My dr wants me to be able to walk a mile by next Thursday. I have been walking in my house but it's 25 degrees outside and I'm not up to going out there. How can I progress to a mile? I get short of breath pretty quickly---don't expect that to get much better till I drop some substantial weight, have been short of breath when I walk for a long time now. I'm a bit worried and dh told me this morning I have 10 days to walk the mile. I don't think I can do it. Any suggestions?

My dr wants me to be able to walk a mile by next Thursday. I have been walking in my house but it's 25 degrees outside and I'm not up to going out there. How can I progress to a mile? I get short of breath pretty quickly---don't expect that to get much better till I drop some substantial weight' date=' have been short of breath when I walk for a long time now. I'm a bit worried and dh told me this morning I have 10 days to walk the mile. I don't think I can do it. Any suggestions?[/quote']

I live in a very cold city and walk in the mall - it's great because its warm and there are sights to distract me. I just walk until I am tired, sit down and rest and then get up and walk again. It's very slow but it works.

I totally agree with bakawaka -- get thee to the mall! Don't shoot for a mile the first time out, just try to do a little more than you've done each time and build on your progress.

You CAN do this, don't worry.

Enjoy the mall. It is a safe, warm place with lots of resting spots. Just do the best you can -- bet you'll surprise yourself!

ditto for the above. Most malls already have it measured, but walk until you are tired stop and then do some more. Before you know it a mile will be nothing. have you had surgery yet? If so how far out are you? I was walking a mile by week 4 and the doctor said I was right on course. Exercise is something that most of us lacked. As they say if you don't work up a good sweat it isn't a work out. Good Luck

Just try... Do as much as you can today and go a little bit further tomorrow.

Like the others said, do the best you can. Mall walking works very well. Just walking up and down all the corridors for as long as you can manage. Also just walking loops around your house works, jamming to your favorite songs. If you have a treadmill at home, walk on it at whatever speed feels comfortable. I think the first week out, I could only walk about 1/2 a mile and was walking probably 1.5 mph. However, it got further and faster before long. Sooner than you realize it, you will be walking miles and at brisk pace. Jut as n extrapolation point for your progress I am running 5k t 5 month out. You can do it! It gets better every single day! I swear it does. However, it does take you wanting to phone foot in front of another even when you do not feel like it during the first month.

I'm with what everyone else has said. If you don't have a treadmill, try the mall, or a basic gym.. in my city they have memberships for $10 a month at some places.

I also downloaded an app my old nutritionist recommended when I said I wanted to eventually run a half marathon... that goal is a little high but hey, nothing wrong with a long term goal....

The app is called 5k runner on my iphone (I think you can get it on blackberry too)

It starts off slow, and you progress to the next step when you are ready. I look back and remember posts I made that said "that work out kicked my a**" and I was literally running 2 minutes straight, then walking for 3 etc etc. Now I am up to running 25 minutes straight... would I have thought this 2 months ago? Not a chance in hell.

You just have to start, do the best you can one day, and take a few extra steps the next day, and then the next day.... you'll get there

get a pedometer. I have an omron it cost about 25 bucks it keeps track of my steps daily and stores for a week, it doesn't have to be held in a certain

way, you can put it in your pocket or I clip it in my bra;)go to the mall do your thing and see how many steps (it does steps and miles) then the next day do 200 more...and so on

I find the pedometer really encourages me!

Thanks. The mall is really far from me so that's not possible right now. I guess I'll just do it in my house. I do have a treadmill but don't know how to use it. I'm one week out today--for the person that mentioned it.

Treadmills are super easy to use, most of them you just press start and you're good to go! Most have arrows to increase or decrease the speeds and inclines (if there is any) and that's about it. If you're leery about stepping on and pressing start... then stand beside it, press start and play with the buttons before to get accustomed to it first. Once you've figured that out... you might feel more confident about actually getting on.

I actually despised treadmills until I tried this 5k runner. I always thought of myself as more of an elliptical person since I couldn't run. The second day I tried 5k runner, I was addicted to it, and by the next week I bought a treadmill on sale... best investment ever!

If you're not sure how to use it, you can look up the user manual online if you don't have it and read that before using it as well

I am 3 days out and thinking about my own exercise plan as well. I am starting to feel like I need to get out a bit and exercise is utlimately how I want to invest my time. My plan is to go out and walk tomorrow for 15 minutes, 2 times per day. This will give me 30 minutes of walking. I think if I had pressure to walk 1 mile, I would havemore anxiety about it. So, maybe you just take it one day at a time and do what you can. As for going outside in the cold, I think you are going to need to just do it and keep going. This sounds harsh, I know, however, if you budle yourself up, put on a hat, gloves, etc.. and get moving, you will warm up. It's a habit change and it's hard. I am worried about being cold too but know that this is a forever change that will require major behavioral adjustments in order to improve my life (our lives). If you want a check in buddy, I am happy to be that person. I know it's going to be hard for me to push myself when I can see my breath in the air!!!

I am over one month post op. I started a little at a time it took me honestly one month just to feel half good.I am just now walking 20 mintues working and reaching for 30 plus min. Today I worked 30 min in the pool. Take your time listen to your body when u need to rest and sleep Do it. Your body is healing, don't stress in your timing. As long as you get water and proteins in u are good to go. Your doc knows the more u move the better, so breath deep do the best you can it will work. Heck I am not doing a mile yet but I will. Good luck