Keep Fit Club - ALL exercise types!

[MrKirov]

I would hope I'd feel amazing!

Being able to play with the kids whenever and not fob them off with the excuse of "I'm tired" while being well dressed and looking respectable.

Not having to worry if people think I look fat and being concerned what people may think if we go on holiday somewhere and I want to take my shirt off to get a tan.

The freedom of going out in the summer in a nice t-shirt without worrying after an hour if I still look alright or if I'm a sweaty monstrosity!

A lot of that will never go, you’ll feel better about yourself, but you’ll still get lows where you feel uncomfortable in yourself/how you look and feel.

If you’ve been overweight for such a long period, you’ll find it’s probably engrained in your psyche, and it’ll still crop up occasionally. There’s an element of your response that’s almost about other people, and your perception from other people- I used to be the same way. It’s a good goal, but don’t let that be a driving factor, take it from me.

Not being a downer, but from someone who was once 23ish st to 11- I’m aware of the pitfalls, doing it for how others perceive you is good in the short term over summer and holidays, but long term your motivation can slide where you can cover up in colder months. Try to find a reason that motivates you all year round.

A diet is likely going to be required, one where you prepare/package food daily, and don’t eat out or snack. For long term loss, exercise will only get you so far. Three months is a great starting period, but it’s easy to lose a little, and revert after a relatively small gain because you feel better/more comfortable. Then after a little bit, you feel like you did originally, but a lot worse because you lost all your hard work.

It’s a cycle I was stuck in for quite some time, and if you’ve always struggled with your weight, try to commit to a long term change rather than a short term goal. That’s what I did anyway!

[teddymeow]

[MENTION=3332]MrKirov[/MENTION] Thanks mate. Some great insight.

At the end of the day I want to do this for me and my family first and foremost. The other people thing is a bonus that comes with.

[MrKirov]

[MENTION=3332]MrKirov[/MENTION] Thanks mate. Some great insight.

At the end of the day I want to do this for me and my family first and foremost. The other people thing is a bonus that comes with.

That’s a really positive goal to instigate change then.

If you need help with exercise routines that I personally know work, or the same with long term diets/food prep/planning- I’m happy to share with you what I’ve learned!

[teddymeow]

That’s a really positive goal to instigate change then.

If you need help with exercise routines that I personally know work, or the same with long term diets/food prep/planning- I’m happy to share with you what I’ve learned!

If you wouldn't mind with the food stuff.

I'm well aware that I need to eat better. It's getting into the routine of prepping so that I don't revert to bad habits which will be tricky.

[MrKirov]

Sure. Meal planning is usually the key to success.

Lots of high protein, low carb meals that can actually be easy to prepare. Replacing bad carbs with good is easier than ever now - replace white rice with brown or whole meal- although what I do it replace it with cauliflower or broccoli rice. You can get steam bags everywhere now and they’re pre portioned.

Courgette/butternut squash spirals are good pasta replacements, and I replace normal potatos with sweet potatoes in every instance. Don’t be afraid to not eat meat for speed of cooking- chick peas are amazing for making curries and quick falafels- all of which can be cooked and portioned for the week. Quorn mince and chicken is really versatile for making meals for the week.

I tend to avoid cheese/too much dairy. There’s so much soy/almond milk available now also which can add flavour to bland things, and the chocolate variety’s can hit that chocolate fix easily. Switch to skimmed milk if possible (just commit to it, it’s an easy change once you get over consistency). Avoid cereals if possible too, especially sugar laden ones.

Slow cooking is your friend. A £2.50 pork fillet with no fat can be slow cooked with passata, spices and kidney beans, and you’ve got yourself a really healthy, low fat pulled pork that is delicious, and again- can be portioned. Make lunches part of your later meal plans, and half your work is done and you don’t spend your life cooking for lunches as well.

Key to that is replacing tastier meats with leaner ones- don’t be afraid to try different meats in dishes. For instance, a lean less than 5% fat pork mince is £1.99, compared to 20% fat beef mince at £3- it can actually work out a lot cheaper. Aldi is especially good for cheaper meats like this.

Boiled eggs are amazing. Two for breakfast is protein filled and keeps you full until lunch. They can be added to salads and dinners as sides, and used for snacks.

Have a freezer full of frozen veg. Broccoli, chopped peppers and onions, corn cobs- anything that you can add and bulk out to dishes to make them go further so you can make meals for more than one day. Also, just use them to bulk out dinners. Replace unnecessary carbs with another veg- you’ll stay full, and not feel bad about it- you’ll feel healthier in your stomach too.

Quick easy lunches can be made too, a salad with a tin of tuna fills you up, and can be delicious depending on how you mix up your salad- if you want texture, have one or two dark rye Ryvitas. It’s all low carb and calorie, easy and quick to prepare and can be changed regularly to mix it up. Avoid salad dressing though, they’re usually terrible. Lighter than light mayo is brilliant however.

Lastly, always pay attention to the traffic lights on products. A good rule of thumb is that if it’s not shown, it’s probably bad. Paying attention to them not only helps you make the right, more informed decision on food products, but once you pay attention it changes your eating and buying habits, as you start to realise how much badness there is around that you need to try and sidestep. A typical frozen pizza has 60% of your saturated fat, in HALF of a pizza for instance.

Hopefully some of that helps!

[MrKirov]

Another key point is calorie control, try and be under calorie every day and you’ll see and feel a difference in no time. My Fitness Pal is great for this as a calorie tracker, you choose or scan in the barcode of a product and it will populate your daily calories for you- regularly eaten foods can be saved also so you don’t have to keep finding them. It’s free too.

[Asura]

If you wouldn't mind with the food stuff.

I'm well aware that I need to eat better. It's getting into the routine of prepping so that I don't revert to bad habits which will be tricky.

Getting your shopping delivered via Tesco online or similar helps with this.

It's a bit more expensive in some respects, but also, as you're shopping online, you tend to only buy exactly what you need, i.e. you're not tempted by random offers which lead you to change your shopping list on-the-fly.

[teddymeow]

Another key point is calorie control, try and be under calorie every day and you’ll see and feel a difference in no time. My Fitness Pal is great for this as a calorie tracker, you choose or scan in the barcode of a product and it will populate your daily calories for you- regularly eaten foods can be saved also so you don’t have to keep finding them. It’s free too.

Funny you should mention MyFitnessPal as I've used that before (6 years ago).

Logged back in today and set up some new bits and pieces. Properly ready to crack on now! Feeling really motivated.

[MrKirov]

Funny you should mention MyFitnessPal as I've used that before (6 years ago).

Logged back in today and set up some new bits and pieces. Properly ready to crack on now! Feeling really motivated.

That’s good! I find that motivation usually wanes after the first week or so of the gym when you’re hurting, and your diet has changed so you’re craving bad food. It takes a few weeks to adjust to the new diet as well as any new routine you start at the gym- so try to be aware of it in the early days and fight through it- it’ll become normal after that point and you’ll be doing it all without thinking

[charlesr]

Funny you should mention MyFitnessPal as I've used that before (6 years ago).

Logged back in today and set up some new bits and pieces. Properly ready to crack on now! Feeling really motivated.

Whatever course you decide to take, who will keep you accountable? I can try from here, but it works better with someone you know well who can phone you and verbally kick you if need be or congratulate you if you are on track.

I like a lot of [MENTION=3332]MrKirov[/MENTION] advice, although I'm fine with saturated fats in moderation (leave some of the fat on bacon etc.) and semi skimmed milk, as long as you can keep the total calories under control. The rest I'm totally in agreement with - whatever it takes to make it easy, cheap and healthy.

I think you need to have solid expectations about how long this is going to take and weigh yourself once a month (not once a day). You should be confident that the plan will work rather than having to check up on it every day. Oddly the longer the better - if you lose it quickly, you'll bounce back. If it took you a year to lose 6 stone, would you be OK with that? That's half a stone a month.

On the exercise side, can you walk for 30 mins non-stop? If not, your cardio should start there. Gradually building each week with walk/stop/walk/stop type programs. Meanwhile, anything fun you can do to build core and muscle without injury will also speed things up without any extra impact on diet. I'd be very interested to hear what worked for [MENTION=3332]MrKirov[/MENTION] on the exercise side and how long it took.

I have a few friends who weighed similar to you and then went on to be daftly fast marathon runners (faster than me). I think it's cheating because you are "weight training" already and then when you lose the weight, your legs are super strong already or something

Set the wallpaper on your phone to an image that will remind you to keep going every time you look at it. Something related to how you will feel once you achieved your medium term goals, e.g. 1 year.

[MrKirov]

I don’t have an issue with all saturated fats, and don’t demonise them like some dieticians do- they’re part of a healthy diet. However, when they’re part of already processed foods, they’re certainly the enemy. Things like Avocado, fish, nuts and sometimes a bit of sausage or bacon I’m perfectly fine with- like all things, in moderation.

My exercise routine I slowly learned and carved through years of going. I never had a PT or anything even at my bigger, I just went there, observed, and read up online. More importantly, and this is the bit I find some don’t do, is listen to my body.

People blindly follow exercises that are prescribed to them, and either they aren’t pushing so are losing maybe 30% of their possible gains on a workout, or don’t listen to what is aching where- if you’re looking for weight loss/toning in certain areas- that’s really the best thing to do. Do an exercise for a bit, stop, and think/feel about where that’s hit, and what extensions you could make to push that part even further.

Over time I’ve worked out a routine for me that comprises cardio, weights and core each visit,. A series of bench work/free weights/deadlifts/cables to start, about 30 minutes of core,leg and back exercises using a mat, some kettle bells and some basic movements. I’ll then bookend that with around 20-30 mins of cardio- usually a mixture of running, cross training and rowing for an all round workout.

More importantly I’ll mix this routine up, so I’ll start with weights one day, but finish with it in future to keep my body guessing. Sometimes I’ll ignore the benches completely and just smash out loads of chest and core work on the cables. It’s about not being rigid, but fluid with what’s available and what your body is telling you. I find so many people miss that part, just stopping and listening.

[MrKirov]

Also, weirdly, I wouldn’t recommend becoming obsessed with the number on the scales. Weighing yourself at the start, and then even monthly. If you start a gym routine, especially involving weights and core exercise, you are likely to actually put on weight.

This will actually be positive, as it’s likely to be muscle mass alongside fat burning- and you could feel slimmer and happier,but it’s easy to see the number go up and get into the wrong mental state because of it, and feel like it’s not working. Focus on how you feel, and measure yourself before you start- focus on that rather than weight. You may find you’ve put on a stone, but your stomach is smaller and arms are bigger!

Then there’s the issue of water retention, this can provide false positives on both sides of the scale- you could be dehydrated and lose two pounds, then start retaining water and put 3 back on- this is natural- but disheartening if you’re monitoring weight religiously. I really recommend measuring by diameter, rather than weight.

[teddymeow]

Is it worth buying a fitness tracker like a FitBit?

[charlesr]

Only as a bit of fun. You need a proper plan.

Did you see my follow on questions?

[teddymeow]

Only as a bit of fun. You need a proper plan.

Did you see my follow on questions?

I did. Only just got in from work so going to make a cuppa and have a full read.