Creating an Exercise Plan For Myself

[MandyH]

I'm 32 years old, weigh 217lb, and measure 5' tall. As you can tell by my weight, the world of diet and exercise is completely new to me. I was just diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and need to lose weight to try to stall or prevent further joint damage. To date I've started to count calories and I cut soda (my main weakness) completely out of my diet. I've started walking on the treadmill in my home. I started at about 2.5mph at a 0% incline, but my last few sessions have been at 3mph at a 6% incline. According to the treadmill (which doesn't know how much I weigh, how tall I am, my age, etc) I burn roughly 500 calories doing this. Does that sound right?

I've decided that I need to do some other exercises as well. Mainly strengthening exercises. Doing some online searches I found this plan: which I just completed a little bit ago. My thighs got a good workout with the lunges. My legs kind of feel like jello right now. I couldn't do jumping jacks or walk on the treadmill afterwards. I feel like I did nothing tonight to burn calories with these exercises. Should I do the treadmill first and then these exercises going forward or should it be one or the other every day (with one day of rest)?

With all of that said, are these exercises what you would recommend for someone like me? Do you have any other suggestions on what I should do? I'm very open to any of you creating an exercise routine for me if that would be possible. Basically any guidance at all would be welcome! I just want to make sure I'm getting the benefits of both the cardio side and strengthening side without over doing it and injuring myself. I know losing weight isn't a race, but the sooner I can get rid of it, the better!

 

[Wardy257]

Hi,

Where is your arthritis?

For now I would just concentrate on getting your diet under control and calories down to around 1200-1500 per day, you can decrease it further as you loose weight. You therefore need to keep a very detailed food diary of everything you eat and drink, including snacks, sweets etc. There is a variety of different advice on what macro nutrients we should eat so do some research and decide what suites you. A good starting point would be 50% carbs. %35 fats and 15% protein which for you would equate to approx 190g carbs, 60g fats and 60g protein per day, add approx 100g carbs if you are training that day (your body needs fuel and you cant burn fat without carbs!).

As you have already indentified the quality of the food you eat is important. Carbs should be starchy and things like brown rice, whole-wheat pasta and potatoes are ideal. Fats should be as natural as possible (non-processed) from meat, diary, eggs, olive oil etc. Protein can also come from the diary, eggs, meats and from some veg too. To be honest I think you should not concentrate too much on reducing your food consumption for now, just clean up your diet first then start reducing total calories.

Exercise wise you will be limited but an easy way to exercise is through normal daily living. Walking to work, walking to the shops, using the stairs not the lift and so on. I cant really advice on what else you can do until I know where and how bad your arthritis is?

 

[MandyH]

I have been staying within the 1200-1400 range for calories. I'm eating more fruits and vegetables as well as oatmeal for breakfast. I also drink a lot of water now too. I still have learning to do on diet, but I'm getting there.

The arthritis was caught fairly early and I'm on medication that's really working. Since starting treatment I'm experiencing very little to no pain. The areas that bother me the most when it's flaring are my wrists, shoulders, right knee, and left ankle. However, this medication is doing wonders and even after being on the treadmill for an hour I'm in no pain at all. I'm not too concerned about damaging anything with exercise just yet. Even my rheumatologist gave me the go ahead to exercise unless or until I feel pain then I'm to stop.

 

[CrazyOldMan]

As an old arthritic man myself, fortunately mine is only in toes and starting to appear in hands, much less than I deserve. I will give some basic exercise advice.
This is not a list of activities purely general guidance.

Impact, starting with the big one.
There are numerous accounts of how much weight you land with when running or jumping from set heights etc. Even without the calculations I’m sure you understand that landing from a jump sends more than your bodyweight of impact through a number of your joints. With the beginnings or risk of arthritis this is not advisable until your bodyweight is severely reduced.
If all of your body leaves the floor, that's high impact exercise, if there is always a foot etc. on the floor it's low impact. Stick with low impact for a good while, your future mobility depends on it.
There will always be alternatives, jumps become raise onto toes or lifting one leg at a time so jumping jacks become side steps with arm raises etc.

The more you weigh the more intense everything using your bodyweight is. Gaining weight over the last year, slowed my running pace, and increased the energy I use travelling the same distance. You will burn more calories walking than someone with the same lean mass carrying less bodyweight, and this is a great exercise to be doing at the start, good choice.

Workouts are ideally warm up, mobilise, main exercises, cool down and stretch. Following this minimises aches and risk of injury. Warm up and cool down could both be walking, with some simple reach stretches to mobilise and more detailed long stretches at the end.

Frequency. Largely up to you, if you are giving it beans every session (not advised at the start) your body will need recovery time. However a more sedate system of mixed workout every other day and a walk on the off days will be fine. One thing to be aware of, if you try something and are incapacitated by it, don't try it again for a while. Fitness will improve steadily if you are sensible.

Try increasing duration rather than short term intensity if practical. You want weight loss and to avoid a joint condition both will do well on low intensity long duration work.

The weight race. Try to ignore the scales, use how you feel and look for monitoring.
Weight is easy to become obsessed with and sudden shifts of water can be inspiring one day and depressing the next.
Fat is 3,500 calories a pound. If you lose a pound and doubt you’ve burned that much more than you've eaten some of the loss was water which will return, be mentally prepared for that not depressed when it does.
Keep trend charts if needed to watch the direction of your weight and aim for 1 or 2 pounds a week maximum. Remember this means burning 500 to 1,000 more calories a day than you have eat, serious stuff.
Losses of more than 2 pounds a week are possible and can be maintained if you are incredibly careful, but these rarely last without sending the body into starvation mode. So tempting as it is, see this as an endurance race not a sprint.

 

[trx520]

TRX is best exercise equipment for bodyweight exercise