Anything else I could be doing?

MiniSquish

I posted on this before about joining the Dr Eva programme at one of her Orsmond Clinics. I got alot of flak about the first month being a 600 calorie diet, anyway I'm on to the second month now which is 800 calories a week and reintroduces meat into your diet. I lost a stone and a half last month, I know it'll be harder this month but I'm not supposed to do any really heavy exercise til the third month. Just wondering what would be the best form of exercise I can do without it being too strenuous? I've just been mostly walking which is kind of boring after a while. I want to join Hot Yoga or Zumba but I think that might be too much. What is swimming like as an exercise? Say if I went twice a week?

800 calories a day surely??
If you do mean 800 calories a day, I'd stick to stretching type exercises at the moment. The "no exercise till the 3rd month" thing sounds sensible considering you mustn't have much fuel to work on.

I definitely wouldn't swim if I were you. Last thing you want is to get weak/crampy and drown. Plus personally, swimming gives me a huge case of the munchies. Try and stick to something where, if you feel you need to sit down, you can.

El_Dangeroso

I'll leave the calorie issue to one side reluctantly, but I think you know our feelings on that.:(

I do yoga and love it, amazing for increasing flexibility and just generally relaxing.

However my yoga teacher isn't a fan of the hot yoga, she said it increases the risk of injury as you can do too much too soon, especially for a newbie. A colleague in work recently did it and two weeks in injured her back and is now seeing a physio to sort it out.

Definitely try the regular yoga though.

MiniSquish

Ya sorry I meant to say 800 calories a day! Ya that is a good point about the swimming. I'll probably start that in the third month when you can have a 1000 calories a day. Yoga sounds good, I never understand how it makes you lose weight though. It seems to me it'd just tone you up? What would be the best exercise for your stomach? It's not the biggest part of me by any means but I know that that, and my arms will be the hardest to get right?

lubie76

You will see some nice lean muscle definition if you combine yoga with a clean diet. Yoga is not for weight loss unless you are doing a really strenuous type on a regular basis.
It will make your limbs look slimmer and toned provided you haven't high body fat % but if you stick to a diet like that you should be grand.

As a matter of interest what foods do you eat in a day on a 800 calorie diet. I guess it's protein heavy.

rebelchick2

I find pilates very good, especially for the stomach area. not too strenuous either.

MiniSquish

I eat alot of products that are supplied to me from the Doctors office where I see the Nutritionist. So for example:

Breakfast could be one of their shakes, or pancakes (their batter mix) or an omelette (a powdered version, also their mix).

Lunch is normally a bowl of soup which I make myself out of mushrooms, courgettes, leeks, curry paste, soy sauce and stock and 5 of their crispy toasts with some Philadelphia Light.

Then there are protein bars which are supposed to be halved, half mid morning and half late afternoon. I normally just eat it all at once though to be honest.

Dinner is something like Chicken Salad with one chicken breast and plenty of vegetables or fish and vegetables or Aubergine and Tomato Bake.

As snacks or treats I can have sugar free jelly or stewed rhubarb with sweeteners instead of sugar.

As for Pilates, they would also be an option. I do have quite a high body fat percentage at the moment, although I'm bringing it down every week. Is yoga a bad one to do for someone with a high body fat percentage?

Emer911

I'll precede this by stating that I'm definitely no expert, but I'll give you my 2 cents...

I've done yoga for years and love it, but it isn't something that will achieve any great weight loss. It's a great accompaniment to other, more calorie burning exercises (walking, running, tennis, squash, soccer, football, cycling, etc.) as it helps with flexibility, strength, balance and helps to avoid/ prevent injury.

I've recently started pilates too. That will definitely help to tone up the tummy (and arm) area, but again, it's something that should be an accompaniment to other exercise.

The only way to actually lose weight (proven!) is to burn more calories than you taking in.

Running (even very slow running!) actually buns calories quickest, but might not be the best starting point if you have any underlying health issues or are very unfit. Walking is a GREAT exercise too and shouldn't be discounted. If you prefer team type sports, pick something that will keep you moving.

If you DO think that running is for you, have a look over on the ART board for some help, hints and tips. The C25K (Couch to 5K) program is a good starting point for most.

Best of luck with the weight loss and the 'soon to be' exercise plan.
Stay safe and just keep moving!

groovyg

Hot yoga....I wouldn't reccommend it, I personally think its a load of BS about the cleansing and weight loss crap thats used to market 'hot' yoga. If you are exercising in a hot room what else are you going to do but sweat like f**K. I did bikram yoga for a month and there was just a bad sweat smell in the class which put me right off it. I have since gone to other yoga classes and found them much more enjoyable. I wouldn't associate yoga with weight loss though, its very good for improving flexibility.

As for swimming OP you are hardly like to drown!!! I mean you are not a three year old. What are lifeguards for?? I've gone swimming on empty stomach first thing in the morning, having not eaten since 7/8 o clock the night before and I haven't drowned. Swimming is a great all round exercise especially for toning, and I'm sure you would lose weight if you do it regularly enough. How hard would you be swimming? Are you planning on going to the pool doing length after length for about 40 mins or do a few lengths take five minute break do another few lengths rest etc.

There is no point wondering what exercises could you be doing, if you have an interest in some activity go and try it out and see how you like it. You only find out if you do the exercise/sport/class whether you enjoy it or not. .

MiniSquish

I'm quite a good swimmer although I haven't been swimming in quite a while. My friends do Hot Yoga, that's why I was looking into it but I think it might be too much for me at the minute. I completely forgot about Pilates and regular Yoga for some reason when I was thinking of what sports/ exercises I could be doing so I'll be looking to see where I can do these in my area.