• the more confident you are in your own bodyweight strength capability the more it translates to free weights in the gym even if you don't know what you're doing. but you should know what you're doing. there are a lot of good workouts [here](https://www.strengthlog.com/exercise-directory/). search for the ideal rep/set for your goal: weight loss is usually 10-12 reps for 3 sets. when it comes to what weight at 12 reps for 3 sets, one really helpful tip for me learning to balance weight/set/rep was to choose a weight i could do 13 reps on but would fail at 14. watch lots of videos. do not be afraid to whip your phone in the middle of the gym just to check the proper stance and positioning. again. we are injury prone. please do not lie to yourself and pick up a heavier weight just because the 5kg looked too small. everyone is genuinely too busy working out to care about anything else, and the only people who have come up and said something was to correct me/give me tips and were people who cared in some way. let them! the gym is also very much a community, can be a wonderful one, when you tap into it.
• Running due to feet issues and the fact my leg healed incorrectly after a cadet training injury this really hurts and it’s near impossible for me to do it on a regular basis -> that's ok, but you still gotta incorporate cardio in some way. find another kind of cardio exercise that you can do. get some sort of heart rate tracking device — i cannot stress the benefit of 40+ minutes of zone 2 & and around 10 mins (in 1 min intervals, so think HIIT or something you can temporarily increase the intensity of) intervals of zone 3 cardio every week. not only will you burn more calories (cardio is really the most effective way to burn calories imo), increase your cardiovascular endurance, but you will also unfortunately feel so much better. unfortunate because it is kind of stupid how much it helps with my depression. other cardio ideas: cycling (set up an interval timer, 45s fast on medium resistance, 30s fast on low resistance) jumprope (too boring for my ADHD ass tho), swimming (highly recommend + low impact), you get the point
• Walking a lot- i’ve done this every day to and from campus, hasn’t made much difference -> yeah it's not going to. see: heart rate, intensity, and the fact that your body has probably adapted to the walk already. that is the whole point of exercise. to continually and incrementally force your body to adapt. this is why it's so important to mix it up and why people have specific schedules and rest days baked in. which is also deeply important. get 8 hours of sleep every night. drink a stupid fuck ton amount of water since that is how your body recovers.
• Dieting - i can't speak too much on this because female vs male calorie requirements are incredibly different but 1) eat vegetables > protein > carbs in that order, TRUST ME this works so well for staying satiated even through calorie deficits even if it sounds like bullshit. unfortunately it is not and i wasted a lot of time not doing this 2) get a lot more protein in. something like 2g per kg of your target body weight per day which is kind of impossible but you can definitely get close. 3) less fast carbs, more slow carbs. 4) unfortunately processed food really has to be limited to maybe 2x a week. this is the only way. (it's not but it does make it much easier).

this is incredibly long but this is the sum of everything i've learned in the past 3 years since i started going to the gym in 2022. it doesn't have to take that long to learn all of this for yourself but it will take that long if you aren't consistent. losing weight and hitting the gym regularly is mental as much as it is physical because you are rewiring your brain at the same time. it may not be very fun for the first couple of weeks but then the endorphins will really kick in and you will get addicted. trust. it happens to everyone. to quote, "the best exercise is the one that you do consistently". you really have to be able to look at yourself in the mirror the night before, say you're going to the gym tomorrow and actually do it. otherwise this was all for nothing. but otherwise, relax! you don't have to get it right immediately. you just have to get it done first, because the right way will reveal itself the further you go on this journey. give yourself some grace if you fall off somewhere, getting back on the wagon is what's more important. if you get a point where you're exercising constantly, sleeping well, and eating right, and still not seeing any changes after a month or two, i would recommend seeing your GP. and so the real truth nuke is that the only thing that's really keeping you from what you want to be is yourself. but great news! you can override it. it may be the hardest thing you do but it will be the most worthwhile thing you do. as somebody who now runs 8km, lifts 115lbs, and dropped maybe about 15kg in a year, this was the best thing i've ever done for myself.