Diet & Exercise

[bluezy]

Have you considered hiring a personal trainer? I had zero motivation to go to the gym when I had a membership. I just don't like working out in groups of people or in front of anyone. Eleven years ago I started working out with a personal trainer. It was at a gym, but the trainers had a private room for their clients to work out in so we weren't out in the main part of the gym (my trainer later opened her own studio). I did a free workout with the trainer and felt we really "clicked" -- I had done some research on HIT/Super Slow strength training and thought it would be a good fit for me (it's a 20 minute workout with about 10-15 minutes of cardio before the workout -- much easier for me to fit in my schedule than the 60 minutes most people spend working out). My trainer "specializes" in that method. Before I left the gym that day, I purchased 10 sessions with the trainer (there was a nice discount for purchasing 10 sessions upfront rather than paying each time). I knew if I didn't commit to 10 sessions before I left, I'd continue coming up with excuses for why I couldn't go work out. It was the best decision I've ever made. Over the last 11 years, I've faithfully worked out with my trainer 2 or 3 times a week. It doesn't feel like a chore, just part of my normal routine. She also helps with nutrition as needed/wanted and I use the Lose It app to track calories and activity.

I highly recommend looking into a personal trainer. A good personal trainer will motivate you to *want* to work out and improve your health. Just be sure that they actually have an education and formal training in the field. A lot of gyms have "personal trainers" who are clueless and just have that title because they know how to set up all the machines. I went to a YMCA to workout when my trainer had knee surgery and wasn't able to work for a few weeks. I signed up for a free workout with the personal trainer there. I knew more than he did about proper form and mechanics. After that first session, I just went in and worked out on my own until my trainer was back in the studio.

 

[rotlex]

Exercise is overrated for weight loss. Outside of walking for general health reasons, 90% of weight loss is in diet\meal planning. My wife and I lost 100 pounds each nearly 20 years ago by doing Atkins\Low Carb. We didn't even think of hitting a gym or do anything more than a daily walk for the first 50+ pounds of weight loss. Then even after that, the "gym" didn't really assist with the loss, but more or less helped shape our bodies into what we wanted them to look like.

I know "Keto" is a big name today but it's pretty much low carb\atkins\south beach etc. etc. under a new name. For us, it is the only thing that worked. Why? We could actually eat. Real food. Everyday and not worry about quantities. I believe we have been able to maintain our weight loss for almost 20 years by never considering it a "diet". It is just a way of eating, a lifestyle etc. Most diets fail because they are simply impossible to maintain long term. Weighing your food, eating only certain quantities etc. How much you should be eating will naturally begin to occur as you drop weight etc.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

Make small changes. Get rid of unhealthy snacks in the house. Go for a walk every day and make it part of your routine. Park your car farther away from whatever building you're going into. Find a friend to be active with and keep each other accountable.

For being active, start small. If you find yourself talking yourself out of it-just put your workout clothes on. Still talking yourself out of it? Do 5 mins of exercise. 9 times out of 10 you'll do more because getting started is usually the hardest part!

I joined Beachbody on Demand a year or two ago and follow their programs. Highly recommend. I know myself and unless I have an actual program to stick to and mark off a calendar, I won't do it. I like knowing exactly what my workout is going to be and I like checking it off a calendar, tracking weights, and seeing progress.

I know you said don't say "just do it," but unfortunately, that's a big part of it. You do have to just do it. And want to do it. No one is going to make you do anything but you.

I love Beachbody. I've been using them for a good 7 years. I started with Insanity on DVD and have had BOD for a while now. $99 a year is a great deal IMO.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

Exercise is overrated for weight loss. Outside of walking for general health reasons, 90% of weight loss is in diet\meal planning. My wife and I lost 100 pounds each nearly 20 years ago by doing Atkins\Low Carb. We didn't even think of hitting a gym or do anything more than a daily walk for the first 50+ pounds of weight loss. Then even after that, the "gym" didn't really assist with the loss, but more or less helped shape our bodies into what we wanted them to look like.

I know "Keto" is a big name today but it's pretty much low carb\atkins\south beach etc. etc. under a new name. For us, it is the only thing that worked. Why? We could actually eat. Real food. Everyday and not worry about quantities. I believe we have been able to maintain our weight loss for almost 20 years by never considering it a "diet". It is just a way of eating, a lifestyle etc. Most diets fail because they are simply impossible to maintain long term. Weighing your food, eating only certain quantities etc. How much you should be eating will naturally begin to occur as you drop weight etc.

For myself, when I exercise I tend to eat better. It's all mental, I know that. But when I get a good workout in I don't want to "mess it up" by eating bad so I tend to eat better when I'm regularly exercising. But I am aware that it's all about calories in, calories out.

 

[rotlex]

For myself, when I exercise I tend to eat better. It's all mental, I know that. But when I get a good workout in I don't want to "mess it up" by eating bad so I tend to eat better when I'm regularly exercising. But I am aware that it's all about calories in, calories out.

I completely agree. Didn't mean to make it sound like I'm anti exercise at all. (Could have worded it better). Really meant to say that when starting out, if you don't want to over complicate things or burn out, it's not as necessary as most are lead to believe.

The other thing I find, with some folks, is that when they DO workout, it gives them an excuse to eat poorly, lol. Kind of the opposite of what you are saying above in regards to not messing it up. Trust me, been there too, lol.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I completely agree. Didn't mean to make it sound like I'm anti exercise at all. (Could have worded it better). Really meant to say that when starting out, if you don't want to over complicate things or burn out, it's not as necessary as most are lead to believe.

The other thing I find, with some folks, is that when the DO workout, it gives them an excuse to eat poorly, lol. Kind of the opposite of what you are saying above in regards to not messing it up. Trust me, been there too, lol.

Ive been there too. Lol.

 

[prairie_girl]

DW & I both need to lose weight. We have motivation (health, vacations, etc), but neither of us has the will power. The motivations we have aren't "strong enough", so to speak, to stick with a diet and/or exercise plan. Of course, we've never really sat down and come up with a plan, but we know us. We'll be "good" for a week, maybe two, but then it's too easy to slide back into bad habits (fast food, lack of exercise, sugary snacks).

We don't belong to a gym (we have in the past but never really used it), we don't have a treadmill/exercise bike (because it will become a clothes rack), and don't have confidence that we can stick to a diet.

So, short of saying "you just have to do it" (sorry, not helpful), any suggestions?

I’ll be following this closely. I have to lose weight to get hernia surgery but, like you, I have no willpower.

 

[GAN]

DW & I both need to lose weight. We have motivation (health, vacations, etc), but neither of us has the will power. The motivations we have aren't "strong enough", so to speak, to stick with a diet and/or exercise plan. Of course, we've never really sat down and come up with a plan, but we know us. We'll be "good" for a week, maybe two, but then it's too easy to slide back into bad habits (fast food, lack of exercise, sugary snacks).

We don't belong to a gym (we have in the past but never really used it), we don't have a treadmill/exercise bike (because it will become a clothes rack), and don't have confidence that we can stick to a diet.

So, short of saying "you just have to do it" (sorry, not helpful), any suggestions?

Lose It app....

 

[PollyannaMom]

DW & I both need to lose weight. We have motivation (health, vacations, etc), but neither of us has the will power. The motivations we have aren't "strong enough", so to speak, to stick with a diet and/or exercise plan. Of course, we've never really sat down and come up with a plan, but we know us. We'll be "good" for a week, maybe two, but then it's too easy to slide back into bad habits (fast food, lack of exercise, sugary snacks).

We don't belong to a gym (we have in the past but never really used it), we don't have a treadmill/exercise bike (because it will become a clothes rack), and don't have confidence that we can stick to a diet.

So, short of saying "you just have to do it" (sorry, not helpful), any suggestions?

I have a treadmill, so you'll need to adjust my plans a little to fit whatever exercise you decide to do, but these were the keys for me -

For exercise:

• finding the right time in my routine. I played around with the best time to exercise until I found I spot that worked - a point where I had enough energy to walk, but didn't feel like I was "wasting" prime time that I could be doing something more important, and where I wasn't likely to be interrupted by family needs.
• associating exercise with something I look forward to. "just" exercising bores me to tears, so I pick a series on one of the streaming apps and watch an episode on my iPad while walking on the treadmill. (More specifically, I start it while walking and finish it while doing dishes - 'cause that bores me too!) You do have to have the discipline to save that series for that time though.

For eating right -

• Don't shop hungry!
• Keep healthy foods in easy to access places, and treats a little buried. (Or don't keep the junk in the house at all. - For example, most people will eat ice cream less if they have to go out to the ice cream stand and pay more than if if there's a half gallon right in the freezer.)
• Look at healthy eating as adding healthy things, rather than subtracting unhealthy ones.
• Don't eliminate any foods, just watch how often/how much. It's too hard to stick to a diet that's based on deprivation! (But really, the first three bites of anything are the best - the law of diminishing returns takes over after that.) If portion control is your downfall, put snacks in small containers ahead of time, so you're not tempted to eat out of the bag.

And finally - If you like to read, I highly recommend this:

link

It's not a diet book, but I found it really helpful!

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

DW & I both need to lose weight. We have motivation (health, vacations, etc), but neither of us has the will power. The motivations we have aren't "strong enough", so to speak, to stick with a diet and/or exercise plan. Of course, we've never really sat down and come up with a plan, but we know us. We'll be "good" for a week, maybe two, but then it's too easy to slide back into bad habits (fast food, lack of exercise, sugary snacks).

We don't belong to a gym (we have in the past but never really used it), we don't have a treadmill/exercise bike (because it will become a clothes rack), and don't have confidence that we can stick to a diet.

So, short of saying "you just have to do it" (sorry, not helpful), any suggestions?

I was a personal trainer and for a brief period, a competitive body builder, and there is no real will power involved in people who are successful in losing weight and changing their lifestyles, it's discipline and goals, and that's all it comes down to. You and your DW have motivating factors in your lives that one would think would motivate you to workout but those are just reasons, it's not necessarily representative if your true motivation.

I have very little will power when it comes to always eating what I should but I am disciplined enough to eat the food I know I should 95% of the time and work out more than I am sedentary. Once you create the habit and you realize the gains you'll make in your overall health, you will eventually get hooked which creates your disciplined mentality. It has to click and you have to be patient. Nobody gains weight overnight, therefore you cannot lose weight overnight. Consider what you do will be something you will do for the rest of your life just like brushing your teeth and washing your hair, it's your lifestyle choices, not a diet!!

Here are some of the tips I'd give my clients-

-be patient
-track your macros/calories (use an app like MyFitness Pal). You cannot lose weight if you don't know how many kcal you're actually eating.
-Do not starve yourself, seek a registered dietitians expertise with creating a meal plan for you both if you aren't comfortable with what you should be eating.
-Measure your food, eye balls are not scales and you'd be surprised to learn that most servings of food are much smaller than what most people actually eat.
-Use google for at home workouts. There are a ton of no weights needed workout plans that are free to all. You can even buy a few things like resistance bands, slam balls, etc. on amazon to use at home
-if you do join a gym again, do lots and lots of weightlifting. Cardio is not the only answer to weight loss. Body composition is so critical and men and women who lift weights in addition to doing cardio, are almost always more successful in their weight loss journeys.
-Do not live and die by the scale. If you have a nutrition store nearby or at the gym, they may have a body composition scale. While they aren't 100% accurate, this gives you a good baseline of your body composition, measures body fat, water weight and muscle in your trunk/extremities. Even if a trainer just does the BF pinch test, it still gives you a beginning measurement that IMO is more important than just the scale.
-put pen to paper on your workouts, keep track of what you do each day, write your progress down as you gain more endurance, walk further, run faster, etc.
Good Luck!

 

[kerry1379]

I am struggling with this myself. Some things that have worked for me:
1. Having a personal trainer does really help. Helps to get me to the gym and helps to keep me from hurting myself at the gym. Also helps to push me out of my comfort zone. As you get to know others at the gym, you also develop a group that supports each other.
2. Take some time to write out your "why." Why do you want to lose weight? Spend some time on this and delve deeper than "it's healthier." What are your fears and your dreams? What are you using your weight for as an excuse to not do? Then, when will power is lacking, pull it out and read it again and again and again.
Best of luck OP. Like I said, I am going through this too.

 

[Disneylover99]

Figure out how many calories you need to maintain your weight.

Eat what you want, but count calories and eat fewer calories then your body needs. And when I say count calories, I mean estimate, but always over estimate of course, so that you’re pleasantly surprised when you weigh yourself.
Try to eat protein if you’re struggling with bad cravings and the desire to binge eat.

It sounds basic, but it’s easy, free, and it works.

 

[mrodgers]

DW & I actually went for a walk at a park yesterday. We'll occasionally take a walk in our neighborhood, but we live at the bottom of a hill. When I was going into work at 9:30 (it's now 8:30), I used to walk the neighborhood after the kids got on the school bus. My fitness app said I had climbed 21(!) flights of stairs during that walk. I used to do that every day until I had to come into work earlier. And as @loves to dive says, it's hot.

Yes, I know I'm making excuses.

I used to drink two 20oz sodas every day. About 4-5 years ago I quit cold turkey. Now I might have a soda once a month. I do water, sports drinks, and sweet tea. I snack out of boredom usually. I'm lazy and don't want to pack a lunch. It's just easier to hit the fast food places.

I'm sure a lot of you are saying "stop making excuses and just do it". And that's probably what I would tell my kids or anyone else. I just can't seem to tell myself. Well, I can, I just won't listen.

I won't say stop making excuses. Everything you post is also me.

Since it is so much easier to stop at fast food joint on the way home instead of cooking then eating then cleaning up, I am now trying to get on a kick of eating just salad for dinner. I cook big for the freezer on weekends so I take real food dinner style to work for lunch and just eat a salad when I get home. Just started though, and the other problem is getting the text from my daughters 8 times out of 10 so I end up not just eating salad.

I think the 2 biggest problems with the thought of exercising is first, people think they will lose weight by exercise alone. You can't out exercise a garbage diet. The 2nd is people go to the gym, run on a treadmill for 20 minutes, then post on Facebook how they burned 1600 calories because that's the ridiculous numbers the equipment puts out. Once you realize you are only going to burn around 300 calories an hour exercising, and you start counting calories, that's when you realize that single bag of Doritos you have at lunch, is an hour and a half you need to go do your elliptical machine or whatever.

I leave and ride 80 miles a day (which would be 3000-4000 calories burned a day just from exercise) on a 110 lb. bicycle for 6-7 days straight eating no junk food, drinking 3-4 gallons of water and Gatorade a day, and only eating real food for lunch and dinner, though restaurant food, and I always come back at the end of the week 5 lb. heavier

 

[mrodgers]

I completely agree. Didn't mean to make it sound like I'm anti exercise at all. (Could have worded it better). Really meant to say that when starting out, if you don't want to over complicate things or burn out, it's not as necessary as most are lead to believe.

The other thing I find, with some folks, is that when they DO workout, it gives them an excuse to eat poorly, lol. Kind of the opposite of what you are saying above in regards to not messing it up. Trust me, been there too, lol.

Yup, and the gym exercise equipment helps them fail because it reports numbers like 2000 calories an hour burned. Not even close. As I said, I ride a bicycle 8 hours a day touring and will only burn a little more than that. I am 240 lb. but with excellent Cholesterol numbers and such compared to prior to starting to ride the bike. An hour exercise for fitness and count calories for weight loss (without compensating what you burn exercising as that's where people get in trouble thinking they burned 2000 calories when they didn't even burn enough in an hour to compensate the calorie count of that single Snickers bar they ate afterwards.)

 

[lifesavacation]

I was a personal trainer and for a brief period, a competitive body builder, and there is no real will power involved in people who are successful in losing weight and changing their lifestyles, it's discipline and goals, and that's all it comes down to. You and your DW have motivating factors in your lives that one would think would motivate you to workout but those are just reasons, it's not necessarily representative if your true motivation.

I have very little will power when it comes to always eating what I should but I am disciplined enough to eat the food I know I should 95% of the time and work out more than I am sedentary. Once you create the habit and you realize the gains you'll make in your overall health, you will eventually get hooked which creates your disciplined mentality. It has to click and you have to be patient. Nobody gains weight overnight, therefore you cannot lose weight overnight. Consider what you do will be something you will do for the rest of your life just like brushing your teeth and washing your hair, it's your lifestyle choices, not a diet!!

Here are some of the tips I'd give my clients-

-be patient
-track your macros/calories (use an app like MyFitness Pal). You cannot lose weight if you don't know how many kcal you're actually eating.
-Do not starve yourself, seek a registered dietitians expertise with creating a meal plan for you both if you aren't comfortable with what you should be eating.
-Measure your food, eye balls are not scales and you'd be surprised to learn that most servings of food are much smaller than what most people actually eat.
-Use google for at home workouts. There are a ton of no weights needed workout plans that are free to all. You can even buy a few things like resistance bands, slam balls, etc. on amazon to use at home
-if you do join a gym again, do lots and lots of weightlifting. Cardio is not the only answer to weight loss. Body composition is so critical and men and women who lift weights in addition to doing cardio, are almost always more successful in their weight loss journeys.
-Do not live and die by the scale. If you have a nutrition store nearby or at the gym, they may have a body composition scale. While they aren't 100% accurate, this gives you a good baseline of your body composition, measures body fat, water weight and muscle in your trunk/extremities. Even if a trainer just does the BF pinch test, it still gives you a beginning measurement that IMO is more important than just the scale.
-put pen to paper on your workouts, keep track of what you do each day, write your progress down as you gain more endurance, walk further, run faster, etc.
Good Luck!

I was going to say this as well. It’s not willpower. It’s discipline.

I’ll second one of the other recommendations from other posters. Be accountable to your eating by weighing and tracking everything you eat. My fitness pal is great for that. I always keep chopped up veggies and fruit in bowls in my fridge so I can have snacks throughout the day, but I also leave room in my daily calories for a treat at the end of the day.

I’m one who loves to exercise. I had a bad day yesterday and it was supposed to be a rest day but I did a workout anyway. Starting is the hardest part. Once you get into a routine, you’ll find yourself looking forward to it. Other people really motivate me. If I’m not feeling the workout, I still show up and then I see how hard other people are working and it helps me get moving. That’s the benefit to a gym.

 

[soccerdad72]

Obviously, everyone is different, so as with anything, YMMV...

That being said, the one thing that got my wife and I more motivated, exercise-wise, was finding a "studio" type of a gym. Meaning, instead of a Planet Fitness type of place with walls of exercise machines and lifting stations, it's purely classes (and personal training). The gym we go to have a variety of different classes, ranging from "boot camp" to kickboxing and cardio/TRX classes. We typically go to three or four classes a week along with once a week personal training (mostly lifting). The personal training has also really help both my wife and I along with our boys in that they not only come up with challenging workouts each week but they also teach us proper form and technique, which helps a lot when we're either working out from home (like during the pandemic) or on vacation. Plus, the gym is small, so the other members we see on a regular basis have become good friends as well.

We're not perfect by any means, but our gym, along a new diet (that's a different story) has definitely improved our well being.

 

[PAsFab5]

My husband and I were in the same boat as you guys.

18 months ago I saw a free trial for the WW (weight watchers) app. Since it was free, I signed up.

I have lost 25lbs, which is more weight than I have ever lost in my adult life and I am the same size I was in high school. My husband started a year ago and is doing amazing as well. It’s the easiest “diet” we have ever done because really your just eating healthy 90% of the time and can have treats the other 10% with your extra weekly points and exercise points.

I started exercising to get extra points for the week (more points equals more food!!!!) and have really stuck to it now that I am seeing results. I do a mixture of walking 2-3 miles and doing cardio/strength training YouTube videos, so all my exercise is free. My reward for exercise is I get to eat more so it’s motivating!

Heather Robertson on YouTube has a amazing 12 week starter program for fitness and that’s how I got the ball rolling and now it’s just a part of my life.

Lifestyle changes are hard but you guys can do it! Good luck!!

 

[BlueStarryHat]

I recently started beginner yoga to try and get myself more limber, as well as portion control. I still eat the same food (and I'm the cook in my house), but I portion it out correctly and never take seconds. I try to snack on healthier things between meals, like fruit or raw veggies, but when I want something sweet, I have it...I just don't have the giant sized candy bar, I eat a regular one.

I'm planning to add more exercises, not to lose weight per se, but to get in better shape. As it stands right now, I don't think I could do all the walking required for Disney. I need to change that.

 

[sam_gordon]

Portion control is a HUGE problem for me... especially when it's a food I like. Unfortunately, what I like is carbs... bread, pasta, rice, etc.

 

[monsterkitty]

First, you have to find what works for you, physically and mentally. I would say the mental part is the most important.

Several years ago, after being on a medication that made me gain a lot of weight, I was disgusted with myself. I was a competitive swimmer, swimming 16-18k a day as a child and teen. Unfortunately this taught me horrible eating habits. I was fine when I quit swimming in college and into my 30s, but around 35 I started gaining weight. Then when I went on the medication, I gained 30 pounds in less than 6 months.

DH and I joined a small gym, Any Time Fitness. We started small with simple cardio and weights. In the year we were at the gym I lost about 20 pounds. Then a bigger gym with a pool opened closer to our house. I wanted to feel alive again in the water so we switched gyms. I immediately began doing a group fitness class that I had no business in, but I had the determination that stronger people in the class didn't. I started swimming again and I did water aerobics.

I had always wanted to try a triathlon and the pool manager/fitness instructor of the class I was doing but shouldn't have been doing told me about a tri, I decided to sign up. My entire family, except my sister and DH told me I would fail. The "I'm going to prove you all wrong" mindset came back. Since I did that race (and broke my ankle at the start of the swim but wasn't smart enough to stop), I've done multiple Half Ironman races and 140.6 Ironman.

Other than the mental mind set, this is what worked for me:
Started small. Walking around the neighborhood for an hour is better than sitting on the couch. Do easy weights (watch a few Redefining Strength videos on YouTube.)

As for food, don't diet and don't restrict your calories. This is where most people fail. They try something that works for a while (Keto, low carb, Jenny Craig, etc.) and then they plateau. Instead change how you make something. DH and I used a cookbook that increased the food volume through high volume foods that would keep us full longer. For example, we would add spinach to mac and cheese. The spinach takes longer to process so you feel full longer. We were actually eating just as much as we were, but felt full on fewer calories. I still use many of these recipes from the cookbooks.

Find an app that works for you. Many like MyFitnessPal while I prefer Lose It! Because it's easier to track my macros.

Finally, macros. You have to find a macro ratio that works for you. A lot of people here claim low carb is the only way to lose weight. However, that doesn't work for everyone. We have to eat carbs but we need to be mindful of where those carbs come from. My macro ratio right now as I get into race season is 20% protein, 20% fat, 60% carbs. If I feel sluggish then I increase my carbs and lower the other two. You just have to find a combo that works for you.

Everyone feels overwhelmed when we try to start an exercise program or change our diets. Who cares if you're slow and have to walk? Are we really going to judge if you can't do a plank for 15 seconds to start? Nope. The only person you should be concerned about judging you is yourself.

Start small. Walk. Make your lunch at night (I hate making lunch but as a teacher we didn't have time to go eat somewhere. I seriously throw things down on the counter as I make our lunches. I would rather play with spiders and I hate spiders)

You got this.