Firming up and weight loss - where to start?

[brogueish]

Please help. I met up with some colleagues this afternoon who I’ve not seen in person for a couple of years. It was lovely but the pictures confirm that I have aged significantly worse than they have.

I reckon I need to lose a stone, my upper arms and thighs are wobbly and bumpy, I have the start of varicose veins on my legs, and I just look unhealthy and a bit haggard. I’m only 48!

I have an ok general level of fitness but definitely need to up my game here. Please tell me what I need to do. I need a plan. Weights maybe? Or running? Will likely be made redundant within the next 8 weeks too so a focus and a confidence boost would be especially welcome. On the bright side, I’ll have a bit more free time for going to the gym etc post redundancy.

Hi OP. What do you define as an OK level of fitness?

Dog walks? Pilates? Regular yoga? Light weights?

I upped my game at 36, paid for a personal trainer for 12 weeks then went out on my own. Maintained it ever since.

But I now do weights in my garage, I have dumbells and kettlebell and TRX straps and mini bands.

I do the following workouts at least 3 times a week from youtube:

Bodyfit by Amy (by far my favourite ones)
PMA fitness
Caroline Girvan free workouts
And occasionally Joe Wicks - I like the old ones which I used 6 or 7 yrs ago

I also do yoga with Kassandra. But that's for relaxation rather than fitness.

I am 47 now and today I've been wearing a yoga long bra top with wide leg trousers and frankly my arms and shoulders look superb.

I work full time but am off at the moment. I always workout early, never after 8am.
Doing it at home makes it easy and I can stay consistent.

Good luck!

Well ‘firming up’ means gaining muscle so you definitely need to life weights, and they need to get progressively heavier to make a difference.
if you also want to lose fat at the same time it can be some but it’s a bit trickier. You need a smaller calorie deficit and high protein diet.
joining a gym has really helped me. And upping steps, but I think walking is overall better for weight loss, alongside weights.
you need to take measurements as well and work out what a good weight is for your height.

Good advice above. I’d recommend starting with one thing in a group and one on your own. Maybe try a few things to see what you enjoy most and don’t be afraid to change around. Reformer Pilates has been an absolute game changer for me and I really recommend it for posture and alignment, and staying injury free through anything else you do. Also, eat a LOT of protein or you will not feel good. (I’m your age). Good luck!

I started by figuring out why I gained weight. For me, it was wine every weekend, multiple takeaways a week, eating too much crap and not enough exercise. Mainly because I was tired and stressed and finding unhealthy coping mechanisms.
I started meditating, made a good bed time routine of bed before 10.30pm, a cup of night time tea and reading rather than watching TV. Everything really does feel better after a good night's sleep.
I eat mainly chicken, salads, veg, wraps, yogurt, fruit and eggs and intermittent fast. I don't eat before 12 or after 8.
I joined a gym, started doing 10k steps a day then when I was confident enough at the gym I started working out in the garage. I've stayed consistent. No food is banned, an occasional glass of wine is OK and I make sure to eat enough every day so I don't get miserable and pack it in.
22 lbs down, muscular figure and I have got my confidence and the spring in my step back.

Thank you all so much, this is so helpful and great to have some specific recommendations to look up. I think i have a decent level of functional fitness, I sea swim, play netball, walk a lot, that sort of thing. But it’s clearly not enough!

Im currently 9 stone 8lbs and 5’5. I feel most comfortable at around 8.5-9. I can certainly up my protein, and it sounds like a PT would be a good idea to get me started with weights. I’ve definitely been stress eating recently, which has not helped.

I was panicking that it was too late to change my body but you’ve all given me hope and good ideas, thank you so much.

Definitely weights! I'm the same age as you and also play a team sport - I thought I was fit but a couple of years ago I joined an outdoor gym/bootcamp type place and it's made such a difference to my fitness, strength and more recently body composition as well. I've always eaten way too much sugar and carbs (toast 3 meals a day if I could get away with it!) but a few months ago decided to focus more on protein and proper fulfilling meals rather than so many unhealthy snacks and I feel so much better about myself.

Your body is used to a broad range of movement which is a good starting point.

Adding in strength work including weights is great for protecting long term health, and the more muscle mass into later. Swimming should have given a good head start on upper body strength as you're used to moving the resistance of water.

Make sure you get out of breath regularly for cardiovascular fitness. Upgrading the walking to make it more brisk or including hills is one option. Adding in some running is another strategy.

It’s never too late!
I started a rehab programme January due to hip issues.
weight training has been a game changer,
I warm up for 10 mins in zone 2 ( google it) do a few targeted warm up stretches, then work on either upper body, or lower weights.
start low, if nothing at all, to to build up.
don’t go heavy straight away. A PT would help you and some gyms offer them for free.
or as others suggested lots of YouTube guidance with home workouts. Best of luck with it all!