Hi, I'm Laura. I have struggled with my weight my entire life. I've been overweight since before I even started Kindergarten. I am now 29 and weigh 363 lbs. I've decided to start making some changes, but I'm starting out with baby steps so that I don't overwhelm myself. I've decided to challenge myself to start riding my recumbent bike everyday. My goal is to build up to 30 minutes everyday. So far, I've done this 3 days. The first day I made it 20 minutes at level 6, the second day I made it 25 minutes at level 6, and the third day (today) I did 25 minutes at level 8 (the highest level on my recumbent bike). I have averaged about 4 or 5 miles everyday, so I'm going relatively slow. I haven't started making any diet changes yet, but I'm hoping to join Weight Watchers again soon as soon as my finances start looking better.
Anyway, I guess I'm wondering about what other people have done for exercise at this fitness level. Am I doing enough to actually see results? Are my exercise goals too small? I want to set small goals so that I don't get discouraged. Another thing that makes it difficult is I carry most of my weight in my stomach from PCOS/insulin resistance issues, which makes it difficult to move because I have this large obstruction in front of me keeping me from moving like I would like to. Any other ideas of things I could do at my fitness level? I don't want to take on too much and get discouraged, but at the same time I'm worried that I'm going to be doing to little and get discouraged at the lack of results. Help!
Please respond with suggestions or what you did when you first started out. Thanks so much!
Hi Laura, congratulations on starting this journey! I think baby steps is the way to go.
I believe that exercise wise the point is to be more active, I think exercise is wonderful but some people can’t start directly doing it and for those just being more active is a good start (walk a bit more inside the house, park a bit farther from the door, etc). Under that idea what you are doing is great and I think more than enough to see results not only in your weight but in your cardiovascular capacity and general condition.
I really enjoy workout dvds, they are affordable (can even buy them used in amazon) and you can use them over and over again in your own house. I started with Walk Away the Pounds, they are great for beginners (and advanced) and are divided into miles so you can do 1 mile for an easy workout or 2,3,4,5 miles if you want a challenge.
Keep us posted on your achievements!!!
Many on here say diet to lose weight, exercise to be fit. I lost all of my weight mostly through diet. (I still have a long way to go.) I knew if I went all out exercising I would give up. I started with baby steps and just by moving more.
Hi Laura
We are about the same weight but I am much older and have physical limitations. So to me what you are doing now sounds great. I really don't think what you are doing are baby steps. You are already going 4 miles and increasing your level each day. I know you said finances are tight but I liked Fifty Five's idea of the DVD. I think you might even be able to borrow those from the Library now a days or go on you tube and watch and do it with them.
You asked what we did. Since I am barely able to stand and not able to walk without assistance when I started exercising again the second week of January I started by walking with my walker one house away from mine and back. Each week I tried to increase by one house. By the time I got to 3 houses which was around February I decided to join a Gym and get a fitness coach. He designed a sit down program of strength training on the equipment. I went 3 days a week and for 4 months he was there helping me every step of the way to do 4 different routines. One for the back, the chest, the legs and the arms. When I first started out I needed help getting on and off the equipment. It was so painful doing the exercises that the rest of the day I spent in my recliner with the heat and massager on. I remember crying a few times. One was a day when he told me to stand up on my own and put a weighted ball over my head. I couldn't do a single one, he had to pull me up. The other time was when he asked me to stand to do the arm curls. My back hurt so bad the tears started flowing and I had to sit down between sets.
Where am I today- I am doing 10 pieces of equipment without any help. Plus I do 55 of those stand ups with 3 different size balls. It took time to get to where I am today, but I didn't give up. In April I bought a tricycle. So when I am done with the Gym I no longer need to spend the day in the recliner. Now about 5 hours later I get out and ride my tricycle. This past week I did 4 1/4 miles. So as you can see my progress was baby steps.
Your doing leaps and bounds. Keep up the fantastic job!! Be sure to keep us informed as you start new exercise and set goals for yourself. It feels so good when you do reach them.
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Originally Posted by bittersweet red
Hi, I'm Laura.
Please respond with suggestions or what you did when you first started out. Thanks so much!
Hi Laura! Personally, I think you're doing great on your exercise bike! In fact, you've inspired me to dust mine off and start riding it again. It certainly does help with the thigh muscles.
However, I do want to caution you that exercise really is for getting healthier, but exercise alone probably won't get you where you want to be weight wise. In order to lose weight, you'll need to change the way you eat and get into a calorie deficit. I see in your OP that you're thinking about starting Weight Watchers. That's great! That's how I started out. Might I recommend something else, though, that you don't have to wait to afford? You can start tracking calories and food on www.myfitnesspal.com. It's free and it will help you set your weight loss, calorie and exercise goals. By all means, join WW when you can. I do both. WW Online and My Fitness Pal.
Last edited by Garnet2727; 07-01-2013 at 12:43 PM.
@Garnet what an excellent idea. I am on there too and should have thought of that suggestion. I am glad you did.
@Laura if you decide to join, send me a friendship request. Garnet feel free to send me one too. The more friends the more accountability which I am sure we can all use.
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Originally Posted by Garnet2727
You can start tracking calories and food on www.myfitnesspal.com. It's free and it will help you set your weight loss, calorie and exercise goals. By all means, join WW when you can. I do both. WW Online and My Fitness Pal.
Thanks so much for the feedback! I will start working on eating better on my own before I get my finances in order so that I can start WW. I've done WW before and I really enjoyed it because it isn't a crash diet, but about learning to build good habits for life and I really benefited from the acountability of going to meetings.
I know that I'm probably not going to be losing a lot of weight by exercise alone, but I figured it would be a start. I'm hoping to see my overall health improve from exercising daily, even if it is just a little bit.
I really like the video idea and the personal trainer idea. Once I get my finances in a better place and build up my endurance on the bike, I would like to get a personal trainer. Hearing about ssflbelle's experience has increased my confidence about this because I'm terrified I'm going to get some fit person who doesn't understand my body and its limitations.
I really like the idea of my fitness pal and I'm going to go check it out.
Oh, and hopefully finances will be looking better for me soon! I have a second job interview on Wednesday and I really want/need this job! I got my masters in Social Work in December, but was working at a portrait studio part time while in grad school and until I could find a job in my field. Unfortunately the company I was working for went out of business at the beginning of April and I've been unemployed and only earning $74 per week unemployment since then. Please send good thoughts into the universe that I get this job on Wednesday!
I started at well over 400 pounds and I started with swimming. Not even swimming really, just moving in the pool. It's easy on the joints. Now I swim, walk, do kettlebells and I take a yoga class.
When I started around 330, I couldn't do nearly as much cardio as you're doing. I think the trick is to make sure that you're doing a little more whenever you're able.
What I've found is that things go in fits and starts for me. It took me a long time to get to the point where it was easy to hit 30 minutes of something every day, but then all the sudden I could, if I wanted, do an hour walk, or a half hour walk plus a half hour yoga, and it suddenly felt good instead of like work.
For the record, what I've done: I started with like 5-minute walks, with very easy modified yoga (Yoga for the Rest of Us DVD), and with some lower back exercises. I still walk, outside whenever possible, and I've expanded my DVD repertoire to include cardio salsa, Biggest Loser Weight Loss yoga (challenging), kickboxing with Jillian Michaels, tai chi, and Finis Jhung ballet barre exercises at the beginner level. I'm still really large to be doing some of these things, but I find them interesting and fun, and I found that if I modified enough at the beginning, over time I found I was capable of a lot more than I expected.
Calories burned, sure, mobility, sure, but for me what's maybe the most important benefit of exercise is keeping my mood on an even keel.
Once I built up to 30 minutes a day I found myself feeling more energetic. Sometimes when I'm depressed about how long this journey is, or when I'm craving something I shouldn't eat, I'll pull out one of my favorite DVDs and move intensely for 20 minutes. I almost always feel more positive afterwards.
When I started, I couldn't do anything that remotely looked like exercise, but I bought myself a step-counting pedometer and clipped it to my shoe, through the laces (a trick I learned in an old Weight Watcher's meeting.
Every day I tried to beat the previous day's step-count, if only by a few steps.
I fell out of the habit when I started going to the gym. This winter, I was ill a lot and we stopped going to the gym. We're getting to the gym more frequently, but it's not routine yet. I think I may start up with the pedometer again, in and out of the gym.
Water exercise is amazing, but difficult if you have arthritis or fibromialgia or any other problems that make most pools' water temperature too cold for comfort. If you can find an Arthritis Foundation Aquatics program in your area, I would highly recommend it. You don't necessarily have to have arthritis, but you may need a doctor's referral. Some YMCAs will have it. Our local YMCA doesn't, but a warm water therapy pool does.
To be certified, the water has to be warmer than 85 degrees. The best programs keep the air temp as high or higher than the water.
I've gotten stronger and healthier, so we switched over to a YMCA membership to save money and have more exercise options.
I know it's hard to feel comfortable in a swimming suit, but if any of us belong in the water, it's those of us with built-in flotation equipment. Water is the only place on Earth that our weight physically doesn't work against us during exercise. And we're virtually drown-proof.
Seriously though, I would LIVE in the water if I could, because the temporary relief from gravity is amazing and I can actually move at a pace and intensity that is difficult, without pouring sweat, turning bright red, and end up feeling like my calves are on fire and my head and heart are about to explode.
It is important though, if you exercise intensely in the water not to do too much more than you're used to. You also have to allow for cool-down before getting out of the water, otherwise you'll feel some of the less pleasant effects of the workout. You don't realize you're sweating and breathing hard in the water, unless you get out of the water before you've rested.
No matter where you start, startings the important part.
I will look into doing some yoga. Thanks for the advice about the video. I've looked at that one before and considered it. I used to do yoga tapes a long time ago and really liked it. It made me feel taller and more confident.
Swimming would be a fantastic idea if I knew how to swim and wasn't terrified of drowning. I know that sounds funny with all of the built in flotation devices I've got, but I never learned as a kid since neither of my parents knew how to swim and I was too shy at the time for swimming lessons.
Oh, and thanks for the good thoughts about my interview. I'm really hoping to get this position.
Starting out exercising at 300+ pounds
Be sure to keep us informed as you start new exercise and set goals for yourself. It feels so good when you do reach them. 
