Recommended exercise routines?

[wynnyelle]

I'm 19 years old and around 5'8" probably. Last time I went to the doctor, I weighed in around 115 pounds (I'm female). I've always been pretty skinny. Lately though, since I've started my new job, I've been eating a lot of unhealthy crap and I've begun to put on a little bit of extra weight. Now I want to stop this problem before it gets any worse, so I'm cutting myself off from all of the stuff that they sell there that I've been snacking on. I also want to start exercising though, since that's something that I've been neglecting since I've moved into this neighborhood.

My problem is, I don't know what kind of routine I should start. The house itself is tiny. There's no room for any kind of fitness equipment or for me to do any real exercising inside because it's so small. There also aren't any gyms close by. I already spend a lot of gas money going to and from work every day, so I really wouldn't want to invest in a gym membership anyway, which leaves me to outdoor activities in my neighborhood. I've considered walking and jogging every day, but will that be enough to stay in shape? I don't need to be super fit or anything like that, I just don't want any extra weight hanging around. I used to walk about thirty minutes a day in my old neighborhood and that seemed to be working fine for me, but since I am not really experienced in using any kind of specific exercise routine, I really have no idea how much exercise is enough. Would buying a bike be a good investment as well? I've always enjoyed biking, but I have no idea how that compares to just walking or jogging every day.

[Frenikk]

Put on some trainers
Start running
Lose weight
????

[verba]

Go out and run.

As a girl you don't really need to do weight lifting. But if you want to do that i suggest going to a gym.


Also. Jogging is far better than anything else. You burn much more calories than you do if you were walking/going on a bike. I'm not sure about spinning though, that might be more effective in that part.

But I think you should start jogging.

[Inay]

I cant never stress enough the thing that diet is the most important thing when you need to manage your weight and so while you didnt ask actually about diet I diecided to include it into my response since it is simply the key to manage the weight. While the diet part was my answer to other thread I guess you can get something useful from it.

Usually the problem lies in the diet. Most people know about whats healthy or healthier to eat but just simply changing foods like that wont guarantee you success. You need to eat right amounts given your situtation. Also you should remember that diet is the most important thing after that comes rest and exercising.

You need to calculate estimate of your daily consumption of calories (there are many free calculators). Now when you have your estimate consumption you know how much you need to eat in order to lose or gain weight.

For example if my consumption would be 2900 kcal's and I want to lose weight, then I have to eat some kind of decifit amount of kcal's to accomplish my goal. I decide to go with -300kcal's at start to see how it works out. It means that my daily intake of calories would have to be max 2600kcal's.
The next step would be to share that amount through the day with 6-7 meals and count the macro-nutrients* to be somewhat even with each meal(*protein/carbs/fat)

It is mostly about calories in vs. calories out and if you count the kcal's and macros you should be losing much more weight if you can keep your diet strict and follow the numbers you set. If your progress is slow you can up the decifit to see if it helps. Start from little decifit and up it a little if it doesnt work, dont overdo it so you have energy to actually perform. I dont go in depth with the macro's here though high protein/low carb is pretty common when you are trying to lose weight.
Also drink water alot. As a thumbrule your piss should be almost clear everytime. If its yellow as hell you are not drinking enough. You should drink water since it helps your metabolism.

Now to the exercise routines
If there is a gym on the way to your job you could consider going there before/after your work and so save on the gas expenses. If however you dont have that option you can stay in shape without it too. AS said earlier most of it comes from your diet and so basically you could just go jogging 3-4 times a week.
Though ideally you will want to do both un-aerobic and aerobic exercises.

Anyway I would recommend to get the diet in order and start with jogging at first. For example you could go jog Mon/Wed/Fri and perform some occasional sit-ups and push-ups.

[ryotte]

Do you have Netflix and/or a game system? I enjoy playing Just Dance 2 for about half an hour a day, and I do some yoga and pilates workouts from Netflix. I also walk with friends a couple evenings a week. I am keeping track of calories in and out using caloriecount.about.com. You can also keep track of water consumption, and you get a grade on your day based on reaching certain metrics (daily recommended intake of protein, calcium, fiber, vitamins, etc). I have lost 12 lbs in the last 2 months. I also just feel a lot better...I have more energy and strength and I can really feel it in my everyday activities. The site helps me to keep track of what I am consuming vs. what I am burning...it is very easy to overeat/eat unhealthily if I'm not looking at the stats day after day.

[wynnyelle]

Thanks for the advice guys! Particularly the dieting tips. I had never given much consideration to my diet before since it had never been a problem for me in the past, but it's definitely something that I need to start paying more attention to. Going to start getting into a jogging routine and pay more attention to what I'm eating/how much I'm eating.

[Adamas102]

Inay makes some good points. Diet is indeed the biggest part of losing weight, reducing fat, and staying healthy. You don't sound like someone who needs to calorie count though. Junk food contributes to weight gain due to the high levels of fat and fast digesting carbohydrates. If you only really started gaining weight with a recent diet shift, then making the effort to eat good, nutritious foods will more than likely be enough to even you out again without having to calorie count. Add some regular exercise along with that good, balanced diet and you'll be set.

As for exercise suggestions you can do with limited space? I have two words: jump rope. When done correctly (which isn't very difficult to do) it has less of an impact on your joints than running. Once you get your athleticism high enough to keep a good pace, it only takes 5-10min to get a really great workout.

[Rvc09]

Yeah totally, as in : total bull****

Do what you prefer or like the most : biking, jogging, ... you will do it much better and be able to keep doing it since you will do something you like.

Keep your heart rate high ( at or above 120% of normal heart rate.) so you will start to break a sweat, try to keep a log of how far,hard,long you have been biking.

Don't forget to adjust your diet : Kcal in VS. Kcal out !