So overwhelmed.

I know how you feel. This time last year I was running every other day and lifting weights. Then an underlying health issue knocked me on my butt. Months later I have finally found a method that works for me. Its a modified Atkins plan with regular walking. Ive cut the carbs and fast food drastically. Huge difference! I finally have energy again and my blood sugar is evened out. Best thing you can do is talk to your Dr. and find out what works best for you. Dont give up!! I still have 85 pounds to go and the hardest part is finding someone to lend encouragement, and support when you need it most.

I just came here to say I understand completely! I'm around your size, and exercising is a challenge for me. I'm lucky that I do a lot of walking in my daily life, so walking is my main form of exercise. I do still deal with a lot of pain, but it gets better the more you do it. It's tough, but hang in there and know that you will be able to branch out once you get more fit! Diet is a HUGE part of it, too. I changed my diet just by making the choice to eliminate most processed foods and eat only whole foods (fruits, vegetables, un- or low-processed sources of protein, etc.).

Do you mind if I add you as a friend? I think our goals are really similar and I think we could support each other.

Howdy there young lady. I applaud you for reaching out. You are gonna find some WONDERFUL people here. I'm a big ole, corn fed, god fearin country boy and have been pretty much since middle school and this year I will turn 50. I know all about "what you want to do" vs "what you can do". I lost my left leg in the line of duty while working as a paramedic lieutenant at the scene of a car crash. I was struck by a car and lost my left leg at the knee. I use a artificial leg, so I am mobile, but there are days when it can be very challenging and having spent so many years being heavy has taken a toll on my only good right knee.

WATER WATER WATER!!! It is your best friend for 2 reasons. 1st, drinking it fills you and cleanses you. Interpose a big ole mug of plain ice water with a big ole mug of water with some kind of liquid flavor enhancer in a bottle that you can keep in your purse. There are a million of them from Mio to Crystal Light to Sugar Free Kool-Aid to Sugar Free Hawaiian Punch. 2nd, get in it! If you have a membership to the YMCA, get over there and get in the pool. It will be your best friend. The water keeps it ultra low impact and the feeling of being in the water by itself is euphoric.

Last thing, invest is a good protein bar. This will take some experimenting to find the ones that you like but ultimately I would suggest higher in protein and lower in carbs and sugars. QUEST BARS ARE THE BOMB!!!! My favorite flavors are Vanilla Almond Crunch, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, and Apple Pie!

YOU ARE NOT ALONE----STAY IN TOUCH---STAY FOCUSED---KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE PRIZE :-)

Baby steps! I started last February23rd at age 43 (now 44), 5'1" and 291 pounds. I'm down to 199, the lightest I've been since early 1996 when my twins were infants. I was fortunate when I started that I wasn't in pain and was relatively healthy for my size. However, sustained exercise definitely fatigued me. Plus, I had all the mental issues of living my adult life essentially obese or on my way back to obese after some minor temporary success. Having had over 20 years to really break down and analyze myself, I went into this lifestyle change with the right mindset for permanent success.

My thoughts:
1. Small, incremental changes
2. Realistic expectations: didn't come on overnight, will come off even slower
3. Celebrate your successes no matter how minor [just find ways to celebrate sans food

My implementation:
1. I used MFP to calculate my calories and I began logging everything that went in my mouth (and I still do). I weigh and measure and I am anal retentive about it so I can get used to being able to eyeball it when needed such as eating out.
2. I don't go over in my calories often, but neither do I often go very under. But I don't berate myself or stress if I do.
3. I started very small with exercise. For me that was 3x/week as a goal, 20 minutes a time, and very slow, very easy on the treadmill. I increased my goals over time, but never so quickly I felt overwhelmed.

For me, the biggest key is making the changes small and manageable so I didn't leap in and do so much and then fail because I couldn't maintain it. Even now, my weekly exercise goal is 4x/week. I make it more than that and I do a lot more than my goal, but that way, I know it is extra stuff, and if I am feeling down or not up to it or whatever, I have wiggle room without 'failing' in my goal.

Someone mentioned working out in water -- this is an excellent idea if you have access to a pool. Water aerobics was something I used to love to do! [I don't right now because it doesn't fit in my schedule but it is great].

Also, as you are ready, definitely add in strength training. For overall health and strength, it is SO good. I took about 2-3 months of slowly building my fitness level up before I felt ready to add in weights. I do the weight machines at the Y 3x/week now, a combo of arm and leg machines. I am going to switch to free weights this month because they are even better than the machines, but that's because I feel ready to tackle it. It's out of my comfort zone, and I didn't want to set myself up to fail by pushing it too soon. Now I know I'll be fine and I've got to just stop delaying

I added in the last because you may have people say "skip cardio, do weights, heavy lift ,etc!" and while heavy lifting is great and may be the best, it isn't the ONLY way, and we all have to get there at our own pace. I do think, unless you really LOVE it, that you will benefit from upping cardio excessively. And I say THAT because you will see people time and again who go pound for hours on the cardio machines thinking they are doing the only right thing and frustrated when they aren't getting results. And that said, I don't judge anyone who wants to do it because they want to or it works for them or whatever <g>.

No matter what - don't worry about judgment. Whatever anyone thinks or feels about you is irrelevant -- you are there, you are working out, you are improving. Slow, sure, solid steps of success are yours and no one can take that from you!

Walking is something I definitely want to do but it's super hard right now with my body the way it is. I'm extremely heavy on top, have knee and back problems (horrible sciatic pain) and get verrrrry out of breath.

When I was around your size I could easily walk for miles, no problem and lost a lot of weight doing that. However I'm about 8-10 sizes larger now and so my mobility has definitely decreased. It's just hard and very painful and I notice that after two days of working out my hips and other joint are killing me. I guess this is just very disheartening. I know what I have to do, but it's hard to actually get my body to do those things. I need to start doing 5-10 minutes of exercise I guess.

I wonder if my eating habits matter more right now than exercising does. Hmm.

When I was at 270 size 24 ( tight) I couldn't walk for longer than 10 minutes at a time due to knee and back pain...so i walked 10 minutes three times a day . and when I could do that for a week I moved up to 15 minutes three times a day for two weeks until I could walk 20 minutes ,then I did that 2 times a day for two weeks .. I lost weight and my back and knees dont hurt anymore . You will experience so many more benefits than a smaller body ..so get out there and do it !!

I'm going to agree with a lot of what I glanced through. I understand your pain, been there, dealing with that, down to depression that currently I'm being stubborn and trying to control with diet and exercise (mainly exercise). From what I gathered, mine is nowhere near yours so in that respect I do not understand either.

Baby steps - if you can only walk for 5 minutes, then walk for 5 minutes. Keep building on it and soon you'll find that you can push yourself for 20 minutes, then 30 minutes, then an hour, etc. Get your body moving.

Become your own cheerleader - you need to learn to cook and eat more healthy than TV dinners and/or out to restaurants. Yes, you can do this without changing that but it becomes 10 times more difficult to do so. And if you don't have support at home, then you've got to dig down deep and create support within yourself. I get that's difficult but that's part of the commitment you make to yourself to become healthier and more fit. Create a support system through here when you can't be your own cheerleader. That's the adding of friends, even if they are only online MFP friends (some of which for me are more supportive than real life friends).

Eating - even if going out, start choosing more veggies, less pasta so to speak. That mainly means think about what you're putting into your body. Would you be happy with a 3 egg white omelet instead of a 3 egg omelet? How about extra veggies in that omelet, light on the cheese? Will the restaurant prepare it in a more healthy way, such as using cooking spray instead of too much oil, not add salt, but allow you to do it, etc? And utilize MFP - log everything, see where your eating habits are at, then figure out how you can tweak them to better fit your goals. I've read where a diet that's too heavy on carbs can intensify depression, can you cut back on those carbs? What else can you find that helps you? I've found a sensitivity to wheat, so while I can eat wheat, I cannot eat the amount I used to without pain, fogginess of thought, lack of energy. Perhaps you have something similar, what are you willing to do to determine that? It's all about finding what works for you because what works for me may not work for you.

Water - drink water and a lot of it. Water will offset the high amounts of sodium I can guarantee has been in your diet to date (TV dinners notoriously high in sodium). There is added sodium in soda, even diet soda. I'm sure if you don't sweeten your tea then you could probably substitute tea but again, basing it off what I've found, water, plain water (well maybe with a twist of lemon) is what works best. Again, disclaimer is that I'm basing this off what works for me and it may not work for you.

You can do this by eating less calories than you burn. But there are so many other little things that also help out that you should learn about. And it's all about trial and error in regards to what works for you. Above all, patience and baby steps is what rounds out the weight loss.

I believe you can do this and I know it all starts with that first step. Looking forward to seeing a success story from you!

I'm pretty much in the same boat. Want to help each other out?

Start out small. If walking really hurts THAT bad maybe you should start swimming a little bit??? Or maybe just park a little farther than usual, take the stairs, etc. The hardest part is getting started and from there it becomes a lifestyle. Feel free to add me.

I hear you about the hip and knee joints. I lost 80 pounds a few years ago and have gained 40 back. I never got to my goal weight so totally would like to drop 50#. It is sooo cold where I live outside that you cant go out and exercise unless your a 20 yr old conditioned athlete. So I am forced to do inside exercise in the winter. I literally go to my cellar and walk/jog back and forth over and over again. I do the same in the hallway of my house and pull out the coffee table and go around it when I get to the livingroom. I just keep moving. But....one thing I did years ago and found on YouTube is Leslie Sansone Walk away the pounds. You can get the full routine and start and stop where you need to! Good Luck and feel free to add me as a Friend. I would love to share ideas that help us through this journey!