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My wife (although very slim for her age) is beginning to feel a bit self-conscious about the inevitable wobbly bits that she thinks are appearing.
So, with her birthday coming up she asked for a FitBit (or something like that) however she doesn't really do any exercise as such but she thinks this might help motivate her (when she realises how little she actually does). We do have a cross trainer at home so I was thinking she might actually use it if she can monitor her progress on the FitBit.
Another option is to increase my gym membership to include her so she can use the many exercise classes my gym.
What other options should I consider to help?
I think getting older you have to accept things don't look perfect anymore, but then you still need to exercise.
From personal experience though unless the other half wants to, you have no chance!
Fewer pies.
Only slightly joking. Without wanting to start yet another calories in vs calories out debate, cutting out a few easy calories in will easily outweigh a bit of token exercise. Use an online calculator to work out how many calories she'll burn in 30 mins on the cross trainer, and how many are in a latte and a muffin. It's depressing.
Doing the exercise will be beneficial in many other ways though, so probably good to encourage it while the motivation's there. Regular exercise is an excellent habit to get into.
I think getting older you have to accept things don't look perfect anymore, but then you still need to exercise.
THIS
Depends how "wobbly" wobbly is
Exercise would be good but if you go the gym route maybe find some classes you can do together. A Fit-bit may give some encouragement and positive feedback if she actually hits some targets.
Get [s]you[/s] her a selection of the ministry of sound work out dvd's [s]I[/s] my wife has found them excellent [s]grumble-lite[/s]
Buy her a bike?!
I'd say 10 personal trainer sessions would be good, they can tailor an exercise program that will work and the 10 sessions will motivate and set her on the right track.
I combine my wifes fitness regime with the kids entertainment by dressing up as Benny Hill and chasing her around the garden.
Honest
Slim for her age ? What does that mean you are either slim or not !!
Is there not some exercise regime you could do together? 😉 Oh sorry just realised the married bit 😕
Is there not some exercise regime you could do together?
probably needs to be more than 30sec once a fortnight to burn any flab....
eat more animal fats and proteins and much less carbs and sugars, no need to exercise when you do that.
do some research on nutritional Ketosis 😉
Problem is...as you get older you do start getting flabby. I do a lot of exercise but still eat what I want, so I have flab around my middle which is annoying as its becoming difficult to see my six pack! 8)
My wife on the other hand doesn't eat the cakes and biscuits I love, does a lot of exercise and has no flab at all.
So clearly exercise is only any good if you combine it with careful eating.
Sorry, dived into a meeting and just resurfaced....
From personal experience though unless the other half wants to
She wants to - she just thinks she needs something to help incentivise her
Buy her a bike?!
She hates 'outdoor' exercise where people can see her
classes you can do together
Young kids so we can't go together
Depends how "wobbly" wobbly is
Only a little - she isn't fat (or even overweight) - just getting a little bit of spare fat (she is struggling to accept that at 39 she can't eat quite so many creme eggs without it having some kind of effect).
Slim for her age ?
I don't agree, two kids and middle-aged 'slim' is very different than 16 yr old lithe athlete.
cutting out a few easy calories in will easily outweigh a bit of token exercise
And this is the interesting one - she isn't fat and needing to lose weight at all, and the exercise is exactly what I think she needs in order to tone up a little.
as other say, she has to want to do it otherwise waste of cash.
the better thing is to encourage better diet AND some exercise.
The fitbit is good to monitor diet but you have to be pretty strict in entering the food intake data. She has to want to, really want to.
[i]And this is the interesting one - she isn't fat and needing to lose weight at all, and the exercise is exactly what I think she needs in order to tone up a little.[/i]
There are women who do no exercise at all who have great figures.....and its all down to eating salads and fruit and not much else.
Who TF wants to live like that though??
No....sadly there is no magic wand, if she enjoys food then she will need to start doing regular hard exercise. If she's not motivated by the extra pounds she's putting on, then she probably never will be.
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You could even get her some new norks! 😀
If you have an Xbox or a Wii take a look at some of the excercise games, Wii fit or Your Shape. My wife uses both and gets a fairly good workout, only once a week though...small steps. The advantage is these are done at home, so no sweating in front of strangers!
Good point - we do have a Wii with one of the sports apps - she could use that to exercise to too. 🙂
I've literally just started this Freeletics lark..... Might be worth a shot?
Get her using MyFitnessPal, if you're committed, it is very motivational to track exercise, food intake and potential weight loss progress.
Exercise is a great way to get healthier but if she wants less wobble it is down to diet. Low carbs plus higher protein and fat will have a big impact
whats wrong with a bit of good old bedroom gymnastics? 😉
Yoga, pilates, light weights done at home. None of this needs the expense of a gym membership.
+1 for @gonzy's suggestion, that would be my first recommendation to your wife as it where 😉
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Eating clean will give best results - get plenty of minerals..
Copper facilitates the production of collagen which helps skin maintain its elasticity ..
Just stick one of these up on a billboard in the garden.
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What better motivation is there if you're feeling a little self-conscious?
Get her a toy boy - she'll lose weight quickly.
Or stop eating too many carbs.
Gym, start with classes and a couple of times a week and build it up. I have been told that as you get older you loose muscle.....use them or lose them! Less muscle, more wobbly bits.
Not sure how old your wife is, but one of the fittest ladies at my gym (looks like one of those athletes on TV) is well in her 40's. She comes with her youngest daughter who is 23.
One of the fittest looking men is a grandad!
Spinning is good.
Simone
By her a cake, and tell her you love her.
If she isn't overweight, then I don't think she can do much about the wobbly bits.
Maybe attend a gym twice a week with training sessions, but if she is really bothered then cosmetic surgery would be easier in the long run.
There are lots of fitness videos on YouTube. Mrs Slack recommends Tiffany Roach as a goodie for toning.
Activity monitor (of any brand) linked to my fitness pal. Allows you to see exactly what you are eating and your background activity level. Needs a bit of discipline to keep mfp up to date but not much, and it's quite interesting just monitoring what you eat even if you have no specific weight loss goal. Small improvements to diet can make a big difference, and probably a lot easier to implement for someone not too keen on exercising.
Eat maintenance level amount of calories, weight train like a bodybuilder.
Could put speed on her Cornflakes. You'll get a super tidy house as well 😉
It's funny as it was only the other evening when Mrs Farmer was looking in the mirror. She turned to me and said
"I'm starting to get wrinkles and I'm fat and ugly. Pay me a compliment!"
"well" says I "your eyesight is still perfect" 🙂
Right, well FitBit ordered and just upgraded my gym membership to a joint one so she can use the classes.
Doubt I will get away so lightly (or cheaply) next year on her 40th, which is also the year of our 10th wedding anniversary)....
I would have thought a gym is worse than exercising outdoors for someone who doesn't want anyone looking at them while they're exercising.
From my experience, gyms have a certain % of people who spend more time preening and looking at other people, whereas I've never seen any of that nonsense when out trail running or biking. And if you're riding a bike, you're going too fast for onlookers to scrutinise!
From my experience, gyms have a certain % of people who spend more time preening and looking at other people
Does depend on the gym, pick one without any mirrors for a start eg Crossfit Box.
Or one called Voodoo Combat, as one local gym is called!
I would have thought a gym is worse than exercising outdoors for someone who doesn't want anyone looking at them while they're exercising.
It's not how she feels though. I think she's bonkers but she simply doesn't like exercising outdoors.
I would say find a good pilates class or maybe a more intense type of yoga (never having done yoga I couldn't recommend one, but I'm sure such a thing exists). Look for an evening or weekend class as these will generally be a bit more strenuous in my experience. They tend to be frequented more by women than men and I'm sure once your wife makes a few friends there will be ample motivation for going.
Exercising outdoors burns more calories...
Get her a toy boy - she'll lose weight quickly.
My cougar's putting on weight since we started going out (allegedly, still looks ace to me) since I do the majority of the work. I'm toning nicely though 🙂