I’m very conscious of my own limitations and I know that if I’d tried to change my diet AND start doing a lot of exercise at the same time it would have been a disaster.
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So, I’m now eight days into my diet. I’m eating better and more systematically ie. I’m actually having breakfast every morning and I’m eating a couple of reasonable meals every single day.
Now the big challenge is exercise.
Walking appeals to me, as I used to walk quite a bit when I was younger.
Cycling could also be an option, though I haven’t cycled regularly since I left college in Limerick back in 1999 (there’s an interesting story there, but I’d probably be sued if I published it without changing some of the details!)
Swimming is another activity that I used to really enjoy, but I haven’t been swimming regularly for years.
Doing any of the above is a “nice idea”, but unless I have a proper structure to my exercise regime I suspect I will fail.
So I’ve been looking into exercise plans and systems.
Which of them actually work for people and, more importantly, why?
Are any of the “couch to X” type programs worthwhile? Or, put another way, are they suitable for someone as lazy as me? (Obviously the idea being that I’d be able to get past the lazy part .. )
You should consider taxing yourself. Hacker News had this very topic trending today.
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/01/this-is-why-you-dont-go-to-the-gym/251332/
The guys at gympact.com will help you with that.
James
James
Gympact sounds like a really cool concept and if I do signup to a gym or similar I’d probably give it a go
Thanks for your comment
Michele
I don’t remember where I read it, but sorry to say, walking isn’t really going to help you loose weight, unless you are talking about power walking. Walking, unless you are doing it at speed won’t raise your heart rate.
You need to do something that raises your heart rate and brings you to a sweat. Brining your heart rate to 115-135 bpm will help burn off the fat. The longer you stay in this zone the better (within reason obviously) so you should aim for ‘relativity low’ intensity but for longer time. It’s like sprinting 400m and then stopping, compared with jogging for 45 minutes at a much lower pace. You might feel just as out of breath after both, but you’ll have burned significantly more calories via jogging. Basically it’s the difference between aerobic and anaerobic exercise.
Cycling is also a good option if you’re not into running. And then of course if you are in a gym you can try the cross trainer, which
You should probably get a hear rate monitor for yourself.
P
Paul
Walking at *any* speed uses / burns calories. I’ve never heard anyone say the contrary.
I think you’re confusing “getting fit” with “losing weight” ..
Michele
Just sitting burns calories also. So are you trying to loose weight or to get fit ? They do go hand in hand, but they don’t have to be necessarily linked. If you are fit, things like running are easier, but you could still be over weight…
Paul
The focus for me is my BMI, not fitness.
I know that if I was fitter I’d probably be thinner etc., etc
Michele
You can also try walking a steep incline. This definitely will get your heart rate up if you use the treadmill’s highest incline and a fairly quick pace for some 30 min.
Biking is another great activity – but it’s easier to slack off on a stationary bike so it might not be as effective.
Also, taking the stairs whenever you can, walking as much as you can and generally keeping yourself active throughout the day (which I know isn’t easy working at a computer). All those little things really add up in my opinion.
Let us know what works for you 🙂
I’ve recently taken up walking and a couple of sites I find handy are:
http://www.mapmywalk.com/ – you can quickly map where you have walked so you can know the distance and store routes for reference or just view routes others have added in your locality to give you ideas.
http://www.caloriesperhour.com/index_burn.php – there is a walking calculator link on the page which lets you input your weight and the time/distance and it will tell you the calories burned.
Diet wise, I’m also finding the free app from http://www.myfitnesspal.com/ very handy. It has a huge database of foods, including lots of Irish ones, or you can add your own in.
You can quickly log what you are eating and any exercise you do and track your weight progress too. I find logging stuff helps but horses for courses and all that…
Best of luck with it all Michele 🙂