Very Sedentary for Years... How do I start?

[JupiterinVirgo 846]

I'm 26 pounds down over six weeks, and still very heavy. I work online all day, and have been very sedentary for many years. Because of that, I feel like my knees are okay and I'm afraid of stressing them with extra walking etc at this weight, bit want to increase the speed of my weight loss. My caloric intake is still quite low, and exertion seems to increase major energy crashes. Any suggestions? Thanks!

[JamieLogical 8,727]

If you are still early out, fatigue is a real issue and if you want to start introducing more intense exercising, you will have to increase your calorie intake. As counter intuitive as it might be, not eating enough calories to sustain your level of activity can actually stall your weight loss. That being said, you should absolutely increase your activity level, because regular exercise will be critical to losing and maintaining down the road.

If your knees are a concern, you should look into low-impact options like biking (stationary is fine for the winter), elliptical, or swimming.

[CowgirlJane 14,261]

There are two activities that are low stress on joints, can be done at any pace to match your fitness and YET will also help you get fitter. First, is walking. The human body is made for walking! Just go slow, respect your body when it tells you things (ie pain is not how you gain!). If you are really out of shape, start with just 5-10 minutes and add a few minutes over time, build up.

The second is Water aerobics. I did it when I was pretty heavy and it was soo fun! Not only was it a great, low/no impact workout but it made me feel good emotionally. The class I did was full of older, out of shape, or injury rehab people so I felt very comfortable. That group was a hoot to boot! Look into it.

[BLERDgirl 6,417]

@@JupiterinVirgo - I was just talking to someone about this at the gym yesterday. You start slow but you do it consistently. Get you some light hand weights. 3 -5 lbs. Keep them by your computer desk. Every 30 mins do 10 arm raises. Every hour get up and walk around the house for 5 minutes swinging the weights in your hands. Set alarms on your smart phone to remind you to move. Another tip is to join a gym or sign up for a exercise class of some sort. Nothing big. When I started going to the gym, my goal was 2 days a week. I aimed for doing that faithfully. When that got easy I added a 3rd day. Even now 2 things I do every day is plan my activity and eating for the day when I get up. Keep that focus and you will be fine.

[catwoman7 11,285]

I stuck to a stationary bike and water-based activities when I was really heavy. And a "NuStep", which is sort of like an elliptical machine, only you're sitting instead of standing. All worked great!

[AngelaWilliamsMD 290]

You're still early out, you may want to lose some more weight first and not rush things. Getting clearance by a physician is never a bad thing either!

[winklie 518]

@@JupiterinVirgo

How do you start? Just like I did almost 2 years ago. One step at a time. I began walking, and it took me a long time, to get up to a mile, then two. Now I power walk 7.57 miles every morning. And I am considering adding another mile to my walk. Granted not everyone has 2 hours a day they can dedicate to walking, but if you walk on your breaks, and during lunch, and when you get home. You can get a lot of steps in. Remember, it's not just the steps that count, it's how hard they were, and what your heart rate was when you stepped them.

Baby steps. Put on foot in front of the other, and just go. The Gym is also an alternative, but you want a good low intensity workout, you can do this in a gym, or you can walk for free.

Oh and get a Fitbit. Hold yourself accountable for your actions. A Fitbit makes your daily activity real and tangible. You can see what you are doing, when, and watch yourself improve. You can also track all you food (I do) and see exactly where you are exercise wise.

That would be my advice to anyone. Walking is a great way to get started.

Best of luck to you and Happy Holidays!

[JupiterinVirgo 846]

Every single one of your comments and stories are amazingly inspirational and helpful. Thank you so much!

[KristenVSG2014 1,872]

I agree with @@winklie about getting a FitBit. I was surprised how few steps I take. On weekday non-gym days I average about 3,500 steps. On the weekend it is like 1,500. So I've been working on ramping up my steps. Park farther away, take a few more laps around the grocery store...it all adds up.

That being said, I had a TERRIBLE time with fatigue and exhaustion for a long time. It wasn't until I was consistently getting enough calories that I actually had energy. You are still early out and will find what works best for your situation.

[winklie 518]

@@KristenVSG2014

Very well said. I actually put myself into a stall when I increased my walking pace, distance and cadence. I had to increase my calories, and that got me back on track. It's a tricky tightrope to walk. I've got it down now, on non walking days I average around 700 or so calories, on walking days, about 1100. This seems to work. But everyone is different.

[WLSResources/ClothingExch 3,444]

@@JupiterinVirgo --

I'm not sure that some of the respondents are familiar with your other questions. I think it's important to stress that exercise must be part of a healthful, aware, realistic, grounded, overall approach to weight-loss.

Edited December 16, 2015 by WLSResources/ClothingExch

[BLERDgirl 6,417]

There are two activities that are low stress on joints, can be done at any pace to match your fitness and YET will also help you get fitter. First, is walking. The human body is made for walking! Just go slow, respect your body when it tells you things (ie pain is not how you gain!). If you are really out of shape, start with just 5-10 minutes and add a few minutes over time, build up.

The second is Water aerobics. I did it when I was pretty heavy and it was soo fun! Not only was it a great, low/no impact workout but it made me feel good emotionally. The class I did was full of older, out of shape, or injury rehab people so I felt very comfortable. That group was a hoot to boot! Look into it.

Were you in my class? LOL Yes we get a variety of young, old and plus size folks. However the instructors make the class loads of fun!

I also take the silver sneakers low impact class. I am the youngest in class but also the heaviest. I don't care because my knees can tolerate it and I work up a good sweat. Most of theses people have watched me losing over the past year so I never feel out of place. They encourage me to keep up the work.

[BLERDgirl 6,417]

You're still early out, you may want to lose some more weight first and not rush things. Getting clearance by a physician is never a bad thing either!

I was walking from day 1, back in the gym week 3. It's not too early to work out, in fact it helps.

I also use an activity tracker. I prefer the polar loop, but really I say find one you like. They all remind you to move every hour, and track your steps. Many also monitor your sleep patterns.

[swimbikerun 1,048]

I swam. Less strain on the body and you get an excellent cardio workout. I toned a lot.

[winklie 518]

Everyone has made a great post with a lot of alternatives. All share the same one key. Do SOMETHING, walk, ride a bike, swim, yoga, BJJ, flap your wings like a chicken, dance, Px40, the list is endless.

The two themes I agree with are, first get a fitness tracker, as stated I like the Fitbit, because for me, it is one stop shopping. I use the Surge, so I get GPS data on my walks, broken down by miles, and a ton of other data I can and do use to improve. Then there is the diet side. I track everything that goes in my mouth. As I am known around here as the guy who writes about his ass a lot, I keep track of what goes in and what I expect should come out. So with the Fitbit website I can track my food just like MyFitnessPal.com, however as it's in house and one application, it does a better job of letting me know where I stand diet wise. This is a personal choice, some may not like the Fitbit dietary tracking, look around and see what is out there and what meets your needs. The only two I would steer you away from are the Basis Peak and the Apple Watch. While Basis makes a great fitness watch, the website has no diet section, and really does not give you the kind of data that you get from Fitbit. Avoid the Apple Watch, as it is not meant to be a fitness watch, it's meant to be a supplement to your IPhone. It does not do sleep tracking (there are probably apps) however, it cannot hold a charge for 24 hours, so most people let it charge overnight.

The second theme that I think was really well put, and a special shout out to @@WLSResources/ClothingExch doe putting it so succinctly, whatever you do, make it measurable, and realistic. Make it something you enjoy. If you like to walk, then walk. I throw my headphones on and listen to Heavy Metal the whole time, it is energizing. But that's me. You like to cycle, then do that. Whatever it is, make sure you enjoy it and can measure it, that way you can track yourself improving, the reward factor cannot be overstated. When I started off, a 4 mile walk took me 2 hours. I now do 7.57 miles in the same time. And I am just about to add another mile. I can clearly watch my progress, and it's rewarding.

Before my surgery I lost a lot of weight, much more than the 8% required by the Surgical group. When people ask me how I did it, I tell them all the same, thing: I moved more and ate less. You already have the eating less part down, now for the Move More part.

Lastly, I live by a concept called the Aggregation of Minimal gains. You can read about it here http://jamesclear.com/marginal-gains Life changing stuff, 1% at a time.

Best of luck and let us all know what you decide and how you are doing, we are all your biggest fans!