Too big to exercise?

I started this journey at 295.. I started out with 20 minutes of Leslie Sansone walk away the pounds workouts.. Now I am up to at least an hour. Plus I do Wii boxing, Wii Tennis & I have several DVD's I do.. I even have done some Tae Bo & biggest loser DVD's.. Start small & work your way up.. Walking of any kind is a great start..I am down 33 pounds & 34.5 i nches so I know something is working... I have noticed alot on here that people jump right into the hard stuff & get discouraged when they can't do it.. Sometimes it works for people.. I have a bad knee so I started out with what worked for me.. I would rather do a 30 minute walking workout then try to do something that I just can't complete.. When I get more weight off then I will try that stuff.. The important thing is to move.. I do more yard work now, clean more... I know to some people this stuff is not a workout - but your still burning calories.. Good luck....

Like you already said, see your doctor.
I had a lot less to lose than you when I started. I started by walking. At first it was only 5-10 minutes at a time. I was winded, tired and sore. But I kept going. When it started to get easier I added 5 more minutes of walking, or a flight of stairs. I was winded, tired and sore... see where this is going? A year later I am doing 45 minutes of Zumba or running a day (6 days a week) plus an hour or more of walking. I lift weights and feel so much better. It takes time. If you have never really exercised in your lift, those videos are going to be pretty demotivating in my opinion because they kind of assume that you are already at an ok fitness level or better. Turn on some tunes and walk in place!

I have a problem where 30seconds - 2 minutes into a workout I feel like I am DYING. I've heard several theories: I'm not breathing right, I just have to get my endurance up, and then that I'm physically too large right now to do heavy cardio. Is there any truth to this? I've seen several bloggers who were trying to lose 100+ lbs that didn't start an exercise regimen until they'd lost about half of that so I was wondering if it's true. I certainly don't want to use that as a cop-out, but I also don't want to endanger myself exercising in a way that isn't good for me. Any thoughts? Or should I speak with a doctor about it?

An exercise routine is not something that you have to do at one time. Break it up into Manageable segments over the course of the day. You will be surprised how much just a little activity helps a very large person. As you progress in your wt loss increase your routine and toning efforts.

I started at around 295 and could barely do more than about 5 minutes on a treadmill when I started back in November. Last week I did 99 minutes on the elliptical. It can certainly be done, but realize that those first few weeks, you are not going to necessarily be running a marathon.

Start out small. Walk. Each day add a little something different TO YOUR LIFESTYLE as opposed to your exercise routine ... although you can certainly add to your exercise routine too. For example, one thing I started doing after I started my routines, is I started walking down stairs. I know that sounds strange, but instead of taking the elevator from the third floor down, I would walk down the stairs. It put some extra steps in my day so that outside of my workouts I was getting to add some activity. Instead of parking right next to the elevator doors in the parking garage, I started parking a couple of spots down, so that I walked a few extra steps ... after a couple of days, I'd park one or two spots further away. Eventually, I started getting more and more stamina while working out and that transformed into starting to go UP the stairs at work. I find now that I take the stairs all of the time instead of using elevators.

This will all come to you, but the biggest enemy is time because people often get frustrated because they don't see change quick enough ... but it will come if you can wait it out. It will take time with some small, even miniscule, results early on, but then one day you'll notice that adding an extra minute or a 1/2 degree incline on the treadmill doesn't feel like anything at all. At that point, the light goes on and the burden gets lighter ... I promise.

Good idea to talk to your healthcare provider, and lots of walking to build up your endurance!

I started at 260+ lbs (double the weight I should be!), and I couldn't even walk around my block (not even a mile!) or up just 1 flight of stairs to my boss's office (SO.Embarassing.). I eventually built up to that, plus adding a lap around another block, then adding more laps around that smaller block (I didn't want to venture too far from home, lol). I also found a women's only gym that had a circuit (similar to curves, but had more equipment - cardio, weights, etc), so I'd do that plus the recumbent bike. Lots of walking, like others mentioned! Split it up too, like others said. I would walk at lunch sometimes (I kept a pair of sneakers at my desk), and walk in the evenings.

That was 75+ lbs ago. Last weekend I ran a 5k in 35 minutes. You'll get there. :flowerforyou:

I don't know about anyone else but I can tell you that when I started I was 304lbs and I couldn't exercise very long AT ALL. What i started doing was going on a short walk. There is a lake on the opposite side of the road about about two tenths of a mile and I started out walking down to the the lake and sitting down to rest then walking back home. After a little bit I was able to walk down to the lake and back that is when I started walking on the gazelle every night and going for hikes with my husband and kids. At first I had to stop every 10th of a mile but my tolerance just kept building up and up. I'm now doing 2 mile hikes(walk/run combo) and I can do it with only 1 or 2 rest stops which are when my kids want to stop to play in the water for a few minutes. The rest of the hike is me waiting on them now instead of them waiting on me! You just have to do what you can do but do it several times a day and every few days add 5 mins...it worked for me even though I can't say it will work for you it's an option for you to try. Good luck!
Angel

I started out at 355. My blood pressure was out of control, and my knees and right hip had gotten so bad that I could barely sit in my desk chair at work all day, and walking was quite painful. To make matters worse, thanks to the other problems and some not so great walking shoes, I shortly thereafter developed plantar fascitis, which was quite painful.

My doctor told me not to exercise at all the first month, just diet and anti-inflamatories for my knee and hip problems. I lost 8 pounds the first month and my knees improved a little, so the second month he told me to start walking. I took my dog for walks, or rather she towed me in her impatient little wake. I couldn't do much more than half a loop around my neighborhood, but I stil lost about 14 pounds that second month. I was able to increase my walking time a little more each week, although the plantar fascitis was a real problem until I invested in some really high end, high support athletic shoes. Hot weather drove me to a local gym, and I was able to increase my exercise with the different cardio machines and the weight machines. My weight loss really picked up then.

So that's my long way of saying that as long as you don't have joint problems that will be aggravated by exercise, you aren't too big. Do what you can do at first; just do SOMETHING. Walking is great, as is swimming if you have access to a pool. You don't have to start out with Zumba or spinning or more advanced things like that. Just try and do a little bit more each week, and you'll get there.

Good luck on your journey!

ditto on those who mention aquafit type classes. I do these because it doesn't hurt my knees and I don't get all red and sweaty and feel like I could die like I do in regular classes. I hope to build up some endurance this way and drop a bit of weight then hope i can do other things. And walking is great too, dress in layers!!! keep on going you can do this.

When I was at my heaviest back in 08 I felt that way. I weighed 245 pounds. My knees ached all the time! I lost the first initial 30 pounds from pushing through it. My treadmill was my friend. I would walk/jog for thirty minutes and then gradually increased the length of time to about 45 minutes and found myself jogging more than walking. Look at the people starting out on the Biggest Loser...many of them have a lot more than 100 pounds to lose and they worked out for long periods of time.

All things are possible. You may feel like your dying. Look at it as weakness leaving your body!

I would definately say talk to a doctor before starting any excercise program.
One of my mother's friends, I'm not sure what she weighed, but was very out of shape.
She did this workout, very low impact aerobics geared to seniors called "SIT AND BE FIT". All the excercises were done from a chair and would just get her moving. I agree with another poster and say walking would be a great excercise. Another idea may be water excercising, swimming and workout classes.
I personally think you just have to get your endurance up. With time and hard work, I know you can do it!

Sorry to repeat what most have been saying, but, yes...talk to your doctor first.
I was 300 lbs and a 10 minute walk felt like a death crawl to me. But when it turned into a 20 minute walk, I was super jazzed about it! The little things will add up and you will build your endurance. But for me when I tried to do too much of anything I would burn myself out at the beginning. I lost the majority of my weight by walking. But any little exercise will help! Wishing you the best!

First, let me add my voice to those saying that it would be best to consult your doctor first. I began my journey at 385 pounds and was in very poor cardiac health. I did no exercise at all until I had lost the first 60 pounds and been cleared by my cardiologist to begin. (Actually, I didn't start exercising until I had lost about 80 pounds.)

When I first started, I used the Biggest Loser Jump Start DVD. It had 10 minute workouts with modifications on many of the exercises. I could only do about 7-8 of the 10 minutes initially - and most of that was the modified versions! Although the DVD is designed to be used for four weeks, with each week basically doubling the amount from the week before, I stayed on the 'first week' for about four months. Eventually I could do the entire ten minute workout without having to modify many of them. At that point I moved on to the second week!

It is a very slow process. The weight wasn't gained quickly and it won't come off quickly (that is, it shouldn't - especially if you want it to be a lasting change). Just keep at it. Don't give up - even if two minutes is all you can handle! Just do that two minutes every day until you find it can be three, and then four.

The truth is that I still don't love exercising. I have not become a "fitness junkie" like so many others that I have read about. My greater joy is being able to have an active lifestyle, burning calories through things like serving at my church and playing with my grandchildren. Yes, I do have an elliptical and an exercise bike - they both get use, but not daily!!

Hi hunnie. Well I agree with others about getting a doctor's opinion first because you never know what is going on within your body. I don't know how much you weigh, but I am 390. I walk a couple of miles on the treadmill everyday if possible; I lift weights; and do a couple of cardio dvds at home with the shortest one being 46 minutes. I also try to jump rope, do situps, and crunches. In my opinion, I don't think anyone is too big to not exercise. We can always start somewhere. I think that once we do get so big sometimes and not use to the exercise, our muscles and bones tend to get accustomed to not moving so often. So when we finally do start again our muscles start to hurt for instance back hurting, legs hurting, and shortness of breath from all of the weight. I used to sit down and give up when I got in pain, but I know now that if I quit everytime it gets tough or hard I am never going to know how strong I really am or get to where I want to be. Gaining weight is easy, but losing weight is where all the sweat, pain, tears, and hard work comes in. But good luck on your journey. Remember you are strong and can do anything you put your mind too. Take Care xoxo

I started at 224lb and knew I couldn't throw myself into an energetic exercise regime as I'd be going from being sat on my bum to sweating like a demon.

I started small - go to the gym three times a week with a routine consisting of 15 minutes walking uphill on the treadmill, then 20 minutes at a medium pace on the crosstrainer, 15 minutes at a medium pace on the bike, then 5 minutes cooldown on the treadmill - walking, no incline. That was enough to get me sweating good and proper!

I'll admit, it was frustrating - I wanted to throw myself into it and get that weight off me NOW. But it doesn't work like that, unfortunately - slow and steady wins the race. I didn't really base my exercise increase on weight, rather on how fit I was feeling. I upped it slowly - 10 more minutes on the crosstrainer here, 10 more minutes on the bike there.

I can echo other poster's sentiments about swimming; it was great for when my joints felt like they were taking a pounding. Even the gentlest laps did me the world of good.

You can do it, honestly - it's just having the combination of grit and patience. Good luck

Thanks for all the responses! I'll definitely see a doctor soon to see what I should be doing. I've tried a variety of things, never lasting more than a day or two on each: 30 day shred, couch to 5k plan, various workout videos. I think I'm trying to do too much too fast because I never exercised AT ALL. I'm going to start just walking and building up my endurance for other things.

Similar to what I did. I started by trying to do all the stuff I did in HS. Needless to say trying to do the same stuff I did 70lbs lighter and 11 years younger didn't work out very well. I decided I needed to start at square one, and work up from there. I walked to the mailbox, then to the end of the block, then over to the other block and to the end of that. Then one day I felt like I might want to start running. So I ran as far as I could...which wasn't very far. Then I did C25K. Etc, etc.

It takes time. But when you reach a goal, you'll look back and be proud of yourself for coming that far. And other people who know your story will be proud of you.