To those who had/have 100 lbs to lose

I've lost 92 so far (85 of them on mfp) I started just running with my trainer. Then after about 30 lbs I think I joined a gym and started lifting, alternating cardio and lifting days. I found a passion for lifting and have done that primarily for the last 30 or so lbs, eventually cutting cardio out completely. (Except for activities that I do most days with my nephew like basketball, riding bikes, and throwing around the football.) I feel as I get closer and closer to my goal weight the changes I see see the most are as a result from lifting weights. But for a long part of my journey I spent hours on the elliptical and treadmill at the gym. If you have a lot to lose still, I would recommend splitting your days half cardio and half weight lifting. At least that's what worked really well for me.

bumping to read later, I also have almost 100 to lose.

I've got 100 to lose, probably a little more but I wanted to give myself something that I currently believe is achievable. I have a bad back so walking too far/fast can cause me trouble. It's a constant guessing game! I do swim, though very slowly! I can't do the breaststroke because I sink! Never been able to get the hang of it. My back won't let me do the front crawl, so I just do a slow doggy paddle. I am the slowest one in the pool!

Part of the motivation is that years ago I used to walk 5k to work, I'd listen to dance music and it'd feel great! I want to get to the stage where I can walk fast for an hour without worrying about it.

Mainly I just want to be slimmer for health. If I wasn't carrying around an extra 7stone of weight I'm sure my back would appreciate it! I also may want to have kids soon, and being overweight can affect your fertility. I've also got varicose veins, if I don't do any exercise at all for a period of time I get restless legs at night, and that's quite horrible, I like my sleep, so it's a good motivator! The dodgy veins also means that if I bump my calf, it really hurts! I noticed that it doesn't hurt so much (or at all) if I do cardio.

I'm a big fan of exercise and all the benefits, just not a big fan of doing it! What mainly motivates me is knowing that a lot of my health problems can be alleviated by me. Pain makes me miserable, I don't like being miserable, I can help that, so I need to get moving.

Diet motivators are knowing that if I eat a big mac/cakes/pasta & sauces., I know I'm gonna feel bleargh and not bothered to do anything. I've only been doing this properly for two weeks, but I realised the other day that I just felt "cleaner" on the inside, in a similar way to the feeling if you've given up smoking. Feels good.

I had 110 pounds to lose so I started walking around the neighborhood with my mom. We have a lot of hills so it kicked our butts. I then used Jillian Michael's Kettle Bell workout for a while. I signed up for an ab blaster class at college. When I graduated, I walked more and did other workout DVDs (ab blaster). In April I signed up for a gym and in June I got a job at a warehouse. Soooo I'm on my feet 40-50 hours a week. You gotta keep switching it up, otherwise your body gets used to what you're trying to do. Good luuuuuck!

Hi!

I started at 440 and have plantar as well. I've lost 74lbs so far and have a way to go. I lost about 30 before I started to move. I started doing stretches and the exercises I could handle at home, leglifts, wall pushups, dancing to good music. My cats watch me as though I'm crazy

I've done some walking too.

Just joined a gym to take water aerobics and start lifting. I did that years ago and loved it.

As others have said....do what you can, adding more as you are able. It really does get easier and you will enjoy the mental peace.

About 5 weeks in I fell and hurt my knee (lack of grace, not due to exercise) and I missed working out! Never in a million years thought I'd say that.

Kudos to you for starting the journey...you CAN do this and we're here to help.

Feel free to friend me if you like.

For me, I started out walking. It was slow and only about every other day, but I did it. Give it about a month and you'll start to look forward to it and liking how you feel when you're done!

To start with, I only walked about 15 minutes every other day. You push too far, too fast, it'll hurt and you won't want to do it. Make sure you stretch before and after really well. Keep doing the 15 minutes every other day until it doesn't hurt. Then, add some more time! make it 20 min, then 25! ...

...Then a couple months after that? Your walking or exercise bike? Might not be enough anymore. Then the next thing you know? You're buying dumbbells and running shoes

This is similar to my experience. Starting walking and yes eventually went out and bought dumbells, pull up bar, etc. I've lost over 100lbs in about a year.

I agree 100 percent with putting in the effort for at least a month. I didn't like exercising starting out - had to push myself to do it every morning. Once I hit the three week mark I looked forward to exercising. I had to stop exercising for awhile when I had surgery. When I started back up again it was difficult. Once I pushed through that 3 week period the pleasure of exercising returned. For me it's like there's a threshold that I have to push through when starting over. I exercise 6 days a week now and enjoy the benefits of being physically fit.

When I began this I started with walking my dog for an hour. It was a crutch for me, I didn't want to be judged for being that fat lady trying to get in shape. Distance/Speed wasn't relevant, just moving for an hour was. I walked around my house/neighborhood going a whole 3mph. (I used smart phone apps to estimate my pace and route.)

I started off wearing crocs in the middle of winter. Ya Im hardcore like that. Got shin splints, cause apparently crocs weren't meant to be walking shoes. Who knew?! For 2 weeks it was painful, but the more I walked the less the discomfort became.

Eventually I caved in, got some entry level running shoes to walk in, which got rid of almost all the leg pain. Who knew proper shoes would be beneficial?! I even found a small local state park that has awesome hiking/biking/walking pathways through it and I LOVE walking there.

As time wore on my distance increased because my pace got faster because I was losing weight due to being more active and keeping better track of my food intake. I actually started doing some light weight jogging (downhills only, Im too lazy for anything else.) this summer.

Pick a place you like walking, get good shoes that have nice support for your feet, and some walking tunes and get out there and have some fun

I started with a daily walk then would insert spurts of jogging for 30 seconds to a minute. Then I discovered P90X after I lost the first 20 lbs. I also did a ton of at home workouts through DVDs and stuff like when I had a Wii, I did Wii Fit. My main focus was to get sweating 5-6 days a week for at least 20 minutes. I'm getting ready to start Insanity since I have hit a plateau half way through, and I plan to incorporate some of my favorite workouts from P90X along with it! Also, I highly recommend strength training, either with your own body weight or light weights. Modified pushups are great, squats, tricep dips, and tons more. You can look up online some good moves to start with. I aim for at least 2 days a week of strength, sometimes 3.

I belly dance - one 2hr class a week on a Sunday and online classes through the week

So I've decided I want to start biking, but don't know where to start. I'm still a pretty big girl, just under 300lbs. Does anyone have a suggestion on what kind of bike to get or where to start. I've been walking, but I'm starting to get bored with that. I need something different to keep me motivated. Any help would be greatly appreciated.