The best way for me to get results?

Binxette

Hello everyone,

Some things about me: I'm female, 23 years old, 5'2", and weigh 240 pounds. My goal weight is 140.

I've been a squishy person since I was 13 or so. I've finally decided it's time to get healthy.

I bought a treadmill at the beginning of this month. I've been using it 5 days a week since then. It's a cheap treadmill--cost $89 at Walmart, but it was the max that I can afford. It's a manual (no motor)...it's hard to stay consistent with my pacing because it's easy to trip. The treadmill is set at a 15% incline. Honestly, I've only been able to do 15 minutes on this treadmill...the incline is really exhausting.

I have a yoga mat that I use for exercising, whether I do yoga, crunches, pushups, or whatever. I do about 15 minutes here too.

I use the food diary here on MFP to make sure I don't eat too much. My cap is around ~1,500 calories.

Some problems...
I'm a student teacher. Meaning...I am a full time teacher but I don't get paid. So I'm pretty stressed. Because of that, I often worry that I'm not doing enough and I won't get any results in this area of my life.

My questions:
Am I doing enough? Should I do more? I'm a total newbie.
Should I do something different on the yoga mat every day...or the same thing?
Are there better ways to get results? How long will it take to see them?

CplE4

I suggest you break the treadmill time in smaller increments. For instance when you are home every time you think of eating or once every hour get on the treadmill for one song or 5 minutes This will keep you from getting bored and if you can do this for eight hours you cill clock about 40 minutes of cardio that you would not have. Get some resistance bands and follow the directions for the prescribed exercises. I decided to get on the scales once a month. I concentrate on completing my daily eating and exercise goals.

Semper Fi/Sola Deo Gloria
Stay the course

raven_ous

This link is a great place to start...

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

Get your hands on a copy of Starting Strength, or New Rules of Lifting for Women...it is good to incorporate strength training into your routine to maintain LBM and many other benefits.

If body weight training is your thing you could try You Are Your Own Gym, Convict Conditioning,Nerd Fitness Body Weight Routine etc

Also you could give C25K app a try for your treadmill, or some sort of HIIT training.

Yoga is awesome but a relatively low intensity workout unless you are doing some sort of extreme yoga or advanced asanas, but it is still great to do.

Find something you enjoy but be willing to step outside your comfort zone, you might be pleasantly surprised.

Hope that helps OP.

Sarge516

I'm a Personal Trainer.

I work with clients like you all the time, and sadly, so many give up because it's too hard.

Look at how long it took you to gain excess weight. It comes on slowly over time, and that's the best way to take it off.

My suggestions:
- Try YouTube (Fitness blender channel) and there are others free workouts you can do at home.
- Keep yourself moving - always do something.
- Don't cheat on your diet - no fast food.
- Try YouTube for recipes too - there are many free ones on healthy eating.
- You will need to change everything. Eating needs to change, activity level needs to go up.
- Enlist a friend who could also stand to lose some weight. Join forces and motivate each other.
- NO EXCUSES! I like this saying: "If it's important to you, you will find a way, if not - you will find an excuse". Make it important to you.
- Change what you buy at the grocery store, it starts there. If there's no junk food in your house it's hard to eat junk food.
- Do NOT do the same exercises all the time, try new things, keep your body guessing.
- Try to think of foods in terms of their macronutients: Carbs are fuel, protein is a muscle builder/repairer, and good fats are essential for your body (omega 3s, avacado, nuts, etc.)
- Don't fall into the trap of thinking a "fad" diet will be the miracle cure. Weight loss takes hard work. There are no short cuts.

Read, learn, watch, learn, listen, learn.

eyecandyrayce

My suggestion would be to remove the incline and just work on your endurance to start with. Set a timer and do the amount of time you are able for a week. The next week, add 5 minutes to that. If you find you are still feeling ok, another 5. If you can't add 5, don't worry about it and do what your body will let you do.

trogalicious

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1235566-so-you-re-new-here

I've spammed this in hundreds of threads... I figured it was about time to give this info a permanent home.

1. don't trust the initial setup that MFP provides. If you put in the wrong/inaccurate information, it'll tell you to eat an amount that may not be applicable.
2. Make sure you eat enough.
3. Figure out what works for you and is sustainable/healthy/long term.
4. avoid fads. don't buy in to any "Hey, try the twinkie and vodka diet"
5. Don't cut out anything now that you don't plan on literally giving up forever.
6. GET A FOOD SCALE. Weigh everything. No, seriously.
7. Get an HRM with a chest strap. You'll at least have a better idea of what you're burning. It'll be more accurate than the generic info in the exercise database.. and even more than the cardio machines. This is great for steady state cardio (run/walk/etc)
8. Don't go balls out. You'll burn out. I see 300 lb people show up here, instantly start working out and cutting their intake SEVERELY... trying to cut out all of their carbs at once.. whatever. Take it slow. Figure out how much you need to eat FIRST in order to lose.. then incorporate exercise.
9. Don't cardio yourself to death.
10. Take the information on the forums with a grain of salt. A lot of people that have been here for a while.. and have been successful, may seem jaded. They give out GREAT advice day after day, only to be met with people that refuse to listen.
11. Eat real food. Not diet food. Not "low fat, sugar free, now without X." It's easier to get/find/count.
12. don't set time restrictions.
13. measure yourself weekly. Don't just weigh. Measure and take pictures.
14 BE PATIENT.
15. Avoid forum topics that have "1200" in the title. It's just full of butthurt. Lots of it.
16. If you ask a question on the forum, give as much information as you can ("yes, I have a food scale and weigh my food" is worlds better than "I eat a palm full of miscellaneous boiled chicken parts..sometimes.")
17. Be honest with yourself and honest with us.
18. This isn't a game, it's about changing your lifestyle. Do that.

pretty much that.

...and don't fall into the "1200 calorie" vertigo of suck because of:

the typical MFP users does this:
1. I wanna lose weight, let's try MFP.
2. OH! Wow, it tells me I can lose 2 lbs a WEEK? AWESOME!
3. I just sit at a desk when I'm not working out, I guess I'm sedentary.
4. MFP tells them 1200 calories, and they don't even eat that.. then they work out on top of it.. creating an even bigger deficit.
5. Lose a lot, fast, brag about 1200 calorie success.
6. Come back in a few months trying to figure out why they're dizzy, tired, not losing weight.
7. Get on the forums, ask why they aren't losing.
8. Get two responses (I eat 1200 and lose) (I eat 2200 and lose)
9. Argument ensues about who is right.

Now. That being said. These threads happen hundreds of times per day. Most times, and I mean really.. seriously.. 95% of the time.. people get the 1200 number because they don't put the right information in when they set up the account. There are a great number of people that are trying to help. I'm one of 'em.

I'm a hardcore advocate of actually finding out what works for the individual.. by means of other calculators, averages, time, practice, and patience.

Blanket prescriptions of 1200 calories "because it worked for me" is more harmful to the generic new user than the "figure out what you need to eat." Unfortunately, one is a LOT easier to type.

Find out what you need: http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

and make sure to read: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

...and here's another approach.

Block off 6 weeks. log EXACTLY what you eat for those six weeks, weigh at the beginning, weight at the end. If you've lost, you're eating under your TDEE. If you haven't lost, congrats.. you found your TDEE, if you've gained... then you're above TDEE.

From there, look at how much you lost or gained and you have a rough estimate of how to shift your intake to balance it out.

Online calculators are great, but they're just estimates. They give you decent ideas for starting points. From there, it's on you to fine tune it.

tiffalicious121

Dailyburn.com has a True beginner program. They were offering a free 30 day trial, then $10/month. They have such a variety including some shorter workouts. You can access it from your computer, phone, tablet, or Xbox/smart TV if you have one.

raven_ous

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1235566-so-you-re-new-here
I've spammed this in hundreds of threads... I figured it was about time to give this info a permanent home.

trogalicious is good people and really would like you to succeed, I would heed his advice.

Brewmonk

All the comments have great value, especially from "sarge". It's all about choice and self-control. Our bodies are very smart, so if you do the same thing every day, your metabolism will make adjustments. It good to mix it up, Cardio one day, strengthening the next day. If you change the resistance on the treadmill you'll challenge your body more - e.g. run @ 5.0 for 2 min. at a 2 1/2 % incline then go down to 3.0 mph for 1 min. back up to 5.1 mph and so on. One more thing, it might be wise to consult with your personal Physician. Last thing you want to do is hurt yourself. Good Luck and Godspeed.

rockmama72

Fitnessblender.com is great! You can search workouts by level, equipment needed, length (and many are under 10 minutes) etc. I have a couple I do in my kitchen while I'm waiting for water to boil or for dinner to bake.

SezxyStef

I'm a Personal Trainer.

I work with clients like you all the time, and sadly, so many give up because it's too hard.

Look at how long it took you to gain excess weight. It comes on slowly over time, and that's the best way to take it off.

My suggestions:
- Try YouTube (Fitness blender channel) and there are others free workouts you can do at home.
- Keep yourself moving - always do something.
- Don't cheat on your diet - no fast food.
- Try YouTube for recipes too - there are many free ones on healthy eating.
- You will need to change everything. Eating needs to change, activity level needs to go up.
- Enlist a friend who could also stand to lose some weight. Join forces and motivate each other.
- NO EXCUSES! I like this saying: "If it's important to you, you will find a way, if not - you will find an excuse". Make it important to you.
- Change what you buy at the grocery store, it starts there. If there's no junk food in your house it's hard to eat junk food.
- Do NOT do the same exercises all the time, try new things, keep your body guessing.
- Try to think of foods in terms of their macronutients: Carbs are fuel, protein is a muscle builder/repairer, and good fats are essential for your body (omega 3s, avacado, nuts, etc.)
- Don't fall into the trap of thinking a "fad" diet will be the miracle cure. Weight loss takes hard work. There are no short cuts.

Read, learn, watch, learn, listen, learn.

and this is why I wouldn't hire you or any other personal trainer who follows these "rules"

To lose weight eat at a calorie deficet...that's it.

Fast food is not the enemy...too much fast food is...too much of any food is what cause weight gain...
There is no "Junk" foods...food is food...and my grocery cart looks exactly the same as it ever did...try not buy oreos when your husband likes them...
As for exercise that is for fitness and you don't have to keep your body guessing just find something you like to do and do it.

sargessexyone

There is a LOT of trial and error in this process. That being said if you listen to the advice of trogalicious you will be on the right path a heck of a lot sooner.

BTW our stats are the same. I'm 5'2" SW 250 CW 173 GW 140.

ValGogo

The results will be slow so set your mind to that. YOu have to build your way up to that.

BUT, congratulations on being proactive. The first step is the most important.

I would bring down the incline to about 3% and rock that level first. YOu can go a little longer and you're still doing work. Baby steps.

The yoga is great because it will make you strong and aid in working the core and upper body with all the arms-holding-up-the-body poses.

KEep doing what you're doing and when you feel stronger, push yourself a little more. Watch the food and the sugar.

Welcome and keep up the good work.

ValGogo

I'm a Personal Trainer.

I work with clients like you all the time, and sadly, so many give up because it's too hard.

Look at how long it took you to gain excess weight. It comes on slowly over time, and that's the best way to take it off.

My suggestions:
- Try YouTube (Fitness blender channel) and there are others free workouts you can do at home.
- Keep yourself moving - always do something.
- Don't cheat on your diet - no fast food.
- Try YouTube for recipes too - there are many free ones on healthy eating.
- You will need to change everything. Eating needs to change, activity level needs to go up.
- Enlist a friend who could also stand to lose some weight. Join forces and motivate each other.
- NO EXCUSES! I like this saying: "If it's important to you, you will find a way, if not - you will find an excuse". Make it important to you.
- Change what you buy at the grocery store, it starts there. If there's no junk food in your house it's hard to eat junk food.
- Do NOT do the same exercises all the time, try new things, keep your body guessing.
- Try to think of foods in terms of their macronutients: Carbs are fuel, protein is a muscle builder/repairer, and good fats are essential for your body (omega 3s, avacado, nuts, etc.)
- Don't fall into the trap of thinking a "fad" diet will be the miracle cure. Weight loss takes hard work. There are no short cuts.

Read, learn, watch, learn, listen, learn.

Everything he said. Fitnessblender is my place of worship right now. And he's totally on the ball with "NO EXCUSES." DO it grrl!!!!

Binxette

Thank you all for the advice! You're all so encouraging, it makes me feel like I can do this without destroying myself. So far, I've been eating way fewer calories than I've been burning. And, for the first time in my life, I have a healthy sleep schedule (instead of 4 hours a night). I can't wait to see some changes!

About my treadmill: It's a manual, and it's really hard to keep a speed consistent without tripping. Also, the 15% incline is permanently set...it's built that way. I like having the treadmill because it's an official "You have no excuse to not work out" device, but I'm wondering if maybe I should walk about the neighborhood too? (Which I wouldn't have dreamed of doing before--exercising in public is borderline humiliating for me. I don't know entirely why...just feel judged I guess.)

ValGogo

Thank you all for the advice! You're all so encouraging, it makes me feel like I can do this without destroying myself. So far, I've been eating way fewer calories than I've been burning. And, for the first time in my life, I have a healthy sleep schedule (instead of 4 hours a night). I can't wait to see some changes!

About my treadmill: It's a manual, and it's really hard to keep a speed consistent without tripping. Also, the 15% incline is permanently set...it's built that way. I like having the treadmill because it's an official "You have no excuse to not work out" device, but I'm wondering if maybe I should walk about the neighborhood too? (Which I wouldn't have dreamed of doing before--exercising in public is borderline humiliating for me. I don't know entirely why...just feel judged I guess.)

About the walking in the 'hood," go for it. Get some good walking tennies and walk your heart out. I walk to work most every day and back. So, if I'm consistent I can "fastwalk" about 20 miles in a work week (mon-fri and it's 2 miles each way with some inclines.)

I live in New York Metro area so walking is part of life here. Sometimes I ride my bicycle and if I'm really being lazy, I'll take my motorcycle (but that's not lazy, that's just fun!)

Anyway, keep coming back. Keep us posted. Oh, and kettlebells, for future reference. Look it up. I love kettle bell workouts.

ark98

hello Binxette,

Congratulations on your new goal, and you will feel many benefits from your quest to becoming more healthy! As a plus you will feel less stress.

You are motivated and commited, and if you work smarter not harder, you will see results.

Exercising effectively need not be expensive, but it is helpful to learn about how the body responds to exercise. One thing that you could do on the treadmill is to reduce the incline and have short bursts of speed (~30seconds) followed by a reduced pace for 2 mins to recover, and then repeat. This is very more effective at burning through fat.

Using weights, or body weight exercise are also very good for weight reduction, because of the hormonal response that they give to your body. There are also other moves that you can include in your routine, such as squats.

there are two other things that i would recommend:

* Dont stick to the 1500 calories. Not all calories are alike, it will affect your mood and after a few days your body will enter starvation mode, meaning that your body will start conserivg body fat and limit the energy it expends on normal body function.
* try having a low calory day every 2-3 days
* consider altering your macronutrient intake. Reduce the carbs, and if you can avoid food with added sugar, such as fizzy drinks or orange juice.
* Increase the amount of fibre and protein that you consume and don’t worry about increasing the amount of unsaturad fat. Nuts are a good snacking tool and don't let the high fat\calorie content, they actually help you reduce weight if consumed in moderation.
* small but frequent bouts of exercise are better than infrequent long sessions
*employ tricks which can increase your metablism by 20% or more - drink more water\green tea. Use the suana.
and don’t neglect sleep, you should get a minimum of 7-8 hours sleep as it limits your appetite.

sodakat

Excellent advice above, but I want to add one thing. Maybe for now, for the first few months, work on eating exactly the amount of calories MFP recommends, with a bit of work on the treadmill. Once you start losing weight regularly you'll have more motivation to exercise, IMO. It is very exciting when you see continually weight loss week after week. Do you own a food scale? That is super important -- more important than a treadmill to be able to lose weight. Also, DRINK water, water, water. You will not believe what a difference that makes in steady weight loss, especially once your body gets used to it.

Best of luck. So wonderful that you are taking charge at your age!

knra_grl

My suggestion would be to remove the incline and just work on your endurance to start with. Set a timer and do the amount of time you are able for a week. The next week, add 5 minutes to that. If you find you are still feeling ok, another 5. If you can't add 5, don't worry about it and do what your body will let you do.

Yes drop the incline - why not walk outside and ditch the treadmill? You will get a variety of flat surfaces and inclines walking outdoors.

knra_grl

I'm a Personal Trainer.

I work with clients like you all the time, and sadly, so many give up because it's too hard.

Look at how long it took you to gain excess weight. It comes on slowly over time, and that's the best way to take it off.

My suggestions:
- Try YouTube (Fitness blender channel) and there are others free workouts you can do at home.
- Keep yourself moving - always do something.
- Don't cheat on your diet - no fast food.
- Try YouTube for recipes too - there are many free ones on healthy eating.
- You will need to change everything. Eating needs to change, activity level needs to go up.
- Enlist a friend who could also stand to lose some weight. Join forces and motivate each other.
- NO EXCUSES! I like this saying: "If it's important to you, you will find a way, if not - you will find an excuse". Make it important to you.
- Change what you buy at the grocery store, it starts there. If there's no junk food in your house it's hard to eat junk food.
- Do NOT do the same exercises all the time, try new things, keep your body guessing.
- Try to think of foods in terms of their macronutients: Carbs are fuel, protein is a muscle builder/repairer, and good fats are essential for your body (omega 3s, avacado, nuts, etc.)
- Don't fall into the trap of thinking a "fad" diet will be the miracle cure. Weight loss takes hard work. There are no short cuts.

Read, learn, watch, learn, listen, learn.

+1 - this too! Think about it, the 21 lbs I lost so far took me about 7 yrs to put on and 3 months to lose