OP, I'm the same as you and I joined a fitness gym and do 30 mi.utes of cardio every day as well as stretching. I do strength three times a week. Go slowly. Good luck.

water aerobics (looking into classes at Y) would be easy on your joints and still give you gentle intro to exercise. Of course, see your doctor first to make sure you are cleared to start a work out regime. Good luck!!!!

Why are you bumping, PP? What do you want to know? Seems the thread has:given ideas on how to approach the gym; showed if you just want to lose weight you need to look at your diet first; given some ideas on non-gym activities. What is your question?

Bump

Start with walking and light weights then build up to more difficult exercises. I also think taking a beginners class in something like spin or yoga is useful. More importantly you make a lifestyle change and stick with it.

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 occasional 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.

Anonymous wrote:It is not "dumb" that there is no correlation between weight loss and exercise, it is a fact. There is a huge correlation between maintaining weight loss and exercise. Look it up using google scholar or something. And, of course, there is a correlation between exercise and living long and well. Right now OP is focused on weight loss, and it sounds like she is pretty active already. Her problem, therefore, is likely to be calories in, rather than calories out. Everyone has phases in their weight loss, and the "dumb" poster seems to have really taken to exercise and it makes her feel fabulous, which is awesome. But it doesn't work that way for everyone - some people need to lose weight first, and ease into exercise. Just saying the OP doesn't need to feel like she CAN'T lose weight without going to the gym. She can, for sure.

She can. I agree with you that it is possible. And after eating and not exercising her way into being overweight her diet will have to be PERFECT. Not taking a well rounded approach to weight loss and fitness is setting her up for failure. Downplaying the benefits of even that one mile is misleading. People who are out of shape and overweight don't just become perfect eaters overnight. It's a process. Getting in whatever exercise you can will help with any slip ups she has with her diet. Not to mention the numerous other health benefits. And by the way if she ran even one mile everyday, that she doesn't now, and ate the same exact thing she would lose weight. I've lost 50 lbs within the last year, but it's been close to 100 in the last 3 years. I know how hard it is to maintain your diet day in and day out. Sometimes you need a break. When you have diet & exercise you can cut back on one or the other. It's a great way to have long term success. And no matter what telling people not to exercise is just ridiculous.

It is not "dumb" that there is no correlation between weight loss and exercise, it is a fact. There is a huge correlation between maintaining weight loss and exercise. Look it up using google scholar or something. And, of course, there is a correlation between exercise and living long and well. Right now OP is focused on weight loss, and it sounds like she is pretty active already. Her problem, therefore, is likely to be calories in, rather than calories out. Everyone has phases in their weight loss, and the "dumb" poster seems to have really taken to exercise and it makes her feel fabulous, which is awesome. But it doesn't work that way for everyone - some people need to lose weight first, and ease into exercise. Just saying the OP doesn't need to feel like she CAN'T lose weight without going to the gym. She can, for sure.