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SparkPeople.com ran this three-part series, "Think You're Too Heavy to Exercise?," to encourage and reassure newcomers to exercise and weight loss.

Part 1, "Getting off to a good start" -- http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/fitness_articles.asp?id=584

Part 2, "How to keep going when the going gets tough" -- http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/fitness_articles.asp?id=587

Part 3, "Tapping into the mind-body-spirit connection" -- http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/fitness_articles.asp?id=589

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SparkPeople.com ran this three-part series, "Think You're Too Heavy to Exercise?," to encourage and reassure newcomers to exercise and weight loss.

Part 1, "Getting off to a good start" -- http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/fitness_articles.asp?id=584

Part 2, "How to keep going when the going gets tough" -- http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/fitness_articles.asp?id=587

Part 3, "Tapping into the mind-body-spirit connection" -- http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/fitness_articles.asp?id=589

This is great. There are some very practice ideas and suggestions in this series.

I would highly recommend it to anyone who is not currently exercising as well as those of us who are exercising at a higher weight.

Thanks for sharing this.

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There are several series on YouTube with bariatric/obesity specific workouts. One such series is the Workout Launchpad on the LIVEexercise channel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPJKAG0mknI

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There are tons of exercise resources for people at all levels of fitness. So many who are obese and hesitant post in BP to ask for guidance. If we could have this topic as a resource specifically for beginners, it would be terrific. The number of offerings could become overwhelming, but better that than people remaining fearful or clueless.

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I agree. I can attest that working out when you become a certain weight is a struggle. Even going to the gym has limitations as much of the equipment is not meant for obese people, or comfortable to use.

Knowledge is power. Putting out as many options as possible is definitely a great resource!

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It would be great to have a list of these sort of resources stickied in the Fitness forum.

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Pre-op, I was pretty immobile and even my favorite form of exercise (swimming) was difficult.

I got an exercise peddler and peddled it with my hands while watching tv. I worked up to an hour a day.

It really helped me prepare for surgery and to get to a place where I can now exercise much more easily.

A fitness tracker is also helpful. Even if you can only exercise a few minutes at a time, it helps me to keep track so I can see how small increments can add up.

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I got an exercise peddler and peddled it with my hands while watching tv. I worked up to an hour a day.

I

A fitness tracker is also helpful. Even if you can only exercise a few minutes at a time, it helps me to keep track so I can see how small increments can add up.

One of the "stars" of SparkPeople.com (I'm really not touting Spark, but I've been a member since my surgery) is a woman who started at about 460. She, too, started with the hand cycle. She's a non-surgical weight-loser. It's taken years, but she's now about 220 and still at it.

For those are immobile because of weight, injury or some other physical disability, one of Spark's teams is Chair Exercise Team. There are lots of options online for chair exercises, videos, et al., easy to find by googling. The team, though, has a sticky topic listing much of what's available. For anyone wanting to take a look, here goes:

http://www.sparkpeople.com/myspark/groups_individual.asp?gid=32265

Among its own videos (see the Articles and Videos tab) are quite a few chair exercises positioned for people who have desk jobs.

Fyi, Spark is not geared to WLS, but many members have had surgery and there are at least several teams for them.

So that I don't seem to be 'selling' the website, let me say Livestrong.com.

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when I first got my treadmill I was only able to walk for 5 minutes at a time. my weight was not at it's highest, but I would say my fitness was at it's lowest. start where you are and what you can and your body will amaze you! I also love to swim and jog in the Water.

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