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!

I know a lot about exercise but see I don't need to post because Ibluemyself has said it all. And undertone. What they said. 5 min warm up, 20 min free weights, 20 min interval cardion. good luck!

Get a bike. A proper outdoor pedal bike. The weight just fell off me - I'm the same height and weigh 9st. I was 12 six months ago.

grimma 30 day shred by Jillian Michaels is very good for upper body and core, there are lots of press ups and plank work. It's a good all round workout but I personally have found it particularly effective on upper body. I think level one is on YouTube.

Running burns yhe most calories but iv found step aerobics and body combat to get fat burn and tone muscles.

I walked to the gym after housework at 4.30pm today and started on the weights machines instead as suggested; i will try the free weights as i get more confident.

I did 2 sets of 14 reps on each machine; then did 5 mins on the cross trainer (not my favourite) and 15 mins on the rower - i tried to vary the speed at which i rowed.

Then cooled down with 5 mins on the bike and a walk home.

I can't go running or use a bicycle outdoors as i have epilepsy with photosensitivity and my meds aren't totally effective so it wouldn't be safe.

But i enjoy working out at the gym (and one of the fit male trainers started chatting to me today!) :)

Well done Larara - I must try to do the 'get out of my seat' move and do something now - having just ordered shred (along with American Gods thanks to the Gaiman thread...MN plus amazon is a dangerous combination!)

does anyone know if the regimen recommended on here are suitable for utter chubsters like myself? 6 stone to lose. scundered.

chloe 3-4 litres of water a day is medically dangerous unless you live in a place where it is 35-40C itis called hyperhydration or water intoxication (hyponatremia) and it can be fatal it resulted in the newsreader Sian Williams being hospitalised

on top of the coffee etc and yes coffee does count as liquid while the kidnes generally are perfectly capable of processing more than 2 litres of liquids it is a myth that they need more than this to flush out system, that is just pseudoscience unfortunately just like most detox ideas the specific function of the kidneys is detox which they do perfectly well unless health problems or large intake of toxins

water retention is a medical problem that is not solved by just drinking more water

Undertone - have copied and saved your post

Walking away from the fridge.

the body needs about 1.5 litres of fluid a day and this includes liquid in foods such as soup cucumber and any other drinks milk, coffee fruit juice etc, obviously heat and exercise means a bit more than that may be needed but to drink more than 2 litres of water on top of other fluids is too much and just not necessary

For Pleasecansomeonereply, firstly get your blood pressure checked before you do anything. I'm away tonight and tomorrow but pm me and I'll give you some tips

thanks Ijust

That's great Latara! Even better that you're talking to the trainers (especially if they're attractive). Try and do that routine 3 times a week and you'll be on your way. And when it starts getting a bit easier, maker it harder

Undertone fantastic post!

Latara I had 5 stones to lose and lost the first 3 stones on diet alone. Like Undertone I don't believe in low calorie eating so I determined to eat just a little bit less than I normally did, which came to around 1800-2000 calories a day. Then when I had 2 stones left to lose I hit the gym. I started powerwalking only for a few months gradually increasing speed to 6.5 and incline to 6.5 which really worked up a good sweat, then I added in a few minutes alternating walking and running (at a lower incline!) until I could run non-stop 30 minutes plus added in 15 mins stepper = 45 mins cardio at high heartrate.

I lost 2 stones this way. But noticed that all the women in my gym who only did cardio looked slim but flabby yet the women in the weights room looked fabulously svelte and toned. I realised I needed to shift my exercise focus.

When I reached goal weight I started lifting. For two days a week I did machines, increasing the weights, getting used to the strength in my body. Then I decided to bite the bullet in May and only use free weights, increasing weight progressively and limiting reps to 10 (the last few reps to be hard). Weighted squats, lunges, deadlifts, shoulder press, bicep curls etc. I studied loads of routine and form on YouTube.

I've had to increase my calories to 2000 and more since lifting free weights three times a week (running reduced to 2 times a week). I love eating more! And I'm still at goal weight, two months later.

Good luck! And enjoy!

BsshBossh also a fantastic post. It's good because you had one goal at a time, and they all naturally progressed. I think a lot of the time people try and change everything all at once, which is totally impossible, fail and then feel disheartened.

As I said set little goals, and keep doing what you're doing

It's hard to lose weight by exercising. I would say rely 100% on eating less for your weight-loss, and treat any contribution from exercising as a bonus.

It takes me 24 minutes on a rowing machine to clock up 300 calories, according to rowing machine computer. That's fewer calories than a palatable sandwich contains.

You need to permanently change your habits to get your weight off, its far easier to achieve and sustain change on the eating side than the exercising side. Apart from there being more scope for adjustment on the eating side, on the exercise side you will occasionally have to take time off due to injuries or illness. However exercising has other benefits, it will make you feel happier, so you should do it as well.

Yes, I also have alot of non-exercise, non-weightloss goals going on in my life so I need to keep it simple Ijustblue :)

LondonMan true and SO depressing to do some exercise and then realise you've burnt off all of 1 packet of maltesers!!!!!!

But then so uplifting to realise that you hadn't eaten that packet in the first place and are now 1 packet of maltesers less fat.

Disclaimer: I know that's not exactly how it works but its like that in my mind, ok?!

I'm a totally clean eater and I think diet is more important yes, but it's a negative way to look at it to say exercise does nothing for weight. You can easily burn off 500 calories a session, for women that's 25% of her daily calorie intake.

I agree though don't treat yourself after the gym with biscuits, does defeat the point somewhat, hehe.

And research has found (though off hand I can't link to any right now) that weight training and HIIT cardio raise metabolism up to 24 hours post exercise. But agree, diet is key.

sarahtigh I think 15 litres is the amount of water that we can process in 24 hours. I'll check but I'm fairly sure.

Brilliant post undertone and a good reminder why different types of exercise work for different people.
Also explains why I'm not losing any weight although I do qauite a lot of exercise.

Running and monitoring your calories through MFP. Add two or three sessions of weights each week (building muscle means you burn more calories even whilst not exercising). I am the same height and have got from similar weight to just under 10 stone. My goal is 9 stone.