oh what to do

mm8992

i have lost 70lbs since january mostly by walking on my treadmill. i find i work harder and more consistent this way. well now i have a son who is overweight but wants to walk with me. he does not like walking on a treadmill so we have been walking outside. since this has started (just this past thursday) i have gained 3 lbs. i do not want to abandon him but dont want to gain any more weight back, i still have another 30 i want to lose. i do not have the time or energy to walk twice but am not getting what i need by walking with him.

Veronica320

Try jogging on and off throughout the walk

BrenNew

i have lost 70lbs since january mostly by walking on my treadmill. i find i work harder and more consistent this way. well now i have a son who is overweight but wants to walk with me. he does not like walking on a treadmill so we have been walking outside. since this has started (just this past thursday) i have gained 3 lbs. i do not want to abandon him but dont want to gain any more weight back, i still have another 30 i want to lose. i do not have the time or energy to walk twice but am not getting what i need by walking with him.

I think that it's awesome that your son WANTS to walk with you to help himself lose some weight! I sure couldn't ever get my son to! :noway:
Maybe you could explain to your son that you're going too slow and need to go faster. Maybe he could ride a bike while you're walking. He could go ahead a little bit, then come back and go ahead during your walk. The riding might be more fun for him, and you could walk as fast as you wanted to.

bethrs

Congrats on your progress and inspiring your son to take charge of his health!!

My husband and I run together. And he is much much faster. Much. Sometimes he slows down and sticks with me, sometimes he jets off and I'm left in his dust.

As the slow person in this situation I can tell you I am not bothered when he leaves me behind. Just knowing he's out there, and passing him on occasion makes me feel like we are together. We give each other high fives and cry out "whoo hoo" when we pass and know we are having a struggle. We leave the house together and do our warm up and cool down walks together (that's usually 10 to 15 minutes of "how was your day" and "how was your run?") and we come back together, in between it's me, my ipod, and the open road- and my husband if I really really need him.

I know walking is different and that you could potentially have a conversation, and this may be one of his motivations, but perhaps structuring your exercise time with him in a similar way to me and my husband would help. Some socializing, being out there together, but exercising at your own pace, and then reuniting. My husband and I run in a loop more or less, with a few off shoots, so while I can't always see him, I know he hasn't gone far. If one of us were to get hurt or need the other, we could just wait for the other to come around. Perhaps safety issues would prevent this from working for you, but it's just a thought.

Good luck.

Wecandothis

I was so thrilled when my Daughter expressed an interest in getting into shape! I do everything I can to encourage her - without pushing.

When she wants to walk with me, even if it's not on my exercise schedule, I do it, because I would prefer to gain 30 lbs back, than leave her behind. She is my child, and she is the world to me.

Now that is not to say that I completely sacrifice my own exercise schedule for her. When I want to run, and she does not she rides her bike like BrenNew said above. Or if she doesn't want to ride her bike, I jog ahead some, then loop back for her.

He needs encouragement at this point, and while I am not suggesting that you give up all that you've accomplished, I know there is a way to compromise.

Don't leave him behind, take him with you.

I wish you both the best.

butterfly25

i have lost 70lbs since january mostly by walking on my treadmill. i find i work harder and more consistent this way. well now i have a son who is overweight but wants to walk with me. he does not like walking on a treadmill so we have been walking outside. since this has started (just this past thursday) i have gained 3 lbs. i do not want to abandon him but dont want to gain any more weight back, i still have another 30 i want to lose. i do not have the time or energy to walk twice but am not getting what i need by walking with him.

i notice that to..i started walking on the track that i have close by and i was not losing anything..but now that i'm back to adding the treadmill in the weight is coming off again..if you could just try walking twice and see how you feel..if anything it's only going to help you lose again!!

keiko

I feel for you because I had the same thing happen a few years ago. I was using my treadmill and then started walking with a friend. Because she was just starting out she was a slow walker. She started losing and I started gaining.

I'd suggest using a walking program. Prevention has some good ones. That way you'll be working towards a goal of getting your son closer to your fitness level. Like someone suggested using some HIT, high intesity training will help to. Walk fast for one minute, slow for two minutes and repeat.

How wonderful that your son is seeing your example and wanting to follow you! Congrats on your loss so far!:drinker: I hope you both reach your goals!:flowerforyou:

KatWood

Really as long as you are watching what you eat, reducing the intensity of your workout by walking with your son should just cause you to lose weight slower not gain weight back.

I think really you need to do what will work best for the two of you. I run with my mom occassionaly and I am significantly faster than her. However, when I am with her I match her pace. I encourage her to push herself but we are still going much slower than what I do on my own. We both cherish this time together and I am just thrilled that she is doing this with me (we entered our first 1/2 marathon for Oct, she is 50yrs old).

Also, I think it is important to point out that as your son gets stronger (and he will probably faster than you think), he will be able to go at a quicker more intense pace. Unfortunately the stronger we get the less quickly we see further improvements, so in time your son may be able to match your pace.

What if you went on shorter walks with your son and then still did a bit on the treadmill? Or perhaps added in other exercise whenever you can (like taking stairs, walking at lunch, etc) to make up for the lack of intensity?

Anyways, this is all just my opinon. I think it is fantastic that you have inspired your son to make positive changes in his life. Whatever you decide to do I am sure this will only bring you guys closer :happy:

KatWood

Sorry had another though.

Is your treadmill at home or at the gym? If you have gym memberships you could both use treadmills set at different speeds.

mm8992

Thanks for all the wonderful advice!! It really made my heart smile to hear such encouragement from you ladies!
"Don't leave him behind, take him with you." This quote from kurneckc really had a huge impact!
As a follow-up we decided to both take our bikes so we could work together. The ironic thing is, him being younger and male, he left me behind. Of course he came back but it made me laugh and smile:)lol
Again thank you!

mm8992

Thanks for all the wonderful advice!! It really made my heart smile to hear such encouragement from you ladies!
"Don't leave him behind, take him with you." This quote from kurneckc really had a huge impact!
As a follow-up we decided to both take our bikes so we could work together. The ironic thing is, him being younger and male, he left me behind. Of course he came back but it made me laugh and smile:)lol
Again thank you!