I'm still in the frame of mind how my body used to be 7 years ago when I weighed 140 pounds. I can not walk at 3.5 on the treadmill for 45 minutes straight. I do good to go at 2.5 for 10 minutes at a time.
So, I wanted to know how others have started out. What was the length of time, and what exactly did you do? How long did it take to increase your time and the rate? Thank you!

Oh I wish Jiffy was here to share her story. Her's is a good one.

Everyone is different but what I would like to stress is don't push yourself into injury.

I have really great endurance. So, I can walk for really long periods of time. However, speed is an issue with me because I'm slow. However, this summer I walked to work for a couple of months (4-5 miles each way) and I ended up injurying myself for pushing so hard. It took me MONTHS to recover. MONTHS!!!

Now, the good news is: If you keep it up (and don't injure yourself) you will see HUGE leaps in improvement. Suddenly you will be able to go faster for longer and you'll be queen of the treadmill, I promise.

For the real life example: I started bicycling to work and I couldn't get up the hills (there are super steep hills!). So I would have to get off my bike and walk up them. By the second week, I could get up all of them but one. By the third week, I could get up all of them.

I started my exercise five days ago. I set the treadmill for 3.0 mph and walked for 30 minutes. By the end, I was dying. The next day, I didn't do anything. Tuesday, I decided to just keep trying. I did 30 minutes at 3.0 Tuesday and for the next day as well. Then I upped it .1 mph. My current goal is to up that number every 3 or 4 days by .1 mph until I get to 5 mph. That way, my body never quite gets used to what I'm doing, but I don't feel overwhelmed. When I get to 5 mph, I'll decide if I think I can go any higher. Even when I was tiny and in elementary school I couldn't do a mile in less than 10 minutes, so I probably won't get to 6 mph too soon.

I would also like to double the length every two weeks, but that will probably be harder for me. So, I might try to get the treadmill in twice a day instead.

I'm a newbie exerciser too. Well, new since I haven't exercised consistently in the past 2 or 3 years, anyway.

Right now, I'm just leisurely exercising. I'm very out of shape, I can walk a mile or two but not fast. The thought of doing aerobics, man, I would just fall over in a heap on the floor at this stage. I'm starting on my exercise bike, watching Tivo'ed stuff on TV. And I don't push myself hard. I work up a very light sweat, and I'm never panting. I do get a little winded, though.

It sort of doesn't feel like exercise, in that I'm not out there fully exerted myself. But if I did that, I'd fall over after the first day and never do it again. I figure 30 minutes of low-intensity 'workouts' to start with has got to be better than sitting on the couch, and if it's not the best I could be doing, oh well. I still feel a little guilty, though. Like I'm not exercising right, like I should be pushing myself so hard that I can't do more than talk between pants. But, eh. That's not what I want right now. Hard enough to get in 30 minutes 5 or 6 days a week, I don't want more stress on doing it.

You can see some of my exercise stats below (I'm quite slow!). The first time I got on the treadmill this time around I couldn't get near 3.0 for any sustained time (more like 2.6 or 2.8 mph). That was 6 weeks ago? Now I can sustain at 3.5 mph for quite a while... after I've warmed up. I don't increase speed in a very organized way (not like some others), but I do want to improve the speed. My treadmill has an incline function, and now I've started playing with that as well.

I try to push myself a bit, but do not want to kill myself. I try to keep a pace where I could continue to have a conversation with someone (okay, I sing to the music in my headphones).

Something is better than nothing -- and if you keep at it, you will see improvement!

That is all very useful information, thank you!
I don't feel so bad about myself being able to do what I can do. I have been watching the Biggest Loser, and I feel that I should be working out at their rate, HA! I'm sure I would really hurt myself.

As long as you start somewhere (even if it is for just 1 minute a day) you are headed in the right direction. I'd say if you are doing good to do 2.5 for 10 minutes then strive for 10.5 the next day, 11 the day after, etc. until you get up to 30 minutes. Then try to increase your speed or time until you get to where you feel comfortable at. HTH

I started out walking around the (rather hilly) block once, then more as the weight came off, then I started with aerobics classes after losing about 40 lbs. I've worked up to cardio four times a week, weight lifting six days a week, and on my "rest" day, I walk for 40 minutes plus a one hour yoga class a week. I've developed a "taste" for exercise.

Shelia53......do find that yoga helps with weight loss? I know a lot of people are into yoga, I'm just curious of the benefits. There must be something to it!

I go to beginning yoga, which probably doesn't help with weight loss at all. I've heard that there are some weight loss yoga classes, but I know I'm not ready for that! The benefits for me are the stretching and the relaxation. It also gets me in touch with my body and how it's feeling. Yoga was a recommendation from my neurologist and physical therapist.

here i am!!! here i am!!!! lurking as usual. and before i tell you the EXERCISE story, jazznurse, i gotta tell you that your other thread has hit me right between the eyes - the WHAT'S YOUR STRATEGY thread.

oh dear.

well, here's the deal [and i'll try to be brief because so many people have seen it and are probably bored].

before my WLS, i was incarcerated in the hospital for 5 weeks, and then in a nursing home for 3. my lungs gave out, and i desaturated as soon as the oxygen tube was removed. i was unable to stand without support. once they diagnosed sleep apnea [now really, dear, can you imagine? a 500 pound woman and no one suspected it??? the resp therapist diagnosed it!], and put me on cpap, i started getting stronger.

when i went from the hospital to the nursing home, i could walk 10 steps at a time, with help. with a lot of help from PT, by the time i left the nursing home, i could walk about 50, dragging an oxygen tank.

and then i started walking up and down the driveway. 40 steps each way. at the end of the round trip, i collapsed on the front steps for 30 minutes, did the whole thing again, and then fell asleep for 2 hours.

day by day, i increased the number of steps. and the number of trips. cane and oxygen tank. in the 3 months between admission and the first appt with the surgeon, i lost a little more than 80 pounds, and a total of 97 before the surgery. correction of the apnea was the key.

sooo, after surgery, i walked in place between commercials, and cruised up and down the driveway. i also did gilad's bodies in motion, even though some of the aerobics were WAY more than i could handle, and there's no way i'm getting on the floor!!! bad knees, ya know. but i was able to modify the abs and the push ups.

and off i went. walking with the dog. hiking. swimming, the gym. literally one step at a time. the only bump in the road was the day i decided to try the elliptical, and fell off!!!! but i can' now go 30 minutes on it, at least. AND, i bought a bike this year - 10 miles at a clip!!!!

you can do this.

oh wait. i forgot something! i walk at about 3 point something per hour. the knees won't go faster. you can exercise with intensity or with duration, with the same effect [calorie wise].

AND this past spring, i did my first official 5 K walk - a benefit for the hospital that put up with me for those 5 weeks. i finished dead last, walking the dog the entire way. the distance isn't unusual for me, but that whole time thing was weird.

What an awesome story jiffypop, and I am so happy to see what an amazing weight loss. You must be proud of yourself! I was curious about the intensity and duration, so thanks for clearing that up. I can go longer of course if I don't walk as fast. So hopefully the speed and time is just right for me. Much continued success to you!

Ooh, I was just reminded of something by Jiffypop's story of coming in dead last.

One year, there was a charity walk/run at work, and they did both a 5K and a 10K. Some coworkers and I, who were all pretty out of shape, decided to do the 5K. Another coworker who runs marathons did the 10K.

They ran the 10K first but his 10K time was much, much faster than our 5K time. We were just awful. I distinctly remember being last because the crew was following us in a truck, picking up the cones they used to mark off the course as we passed them. Hee. We didn't really care, though. We were having fun, and laughed about it.

Hey, someone has to be last!

I started out really slow as well. I'd walk at 4.0 km/hr for about 20 minutes and it nearly killed me. But I kept at it and, like Dawnyal said, increase the speed little by little every couple of days or so. Then I increased the time (I know that seems backward) until I was doing 30 minutes. Right now I'm running at 7.0 km/hr for 30 minutes and I'm working on doing intervals.

I've made a CD with the favourtie workout songs on it and my absolute most favourite songs with the best beat plays every second song. That one song energizes me so much that I spend the duration of that song at an increased speed and then go back to my normal pace for the next song.

Keep your chin up, it certainly does get easier, even if it takes longer than you expect.

~Dee

(This was the first time I'd heard JiffyPop's story - wow!)