Exercise. How much?

[ForTheLoveOfDoughnuts]

Ladies. I'm forever trying to lose weight. I. Haven't managed to master this art form yet.

I'm current 72.4kg. Bmi of 26.9. If I could manage to lose (and keep off a stone) I'd be forming in the healthy bracket. I know bmi isn't everything in being a healthy weight but I know I feel better about myself and shape when I'm in the 60s, rather than 70s.

I've just joined a gym and I'm planning on doing 4 classes on average a week. Think body pump, spin etc.

I know I need to eat better. But I don't think I eat terribly, so I think it's going to be hard to make major changes there..

Would it be worth having a trainer setting me a meal plan?
What are your healthy breakfast and lunch choices? I'm out and about so often grab a sandwich at lunch.

Going to be brave now...

Breakfast - wheatabix
Lunch - sandwich and possibly crisps, but not everyday.
Dinner - mostly something home made (never microwave meal, but possibly a far sauce) eg chicken wraps, meat veg pasta I rice.
Sometimes followed by yogurt and fruit.
Or - a couple of biscuits as a treat.

Honestly, there are days when I do snack more, but I try hard to resist.

I lost a good amount of weigh doing 5:2 previously, maybe this is the route I need to take again?

Sorry about the long post!

The exercise is fine although getting a trainer to show you weights routine would help. I like my shape much better when doing weight training than cardio.

Losing weight is 80% food. So you know really you need to watch portion size, ditch the biscuits and crisps and jar sauces( full of sugar). Eat plenty of green veg and limit yourself to a couple of pieces of fruit a day - apples or berries really good. Brown carbs better than white and preferably earlier in the day - I like scrambled egg on brown toast for breakfast. Oats with coconut milk and berries is another good alternative to the weetabix to mix it up. If you are peckish during the day, a few almonds or a piece of fruit can keep you going. Stick to healthy fats like avocado, salmon etc

The above works for me but you really need to plan in advance what you are going to eat each week to avoid reaching for junk. Good luck!

Btw don't get caught up on scales or BMI, I would focus on making healthier choices and improving fitness and you will get sustainable changes 😊

I second everything KITTY has said above. It’s you food choices that are hindering your weight loss and probably portion size too.

Gym is for fitness and strength training as the saying goes you can’t out run/ train a bd diet.

Exercise won’t really help you lose weight, but I’d get a trainer and learn to lift heavy weights

Diet needs to be majorly sorted out. You say it isn’t too bad but it’s almost all carbs with very little fresh fruit or veggies

That will be the key

The best way to lose weight is to create a calorie deficit - what goes in vs what goes out (more). So it's both: food (in) vs exercise (out).

I eat healthily in general and burn them off by exercising and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Working out used to be such a chore but the more I'm seeing the results the more I'm enjoying it.

Spin or interval training (HIIT running or HIIT cycling) burns fat faster compared to "cardio" workouts like running at steady pace. Weight training also helps.

I do Hiit 2-3 times a week for 30 mins each, weight training 1-2 times a week and cycling during weekends for around 50 miles - this burns approximately 1300 calories and it's fun to roam around pretty villages on the bike!

I started to weigh my food to see if I was eating the correction portion sizes and I was shocked to see I had been eating about double the calories I thought I was

Me too. I've been using the My FitnessPal app and it's a real eye opener . I like the barcode scanner feature. It's very easy to use.

I run a lot and I swear I would have gained weight if I didn’t also control my calories (and type of calories) as it makes me so hungry, plus it’s so easy to overestimate calorie burn through exercise especially when I first started. I was so unfit that I felt like I’d burned thousands of calories but it was more likely a few hundred!