Can't be bothered - does it matter?

Congratulations on your 19 lbs loss!

You're not "too old" and yeah, it's definitely worth investing in yourself. Heck, you have at least two pages of feedback so far mostly from people who don't even know you and who want you to succeed. That is pretty awesome.

You mentioned possibly having sleep apnea. Even if you're getting 10 hours of sleep, if it's not restful or if it's interrupted, that's going to probably impact your mood and weight considerably. There may be links to depression as well. I've found that when I'm having one of those days, exercise, however minimal, seems to help. Not sure if it's the endorphins or just getting the blood flowing, but it helps.

If you're already on a waiting list, that's a good start. Many folks have regained their lives by getting diagnosed and then getting a C-PAP to help them sleep.

On the days that you're not rainbows and sunshine, and just feel like sitting on the couch, simply walking is better than nothing. Whether it's going for a walk outside or if there's a shopping mall you feel safe walking in. Just walk. You don't need feel compelled to do anything else, like buy anything or feel guilty for not doing stuff around your home. If you have access to a fitness center and can walk on the treadmill for 10 minutes, even a slow walk is still better than sitting on the couch. (I tend to snack when I'm on the couch, so exercising keeps me from doing that.)

You mentioned the chairobics video. There's nothing that says you need to complete the whole thing all at once. If all you can do at first is 30 seconds, then pause it for 1 minute and do another 30 seconds, you're ahead of where you were if you hadn't done any at all. Then work up do doing 1 minute, then try doing it for 90 seconds the next week, and so on. Build on it slowly. Patient, but persistent.

While I don't mean to offend by offering this up, weight loss is often helped when you have an accountability buddy. If you can find a group (like OA) that will be supportive and if you can find a friend who's willing to hold you accountable and to get you to walk when don't feel like it, that might not hurt. There might be a free (non-surgical weight loss) peer group at the local hospital. I've found that I've been more successful when I have a buddy kicking me in the rear.

If you can't find a local group, you're not alone on here. There are people here to support you, encourage you, and help you on your journey. If you need motivation, check out some of these success stories...

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/714801-113-lbs-lost-and-my-brain-is-starting-to-catch-on
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/891334-160lbs-down-and-getting-close-to-my-goal-photos
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/734834-ladies-250-300-with-pics-plzzz?page=2


You can do this.

Hey---where do you get a "chair-aerobics" video? It sounds just right for my third day of cardio as I can not do a lot of weight-bearing cardio (arthritis).

Hey---where do you get a "chair-aerobics" video? It sounds just right for my third day of cardio as I can not do a lot of weight-bearing cardio (arthritis).

Youtube - I searched for "chair exercises" and these are some of the ones that came up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AuLqYh4irI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mCoU3_UsJ8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5KIVRas9UM&playnext=1&list=PL0025C0F2B4C50FA4&feature=results_main

I know for me that I really need my exercise to be first thing in the morning, and at home. (Coming from a completely sedentary person.) I don't give myself a chance to rethink it. It's immediately turn off alarm, pee, and I pull my workout clothes on as I am turning on the TV and DVD player. (Ha! Workout clothes is actually just a bra and stretchy pair of pants). Within 5 minutes of waking up, I am selecting the my routine. (I'm just doing Leslie Sansone walking). I get in around 20 minutes and then go shower. After that, the day is mine, and mentally I find it easier to do whatever I need to do that day. I don't feel guilty if I don't feel like doing anything else. It's one less thing to worry about. On weekends I do more, and sometimes I might play with some weights in the evenings, but that quick 20 minute workout first thing keeps me feeling better about myself no matter how the rest of the day goes.

Maybe you could alternate days with your water aerobics with some chair aerobics from home and then take one day off a week. See if doing the chair aerobics or other exercise from home first thing when you wake up helps you get it in for the day and leaves you feeling less guilty.

Hello!

Just adding my two cents here...if you've been on MFP only a month or 6 weeks at the most (shows you joined in January) and you've lost 19 pounds, you are doing great (actually doesn't matter how long you have been on...losing 19 pounds is great!).

If you are doing water areobics 5 - 6 times a week for 60 - 70 minutes at a time, you are doing great.

If you figured out your calories using HelloitsDan's road map as you said, you are doing great.

I would think putting a pair of hand weights next to the recliner or couch would be a great idea. And you can just sit there with your legs straight in the air in front of you and move them up and down. Every little bit helps and this will stop you from feeling like a slug for watching TV (even though you are already doing enough without that!). When your legs allow you to do more, you can change up to walk. Do you have access to a stationary bike? You might be able to do that now as well.

You only have food logged in your diary for today (ok...I only went back a week so you might have logged before that) so I can't comment on that. Make sure you are getting a balanced diet. Carbs are NOT the devil.

Good luck! I think you are definitely on the right path!

I have definitely been there! A year and a half ago, I weighed 355 pounds, and was so debilitated I could barely get through my weekly grocery shopping. And grocery shopping was the most physically taxing thing I ever did! I kept thinking I was just "a little out of shape", and that I could fix it by exercising. I would go for a short walk, and have to lie on the couch for the rest of the day, and still be tired the next day, too! I would do 15 minutes of gardening, and be exhausted for two days. I got an indoor walking DVD (Leslie Sansone) that only lasted for 20 minutes. I couldn't do it. I actually made it my goal to simply STAND there for the whole twenty minutes! Just STANDING for twenty minutes in a row was an acheivement for me! If I shuffled my feet a bit too, so much the better. I mostly ate fast food and microwaveable dinners, because standing to cook and wash dishes was so hard for me.

How I got into that condition is a long, sad story. If I hadn't been so depressed for so many years, maybe I would have noticed the incredible downward slide I was on. Maybe I could have done something about it sooner. I had always been heavy, but somewhere along the line, after getting heavier, and more and more depressed, and more and more sedentary, I got seriously debilitated, too, and couldn't seem to find my way out of it, even though I tried many times to just get up off the couch.

Today, I weigh 180 pounds. Things have changed a LOT for me!

I would say that by far the most important thing to do is to get the weight off, first and foremost! Yes, you probably COULD build up enough muscle and stamina, even at your weight, to improve your fitness level. But it is just SO much easier, in my opinion, to lose some weight, first! I actually lost the first 100 pounds while needing to be in bed most of the day, due to some medical problems. Losing weight is more about calories than about exercise. The exercise is about general fitness. You can work on both at once, or one at a time. Losing some of the weight first will make exercise a lot easier! Of course, once you can exercise and build some muslce, you will begin burning more calories, too. But, it can be done one step at a time, starting by losing some weight.

Now, I didn't JUST lose weight. I totally and completely revamped my lifestyle! I stopped eating all sugar, processed food, junk food, and fast food. I went to a high-level nutritional diet composed largely of vegetables. I see many people of MFP trying to lose weight by cutting down on junk food, or eating "diet junk food". I am sure many of them get weight-loss results that way, but I do not believe it builds health. When you are so debilitated that you can barely get up off the couch, you need to BUILD HEALTH, not just lose weight! Losing the weight has been very beneficial for me, but eating the vegetables and eliminating the junk is what is improving my health.

Once your body is getting the nutrition it needs, you will start feeling better and have more energy. Once you have lost a good fifty pounds, you will feel more like standing up and doing things. If what you are doing now tires you out for two days, then it is more than you can handle. Start with five minutes of something. Or one minute if you have to. Or one minute now, and one minute later, and one minute even later in the day. It doesn't have to be all in one exercise session. One thing I started doing was to just GET UP every hour or so. Anything to begin breaking the pattern of inactivity is a step in the right direction! Get up and walk up and down your hallway, just once. Soon, you will be able to do it twice. Or for five whole minutes, back and forth. Back when I was trying to just start going for a one mile walk, I was constantly discouraged, because I had to rest for two or three days after that. Then, after such a long break, it was like starting over again. I never managed to actually build up that way. It was only when I acknowledged that I honestly couldn't do more than a few minutes at a time that I started to make progress! But that was AFTER I dropped the first 75 pounds!

It is embarrassing to write about this. I can't believe how desperate my condition was before I finally was able to take some action on it. But I am posting it anyway, because I hope it will help someone else. You CAN do it!! Even when you are in your fifties, like me!

EDITED TO ADD: Your water aerobics sound great! Although it is possible you are doing too much, if it is literally all you can do in the day. But being able to move about on land is what I am talking about, with the one minute at a time, or two minutes at a time, or even just standing up periodically.

You will feel SO much better with the tiredness, lethargy, etc. if you get up and go!

I'm a proponent of doing what you feel like you can and don't judge yourself. It has worked well for me -- when I stick to the not judging part, anyway. I have more than my share of couch days. Don't discount the importance of recovery, especially early on. I try to embrace it. When I can, I pay more attention to eating things that feel like recovery foods (e.g. salmon, salads, etc.)

I do hope that your back improves. I have occasional back pain and it is really frustrating and interferes with my attempt at a healthy lifestyle. Hopefully eventually your pain will subside enough to be manageable. I found doctors mostly worthless for back pain. Their idea was always to send me to physical therapy. It took a few weeks to get in and then they wanted to see me for 8 weeks. But, of course, by then my back pain would have gone away anyway because it had been months and it usually only lasts weeks. Really frustrating.

As I have gotten in better shape, it has become less frequent of an occurrence and lasts less time each time.

I think you are doing great. I hope you continue. It's going to happen.

I've found that losing weight and exercising at the same time needs to be a bit of a balancing act. Cut back to much on the calories and my energy level gets so low that it is very difficult to motivate myself to exercise. Don't cut back enough and the lack of progress losing weight becomes depressing and I have no mental energy to exercise.

I am sorry to hear about the issues with the UK medical system. That would be incredibly frustrating to deal with. The US system has it's own issues of course...

I would say yes it matters. I agree with many of the posts. I would check with your doctor but even if it's only doing 10 minutes at a time, I would work in 30 minutes at least on those off days. If you can find one person that will help you with accountability it really helps. I was lucky and found someone at the gym who actually calls or texts me to find out where I am at if I miss more than one day...and if I beat her at the gym....I'm texting her telling her I'm getting on her machine as she has her "favorite" eliptical machine. Whatever it takes is what I tell myself. With having arthiris in the hips, I have mentally prepared my mind if I don't exercise everyday for at least 60 minutes 6/days a week....I will eventually get to where I will not be able to walk and function in everyday life. So far, it's worked pretty well. They say it's like 20% exercise and 80% diet or 10/90....but for those of us who are extremely overweight and past 40......I say its more closer to 50/50....you have to do both if there is anyway you can. Push yourself mentally and the body will follow. Best of luck and and go to the grocery store and look at 4 - 5 lb bags of potatoes.....that's how much weight you have lost and gotten off of your knees and hip joints!! So stay positive, seek your doctor's advice and keep going! You are doing great!! ; )