Just come across the 12 week diet/exercise. Very self conscious, can't exercise in public?

[Shhface]

Hi

I've just come across the 12 week diet and exercise and am gonna start tomorrow.

I am extremely self conscious and there is no way I could exercise in public apart from walking.

What exercise can I do at home? Or walking, how far should I walk etc?

Also I have quite literally no idea about diet and what I should be eating apart from the obvious fruit and veg.

Any help would be very much appreciated!

Thanks

[GoogleMe]

Do have a good read through the NHS plan information - lots of answers to your questions there.

There are some other NHS resources which may suit you - NHS strength and flexibility podcasts, that's a 5 week programme and you can do that at home.

I really like Ekhart Yoga's resources - it is a subscription website but they do have some free videos there and also put up a lot free on YouTube which is well worth experimenting with. Not just for burning calories etc but also for helping you to feel better about yourself.

There are even indoor walking videos on YouTube.

There are quite a lot of apps out there to help you track your activity including walking. One thing I would say is that although walking is indeed less 'visible' somehow and definitely worth doing - if you do nothing else tomorrow, go for half an hour's walk if you can, I found sustaining brisk walking was too difficult... and found NHS C25K podcasts, a running programme and believe it or not, I find running easier (you can bet that I didn't wear anything that would give away what I was up to and did it somewhere quiet)

Good luck with it all! If you focus on doing healthy things (and it sounds as though you are already thinking along those lines), the rest falls into place. It's not easy but it can be fun and rewarding

[chayes]

I've started the Strength & Flexibility exercise routine, and so far only indoors - works fine!

[katedaniels]

Hi,

I have exactly the same problem, I have far too many jibbly bits and no coordination to be able to exercise in public, except for walking. I started with walking, I aimed to do a mile a day to start with, I use Map My Walk to log my activity. I now do 3 miles in my lunch break and aim to do 5 miles a day at the weekend, it has taken me 3 months to get to this stage and the weather has stopped me going out at lunchtime this week, oddly enough I'm finding that i'm missing the walking.

At home I have a cross trainer/stationery bike for rainy days but i'm struggling to make the effort to use it. I have an aerobic step, great to do in front of the tv, if you don't want to buy one any step in your home can be used. I have just found Just Dance for the Wii, obviously the curtains are closed when it's on but a half hour of dancing really gets the heart going. There's loads of exercise videos on you tube, or if you have Sky there's an active channel and I just record the programmes that look good and watch them through before I try them.

There's a load of information about various diets online. I'm not following a specific diet, I use My Fitness Pal to log calories and am aiming for 1200 calories a day. I eat meat and veg everyday, fruit has sugar in it, even though it's naturally occurring and therefore better than other sugar it's still sugar, so I would aim for more veg than fruit. I think that it's better to experiment and find something that works for you. The 5:2 diet is mentioned a lot on here, for 2 non-consecutive days you eat 500 calories, I've not tried it but a few people are reporting success with it.

Good luck, this is an excellent support forum so you've made a good start coming on here

Kate

[Hidden]

Hi,

I felt the same but just followed Insanity 20 minute fat burner on youtube slowly to begin with and now find i can keep up with it quite easily. I also have a homemade protein shake made with eggs,dairy free milk,peanut butter and a teaspoon of honey for breakfast straight after my workout it keeps me going until lunchtime.

I try to have fresh fruit available for snacking and have protein with every meal, fish or chicken and lots of veggies. The weight has dropped off quite quickly. I only exercised every other day.

Hope this helps. Walking is also a good thing to add on the days of no exercise.

[Fat_Rascal]

I was exactly the same. I was woefully out of shape. Then an attack of reactive arthritis made me unsteady on my feet. Exercise improved things, but I was afraid to go outside in case I fell. My OH got me a second-hand manual treadmill for a few pounds, and set it up in the kitchen (it folds up out of the way when not in use, so it doesn't take up much room). I got up extra early each morning to use it. At first I could only manage to walk for a minute or two at a time (don't laugh!) but built up gradually. Now, 3 and a half years later I run outdoors, can jog for twenty minutes at a stretch, and I've even run a mile - although it took me 9 minutes A word of warning, though - I originally tried Couch to 5k, but I was so unfit it nearly killed me inside a week. I gave up, until I found Zest magazine's book "Running Made Easy" which suited me much better. Horses for courses, I suppose. Good luck!

[gingernut49 in reply to Fat_Rascal]

A mistake many make is to try to run too fast when they start C25K nhs.uk/Livewell/c25k/Pages/... You should just aim at a very gentle jog. When I started, lads walking were passing me. Nine weeks later I was running for 30 minutes and passing them!

[grandad73 in reply to Fat_Rascal]

Hi I'm Liz Like you i have osteo arthritis in my knees and feet so gave up walking as it is painful and i l felt so unsteady. I have now bought walking poles, and this has given me the confidence to start walking again,it still hurts but im hoping losing weight will make it easier, i need to lose about 3st I wish you luck and hope this may help

[PoppyRose in reply to grandad73]

Great to hear grandad73 , I just love your determination.

[gingernut49]

Here's the link to the Leslie Sansone walking videos on YouTube youtube.com/results?search_... - and here's a one mile one to get you started youtu.be/ndVjwkaLGDk(Not working as expected?)

She's really good. I wear a Fitbit and aim at walking five miles every day, but you can build up to that.

I'd also recommend the free MyFitnessPal app. If you enter all your details it will tell you how many calories you need to stay under to lose weight. Then you simply add everything that passes your lips - no cheating! - and you will lose weight!

[PoppyRose in reply to gingernut49]

Just checked out the vids; they look very manageable for most with concerns good starting point.

[MotwCoop 1 stone]

Great link thanks. Something I can do in a hotel room!!