For those who need to lose more than 100 pounds

I like biking, swimming and walking.

Speaking as someone who has over 200 lbs to lose, I'd say doing *ANYTHING* will help you. The type of activity/exercise you will benefit from will be based around what your current activity level is and what you can actually do without causing any physical harm to yourself.

I was almost completely immobile due to back injuries and 24/7 pain. I started out by just trying to do little things - like getting up and moving to the TV ad music (which is good because apparently I have no sense of rhythm anymore and I live alone so nobody other than me gets to laugh!) and doing simple, short side-steps instead of standing still when I was doing the washing up, etc. From there I moved on to short walks and then got myself an aerobic step to use in the house whenever I was mobile enough to use it. The back pain had been causing me to be active/inactive at all hours of the day and night and so being able to have an exercise I could do (no matter what time of day/night) at my own pace has made a difference to me.

Whatever you do manage to come up with, I wish you good luck with it and just hang on in there. It's a long haul with no quick fixes that is well worth the effort.

I just started walking - short walks (15 mins) and made them longer (60+ mins) . I also play just dance 3 on my wii - started slowly and now i can do a lot more. I also use the stationary bike and elliptical - everything I've had to start slowly and you build your strength up.

When I started, I couldn't walk. I have 2 herniated discs and was afraid I wouldn't make it back.

I had an elliptical that I bought several years before that was being used as a very expensive piece of sculpture. However, it didn't hurt my back and I didn't have to worry about making it back home, so that where I started. 2 minutes once a day until I no longer feel like a heart attack was eminent. Then 2 minutes twice a day. And on until I was at 30 minutes. As soon as it was warm enough, I also walked around and around and around our pool...I was so sad to see summer come to an end!

I agree with just do ANYTHING. It doesn't matter how long you do it - just that you do it consistently. You'll be surprised at how quickly you make progress and how much better you feel. I still use the elliptical, but now i can walk the dog 4 miles and back, take Zumba twice a week and a water aerobics class. I highly recommend any type of water exercise - nothing gets sore and it relieves some of the pressure on your back, knees and ankles (plus it's fun!)

Good luck!

when at home i do 30 day shred and 6 weeks 6 pack by Jilllian Michaels. and i go to the fitness centre for zumba, salsacise and other dance based classes, toning (abs and legs - really hard one), swimming and aqua-aerobics (those are awesome for people with big weight to start with!)

I walk, outside and on the treadmill. I also do strength/weight training. Keep to low-impact aerobics until you've lost a significant amount of weight. You don't want to damage your knees in the process. Strength training is important to keep the muscle the excess weight has already given you. As you lose weight your body starts to eliminate what it now thinks is unnecessary muscle. You have to lift to keep it. It's much easier to keep muscle than to get it back.

I don't have 100 pounds to lose anymore, but when I started I had WAY over 100 to lose. I started out walking, and could barely make a mile at first. I still walk, and now sometimes take 7 or 8 mile hikes. That is very time consuming though, and I cannot always find the time to spend that much time exercising, so I have also started riding a stationary recumbent bike. I tried to do couch 2 5k recently, but I HATE running. I wanted to make myself into a runner, but that is SO not me! Walking is still my very favorite thing to do though. We live in an area surrounded by national forest, so I am lucky to have some beautiful hiking trails!

I started fairly light and easy for the beginning. I went from 283ish (my highest *recorded* weight) to about 248 on walking and hiking alone or with my dog and doing an easy workout DVD now and then. Once I got down to a weight where my feet didn't hurt at the end of the day I joined a gym. I'm down 12 lbs from there and have another 60-70 to go and I currently do M/W/F 15-20 minute elliptical warm up and 30-45 minutes of various lifting/resistance training.

I joined a spinning class. You can set your own resistance and pace - it burns calories like nothing. Plenty of strength exercises, as muscle burns calories.

I then started running - using a programme for my phone. It started at 1 min run 2 min walk intervals, and every week the running increases slightly. I was nearly 300 pounds when this started, and I could hardly manage it. It is surprising how quickly you build up. First time I couldn't even run for a minute, but I kept it up - yesterday I ran for 30 mins.

Then look at your diet - small changes. Potatoes and sweet potatoes for carbs rather than pasta, and brown rice is good too. Tomato based sauces cooked fresh are very low in calories. By oil as a spray - you use far less. If you like snacking, rice cakes and salsa is very low calories.

If you aren't good at knowing calories then weigh your food and get a good book. You will soon learn to know what calories are in a certain portion. Obviously get into the habit of updating MFP every day. It really does help.

I've gone from 135 KG to 121 KG - still got a long way to go, but I know I can do it.

I started at 328 lbs. I walked and played Dance Central. Then I jogged for a bit. Now I'm at the gym at least three times a week for about an hour doing various cardio and strength. As everyone else has said, start small and pick things you enjoy :-)

best of luck!