Exercise sensibly or you could do yourself more harm than good.

[Jonpitt]

I've been exercising since February this year and on the whole it has gone really well.

I'm 5'11, 51 years old and when I started weighed 234lb, now weigh 211lb. My activity levels involved walking to the car, walking to my desk and walking to the canteen.

Having been to the gym and found it off putting and boring I decided to do my own thing.

Following Samsung Health I set a daily limit of calories, exercise duration and calories to burn.

This all worked well until one day I decided to speed up weight loss by doing my usual 10,000 + steps, cycling and my pushups and sit ups and reduce my calorie intake to 1,000 per day. This led to me feeling ill, light headed and faint if I made sudden movements. Mistake number 1.

Yesterday, I decided to walk for about an hour out and an hour back along the canal in Worcester. Equipped with the latest sports wear, shorts, Tshirt and sandals off I set. 10 minutes in I decided to walk for 2 minutes jog for 1.

All went really well until a few minutes past the half way mark I went over on my ankle and pulled my Achilles heel.

I now have my leg strapped up and hobbling round. No chance of 10,000 steps today or tomorrow either.

Mistake number 2.

I am definitely not an expert on exercise or weight management but what I am beginning to realise and I would urge anyone who is thinking of upping their activity levels and weight loss to make sure you do it safely and with the right equipment.

I'm going to see if there are any fitness clubs, (not gyms) in Walsall and look at what I eat, rather than just eat the same but reduce calorie intake.

Everything I've done has been cobbled together by me with no real thought as to what I was doing, after all who eats 1,000 calories a day and goes jogging in sandals?

A recipe for disaster.

So good luck everyone and whatever you're doing, please do it sensibly

[Daisy1925]

Well you know what Henry Ford said about exercise? If you're healthy you don't need it and if you're not it's dangerous!

I don't believe that and have been out walking/jogging this morning. 11 miles and 24000 steps. But you're right we need to be careful especially as we get older. Daisy1925

[Realfoodieclub]

Try not to feel too disheartened, all exercise is a learning curve as we increase our distances and intensity. Fueling exercise is another area to be cautious of. The main thing is over the last few days you have learnt a lot about yourself and now have a solid basis of things not to do as you move forward. I am a great believer in never going under 1200 kcals a day, the general opinion is that anything under is not enough. I do think you have to take exercise into the equation a little bit as well.

You know the first step you want to start with and what you don't want to do next so build on that and I'm sure as you get up and running again things will feel more manageable.

Take care.

[Alisbig]

Hi Jon, I joined a few hours ago. I have a Samsung Galaxy phone, but I use the Google Fit App. I set a walking goal of 90 minutes (I have to go from place to place with work, so this is quite achievable- in fact I often do over 2 hours). I don't bother with a gym, I have equipment at home. I have a rebounder, my brand is urban rebounder (see it on Google), but they're are many brands. Basically, it's a foldaway trampoline, so you can do walking or moving on it, even if it's raining outside. It id gentle on the joints. I also have some elastic band s which are like using weights; Google 'Bodylastics' .

[Mags1953]

Hi Jon...yes you have to be very careful and I hope you recover quickly. Over the years I've joined clubs been on every diet going and was no problem in my younger days. However,at 64 I know my limits but I can't recommend Slimmimg World enough..it's healthy eating all the way..some councils provide an 8 week free course to SW and gym membership. You are only given an amount of exercise the consultant feels you are able safely to carry out. This is supported by the NHS..if you only want an healthy eating plan you can join online or attend a group..some magazines this week have a voucher for free membership. At my local group we have a gentleman who has just received man of the year after losing 6st over 56 weeks...he's 75!!. Good Luck and stay safe x

[GoogleMe]

It's the wanting a quick result... which is a red flag that there's not full acceptance of the idea of permanent change...

I don't blame you though for being confused - there is so much rubbishy information out there, especially the half-truths.

However, I doubt that either your calorie intake or your sandals were responsible for your injury - that, sadly, is something that could have happened to anyone and was just rotten luck. (I started running in walking boots and have on occasion run in my sandals (Keens mind). The worst shoes I ever ran in were the most expensive and specialist fitted. My knees knocked together!)

The NHS provides a weight loss plan and a running plan and a strength and flexibility plan. You could do a lot worse than follow them. I hope your ankle feels better soon!