Morbidly Obese & Exercise

walking is the best place to start! Do little bits and gradually increase your time/distance. Also, you can try "stationary" cardio like a row machine or shadow boxing.

And maybe the best thing is swimming - it removes the pressure your body feels during normal exercise but still is a great workout. Man, I wish I could swim.

The best thing I ever did was invest in a great pair of shoes. It helped with foot pain so so much. I echo suggestions to try swimming, if not something else low impact (elliptical?)

Take it slow, stretch, focus on small accomplishments at first. You can do it!

I started out obese (and am now "just" overweight) and I had a number of concerns about exercise as well. I decided to start with very low impact exercises. I'm not even sure you would call the them exercises as it was more like just getting in the practice of moving! I watched a few Sit and Fit videos at home, gradually worked up to walking a little bit and then went on from there. Once I got moving, it became easier to increase my overall activity. Right now I'm focusing on increasing my cardio activities I take things at my own pace (Slow and Steady) and it seems to be working so far. Whatever you do, it's better then "not doing" and as the popular adage goes, "No matter how slow you go, you're still lapping the guy on the couch!" Yes, invest in a pair of really good shoes, see an orthopedic doctor if you start feeling pain in the knees and back, and take it one step at a time!

I do want to add that if you are a competitive person, having someone to work with or against can be a great motivator; but if you are not, stay away from people involved in highly intensive exercise programs (e.g. CrossFit) as the attitude an be somewhat... discouraging. I'm one of those people who believes the mind set is as important as the activity; but others may disagree so you can take that last bit with a grain of salt :-)

I would suggest a good pair of shoes, just walking (short distances first, with a ramp up each week) and perhaps something like yoga or stretching, as it will prevent a lot of stiffness and potentially injuries also. Agreed, swimming is also great if you are ok with that.

Just know that every light to moderate activity you do with take more out of you when you first start, so don't compare yourself to anyone else but you. Use your previous efforts as the barometer to mark your progress.

And one last thing, DON'T confuse DISCOMFORT with PAIN. EXercise won't always feel good. You will likely want to stop. It won't be comfortable and you WILL be causing stress on your body (and if you are like me, your psyche some times too lol) but discomfort means you are pushing yourself to give it your A game.... PAIN means you have gone too far.

Listen to your body, MOVE to loosen up your joints and strengthen your muscles (and endurance) and best wishes!

And maybe the best thing is swimming - it removes the pressure your body feels during normal exercise but still is a great workout. Man, I wish I could swim.

Have you heard of aquarobics or aquafit? I do it and there are women and a man in the class who can't swim. The man told me he's had a fear of water all his life, but he's working on it and spends lots of time in the pool - in the shallow end. The classes I've been in were all done in the shallow end, with the option of staying near the sides for people who were nervous. Aquafit is a good calorie burner, but you don't get hot and sweaty - you're in water that cools you. I find it "splashy fun" - how many ways can you think of, of jumping up and down in the water, jogging with no pain in your legs or feet, suspended with supportive floats you wrap round you while you cycle your legs in the water, work your arms with foam dumbells or floats like boxing gloves that increase the resistance of the water.

Can you tell I like it? :happy: Oh, and don't feel self conscious, it's a class that is good for big people and I'm sure there would be others there too.

I started at 255 lbs back in February/March. So far I have lost 26lbs. I know how hard it is to get motivated. I really like strength training as well. Even just getting a pair of light dumbells that you can use while watching tv helps. Doing leg lifts while sitting in a chair are great also. When you get a little more strength you can add some fitness bands for more resistance. Strength training is going to add muscle more quickly thus raising your metabolism, even while resting. Strength training also helps to fight osteoporosis. I love Pilates, of course with modification for my size. You just do what you can do. It is great when you can finally do exercises you were not able to do.

I have been extremely thin in my life and now very heavy. When I was thin I didn't understand what the big deal was about losing weight. People don't realize how always being the fattest person in the room beats you down. I am self conscious about eating in front of people and I always wonder what people are thinking. There is definitely something that happens when you reach triple digit numbers to lose. You get overwhelmed just thinking about how far you have to go. But you can do it! And just getting started is the hardest part of all. So you have done that. Yeah, for you! Everyday is a new day and you do what you can that day and don't worry about tomorrow. When you get up tomorrow you do what you can that day and the next and the next. God bless you on your journey to health.

Have you tried sit exercises? Its a start. Or walk around the house like one lap around the house several times through out the day. marching in place for 5 minutes and doing 6 times through out the day. I use to weigh 300 pounds and now i'm down to 266 the last time I checked which was last week. There was alot of things I couldnt do because I ran out of breath or was in pain. Juse remember not to give up!

Watch biggest loser, for eating/exercise tips.

Climb stairs over and over again

Many YMCA locations have aqua-aerobics, especially for those of us who aren't 21 any more......*pout* and are fluffy. You might check that out. Also start slow with some stretches and build us your stomach muscles and lower back, with just even small movements like little lunges.....that will also help your knees slowly start to get stronger. Take it one day at a time, and, girlfriend, go out and buy yourself something bright and cheerful to wear while you're walking, or swimming......be proud of yourself for taking this step, it's not easy...but you are worth the time and effort......and I"m right there with you........*sigh* You go girl! :flowerforyou:

When you can: stand instead of sitting, and walk instead of standing. Even if it's just a couple of minutes.

Take things in small doses. Do you have any stairs you can climb? Even if it's one flight at work, try it once a day, then build up.

I actually started walking DOWN stairs at work. 7 flights, instead of the elevator. Now that I do it, I wonder why everyone isn't taking the stairs down...it's easy.

Make sure you have good shoes, too. They can make a difference, especially if you're in pain.

Finally, if you watch a lot of tv, try to reduce your viewing time. Supposedly, doing anything else, even while sitting, burns more calories. Reading, scrapbooking, knitting.

Hi! I started a bit heavier than you and have taken off 100 pounds in about 8 months. When I started exercising, I started just walking, doing as much as I could but every day. I am now hiking (strenuous), working on C25K to be running soon, lifting weights and using the elliptical (60 mins) so my activity level has changed greatly. I would be careful with the squatting that was suggested earlier as I inflamed my knee pretty good doing those with so much weight on those joints. Just get moving is the important thing .

I was in a pretty similar position. I was 50 years old and weighed 275 pounds when I started. The most important thing is to get your diet under control first. I didn't exercise at all until I lost 30 pounds. If you can exercise, then you'll be that much better off, but it isn't really necessary. Exercise is great and healthy, but diet is far more important for weight loss.

Once I'd lost a bit a weight I started walking, and that's all I've done since then. I did get myself a treadmill so I could increase the intensity of the walk, but just plain walking is good enough. If you get to the point where you can lift some weights in addition to walking you'll help build muscle which will make losing weight easier.

walking is the best place to start! Do little bits and gradually increase your time/distance. Also, you can try "stationary" cardio like a row machine or shadow boxing.

And maybe the best thing is swimming - it removes the pressure your body feels during normal exercise but still is a great workout. Man, I wish I could swim.

do as much as you can... work on ur calorie restriction and the pounds will come off.... as u lose weight u'll be able to do more and more.... record all ur work outs/ walks even if its for 5, 10 mins. then compare in a month u'll be amazed and very proud

i would start out w/ healthy eating and after you've lost some weight include exercises like walking and swimming into your regular workout schedule.