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as posted recently in other threads i too decided it was time to do something back in sept. im 51 and was at the heaviest i had been. the last time i had tried this was a few years ago. i would come home from work and get right on the elliptical.was watching what i was eating and the weight started coming off. started working overtime and when i got home i was too tired and started missing workouts. fell out of the routine and and basically stopped. sept visit to the doctors was a wake up call for me. weight was up, blood pressure was up and i felt myself getting winded easier. started setting the alarm clock for a half hr earlier and started getting on the elliptical . it sucked in the beginning i could barely do 8 min with no resistance. got myself into a good routine and it was working. by doing it in the morning before work i had no excuses even if i worked ot the day before i still had 5-6 hrs of sleep before i was due on the machine. fast forward to now im down 40 lbs and would like to go 10llbs more before i level off which will put me at the weight i was in my twenties. the workouts have gotten better, bought a versaclimber and recently added some weights to the workout even though i have to be careful with weights as i have some back issues so going slow with it. i havent missed a workout since i started in sept and even added a 2nd in the evenings when i have the time.i do take 1 day off a week for recovery. for me its a total mental thing. it took that trip to the doctors to get me started again. i do watch what i eat and allow myself extras every so often but look forward to my time in the garage on the machine. if you start missing workouts at night due to scheduling try doing it 1st thing in the morning its what worked for me .
as posted recently in other threads i too decided it was time to do something back in sept. im 51 and was at the heaviest i had been. the last time i had tried this was a few years ago. i would come home from work and get right on the elliptical.was watching what i was eating and the weight started coming off. started working overtime and when i got home i was too tired and started missing workouts. fell out of the routine and and basically stopped. sept visit to the doctors was a wake up call for me. weight was up, blood pressure was up and i felt myself getting winded easier. started setting the alarm clock for a half hr earlier and started getting on the elliptical . it sucked in the beginning i could barely do 8 min with no resistance. got myself into a good routine and it was working. by doing it in the morning before work i had no excuses even if i worked ot the day before i still had 5-6 hrs of sleep before i was due on the machine. fast forward to now im down 40 lbs and would like to go 10llbs more before i level off which will put me at the weight i was in my twenties. the workouts have gotten better, bought a versaclimber and recently added some weights to the workout even though i have to be careful with weights as i have some back issues so going slow with it. i havent missed a workout since i started in sept and even added a 2nd in the evenings when i have the time.i do take 1 day off a week for recovery. for me its a total mental thing. it took that trip to the doctors to get me started again. i do watch what i eat and allow myself extras every so often but look forward to my time in the garage on the machine. if you start missing workouts at night due to scheduling try doing it 1st thing in the morning its what worked for me .
I think what kind of jump started things for me is adding the morning workouts. I don't workout every morning - just when I know that I have to miss an evening workout. Now, I'm NOT a morning person at all, so it's tough forcing myself to exercise that early in the morning, but I generally feel refreshed and energized throughout the day.
In an odd sort of way, I think it's good for a person to experience the highs and lows of fitness. Not saying it's good for someone to have a chronic disease, but it's good for them to experience how it feels to be out of shape, slow, and just icky. And then to experience how it feels to have energy, to look good, to feel good. I've been on both ends of the stick, and it definitely doesn't feel good to be out of shape.
I had a great shape but due to some personal reasons, I skip the gym for almost a year and put on the 22 pounds. My face is round shape that I really hate. Now, I have started gym again and having a proper diet and decided to lose 9 pounds in 2 months.
Yes Its not that easy but I am trying hard to get better results. Do 30 minutes cardio and then do other exercises on machines. I almost cut my sugar and having 2 times green tea a day.
Hope I will get results soon and share with you guys.
My weight loss was jump started when I got acute pancreatitis and had to have my gallbladder removed in November. I was in the hospital for 11 days with no solid food. When I finally got home I was down 8 pounds and for the first month or so I just didn't feel like eating much. I don't recommend this drastic way of losing weight however.
My perfect weight for my height (5'1") and frame (small) is no more than 120. I went in to the hospital at 152, came out at 144 and have stuck to a low calorie diet. I am now down to 136 and have gone down from a size 14-16 to an 8-10. I avoid sugar and am careful about my portions. I stop eating as soon as I'm satisfied. If I want a cheeseburger or a delicious cod fillet sandwich from Culvers for lunch I have a salad with a little protein in it for dinner.
I don't keep fattening foods in the house. I was never a chips person but I did love my sweets. At night I allow myself one Ghirardelli candy if I'm really craving sweets. I walk the dog 30 minutes every night and this week I joined a gym. At one point I had 170 pounds on this tiny frame. I was always thin until having kids in my 30's. There have been losses and gains over the years but this time I refuse to gain it back. I weight myself twice a week and if I even gain 1 pound I start counting calories and measuring my food.
I may never get back down to 120 but my current goal is 130 which is a normal BMI.
I am in the same boat. I was in great shape. Into free climbing, extreme hiking, scuba diving, all kinds of fun things. I ran daily and lifted 3-4x a week. Played raquetball at least weekly and often daily when I was younger. Later Kayaking or canoeing with the kids every day in the summers. When I wasn't working, I was working out or working on things like restoring a house, yard work, mission work etc. I was active non-stop until somewhere in my mid or late 40s.
As I aged, I slowed down - fast. My knees and back began having all sorts of problems. Kids, career, house, community, church - where was there time to work out even if I had the ability to do so? Tried a few years later and could not get off the bench after the first set. When I got off with help, I had to crawl up stairs and say in bed for a day and a half.
The slide continued. I reached the point where I could not get out of a camping chair without help, often could not walk without a stick. Could not pick anything up off the ground. I was constantly calling to my kids for help. Can you pick this up? Can you put water in the fish tank. I was tipping the scale at 250 plus or minus 3 (normal for me is low 200s and ideal is 190s I think). I was scared, only in my mid 50s, what was he future going to look like? I tried swimming, but did not last long and needed help to get out of the pool. I tried simply walking which helped some, but not enough and more and more frequently, I was not able to walk all that much.
Eventually (last year) I got knee surgery and discovered that my knee was actually the cause of my back problems. Knee still hurts a lot, but I can now do things I could not do before like tie my own shoes and get up off a weight bench. However, I am overweight, weak, no endurance and in constant but bearable pain, something always hurts (I have a damaged rotator cuff as well). Worse, because of pain, I sleep very little and am always tired. It is next to impossible to find motivation to work out when you are completely exhausted.
Still I can now start trying to regain some fitness before I start to slide further from age. I do not think jumping right back into a lifting program is the answer. I will just get hurt.
My plan is reduce weight through diet changes and do some low impact exercise (bike riding, walking/hiking and rowing). I think I will have to do a lot of just plain stretching. I am guessing it will take at least a year to get reasonably strong and build up some endurance so I can take on more challenging fitness and begin lifting weights. I am pretty sure high impact stuff like running, climbing, jumping rope, are gone forever. Squats are definitely out forever. However I think if I take it slow, I can get back some strength and do a basic lifting program in a year or two.
I am very concerned I will not be able to make any progress before something else goes wrong. It seems there are constant setbacks. I am recovering from my second bout with pneumonia this year.
I think I just abused my body too much. Too much running, jumping, twisting falling, breaking. Too many car and other accidents. Too much rough and tumble with the kids. I wonder if I will be able to make any gains or whether i will end up in a wheelchair by 60.
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