if when magazines are featuring exercises specifically geared toward people who are trying to lose weight, do they ever have a large person try the exercise??? Or a person who is not 20 yrs old?? I swear some of those exercises could not be done by someone who is fat and above 40. The body just will not get in those positions. Same with exercise videos. I haven't bought one in several years, but except for Richard Simmons, they never show really large people doing them. I know they want to have beautiful sexy young thin people in these things, but some of us live in the real world and would like to see real people sometimes. Maybe it's just me. How do you all feel about this?

Oh, I totally agree! What the instructor does and what I do are totally different moves, and sometimes they say "you should feel this in your back" but I feel it in my legs, etc. I always either try to find a different stretch that stretches the muscle they say you should stretch, or I just modify and give myself credit for trying.

I like Leslie Sansones' WALK AWAY THE POUNDS series for those very same reasons!
I am large and have never been (even when I was thin) very coordinated. Her movements are easy to do and very effective for toning and weight loss. Plus her videos show a variety of body shapes, ages and abilities. She even has one person modify for people who are having trouble keeping up.

I know what you mean though. I thought I would take a yoga class at the rec center. Ha! Ha! Ha!
My body just doesn't do those things

So true . . . to get the most out of the exercises on the majority of the videos, you have to look like you don't need to exercise anyway. . .

Here's a link you might like to take a look at . . . http://win.niddk.nih.gov/publications/active.htm . . .

You might have already seen it, Soiley . . . it's in one of the Stickies on the Diabetes Forum.

Later . . .

I understand what you are saying. I bought Women's Health Mag and Oxygen? and absolutely hated Oxygen, it has these 17 yr old girls doing all the exercises and tons of ads for Weight loss pills. Women's health does have more things to read, but also the women who do the exercise are in very good shape. I went out also last month and ordered Turbo Jam, I took a look at it and have still not attempted to use it, maybe after another 20 lb weight loss?
I do think exercise is possible at our weight, I just think you need to find your thing. I bought a Elliptical last year with my tax refund, after using one at a gym for a few days, and swore I would use it. It sat , for the most part, gathering dust,and the few times I did try I only did 3 minutes. Well Last month I got off my butt and have worked myself up to 30 minutes on this elliptical, I started at 3 , then was able to do 5 minutes , and then 10 then 15, you get the point. 3 wks ago I couldn't do a sit up, now I do 8, so I just suggest you find what you like to do, and start doing a few minutes and work yourself up to more, soon you will ask why didn't you do this years ago, so don't pay attention to those models in magazines, the most important thing is you exercising , and becoming healthy, not a size 2 model.
cheryl

whatever happened to Susan Powter...she's nuts...but I liked her...

lol seriously! I'm not old, but I used to have couple tapes and they dont even motify the excersize for people who are a little big. Annoying. I do want this bollywood tape though.

Susan Powter is apparently running a fitness camp for women. I saw her on Paris Hilton's reality show recently while flipping channels.

As for exercise equiptment, I'm annoyed that so much of the popular equiptment do not have heavier weight limits. I want the RED so bad (it's like a chair with a lazy suzan seat that swivels and handlebars on the side), but the weight limit is 250.

Our small apartment building just put in an exercise room. The treadmill is sturdy, but the exercise bike is really small, and when I tried the elyptical machine it scooted across the room while I used it! I guess it's the treadmill for me!

Cokia,

Which Bollywood workout do you want to try? Just curious! I use exercise dvds and have tried some dance dvds-I've had more success with some than others, though!

I love Leslie Sansone workouts since they have more "normal" looking people and not fitness models in them.

I also like the George Foreman/Petra Kolber walking dvds. I think there are seven of them all together. The participants all look like regular people and they are very easy to follow.

Sherry

Another one who would wholeheartedly recommend Leslie Sansone's WATPs. When I started, I could keep up (barely) with her. I found Richard Simmons to be too difficult.