Unfit and fat

[fizzyfood]

Hi. As the title says I'm unfit and fat. I want to start exercising but don't know where to start. Money is tight so I can't join the gym. Any tips please ?

The NHS Couch to 5k app is brilliant - it builds gradually and definitely improves your stamina. If that feels like a too big a step to start with, walking is great for fitness. Download a few interesting podcasts or playlists and get out there, at whatever speed suits you.

Good luck!

Couch to 5k for sure . I was very overweight when I started, and so unfit I couldn't walk up stairs without puffing. Now I'm a size 8 and I run marathons for fun. I barely recognise the woman I used to be 🙂

To start with - walk. Get some good supportive trainers and get out there !

Agree with walking and investing in new trainers if you can afford to. Guess you have to think about what fits into your life. What about short online exercise videos to get you started?

Another vote for Couch to 5K! Also have a look at Lucy Wyndham-Read’s workouts on YouTube

I did it a couple of years ago and then majorly lapsed and need to start all over again. I couldn't really get into C25K just didn't enjoy the jogging but I did really like Couch 2 Fitness which is a programme created by Our Parks, they have a website or YouTube channel, all free and same concept but living room workouts instead of jogging. So 3 workouts a week starting easier and getting harder over a 9 week period. I liked that they showed modified moves for super unfit or mobility challenged people.

As mentioned, download a hiking app like Komoot, get your trainers on and then get out there. You can start small (I was puffed doing 5k when I started) and build up. It also gives you a real appreciation of your local area, even if you live in a city, like I do.

Would it help to have an exercise buddy? In my town there are walking groups for unfit people. I think they meet weekly and do a shortish walk. Good luck!

As long as you have comfortable shoes, walking is a good budget option. Make it an adventure, set yourself targets like photographing a new wild plant every day, or walking all the streets in your town, or visiting every church. Download Strava onto your phone and use it to log your mileage.

You can enter an online challenge such as the ones the "end to end" people run (pay a bit, log your miles, get a medal when you've done them) if you can spare the cash and want a bit of motivation.

Once you can walk briskly for an hour, start looking for local parkruns, get a sports bra and comfy trainers, and start to walk/jog a local parkrun where people finish in 45 minutes or more. Do the c25k program in the week.

Eat lots of veg and protein and don't buy ice-cream, cake or biscuits, and limit how much bread you buy.

Come back in a year and tell us how you did (or if you hit problems, come back here and ask, someone's bound to have gone through the same stuff).

Thank you so much for all of these suggestions, I'm going to start walking tomorrow and give the c25k workouts a go.

Walking! Good trainers is all you need. Or walking workouts on you tube. Then when ready maybe couch to 5k though I’ve never done it. Im not a runner!

Walking is very under rated. You can walk faster and uphill when you are more used to it.

Youtube is your friend here there's an unbelievable amount of workouts covering everything .

This is brilliant advice.... and just wanted to second the getting into a podcast...

I can happily walk for a couple of hours listening to true crime!

The Walk at Home app streams to your tv. not expensive and best money i've spent in a long while.
there are some older video's available free on youtube.

Yeah walking, also are there any Zumba classes nearby? I know that funds are short but could you afford one class per week? It is certainly a place where people who aren’t used to exercising make a start, plus it’s fun and sociable.

OP with any of these programmes you choose, don't worry if they build up too fast. It's ok to repeat a week a few times before you go to the next one. I've found that by prioritising not getting an injury or overdoing it that I've had to repeat weeks a LOT, which makes my progress slow, but I'm still going. Previously I've had to stop because something hurts and then it's impossible a nightmare to find the motivation to start again.

As an example, I've repeated some weeks 5 times! It's not what I'd hoped, my progress is very slow, but I'm not injured, and I'm still going..which is better than sitting on the sofa, feeling sorry for myself, eating a bag of crisps with an injury!

Walk. Get yourself a couple dumbbells and kettle bells. There's tons online - but be sure you start slowly. No point thinking you need to sweat it out for an hour a day - 15 minutes twice a day every other day is a good way to start. Even going up and down your stairs a few extra times a day will help.
Exercise helps with fitness but the battle of the bulge is won in the kitchen. Download MyFitnessPal and log everything you eat for a few days. Just what you normally eat. Wright it don't guess. After a few days you'll see a pattern - mine is snacking after dinner as I have it early with my daughter but I don't go to bed for another five hours so get hungry and I in effect have another meal! Breakfast and lunch are not an issue. You'll also see what you eat - maybe bread is your downfall.
Anyway look gif patterns then see what small adjustments you can make - aim to reduce your overall calories by 500 a day. That's a pound a week. Any faster you may not find it sustainable.

Start with walking. Half an hour, or an hour if you can! Then eat salad once a day. Nothing radical. makes me feel better!

OP with any of these programmes you choose, don't worry if they build up too fast. It's ok to repeat a week a few times before you go to the next one

This is true - but equally, remember it's meant to be hard, and you will find it a struggle at first. When I started c25k I honestly thought I couldn't run for 2 minutes. Then 5. And 10 seemed completely out of the question. Turned out I could, if I pushed myself beyond what I thought was comfortable.

And now, when I lead c25k groups, it's not the ones who are naturally slimmest or fittest who tend to progress and stick with it; it's the ones who are prepared to push on (and then discover they can do it after all!)

I use YouTube workouts, my favourite is chloe ting, she has workouts where you don't need equipment and also shows you low impact workouts.
You can pause the workouts if you need a rest.

Intermittent fasting
Daily walking
Yoga
Drinking a gallon of water per day
Cutting out sugar

If you really want to kick start and invest try cool sculpting : emsculpt neo : pressotherapy to really get the metabolism going

Good luck

Walk with rick is really good on youtube

I agree - try Lucy Wyndham Read. She has literally hundreds of workouts on
YouTube. Most of them are only 10 minutes or so and target different areas of the body. She is very calm and non-shouty and just lovely!

Lucy also has a learning to run programmer, which would tie in nicely with your plans to start running.

As for the weight loss:

Intermittent fasting, i.e. 16:8
Lots of lean protein + vegetables
Low carb - avoid bread, rice, pasta
Don't drink calories..... no sugary drinks or alcohol
Instead drink lots of water

I am reading this with interest. I too am too fat and unfit, and my flexibility is deteriorating fast (late 50s, always very flexible in past, even when not fit). I have lower back ache most of the time (sit a lot, desk-based job and WFH). I plan to start walking, but has anyone any suggestions re improving flexibility? I feel like a stiff old stick these days.