On Preparing For A New Exercise Regime

[danieldwilliam]

I am about to embark on a programme of weight loss, cardio-vascular fitness and general toning up.

By far the most important element for at the moment is losing some weight. It’s the most pressing issue and one that proves pernicious in my family.

I intend to measure myself and report back here on a weekly basis.

I’ve purchased a cross trainer which I intend to use for half an hour most nights a week. I’ll be adopting a low GI diet (mostly).  I hope as the increased exercise and diet have an effect and I being to lose weight and gain cardio-vascular fitness I’ll be able to add different types of exercise.

I’m looking at a range of metrics – BMI, weight, waist, hip.

Does anyone have any good advice on what metrics to include in the measuring and which ones are not helpful?

I’m pretty happy with the diet I’ve chose, I’ve used it before.

I’m open to any advise on types of exercise that might work.  There are some limitations. My knees, ankles and feet are not in great shape. Specifically at the moment but more generally. So I tend to be wary of high impact sports. Jogging is right out. I prefer taking exercise as part of a social activity than on its own.  I don’t have lots of time to spend outside the house unless I take the Captain with me.

If anyone can work out how I can measure my body volume there is a prize.

Comments

[widgetfox.livejournal.com]

You probably knew I was going to say this, but keep it in the day. This is a long game, and you get there through a lot of small steps. Start again each day, whether yesterday was a good day or a bad one. Also, be aware that there will be plateaux in the measurement even when the routines are going well.

Set small targets. Set yourself up for success, not failure - get a string of wins under your belt. Five minutes of exercise is more exercise than no exercise. I think the cross-trainer is a fabulous idea, especially if you can combine it with watching television or listening to podcasts or similar.

Do you have trigger foods that you find it hard to stop eating once you start, like sugar or cheese or fried food? If so, you might want to cut them out entirely. That said, a deprivation mentality is a very good way to set oneself up for binges so this can be argued both ways.

I would see a physiotherapist or osteopath about the knees / ankles / feet. They will be able to (i) give you exercises to strengthen them, and (ii) give good advice about how to avoid further damage. This can be a one-off visit, I think, rather than regular trips, unless it turns out that there is a more serious injury.

I'm sure you already know this but if you're exercising as well as dieting then you're just as likely to put weight on as to lose it, so don't get hung up on that particular number.

The single all-round best thing you could do for yourself would probably be strength training, which sets up the whole system to metabolise faster as well as making you stronger and feel better about yourself. Yoga is also good, although your post doesn't make it clear whether a weekly class is a possibility or whether existing commitments rule it out.

Are you someone who does better with many small things or pursuing one track only?

[danieldwilliam.livejournal.com]

My measuring programme is designed to be read over a long time period which I think helps keep it in the day. Each day is not vital but they have to add up to something over time. So I can get back on track after one bad day fairly easily. And the early targets are pretty easy so I should be able to get myself into good habits. I’m more interested in a general trend of improvement than hitting a series of small but hard targets. One of the longer term aims is to get myself into the habit of taking more exercise. So I’m all about long slow steady progress. In fact, this taking 24 months instead of 6 is probably better for me in the long term. I want to try and become someone who gets a bit fidgety when I haven’t done some exercise that day.

I think at the heart of this is being able to do some exercise whilst watching the TV or listening to the radio. Hence the cross trainer in the family room. One of the barriers to me doing more exericse is that I feel that it takes me away from MLW and the Captain. Something I can do in the dead time whilst MLW and I are watching TV in the evening fills some otherwise useless space and lowers that barrier. The times when I’ve been able to incorporte plenty of exercise into my life were when I was commuting by bike and had arranged a regular weekly badminton game with three friends and colleagues or when I was playing cricket as part of a team. Any attempt to do exercise on my own in a way that feels like it intrudes on my family is going to struggle. Indoors is also helpful, as the weather is a factor.

Going to see a phsyio about my lower limbs is sound advice. I broke my foot about 15 years ago and it didn’t heal very well. This on top of genetically weak knees and carrying a few too many stones too many makes my lower legs a source of weakness. Getting that sorted out would be a fine idea.

I’ve been thinking about strength training. Having that faster metabolism would be no bad thing. I like eating. I like food. I like the feeling of having eaten slightly too much and being allowed to have a snooze. So having a body that needs more food because it is more muscular would be a double win. I’m not sure how to incorporate it. I’m not going to be taking myself off down to the gym on my own. I’ve been thinking about dumbbells at home – again, whilst watching TV. Part of my reticense is that I can’t think of a way of measuring progress in this easily across multiple dimension. I need something that doesn’t take up much time or it will feel intrusive and a fag.

I think I can fit in a weekly class if I can find something on the way home from work both geographically and timewise. Yoga is on the short list. Also pilates. Something to strengthen and tone and also with a bit of mindfullness. I think the Commonwealth pool have classes in the evening.

I tend to be better at pursuing one track only. Another reason for trying to have many measures. I don’t want to become obsessed with one particular measure. What I need is to improve my general fitness across several areas. Partly because that’s probably the best way to make being healthier stick, partly because that’s what is needed to keep my body in good shape to last and be useful into my 80’s and party because in several different ways my lack of fitness is getting in the way of my life today. What really makes the difference is if I feel somehow bound to deliver on one or several commitments to an audience.

[widgetfox.livejournal.com]

Sounds like you've done a lot of thinking this through. I'm sure you're right about the long-term importance of it. It sounds like a matter of throwing out a series of possibilities and seeing which ones take root, which seems to be what you are describing here.

[danieldwilliam.livejournal.com]

Yeah – I think that’s the plan. See what works and then do more of that whilst dropping the stuff that doesn’t work.

The most important thing I think is to just do more exercise and eat a bit less. So, anything that works is probably worth 80% of the best solution ever.

[widgetfox.livejournal.com]

Absolutely agree. The best solution ever is a chimera.

[danieldwilliam.livejournal.com]

On the food thing.

I’m not sure I’ve ever thought about in those terms.

Probably biscuits. Part of the success for me of a low GI diet was that I always felt full so I didn’t grab something like a biscuit and then have another one whilst waiting for the sugar to arrive in my bloodstream.

Beer also has to go. I find if I have beer in the fridge I will probably have a beer or two in the evening. It’s not the alcohol that’s the problem with this I think. I’m not drinking too much alcohol. It’s the couple of beers worth of calories.

[fjm.livejournal.com]

A tip that might work for you: I lose far more weight when I think about the money I am saving than when I think of the food I am not eating. "No, I don't want to spend £2.50 on a latte when black coffee is £1.50" feels less of a hardship than thinking "I really shouldn;t have the calories".

Try smaller tins of beer. The only cola I have in the house now is the fun size.

[danieldwilliam.livejournal.com]

As an Aberdonian accountant the money saving element might be very effective.

[widgetfox.livejournal.com]

I used to find that it wasn't only the calories from alcohol but that it opened the floodgates for other eating.

[danieldwilliam.livejournal.com]

The perils of a late night kebab.

More seriously…

Are you thinking of snacking whilst drinking or lowered inhibitions and self-control leading to eating lots of foods?

[widgetfox.livejournal.com]

I don't think they're very different.