Please help with suggestions

RGLinc38
RGLinc38 Posts: 2 Member
edited November 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
Hi. I am a male over 300lbs. I am in search of a workout routine or some exercises that are low impact but effective. I have a torn acl in one knee and a torn meniscus in both knees. Any feedback is appreciated. I work in a factory and move close to 200 packages daily up to 100lbs. Standing and walking all day. About 8 to 10 thousand steps daily at work alone. Not enough so I am searching for new and hopefully exciting (or at least effectice) exercises. Thanks

Ron

Replies

  • fitoverfortymom
    fitoverfortymom Posts: 3,452 Member
    Have you asked a doctor or physical therapist what kind of exercise is appropriate for knees in that condition?Stationary bike is pretty common for those with knee issues.
  • rockymir
    rockymir Posts: 497 Member
    I suppose you do plenty of exercise already, and what you do for work is already probably not the best for your injuries. I'd focus on dieting, keep really consistent in tracking your calories and the weight will come off without further injury.
    And wow, this is the first time in my life I suggest not exercising more but yes, I do think you already have enough and further may not be beneficial.
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,488 Member
    If you feel like you want to exercise, you may want to look into swimming. It will give you a decent calorie burn and should not be detrimental to your knees.

    Do check with your doctor first though.

    I agree with the previous posters, there is no need to exercise, especially with your day job, a calorie deficit is all you need for weight loss

    Cheers, h.
  • DebLaBounty
    DebLaBounty Posts: 1,168 Member
    Wow, I had a torn meniscus (I twisted it to avoid getting hit by a car when I was in a crosswalk and an idiot driver ignored the stop sign). Ouch! Honestly, I'd recommend not doing much after your work day. You're already putting a lot of stress on your joints and muscles during your job. My doctor referred me to a physical therapist to learn some gentle exercises tailored specifically to my injury. They were all stationary moves, sometimes holding onto a wall or stair banister for balance. Have you had the chance to do that? I have seen people doing strenuous jobs wearing some pretty supportive work shoes, and hope you own a pair of those.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,247 Member
    At the risk of repeating what the others have asked....what is your goal? How do you define effective?

    Are you looking to lose weight? That's a function of eating fewer calories than you expend. As you're new to MFP I'll stick with the basic suggestion of diligently tracking / logging your food and maintaining a modest caloric deficit (MFP's default is 500 cal a day which, over time, should average out to about 1lb a week which is a very sustainable rate of loss)

    If you're looking for exercises to improve your overall well-being and cardiovascular health cycling, rowing & swimming come to mind as low impact and enjoyable activities. Given your knee issues though I'd second the recommendation to get input from a physiotherapist.

    Good luck!
  • RGLinc38
    RGLinc38 Posts: 2 Member
    My goal is to get down to about 225 eventually, but for now I would like to get to 275. Losing 25 lbs would be great. My heaviest was 360, about 4 years ago i found out i had diabetes. I lost over 50 lbs within 3 months and then plateaued. Struggled and got depressed. I have not gained any of that back but i also have not lost any more in the following 3 years.
    I obviously cannot run and pivoting is out of the question. I can walk with mostly no pain. Inclines definitely hurt my knees. Riding a bike isnt bad. My fear is I will start doing great with the weight loss but be stuck with access skin. So i would like to tone as i go. I do not think what i do at work is enough to accomplish toning enough to not have the access skin. Thanks for all the help

    Ron
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,247 Member
    As far as the excess skin goes it's almost impossible to avoid having some, it's largely a function of age, genetics & how long you were carrying the extra weight.

    https://mensfitness.com/weight-loss/burn-fat-fast/can-you-get-rid-loose-skin-after-major-weight-loss
  • Cherimoose
    Cherimoose Posts: 5,208 Member
    Exercises don't target skin. Strength training can slightly fill in loose skin, but the effect is overstated.. especially since your job is physical. If you choose to do strength training, get your Dr's approval first, then follow a proven program.

    About your plateau, you're probably eating more calories than you think (like most people). Weighing everything you eat on digital scale helps prevent that. Do you do that?
  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
    Honestly, nothing you can really do about loose skin so forget about it. Track your food and focus on that. You are in a better spot than I was when I started (~330 lb) in that I sit on my butt all day for work. Downside is once I started moving (walking) it had a bigger impact on me. But ~18 months later I'm at 210, so it can be done. Just realize it will be a couple of years before getting to you goal and be patient.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 38,074 Community Helper
    Seconding the idea that loose skin may not be as bad as you fear - you might want to look at some posts in the success stories area here, to get a better idea. Two things it may be helpful to know:

    1. Loose skin can keep shrinking for quite some time after we reach goal weight, so how you look day 1 on reaching goal is not necessarily how you'll look forever. (I saw improvements well into year 2 of maintenance).

    2. Along the way - i.e. at partial weight loss - things can look worse before they start looking better - but it's temporary. I think what happens for some of us is that the remaining fat mass gets less dense, rather than kinda melting from the outside layer down to the inside layer. The less-dense fat mass is a little squishy or floppy, so people start to think it's permanent loose skin, when the squishy fat is still conspiring with gravity to keep skin stretched out. As the fat mass depletes even further, the skin is more able to shrink. It's hard to get a good feel for the probable end result until pretty darned close to goal weight . . . and even then you've still got the chance of post-goal skin shrinkage.

    Best wishes!
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