So overwhelmed.

lilacghost

Swimming is actually amazing. I really should do that more often.

maybeazure

I was your size last May. Now I'm a 16.

Swimming...or even just walking in water, is easy on the knees...bikes are good too. I doubt you are over the weight limit on most machines...certainly not at a gym. If you are buying a machine though, I would check it.

Really though, 80-90% of losing weight for me was diet. Exercise just helps my depression and gives me something to do besides eat. And I enjoy seeing how much more I can do now than I could when I started.

You might reconsider weighing yourself though. It's only the first time that it is bad. After that it gets to be pretty reinforcing. The problem with just going with size and clothing fit is that it takes a LONG time to lose that first size. I think I lost 40 + pounds before I really needed a new size. The more you lose, the faster the sizes go down. But if I didn't see the numbers going down, I think I'd have given up before losing a size.

Feel free to add me as a friend if you would like.

2dogzrule

How about stretching and starting out home with small weights? Maybe try small walks until you are comfortable walking. If you have a Playstation or something similar that is interactive, you can burn quite a few calories on some of the games. It would be helpful in getting your body used to moving.

lilacghost

Give yourself a big pat on the back for just being here and asking!! You will find a lot of support here! As for your family....well if they eat a lot of junk, are they obese and feel unhealthy too? Is that where you want to be 20-30 years from now? It sure doesn't sound like it.
I would experiment with cooking in the kitchen. Find a few easy recipes, inexpensive ingredients. I think you will be surprised at what you can make!
And I agree with others.....concentrate on the food now...worry about exercise until you are comfortable and not in pain.
You CAN do this!! Hugs!!

They're actually in good shape, my brother is in great shape. None of us share genetics though (brother and I are both adopted), I lucked out on genetics! :bigsmile:

Surprisingly though my blood counts/blood pressure, etc are perfect. They're all skinny but all my stats are better, lol.

debbieslastdiet

At my local pool they have an aquacise class and pretty much all the girls that get in there are overweight and trying to get fit. They are a really friendly bunch and seem to have a ' all in this together' mentality ( we used to chat as I plowed my way up and down the lanes last year). It's a great way to exercise safely and you get to spend time with like minded people.

Deb

Lesa_Sass

The journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step.

If you are overwhelmed at the moment, please try to focus on diet. After you drop some weight you will find it easier to exercise.

I started out by walking 2 miles a day, then to 3 then to 5 then started running. The single most important thing I did to get where I am is not give up. If I made a bad decision, I started all over again with my very next good choice.

You can do this.

themommie

I can so relate when I started mfp in july 2010 I felt losing 100+lbs was overwhelming and impossible. So I decided I would try to just lose 10lbs at a time for every 10lbs I lost I bought myself a new pair of earrings. I did swimming or walking everyday sometimes only for 5mins. Now I have lost 115 lbs .you can do it, baby steps one day at a time

TheWretchedFat

I know how it feels when your family doesn't support your weight loss journey I constantly get comments on how I should 'stop losing weight' or 'stop eating rabbit food' lol

Weight loss can be overwhelming at first. Just start of small by eating smaller portions and do as much exercise as you can with inflicting pain. It seems hard at first, but it will get easier as time goes on :flowerforyou:

youtubeworkouter

The lack of knowing how to make healthy foods sounds like me. When I was younger my parents were too busy to make any meals at all, so I would just eat ramen noodles and fast food. I only didn't gain weight back then because I loved to walk and dance with friends. Fast forward to getting married and I had learn to cook fast because the recession hit and eating out is too expensive. At first everything I made was fried or boxed. Add some pounds. Husband has a soda addiction, I start drinking two a day. add more pounds. have two kids. add more pounds. six months ago I was 215lbs snugly fitting in a size 18. I am now around 160lbs. I became friends with the crock pot and any easy recipe I can find online or in cook books. I love steam in bag vegetables. Now I'm a good cook and get asked recipes all the time, but that took years of practice. Patience is hard to come by, but you'll improve in time. When I started all I did was change my diet for the first month. The less sugar filled, less processed food made me have more energy. I realized and still do, it is easier to walk in the house (if you have room), outside ground is not level and therefore harder on my joints. Even now my right rib cage hurts when I workout. working out isn't easy, but you have to eat less if you don't workout and working out is good for your cardiovascular health. When you get down on yourself, just come back to these lovely people Keep up the good work everyone!

train_01

I know how you feel. I started my exercises in the pool doing laps and water fit classes. I found that the easiest on my poor feet and knees. After awhile of doing that, I was in much better shape to hit the treadmill or eliptical. Even just walking in the pool back and forth is a very good workout (i'd recommend getting some swimming shoes if you are going to do that or water fit, otherwise it's pretty hard on the tootsies). Good luck and hope it helps!

klaselle

Water walking is a great low impact exercise. There are many people at my gym that come for just that.

brazosrider

I know how you feel. This time last year I was running every other day and lifting weights. Then an underlying health issue knocked me on my butt. Months later I have finally found a method that works for me. Its a modified Atkins plan with regular walking. Ive cut the carbs and fast food drastically. Huge difference! I finally have energy again and my blood sugar is evened out. Best thing you can do is talk to your Dr. and find out what works best for you. Dont give up!! I still have 85 pounds to go and the hardest part is finding someone to lend encouragement, and support when you need it most.

Zombieinkpot

You are not alone. I've been depressed for five years and in that time I've put on over 200lbs. I find it very hard to leave the house and almost impossible to leave the garden. When I joined MFP I was in constant pain, could barely walk or stand, couldn't sleep. I ate about one meal a day and then binged at night. I weighed 409lbs when I started last October. I tried to stick to my calorie goal and I walked for 5 minutes around the garden every second day. When I couldn't face going outside, I walked around the house. After losing only 10lbs I began sleeping better and my joint pain eased considerably. I haven't binged since October, although I've wanted to lots of times. I don't deprive myself of any food, but I prelog my meals so I know what I can have and not go over my goal. When I'm upset and want to binge, I say that's ok, but I have to log everything I want to eat. Once I start doing that, I'd rather stay under my calorie goal than go over and I haven't binged so far.

I can now walk for 30 minutes every day and I've started doing body weight exercises from nerd fitness, and even the occassional exercise video. The way I see it, I could have continued on doing the same things every day and continued gaining 28lbs a year, or I could do small changes and maybe lose 28lbs a year. Time is going to go by either way. I'm still depressed either way, but at least this way it is a little bit easier to get through the day.

You can lose weight and get fitter, don't feel overwhelmed. Just take one day at a time and try to make one small change every day. :flowerforyou:

GreatGreenSea

I just came here to say I understand completely! I'm around your size, and exercising is a challenge for me. I'm lucky that I do a lot of walking in my daily life, so walking is my main form of exercise. I do still deal with a lot of pain, but it gets better the more you do it. It's tough, but hang in there and know that you will be able to branch out once you get more fit! Diet is a HUGE part of it, too. I changed my diet just by making the choice to eliminate most processed foods and eat only whole foods (fruits, vegetables, un- or low-processed sources of protein, etc.).

Do you mind if I add you as a friend? I think our goals are really similar and I think we could support each other.

lilacghost

Everyone is free to add me.

wrenegade64

Howdy there young lady. I applaud you for reaching out. You are gonna find some WONDERFUL people here. I'm a big ole, corn fed, god fearin country boy and have been pretty much since middle school and this year I will turn 50. I know all about "what you want to do" vs "what you can do". I lost my left leg in the line of duty while working as a paramedic lieutenant at the scene of a car crash. I was struck by a car and lost my left leg at the knee. I use a artificial leg, so I am mobile, but there are days when it can be very challenging and having spent so many years being heavy has taken a toll on my only good right knee.

WATER WATER WATER!!! It is your best friend for 2 reasons. 1st, drinking it fills you and cleanses you. Interpose a big ole mug of plain ice water with a big ole mug of water with some kind of liquid flavor enhancer in a bottle that you can keep in your purse. There are a million of them from Mio to Crystal Light to Sugar Free Kool-Aid to Sugar Free Hawaiian Punch. 2nd, get in it! If you have a membership to the YMCA, get over there and get in the pool. It will be your best friend. The water keeps it ultra low impact and the feeling of being in the water by itself is euphoric.

Last thing, invest is a good protein bar. This will take some experimenting to find the ones that you like but ultimately I would suggest higher in protein and lower in carbs and sugars. QUEST BARS ARE THE BOMB!!!! My favorite flavors are Vanilla Almond Crunch, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, and Apple Pie!

YOU ARE NOT ALONE----STAY IN TOUCH---STAY FOCUSED---KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE PRIZE :-)

melissayoungblood

What about a pool? aquatic aroebics is gentle on the joints.

Briargrey

Baby steps! I started last February23rd at age 43 (now 44), 5'1" and 291 pounds. I'm down to 199, the lightest I've been since early 1996 when my twins were infants. I was fortunate when I started that I wasn't in pain and was relatively healthy for my size. However, sustained exercise definitely fatigued me. Plus, I had all the mental issues of living my adult life essentially obese or on my way back to obese after some minor temporary success. Having had over 20 years to really break down and analyze myself, I went into this lifestyle change with the right mindset for permanent success.

My thoughts:
1. Small, incremental changes
2. Realistic expectations: didn't come on overnight, will come off even slower
3. Celebrate your successes no matter how minor [just find ways to celebrate sans food

My implementation:
1. I used MFP to calculate my calories and I began logging everything that went in my mouth (and I still do). I weigh and measure and I am anal retentive about it so I can get used to being able to eyeball it when needed such as eating out.
2. I don't go over in my calories often, but neither do I often go very under. But I don't berate myself or stress if I do.
3. I started very small with exercise. For me that was 3x/week as a goal, 20 minutes a time, and very slow, very easy on the treadmill. I increased my goals over time, but never so quickly I felt overwhelmed.

For me, the biggest key is making the changes small and manageable so I didn't leap in and do so much and then fail because I couldn't maintain it. Even now, my weekly exercise goal is 4x/week. I make it more than that and I do a lot more than my goal, but that way, I know it is extra stuff, and if I am feeling down or not up to it or whatever, I have wiggle room without 'failing' in my goal.

Someone mentioned working out in water -- this is an excellent idea if you have access to a pool. Water aerobics was something I used to love to do! [I don't right now because it doesn't fit in my schedule but it is great].

Also, as you are ready, definitely add in strength training. For overall health and strength, it is SO good. I took about 2-3 months of slowly building my fitness level up before I felt ready to add in weights. I do the weight machines at the Y 3x/week now, a combo of arm and leg machines. I am going to switch to free weights this month because they are even better than the machines, but that's because I feel ready to tackle it. It's out of my comfort zone, and I didn't want to set myself up to fail by pushing it too soon. Now I know I'll be fine and I've got to just stop delaying

I added in the last because you may have people say "skip cardio, do weights, heavy lift ,etc!" and while heavy lifting is great and may be the best, it isn't the ONLY way, and we all have to get there at our own pace. I do think, unless you really LOVE it, that you will benefit from upping cardio excessively. And I say THAT because you will see people time and again who go pound for hours on the cardio machines thinking they are doing the only right thing and frustrated when they aren't getting results. And that said, I don't judge anyone who wants to do it because they want to or it works for them or whatever <g>.

No matter what - don't worry about judgment. Whatever anyone thinks or feels about you is irrelevant -- you are there, you are working out, you are improving. Slow, sure, solid steps of success are yours and no one can take that from you!

lilacghost

Water exercise would be great.

AmyZ46

Walking is something I definitely want to do but it's super hard right now with my body the way it is. I'm extremely heavy on top, have knee and back problems (horrible sciatic pain) and get verrrrry out of breath.

When I was around your size I could easily walk for miles, no problem and lost a lot of weight doing that. However I'm about 8-10 sizes larger now and so my mobility has definitely decreased. It's just hard and very painful and I notice that after two days of working out my hips and other joint are killing me. I guess this is just very disheartening. I know what I have to do, but it's hard to actually get my body to do those things. I need to start doing 5-10 minutes of exercise I guess.

I wonder if my eating habits matter more right now than exercising does. Hmm.

When I was at 270 size 24 ( tight) I couldn't walk for longer than 10 minutes at a time due to knee and back pain...so i walked 10 minutes three times a day . and when I could do that for a week I moved up to 15 minutes three times a day for two weeks until I could walk 20 minutes ,then I did that 2 times a day for two weeks .. I lost weight and my back and knees dont hurt anymore . You will experience so many more benefits than a smaller body ..so get out there and do it !!

gemaquaries

Girl I'm in the same spot as you, especially after a year of gaining/losing the same 10 lbs.

LVCeltGirl

I'm going to agree with a lot of what I glanced through. I understand your pain, been there, dealing with that, down to depression that currently I'm being stubborn and trying to control with diet and exercise (mainly exercise). From what I gathered, mine is nowhere near yours so in that respect I do not understand either.

Baby steps - if you can only walk for 5 minutes, then walk for 5 minutes. Keep building on it and soon you'll find that you can push yourself for 20 minutes, then 30 minutes, then an hour, etc. Get your body moving.

Become your own cheerleader - you need to learn to cook and eat more healthy than TV dinners and/or out to restaurants. Yes, you can do this without changing that but it becomes 10 times more difficult to do so. And if you don't have support at home, then you've got to dig down deep and create support within yourself. I get that's difficult but that's part of the commitment you make to yourself to become healthier and more fit. Create a support system through here when you can't be your own cheerleader. That's the adding of friends, even if they are only online MFP friends (some of which for me are more supportive than real life friends).

Eating - even if going out, start choosing more veggies, less pasta so to speak. That mainly means think about what you're putting into your body. Would you be happy with a 3 egg white omelet instead of a 3 egg omelet? How about extra veggies in that omelet, light on the cheese? Will the restaurant prepare it in a more healthy way, such as using cooking spray instead of too much oil, not add salt, but allow you to do it, etc? And utilize MFP - log everything, see where your eating habits are at, then figure out how you can tweak them to better fit your goals. I've read where a diet that's too heavy on carbs can intensify depression, can you cut back on those carbs? What else can you find that helps you? I've found a sensitivity to wheat, so while I can eat wheat, I cannot eat the amount I used to without pain, fogginess of thought, lack of energy. Perhaps you have something similar, what are you willing to do to determine that? It's all about finding what works for you because what works for me may not work for you.

Water - drink water and a lot of it. Water will offset the high amounts of sodium I can guarantee has been in your diet to date (TV dinners notoriously high in sodium). There is added sodium in soda, even diet soda. I'm sure if you don't sweeten your tea then you could probably substitute tea but again, basing it off what I've found, water, plain water (well maybe with a twist of lemon) is what works best. Again, disclaimer is that I'm basing this off what works for me and it may not work for you.

You can do this by eating less calories than you burn. But there are so many other little things that also help out that you should learn about. And it's all about trial and error in regards to what works for you. Above all, patience and baby steps is what rounds out the weight loss.

I believe you can do this and I know it all starts with that first step. Looking forward to seeing a success story from you!

dianamccly

Hi,

I hope I don't cover too much of what has already been said, but I wanted to suggest exercising in a pool if at all possible. I know the thought of bathing suits can be terrifying, and it’s difficult to access a pool sometimes, but this is the safest and best thing for joints. And a plus, every movement you do has resistance! Also, I tore my calf muscle 2 years ago and that injury lead to knee pain from having to walk wrong (I was limping for a month), the best thing for the pain was using Epsom salt (you can even get pretty smelling stuff and its like going to a spa!). It is readily available at drug stores and not as expensive as you might think.

Is there any way to cook for or with even one family member? Cooking and eating together is a big part of my family and if everyone thinks it’s fun (or they are benefiting "hey home cooked meal") they won’t put you down for cooking. It can be so frustrating though when family members aren't supportive. My dad used to insist that frying things in butter is "healthy" and when I tried to explain that olive oil is better for you he said I had "bought into the lies that diet industry feeds us." So one day I just sat down and said I couldn't eat his cooking when I visited. He didn't take it well at first, but the next time I came over he had stocked diet friendly snacks for me so you never know.

franci85

I'm pretty much in the same boat. Want to help each other out?

blueskygbcn

I don't have as much to lose but here's my take.

Focus on eating less. It will be much more effective than focusing on exercise. Track 100% of your intake in MFP. Set a good calorie goal being a little generous to start and you can lower it later.

When I was heavier I found the easiest way to get moving is just to go to the mall and shop. I wear a fitbit that tracks my steps and I was amazed how much steps I get just from going to Target, grocery store, or mall. I now always offer to do all our shopping I also park further when going out and I love it. I get more steps plus I don't have to fight for parking

Good Luck!

crystal_lynn88

Start out small. If walking really hurts THAT bad maybe you should start swimming a little bit??? Or maybe just park a little farther than usual, take the stairs, etc. The hardest part is getting started and from there it becomes a lifestyle. Feel free to add me.

stealthbob

I would like to add one thing as to the weight limits on machines.

I wanted a machine in the house as a Gym for me just would not work. My work day is too demanding to take time away and I have to be home on time for my Kids bus. With the closest gym 20 mins away I just don't see my self taking out close to 2 hours just to get my work out in. Problem is as someone who started his adventure at 454 lbs buying a machine was daunting. Diet alone is working (Huge thanks to MFP, 31 pounds so far in 2014) but I also want fitness but without the damage to my body.

I purchased a Life Fitness Recumbent R3. It has a limit of 400lbs but the info I got was that the software has that limitation, not the physical machine. In essence, any good quality gym style machine can take more that the listed weight limit.

Its fun, has its own ipod/phone and app connectivity and auto loads my activities to the web. I use the Heart rate auto program which monitors my heart rate with a wireless chest strap and varies the resistance to the preset target heart rate.

My goal is to do 30 mins 6x per week which should be 1500-2000 calories burned weekly (did 3 sessions yesterday). That combined with MFP I am sure to meet my goal of 200 lbs this year!

bren3j

I hear you about the hip and knee joints. I lost 80 pounds a few years ago and have gained 40 back. I never got to my goal weight so totally would like to drop 50#. It is sooo cold where I live outside that you cant go out and exercise unless your a 20 yr old conditioned athlete. So I am forced to do inside exercise in the winter. I literally go to my cellar and walk/jog back and forth over and over again. I do the same in the hallway of my house and pull out the coffee table and go around it when I get to the livingroom. I just keep moving. But....one thing I did years ago and found on YouTube is Leslie Sansone Walk away the pounds. You can get the full routine and start and stop where you need to! Good Luck and feel free to add me as a Friend. I would love to share ideas that help us through this journey!