Wellness

[blueroses47]

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@hckynut wrote:

@SeaMaiden@AuntG,

Not really sure what this means in relation to anything concerning fitness and/or weight loss. If you think this will simplify something for you, who am I to say it won't?

To me it just adds another bunch of complicated numbers. First a person has to be on a treadmill in order to know exactly when they are at 2.7mph. Now I have logged at least 75,000 miles on treadmills over many decades, and closer to 200,000 miles outdoors. Ain't no way I could tell when I am walking at 2.7mph, probably not even close. Yes! Many of my long recoveries, walking is what I did, not running.

hckynut(john)

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That's how I feel about a lot of the tracking of things lately.  So many numbers, so complicated.  I just can't get into it.   I realize it may help some people, motivate them to achieve certain goals etc., but for me it's just one more thing to complicate matters.

I realized this some years back when my girlfriend and I were taking a vacation together, one in which we would be doing a lot of walking.  She kept insisting I buy a pedometer so that I could keep track of how many steps I was taking, or how far Iwas going, or whatever.  I just didn't want to be bothered.  I would just rather WALK and enjoy the process.

[blueroses47]

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@Bhvbum wrote:

It is almost impossible to lose weight through exercise. You must change your diet for the rest of your life. It’s that simple.

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I agree with you.  Many people have argued about this with me, and I let them think what they want to think, but I know that unless you are excercising ENORMOUS amounts, like all day, it's not going to have that much effect.  Diet trumps excercise every time.

I excercise for other reasons, but I eat less to lose weight. 

[Pook]

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@Bhvbum wrote:

It is almost impossible to lose weight through exercise. You must change your diet for the rest of your life. It’s that simple.

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It most certainly is possible! When I was younger and very active I ate whatever I wanted and never gained weight.  After I became less active (still worked out) I started gaining weight and even though changed my diet didn't loose weight.   Upped my workouts, quit the diet and lost weight. Then more recently I had health issues and still worked out but not as vigoursly as I wanted to and tried changing my diet but in 4 months lost no weight whatsoever.  When the health issues were gone, I went back to my regular diet and I lost 27 pounds in 3 months since I could up my workouts.  I now work out 45 minutes resistance, 45 minutes Zumba, 45 minutes walking with dog and off and on high intensity bursts of different exercises many times a day.  I have lost a few more pounds also.  I am a healthy , happy (and not grouchy eating boring food) toned and muscular size 12.   For me life is too short to not enjoy it!! 

A friend just got a job in an office after having been a landscaper for years.  He changed nothing about his diet but put on weight due to being way less active!  Also two coworkers started walking programs and also lost weight without changing their diet.  With both diet and exercise you have to stick with it though.  I love working out so I'll just stick with that!

[hckynut]

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@Bhvbum wrote:

It is almost impossible to lose weight through exercise. You must change your diet for the rest of your life. It’s that simple.

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@Bhvbum

Not for everyone. My belief is it is better doing both. This I know from having had way too many serious illnesses and injuries, thus having to recover from virtually zero as a fitness level, and also weighing much more than I desired.

I can, and I have used both, or at times 1 or the other, to reach my weight goals. Physical Fitness however, there is only 1 way that I know of, to return to an excellent physical fitness level. That has much less to do with what I eat, and mostly achieved by what I do and how I do it.

My ways have always worked for me, but were interrupted way too many times, by another serious health issue, and or injury. Those many times left me starting back at "square 1" and took me most of 15 years to get to what is my acceptable level of excellent physical fitness. That was achieved by using both an excellent food program, along with many hours/days/weeks and months of dedicated Cardio/Resistance/Stretching, and balance programs.

Another part of my many factual stories.

hckynut(john)

[software]

I don't do the step thing either but there are reasons to monitor certain aspects of our health, especially when we get older and our  bodies are changing.

I think knowing your BP as well as your heart rate can be valuable information

But if you like the idea of step counting, don't stop it.    But it's not for everyone.

If you need to lose weight, you should consider why you gained weight.

Like other posters have mentioned, if you are over eating or over snacking, just stopping that will help.   If you used to be active and now you are a couch potato, then start being active again.

For me, it has to be a combination of smart "dieting" and exercise.

Smart dieting is rolling back the sweets, like ice cream and increasing fruits & veggies.

I don't believe in diet pills or fad diets.

[Sooner]

I don't see anything to argue about because everyone's health,  abilities, limitations, health concerns, access to facilities and time, diet needs, weight, issues and needs and capabilities are so different.  Where you live, how you can exercise, etc. what state your joints and lungs and heart are in, and so on, what meds you are on . . . 

Each person is different and unique and one size never fits all. What might be a breeze for someone is a mountain to climb for another.

[jubilant]

I tell myself..."just walk"!  On some days I do 25 min. on my treadmill.  Other days it may be 15 min. two or three times a day (a little faster).  A lot depends on how my back and hips are holding up.  I have noticed, I do better with aching when I do my stretching and weights before I walk.  That's the order they teach you to do it in Rehab. I find it goes a long way in helping with any aches and pains.

  I am up to a 3 now and, while it doesn't make me breathless, it  seems fast enough for me.  However, I can't seem to get my heart rate above 120 at a 3.  I'm kind of afraid to "push it" much harder because of my heart surgery.  It's  been 8 months now and everything is working fine although I do still tire more easily.  I think maybe I'm being a little overly cautious.  It seems like they should give a stress test about now so I would know how hard I could go at it.

[novamc1]

Long gone for me are days of running  a couple miles on the local high school track, or on an indoor track and taking aerobics classes at a health club we used to belong to.

However, we moved to a town with two YMCAs that have all sorts of indoor equipment and classes, plus a pool and indoor track,sport courts, etc.

For a reasonable fee of a little more than $65 per month, DH and I  take advantage of many things it offers.  He takes classes designed for Parkinson's and works out on various machines.

I use the treadmills to walk 2-3 miles at a brisk pace (screen in front of me says I'm doing 3 miles per hour) --and even get to watch my stock market show while I'm doing it so I can see whether I'm making or losing money on my stocks--LOL!!

The screen on these gym-based treadmills also shows other metrics about your exercise.  You can  adjust the incline to put a little more resistance into your walk or run.  Plug in your own smartphone app and you can monitor heart rate and maybe even more.

  I usually follow up treadmill work  with a "gentle yoga" class.

No boredom  because  many TV channels are available right there on the treadmill, or you can bring your own smart device and stream anything or read a book.  No exposure to heat and cold that comes with exercising outdoors.

Plenty of private gym facilities are also available here, so no one has to drive far to get there.  You can pay as you go at some places that are open 24/7.

If you're physically able, look around for a good place to walk indoors, whether it's a local gym or an enclosed mall that has an early-morning  group walking program.

As for exercising to lose weight.............hmmm.

The electronic screen on the treadmill supposedly measures how many calories you are burning after you enter your weight...........I can walk briskly for an hour and only burn about 150-200 calories, so exercise is not the only thing we have to do to maintain ideal weight, unfortunately.

Exercise mostly seems to help in maintaining cardio health, steady metabolism, flexibility, strength.  Any way I can avoid boredom of repetitive exercise, I'll gladly go for it!

[MoJoV]

@Harpa I walk 3-5 miles almost every day.  As you said,it's too hot to walk outdoors lately.  Our local park district has a fitness center with an indoor track. I walk there when the weather is bad. Anyone can use it free. Its cool and pleasant there. My point is I hope you can find somewhere like that in your area. It's worth investigating. 

[RetRN]

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@151949 wrote:

If walking is your only exercise that will only keep using the same set of muscles over & over. You need to vary your exercise routine so you are exercising all your muscles . 

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Care to share your exercise routine? Zumba? Yoga? Weights? Aerobic? I would hate to use the same set of muscles over and over.  Any suggestions could help many of us to exercise all of our muscles.