Afraid I Can't Get This Weight Off

rodnconnie
rodnconnie Posts: 8
edited September 19 in Introduce Yourself
That's the bottom line. I'm over 50, have several health issues, knee pain, back pain & fibromyalgia. I try to get out & walk when the weather permits. Other times, I walk on my treadmill when I'm not in too much pain. I personally think I'm more active than most of my friends who have similar problems. I quit smoking 4 yrs this St. Patty's Day & gained 55 pounds. :sad:
Okay, I'm over my pitty party and I want to get this excess weight off. Anyone have some good advice?

Replies

  • rodnconnie
    rodnconnie Posts: 8
    That's the bottom line. I'm over 50, have several health issues, knee pain, back pain & fibromyalgia. I try to get out & walk when the weather permits. Other times, I walk on my treadmill when I'm not in too much pain. I personally think I'm more active than most of my friends who have similar problems. I quit smoking 4 yrs this St. Patty's Day & gained 55 pounds. :sad:
    Okay, I'm over my pitty party and I want to get this excess weight off. Anyone have some good advice?
  • Mireille
    Mireille Posts: 5,134 Member
    Welcome and good luck on your journey! :flowerforyou:

    You can do it!
  • VballLeash
    VballLeash Posts: 2,456 Member
    If you start with eating healthy then you can lead up to more and more exercise. When you eat healthy you feel much better so that should help plus I'm sure many of your health issues will get better once you start losing weight, GOOD LUCK!

    ~Leash
  • havingitall
    havingitall Posts: 3,728 Member
    You can get the weight off. I was so afraid when I started this that I couldn't lose any weight because I had been overweight for so long. I thought I ate well and I exercised a bit and was resigning myself to the fact that I would always be overweight.

    After logging what I eat and setting a firm goal, I realized I ate wayyyyy too much. The exercise is a natural progression from feeling good about what you are doing and how you are feeling. I used to go to the gym twice a week and do minimal work. I thought that I was good for doing that but never really saw any difference.

    Now I am going to the gym at least 5 days a week and getting real sweaty! I have started swimming again which I haven't done in years and I am signing up for a belly dancing class ( I have the belly... I can make it dance!) I am more energized than I have been in years.

    It didn't happen overnight, I started off with gradual changes and they all worked together.

    If I can do this, so can you
  • adopt4
    adopt4 Posts: 970 Member
    You CAN do this! As someone else said, start with eating healthy. Eat 5-7 small meals a day, making sure to eat over 1200 calories every day. When you can exercise, do, when you can't, don't sweat it. There are lots of things you can do to tone your body while sitting on your couch, moving your arms and legs, using a resistance rope, etc. It doesn't have to be a big workout to tone your body. Just do what you can. Take water aerobics when you can, it gets the heart rate up there and burns fat if you put yourself into it, the water resistance is nice, but yet you dont' feel like you're dying!

    Focus on eating healthy and within calories, focus on toning your muscles when you can, even just stretching and stuff like that. Just get your muscles moving. You wouldn't need to worry about exercise calories because you're not burning fat, but that's ok. You can still lose weight without also burning off fat. It will take longer, but so what?
  • auntkaren
    auntkaren Posts: 1,490 Member
    Welcome:flowerforyou: And yes you can do it. I have health problems that I can only walk when weather permits. But I have already ordered a swim suit and when spring comes i will go to the y and start doing some swimming that takes the pressure off the knees and back to exercise. It is best to do the small meals five times a day, even if you count a fiber one bar as one of your meals, or fruit salad , what ever it is to add up to the 1200 calories and count every little calorie you exercise with. If it's 100 calories or 200calories that's and extra 200calories you can eat. Congratulations on stop smoking........ I did for awhile this last summer and gained weight and gave in to going back to smoking. It's hard to do and that alone is a great accomplishment.:drinker: Everyone is here for you.:heart:
  • artschoolgirl
    artschoolgirl Posts: 598 Member
    You'll be surprised how much diet alone can help you in losing weight! I lost pretty much all my weight from just walking and diet, but have joined a gym within the past year. The key is to expect your journey to take some time, it's going to be a true test of your patience. You can do it though! There are hundreds of people on here with amazing success & I know you'll be joining the club!!

    Welcome to MFP!
  • MOMOFTWO29
    MOMOFTWO29 Posts: 8,276 Member
    Hello and welcome to MFP. You will love this site if you don't already. I love this site so much. It is so motivational, supportive, helpful, and everyone is so nice and friendly. I just wanted to tell you good luck on your weight loss journey. You can do this.
  • kristie874
    kristie874 Posts: 774 Member
    You can ABSOLUTELY do this! Just start with counting the calories and doing exercise as your pain permits. Just remember that it's a slow and steady process. If you stick to it the weight will come off! I was so scared that I couldn't do it, too. I started making the changes and slowly started seeing progress. I am far from finished but I started at a size 22 two years ago and now am in 14's! Hooray! Every pound you see fall off of you will feel amazing! Come here any time you need support!
  • rodnconnie
    rodnconnie Posts: 8
    :blushing: Thanks so much for all the warm welcomes & encouragements! I really look forward to hanging out with all of you. Right now, I'm a lurker and trying to learn how this place works.
    I plan to drag my daughter over here once she returns from her vacation. She will love this site!
    Thanks again! :happy:
  • chrissyh
    chrissyh Posts: 8,235 Member
    I think as you eat more healthy choices and start losing weight you may start feeling better and find exercise will get easier. Don't really have health issues but I had the weight bogging me down when I first started. Keep trying to exercise (walk if nothing else) and you will build up to more faster than you think.

    Good luck
  • heal4444
    heal4444 Posts: 709
    Create a ticker and share with us your goals/progress. A beautiful ticker would motivate you. Good luck on your weight loss/fitness journey.:happy:
  • neeterskeeter
    neeterskeeter Posts: 571 Member
    Take small steps. Do you eat a lot of sugar? I would recommend trying to eliminate that first. My mom, age 47, has fibromyalgia too, as well as other health problems such as vericose veins, excema, hormone issues, and we've found that sugar highs and lows just interfere and mess up everything that much more.

    She has gone on a program called Medifast at her doctor's suggestion... it send her pre-packaged meals she eats twice a day and then she can eat a normal dinner. It is pretty extreme and expensive but she has lost 15 pounds for the first time in a lot of years. So I just wanted to throw out that suggestion although I'm not sure if it would work for you. In my personal opinion it is best to start living as healthy and nutritionally as possible and to eliminate processed foods, sugar, refined flour, etc., to get your body back into its natural state of being and nourish it. But in some cases, like my mom's, nothing seems to work except something extreme, at least for starting out.

    Good luck to you and I applaud you for being here -- it's a great first step! :smile:
  • hawkeyechick
    hawkeyechick Posts: 43 Member
    Welcome to MFP! One can lose weight by diet alone but exercise surely helps tone and speed the progress. Just a thought.....when I had injured my leg at one time and really could not walk for long distances or do aerobics, I checked out some sitting exercise tapes from my local library and it's amazing but with arm and leg movements they can be quite a workout. I wish you well on your weight loss journey.:smile:
  • barbiecat
    barbiecat Posts: 17,261 Member
    Welcome,
    Just do this one day at a time. Applaud "baby steps". Before I found MFP I started by eating three meals a day and a snack. I didn't worry too much about what was in the meal, just that I followed my plan. I put a sticker on my calendar for the days I follow my plan. Later I added some more rules about planning my meals in the morning and sticking to the plan. I found MFP one day when I was searching the internet for a calorie counter to find out about something I wanted to eat. I love keeping track of what I plan to eat. I learned to eliminate some foods that took away too many of my calories for the day and add things like tomatoes and apples that give me great health and fun rewards for fewer calories. As a reward to myself for "good behavior" I bought myself a food scale and new measuring cups (in the past I rewarded myself with ice cream).

    If I don't get enough exercise during the day I walk up and down the hall for 20 minutes before bed---it's free exercise and doesn't depend on the weather and can be done in my nightgown with the TV on.:flowerforyou:



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  • rodnconnie
    rodnconnie Posts: 8
    Again, Thanks a bunch for the warm welcome.
    I know if I get the weight off, my health & pain will be much better.
    Cutting out sugar is no biggie for me. If I need a sweet, I get sugar free & I like Splenda in iced tea once in a great while. But other than that, carbs and fried foods are my biggest problems.
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