Long time couch potato.

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BeHealthy_HaveEnergy
BeHealthy_HaveEnergy Posts: 3 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi, I have been living a very secondary life for a long time and I am in very bad shape. I have a lot of lower back pain which is probably just because it's weak. (I can't afford to go to the doctor to find out for sure) So I'm looking for some exercises I can do with low back pain. I'd love to learn yoga. Maybe someone can give advice on good yoga videos for beginners. (free on youtube would be great) I won a trip to Florida and I'm going April 1 and I would love to lose 20-30 lbs by then. I'm just not sure where to start. (ps. I don't eat veggies) Also my legs have really BAD cellulite that I'd like to try and reduce before then. Winning this trip has given me the motivation I've needed for a long time. I just need advice on how this 51 year old couch potato can get into shape fairly quick. Thank you.

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  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    ^^^ That. Walking is a great exercise, especially when you're starting out. There's no need to learn a new skill or anything. You can do it nearly anywhere (even at home) and for just a few minutes at a time until you work up to more.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
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    Congrats on your amazing win! I agree with abive. Start by walking short distances and walk a little further each day. Read the sticky posts, set up your stats in MFP to lose 1 lb per week. Get a digital food scale. Weigh and log all your food. Start by logging what you currently eat for a week to get a baseline. Then reduce 100-200 cals per day each week til you meet your MFP goal.
  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
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    BeHealthy_HaveEnergy wrote: »
    I just need advice on how this 51 year old couch potato can get into shape fairly quick. Thank you.

    Short answer is you can't. And trying to is probably going to hurt you.

    What you can do is improve from where you are now and start on a longer term goal of getting into shape.

    And this is from a guy who started at 330 + lbs at 51. 2 1/2 years later and I'm 210 ish, running 30-40km a week and lifting 3 times a week. And there are people here who have more impressive stories.

    First of understand that weight loss is from reducing how much you eat. Exercise is a small part of weight loss, so start by putting your info into MFP, pick a reasonable weight loss goal (which may be 1 lb a week) and start with the calorie counting. Don't assume you need to eat 1200 calories. Pick a goal that you can sustain without leading to binges. Find some veggies you like (I eat raw carrots and snap peas) but understand that you don't need to eat rabbit food to lose weight. Track what you eat now and see where you can cut back on calories without being miserable. Soda/Pop is a good first target for most.

    Yoga with Adrienne (may not have spelled that right) has a lot of good youtube videos at all different levels.

    Going for a walk is also a good start.
  • beatyfamily1
    beatyfamily1 Posts: 257 Member
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    Unfortunately, exercise can only get you so far with fat loss. Start with walking. I would suggest very light weight training just to get you used to moving. Diet is number one when it comes to fat loss. You may not like vegetables but I strongly suggest you start including them in your diet especially green vegetables and start cutting out fast digesting carbs. They will help cut down inflammation which could be a partial reason for your back pain. That certainly was the reason for my pain. I have sciatica from a work-related injury many years ago. Sciatica never completely goes away but now it only flares up in the spot where I got hit during very cold weather compared to when I was eating a lot of inflammation-causing foods that caused me to be in pain all the time. It will take time but if you can work toward a whole food diet it will help you tremendously.
  • PaigeAnderson1793
    PaigeAnderson1793 Posts: 21 Member
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    Walking like others have stated is a great starting point. I'd recommend fitness blender on YouTube for yoga videos. If you go to their website fitnessblender.com, they also have a lot of quick and easy low impact beginner exercises.
  • BeHealthy_HaveEnergy
    BeHealthy_HaveEnergy Posts: 3 Member
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    Thank you all for the GREAT suggestions, I am definitely going to start walking even if it's down the drive way and back. (I have a long drive way) And I'm going to check out the videos, I've never done yoga before but I've always wanted to learn. I'll also check out prices for a food scale. Thanks for the help, I appreciate it.

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