Hello! Just wondered if you wonderful young people could give me some advice. I want to get healthy but don't know how to do it! I think my diet is quite good: I'm vegetarian, and allergic to cows' milk, so am a kindof enforced healthy eater. Exercise is an absolutely alien concept to me. I was a member of the gym for about 3 months, and never renewed my membership because I got embarrassed and self-conscious, and also worried that it was making me lose too much weight (at one point, despite eating absolutely fine, if not too much, and only exercising about 60 minutes a day 3x a week, my weight went down to 7 stone, which for a 6 ft bloke isn't good). I walk everywhere, but consider myself underexercised. So, how do I get lots of exercise without losing too much weight (I'm currently about 10 stone, which is maybe too much, but I think about right) and also without getting embarrassed!?; bearing in mind I think I have the vitamins and calcium and stuff all ok. Any wisdom would be nice thanks, and sorry if that makes no sense, I'm well ill, lol.
If all that exercising was cardio, then that very well could have been your problem when paired with an already healthy diet. You may consider focusing a little more on weights. A couple of dumbbells or power bands and you could do that in the privacy of your own home. One of those chin-up bars that you throw in the doorway would be nice too. Nutrition wise it is a good idea to really pay attention to what you eat. Most people underestimate what they eat, but it sounds likely that you were overestimating your caloric intake. It is the whole calories in verses calories out concept. You were burning more than you were putting in. There are some pretty good programs out there that can help you keep track of your exercise levels and food intake. The fitday website is pretty good too from what I have heard, but you do have to manually enter several foods.
if you work out. do some weights. and get some protein supplements. it seems like that would work out really well for you if you lost weight that easily.
It sounds like you need to build up some muscle mass and get it nicely toned, but as a vegetarian it can be hard to get enough protein in your diet to achieve that. As others have said, if you want to "work out" (rather than just getting exercise by walking) you'll need to do weights work rather than cardio (you clearly don't need to burn more calories, you need to increase your muscle mass) and get more protein in your diet, either through food, or using some kind of supplement. I've no doubt a decent gym/trainer will be able to advise you on what kind of exercises/reps/sets you should be doing.
Do more weights rather than cardio stuff, as this will help you gain muscle without losing too much weight. As for the embarrassment factor, you've just got to remember that at a gym people are too busy worrying about what they look like in their sweaty gym clothes, to concern themselves with what you are doing. I completely understand the whole being embarrassed thing, that's one of the reasons I quit my gym, so maybe you could exercise at home? On the Biggest Loser they had an episode where they showed things that you could do at home without expensive gym memberships/equipment and these included weight lifting bottles of water in green bags, exercises holding cans of food, etc. I'm sure if you looked on the internet, you could find some exercises you could do in the privacy of your own home that could work for you.
I think is going to get rather complicated. There's too much for me to type up and too many questions, some of which you might like answering in public. I will PM you and see what we can come up with! *EDIT* Okay, so I can't a PM to you so this will just have to do. Can post a detailed description of your diet over a 25 day period, all the exercise you would do and then do the same for the period you lost all that weight? (That includes all the exercises and moves you did during your gym time)
You're exactly the kind of guy who will greatly benefit from exercise. And because you have a natural tendency towrd lean mass, any muscle that you add will be very noticeable. Thin guys also tend to have weak core strength and weak legs just because they don't carry around a lot of body weight. Doing leg work and core training to strengthen your spine will really benefit you. Your challenge is going to be nutrition. It's very hard to add mass when you're a vegetarian. Unless you're a lacto-ovo, most of the sources of complete protein are eliminated in a vegeterian diet. You may have to rely heavily on eggs (if you eat them), soy protein supplements and perhaps goat's milk. And you're going to have to eat. A lot. One thing that you didn't specify was your fitness goal. Do you want to add muscle? Do you just want to look better in clothes? Do you want to work on strength and flexibility?
I agree with the above. vegetarians sometimes find it difficult to include protein as most protein comes from meats. Eat pulses (bean salads are a good protein packed snack) and take some protein supplements. In chemists you can get "vegetarian supplements" that have all the nutrients you may be getting less of (zinc, proteins etc). Maybe check with your leisure centre for the quietest swimming times if the gym isnt really your thing, swimming works all your muscles and no impact on joints if you're lacking calcium from milk. You sound like a slim guy anyway so I wouldn't worry about embarassment swimming, everyone is concentrating on their swimming anyway. Hope this is helpful
In a few words, The Metabolic Typing Diet. It is more of a lifestyle. After reading you identify which foods that help YOUR body, everyone is different. It identifies which type you are and which foods and exercises that are effective for you! Try it out!
Forgive my ignorance but "stone" is a new term to me. im assuming (off wikipedia) that a "stone" is 14 lbs? i usually try at home stretching and exercising at home. just basics unless you have equipment. not sure how you feel at the gym, but i went when people were not really there and i kept telling myself that i was there for me and to look how i wanted to look. if i was naturally in shape i wouldn't be in the gym!:icon_bigg maybe take a gym buddy with you! good for companionship and encouragement... good luck!
Indeed, a stone is 14lbs - and as far as I know, only commonly used in the UK - most of Europe is metric (kg) and the US just uses lbs directly Most people in the UK weigh in stones and lbs - and talk about weighing "15 and a half stone" (217lbs or about 98kg) and yes, I wish I was anywhere near 15 and a half stone...
That sounds really bad.. Sometimes I really hate myself for being so thin, but then I realise there are others who wish they were lighter .. I'm only about 60 kg, or somewhere close to the 9.5 stone mark going by that marking .. and severely underweight because I'm about 6 foot tall. Anyway, back on topic: Sometimes I also have the feeling that it is embarassing in a gym, but I guess it's probably the better option, having a gym to work out in and maybe even feel embarassed rather than try to work out at home. I'm fairly certain results are better in the gym. Thankfully my school has a free gym which is pretty well equipped and only students are there, which is good. (Though there are also a few teachers )
Hey, from what ir sounds like, you are not overwieght by any means, building muscle would be a great idea and would benifit your self confidence immensly. I know it's not easy exercising in a gym etc, because you feel people look at you. Try getting some equipment at home and try doing some exercise within your house. Your confidence WILL gradually grow.
