Okay, I'm not sure exactly how much I weigh, but I'm pretty sure I'm hovering somewhere around 350. Really wish I could find a way to know for sure. I recently joined a gym. And I'm psyched to get moving. My only issue is this...after just a few minutes on the treadmill or any cardio machine, I'm hurting so bad I'm ready to give up. Any tips? Anyone else having this issue? I really want to get moving again and don't want to give up this time. Thanks in advance for any information

my only suggestion is to try and go a little bit longer each day. Whether it's 2 seconds or 10 minutes...make a vow to yourself to try and increase your time each time you exercise. in a month's time, you will be AMAZED at how far you have come, and your own progress willl encourage you to continue

I would start in the water. Well, you could FOREVER be in the water, but it's a great place to start. Take a water fitness class. You can get a really get a good workout at any size. Or walk = slowly and regularly... your body needs to acclimate and it will take time, but water is your best bet.

Have you seen Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead? It's on Netflix. While I don't know that the juice fast is necessarily the best idea (but what do I know really?), it is interesting to watch one of the subjects of the documentary start exercising. If I remember correctly, he had knee problems and could barely walk to the end of the road and back a single time. Starting is definitely the hardest. But two thoughts - 1. You don't have to get all of your daily exercise in one session. It's okay to do several 5 or 10 minute sessions (on slow speed, no less) throughout the day. You'll still see great benefits. And 2. You may be surprised at how quickly your body learns to tolerate (and even enjoy) the exercise. Don't think that every day will be as hard as the first day.

Congratulations on starting this incredible journey!

Edited to Add: I definitely second the water! Great idea, Melissa!

Thank you guys very much for the advice. And I'm definitely going to look up that documentary on Netflix. The gym I joined doesn't have a pool, but the apartment complex I live in thankfully does Great idea! I used to do water aerobics about 5 years ago and it was so much fun. I think it's time to get back to it

When I first started walking, just a few minutes would have my knees and hips hurting. I started walking a few minutes several times a day. I got a pedometer and kept track of how many steps I was taking a day. To get a baseline, I wore it for a few days just walking my normal amount. I was only walking about 1000 steps a day. I started gradually increasing the number of steps that I walked per day.

I also got a DVD of chair aerobics.

The water fitness class is a great idea if you have one available.

When first starting on this path, I really believe that your food intake is more important than exercise. Just do what you can.

You can do this!

I've been lucky I was Slightly Active regardless of my weight (Talent eh ? I can eat enough to counteract all the postive physicality that I engage in... kinda crazy but true, it is just soooo easy for me to eat).

That said, just increase it slowly. I'm better with LONGER but less intense workouts so that is what I do other people might not take me seriously because of it but its what works for me. If I was forced to do 20 minutes of full out running I would just quit. I would really much rather walk for 2 hours.... and thats for reals !

Chair exercises are great. I have "Yoga for the Rest of Us" which I found invigorating. I also do simple walking in place, slow pace, in front of the tv.

It's frustrating to have to start slowly, but if you give your body time to catch up, you might be surprised (I was) how quickly you're able to do more.

Have a great journey!

I started with walking in place with Wii's Walk it Out. I just kept upping what I could do until I finished the game and it got too easy.

When I started working on getting healthier, I was nearly bed-bound. Weight loss wasn't even my goal at first, just regaining my independence and not gaining was my main focus.

I bought a pedometer and clipped it to my shoes (after reading the suggestion in a magazine and after losing a few pedometers to the washing machine). I bought the cheapest step-counting pedometer I could find and every day tried too "beat" the previous day's stepcount. I wrote the daily stepcount on the calendar so I could see my progress.

It doesn't matter what your fitness level, you start where you can, and you gradually work to increase your abilities. Whether you can only do 30 seconds of slow exercise or 1 hour of intense exercise, you start where you can and work to increase your limits.

If you exercise to the point of pain and absolute exhaustion, you're likely to give up. Pushing your limits is great, but not so much that you can't move the next day.

I started at 5 mins on the treadmill.. I'm up to 10mins now. It's all about getting up and moving.. Dont over do it though. .

Water exercises are great! I haven't tried it but I know it is easier on the joints/body. I first started out with taking the dog for a walk twice a week and doing zumba for 30 mins 5 times a week. Later increased it to 45-60 mins. It worked out great. Just recently bought myself a machine (elliptical) about 2 weeks ago? Safe to say for the 5 months on my weight loss journey it was done without any machine whatsoever. So, start out small and increase within time. You will get there eventually.

I use the exercise bike, I started out doing 15 minutes and now I am up to 22 minutes. Just start slowly, do what you can do and build yourself up.

My recommendation is to just take it slow. There's something up with me that causes me to get sick (myalgia, extreme fatigue, cold-like symptoms, etc.) if I exercise too much. For me, 15 minutes can be too much. So what I do is get on the treadmill and do a couple minutes at 1.0 MPH -- that's so slow my pedometer doesn't register any steps. Then up to 1.3 MPH, maybe 1.5 MPH. Also, I do some stretching DVDs which are low impact, and hand weights. Break it up into little chunks like others suggested. Good luck!

Probably going to echo what everyone else has said but any minutes are better than none. Make sure you have good trainers and a decently supportive bra!
When I first went back to exercising I struggled to very slowly walk my little boy to school which is less than a quarter of a mile away. I was up to 2.5 miles at a fairly rapid pace without problems last week until I had my run in with a horsefly and a stay in hospital. I have arthritis in my knees and my joints seized up after a few days of being unwell so I haven't quite caught back up yet.
Do you live somewhere that you could and walk outside? Although I like the structure of being in the gym I MUCH prefer to exercise outdoors and enjoy a bit of scenery and fresh air.
It is all about weighing up risks too. I have a really supportive practice nurse and she knows I take painkillers to be able to exercise. In theory pain is seen as a warning that you are overdoing it etc etc but I am more at risk from the weight I am carrying, so in order to reduce that weight (which makes my joints worse) I am reliant on painkillers to be able to exercise.
I am not neccessarily recommending this approach, just that it is the only way that works for me. If I can't exercise my healthy eating goes to pot.
Good luck and keep at it.