Good morning everyone! HELP!!!

TimothyB7387

Hi MFP friends,
I've just joined and started trying enter my daily food intake and exercise. I need help! I am so overweight and out of shape it feels almost hopeless. Everything on me hurts and exercise - even just walking - is difficult to do. I need some motivation!!!
Have a great day everyone!
Tim

GerardCondon

Well done Tim. Today day one is a start.

DrinkMixer35

Just take one day at a time. You'll do great!

fiona130725

TimothyB7387 wrote: »

Hi MFP friends,
I've just joined and started trying enter my daily food intake and exercise. I need help! I am so overweight and out of shape it feels almost hopeless. Everything on me hurts and exercise - even just walking - is difficult to do. I need some motivation!!!
Have a great day everyone!
Tim

I'm just joining today too my plan is one day at a time one meal at a time and start slowly with the exercise even walking for just 10 mins is better than doing nothing no matter how slow you go .. i also intend to track everything even if im over im still going to track cuz if u dont its only ourselves we'll b cheating ... best of luck to you x

jgnatca

Everest is conquered one staging camp at a time. Nobody climbs it to reach the summit in a day. I lost over eighty pounds over three years. I got there with a lot of help and weekly manageable goals.

I went from completely sedentary to a 5 K runner one step at a time, one week at a time. If my weekly goal failed, I made it easier. If I sailed through my plan I made it harder.

So start with data. Log all your food. What are you eating now? Next week cut your daily consumption by 100 calories. It's manageable and it's achievable.

Same with exercise. Keep up what you are doing and in a few weeks it will be easier.

sebedina

Hey, do you go swimming? It is another way to take the pressure off the joints. I would recommend swimming.

stockshowmom17

You're going to do great. I have just started this journey as well. I fractured my back 2 years ago by being thrown from a horse. This led to me completely stopping exercise because it just hurt so bad. Of course, that meant the pounds packed on. I still hurt. The impact of the fall causes constant pain in my lower back and hip, but I have found that low impact walking on a treadmill and increasing the incline has been good for me. I also use the elliptical. An interesting discovery for me was that walking on the treadmill is much easier on my back and hips than walking on asphalt.

You can do this! As one person said earlier, one day at a time, one meal at a time.

Verity1111

You can do it Tim! I gained a lot of weight last year. I broke my ankle in 3 places dislocated it and injured the tendons doing pretty much nothing (walking on solid ground). It felt like I would never feel like myself again because I didn't walk for about 5 months. A year later and I have lost 30-35lbs. I am almost back to my weight before the injury and on my way to being even thinner and much healthier!

hmhall85

Stay with it. One day at a time. Small steps. Try to do one more rep than you did the last time. The soreness will go away. I started MFP last November when I got out of the chest pain unit. Here's what has worked for me:

Find something other than the scale to measure your progress (scale is important, but you need other victories) Examples: Measure neck, arms, chest, legs, calves, waist, hips and record the measurement; track your blood pressure and resting heart rate. You will be surprised how quickly you can see improvements in blood pressure and heart rate.

Get a fitness tracker (e.g., Fitbit) and use it. The progress I see on everyday activities is encouraging. Link your fitness tracker to your MFP account. Another added benefit is that the fitness tracker can help you know when you are over doing your workout. It can also give you realistic goals for increasing your exercise and help you achieve them.

Get some 2 lb. dumbbells to use while you are sitting or walking.

Keep moving. There will be days when you absolutely don't want to exercise. Do it anyway. You may not do as much as you did in your previous session, but at least you are moving.

Count your calories consumed. Budget calories for some of your favorite foods. Every day.

Get enough sleep. This is when your body repairs itself. Make 8 hours a night happen.

Understand that you will have bad days. Accept them and do better the next time.

If you want a friend for encouragement and a sounding board, add me. I'll be pleased to help where I can.

mxchana

Don't give up, that is the key. This is a lifetime commitment you can only carry out one day at a time... some days one hour at a time. You will have good days and bad days, just keep coming back. Write down honestly everything you eat and drink, just so you can see where change needs to be made. Small changes will produce wonderful results over time.

Someone mentioned swimming, which is strenuous for where you are at right now. Instead, to get started, see if you can find a water exercise class, maybe one that is designed for older adults and just involves doing low-impact moves in the pool. The water helps support your body weight and makes the movement so much easier.

When I first started walking, I had to take it slowly and after a ten minute walk I was ready for a nap, so I hear you when you say how difficult it is! Be gentle with yourself. Start by counting your steps, at a slow pace. Did you walk 50 steps today? Try for 55 steps tomorrow. Keep a chart of your progress - and of course record your results!

Congratulations on your decision to begin this journey! It won't be easy but, the body is a marvelous healing machine. Every positive change you make will make you feel better, mentally and physically, day by day. Best of luck!

TheCupcakeCounter

You've taken the first step and that is awesome. I second swimming and water walking/running as a great way to workout with minimal joint pain.