I talked about this stuff some in my intro blog when I first joined this Transformation.com community.


When I was forty and weighed as much as I do now I could go for an half hour walk and I'd get home huffing and puffing, sweaty and exhausted. The same for climbing stairs or most other activities. The strangely pleasant muscle soreness told me I did some real work. I lost weight. I should have never given up in 2004, I know now.


At fifty, I'm in pain when I try to do those same things. Everything hurts: feet, ankles, knees, hips, back, shoulders, and neck. Sometimes I can hardly get past the pains enough to get hot and sweaty unless I take ibuprofen before and after. I know I have to move or I won't improve. And no, I don't have easy access to a pool; I've already explored that avenue.


Using diet only I have managed to drop a few pounds. Shoud I just focus on diet only for a while until I can drop 25 pounds (wild guess) and maybe the body parts won't give me so much trouble?


Any thoughts?


donutz

Good morning donutz,
I understand what you are saying. My strategy has been to do lots of low impact stuff (i.e. walking (even if it is slow for 10 minutes), bike riding, or (my favorite) dancing to some music i like, in my living room. I'd do it only until i began to feel uncomfortable and then i'd stop. I'd do it several times a week and slowly build up my endurance. As i began to get stronger, i'd add more exercises to my list.

I later developed a hernia and had to wait to have surgery before i could exercise again. i was told by my personal trainer to keep losing weight through just eating and then start my activities again post surgery.

It sounds like some weightloss can happen with simply adjusting your eating, but activity will certainly make it go quicker. Even though it hurt a bit, starting out very slowly worked for me.
Good luck on this. I know how hard it can be.
Adriana

D, hi. My friend does weight watchers and he had the very same issues. He was in a bad accident a couple years ago, so he's got pins in his leg and staple scars in his head, he's a mess! HAHA and he was VERY ANTI exercise because it hurt.

He has a gazelle, well his mom does. He started about 2 months ago. He would get on it and barely last a minute, wanted to die, felt like crap, agony etc afterwards. But I'm a meanie and I pushed him so he'd push himself. I told him, just do ONE MINUTE every day after work. The following week, do 1.5 mins. Now, 2 mos later, he is doing 13 mins this week. I hound him about staying hydrated and he said that helps him so much with DOMS. He has lost almost 10lbs already, too.

My point is, if it's tough to take a lap around your house, you start there. Build from that, even if it's just literally one minute.

Donutz, I hear you.....I am almost 31 and my joints really hurt too at times. My first question is are you sure there is no pool anywhere? A YMCA maybe?
Other than that, I can tell you that I've been doing cardio consistently for three weeks now, and the pain has really decreased. I notice that if I do the treadmil on an incline, my knees and ankles don't hurt...I have to do it slower, but it still gets my heartrate up and it's a great butt and thigh workout.
Also, if you can find a place to walk that is not paved, that will help a lot. I started walking outside and at first I was on paved trails, and it killed. But then I discovered a nature trail and it is 100% better. See if you can find a place to do your cardio that is grass, mulch, dirt, etc. That will help a ton!
Let us know what happens!

Thanks for the suggestions. It sounds like it's unanimous that I should do some exercise even if it's only a little bit. That's sounds right to me too. It's really hard not getting discouraged and beating myself up because I can't do more. I am so very far away from being able to to anything that remotely resembles Bill Phillips' Body for Life program. The Body of Work dvd I watched was really incredible but it is so far beyod where I am now that I can't relate to it at all. I see some of the folks on this site that have had great results with losing lots of weight so I know it"s possible. I just hope I can hang on long enough to see some real rusults for myself.

D, that was THOSE people's transformations, not yours. So yours starts a little slower than others? Who cares? Every day you get up and BUILD on the previous day's exercise, you are one step closer to transformation and one step further from who you were!!

I don't want to come across as a snot rag, but you have to choose between accepting your past mistakes and locking them in the past so you can move forward onto a better you, or you can keep that door open and let that crap keep haunting you to paralysis.

Whether or not you hang on to get results you desire is totally up to you. We will always cheer and support you during the ups and downs, but in the end, it's up to you. You can do it, everyone here knows you can.

Right on Jacqui,
I totally agree.
D, hang in there.
I once read something that a person wrote to an advice column. It was written by a woman in her 50's and she wanted to get her BA. She wrote that she wasn't sure if she should try to get her BA because by the time she graduated, she would be 54 years old.
The advice columnist said, wether or not you get your BA, in four years you will still be 54 years old. So, why not have your BA too?
I always remember that when i think that things (especially weight loss) can't come fast enough, or that maybe it is too late to try. If i start out slowly, it doesn't matter. Time keeps moving on anyway. It is better that i slowly progress in the begining than not at all. If i miss a week of working out, i will still be a week older. So i might as well have those workouts under my belt.
D, i feel you. There have been times when i could not move anything but my arms. But you can't give up. Keep at it. Let's work through it together.
Lots of hugs and positive thoughts your way,
Adriana

Donutz,

I'm one of those people who have lost a lot of weight. When I began, a 10 for me was walking, yes walking, 5 to 10 minutes down the block. That was it - that was all I could do and you wouldn't believe how sweaty and out of breath I came back to the house. The bones in my feet hurt all the time... it was painful. Do what you can until you can do more, and then do more. Rinse and repeat. :->

It adds up over time.

Michelle

Donutz,
I understand your pain. I have MS and when I get to the gym at night, I'm literally limping from machine to machine, simple because it hurts so much. But it seems to get better and I realize that it won't get better until I make the effort.
I see guys hoisting huge amounts of weight and I wish that were me. But it's not.
I think back to the movie "Groundhog Day" and something they say makes perfect sense... baby steps...
Just take baby steps and it'll come for you.
Good luck and let us all know how you are doing, please.
Bobb

Yeah, Sometimes I don't move like I use to, But being in the best shape of my life is an achievable goal. I will be in the best "ME" shape of my life. Just Do It!

Everyone is at a different level. Try to challenge yourself each day - but even if it is just a few minutes right now you can build on your accomplishments! Each day you will get stronger and stronger

Thank you all so much for the encouragements. It is too easy for me now to get discouraged. The mountain before me is so much bigger than I ever imagined. I just didn't realize I had let myself get in such bad shape. Too much bad food and no exercise got me here and eating right and regular exercise will get me where I want to be. It's so easy to say and so hard to do. You all are helping me with the doing part. Thanks.

Don,
Focus on smaller hills or goals, or just the next couple days. If days are too much focus only on today. If today is too much focus on what happens just till diner. Make that time the best 6-8 hours it could be. Once you can accomplish having great points during a day, now expand it to I want to have a great week. Look at thing as if you can't see more than 10 feet in front of you. There are no mountains that you can see from 10 feet away. Maybe a rock or a tree you can see from 10 feet. So now there are no more mountains.

Hey Donutz!

You know...don't get too hung up on starting smaller. It's all about the PROGRESSION not the PERFECTION. Do the little things. Park a little further from the front door of the store or work. During your break take a small walk. These little things add up!

You will get there...let's move some mountains together - you and me.

*HUGS*

Congratulations for being here! Congratulations for being the change! Congratulations for reaching out! At 298 lbs yep, walking was hurting. My joints, my feet, my everything. I started pushing through the pain in baby steps. Listen to your body. Keep working it! Do some resistance training to strengthen those joints. That really helped me as well. I am staying away from any sort of prolonged impact right now. Baby steps! Keep going you will make it! Remeber progress not perfection! There are so many experienced people here that have walked their talk you are in good company! Congratulations for being the change! Jeff

D, I agree with all the great advice you've gotten already! And one more thought: be sure to track your "small" accomplishments every week too, it will help you to see the progress you are making. It may take a while to see changes in the mirror, and that can get discouraging - so instead, write down every day things like, "walked for 1 minute, knees and feet hurt bad", then in a week or two it will be "walked for 5 minutes, knees and feet still hurt but less than before." When you get discouraged about not seeing the results you want fast enough, read back through those accomplishments, and you will see the improvements to encourage yourself.

That's helped me a lot. Stay strong, and take it one day at a time. Hugs!

Your diet can really help with pain. There are lots of things people eat that add to inflammation. Here is a partial list of conditions that are driven by diet-induced inflammation: aches and pain, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis, acne, aging, syndrome X, diabetes, cancer, heart disease, peripheral vascular disease, stroke, Alzhemier’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, psoriasis, eczema, and multiple sclerosis. Even feeling tired and unwell is promoted by inflammation. The main lifestyle factors that cause chronic inflammation include a poor diet, stress, and sedentary living. Try to cut out all wheat, oats and barley from your diet. Yes, that includes bread. Don't skimp on carbs, though; you need them for energy. Eat sweet potatoes (or plain potatoes--just make sure you have a protien with your potato) rice for your starches. Add fruit to satisfy your cravings for sweet and carb. Do this for a month and see how you feel. I guarantee you'll feel much better--more energy, less ache--within a couple of days! Check out Deflame - Nutrition and Diet Information, Nutritional Supplements, Vitamins, and Minerals to Fight Inflammation for more info. I was a total skeptic when I heard about this, but gave it a try. It actually parallel's Bill's diet exceedingly well. Adding in the fruit is great because it helps you fell full and satisfied so you don't give in to cravings. As for excercise, start with low impact alternatives--bike riding is great! Swimming is good, but it's better to do something where you are weight bearing (not floating weightless in a pool). The main thing is keep at it. The small steps you take today will lead to giant strides tomorrow.