Exercise

BelendaStarnes

Hi I’m looking for exercise suggestions. I just started my weight loss journey.

cmriverside

Find something you enjoy, the best exercise is something you'll do!

Weight loss is about eating less, really the exercise will only burn off a couple hundred calories per day if you plan on only doing it for 30-60 minutes. Of course exercise has a lot more benefits than calories, so I wish you success in finding something fun. :flowerforyou:

AnnPT77

Any movement helps, whether it's called "exercise" or not. I'm with Riverside: Find one you think is fun. At minimum, it needs to be tolerable and practical. Any exercise we actually DO (because we like it) is 100% more beneficial than some unpleasant, inconvenient thing that we procrastinate, skip with the slightest excuse, or even eventually give up altogether. It doesn't even need to be the same activity every time.

Consider: Dance (any of dozens of types), yoga, biking, hiking, Zumba, running, walking, stretching, Pilates, Tai Chi, rowing, canoeing, kayaking, paddle boarding, ice dancing, active video/VR games, skating (ice and roller and inline), games (frisbee golf, basketball, baseball, softball, tennis, ping pong, pickleball . . . etc.), skateboard, surfing, martial arts, rope-skipping, rebounding/trampoline, skiing (downhill, XC), snowboard, roller-skiing, swimming, rock/wall climbing, weight lifting, calisthenics, cardio machines at the gym, group classes of many types, YouTube exercise videos, . . . I could go on almost infinitely.

What sounds fun to you, and manageable? Try it. Give it a few sessions, because almost anything new can seem impossible at first. (All the other people doing it were new once, probably felt the same way. They've just been doing it longer.)

Exercise doesn't need to be punitively intense in order to be beneficial. In fact, over-exercising (for current fitness level) is counter-productive for either weight loss or fitness improvement.

On the weight loss front, over-exercise triggers excess fatigue so we drag through the day, rest more, burn fewer calories that way, and effectively wipe out some of the exercise calories. On the fitness front, over-exercise short-changes recovery, and recovery is where the magic happens: The body building back better post-workout.

The sweet spot is something that's manageably challenging: Maybe a few minutes of "whew" right after the workout, but then energized (not exhausted) for the rest of the day. As we get fitter, we can increase duration, frequency, intensity or type of exercise to keep that manageable challenge going. "Manageable" prioritizes feeling energetic and recovering well. "Challenging" creates fitness progress.

Best wishes!