to get my laps in before class, and then go to a really great cardio class. I can't do a lot of impact fitness due to an injury that is rehabbing, but this class has kept my fitness level up and kept the weight off

heybarbsy

Thank you all so much for your great advise. I've kept up with my 1km swims and water aerobic exercises... but now I also walk 4+ kilometers on alternate days. I'm also trying to tone up this 63 year old body with squats and some dumb-bell exercises for my upper arms. I've also decided to add a few more calories to quell my hunger. The 1200 cals limit was driving me crazy and I couldn't think beyond my next meal. Still stuck on a total loss of 12 kilos but I'm thinking I'm gaining muscle?
So happy to be getting fitter and actually starting to look forward to my early morning walks! Also, I'm leaving my car in the shed and walking to the shops.
Thanks again. Cheers