Looking for advice on where to start on a healthy diet that will help me reduce weight as quick as possible as I have about 6 stone to lose. Also ideas on exercise, it would need to be a gradual staged approach, as I get out of breath easily.
Not sure if walking is the best way to start or if should get a exercise bike in house or if any online daily classes I should join. I’m not the most disciplined when comes to diet or exercise. So wondering if anyone has been in similar place I am and has ideas or things that worked for them. What things they did to help them stay on track & stop them giving up? Help! Any ideas or suggestions welcome!
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Suzanne146
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Any exercise is better than none. Walking is the simplest and cheapest. The Mediterranean diet seems to be a good bet for weight loss. Cut out ultra-processed foods, refined carbs, and increase the vegetable intake.
I’ve joined Slimming World. Never thought I’d be able to stick to any diet, I’ve tried many over the years. It’s basically a low fat diet and I’m losing weight steadily which is a far safer way to do it than huge losses quickly. You can attend weekly classes or join online if you prefer. Exercise is good, even a walk each day can make a difference. Good luck.
If you need support, then something like slimming world to lose weight. BHF have lots of recipes on line for healthy food.
If you have never done any ever use start with walking, get a fitbit or similar to track your steps. Then maybe join your local gym, ours has a cardio group, who could give you some sensible exercise advice.
I found gentle walking , building up the distance works for me. I work from home so it's good to get out. I also do yoga, which is really good for building strength. I went plant based for food apart from chicken and fish and I've lost 3 stone since June. It takes a lot of patience, but staying consistant is key. Good luck!
Agree. Slimming World & walking but you have to be determined. It definitely works if you follow the diet. If you hate exercise don’t buy any equipment, you’ll just get disheartened if you don’t use it. Walk first - try a half hour a day and work up in length & speed. It’s free & if you get a bit fitter then you can think about other things like exercise bikes or going swimming if you think you’ll entitled. You might find a Slimming World group in walking distance to your home. The combination of diet & exercise is key. If you like to cook there are lots of lovely low fat recipes & you’ll find you don’t need the calorific meals. It seems like a lot to lose but it’s very achievable. Good Luck 😃
Start walking, walk further every day, start getting faster. Change your diet cut out bread, potatoes and rice. Eat more vegetables. Don't snack on junk. BUT only you can do it. Nobody else. You cannot give up. If you have a heart condition it's a must. Self motivation is paramount.
I started walking about 11 months ago - just out and about where I live starting with a 20 minute brisk walk and tried to do this 3 times a week. It got easier in the summer! I also started walking rather than taking the car for short trips to the shops etc. Like others have said, I’ve tried to adopt a Mediterranean diet, less saturated fat and lots more veg and fruit. Also I gave up alcohol more or less (I drink if I go out but that’s only once a month or so, no more drinking at home) I then moved onto couch to 5k program after 6 months of walking and actually enjoyed that and found it really helpful. I am not good at being disciplined so having a program to follow helped me. Also going for a walk/run is easy, it’s free and takes only half an hour, I have no excuse not to do it! I’ve lost 3 stone and improved my blood pressure and I feel fantastic now! Good luck. I’d say keep it simple, and try to just change a few things each week don’t launch into a massively different lifestyle immediately.
Hi Suzanne, you've taken the first steps to losing weight, a good start. The first thing to do is keep telling yourself that you can do it. I've lost 5 stone, which I didn't believe was possible when I started in Aug 2019. I did it slowly, aiming to lose 1lb each week for a year. I did that, and then lost the rest during the remainder of 2020. I'm now 10st12lbs, size 12/14 and I've never felt so well. My method was lots of fruit and veg, low carb and low fat, but also no forbidden foods. I allowed myself things like cake, but very rarely, and only a little bit. I always had a bit of a 'treat' for breakfast, slice of toast with ginger marmalade, then no more bread during the day. Lots of salads, vegetable stews, bakes, chicken and fish, avoiding potatoes, rice, pasta. Walking is the best exercise and the best way to make sure you do it is to get a dog. I have to walk 3 miles or so every day because of my dogs. They enjoy it so much and it makes it enjoyable for me. You can look forward to feeling so well and the pleasure of buying new clothes in smaller sizes, and remember, it is possible to do it. I've done it and you can too.
Hey Suzanne.I too have been rubbish at keeping to a diet, but havinga stent put in forced me to try harder.
I found that using an app to record my weight daily, as well as my food and drink intake has really helped. There are loads around...I used 'Noom' for the 2 week free trial period, but didn't think it worth paying for, so now use 'Myfitness pal'... May be an alternative to a club if you want. It's helping me to change bad habits and lose weight easily
Hi, I agree with Cyclingscientist. I found Myfitnesspal invaluable in losing weight. It has a huge database of foods and let's you also calculate the nutrients in homemade meals too. It really helped me keep track of what I was eating and focus on what I needed to avoid.
Hi SuzanneGoogle ‘Ornish diet’ or ‘Esselstyn diet’ - both clinically proven in trials to stop heart disease and lose weight. I lost 3 stone without trying.
They are low fat plant based diets but you can eat a lot and still shift weight too, as long as you follow the eating plans.
Walking is best form of exercise and all you need is a pair of shoes/trainers! (and some clothes😆)
A very good book to help change the way you think about food and help with permanent weight loss; 'You can be thin' by Marissa Peer. She has got me changing my ways after reading 10 pages!
The other tool that seems to work for most is; 'my fitness pal' excellent motivator!
I would suggest control stress. I had a heart echo didn't receive any news, hopefully my heart is ok. I will just keep on doing my Nichiren Shoshu Buddhist practice. The Lotus Sutra, English translation by Burton Watson. I need to prolong my life for this practice.
Suzanne, best of luck with your target loss. As many have said, walking really helps. Did wise best thing I found was don't eat between meals, cut out the empty calories eg crisps, have 3 meals a day but slightly smaller than you have done before. First 8 weeks was really difficult, after that it got easier. Keep going and if you lose a pound a week that's just under 4 stone in a year.
Don't diet; just swap things for healthier options. Use smaller plates and servings. After my HA I started using far less meat and replaced it with vegetables in things such as bolognese. In fact I used quorn in that and shepherds pie. My husband,a huge meat eater still hasn't realised. Stop frying or using fat. Exchange it for cold pressed rape seed oil in very small amounts. Swap red meat for chicken , turkey and fish. Obviously cut out the crisps, cakes and biscuits or limit it drastically. plus fizzy drinks and lots of alcohol. My son only ever drank Pepsi MAx. When he stopped that he lost 3 stone in 6 months. See the BHF main website for hundreds of healthy recipes. That's all I did and without knowing I Lost 2 stone. Didn't even realise until I got my summer skirts out and they fell off. At the start, walking is the best and easiest exercise. I'm not really one for using exercise machines. Boring. I can't be bothered with things like calorie counting. JUst eat less, change unhealthy foods and get moving.
I agree about signing up for a food tracker program - myfitnesspal is the one I used (and it's free). Mediterranean diet is good but you have to watch out - it really isn't a "diet" diet - it's a "lifestyle choice". You can get in trouble with Mediterranean if you eat too many nuts, or use too much olive oil! The best exercise is walking - around the neighborhood works really well. I also recommend starting a gentle yoga class - it is NOT for weight loss, but for toning your body and your breathing and your mind - this is so important as you start to lose weight. Don't be discouraged if you don't lose weight by the pound.....the best weight loss is slow weight loss because it gives your body time to adjust. The worse thing is to lose the weight, then gain in all back-if you do it slowly, that doesn't happen.
This is important - If you don't have one, get yourself a food scale. 4 ounces of meat is supposed to be the size of a deck of cards but that visual never worked for me so I like to weigh portions of food. It's often surprising!
I agree with others that SW worked for me but I used to slightly adapt it to suit me. I also needed to reduce my carbohydrate intake to reduce my blood sugars which I did. The SW diet is very much a high protein and low carbs diet (for the main) so can be great but when you are trying to manage your protein intake as well it can 'do your head in'.
For when the weather is not at its best , I have found lots of Exercise videos on You Tube, varying intensity's depending on what one is able to do and build up from. Good luck with your weight loss and exercise journey. xx
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