Re: Unmotivated
floofy said:
Motivation follows action...but what if you don't have time or not even enough motivation to turn into action that precedes motivation?
I'm 23 years old, 5'2" and I weigh almost 150. I'm quite curvy and in the past year have almost steadily gained 1lb per month. About this time last year, my doctor diagnosed me with a hiatal hernia and told me to lose weight because for my build and height, 142 was too much. I've obviously gained since. Shortly after I had my gallbladder removed which opened up a new world of food to me since it wouldn't hurt to eat.
I have little time to do what I need to do to get my body in shape and my self-esteem back up. I live 30 minutes away from school and work, so here's my schedule. I have three opportunities per week to work on my body at home. I don't have enough money to head to a gym, so I need to use the resources I have available. I have rollerblades, a stationary and regular bike, an elliptical trainer, a set of dumbbells up to 10lbs, a resistance band and the full set of Windsor Pilates tapes (which I love so far). I hate to be bored exercising.
Also, I eat fairly healthy, just not a lot. At most for breakfast I have a banana. Lunch is either skipped all together, or I eat a Special K bar or something small like a hot pocket to hold me over. Dinner is my main meal and is usually eaten late as I work at a hotel and find it hard to get a break sometimes. For example, last night I didn't eat dinner until 10pm and it was a cheeseburger at that (only $2 at the hotel restaurant for employees!). Ugh. Then when I get home at midnight, I either study for an hour, lying down, or go straight to bed due to exhaustion. I'm always tired and I know that getting some physical activity would help me out with some added energy.
Here's what I'd like to do: lose my belly, inner thighs and a little booty. I'd like to have lean muscle mass, not bulky and I'd really like to build up my pecs to perk up my chest. At age 18 I was 120. I would really like to be down to that weight again or, regardless of the weight, I'd like to look like that or better again. My self-image is in desperate need!
I would appreciate any suggestions on workout/weight training and even meal guide... I've been wanting to speak to a fitness trainer for some time now, but was too insecure to set foot in a gym and have little financial resources to do so.
Thank you so much!
Sorry for the length, I just want you to get a good idea about me.
Okay!
If you have 3 time slots per week, I would spend them doing cardiovascular exercise on the bike or elliptical for the majority of that time. A minumum of 30mins depending on how much time you have and as you get fitter increase it right up to 60mins if you can.
If you haven't exercised for a while its important to start off small and work your way up. Listen to your body and don't push yourself too hard at the start. You want to get your heart pumping but not straining. A little rule, if you are huffing and puffing so bad that you can't talk you're definately over-doing it. Start off with a warm-up for a couple of minutes then take up the pace as you feel.
From your age, your predicted max heart rate is 197bpm. So from this your ultimate training range should be between about 140-160bpm. Start off lower and work your way up as you feel comfortable. To start to familairise yourself with how your body feels under different cardiovascular training levels, exercise for a while until your breathing increases a little then stop and check your pulse on your wrist. Count how many beats are in 15 seconds then times it by 4. Once you're familiar how different heart rates feel then you know what the desired intesity feels like.
I would steer clear of the pilates videos. They're great for a gentle relaxing workout if thats what you want but given your goals and your time constraints I would scrap them for the moment.
To build-up your chest muscles I would recommend doing 2 sets of push-ups to fatigue twice a week. On that note, if you want to get toned the only way to do it is to lose weight. Working your arms is not going to tone your arms, your muscles might get a little bigger tho but this doesn't give a toned appearance.
If your number one goal at the moment is to loose weight and you only have those three times a week I would solely concentrate on your cardiovascular exercise and worry about the strength when you are going to notice it a little more.
For your diet, try and steer clear of any foods that are high in sugar and fat. So thats hamburgers, sweets, soft drinks, etc. Energy in these fast digesting forms that is not used will get shifted off to fat stores quick smart. So, do your best to totally cut sweets and fatty foods out of your diet. Have low fat alternatives like low fat milk etc.
On the days that youre not training try and walk for at least 30mins. As in park your car away from school or work and force yourself to walk there and back. Or if you can, walk there every day. Even better, once you've been training a while and you feel comfortable with it, run to work or school. Try and fit in some sort of exercise every day while keeping a minimum of 3 days of good cardiovascular exercise. If you're burning a lot of energy from exercise and eating foods low in sugar and fats you're on the right track and its only a matter of time until you start loosing weight.
As I always say, gaining weight is a gradual process and so is loosing it. Keep dedicated to your healthy lifestyle and you will reap the physical benefits. I can bet that you'll also feel much more fresh and lively!
If you're tired often from your long days sometimes a bit of exercise can be a good release to tune out and have some time to yourself and the great out-doors. If you honestly cant find any time fot it around your work and school commitments you need to decide whats more important. Your image and health or your daily commitments? Maybe its time to juggle around your commitments to fit in some exercise? Just an idea.
In terms of motivation, think of the reasons why you want to exercise. From what you said you want to loose weight, look better etc. If that is a priority to you then that should be enough to get you out there and exercising. If not, try some form of exercising thats a good hard workout but you're actually doing something like bikeriding. Not just riding a stationary bike thinking about how hard it is and how good it would be do be doing something else instead.
Just remember, apart from looking and feeling better with some training remember that you're also doing your body a world of good by exercising. You're increasing your immune function, improving sleep, uplifting your mood, lowering your risk of heart problems, helping manage stress, increasing energy levels through-out your day for other tasks. Did you know that being inactive is as much of a risk on your health, if not more, than smoking! (seriously, crazy I know).
Good luck with it, let me know how you go!
