most motivated ever

[Anonymous]

Hi, I’m 39 and I am finally out of place in my time and my job that I have time to really focus in on the health that I somewhat ignored the last 10 years.

I used to be so athletic. And now I am 20 to 40 pounds overweight, depending how you look at it. I have lost 16 in the last year.

With the new time that I have, I feel really motivated to hit the gym and lift.

I’m hearing advice online that feels conflicting. Like women at 39 should not be working out hard because it raises their cortisol and makes them retain weight.

Now that I am here & am so motivated person ever (like the most motivated person ever), what should I set up to lose weight, get back to my athletic body? I’m not usually rules based, but what “rules” do i set up for an experiment in my health?

These aren’t the rules I want, but the options to start with?! This is all the stuff I’m hearing…
1. The trendy treadmill thing?
2. Walking an hour a day?
3. Dance it off?
4. Don’t focus on workout, only eating?
5. Protein!
6. No sugar
7. Prescription (which I don’t think I can afford)
8. Don’t worry about it, just relax. Smile and love yourself. Eat bread and enjoy life.
9. Take estrogen, reduce stress, anything to bring down you cortisol and balance your hormones
10. What else??

[Anonymous]

Huge apologies for forgetting to re-read the whole thing. I’ll fix typos momentarily and re-post.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi, I’m 39 and I am finally in a place, in my free time and job, I have time to really focus on my health that I somewhat ignored the last 10 years.

I used to be so athletic. And now I am 20 to 40 pounds overweight, depending how you look at it. I have lost 16 pounds in the last year, so I’m doing it.

With the new time that I have, I feel really motivated to hit the gym and lift. Or hit the gym for dance class or treadmill.

I’m hearing advice online that feels conflicting. Like women at 39 should not be working out hard because it raises their cortisol and makes them retain weight.

Now that I am here & am so motivated person (like the most motivated person ever), what routines should I set up to lose weight, get back to my athletic body? I’m not usually rules-based, but what “rules” do I set up for an experiment in my health?

These aren’t the rules I want, but the options to start with?! This is all the stuff I’m hearing…
1. The trendy treadmill thing?
2. Walking an hour a day?
3. Dance it off?
4. Don’t focus on workout, only eating?
5. Protein!
6. No sugar
7. Prescription (which I don’t think I can afford)
8. Don’t worry about it, just relax. Smile and love yourself. Eat bread and enjoy life.
9. Take estrogen, reduce stress, anything to bring down you cortisol and balance your hormones
10. What else??

[Anonymous]

Bump

[Anonymous]

Tl;dr: Most motivated ever. Confused by competing theories. Where does one start if they’re emotionally, mentally ready to lose weight, lose fat?

[Anonymous]

Join a Crossfit gym, go 4x/wk, eat a balanced diet that includes 1.5-2g protein per lb of bodyweight. Have fun with it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Join a Crossfit gym, go 4x/wk, eat a balanced diet that includes 1.5-2g protein per lb of bodyweight. Have fun with it!

Edit: should be 1.5g per KG of bodyweight.

[Anonymous]

Post on reddit

[Anonymous]

Try OrangeTheoryFitness. You get your first class free. I was hooked after the first one! I go 4 times a week now. AND cut out sugar, bread, junk. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

I feel the same way. I think for better or worse at your age (and mine) losing weight is primarily about eating low calorie, which is really only possible for me when I eat relatively low carb. After years of no success I have lost quite a bit doing weight watchers. I am in a little plateau right now but hope to lose at least 10 more lbs.

I think you have to decide what you want the most. If it’s weight loss right now, honestly focus on diet. If it’s being strong or fit, that’s different and I would find a class that includes strength and cardio and go hard core at that. Or an online weight program to start if you have space at home. Anyway good for you- any health changes are good you don’t have to pick the perfect one to feel better!

[Anonymous]

My picks to focus on at this age are:

Low sugar, high protein diet, easy on the carbs
Lift weights 4-5x week - you don’t have to start heavy if you are new to this. Just start and find some videos on YouTube or peloton app!

After you have that down you can add in whatever else fits with your lifestyle - maybe that’s a walking pad because you WFH, maybe it’s cycling because you enjoy it, yoga for flexibility - honestly the key to cardio for most people is to do what you like, otherwise it’s hard to stick with.

Good luck, and keep that motivation up!! Channel it into a habit that sticks and you’re golden.

[Anonymous]

Here's what I'd recommend:

1. Focus on strength training. This podcast really helped me understand why it is so effective for women: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwzKegCWNq0&ab_channel=MariLlewellyn

2. Try to cut out as much overly processed food as possibly. That should greatly reduce the amount of refined sugar and simple carbohydrates you are consuming which are kind of useless for the body.

3. Try to eat the greatest diversity of plants you can (at least 30 per week). The fiber and protein you get from fruits, vegetables, beans, legumes, nuts, and seeds are great for your gut, health, and weight loss.

4. Try to consume a good amount of protein, but don't over consume unhealthy meats to do so. Seafood, fish, and plant sources tend to be healthier and don't have the longterm negative effects of unhealthy meats which have too much saturated fat and can be overly processed.