How to get into shape

[LadyVox]

I realise this may be a ‘how long is a piece of string’ question but I’d appreciate some advice from fit and healthy people.

I am wondering how long it would take to get into great shape- assuming I give it my all.

I am currently three stone overweight, and sick of being a slave to sugar, so I intend to go cold turkey on it. I am not fussy when it comes to food so I can try any programme, ideally looking for a permanent way of eating. Fitness wise I can lift 8kg dumbbells and run 5k without stopping, but not fast. Nothing to write home about.

I’d love to really commit myself to fitness and get into great shape. Has anyone done this, starting from being overweight and low fitness as I am? Any tips on the best way to do it? How long should I expect until I am in ‘good shape?’ I realise again this subjective- for me it means a healthy BMI, feeling comfortable in the weight room and able to start entering 10/15k races.

I don’t have lofty ambitions but I’d like to be fit and healthy and I’d like to prioritise it- I’d also like to set realistic goals, hence asking about a time frame. Any advice would be so welcomed.

The obvious answer is "hire a personal trainer".

The weight side of things is easy-ish. Decide on a rough target weight, a sustainable diet, and just get going with the weight loss, which is largely governed by food and not by exercise. For me a 18:8 fast approach has worked and is sustainable. I skip breakfast, train fasted (does not work for everyone but does for me) and then eat a 3-400 cal lunch, 300 cal teatime snack and 1k or so evening meal plus the odd glass of wine.

Getting in shape is harder because it is, as you say, subjective. You say you want to enter races so that is clearly the type of fitness training you will be concentrating on. I am no runner, so no help there.

For me, I took on a PT to help with weights as I did not have a clue. Got bitten by the kettlebell and boxing bug, and now by the weights bug. The thing there is that progress is measurable, but also slow. And, whilst building muscle and losing weight are not necessarily mutually exclusive, that is a big ask (aka the holy grail), because you need to eat enough to build muscle and thus generally need to be in a caloric excess. A PT could really help you work on this.

To my mind, the main thing is to find a fitness activity that you enjoy or you will find it hard to keep doing it, even if you have astonishing willpower.

Good luck.

Oh - you specifically asked about a time line. I would honestly give it a year. Set smaller goals for, say, every 3 months if you are a goal chaser. For me the enjoyment of the exercise was enough to see me through the sometimes very tiny gains in strength and control, and weight can fluctuate horridly for no apparent reason so although I weigh myself every day, which keeps me accountable, I do have to put up with some ghastly gains for no reason I can see. The overall downward trend on the graph keeps me going.

Thanks ChocOrCheese- I like the idea of breaking the year down into three month sections so I will definitely do that. I’m in it for the long haul and ready to focus all my time!

I did get a PT but they didn’t really listen to my goals so I’m reluctant to do that again, would rather just do it myself. I’ve found a few kettlebell exercise plans based on your suggestions so will start there!

Although I've not done it myself, I've a few friends who saw amazing results using the Body Coach, which is food and exercise. It's a 3 month plan, judging by the before and after pics, you'll definitely see significant results in that time.

Personally, I like using a PT, especially to check form and keep pushing me, but I understand your reluctance if you've had a bad experience.

Start slowly. And yes, a personal trainer at a nice gym really helps.

I love my gym - I want to live there, and sometimes I do take my laptop with me & do a work out then work in the cafe area on routine admin stuff, and watch the amazing stuff that people can do. And my gym is a chain commercial one, but this branch has a great atmosphere.

I started to use a FitBit to check how sedentary I was - I was surprised that actually, most days I do around 12,000 to 15,000 steps quite easily, but
I don't drive
I walk to work
I go to the gym or dance studio 5 days a week

I also used the FitBit to track my calories. This was the clincher.

My Personal trainer told me in our first meeting that 'You can't out-train a bad diet'. By actually facing up to the calories I was eating, I was forced to see that although I was outwardly "healthy" I was just eating too much and making not-great choices about food.

The more I train hard, the less I want to eat junk. I stick to around 1500 calories in the week, and relax a bit at the weekend. Although yesterday I totally fell off the wagon. I was unaccountably exhausted - really bone weary (I'm on various deadlines & tend to work a 6 day week) so I cancelled my gym class & lay on the sofa & ate ice cream. Today, I feel like I have a hang over - it's awful.

So that's a lesson learnt.

But mostly I'm pretty sensible and I've lost around 13k in a year. My trainer is also teaching me to lift heavy and get strong. That means less of the "jogging for 40 minutes" and much more "push this sled filled with 150kilos of weights" and "run on the treadmill for 30 secs at 15 kph, rest for 30 secs then repeat 10 times"

That is, resistance weights and HIIT routines. It's fantastic.

Ladyvox, what a shame your Pt didn’t listen to you.
I’m a pt and it makes me so frustrated to hear that others in my profession don’t ‘coach’ or take notice of their clients.
Have you searched for a decent pt in your area?

What a shame that your pt let you down ☹️
I’m a pt and I feel saddened that they didn’t listen to you after you reached out to them.
Have you searched for decent pt’s in your area to get you started?