Never excercised

flannan

Hi all,
Newbie here who has never excercised. I mean it. Never. Not once. When I was a kid I swam and danced thru high school then that was it. I'm now 45. The most excercise I get is walking around in heels. I sit at a desk for work. I like to read, so spend my off time sitting.

I started walking this week for 30 mins at a moderate pace. I was kind of proud of myself yesterday as it was 95 degrees here and I actually went out walking at noon. Usually I am in my car seeing other people walking or running in the heat, and thinking they're crazy. This time it was me out walking. I'm sure that sounds like nothing much, but for me to have the motivation to actually get off the couch was an accomplishment.

Reading the fitness thread, it's a bit intimidating how motivated and fit you all are. I was wondering if any of you could tell me how you started out, how you accomplished your success, or how you stay motivated.

Candice83

congrats on taking the first step... literally Thats awesome that you have made the first move. The way i keep motivated is by seeing the results on the scales each week and also the feeling of pride you have when you complete something you set out to do. I've always been an on and off dieter and exerciser never committing to it completely. Its ben two weeks now since i started again and this time i know its real.. this time it feels different. I feel fantastic.. im exercising mostly every single day and at first my body was aching and groaning but now i feel GREAT. Keep at it. You'll thank youself.

Holton

When I started back in January, I knew that exercise would be my weak link, so in order not to set myself up to fail, I only committed to exercising 2x a week for 30 minutes. I made this happen by working out on an elliptical (liked the fact that it did not pound my joints) once a week and going for a long walk another day. Because when I started I really was motivated, I typically walked more than once a week (so exceeded the goal I set for myself). When I watched TV at night, I would do stretches and simple things with hand weights. Over the past several months, I can truthfully say that my desire to exercise has not increased, but I still make myself workout on the elliptical once a week and have increased my time on it from 30 minutes to 50-60 minutes! I have a great park near my house, so walking is still my exercise of choice and try to do it at a minimum of 2x a week, but sometimes more. I took a 12 week yoga class in late Spring and absolutely L O V E D it, but financially doing that is not in my budget. Just wanted to assure you that you can still lose weight even if you are NOT working out every day of the week. I see what other people are doing on here and am astounded at their drive and commitment; I just can't seem to develop it myself, but do make myself do a minimum every week and most weeks actually do more than I set out. I would say set a weekly goal that you KNOW you can make and let it grow as your health improves. And of course all the stuff you read about parking your car further away, taking stairs instead of the elevator, etc.... helps too! Good luck!

LotusF1ower

Hi all,
Newbie here who has never excercised. I mean it. Never. Not once. When I was a kid I swam and danced thru high school then that was it. I'm now 45. The most excercise I get is walking around in heels. I sit at a desk for work. I like to read, so spend my off time sitting.

I started walking this week for 30 mins at a moderate pace. I was kind of proud of myself yesterday as it was 95 degrees here and I actually went out walking at noon. Usually I am in my car seeing other people walking or running in the heat, and thinking they're crazy. This time it was me out walking. I'm sure that sounds like nothing much, but for me to have the motivation to actually get off the couch was an accomplishment.

Reading the fitness thread, it's a bit intimidating how motivated and fit you all are. I was wondering if any of you could tell me how you started out, how you accomplished your success, or how you stay motivated.

Hi! Welcome to MFP!

Walking in that heat, I bet you found you burned many calories, it isn't easy!

Once you find you have the will to do the exercise you are part way there and the more you do, the easier it gets and then you find you really want to do it and then really look forward to it.

I go on the treadmill a lot and all the time I am on there, I am thinking with every step I run or walk it is using up calories that is helping me with my weight loss - it is a massive motivational way of thinking for me :flowerforyou:

I want to see the weight come down off my ticker and the inches reduce when I have my measurement day - I have become like a machine I tell you :laugh:

Seriously though, well done for making that effort and you will find you start to really enjoy it and so want more. It becomes addictive, something to do with the endorphins that are released during exercise to help combat pain and give a feeling of wellbeing.

HealthyChanges2010

Hi all,
Newbie here who has never excercised. I mean it. Never. Not once. When I was a kid I swam and danced thru high school then that was it. I'm now 45. The most excercise I get is walking around in heels. I sit at a desk for work. I like to read, so spend my off time sitting.

I started walking this week for 30 mins at a moderate pace. I was kind of proud of myself yesterday as it was 95 degrees here and I actually went out walking at noon. Usually I am in my car seeing other people walking or running in the heat, and thinking they're crazy. This time it was me out walking. I'm sure that sounds like nothing much, but for me to have the motivation to actually get off the couch was an accomplishment.

Reading the fitness thread, it's a bit intimidating how motivated and fit you all are. I was wondering if any of you could tell me how you started out, how you accomplished your success, or how you stay motivated.

Hon, I'm SO PROUD OF YOU TOO!!! We all started at different places, keep reading the boards and you'll see we're all at various stages of fitness. It can be a bit intimidating at first when you feel OMG, everyone is ahead of me. LOL But remember it's a journey we all walk together on, not a race against one another, if you can keep in mind it will really help alot:drinker:

Sounds like you're really getting movin quick for someone that hasn't worked out before , 30? Awesome, I think mine was like a few minutes in 07 with a couple hundreds more lbs. on me. lol ugh But hey we all start somewhere and this group is very supportive.

There's a walking club in the threads you might really enjoy, if someone hasn't already brought up the link, I'll check back in when I get home and share it. It's a sweet, ambitious, fun group of folks, tracking their walking miles.

Happy Day Hon,
Oh and Welcome btw!
Becca:flowerforyou:

navstar

I was in exactly the same place as you, the last time I exercised properly was at school 20 years ago! but I took a day at a time and for the last few weeks I have been taking short walks everyday (10/15 mins) ie instead of driving to the school walking instead, I got a cheap lateral thigh trainer at a car boot sale (like a garage sale but you take your things in the boot of your car to a field or market place and sell it there) and have been building up my time on that (started at 10 mins now up to 20) and last week my sister in law gave me her old exercise bike (that she never used) so have started using that for about 10-15mins a day and will slowly build that up too. My doctor recommended that I take is slow and let my body get used to being active again before I try anything to vigorous as I have knee and hip problems and also suffer from Sciatica caused by the compression of lumbar nerves.

But to quote my doctor "a little exercise is better than none and once you start you will find it easier to get more active just don't try to do too much or you will suffer and lose motivation".

My biggest motivation is fitting into clothes that I haven't been able to wear in years (they might not be in fashion anymore but who cares they fit!!!)

flannan

Thanks All for your thoughts and experience. It's hard for old
dogs to learn new tricks but if I can at least stick to walking a few
times a week, even that will be a big improvement!

pmjsmom

When I first started on this journey 2+ years ago, I started out walking a couple of times a week with Leslie Sansone walking videos. After a while I added more routines that I found online (I was unemployed and did not have extra money for a gym or equipment!). I still mostly walk, though--outside and inside. The big difference is that now I walk EVERY day and I walk anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour at a time. (Sometimes more--especially when I walk outside.)
We have a group here--The SWaT Team Challenge - Month 2 is the current name. We all walk--different goals, some with videos, some with pedometers, some use both--it's up to the individual. You should check us out--we love to have new people join in!

dlrcpa

Hi. Walking is a great way to start out! My story - I got a dog about 5 years ago, so was taking him for long walks twice a day (30-60 minutes because he is a type that needs a lot of exercise.) Did not really lose weight this way but thought I was at least getting exercised. A year ago I had to see my chiropractor for back problems. He suggested the large stability ball as good for working the "core muscles", so I got one at Target for about $20. The DVD that came with the ball was useless so I went to the library and checked out some books using the stability ball. I liked Denise Austin's "Sculpt your Body with Balls and Bands" so I bought it. We already had some of the stretchy bands that hubby obtained from somewhere so I started spending about 20 minutes a couple of times a week doing various things from the book. There's also a "Exertrail" near enough that I can hit it on a dog walk, so I did most of the stations about once a week last fall - challenging. Then someone at work recommended "Yoga for Dummies" DVD so I got that too and messed with it about once a week. In April I joined this site and got serious. I dragged all our exercise equipment to the basement and organized all my exercise "stuff" in one place - stationary bike, Reebok Step (from 15 years ago - my step phase), light hand weights, stretchy bands, DVDs, and workout clothes. Hubby fixed my 12-spped bike (new tires and inner tubes.) I "scheduled" my workout time daily after the dog's afternoon walk but before dinner so between 4:30-5:30 or 5-6 pm. This summer I signed up for yoga class at the local rec center. Things just sort of snowball once you get interested and motivated. Try different things and see what you like. Some things will appeal to you and others won't, but try to get a variety going so you work arms, legs, back, abs and so on.
Edited to add - Oh, and I bought a pool pass this year for the first time in ages, so I try to hit the pool once a week too - water walking and some swimming - I am not up to laps yet, but maybe by Labor day?

david1956

Walking is a great start, and you shouldn't feel intimidated by other people's mtoivation.. we all start somewhere and are a work in progress.

Regarding.. "The most excercise I get is walking around in heels. I sit at a desk for work. I like to read, so spend my off time sitting." If you decide to get into more serious exercise, you may find you need to devote some time to a lot of stretching, especially calves, hamstrings. And to start doing some exercise that activates your core more.

Sitting for years at desk-jobs (with calves and hamstrings held in a shortened position, and one's core almost totally deactivated) can have some real consequences that require undoing. Even walking, I initially sometimes got a really sharp twang in the tendons behind my knee. And when I decided to do some kick-boxing for fitness I had some real problems. OK, you probably aren't thinking about kick-boxing, but just saying... the more you extend your exercise, the more it would be beneficial to work on flexibility.

And on the subject of high heels, my trainer was saying he can spot women who haven't exercised and wear heels in an instance. One give-away is that they can seldom squat with their feet flat on the ground, They almost always have to raise their heels to squat.

So if you begin enjoying exercising more and more, those areas would be good ones to really start thinking about. Feeling looser and more flexible is a great feeling. But just keep enjoying that start you've made and you'll feel out how you want to progress. Enjoy it!