Exercising to lose weight

[beamme]

I'm a terrible dieter, always fall off the wagon at some point. So this year I'm concentrating on exercising instead of dieting. I will aim to eat better and make small changes to my eating habits.
I'm 34, 5ft4 and weigh an awful 21st 1lb. This is the heaviest I have ever been and I can't go another year with my knees, hips and back hurting all the time.
I'm starting slowly and will do one of the 10 minute work out DVD's. Doesn't sound a lot I know but I don't exercise at all so need to start somewhere. I started with 1 yesterday and 2 today . I am also cutting out crisps as my first diet change and dusted off the slow cooker.
Would anyone care to join me?

at the risk of being brutally frank, you need to make LARGE changes to your eating habits. Can I suggest a visit to the GP for a referral to a nutritionist? There must be quite a lot wrong with what you are eating to get you to that weight (the fat and air in a bag of crisps are only the beginning).

diets never work (as you've found). Exercise is indeed good but at your weight you need to be careful for the sake of your poor joints. So go gently. Swimming would be really good for you; if you can't swim, there are plenty of adult beginner classes.

good luck!

Good luck op!

Maybe take your measurements as well as weighing in

You'll find it easier to exercise the more weight you lose! I lost 5 stone a few years ago by reducing sugar. Processed foods all contain sugar and have very little nutrition. Maybe have a look at what you eat lots of? Some things seem healthy but really aren't!

Exercise will never counteract bad eating habits.

Calculate your TDEE
www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html
the exercise is only worth a maximum of 1200 calories a day

and your TDEE is very high
you need to eat around 2000 calories a day AND exercise to lose weight

Exercise is great for body confidence, and for health.
You'll feel better just for starting, beamme. Good luck!

Oh dear, not quite the reaction I was hoping for, possibly didn't explain myself well.

I am trying to change eating habits, my general meals are actually healthy, snacking is the biggest problem. By cutting out crisps I am cutting my weekly calorie intake by at least 2200, which is why I want to start there.

Thank you for the great suggestions of swimming and taking my measurements, and LightNC I do feel better, even after 2 days.

Exercise has lots of benefits but is v disappointing in terms of calories burned therefore impact on weight loss. A 10 min fitness dvd burns about 135 calories (using an online calculator and your reported weight to estimate that) and you need a 3500 calorie deficit to lose 1lb of fat. You need to make sure you are not 'rewarding' yourself with the 25g of chocolate that contains the same calories. Could you become more generally active as well - walking instead of taking the car, using a pedometer to take 10000 steps (start by measuring what you do now and increase by 10% a week if it's significantly less than that) ? The increase in your self esteem, cardiovascular health and muscle mass (and therefore basal metabolic rate) mean it's well worth doing but you need to address your diet as well if you want to lose weight.
It's great that you are looking for long term changes rather than a 'diet' to stick to. How big a dent in your daily calories is ditching the crisps? Do you cook from scratch or use processed foods? Could you incorporate the SW rule that at least 1/3 of each meal has to be fruit or veg?

X posted. No crisps sounds like a big step in the right direction!

I just wanted to comment to OP to say absolute best of luck! I really hope this year is the year it all works for you! Please keep us updated ??

Yep crisps are my biggest downfall, especially as I eat them after the kids have gone to bed.
Another great idea with a pedometer and then increasing 10% each week. I won't be anywhere near 10000 steps at the moment but its a good goal.

I'd definitely second the pedometer. I use an app called moves and just carry my phone. If you enter your info it will calculate your steps and calories burned. It helps you to remember that the 'long' walk you just took only actually burned about 170 calories so you're less likely to reward yourself with good, but also inspires you to keep walking to meet your step target. Two weeks ago I was averaging 5,000 steps a day because of a lack of awareness of how sedentary I actually was, now I'm up to 10-12,000 per day just through being more aware of my activity levels.
Good luck!

OP, I think your plan sounds great - positive, gradual changes are a great start/foundation for a healthier lifestyle. Psychologically, there's very little to rebel against, whilst the opposite is true for most diets. The very best of luck to you.

I will join you Beamme...i'm actually going back to my Slimming world class on Monday. Have you thought about maybe joining something like that?

I lost a stone at the end of last year but tbh that is my downfall, the minute someone says "you look thinner" I think I'm bloody twiggy and reach for the chocolate! I think it's great you're doing something positive, good for you!

Hopefully this will be the time we crack it...

Cut down on the food and junk first. Most of the time we are in denial on how much we eat. Sometimes lie about it. Be strong and cut it. You will notice a difference. Then exercise to tone the excess skin.
Eat to survive not survive or live to eat

Very best of luck to you! Try logging calories and exercise into my fitness pal app on your phone....it's great for monitoring what's really going on.

I climbed gingerly on the wagon and really want to make a difference to my health and weight this year too. Fast walking is great exercise for means is better for joints than most things, but swimming is the best.

Keep us updated and we can keep each other going

I would second MyFitnessPal as I often find that it is easy to grossly underestimate the number of calories in a meal. Also if you can start walking a bit there are some excellent (free) websites that will enable to plot the route on a map and tell you the distance and calories burned

Think some ppl need to give this poster a bit more encouragement.
Good luck. X

I agree Emmalou, some of those posts were a bit harsh or maybe you have never walked in another persons shoes!!!
I too have a lot of weight to lose because I have become lazy and blame an old injury for not trying but my NYR is to exercise everyday along with healthy eating and no booze. Even if I just do a 30 min walk it is better than the nothing I have done recently. MyFitnessPal is great, have used it before and like the idea of the apps! Pedometer def. Beamme I'm willing to do this with you xx good luck xxx

Well, I think that's a great plan beamme. All too often people people go on drastic diets and cut out all the foods they enjoy and hit the gym hard, only to give up a couple of weeks later. It's much better to introduce small but positive lifestyle changes that you
can really sustain and build on.

I agree, lucyloo. The OP has said that going on a diet is not for her, but she would like to exercise and make small changes instead. Some posters have suggested more drastic measures which psychologically, may well equate to dieting. It's up to the OP to try what she is comfortable with. I think success is far more likely to come if you implement your own ideas and changes, ones that you feel comfortable with, that can be adjusted if you wish, and that are not being imposed upon you.

good luck OP you sound like you have a good, sensible, acheivable plan to start out on!!

Exercise is good way to make you mindful of the amount you eat - just don't get sucked into the I have exercised so I earnt a treat mindset. It also cuts down on the amount of time you have to eat - 20 minute walk means you aren't thinking of the crisps in the cupboard for 20 minutes.

I second the suggestion of increasing your daily exercise by making small changes - park at the far end of the carpark, walk to the shop, walk to the second type of the shop you need, only use a lift if it is more than 2 floors... all really small changes, but all add up.

Also small food changes - halve the amount of milk oand sugar you have in coffee / tea, take 2 carbohydrate things off your plate of food and give them to someone else, don't buy the crisps in bulk- so you have to walk to the shop to get them.

Good luck.

I will join you too, though probably not post much. I have been wanting to lose weight for ages, but I too am hopeless at diets.

Last year I signed up for a fun charity bike ride and so started 'training' for that - just gentle rides, little and often. I discovered that when exercising I was less likely to snack, not more, so ate more healthily, and lost weight anyway. Much better for me, who has no will power to resist snacks, though I have slipped back in the wet/cold weather.

You know how you work - if DVDs work for you, then go for it. Best of luck to you.

FWIW
I totally and utterly support anybody who wants to make the changes needed to get lean and mean.
BUT
Its food that has to change
Exercise is great to make the butterfly that appears from the chrysalis be toned
but the chrysalis only goes by eating less

Diets and all the mental baggage they entail tend not to work.

Closing the kitchen between meals (make a sign and put it on the door - get the kids to design one)
stopping snacking
Drinking more water

are the greatest leaps towards getting to your happy weight that you can take

and YYYY to pedometers : just getting into the habit of doing things standing up (put the ipad on the mantlepiece and stand up to post) while marching on the spot will rattle through those calories
but NEVER EVER EAT BACK EXERCISE because that way failure lies.

Exercise is great to make the butterfly that appears from the chrysalis be toned
but the chrysalis only goes by eating less

TalkinPeace I think you're being prescriptive. The OP can do whatever she likes to get where she wants to be. In my opinion, success is far more likely if individuals make their own decisions, without being subjected to other people's rules which might not suit them.

I disagree with you about exercise. It can make a significant difference to calories burnt if you do enough of it. And it's much more than a means of burning calories - it can be a healthy outlet for stress; help to get your head in the right place; enable people to view their body differently (recognising capabilities, rather than cursing weaknesses).