OUT OF SHAPE...WHERE DO I START?

start lil goals and work ureway up... I started doing zumba and at first i could only get thru 15 mins of the dvd and i just took my time and now im up to doing the whole 45 min work out.... GO Me!!!!!

Taking brisk walks is a good start. Using stairs instead of escalators and elevators is helpful, too. There are lots of fitness videos on youtube. Look around and see what appeals to you. Then just start.

Cardio (walking, elliptical, etc) is always good for heart health and stamina, but don't discount weight training! If you are able, start with compound lifts that work the whole body, adding weight as you are able to. You will get a great workout and can rest between sets to prevent yourself getting too worn out.

When I started, I walked a mile every day and drank 100 oz of water every day. Just increased my exercise from there. Didn't even start out counting calories at first.

There are many exercise DVDs out there for different ability levels. I started with JM 30DS, you are supposed to switch levels every week or so and I spent one month on the first level. Start with no weights and just do what you can, don't go low in the squats or lunges, etc. There are also walking DVDs that have you moving your arms for arm workouts also, (name- someone help me, is it Leslie something?). You would look pretty odd waving your arms around while walking outside, but not in your house. Start slow, don't get discouraged when you are sore, because you will get sore!

Edited to add- Leslie Sansone has the walking DVDs

any exercise is good just as everyone else has said: slow and steady change a little at a time......I started with the food then moved to exercise doing two days a week now moving to three.....good luck to you and friend me if you would like.....

mine was in a kit.. it came with 7 dvds and toning sticks which i havent used them yet.,.. its called the "Zumba fitness Exhilerate"

I'm in the same boat, super out of shape and overweight. I also get painful cysts in my knees when I do too much high impact activity, so I tend to stay away from that.
I've just started going to the gym, and because there was a special I signed up with a personal trainer. I haven't actually worked out with her yet, but we've had the introductory meeting where she sat down and assessed where I'm at, and helped define good goals for me. She also helped set up a meal/nutrition plan, taking into account the foods I love, the foods I just won't eat, and even the availability of foods based on where I like to shop (her favored brand of flatbread is mainly at one store across town from me, so she had other recommendations based on the grocery stores I do go to often so if I didn't find what she said, I wouldn't get discouraged). I really recommend getting a personal trainer if you can, I was hesitant, but I already feel like this is the best decision I've made for getting in shape.

Are you signed up for a gym?
I've always been reluctant to take classes, afraid of being too out of shape, standing out as "the fat one", not being able to actually do the classes, all those general insecurities that I'm finding out aren't uncommon. I signed up for a gym on Monday, and haven't been able to convince myself to do any of the machines in the big area with everyone else, but I've gone to a spinning (cycling) class and a water aerobics class, and I loved both of them. With the spinning class (Les Mills RPM) I went at the speed that was best for me, so I wasn't pedalling as fast as everyone else, but I was getting my heartrate into the key zones. I had a lot of fun, and really worked my muscles, but I never felt like I was going to die, and I'm not so sore I won't go back or anything like that. I did kind of stand out in the water aerobics class, mostly because I was the only participant under 60. That was totally a pro in my book though, all the ladies were so nice and encouraging that before the class even started I felt like I could do anything. Water aerobics wasn't the most intense workout, but it felt good. There were a few spots where I had trouble keeping up, but that was mostly because I'm still very unfamiliar with the moves, not because it was too hard.

If you're signed up for a gym I totally recommend just trying out some of the different classes they offer. If they're using Les Mills classes, you can go to the Les Mills website and they say on the class pages if a class is good for anyone, including beginners, or better for people with more experience and stamina.

There's lots you can do at home too, Target and Walmart have yoga and pilates DVDs for about $10, and hulu and Amazon Prime (not sure about Netflix, because I don't have it) have workout videos. You can also do minor things, like whenever I have to go upstairs, I go up, come back down, then go up again, just for a little extra kick. It's not exactly working out, but it's doing more than you need to.

Good luck!

A few years back I started working out with a trainer and he started me off on interval cardio training on every piece of cardio equipment (bike, elliptical, stair master, etc.). I don't totally remember the times but I believe he started everything at a high resistance and he would decrease it every 30 seconds a level or two until it was at the to the lowest setting then start back at the beginning. He also made sure that I keep my speed up no matter what the resistance was. It was intense, but doable because you knew some form of relief was 30 seconds away. I hated him during it and would dart evil glares his way, but it was amazing how quickly my cardio fitness came back. Within 2 weeks I wasn't experiencing shortness of breath, which made me feel so much better about working out. No one wants to be gasping for air in public!

We also did strength training, which he was always changing up.

You might want to see if a gym in your area has a deal on personal training. It's overwhelming to begin with so having someone set up a routine and keep you on track is very helpful. Plus a good trainer will know when you're wimping out early and push/inspire you to do "just 5 more". 9/10 I could always do more when pushed/encouraged and it made me feel powerful.

Good luck.

I think the people here all have pretty good ideas. Walking is a fantastic way to start; it's simple, so you don't have to worry about doing any 'moves' and hurting yourself (I did that when I first started), and you can increase the miles or add weights to make it more difficult.
When I started, I could only go about half a mile, and I was gasping and sweating the whole way. Now I can go pretty much for hours on end, and I also run in intervals. You just have to keep walking, and it will improve. I also used biking to up my muscle in my legs and for cardio, and that helped IMMENSELY. I owe a lot of my fitness today to that bike. Biking is good because it carries your weight for you, so it's less impacting on your joints. Depending on how much weight you have to lose, that can be a huge plus.

Making small changes really does help, so anything small like picking a healthier choice meal today, or choosing to park further away from the store and walk will help you

Good luck!

Start by tracking everything you eat--measure all your food--it's annoying but will help you in the long run. You don't even have to change anything at first. Just to be aware of how much a "serving" is and how much you're eating.

You can start fairly easy if you want. Try to take the stairs instead of the elevator. Park further away in the parking lot.

My husband is very low in muscle tone and we've been quite happen so fair doing DDP Yoga. I never quite got into Zumba, I do have the DVDs though, so I should give it another chance. Whatever works for you really. When I was doing weight watchers the advice they give you at the beginning is to "add steps" to your day--walk a little more. Get a good pedometer to see your average steps in a day and try to add a few hundred until you can get up to 10,000 per day.

If you do the Zumba, you might consider a heart rate monitor, if you're worried about over doing it. It's a good way to gauge how your body is reacting to higher impact exercises. I was able to find a Polar FT7 for about $40 online.

Anyways, stick to it!

start by getting rid of the fattening foods in your kitchen

I suggest walking for 20 minutes a day for the first week. Increase to 30 minutes in the second week. Third week I would start the Galloway Easy 5K app. The app uses a run-walk-run technique where you alternate running and walking for short intervals. The program has 3 exercise days a week with two short runs and one long run. When I started the app I was morbidly obese in terrible health. His app helped me slowly start exercise and stay injury free. When I started I had fears of having a medical emergency on the run/walk so I would do laps around our local fire dept. That way if I needed help I wouldn't be far. The program is designed to get you from couch to your first 5k in 8 weeks. If you don't have a smartphone or don't want to pay the few dollars that the app costs you can download the program for free and just use a stopwatch to time out the running and walking intervals. It's a terrific program that helped me lose 115 pounds.

Walking is a great place to start!!!