Movement

Strength training is the insurance policy.

You are not training to burn calories. The medication handles the eating. You are training so that the weight you lose is fat, and so the body you finish with can hold the result.

Start where you are

Four honest starting points

Pick the one that describes you today, not the one you wish described you.

Man doing a counter pushup against his kitchen counter
Standing basics15 min · 2× a week

You can stand and move without pain

Effort

What you need: Nothing. A counter and a chair

  • 01Sit-to-stands from a chair
  • 02Wall or counter pushups
  • 03Counter rows
  • 04Calf raises

Your kitchen is the equipment. This is where most people should start.

Walking

The most underrated thing on this page

Walking will not build muscle, but it keeps your daily energy output from collapsing as you get smaller — and that is a real cause of stalls.

  • Ten minutes after your largest meal, every day
  • Build toward 7,000 steps most days, not 10,000 some days
  • Walk in the shoes you actually own — no purchase required
  • It also settles nausea better than sitting still does
A man in his fifties doing a single-arm dumbbell row in his living room
Two short sessions a week, in the room you already live in

The honest answer

What exercise gives me a flatter stomach?

You have been sold an answer to this question many times. Here is the real one.

Nothing spot-reduces fat

Not crunches, not planks, not a belt, not a wrap, not an ab machine. There is no mechanism by which working a muscle removes the fat sitting on top of it. Anyone selling you that knows better.

Here is what does change it

  • Overall fat loss, which the medication and your food plan handle.
  • Keeping muscle, so the shape underneath is worth revealing.
  • Core strength, which changes posture and how you carry yourself.
  • Less bloating — water, fibre and fewer very large meals.
  • Time. Skin and shape settle months behind the scale.

Four weeks

A sample schedule you could start Monday

A four-week starting schedule
WeekStrengthWalkingThe one thing that matters
Week 12 sessions, 10 min, bodyweight or seated10 min after dinnerJust turning up
Week 22 sessions, 15 min, same movements10 min after dinnerSame movements, one more rep
Week 32 sessions, 20 min, add bands15 min, most daysAdd load, not variety
Week 42–3 sessions, 20 min15 min, most daysBook it in the calendar like a visit

Stop and call us

Chest pain or pressure, breathlessness out of proportion to what you are doing, dizziness or fainting, calf pain and swelling on one side, or any new severe pain. Stop the session and contact the care team. If it is happening right now, call 911.

Find out whether your muscle is actually protected.

Four questions, scored out of eight, with the next steps in order.

Muscle protection check→Nutrition & protein→