How can swimming help me lose weight?

[FourArms]

Have recently joined a gym, and have been trying out various classes to find the ones that suit me. I'm fairly unfit, and about 4 stone overweight.

Today I tried out the pool, and managed to swim 50 lengths (think it is a 25m pool) in 50 minutes. All the lengths were breaststroke. Is this enough? Is there anyway I can make it a bit 'harder' so that it is more worthwhile?

I'm trying to lose weight and tone up rather than build muscle. I'm not a strong swimmer, and don't have any proper 'technique'.

join food focus or some such website that will tell you how many calories you are burning while swimming and then calculate how much should be eating.

you can't lose weight by exercise alone.

Good idea, thanks. I am currently doing a 'sort of' diet, which is just 3 meals a day with no snacks. I used to be a Slimming World consultant, so I've got a fairly good idea of how to eat healthily, just not much idea about how exercise fits into the equation as I've only ever lost weight by dieting before.

exercise will make you hungrier!

I'm well-impressed by your stamina. I've been swimming regularly twice a week for the last 3 months nad can still only manage 40 x 25m.

yes forgot to say 50 lengths is amazing!

Thanks for those ideas. I came home very wobbly this morning, and had a Cadbury brunch bar Will need to go better prepared in future and take a banana for afterwards.

The gym does have aquafit classes, so might try those out too.

Going on holiday in 10 days or so, so will ask DH to teach me how to do other strokes then (will have to be careful how I phrase that one ) as he's much better at swimming than I am - he was a lifeguard through 6th form and uni.

Swimming just seemed so much more pleasant than the evil jumpy about classes! Perhaps I'll get there slowly with a mix of aquafit, swimming, pilates, yoga and line-dancing rather than the more high impact classes (which leave me aching for days).

I can't imagine you not losing weight and toning up when your doing 50 lengths! As long as you don't eat loads more after it, I always come out the pool ravenous!

Stick to what you enjoy or you won't keep it up.

BTW 50 mins of breast stroke is about 500 cals burned off.

Well, I lost 4lbs this week, so something must have worked!

Well done!!

I have always loved swimming and as a teenager was in the pool @ 5 times as week (though not a member of a swimming club) so always knew that this is my exercise of choice.

I recently saw a sponsored swim (Aspire Charity) who's purpose is the swim the equivalent distance of the English Channel over 12 weeks - starting yesterday - and decided to use this as the motivation to get back in the pool to get tones and lose weight.

I signed up and went straight to the pool after dropping DD off at school. I decided to start off gently and did 30 lengths.

The target is 1416 so I have another 1386 to go!! I plan on going 3 times a week.

You could try the Swimfit website which offers various swimming workouts depending on what your aims are. The weightloss one is here:

Swimfit

I think you will lose weight swimming regularly, try to go twice or three times a week. As you get more confident, you could challenge yourself to get faster, I think a fast breaststroke is really good excercise. Just be careful of your back - I got really into swimming over the past few months and got up to seventy lengths, but found it put a lot of strain on my lower back even though I dont swim with my head out of the water all the time - Ive had to stop for the time being and have been cycling instead!
I know that times when Ive been swimming over a few months several times a week i have definitely lost weight.

Also, I wouldn't get hung up being hungry afterwards, just get rid of any rubbish in cupboards and then make something healthy for after your swim.