Help with exercise and food choices for a brighter future

Lerp

New Member
Hi, excuse me if I have posted this thread in the wrong place, I'm new to the forum and I'm not familiar with the surroundings.

I wasn't looking for anything in particular when I Google searched "Weight Loss forums" but this forum seemed to stand out beyond the crowd, and now I'm here I must say I'm liking the site as a whole.

Everybody must signup somewhere to ask for answers to begin with, so I do have one or two questions mixed in with a very public lifestory, and here's me hoping there are a core of generous people to help me.

First and foremost I'm 20 years old and I consider myself overweight, I am 12 stone 1 pound to be precise at the moment anyway. On the BMI tests I'm on the low end of overweight for my height, and I am hoping to change that in the very near future once I have understood the basics. In recent times I have been trying to force myself to lose the pounds, and that hasn't worked, if it did I wouldn't be here seeking help.

I was on small unsuccessful diet and exercising routine. I have had a sudden change of heart in the past week or so and plan to stick with a diet and exercise plan once I know where I'm heading and that's where you come in. I have avoided exercise DVD's, I have been to the gym on the odd occasion it's not really my scenery to be honest and I have looked into great detail on these so called successful exercise routines that are displayed allover the internet, but they come at a very expensive price and the reviews are always mixed. At the moment I don't have the cash to blow on expensive equipment or products that will only deter me from a successful daily routine.

When you read this you will think I'm making up excuses to avoid everything that comes my way, but I'm honestly not, I just don't seem to enjoy what I have tried. I was about to give up but then I remembered that I had a Stationery Bike sat in my mother's garage. I was wondering if this can do wonders to weight? I have never tried this method before other than at the gym. I enjoyed it, and I do feel that a stationery bike and watching TV would be a great way for me to relax, enjoy a TV show and burn them calories at the same time. I am just a little concerned that an exercise bike won't make any difference whatsoever to my weight. So advice on that would be great. I would be hoping to do 1 hour or 1 hour and half per day if it's a suitable form of exercise. I would also be hoping for some tips on a better healthy lifestyle. If a Stationery Bike can help a lot with weight loss I was also wondering if there is anything else I could do to work on muscle in the future.

With food and drink I mainly eat fish, steak, turkey, lamb, pork, chicken with some salad, if it's not that it will be a stir fry, pasta, risotto for meals. For the breakfast and lunch time I usually snack on Special K for cereal, egg, beans etc. I do need more options though because I am restricted on a very small handful of items, and that has been the case for many months. As for drinks I avoid beer, fizzy pop and the obvious unhealthy choices. I tend to stick with my bottled water and occasionally Apple Juice and my other favoured fridge juices. Any help and advice is welcome. I do need an exercise plan that will pay off and get me into top shape mentally, same with the foods.
 
Hi Lerp,

Fair play to you for coming on and sharing your story and asking for help. It sounds like you know where you want to go which is great.

In terms of the stationary bike: does it have gears? For any exercise to work you have to be sweating...and ideally (what I have found works for me) what you might want to incorporate is interval training..which is raising your heartbeat for short bursts..and then lowering it again, and repeating this throughout your workout. Whether its walking/jogging/cycling etc. raising and lowering your heartbeat is an excellent way to burn fat.

I use the gym myself..and I quite like spinning. I found the gym very scary at first, but I found that after I found an exercise I liked, it made all the difference for me.
I have also heard great things about the 30 day shred (a Jillian Michaels DVD) which does lots of high impact exercise in short bursts. People on this forum get fantastic results with the shred.

I also find that I need to change up my exercise routine every 3 weeks or so..as your body gets used what you do after a while.

I find that following a food plan (for me) works better than trying to guage food myself. It does sound like you make great choices, and again I think you are right to broaden out your food choices as eating the same things can get very boring!!

Best of luck, and keep posting about how things are going for you! x
 
You have come to the right place to ask! :)

I think that exercise DVDs are a load of commercialized rubbish, I mean really, just think about it. Who is going to wake up every morning, put the TV on and jump around their living room to Zumba and do it being serious? Not a chance, maybe for a couple of weeks and then get bored of it. You are best just going to a Zumba class every week. As for the gym, I would honestly recommend going. It might be scary at first, I was terrified when I first went and then I realised that nobody is looking at you, nobody cares about you being there, they are busy doing what they have come to the gym for. People have a lot more respect for somebody who gets up and goes to the gym. A guy helped me out at the gym the other day with the weights, I wasn't sure where to start and he asked me if I needed any help and showed me the ropes. If you really can't face the gym then the exercise bike sounds a good start for you.

Food wise: Eating meat is good, as long as it is lean meat of course. Trim off any visible fat and cook it in a low calorie spray (I use fry light, it's great) and of course with some salad you can't go wrong. With cereal, people are often brain washed into believing it is healthy. I used to sit and eat a full bowl of bran flakes every morning but the amount of sugar in cereal is insane! I usually have a small bowl of bran flakes and add some chopped up fruit into to make it have more to it. Eggs, beans, potatoes, rice, pasta, veggies, lean meat are all great. Fruit juices are another one, people think they are good for you but again, the amount of sugar in them you might as well go and drink a can of coke. I am following Slimming World, I honestly would recommend you looking into it. You can eat so much food, it is amazing!
 
Hi all,

I forgot all about the forum and haven't really had the chance to be on the internet since I made the thread, I did manage to take the messages on board I just never had the chance to reply as I decided to continue the exercise bicycle 1 hour per day.

I have managed to drop to 11 stone 8 but I'm beginning to get bored of the exercise bicycle and need something else. I was thinking about buying a treadmill and then reversing every so often so I don't become bored.

I was told above to consider the gym, but the prices are really expensive for the local gyms I could attend. £38 a month and £34 a month without transport so I wrote them off, it would be great to go to the gym but it's too costly for me at the moment. If I could buy something upfront without worrying in two months time that I can't continue my gym subscription I would be really annoyed at myself.

I have stuck with the diet plan, I have stuck to the water, I have stuck to the exercise routine as boring as it sounds, but I do need something else. The treadmill sounds like something else I could well enjoy, I just don't know what to choose, I'm looking for a really good one but at a cheap price, I know very little about treadmills so I was hoping somebody could help? I decided to side with the above comment about the DVD's too, I just don't see DVD's as something I could enjoy day in day out.
 
hi!

when it coems to exercise, i find the only thing i can stick to is something i enjoy. working out on my own to a dvd dosent motivate me, i have to be in a class being told to push myself. otherwise i get bored and will want to sit down!
 
Agree - it has to be something you enjoy. I've discovered mine is moving to music - so any form of dancing/zumba etc just makes it fun. Occasionally do zumba on the wii but never quite as good - usefull back up:)
 
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