I am seriously debating on joining a fitness center near me..and will use the bike and maybe take Zumba classes. I have been debating on this for the longest time and need to buckle up on my path of my shape downsized.

I was successful in the past on a fitness center and I was wandering about an obese woman doing Zumba classes. I always hearing great reviews on many women doing zumba and with my shape size, wondering is I will make the entire zumba session.

Need to do something, I can not do exercise at home, always bothered by my family home duties and when I want to do dancing at home at night, I am tired.

I will check one center this weekend and see how much they charge on a monthly basis. I need to get serious, since my medical doctor always pushes me on diet pills and surgery and I refused on her idea on tackling weight loss. I have no off line friends and struggling day by day.

Am nearly 500 Lbs and need to make some serious lifestyle changes. Do you think a fitness center will help me? ..If I choose food wisely. Thank you for any input on this.

As much as it sucks, losing weight is 80% what you eat and 20% exercise.

The exercise can DEFINITELY help but tackling your eating is going to be where you succeed or fail.

pixikat is right- diet is most of weight loss. You diet to lose weight, you exercise to get fit. Exercise can help with weight loss, but it won't make it happen without diligently applied dietary changes as well.

But- exercise is great for your health in many ways. If you think joining a fitness center would be good, I say do it!

Pix..Dee...Thank you both...but I had tried many times on calories and points counting and am just taking a new approach on choosing high fiberous foods when am truly hungry and stop when am satisfied..more on IE method.

What I had learned from Richard Simmons..."I overeat,and don't exercise enough".

Unless you're running many miles a week, you're not likely to out-exercise overeating.

We tend to grossly overestimate the additional calorie burn for exercising.

Liliann- just take things slow, one meal at a time. Try to think about what you are eating and why you are eating it. So often we put food into our mouths that we hardly taste, just to salve a need. Look at your portions and think about whether you need to eat everything on your plate. There's no need to count at this stage, just try to cut out some of the processed carbs, and add in more veg.
As for the exercise go ahead and join the fitness center if you think you will go. At the beginning of my journey there's no way I'd have gone. I bought a static bike and rode it whilst watching TV. I could ride 40kms a day
Do little things Liliann. Yours will be a long journey, but as with all journeys, it starts with the first step. I eagerly await news of your great success. Feel free to PM me if you wish to chat

At nearly 500 pounds I think Zumba is going to be tough for you--if you haven't been exercising. I would start out slow--just walking on a treadmill--maybe doing some bike along with weights--then move into Zumba--once your endurance starts to improve. But at the same time I don't want to discourage you if you want to try a class out. You may do great--(it's not easy)--even the most fit in the class break out into a sweat.

I agree with everyone else on the food point. You lose 98% of your weight by simply consuming less calories. Find out how many calories you need--based on your height--during the day and follow it strictly. Become an avid calorie counter and in that you will find success.

With exercise it's just calories in-versus-calories out. The way it was put to me by one of my aerobic instructors: "Go ahead and eat 1 donut--then you can run for 3 miles to burn off the calories you just ate"--ha.ha. In that I started looking at donuts in an entirely different way. Exercise is great for your heart--lungs--muscles--body toning-- vascular system-and endurance--but it's certainly not a cure all for weight loss.