Work outs for "morbidly" obese

JasmineDiver22

My BMI says I'm morbidly obese. I'm 286 @ 5'2 being a 23 year old female. I've been over weight all my life so I'm used to having a belly and I'm really flexible and can get around very easily like normal people would. I'm not like those people that have to use a scooter or anything like that lol but my point is that I'm wondering what's the best work out for me to start? Walking 3-4 times a week for 30 mins a day is what I've been doing because I don't want to push myself so hard and I plan to lose 10-15% of my body fat before I try to lift weights because of my "joints" with me being so heavy. Am I doing the right thing? Or should I do more than what I'm doing now? Help?

TavistockToad

Walking or swimming are good

MegaMooseEsq

That sounds perfectly reasonable to me. Especially at higher weights, exercise doesn't generally have that much impact on weight loss, although it's certainly good to get in the habit. I was at 208 when I started losing weight at the beginning of this year, and I did 2-3 10 minute walks a day maybe five days a week. I just made sure to stick to those and didn't worry about it. About a month ago, I'd lost maybe 20 pounds and was feeling up for some more, so I added a longer morning walk and extended my mid-day walk. Three days ago I felt up for some more, so I started jogging part of the morning walk. Like much of this process, I think starting slow is good and let things build - eventually you'll hit a real momentum. But if you're concerned about your joints, or just feeling overwhelmed, I would really not worry about it for now.

Spliner1969

Walking is your best option. Go as much as you can, but remember to take rest days. The rest can be controlled with diet until you can get down to a weight at which you won't risk injury doing some heavier duty exercise (running, weight/resistance training, or even walking further/faster). The tough part is getting the diet under control, set your goals for 1-2lbs per week loss rate, and adjust as necessary over time. Don't get in a hurry, it's going to take 1-3 years most likely to get the weight off and get in better shape. So stick with it and you'll get there.

cwolfman13

I'd stick to walking or do some pool aerobics if you have access...

JasmineDiver22

@Spliner1969 my diet is pretty well maintained for sure. High protein, lots of veggies, moderate fruits, I eat back the calories burned. I'm not depriving myself of foods I love, I eat 80% healthy and then depending on how many calories I have left, I eat my fav food within my calories. So that hasn't seemed to be an issue. I'll stick with doing what I'm doing for exercise. Thanks for the advice everyone

dfnewcombe

Jasmine it sounds like you have a great plan for yourself. Walking is excellent exercise and if you are consistent, your tolerance will increase. You can look for opportunities to take more steps- parking further from the entrance- etc. in addition to your walks. When you feel ready- add stairs- 1flight up or 2 flights down and go from there! You've got this!

RedSierra

JasmineDiver22 wrote: »

My BMI says I'm morbidly obese. I'm 286 @ 5'2 being a 23 year old female. I've been over weight all my life so I'm used to having a belly and I'm really flexible and can get around very easily like normal people would. I'm not like those people that have to use a scooter or anything like that lol but my point is that I'm wondering what's the best work out for me to start? Walking 3-4 times a week for 30 mins a day is what I've been doing because I don't want to push myself so hard and I plan to lose 10-15% of my body fat before I try to lift weights because of my "joints" with me being so heavy. Am I doing the right thing? Or should I do more than what I'm doing now? Help?

Walking is an excellent exercise. You burn calories and have little chance of injury. I agree with the suggestion about swimming, too.

You might talk to your doctor and get an okay to do exercise more strenuous than walking. Once you get an okay, you could try different things out to see what clicks -- anything from a Zumba class to learning to run.

ugofatcat

Anything that doesn't cause you pain and that you feel like you can stick with forever.

rayzerwolf

I started with walking, I even got a little platform stepper and I will go up and down on that while I am at home watching tv. Since then I got a kettle bell and have been working with that lately. Still trying to find where I stashed my dumbells though.

trulydivyn725

There's a reason why we see shows like BL start everyone with hours and miles on the treadmill. Walking is the best way, but takes a really long time to show immediate results. It's also the easiest on our joints, unless you're in the pool. You can never go wrong with walking unless you get bored. Good for you on your food intake, that sounds like you're determined and successful thusfar - keep it up! As long as it doesn't HURT while doing it long term, and you enjoy it, stick with it!
I try to walk for at least 10 min's every hour I'm awake, even if it's at a slower pace than what I want. My job is pretty sedentary, so I set a timer and get up and move my substantial behind for at least 10 min's every hour. It's rarely in a gym setting, usually outdoors, sometimes on the weekends it's in a mall or something. I live in Vegas, where it's HOT most of the year, so when I'm at work it's almost always just long enough to keep from getting really sweaty. I track my steps, not miles. I try for 10k steps per day. I started out with 5k steps per day, and struggled to make that. Once that became easy, increased it by 1k steps per day every month. I switch up my routine of walking often so I'm never bored with the scenery. I also get in a good swim every weekend, and make sure to do enough to elevate my heart rate while in there. I'm down 40 pounds now since May of 2016 - which may not seem like much to anyone, but for me that's exactly what I wanted...a pound or two a month at most tells me that my LIFESTYLE changes are sticking with me, and my food intake is the only problem at this point I continue to struggle with... So, Jasmine I wish you nothing but success - especially since you seem to have the food situation down pat. DO NOT GIVE UP! Find your inspiration and change it if you lose it...

VintageFeline

It sounds like you have a great plan and are approaching this sensibly (and brilliantly). There are things like Leslie Sansone on Youtube, I believe it's workouts based around walking, lots of people here love it and recommend it to people looking for something gentler to get them going or work within limitations.

You can increase your variety of activity like you say, once you get to a weight you feel more comfortable to go from.

Good luck!

estherdragonbat

I started with walking in October. My SW was 254 lbs. In my basement is a fitness glider with a maximum safe weight of 250lbs. However, I didn't look at the label. I thought it was 225. When I got down to 230 or so, I actually saw the label, realized that I could safely use it and started.

Over time, I came to the forums and started learning about strength training and how it's more than just 'another way to work out'. Around February, I started using resistance tubes and some exercises off the manufacturer's website and YouTube. I've been using lighter dumbbells (up to 10 lbs) since May, slowly increasing the weights/sets/reps/difficulty level of exercise.

I'm echoing the other posters who've suggested walking. And suggesting that you try strength training with lighter weights at first. You probably have more muscle than you think from hauling your extra body fat around, and you want to retain as much of that muscle as possible. (Caveat: I'm not a trainer or physical therapist or any kind of professional. If you've been medically advised to do no strength training, ignore me.) The book I'm using—Strength Training Exercises for Women by Joan Pagano starts with 3lb and 5lb dumbbells for most exercises. Some start with no added weights or are bodyweight exercises.

Best of luck to you. You CAN do this!

AliceDark

You're getting some great advice here and it sounds like you have a solid plan. However, if you want to start lifting weights, there's no reason you shouldn't start now (unless your doctor has told you that it's unsafe for your joints). Most of the beginner lifting programs start you off with light weights as you learn the form, so IF you wanted to start lifting, you should feel free to do so.

JasmineDiver22

Thank you guys for the support and advice ❤️

ninerbuff

What you're doing is fine. Just keep your calories in check.


A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

aggiepringle6665

Walking and swimming are my "go-tos". Swimming especially. It's easy on the joints, is a full body workout, and helps with strength and cardio.

Aggie
SW 431
CW 376
GW 230ish

AMV91

I started at 324 and I did Leslie Sansone walk from home dvds, some really old school, some newer. I also bought an aerobic step and did and still love to do step. Just from this and calorie counting I got down to 240 then I moved on to weights and HIIT, etc.

kshama2001

Another vote for walking and swimming for now.

I have cranky knees and started off with walking about 20 minutes and gradually added more time and hills.

kayeroze

5'2, female, 21, SW 208, CW 195, GW 130

I'm unsure about the difference in physicality, but I set for myself two fitness goals to complete when working out. My cardio consisted of walking/jogging through C25K, and I added strength training by doing Bodypump twice a week and slowly adding weights as I go.

I think the biggest things are trying new things, proper stretching before and after working out, and pushing through the soreness IF you are not too fatigued to go on. Lightheadness and a high heart rate is very different from your legs being sore because you haven't warmed up yet.

It seems like you're setting reasonable goals for yourself and that is going to make losing weight more successful than crash dieting.

Lannie79

In addition to walking and swimming, biking is low impact an easy on the joints.

amusedmonkey

Walking is great. I started out super morbidly obese and walking can be quite the workout when you're heavy and you can easily progress with it and keep it challenging even after you're out of the morbidly obese category (going faster, going longer, introducing incline) plus it can be done anywhere. I'm no longer morbidly obese but a good incline workout leaves me drenched.

Swimming may not be as good of a workout at this point because you likely float easily and can unconsciously fall back on that instead of putting energy into your stroke (at least that was the case for me, drifting off in my mind and just floating through the repetitive movement). Water aerobics may be a better choice because you would be doing purposeful movements. Again, that was just my own experience. Yours may be different. It's pleasant, though, regardless.

If you're going for biking outdoors you may want to invest in a heavy duty bike. Worth the investment instead of having to constantly deal with tire issues.

I would be very careful with video workouts if you want to go with them sometimes because many of the movements can be not only too hard, but also harmful, and it doesn't even have to be a challenging or high impact movement to cause harm. I hurt my back doing the warrior pose because balance can be tricky when you're heavy and I almost hurt my shoulder trying to hold all of that weight (was over 300 pounds) on my poor shoulder joints in downward dog. Stick with things that don't challenge your body position for now, things like walk away the pounds or chair exercises. Lighter people may scoff at this, but learning a new movement pattern is riskier for us heavier folks because in many cases we can't just dust ourselves off and get up. The damage potential is higher.

cgcrutch

Dancing, yoga, or anything fun that doesn't make cause pain. Exercise is a good habit and mood booster, but doesn't do as much as people think for weight loss. It mainly increases strength and stamina. Don't worry too much about workout routine til after you've gotten down to whatever weight u are comfortable at, then u can see what ur working with and build up from there!

tinkerbellang83

Low impact exercises are good, like the above suggestions for walking and swimming.

I also did some low impact cardio video workouts like the one below (aimed at Seniors or those who need to be careful with their joints) and a beginner strength training video, starting out with light weights and working up to heavier ones gradually. I do think you should try and get the strength training in as early as possible unless your doctor has advised against it, because it helps to maintain muscle whilst you lose weight. There are body weight and resistance band options if you prefer not to use weights to start with.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYtcl2PbMyI

Piqueaboo

Hey chick, I started at around 250 with the proud morbidly obese BMI of 37.3 points. I started with C25K which took me longer than the "usual" 9 weeks, but slow and steady wins the race. If your knees can't put up with running yet, then the others here are right, water-based exercises, and walking will do wonders. Try to aim for the 10.000 steps a day, because any form of moving is better than not moving. I've seen people on here drop 100+lbs just by walking (and of course eating at a deficit). The more you do it, the easier it will become and you will be able to increase your efforts.

I wish you the very best on your journey!

trackercasey76

I started Taekwondo at 420 pounds with a very understanding instructor. Do what you can do, your body will tell you if you are doing too much. At 23 your body will keep up with almost anything you ask it to.

lorrpb

I started at 300 with walking and strength training. I definitely think you should consider strength training now because it will help you retain muscle as you lose. You will prob need to start out fairly light on lower body but that's OK. Get it going now and you will be happier in the end. With doctor's approval, of course, if you have joint issues.

Aftronthegreat

I started at 306lbs and now I'm down almost 40lbs!! I do Zumba (without jumping), walking, elliptical, and anything aqua related (aqua fitness). As long as I stay off stairs and jumping my knees are good! Best of luck with your loss journey!

pagliaci

419 pounds at start currently 318. A daily stretching routine and functional movements of everyday life that you struggle with. I would try sitting down and standing up from the couch while watching tv since getting out of chairs was very hard for me. I also tried getting down on the ground and back up off the ground using a chair for assistance. Routines that are usually termed as "warmups" will be very helpful. Arm circles, side bends, stretches. I started taking the far exit out of the office to add some steps to my day. I did an exercise video program that was for beginners and during any exercise I couldn't do, I marched in place. With resistance training, start light. Just moving your bodyweight initially is enough to cause your body to respond. The key is to pick something you can stay consistent with even if it's just 10 minutes and work from there. A year of diet and exercise later, I can get off the ground without help and I can put my shoes on by myself. Be consistent and careful. Good luck.

rawrrgenn

I'm 5'4'' and 215 lbs and I'm starting to want to move (exercise) more too. I've found that searching up terms on YouTube like "low impact" at home exercises,for example, has been a good place to start for me. Look up 'jessicasmithtv' on YT. I've also taken to go on long walks in the park. There are also Zumba videos on YouTube which can be more fun while getting your heart rate up

CSARdiver

It sounds like you have a great mindset for success. Think marathon over sprint, take things slowly - walk, swim, elliptical, weights - all good!

Throughout this process look beyond the symptoms and really question to dig down to the root causes. Our behavior is rooted in habits - "good" and "bad" - all subjective, but will either help or hinder your goals.

Write down 5 "bad" habits that hurt your goals. Prioritize these 1-5. Scratch off 2-5 and focus on #1. Replace this bad habit with a good habit - one you can do for the rest of your life. Once this habit has become fully incorporated into your routine move repeat this exercise.