Now what? Topic Idea: Ramping up exercise ?
susannahcooks
Posts: 293 Member
Ok, so we have a group. Is anyone doing anything interesting? Can we get any topics going? How bout this: How did you ramp up to exercise (assuming you're there) at the beginning of your weight loss?
For me, the first time around, I dieted for a whole month before I started exercising (I was down from 380 to about 365 at that point) and then I joined a gym. I started off swimming laps (which I love, but I don't have a gym near me that has indoor pool so I can't do it anymore), and then when I couldn't keep my heart rate up swimming (was building loads of resistance), i met with a trainer to work in a strength training and then started couch to 5k. That got me down to 305 before I derailed.
This time around, I waited 2 weeks to get started (from 350 down to 340) (atkins induction messed with my energy levels at first, but I'm better now), and I'm slower to ramp up. I'm walking or doing the elliptical every day - and then most days I do some kind of strength training on the freemotion cross cable system (I still have the writeups from the trainer from the last time). I'll give it some time to get bored of this, and then I'll probably pay for another private training session to change it up.
Anyone else?
For me, the first time around, I dieted for a whole month before I started exercising (I was down from 380 to about 365 at that point) and then I joined a gym. I started off swimming laps (which I love, but I don't have a gym near me that has indoor pool so I can't do it anymore), and then when I couldn't keep my heart rate up swimming (was building loads of resistance), i met with a trainer to work in a strength training and then started couch to 5k. That got me down to 305 before I derailed.
This time around, I waited 2 weeks to get started (from 350 down to 340) (atkins induction messed with my energy levels at first, but I'm better now), and I'm slower to ramp up. I'm walking or doing the elliptical every day - and then most days I do some kind of strength training on the freemotion cross cable system (I still have the writeups from the trainer from the last time). I'll give it some time to get bored of this, and then I'll probably pay for another private training session to change it up.
Anyone else?
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Replies
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Hi Susannah!
The first time I lost a significant amount of weight (around 50 lbs), I was a huge gym rat. I spent around 90 minutes 5-6 times a day, but I was also in college and had tons of time during the day to pull it off. My diet wasn't super great...the Subway diet was a huge craze at the time, so I followed it, but with twice weekly cheat meals and probably way more carbs than anyone really needed.
The second time around (about 2.5 years ago), I lost 60 lbs. doing Atkins and not exercising. I have to say, I think I would've been much, much smaller had I incorporated some physical activity into my stuff, but the scale weight was dropping so quickly I was satisfied. I did have a lot of loose skin in my arms and stomach that I didn't really notice until after the fact. Not good, in retrospect.
This time around, while I don't have as much weight to lose (I gained back about 35 of the 60, but didn't make it ALL the way back up, thank goodness), I do feel...older. Much older Stuff aches a lot and my body is slow to rebound from overdoing it or injury. I'm sure a lot of it is mental, and I'm certainly not really old. I just FEEL older. Hopefully older and wiser, this time around.
I've decided to find a happy medium between Atkins-level low-carbing and clean eating by trying the Primal Blueprint diet. I was very, very lethargic at <20 carbs and even during OWL, and I'm pretty active during the day, so some carbs are necessary. I also am starting (to finally answer your question!) to incorporate TurboFire and Chalean Extreme as my daily workouts. I'm aiming for 6 days a week, but I haven't had to do it in the early morning yet. I never seem to get up.
Let me know how your training and walking is going, please! It sounds like you had a really productive start.0 -
well this time around :laugh:
i promised myself to log in for 30 days and track (i have a bad habit with tracking for a couple days then stop)
then after that i started working out, toward the end of March i did a few, of w/e i felt like
this month i am doing walk away the pounds next month i will be adding 10 miles , then the following month add another 10 miles etc
i do not cut anything from my eating .. im just doing it in moderation and tracking my calories .. slowly i will be trying to slip in more veggies .. but this time around its baby steps / lifestyle change0 -
Hey - some responses! Since I posted that I started working out in the mornings - I have been doing the elliptial 3 times a week, and strength training on top of that. and then one day of 'free' exercise to walk or play volleyball or whatever. I've kept it up for 2 weeks so far- still in induction, and my energy levels are improving. My big problem is that I keep getting lightheaded. (not while working - usually after bending over).. I think I may need to call a doctor and see about my blood pressure. Anyway - see no reason to get out of induction yet, and I'm building up to a proper workout (I am up to about 25 minutes on the elliptical (can do an hour easily just walking, but the elliptical kicks my rear end), and then I'll start training for the Couch to 5k once I can do it on the elliptical (less tough on the knees).
Anyway - happy Easter!0 -
well this time around :laugh:
i promised myself to log in for 30 days and track (i have a bad habit with tracking for a couple days then stop)
then after that i started working out, toward the end of March i did a few, of w/e i felt like
this month i am doing walk away the pounds next month i will be adding 10 miles , then the following month add another 10 miles etc
i do not cut anything from my eating .. im just doing it in moderation and tracking my calories .. slowly i will be trying to slip in more veggies .. but this time around its baby steps / lifestyle change
I've been taking a similar approach in that I am not cutting anything from my eating - just cutting amounts of food, becoming conscious of how many calories are in particular foods, and logging my diary every single day (having the iPhone MFP app really helped with that one, and gives me something to do during boring meetings at work - kidding!). I know if I denied myself wine or kettle chips or cheese, this would be a battle I would lose. I have logged in religiously every day since I seriously started this (jan10th 2012), I guess I am trying to make this a life-changing process - I want to be able to maintain my 'restrained' eating without such restraints, eventually, if that makes sense?
I also ramped up the exercise, I was going to the gym about once a week before I started this, just to stay fit and moving, but I was eating so much that my weight wasn't going anywhere. The elliptical really worked for me, after three months I've gone from being able to do around 35 mins on there uncomfortably, to being able to do 60+ mins every time and at a much faster pace. One thing I tried along the way was HITT on the cross-trainer (elliptical) to build up my stamina and improve cardiac fitness - it's basically 30 secs or 1 minute (whatever you can manage) going all out (fast as you can) then 1 minute or 1.5mins at a gentle 'natural' pace. Just keep repeating that, and even if you can only manage 20 mins on the machine in total, your work out will be more effective.
Finally, if you are getting light headed - make sure you drink enough and are eating enough. An exercising body needs a little more, especially a large one - we burn more energy simply by moving around. And I would certainly recommend getting your blood pressure tested and maybe other blood tests like cholesterol, and it's always a good idea to see a doctor/nurse before you embark on any kind of calorie controlled diet/weight loss plan. I know that makes me sound like an advert or something, but it helped me a lot. I have always been really scared of going to the doctors, and have been generally healthy, so have tended to avoid them - always found them very judgy. In the UK, they are geared towards getting you to live overall healthier lives - lose weight, quit smoking etc, because health care is free here and healthier people cost the state less! So, you go visit your doctor because you have a sore throat and he winds up nagging you to lose weight - urgh! When I went to the doctors (I saw a nurse there in the end) initially at the start of this, I went in there and pipped them to the post. Told them I wanted to lose weight, showed them my 'plan' and asked them for their advice and to record all my stats then and there (I just got weight, height, BMI, and BP done). I had another appointment 1 month later, and since then, every two months to keep a record of things. And it's great to know I am going there - it gives me external goals beyond myself and MFP calorie counting! It might be a bit scary (my blood pressure was too high when I started this, which horrified me, but within 2 months it had dropped to the normal healthy range for someone of my age) but it will give you some truly health based goals too - if you can lower your BP, as well as your weight, you will know what a difference you have made to your life in the long term.
Well, just my (very long) two cents - keep at it!0 -
Vara! Thanks very much for your response! I am working with my doctor - I take a blood pressure regulation prescription - but the last several times I've had it tested, it's been about 100/65; I've never tested when I've had a dizzy spell. I'm thinking that between the meds and the weight loss/better diet, I don't need as high of a dose, so I may need to call and either see if I can take half the prescription and continue monitoring to make sure it doesn't increase; or see if she wants to actually prescribe something different. All the rest of my blood work was great - except my fasting blood glucose was on the high end of normal - which is why my doc recommended a low-carb approach. Which I must say, other than the occasional yearn for bread or cake (which having success on the scale makes it easy to say no), is tailor made for me. I'd much rather trade in flour-based sweets than give up cheese or bacon. *Laugh*. It's funny, I usually can't get in more than 1500 calories doing low-carb; and I feel pretty satisfied. The challenge seems to be keeping my sodium/potassium in check to keep from retaining fluids. I"m definitely getting my water (I asked my doc about the whole 1 cup for every 20 lbs calculation and she told me that was crazy at my size - as long as I'm going to the bathroom every couple of hours and my urine (TMI?) was clear by about mid-day and stayed that way, I was getting plenty of fluids - for me between 9 and 12 cups water, plus other fluids (diet pop does have some fluid that are worth counting, even if the caffeine/aspartame doesn't make it the best for you) depending on workout)
Anyway - I'm working up to being able to do 30 minutes at a relatively steady pace on the elliptical, before undertaking any interval training (which is the crux of the Couch to 5k program - using interval training to increase longevity and speed). I'm almost there!0 -
I started at the beginning of April on DailyStrength, where I was set up with a weight loss buddy, and she turned me on to MFP. I started tracking my calories. At first I just wanted to be at my 1800 goal, it's hard for a fat chick to just stop eating and I wasn't ready to fail again. I was very self conscious, it took me about a week before I told my boyfriend (whom lives with me) what I was doing. So I started doing Just Dance when he wasn't home, and when I started to get bored with that I started walking about 1 mile a day. When I saw that it was working, I decided to try to keep my calorie count UNDER my 1800 cal goal. As of right now I am down 19 pounds since April 1st. I consume 1200-1500 cal a day I "work out" 7 days a week, whether it be a 4 mile walk (yup, up to 4 miles, woohoo!) or 45 minutes of Just Dance, and recently I started incorporating Wii Zumba into the mix and let me tell you, it is a work out! I'm thinking next month I may join Curves, I need the structure, and I think by then I'll be bored silly with my routine. Maybe even an ACTUAL Zumba Class!
I looked up that couch25k, and it looks like something that might work for me, thanks Susannah! I tried working out in the mornings, but apparently I don't have the kind of energy it requires so early in the morning. lol
Happy thoughts going all your way!
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Current weight: 220
Height: 5'3''
Lost: None yet
Since I am just starting... I might start with some power walking/ turbo jam then eventually work myself to endurance running. I am just worried about my knees. I don't want to grind them down too much until I weigh about 200. So these first 20 pounds I will focus on my eating habits and light exercise. I might consider a treadmill when I reach 200 pounds.
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