Exercise???
 

I am on day four of my weight loss journey. I know at some point I need to exercise, but I hate it!!! I am not coordinated enough for aerobics and I always feel like a loser when I attempt it! I of course have about a dozen exercise videos that I have purchased and used once or twice over the years. Many moons ago when I was in shape and looking good I used the "Body of Steel" video every morning and then went to the gym every night for cardio. The thing is I am in a very small town with no gym in sight except for a Curves and Curves doesn't even make me sweat. I also don't want to pay for a gym membership. Do you think if I just danced around my family room doing random things that got my heart rate up that it would be adequate exercise? Right now I am 252 pounds and I can't really do anything strenuous. I am up for walking too, but it is hard for me to leave the house for a walk when I have 3 kids. Taking them would only slow me down. Help!!

WATP (Walk Away the Pounds).
No complicated steps, great encouragement - works well for anyone - regarless of fitness or ability.

Seriously - Leslie and gang turned me around. And if I can learn to love working out, anyone can!

I totally agree! Leslie Sansone is fantastic. No coordination required. :)

You can get a rebounder, a mini trampoline and just bounce around while watching tv, that's as easy as it gets. Or get outside and go walking. Start with 20 min of walking then increase slowly every day, then walk/jog if you enjoy that. There's some good dvd's out there that will help you learn to lift light weights after you get started with cardio. Check out the video/dvd review discussions on this site. One way to start with dvd's is to hit your library and watch them for free. Or if you use netflix.com you can rent some exercise dvd's and try them out before you buy them. Also try Ross believe it or not for some cheap dvds. I'm a dvd nut, I have ov er 30 of them. If you do dvds in your own home it doesn't matter if it takes time to learn the moves! Personally I think kickboxing and tae bo is fun, burns more calories then just aerobics and walking too.

How many days a week do you guys exercise??

I read 3 days a week is healthy, so that is what I have been aiming for.
But I was just curious as to how much you guys do it???

Do you have a house? If you do, cleaning the house, as well as gardening etc is great exercise.
Combine that with some walking and I think you have a great start.

Do you have a gaming system? I play dance dance revolution on xbox 360 several times a week. It's great exercise and it's fun! It also has a workout mode where you can track your calories burned/steps.

vdaybaby, my trainer at the Y told me that 4-5 days a week was necessary to support weight loss. I go 5-6. I also walk about every day for a mile or two.

So, if someone is doing workouts at home, it would be good to have a few different ones for variety.

Jay

I also recommend the WATP videos. I'm terribly uncoordinated, but I could still do those videos! At my highest weight, those videos got me started on exercise (until I felt comfortable walking outside or going to a gym).

I do yoga there are some websites that show the postures and sequences step by step. If you look under Ashtanga or Sun Salutation. Its fairly simple to learn from the material presented online. I want to do a class but not looking like the tub of lard I am right now. I find that way intimidating. I don't use the ones on youtube because they go too fast for me. I alternate that with walking. I'm now at 45 minutes and building to 1 hour. Snow shoveling also seems to comprise a significant amout of activity this winter.

I walk 5 times a week on my lunchbreak. There are tons of hills in the area and that really gives me a good workout. Then one day on the weekend I run around town, do luandry, clean house etc. I am thinking about joining a gym b/c my work pays for half.

I would suggest that you try yoga, or pilates. You can do the exercises that require more coordination later on. I like the combination of both, called yogalates. I don't know (without googling it) of any video for yogalates but I am sure there are some. Yoga in itself can be pretty demanding, especially if one has not exercised for a long time. You can do it!

I've also heard it called Pi-Yo or even Mat Pilates.

If you want to lose weight, definitely 5 days a week of exercise! I work out 6 days a week with one day off, and it's the only way I can keep myself motivated. If I were to drop down to 3 days a week, I'd find more and more reasons to not go. For me, going every single day makes it a habit and part of my daily routine ... so I'm less tempted to skip.

.

Mary, congrats on starting your weight loss journey! :carrot:

I can completely relate to the aerobics thing..I never was coordinated enough to do that, either. Taebo is pretty easy to learn, and a good video workout...I like the basic one best. I get bored with video workouts of any type, though, if that's all I'm doing.

I can relate to trying to exercise with young ones. One idea would be bike riding as a family...even if you're not going that fast, or have to ride circles around the kids, or let the older ones ride while you push a stroller and walk/jog, it's still going to be a workout.

Roller skating at a rink or in a fenced in school yard or tennis court is another good one. The local playground (school or public park) can be your friend, too. Lots of schools have a place for the kids to play and also a running track, so you can walk/jog while the kids are playing nearby or tooling on their bikes/ride-ons. Kicking a ball around is good, or simply playing on the playground equipment with them, swinging on the swings, or walking along with the kids on the hunt for cool seashells or rocks or critters (whatever keeps them occupied). You can also clear a path and walk/jog in the house, or as you said, dance in the living room. If your kids take a nap, you can get out and walk back and forth on your block or even just in front of the house, or set them in front of a half hour show they like on tv, while you get some walking in. Also, if there's another adult home, you can get up early or stay up late, to get a walk/jog in while the kids are still in bed.

We all have our obstacles to getting exercise. Just stay focused on your goal. If you want to make it happen, you'll find a way. If you haven't worked out at all before, then I'd suggest starting small, either just a few minutes a day, or 30 mins 3 days a week. When you feel like that's a habit you can live with, and are ready for more, you can add in more time or days where you see fit. Good luck!

Cheryl

Pilates - I did a few classes and it kicked my a**, as a spectator it looks easy but it's not. It's nice though b/c you can build up to the full workout and modify what's too hard to work for you.

Other than that walking - I love it, lets me clear my head and feel focused again.

I highly recommend the walk away the pounds videos. I am able to do them, there are no complicated moves and it's not overly hard. When something is too hard and I have a hard time figuring it out, I give up. I don't give up to Leslie's videos. I actually look forward to doing them. And right now I am doing them 7 days a week.

WATP DVDs! I agree! They are a perfect way to start exercising. They require no coordination and you can easily change the intensity of it and make it more difficult as you advance. Alternate it with walking outside, when the weather is nice, and you have a perfect starter exercise. Oh and check your library for some WATP Dvds. You can try them out without having to purchase them.

Just keep in mind that anything over and above what you already do, will burn some calories. So dancing around the living room will certainly burn calories and will help with your calorie deficit. You can start off slowly. I didn't start exercising for a couple of months after I started eating better. You don't have to do everything all at once, but you will have to start exercise eventually to continue to lose weight and to maintain while at goal. I also have heard that you need to exercise 5 - 6 days a week to lose weight, but you don't have to start out there. You can certainly build up to it.

Do the WATP videos require a treadmill?

Not at all. Just a little floor space and you're good to go. It's side steps, kicks, kickbacks (hamstring curls), knee lifts, and good old walking in place. Some moving forward and back with the walking. Pretty simple, but a good workout.

Go to this website and you can watch clips of the watp videos. You can also watch clips of other exercise dvd's. They also test them out and will write recommendations on them.

http://www.collagevideo.com/cart/def...orityCode=RL29

Of course, you need to figure out what works for you but I am not a HUGE fan of exercise. The only exercise I get is about 3 - 20 minute walks a day during the week and I take a 40 minutes walk on the weekends. I am afraid to really exercise with weights because I cannot see the scale increase just to decrease again. I know...many would disagree but just walking works for me.

I love WATP! There are so many to chose from and they really do work. It's a good place to start

Thanks for the info, Marie. I will check out that website. :)

WATP worked well, I just had to do it for an hour and it got boring after awhile. I go to the gym in the afternoon 4 times a week (mon-thurs) doing 30min of cardio and about 20-30 min of lifting and I walk my dog early in the morning 5 days a week (mon-fri). I clean house and do active things on the weekend but I only count my "exercise" as when I actually am doing it for that purpose. I see house cleaning and such as just a bonus.

I can't say enought about the WATPs dvd. I just recently restarted my journey to a healthy lifestyle. I lost my 40lbs on my 1st journey using Walk Away The Pounds.
I have just started to adding workouts and I'm limiting myself to only 1 mile. I hate hate to workout!! I'm now on day Day 6 of my fitness journey. You know what I wanted to do more than one mile. I've planted a seed and it's starting to grow. I love the way I feel after working out. I am limiting myself to only 1 mile until next week I'm adding another mile... then I'm hoping I'll crave more and more... Baby Steps win the race don't think you have to go full force. You do what works best for you. Before long you'll be wanting more and I was the poster women for hating to workout!

I put on my own music and muted the DVD. I didn't care for the chatter or the music they had... it wasn't hard to figure what they were doing.

For years, it was industry standards to say to lose weight and get fit, you should exercize minimum 3 days a week for 20 minutes. I have read numerous times that the "FDA" I think it is, has changed these standards to 60 minutes, 5 to 6 days a week.

Having lost 50 pounds, twice, after the birth of a child, I did it without a special diet. My did it by eating with common sence. Healthy food choices, portion control, cutting sugar and fast food, period. I then walked 5 miles per day 5 days a week. I lost the weight pretty quick, about 4 months both times.

Being that I became lazy 20 pounds have crept back. I am working out again, pretty hard. Its not coming off as fast. I'm working out with cardio and weights 60-90 minutes (sometimes a little more) and the scale is moving, but slowly. Turning 40 made a big difference with that I think.

But even when younger, I do not believe the scale would have moved much doing anything just 3 days a week. Just not enough IMHO.

Twentytogo - I think you're right as far as what works for you. My personal issue is that if I go the gym 6 days a week I'll burn out and just stop going. My doctor advised 4-5 days a week as to not overstress the muscles (as I lift every time I go to the gym). So I go 4 times a week but I also am very active on the weekends, I just don't count it as my weekly exercise. Congrats on being able to lose your baby weight so fast, again part of that was probably the fact that you had a baby and your body was adjusting back to it's normal size. I am young, never had kids but I am active so the pounds come off a little slower than some, about 1-2 pounds a week. I think how much you work out already and what kind of shape you're in to begin with really plays a big part in it.

peachcake, I do the same with how I count my exercise. I live in NYC, so I do a lot of walking, but I only factor it into DailyPlate if it's walking I did SPECIFICALLY for fitness. If I'm shopping all over town, it doesn't count, but if I purposely get off the subway a stop or two early so I can walk home (or don't take it all) when I COULD have taken it, I count that.

A very good friend a mine has 4 year old twins and a 2 year old. She hates exercise because she feels "like a hamster on a wheel" and likes to do fun things to get cardio in.

She'll play run around and catch the kids in the backyard where one of them will have an object she has to try and get away from them.

I'll also go over and we'll play "tennisball" off the back of her house.

I kind of agree with her. I'd rather get my exercise in walking my dog or playing raquetball or kayak polo (this is super fun).

Thanks everyone. I will check out the WATP dvd's. Until then I think I might go walking in the neighborhood and dancing until I sweat! LOL I have lost 6 pounds so far without exercising.

I'm the queen of dorks when it comes to something like a step class. But I :love: spinning and bicycling. No coordination required. :D

I agree - Dance, Dance, Revolution has helped me lose 50 pounds! It's great fun - I have PS2 and I only bought it so I could play that game. I have SuperNova and SuperNova2. The calories just add up and it's such fun!!!