I have come to the realisation that I have stacked on the KGs lately and wanting to go to a gym. Not sure which is the best to go to or the best priced.
I'm in Ryde area (in case there are any private/non-franchised gyms). Which one do you go to? What do you recommend? Are there any good offers?
Having lost 35kg myself over the last two and a half years, whilst excercise is great, it'll contribute to about 10% of weigh losing ability. The best way to lose weight is to change your diet. I'd recommend my fitness pal app (it's free) for at least 4 weeks combined with using kitchen scales for everything you eat. You'll be surprised by how much you eat and can easily make healthy changes for weight loss.
You can supplement this with excercise you enjoy: I like long walks (hiking) in nature as its great for mental clarity, but swapping sweat for sexiness in a gym isn't something I choose to do.
Cutting out food with high amounts of refined sugar helps as well.
Yea losing fat is actually 20 percent exercise and 80 percent diet.
However, in return for losing fat, you also lose lean mass. To counteract lean mass loss, you need to work-out, otherwise you will fall into a category called 'skinny fat', where you're slim but you are still carrying a flabby gut. The natural response of many people is to just do cardio, but while that helps to burn off excess joules, your body shape doesn't quite improve.
This video explains it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8d--kTi7SIw
Gym is not neccessary — some free weights, done in the comfort of your own home, and also some pull up bars installed in the doorway, also does wonders. It'll help keep your wallet fat…
+1 to scrimshaws advice. I easily loose weight just be watching my portion sizes and having some self control when it comes to sugary foods and junk. I did a bit of a bulk and lost my fat before summer simply by eating less. I do lift weights though so that would consume a lot of my calories too.
If you eat smaller portions and cut sugary drinks at least the fat will just melt away.
I definitely notice that whenever I am exercising I only want water to drink - whereas when I'm home I might have a whole bunch of other drinks.
You will find you simply won't have the stamina for long exercise with junk foods.
So the exercise makes the diet better and vice versa. You need both.
Good advice.
And with the skinny fat thing, often it's your posture making it seem worse than it is.
I have started losing weight since I started playing Pokemon Go with the kids. Lol.
thats from the cancer developing from you playing pokemon go
walking on the footpath around the block is free :)
The most important thing is that you can maintain motivation to continue exercising. Let that be your deciding factor. If spending money on a gym membership will force you to exercise, then it's money well spent.
90% of people that sign a contract for 12 months use it for less than 3 weeks. All of those people were planning on using it for 12 months but exercise is hard. Diet is hard. You actually have to go off and do voluntary suffering to achieve these things. Most people completely underestimate what that means.
Don't be a fool, no contract gym only.
Jetts is good and cheap.
Jetts et al. still require a month's cancellation on their PAYG plan. This cancellation is supposed to end payments immediately, as at the start, you must pay for 3 months upfront. However, when I cancelled my Jetts PAYG, they kept billing me! Not going back. Uni gyms, however, are excellent!
Why not try this amazing fitness program called Pokemon Go?!
Maybe consider buying a gym membership transfer on gumtree like this
http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/macquarie-park/gym-fitness/bu…
Depending on how unfit you are I'd say you won't be able to take advantage of many things in the gym without hurting yourself.
Things to try
1) Park gyms - these are free. Pullup bar is very common.
2) Pickup basketball games or going down and practicing on your own.. just fetching the ball from missed shots is good exercise
3) Running laps at the park with a runtracker and music player. Fast walking also qualifies. If you need other people - maybe look at http://www.parkrun.com.au/
4) Indoor swimming pool if close
5) Buy an elliptical trainer second hand
6) Bike ride if you have a convenient bike track
Avoid gym contracts - they always try to screw you somehow. Maybe a bootcamp? (never tried these - but they seem ok when I walk by them)
For me nowadays, fetching missed basketball shots would be ample exercise.
Some good tips, and I notice a lot are low impact suggestions.
Hi, I too understand how hard it is, the hardest part is realizing you want/need to loose some weight. I bought myself an electrical treadmil, and walked every day and cut my portion size down, for me I preferred to walk in my home when it suited & it's safer. I wish you all the best, just one thing, please don't refer to yourself as fatty and put yourself down, there are too many people in this world who will do that for you.. I wish you all the best, I lost 30kg in 10 months, kept it off for over 15 years, but have put some back on just lately as a result of having to take steriod medication.
Be nice if you could let us know how you go.
Once you start the weight will just fall off.
I wish you all the success hun.
Kind regards,
Lisa :)
Nice insight, Lisa.
Hope you're doing well.
This was good insight… I think the theme here is: you've got to do what works well for you.
I'm on two diets. Not enough food on one.
Lol im so using this in the future
Joining a gym will not lose you weight.
Modifying your diet and undertaking regular exercise will, as long as you do it correctly.
There is lots of guidance on the web available for free.
I would start by reducing fats and sugars and walking-use your phone to measure your steps and see how far you go each day.
Record what you do-it's a great personal motivator.
Watch some You tube videos to motivate you.
Here's one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKcX40EDnBk
I changed my lifestyle, simply going to a gym or changing a diet didn't work for me. So instead of catching a train to work, I drove into someplace close to the city and then walked in from there. But as I was carrying 20kg more than I should my feet started hurting after a few weeks of that so I put a bike carrier on the back, parked in same place and rode in from there. Then I got annoyed with traffic…so I'd drive until I started to get annoyed, stop and get on bike. Then I bought a better bike and just rode from home. The 20kg disappeared almost overnight. Now it's just part of my lifestyle. I don't get frustrated with cancelled trains or coughing commuters. I'm not stuck in gridlocked cars. I know exactly how long it takes between leaving home and arriving at work (add 5 mins for a puncture). Even though my commute is 20km each way…it's faster than driving or catching the train. I'm not paying petrol or train fares or gym fees or many medical bills. When I do get injured, I heal very fast due to better blood circulation.
I'm in Melbourne which is a great cycling city. I hear that Sydney is still quite feral and afraid of bikes, maybe due to the hills. Queensland is even worse.
Good insight.
Sydney is just an impatient city sometimes, but no reason why I can't ride still.
When I used to live in ryde, starting from West Ryde you can ride to Meadowbank, and then across to Rhodes and then Sydney Olympic Park. Mostly quiet roads (20 percent roads) and bike paths. You will not encounter at most one freeway, but there is a clear bike path. To avoid freeways, just take the train to Rhodes and start from there.
VERY recommended if you are a beginner at bike riding and you don't have the leg stamina yet.
If I had Endomondo still I could show you the paths and routes I took, but I no longer have the data.
Bike riding is more enjoyable if done with a friend. It's boring to ride solo.
But remember to also lift weights. Resistance training is what gives you muscles.
Do you ride in storms and the rain? You must have a shower at work (so you'd use it and have to take a change of clothes?) otherwise wouldn't you be feeling/smelling sweaty all day?
+1 walking.
Ryde has some decent hills — a few along Lane Cove Rd / Devlin St.
Putney will be extra nice come spring. Along the river path then finish off climbing Princes St up to Morrison Rd where I'd have my car parked. Then I'd drive straight to Concord hospital :P
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-33.8204531,151.1046964,3a,75y,224.29h,66.31t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s_0Wk3TG4MoMRlSKj7ZTXVQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
Walk around the Princes St x Cowell St area - That hill is steep! LOL
Juicedpixels is bang on the money. Research has shown 80% weight management is diet driven, exercise is great for many health reasons though including weight loss, just don't over do it to a point where you get bored or frustrated. Building it into your life in a way that you can enjoy it and it's sustainable. Gym works for a lot of people but in recent years I prefer getting outdoors, have mates that do F45/cross fit which they swear by but can be expensive - if you are open to alternatives long walks etc are great as Juiced said good for more than just physical and great for doing with friends as it is accessible for most people, swimming is kind on joints and full body exercise. Also community sports can be a great way to stay fit and find something that you enjoy more than just for the purpose of weight loss.
Also there is a good argument for the health benefits of simply getting your heart rate up with high intensity training for 10 mins at a time. A friend of mine was also told by his physician that simply getting your heart rate into fat burning zone for 5 minutes each day (he uses a standing bike) can stimulate a faster metabolism which will help to break down fat+ process sugar as well as a heap of other benefits.
Research: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/11/151110093914.h…
Here is a link to a PT free voucher - even good to go and get the training and Nutrition plan for Free (not sure how good Vision are though)
http://www.gymlink.com.au/Vision-Personal-Training-North-Ryd…
Good Luck
Meth/ice increases metabolism which is great for weight reduction, but also increases blood pressure, as most fat people have high bp it's really only good for skinny people to lose weight. hmmmmm…….
If its been a while or you never had a membership, I would suggest p90x3, you can do it at home with mostly dumbells and if you stick with it for 3 months solid 6 days a week, I would then consider a membership. Reason being is so many people sign up and just dont use it.
If you are at 15% or more body fat cutting sugar and carbs will be your quickest and most effective way to strip fat. If you drink a lot of tea/coffee/juice/coke/RB the sugar in that is just rubbish calories. Water is your new best friend. I would also consider drastically reducing salt which will help with water retention. This is more so you can see more consistent results when you weigh yourself.
Source: personal exp, friend and sis inlaw are PT's
Generally, everything said so far is pretty accurate. You just have to find what you like to do and mix it up
I agree that it's no use just joining a gym. I'd like to prove to myself that I'm committed before I just spend a ton of money or sign up to a big fat contract (I wouldn't be an Ozbargainer if I was happy to spend money unnecessarily).
I think I'll start off with light weights and light jogging for a few weeks at least.
I appreciate what everyone has said about diet, but for me, psychologically, they're linked… if I'm doing one, I can do the other. I generally enjoy exercising (especially sport) and I actually find most healthy food tasty (or at least palatable), but if I can't be bothered doing one, I probably won't do the other.
No-one's mentioned cutting out alcohol and any other liquids laden with empty calories eg all fruit smoothies; anything from boost juice; any fruit juice are full of fructose which is the type of sugar that spikes blood sugar and gets stored as fat. You can lose weight by cutting out all sugar, alcohol, reducing portion sizes, eating only whole food (not packaged) and no snacking. As confronting as it was at the time when I complained to my doctor about how hard it is to lose weight even when I exercise everyday. He said - "You never saw any overweight people in concentration camps?"
In the first week use a Food Diary and spend a little time writing down everything that you eat - to see where you could be going wrong with what you are eating. That food diary could be enlightening actually. Resolve to do without the sugary pick-me-ups or if you can't - then substitute for something not sweet but healthy. Limit fruit to no more than 2 pieces a day. Instead eat more vegies. Always check the sugar content on packaged products. Anything higher than 10gms sugar per serving - put it back on the shelf.
This may help.
I am not connected in any way to Max's, but I did do this in 2013 and it had a significant impact.
https://www.maxchallenge.com.au/
As everyone has said already, if the goal is to lose weight then the formula is pretty boring: diet, diet, diet, and increased physical activity. If you want to get "fit", that's another matter. If you aren't very active now and you go out and hit the gym or start exercising a lot you're likely to get real hungry, real quick, which then opens the door to overeating. There's an endless number of people that sabotage themselves with "I've just done a massive workout…I've earned that dessert". Don't get me started on sports drinks either!
For absolute minimal effort and good gains give intermittent fasting (IF) a go. It's free and worked wonders for me, very little change in what you eat, just when you eat it.
Good luck
hi RM,
Thanks for the tips.
Since I wrote this, I went to NZ for a 1 1/2 weeks. Whilst there, I started going on bushwalks, treks (nothing hardcore yet). I had a few days where I walked 10 - 15 km over the whole day, which is not bad considering recent poor habits.
Now back in Sydney, I'm going to attempt to do it more often and supplement that with walks near my house on weekdays/times when it's less practical.
I will get into running soon, I'm trying to build some mild fitness with walking to begin with.
Thanks again for your ideas, I am taking onboard everyone's, whilst favouring the ideas that suit me, my lifestyle and my preferences as that's the best way I believe I can be confident that I will stick with it.
Monitor your progress; it will help motivate you.
Most phones can count your step rate.
Aim for 10,000 steps a day. Research as shown that this is highly effective at improving base fitness and losing weight, (as long as you don't eat any more to compensate).
Plus fitness $13 a week wait until they offer 2 weeks free or free to join.
https://www.google.com.au/search?hl=en&q=gym+west+ryde#hl=en…
Try Challenge Me Fitness. I used to go about 2 years ago… not sure if they are still good, but they're extremely low budget. The gym is pretty small, but machines are fairly new. See the photos on Gmaps.