Gym-phobic Newbie seeking a cure.

First remember, fat loss comes from what and how much you eat. So, keep on eating well and you’ll see changes over time.

Your exercise goals appear to be in line with a mixed program. You want to have the ability to move and do things. I’d start with a basic compound movement strength program (strong lifts, New Rules for Lifting for Women, etc.). I’d mix in days of light cardio and/or yoga.

Given that you don’t have much experience with this, and you have some anxiety, I’d strongly recommend you find a trainer you like. They can guide you through (form), keep you focused and committed, etc. A good trainer will give you the information you need to be able to go it alone after a while. Although some trainers are so good, you want to stick with them after you could leave because they are so motivating and you’re learning more each time.

It sounds like you’ve made a commitment. That’s huge. Congratulations! Now, it is up to you to execute on that commitment.

I would also suggest a trainer. It took me two tries to find the one that I have been with for over a year. I need accountability and quite frankly I need someone to plan my workouts for me. Yes that sounds really lazy and I don't care. Also, try finding a class at your gym that you like. I found I love several classes and have met some nice people in there. Again, I don't have to think about if I am doing enough in a class I just get told what to do.

We've all been the new person at the gym

If you are just signing up, some gyms do a free session or two with a personal trainer. If yours does that, I'd jump on it. If they don't, you can still ask for a tour so at least you know where everything is.

No one gets ripped by accident so you don't really have to worry about it, unless you decide later on that you want to get ripped.

Go in with a plan! Makes life so much easier. Strong lifts ( It's a lot of squatting which may be problematic for your knees, since you said you have knee issues), Starting Strength, Ice Cream 5x5, or scope out Bodybuilding.com. They have a pretty decent workout data base.

Diet: Stick with MFP and counting your calories. MFP way is designed to eat back exercise calories. If you log your cardio- I'd suggest eating back 50-75% of the calories because sometimes MFP or the machine gives you a bloated number.

Can I just say I freaking love your attitude- Yes you are awesome and Yes you are a badass

Good luck OP!!

I have bad knees as well and I have found water aerobics to be less stressful on the knees. It is fun too. You might try walking on a tread mill or stationary bicycling. I would stay away from the stair stepper, it was really hard on the knees. The most important thing is to find something you enjoy, or two or three things you enjoy, so you will stay with it.

At my gym there are a mixed bag of ages and fitness levels. Do what all those other people said to do; do something that you will continue doing over the long haul. I do cardio on three days and lift three days. And the one thing you will need (besides perhaps a trainer for a little while) is earbuds and your favorite workout music. Earbuds provide a bubble of invisibility around you so that even when you feel self conscious, you will still go to the gym. They made all the difference to me and they still help distract me whenever I'm doing something I think might be trying to kill me.

You're right you are awesome. Congratulations on making that first commitment to a healthier you. Remember that nutrition is also important as well as the gym!

That being said I would go with what others said and get a personal trainer for a few sessions if you can.

I am a cardio person, not to much into lifting so my perspective comes from there. There are plenty of low impact cardio that you can do such as swimming, elliptical, walking. stationary bike.

You know what I think when I see someone who is overweight at the gym, sweating, and working hard? One of two things - Nothing because I don't really observe others while I'm there, or that they are awesome I remember how much harder it was to do these things at the gym while overweight. I have great admiration for them.

Definitely try to get a session (or a few) with a trainer if possible -- it's much easier to be the brand-new person in the gym when you're with someone.

I love lifting and encourage everyone to try it, but at this point the most important thing is for you to have a good experience and find something you like. Without worrying about what burns more calories (or anything else like that), what sounds like fun to you? If it's cardio, pick a machine and try it. Classes? Try a bunch until you find one you like (and until you find a group of people you like, because the same type of class can feel very different when you have different students and a different instructor). Lifting? Stronglifts and Starting Strength are good beginner programs. If you'd feel more comfortable doing bodyweight exercises (no weights), look into Convict Conditioning or You Are Your Own Gym.

One thing that newbies don't tend to know is that gyms have different atmospheres at different times of day. Ask the front desk about their peak times and quiet times. I find it MUCH easier to go before work (even though it sucks to get up early) because my gym is quiet and anyone in the gym at 6:30am is there to work. After work/during peak hours, a lot of people are really there to socialize and it was distracting and overwhelming for me.

Both would be best for losing weight. Eating is MOST important. If you can afford a PT at the gym its your best option. Start small and give it time. Plenty of time. Scale goes up scale goes down. Don't get discouraged as it fluctuates. Remember how long it took to get where you are and give your body ample time to get where you envision yourself. No one walks into the gym and knows exactly what to do, you learn everyday. The first time I walked into a gym I was almost 100lbs heavier and it took TIME and dedication. Good luck

pagefan wrote: »

I hope they meant something other than this...>With regards to your diet, rather than making healthy choices, you could use MFP for its calorie counting facility ... Because eating at a defecit works < because if they meant, just eat at a deficit and not choose healthy voluminous foods, then, I WANT TO SCREAM.. MAKE HEALTHY CHOICES. you want to re train your body to crave healthy food.. sure, you can deficit with a diet of "Wendy's" tacos and ice cream but that will also put your total badass back to fatass in no time flat.. abs are made in the kitchen and the adage, you are what you eat. is TRUE. I am lucky, have always been a gym/ and or work out person / have some limitations now due to a post back surgery nerve thing.. any advice or info, just friend me. I'm a good coach. Once you drop some weight, your knees (and the rest of you will thank you) love that you are ready... that's the first big step. I'd try a small boutique facility / trainer, and see what you are capable of and start small.. one sit up. one squat . one push up. a day. you get the idea. Happy WORK OUT !

No one advocates for a diet 100% fast food. People preach moderation. You can still enjoy Wendy's from time to time while working it in your calorie allotment. It's scientifically impossible to put on weight if your body is burning more calories than it is consuming. So having fast food every now and thenwill not make OP a "fata**" again.

If that was the case having the Wendy's I had for lunch last week would have undone all the work I had done to lose my 35 pounds.

I didn't want to go, I was nervous about going. Then I realized that the people that go to the gym to work out don't care about me (nothing personal). As long as I wiped down my gear, no one cared what I looked like. I was the fattest girl in Zumba (it was free with membership) and didn't care, the instructers didn't care, we were there, we were moing.

I did a Personal Trainer 2 times a month (as much as I could afford) for a few months and I got to know the equipment better, and some interesting exercises I don't think I would have tried on my own. Exercise balls were scary (I'm going to pop this thing, right??), but now I know they're great.

It really made me feel better, I felt loose, more flexible, and if I hadn't forced myself to sign up and go to the gym, I wouldn't have had that.

In addition to being the new person at the gym, I've been the new fatassery person at the gym Some people will judge, depending on the gym, remember that they don't effing matter. Ever. Most people will either not judge at all or secretly admire you for getting your fat *kitten* out there and doing it.

I personally started off with 20 minutes on the treadmill at 2.0 mph, three times per week, while changing how I ate. I eventually worked that up to longer and faster and then started switching it up with the elliptical, within a few months, I added in the weight machines twice a week. In other words, I went really, really slow. Oh, and I added in yoga.

Had I had the money, I would have added in a couple sessions with a personal trainer and started on the strength training sooner. I eventually did that, about 11 months into my journey and after a lot of reading that free weights were going to serve me WAY better than machines. I had 2 1-hour sessions to work on form. My advice if you do this (and I do recommend you do this) is that you are clear and firm on what you want. My trainer had a hard time realizing I actually really meant it when I said I wanted to deadlift and do squats and not on the gd smith machine. I wasn't assertive enough and spent a great deal of the 2 hours learning things I didn't need.

So - take it slow, take it light, and if you can swing it, get a trainer and get some good strength moves now. It may be with dumbbells and not bars, or it may just be with bodyweight (I say just -- hah! Bodyweight is awesome for working out), but get the moves down and get a good routine. As you progress, you may want to do it again and get some new moves, maybe some barbells in there if you didn't before, for example.

I love swimming too, and water aerobics is a great way to get some good cardio and some good strength without shredding your knees even more.

Yoga as a fatass is totally doable. I wasn't sure at my full glory of 300 pounds if I should do it, but I did, and it was awesome. Yoga goers as a rule are very non-judgmental. We all look a bit ridiculous and awesome Also, you can modify anything. I was flexible, but my fat rolls totally got in the way of some moves. Also, my lower back 'shelf' above my booty was sensitive even to a light touch when I was morbidly obese, so just getting onto my back to do certain exercises was painful - I learned quickly how to modify and get the most out of it so I could build into more and more.

So yep - get ye to the gym! Do a good mixed workout. Start slow and steady and don't freak out, just move You've got this!

Healthy diet for weightloss, workout regimine for fitness. Many people find it easier to just start with cardio. Walking and eventually jogging on the treadmill... or just hopping on the elliptical for 30min is a good start. I will say that you need to incorporate some weight training at some point sooner rather than later. Seriously. I completed New Rules of Lifting for Women last year and had such amazing results I really wondered why I didn't do it sooner. Some people try to lose the weight through cardio then "tone up" later. But I say... why not do both simultaneously? If your gym offers classes that's a good way to begin also. This way you might not seem "singled out" as much because you're in a room full of people doing the very same thing. Hang out at the back of the room until you get the hang of it... then move up as you get your confidence. Good luck - you can do it!

I wouldnt get a personal trainer (in my opinion) and instead take that money (if you plan to spend money, that is) and invest it in a treadmill or elliptical (whichever you think is better for your knees), as well as as some weights, be it hand weights or kettlebell or a training barball and some disks, whichever you think you are more comfortable with. I don't know how comfortable you are with investing in these things, but weights arent very expensive since you will probably be starting low, like maybe 10 lbs or so hand weights arent very much. as for the elliptical or treadmill, you CAN find them on craiglist ranging from 100-300 $ (Thats where I got my stuff anyways) but always remember to be safe and bring a friend if you do that.