Hi Mike,

Exercising is more important and effective for many things other than weight loss and the way to approach it is for you to improve and maximise your general fitness and mobility and keep/improve your muscle strength.
The NHS website suggests a minimum of 5×30 minutes of cardio and 2x 30 minutes of muscle strengthening per week ie 30 minutes every day which can be difficult bearing in mind how busy our lives are these days, but none of us want to be weak and immobile inlater life so it is worth making the effort.

Brisk walking or running, cycling or swimming and lifting a few weights would be a good way to start.

I joined a gym which works out at £10 per week if I pay a year up front It doesn’t have to be expensive. I live in London and am over 50 so get a reduced rate, but there are many pay as you go gyms where sessions can cost as little as £4, and we spend more than that on a coffee and a sandwich. Paying a year in advance motivated me to ensure I got my moneys worth and I aim for 3 times a week. I do an hour of cardio and 20 minutes of resistance work and stretching and sometimes swim afterwards. I am now fitter than I’ve ever been and it has made a huge difference to my ability to do all manner of things be it painting the ceiling, carrying the shopping or hiking.

Has it made any difference to my weight loss? No it hasn’t because the only way to lose weight by exercise is many hours of hard work outs or running several Ks a few times per week.
The thing is, I don’t care about it because I feel so much better every single day due to having a fitter and stronger body.

I was always allergic to exercise but once I got started I felt so good after every session, I grew to love it.