Reply to Help! Wouldn't have the first idea what to do if I walked into a gym. I don't know how to exercise.

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Reply to "Help! Wouldn't have the first idea what to do if I walked into a gym. I don't know how to exercise."

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[quote=Anonymous]Hey OP, Congrats on making the first move! As others have said (or argued about) weight loss is mostly diet. There are a million diets, but you can certainly start by cutting out sugars and refined carbs, focusing on good nutrition and whole foods, rather than simply counting calories at this point. I find a diet that is rich in veggies, lean to moderately fatty protein, eggs, low and full fat dairy, smaller portions of whole grains, and fruit and nuts  and wine and no refined sugar or processed foods--well, except high quality dark chocolate and the [b]occasional[/b] gelato or delicious baked good, is pretty satisfying. I have learned to cook a lot more from scratch and it is expensive, but so is illness.

Enough about diet though--exercise is supremely important in good health, both physical and mental. When I exercise, I feel more energized, less depressed, and am more likely to stick to a good diet. It reinforces good eating and good nutrition reinforces exercise.

Despite what everyone is saying, I really don't think there is one way to exercise to get in shape—the key is to find what works for you so that you continue to exercise: what do you like, what will you stick with, what will you continue to see improvements with? A large gym should have so many options that you’ll find something you like (ellipitical or treadmill on your own, spinning, ashtanga yoga, cross fit, zumba?!) but whatever you do, at some point you’ll want to combine some cardio (including high intensity intervals) with some weights (including heavier weights than you think you can do), and challenge yourself enough that you don’t do the same thing day in and day out.

I would find a gym that is convenient (number one priority for me--no matter how nnice the gym is, if its too easy to skip I will), check it out and see about joining for a week as a trial. If you like it, join  book a few sessions with a personal trainer to show you the ropes. Then try some different classes to see what you like. Once you get a sense of what you like to do, go back to the trainer (or find another one), and figure out your goals and help them design a program that you can do on your own, causing paying 50 bucks to work out is just not necessary. This program might include classes and a free weight circuit or weight machines that you do on your own,might be all classes, might be no classes, etc.

Finally, yes, there are lots of overweight people in gyms. You might be self-conscious at first, but really everyone is there to work out and I think it’s always terrific when someone makes the choice to be healthy.  After a hiatus of several years I joined a fairly intense crossfit gym and was nervous as hell at first—I’m frequently the weakest and slowest of my classes, but everyone is encouraging, no one is judgmental and I feel proud that I am showing up and working hard. 
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