AIBU to ask what is the best exercise for me to lose weight?

[Latara]

I'm nearly 5'4'' weight 12st and i need to lose 2 stone at least.

I like the gym and have just started warming up by walking 10 mins to the gym; then work out for 15 mins on the rower followed by 20 reps of the (not v heavy) heaviest weights i can manage on each of the weights machines.

Then 5 mins on the cross-trainer and 5 mins on the sitting bike, followed by 10min walk home and some stretches.

At the end of this i'm very shaky and dizzy because i'm not used to exercise.

I like it though and heard that a mix of weights and some cardio is best for weightloss.
Is this true and is eg 4 times a week enough? I work 2 days a week on my feet all day walking around the ward.

I eat 1500 cals a day inc lots of fruit and veg, no alcohol.

Opinions please!

Btw i've already lost 1st 10lbs by diet alone (the 1500 cal diet).

PS: i take 4 types of medication that make me drowsy so i have to be a bit careful.

Swimming and fast walking, so long as it elevates your heart rate. If your heart rate is faster, you are burning fat.

4 times a week is plenty

I lost 3 stone on a low carb diet, gym/swim 3 times a week, and doing the Shred each day at home.

Cardio and strength training are best for weight loss.
Swimming is great for toning but not weight loss.
Doing half an hour every day is better than doing a 90 min session in the gym 3 times a week.
And what you eat plays a far bigger part in weight loss than how much you exercise, unless you're training for the Olympics or something!

Squats, squats and more squats. Best whole body exercise there is.

heard that a mix of weights and some cardio is best for weightloss
That's all true but it's really what works for you.
Any exercise is good for you so you need to do what you like doing and enjoy or you won't keep it up for long.
You seem to be doing all the right things so just keep going.
You've lost loads already so well done.
Drink plenty of water throughout the day.
I tend to do low carb more than anything as this is what works for me.
If you have found your weight has plateau'd a bit then you need to shake up your menu a bit.
Keep going and good luck.

It's probably best you stick to just one cardio machine, switching between them doesn't really make much difference, so pick your favourite and you can tailor specific workouts for it.

When lifting you don't really need to go for the heaviest weight, just go for one you can lift 12-15 reps, 2-3 sets with a 60 second rest between. This will improve your muscular endurance and increase your metabolism. Also make sure you do a balance of exercises, so legs, back, chest, shoulders, biceps, triceps, in that order

Swimming is bad for weight loss. Studies have shown that on average people gain weight regularly swimming if nothing else is tampered with. You're already walking a lot which is great.

For weight loss also you want to do your resistance training first, so do a quick 5 minute warm up, hit the weights, and finish with your cardio.

You can try interval training (not necessarily high intensity) but short bursts of high effort followed by shorter bursts of recovery. If you're building up your fitness you can try and just do endurance, but change your plan every 4 weeks to make it hard ie workout for a longer time or at a higher speed.

I love swimming, it's a good cooldown though. The difference compared to other cardio training is that your core temperature doesn't increase, so you don't get the increased in metabolism for the rest of the day

Diet is 70% of weight loss, exercise is 30% (so my PT told me). Calories are burned off more quickly by using the big muscles, legs and arms. Try lunges and weights. However a 45 min walk every day you don't go to the gym and one complete day of rest per week should shift a few pounds.

You are going to be FABULOUS!

You are doing really well - my doctor told me the best exercise for weight loss is the bit where you actually get your bum off the chair to go do some..... he is soooooo right.....

Thanks for the replies so far, i'm not going today (too many housework jobs) but will go in the morning.

The most frustrating thing about the gym is finding the best time for getting on the weights machines before the men settle in there for hours!

I've found that so far 4pm (before they all finish work) is a good time; but i want to find a good time to go in the morning (as long as there aren't too many retired men on the weights).

I've been going swimming recently to try and tone up and lose a bit of weight. I heard it was one of the best exercises for shifting calories (after running and cycling). Was I mis-informed?

Spin (exercise bike) classes are what worked for me. 45 minutes with an instructor guiding you through sprints, climbs etc. Works like interval training but because you never stop pedalling your heart rate doesn't drop.
Also good cos you can regulate what you do, ie drop a couple of gears/go slower at first as you increase your fitness.
You get fabulously toned legs too! Good luck!!!

Set yourself smaller goals to help your motivation. What you have done so far is fantastic, but "lose 2 stone" can be quite daunting. Break it down to "I will lose 1 pound this week", or "I will run for 10 minutes without walking", it will all build up.

Ask the fitness instructors at your gym for help if you need it, that's what they're there for. And if you can, get down to some classes, always a huge range of abilities and there are always options, this helps prevent boredom imo.

About the weights, those men will almost certain be doing sets, just be confident (I know it's scary) and ask if you can hop on while they're resting. If not just ask if they can let you know when they're done. Also, free weights are amazing, I know this can also be scary, but you can look up some easy moves on the net, then ask an instructor to give you some points.

On the exercise that you are doing (at least on the days that you are exercising) I personally don't think you are eating enough calories (particularly if you have been on that restriction for a long time)

What I would do (and have done with success!!) is to up your calories to around 1600/1700 and cut out sugary things.

Drink shit loads of water. Like 3 litres+ per day.

Limit your cardio to once or twice a week and just keep a steady moderate heart rate for 40/50 minutes. The rest of the time LIFT LIFT LIFT. As heavy as you can. Stick to basics (squats with barbell over your head/ lunges with dumbells/ deadlifts with a barbell) and do 3 sets of 10 reps most days on each exercise.

The myfitnesspal app is very good at giving you a breakdown of how you are eating. Aim to keep your carb percentage low, and your fats/ proteins high. And don't be scared of fats - they burn fat!!! (not saturated ones though)

Good luck

arabesque/MrsTP I think it depends on how you swim. If you really go for it, it is great exercise. If you pootle about at a leisurely pace and then reward yourself with a cake because you ahve heard that swimming is great for burning calories, I can see why people put on weight.

Oh, and don't worry about men and weights machines. Just grab a barbell and a couple of dumbells - find a quiet spot - put your headphones in and off you go. I take the weights out of the weights area and use them on the mats where it's quieter and there is less testosterone flying about

Oh... and sleep well!!! I was really surprised how my weight shifted when I started getting in to a proper sleep routine.

The best thing I ever did was get a heart rate monitor. You have quite a small range where you are burning fat and you may be surprised how little effort it takes you to get there.

When I started losing weight a few years ago I got to the right range just by walking on the treadmill at 6.0(!!!!!). No need to run!

It's something like 200 - your age, then 70-75% of that number. I think. I would check though!

Thanks eURO just been frantically googling and there seems to be more proof that it does cause weight loss than that it doesn't, so will keep it up.
I agree that swimming can make you hungry but I'm alert to that and don't eat any more after a swim that I would normally.

Not true about the not burning fat at certain levels, you're just burning proportionally different amounts of fat and carbs

You do want your HR to be between 55-90% of your maximum heart rate (220 - your age, close hehe). Whilst you will burn proportionally more fat at 60% you will burn more fat overall at 90%, you'll just also be burning a higher proportion of carbohydrates

Sorry, there is an optimum heart rate at which to burn fat.

And of course swimming can help you to lose weight(!) it just might not be as dramatic as some other forms of exercise.