exercise....how much

[mandy72]

im not the best at exercising mainly due to the lack of energy, in fact its all i can do to get out of bed in the mornings

one of my dogs started becoming slightly overweight (she does nothing but sleep)

so one day i decided to take her for a short walk because shes slow and i can keep up with her

anyway the walk was 5 minutes not long i know but it about done me in (was about 5 weeks ago)

anyway tuesday i downloaded an app on my phone called runners buddy and connected up for our walk

and i did 0.86 miles, 2133 steps and it took 32 mins bearing in mind i bumped into a friend and we got chatting and i walked really slow so i didnt overdo things

would you say thats enough exercise to shift some fat or do i need to do more?

im just waiting on a heart rate calorie burner watch to come through the post too

[Hidden]

Hi this site lists a table of activities and their calorie burning potential based on various weights. It might help you. walking the dog for an hour will burn a minimum of 177 cals if I remember correctly, but only just over 100 if you walk slowly.

nutristrategy.com/activityl...

[mandy72 in reply to Hidden]

thankyou

ill stay slow at moment and hopefully soon will be able to up the pace

[PoppyRose]

Hi, Do that boring thing of looking at the amount of calories you take in each day then deduct the amount of calories you burn off. You should end up with between 1500 and 2000 calories - depending on your height, age weight etc... If you click on the 'Nutracheck' link on the Thyroid UK membership page it has a free trial. Quite a shock for me I must say lol. Worth having a play

[mandy72 in reply to PoppyRose]

now that takes brain work lol

ill give it a go and see

[Marz]

Maybe have your dog checked - perhaps he/she is Hypo Sleeping all day is a sign. My doggie is Hypo and takes lots of T4. Lots of her tail hair fell out as did some of her muzzle hair. On treatment it grew back. so that's all 3 of us - hubby me and the dog Once she has her energy back you may find yourself walking further

[mandy72 in reply to Marz]

shes allways been lazy marz, she did get a bald patch on her side and vets said possibly hormonal but wants to wait until it happens on the other side, i spoke to her breede and she has a couple of her dogs with a bad thing going on and she says it normally sorts itself out. When shes out walking you wouldnt think it the same lazy dog as she wants o keep going where i just want to sit and recover. Im just recovering after doing a 1.4 mile walk, may not seem much but to me its a lot

[Marz in reply to mandy72]

[PoppyRose in reply to mandy72]

[Fruitandnutcase]

Well its a good start for you both but I think you probably need to do a bit more. I remember a friend being a pretty fed up when her doctor told her the daily dog walking she did (not far and definitely not fast ) didn't count as exercise.

Why don't you set yourself a target to try either to go a little bit further next time or try the same distance but maybe a bit faster.

Then gradually try and build things up and once you get into the swing of walking a bit every day it will get easier and then once you lose a bit of weight you ought to feel better.

[PoppyRose in reply to Fruitandnutcase]

That's true slow walking burns off next to nothing, you need to get a bit of a sweat on and be able to notice a change in your breathing.... in time.

[mandy72 in reply to PoppyRose]

my breathing is terrible

[mandy72 in reply to Fruitandnutcase]

im going to stick to the same route for a while as it was a struggle and then when i find it easier will increase to maybe 1 1/2 mile

[Fruitandnutcase in reply to mandy72]

I think that's a good idea - even if it isn't that far you will be able to see progress because you will eventually find it gets easy for you and you will know it is time to increase your distance. Good luck - it is nice out at this time of the year, lots of pretty blossom and birdsong.

[mandy72 in reply to Fruitandnutcase]

my normal walk was literally 0.35 miles and that allmost killed me but i was determined to do more, i think ill do better if i took a bottle of water with me

my weight is right against me so hopefully in time things will ease up

[Fruitandnutcase in reply to mandy72]

Well done, you sound really positive so I'm sure you'll get there even if it takes you a while.

Water is a good idea and you might have to pack some low cal doggy treats to encourage your dog. Once you both get out there you will probably find you meet other doggy people. I don't have a dog but I talk to lots of dog owners when I'm out.

Whenever I take next door's dog out I am amazed at how many people speak to me because they know the dog - there is a whole secret world of dog owners out there, it is a really good way to meet people.

[mandy72 in reply to Fruitandnutcase]

thankyou, i can do the dog treats, i have noticed people do tend to talk when you have dogs, yesterday someone asked if it was mum and pup....how they didnt see they were both diff breeds is beyond me but we stood chatting a while,

[Fruitandnutcase in reply to mandy72]

Different breeds - that's funny. Are they the same colour? Maybe the person just thought they looked cute and wanted to talk.

[mandy72 in reply to Fruitandnutcase]

both black and the same age, one has a lot of grey and is bigger built and the other is smaller build and a complete different face, both are clipped back though one more that the other (i got a bit clipper happy lol)

[Fruitandnutcase in reply to mandy72]

Ha! Suppose if they were both black and you didn't know much about dogs .... Can see what you mean with the clippers. I used to love trimming the children's hair - then they got to an age where they hated it - shame. Not I just have to prune shrubs and things in the garden.

[mandy72 in reply to Fruitandnutcase]

i paid to have maya the bigger one clipped as she had a tangle on her bits and i couldnt get to it, i did minnie myself as just wanted a full clip, not sure about poko yet i might attempt to just thin her coat and if it fails take her to get her done properly (same breed as maya) i should have stuck to jack russells lol they dont need any real grooming but hey ho,

i dont do gardening the only thing i can grow are weeds lol

[PoppyRose in reply to Fruitandnutcase]

You would be surprised the kind of conversations that I'm up for when out dog walking! many people I find during the daytime also want company. I love it, though my teenagers thing I'm strange speaking to anyone and everyone. I love being out with people.

[PoppyRose in reply to Fruitandnutcase]

Absolutely!

[crimple]

I have a "fitbit" wrist band, it counts my daily steps (download onto my computer) and I always manage a minimum of 5000 steps but l always aim for 10000, which I think is about 4 miles. Occasionally I have managed 15 K steps. I don't drive, so walk everywhere. It is amazing how the steps add up around the house too, cleaning cooking etc. When I walk into town there is a slight hill. Some days it seems like a mountain. My energy levels are definitely very much up and down but they have gradually improved over the last few months. just remember one step at a time!

[mandy72 in reply to crimple]

might look into getting one, i do a lot of steps indoors chasing a 6 year old around and opening/closing the front door after the kids

[PoppyRose]

Re reading all the replies, advice, and your comments - you sound very positive, go at your pace, use the same route and length of walk, so that you can do a comparison. That's important for you to see.

Keep a record if you can be bothered - I'm not brilliant at it - far too much going on in my life... but I will do if I need that kick up the ...

Keep us posted and good luck.

[mandy72 in reply to PoppyRose]

thankyou PoppyRose

im looking into a fitbit but they look a bit pricey, i want to do away with taking my phone as you never know (im paranoid when i see a gang), if i do happen to get a fitbit ill get a stopwatch too and do the same route and try to go faster, may need a sign telling people not t talk to me lol

[PoppyRose in reply to mandy72]

Ha ha bless you! Good luck - you've inspired me too!