Ready to give up

Holy cow! Dont give up now!!!! you are doing great, your body's breakdowns are surely a result of the stress you are putting on it from trying to do the right thing by exercising vigorously but...you are doing it while carrying all that extra weight! I cant believe nobody has told you to stop doing the weight bearing exercises in favor of some less stress stuff. I would suggest that as soon as you get the okay from your doctor, you find a water aerobics class for 1! Very fun, effective, and less stress on those knees and ankles,. Then look at things like recumbent bike as well for less weight and stress on the knees/ankles.
Honey, Im not even close to your success, but real quick -I have osteoarthritis and severely misaligned kneecaps -had the left 1 scoped 20 yrs ago, and had the right knee done in Oct for a torn meniscus. I just started working out 7 weeks ago... Im down 14lbs and 7 inches and im in pain every frickin day when i come home. I ice my knees, take NSAIDs, and put icy hot on at night, then head out again in the morning; seriously dreading the idea that i may have to stop my progress to have my left knee operated on ...but I wont give up and neither should you!!!!
The change in your blood pressure ALONE has probably added years back to your life! Stick with it -just find a better way to work out; something that works for you till you get enough weight off that your body isnt under so much stress and hey- maybe you just have week knees/ankles. So what, then do the things you can do - control the things you can, and keep plugging away!! You owe it to yourself to keep capitilizing on the success you've already had - not walk away from it! Good Luck ::happy: :

I also started at 273 .lbs just over a year ago. I can only speak from my own experience so here goes.

Have I had injuries? Yes. Have I had illnesses? Yes. Am I still under severe stress both professionally and personally? Yes.

Do I like myself better overall? Yes. Do I have more confidence? Yes. Do I like my body more? Yes.

Do I ever want to go back to being that 273 .lb lump that didn't have the energy to be active with my kids? No.
Do I ever want to go back to looking in the mirror and hating myself? No.
Do I ever want to go back to wishing I could be invisible every time I'm in public? No.

If you aren't happy with yourself and your success, then the negative things like injuries are going to bring you down even further. Fight back! YOU ARE WORTH THE FIGHT!! Want to still exercise? Do upper body strength training while your lower body heals. Feeling like quitting? Put pictures side by side of you before your weight loss and now. Look at them and see if you can honestly tell yourself that you were happier and liked your life better in the before picture.

This is a not just a journey for some of us, it's a battle. Always remember, never forget: YOU ARE WORTH THE FIGHT!:flowerforyou:

Yes, I do. I started this journey at 263lbs and completely sedentary. I'm hypothyroid, pre-diabetic, have degenerative disc disease in my neck and missing cartilage in my right knee from a fractured knee cap. Bottom line was that the weight had to go. I have been through so much CRAP with this flaring up, that laying me out, diabetes going bonkers...even though I'm making better choices and taking excellent care of myself. Each time it happens I feel like the wind left my sails. I wasn't this unstable at 263lbs when I did NOTHING! It's been a roller coaster to say the least.

The thing is, my body adjusted to where I was. It was going to quietly die there too. I will never go back to where I was. I don't care what adjustments I have to make I am going to fight for myself. There are moments where I feel everything I've done means nothing, I can't see where I'm going and don't even care. I just want off the ride. I completely understand how you feel. I write. At the top of the page I write...Why am I doing this? It helps pull me out of the darkness and into the place where I can see again.

I'm so sorry you're having such a rough time. It will get better, I promise it gets better. We just have to hold on until it does. Don't give up before your miracle happens. It's important to give yourself time to be down, but not too long. Tomorrow the sun will rise and you can decide to face the day and this challenge with courage. Please add me if you'd like, we can get through this. One day at a time.

Yes, I do. I started this journey at 263lbs and completely sedentary. I'm hypothyroid, pre-diabetic, have degenerative disc disease in my neck and missing cartilage in my right knee from a fractured knee cap. Bottom line was that the weight had to go. I have been through so much CRAP with this flaring up, that laying me out, diabetes going bonkers...even though I'm making better choices and taking excellent care of myself. Each time it happens I feel like the wind left my sails. I wasn't this unstable at 263lbs when I did NOTHING! It's been a roller coaster to say the least.

The thing is, my body adjusted to where I was. It was going to quietly die there too. I will never go back to where I was. I don't care what adjustments I have to make I am going to fight for myself. There are moments where I feel everything I've done means nothing, I can't see where I'm going and don't even care. I just want off the ride. I completely understand how you feel. I write. At the top of the page I write...Why am I doing this? It helps pull me out of the darkness and into the place where I can see again.

I'm so sorry you're having such a rough time. It will get better, I promise it gets better. We just have to hold on until it does. Don't give up before your miracle happens. It's important to give yourself time to be down, but not too long. Tomorrow the sun will rise and you can decide to face the day and this challenge with courage. Please add me if you'd like, we can get through this. One day at a time.

Seriously- this is what makes MFP so amazing!!! -you all are so awesome - wait , WE are all so awesome! :blushing:

Your stress fractures will heal. 65lbs is an amazing loss! Why would you want to gain it back? High blood pressure = stroke or heart attack, who would want that?

Athletes have injuries all the time! It's about knowing your body's limits. You're paying the price for neglecting your body for years, don't turn your back on progress.

Cut out exercise that requires you to be on your feet. Keep your diet clean and healthy which will help the healing process. You can do it, take care of your body, it needs you.

I am so sorry you're going through such a hard time. Please don't give up. It sounds like there are lots of folks on MFP who understand what you're going through and can support you. You have lost 65 pounds and lowered your blood pressure. Follow your doctor's advice to heal and find some non- or low-impact exercises that you could try (swimming, yoga, or even just gentle stretching) if walking is too difficult.

And watch this for some extra inspiration when you're feeling down:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX9FSZJu448&feature=youtu.be (someone else just shared this in another post. I feel like if this guy can turn his life around...I think most of us can)

Here's a video for you
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX9FSZJu448

110 pound people get stress fractures! It can happen at any weight; they aren't discriminatory I know it sucks getting hurt trying to make yourself a healthier person, but gaining 65 pounds back is not going to help matters. By no means does one injury mean weight gain! There are other exercises you can do, off your feet, swimming, shadow box while sitting down, lifting weights, some pilates and ab moves. And diet is probably 75 percent of the battle, so if you have tackled that, you will be fine!

I am so discouraged & upset, I am ready to give up & gain back the 65 lbs I have lost. The only good thing that has come from my weight loss has been my blood pressure dropping from 152/100 to 112/64 as of today. However, it seems like there is more that has gone wrong. It started with my knee pain which I had to go to the doctor for & do physical therapy because my muscles were too weak to hold my knee cap in place causing severe pain. As of right now, I am on crutches because I have had severe ankle pain. Just got back from Urgent Care & they think it could be a stress fracture. I have to wait a week & if it isn't better go to have an MRI to check for the stress fracture. All this is stemming from being more active. I am not a runner, just a walker.

I just don't understand! Why now?!?! I have worked so hard & I was in tears on the way home just wondering if it is all worth it? When I was 273 lbs & just laying around on the couch, I didn't have any of these problems. At what point is it just not worth it? I am in tears again. I don't know what to do. What is going to go out next? Sorry if I am being over dramatic, I am just so upset. Anyone else have issues like this?

First, Kudos to you for taking the first steps and losing the 65 lbs.
Now for the hard stuff, while I cannot relate to that much weight loss I can relate to the injuries. I played high level volleyball and during a game did some major damage to my right knee which resulted in a series of surgeries. I gained 40lbs in a matter of a month due to the amount of calories I was taking in to maintain playing 5-6 nights a week ontop of training and going to being laid up. 10 years later I finally 'got around' to losing the weight by making some conscious decisions on what was important to me. Fast forward 2 years later where I was down 40lbs I was feeling great. I was late coming back from lunch and was doing a fast jog back to work when my right knee popped again and down I went. Just as I was in full swing to a great workout regiment with a personal trainer, and bam back to laid up. I felt like I was punched in the gut, why now after I had lost the weight and I was feeling good. I got back into bad habits and gained back 15lbs of the 40+ I lost.
Week and a half ago I smacked myself upside the head and began my journey once again with a greater respect and determination towards my goal. I have my bad days with my knees where I'll modify or do something else to get a burn in, and I do try to make good food decisions now and maintain a healthy intake of water.

Please take it from someone that has gone through the injuries and did give up for a time. It isn't worth it.
Keep focused on your goal. You will achieve it. It and you are worth it.

Couple other ideas. (And by no means am I an expert here, just speaking from my own opinion)
1) Refocus. You've come so far. 65lbs is an accomplishment and you are healthier for it. Gaining it all back is not what you want to do.
2) Speak with your Dr. about excercised you can do. My wife and I always watched the Biggest Loser and one episode stands out with a gentleman named mosas who injured lower body and couldn't do the workouts. He did not give up, rather he shadow boxed while sitting on the bed.
3) Gain motivation and support from others. Lots of support both around you at home and here. Use them to help you get back on track .

You can do this.