How long before you feel the effects of exercise? How can you track it?

[Anonymous]

I am very out of shape.
I've never really been in shape.
I'm from the countryside and when I was a kid I was always a loner, I lived in my room because there was fuck all else to do and no interesting people in my town.
Even as I got older my friends weren't of the sporty variety and my job has been desk based so yeah...

But there things stop being so absolutely typical for me. You see, I'm not fat. I guess the term is "Skinny fat". In the past few years I have developed a little bit of a gut but am of a healthy bmi and look not as out of shape as I actually am.

Following my recent breakup and my desire to someday once again have sex with a somewhat attractive girl, and the coming of warm weather again, I have decided I really need to try and get in shape once again.

Gyms are a no-go for me. I live in a countryside that would rival the one where I grew up (damn job...gotta fix that someday soon too...).
Diet isn't really something I have control over either. Limited shops around here, no cooking skills, limited funds, and I have to eat whatever the work canteen serves up.
Plus I think my average daily calorie count is pretty decent.
beer included. I'm not a big drinker.

Today I decided to try and go jogging but... damn I suck. Even though I did it under cover of darkness so the sun and allergies weren't there to attack me.
I could barely go a minute before my heart started beating like crazy and I felt myself getting hot.

So...I wonder...anyone else ever been in a simialr position? Out of shape but not fat and trying to fix it?

How long should I expect it to take before I can start to notice some improvment from my attempts at jogging?
I'm not expecting to be David Beckham overnight or whoever the hot guy is for kids these days but it would be nice to get some physical improvment in my exercising ability and ultimately my shape.
Any idea how to track this?

Updates

+1 y

Why all the mention of weights?
I don't want to put on muscle, I just want to look good and slim. Weights are good for weight loss too?
I don't have any weights though. And I'm probably moving country in a few months so don't want to buy any.

[Izzy2102]

I think a lot of it for guys is lifting weights but you can body weight exercises too. Just find some good YouTube channels for home workouts. A lot of them are aimed towards women, but you can still do them.

If you can't breathe after a minute, you're going too fast. Go slower. Everyone can run an hour, you just have to go at your own pace.

As for cooking, well you'll have to learn. It's actually cheaper cooking healthy for yourself than buying in cafeterias or buying junk food. This article has a good list of healthy foods. https://eat-to-succeed.com/how-to-eat-healthy-in-college/

Also particularly if you live in the country a lot of food just grows round you for free like apples or most berries

You should see a difference within about 3 months. There are many ways to track it. If you're using weight, track that. Just create some kind of fit test for yourself, like how fast you can run 1 mile, how many push ups you can do in 1 min... and do it every other week

[sweatgirl]

I am a certified personal trainer. I suggest walking instead of running. start out with 20 minuets and work your way up to 30-45 minuets. I suggest 3-5 times a week with weight training twice a week. get rid of drinking beer it is full of empty calories and loaded with carbohydrates. you can down load YouTube weight training exercises. u don't need to use heavy weights. pushups r also a good exercise when done correctly. start out with 2 sets of eight even if u have to do girl pushups. if u don't get rid of beer u will never see results no matter how hard u try. stick to a diet of 1,200-1,400 calories a day and 25% of those calories should come from fat. read labels. u should see results within three-four weeks. good luck

[kheserthorpe]

Couch to 5k program.

Does your phone have a gps? there are free programs like mapmyrun i've used that will track your distance, time, pace, and save it, you can compare your improvements over time.

You might want to add some resistance work - which could be bodyweight exercises, or lifting some heavy stuff you have access too, etc. Tracking what you can do there is helpful.

You will see differences within weeks.

[Ezio1981]

Just remember one thing man, you didn't put the weight on all at once so you won't lose it all at once. Kinda like Rome wasn't built in a day thing. Just keep exercising and eat smaller portions of meals and eventually you'll see results! Good luck and keep at it!

[Alana-]

I didn't read the whole thing, as I probably couldn't help you anyway, but if you're very out of shape you will lose weight sooner than someone who isn't that out of shape.

If you weigh 220 lbs I'm sure you'll lose more weight in 1 week than someone who weighs 130 lbs.

That's all I wanted to say

[thatbuffedkid]

HIIT, low intensity, I.F, Spartan workouts. There are many MANY homemade worksouts too bro, If you want. I can explain em to you. And listen to that guy "Rome wasn't built in a day"

[bellegirl16]

Weights are great for weight loss! Just start off slow, be consistent and you should noticebbetter energy within a week or two. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Try the C25K program (Couch to 5km program) which takes 9 weeks to do, but at the end of it you should be able to run a 5km race.