In Need of Some serious help!!

Exercise when one starts out does not have to be a massive endeavor. You could try just taking a walk every day as a start and build it up from there. Any good physical movement helps. Then increase it as you go and start adding in some other stuff. Don't underestimate the power of some weight training, too. Body weight activities are a great start and you don't need to buy a thing to get going there.

Good luck on your journey.

Hi Dannysmommy. Welcome. I'm a foodie and I've been a roller-coaster dieter most of my adult life, and what I've learned from the various programs I've tried over the years is that it mostly boils down to calories in / calories out.

There's some basic math concepts. First, establish how many calories you need to live at goal weight. To get started you can use a factor of 11 for women and 12 for men. So if you goal weight is 150 lbs, multiply 150 x 11 and you get 1650 calories for basic functioning per day at goal weight (breathing, digesting food, thinking, etc.). Of course you can find your personal factor on various websites if you want to get into your personal details such as height, age, family genetics, etc., but 11 should do it for most of us.

Then more math, it takes 3500 calories to gain or lose a pound. So if your goal weight is 150 lbs and you eat 2000 calories a day, you are consuming 350 more calories a day than you need and you will gain a pound every 10 days. Conversely, if you consume 1150 calories a day instead of the calories you need to live, you will burn an extra 3500 calories every 7 days, one whole pound per week.

Of course the more calories you burn the more you need to live, so adding exercise (calories out) means you can consume more (calories in). You don't have to do all the exercise at once every day, and parking farther from the grocery store, opting for stairs instead of elevator, short bits of time on your shiny new machine, it all counts. If the calorie math on the machine doesn't seem right to you, it probably isn't so ignore it and set realistic goals that do make sense to you, such as "this week I will ride this machine for 30 minutes x 5 days and I will break a sweat every time." Next week up the intensity level or increase the time or try to mix in a new exercise one day such getting on that old bicycle.

I've been told that one pound a week is a safe and recommended weight loss rate. I think 2 lbs a week might be setting yourself an unreasonable goal. I'd recommend setting small goals in addition to the exercise - one week at a time. For example, next week, in addition the exercise plan, add the goal of creating two new healthy meals for the week.

Good luck.

Hello everyone. I am Morbidly obese. I am 5ft4 and weight about 260lbs at the age of 25 (soon to be 26). I am a single mom to a soon to be 6yr old son and a part time worker. I just recently graduated college with a Bachelors Degree in Criminal Justice. My dream is to a Crime Scene Tech, but I was told in the state I live (PA) we have to take a fitness test and I know that I would NOT pass! I have always struggled with my weight and am an emotional eater and I eat when I am "bored" I just recently bought an elliptical machine/bike (its called a Cardio Dial Trainer from K-mart) spent about $300. Anyways. I am trying to lose 100lbs in a year. So about 2lbs per week. My question is how?!? I have been a member of myfitnesspal and tracked jsut what I eat and it suggests I eat 1300 calories including my exercise and stuff. My thing is, exercising is tough. Since I am so big, I will be on the Elliptical part of the trainer and I am going at a decent pace and I see "Only 6 calories burned" its discouraging! I can only be on the elliptcial for about 4 minutes before I am weezing and using my inhaler so should I spread it out throughout the day? How many times should I do it? If I eat 1300 calories and exercise, will I lose the weight? Please help. There are more questions but I will ask once some of these are answered! Thank you in advance.

Just so you know...ellipticals are set on the "avg" person at 150lbs. To get accurate readings....get a heart rate monitor or use the guesstimates MFP has. When I started MFP back in June, I was 361lbs. I could not even FIT on most machines, nor did I want to even STEP IN a gym. So I tried Jillian....um no...too fat and unfit for that....hmmmm what else?? Ah yes, that wonderful ball of fruity energy in hot pants and glitter tank tops....RICHARD SIMMONS!! He designed his workout to be accomplished by anyone of any fitness level. He's hilarious and fun!! You can get his DVD's @ Walmart/Target for like $5-$10. I am at 287.9 as of today. A majority of my weight loss was because of those videos. The first time I did one, I only got through 15 minutes...now I can do the WHOLE thing!!
As for your calories...the 1300 is what you should net. Think of your cals as an allowance. You have to spend at least a certain amount and if you want more, you have to work for it. You can do this!! No doubt!! Figure out what works for you!!

Let me give you some perspective here. I am over twice your age, and started here at 286 lbs. I joined a gym, and could only dream of jogging on a treadmill for more than 30 seconds at a time, so I mostly just walked on the treadmill - or just around my neighborhood. As I started to lose some weight I was able to go a little longer on the treadmill, and started to use the elliptical machines and stationary bikes too. Eventually my aerobic capacity started to pick up, my weight was dropping which took a lot of the strain off of my ankles and knees, and I actually started running. Yesterday I ran for over 30 minutes on the treadmill, and wasn't even breathing hard when I was finished. It's been only 6 months, and I am registered to run in my first 5k EVER in a couple of weeks. If an old dog like me can do it, you can too!

Start slow, stick with it, celebrate every improvement that you notice along the way, and you will succeed! Good luck!

I bought an eliptical and hated that thing as it is very hard. I find a treadmill works better for me but since I don't have one of those I just take walks. You will lose weight with watching your calorie intake and as you drop the weight you will have more energy as you go. You shouldn't look at this as a diet but look at it as a change of eating habits. I don't suggest depriving yourself of any particular food but enjoy all of it in moderation. If you stick to watching your calories you will see the weight go. Hope it all works out well for you

Hello everyone. I am Morbidly obese. I am 5ft4 and weight about 260lbs at the age of 25 (soon to be 26). I am a single mom to a soon to be 6yr old son and a part time worker. I just recently graduated college with a Bachelors Degree in Criminal Justice. My dream is to a Crime Scene Tech, but I was told in the state I live (PA) we have to take a fitness test and I know that I would NOT pass! I have always struggled with my weight and am an emotional eater and I eat when I am "bored" I just recently bought an elliptical machine/bike (its called a Cardio Dial Trainer from K-mart) spent about $300. Anyways. I am trying to lose 100lbs in a year. So about 2lbs per week. My question is how?!? I have been a member of myfitnesspal and tracked jsut what I eat and it suggests I eat 1300 calories including my exercise and stuff. My thing is, exercising is tough. Since I am so big, I will be on the Elliptical part of the trainer and I am going at a decent pace and I see "Only 6 calories burned" its discouraging! I can only be on the elliptcial for about 4 minutes before I am weezing and using my inhaler so should I spread it out throughout the day? How many times should I do it? If I eat 1300 calories and exercise, will I lose the weight? Please help. There are more questions but I will ask once some of these are answered! Thank you in advance.

Walk a lot, at first. It will get easier and you will be able to do more later. Try Jillian videos and when it comes to a part you can;t do YET....do something else that you can until you are ready for that move. Keep moving, shake your leg while you're sitting.

"I eat when I am "bored" " Only boring people get bored....answer to this problem, don;t get bored. Stay busy. When I have nothing left to do and get stuck at my desk...I shop online until I have a full cart, then go to the cart look at everything and then close the page. Nope not spending but boy, shopping is fun.

You can do this, you aren't the first and you're far from the last. Good Luck and remember to drink your water.

try body flex deep breathing exercises by greer childers, the first couple weeks cleans your lungs, over time it enabled me to get rid of my inhaler.

Read this.
http://body-improvements.com/resources/eat

that is weird that it only has you on 1300. It calculated 1800 for me and i'm 5'9" and at 175 lbs. Do you have a HRM? I know my elliptical was saying i was burning a good bit less than what the HRM said.

Each day that you exercise it will get a little bit easier! When I first tried the elliptical, I only made it 3 minutes (partly because of my knees), I added a minute or a few each time and the last time I did it, I was able to do 20. I do other exercises also, but I feel so much better and more fit than when I first started, and I'm still way overweight at 235 pounds. Hang in there, and keep trying!

When I started out on the elliptical I thought I was going to drop dead after only 5 minutes. It didn't take long until I was going 30, then 60 minutes at a time.

I sent you a friend request with a message. I too have a CJ degree and would love to chat more.

A good way to build up cardiovascular endurance is interval training. The idea is to get your heart rate up and then bring it back down again, then do this over and over a few times. What you will start to notice first is that it takes less time for your heart rate to come down and then you will notice that you can go longer with an elevated heart rate. Do one minute on your eliptical at a pace that will make you uncomfortable. Then slow it down until you regain your breath. Repeat. You will get stronger. There is no shame in taking those breaks. Even seasoned athletes use interval training as part of their training regime.

I'm not going to get all technical with stats and what not, as I still find that all confusing, but I agree with what others have said. JUSt start slow and your body will soon adjust. When I had even decided to start running, I could hardly jog for a minute and every other day I worked at it little by little and I built up to running 10K without any problem. It took a few months, but slow and steady wins the race as they say Good luck to you

Get yourself into it slowly. Your calorie deficit is what is going to make you lose weight in the long run, the exercise helps increase that deficit so you can eat more during the day and helps to promote general health like lung, heart and muscle function. You'll get better at working out over time. Try low-impact things like swimming and walking, and ease yourself into jogging, rowing, eliptical, lifting etc.

Best wishes!!

If you want to get serious about losing weight, you should consider purchasing a heart rate monitor. For most people, I believe it`s possible to do without, but you are looking to lose 2 lbs a week. You will need lots of focus and dedication. You need to know what your body burns so you can figure out how much you can eat.

I am an advocate for eating above BMR and below TDEE. I currently consume about 1750 calories per day plus my exercise cals and I lose 1 - 2 lbs per week. I am 5`7``and currently weigh 168 with a goal weight of 148. (Just to give you a picture of what works for me). But honestly, without knowing your numbers you would be relying on trial and error, and you may not have time for that. You will need to start by doing what MFP says, and re-evaluate in a few weeks. If it`s working, keep at it. If you stall, make a change.

And best of luck on this journey