Exercise - help please

[IMac]

Ok - here's me

I'm 50, gained 10 stone in the past 20 years and have probably lost AT LEAST that again in various diet attempts.

For me to date this is the most successful diet however have mega amounts to lose and actually want to keep the weight off so there's the magic word exercise.

I drive everywhere, walk minimum amounts and have a very active life playing mummy and chief house keeper and bottle washer. I also work and have 5 kids....so all in all not a very quiet life

On Thursday I have arranged to see a personal trainer - thats a lie I've actually paid for 8 weeks of training upfront as an incentive to make me do it and stick to it - others include the fact he's my next door neighbour and he's gorgeous (fortunately his taste is in my neighbour who is male.....)

However he is not happy with my dieting on a VLC and feels I will be weak and not able to follow the plan through lack of food/calorie intake. I've never dieted as sucessfully and I have oodles to lose so I'm not planning on stopping LT however I am having major concerns about exercising and whether people have found difficulty following the diet.

The reality for me is I have a problem with exercise due to my weight/size etc so the plan does take all that into account. Its just the trainer expressing his concerns are adding anxieties for me.

Anyone who has followed LT and started exercise whilst still big (I'm now 17 stone and have lost about 1/4 of what I want to lose) I'd love to hear from them

Sorry its rambling ! Thanks for getting to the end.

Love Julie

 

[Medea]

As with most exercise, it is how strenuous it is which depends on the calorie intake. If you take into account most women should eat around 2,000 calories per day,(which is what you need just to survive and this includes walking etc). However athletes will probably double this in order to make sure they have enough fuel to sustain their bodies. In order to successfully diet and have exercise chucked in for good measure, it is generally recommended that you cut back your calories by 20%. Now, considering how much you are weighing in at at the mo I wouldn't think that he will make you do anything too strenuous as you will need to work up to it. Do some light cardio-vascular to begin with and as this becomes easier- that's when it will be time to start upping the ante as it were. Gradual build up is the name of the game.

It would be interesting to find out what torture he has instore for you!!

 

[Medea]

oh, and good luck! xxx

 

[IMac]

His plan is 30 mins aerobic/cardio-vascular and walking 4 mins running 1 minute (a man with a sense of humour) for a further 30 mins so one hour in total doing it 3 -4 x a week.

So if i'm burning more calories than i'm eating in this instance am I likely to faint even with a gentle plan as that is his concern ?

 

[Medea]

He said that was a gentle plan??? Is he mad? I think that you should halve that to begin with to be honest. It depends on the cardio-vascular circuit that he is giving you, but that sounds really quite harsh to me. I belonged to a gym where I would do mainly cardio, but broke it up with some weights in between. This was before I lost all this weight and I had to work up to doing a circuit like that. Best thing to do is to try it- but don't let him push you too far. I would suggest that at any point in time when you are starting to feel faint or unwell, stop and warm down. Fact is, you are losing weight and the exercise should complement it- not over take it! Just be careful xxx

 

[IMac]

Thank you - that all makes sense to me. I'll let you know if I'm functioning after Thursday

 

[eyesdontlie]

I think as an introducyion to exercise that is a bit much to be honest when I started to train for the marathon a few years and a few stone ago even I started out with just walking for at least 2 weeks it is not just your heart etc that needs to get used to exercise it is the reat of your body if you are running outside the concussion of the ground can really take its toll if you are not used to it your legs needs time to adjust I ended up with the most horrendous shin splints when I started to run and also damaged my knee ligament.

not trying to scare you but trying to make it as nice for you as possible as the last thing you need is to be put of exercise by something happening exercise is fun

good luck and enjoy

 

[Medea]

I don't know if you have seen some posts about exercise that I have already made- but look into trampettes (mini trampolines). My OH has lost around 1 stone in 3 weeks using one (also watching what he eats). They are low impact but extremely good. I use mine every other day and the OH uses it every day. 3 weeks ago he could just manage 5 mins- he is now on it for 20 mins and working hard!

He did loads of research into them and found out that they tone not only muscle, but skin. The bouncing is good for all your bodily functions (yes all of them!!) including your lymphatic system so supposedly help get rid of toxin build up. It is 64% better for you than running/jogging and also it is quite good fun!

I will post a link to the site he found- when I find it!

 

[TheMilkTrayMan]

Personaly I would say cancel (delay) the personal trainer, build up fitness slowly, so as to minimise the strain on your muscles/joints. 30-mins (lunch-time?) walking every day will be enough to get your heart rate going as a very good starting point. 6-weeks of that, with an hours walking at the weekends, will help prepare your body for the onslaught of a personal trainer led fitness regime, and be a great boost to the weight loss.

I am a big believer in CV workouts at the gym, but know first hand you have to build up slowly and get your body used to exercise, before going full blooded into a gym routine!

 

[cah-ching]

I too would put off the CV work until you've built strength into your body. That said I had a PT at 20 stone and it helped my fitness no end, although I was going to the gym and running at the time too.

I'm a believer in CV work too to build up staminer. If you want to burn calories / fat though and strengthen yourself you need to do weight bearing exercise first and foremost.

 

[Medea]

Ok, I found one article about the rebounders:

Rebounders (Mini Trampolines) Improve Health In Many Ways

Hope you find it interesting and thought provoking. This might just be the start of something beautiful!

BTW, I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks your circuit is too much! I'm no expert but I can not stress enough the need to build up to that. Good luck with whatever it is you decide to do xxx

 

[SlimJ]

good luck!