To think non-strenuous, low impact exercise will help me lose weight?

[dreame]

..and if it does, other than walking, what on earth is it?! I'm posting here for traffic because I need help!!

I have pelvic floor problems that make all the sports I used to like impossible now (skipping, running, high impact aerobics not following instructor's low impact lead, weight lifting, even spinning) and I've put on 10kgs (1.5 stone I think) that I want to get rid of.

I'm would be vegan/plant-based if I didn't need sugar, but I can't seem to get through the day without it..so exercise seems the way to go. I just don't know how when I've limited time, I'm not supposed to jump or exert much (limits weight lifting as metabolism booster). I don't like swimming and pools are not nearby.

I used to be at the gym every day but I'm struggling to find what on earth I can do that will burn away this fat and fit my restrictions.

And I'm genuinely wondering if I'm bring unreasonable even expecting that I can lose this weight without massive calorie restrictions (which I find counterproductive longer term) just by doing a bit more walking. I currently cycle about 4 miles a day too and can't up that very easily (or push it too hard). Has anybody done it?

[Rinoachicken]

Swimming?

[LadyIsabellaWrotham]

Oh sorry, didn't know - I thought it was just high impact stuff OP wanted to avoid.

[TattyDevine]

There was a diet head-to-head challenge on TV once, a series with Dr Christian Jenssen or whatever his name is.

One week they had a vegan lady against a GP lady. They liked to rev up the competition a bit so they had the vegan lady wanting to spend the prize money on some kind of organic toilet and the GP lady (who they made out to be a real meat lover) on some racing car day (but had shots of the vegan going "ooh, leather seats, eww, poor animal) etc etc.

Anyway, they were both the same weight, quite large, and both did different diets and quite a lot of exercise, but of their choosing.

I don't know how many calories the vegan lady was supposed to be eating, but she was doing daft things - like she'd go for a walk with her family to the top of some hill and they'd get to the top and she'd say "who wants a jacket potato?" and she'd pull some full sized jacket potatoes out of her rucksack and they'd sit there eating them...for a snack! (or so it seemed, who knows with editing, perhaps it was their lunch!)

But anyway, she seemed to be eating a lot of carbohydrates and not much else. I'm not anti carb necessarily but one thing is true - you either burn them or you store them. There is nothing else your body can do with them other than energy (and use the nutrients that come with them of course). So you burn, or you store as glycogen and fat, simple as that. Protein has many other uses for your body, apart from keeping blood sugar balanced by slowing down the carb hit of whatever you have with it, its muscle repair, tissue repair, all sorts of other functions (sorry if you know this and I'm preaching to the converted)

At the end they weighed them and they didn't just weigh their bodies, they were monitoring their body fat levels.

The GP won by quite a lot because she lost more fat - the Vegan however was losing small amounts of fat and a fairly alarming amount of lean body mass. The doctor warned her about halfway through to up her protein intake to stop this happening, but she was quite stubborn, I suspect she was sick of hearing about protein in general, being a vegan (and you can get enough protein for your body from just plant foods, as we don't "need" as much as some people think, just for day to day stuff). But add exercise to the equasion and she clearly wasn't getting enough. She also seemed to be hungrier.

So the protein thing is pretty important. It's a very useful tool for me when I'm watching what I eat. Must be hard without meat or eggs but there are things out there! Good luck...

[Itssuzeimoverhere]

When I use the treadmill at the gym the display tells me that I am burning more calories when I walk at a moderate pace on an incline than when I run on the flat, so maybe that would be a good option for you

[Yourface]

I'be started exercising again with a dodgy pelvic floor. Have started wearing a pad, which seems enough. I get the odd trickle rather than a full bladder. I couldn't get a full bladder as I wee several times in the 30 mins prior to the session. I know you said your issues are more complicated so maybe that wouldn't suffice. Anyway, since exercising (running and boot camps 4-5 times per week ), I 've put weight on but lost inches all over and wearing clothes that I couldn't wear for years. Also eating like a mad thing. Oh and having lots more sex...unexpected increased sex drive!

[GhoulWithADragonTattoo]

Cycling can be gentle if it's on the flat. If you don't enjoy swimming aqua could be an option. In pool so gentle but a class and in depth.

[LittleLostRoeDeer]

I think weights might be the answer you need. Lots of women think that if they lift weights they'll get bulky, but that's not true. In fact, as long as you're eating at even a slight deficit, you'll tone up quickly. If you're a member of a gym, see if you can get one of the instructors to give you a review - at mine they'll do this for free. Or just get a half an hour session, get them to show you the basics and do that for a while. Honestly, it works. Good luck, I know what a nightmare it can be with a weak pelvic floor!

[Walkacrossthesand]

The 'walking on a treadmill uphill' thing - don't fall into the trap of thinking you're burning the calories it tells you, if you do that thing of leaning back holding onto the console that I see so many women doing, probably thinking they've burned 300 kcal or whatever - but the idea is that you walk uphill (not, as it were, take the ski lift) so your calories burned will actually be much less if you've hung on. You won't be able to go as fast, either - but you'll be exercising harder.

[Siolence]

My pelvic floor physio told me not to lift anything heavier than a kettle and to lift anything close to my body.

There is an enormous list of no nos to avoid further damage to the pelvic floor which would result in major surgery.

I sympathise OP, it's not easy. But the weight can be sorted out through diet. Healthy exercise is more of a challenge.

[trixymalixy]

It's all about diet for me. I was playing 6 hours of tennis a week, 2 sessions with a PT and running and put on weight.

When I started actually assessing what I was eating with my fitness pal it was a real eye opener.

[TattyDevine]

So true about diet. People say its 80% but it can actually be 100%...you can diet away all your excess weight without increasing your exercise.

Of course doing it with exercise is better...better metabolism, can do it on more food, tone up, increase lean body mass, so the end result will be with a better body composition (more muscle less fat etc) which gives you a better metabolism and more likely to maintain your new weight (you still have to try of course)...but in theory, you can lose it with diet alone. You an create a calorie deficit with diet alone. Exercise will help you create a bigger deficit, or eat more whilst creating the safe deficit. But you get my drift.

[honeylulu]

I'm training for a half marathon and have ended up weighing more as I get so hungry and eat more. Also have to eat breakfast on running days whereas is often skip it. Yes some of its muscle bulk but I've definitely got more of a tummy than usual and my clothes are tight. Looking forward to it being over so I can cut down on running and food.
Seriously, eating less food is the only way I've ever effectively lost weight. Exercise will get you fit and toned though ...

[happydollplease]

I've lost 4 stone just by diet and walking, you can do it! I've now bought an air walker for low impact exercise at home, it's great as I have a dodgy knee.

[gleam]

I had pelvic floor issues after the birth of dc3. So I went to the GP who wanted to send me to see somebody - poss Occupational Health? - to 'learn how to cope with it'. I thought fuck that, so I didn't go.

Sometime later a friend asked if I wanted to go running with her. We started off gently, walking and running alternately for a few lamposts' worth , and slowly became fitter.

I don't think I ever became properly fit, but an unexpected side effect was my vastly improved pelvic floor. I assumed it just toned up along with the rest of my body.

Could you get a second opinion, op?

I did consider those cones that you can use to tone your pelvic floor, but my NHS area didn't do them

[Siolence]

I think there is a substantial difference between having a weak pelvic floor which can be sorted out through standard pelvic floor exercises and a damaged one.

Unfortunately damaged pelvic floor requires a variety of interventions including pelvic floor exercises sometimes with electro stim additions, some women need an internal support to help with prolapse of womb, bladder or rectocele. If you have surgery to correct it there are also permanent restrictions on exercise to avoid a recurrence.

I'm trying to avoid surgery, so avoid the activities which are likely to cause further damage to me but I appreciate that this is not the case for everyone. I'd rather not have my bladder landing in my knickers because I've decided to lift heavy weights or go running!

[DontAskIDontKnow]

Walking can help to tone your pelvic floor, if you do it properly. Have a look at your alignment and gait and see if you need to improve them.

Make sure you don't tuck your pelvis. If your pelvis is in neutral (get your hip bones in line with your public bone) then a lot of the weight of your internal organs will be supported by the bones at the bottom of your pelvis. If you tuck your pelvis forward, a very common thing, especially with high heel wearers, then the pelvic floor takes a lot of that weight.

[dreame]

Ooh this is all great!

Swimming is really not a regular option because of the distance to the pool.

My pelvic floor problem is really trying to avoid surgery - even if it's just delaying it - because it isn't a "solution" for exercise anyway. If having it meant I could live like I used to (there was a time I'd do two hours of classes at the gym, run then lift weights and then go out dancing in one evening, 4-5 times a week (I wasn't plant-based and I certainly ate a LOT of protein for that!!) then I'd do it in a heartbeat.

I think I'm also really sad that all the things I loved to do involved lots of jumping or really pushing my body and I won't be able to do that again. Ever. I have friends who ran marathons 6-8 months after giving birth and still are and they weren't doing that before getting pregnant. I just seem to be unlucky in this.

My physio is the most senior one around - I was escalated to her as it wasn't straightforward.

It's great to read all your replies. I'm feeling like at least there's hope of losing this weight, even if I can't do it by doing things I love.

[specialsubject]

the human body is very efficient and it takes a LOT of exercise to use a significant number of calories. Bugger.

you need to eat in amounts commensurate to what you use.

when you say 'sugar' - if you are guzzling biscuits, cakes, sweets and low-fat foods then that is an easy and obvious one. Protein, complex carbs, veg; get it down you.

oh, and ignore babble about 'boosting metabolism'. Unless you have thyroid issues or similar medical problems, it is nonsense.

[suzannecaravaggio]

Gym cross trainer
Brisk walking, uphill as much as poss
You need to achieve a good level of fitness before you can work hard enough to use much energy
The benefits of exercise are multiple, without it you wither and malfunction

[dreame]

Special yup, also thyroid problems!

[dreame]

Suzanne "wither and malfunction" you've just described exactly how I feel! It's better now than after the 3 months bedrest I had in second pregnancy, but it's an uphill battle to feel anything more than that description!

[suzannecaravaggio]

Walking will help dreame
You could carry a backpack with some weight in to increase intensify without causing impact problems?
Also getting food intake under control
It should be possible to lose the taste for sweet food?

I know I go off sweet stuff if I don't have it

[oldlaundbooth]

Not sure if anyone has mentioned Deliciously Ella type websites that focus on clean eating.

Or maybe look at I Quit Sugar : there's a thread about it in weight less chat, I think.

[fiorentina]

After my first DC I had awful pelvic problems. I did swimming, using only my arms which is hard work, or light crawl legs. And I walked a lot. I ate healthily but did avoid excessive carbs, drinks that are laden with calories etc, definitely not starving myself. I lost over a stone in 3 months. It's definitely possible don't be dejected. I do know what you mean about wishing you hadn't been into high impact before pregnancy as I felt the same. If I had never cared about my weight perhaps it wouldn't have annoyed me so much.. Still better to be healthy!