super fat , working out is hard.. what are good ways to star

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  • Purple_Orchid_87
    Purple_Orchid_87 Posts: 517 Member
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    i started at 292.5lbs and refused to go the a gym because im super self conscious that ppl would stare at me for not being able to do stuff - I started walking around my area, getting off the bus one stop early and taking a slow walk home etc

    When I do go walking, i'm really conscious of ppl looking at me but part of losing weight is to deal with that side of things - i lacked motivation, thought of a gym buddy, but then realised that im the kind of person that would end up staying at home if the gym buddy was away on holiday, or sick...

    If your boyfriend is able to support you and encourage you then that's great - the thing to remember is that its YOUR journey - I know I wouldnt be able to go to the gym with a boyfriend because of being so self conscious but thats just me

    I have been on here for 4 weeks and, although i've done quite well on paper, I know I am no where close to feeling comfortable at a gym - am really lucky, I have a 7 mile coastline with proper paths literally on my doorstep - who needs to pay gym memberships when I can walk for free in the summer evenings - am saving the gym for the cold wet nights of the Irish winters
  • WifedUpMartin
    WifedUpMartin Posts: 167 Member
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    i usually go on the recumbant bike but it seems my butt has gotton to big for it... so i have to find other options.

    i use to be able to do some cardio machine for like 30 min nonstop but now after about 5 i feel as if im going to die,


    I know how you feel. I just went to the gym for the first time in a long time last night and after 5 mins on the elliptical I wanted to die! I ended up pushing through it and was so happy by the end. You could do some time on the elliptical, then walking slow on the treadmill as a cool down period. After that try stretching or some yoga to stretch out the time you have left.
  • Purple_Orchid_87
    Purple_Orchid_87 Posts: 517 Member
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    i use to be able to do some cardio machine for like 30 min nonstop but now after about 5 i feel as if im going to die,

    A male friend of mine came walking with me one evening and he actually stopped after like 20 minutes and said I wasnt breathing! I asked him what he meant and he said i was holding my breath, and when i did breath, i was breathing in and out through my mouth. Sounds dumb I know but that's just how i breath - he stood with me for 5 minutes actually teaching me to breath in through my nose and out through my mouth, we walked for another ten minutes with him telling me 'breathe in through your nose' *pause* 'and out through your mouth'

    In all seriousness, now I actually know how to regulate my breathing when walking, I dont get a stitch, I don't feel dizzy and I can walk further. I swear I couldnt walk for 10 minutes before without feeling sick, dizzy and then giving up - now I can walk for just over 90 minutes at an average of 3.0mph (CardioTrainer) and yeah, when I get home and sit down i'm shattered and feel like my heart is gonna jump out of my chest, but it's really amazing how just learning tom breathe has helped me...
  • MinaLaChangita
    MinaLaChangita Posts: 10
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    Slow and steady beats the race.

    -stay positive.
  • olyrose
    olyrose Posts: 569 Member
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    this happend with me and my husband who is a muay thai fighter... I had to sit down with him and explain to him that i need to do this with baby steps. men just dont get it sometimes! LOL

    haha my boyfriend was the same way. He's a boxer and does mma, so he's used to hardcore workouts. I started going to the gym feeling pretty good about the 45 minutes I put in, and he would insist that anything under 2 hours is useless, and if I can walk and use my arms when I'm leaving then I didn't put enough energy into it.

    baby steps, start slow, I love the elliptical because it's low impact and easy to start with. try using the stability ball for free weights. You can sit on it and do bicep curls, tricep kickbacks, crunches, squats. Any beginners moves work on it.

    Good luck, and the more you do it, the better you'll be!
  • pbjelly524
    pbjelly524 Posts: 14
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    im just super frustrated cause it makes me feel like **** that i cant do anything!!

    I know the feeling! I started at 220 and almost 30 years old. I was inspired though when I saw this woman, twice my age and weight who was there EVERY day!! My husband was in way better shape than me and killing it on the elliptical and I was going at a much slower pace and felt like such a loser! Then, there was this woman (her name is Sue) and she was going even slower than me, but she was so dedicated I was a bit in awe. I figured if she can do it then so can I!! Everyone has to start somewhere. If your on the treadmill or the elliptical or the stair climber make sure you're doing it at the pace that's right for you! Don't try to keep the same pace as your boyfriend. Cardio is about your heart rate and most of those machines will tell you what yours is, just work at the pace that keeps it in the right range and don't kill yourself!! And remember that it will get easier and you will get faster, but Rome wasn't built in a day! So just keep on truckin!! You'll get there. :)
    Also, it might help if you don't go with him, if that's an option. There are some friends I've gone with once or twice and decided it just wasn't a good match up. We're at such different places it's just hard to work out with them.
  • kasmir8199
    kasmir8199 Posts: 507 Member
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    im just super frustrated cause it makes me feel like **** that i cant do anything!!

    You can and will anything and everything that you want, girl. You just have to work your way up. I've been there. What used to frustrate me is that I used to be so active with martial arts and weight training and I enjoyed these things, but after about 7 years of LIFE, I got completely out of shape. I wanted to jump back into training, but my cardio wasn't up for it. I'd definitely say do some light cardio to warm up, and try to do some simple weight lifting for 30 mins. Your boyfriend can help you on this and/or you can do them together. After that, try to do at least 30 minutes of cardio (walking on the treadmill, stationary bike, stair climbing, elliptical...even a mix of these would be great). You'll be able to capitalize on the burn from the weight training by doing that stint of cardio immediately following. I've had great results doing this routine.

    You CAN do this.

    If you want, you can supplement these workouts with an at-home routine. Turbo Jam is great cardio. You can get it from Beachbody or you can find it on Amazon. Highly recommended.
  • vcmorse
    vcmorse Posts: 18
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    thats funny because sometimes when im walking with people or doing excersizing around others i will hold my breath becasue i dont want them to hear me panting
  • ashleymcquown
    ashleymcquown Posts: 80
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    see if you can convince your BF to do something fun for exercise. i love going on hikes (there are shorter, less hilly trails for beginners), roller skating, dancing, or walking around an amusement park or zoo (three hours of wandering around equals a LOT of exercise). if you have a dog at home, commit to going for a walk around your neighborhood for 20 min....even if can only walk for 10, you're off to a great start : ) the key is to make it realistic so you can stick with it.
  • care28
    care28 Posts: 28
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    If the bf likes to go for 2-3 hours...tell him you'll meet him at the treadmill for his last hour. Then go your own pace.
  • Purple_Orchid_87
    Purple_Orchid_87 Posts: 517 Member
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    thats funny because sometimes when im walking with people or doing excersizing around others i will hold my breath becasue i dont want them to hear me panting
    I wont walk and be on my mobile at the same time because i know i sound like a panting dog - again, self conscious
    some people are not in the right place in themselves to be able to deal with losing weight, dealing with the ups as well as the downs, being too critical, and actually becoming obsessed with food - I see so many people who put themselves down time and time again, and I remember when I was like that, and then sitting in bed stuffing 6 bags of crisps into me for comfort - am only talking from my own experience, but I said year after year I would lose the weight, but would then put myself down and i never lost anything to write home about, now I'm in a much more positive frame of mind, with positive determination and motivation, and yes, i do still look in the mirror and see my lumps and bumps, of which i have LOADS, but I make myself pick out 3 things every morning that are positive about me, either physically or personality wise, and each thing has to be different for a week, so thats 21 different positive things a week - may sound big-headed and all but it really helps me - and if I have a bad time at work through the day, I just remember the 3 things from that morning
  • Purple_Orchid_87
    Purple_Orchid_87 Posts: 517 Member
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    If the bf likes to go for 2-3 hours...tell him you'll meet him at the treadmill for his last hour. Then go your own pace.
    this is a great idea - you will be motivated enough to go because you are meeting him, and you wont be conscious about sweating etc because he will already be in that scenario by the time u get ther (providing he has done a proper work out hehe)
  • LeonaB17
    LeonaB17 Posts: 304
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    When I was over 300 I started with walking and the elliptical machine. Granted when I was at my highest weight and I first started exercising again I could only handle about 15 - 20 minutes, but I gradually worked my way up. Now I walk several miles and jog some too. You just gotta take it one step at a time :)
  • KickassYas
    KickassYas Posts: 397 Member
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    im just super frustrated cause it makes me feel like **** that i cant do anything!!

    I want you to know that you have every right to feel this way and know that you're not alone. The first time I did Tae Bo i survived 15 minutes and then threw up. my boyfriend of 185lbs at the time... finished the dvd and couldn't understand why i didn't. i was 296 lbs at the time.

    i'm 308 now and this is me LOSING weight (almost 15lbs down). needless to say he and I aren't together anymore. but when we were, i sat him down and said simply "i love you but i'm not you. you can't expect me to do what you do. You want to help? be encouraging and not harsh. push me in a positive way. remind me why you are with me and let me do this for me."

    he did and i lost almost 30 lbs with his support.

    Soooo hit the treadmill. walk. walk at a pace that makes you just breathy enough to barely talk. he can run the treadmill next to you. he can support you in circuit. spot you on your sets and reps. work with a weight that when you reach the 10th rep, you feel the burn. if you don't feel the burn the weight is too light. move up a size. yoga. let him do yoga with you. if he complains tell him you hit the gym with him he could do yoga with you. its a compromise.

    and finally... do this for you not him. you deserve to be happy comfortable and loving toward yourself and in your own skin.

    by the way... get your hands on some Zumba Basic. its a 1 hour dvd that walks you through the steps. i still use it and burn like crazy doin it :) let him work zumba and try to keep up.

    :)
  • outersoul
    outersoul Posts: 711
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    First, you have to not only believe in yourself but you have to want it! You can do it. Being here is a great start. As others have said, go at your own pace and eventually you'll be going at it like a maniac.
  • dragonflies6
    dragonflies6 Posts: 52 Member
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    My husband used to be the same way and at times would even make fun of me (jokingly) about not being able to keep up. I finally had to tell him that I just cant walk as fast as he does and so I started using the elyptical....I love it (as much as you can love something that seems to want to kill you everytime you are on it). But it turns out, he can not do the elyptical so now when we go together we do different things and we both end up being there an hr and getting a great work out....I still however refuse to just go on a walk with him...Im 5'3" and he's 6'...he walks way faster than I can. You just have to figure out what works for you. I still struggle with getting motivated to even leave my house to exercise simply because I hate how I look but I know its to help me to become healthier and smaller, some days I suck it up and go, other days I crawl on the couch and kick myself later...its a working progress. Keep trying :)
  • lcoulter23
    lcoulter23 Posts: 568 Member
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    You can do anything you set your mind to girl! I am 325 pounds and I have only been on the elliptical 4 times, but I can stay on for 43 minutes, probably longer, but that's the longest I have been on it so far, and that's only because I had to get home so my hubby could go to his caseworker job at a local homeless shelter. Just start out slow, and if that means walking slowly or riding an exercise bike so be it!
  • xlacijeanx
    xlacijeanx Posts: 232 Member
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    SO, my boy friend wants me to go to the gym with him and im cool with that but, im like almost 300 and its really hard for me to keep up with him [170] , and he doesnt seem to get that i cannot do the same things as him.


    its really embarrassing telling your bf of two years that your too out of shape to do pretty much anything at the gym without feeling like im about to throw up or pass out..


    please someone suggest things that i can do at the gym without feeling like i am going to die ?

    thanks

    If your man doesn't understand you can't do it, tell him to go pick up 130lbs worth of weights and see if he can do his normal speed.. lol- Hey I know you don't want him knowing your weight (I didn't mention mine to my fiance until he asked where I started), but you weigh significantly more than he does, so he can't expect that you'd be able to do what he does, but remember to start slow- like what everyone else has said, treadmill, elliptical or swimming. I started at 345lbs, and all I could do was walk my neighborhood for a half hour each night- now I go hiking and do Biggest Loser workout videos- and I'm currently right under 300 :) Do what you can and just push yourself a few more minutes or speed it up every once in awhile and soon enough you'll be able to keep up with your man, but good luck- they like to show off!! lol
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,554 Member
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    You know, you've already taken the first step by deciding to do something active. So, congratulate yourself on this step and go the next...

    I'd suggest that you ask at the gym if they can work out a program for you - how long on the treadmill, which machines are best to start with etc. It is really hard to admit you need help from those lean and sexy gym people but they are probably going to be really nice and really helpful. That's their job and they need to keep people coming to their gym to stay in business.

    Then you can work at the pace that is best for you and the boyfriend can't complain because you are doing YOUR program!
    And don't feel you have to be there as long as he is - do they have a pool or spa where you can hang out for a while? Or do the time that is recommended for you then stop and read a magazine, or go wash your hair and paint your toenails in the locker room :)
  • Kkmama
    Kkmama Posts: 544 Member
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    Do what feels comfortable to you. Walk on the treadmill for 20 mins, just get your body moving. Anything you do is better than sitting on the couch. Ride the stationary bike. Don't worry about tension or resistance. Just get your heart pumping. Find some machines, hopefully a circuit that will show you what order to do the exercises. Start small. Baby steps. You can do this!

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