in need of losing weight

Former Member

I am in real need of losing weight now.

The problem I have is that I don't know where to start or indeed what to do. I've considered joining a gym and paying for a personal trainer as quite honestly I'm not sure I have the will to stick it out on my own because I am lazy whereas perhaps with a personal trainer guiding me along with one-one's and so forth that would push me better and aid me much more than i could doing it alone.

The other option I have is to buy some exercising equipment for home use and go down that road but my issue here is that I don't know what to be doing or how many of what to be doing and for how long.

This is connected somewhat with a chat I had with my doctor recently after having a blood test done and whilst everything is fine he said the obvious & expected " You could do with losing weight though "

I'm thinking of buying one of my favourite pieces of exercising equipment for the house, a rowing machine but there doesn't look to be that many brilliant models available for the money I can afford. I reckoned £100 would be enough but haven't really found anything yet. Can anyone recommend some rowing machines to me ?

So to start with/re-cap, lets use the rowing machine as an example here, how many .. whatever .. would I do ? and for how long ? How many per day / times per day or per session ?

Now the other issue to consider is the " healthy " eating. I was told I should cut down on what i eat but in actual fact it is the opposite. Don't take this to mean I don't eat, because I do just so irregularly and not as often as I should.

First of all I don't eat breakfast nor lunch and rarely have a supper. The only meal I have every day is dinner. I don't eat snacks all that much, especially compared to every other person I know, but when I do it's crisps. I don't really eat fruit although I do like apples & Bananas.

At work if I have a break I buy a boots meal deal so eat reasonably well there [I'd say] but I don't get breaks all that often. Sandwich, Snackajacks and bottle of water.

The healthy eating part will be every bit as hard to adjust to as the exercise itself purely because I have to change the way I eat and what / when. I do eat veg but only some as I am a VERY fussy eater to the point of annoyance some would say !

I realise that I need to be eating a breakfast though, I'm making changes to my daily routine to get up earlier to fit that in however lunch isn't always possible due to the shifts I can work, though that's no excuse and I can try to change that too.

My biggest problem is I'm lazy and I don't hide that fact but I seriously need to lose weight now. I've said it in the past but between having the doctor on my back about it and just knowing that I need to do it myself for many reasons I can't avoid it much longer.

So here is the end anyway. What advice can you offer me for everything I've asked ? Hopefully I've explained myself clearly and thank you in advance.

Former Member

My advice is to forget about buying home equipment, get yourself down the gym and sign up to a contract..its hard to get motivated at home as you can always just think "well i'll do some excercise after this show etc".
While you're signed up to a contract you're always aware that you're paying for it, so it'd be a waste to not go. Plus seeing all the other people at the gym i often find tends to motivate me more.

Former Member

buy this:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Abs-Diet-6-week-Flatten-Stomach/dp/1405087978/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1219090144&sr=8-1

READ IT ALL WITHIN 2 DAYS ....... then set a start date maybe 3 days after you finish.

You won't get a six pack in 6 weeks, but following this, even loosly will help a LOT
To go with it, just get a simple set of dumb-bells - the ones you can pick up in argos.

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/3024399/Trail/searchtext%3EDUMB+BELL.htm

And a pair of trainers.

That's all you need

Former Member

You say that you don't eat breakfast nor lunch and rarely have a supper. But starting the day with a cracking good breakfast will help keep you going right around until 3, maybe 4pm in the afternoon.

Cut down on fats. Eat more carbo's like pasta and lots of bread. Avoid drinking alcohol because alcohol contains calories. Most of our foods are either cooked in oil or, contain it. It's surprising once you see a recipe just how much fat is used in cooking. Check out biscuits, also. They contain vegetable fat.

My gf's aunt was diagnosed with "fatty liver". She had to do all of the above and it was tough for the first 5 months. But - she lost 65 lbs. And I think that's really good going.

Poppi

Former Member

Besides the obvious, which is watching what you eat. The one thing I find makes such a difference and that's giving up on fizzy drinks all together and drink water.

Best way to do that is, always have a bottle of water near by. I always found by doing that, you drink the water for the sake of it being there. Just as you would do if you see a plate of food there. Replace that with water and got yourself into a good habit.

START eating a breakfast - Don't you watch the breakfast adverts on telly. T'is the most important meal of the day so start stocking up on cereal, eggs, etc.

Your metabolism is probably shot to bits cause you are not eating enough.

Remember, the more muscle we have, the higher our metabolic rate; the less muscle we have, the lower our metabolic rate. So protein after a workout is a must.

As for deciding what you gonna do to get more exercise in your routine.

While it seems like a good idea in theory, getting yourself a rowing machine for your home - can you really see yourself sticking to it?

My brother, who is a bit on the heavy side, was always struggling with his weight from his mid teens. He tried the whole, getting the bike to work, joining the gym, going swimming phase, etc,etc and nothing ever stuck for him as he always lost his motivation after a couple weeks. The best thing he ever did was getting a personal trainer.

He lost 2 or 3 stone within a matter of just couple months.

The trainer kept him motivated by setting him goals and give him that little bit of pressure he needed to get himself into shape. Because of how hard he was working in the gym, he was even starting to watch what he was eating, which no offense to my brother, I thought I would never see. That was the only time I seen my brother getting the results he was after.

Hope all goes well for you - Good Luck

Former Member

Do you see yourself as a permanent gym-goer? Is it a lifestyle you can see yourself sticking to?

I tried to lose weight; I signed up to a gym, spent over £100 and ended up cancelling my contract 2 weeks later. It just wasn't realistic to think I'd actually bother going to the gym and being that kind of person.

SO, instead I bought a cross-trainer off ebay, and now it's my baby, a new, permanent part of my lifestyle. I have my music, cross trainer, dumbbells and mood board up in the garage and it's my mini gym. It's my little sanctuary.
I knew I wouldn't be able to lose weight if I didn't change my diet so I also joined weightwatchers and as a result I've lost 5.5lbs in as many weeks.

I guess what I'm trying to say, is that you have to get to a point where you think "no more!!I will not be fat any longer!" - and then mean it. You have to get to the point that you're so sick of being fat and unhappy that you are motivated to make lifestyle changes. That's the biggest problem I've faced but now, I'm over it and I'm losing weight successfully (and healthily, I might add.)

Former Member

I agree with the fizzy drinks thing - it's one of the easiest things to give up at home - just don't buy any of it in the supermarket -

Walking is also free and good for losing weight