Hello,

I started to exercise ( stair machine, and treadmill ) again yesterday, as well as diet.

I gained weight over the last 6months ( 15pounds ) because I was eating compulsively to comfort myself. I also stopped exercising ( cardio and yoga ).

I just wanted to put a thread here in case it inspires someone. I'd like to go back to a healthy lifestyle, but I know there are some ups and downs. So, I share this to make me feel better and to keep me motivated.

So, anybody wants to join me so that we support each other to achieve a reasonable goal?

Hi,
Congratulations! I do hope you can start a good thread with this. If I were not 64, and doing much exercise outside the house, with yard work, etc, I would join you!
Keep it up. Maybe there is a local Support Group you could call in your local area. I do wish you the best.

Well done! Starting is the hardest part. Remember to ease into the effort, if you try to do too much too early you'll hurt and you'll equate exercising with hurting. I'm hitting the gym at lunch hour 3 days a week myself. You may want to explore why you feel the urge to eat compulsively for comfort. If you could strike that out of your life then your weight would be more even over time.

Good for you! The only way to start feeling better is to take care of yourself. Kepp up the good work!

Hi guys,

Thanks for the support.

Well, I have to admit it"s not my first diet : I am not obese, just overweight : 5ft 4in ( 1m60 ) for 145lbs ( about 65kg ). Usually I am around 130lbs(58kg ).
I like to exercise : fitness ( weights and cardio training ), yoga, swimming, hiking...but I also love food ! ( Hey, I"m from France, so I cook ! )

Taking into account ups and downs of life, I gained weight: I"m 24, but this year has been very tough for me : I resigned my job to follow my husband, and did not find a job for a couple of months, my grandparenbs died.... I am not making up excuses, I just know why I gained weight. But it"s easier to gain than to loose... unfortunately.

I saw there is another thread about diet pills. I tried them once, but they make me sick : my heart goes faster , so it"s very dangerous when I do cardio. ( I also have to admit that I do not drink coffee, so the sudden intake of caffeine in the pills may not help ).
Besides, I agree with what others said in the other thread : diet pills are not the real solution. If you do not change your life style, they do not really help.
Only the old fashioned way really works on the long term : healthy diet, exercise.
I loved what somebody said on TV about Trimspa and A.N. Smith : it"s not just the Trimspa, it's the diet, the exercise ( and a coach ) ( and maybe some surgery :cool: ), and maybe on top of it some Trimspa.

I just want to add my starting exercise program :

_1 5minutes of running : I walk for 1minute and then runs for 4minutes ( pace is 5.5 m|h ) until it says 15minutes.
_ then 15 minutes of a fat burning program on the stair machine.
_ then some triceps and abdominals.

( I am used to this routine as a way to start ).

After 2 weeks like this, I"m usually back in shape to do my regular routine :
_ 30 minutes of running ( pace is 5.5 : I know it"s not fast, but I am looking for endurance )
_ 15 minutes on the stair machine
_ then a work out with weights for some special areas : inner or outer thighs , butt ( squat, lunges ), abs, triceps.
I sometimes add some swimming during the weekends when the weather permits it . I do not know how to crawl ( hum, I do not know how to breathe... :o , so I do breast stroke, which is very good for the thighs and the butt.
I also like yoga, but it's very expensive where I live : I used to pay close to nothing ( 25$ for 6 weeks, twice a week ), thanks to the college I attended in MA. So, I bought a couple of DvDs, but it's not the same.

So, here it is.
I am not a professional, but I used to be very athletic ( I was a champion in France for rock climbing ). So, I am used to go to the gym to stay ( or go back to ) fit.

congrads on getting motivated physically again!

my wife also put some weight on after a stressful period 6 years ago. Again, not obese, but 15-20 lbs heavier than shed been before. Working into a longer cardio plan was the key, and it looks like you are heading that way with movement toward longer running periods. In a few months she was able to ease back into her old routine of 2-3 miles running, and after a year or two she amped it up to often 6 mile trips... at first a mix of walking a mile to warm up, then running, and walking the last mile to cool down. Did absolute wonders.

remember walking at a hard pace can be as good for cardio as running as long as you get your pulse rate up and are really working. This has been key for me, as I have never been one to enjoy running. Biking is also good for me, but seasonal as I hate stationary.

if you are hindered by $$ do you have a local YMCA nearby? The rates are reasonable (they even say they will never refuse a person for inability to pay) and they often have programs like yoga that you can attend for free. Again, my wife did these and it was a great boost for her. If there is a Y nearby talk to them and see if they can work with you on getting a decent price. I know we spend $68/mo for a full family pkg. a single is going to be cheaper and maybe they'll give you a good rate for startup? Its worth a call or a visit.

my wife is italian and a food lover, and I love to cook... so we both get the food problem. She says she runs 6 miles so that she can eat what she wants. =) but portion control can be a big help too. We just found that we were taking a lot more food than we probably needed and rushing the eating.

also, its good you are getting this going now, while you are younger. Your body will do bad things to you in the future. =) when I turned 30 something awful happened to my metabolism and I put on weight doing NOTHING different from before. It sucked! But you change a few things up and you can get back to square one again. Then I again put weight on when she was pregnant... not so much from stress but from the bad habit of eating with her. A woman whose body is making a notochord needs lots and lots of fuel. The guy sitting next to her doesn't need so much. =) and again, I think my metabolism changed a bit more once I hit 34. Oh well. So good to hear you being proactive at this.

six weeks to start a habit. You've just started. We're all rooting for you!