Where to start

[Samsamspanner10]

Hi all I'm just looking for some words of encouragement and any ideas of where to start, as I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed.
I had severe depression to the point of not wanting to be here any more. This feeling as lifted after 4 years.
In that time I have gained so much weight and am so unhealthy. Currently over 18 stone.
I have purchased a air bike, did 15 minutes today. I did 2 hours on my treadmill last week.

The only advice I could give is to find something you enjoy doing. Don't be tempted to do what other people are doing. Try lots of different things until you find your thing and it Will become a joy and not a chore. Well done on starting, that's often the hardest step to take x

Well done for feeling ready to start. My advice would be don't spend money on equipment or gym membership yet. Make yourself feel excited to start by buying some new comfy, or even sporty clothes to wear. A Fitbit will motivate you and is a useful tool. I lost, and kept off, 5.5st by reducing calories, dancing in my kitchen and walking, then fast walking. Find some movement you enjoy. Lots of luck!

You have started! Well done OP I need to take a leaf from your book.

2 hours on a treadmill is a hell of a lot - were you not zonked after that?! I think slow and steady is a better start.

Start with small, sustainable steps. Can you get outside to walk for half an hour?

Consistency is more important than what you do, or how fast you go. What can you do consistently, that you enjoy, and that you can progress in?

And maybe keep a diary or record of what you do each day and how it felt, so you can look back & see how far you've come. Getting fi is a slow process, where sometimes you don't feel you're making progress. Until you look back and see that a month ago, walking for 20 minutes tired you out, and now you can walk for 40 minutes, and feel great.

Well done for getting started! 💪🏼

I would say don’t set unrealistic goals with your beginner enthusiasm. If you don’t achieve them it is too easy to give up altogether.
Don’t decide you are going to go on the treadmill for 2 hours every day. Start with say half an hour 3 times a week. And, make sure you set yourself definite exercise times. Don’t just say, I’ll do it some time this evening, make an appointment with yourself that you will do it at 5:30pm or whenever you decide.

An outside walk is as good a place to start as any, the fresh air will help so much with the emotions too! Best of luck op

I assume you mean time on the treadmill added up to 2 hours last week?
Start small - pick one thing that you know you can do every day eg 1 mile walk, and form a habit. Then, when this feels ingrained, add something else short eg 10 mins on your bike, and so on. Have it on your calender (or equiv) and tick off when done. Well done for starting!

Thank you everyone for the advice ❤️. It helps.

Bear in mind that if you skip a session or two, it will be harder the next time.

Even if you hate the exercise, you'll spend the time hating it instead of worrying about other things.

When you start, and do it regularly, your progress will show results quite quickly.

If you aren’t in work, find a cheap and cheerful local gym, load an audio book on your phone, and make friends with a rowing machine, elliptical and/or treadmill. Some health areas will even prescribe gym membership, I think - my local one has loads of people recovering from surgery or chemo, older people trying to stave off old age (me included) and younger mums trying to shift post-baby weight as well as the usual gym bunnies. There’s one woman who spends an hour on an upright exercise bike reading a book. As it says on the ‘inspiration’ whiteboard by the door “everyone here is closer to their fitness goal than they were before they came in”.

Well done for getting started! That’s a massive step.

my advice would be not to try and do too much too quickly or it’ll feel too hard. Better to build up slowly and appreciate the little steps along the way.

Maybe start with a daily out door walk and once you’re easily covering a couple of km you could try couch to 5k. Or if you like to be with others you could see if your local running club has a couch to 5k group. Cheering each other on really helps. There’s a huge range of abilities at my local club and everyone is pleased for everyone else when they reach their goals whether that’s a 2.5 hour marathon or a 40 minute 5k.

or if running isn’t for you Do you have a local gym with different classes you could try? There’s always a real mix of sizes and abilities at my local one and no one cares where anyone else is at in their journey.

there’s so much out there to try. Do remember though it’s an about the long game and making changes that you can maintain. I’ve gone from couch to 5k in 2021 and plodding my way around a 5k once or twice a week after that to running 35 miles a week and signing up for an ultra marathon next year. Good luck.

Walk walk walk walk and walk some more. It’s great for weight loss. Add some cardio (the bike is fine) to get your HR up which will make you feel great but walking will support the weight loss much more in the short term. Do you know how many steps you do currently?

I agree find something you enjoy that will make you appreciate your body for the amazing things it can do. For me that’s lifting. Then it’s easier to be consistent and enjoy it.

Lots of great advice here about not overdoing it and building up consistently so you don't get overwhelmed or injured.

I'd say there are three things that help people to stick to exercise - making it necessary, making it social and making it fun. On the first, moving for the sake of moving is a weird thing and our brains see it as unnecessary effort, so making movement purposeful (walk to the shops and carrying shopping home etc) can help. We're social animals, so doing things in a group makes things more enjoyable and provides accountability. And there are a whole load of ways of making movement fun and you need to experiment to find what works for you - could be podcasts (there are loads about healthy habits like Just one thing which can provide inspiration), could be a class or sport you enjoy or even just sticking music on and dancing your heart out! If you can, try getting outside somewhere green as there's something hugely satisfying and restorative about being in nature.