I am very, very new to the world of exercise. Looking at my weight stats you can probably understand why. For most of my life I've avoided exercise like the plague.

I was always a very self-conscious kid who was convinced she was fat, even when she wasn't, and so I avoided situations where I had to put myself on display -- during my high school years I became almost Houdini-like when it came to wiggling my way out of gym class.

When I hit my ultimate HW of 307lbs I started walking almost every day for around 20 minutes (and damn that was hard; my back was killing me!). I then upped that time to half-an-hour, and for the past couple of days I've been doing a 25-minute walk twice a day.

I want to add some extra exercise into this routine but I honestly don't know where to start. I'm a full-time student and can't afford a gym membership, exercise videos or anything else.

Could any of you perhaps give me some pointers or suggest some things I could do at home? Or tell me if my walking is enough?

Thank you!

If you have cable t.v. check to see if there are any workout videos available. My provider has something called "On Demand" with tons of free options to watch.

When your budget allows you might want to think about getting a resistance band. You can look online for various exercises to do with it or check out a book at the library. Also, check online for exercises you can do seated in a chair.

Lastly, if you have large canned items of food in your kitchen you can use them as makeshift weights to lift!

library and youtube has a bunch on there such as leslie who does the walk away the pounds...sparkpeople has a bunch for various fitness levels. There's a lot on youtube and you can download to your computer to you don't have to be online everytime you want to workout.

BTW, good luck with your studies!

I used to have a personal trainer in H.S ( for some events like if i needed to squeeze into a smaller dress for an occasion )

he said that after i left him i should continue walking and sometimes i should try walking on routes that had incline or try using a backpack with a few items in it as a weighted vest so to speak to vary the workout

that said you could also do squats lunges and youtube.com video clips for excersizing !

when your budget allows please do look into a resistance band bed bath and beyond has a great one with cloth around the band so it dosent snap in your face ( that has happened to me once ) its around 20 dollars.

good luck !!

Most of my strength exercises right now consist of body weight work that I do at home, most without any equipment at all. You can do squats, lunges, tricep dips, pushups, calf raises, planks, crunches, etc., all without any equipment. Just google or look on youtube for videos on the proper form, and start out with whatever modifications you need to make (for example, start the pushups by doing them against the wall or on an elevated surface like a sturdy table or the arm of a sofa). If you'd like, at some point you can pick up a set of hand weights to up the intensity of the exercises. Do this stuff a few times each week in addition to your walking - which is GREAT exercise!

Check the fitness section of this board. I posted links to convict workouts what don't need any equipment.

Thanks for your help, guys!

I LOVE LOVE LOOOOVE at home workout videos - highly recommend Jillian Michaels - she has several levels and, as she says, you start where you start. Leslie Sansone is good, fairly easy, if you are just starting out. I also like Richard Simmons if I'm in the mood to just dance and have fun [again you can be in shape or out of shape for his]. I LOVE Jane Fonda's old videos which you can start buying again too.

If you want some ideas, def. go to www.collagevideo.com - it's a great website - they sort videos by preference etc. Have a bunch of reviews and video clips of all the workouts. It's great.

Good luck!!

#1) walking is FANTASTIC for weightloss~ dont ever let anyone tell you differently

#2) Full-time student? At a university? I would say 99.9999999% have gyms that are free for students (but not if you dont WANT to go to a gym)

#3) GO to a thrift store and buy USED workout videos for a buck or 2 a piece.....or the library, or your parents/friends/relatives.