Should I up the ante?

AlexJourneyHall

You all, I am a very impatient person, but I am always willing to slow down and do things right. So, I need some advice. For now, I've resolved to exercise 5 days a week with 3 energized days with 2 milder days for workouts. This is due to the fact that in the past if I did energized workouts all 5 days it ended up being a problem for me(my ankles would hurt and my body would respond with pain or aches and I'd possibly not be able to work out. I'd also be extremely tired and wouldn't be able to workout to the best of my abilities). However, I'm not seeing the results I want to see(and I'm still working on improving my diet, getting better but I sometimes just make mistakes and eat the wrong thing or too much). So, should I try upping the ante on my mild days from just walking to aerobic dance, so that I can get the results I want? Or, should I just bide my time, keep doing what I'm doing(while improving my diet of course) and wait to see if I'll get what I want?

bregalad5

How long have you been stalled? Sometimes you just hit a plateau, and it's hard to work around that. What I'd recommend is taking a look at your food first, before upping your workouts and possibly causing yourself injury, since you have a history of hurting when you work out too hard.

strawberryromper

I would not work out more now than you would be able to sustain for the foreseeable future. Look to your diet first or perhaps add other kinds of exercise?

aprilkida

Keep doing what you're doing. Make it a lifestyle change, something you can keep up long term. It will come off. You can do this!

engineman312

your current work out schedule of 3 intense days, 2 mild days sounds great. i do something similar. but you need to focus more of your attention on nutrition. you can't undo bad food choices with exercise. if you don't already have a food scale, get one. the biggest hurdle i had to over come was portion control. what helped me the most was pre-logging all my food, especially ondays that i worked. it prevented me from just going to the vending machine when i was hungry.

broby425

Apologies in advance if I've gone overboard in my response here...holy crap, sometimes I don't know when to stop!

You've been warned...

You're smart to listen to your body, and not push yourself into an injury that can sideline you. Better to do *some* exercise, and not injure yourself, than to push yourself until you're hurt and can do *no* exercise. For me, I've found that alternating one day of cardio with one day of strength is a good balance. I use a workout video, and where I need to, I modify the exercises so as to prevent those kinds of injuries (I have a history of knee and ankle issues): Where the exercise calls for jumping, I side-step. Instead of jumping jacks, I do side-steps while continuing to flap my arms. Feels kinda silly, but it works!

Strength is important because it tones and builds your muscles, which will then replace the fat that you're getting rid of. Toning and building muscles will also help you burn more calories throughout the day because they require more energy just to exist. Score!

As to how hard you should work at it, you want to be within an aerobic heart range to get maximum benefit when you're working out. There are a number of calculators on the web, but it's pretty easy to figure on your own:

Subtract your age from 220: This will give you your maximum heart rate. You don't want to exceed this. Then multiply your maximum heart rate first by .6, then by .85: This will give you your target heart range (60% - 85% of your maximum heart range). For me, I'm 53: My maximum is 167, and my target range is 100 - 142. So as long as my heart rate is over 100 and below 142, I'm getting a good work out.

Another method is to simply rely on your breathing and comfort. You are probably below your aerobic range if breathing is comfortable and talking is easy. If breathing is deep (not gasping) and gabbing not possible (but speaking is), you are exercising in your range. Being unable to speak more than three words together are signs that you are over your aerobic range.

Meanwhile, pay close attention to what you're eating: We know that in order to lose weight, you have to burn more calories than you take in. So watch what you're eating every day to make sure you're not exceeding your target. Read the labels! 20% - 30% of your calories should come from proteins: Your body needs these, and your body has to work harder to break down and digest them. Avoid refined *anything* -- white flour is bad. Whole wheat is good. Watch your sodium intake, too, especially when eating anything that is pre-made or pre-packaged; it's very sneaky. If someone else cooked it for you, it's got too much sodium. Lots and lots of fresh veggies and fruits of all different colors. They have nutrients that you need, and they are quite filling for a very low cost in calories.

I hope this helps. (I also hope it's not too much!)