hey this was a good idea! my girlfriend recently stared going to the gym again and she used to be on a competitive swimming team, so Ill give a shout if I pick up any usefull info lol.

Awesome. I was hoping for this forum.

Just watched Scooby's video since it was the video pick of the day for Google's home page. 

I am so motivated I joined.  I just got back from the doc's and at 52 he said I needed to exercise a half hour at least 5 days a week.

I am taking his advice to heart.  A big commitment on my part.  I would rather be reading a good book or watching a great foreign film.  So, I am going to lean on all of you to stay motivated.  If I am really brave, i will take a "BEFORE" pic tomorrow.  Granted I might not post it until there is a visible improvement say 3 or 6 months down the pike. 

What is a reasonable time table given a half hour of cardio and maybe the beginner routine 3 days a week?

cheers and many blessings to all of you women (and sympatico men) out there,

snowworms

First of all, welcome Snowworms!

You may look at it this way: Getting and staying fit gives you more time to read and watch your favorite books and movies

Snow,

Any of the "guy" workouts are perfectly find for us gals, too.

Checking your heart rate is a good way to make sure that you're doing your cardio activity vigorously enough to burn fat. Here's a good place to find your target range ---> Target Heart Range  You should aim to do cardio for at least 30 minutes, 5 times a week, and as you get in better shape, you may want to go longer.

You don't need to check your heart rate constantly. When you reach a point in your cycling where you feel you're going as fast as you can and still keep going, check it then; just for 15 seconds, then multiply by four. If you are good at gauging how hard you're working, you can use "perceived intensity of exertion" to check and see if you're doing cardio hard enough.

Here's the first place on Scooby's site you should go, if you haven't already ---> Losing Weight and Getting 6-Pack Abs

This forum is all-purpose! Don't limit yourself to reading and posting only here in the Women's area; and don't worry about cluttering things up! We have a variety of topics you can add to, ask questions in, and so on. And we ALL cheer each other on!

Good luck! That will be ...interesting

While I'm not a woman, I can still help you on this one!

Male or female we all need proper nutrients and a healthy balanced diet. The diet outline that Scooby provides on his website applies to anyone. The main thing you must factor is your body weight and creating a proper caloric deficit so that you gradually drop the weight in a healthy manner.

If you have any other questions feel free to either utilize our search bar in the top right of the page, if you can't find your answer there you can post a new thread with any questions you may have or send a private message to Goldie, Mucky, or myself.

Hope this helped!