Take 2 - need support with getting active again

[sorry for the long post!]

Hi all! Technically not a newbie as I have been here about 2 months ago but lost motivation to check the app so I’m back! I think I did one weigh in, forgot the week after, then totally forgot the app entirely...

I’m 21F and will be returning to university in 2 weeks. I keep telling myself that I’ll lose weight more when I’m there because I’m more independent so can work out when it suits me and not my family but I have to have some support and peer pressure to get myself there... and that’s where you guys come in!

Like so many people, I put on weight during lockdown due to not really moving except between my bed and my desk, then downstairs for meals. At uni, I do musical theatre and fitness classes, live on the 2nd floor with no lift, and walk to classes about 20 minutes each way. I’m now not exactly fat but I feel it and my weight and BMI suggests it. For the first time, I don’t fit my clothes (I’m literally limited to one pair of jeans and that’s it) and I don’t like how I look anymore.

My current weight is 67.3kg (I’m 5’ 3”). I started getting serious about calorie tracking and getting more exercise about 3 months ago and I then weighed 68.6kg. That’s not bad progress considering I’ve never needed to lose weight before (I was actually always underweight and teased for it by my family) but I need support to regain my old level of activity and try to get back to a healthy weight. My goal is about 60kg which puts me in the middle of a healthy weight for my age, fitness level, and height.

So my goals:

- get to 64kg (short term goal, puts my BMI back in the healthy range) then 60kg

- get my belly and thigh fat to a healthy range (currently very much not so according to the NHS website)

- be more active in my daily life

- do at least 2 specific fitness activities per week

[Tall1732 Maintainer]

I find walking is a great way of helping reduce weight. I try and do a 45 min / 3 mile walk before I start work this then gives me a 300 calorie loss and also gets me awake the day. I lost weight through calorie counting and increase exercise.

[Hidden in reply to Tall1732]

Thanks! I’ll definitely be doing more walking when I’m back at uni as the campus is so lovely and has natural walking paths. I’ve also decided to go swimming at least once a week. The leisure centre is a 15 minute walk from my flat so doing that regularly should be good exercise. I’m impressed you find the energy to walk in the mornings, I’m not alert until midday haha

[moreless Administrator 7 stone]

Hi Simply_Being_Me,

I advise that you join a weigh-in of your choice, the daily diary and the Fit is Fun Club. All will give you extra advice and support. They can be found in Pinned Posts healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...

[Hidden in reply to moreless]

Yes I’ll definitely try and stick to the weigh in this time! I weigh on Sundays so I’ll be joining this weekend

[moreless Administrator 7 stone in reply to Hidden]

Good for you!

[joncwg]

Hello..... You have very eloquenlty outlined where you are - and feeding back to you - you sound really clued in and have a great idea of what you are going to do.... Be kind to yourself and dont give yourself too many rigid targets in a week.... as if you miss any you might be liable to feel down if you miss any.... Try something new and remember you have nothing to prove to anyone but yourself... I am sure everyone here wishes you well.....

[Hidden in reply to joncwg]

Thank you for the feedback. Yeah I can see what you mean about the rigid targets. I track my calories and weight on MyFitnessPal but mostly just focus on whether I’m on an overall up or down trend. I don’t have a time limit on when I want to reach my goal weight as I feel this won’t work for me. By Christmas would be nice but I don’t want to pressure myself.

[Tgostswimmer]

I have a Garmin watch. I find the stats on there hugely illuminating. I thought that going for a walk was improving my fitness... but actually its hardly maintaining it. For me there needs to be a greater effort put in, and I have to be out of breath to be increasing my aerobic capacity. And, out of breath for a considerable time! I've taken up Couch to 5k (NHS do an app). And slowly I've seen stats like VO2 (a measurement of cardio vascular fitness) improve. And, if I'm honest... I'm feeling more confident about a bit of extra weight on my hips now that I have the knowledge that inside things are on the right path. That's not to say that I don't need to loose a bit more though!

You might not be the kind of person who geeks over health stats. But for me it is great, and I would recommend it if you can get a hold of something at a reasonable price.

I hear you when you say about a sedentary lifestyle during lockdown. When you are back at uni it sounds as though you will be naturally a lot more active, and that can be embraced

[BridgeGirl Administrator 2 stone in reply to Tgostswimmer]

I don't have anything fancy but I downloaded the Active10 app to my phone. That's made me up the rate of my walking from what would better be described as strolling!

You'd be very welcome at the Fit is Fun Club. There's a new post every Monday where members discuss what they've been up to the previous week and what they're aiming for - exercise/activity of any kinf. You'll find it in Pinned Posts, further down from your weigh-in.

All the best

[Hidden in reply to BridgeGirl]

I’ve never heard of Active10, I’ll take a look, thanks. And yeah I think I’ll take a look at the Fit is Fun Club. I’m not against exercise, I just usually lack the motivation to do it. My excuse is currently that I only own one sports bra and my family only does laundry once a week (I’m not allowed to put less than a full load on so it only gets washed at the weekend) which is why I hope I’ll be more motivated by myself at uni because I handwash all my clothes there (one laundry load is £3.25, no thank you!) so I can just wash it after I’ve used it. I’ll come take a look and see on Monday whether I have anything to add to the discussion. Thank you!

[BridgeGirl Administrator 2 stone in reply to Hidden]

You're welcome

You're far more committed to exercise than most, and especially me. I just walk (which is why I use Active10, to make sure at least some of it is brisk walking) and I like to swim once a week but haven't been since before lockdown

[Hidden in reply to Tgostswimmer]

That’s great you’ve realised so much about yourself, best of luck! I have a fitbit that I was actually considering selling a few months ago. My realisation about my weight came when I was able to move my stuff out of halls (the uni told us not to come until they said so, meaning I didn’t have any of my possessions during lockdown for at least 3 months) and I got my clothes back. Suddenly nothing fit. I weighed myself and saw that I was fairly overweight... I decided to keep my fitbit and start seriously tracking my exercise and that’s when I realised I actually didn’t move all day! Now I try to focus on calories burned rather than step count. I do YouTube HIIT workouts twice a week which have really started to help get me back on track.

[Tgostswimmer in reply to Hidden]

HIIT is pretty brutal! So good luck with that! I only have one sports bra too, you do know they can be handwashed between weekly machine washes, right?! Its been fab since I got it though, funny the things that hold us back when, umm... things are not being held back

A bit like you, I'm not sure I will fit in any of my work clothes since I've been working from home. Elasticated waists are wonderful!