I had to learn how to work out regularly and change my "lifestyle" after my double bypass last year... Age 50... I was 223 and have dropped to 195 - but want to get down to 180...
Weight gain or loss is all about calories - 3500 calories = one pound. Cut out 500 calories per day and you lose one pound per week. Or burn 500 more calories per day...
Then there is fitness - cardiovascular fitness means getting your heart rate into your target range for better than a half hour - every other day (they say 3-4 times per week...). Your target heart rate is based on your age and on-line calculators can be found... Having workout machines that can measure heart rate is good - I have a polar heart rate monitor - well worth the money. Strap goes around chest and sends signal to wrist watch display, etc.
I went through cardiac rehab - basically work out at the hospital under the direction and watch of a couple of nurses. I was on an ekg while exercising and a nurse checked my blood pressure before, during and after exercise. My blood pressure was good/low - which allowed me to get off some medications - beta blockers and made me feel confident to push myself a a little harder without being paranoid about my heart...
What I learned from this whole process is :
1. warm up is important - go slow at first to give your body time to adjust - your blood vessels dilate to carry more blood and hitting things hard when cold will result in injuries.
2. Cool down is just as important as the warm up... Go slow for 5-10 minutes at the end of your workout.
3. The recommendation is to only stretch out after working out when your muscles are warm - to avoid tears and injuries from stretching them when they are cold. I stretch lightly before exercise just to loosen up a little bit - then stretch out for 10-15 minutes at the end of the workout.
4. I am still figuring this one out - but working out aggressively burns different "stores" in your body than working out at a medium pace. Maybe it's an instinct from the past - if your body is stressed alot, it doesn't burn fat - you burn more immediate stores of energy (glucose/carbs, etc.). So I warm up, go hard (heart rate 125-135) , and then continue at a slower pace for an extra half hour to burn off more fat (heart rate 100-110). I mix it up between recumbent bike, treadmill at 10-12 degrees, and a concept II rower and occasionally do light weights.
As I have worked myself back into shape - I have built up muscle in my legs/back/shoulders. I want to get to 185 and then have a body composition test done. Weighed in a water tank to get accurate number for body fat percentage. My true goal is to get my body fat percentage down - focusing on weight can be discouraging as one converts fat into lean body mass (muscle). e.g. my weight doesn't always go down - but I still notice less fat in my face (cheeks and jawline) and how my clothes fit, etc.
First thing is for you to get checked out by a doctor - make sure your blood pressure is okay, etc.
Oh, and if you like to eat big meals - eating smaller meals more often will keep your metabolism up - and this helped me break through one "weight loss plateau" that I hit... Atwork, I'll grab a banana at about 3pm and at home, I like to eat green or red peppers or carrots as snacks...
One problem I have is that as I work out harder and now that I am working out every day , I am really, really hungry when I get home and end up pounding down too many calories - so my weight has been holding steady...
jeff
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