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Im starting ( yet again) my weight loss journey. The problem is usually i quit because the gym gets too expensive or they dont offer everything i want. Im fine with calorie counting and portion control, i actually like it!
I am 5'4, 180ish pounds. 40 to lose. Carry it all in my stomach.
Im TIRED of being asked/told im pregnant.
Im TIRED of shopping for size 18 skirts and XL/1X shirts.
I LOVE to cycle, walk and swim. If i could do those every day, id be happy as a clam! Im getting a bike stand so i can turn my road bike stationary. I dont have a program to cycle to but I guess ill have to look!
I looked at close gyms- YMCA $70ish a month. Ok classes. LA Fitness $25 a month ( $100 enrollment). GREAT cycling classes!. Fitworks $10 a month ($?? enrollment). Not great classes. Recreation Center $35 a year. Ok classes.
LA would be the best but i dont have the $100 enrollment extra right now, so it will have to wait. Cycling every day and they have a pool plus treadmills.
Exercise helps weight loss, but the majority of your success will come from nutritional adjustments (some studies suggest it's 85% diet, 15% exercise). So don't place too much emphasis on how you get exercise, just try and incorporate it into your daily routines. Simple walks around the neighborhood will help quite a bit (one mile burns roughly 120 extra calories).
Good luck and don't drive yourself crazy making it too complicated.
Exercise is a key element to successful weight loss. That said, you cannot out run your fork. You must burn more calories than you consume in order to lose weight and people tend to over estimate how much they are burning from exercise.
Diet is 90% of the equation.
As someone who is active, I believe exercise is important for weight loss and maintenance. As I've said ad nauseum, to not work out is cheating your body. If you are able, there is no reason why you should be sedentary and relying on just cutting in order to lose weight.
Let me tell you why exercise was crucial to my weight loss and current maintenance:
- little loose skin/saggy flesh, which is common when people lose lots of weight. My skin is taut and if I didn't have the stretch marks and the loose lower ab skin, you'd never know I was obese last year. Thank you strength training.
- allowed me to not have to go ridiculously low cutting calories. I don't think I ever ate less than 1400 calories. In fact, 1500 is probably more like it. I eat food and I burn food. Food is fuel. Working out also enabled me to have cheat days, which were (still are, though I only have one now) important in staving off binge eating.
- did (and still does) wonders for my self confidence. I set fitness goals that were totally separate from weight loss goals and attained them. This in turn encouraged me to keep on the right track, whereas I would have inevitably fallen off had I did it by diet alone. I feel AWESOME. At 40, I'm stronger than I've ever been.
- encouraged me to eat healthy (most of the time). why jeopardize my fitness progress eating crapola all of the time. see, diet and exercise works hand in hand
- alleviated arthritic pain.
I can go on and on. Don't shortchange yourself, especially when you're middle aged, by not working out. So OP, go for it. And while you're at it, don't be a cardio junkie. Lift some iron.
The walk around our block is .80mi at a slower pace. We usually go as few nights a week.
Im not afraid to work out ( or lift weights). I just know if i dont enjoy it, i wont stick with it.
Walking around your block won't do much of anything. In order for exercise to be effective towards weight loss one must elevate ones heart rate for an extended period of time. You certainly do not have to do anything you don't like. There are many types of ways to exercise. Search for one that you could see yourself doing on a regular basis. Start slow and then build up.
If you enjoy walking you can slowly incorporate running. Couch to 5K is a good program.
Why is everyone bashing on walking? It's the simplest, cheapest and most convenient exercise available. It burns calories, can elevate your heart rate and requires little more planning than stand up and move.
Also, buy a resistance band for your home and use it while watching television or listening to music.
Honestly, while there are always better options to consider exploiting, keeping it simple and not placing too much of a burden on your schedule is the surest way to make sure you do something more than nothing.
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Walking wont do much BUT it is a start and does help a little. I cant cycle 40mi again if i cant walk 1mi...
Oh, I understand. When I started, I couldn't walk two blocks without stopping 3 times and sweating profusely.
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