I'm desperately seeking advice please? (Complete newbie)

SithLord

SithLord

New member
Hi everyone!
I've been doing a lot of research into weight loss and accidentally came across this forum. Normally I don't sign up to these things, but decided to give it a go this time because I desperately need help.

Okay, so over the past 4 years I have steadily gained weight due to bad choices - the first 2 years were because I was in a bad relationship and things got out of hand in more ways than one. I got out of that relationship and now I'm in a new relationship that makes me happy. However, I went through a bout of depression, starting from February 2015. I've been fighting that depression and took up exercising this year. As of March 2016, I feel I have almost completely conquered the depression, and most of my thanks goes to exercise (and my incredibly supportive SO).

Anyway, the main reason why I am here is because in those 4 years, I went from 8-9 stone (112-126 pounds) to 13.7 stone (191.8 pounds) and I would like some advice please?

I've been doing some exercise on and off for about 9 weeks now but it hasn't been very consistent - something I wish to change. In that time however, I have lost approximately 1 stone (14 pounds).

At first I was doing some cardio exercises I found on a Youtube channel, but some of the exercises were proving to be too much on my legs - I have flat feet and struggle to walk or use my left foot as well as I'd like (it will get worse in the future).
So, I bought an exercise bike last week and I've used it about 6 times in total. The first 4 times, I'd last about 30 mins on the middle resistance setting (5 out of 10). The 5th time, yesterday, I did 45 mins and today I did 65 mins.
According to the machine itself, I burnt approximately 750 calories today - but I'm not that clued up about calories, which is where my actual inquiry comes in. This is my information:

? Height: 5'3" (160.02cm)
? Age: 25
? Gender: Female
? Current weight: 12.6 stone (176.4 pounds)
? Goal weight: 9 stone (126 pounds) (and a tighter belly!)
? Typical exercise: 30-40 mins on an exercise bike, 3-4 days a week
? Typical calorofic intake: approx 1500?
? General note: other than the time I spend on the exercise bike, I am not particularly active, I can't get out much at the moment.

My questions: Am I heading in the right direction for weight loss? Am I doing anything wrong? Could anyone kindly make any suggestions please? What other exercises should I do or can I just stick with the bike?
Any help would be greatly appreciated. I'm terrible with any of the technical things regarding weight loss, I've tried understanding calorie-counting but my brain explodes at how much information there is to take in! So if you're a bit more clued up than I am, please shine some healthy light into my fat little world :p

Thank you for reading! I apologise for babbling on!
 
I forgot to mention, when I'm on the exercise bike, my typical speed is around 12.4 mph (20kmph). I maintain that speed most of the time, but I do sometimes push it up to 14.9 mph (24kmph). I have to take a few seconds break fairly regularly while I'm cycling as my fitness level is very low at the moment.
 
I'm not entirely sure if there's a private message function on this site (unless I'm missing something haha). But I would definitely appreciate any help, thank you :)
 
Oh no, I'm on my phone at the moment :( unfortunately no message has popped up on my phone, silly thing!
 
Thank you very much for the suggestion, it does look pretty promising but I think I want to steer clear of companies that charge anything at the moment. Ideally I want to lose my weight by exercise at home and diet change (if I need to). I think so far I'm on the right track, but I'm hoping someone can offer advice/opinions on my current goals and about whether the weight loss I've achieved so far is good/bad/okay.
I think if I do start failing or plateauing, I may look into that site more :)
 
Firstly, well done for your loss so far

yes you are on the right track, the bike is a great option and you are using a good amount of calories, although machines are notoriously inaccurate when giving the correct amount of calorie burn.

You mention that you maintain a stead pace ? a better option is to incorporate interval training, which basically means alternating going as hard as you can with short recovery intervals.

you also need to include some strength training in your exercise, this doesn't have to be going to the gym or using weights, there are a good selection of bodyweight exercises that can be done at home.

The biggest aspect of loosing weight is diet rather than exercise, and so long as you are loosing at a steady pace while eating mostly healthy foods and not starving yourself then you won't have to track calories if it is difficult for you. when you do finally stall then it will be time to re evaluate your food intake as you get lighter.
 
Thank you so much for your reply Trusylver, that's definitely filled me with a lot more confidence. As a complete newbie to exercise (other than doing sports at school - and hating it at the time - I've changed a lot since then) I was a bit overwhelmed with all of the different information offered online.

So with the interval training, I could try throwing in bursts of high speed for, say, 10 solid seconds, take a short rest, then try it again? Would that be to replace the normal steady pace cycling (keeping at the 12mph) or something to add into it?

In terms of strength training, I have tried doing a few planks, plank pikes and some sit ups (/crunches), are those in the right direction too? I have some dumbbells somewhere, I could probably dig them out too! My main problem is that I'm struggling to motivate myself to do those as I'm a weak jelly-like mess after I get off the bike haha. Need to find that push I think!
I did do about a 20 second plank after the bike today, would like to increase that eventually.

Starving myself is the last thing on my mind, I did that when I was in college (when I was 18, eating one tiny meal a day for about a year) and it was the worst thing I ever did. Learnt a valuable lesson from that though!

Fortunately I haven't plateaued yet, but it does scare me!
I don't have the healthiest of diets BUT I'm getting there. My SO has left shopping entirely up to me now, so I'm trying to get the healthiest foods possible on our budget, I've incorporated more fresh vegetables into our diets, which, when compared to the food we used to eat, is a massive improvement!

My friends have told me that I should really cut out carbs from my diet, but I love them. I don't eat them regularly, maybe once or twice a week but would cutting them out be a good idea in your opinion?
I eat pasta, rice or bread from time to time, all of which are wholemeal. I also eat potatoes, which I've been told are ome of the worst things to eat during an attempt to lose weight. Is there actually any credibility in that?
 
There are a lot of different ways to approach loosing weight through diet and a lot of the advice will contradict somebody elses advice but they can be both right which can make it confusing. I am an advocate of low carb but it is not for everybody, so for me, I eat less than 20 grams of carbs each day, and those carbs come from fresh veg only, I don't have bread or grains of any type but have no problems with fibre. I do not eat potatoes but for someone who is not super low carb they are not going to kill your diet and if you are on a tight budget they are a reasonable option compared to eating junk, like anything else, moderation is the key. A lot of people will make loosing weight sound more complicated than it is.

As for the Interval training, it can replace the steady cardio or add to it, it is a personal choice, during the rest, don't stop pedalling and rest just long enough to get your breath back.

For your strength training, yes the dumbbells are a good option. Strength training on alternate days to your cardio should allow you to work effectively on both. Planks are great for your core, crunches are a better option to full sit-ups, adding in bodyweight squats is a good option if your legs/feet are ok, pushup are good and the type done can be matched with your ability, as most ladies do struggle with full push-ups to begin with, kneeling push-ups or placing your hands on a raised surface will make them easier while you are getting stronger. Bench dips are a good option when training at home, using your couch as a stable support to place your hands. http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Triceps/BWBenchDip.html just replace the bench pictures with your couch or a stable chair and have your feet on the ground.
 
Hello SithLord and welcome to the forum.

Despite the difficulties you’ve endured, it would certainly appear as though you’ve turned the corner in your quest to re-discover your former-self. I’d also whole-heartedly agree that exercise has, in part, allowed you to reach the stage that you currently find yourself.

Additionally, you’ll also be pleased to know that the research conducted has led you to adopt a healthy and measured approach towards weight loss, so you’re more clued up than you’d like to think.

Firstly, your intended daily intake of 1500Kcal is pretty much correct, based upon your measurements and current level of activity; you’re consuming more than your BMR, to compensate for your increased level of activity, but less than your TDEE, to allow a daily deficit to be created.

As such, your understanding of the science behind weight loss is pretty much spot on.

To assist you further, on the assumption that you’ve not already obtained them, I’ve provided the calories currently required to satisfy that of your BMR (1271Kcal) and TDEE (1750 Kcal). As you can see, a daily intake of 1500Kcal is roughly halfway between the two.

Granted, both of these figures will change as you lose weight/ increase your level of activity, but for now they’ll serve you well.

As you weigh less, the body will require fewer calories to satisfy its BMR. However, if the level/intensity of your exercise increases, you may find that more than 1750Kcal is required to meet your energy demands.

Equally, as weight is lost, since you won’t possess as much excess energy stored in dwindling body fat, you’ll need to re-assess your calorific intake to ensure that fat continues to be lost, thus reducing the risk of plateau.

If you’ve not researched them, consult BMR/TDEE calculators. Play around with them, submitting lower weight figures, to provide you with an idea of how many daily calories your body is likely to need as weight is lost.

For starting off, your level of exercise is pretty much spot on, too. As your fitness improves, aim to introduce regular intervals into your cardio training as they’ll increase the uptake of glucose and fat throughout, eventually progressing towards HIIT.

As for alternatives to simply using the exercise bike, since load bearing exercise appears to exacerbate your foot condition, I’d avoid attempting to run, opting for activities such as swimming or yoga/Pilates.

To conclude, your ‘fat little world’ is looking rather good right now, SithLord, largely since you’ve conducted the research that has allowed you to implement a sensible and measured approach towards achieving weight loss.

You ought to proud of your achievements thus far
 
SithLord said:
Hi everyone!
I've been doing a lot of research into weight loss and accidentally came across this forum. Normally I don't sign up to these things, but decided to give it a go this time because I desperately need help.

Okay, so over the past 4 years I have steadily gained weight due to bad choices - the first 2 years were because I was in a bad relationship and things got out of hand in more ways than one. I got out of that relationship and now I'm in a new relationship that makes me happy. However, I went through a bout of depression, starting from February 2015. I've been fighting that depression and took up exercising this year. As of March 2016, I feel I have almost completely conquered the depression, and most of my thanks goes to exercise (and my incredibly supportive SO).

Anyway, the main reason why I am here is because in those 4 years, I went from 8-9 stone (112-126 pounds) to 13.7 stone (191.8 pounds) and I would like some advice please?

I've been doing some exercise on and off for about 9 weeks now but it hasn't been very consistent - something I wish to change. In that time however, I have lost approximately 1 stone (14 pounds).

At first I was doing some cardio exercises I found on a Youtube channel, but some of the exercises were proving to be too much on my legs - I have flat feet and struggle to walk or use my left foot as well as I'd like (it will get worse in the future).
So, I bought an exercise bike last week and I've used it about 6 times in total. The first 4 times, I'd last about 30 mins on the middle resistance setting (5 out of 10). The 5th time, yesterday, I did 45 mins and today I did 65 mins.
According to the machine itself, I burnt approximately 750 calories today - but I'm not that clued up about calories, which is where my actual inquiry comes in. This is my information:

? Height: 5'3" (160.02cm)
? Age: 25
? Gender: Female
? Current weight: 12.6 stone (176.4 pounds)
? Goal weight: 9 stone (126 pounds) (and a tighter belly!)
? Typical exercise: 30-40 mins on an exercise bike, 3-4 days a week
? Typical calorofic intake: approx 1500?
? General note: other than the time I spend on the exercise bike, I am not particularly active, I can't get out much at the moment.

My questions: Am I heading in the right direction for weight loss? Am I doing anything wrong? Could anyone kindly make any suggestions please? What other exercises should I do or can I just stick with the bike?
Any help would be greatly appreciated. I'm terrible with any of the technical things regarding weight loss, I've tried understanding calorie-counting but my brain explodes at how much information there is to take in! So if you're a bit more clued up than I am, please shine some healthy light into my fat little world :p

Thank you for reading! I apologise for babbling on!
Click to expand...

I found these amazing youtube videos called XHIDaily, they really do get your heart pumping and I've noticed a change xxx
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top