To those who had/have 100 lbs to lose

bump!

I was 262 lbs when I started, two years ago. I lost down to 192 lbs just by the exercise at my former job. I used to work for USPS as a clerk, and dispatching mail was quite a workout. I quit there to move to Vegas and took an office job. Things didn't work out, and I came home to Florida, heartbroken and without a job for the first time in my life. Before I knew it, I was back to 224 lbs in the span of about four months!

Enough was enough. I decided to get back to school and did so full-time. I joined MFP half-heartedly and did nothing with it for about a month or so since school was an adjustment. I got serious almost two weeks ago and started walking every evening. I started out slowly, but I did a 5k today (which I thought was a 3k until after...lol) and outpaced everyone. I walk, now, at about 4mph and keep it up for about 30-45 minutes, depending on if I have used my elliptical. My left foot has been broken three times, and the elliptical hasn't bothered it at all. LOL...I started out able to do about two minutes at level one. Ten days later, I am up to level three for ten minutes. The first week, I lost four lbs. I plan to weigh myself again tomorrow. I'm more interested in how I feel and in getting healthy than the number on my clothing tags.

Good luck! I found that my shoes are key to how my foot handles my workouts. I have Nike Shox. I hate closed shoes (that aren't Converse), as a rule, but these I love! They are worth every penny. Get some good shoes, a good pedometer to track your distance and steps, and start with walking. Load an audio book onto an mp3 player or Ipod and just go with it. The first step is the hardest...

I bought a Wii and have Wii Fit Plus, Wii Active and Wii Active 2. I try to do some time on the Wii every day in the winter (I walk in the summer). What makes it fun to get active is that the Wii makes it a game and I look forward to playing. Like Mary Poppins said, "In ev`ry job that must be done, there is an element of fun. You find the fun and snap the job`s a game. And ev`ry task you undertake becomes a piece of cake. A lark! A spree! It`s very clear to see. A spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down." Make it fun and it is much easier to do. Also, I wear Crocs when I use the Wii. I have heard all the jokes about Crocs, but the fact remains that for me, they are the best shoe I have ever worn for sore feet that get even more sore from the Wii balance board. The Crocs have enough cushioning to protect my feet and they are soft enough that they don't damage the balance board like my walking shoes will. I even walk and jog in them sometimes when my feet are especially sore.

Walk.

No, really. Just walk. I've lost most of my 70 pounds just doing that. I started out taking daily 30-minute walks around my college campus every morning; the sidewalks make a big loop around the campus, so it's easy.

If you live someplace that actually experiences winter, get access to a treadmill. Join a gym or buy one; you might be able to get one secondhand for relatively cheap. Or go walk around the mall. You don't have to be decked out in sweats and powerwalk like the old ladies that go to the mall *specifically* just to walk around and get a workout in; if you just look like you've got a destination in mind, no one will question you and you'll blend in with the shoppers. Walk from one big department store all the way down to the big department store at the other end, then walk a lap around the store. Rinse and repeat.

If that doesn't appeal to you, Wii Fit is really, really fun and good for when it's too cold (or too hot) to go outside and work out. The nature of the balance board also means that once you do the yoga and strength moves a few times, you can do them without the game because you know how it feels when you've got it right. I do the yoga stretches a lot for my warm up and cool down routines now.

I've lost 124 here on MFP and 147 total in just over a year. I did 3/4 of that without any organized exercise. I tried to walk more, but I have bad knees from some previous injuries. Now, I do low impact cardio (stationary bike) and weights/abs, alternating days. My advice, start slow. Yes, exercise is very important, but you don't want to overdo it too soon. Add a little as you lose. Anyone who says you can't lose weight without exercise if full of it. I love nearly 100lbs without doing any exercise other than daily activities. But exercise is important, I'm not saying it isn't. Just start slow.

Oops, forgot to mention that for about 10 minutes of my ride I do whatever arm movement I can and do some simple strength work with 3 lb hand weights.

Exercise - Where did you start?

[...] Where did you start, what kept you motivated to keep up with the exercise?
What got you to push through and not give up until you decided that you loved to exercise?
Or did you lose first then add exercise?

I'm down 104lbs so far, in about 2.5 years. My wife (then fiance) and I were both obese, and she started to lose weight for our wedding, so I followed along.

I started with the elliptical, first five minutes, then ten, then eventually an hour. I added some weights here and there, building on what I had before in a helter-skellter way. I still haven't done any serious weight training.

My motivation has been almost random. I haven't had any major relapses or regressions, which is pure luck. My dietary habits keep getting better, and I look at what I was doing even six months ago with disdain. I wish I knew two years ago what I know now.

I still don't love exercise; it's like going to work - you do the job that's in front of you. Sometimes you have good days, and sometimes you have bad, but at the end of the day, it's just you in the mirror brushing your teeth - do you like what you see?

If you would have told me, two and a half years ago, that I would now be almost finishing P90x (20 days to go), and starting triathlon training as my next goal, I wouldn't have believed you. Commit to it, accept that there will be setbacks, and do what you can.

I think I might be the odd one out, here ... but I jumped in feet first. I just re-started back in August (August 5) and at the end of August I was on vacation (if one can consider 6 days camping in the middle of nowhere with no toilets or showers "vacation" -- I mean I do, but not everyone would) so it was kind of just "meh" for that first month. I didn't really kick in to gear until the first week in September.

I started by downloading some on demand exercise videos. There was a 20 minute kickboxing one, and a yoga one, a belly dancing one, a dance aerobics one, etc. I could barely finish them at first, but as I kept it up, I was able to do 2 and 3 of them per day.

After a month and a half, my endurance has seriously skyrocketed. Now, between 3-6 days a week I do one or more of the following:

A 45 minute dance aerobics DVD
A 60 minute kickboxing video
45-60 minutes on the treadmill, between 2.8mph-3.5mph at a 2-7 incline
30 minutes on a stationary bike
30-60 minutes on a heavy bag
60 minutes water aerobics
30 minutes doing laps in the pool
30-60 minutes of strength training

I also have some youtube 10 minute videos that I do 2-3 of before work M-F every day that are either arm/leg strength training, core workout, dance workout, etc. I never log/count those, though.

Next week I'll also be rotating in Zumba (eep) .. I have always loved exercise. I especially love DOMS -- it makes me feel alive. The gym has been my best friend this time around. I'd missed weight training something terrible, and it is super handy to be able to work my muscles to exhaustion a few times a week.

I'm disabled, severe back problems, so I haven't exercised at all.
I'm eating a raw vegan diet, and it;s easy to lose weight without exercising...

i started out at 410 pounds, and I went cooked food vegan and lost 15 pounds before I went raw vegan at the end of March 2012.
I've lost 85 pounds this year total... I was nearly dead, and now I feel so much better...

I started with zumba dvds then moved on to kickboxing dvds and Jillian Michaels dvds. I'm now doing my second round of Insanity.

I don't really like to exercise but I do it anyway because it is good for me.