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going the gym to lose weight

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big_daddy

Well-Known Member
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I recently went to see my dietitian and it was ok. She told me that I don't need test strips which I'm ok with, we talked about if the gym would be useful for me to go to as i've tried several diet and with each one I give in to temptation. So now I've decided to go the gym until I start a b-you programme in November to help support me to lose weight and wanted to know if there are certain gym equipment's that are good to use.
 
Exercise of any sort is a great start
Not sure about type 1 but I am type 2 and go to Zumba five times a week and love it but be careful of your sugars
I have a snack about an hour before exercise and I take my glucose tablets with me just incase
Good luck
Once you get the bug you will love it :-)


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My aim was to generally be more active but my weight and osteoarthritis and generally appalling condition made even walking across the car park cumbersome. I started with leg and calf stretching exercises and moved up to some floor exercises in my bedroom which involved using my bigger lower body muscles to move my weight around. Within a few weeks I was upto 8 or 9 mins a day. Not much in the scheme of things but an improvement. I would have gone walking but the osteo arthritis in my ankle made it too sore. I bought a rower and worked up to 15 mins per day. The benefit of that was that there was no strain on my ankle. I lost weight and later found I could walk again, in the Alps no less. Up and down the pastures like, well, not a gazelle but more like an old steam engine, plodding on steadily. I wanted to get upto 2 x 15 mins per day so I dug out my son's old mountain bike and bought an exerciser, where the back wheel is lifted off the ground and put on a roller with magnetic resistance. That is probably a harder workout than the rower but the combination of the two, rowing and cycling is making me feel very good. I'm not building up muscle mass, as one might do with weight training, but I feel more energetic. I've even started walking in the english countryside.

The biggest benefit seems to not so much burning off existing fat, but burning off the calories consumed during the day. Thus, if combined with a moderate drop in consumption , it seems to work well. A very useful side effect though is feeling like you want to go and do things. My garden has never looked more tidy. You become more active and more enthusiastic and can channel the extra energy to spur you on to make more changes. It is definitely worthwhile and I truly wish you every success.
 
I'd recommend the rower and perhaps the cross trainer, both very low impact and work both upper and lower body together. No need to go hell for leather on either, just try and work at the level where you are just about working up a sweat and still able to talk and try and maintain that for 15-20 mins. Don't worry if you cant manage that long initially, you soon will. You can also introduce a little resistance work starting with light dumbbells. Most gyms will offer advice, and most will insist on showing you how to use the equipment safely before they let you loose on it anyway.

I recommend getting a heart rate monitor also, its important to try and work in the correct heart rate zones for an effective weight loss workout.

I've been doing this daily for 5 months now and I honestly don't think I've ever felt better.
 
There should be someone at the gym that is fully trained and can work out a program with you, some gyms even have "Dr reference specialists" They are trained for all sorts of illnesses and conditions. Have a word with them, they will be happy to help. If you dont want to for some reason, the best advice i can offer is, what ever you do do NOT over do it, better to walk a mile than run 100 yards, better to lift 2 kilos 10 times than 10 kg twice.

The hardest part most people find about taking exercise is getting to the gym. So make it as enjoyable as you can. 8)
 
Thanks for the suggestions, the gym that I am thinking of going to has a swimming pool as well and the monthly membership that I can choose from is £19.20 for either gym, swim or workout or £20.40 for 2 out of the 3 and I am thinking of using the gym and swimming pools. I am generally not that good at swimming but I am able to do it and it felt so good when I did it during the summer that I want to do it again.

btw I weigh between 23 and 24 stone and have huge thighs, calves and stomach. If I do it for a couple of months should I expect to lose quite a bit of weight or not.
 
big_daddy said:
I am generally not that good at swimming but I am able to do it and it felt so good when I did it during the summer that I want to do it again.

btw I weigh between 23 and 24 stone and have huge thighs, calves and stomach. If I do it for a couple of months should I expect to lose quite a bit of weight or not.
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You'll feel tired all over when starting swimming again. It's a superb way to start. I did 20 lengths per day on holiday for 3 weeks and it got easier throughout. You feel, nicely tired.

At 23/24 st I read that you need something like 3500 cals per day so, even on a 2000 cal per day diet, you'd lose weight. You are effectively doing a workout just moving your body around. I lost 30Kg quite easily. Like me, you'll stick at some point so you'll have to start working harder or dieting more or a combination of both. But, there's absolutely no way I'd give up. I feel like I have got my life back and I enjoy things more simply because it's less effort.
 
Good idea but please watch what you drink and eat too.

Save some of the money you would have spent on 'bad' food for the gym and test strips meter if you cant get them out of your GP

Cara
 
big_daddy said:
Thanks for the suggestions, the gym that I am thinking of going to has a swimming pool as well and the monthly membership that I can choose from is £19.20 for either gym, swim or workout or £20.40 for 2 out of the 3 and I am thinking of using the gym and swimming pools. I am generally not that good at swimming but I am able to do it and it felt so good when I did it during the summer that I want to do it again.

btw I weigh between 23 and 24 stone and have huge thighs, calves and stomach. If I do it for a couple of months should I expect to lose quite a bit of weight or not.
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Swimming is a great all over work out and no offence to your weight but it is gentle on your joints takes all the pressure off
Just swim as much as you can and build it up gradually
Good luck I wish you well :-)
Keep us updated on your progress


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Is ping pong any good as in the common room at my halls of residence there is a ping pong table and after 10 minutes I was already working up a sweat.
 
big_daddy said:
Is ping pong any good as in the common room at my halls of residence there is a ping pong table and after 10 minutes I was already working up a sweat.
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Yes anything which gets the blood pumping and by doing something that you like, you are more likely to do it. Many forms of exercise just seem like punishments so you naturally try to avoid them. Worse still, if you are doing them for the sake of doing them, you get bored and think about how hard it is whilst you are doing them. Having fun is best. It's why a lot of people like dancing type exercises, listening to music, in groups.

But not me. I'm from Yorkshire.
 
The gym will help you lose weight if you also control your eating. If it's a properly constituted gym, not one of the cheap drop in centres that pop up everywhere, they should have an instructor to guide you. the cheap places save money on only having self-employed trainers.
I use local authority facilities. there are staff to advise, classes to join and an assurance that everyone is properly qualified. It's not particularly expensive. Joining a friendly class keps your motivation up.
Hana
 
big dady
If they have some kind of water exercise classes, those are brilliant!
I've been doing classes for years. It's huge fun and kind to joints.
Hana
 
Swimming is good.
I usually do an hour swimming after an hour in the gym.
I found the cross trainer was painful on my knees. The stepper was better.
The rower you need to watch your back on, it's quite easy to sit slumped forwards and put strain on it.
Exercise bike was good for me, and a hand version of it.
Treadmill is good, with an incline.
I wouldn't do any resistance work until you feel like it, as usually it's quite specific to building up muscle groups, rather than overall weight loss.

Don't overdo it, take it easy, sweat, and drink water.
If it feels like you're doing too much all the time, you probably are, build it up slowly.
Enjoy yourself, I take the ipod with me, and either watch videos, or listen to music.

Ping pong is excellent exercise as well.
 
As to weight loss, it's probably not going to be a vast amount to be honest.
As a very rough rule, 1lb fat equals 3500 calories.
And it takes a lot of exercise to burn 3500 calories.
I would guess about 3 or 4 sessions for me.

You will be converting fat into muscle as well.
You will feel a lot better, your joints will hurt a lot less, you won't get out of breath as easily, stairs are more manageable as well.

If you plan it around a change of diet, it does help as you change your overall routine, and time spent in the gym for me is time spent when I physically can't eat, followed by time spent when I don't fell like eating due to the exercise.
 
big_daddy said:
Is ping pong any good as in the common room at my halls of residence there is a ping pong table and after 10 minutes I was already working up a sweat.
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Absolutely, any form of exercise is beneficial to our general health and particularly so for diabetics, with any exercise it's best starting off slowly when you haven't exercised for a while.

Good luck!
 
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