Trying to lose weight and get fitter - at the gym

Getting fit is one thing but losing weight is something else. As a general rule, you are not going to lose weight through exercise unless you embark on the sort of regime that is undertaken by an Olympian athlete. Really the only way to lose weight is to take in less energy (calories) than you expend. Upping the calories you expend by going to the gym helps but only a little bit. What you have to do is cut down on how much you eat; do it gradually and the weight loss will last.

You need to find an eating plan that works for you.

Obviously the 5:2 doesn't.

You can lose weight by exercise, but not exercise alone. You must cut back on food too. Moderate exercise, such as daily walking, can burn off 250 kcals a day which certainly mounts up over a period of time. But the best way to lose weight and keep it off is to sort out your diet and make moderate exercise part of your daily routine.

I've found a reduced carb diet works best for me - not Atkins, that's too drastic.

Certainly go to the gym to improve fitness and as part of taking control and tackling your health and weight problems but don't expect weight loss without serious dieting. Two one-hour sessions a week won't reduce your weight.

It takes an awful lot of exercise to burn up calories - assuming you're using hi-tech equipment with digital displays, have you not noticed how few calories are used up as you're slogging away on the treadmill. I used to cover the display with a towel and then hope for a nice surprise when revealed! I'd be so disappointed that after about 30 minutes brisk walking (not jogging) I'd only burned about 100 calories! Better not to have eaten that biscuit or slice of bread in the first place.

You need to see results quickly or you'll become despondent and give up so as the others have said, start a new eating regime e.g. low-carb or calorie-counting on Myfitnesspal to ensure some weight loss. And good luck!

rowan I took up running at one time for fitness (I didn't need to lose weight) and I put on weight (muscle) - over the first year. But I felt wonderful and very good about myself.

I'm not telling you this to put you off exercising, rather the message is that it takes time for exercise or diet to have an effect. So I think, set your sights on seeing where you are six months on and then another six months later etc. You are being too impatient

You will definitely get fitter Rowan but I walk the dog for a couple of hours a day and it doesn't do a jot for my weight. As I think jing said one time "calories in less than calories out" = weight lose.

I found that alternate day version of the 5:2 worked better for me. Occasionally I skipped a 500 cal day, if something social was going on.

I now 5:2 or 6:1 just to maintain the weight loss.

x

rowan don't give up as the gym will definitely help your general health but I think as absent has said unless its accompanied by a healthy eating weight loss plan it wont do anything. You may look better over time if you get more toned and feel more positive about your self so that's all to the good and you wont get so out of puff. If it helps think of me doing much the same as you(not at 6.30 in the morning) just to try and keep my self fitter and mobile and hopefully strengthen my back. I'm not going to diet as such but continue to eat healthily and hope not to gain weight. Good luck with it and let us know how you are getting on.

Have you been given a gym programme to work to? Often it is recommended that it is more beneficial to do 30 minutes cardio followed by 30 minutes using either free weights or the machines, low weights being fine, with more repetitions. This is said to speed up your metabolism. However, for weight loss you must also eat less.

I am another for whom alternate day fasting worked better than the 5:2. I still do it to maintain, but not being quite so strict on diet days. It is much easier knowing that tomorrow you can eat what you like, rather than permanently feeling deprived as most plans suggest.

Congratulations on making a start, let us know how it goes. I found lots of support on GN.

I lost about a stone and a half going to the gym for a year, but I was watching what I ate as well. The main benefit I found was that I got much more mobile.

Thanks all for your advice and suggestions. I am partly going to the gym for fitness, for my heart and general stamina. I hate being puffed out and not having energy to walk anywhere. Truth be told, I'm a lazy cow who would do anything but exercise, so for me, going to the gym twice a week is an achievement if I can keep it up. I couldn't do it 5+ times a week though.
Running isn't an option because of bladder problems, but I am trying very brisk walking on the treadmill and pushing myself to do more each time.
My diet is a good one overall, but we do eat out quite a bit and I have a liking for cake when we're out, plus wine when we have dinner out. We have plenty of veg, fruit, fish and so on, and we almost always cook from scratch. I try hard with the 5/2 but not hard enough and often 'cheat' in that I'll sneak a handful of almonds here and there or even a biscuit. Then I feel very ashamed and disappointed in my lack of resolve. I do lose weight but it usually goes straight back the following day.
I can see that i'm going to have to take more drastic measures though. Not sure whether alternate day fasting is something I could stick to, but I will discuss it with my OH who does the diet with me and for whom it works really well. I would also add that I'm on antidepressant and anti-anxiety medication, both of which are implicated in weight gain to an extent, but I'm not sure how much that affects my efforts. I can't stop these anytime soon because I am so much better on them and feel more like myself after many years of hell when I never thought I would ever feel any differently.

I realise that I'm being impatient and unrealistic in expecting results so soon. Feeling fitter and knowing I'm helping my cardiac health, cholesterol and lessening my risk of cancers and diabetes is my main aim, but the weight loss would come a close second and I accept that I'm going to have to steel myself to eat much less.

I haven't been given a gym programme, no - I've devised my own for now, till I get a little fitter and more used to pushing myself. Then I plan to take up the offer of a tailored programme for £50 which is refunded if you complete their month-long programme. I want to use the other machines, but I thought that the cardiac machines were priority to kick-start my general fitness. I have fluid retention and worsening varicose veins in my lower legs, slight odema and accumulating fat, and my GP said the only way of easing it was exercise and getting my legs moving, so that's what I'm currently doing. Twice a week doesn't sound much, I realise, but in fact it's always rather more, and it's 100% more than I was doing before!

Everyone would agree it's very commendable that you are taking this exercise Rowantree and have made such a good start. Can I also suggest that you get a really good pedometer and make sure you walk a minimum of 5000 steps on the days you don't go to the gym?

I bought one over a year ago and it's still going strong. It's made me aware of how much daily 'activity' I need. It's not enough to be active just 2/7 days a week. If you are fairly inactive, sitting around at home, the other 5 days then you will have fluid retention. Your GP is correct that you do need to keep moving.

You don't have to go on route marches the other five days but simple things like walking to the shops, or if that's not possible then parking at the furthest point of the car park from the shop/supermarket, or getting off the bus/train one stop earlier and walking the rest of the way. You should find this much easier after the time you've already put in at the gym.

Try cutting out anything with sugar in it just for two weeks and you'll be surprised how much better you'll feel and how much less bloated too. Sugar comes in many disguises. Fruit juices and smoothies are laden with it.

You are to be congratulated on the steps you have taken to get fit and lose weight. One thing to remember is that your gym workout is probably building up muscles and muscles weigh heavy.
The only advice I would give regarding diet is based on my own experience. I was unwell for a while and lost my appetite but made myself eat three meals a day. I ate everything everyone else was having but in small amounts so really portion control is helpful if you can manage it. I lost 20 lbs and am now eating better but continue to watch the amount I eat rather than cut out too many things so I don"t feel deprived!

What good advice from everyone! Thank you Anya though I am not very active, it's true, we do go out quite a lot and that includes walking round NT gardens (albeit not briskly!) I also do gardening, though sporadically. You're quite right, I do need to up my activity levels considerably. I just need it to be in the form of things I know I will stick at.
I got used to very low activity levels when I was depressed and anxious, so it's a case of changing habits, which isn't easy and can take a while. I need to look at small ways I can change, and you've suggested some already.

I'm aware of the sugar problem and don't drink smoothies or fruit juices any more - unless I'm on holiday! That's easy; cutting out chocolate, home-made cakes (I bake a lot for OH) and liquorice allsorts on non-fast days is harder.
daffydill Well done for losing 20 lbs! Portion control is definitely something I need to address; OH is obsessed with being 'fair' when he cooks and tries to put as much on my plate as on his, despite my protests. I think that over the years I've matched my appetite to his - mine used to be small when I was young (as did my body).
I will try and look at this as a long term project, and it certainly helps having Gransnet encouragement, as I'm sure others have found also!

Message deleted by Gransnet for breaking our forum guidelines. Replies may also be deleted.

Anyone know why this was deleted? Just wondering....!

I think it might have been a post with an advertising link. I reported the same poster on another thread for that reason and the post
was subsequently deleted.

Ah, ok, thanks

I think that you are to be commended for doing what you have done so far.

Just a thought. There isnt a chance that your OH is sabotaging your efforts is there?
Giving you the same amount of food as himself doesnt seem the best thing to do.

Also, some older women I know give up some or all baking later in life if they are trying to lose a lot of weight. I am not saying do that, but it may be something to think about.

How about trying a sugar substitute? I now have stevia on cereals and use it where I can. It is also possible to use it in baking and it has far fewer calories than sugar.

I also suggest stevia. I have to have my tea sweetened.

I don't have sugar in tea or coffee, and if I have breakfast it's oats with a few seeds sprinkle on, with no sugar. My downfall is cakes, and desserts, especially when we eat out. I'm trying very hard to cut down on these but if I cut them out entirely I know I won't be able to keep to it.
I also have a tendency to binge on packets of liquorice allsorts/dairy milk chocolate/marshmallows/walnut whips now and then. Utterly stupid, but I weaken and give in to the cravings if I'm out somewhere and snarf the lot secretly so DH doesn't see. I'm kidding no-one, and I feel shame afterwards. I suspect it's an emotional thing, but I'm going to have to try harder to avoid giving in - the last few weeks have been better, but weight loss is taking its time to show

DH is trying to be 'fair' when he does the cooking but totally gets it when I remind him he should have bigger portions than I do, and he does nag me about overeating AND drinking wine when we're out for dinner. I don't respond well to nagging, even though I know it's because he's concerned about my health and insists my shape isn't an issue at all.

Are you losing weight Rowantree ?

If so, then fine, slow and steady is the best way. Can I ask a personal question? There is a reason behind this.

How often, during a week, might you indulge your sweet tooth? I'm thinking if you just promised yourself a 'treat' on a specific day or days (2) bought your treat(s) put it somewhere you can see it, and when you get an attack of the 'munchies' say to yourself

'I'll not give in today because I know I can have that cake/chocolate/bag of sweets on Saturday (or whenever) and not feel guilty.'

Anya, my weight vacillates - after a fast day it's down, then goes back up again in the next few days. I think I am almost certainly taking in too many calories on non-fast days. Originally, we were told that you can eat what you like on non-fast days without going too mad, and that you'd still lose weight. Well, that hasn't happened with me. And I do find it difficult not to nibble a few nuts towards the end of the day

I've never noted how often I indulge my sweet tooth, but roughly every time we go to a National Trust cafe for tea! It's something I look forward to, and enjoy, but clearly I can't keep doing it :-(
As to the chocs/sweets indulgence, not that often - once a fortnight, on average. And I haven't done it now for a few weeks, but I still can't seem to lose weight! But your idea is a good one: learning delayed gratification is a very good idea, as is getting used to feeling hungry and not reaching for the biscuits (or nuts!)

I weigh myself every morning and take an average over the week; I write the weight down in a calendar so I can look back and see any progress. I suppose I've lost a little weight over the last few weeks but nowhere near what I'd have hoped for, given the huge effort with exercise since mid-July.
I don't intend to give up, because I want to be healthy and fit and I loathe what I see in the mirror - it's disgusting :-(

You are in no way disgusting. I hear a kind, thoughtful person who's willing to listen to advice. All you need to do is flick your will power switch on!!

You can, you know ((( hugs)))