To think I can lose weight swimming?

[PattySlapper]

I've always been a typical yo yo dieter, basically losing and gaining the same 3 stone over the last few years. My problem, like many people I'm sure, is that I love good and hate exercise! I've put on a lot of weight again recently! I've had some success before exercising on a small trampoline at home, but I'm thinking about taking up swimming. I do enjoy swimming, but don't really enjoy the experience in a public pool. My dream to have one of those endless pools, I swear if I did I'd be skinny! but will have to make do with the local pool! I'd probably aim to do three sessions a week about 30 minutes a session. Has anyone lost weight / toned up doing similar? And how can I get motivated to actually go this?? It would mean some days going before work, and as mentioned I hate exercise, and love sleeping, so I can see me struggling! I plan to do this alongside following Slimming World.

Weight loss is about 80% nutrition and 20% exercise. Any trainer will tell you “You can’t outrun your fork”. A lot of people make the mistake of thinking a couple of hours of exercise means they can eat what they want, unfortunately this is very far from the truth! I’m not a fan of SW as I think their plan includes a lot of processed food (Diet Coke and Muller Lights for example) and the reason it ‘works’ is the same as every other diet - by creating a calorie deficit. Exercise is never a bad thing to do though. Good luck!

Swimming is amazing for strengthening core and shoulders. Run/cycle/power walk to the pool to turbo charge your session. Go first thing in the morning - get your stuff ready the night before and don't give yourself the chance to think of reasons not to go. Enjoy and good luck☺

I do know it's mainly about what you eat, but I really want to try to incorporate regular exercise into my life, to help with the weight loss and tone up, as well as for the general health benefits. I suppose I should have asked more if swimming was a good form of exercise to help with weight loss, as opposed to other things such as hardcore cardio. Which I guess would be better, but I can't stand it! So wondered what successes people had just with swimming.

I know SW is contentious, but has worked for me in the past, I try to follow the cooking from scratch path. Thanks for the good luck!

Yes you can of you watch what you eat ive lost over 2st swimming but also did classes in the pool and walked lots and had a v strict diet.

To keep exercuse up it needs to ve something u enjoy xxx go for it

Swimming is also the best for all-round toning as you use pretty much every muscle in your body. It puts no stress on your joints as you’re supported in the water and can take it as easy/hard as you like. I used to swim loads and I’m taking my niece next week to teach her. The only thing I don’t like is having to dry my thick, unruly hair afterwards!

You'll feel healthier, but you're not going to lose any weight with 3 times 30 mins swimming a week

Swimming is great but it makes you hungry! Just be very honest with whatever app you are using to track food & exercise—it doesn’t burn as much as it feels like it should. If you never eat back the calories/points/syns then it will help, just very slowly.

"I should have asked more if swimming was a good form of exercise to help with weight loss, as opposed to other things such as hardcore cardio."

Forget Cardio. Do your swimming and get heavy weights, you only have to do 15 minuets.

That with a calorie deficit, you will change shape.

Take measurements, don't just go by the scales.

Thanks for all the replies and well wishes. That's an amazing success TheRealHousewife if I can get to that I'll be so happy!

KoolAid I am a bit worried it just won't be enough to make any difference. 30 minutes will be all I have time for before work, there may be a couple of times I can do longer but depends on routine. In my head I plan to also do trampolining at home still to help enhance the exercise, but I know that in reality I am very lazy! I will be cycling to the pool but its only about 5 minutes.

Birds that's interesting about the weights as I've heard how good that can be before. Would I need to do a class or just get weights and go for it?

The motivation will be a massive issue for me, how do you go from last fat slob to motivated regular exerciser!??

Love swimming. I think it tones my tummy. Push yourself hard; it won't help if you swim at a leisurely pace. Increase your lengths by a few each session. I aim for a mile in 30/40 mins depending on how fit I am.

Userx I'm definitely worried about the hunger as swimming does make me starving! I never eat back from exercising but go think I'll find it hard! Even just going in the pool and splashing about on holiday and I'm ravenous!

Get your stuff ready the night before set ykur alarm and tell yourself you're going as you go to sleep. That's what works for me.

Swimming makes me hungry too. After a run i don't want to eat for hours but I can be hungry when swimming. Apparently it's you body temperature dropping that causes it.

RoseRuby I would probably just do breast stroke. I am worried about not pushing myself enough as I think it's hard when you're just doing it and easy to kid yourself you are when you might not be!

I'm going to have to be so strict with myself, great advice from Zippity 'and groundcontrol! In my head I'm so motivated and imagine doing it and feeling great, but I know my reality will be different! I never actually get that buzzing feeling from exercise which is unfortunate! But swimming is the thing I hate least! I just keep thinking that the time I'll need to get up, is the sand time I used to get up every day in my old job, as I I know it's doable long term and won't cause me any harm!

I go on holiday tomorrow for 5 days, so want to start as soon as I get back and will still be off work for a bit to ease me into it.

I was a 5x a week swimmer up until a few years ago. I may have been a little more toned but I don't think it did much for me fitness wise. I certainly never lost weight, probably because it used to make me ravenous.

I swim every morning before work. I swim at the pool near work and so it doesn't add much time to my day. DH does the school run so me leaving a bit early has no impact on our routine. I swim for half an hour and do 1km, a mix of breast stroke and front crawl. I think it's a fab exercise (I also do yoga) but it has to be done alongside a diet to lose weight. It really tones your muscles though. Get goggles and get working on your front crawl. I (slowly) went from not being able to do a length to doing the bulk of my swim as crawl. So, so good for your arms!

Er no Ethylred I don't, I'm completely aware that the reason I yo yo and the reason I have recently gained a lot of weight is due to loving food and hating exercise? Which is why I am trying to make plans to change my lifestyle, and hopefully embed habits that will last. I read stories all the time on here about people who say they were the same as me, but something clicked and now they eat healthily and enjoy regular exercise, and I am hoping that I can be inspired to be the same. No where have I said I think I can carry on as I am, just the opposite!

I’m a swimmer (swam the Channel last year). I wear a lap counter (that estimates calories) as I was swimming up to 3 hours a session pre-Channel at a front crawl pace of 7.5km (300 lengths) over 3 hours. I’d burn 1,800 calories doing that according to my lap counter. 30 mins of breast stroke will burn around 200 - 250 calories I reckon.

Swimming 3 times a week if you actually swim hard enough to be out of breath, is undoubtedly a good thing for you.

Will you loose weight? Not without a first change.

Swimming always makes me super hungry and tired afterwards, I think I’m hard wired from being a child and having chips on the way home from swimming!

*diet change

I was a size 14, I swam every other day (1mile) for three months... I bought a size 10 wedding dress! YES you can loose weight swimming.

I did a swimming relay event a few years back. I wasn't trying to lose weight so wasn't dieting but I did visably lose weight. I aimed for 4x a week but averaged 3. By visably, I mean other people noticed. I started doing all breaststroke and gradually built in some front crawl. Then life happened and I stopped. I've now been swimming consistently for a year and a half (3x weekly) and I think it keeps my metabolism buoyent. Also helps my brain calm down. I've also discovered that swimming outside relieves all the public pool problems. But... I love it. I'm not sure I'd go if I didn't.

Few mixed experiences then! Wow edwinbear swimming the channel is such an achievement! Interesting that experiences vary so much.

Was that loss just from the swimming DailyMail? Did you do a strict diet? That's such a good loss and congratulations on your wedding!

Ha ha Sebraska I am exactly the same, as a child would always get chips after swimming with my Dad!

CountFosco hopefully I can get into the habit and the push myself more and more.

Love51 another interesting experience. Do you mind me asking what you mean by swimming outside stops the public pool problems? Do you mean in natural water sources like lakes?

The thing is, everyone says find exercise you love but I just don't love anything and I've tried all sorts! So surely the next best, and only, option really is to choose the thing that you enjoy the most (I was been slightly tongue in cheek saying hate the least as I do get some enjoyment from swimming but can't say I love it) and just try to develop that into a habit.

I don't believe excerise makes you lose weight, especially swimming. DH swims 60 lengths every morning, has done for years and is still overweight despite eating a healthy diet.