Weight loss - is doing weights the best thing?

I’d say go with weights. Having muscle helps you burn more fat because it raises your metabolic rate. As far as being nervous around men, it’s kind of a risk you have to take going to a public gym, unfortunately. Some of our gyms here have “women only” areas….maybe look and see if that’s available near you? What if for the first time you just go and use a treadmill for a bit just to scope out the place and get comfortable?

@Mariah I'm in Northern UK and we have so many gyms but none women only, there are women only fitness classes that I might have a look into! I'm thinking of going tonight and do what you say, I'm hoping the later I go the less busy it'll be

Thats a great idea!! The classes could be a great way to get started

The best way to lose weight is calorie deficit you need to be burning more than you are taking in for effective weight loss. Weights is an excellent method of exercise for increasing strength, toning muscle but weight loss is 80% diet and 20% exercise xx

I've always been quite cardio focused but now doing resistance work along side walking and that is good for me - almost 2 stone down (still many more to go though lol)

You can do both. Maybe a class a week, cardio, or a stairclimber, and weights other days. Doesn’t have be one or the other. Combine both. Because cardio is great for the heart and to get that pumping. About the men- is there any female gyms near you? I have some, and mine also offer crèche for the littlies. If you have a gym membership, the classes should also be free/unlimited w the membership. Unless you’re paying casually. In that case utilise a class as well. Which if you choose something like Zumba there’s more women than men naturally in the class without labeling it as all-women’s. but sometimes the teacher/Zumba instructor is a man 💁🏻‍♀️😂 In that case he’s seen hundreds of women dancing anyway.

@Crystal ?

Thanks for the great input everyone 😊

Omg im so sorry!!! I've been carrying my phone around after doing things and did not mean to send anything like that. I'm so embarrassed!!

@Crystal don't be embarrassed 😂 I thought you were being super enthusiastic haha 😊

The only thing in enthused about these days is a full night sleep and a strong coffee! Good luck on your journey x

Weight loss is 80% diet. Before even hitting the gym, spend 30 days of building a habit of eating healthy and eating the proper amount of calories. After that hitting the gym will be a breeze

What's everyone's way to stop hunger? So on an average day I'll have a boiled egg for breakfast with a cup of tea, 2 litres of water (or more when I'm working), a sandwich for lunch (now trying to cut out carbs) and then usually pasta, rice, meat and veg for tea...but then at night, oh boy i snack. I'm hoping being busy with the gym will stop me snacking, and I know I need smaller portions for tea time but what can I do to curb that hunger?

As someone who's just been told I have diabetes (type 1) High protein, low fat foods like lean meats (chicken is the best) fish, eggs, beans, peas, and lentils also fibre, will keep u fuller for longer things like switching to wholegrain bread and whole wheat pasta, potatoes are all lower in carbs and will also help regulate ur sugar levels too. U need carbs for a balanced diet. I've been doing this for a week and lost 5lbs already, and I haven't done any exercise apart from the usual walking I already do, calorie deficit works best. Try the my fitness pal app to track it, u can eat what u want (within reason) aslong as u stay with in your daily calories, you'll lose weight, good luck

You don’t need to cut out carbs. Carbs are crucial for supplying the body with energy to function! You need to balance your diet, work out your calories and track them! Change your diet, track your cals and then worry about the gym! You could run 10k daily and do 2 hours weights but if you’re not in a calorie deficit you won’t lose weight.

Curb hunger by eating 😅 definitely don’t want to be starving yourself in pursuit of your goals. Are you snacking because you’re hungry, bored, emotionally eating, etc? Balance out your meals with proper carbs, protein and healthy fat. The protein and fats help keep you feeling and carbs give you energy. Search “TDEE Calculator” in Google to find out how many calories your body need to maintain your current weight. Then reduce that number by 5-10% and that will give you a calorie deficit to start with. You can use an app like MyFitnessPal to keep track if that’s something you think would be helpful to you

@Mariah I definitely eat when I'm bored, stressed or sad. I need to change my mindset as well, it's so tough! I love all the ideas but it definitely is harder than it seems. I really appreciate your advice, everyone always talks about not eating when they're hungry so it's not to know that i just need to be choosing the right stuff

I’m down 5st so far since January and I can only echo what Mariah has said ☺️ work out your calorie allowance for weight loss through a tdee or calorie app (I use calorie counter+ by nutracheck), allow yourself to eat what you want within that allowance, and when it comes to exercise strength training will increase muscle mass and will help to increase what you can burn at rest. But I would take measurements of your body too, as your body can store water when introducing exercise so you may not see what you want to see on the scales right away. And I cannot highlight the advice enough to eat a bit of what you want. You can end up eating more than the original thing by trying to avoid it. I literally eat 2 cookies every. single. night. Be kind to yourself, a bad day doesn’t ruin a good week. Taking that bad day and throwing the towel in does. It’s a long slog 🥱 but worth it in the end. I would say good luck, but you don’t need it. You got this 💪🏻 🏋🏻‍♀️

@Holly this is such good advice, thank you! And go you for the 5 stone, you're smashing it 👏