Just starting exercising after about 10+ years
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Aria603
Posts: 29 Member
Hi everyone! I'm 35 years old, mama of three under three, haven't exercised in about ummmmm 10 years. Long story short, I had a complete work up today with a new doctor being I have high BP, and I'm weighing in at about 315 when I should be like 140. He told me I HAD to start exercising. So I did 20 minutes tonight of stepping, with 5 minutes high intensity to hit my heart rate to burn calories (as he instructed). What is SO annoying is I could have go SO MUCH LONGER, but my hips/knees/lower back just was not having it, everything just HURT. I guess my question is, has anyone had this, and as you keep working out, does your body "remember" what it means to be active?
PS - I'm going to look into a treadmill/stationary bike or something like that but right now financially, stepping is all I got.
Thanks!
PS - I'm going to look into a treadmill/stationary bike or something like that but right now financially, stepping is all I got.
Thanks!
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Replies
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You don't HAVE to exercise to lose weight. It's been proven time and time again that all you need to do to lose weight is consume less than you burn in a day.
That said, you don't even have to do stepping. If you can walk for 30 minutes outside or in a mall, then that's good enough for now. As you lose weight, then you'll be able to do much more with exercise as the resistance on your back and knees will be less.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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Like any new exercise program it takes time to build up up and a certain amount of discomfort is not unusual (it's your body's way of telling you that it's been a while since you worked out, plus at your weight there's a lot of extra stress on your backs & joints).
Ninerbuff is bang on about weight loss not requiring exercise but if you've got high BP improving your cardiovascular health can help with that. Depending on how much discomfort you were in I'll second his suggestion of focusing on walking for now and build up your time stepping, start with a few minutes and gradually add time, this will allow your body to adapt and reduce the likelihood of injuring yourself.
Be patient, you didn't get out of shape overnight and it takes time to get back.
As to a treadmill or stationary bike check out used ones, lots of people buy them with the best of intentions but they end up being expensive towel racks.....let someone else take the depreciation.1 -
You don't HAVE to exercise to lose weight. It's been proven time and time again that all you need to do to lose weight is consume less than you burn in a day.
That said, you don't even have to do stepping. If you can walk for 30 minutes outside or in a mall, then that's good enough for now. As you lose weight, then you'll be able to do much more with exercise as the resistance on your back and knees will be less.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
It has also been proving again and again that people who lose weight without doing any form of exercise, have no chance in hell maintaining a new lower weight, so your advice is pretty useless.
8 out of 10 will fail - meaning they will gain back the weight they lost, and usually add some bonus pounds as well.
the 2 out of 10 that DOES maintain their new weight, exercise 1 hour every single day of the week.
People really need to stop saying that people dont have to exercise to lose weight.
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Good for you for starting back up! Your babies will thank you as you and they get older!
I would start with walking. This app can track steps so take your phone with you and start by walking 3,000 steps and increase it by a thousand each day until you're at 10,000 (or more). But the PP is correct, losing weight is like 85% nutrition. Focus on nutrition and the weight will start coming off.2 -
Your body doesn't "remember" but it does relearn. As you lose weight, the pain will decrease. As you build strength, the pain will decrease. 2 1/2 years ago I couldn't walk more than 1/4 mile without excruciating pain and last month I ran all of a 5k with no pain. And I'm almost twice your age!
You may not need to exercise to lose weight, but you do need to exercise for the sake of health & fitness.
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You don't HAVE to exercise to lose weight. It's been proven time and time again that all you need to do to lose weight is consume less than you burn in a day.
That said, you don't even have to do stepping. If you can walk for 30 minutes outside or in a mall, then that's good enough for now. As you lose weight, then you'll be able to do much more with exercise as the resistance on your back and knees will be less.
Surely you can recognize that there are health benefits to exercising other than weight loss, which I imagine is the doctor's reasoning behind pushing exercise?
That said, as the weight comes off and you strengthen your muscles, yes it gets easier. Not because your body remembers but because you gradually retrain/condition your body. Don't ignore strength training for this reason! I don't have the best knees and couldn't do squats but after starting slow I can now do squats with a 36lb kettle bell. I had to build up muscle strength in my legs and hips to help stabilize my knees.
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And I will add that aside from all the other main benefits of exercise, it also boosts confidence and simply makes you feel better all around. So it's definitely worth doing some!1
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You don't HAVE to exercise to lose weight. It's been proven time and time again that all you need to do to lose weight is consume less than you burn in a day.
That said, you don't even have to do stepping. If you can walk for 30 minutes outside or in a mall, then that's good enough for now. As you lose weight, then you'll be able to do much more with exercise as the resistance on your back and knees will be less.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
It has also been proving again and again that people who lose weight without doing any form of exercise, have no chance in hell maintaining a new lower weight, so your advice is pretty useless.
8 out of 10 will fail - meaning they will gain back the weight they lost, and usually add some bonus pounds as well.
the 2 out of 10 that DOES maintain their new weight, exercise 1 hour every single day of the week.
People really need to stop saying that people dont have to exercise to lose weight.You don't HAVE to exercise to lose weight. It's been proven time and time again that all you need to do to lose weight is consume less than you burn in a day.
That said, you don't even have to do stepping. If you can walk for 30 minutes outside or in a mall, then that's good enough for now. As you lose weight, then you'll be able to do much more with exercise as the resistance on your back and knees will be less.
Surely you can recognize that there are health benefits to exercising other than weight loss, which I imagine is the doctor's reasoning behind pushing exercise?
That said, as the weight comes off and you strengthen your muscles, yes it gets easier. Not because your body remembers but because you gradually retrain/condition your body. Don't ignore strength training for this reason! I don't have the best knees and couldn't do squats but after starting slow I can now do squats with a 36lb kettle bell. I had to build up muscle strength in my legs and hips to help stabilize my knees.
OP is more than double what her body weight should be. Most forms of exercise will cause more harm than good until she drops some weight. Random statistics don't add value to your point.
OP, walk and weigh your food.3 -
You don't HAVE to exercise to lose weight. It's been proven time and time again that all you need to do to lose weight is consume less than you burn in a day.
That said, you don't even have to do stepping. If you can walk for 30 minutes outside or in a mall, then that's good enough for now. As you lose weight, then you'll be able to do much more with exercise as the resistance on your back and knees will be less.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
It has also been proving again and again that people who lose weight without doing any form of exercise, have no chance in hell maintaining a new lower weight, so your advice is pretty useless.
8 out of 10 will fail - meaning they will gain back the weight they lost, and usually add some bonus pounds as well.
the 2 out of 10 that DOES maintain their new weight, exercise 1 hour every single day of the week.
People really need to stop saying that people dont have to exercise to lose weight.You don't HAVE to exercise to lose weight. It's been proven time and time again that all you need to do to lose weight is consume less than you burn in a day.
That said, you don't even have to do stepping. If you can walk for 30 minutes outside or in a mall, then that's good enough for now. As you lose weight, then you'll be able to do much more with exercise as the resistance on your back and knees will be less.
Surely you can recognize that there are health benefits to exercising other than weight loss, which I imagine is the doctor's reasoning behind pushing exercise?
That said, as the weight comes off and you strengthen your muscles, yes it gets easier. Not because your body remembers but because you gradually retrain/condition your body. Don't ignore strength training for this reason! I don't have the best knees and couldn't do squats but after starting slow I can now do squats with a 36lb kettle bell. I had to build up muscle strength in my legs and hips to help stabilize my knees.
OP is more than double what her body weight should be. Most forms of exercise will cause more harm than good until she drops some weight. Random statistics don't add value to your point.
OP, walk and weigh your food.
Agreed. 315 pounds puts a lot of stress on joints. In addition, the benefits of simply walking are being recognized more and more as a sufficient exercise regimen.
@tiffany603 - I started running 5 years ago after nearly a decade of being sedentary and it was hard at first. I wasn't really overweight and it was still hard. It does get easier the more you do it but it does take some time. Just remember that there's no need to put yourself in misery in the name of exercise and if you do too much too soon you actually risk injuring yourself so take it slowly.
Focus on staying within your calorie goal every day to lose weight. Add as much walking as you can handle and have time for in your schedule and increase the time and distance as it gets easier. If you want a challenge do intervals of walking as fast as you can and then walking more slowly to catch your breath. You'll find you can increase the fast walking intervals as time goes on.0 -
At your weight OP, I'd start out just walking...if you have access to a pool or something you could do some water aerobics...but definitely something low impact. At your weight, high impact exercise activity could do more harm than good and is going to be a huge stress on your joints, etc.
Where losing weight is concerned, your diet is going to have a much bigger impact than anything else. Regular exercise makes weight management easier, but really, unless you're an athlete or training like one, the calorie burns you get on a day to day basis are pretty paltry compared to the calories you burn just being alive and doing your daily. Regular exercise will have numerous other health benefits though...so yeah, I highly recommend.0 -
Congrats. You are making good choices to get healthier. One day at a time. Little by little equals success!0
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also take comfort in the fact that at 315, you're already pretty strong. me plus my max deadlift only add up to 300 pounds between us after two years of work. and i can lift that barbell, but i wouldn't be able to walk it round the block. you're lifting pretty heavy just as you are
about whether your body gets used to it: yes, it does. i'm thinking maybe something like a couch-to-5k type of approach might be useful for you? i don't mean as actual running until/unless you get an all-clear from your doc. but the principle behind it is designed to give people's bodies time to develop strong ligaments, joints etc as a foundation for later progress. maybe if you used their timing structure, but just stuck to walking for now.0 -
If I had to start over I would just have walked
I did for me at the time high impact and hurt knees and ankles.
When the time is right for you can do more.
Good luck0 -
You don't HAVE to exercise to lose weight. It's been proven time and time again that all you need to do to lose weight is consume less than you burn in a day.
That said, you don't even have to do stepping. If you can walk for 30 minutes outside or in a mall, then that's good enough for now. As you lose weight, then you'll be able to do much more with exercise as the resistance on your back and knees will be less.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
It has also been proving again and again that people who lose weight without doing any form of exercise, have no chance in hell maintaining a new lower weight, so your advice is pretty useless.
8 out of 10 will fail - meaning they will gain back the weight they lost, and usually add some bonus pounds as well.
the 2 out of 10 that DOES maintain their new weight, exercise 1 hour every single day of the week.
People really need to stop saying that people dont have to exercise to lose weight.
But you really don't have to exercise to lose weight it's the truth. It's about forming good habits and sticking to them
Thats what keeps the weight off
And your comment was to someone who really does know what they are talking about0 -
Just as a check in --- it's been 30 days, and I'm up to 40 minutes a day, and feeling great doing it. I just had to get into it and KEEP doing it. YEY! I'm also down 16 lbs
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