Getting impatient
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Jawillard60
Posts: 4 Member
I am 61 and have some covid weight that I want to lose. Not much, just want to get back to the weight that I was in 2020. My goal is to lose 10 pounds by July. I would be happy to lose 5. I have been walking on my treadmill since Jan and started with 2 miles. I am now walking 4 miles at 3.35 - 4. mph. I measure myself and weigh with not one ounce of a difference. My question is, would it help if I walked less miles on an incline or keep walking and up my miles? I'm just frustrated and mad at myself for not making any progress.
Thanks for any input.
Thanks for any input.
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Replies
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Personally, I think it is more important to do the cardio at an incline. Work yourself a little harder and it makes your metabolism get working again.
That said, I am doing both yoga and walking the dogs on flat surfaces, and making slow progress.1 -
Cardio I think intensity vs length is going to win out, however, if you're really looking to up your overall burn (think, increased "metabolism"), weight training is where it's at. Add in some cardio as well, but weights and muscle will help your burn 24/7 even when you're sleeping. It doesn't have the immediate effect, but especially as women over 40 it's very important as we tend to lose it pretty quick if we aren't using it (lifestyles tend to get pretty - well - lazy). There are a number of other benefits as we age as well, and I think for women especially it becomes even more important that most mainstream and common medical sources tend to advertise.5
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I totally understand! I work out on an elliptical and walk. However, the weight training is super helpful. You don’t even need to use weights - use 2 soup cans! Start with some basic arm lifts. Just be sure to stand tall and feet hip width apart. Do 10 reps - 1 set (lifts AND back to start) slow and controlled (count slow to 3 or 5) - this could be every other day. Always give your muscles time to heal for a day. Then after the first week (add another set). After a while you will want to increase the weight a 1/2 to 1 pound. Light weight is lean muscle vs Heavier weights is bulk/big muscles. IF you don’t feel any resistance…at all…then start with maybe a 5 lb weight. But don’t over do it - remember your bones need to acclimate to this new exercise, too! Hope this helps.1
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And…breath during set. Stretch after - even a little stretching goes along way. I use a broom too - like it’s a barbell - works great!
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I agree with the others about how strength training will make a huge difference. It sounds like your body is at an exercise plateau and needs something new. Even just easy bodyweight training (lunges, squats, pushups against the wall etc) will kick your system into a new drive. Good luck!3
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I can relate to your post. I set a goal to lose 15 pounds with NO time frame. It has taken 6 months to lose 15 pounds. IT IS HARD WORK THAT REQUIRES A VARIETY OF EXERCISE, NUTRITION, WATER INTAKE AND BEING AWARE OF WHAT YOU ARE EATING. OLD HABITS DIE HARD.
You have done the MOST IMPORTANT THING! START! 😀 Once you've decided to do something, you'll be motivated to keep going thru non scale victories at first. The goal in the beginning is MOVE EVERYDAY. There is no wrong way to move.....so don't think about results yet . Just get up and move. Aim for half a gallon of water per day. Staying hydrated raises your metabolism and making half gallon a day your FIRST goal is achievable. Equally as important, log your calories. Don't even think about a diet . You need a good honest week to just write down EVERYTHING you are eating. You need to honestly look at the calories you eat and come up with a bse number. Okay it may be 3000 per day. Accept it without judgment and go from there. A lot more work goes into losing 10 pounds than we think. I wish women would speak kindly to themselves and concentrate on building habits rather than give themselves a "due date" like an old smelly book due back at the library! We were allowed to renew! 😀 Yet when carrying a baby...women always lovingly say...The baby is expected. I have yet to hear a woman say....The baby is due on June 15th at exactly 8:07 pm. 😅3 -
@spirittrail you are right! Any movement is better than none! Meanwhile new movement will inspire the body/muscle to burn and grow in new exciting ways. 15 lbs in 6 months is an impressive loss. And it sounds like you did it with healthy sustainable lifestyle changes - congratulations!!!
@Jawillard60 - One piece of wisdom I heard here - weight loss starts in the kitchen and fitness in the gym. So if it is only the number on the scale that you are chasing as a goal, and you think you're doing enough output (fitness) then take a hard look at your intake (food / nutrition). Makes sense to me!2 -
@k8richer Thank you so much for your kind words!! I put together the program I outlined. No goal date. Logged every calorie and ate normally without guilt for one week as I needed to know base numbers. I was honest about my Activity level. Level one...totally Sedentary as that was where I was at that time. Water...working UP to half gallon seemed achievable. My goal was to just move again....I was feeling really lazy. 😕 So I decided on Yoga! 🤪 And that was it!!! To be honest, it was SO EASY, it was impossible NOT to follow. On my laziest days...I forced myself to just roll out the mat.. Ironically on those days, Adriene of Yoga With Adriene would say I'm so Proud of you for showing up today!! You are my hero! I could hug her!!
As the six months progressed...I made it to half a gallon a day. The next goal was one gallon a day. I made that too and is my current water intake daily. Yoga became easier, I became much more flexible. I had committed to 100 days...and eventually added days of the eleptical, 20 minutes aerobics classes, a daily Squat Challenge and a light weights arm routine. I began to add muscle. The most difficult was the calories. Turned out I was averaging 2600 per day. It didn't bother me, I needed a number. MFP put me on a 1200 + calorie diet. I did my best but still averaged 1700 per day. 1000 less than before! The weight came off easier because I was eating 7000 calories less per week alone! And building muscle and keeping myself hydrated! 😆
I wondered if losing another 5 pounds before my vacation in 6 weeks would be doable. I have made a new realistic plan I know I can follow with no set date. Just a 5 pound loss. After setting everything up, I was thrilled to see that MFP has now moved me up to 1440 calories!! It is predicting a 3 pound loss for me next month. 😏
NO WORRIES!! IF I WEIGH 18 POUNDS LESS ON JUNE 2ND THAN I DID ON NOVEMBER 1ST, 2021 I WILL BE BEYOND THRILLED!! I KNOW MY SIZE 10 JEANS WILL FIT AGAIN AND POSSIBLY SOME 8S. The alternative would have been to do nothing and just as easily gain 18 pounds in 7 months!! 😭2
