Obesity Discussion Forums

[Daniel at 52]

In 1997, I found out that I need to lose 250lbs+ and if I did not, well they said my chance of being alive was not go. I found out that I had diabetes even this didn’t stop me from eating more and more. I got up to about 530lbs. this was as big as I was to go. For my Doctors said again that I was going to die if I did nothing. These words almost got me to turn my life around. However, as you know that will not always work when you do not care as I did. It took my diabetes nurse to do this. She sent me to class where she said that all her people would be there. When I got there, I saw people in all stages of diabetes this put me in the right mind to change my ways. First, I had to lose the weight. No first, I had to learn to move my body again. This I did by going to Physical Therapy for 3 day a week for 6months after words when I could walk and move. I started on the hard part of my life to get my life back. This is the hard part I went to the gym tried this but, my money was not going to help me do this. I had to find away to lose weight that cost less. I did this by seeing a ad that walking was the way to go. So in 1998 I started to walk. I was about 485 lbs at the time. I walked for a short time but I was losing only about 3-4 lbs a month. I wanted to lose more real fast like 10-20lbs a month. When I told my doctor, he laugh at me said that was not real thing to do. So I had to start over again. This was hard to do for I wanted to do this real fast. Again, my diabetes nurse said that this was going to take a lot of time like years. I was mad at first for years were a long time to me. But this is my 9th year doing this and I have lost 200lbs and walking 2-3miles 5-6 times a week. After nine years It gets harder to do this everyday. If you can help me find ways to do my walks let me know.

[Obesity Discussion]

Daniel at 52, first off, welcome to Obesity Discussion! Glad to have you with us It sounds to me like you might need some good alternatives to walking, or possibly to lose some more weight through other means to make the walking easier on your body, is that correct?

So my understanding is you currently weight 330lbs (you said you lost 200lbs)? Just curious, have you ever been tested for hypothyroidism (underactivity of the thyroid gland)?

Exercise is half the battle. Diet is the other half, and if you are not eating properly you will not see the maximum gains you are looking for. If your diet is not optimal, I bet you could double your monthly weight loss with some tweaks to your diet. The most important thing to do is to create a calorie deficit, and when I say that I mean consume less calories than you expel in a given day. Can you share with us what you eat on an average day and how often you space your meals and snacks out? Obviously cutting out things like sugars, saturated fats, and other bad carbohydrates will assist you in your goal to lose weight quicker.

Regarding exercise, lifting weights is a wonderful long-term solution, because every pound of muscle you add to your body will burn 35-50 extra calories a day, not to mention you burn calories while lifting weights. Muscle helps your body become a fat burning machine! Even if you have to start with dumbbells or light weight at the gym, I highly recommend it. If you can afford a personal trainer, then I would get one. They will teach you proper form and show you exercises that will help you achieve your goals, and they really motivate you to push yourself!

THIS NEXT PART IS SOMETHING EVERYONE NEEDS TO KEEP IN MIND WHEN EXERCISING AND LIFTING WEIGHTS!- Muscle weighs more than fat! You can lift weights and put on 5 lbs of muscle, and if you lose 5 lbs of fat while adding this muscle, you'll step on the scale and think you've accomplished nothing. This is not the case! Do not go by what you see on the scale. Even though the scale shows no change, your body now has 5lbs less fat and your body has the ability to burn about 250 calories a day from the extra 5lbs of muscle. Leg muscle will also take some of the impact off your bones/joints making it easier to walk.

Now walking is a great exercise because it is somewhat on your joints, but it sounds like you want to burn more calories than what you burn from just walking, and to do something that is easy on your body. I would consider the weight lifting as mentioned above, coupled with swimming (if you have a pool you can go to), and an elliptical machine, which you can find at almost any gym. Any elliptical machine is the best exercise machine out there to get a great workout while being very easy on your joints and body. As you lose more weight you will find that more exercises become easier to do such as walking, bicycling or stair climbing.

Other little things can make a difference. Walk instead of driving down the street, or if you are somewhere with an elevator, take the stairs instead (I do not recommend this for the Sears Tower or Empire State Building )

I know I hit quite a few topics here, but I hope I answered some, if not all of your questions. Please let us know if there is anything else I can help answer. We'll help you achieve your goals!

[jacqueline]

Originally Posted by Daniel at 52

In 1997, I found out that I need to lose 250lbs+ and if I did not, well they said my chance of being alive was not go. I found out that I had diabetes even this didn’t stop me from eating more and more. I got up to about 530lbs. this was as big as I was to go. For my Doctors said again that I was going to die if I did nothing. These words almost got me to turn my life around. However, as you know that will not always work when you do not care as I did. It took my diabetes nurse to do this. She sent me to class where she said that all her people would be there. When I got there, I saw people in all stages of diabetes this put me in the right mind to change my ways. First, I had to lose the weight. No first, I had to learn to move my body again. This I did by going to Physical Therapy for 3 day a week for 6months after words when I could walk and move. I started on the hard part of my life to get my life back. This is the hard part I went to the gym tried this but, my money was not going to help me do this. I had to find away to lose weight that cost less. I did this by seeing a ad that walking was the way to go. So in 1998 I started to walk. I was about 485 lbs at the time. I walked for a short time but I was losing only about 3-4 lbs a month. I wanted to lose more real fast like 10-20lbs a month. When I told my doctor, he laugh at me said that was not real thing to do. So I had to start over again. This was hard to do for I wanted to do this real fast. Again, my diabetes nurse said that this was going to take a lot of time like years. I was mad at first for years were a long time to me. But this is my 9th year doing this and I have lost 200lbs and walking 2-3miles 5-6 times a week. After nine years It gets harder to do this everyday. If you can help me find ways to do my walks let me know.

Hi Daniel ! Wow, I sure give you a lot of credit for your persistence. Everyone wants to lose their extra weight quickly, but you have done it the right way. I have done the quick weight loss thing many times, but the weight always comes back because the diet/exercise plan is too drastic and unrealistic. The only time I have ever been able to be enthusiastic about exercise, and that includes brisk walking is when I had a friend come along. My walks would breeze right by when I had someone to talk to and keep pace with. Give it a try, I bet it will make your walking a lot more tolerable. Good luck!

[William Wallace]

Originally Posted by jacqueline

Hi Daniel ! Wow, I sure give you a lot of credit for your persistence. Everyone wants to lose their extra weight quickly, but you have done it the right way. I have done the quick weight loss thing many times, but the weight always comes back because the diet/exercise plan is too drastic and unrealistic. The only time I have ever been able to be enthusiastic about exercise, and that includes brisk walking is when I had a friend come along. My walks would breeze right by when I had someone to talk to and keep pace with. Give it a try, I bet it will make your walking a lot more tolerable. Good luck!

You took the words right out of my mouth, best way to go is with a partner, or like Obesity Discussion said, if you are at the gym, have a trainer there to push you (or a buddy!).

Welcome to the site Daniel! :happy: You should be proud of yourself for losing as much weight as you have so far. The old Tortoise and the Hare adage comes to mind- "slow and steady wins the race," at least that is what your doctors seem to be telling you. While I agree to some extent, you can speed things up with a structured diet like Obesity Discussion mentioned. I too would be curious to learn about your eating habits. Have you considered consulting a nutritionist?

[Irving]

Hi Daniel,

I agree with what everyone said above. I'm a retired senior and it is even difficult to get up every day let alone exercise, but I push myself to go walk because I want to live longer. That is what it comes down to, if living longer means enough to you then you will do whatever it takes to get there.

Keep pushing yourself and remember you are walking to live.