I don't want to be fat. But i don't exercise.

[Rainydays26]

I feel like I'm going to be fat for ever. I know ideally your meant to loose weight slowly but it just feels hopeless. I have lost but its now slowed right down to an almost stop.

I know the answer is exercise I do very little. I just can't get motivated. I never stick to it. I have apps as smart bike that I can do challenges with when connected to tv. I need to do core and stomach exercise I find that even harder to do. Logically I know what I need to do. And it's down to me to put the effort in. But I find it hard. When it should be simple.

Just edit to add i can't reduce calories anymore. I'm already lower than I should be.

I just had a look it wasn't totally what I thought. I thought you went up and down like press ups. I tried it . But I really struggle with my arms they strain and shake. Maybe I need to do the easier version?:

And I looked down and could see my stomach just hanging like a saggy hipo 😭

That’s very normal, especially if you’re new to exercise. My arms shake sometimes and I do them regularly. It will get easier.

I think almost everyone gets the saggy hippo thing doing planks - just don’t think about it. Amazing you have already started. Planks are great as you can measure progress by increasing how long you can hold it and aiming to get steadier

It looks gross though. And its like I'm obese.

I do them till my arms shake, that’s normal. It just takes longer and longer till your arms shake the more you do it.

eberyone gets the saggy look, wear a top and don’t look down.,😂

Its gross though I still look obese.
It looks like wrinkled up cow udders without the teat bits.

Then. I mean this gently, stop whinging and start working out…😂

I'm not great on videos as I have little patience for working out in a warm, carpeted home with little space. My attention span works better in a focused, specific environment.
I'd look for someone who does a beginner friendly plan rather than just putting out stand alone videos. I'm not sure if Joe Wicks does this, but I agree with a PP that Caroline Girvan (as great as she is) is for someone with decent stamina and confident about a range of moves. You'll also need to find someone who explains good form as it's easy to mimic a movement but do it without activating the optimal muscles which is an injury risk.

"Heavy" is relative. It's where you can use a weight until you can feel it getting too hard to continue, rather than pumping out a large number of reps (repititions) and still feeling comfortable. Progress is gradually building a few more reps (up to about 12), then increasing a weight and dropping the reps down then repeating the cycle as you adjust and progress. Different moves will take different levels of weight. My lower body big muscle groups can take much more weight (eg squat) than upper body (e.g. bicep curls) and it's common to need a range of different weights.

First I'd focus on bodyweight exercises though. Learn how to do moves like planks, lunges and squats properly so you build a base of strength to move your own body, and then weight can be added as you become more comfortable.

For aerobic content I like Get Fit with Rick walking workouts. It's basically low-impact aerobics (no jumping) but it moves your body in different directions and adds in co-ordination which is more natural than using only a machine which only uses a few muscles in a small range of movement.

(My abdomen flops everywhere from loose skin when in plank regardless of my BMI, but the muscle is firm underneath)

So does that mean I will always have the awful stomach i have? Its just that underneath there is muscle. But it makes no difference to how it looks ?

It depends on what it is. Skin can firm up a little with time, and increasing muscle mass can firm up what's underneath to help. My surplus skin is from the rapid stretching in pregnancy and won't go anywhere, and hasn't in the last 15 years since my early 30s. I just buy higher waistlines and tuck it in. I'm ok above the navel and will still wear high waist bikinis and crop tops for exercise. I try to celebrate the cool stuff my body can do rather than get too hung up on something that won't change naturally, and decided early on that I wasn't going to hide away for the next 50+ years just because I don't meet some fantasy ideal.

A lot of women (particularly after losing weight it having children) whose tummy looks perfectly decent stood up will have some hang down when doing a plank - it’s just gravity and normal.

But if you do planks then it might eventually look good when you are standing up!

That’s not what they said, they said it was when in a plank.

your stomach will tone up if you exercise. And the exercises recommended. It will look a lot better,

but I mean this kindly. You need to do it, not just talk about it…

I did a bit today. I said I would and i have. It wasn't much but I got the feel of it. I done a short pilates without it was only 15 mins was slow type movement. I only done 2 planks though.

That’s great it’s a start! Now you jist do it every day, and each week, move the intensity up, it is surprising how fast it improves.

Little and often is the way. I love how this diagram explains things

I'm definitely what people usually do 😭. But I will try not to be 😅

This is all very helpful. Thank you

So spend twenty quid on a pair of high waisted leggings on Amazon. They'll hold it in so you don't feel it or have to look at it (and looking straight down at the floor is better form than bending your head and neck to look for it in any case.

Its the fact I know its there and how ugly it is. I didn't know until I done that plank it looked awful.