546 pounds...

Options
tommiebear14
tommiebear14 Posts: 3 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I am a rather large guy. My entire upper half (mostly the belly) is my largest part. It creates back problems and makes shopping for clothing nearly impossible.
I am wanting to lose nearly half to 3/4ths of this body weight. I'm 5'9 in height. I want to weigh somewhere between 225-300 the max. I have stopped drinking soda for nearly 2 and a half months. Drink nothing but water 95% of the time, if I'm out it's sweet tea or this SoBe water. That's a rare treat usually on the weekends for that.
I'm wanting to start exercises that can start to help me. Right now walking hurts my back after just a few minutes. I want to be able to take my life back. Any suggestions, videos even, would help.

Replies

  • ShrinkingViolet1982
    ShrinkingViolet1982 Posts: 919 Member
    Options
    Cutting out soda was an excellent choice. I did too, and it really makes a difference. It sounds like you would benefit from exercise that can be done sitting down, to minimize strain on your body. A google search came up with loads of exercises done in a chair or couch, and if you combine that with serious food control, you could be well on your way! Good luck, add me if you want support :)
  • edlanglais5
    edlanglais5 Posts: 172 Member
    Options
    Consider joining a gym. Stationary bikes are great for low impact. Many with severe weight issues are apprehensive of gyms but everyone there will end up being supportive, I trust.
  • noirelb
    noirelb Posts: 216 Member
    Options
    1 - If you have the money, buy a recumbent stationary bike (MUCH easier to sit on with a big bum - I include myself in this comment!). Any show you watch (I'm assuming you watch TV), tell yourself you are not allowed to watch a thing unless you are on that bike pedaling. Otherwise you have to be working, making healthy food and chores...
    2 - In a set of plate (dishes) there's normally at least 2 sizes. Take your big plates and hide them away for a long time. Take the small plates and only allow yourself 3 meals on that and 2 healthy snacks during the day. Make sure the plate contains lean protein and half of it is covered with vegetables.
    3 - Drink LOTS of water, it helps a lot with weight loss and you will be walking to the washroom every 30 minutes. I mean 1 gallon-ish of water or more.

    Just these 3 things will make you lose lots of weight without being overwhelmed. Once you lost enough that you are very motivated and hurt much less because you weigh less and are healthier, then start calorie counting and incorporate other activities.

    Also if you do cheat (dinner party, Christmas, birthdays) have a cheat meal, not a cheat day.
  • noirelb
    noirelb Posts: 216 Member
    Options
    ** if you don't have as much money, get a used recumbent bike! - Kijiji?? not sure if that works in your country!
  • noirelb
    noirelb Posts: 216 Member
    Options
    Oh also!! Take a full body picture in your shorts - no need to show it if you don't want to but I regret not doing it and it will motivate you tremendously when you look at it in a few months from now.
  • bruby28
    bruby28 Posts: 4,123 Member
    Options
    Good job cutting out soda , you should see weight loss just from that since soda is so high in calories and sugars. I would suggest joining a gym maybe doing water exercises at the pool , stationary bike and work your way up to walking a little more each week . You can do a lot of arm exercises seated and leg exercises . Log your foods , everything on mfp and stick to good old water and lots of it ! You can do it :smile:
  • AliceDark
    AliceDark Posts: 3,886 Member
    Options
    Great job cutting out soda! Have you started logging your food yet? If not, I'd highly recommend that as a next step. Weight loss is far more influenced by diet than it is by exercise, so you can start seeing some real progress just with food first, which will likely make exercise easier as you go.

    Chair exercises would be great. If you have access to a gym, riding a recumbent bike or just walking in the pool would be good as well. If you can walk for a few minutes, start doing that. Stop before it starts to hurt, rest, and then try again when you're ready. It probably seems really overwhelming now, but little things will add up quickly.

    Have you spent any time in the Success Stories forum? Some MFP users have lost crazy amounts of weight and have been really successful. You're not the only person who has started from 500+ pounds -- I was trying to find CyberEd's site but it looks like he's not running it any longer, but this thread has some of his story: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1357291/super-obese-why-isnt-the-weight-falling-off-me/p6
  • noirelb
    noirelb Posts: 216 Member
    Options
    https://www.amazon.com/My-Weigh-XL-550-Talking-Bathroom/dp/B0014ZQH84?th=1

    https://www.amazon.com/Extra-Talking-Scale-Glass-15X12/dp/B007AZ77HC/ref=sr_1_17_s_it?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1501180720&sr=1-17&refinements=p_n_feature_keywords_two_browse-bin:7059739011

    and get a scale on amazon! Again, if you have the money :smile:
  • sarahmariedaigle
    sarahmariedaigle Posts: 29 Member
    Options
    Great job taking control! Cutting out soda should have a positive impact. Log everything you eat. And if you really want to try exercising start small. Maybe sitting and lifting weights. It burns more calories than you think even with just lifting two pounds! Good luck to you. Add me if you'd like!
  • tommiebear14
    tommiebear14 Posts: 3 Member
    Options
    Thank you all for all the positive advice. Yeah I don't work at the moment so I try to get things when I can convince my parents to get it if they can afford it. We live paycheck to paycheck right now since I'm not working and that bothers me alone right there.
  • noirelb
    noirelb Posts: 216 Member
    Options
    tommiebear14 wrote: »
    Thank you all for all the positive advice. Yeah I don't work at the moment so I try to get things when I can convince my parents to get it if they can afford it. We live paycheck to paycheck right now since I'm not working and that bothers me alone right there.

    Ok that's perfect in some ways because you can focus on weight loss and clearly cannot afford a bike but just simply walking a bit once you lose 20-30lbs will be doable. If you follow the dieting tips up there, losing 30lbs will be super easy for you!!. Once you can start working you can then think of getting a bike for home or gym membership. Also, eating less will make the bills go down and just helping your mom with dishes and laundry or vacuuming will make you move and lose calories.
  • noirelb
    noirelb Posts: 216 Member
    edited August 2017
    Options
    also, make your weekly goal on MFP based on 2lbs/week. it says to eat over 3000 calories for the moment but if you add 500lbs at 5'9'' with 2lbs/week loss it's about 2800 calories which is plenty. You will be able to sustain that and lose weight!

    Also cheap things to add to your diet, ask your mom to get:
    - bananas (cheap, filling)
    - rice
    - eggs (very filling)
    - canned or frozen vegetables
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,728 Member
    Options
    bruby28 wrote: »
    Good job cutting out soda , you should see weight loss just from that since soda is so high in calories and sugars. I would suggest joining a gym maybe doing water exercises at the pool , stationary bike and work your way up to walking a little more each week . You can do a lot of arm exercises seated and leg exercises . Log your foods , everything on mfp and stick to good old water and lots of it ! You can do it :smile:

    Swapping soda for Sweet tea isn't necessarily helpful.
  • try2again
    try2again Posts: 3,562 Member
    Options
    Agree that you just need to be concentrating on your calories right now, but just thought I'd share this. I had a friend on a different weight loss website that started out very obese and with little mobility. She simply made it a rule that she had to get up & walk down the hall & back during commercials on t.v.. Many months later, she was walking several miles a day. Don't underestimate the power of simple movement. :)
  • noirelb
    noirelb Posts: 216 Member
    Options
    try2again wrote: »
    Agree that you just need to be concentrating on your calories right now, but just thought I'd share this. I had a friend on a different weight loss website that started out very obese and with little mobility. She simply made it a rule that she had to get up & walk down the hall & back during commercials on t.v.. Many months later, she was walking several miles a day. Don't underestimate the power of simple movement. :)

    That's an awesome idea, especially if you stay home all day. Plus if you drink 4 liter plus of water per day you may have to add washroom breaks as well.
  • Penthesilea514
    Penthesilea514 Posts: 1,189 Member
    Options
    I just want to add my congratulations on taking the initiative. You can totally do this. I started just with walking because I couldn't do much else- it really does help a lot. You got a lot of good advice above, just remember that you don't have to make lots of huge changes all at once- starting with small goals (water, walking, etc.) and they will start to add up. Good luck!!

Categories