How to Get Started With Exercise When You Are Overweight

On Monday I wrote about Exercising When You’re Overweight so I thought it only appropriate to write today about how to get started with exercise. I know that when I weighed 110 pounds more than I do now, I felt like this couple on the right. The last thing that I wanted to do was to exercise. Hypnosis changed all that! Thanks to self-hypnosis, it is easy for me to stay motivated to exercise. I love hearing stories from Slender For Life™ clients who went from hating exercise to making it a natural part of everyday thanks to hypnotherapy.

Exercising When You’re Overweight

From WebMD:

Easy Does It
People should embark on a fitness program gradually because they may have underlying health issues such as high blood pressure, diabetes, or be prone to shortness of breath, dizziness, nausea, and overheating.You can gradually work up to elliptical trainers. The key is to not sign up for a boot camp workout like on television’s The Biggest Loser because that may be too much, too soon.

It’s best to get to the point where you can exercise 30 minutes comfortably three or four times a week before progressing to something more intense. It’s OK to break things up. If you can’t exercise 30 minutes at one time, aim for three 10-minute segments.

Dos and Don’ts
Ready to get started?

• Get fitted with good shoes. For instance, running store staff can analyze your gait and make recommendations. “The support makes all the difference.”
• Wear comfortable clothing. Chafing is common in the leg and groin area. Shorts and a T-shirt are fine in the pool if you’re self-conscious or can’t find a suit.
• Include strength training eventually. But to lose weight, focus on aerobic training in the beginning.
• Consider a monitoring system to track weight, what you eat, and exercise. Many smart phones have applications or you can use online systems. Pedometers are helpful to get you moving.

But:

• Don’t do high-impact exercise in the beginning. It’s fine to build up to, but jumping in with both feet landing on a hard surface “is usually going to hurt something.”
• Don’t compare yourself to others in your class or gym or let feelings of self-consciousness overwhelm you.
• Don’t be impatient. Don’t look for radical change in a short time or get fixated on big weight loss results like on The Biggest Loser. Although such shows can be motivating, they don’t help set realistic expectations. “You see people who lose two pounds in one week and they’re crying.”
• The key is to “be consistent and do something. There are too many people out there making excuses about why they can’t exercise.”

Read the WebMD article Exercising When You’re Overweight

Hypnotherapy can help you get off your duff and exercise. In fact, I use self-hypnosis every time I exercise. I use hypnosis in spin class and in between sets when I’m using free-weights and machines. Self-hypnosis not only motivates me to exercise it helps me with form and strength and intensity.

Read my blog post, Exercising When You’re Overweight

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