Yes!
Walk. Great to start there
Just simple adjustments or “ baby steps as well “
Evening if you have to drive …errands, shopping, to work…etc
Park far away…then walk
Use stairs if possible 
Example. For any given store location at a mall that I will or need to go to…I always park on the other side of mall
It works for me:slight_smile:
Good luck
I’ve been studying keto and fasting for about two years. I have struggled with all the recipes and whether or not to monitor blood glucose and ketones, when and how long to fast, etc. Have fasted various lengths of time and my weight has not changed, but I have not made the jump to no sugar, no wheat, no rice until after Christmas.
Saw a video that was a game changer for me. I am eating 7 to 10 cups of salad greens, per DAY, with some crunchy low carb veggies with lemon juice and oil dressing and 3 ozs of clean protein but a fabulous homemade sauce with each meal. I eat once or twice a day and my weight is falling off.
If I were you I would walk so you don’t trigger your hunger. Lifting weights 3 times a week is not a bad idea but you may have to bump up your protein a little. No fake protein either. It will spike your insulin.
My favorite has always been strength training. This is a good beginner’s guide. http://www.niashanks.com/womens-beginner-strength-training-guide/ Her website includes excellent tips on form and more advanced training options, but the above is simple, quick and effective.
If you are one week into Keto my suggestion for the first 3-4 weeks is very little except for walking.
You are asking your body to essentially retool itself at the cellular, metabolic, and hormonal levels. It’s a huge ask. Upping exercise at the same time can be a lot.
After that though walking is still great. Then I do mostly bodyweight exercises: pull-ups, push-ups, planking, lunges. Look up Mark Sisson essential Primal exercises.
Most have to work up to pull-ups of course. I did. If there are classses you like at the gym: awesome. Exercise can compliment a Keto journey wonderfully.
But also try at home for strength: I’ve a couple of barbells a kettlebell a pull-up bar. I can do great things and be done in less time than driving to our gym. I use both, but home most of all. Plus the bodyweight exercises are compound exercises and really help your core.
Hi Victoria,
I read the thread and there is lots in there. I have worked myself back from very unfit where it was almost embarrassing to work out, to much better fitness. It can be so hard when you are doing something and you think others must be thinking they should go harder and you are going sooo so hard. Always work within what you know are your limitations so you don’t injure yourself. Unless you are training with someone who really knows you and is an expert and you have asked them to push you.
If I am right you have joined a gym and are keen to exercise. I would go with that inclination and momentum. I do agree that the diet part is most important to get right and that your body may be adjusting but you can still incorporate more movement. Just be cautious with long or very hard workouts that may make you more hungry or add to your stress levels.
You said you feel like you really need to build yourself up. If you love dancing but found you were not fit enough for the class your idea of working up your fitness first is a great idea. That is how I would do things.
A few people mentioned walking. I agree that it is a fundamental exercise and is especially helpful if you keep good posture, core in etc. I saw an exercise specialist who taught me an interval program. But first I would just build yourself up with walking to 10 minutes or 20min at an incline of at least 2. Or just walking outside.
When you have got to that point you may like to try intervals of difficulty on a treadmill using a steeper incline. Walk at incline 2 for 2 mins then incline 6 or 8 for 2minutes then back to incline 2 for 2 mins. then repeat high incline and low incline. At the end of the high incline 2 mins it should be hard (puffing, really need to concentrate). And in the low incline you should be able to recover and get a break.
After you can do that for a few weeks you can make the intervals longer.
If you want to do weights - which I personally have come to love. I think the Body by Science program that @gabe mentioned is worth a look. I am trying it now. The other possibility is something someone else mentioned?? Where you choose one machine and learn how to use it ( if there are assistants at the gym they should be able to help you use a machine properly. Part of their job is that people use equipment properly and safely). Then when you get good at that then add in another machine. Listen to @brenda on
about how she did her weights routine. Yes free weights can be good but machines are useful too.
Also some gyms will write you a program and show you how to use the machines or you could pay a personal trainer to write you routine. Then you can take yourself through it. Though if you are just starting out just learning one machine at a time might work.
The other option to consider if you have the cash and time is getting a personal trainer or exercise physiologist to help you build up your skills. I would specify that you want to work up to knowing how to do it on your own. (if you do). I would also read up about what they are like and their experience to see if you think they would be a good fit for you. But I totally understand that might not be an option.
OMG Wow! that ended up being a long post. Go with what you think will work for you. What works for you at the start might not later on. That is ok we are growing and learning. You might try something and hate it. Thats ok just try something else.
Go Strong!
I just read your blog post. Wow. You must be so glad you did this. Long walks have been a movement challenge that I have always been inclined to try. I walk regularly most days, sometimes twice. Your post has some great pointers if I want to push out to longer walks. I really like how you seem to have done it mostly around you home area not a specific trail. Thanks. I am excited by the possibilities.
Go for what you’d enjoy! Keep exercise times short, if you can eventually add a bit of heavy weight work it’s good for bone density. Also have a go at doing some boxing pad work with a trainer, the first time I hit something, was like a religious epiphany! My boxing has now become my sanity! (Menopausal old bat here!)
Hi Victoria,
Congratulations on starting keto and setting goals for yourself.
One thing to keep in mind is that exercise has almost nothing to do with weight loss. Fat people can be very fit and thin people can be out of shape, fitness and weight are independent and it is an error to think that thin people are thin because they exercise or that fat people are fat because they don’t.
This is just part of the trap of shaming fat people with … you just sit on the couch and eat crisps … when the problem is what and when they are eating.
Thin people are not thin because they exercise, they exercise because they are thin and enjoy exercising.
So … what should you do in the gym? Whatever the hell you like! Whatever you find the most enjoyable, whatever makes you happy. If you are having any problems with joint pain, I would take it very slow, especially at first, and skip anything that hurts. Exercise will be a lot safer after you drop 30, 40, or 50 lbs.
If you like to dance … then dance! Dance a happy keto dance!
Keto for Life!
Warmest Regards,
Richard
I would try a couple of each of all the classes you can attend and get firsthand experience. And wishfully so, if you had it in your gym, I would do aerobic class with the drumsticks or the one with a bungee cord harnessed to your body for flying around while doing aerobics. Also I kind of enjoyed occasional weight lifting in a class setting.
Watching this has helped me think through prioritizing exercise
If you want to do LICardio after this, good luck to you 
The Zach Bush video referenced by @Dan_Dan above is very scaleable and can be done anywhere, anytime. I started slow and worked on form but now I push the pace/reps and get my HR up to 80%+ and a reasonable burn. After you get good at that (1-2 times a day for a while - 4-8 mins) you can try it with weights or move on to any of the more intense HIIT e.g. Tabata style stuff which is 4 mins 3x per week.
This is probably a really stupid question…
So how does exercise, specifically low intensity cardio, fit into the keto lifestyle? I understand that being fat adapted helps with endurance - so does the cardio exercise help with fat adaptation? Drawing down glucose stores?
I’m asking as an endurance athlete still trying to make sense of all this.
If you ask Naiman et al they would say that LICardio doesn’t do much of anything. I don’t understand it all well enough to know what LI does for us or the diet. I kind of consider keto and exercise almost separately but I’m not an athlete so it isn’t really important to me. Check out the Running and Cycling sub forums for a lot more stuff on this.
First of all, don’t be surprised if your endurance levels decline drastically in the next couple weeks. As your body goes into ketosis, but before it efficiently knows what to do with all the extra ketones, and without the extra carbs to fuel things, you’re going to go through a process called fat adaptation. It’s common to feel weak during this period. Like really, really weak.
If you have these days, don’t push it. Listen to your body.
But there’s a light at the end of the dark adaptation tunnel. You will be able to build back up as your body adapts.
When that happens, the best workout program is one that has variety. Some cardio, some endurance, some strength training. Do walking on a treadmill and increase your speed and/or pace as you gain endurance. Walking is a great exercise. Ellipticals or bicycles are also good. Alternate days with do weight lifting. Start off small and build up. Add in higher cardio only when you build up.
Thanks for sharing this, Dan! It looks like a great option (quick, no equipment required).