Gym vs jabs

Another one here to say to up your cardio. I used to do a lot of strength training, yoga, Pilates and cardio and the one thing that shifted the weight and made a massive difference to slimming me off was couch to 5k. I plan to restart this soon as I’ve recently had a baby and feel down about my weight gain. It was hard work, but slow and steady wins the race. Also agree with taking measurements and try not to get obsessed with weighing yourself. Keep up the good work. The health benefits will be huge :).

True but obviously there is a bit more leeway before being obese. There is definitely a lot of normalisation with being overweight. I have lost 2 stone which puts me at fractionally under BMI 25. I have already had comments that I am wasting away and to be careful etc (I dont look gaunt and confident I'm not in denial as my very honest beauty therapist could have sold me all sorts of extra on this visit but commented on how well my face was looking).

My body fat % is still a good 10% over top of healthy range and my waist/ratio is still very top of healthy.

You will lose weight in a calorie deficit whether in the gym, on wli or both. If you can stick to your calories without wli then you don't need them. If you can't and you meet the requirements you can try them.
The gym is a good idea either way when losing weight as it helps to mitigate muscle loss during weight loss.

The majority of weight is lost through diet, you won't do that through the gym. However, the gym has a lot of other health benefits.

Well done - you are going the right way

exercise alone does not lead to much weight loss because our bodies encourage us to eat back / sabotaging us with a heavy splash of milk or a large dollop of potato

it does make you fitter and healthier so even without the weight loss you are doing something amazing

if you coupled it with careful eating you would be able to make changes that will last a lifetime - and that’s the key / not the slow steady weight loss but still holding it in 2 years time

if you do use the jabs to speed things you should be going to the gym anyway and you should still be thinking how to eat when you come off

Yep! I think it must be some mixture of lots of very tall people and normalisation of being heavier to the extent that people genuinely don't realise. TBH two stone is a lot even for a taller woman, it's nearly 4 BMI points even if you're five ten.

I do 20-25 mins of cardio (running on treadmill - I am unfit but I’m trying to follow Couch to 5k and I am finding myself able to run for slightly longer periods) then I do two or three weight machines, focussing on arms as I want to tone them. What else do people do? I don’t really have time to do much more than that?

I wouldn't prioritise cardio over weights. And certainly don't do cardio THEN weights.

Think about it over a week: do your C25K 3 days a week, and do some strength & resistance training 3 times a week on different days. Run outside, then you can be efficient re time.

In the gym, I'd be doing HIIT or metcon, rather than steady state cardio.

And a weights programme over 3 days - you could do the really traditional push; pull; legs

So one day do deadlifts or sled pulls or pull ups (pull); another day do overhead press, bench press, or dumbbell thrusters (push); on another do barbell or dumbbell weighted squats, or leg press, or weighted lunges (legs).

Can you add in more walking? Aim to do at least 10,000 steps a day. It's amazing how that boosts your daily energy expenditure - far more than 20 mins on the treadmill.

2 stone overweight would put me in obese category. If you're short its still just as bad to be overweight with a BMI of 30. Its not about how many stones to lose. If you're 5ft and a size 12/14 then you're probably overweight by a fair bit but for some reason people scoff at someone short saying they are a 12-14 and need to lose weight as its 'average'.

This message is really refreshing to hear. Good on your for eating healthy and exercising more. Weight loss may be slower initially but I think what your doing is the best way to look after your health. Keep going, mounjaro doesn't protect muscle mass. Your approach is much more sustainable... dont be demotivate.. continue with high protein and fibre, reduce unhealthy starches. I wish I had your gym.motivation, I need to exercise more 😚. Keep going 💪

You will end up with a better result if you the gym and replace fat with muscle gradually, if you want faster results there is no reason you can’t use the jabs AND go to the gym.

I use gym and jabs together. Feel amazing and highly recommend.

You can't out-train a bad diet. To lose weight, you need to be in a slow calorie deficit.

If I find myself short on time I do circuits / HIIT classes for maximum results. Maybe select five exercises for your circuit (kettlebell goblin squat, lunges, crunches, overhead barbell press and barbell arm curls) and see how many reps you can do in 45 seconds before moving to your next station. Do 3 - 4 full circuits. Every 5/6 weeks change the exercises at each station to help keep things fresh and keep your body engaged.

Also, for your indoor cardio I would swap the treadmill for an erg machine (I am biased as I row competitively) as again they offer a whole body work out as well as solid cardio.

@ThisIsAGlobalPlayerOriginalPodcast i tend to split up cardio and strength work. I go to the gym 6 times a week though. Three times for cardio, three for strength, sometimes a yoga session as well. Is it possible to go more often but for less time?

You don’t want the weight loss to be too rapid- that’s when you get issues like hair loss and gall stones. You’ve lost about 1lb a week in a healthy way, keep going.

If you are only 2 stone overweight, do the gym and eating well. 3 lbs is great. And you’ll be so much stronger. Keep going.

Welldone that’s AMAZING!

Well, it's not either/or, as those taking WLI are advised to exercise as well. You may well not qualify for WLI either, even privately, if your BMI isn't high enough. Don't get me wrong, I've taken them and they were a game changer for me, but going by what you say you're already doing all the right things, so might be better to play the long game and let the weight come off slowly? Progress is progress – try not to let the scales dictate it, especially as you were feeling good before weighing. I do know that's easier said than done though!

I’m doing the exact same thing as you OP. Although I’m not weighing myself as I find it too disheartening. I’m just going by how I look/feel in my clothes.

I’m seeing a small bit of a difference but it’s going to take time and patience. I feel like I barely eat anything and it’s a slog some days but it was time for drastic action.

My question for the regular gym goers here is - how long do you spend in the gym? I really struggle for time, I’m usually cramming in a session in my lunch hour or while one of the kids is at a class etc. I do 20-25 mins of cardio (running on treadmill - I am unfit but I’m trying to follow Couch to 5k and I am finding myself able to run for slightly longer periods) then I do two or three weight machines, focussing on arms as I want to tone them. What else do people do? I don’t really have time to do much more than that?

It’s true that weight loss is 80 percent diet 20 percent exercise but exercise is utterly critical on any diet as protecting muscle is paramount we need to lose fat, not muscle and exercise and consuming enough protein is the way to do it.

and depending on height a couple of stones can be the difference between a healthy weight and obese,

If you re read your message, you said you’ve been doing all these things. You’re feeling good!!! You’ve weighed yourself and now you’re disappointed that it’s not as much as you hoped?
Take the feeling good!!! You’ve done amazing!! Don’t weigh yourself!! You don’t need them to know if you lost weight!! Use a pair of jeans as a measure!!
keep going 💪

This. And keep jabbing and gymming!

Depends on height. If you're short enough, two stone is the difference between an obese and healthy BMI. Additionally some people have a condition that means they qualify at 27 BMI, so depending on height may need to lose even less to hit 25.

For some reason people on here love claiming that two stone doesn't make it worth the WLIs, that other methods will be more successful etc, but this is not the case if that two stone makes you obese. It's become a bit of a trop though.

Exercise is secondary to diet by a long chalk as regards losing weight.
The gym is great for fitness but the only way to lose weight in any significant amount is to restrict how much you eat.
Mounjaro helps you do that but it still takes effort.
A couple of stones isn’t that much in the scheme of things so you may not be overweight enough to have it prescribed.

Op, please ignore this it is incredibly difficult and nearly impossible to gain muscle mass on a deficit. If you’re losing about a pound a week, which is a good loss, then you’re eating about 500 cals a day less than you need, if you want it to be 2lbs then it’s 1000 a day deficit.

you still need to work out on the jabs, it’s not one or the other and should neve4 be for anyone, but you don’t need a gym to workout and can do it at home or outside,