Leap of faith

JazyNichols
JazyNichols Posts: 4 Member
in Introduce Yourself
Hi everyone,

I am Jazy and normally I don't do stuff like posting but I am gonna step out of my bubble and hope for the best.

I am trying to make some major lifestyle changes that are long overdue. I have 3 goals I want to achieve 1) lose weight, ideally 35 lbs. 2) get fit and be more active 3) quit smoking.

I have tried to achieve these goals many times over the past 5 years and have yet to succeed because I get overwhelmed by information and a general lack of know-how. I always end up feeling defeated and worse than when I started. Everything I have seen says you need the right combo of diet and exercise routine, every diet and work out routine says consult your doctor before starting, every time I talk to my doctor I am told "you need to see a nutritionsit and personal trainer", I can't afford either one of those so the vicious cycle restarts. I know I can do this but I simply don't know how to do this and would appreciate some advice/help.

A little about me, I am a stay at home mom of 4. My days are always all over the place in every sense, my stress levels are consistently higher than is healthy. I don't own a treadmill and the family schedule makes it agonizingly difficult to even go for a walk. I own a home gym from the last time I tried to get healthy but have never been able to use it and always questioned what/how to start, it came with an ab wheel, jump rope, resistance tube and pushup bars. I also own 2 5lb dumbbells that are currently the equivalent of gaudy paper weights. I have 2 work out videos by Jillian Michael's (beginner shred and killer cardio) and only managed 5 minute sessions 3 days at the end of which I stopped due to trouble breathing. Not gonna lie I failed gym class in high school for the same thing, everytime we had to run my chest would get tight and it would hurt to breathe. I don't know if that's normal and I gotta push through it or if that's bad and a sign of other issues? No one took me seriously back then or ever answered that question so I chose breathing as the more important ability and was perfectly fine with not being "athletic".

For fear of nervous rambling I am gonna wrap this up. Bottom line I want to lose weight and be more healthy overall but I just don't know what I'm doing here.

Sincerely,
Jazy

Replies

  • MightyKitez
    MightyKitez Posts: 13 Member
    Small steps! Maybe work on core exercises instead of cardio. There are some good workout videos on youtube that focus on those instead of cardio. Hopefully quitting smoking will help as well so you can slowly introduce cardio if you want to. OR you could try something like pilates/yoga so you have some time alone (and it's relaxing af)

    It's easy to get overwhelmed and some of the info out there contradicts itself a lot. Just work on small steps and gradually add more stuff to your routine as and when you can.
  • MightyKitez
    MightyKitez Posts: 13 Member
    Also I had a friend who had the same breathing issues and it turned out she had asthma. I'm not sure how easy it is to change doctor where you are, but I'd consider it.
  • JazyNichols
    JazyNichols Posts: 4 Member
    Thank you so much for responding, not gonna lie it's been a rough day so it has made a big difference seeing someone responded.

    I am definitely going to be switching doctors and hopefully will find someone that actually hears what I'm saying to them without brushing it off. I always figured cardio would be key to getting through core workouts so I have never tried doing it the other way around. I will give that a go this week. Thank you so much!
  • coblujay
    coblujay Posts: 688 Member
    Welcome, Jazy. I don't have many answers because I'm fairly new back to this journey. What has really benefited me so far is tracking what I'm eating as accurately as I can and reading all the great posts on this site. There are some amazing people who have been here for years at various places on their fitness journeys including some who have lost all their weight and have maintained for years. Many of them are fountains of information and love supporting those of us who are just beginning. Take your photo and store it someplace and then jump in here with both feet. You'll need that photo when you show us your before and after pictures. Check out the success stories and you'll see so many who have accomplished their goals. You aren't alone and this is a great place to start.
  • KerrieA87
    KerrieA87 Posts: 167 Member
    To be honest just do what you can, small steps are key. If you can’t go outside for a walk walk inside your house on the spot for 10 mins. People seem to think when they start a new diet and exercise regime that you must go 1000%, but in all truth if you simply eat a bit less and move a bit more the weigh will go down, as time goes on the eating will stabilise and you’ll find you’re able to move better, faster, reduced recovery time.

    Unless you have a medical condition I don’t fully understand the need to consult a doc/nutritionist. I have a severe allergy to exercise (anaphylactic shock) and I don’t even consult my specialists or general practitioners regarding my exercise and diet, unless I go into shock and we establish from there.
  • JazyNichols
    JazyNichols Posts: 4 Member
    Thank you both. For a while now everytime I see photos of myself my first thought is oh geez I look terrible but tomorrow I will take that step. I just dug out an old notebook to track my info in: eating, activity and periodically weight. I have never had this kind of outside support and honestly I have never felt more ready than I do right now. Thank you all.
  • KerrieA87
    KerrieA87 Posts: 167 Member
    Make sure to keep an eye out for none scale wins too. Things like not being as out of breath doing an exercise you previously struggled with, clothes feeling looser/going down a clothing size even though the scale says you stayed the same weigh, logging in daily (you’ll get a buzz watching your physical progress show in days you’ve been doing it, even on days you struggle or even go over your cals)
  • Marilynsretired
    Marilynsretired Posts: 5,530 Member
    Hi Jazy - I have just send you a 'friend' request.

    Also I am the leader of the group called Needing Support with losing weight
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/140736-needing-support-with-losing-weight

    We would love to have you join us - a lot of us are struggling and just needing some support - so if you feel up to come and join.

    If there is anything I can do to help / give support please just reach out to me

    -Marilyn
    Needing Support with losing weight
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/140736-needing-support-with-losing-weight
  • Skyler103
    Skyler103 Posts: 121 Member
    I'm not sure if you're going to try to meet all of your goals at the same time. I quit smoking about 10 months ago. I could never have adhered to a calorie goal while trying to quit. I'm not trying to discourage you, just try to be kind to yourself when you quit smoking. It's a really hard, emotional thing.
  • jagillham
    jagillham Posts: 19 Member
    JazyNichols wrote: »
    I am trying to make some major lifestyle changes that are long overdue. I have 3 goals I want to achieve 1) lose weight, ideally 35 lbs. 2) get fit and be more active 3) quit smoking.

    In that order? :smile:

    It could be worth tackling one at a time. Lifestyle changes are habitual, and it takes time to settle into new routines. I can imagine if one day you suddenly decided to focus on counting the calories, squeeze in some time for exercise, and not smoke it could be a challenge to keep that all up in the short term.

    Personally I'd start with the calorie counting, don't even worry about changing what you eating, literally just get into the habit of checking the labels, logging everything down etc. I've found it can take quite a lot of time just to do that to start with. Once you into the rhythm of that you can then move on to looking at healthy options / portion control etc. Being genuinely aware of intake is an eye opener in my opinion, and probably over half of the battle to eating healthy. Once it's spelt out on paper to see, the changes are fairly easy/obvious. If you can combine that too with the quitting smoking even better. Atleast both of those ones are fairly low time drain once you've got it figured.

    Exercise is a tough one if you've got a busy and/or irregular schedule. I like to run, but most of the time the pre-run faffing about, and post run shower etc takes just as long as the actual run! Having to work around kids and family can be tricky, so I'll often run late at night. I'm a young(ish!) guy living in a fairly safe town so it kind of works, but not such a great option for a lone female. Comes down to goals I suppose, why you want to exercise, and what do you like to do. If you can find something you enjoy or are really motivated to achieve, then great. If not, it can be difficult to keep the momentum. Groups are a good idea if you can. My wife does Zumba, and having them groups and social circle on set days/times really helps. I'm part of a free local running group for all abilities, and that was a great place for me to start too.

    Hope that helps a little!
  • JazyNichols
    JazyNichols Posts: 4 Member
    Skyler103 wrote: »
    I'm not sure if you're going to try to meet all of your goals at the same time. I quit smoking about 10 months ago. I could never have adhered to a calorie goal while trying to quit. I'm not trying to discourage you, just try to be kind to yourself when you quit smoking. It's a really hard, emotional thing.

    Thank you for the advice. Being kind to myself is a welcome reminder as it is something I struggle with on general. I tend to over think, over analyze and in the end it complicates everything. I do feel that although all the changes I am trying to make are for the better, it may not be realistic to do them all at once. As of now my plan is to go week by week.

    For goal one week one I am tracking everything and trying to make slightly better decisions without putting to much weight on changing what I am doing so that I can get a "baseline" so to speak. Last night was a weak point as I didn't realize when you click to finish your diary for the day it will project weight further down the line. After seeing the projection and general life stress I sought comfort in a bowl of dunkin caramel macchiato cereal which although delicious left me feeling very guilty.

    For goal two week one I am simply trying to walk more and drink more water. I have recently kicked soda which is a win as it used to be my go to drink everyday.

    For goal three week one I am not stopping all at once but rather cutting back. When my boyfriend goes to work he used to leave me with 4 cigarettes this week he is leaving me with 2.

    After seeing how things go this week I may decide only to make adjustments to goal one for next week as I don't want to overload myself.

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