[thischick]

Hi Everyone,

I'm new here & I'm probably going to start this off on the wrong foot but I've been doing alot of thinking & internet research into exercise for obese people & I'm feeling a little disappointed. Here's why:

I myself am obese, I need to lose 100 pounds

Here are my body stats:

I have lower back pain most of the time from carrying around all this weight every single day, not to mention the belly fat that keeps me from doing most abdominal/back exercises effectively

My feet hurt and/or are swollen by the end of every day from all the abuse they take lugging me around & that's without regular aerobic exercise

My knees ache some of the time from the stress of getting up and down off the floor to play with my baby let alone doing repetitive work-out tape lunges to the tune of 50 reps per knee that most tapes want you to do (don't forget the unnatural postures you have to assume to be able to see the tv while you are trying to exercise, I'm sure it reduces the effectiveness of the tape by quite a huge number & promotes injuries at the same time)

My arse bones cannot take the pressure of a stationary bike, it might as well be medieval torture, yes there are reclining bikes, but I'm honest when I say that even without much resistance, I can barely get to 5 minutes without turning blue from holding my breath out of sheer necessity for the last two minutes only to get off the thing with jelly legs that cannot be walked on reliably for 2 days

The long-winded point I am trying to make here is, thin is in & fat isn't.

Thin people sell us our gym memberships, our exercise videos, our strength training, our dance moves, our clothing (yes clothing, go to most online retailers & try to find an outfit in your size that's actually modelled by someone your size, usually, it's a size 8 model in the top you love & the size goes up to 3x so you never know what you're gonna get if you buy it).

Even though the world wants to help the plight of the fat, the portly, the obese, and the morbidly obese, it's really more like thin people pushing their idea of reality, happiness & the ability to succeed if done only their way, it's no wonder so many fail at weight loss (myself included). I'm being perfectly honest when I say I can't find anywhere that caters to the exercise needs of the obese or even those who aren't obese but maybe are not in the shape or physically able to do "regular" exercise. To prove my point, go to the exercise section of this website & click on what sort of articles there are to encourage us, guess what? There are none. Maybe I'm wrong & some of you will say they have had success with this or that method, that's great if it worked for you & you deserve all the best. But I am sure that there are those of us who have suffered blood, sweat & tears to go to a gym and work out in front of others, to use exercise tapes for weeks with constant pain & unacceptable elevated heart rates to finally reach a point where it was bearable, how many of us have not been able to physically do an exercise because our proportions didn't allow it & we were devastated? The best thing for us we are told is swimming. How many fat people do you see hanging out at the pool. Usually I am the fattest one there & everybody stares & it's mortifying even though I had to put the kids with a sitter & travel across town by bus to get there & odds are won't do again out of shame.

In conclusion, fat people need safe places to learn how to move their bodies in optimal weight loss ways, fat people need exercise equipment that fits them & takes a large body size into consideration when designed, fat people need just as much research on how to resolve the issues I've mentioned above as thin people already receive, fat people need a reality that includes others who look like them (or me) to sell us our services or prove to us that what we are being offered is going to be effective not an exercise in who can stand the pain the longest.

I know I became so fat all on my own, but now that I'm here, where are the proper supports? Diet alone is not the answer & everybody knows that, but for so many of us, diet is the most do-able until we starve ourselves to lose a body we can't move the way the fitness gurus want us to believe we should be able to do.

Sorry for the rant, I'm just discouraged sometimes by all that society sees in us, imperfections to be made-over.

We are more than that & someday we shall overcome.....

[MissMelissa]

I am not trying to be mean, but it sounds like you have a lot more problems then just weight. In my opinion "thin people" don't make me feel bad about myself, because I know that everyone is different. I don't feel that people at gyms don't want to help.. maybe you are going to the wrong place or not talking to the right people. I agree that diet isn't the only thing that people need to do to lose weight. Maybe you can simply do the treadmill since EVERYTHING that you have posted seems to hurt you. I don't know really what else to offer you in a matter of what to do for exercise. Just walking though can make a HUGE difference. I have been classified as "morbidly obese", but I had to work with people at my gym to see what works for me and they were quite helpful and now I can do most anything in there... just in moderation. Maybe you should start out small and work your way up.. if you can only do the bike for 5 mins.. then do it for 5mins.. the only way to go is up! By the way are you on phentermine??? and what exactly are your stats.. weight?age?height?

[thischick]

Hi Melissa,

Everybody has that day where they feel like the world should be a better place than the one they know & live in. It doesn't matter what area of life. You know that day maybe when you saw such a devastating news story it changed something inside you & you told someone about it? Or you cried yourself to sleep? Maybe it was a song on the radio that reminded you of some forgotten memory that still hurts? Maybe it was just a fanastic day that made you think you could change the course of your future & guess what? You did. That was the reason behind my post. Some days I want the world to be a different way than what the reality is for me sometimes. I'm sure countless others would read my post and in the end we would come up evenly divided about who's right or wrong. I'm not mad at "thin people" I'm just overwhelmed sometimes that it caters so much to them. Sometimes don't you just want things to be different in some area of the universe? I spent the day trying to find better options for exercise for obese people and came up empty & what was inside my heart came out. I'm sure some will read that post & see some of them reflected in it & some will not, but it's not a rant on thin people........anywho, I'm actually a pretty crazy, right-on chick most of the time. Maybe it's the Phentermine talking, it's my first day & my first night on it. :o

By the by...
My stats are (don't cringe)
33 years
245 pounds
Not nearly tall enough to support it at five foot six inches

Thanks for posting Melissa,
I'm glad it sparked a response from someone! I'm all alone out here!
Good luck with your goal & goodnight

[amandads]

OK so I read everything you had to say. And, speaking for myself, who has lost nearly 30lbs, and started out WAY bigger than you, I understand what you are saying. BUT, I also see the other side of it too. These things are made for "thin" people, because they are the majority of the people using them. We see more and more overweight and obese people, only getting worse because we aren't using these things to begin with. It's only when we get it in our heads and hearts that we want to change that we start doing something about it. How many other overweight or obese people have you seen at your gym? Probably not many, because they too get fed up, but they still aren't helping themselves. You're trying to now and that's what matters. You can't get discouraged so easily or you will end up as one of the people who quit. You don't want to do that and we don't want you to either. You are very wrong when you say that you are alone. Have you READ the journal's on here? Any of them? I'm certain I started out @ over 300lbs. THAT"S morbidly obese. MORBIDLY! I'm also 5'6 and I'm 29 years old. But I've managed to lose almost 30lbs. What have I done to do it? I started off on the Phentermine, lost 20lbs while on it. I bought myself a "Walk Away the Pounds" tape that I can watch and do in the privacy of my living room (and it's not hard to do or awkward at all) and I learned to eat right. Since coming off of the Phen, I have lost an additional 6 pounds. I'm not saying it was easy, or that I didn't get discouraged, because Lord know's I did. But I kept going, and didn't let the "skinny" people get me down. I'm not saying they didn't get on my nerves, and make me want to knock them upside the head, but they didn't make me fat. I did it all on my own, and I have to change it all on my own.
I do understand everything you were saying, but there are other way's of exercising and getting yourself healthy enough to jump into the other more advanced workout's. It just takes time and committment. I wish you lot's of luck, and encourage you to read through some of the journal's and realize that you aren't alone on this journey. There are alot of us here. Here for each other!
The main thing is to do what you can. It doesn't matter what it is, because as long as you are moving in some way, shape, or form, you are doing more than you have been. Cut your calorie intake down, but no less than 1200 calories a day,and you will start losing weight. If you can't do the exercises just yet, don't. If you cut your calories, eat the right things, and take in as much water as you can, the weight will start coming off and you will get to the point where you can exercise. You have to take it one day at a time! We are all here for you anytime you need someone. That's what a support group is for. If you haven't started a journal yet, please do. You will realize you have more friends in the same situation than you realize.
Good luck, and please, do keep us posted on how you are doing.

[MissMelissa]

I totally agree with everything you Amanda... I did the cutdown the calories to under 1200 a day and it TOTALLY changed my life!!! I use Fitday.com as my "tracker" everyday and it helps so much.. ThisChick.. maybe you should try using it.. you can sign up for free and you put everything you eat each day and the exercise you do and it shows you what you intake compared to what you burn... sometimes it helps to visually see what you are eating and doing. For me it put things in a whole new perspective. I really hope ThisChick that you know I wasn't trying to put you down or anything.. I COMPLETELY understand how things can be frustrating when trying to lose weight... When I first "realized" I needed to lose some pounds I was 262lbs.. I am 5'5 and 21 years old. I say realized because sometimes we don't see ourselves as overweight til our healthy comes into play.

I live at the beach and MY GOODNESS there are some SKINNY people here.. they get on my nerves, but I just think to myself "Whoa they must be hungry" haha! But really I use them as incentive that someday I can be at a weight I will be comfortable with. Reading the journals are a great idea, because there are so many people on here that have gone through a lot and that everyone can relate to that have struggled to lose weight. I started Phentermine at 250lbs.. I had lost 12lbs by cutting the calories, but went to the doctor and asked about Phentermine to help curb my appetite.

Also remember like Amanda said anything is exercise as long as you are moving. When I am not in the mood to go to the gym, I will clean the house.. vaccum.. dust.. all these things are some exercise. Maybe play with your kids (animals for me since I have no kids..haha). Also go to the mall.. window shop, you will be suprised at how long you can walk and how far... plus its air conditioned so you won't sweat too bad.

I really hope that I can be there for you when you get discouraged.. there are a lot of people on here that have helped me keep my mind on the goal at hand, even when they didn't know it.

OH and just a tip about the pool thing.. haha.. Whenever I go to the beach (in my modest one piece trying to cover every inch of skin) I will try to find some whale washed up on shore wearing a 2 piece, thinking she is sexy, and I will sit around there.. so when I start feeling self conscious about my body I just look over at the sea cow sunbathing and sinking into the sand...hahaha! I know that is mean, but for me it helps a little with my own body image.

[thischick]

Hey ladies,

Thanks for all the input. That's all I really wanted with my post. Somewhere to let out a little of the frustration I feel sometimes when I can't do something I want to do & it all relates back to size, know what I mean?

Last week I was told I couldn't go on an amusement park ride with my 8 year old daughter if I was pregnant. I had my baby 7 months ago. :(

I took an airplane to visit my mother in Florida & the seat just barely gets around my arse.

I can't just buy my clothes anywhere, I have to hunt for them like a crazed shopper on an african safari & it probably won't look right when I get it home anyways because it's cut like some designers' mothers' old tablecloth with holes cut out for the head and arms!

The dieat industry pushes exactly that on us, diet, diet, diet. Thin is in, don't you know? Yes, the proper diet is a great way to lose weight but who is looking out for our interests when it comes to exercise? No-one really. If I see one more infomercial with Chuck Norris or Kristie Brinkley using body-weight supported weight-loss machines I'm gonna scream! I don't want to see some super-slobbo-fatty on the machine either, but there has to be some sort of happy medium. They should get Jarrod from Subway to sell some exercise equipment or something. It doesn't mean I'm gonna buy it or anything, but at least I would be happy to see someone who's been where I am trying to help me.

By the way ladies, you both have done really great, & should be congratulated. :grin: Keep up your hard-earned success. I'm only on day two so I'm still on the edge. I can't wait to see some poundage coming off. I know I made myself this way but no-one has the right to say that here our best mediocre help because you brought it on yourself. A doctor wouldn't tell a smoker who's given him or herself lung cancer, "Sorry, I can't give you the best care, you brought this on yourself". Really, that's what I'm saying has to change in our society, not the skinny people, just our society's attitude towards obesity.

I ain't mad at ya, Melissa. Isn't this forum here to vent, discuss, conquer, overcome? You said the right things & I thank you.

Vent away folks................

[amandads]

For sure go read through the journals! I know in mine alone, there are some MAJOR vent sessions in there. You'll be suprised at what you read, and see exactly how not alone you are The world isn't geared toward overweight people, and never will be even though half of the world is over weight now. The majority of people, even the overweight one's, prefer to hide their heads and in holes, and not deal w/ something they know nothing about. It's that way with so many other things besides weight issues too. No, it's not right, but that's the way it is. The only way for it to change is for us to start doing it ourselves. One day at a time.

[jaysmom]

this chick-- I know how you feel. I started phentermine on november 21, 2005 weighing 310 1bs. i have never had any health issues to speak of and got around rather well for my size. I would see all these skinny people out walking or exercising and dressing real cute and I would hate them. But it was my fault I could be doing the same thing but I was choosing not to. It has been 7 months and a couple of weeks and I have lost 80 lbs. I cant believe it. I am so amazed I didnt know that I was capable of doing such. I did walk away the pounds for about 6 1/2 months. the 2 mile one. Then I bought a prevention work out dvd and I bought Denise Austin blast away the pounds I love this one. I do the 1 mile interval and the 1 mile walk and tone and then in the evening I do one of the prevention cardio. It is the hardest thing I have ever done in my life but it can be done. It use to make me sick to hear those people say if I can do it anybody can because I thought I couldnt but now I know I can and so can you. Good luck in your progress it is a fight and struggle but we can succeed. Not everyday will be great but in the end it will be worth it all.
Ashley