Hi and a question on exercise

FL_Hiker

Hi,
I used to be a competitive swimmer for 12 years.. I swam hard for 7 hours every single day. After I stopped swimming and met my husband I gained a lot of weight. For a while when we first started dating we ran together and trained for races (it was so much fun!!!) but he said his knees hurt so we stopped exercising completely. He never did sports in his life and he loves pizza and sodas so our life styles kind of clashed. I didn't want to leave him out, so I stopped exercising and joined him playing video games and things he enjoyed instead. Fast forward a few years I got a high energy dog, so now the dog and I walk/hike twice a day for an hour each. I haven't lost any weight hiking but I feel great!!! I have tons of energy and feel strong.. hiking makes me so happy! I have had hashimotos disease since I was 10 so keeping the weight off has always been a struggle for me. I have eaten carefully my entire life because of the disease and have never been medically "overweight". I'm at the heaviest right now I've ever been in my life (5'5 140 lb female) but I feel good, don't mind what I see in the mirror... but my parents and husband tell me I could lose a few pounds. Since meeting my husband I've gained roughly 5 lbs every year, I worry if I let this trend continue I'll end up in trouble. My BMI says I'm normal... but this is the worst shape I've ever let myself go. My goal is to just be healthy.... I'd like to get back down to 115lb and stay fit. I love cooking and I love veggies so I'd like to eat healthy again! My husband is picky with vegetables so I had stopped eating them as well. How much exercise per week should I be getting? I don't like to lift weights or go to gym classes I much prefer the outdoors ... I hike 7 days a week/ 2 hrs every day but would like to add jogging into the equation. I sometimes rollerblade with my dog but he is still young so I try to keep it short for his sake. I don't really know what a normal exercise amount is since I grew up and spent my entire life swimming in the pool. I'd love to motivate my husband and get him back exercising with me, even if it's just a little.
Thanks!

stanmann571

If your husband truly feels you would benefit from losing weight, he would join you in finding a mutually enjoyable physical activity to stay active.

So, leverage his interest in having you lose a bit of weight to encourage healthy habits for both of you.

FL_Hiker

Yes he does try. He is never mean about it..he has just mentioned my dress doesn't fit, etc. He is more overweight than me so he doesn't nag me. He works 60 hour weeks and is exhausted so I understand why he doesn't feel like it, despite that he does walk with the dog and I some evenings. He just doesn't feel motivated after work all day. And I can't motivate him, I hope that when he sees me trying he might too. And I've been trying to make him eat veggies lol he won't eat fruit or veggies unless I physically put it on his plate. He won't get them himself. I'm hoping that by me getting fit I'll inspire him to try again, I really miss running together and doing races with him. His health has also declined, he has feet problems now, bad cholesterol levels, and is feeling depressed. I know exercise will make both of us feel better!

FL_Hiker

Is jogging 3 times per week for 30 mins + hiking for 2 hrs per day good or should we aim for more?

Go_Deskercise

I am also 5' 5" and started gaining weight after starting a desk job and getting married. My weight got to 140 lbs before my husband loving mentioned that I had gained some weight. I had just turned a blind eye to it I guess! I stepped on the scale and sure enough, 20 lbs heavier! I'm glad he said something when he did, so that I could fix it before I gained any more. My husband and I sat down and went through a normal day for me calorie-wise to figure out how much I was eating and boy was I surprised. My biggest struggle came at lunch time. I live right by my work, so I was going home and plopping in front of the TV and shoving my face for about an hour and the calories added up very quickly. Not to mention the drinks and snacks I would bring back with me to keep at my desk at work.


I am now down to 126 lbs! Still hoping to get down to 120 lbs.

stanmann571

Start small, start slow. IF you can get him to walk around the block at the beginning of your hikes, that's probably a good start. If he's already doing 60+ hours a week another 2-3 a day might be a bit much, unless you can fit it into your existing eat/shower/change clothes cycle.

If he likes video games, try getting him engaged in a VR game(Pogo/Ingress/Jurassic world)

urloved33

FL_Hiker wrote: »

Is jogging 3 times per week for 30 mins + hiking for 2 hrs per day good or should we aim for more?

that's good ...you have been an athlete all of your life, listen to your body and just try not to "give things up" for someone else...keep the focus on yourself, develop your own life in a healthy productive manner and all else will follow or it wont - but you cant control that. most important - have fun.

FL_Hiker

Go_Deskercise wrote: »

I am also 5' 5" and started gaining weight after starting a desk job and getting married. My weight got to 140 lbs before my husband loving mentioned that I had gained some weight. I had just turned a blind eye to it I guess! I stepped on the scale and sure enough, 20 lbs heavier! I'm glad he said something when he did, so that I could fix it before I gained any more. My husband and I sat down and went through a normal day for me calorie-wise to figure out how much I was eating and boy was I surprised. My biggest struggle came at lunch time. I live right by my work, so I was going home and plopping in front of the TV and shoving my face for about an hour and the calories added up very quickly. Not to mention the drinks and snacks I would bring back with me to keep at my desk at work.


I am now down to 126 lbs! Still hoping to get down to 120 lbs.

Seriously it adds up so sneaky and quick!!! I was off my thyroid medication for a while too (insurance changed twice and then husband switched jobs so then it changed again and I kept putting off the Dr. Appointment until we got it sorted out...) so now that I've been back on it I feel SO much better! It's still hard for me to believe I'm 140 when I have this much energy lol! Congratulations girlie on your success!!! I'm curious how long it took you? And what kind of foods have you been eating? What kinds of exercises?
Thanks !!!

FL_Hiker

stanmann571 wrote: »

Start small, start slow. IF you can get him to walk around the block at the beginning of your hikes, that's probably a good start. If he's already doing 60+ hours a week another 2-3 a day might be a bit much, unless you can fit it into your existing eat/shower/change clothes cycle.

If he likes video games, try getting him engaged in a VR game(Pogo/Ingress/Jurassic world)

He actually does have an oculus rift and he got me one too so we could "exercise virtually" together. But we were really disappointed with the quality of the games... and I never notice the virtual box and end up breaking things like my hand and the wall lol!! It worked for a while for him.. but not my thing. I'm a total outdoorsy person. He doesn't like playing video games alone which is how I always get roped into it lol.

stanmann571

FL_Hiker wrote: »

stanmann571 wrote: »

Start small, start slow. IF you can get him to walk around the block at the beginning of your hikes, that's probably a good start. If he's already doing 60+ hours a week another 2-3 a day might be a bit much, unless you can fit it into your existing eat/shower/change clothes cycle.

If he likes video games, try getting him engaged in a VR game(Pogo/Ingress/Jurassic world)

He actually does have an oculus rift and he got me one too so we could "exercise virtually" together. But we were really disappointed with the quality of the games... and I never notice the virtual box and end up breaking things like my hand and the wall lol!! It worked for a while for him.. but not my thing. I'm a total outdoorsy person. He doesn't like playing video games alone which is how I always get roped into it lol.

The nice thing with Pokémon Go/Ingress and now JW. Is that they nicely complement a good long briskish walk.

There are community and team play elements that make playing as a couple fun. My wife and I love PoGo.

Go_Deskercise

FL_Hiker wrote: »

Go_Deskercise wrote: »

I am also 5' 5" and started gaining weight after starting a desk job and getting married. My weight got to 140 lbs before my husband loving mentioned that I had gained some weight. I had just turned a blind eye to it I guess! I stepped on the scale and sure enough, 20 lbs heavier! I'm glad he said something when he did, so that I could fix it before I gained any more. My husband and I sat down and went through a normal day for me calorie-wise to figure out how much I was eating and boy was I surprised. My biggest struggle came at lunch time. I live right by my work, so I was going home and plopping in front of the TV and shoving my face for about an hour and the calories added up very quickly. Not to mention the drinks and snacks I would bring back with me to keep at my desk at work.


I am now down to 126 lbs! Still hoping to get down to 120 lbs.

Seriously it adds up so sneaky and quick!!! I was off my thyroid medication for a while too (insurance changed twice and then husband switched jobs so then it changed again and I kept putting off the Dr. Appointment until we got it sorted out...) so now that I've been back on it I feel SO much better! It's still hard for me to believe I'm 140 when I have this much energy lol! Congratulations girlie on your success!!! I'm curious how long it took you? And what kind of foods have you been eating? What kinds of exercises?
Thanks !!!

It took me around 6 months (ish).
It's still a constant struggle as my weight fluctuates wildly LOL
Earlier this month I was back up to 130 lbs

I still eat the same things I have always eaten, but I just track it now and eat less.
I still eat pizza, burgers, fast food, etc....
I pre-log my food in MFP so I know how many calories I'll be left with for the rest of the day if I eat what I'm about to eat.
I run about 30 min a day 5 days a week with my doggies depending on the weather, but other than that, I don't do much.
I work a desk job, so I try to get up every hour and stretch or walk around.
I park further away from places so I get more steps in daily
I inefficiently put laundry away so I'm constantly walking back and forth to put things away.

I look for little things throughout the day to add to my steps count, but mainly I just calorie count right now.
I am trying to at least get down to 122 lbs because that's what I felt REALLY good.
After that I plan on adding in a lot more strength exercises to hopefully build some more muscle as looking like a twig isn't really my goal