How to Start Exercising When Obese
lewiston22
Posts: 3 Member
I am well over 100 pounds overweight. I can't exactly walk 10k in a day, let alone 1k. What can I do that will be encouraging to start? I get depressed trying to do the basics because I'm not fit. Duh.
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Because of your weight, there will be more stress on your joints which could cause pain... so I would advise low impact activities such as swimming. I'd also recommend consulting your GP...0
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OP do what you are able to do. If it starts with walking that is a good start.0
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I started at 364lbs and I started by going to the pool, waterfit, walking, etc. There is also a lot of plus size workout videos on youtube that are lower impact. My personal favorite is #PSPFit. If you find the workout too strenuous they recommend just sitting and doing the arm portion. Any movement helps.0
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This is my suggestion:
- This week aim to walk 10-15 minutes on three days (try every other day.)
- Next week aim to alk 15-20 minutes on three days (every other day.)
- The next week either add another 15-20 minute walk, taking you to four, or add another 5 minutes to each walk.
- After that keep lengthening your walks or adding more walking days.
Walking is fantastic exercise. You already know how to do it. It takes no special equipment. And you can do it almost anywhere. If you can't go outside for some reason, walk in laps around your house. There is also a line of exercise videos by Lesley Sansone that are walking videos you can do in your living room.0 -
Started at 276 and could only do about 10-15 minutes of Richard Simmons and nearly a mile of Leslie Sansone Walk Away the Pounds. Just move and get your heart rate up. As the pounds come off you will be able to do more.0
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Walking and building up duration time is a good way. Walking doesn't require any special equipment and form doesn't have to be perfect to do it.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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If you can't swim, just moving under water is exercise that will not hurt your joints. If you walk do this.
It is how I started out. I love walking. What ever you do, make sure it is enjoyable for you so you can stick with it. Dancing, cycling what ever gets the large muscles of the body moving.This is my suggestion:- This week aim to walk 10-15 minutes on three days (try every other day.)
- Next week aim to alk 15-20 minutes on three days (every other day.)
- The next week either add another 15-20 minute walk, taking you to four, or add another 5 minutes to each walk.
- After that keep lengthening your walks or adding more walking days.
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I am well over 100 pounds overweight.
Last September I was 105 pounds over weight. I've lost 78 pounds since and honestly the first 40 pounds were probably the easiest. Dropping weight will help you enormously so focus on your dietary intake - set a reasonable daily deficit target you'll see progress.
As for exercise, just get out there and do what you can and add as you are able to. We are all much stronger than we think we are.
Can't walk 1km? Then walk around the block. Do that two or three times a day, each day, for a few days. Then try walking around two blocks. When your distance gets up there, maybe do a morning and evening walk instead.
Getting up off the couch or out from behind your desk is key; make it a habit and that will pay off in improved fitness. It's amazing how quickly the benefit can add up if you just make it a regular thing.
Last September I took up running because years before I'd been a runner and wanted to be again. I couldn't run 1km without stopping to wheeze and I found that very demoralizing because I knew how far I had to go to get back in shape. But... I didn't give up. Within a few months I was running 5km, just by slowly working at it, running two or three times a week and keeping up my regular walking. By spring I was running 10 - 15km. Now I can run 25km and more.
Often when we start down this seemingly endless road getting to the end goal is all we can think about. Don't focus only on the end goal, because the health benefits of eating right and exercise will come to you MUCH sooner than that. I've been quite fit for months now and it's made a huge and positive difference in my life, even though my end goal is still some months out.
Just get going and don't stop!0 -
Thanks all. My limit walking so far is about five minutes at once. I live where it's really hilly and I can't make it up one hill so I use my treadmill instead and set the speed to 2.2 and the incline to 2.0. After five minutes I pretty much have to stop. I'll try to do those five minutes three times a day.
@karliebethell Thanks for the tip about the YT videos. I have some Sansone ones but like most exercise related items in my house, I buy them, then they collect dust. :-(0 -
Walk or swim, start with 5 minutes and keep adding a few minutes or 100m each day. that way you make progress. Accept whatever level of fitness you are at and watch yourself improve.0
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In addition to walking and swimming, you could try cycling. It will take a while for your butt and hands to adapt to the pressure (I cycle year-round so as not to need to readapt every spring!), but once they do, you can go a lot farther and longer on a bike than walking, because you can coast when the terrain allows it and you can use the gears to adjust how much effort it takes.0
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Leslie Sansone Walk At Home videos......
These are low impact aerobics with zero choreography. The nice thing about no choreography....you can go at your own pace without getting lost, or having to "catch up." The nice thing about indoor "walking" is that it is excuse proof. It doesn't matter that it's 90° outside, or raining.....you just need a TV for DVDs, or a computer for on-line vidoes. Look for DVDs at your local library, Wal-Mart, Amazon....or videos on YouTube. My preference is DVDs with a "music only" option, I don't need instruction when the moves are straight forward.
Leslie
www.youtube.com/user/walkathomemedia
Jessica Smith and her Mom
www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhUR862hhIE0 -
Any activity to start is better than none, as long as it elevates your heart rate.
Find something you enjoy, that you can do for a period of at least 10 mins at a time.
You might find it beneficial to try low impact activities to start. Cycling, rowing, swimming, water aerobics, and other similar exercises can be good cardio workouts that are low inpact
Try to increase the duration by a couple mins each time you exercise, until you are up to 45+ mins each training day.
You can mix and match ( 15mins of this, then 15 mins of that ), as long as you maintain an elevated heart rate.
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Dust them off and get to walking, but if you are aware of Leslie, you will have to mute her. I love her, Denise Austin and Richard Simmons, they were the first to get me movie, but I have to mute her because she is so darn chatty. LOLlewiston22 wrote: »@karliebethell Thanks for the tip about the YT videos. I have some Sansone ones but like most exercise related items in my house, I buy them, then they collect dust. :-(
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You can walk 1K in a day, trust me.
Don't relay on exercise alone to lose weight. You should also create a deficit by cutting calories from your diet.0 -
yopeeps025 wrote: »OP do what you are able to do. If it starts with walking that is a good start.
I agree. Walking is a great non impact exercise that can be done at any pace and anytime.0 -
lewiston22 wrote: »Thanks all. My limit walking so far is about five minutes at once. I live where it's really hilly and I can't make it up one hill so I use my treadmill instead and set the speed to 2.2 and the incline to 2.0. After five minutes I pretty much have to stop. I'll try to do those five minutes three times a day.
(
What are your limiting factors right now? Is it joint/muscle pain? Or difficulty breathing? Both are generally limited by obesity and can be helped by losing weight, but I second the suggestion to see your doctor and talk through how you're feeling before proceeding to ensure there's nothing else at play such as an injury or asthma. If you can afford it, I'd also recommend seeing a physical therapist at least once- they may recommend a longer duration with less incline, or some other muscle strengthening work you can do for the painful areas.
Also, be patient with yourself. It really won't be long before you start seeing improvements. Focus on diet, and as you have less weight to carry (assuming no injuries) you'll find the exercise part easier. 18 months and 70 pounds ago I was out of breath climbing a single flight of stairs. I couldn't run 30 seconds at a time. 12 months ago I posted on here proud out of my mind for running a very sweaty mile in 15 minutes. Now I run a 5k with a 10 minute mile and who knows what 2016 will bring. You'll get there if you keep trying.0 -
Tater the husky dog aka FURSONAL trainer reporting for duty. YOU will borrow a dog. You will take him for his morning walk, or the owners will be very sorry and MAD AT YOUR that you didn't. YOU will play toss the ball around the room at night for the pup to chase, bending over to pick it up. YOU will walk the dog at night too. YOU will drive said dog to the dog park to play for an hour or two every Saturday AND Sunday. YOU will again toss balls for it or any dog that wants to chase the ball. That is all.
(My Siberian husky dog Tater is greatly enjoying all of this activity! He is my fursonal trainer. He only looks soft and furry. He has the soul of a Jillian Michaels. Every day at 0500 its “Time for the dogger walk! Are you going to take me out, or are you going to be sorry that you didn’t?” He always wins! And every night it’s “Ball! Ball! Ball!’ until I play with him. Saturday morning he woke me at 0345 for a brisk, 1 mile walk! At the dog park he barked at me to throw the ball so much, that my friend Patrick felt sorry for me and he started throwing the ball for Tater. Now Tater yells at Patrick too.)
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I started walking, swimming and performing light strength training.lewiston22 wrote: »I am well over 100 pounds overweight. I can't exactly walk 10k in a day, let alone 1k. What can I do that will be encouraging to start? I get depressed trying to do the basics because I'm not fit. Duh.
It's a start. Where you end up is all up to you.
I lost 100 pounds and now exercise 3 hours every day.
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I have 100# to lose. Terrible, old knees. Only way I walk is with Nordic poles. They help so much! I also like therabands for toning (good suggested exercises on You Tube). And I am trying to learn to hula hoop, with little success! My favorite, tho, is swimming.
It is scary to find yourself so out of shape that just walking is difficult. Choose your activity and stick with it. You'll see improvements sooner than you think!0 -
Cycling, swimming and walking are all good starters. try to do 30 minutes a day, every day, whilst eating healthily. After a week, try to add on 5 minutes a day.0
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there's a lot of GREAT advice here, Lewiston...I used to get winded going up a flight of stairs, so I feel your pain.
i'm literally three months into this. I started Memorial Day Weekend at 278 pounds, and clocked in at 237 this morning before work, and I'm pretty certain I'm probably the laziest dude ON this forum.
I started out, though, just as everyone else here mentioned...walking. i'd walk during my lunch hour at work, a little at first, and gradually a little farther. for me, i was walking a few miles per trip within just a couple of weeks, but that was the result of doing it EVERY SINGLE DAY.
after that came the bike...there's a rental program here in Nashville - kiosks all over the place, and with an annual membership, you can check a bike out on an unlimited basis, but you can only check it out for an hour at a time without incurring additional fees. So at first, it was all I could do to get from one end of the greenway to the other and back (about 8 miles) within the hour. after a couple of weeks, though - i found i had 6 or 7 minutes left over. then 10 minutes...so I increased the distance. now, i routinely get 10 miles in with at least 5 or 10 minutes left.
so...the next step is upon me - I just joined a gym, and have been going to the gym a minimum of every other day.
it gets easier. barring some physical issue that you may or may not be aware of, you may not even notice it...but i promise you that if you keep showing up, it'll get easier.
the other thing - and some folks have mentioned it - is diet.
i started walking and had just started biking when I joined MFP...and I'd been watching my diet, eliminating most carbs, and had some success. but let me tell you something...if you use this tool, and you log everything you eat, it's just like sticking to a financial budget - when you see the numbers laid out in front of you, I PROMISE IT WILL CHANGE THE WAY YOU EAT.
the first time i put "Progresso French Onion Soup" into MFP and saw what was in it, i never ate it again.
proof positive that much of what we process regarding likes and dislikes is much more mental than "sense of taste" based.
four months ago, if pasta were a controlled substance, i'd have been standing on street corners and doing unspeakable things for a bowl of linguini with meat sauce...there isn't a single pasta item in my house right now, and i don't really miss it, either, because there's so much stuff that i CAN have that i love that it fills the void just fine.
Bottom line: the investment here is twofold. it's an investment of time...taking the time to force yourself up onto your feet and put the work in, and spend the time necessary to move yourself forward - but also an investment of mental energy. A lot of this transformation boils down to altering lifestyle choices, and that's not a matter of flipping a switch...you have to expend a LOT more scrutiny, you have to be a lot more self-aware, you have to log things, you have to pay attention to numbers that you never thought about before...
But if you can expend the time and the mental energy, i'm certain you'll be rewarded for it.
So go on with your bad self.0 -
lewiston22 wrote: »Thanks all. My limit walking so far is about five minutes at once. I live where it's really hilly and I can't make it up one hill so I use my treadmill instead and set the speed to 2.2 and the incline to 2.0. After five minutes I pretty much have to stop. I'll try to do those five minutes three times a day.
You have the correct approach right there - Starting where you are and doing what you can do. Over time, you can increase rate, time, or number of times on the treadmill. You don't need to overdo it...slow steady progress is far better than beating yourself into submission.
I don't now that you really need the incline - just go flat if you want.
If you find you want to go outdoors, there are lots of alternatives. Walk the outside of a local baseball field, use the local track (if there is one), walk through malls/stores, a flat parking lot of a school or store, etc, etc. Other tricks are to park a little further out when going to the store, get up and walk around the house/office a couple times an hour, take the long way to the coffee machine or bathroom. I had a buddy that worked in a store and he just took the long way to each task and walked the store during breaks. I spend a lot of time on the phone so I use my cell and go pace on my deck or in my driveway.
Be persistent and patient and you will make progress.
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I'm in awe of all of you who have made strides in getting to a healthy weight. And I am weeping at all the encouragement and good advice you are sending my way.
My limitations as far as exercise are less physical and more emotional. I'm embarrassed to go out because of my weight and I don't own a bathing suit. For now, until I get some confidence, I prefer exercising in my own home, so that means treadmill walking and exercise videos. I hear all your ideas and think they are great and that I should do them, but I'm taking teeny teeny baby steps. I am hoping by entering this community, I've taken step one.
Thanks again.0 -
walking its about all you need to start. if you feel like really pushing yourself and your knees can take it find a flight of stairs and walk up and down them.0
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lewiston22 wrote: »I am well over 100 pounds overweight. I can't exactly walk 10k in a day, let alone 1k. What can I do that will be encouraging to start? I get depressed trying to do the basics because I'm not fit. Duh.
You need to get to 1k walking. Start by doing a block and back.
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lewiston22 wrote: »For now, until I get some confidence, I prefer exercising in my own home, so that means treadmill walking and exercise videos.
Thanks again.
can I recommend reducing the incline setting on your treadmill? just for now, until you're more accustomed to walking regularly, 2.0 might be a bit much for you. start at zero or 0.5 and go from there.
Rome wasn't built in a day.
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hamptontom wrote: »lewiston22 wrote: »For now, until I get some confidence, I prefer exercising in my own home, so that means treadmill walking and exercise videos.
Thanks again.
can I recommend reducing the incline setting on your treadmill? just for now, until you're more accustomed to walking regularly, 2.0 might be a bit much for you. start at zero or 0.5 and go from there.
Rome wasn't built in a day.
I don't recommend that. Unless treadmill is at a slight incline (1-2%) you end up with a different walking gait than you do when walking on actual ground. IMO, OP is in a place where as close as possible to "natural" is a good idea.
IMO, etc, and anything is better than nothing...0 -
i had no idea that'd have any kind of residual effect.
(puts on NOOB dunce cap and sits in corner)0 -
lewiston22 wrote: »Thanks all. My limit walking so far is about five minutes at once. I live where it's really hilly and I can't make it up one hill so I use my treadmill instead and set the speed to 2.2 and the incline to 2.0. After five minutes I pretty much have to stop. I'll try to do those five minutes three times a day.
@karliebethell Thanks for the tip about the YT videos. I have some Sansone ones but like most exercise related items in my house, I buy them, then they collect dust. :-(
Walk for 5 min a few times a day. Get a pedometer such as fitbit to track your progress. Find a park, mall etc that had some level area where u can walk. You will be able increase faster than u think.
I started 14 months ago 150 pds overweight. Couldn't walk more than 1/4 me without rest. I couldn't walk up my own steep driveway without stopping. I could not walk in my neighborhood bc of the hills.
My goal for 1 yr was to walk 1 mile without stopping. I achieved this in less than 3 months and was also able to start walking the hills in my neighborhood. I also did, and still do, strength training with a personal trsiner 2-3x/ week.
After 1 year I walked a 10k without stopping, @ 17 min/mile. I can easily climb hills worth 30 floors at a time. I've lost 100 pounds in 14 months.
I tell you this to encourage you, but your progress will be different than mine. Start today and DO NOT STOP until u reach ur goals.
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