Exercise for the extremely overweight

[Starshollowwannabe]

I’m really overweight. 10 stone overweight. My back and my knees are starting to ache and as well as addressing diet I’d like to start doing some gentle exercise, maybe online classes. I tried Joe Wicks with the kids but it was way too hard for me. Can anyone recommend sonething?

Wow @SFCA. That’s amazing. I really want to do this but have been on ten million diets in the past that never last. I usually manage a stone and lose motivation. What made this time different for you?

RE weight I’ve been doing Team RH, that works for me - you eat a set calorie limit (day 2000), and try to burn 3000 or so . At eg my weight that actually isn’t too hard, it’s about 8-10000 steps . I’ve lost 37lb so it definitely does work .

Have a look at team body project. On you tube and website/app. Low impact high intensity it’s really good. I’m 6st overweight and have been doing it for 4 weeks now.

SFCA

That is so impressive. Do you feel amazing or do you still have a fat brain? I can never seem to get past my fat brain if you see what I mean?

Following. I need inspiration to lose weight and get back on a horse!

Please don't try Zumba it's really not safe. Also please don't do fasting or set yourself an arbitrary calorie goal without actually working out your TDEE and deducting 500-750 from it.

Eat 3 meals a day to include plenty of veg, some fruit, protein, carbs and fats. You can have a small dessert after dinner and still be within calorie deficit. This has to be a sustainable lifestyle change, not something that will feel like you're punishing yourself.

Love team body project on YouTube! I lost 6 stone on SlimmingWorld. I'm now average weight but pregnant, they encourage you to do as much as you can and to pause when you need to. I've been doing it at least 4/5 times a week and I love it!

Thank you 😊 I have been obese my entire adult life and like you have gone on a zillion ‘diets’. DH has never been obese but was heading to the top of the overweight category. We have young children and what we were eating (not feeding the children!) was terrible, we never cooked properly and lived on rubbish. I think what has helped was Doing it together and deciding to get healthy for our children, each other and ourselves rather than deciding to get slim. We have not cut out any major food groups so have still had pasta, potato, cheese etc. I think that has really helped us not feel like we are dieting. We cut out all snacks and have not eaten takeaways, chocolate, biscuitS, crisps, bread this year. We have learnt to cook and made sure we don’t feel hungry. I have only weighed myself once a month too as when I tried Weight Watchers etc if I didn’t lose weight one week it made me think it wasn’t working and quit!

I think you have to be really ready mentally to lose weight successfully. It took me about 15 years to get there!

@OhioOhioOhio I still have fat brain! I still have three stone to lose and am still (just) in the obese category. My DC are shielded so I left the house for the first time in 10 weeks. Ran into somebody I haven’t seen for ages and she was saying ‘you look amazing, you have lost so much weight’ and instead of feeling really pleased I couldn’t help but think ‘I am still twice your size!!!’. I am trying really hard not to focus entirely on shape change and thinking about the impact on my health and the way I can play with my children. So much of being significantly overweight is a mental thing.

Find a podcast you love, set off for a walk and don't worry about burning calories, walking fast or even how far you go. Just go for a wander, try different routes, look at the trees and flowers and have a nosey at other people's houses and gardens, then wander back home again after an episode or two (if you can work up to 60mins that's ideal)
Don't make it feel like a punishment, you are not "bad" for being overweight or if you can't walk fast. Just get moving more if you can.
And of course have a look at diet as cutting calories is an easy ish start for most people.

You thanked everyone for being gentle with you - now go and be gentle and kind to yourself, you deserve it

It is so great that you are doing this! Try to get the walking up to 1 hour a day. If it's too hard to do it all in one go, you could break it into 2 x 30 minutes or even 3 x 20 minutes. Make sure you have supportive and comfortable shoes to wear - treat yourself to some nice trainers.

Spend more time standing up and try a bit of dancing at home, especially if there are days when you can't get out for a walk - just put on a song/playlist you like and boogie!

@Starshollowwannabe Joe Wicks does a low intensity HIIT workout aimed at overweight people. He tailors the exercises so for example if you cant do the star jump you just move each leg out to the side one at a time. I'm not overweight but so have mobility issues and I really rate it. You exercise for 30 seconds and then stop for 30 and they're really achievable exercises.

I would just increase your walking. Don’t worry about speed, go for time out and frequency- try to work up to 30 mins every day, then 40 and so on. Find some music you love or a podcast that makes you laugh and treat it as your headspace time.

Since lockdown I've been doing classes on YouTube. Lesley Sansome's fitness walking and Zumba Gold are my favourites but there are lots of different types of exercise on there so I am sure you will find something that suits you. Good luck

Nearly 8 years ago I was in a similar position to you. I knew I needed to lose the weight for my health. What worked for me was 5:2, I say for me as I think you always need to find what works for you but at the end of the day eating better and exercising more is what works however you get there. walking daily to start with helped. I walked in the house, sometimes just up and down the living room, sometimes figure 8s around it, with something on the tv that would distract me enough but not need so much concentration I'd sit down (I soon discovered masterchef was not the programme!). Aim in small chunks too - don't think in 6 months I want to have dropped x stone. Start with small progress in small times and don't forget to celebrate the non scale victories, like when you realise you've gone down a dress size or the exercise that was hard to start with is now easier. don't beat yourself up if you think you've failed one day, just write it off and start again the next. And if you try a diet plan that doesn't work for you, don't beat yourself up - there are loads out there some just as simple as paying attention to your portion sizes. You will find what works for you.

Swimming would be great but who knows when the pools will fully reopen.

You could have a look at Zumba Gold - it's low impact and suitable for most people - please don't take this the wrong way but a large percentage of class attendees tend to be quite advanced in years. I believe there's a seated version too.

Also I've heard good things about Lesley Sansone's walking videos which are available on youtube. They are very popular.

Use ‘my fitness pal’ to track all calorie intake. Otherwise it’s easy to fall down the ‘oh I deserve another biscuit because I exercised’ hole! Tracking calories is the only thing that works for me

Just walk a little OP.

I was 12 stone over weight last year - I was 22 stone, I should be 10.

I’m now 15.9 (and 27 weeks pregnant BUT I’ve stayed the same weight as the day I conceived and don’t plan to gain any - full support of my HCPs).

To be honest I didn’t exercise to lose the first six stone. It’s been diet Alone.

Forgive me if this has already been said, but strength training, strength training, strength training! Anybody who can stand from a chair can begin to work on squats, for example.

Exercise for significant fat loss needs to be about changing your body composition - increasing your muscle mass - rather than trying to burn yourself into a calorie deficit.

Thanks everyone. Started the morning feeling really motivated. Tracking food already on MyFitnessPal and it’s pouring today so I did a 10 minute low impact on you tube (could have kept going but the baby had finished his breakfast and was crying). Going to try and complete it (20 mins) when he’s napping. Decided to either do a 30 walk or do a 30 minute low impact workout every day for the next Week then review it so see if I can manage more.
I know losing weight is more about diet really but my body feels knackered and I want to feel better as well as look better.

Forgive me if this has already been said, but strength training, strength training, strength training! Anybody who can stand from a chair can begin to work on squats, for example

With that much extra weight on the joints nobody should attempt squats and strength training without professional supervision. A PT would get her doing box squats with kettlebells for example but it's going to stress the knees dangerously to attempt squats without ensuring that form is correct and she isn't likely to damage her knees.

do you have stairs in your house? If so start making unnecessary trips up those a couple of times of day. Stairs are great for getting the heart rate going a bit. Definitely try and walk every day even for a few minutes.

As a few other posters have suggested, there are two really important things here - losing weight and exercise. Both are important because diet is the main factor that will help you lose weight, whilst exercise has significant health benefits even if it doesn't result in any weight loss, so it's fantastic that you've started walking and are keen to increase your exercise :)

I would recommend checking out Second Nature (previously called Our Path). It's a plan which some NHS GPs are able to refer to, but you can also sign up privately which I did and I haven't looked back!

It's a 12 week sustainable holistic lifestyle programme rather than a diet. The 'diet' is a relatively low carb diet but mostly just involves meal planning, cutting our processed junk food and when you do have a treat, eating it mindfully and enjoying it and then moving on - no beating yourself up for "failing" and then falling off the wagon! But you also have access to a registered dietician and learn through daily articles all about food, exercise, the mind, stress and sleep and the relationships between them all.

I have also read the amazing "the four pillar plan" by Dr Rangan Chaterjee which is similarly holistic in its approach, looking at "relax, move, eat and sleep".

www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0241303559/ref=cm_sw_r_apa_i_bp11EbCY954NE

I know you asked mostly about exercise, but I just thought the above might be helpful because they both address exercise as part of their holistic approach, and making little adjustments in a few of these areas can really increase the overall benefits you see. Good luck!

Strength training is important but someone who is very overweight and still active/mobile probably is pretty strong and anything that puts additional strain on the joints should be avoided. It is the equivalent of a lighter person carrying a couple of heavy suitcases around with them!

OP, I hear Skechers are the best walking trainers :)

@Starshollowwannabe Sounds like a good start to your day!