Hi everyone, I'm wondering if anyone can offer me some advice. I have been exercising every day since 5th Jan starting off with 20 minutes of dance aerobics (a dvd at home) and have built up to doing about an hour every day. I am really pleased with myself for sticking to it and am seeing results. I read somewhere that it is no use for people my size to be doing toning or sculpting exercises (pilates, yoga, stretching, abdominal crunches etc) as it would only tone up muscles that are buried beneath loads of flab! I have been doing loads of different dance aerobics dvds but have also just bought a pilates one - I know it is of value to do any form of exercise as it burns calories, boosts metalobism etc but I am best to just stick to high energy workouts to burn more calories? I tried out my pilates dvd yesterday but only after I had completed 50 minutes of aerobics as I scared it wouldn't count! I hope this makes some sense and would be really grateful for some advice!

I don't think weight training, at any weight, is pointless. The muscle that you build will help burn fat faster. When you resistance train, your muscle fibers are, in effect, tearing down and then building back up stronger. That action takes energy (calories). Muscle keeps burning some of those calories even after you finish the workout, so it will make your cardio workouts more effective, too.

It would take a WHOLE LOT of muscle to make you look "fatter" and muscle is NOT as easy to build as people think it is. (When people gain 1 or 2 pounds after beginning weight training, they usually think that it is the addition of new muscle. Actually, its your muscles retaining water as they tear down and build back up stronger.)

Thanks guys, that has made me feel better. Sweetcakes, it sounds like you are doing brilliantly with all those activities - I have found I feel better in body and mind for doing all this exercise. I cant wait for the day when I feel confident enough to go swimming, I love to swim but there is no way I could be in a swimsuit in front of all those people at the local pool! I wish they had a swimming pool just for the super curvy!!

I say, DO THEM ALL!!! At first, I listened to those who said not to do them; but then I read that they do help everyone lose inches, and tone all over your body. Starting in January 2009, I started doing toning exercises for my legs and tummy; and now my clothes are looser everywhere and my pants are falling down, in just that amount of time (one month). I think the heavier we are, the more results you will see, and faster.

Every morning, upon waking, I am doing 30 minutes of tummy crunches, leg lifts, hip crunches, leg butterflies, calf curls, butt squeezes, tummy tucks, and so forth; and I also do handweights (bi-daily), and arm and upper body aerobics daily. I also try to go walking 3-4 days a week, and I hope to up that to 4-6 days a week, as soon as all the ice melts off my driveway. My goal is 60 minutes total each day minimum because a doctor on the net said that we needed that much exercise daily to lose weight.

In the future, I would recommend that you try things yourself first, to see if they benefit you. I wish I had been doing all of these from the start, as I think I would have lost even more inches and weight by now; and exercise is exercise, right? Oh, well, live and learn, as they say ...

PS ~ I just bought some Bellydancing, Latin dancing, Yoga, and Pilates videos to increase my exercising repertoire (and I have Walk Off The Pounds Dvds too).

I think doing a variety of cardio and strength training is the way to go. It eliminates boredom and does a better job for your body. I've read that if doing the same exercise all the time, your body gets used to it. Still, any exercise is better than none but doing different things would use different muscles.

I disagree with that "it's pointless" statement you were told. For many heavy people, strength training is actually an easier activity to start out with and strengthening muscles will give the body more stamina to then undertake cardio. Plus, for the out of shape person, strength training can give confidence...ever start out exercising with a Zumba class at 304#s? NOT good. And those experiences can discourage people from continuing to exercise further. I say: try a bunch of things, find what you like & do them all (not at once though! LOL)

Congrats on getting up to working out for an hour...that's a huge accomplishment.