Hurtin' too much, overweight, how can I exercise???

[circusfood]

Because of the fact that i stopped exercising over a year ago

and the fact that i've been slacking off and eating whatever

the heck i want.....I've gone from 152lbs to 174.

 

I feel slow, i feel sluggish, my back is has been hurting

a lot, my knees have been hurting and even my foot.

I feel short of breath sometimes and I just feel VERY

unhealthy, alongside the fact that i look terrible (at least

to myself, my girl loves me still)

 

ANYWHOO, How Can I exercise and get this weight off

without dieting too much? I tried running the other day

(i used to be a runner) and felt okay, but the next day,

My knees were killing me and my foot felt all sore and out

of whack. Maybe i should bike? is biking good? I'm just trying

to get a few pounds off and feel a bit lighter before i start

up the running again...the weight is tough on my back and

knees when i run. And walking seems to do ZERO.

[slubberdegullion]

Swimming is good, as it works a whole bunch of muscle groups, and is good for the lungs. It also has the benefit of being easy on your joints - not like jogging - and a side benefit is that there may be sweet young thangs cavorting about in bikinis.

 

But regardless of the type of exercise you do, try partnering with someone. It's easier to keep the motivation up when someone else is involved.

 

Good luck!

[goodnbad]

My two cents is that you were perhaps trying to exercise too intensely too soon. Naturally, if you haven't run in awhile, going right at it fult-tilt is going to produce pain. If you are intent on running, visit some websites and ease yourself into it, incorporating a run/walk schedule. But......

 

You could also try lifting weights. I don't mean huge ones, either, just hand weights to start with. As you gain muscle, you will lose fat. AND it there is the added benefit that even a resting muscle burns calories (fat burns none). As long as you understand that lifting small weights doesn't give you licence to eat way more food! That counts only for those who lift massive weights.

 

Weight-lifting is a very easy sport to take up and results can be seen quite quickly. You can alter your routine to fit your fitness level and your weak spots. My guess is that, provided your knees and foot don't have underlying disorders, those physical problems would clear themselves up over time as the overlaying muscles become more supportive of their structures.

 

At that point, if you are intent on giving running another go, your body would be more toned to cope with your feet pounding the pavement.

 

Good luck!

 

goodnbad

[pippen_2k]

hmmm you aint walking fast enough then lol

 

Ive been running seriously for 4 years now, but I can still get a great cardio workout if I do a fast intense walk.

 

Whilst your carrying excess weight, running will be dangerous to your bones and muscles which have been inactive for a while.

 

Try walking again, im sure if you do it at a faster pace, which gets your heart rate up around 70% to your max, you will lose the weight.

 

Oh.. cycling is great too, but remember you just cant roll around feeling the wind hit ur face.. You gotta get that heart rate working at around 70%!!

 

Good Luck

[RecordProducer]

Swimming is fantastic and you can swim as much as you want - you want feel any pain afterwards. It melts calories fast (be careful not to eat a lot afterwards). At least 3 times a week (for one hour) combined with walking and diet should help. Eat the healthy food first then switch to the carbs and fats if you have to.

 

Although nutritionists say we should eat 5-6 small meals a day, in my experience the longer I stay hungry the more I lose weight. Of course I don't make up for it later.

 

Go to bed hungry every night and you'll see magic happening! But you need to be really hungry. E.g. if you go to sleep at midnight, don't eat ANYTHING after 5-6 pm (that means you don't eat like a pig at 6 pm ).

[littlekitty]

Go to bed hungry every night and you'll see magic happening! But you need to be really hungry. E.g. if you go to sleep at midnight, don't eat ANYTHING after 5-6 pm (that means you don't eat like a pig at 6 pm ).

 

 

It should be noted that it should 5-6 small WELL BALANCED meals. And switching to brown rice, wholemeal bread, brown pasta extra. If you don't know much about GI Content and how your body uses food, I'd suggest some internet research. GI isn't necessarily a diet, but it is useful to know how your body processes food and what foods feed your body for longer, as apposed to providing short bursts of energy.

 

And as I'm sure RP would agree, what works for one, might not work for another. I'm afraid often it's a case of trial and error to see what works for you.

 

No offence RP, but personally I don't advocate keeping yourself hungry, this can put the body into a state of 'starvation' thereby causing you to keep all the fats from anything you eat, thereby actually causing weight gain or at least no loss. But as I say.. 'each to their own', it's whatever works for you.

 

Both recommendations of swimming and cycling are good. As others mention is ensuring your heart rate is at the right level which is important. You could invest in a cheap heart rate monitor to use when exercising and can easily work out your optimum level:

 

Men:

 

Maximum Heart Rate / MHR (220 – Age) x 70% = Upper Heart Rate Limit

Maximum Heart Rate / MHR (220 – Age) x 60% = Lower Heart Rate Limit

 

I would also agree that weight lifting is a brilliant addition to your exercise regime. Building muscle will help you burn fat.

 

And remember the whole diet thing is simply an equation:

 

Burn more calories than you intake.

 

Good luck!

[RecordProducer]

No offence RP, but personally I don't advocate keeping yourself hungry, this can put the body into a state of 'starvation' thereby causing you to keep all the fats from anything you eat, thereby actually causing weight gain or at least no loss. But as I say.. 'each to their own', it's whatever works for you.

 

I absolutely agree and I know about the "catch", but it seems that for me no meal is small enough as NO-MEAL!

[littlekitty]

I absolutely agree and I know about the "catch", but it seems that for me no meal is small enough as NO-MEAL!

 

 

I actually use a smiliar method myself, but I think you have to have a pretty great metabolisum to get away with it! Glad you didn't take offence!

[sophia34]

If you're hurting after exercise, it means you've done too much, too fast, as a previous poster says. It doesn't mean you "can't exercise." You just need to be more careful about it.

 

Try walking first, but don't just walk. POWER walk. That is, walk at a pace of at least 3.0 mph to 4.0 mph. Go faster as your fitness level progresses. Walking is "doing zero" for you because, most likely, you're walking at too leisurely a pace. Walking at 1.0 or 2.0 miles an hour will get around to see the neighborhood, but it won't help you lose weight. You might also try interval training, which can really burn calories. After a warm-up, walk for two minutes at a slower pace, like 2.5 mph. Then ramp it up to 3.0 mph for two minutes. Then ramp it up to 3.5 mph (2 minutes) and then 4.0 mph (2 minutes), and then take it back down to 2.5 mph for a 2- to 5-minute recovery. Then repeat a few times. You'll bump up your metabolism significantly, if you do interval training regularly. After you feel good doing this, you can put 2-minute periods of light jogging in there as well and work your way back up to running.

 

And you can't really lose weight unless you also change your eating habits. BUT, you can start with the painless choices first. Examine your diet and look for places where you can cut calories without cutting your eating pleasure or taste.

 

For instance, if you eat pasta with a cream sauce, change to a marinara. Is spaghetti with tomato sauce really that much more unsatisfying that Fettucini Alfredo? (okay, that's me talking to the world now, not necessarily to you! I just don't get the fascination with heavy cream sauces). If you drink soda, is it really that bad to drink water or tea? Is 2% milk really so much more horrible than whole milk? Is a ham sandwich with veggies and mustard a death sentence when compared to a sandwich loaded with cheese and mayonaisse? How about a Subway French Onion Teriyaki instead of that Big Mac? Baked Lays chips instead of full-fat Lays? Are you really going to enjoy the burger less if it's got lettuce, pickles, onions, and tomato on it rather than gobs of cheese and mayo?

 

In most cases, I truly think the answer would be "no."

 

(I definitely have a grievance against mayonaisse--nothing says wasted, unnecessary calories more than soda, cream sauces, and mayonaisse! Plus, I introduced my "significant other" to the Subway French Onion Teriyaki sub, and now even HE prefers to go to Subway over McDonalds! But I digress...)

 

Look for these "wasted calorie" areas in your diet where a change doesn't mean you get to enjoy food any less. It's just cutting out what you don't need, and what you really won't miss. I had them--everybody has them. Have the barbecue--just choose mustard potato salad cut with low-fat mayo rather than the full-fat, weight-gain inspiring variety. Have that breakfast--just choose three slices of bacon over three sausage patties. Have the ice cream--just choose a low-fat variety or have 1 scoop instead of two.

 

Eat what you already eat, just have healthier versions (of course, don't eat MORE just because it's lower calorie! You have to keep your portions the same as they are now.) Once you've got these changes made, you can start attacking other things, like portion control.

 

Just make the right choices, and a healthy diet isn't all that bad!

[sophia34]

Meant to say "SWEET" Onion Teriyaki....not sure where I got the French part.

[pinenuts]

here is the secret, decipline, decipline and DECIPLINE! set up a short-term goal every week, and a long term,say 6 months. losing 25 ponds in six month would be 2 pounds a week, don't give up if don't meet your goal every week, cause even you lose one pound a week, you can still shed about 24 pounds. These two pretty ladies's advices are for maintaining the weight.

You gotta remind yourself why you want to do it, think about how good you would feel physically without all that fat.

[sophia34]

Sorry, I completely disagree. If you eat fewer calories than you're currently taking in AND exercise more than you currently have been, you will lose weight, not maintain. You don't have to run marathons or develop some strict regimen--you just need to GET STARTED. Develop a healthy mindset, one thing at a time

 

When you're having trouble getting started losing the weight, sometimes it's best to start small, not overhaul everything at once. Discipline, yes, but in small doses at first. The rest--the 2 pounds a week, the goal-setting, etc.--can come later.

[Sunset]

OK please someone explain why walking doesn't work - surely if you have zilch exercise regime and then start walking, you should burn calories whatever the pace and hence lose weight if you maintain your original eating plan?

[SuperMonk]

OK please someone explain why walking doesn't work - surely if you have zilch exercise regime and then start walking, you should burn calories whatever the pace and hence lose weight if you maintain your original eating plan?

 

Walking does work, but you'd have to do 2 hrs of it to equal an hour of jogging. To some, 2 hrs is too much time working out. But if you're just starting to do cardio, walking first is the best but you must gradually increase the speed to jogging or at least hiking in the woods.

 

For those that say swimming is better, sure it is. But you won't lose the weight if you are just casually doing slow strokes - if you do it at a high intensity that's where the body really works, and even then if your body is hurting already it's not a good idea since swimming uses the entire body.

 

If you really want to lose weight, change the way how you eat matters more than your exercise, eat the proper foods and it'll be all good.

[muhlissuh]

Lets start from the beginning...

 

You said your girl still loves you, well why not use that to the best of your ability. GET LAID. It's great excersize.

Another idea...

Why not swim? Swimming shouldn't put too much pressure on your feet or knees. More than that, most people use water as an assistant in physical therapy exercizes.