EXERCISING WHEN YOU ARE OVERWEIGHT

What do you do if you have problems walking due to your weight?  Registered dietitians understand the limitations that morbid obesity can impose on physical exertion .

The key to anyone trying to lose weight is to modify their diet and to exercise slowly (start off with 2minutes around your home.  It can be overwhelming and embarrassing. You may experience insecurity and a fear of feeling uncomfortable, which prohibits participation in conventional exercise but you need to try it.

You can try just a little movement and activity and you will see that you may find it easier and easier to increase your time.

 BUT DON’T OVERDO IT AT FIRST.

Common limitations secondary to obesity include:

       Joint pain

       Shortness of breath

       Asthma

       Sleep apnea

       Chronic fatigue

       Low threshold for heat and higher temperatures

       Skin disorders

       Difficulty with fast or repetitive motion

       Difficulty using standard exercise equipment because of body size

If you have a problem with knee pain, see if you can go on a recumbent bicyle or swim instead of taking walks. 

Buy new shoes or equipment,to help you feel better on your feet.   Depending on your medical state , initially 2–5 continuous minutes of an activity often is sufficient. Increasing a couple of minutes every 1–3 days or increasing the frequency with which the activity is performed is important to attainment of measurable goals. The ideal goal is a minimum of 20 consecutive minutes of cardiovascular activity, but any activity is better than none. 

Because the body needs a large amount of oxygen to mobilize fat as an energy source, it is important  to breathe during cardiovascular activity.

Set a goal for yourself to start at 2 minutes, work to 3 the next day and so forth.  Increase your activity for 30–60 continuous minutes, 4–7 days/week.

Because every minute counts, all activities count in helping the body to make exercise a priority. Suggest the following exercise tips:

       Use the stairs instead of the elevator

       Park the car at the end of the parking lot and walk to where you need to go

       Walk the dog

       Walk, start at 5 minutes and increase. You will see that it gets easier each time you walk.

       Find a friend to talk to during exercise or use an iPod® to make the time enjoyable

       Try strength training with weights, because weight lifting (even a few pounds) can build lean muscle mass:

        Visualize success at whatever activity you are doing, which includes walking around the block, swimming a lap in the pool, swinging a tennis racket, or other activities

       Reward yourself for meeting measurable goals, such as treating yourself to a manicure if you walked 3 days/week for 30 minutes each time or going to a movie if you rode your bicycle for 4 days/week for 20 minutes each time