yawt - wanna lose weight, but i have an interesting problem...

[dolph]

i want to exercise more! i have a lot of time on my hands for now, and i'm determined to get into shape (i've never really been in good shape before). i'm eating all the right foods (cottage cheese, protein, fruits & vegetables, lots of water) and avoiding the wrong foods (basically anything high in sugar or fat, very limited on bread and starches). i used to walk about 3 miles in hills a day (with the occasional yoga and cardio kickboxing class), but now i jog about 15 minutes around my local 8 acre park (not sure how long the trail is), then i do it again but do all the exercises they have (sit ups, push ups, other stuff) - basically, about a 40 minute workout. i get a great sweat going, and i'm tired but not wheezing, but a couple hours later i want to do it all over again. the only thing that's really stopping me is that my knees tend to hurt at the end of the run. how much exercise a day will i benefit from? and is it in my best interest to exercise every day? i've heard that i should take a break every 3 days, but man, i wanna lose this weight now. suggestions?

 

[Jfur]

If your knees hurt, try another exercise (fast hill walking is great) that is less stressful. The last thing you want to do is sustain an injury that will keep you from exercising, and many people fin running too jarring, particularly if they are large or have excess weight. As for speed, you'll simply have to wait. To take it off fast and effectively aim to lose no more than ~1-2 pounds per week. If you stick with that for a few months you'll see good results. Overtraining will either burn you out or injure you, and then you will not find success. You cn exercise every day, as long as it is not too intense and you are not too tired or sore. You might want to add weightlifting to your plan a few times a week to minimize muscle loss through dieting and begin to build more lean mass.

 

[BigJohnKC]

Try swimming, if you can get to a pool. I've been swimming every day after work for over a month now, and I know I've lost weight. I don't know how much, but it has been some since my clothes fit looser than a month ago. Very easy on the joints, and you get the same type of exhilarating feeling like you want to do it again.

 

[EXman]

John is correct swimming is a no-impact exercise. try alternating your runs with swimming see if that helps.