New to swimming for weight loss

Hi! I am 65 yrs young, quite different from you! About 10 yrs ago I moved to Florida and had NO swimming stamina. I got some styrofoam water weights and would just do jumping jacks, etc. using them and sometimes used them to hold me up swimming.
Anyway I have now progressed to swimming, albeit just the breast stroke or 'the frog', head above water..but I have the strength to
swim and exercise forever...usually do 1-1.5 hours. I am on no medication, need to lose some weight. I have put a stop to all the
'eating out' my significant other likes. That is helping, but mostly..I have no aches or pains and my swimming gives me such energy. One day I will get the breathing down since I would like to 'really swim'. Keep with it..it will all come together...it is the BEST exercise!!

Hmm, a trick I learned from my teacher was to voluntarily hyperventilate before running laps. This was when we were training for our speed run at the end of the semester. I was able to extend my breaths during the front crawl, and got really good times, but it increases the risk for shallow water blackouts. I guess if you're swimming breaststroke, extended breathing's not a problem.

HERE is the video. Sorry!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2YN3irK1N8

When first getting started, you want to breathe more often than you might later on. For the breaststroke, since you mention that's your primary stroke at this time, I recommend lifting the head and inhaling every time you pull your arms back, and then exhale slowly through the nose during the glide and kick. If you find you're having unexpected challenges pulling together a really fluid stroke, you could also start with "rescue breaststroke" where you actually keep your head above water continuously, so breathing is then whenever you want. (One of the strokes used to keep an eye on a swimmer or where the swimmer was last seen while approaching them to provide assistance.)

Once you have developed a bit smoother of a stroke, your pulmonary capacity can catch up to your oxygen demand easier, and that is a better time to start skipping breaths. Before then, trying to do so is likely to limit your endurance and how much exercise you can get out of your swim session.

The other stroke you may want to use for starting up is the back crawl. It is easier for breathing, and it does a great job at stretching and strengthening the back for the other strokes. Just make certain to reach forward with your arms far enough to feel a little stretch: it will generally use more muscles that way by involving the back a bit more and not so much just the shoulders and hips. I find that using it as a "resting" stroke really helps extend my swims.

Regarding how much I swim (per post question): I'm not currently swimming significant amounts, as I'm just finishing a month of heavy cycling and now switching into running for a while. In another month, I expect to be back into swimming for primary cardio burn, and starting with nine to ten sets of 200 yards/meters (depending on pool) in 40 to 50 minutes to approximate a mile and both building distance and speed from there. Not really a recommended "starter" program, just how I've switched it up before and what I'm comfortable with in the water. I can't really remember the numbers of laps/sets/lengths I started with. Sometime before high school I started swimming across parts of a lake, It might of been 500 meters, but the amount of time between leaving land and returning was about two hours: hot weather (fairly often over forty degrees C) meant a lot of playing in the water.

So glad you've started swimming! It really is great exercise. I started 4 months ago. The first couple of weeks I swam slowly every other day for about twenty minutes. Now I swim 60+ minutes every other day at a medium-fast pace. I don't tend to count laps because I easily lose track. I do alternate between strokes, and use training fins and buoys to switch things up. As others have said, with breaststroke you should breathe every stroke.

I would encourage you to really push yourself. In the months I've been at the gym, I have seen some people put in the effort and get much better and faster, but I've seen more people stay at the same relaxed pace and never get above turtle speed. If you want to swim for its meditative quality, that's awesome, but I can't imagine these folks are improving their fitness level or burning too many calories.

You should check into a Master's program in your area. They are coached workouts and the coaches will help you improve and learn strokes. I love swimming. It is my favorite workout. With the master's program, I get to swim with people of my ability and I get the social aspect as well as the workout. Couldn't live without South Davis Masters. Just a thought.

I love swimming it's my workout of choice, always has been. I had lessons at school but hated them because the teacher was actually our Geography teacher and not a swimming instructor so apart from getting my 100 yards certificate I didn't learn very much. My technique was transformed when I took adult lessons a few years ago. I did that for about a year and perfected my front crawl and breaststroke (never got the hang of fly) as well as learning to tumble turn and dive. It means that I don't waste energy flapping about and can go for 50-60 mins per session which elevates my heart rate without wearing me out. Highly recommend having a few lessons if you can just to learn how to use your energy efficiently if nothing else. As you said you have zero core body strength I also suggest doing some weight-bearing exercise like gentle weights (e.g. kettle bell), walking, etc.