How did you lose weight?

Sophielouisecat
Sophielouisecat Posts: 9 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi Everyone!

My name is Sophie, I'm 21, 5'9, and I'm a student nurse. At the beginning of the year, I weighed 10st 12 and, although I was not happy with this weight, it was okay.
I was living at Uni in halls but due to personal issues I had to withdraw for six months and went to live with my boyfriend and his parents. While I was living with them I sort of had to eat what they were eating; his parents were letting me live there for free so I did not want to seem disrespectful! They do not have a very healthy diet, and although I know this is not an excuse, due to not eating very healthily and not exercising my weight has shot up to 12st 1.

I am really not happy with this weight as you can imagine, I can't fit into some of my clothes anymore!

Anyway, yesterday I moved into a student house with my friends, and I am looking to start eating healthily and doing exercise. I think I will be fine with the healthy eating part, but I find it very difficult to get motivated to do exercise. As a student nurse, i get very tired after placement and I can't find the energy to exercise. As much as I would love to join the gym because I hate exercising at home, I really can't afford it to be honest.

So, basically, I was wondering, what exercises do you do at home that help you to lose weight? My most problematic areas are my arms (bingo wings) and my big podgey belly. I am quite happy with my legs and my bottom although they could probably do with a bit of toning.

I am currently a UK size 12 on the bottom and a UK size 14 on top. My aim is to be a UK size 10 on the bottom and a UK size 12 on the top, although I would like to just be a perfect 10 all over, I don't think i'd be able to maintain it.:tongue:

Thanks for any advice! Feel free to add me!

Replies

  • mperrott2205
    mperrott2205 Posts: 737 Member
    Hello, welcome to MFP.

    First things first: You cannot spot reduce fat from certain areas of your body. Please remember this. No amount of curls or tricep push downs, sit ups etc will not make you lose fat from your arms or your belly. The only way to lose fat it to stay in a caloric deficit.


    If you want a simple workout routine then I recommend looking at this page: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/11-at-home-bikini-model-exercises.htm include this with some form of cardio routine (like running, cycling etc) and you'll lose weight in no time. (Note, you'll have to buy some dumbbells to complete the exercises, they're pretty cheap and you won't be needing anything too heavy for the moment, if anything requires a dumbbell you can google search for a dumbbell alternative to the exercise). Also, this workout guide doesn't include squats. Please squat. It's the best exercise in the world. Squat.

    Body building.com is a great source for information in regards to nutrition and workout routines.

    Lastly, you want to lose weight in a controlled manner and not try some stupid fad diet that never really works in the long run. For this I recommend you go to http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/ and fill out all the necessary information and this will give you the total amount of calories you should consume every day along with your carbs, proteins and fats.

    I hope this helps and good luck.
  • Velum_cado
    Velum_cado Posts: 1,608 Member
    Jillian Michaels workouts! There's loads on YouTube. :)
  • 2013sk
    2013sk Posts: 1,318 Member
    Hey....

    Well first things first - I think you may be tired from work yes.... But also diet plays a huge role in how you feel. Once you start drinking lots of water & hydrate your body, Also start eating lots of yummy fruits, veggies, smoothies, chicken, salads, eggs, nuts etc - Your body will love you for it!!! Within days you will feel better, Skin will improve etc!!

    Sort of a little body detox hahaha!!

    As far as losing weight is concerned, if you hit your calories your lose weight just through food.

    Exercising you can run around the parks with your friends outside.

    Indoors - You can use workout videos from the net on your computer, buy some cheap workout dvds, get a matt & do sit ups, lunges, squats etc, Buy some free weights and use them to tone your arms, Skipping rope is great for outside, You can google exercise routines with weights off the internet & print them off.

    Or if your sharing a house with lots of girls and they want to exercise too, why don't you all do a whip to buy lots of bits to make a mini gym for you all??? Buy a cheap crosstrainer/bike etc from the local papers or gumtree - AND GET FIT TOGETHER!!!

    Ps with your diet try and get lots of protein in & good fats - These will keep you fuller for longer!!

    Good luck xx
  • eleanorhawkins
    eleanorhawkins Posts: 1,659 Member
    Hi :-) I know the too tired to exercise feeling! I tend to force myself to just go for a walk for half an hour if I'm really tired, I actually find it relaxes me in the evening and even if it's not much it's better than nothing. Then if I'm feeling a little more energetic I'll swap the walk for half an hour on the exercise bike and throw in the occasional short workout from fitness blender (awesome site I discovered from MFP). I know I'm going to have to start managing more exercise soon but it's at least a start. Regarding the dumbells from earlier poster, I use water bottles ;-)
    Good luck and don't beat yourself up if you feel you're not doing enough.....remember even 5 minutes is better than nothing at all and chances are as you get into it you'll talk yourself into 5 minutes and find you end up doing more once you've started, it's actually getting yourself to start that's the hardest part!
  • battybecks
    battybecks Posts: 147 Member
    I'd like to echo that bit about spot reducing fat. Whatever exercise you do, the fat will leave from whatever part of the body it wants to. Sod's law the big you dislike the most will be the last to shed fat! Ah well ...

    I think we're probably quite similar in our approach to exercise. I have always hated anything that sounds like exercise, or that reminds me of PE lessons at school ... but I've had to get over it. I hula hoop for fitness most days, because it's dancing and therefore doesn't count as boring exercise. Walking is another good one, because it doesn't feel like exercise.

    I've just started the 30 day ab challenge (and afterwards I might do the squat chellenge), which you can find here - http://30dayfitnesschallenges.com/30-day-abs-challenge/

    I never imagined I would be doing this kind of thing - proper exercise - but my attitude changed slowly, and now I'm enjoying it! Maybe start slow, doing something that you think is fun (just dancing like a loon to loud music!) and then work up to the intimidating stuff!
  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
    You mention nothing in your post about your diet. You can do all the exercise you want but without knowing and controlling calorie intake you will not lose weight. As others have said you cannot spot reduce but exercise along with your diet and you can acheive your goals Good luck

    Have a look at the link

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1175494-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants?hl=guide+to+sexypants&page=1#posts-18361594
  • hellodmo
    hellodmo Posts: 23
    I heard someone recently say that you can't workout your way into a six-pack, you have to eat your way into it. In other words, at least in my experience, 90% of weight loss is more about what you eat rather than how you work out.

    I'm not saying anybody should follow my example here, because I'm fully aware that I would be even healthier if I worked out more than I do, but I've lost 16 pounds using MFP, doing a minimal amount of exercise. There have been times in my life when I have run almost every day, but failed to lose any weight, typically because I would then turn around and unconsciously eat more to make up for the calorie loss incurred while exercising.

    Simple answer: calories in, calories out. Figure out your BMR, find a multiplier for your lifestyle (sedentary is 1.2), and consistently eat less than that, and you should lose weight just fine.

    P.S.: In Weight Watchers, at least when I was part of the program, they actually _discouraged_ doing any exercise during the first two weeks of the program, instead teaching you to focus on your food intake first. The idea is, if you start doing everything all at once, you may get discouraged and simply stop. The bad thing about what I'm doing is that I forgot to start exercising regularly, (either that or I'm avoiding it somewhat because I don't really like it). Either way, any progress is good progress, and IMHO, it starts in the kitchen, not at the gym.
  • JaneyB311
    JaneyB311 Posts: 80 Member
    Hi Sophie

    I started off doing the Davina McCall workouts and they're great. I have seen fantastic results, when combined with healthy eating too.

    I was seriously unfit when I began, so I started off with the Davina Fit dvd, which is just 30 minutes in total, however I passed that a few months ago and moved onto Body Buff, SuperBody and Fit in 15. If you have a decent level of fitness, you should give Fit in 15 a go. There is a Cardio part which is a HIIT workout and will get you very puffed, it's comparable to Metafit I would say. Then there are 3 other workouts targeting arms, legs and core for strength training.

    However if you enjoy boxercise and aerobics then the other two are also great and give you plenty of options to stop you getting bored. I have also now added running into my routine, and all combined I have gone from a UK size 20 to a UK size 14 in 8 months.

    The food intake does matter too of course (massively), but having lost weight through diet control alone before, I can honestly say that I look and feel so much better for combining the two.

    Good luck with your new plan and if you want some support feel free to add me as a friend :).
  • accelerashawn
    accelerashawn Posts: 470 Member
    Hello, welcome to MFP.

    First things first: You cannot spot reduce fat from certain areas of your body. Please remember this. No amount of curls or tricep push downs, sit ups etc will not make you lose fat from your arms or your belly. The only way to lose fat it to stay in a caloric deficit.


    If you want a simple workout routine then I recommend looking at this page: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/11-at-home-bikini-model-exercises.htm include this with some form of cardio routine (like running, cycling etc) and you'll lose weight in no time. (Note, you'll have to buy some dumbbells to complete the exercises, they're pretty cheap and you won't be needing anything too heavy for the moment, if anything requires a dumbbell you can google search for a dumbbell alternative to the exercise). Also, this workout guide doesn't include squats. Please squat. It's the best exercise in the world. Squat.

    Body building.com is a great source for information in regards to nutrition and workout routines.

    Lastly, you want to lose weight in a controlled manner and not try some stupid fad diet that never really works in the long run. For this I recommend you go to http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/ and fill out all the necessary information and this will give you the total amount of calories you should consume every day along with your carbs, proteins and fats.

    I hope this helps and good luck.
    I like just about everything about this post.

    As far as specific exercises, I would get some bands and hang them from the doors inside your house. With the bands you can do pushes, pulls, and leg work. You want to focus on total body movements to expend the most energy. body weight squats are a great start, overhead presses with the bands are good to activate your core and arms, pulls and rows are great to work your back and core.

    As far as what I did to go from 28% body fat and 235 down to 16% body fat and 195lb (and still dropping) was mainly diet and exercise. Not a fad diet, just eating good food and not too much of it.

    I burn about 2500-3000 calories per day and i eat between 2000-2400 calories per day and i lose about 1lb per week. I eat lean meats (chicken, turkey, lean ground beef, fish) complex carbs (sweet potatoes, oatmeal, brown rice, beans) and healthy fats (nuts, olive oil, grapeseed oil, peanut butter) and i make yummy combos with all of the above...i also mix in whatever fruits and veggies i want to help fill me up.

    If you eat healthy and at a caloric deficit, you will lose the weight easily. The working out part will just make everyday life easier by building more muscle and getting you stronger.
  • Armagan123
    Armagan123 Posts: 72 Member
    Bump

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