Which exercise?

[rachaelersk]

I am slowly putting on weight and i know its all the rubbish i eat on a night but am reluctant to exercise as i never know which is best to loose weight the quickest which also fits in with my life. I have 2 children one of which is 1 1/2 so this restricts me. I can walk, cycle sometimes, run sometimes and swim which would be the best. Also i really want to concentrate on the tummy area and tops of legs.Anyone help?

[Impret-Sir]

All of the exercises you mention work, swimming is probably the best, as it will effect more of your body, more of the time, but you have to do it properly, by which I mean not just a couple of lengths then stop for a breather. To do any good any exercise has got to actually make you puff, in other words raise your heart rate, and keep it raised, and make you feel like you have done something when you stop!

But also, you have given part of the answer yourself, you are fighting a loosing battle doing exercise if you dont combine it with control of your diet.

[hannahjo]

everything you've mentioned is good, and anything is better than nothing!!!

Try working stuff into your everyday routine - can you walk to your supermarket / shops? how about doing some sit ups or lunges while watching the telly?

do you have a garden, or a local park? just playing activley with your kids here could give you some exercise if you played stuff like football or rounders (i have no idea how active a 1 1/2 yr old is so forgive me if this is a bit ambitious!) or you could get bikes (with a back seat for your littlest) and go for rides. this way you'll also get to enjoy the sunshine plus you'll be giving your kids a healthy start aswell!

[trionam]

I have an eighteen month old and I work full time so I felt extactly like you, recently I have started walking in the evenings with a friend when my daughter is in bed, we try to walk that little bit further each night and when our fitness improves we will try jogging, It helps if you have a friend to go with as it stop you backing out,once you start it will become routine and be much easier, I have started to notice a bit of difference now in my clothes,Best of luck.

[twiglet4frog]

best thing to do is walk as much as possible, try and do as close to 10,000 steps a day, eat resonably healthy meals and little and often, and maybe every night use one of them sit up bars before bed, if u try to build up the number of reps each night until u are doing say 100 a night that is going to get rid of your stomach and can be done when the kids are in bed

[El D]

no that won't get rid of her stomach, only an overall reduction on bodyfat will do that. The simple answer is, whichever of the above you enjoy, do it. The fat burning zone is actually remarkably low and for those who have no desire to reach peak heart rates the most effective way to lose fat is a brisk walk or exercise at a similar pace. Upping the heart rate will be more beneficial in terms of heart and lung development but for fat burning it really is a low threshold. Find an activity you enjoy - this way exercise becomes 'you' time as well and will have much more positive connotations when you are tired and worn out. Remember it's a marathon not a sprint, don't be disheartened or give up if you have to miss one or two sessions.

[rachaelersk]

Many thanks for all the replies, this has made me see that all of the exercises i like i can do and see results from and probably do with the kids too. Also have to sort out some kind of healthy eating plan which i am in the process of doing and i will be away.

Many thanks again.

Rachael