The FastDay Forum

I'm not sure if this has already been asked & I can't find it?
I am not very active & have dodgy knees but I have just bought a Wii plus that I hope will be amusing to use. Some of you seem to be very actively exercising but I am not sure about what I should be doing to maintain a steady weight loss. I have got five stone to lose & I also have some dancercise type DVDs I can do because moving to music is about the only type of exercise that doesn't bore me to tears.
Any advice please!
Isis

[Moogie]

I abhor exercise, self confessed lazy cow here All I've done while on 5:2 is walk to and from the shops a few times a week (10 mins each way), the same as I always have. I've done a few 20 min bouts of stepping when the weather has been too nasty to bother going out. You can see on the left how my weight loss has been

Hi Isis,

Don't worry, exercise is not part of 5:2. Of course exercise is good, other things being equal, but you can lose weight without it.

If you are not getting much exercise your calorie needs will be lower, so obviously you need to eat less overall than if you were taking exercise - as you probably do already. But that applies to the feed days - on these you should eat what you would normally eat to maintain your weight. Then you cut down on the fast days and the weight will come off.

I am taking more exercise now - including on fast days - then before I started on 5:2, but I see that as additional to 5:2, it's definitely not part of the prescription.

Thank you Dominic
I hope I will naturally become more active as I lose weight & I am going on a fairly active archaeological holiday to Egypt in March.
Isis

Thank you Moogie
Your weight loss is really impressive & you have cheered me up no end!
Isis

I do a lot of exercise, not to lose weight, just because I enjoy it. But it isn't necessary to lose weight at all. When I lost 10kgs a few years ago I had a sprained knee and couldn't do much exercise at all, but still lost a lot of weight. It isn't vital, in fact some people eat more than they should even though they are burning more calories when they exercise, so they lose less weight.I remember reading this article from the Guardian last year on the subject.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/ ... lic-health

Thank you Susan I will read the article. That is encouraging.
Isis

Good article.

The question shouldn't be why are we fat but why aren't we fatter? The people getting distressed by losing a pound a week should also factor in how much they haven't gained that week.

It might be worth having a look at pilates, yoga or aquafit - all of which will help your cardio system to improve and give the added bonus that when you get slim you'll be lean and look fab rather than just thin.

I don't seem to be losing much weight but I am definitely losing fat. I've always carried my weight around my waist, but it's visibly shrinking.

Exercising is virtually impossible for me as I have painful arthritis in all major joints BUT I have lost 10lbs so far doing 4:3 for the past 5 weeks! I also have added metabolic problems due to no thyroid gland so losing weight is a real challenge ordinarily and so this weight loss is doubly amazing. If I can lose weight, anyone can.

A friend has recommended I get a mini-rebounder which is apparently very good for arthritic knees because it absorbs impact and gives you a good whole body workout. I'm going to get one in a couple of weeks and bounce my way back to fitness!!

Hi Isis

I hate exercise!

Saying that, I take my dog to work with me, and he has a good walk around the dockyard before I start work. He then has a good walk again before we return home. At the weekends we take him to a lovely dog walk over the hills near our home. I dont class this as mundane exercise as I find this enjoyable. I also have a Wii Fit which was gathering dust. I now try to do at least one hour of step each week on it. By the way, I also have dodgy knees There is no way I am going to join classes of any kind as I just dont have the time to stick with it. I am so positive with this way of eating that I dont want to fail on any part even if it means not committing to tried and tested exercise programmes which I know would be a big failure.

Well done mariathome that is a brilliant weight loss & proves it is worth carrying on with this way of eating. I hope your rebounder works well for you & that we will both continue to lose weight.
Good luck until your next weigh in.
Isis

Hello traceyh
You are taking some exercise with your dog! & I find my dodgy knees are really annoying because I can no longer comfortably kneel down so the yoga I used to do before this more recent weight gain I can't do, plus at the moment having a spare tyre rather makes touching my toes difficult
When I have it set up I will try using my new Wii plus & see how I get on. I know that losing weight will certainly help my knees so I am certainly continuing with 5:2 because I feel this may be the answer to me managing to lose weight and finding a way of maintaining that weight loss. Good luck with the rest of your week.
Isis

A friend has recommended I get a mini-rebounder which is apparently very good for arthritic knees because it absorbs impact and gives you a good whole body workout. I'm going to get one in a couple of weeks and bounce my way back to fitness!!

I'd take some advice from a physio about that as a rebounder, whilst it does absorb impact also adds a lot of spring. Some more gentle exercises on a wobble cushion might be an idea first but I'm not qualified or some Pilates.

Just seen a lot of people exercise with arthritis as my Pilates classes were run by an osteopath and I have a rebounder and find it very challenging....