I don't know what to do about exercise

When you say that you want to lose weight I think that you want to reduce the amount of fat that you are carrying. You will not lose weight from exercise alone. It's simple, muscle weighs more than fat and it is a shocking fact of life that to burn fat through exercise is very difficult. You virtually have to run marathons! Please be very aware that it is easy to hurt yourself through exercise. If you damage your back you'll regret that for the rest of your life. Look at your diet. Keep an accurate record of what  you drink and eat for a month. No booze, no nuts, no sweets, no biscuits, no chocolate and no fizzy drinks. No treats. Lose weight by dieting first .

Hi there. despite what the previous poster said about exercise not being terribly helpful, speaking as someone who's also trying to lose weight I've found it to be a huge motivator. If I've made the effort to exercise in the morning, I'm far, far more likely to stay on my 'diet' of eating sensibly and keeping the portions small.

I have a nuimber of strategies. I have a pedometer on my phone and simply by parking x distance away from work, choosing to go to a supermarket to buy a sandwich x distance away rather than eat at my desk means I achieve my ten thousand steps quite easily. If I've only reached 8000 I'm far more likely to feel motivated to have a walk after dinner. Ipod and good tunes and job done

Another thing I did was find some friends on facebook who also wanted to be motivated to walk and together we set a challenge to find something to photograph while out on our walk. Monday we'd have to photograph a shoe, Tuesday a stop sign, Wednesday an interesting window, Thursday a blue door and so on and so forth (just examples!). we'd then load our photos into a group album on facebook to prove we'd gone out. It was fun and a great motivator, enough to get us all going. One friend was in South Africa, 2 were in the UK, another in the States and another in Australia. It made the photo challenge really fun because we'd get to see what everyone else saw on their walks too....

I don't know if any of this helps but hope it does. best of luck

x

About six years ago I was in a similar situation. I was three stones overweight at the time and I decided to join Slimmers World. I felt a bit out on a limb as I was the only male there with about sixty women. However, it was avery friendly group and I persevered, within about twelve weeks I was down to my ideal weight. After leaving Slimmers World I started to put on weight again and when I had gained ten pounds I rejoined the group and made sure I walked two miles every day, within three weeks I was down to my ideal weight.

I am now on a see saw: between ideal but never more than ten pounds over. About four years ago I decided to become a vegetarian and I find this helps a lot as I now take about a year to put on that ten pounds which gives me a chance to occasionally satisfy my sweet tooth. 

You state you like to be outdoors and around people so please consider going to your local library and ask if there are any walking groups, where you will have friendlly support and be outdoors

Wishing you good health and happiness    Charlie 

 

Hi there

I was in a similar situation, having put on 10kg over a couple of years at university (combined with an injury sustained from sport). I kickstarted my weightloss with the 5:2 diet and running 3-4 times a week. The 5:2 diet helped me get off sugary things and become more aware about the nutrients and calories in different types of food.

To make sure I stuck to my running, I signed myself up for a running competition (a 10.5km run) in the not-too-distant future. I lost about 5kgs through this alone. After a couple of months, I stopped doing the 5:2 diet and started going to the gym. I was lucky to see a personal trainer, because it's cheap at university, twice a week. I would recommend having someone - whether it be a friend, a family member, or a personal trainer - to hold you accountable when first getting into a routine.

I gradually progressed to going to the gym myself 2-3 times a week and seeing a trainer once a week. Now I do a combination of activities - I go running, go to the gym, play badminton, and actually go for swims at the local pool. I eventually lost the remainder of the weight I'd gained, although I'd still like to lose a little more - I'm towards the larger end of a healthy BMI at the moment (74kgs and 176cm tall).

From my experience, it's all about creating a habit and making exercise and eating healthily a part of your lifestyle. It's hard to begin with, but if you have family and friends who you've told about what your plan is, you're probably more likely to stick to it. Good luck!