Sports for the Fatties

[IAmNotHere]

I am a fatty but I am trying to correct that. I am tackling the eating issue but I also am looking at different sports or fitness approaches to not only burn fat but to up the fitness level and speed up the metabolism.

What would peeps suggest (or have tried and tested) that would be good for a lazy fatty such as myself? I coincidently get my 30 a day with travelling to work but on top of that have started doing 2 zumba songs a day (THEY ARE INTENSE).

[rexbeccarox]

Yoga is good for making you long and lean. Also, get yourself a fitness hoop and hoop to some music thirty minutes a day. It's fun, and you'll find yourself wanting to learn tricks and stuff to make it even more fun. Zumba is a great way to go, as is a brisk walk for cardio.

Seriously, though. Hoop. I'm naturally a skinny person, but when I hoop regularly, I actually have a cute four pack. It's great for your core, and it's very slimming. I know a chick who lost over thirty pounds in two months just from hooping daily.

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Oh, P.S. a fitness hoop isn't necessary if you want to learn how to hoop dance, in fact, one not quite so weighted would be better for that. Hooping is one of my passions. It's hard to dance without a prop anymore :p

[pineapplebunnybounce]

I prefer swimming when it comes to conscious exercise. I walk for my other needs.

Both tried and tested:
Swimming (this is ages ages ago so I'm not sure about my numbers), maybe 1 hour a day for 3 weeks or so and went from 50kg to 48kg.

Walking, about 5 hours a day for 5 weeks (was travelling), 52-48kg

Walking (passively), about 1 hour a day over 1 year 54-52kg.

I did not reduce my food intake for any of these but I also do not eat junk food or drink soft drinks or eat baked goods from bakeries. Now I still walk a lot and compared with my old lifestyle which consists of almost no walking, I'm fluctuating around a weight that is a whole 4kg lower than the one I used to fluctuate at. Oh I'm really lazy and rarely exercise too XD, so hope this will work for you. Theoretically speaking you need to have a consistent level of exercise to keep your metabolism up, and to burn fat you need to exercise for more than 20min per session, otherwise you're just using blood sugar and glycogen. I'm not very fit though, I don't have much strength or stamina, but I'm at a healthy weight for my height.


ETA: oh I'm 21, you want to take into account the metabolism, it generally slows down for most people as they age.

[thesummerqueen]

I joined a gym because I hate the cold and wet. At around 30, I find I start losing weight when I eat sensibly (this does include reducing calories a bit, but also cutting out sodas and snacks) and working out regularly. It happens slowly, but measurably.

I like using the elliptical because it puts less pressure on your knees than running, but works up a good sweat. I hear swimming is great too, but I don't have access to a pool. A friend of mine who is a few years older, a man, and overweight, has found great success that way.

My gym also has a circuit trainer: You use a step thingie for 60 seconds, then move to a machine and use the highest weight setting you can for 12 reps. There are 20 stations in total: 10 machines, 10 steppers. When you start you think, oh shit, this will be easy, and by 3/4ths of the way through you're huffing and puffing. It's a great way to pack a lot into 30 minutes.

If you travel a lot, though, I would A) pick up running, because most cities have a place to run that's easily googled or B) pick hotels with exercise rooms. Most have a basic set so you can at least get treadmill time in or something.

Many fitness apps also give you the ability to put in known restaurant meals to find out their calories. I found it helpful to do this for a week to figure out how much I was eating and adjust (we eat about the same stuff every week, with switch ups on the weekends when I try new recipes, so this was really useful for me).

[Zazzy]

I keep fit by swimming and working out with a Pilates machine 3-4 times a week, as well as riding my bike everywhere I can ride it. I hate to curtail my eating, so I'd rather get a lot of exercise. However, as I age, I put on about 5 pounds a year. I never let it get past 5 extra pounds, so I take them off as soon as the scale hits the 5 pound mark. I am coming to the realization that I do have to curtail my eating habits to some extent- it was viable until recently, but age is making it harder.

I recommend Pilates, and especially a Pilates workout machine.

[c172]

I used to do track and field and road racing as a teen. Then, at 18ish I just decided I wanted a different life for myself. But I never got sure what exactly that would include. So I got fat, too! I should be 188. I am instead 230.

I have resumed the weightlifting and stretching regimen I did as a kid. I think sports, as it were, is in my past now. But the weightlifting has helped immensely even if on some days it doesn't seem that way.

Unfortunately, I have developed a weird, and bad, relationship with food. I just love it too much.

Good on you for wanting to face this problem. I wish you luck.

[Owlix]

I bicycle to and from work 5 days a week, 35-50 miles a week. This is because I don't have a choice (emissions suck out here kids), but just the same the exercise is amazing.

I'd increased my exercises from approximately 20 miles a week to 35 at least... and in a two month period I'd heard multiple people I encounter often tell me I've lost weight. Some said it like "not to say you're looking unhealthy but you've lost weight" others "wow you look good, doing more exercising?" and still others "this job must be stressful". Haha. It is what it is.

But the exercise is great. I only hope I'm not too lazy to continue once I am no longer obliged to.

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Oh, about my weight...
Well I've never been a 'fatty'.
But when I was about 13 I was 5'7" and stopped growing up. Since that time I've kinda floated between 140-155 (lbs that is).
I am an active person though, love outdoors stuff, exploring and hiking and camping.

I haven't 'clocked' myself yet, but I wouldn't doubt if I walk 2-3 miles a day at work. Tiny little lap course is my workplace.

[Darth]

I went from 104kg-ish (229 pounds) and a BMI of about 31 at the start of the year to 78kg (171 pounds)-ish now, and have been 78kg for a couple of months now (just below 25 BMI, yah for being in the healthy range) but have been adding muscle so it's not like I've stagnated. First time since early teens that I'd be in the healthy range

I cut out all sugar, which really restricts your snacking as well.
Cut out nearly all carbs for a long while
Started running. Started at just 15 mins at 7km/h (4.35miles per hour), am now running 5km (3.1 miles) at 12.7km/h (7.9miles an hour)
Started exercising: bodyweight stuff initially, situps and pushups, but joined a gym a few months ago, wanna get buff, rwar.

The key is constantly pushing yourself to do a teensy bit better, that way you have more milestones to meet and feel like you're making progress with, not just the weight ones which can plateau for a while. I ran 15 mins on the treadmill yesterday? Then today it's 16 mins. 24 push ups yesterday? Today we're going for 25. Ran 5km at 9.9km/h yesterday? Then today it's 10km/h (yah a nice round number (a milestone))... that sort of thing

[Tea Earl Grey Hot]

I don't know how I feel really about exercising. I've tried many times to do different exercise routines but they're just so incredibly boring to me. All I can think about when I'm exercising is all the stuff I could be doing that I love like reading musicology books, practicing my instrument, school etc.

[max-greece]

Last summer I bought a bicycle for my daughter and one for me. For the whole summer we went cycling on every possible occasion and we both started to look great.

Then some bastard stole my bike. The funny thing is it was chained (with 2 chains) to both my daughter's bike and the railing at the side of the house. They took my bike - but left my daughter's - how weird is that - her's cost the same amount as mine (neither were very expensive).

Now my daughter's bike is in the back bedroom taking up way too much space and we don't have anywhere else to store it - adding another bike for me would only make the matter worse and I don't know what to do.