I got a gym membership! But now what?
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Do walking. Very slow walking.
There is no need to speed up if your heart cannot handle it. Be warned, it may take you hours to get a high caloric burn.0 -
read this:
The New Rues of Lifting for Women by Lou Schuler
He explains everything you need to know about why gaining some lean muscle is going to help your weight loss more than cardio in the long run.
I just picked it up, and its a really great read.
Also, eat less to weight less.1 -
[/quote]
doctor
personal trainer
nutritionist who also helps with fitness
[/quote]
^^This0 -
I'm not going to lie, its been a few years since I worked out regularly in the gym. I go everyday after I work, but all I do right now is some machines. Light cardio, because my heart has been under some stress lately and I need to be careful (I have a bicuspid aortic valve, they found it due to the regurgitation during a normal exam when I was sixteen. I also weighed significantly less then).
So here's my question:
Where can I find gym plans/workouts for heavy women that is heart safe? All fitness plans I have seen lately are designed for girls waaaay lighter than me! I need to work of the extra weight before I get really serious about muscle. Trying to strengthen and shape won't help my heart since it already struggles.
I'm at a loss. Doing something is better than nothing I suppose, but this membership wasn't cheap and I get really crappy looks for going in around 7 in the morning and just rotating on various ellipticals and the treadmill.
I need SERIOUS suggestions. If you are going to be a jerk or a know-it-all, then just don't. I want suggestions, not criticism.
Start with walking on the treadmill and getting on the stationary bike. You don't have to go all out from day one.
Please do consult your cardiologist though. Better safe than sorry.
Congratulations on taking this big first step
1 -
Ask the trainers at the Gym? Just a thought
Key word: Trainers
They get paid to give advice, trust me I have tried. They aren't handing out freebies. Their personal trainer costs are ridiculous. And everyone but the girls who make the smoothies and protein shakes are trainers. There are no middle men who hand out fitness advice. The most advice I received was that I should work out barefoot. They have some big barefoot obsession. They have posters talking about how confining the foot to a shoe seriously damages it. Which, is advice I followed. I'm not turning down an invitation to not wear shoes.
But work out advice? They want to do an assessment, set up personal training (again, one month of training would eat the majority of one out of two pay checks I get a month), and various classes. I am considering taking a class maybe once a week (they charge per session) if I start getting more hours (unlikely), but yet again, trainers aren't an option.
Just a general update for everyone:
I'm not an idiot. I know how to work out. I know obvious answers like "trainers, dietitians, nutritionalists, physical therapists". Things I want or should do are not the same as what I am able to do. Stop assuming I am stupid. I used to bust *kitten* at sports and the gym. Now, I've been on a dozen bipolar meds and gained so much weight that none of what I know about exercise is really applicable, otherwise I wouldn't be overweight.
I know how to eat. I was vegetarian for 8 years. Not a junk food vegetarian. A legitimate tofu loving vegetarian who tracked her proteins and made sure she got enough iron and every meal consisted of mostly vegetables accompanied by a healthy carb and a meatless protein. I ran track, I did colorguard. I did theatre and dance.
I spent more time in the weight room and on the track than I did in the main room playing a sport I hate. I preferred simplicity. I went to my local rec center and did two or three hours four times a week. I stretched, I started with strength training for at least a half hour. Moved on to cardio. I rotated my activities. I ended all workouts with laps in the pool.
Then **** hit the fan. I, for reasons that I don't need to explain here, had to drop out half way into my junior year. So sports fell out of the equation. I slipped into a depressive episode (I am bipolar) and was so lethargic and tired I couldn't do the 45 minute bike ride to the rec center anymore. When I got out of it, I started working out again but had lost a lot of motivation. I went through a lot of things that ripped the rug out from under me yet again, and found myself in the worst and longest depressive episode I had been through yet. Then I was put on meds. All sorts. Anticonvulsants, antipsychotics, antidepressants, anti-anxiety. I had already gained a bit of weight (I've never been thin, always muscular and curvy), but my health seriously plummeted. A lot of people don't understand what these drugs do to a person. Then my antipsychotic changed and that screwed up my hormone levels crazy bad. Lose my period for a year bad. Gain even more weight bad. Suffer even worse side effects bad.
Eventually I slowly went off them because it was making my bipolar and everything else worse, I followed the advice of a therapist and started working on environmental triggers, and have been managing my disorder fairly well without medication. But now I was in debt and broke, with no job or opportunities for one. The area I lived in was horrible for employment. Fast forward a couple years, I met a girl, she invited me to move in when she moved and to try starting fresh there. Within a month I had a job, then half a year later I found a better one. I am doing way better than I was and have the money to work out again, but I am also 250 lbs now. I was losing decent weight a while ago, but I have always yoyo-ed even with diet and exercise and things were rough for a bit. I got a gym membership nearly a month ago, and if I work my typical 11 pm to 7 am shift, I go to the gym right after. So there's about 5 days of working out a week.
The point being is I never have had to lose this much weight, and my workouts were never weight oriented. I get the basics. Burn calories, strengthen the heart, improve the muscle. I know strength training is important. Its always been important to me. I just don't know how to workout in this body. And trust me, its different. I tried doing things I used to do. Its way different. I need workouts that are better for my body, and as I lose weight at some point what I know will be of use again. I just can't do the things I used to right now.
I really wish these forums were more supportive. Viewing others' posts and trying to post my own have been a disappointment.1 -
First, congrat's on deciding to get healthy!!
Second, some good news:
"Most weight loss occurs because of decreased caloric intake.
However, evidence shows the only way to maintain weight loss is to be engaged in regular physical activity."
http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/physical_activity/index.html
Third, find a professional. Maybe insurance will cover it, because you have a heart problem.
Here's where you can search for people in your area who are certified by the American College of Sports Medicine:
http://members.acsm.org/source/custom/Online_locator/OnlineLocator.cfm
A personal trainer is NOT able to deal with people with heart problems. They're just not trained for the extra risk. They could work with you once you've been evaluated by someone with more training, but following the program set out for you, not advising you on it in the first place. They could help you learn the machines in your gym (see below - get a new gym).
A fitness professional, or your doctor.Where can I find gym plans/workouts for heavy women that is heart safe?
And I agree that you don't need a workout for "heavy women", you need a cardio-safe plan.
Lifting light to medium weights is fine, light cardio is probably fine (slow on the treadmill or recumbant bike).
And yes, start lifting weights now. It's more of a struggle for your heart to push blood through fat, and you want to keep your muscles, and you want to even build muscle.
********************
As for your gym being expensive, go to Planet Fitness. $10 a month.
There's a Planet Fitness in Southgate: 734.281.7828; 13591 Eureka Road; Southgate, MI; 48195
And in Taylor: 734.947.9119; 11420 Telegraph Rd.; Taylor, MI; 48180
That's $10 a month and they (usually) have trainers on staff who can work with you once you have a cardio-safe plan. (On staff, as in they're paid by the gym. You don't have to pay anything more for them.)
And because the staff at your current gym has been rude to you, talk with the manager, or write to the head office if it's a national chain.
There's NO excuse for their behaviour!
They're welcome to think it to themselves, or even talk in the employee area, but it should NEVER show when they're interacting with you or any other customer.
I would be furious.
Get set up with Planet Fitness, then get a refund of everything you've paid this current gym, plus an apology.
Heck, a long time ago when I was pregnant I was using a community clinic, and WIC, because I was very poor.
One day I passed a group of doctors chatting in the hallway about how people sponge off the system, WIC is a waste, etc., and I just stopped & let them have it with both barrels.
I didn't hold back anything about how rotten I thought they were acting, how lousy an attitude they had, how ignorant they were, how helpful WIC is toward having healthy babies...
They listened in complete silence, then slunk away.
Went on to the WIC lady's office (she'd been escorting me) and once the door was closed she congratulated me, said she'd wanted to tear into them herself frequently, but couldn't get away with it & keep her job.
Being a client, plus being pregnant (very very pregnant at that point), there wasn't a whole heck of a lot they could do to me. (You just don't argue with a pregnant woman. You're not going to win. Ever. Even if she is wrong, which I wasn't, you're going to make her cry, because hormones, and you'll look like a cad.)0 -
Hi miamouse3
I'm sorry you haven't found the support you were looking for here. I had 106lbs to lose, of which so far I have lost 16.... long way to go. While I don't have your health problems I certainly have a struggle to lose the weight. I too was an athlete when I was younger and that fell by the wayside. For years I have gone in and out of fitness plans and diets and always thought a personal trainer was a huge waste of money. However this time I have found an independent personal trainer and yes he is more expensive than a gym membership but I don't need a gym membership as we workout outside in all weathers! At my weight and fitness level he devised a program mixture of own weight, trx exercises, we work out 2x per week and I try to walk and work out as much as I can otherwise, he tracks my diary fluid intake he is worth every penny.
A good personal trainer will offer a free session to see if it works for you and ones who are not tied to a gym charge far less.
Feel free to add me I don't mind passing on any advice I have been given.0 -
I'm not going to lie, its been a few years since I worked out regularly in the gym. I go everyday after I work, but all I do right now is some machines. Light cardio, because my heart has been under some stress lately and I need to be careful (I have a bicuspid aortic valve, they found it due to the regurgitation during a normal exam when I was sixteen. I also weighed significantly less then).
So here's my question:
Where can I find gym plans/workouts for heavy women that is heart safe? All fitness plans I have seen lately are designed for girls waaaay lighter than me! I need to work of the extra weight before I get really serious about muscle. Trying to strengthen and shape won't help my heart since it already struggles.
I'm at a loss. Doing something is better than nothing I suppose, but this membership wasn't cheap and I get really crappy looks for going in around 7 in the morning and just rotating on various ellipticals and the treadmill.
I need SERIOUS suggestions. If you are going to be a jerk or a know-it-all, then just don't. I want suggestions, not criticism.
Start with walking on the treadmill and getting on the stationary bike. You don't have to go all out from day one.
Please do consult your cardiologist though. Better safe than sorry.
Congratulations on taking this big first step
Thank you
Thats what I am doing. My favorite machine lately is this seated elliptical from Octane. Its a nice combo between the bike and the elliptical. I also can control my pace better than on a regular elliptical (it kills me that I can't work out on an elliptical the way I used to). I use the treadmill in between because the seat on the machine I mentioned is not rear end friendly lol. After the 30 minute workout and 3 minute cool down, I have to stretch and walk and get the feeling back in my rear.
I am starting out small, not going too fast. I have upped my resistance on the machines, and intervals rotate the speed and resistance for me essentially. Its good. I appreciate the suggestions.
I am going to try to see my cardiologist, I just have to wait for tourist season to pass so I can schedule a few days off to go back to where I'm from and have an appointment. Its going to be steep, but necessary.. For now I was hoping for advice from people with heart conditions on how they work out, so I can try to be heart safe.0 -
Oh, another advantage of Planet Fitness is that they're generally open 24/7.
If you go before work, there's likely to be very few people there, so maybe you'll feel more comfortable.
This.The reason people are making that suggestion is because, given your medical issues, you are an outlier. And the advice that would probably help 90% of the people who are in otherwise similar situations might be dangerous for you. The people here are smart enough to know that. They know that you have problems that require someone with specialized training, not a forum where people are only able to give general advice.
Call the office or write them a letter and ask for recommendations about exercise.I am going to try to see my cardiologist, I just have to wait for tourist season to pass so I can schedule a few days off to go back to where I'm from and have an appointment.
They might have things already printed they can mail, or on the computer so they can email it to you.
Here's the American Heart Association page about fitness. They might know something.
http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/PhysicalActivity/Physical-Activity_UCM_001080_SubHomePage.jsp0 -
Hi miamouse3
I'm sorry you haven't found the support you were looking for here. I had 106lbs to lose, of which so far I have lost 16.... long way to go. While I don't have your health problems I certainly have a struggle to lose the weight. I too was an athlete when I was younger and that fell by the wayside. For years I have gone in and out of fitness plans and diets and always thought a personal trainer was a huge waste of money. However this time I have found an independent personal trainer and yes he is more expensive than a gym membership but I don't need a gym membership as we workout outside in all weathers! At my weight and fitness level he devised a program mixture of own weight, trx exercises, we work out 2x per week and I try to walk and work out as much as I can otherwise, he tracks my diary fluid intake he is worth every penny.
A good personal trainer will offer a free session to see if it works for you and ones who are not tied to a gym charge far less.
Feel free to add me I don't mind passing on any advice I have been given.
Thank you, I wish I had the money for a trainer. It sounds awesome. The area I live in this gym knows they run the show and charge like it too. If my money situation changes, I plan to look into it. So, ones not connected to a gym are more affordable?
And I will definitely send you a friend request I am always looking for a friends. Its true that a support system is important through things like this. 0 -
I did a blog post about exercise, giving general recommendations that should work for most healthy people:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/MKEgal/view/2014-06-08-exercise-667080
The OP might want to start at a lower weight than is recommended, both from being out of shape & from wanting to ease into lifting.
This bit about weightlifting says in part:There are 3 goals or types of weight training.
Most people should start by building muscle.
After a month or so of that, you can add in building endurance.
Going for power is a more advanced technique, which I'll leave to the competitive weightlifters.
Free weights or machines?
Machines reduce the chance that you can do something wrong & injure yourself, don't take as much understanding of what you're doing, and target specific muscles or groups.
Free weights work more muscles in concert and allow for more exercises to be done in a smaller area, even at your home, but require learning how to do them correctly.
No matter which you're doing, you need to know the maximum amount you can lift, called the one-repetition maximum or 1RM.
For building muscle, you want to do 1 or 2 sets of 8-12 repetitions of a weight that's 70-85% of your 1RM.
For building endurance, do 1 or 2 sets of 15-20 repetitions of a weight that's 50-65% of your 1RM.
Either way, start low on both weight & reps and work up.
You should just be able to do the last 2-3 reps.
When it gets easy to do the maximum # of reps, add 5 pounds and go back to the minimum # of reps.
(From the American College of Sports Medicine's book "Resources for the Personal Trainer, 4th edition".)
Remember to work both sides of a joint (or the body) - if you're doing bicep curls, also do tricep extensions or dips. If you're doing quadricep extensions, also do hamstring curls. If you're doing abdominal curls, also do lower back extensions.0 -
Okay I'm not a Doctor so with that being said.
I would try to walk either on the track, treadmill, or at home. Start slow and just go. Try to do a half mile to mile. If you need to stop Take a break or breaks. I started walking back and forth in the alley behind my house at first. Then progressed to longer walks.
I know I recently switched to the elliptical at my gym and the machine will tell me my heart rate is to high. Also when I switched I had to take breaks. So you may want to avoid the elliptical.
The bike's we have different ones at my gym. You could probably try riding on one of those without to much elevation in heart rate.
I usually do about 10 different weight bearing machines at my gym start out low on. I know I can elevate my heart rate on those.
Also does your gym have a pool?...I've heard the water aerobics are great. A lot of the older women at my gym take them, and they are less judge-mental.
Have you checked into Clinic's in your new area based on income? I go to one here. (New Horizon). Mine's great and offer free classes on cholesterol, diabetes, and so forth. They even gave me a new blood sugar monitor and testing supplies.
Once your able look into investing in a heart rate monitor if you can't find help in obtaining one.
Hope this helps0 -
Start with walking on the treadmill and getting on the stationary bike. You don't have to go all out from day one.
Please do consult your cardiologist though. Better safe than sorry.
Congratulations on taking this big first step
^^THIS
The treadmill should be able to keep track of your heart rate for you. Keeping your heart rate under 115 or so should be perfectly heart-safe. At this point, *any* physical activity is going to be a positive for you. Keep trying to improve the amount of time you are walking on the treadmill....Once you've worked up to an hour while maintaining a sub-115 heart rate, then you can work on increasing your speed and/or the incline of the treadmill - while still remaining below that threshold.0 -
First, congrat's on deciding to get healthy!!
Second, some good news:
"Most weight loss occurs because of decreased caloric intake.
However, evidence shows the only way to maintain weight loss is to be engaged in regular physical activity."
http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/physical_activity/index.html
Third, find a professional. Maybe insurance will cover it, because you have a heart problem.
Here's where you can search for people in your area who are certified by the American College of Sports Medicine:
http://members.acsm.org/source/custom/Online_locator/OnlineLocator.cfm
A personal trainer is NOT able to deal with people with heart problems. They're just not trained for the extra risk. They could work with you once you've been evaluated by someone with more training, but following the program set out for you, not advising you on it in the first place. They could help you learn the machines in your gym (see below - get a new gym).
A fitness professional, or your doctor.Where can I find gym plans/workouts for heavy women that is heart safe?
And I agree that you don't need a workout for "heavy women", you need a cardio-safe plan.
Lifting light to medium weights is fine, light cardio is probably fine (slow on the treadmill or recumbant bike).
And yes, start lifting weights now. It's more of a struggle for your heart to push blood through fat, and you want to keep your muscles, and you want to even build muscle.
********************
As for your gym being expensive, go to Planet Fitness. $10 a month.
There's a Planet Fitness in Southgate: 734.281.7828; 13591 Eureka Road; Southgate, MI; 48195
And in Taylor: 734.947.9119; 11420 Telegraph Rd.; Taylor, MI; 48180
That's $10 a month and they (usually) have trainers on staff who can work with you once you have a cardio-safe plan.
And because the staff at your current gym has been rude to you, talk with the manager, or write to the head office if it's a national chain.
There's NO excuse for their behaviour!
They're welcome to think it to themselves, or even talk in the employee area, but it should NEVER show when they're interacting with you or any other customer.
I would be furious.
Get set up with Planet Fitness, then get a refund of everything you've paid this current gym, plus an apology.
Heck, a long time ago when I was pregnant I was using a community clinic, and WIC, because I was very poor.
One day I passed a group of doctors chatting in the hallway about how people sponge off the system, WIC is a waste, etc., and I just stopped & let them have it with both barrels.
I didn't hold back anything about how rotten I thought they were acting, how lousy an attitude they had, how ignorant they were, how helpful WIC is toward having healthy babies...
They listened in complete silence, then slunk away.
Went on to the WIC lady's office (she'd been escorting me) and once the door was closed she congratulated me, said she'd wanted to tear into them herself frequently, but couldn't get away with it & keep her job.
Being a client, plus being pregnant (very very pregnant at that point), there wasn't a whole heck of a lot they could do to me. (You just don't argue with a pregnant woman. You're not going to win. Ever. Even if she is wrong, which I wasn't, you're going to make her cry, because hormones, and you'll look like a cad.)
1. Already follow a reduced caloric intake diet based upon weight, age, activity, and etc
2. I work out 5 days a week, starting a month ago
3. Ugh, I wish I had a Planet Fitness near here. I would go to the one you mentioned, but that is now 2 1/2 hours from where I moved to. There literally isn't a planet fitness within a 2 hour driving radius. It sucks, cause I loooove Planet Fitness. Heck, if I lived where I used to I'd be going to the rec center gym I went to. It was biking distance from my house, affordable, and had a variety of classes full of people with similar struggles.
Thanks for the lift advice. I kind of got discouraged in that zone because I regularly hear how "fat people shouldn't lift" because their muscle is covered by fat and just a bunch of BS that really shouldn't discouraged me but explained why people got annoyed at me slowing down their lift routines by using the weight machines and variety other weights. We have a lot of meathead lifters. I left early today because they all were acting like frat boys.
I could try looking into the healthcare stuff, but it might need to wait until I can get a different insurance. I have an BCN, and it doesn't cover the section of Ohio I am in.
Thank you
Also, props on ripping into them! I hate when people say things like that. Its not a waste, and there are various programs that are very necessary. They look at the few who abuse it and not at the people who need it. I don't personally receive any form of assistance (though I most likely qualify, but I can handle my expenses now, I just don't have much extra money), but I am happy to be paying in taxes to help those who need it.0 -
Usually when you get a new gym membership, they will give you a free hour with a personal trainer. That is good business for the gym because it encourages people to know about and use their personal trainer services. There should be no obligation to continue their services after your free session. What you can get from this is the exercises that you can do that will not compromise your heart condition. Did your doctor give you any exercise restrictions or cautions when you were seeing him? Make use of any advice that you were given to develop or modify exercise routines. Do you have a way to tell if you are over-exerting your heart? Use those cues to carefully push your limits. Do they have a pool? If so, get in there if only to walk (with only short bursts of faster walking or running) for an hour (this works on the treadmill also). Do they offer classes included in the membership without extra fee? If so, start with those meant for beginners and then add more challenges as you grow stronger and your weight goes down.
Your gym, being the only game in town, sounds a bit snooty. Allowing their employees to be unprofessional and unhelpful because they have no competition is no excuse. You are paying dearly for your membership. You deserve to be able to take advantage of every benefit that they have. Follow their rules. If there is a time limit on certain machines, adhere to the time limit. Do what you can today. Don't worry about it. You will be able to do a little more tomorrow. Hold your head up high and ignore the dirty looks and the snooty comments. Develop your own routine. Sooner or later the other members will get used to you doing "your thing" and the dirty looks and comments will stop because they will have no effect on you. Befriend anyone who also seems to be getting the same silent or unhelpful treatment. They will be grateful for the support and they too will be less likely to be driven out by the negative atmosphere. Look for any free services offered in the community that might help you with weight loss, nutrition or even to see a doctor. If you don't find any, there really are a lot of people on MFP who want to help. Ignore the non-advice and ego-flexing. There will always be some of that. Try some of the suggestions made by people who really want to help. Modify them as needed to support your heart condition and your budget. Hang in there. You deserve a better life and you can make that happen.0 -
Start with walking on the treadmill and getting on the stationary bike. You don't have to go all out from day one.
Please do consult your cardiologist though. Better safe than sorry.
Congratulations on taking this big first step
^^THIS
The treadmill should be able to keep track of your heart rate for you. Keeping your heart rate under 115 or so should be perfectly heart-safe. At this point, *any* physical activity is going to be a positive for you. Keep trying to improve the amount of time you are walking on the treadmill....Once you've worked up to an hour while maintaining a sub-115 heart rate, then you can work on increasing your speed and/or the incline of the treadmill - while still remaining below that threshold.
Thanks. At the moment I do about 20 minutes on the treadmill and 60 (divided in half) on an octane seated elliptical. Thats mainly what I am trying to do, just get moving. I know anything is better than nothing. I just feel so disorganized. I have trouble getting my heart rate measured on it for some reason, so am saving money here and there and researching heart rate monitors. Actually, if anyone knows any good ones that won't break my bank account I'd love suggestions.0 -
"I never have had to lose this much weight"
So lose 5 lb. You can do that, right?
Should be about a month, if you cut 500 cal per day from what you need to eat to maintain your current weight.
Faster if you also exercise.
Forget about the big, impossible, scary, triple-digit number.
5 lb.
Then do it again.
Make a list of every 5 lb lost, every time you go down 1 BMI number, every 5% of your starting weight you've lost - all the small goals.
Then forget about the big one. It's out there, waiting, but look at the small achievable steps.
Every time you hit one, record the date next to it on the list.
I'm constantly amazed at how much I've lost, and I'm almost halfway to my ultimate goal (6 lb to go), but I've been recording the dates for every small step & trying not to stress about how far I have to go.0 -
Heck, a long time ago when I was pregnant I was using a community clinic, and WIC, because I was very poor.
One day I passed a group of doctors chatting in the hallway about how people sponge off the system, WIC is a waste, etc., and I just stopped & let them have it with both barrels.
I didn't hold back anything about how rotten I thought they were acting, how lousy an attitude they had, how ignorant they were, how helpful WIC is toward having healthy babies...
They listened in complete silence, then slunk away.
Went on to the WIC lady's office (she'd been escorting me) and once the door was closed she congratulated me, said she'd wanted to tear into them herself frequently, but couldn't get away with it & keep her job.
Being a client, plus being pregnant (very very pregnant at that point), there wasn't a whole heck of a lot they could do to me. (You just don't argue with a pregnant woman. You're not going to win. Ever. Even if she is wrong, which I wasn't, you're going to make her cry, because hormones, and you'll look like a cad.)
I just love this post. Sometimes you've just gotta say what needs to be said.
[/quote]0 -
Usually when you get a new gym membership, they will give you a free hour with a personal trainer. That is good business for the gym because it encourages people to know about and use their personal trainer services. There should be no obligation to continue their services after your free session. What you can get from this is the exercises that you can do that will not compromise your heart condition. Did your doctor give you any exercise restrictions or cautions when you were seeing him? Make use of any advice that you were given to develop or modify exercise routines. Do you have a way to tell if you are over-exerting your heart? Use those cues to carefully push your limits. Do they have a pool? If so, get in there if only to walk (with only short bursts of faster walking or running) for an hour (this works on the treadmill also). Do they offer classes included in the membership without extra fee? If so, start with those meant for beginners and then add more challenges as you grow stronger and your weight goes down.
Your gym, being the only game in town, sounds a bit snooty. Allowing their employees to be unprofessional and unhelpful because they have no competition is no excuse. You are paying dearly for your membership. You deserve to be able to take advantage of every benefit that they have. Follow their rules. If there is a time limit on certain machines, adhere to the time limit. Do what you can today. Don't worry about it. You will be able to do a little more tomorrow. Hold your head up high and ignore the dirty looks and the snooty comments. Develop your own routine. Sooner or later the other members will get used to you doing "your thing" and the dirty looks and comments will stop because they will have no effect on you. Befriend anyone who also seems to be getting the same silent or unhelpful treatment. They will be grateful for the support and they too will be less likely to be driven out by the negative atmosphere. Look for any free services offered in the community that might help you with weight loss, nutrition or even to see a doctor. If you don't find any, there really are a lot of people on MFP who want to help. Ignore the non-advice and ego-flexing. There will always be some of that. Try some of the suggestions made by people who really want to help. Modify them as needed to support your heart condition and your budget. Hang in there. You deserve a better life and you can make that happen.
I looked into it, but my gym doesn't offer a free training session, only a free health assessment but from what I heard they are only going to tell me what I already know. What my BMI is, what my BMR is, yada yada yada.
I do have symptoms that tell me when I am overdoing it. My throat and chest get really hot and burn, my heart beat gets really hard, uneven, and sometimes strangely slow. It gets really really difficult to breathe and I start wheezing or coughing. Not normal "jeez I'm out of shape" breathing, its dangerous breathing.
The problem with my heart is my aortic valve is supposed to be tricuspid, but during fetal development I only have two. So rather than opening and sealing properly, its more like when you make a fist puppet talk. They thought I had asthma for a while, until by chance at a checkup they caught the sound of regurge- blood washing back through the valve and into my left ventricle. Over time, the valve will narrow and weaken. The regurgitation can stretch and stress the ventricle. Which is why I need to be careful with how I workout. Its not as bad to replace the valve, but if I damage my left ventricle I'd probably need a new heart at some point. If I damage it bad enough I could die.
I was only told to monitor my symptoms, come in if I have any concerns or issues, get two full ekg's and etc a year, lose weight, and be safe with the stress I put on my heart. The last time I saw him he never said any serious restrictions, but I have recently found out I need to be careful about how much weight I lift if I choose (if I can't easily do 30 reps, I shouldn't be lifting it). As always, I need to be cautious about my cardio. Light cardio exercise is ideal.
Unfortunately theres a fee for everything but the health assessment.
They don't have a pool, but the owner is hoping to get his own building rather than rent (which wouldn't be good for me, I walk to the gym *no license at the moment*) so he can have one. The owner isn't that bad, I just have only seen him twice. I keep trying to set up a meeting with him but he's never available. All the trainers say to talk to him about anything and everything
he's probably the only qualified person.
I've been keeping an eye out for a friend or two, but I'm not interested in making friends with the guys, and all the girls seem to be the champions of the gym. These women are ripped. I don't think they get new out of shape members often. Its a small town. At least at the early hours I go.
thank you for the support and help, its appreciated.0 -
"I never have had to lose this much weight"
So lose 5 lb. You can do that, right?
Should be about a month, if you cut 500 cal per day from what you need to eat to maintain your current weight.
Faster if you also exercise.
Forget about the big, impossible, scary, triple-digit number.
5 lb.
Then do it again.
Make a list of every 5 lb lost, every time you go down 1 BMI number, every 5% of your starting weight you've lost - all the small goals.
Then forget about the big one. It's out there, waiting, but look at the small achievable steps.
Every time you hit one, record the date next to it on the list.
I'm constantly amazed at how much I've lost, and I'm almost halfway to my ultimate goal (6 lb to go), but I've been recording the dates for every small step & trying not to stress about how far I have to go.
Thats a really good idea. I am going to try that. It sounds like something that can play into my needs.
Because of my disorder, I kind of have an obsession with lists, planning, and organization. I was shown that to have stability I need organization and a routine. I love charts and all that, it makes my life feel less chaotic. That could be something I incorporate. Small victories are motivating.
The not fun part about the triple digit is that I have trouble knowing how to move in this body. Exercises I did don't necessarily work well in the body I have now. Some of them are hard, others feel impossible. I need new methods.0
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