The question of 'who is considered obese?' is a thorny one. It can be hard to know exactly where the line is, and the confusion extends to the medical profession. There was a time when the BMI (body mass index) was used to determine who was and wasn't obese, but this measurement gave so many results that were clearly absurd by its simple measurement of height against weight that it has now been abandoned by many medical professionals in favor of simple waist measurements which often, though not always, give more reliable results. The best overall answer is, if your doctor says you're obese, then you probably are.
Obesity comes with an increased risk of heart attacks, strokes, joint pain, depression and lung problems, as well as negative self-image. With all its attendant health risks, it's still a condition that's on the rise. Many obese people want to lose weight, and while they know they should exercise, it's hard to know where to begin. Here are a few pointers.
Overcome Your Fear Of Going To The Gym - You Have As Much Right As Anyone Else
If you don't like the way you look the last thing you want to do is get sweaty in skimpy clothes in front of a bunch of people who look perfect and take pride in it. It can feel downright humiliating. But embarrassment shouldn't stand in the way of your health. Not every gym is filled with scornful body fascists and toned model types, and you can figure out times to go when the pace is nearly empty - or when lots of ordinary people show up and you'll be lost in the crowd. Try contacting the gym first and discussing your concerns: they'll be sympathetic and professional, because their income depends on it. Nobody started out with an athletic physique and you have as much right to be there as anyone else.
Get Yourself A Private Trainer - It's An Investment
A private trainer isn't money spent. It's money saved. Get a good one and you're saving money on medical bills from training injuries you learned to avoid. Ask around, speak to someone who works with obese people a lot and go into your sessions with a can-do attitude - a fake one, if you have to, til it starts to feel real - and a pen and notepad. When you're with a good trainer, remember it's practice: learn to move right and you can do lots of simple, effective training movements like squats and pushups alone.
Exercise At Home Can Save Time And Money - And It's Effective
Exercising at home can save you a ton of money and time, and even if it's not your long term plan it can build your confidence and help you shed those crucial first few pounds that make you believe you can do it. Build a home training session round 3 to 5 simple exercises you can do between 10 and 20 of, and try to incorporate a pulling movement, a pushing movement, a squatting movement, a core-focused movement and something like weighted carries or squat thrusts that's designed to make your heart race. If you can't do push-ups, a popular pushing movement, try doing them on the stairs or even against the wall. If you can't do pull-ups - and you'd be surprised how many supposedly fit people can't do a respectable pull-up - try inverse rows. Lie on your back and pull yourself forward with your legs and back straight, like a reverse push-up. You can run a towel over a pullup bar or use the edge of a table if you have a sturdy one. Learn to squat, and try using a duffel bag filled with laundry for weighted carries.
Impact-Free Machines Have Great Benefits For Obese People
Because obese people are often both heavy and weak, their joints are poorly supported. That means they don't cope well with impact. Running can be a poor move for obese people because of the impact involved. Instead, look for cardio that offers some resistance but doesn't include impact. Elliptical crosstrainers, exercise bikes, recumbent bikes and rowing machines all fit the bill. Try them out in the gym and see which one you like. As long as you’re getting a workout you can move your attention to higher-impact training later, when your joints are stronger. And low-impact doesn’t always mean low intensity. You can get a hard, serious, effective session on an exercise bike or rowing machine.
They Put You On The Treadmill... But Is It Right For You?
The treadmill is the gym machine of the moment. Its benefits are mixed. For very obese people, it can be a good place to start, but for most folks it's hard to get it intense enough without the risk of falling or the dangers of increased impact making it not worth the while. Elliptical trainers and bikes are better choices for the majority of people, even obese people.
Long sessions of low intensity cardio are best avoided unless you're very, very new to exercise and even then you should use them for a six to eight week run in period only. And again, ellipticals are a better choice. Focus your time in the gym on strength and mobility to see changes faster.
Exercise balls became compulsory in gyms about ten years ago. They can be used to design highly joint-friendly strength and mobility sessions for people with injuries, disabilities or obese people. As such, they're a good tool to use if you're obese. They can be used to gently strengthen the core muscles that support your lower back, which should give you a shot at reduced pain and increased function, and reduced risk of injury. And they can be good for extending the range of motion of bodyweight exercises too. Make sure you get someone qualified to teach you how to use one though!
Walking Can Be A Great Way To Lose Weight And Feel Better
If you're obese, walking can be a real fitness challenge. That's a good thing! Depending on where you live and how much time you have, building a walk into your day can be a great way to lose weight and build your fitness. It's also good for combating another bane of many people's lives: depression. People who walk in parks or the countryside receive as much relief from their depression as people who take antidepressants, studies show. And that negative mental attitude can hold you back from your weight loss goals. So get your shoes on and see if it can work for you!
Yoga can be highly effective for anyone. Remember that there are different types of yoga. Top end power yoga sessions can smoke even those who consider themselves athletic, while 'heat yoga' sessions designed to improve flexibility might have limited benefits for someone whose primary goal is fat loss. Though if you enjoy it, of course, don't let that stop you!
Basic hatha yoga sessions are a good place to start. They're often relaxed and the sense that there's a 'spiritual' dimension to the proceedings means people will sometimes make an effort to be more welcoming and make you feel at home. You can look up some basic yoga moves like 'salute the sun,' 'warrior,' downward dog' and 'cat' on the internet and try them out, though there's no substitute for instruction. Yoga probably won't take you all the way with your weight loss journey because it's often not intense enough, but it can be a great place to start and if you find a class you like and it becomes a hobby, you can get all the benefits that come with that - including increased motivation to train.
Strength Training Is The Most Important Part Of Your Training, Even If Your Goal Is Fat Loss
Strength training is the most important form of training. Take a deep breath, because the science bit is coming, but it's important, so pay attention. In physics, 'work' has a specific meaning. It means force acting on something to make it move. If it moves, work has been done. And force is mass times acceleration. So if you're strong enough to lift a barbell weighing fifty pounds to your hips, a distance of (let's say) three feet, you've done some work. If you can lift a hundred and fifty pound barbell that distance, you've done three times as much work (because there's three times as much mass and the distance is the same). So the stronger you are the more work you can do, and the more energy you can expend, and the quicker you can lose weight. Getting stronger also means gaining muscle, which has a higher resting metabolic rate than other tissues. And obese people face a bad weight to strength ratio. Get stronger and you'll be able to do more intense cardio workouts, melting the fat off. Ladies, don't fear: even very strong women rarely appear 'manly' unless they use steroids, they just look like fit women...
Strength training is the most important form of training. Take a deep breath, because the science bit is coming, but it's important, so pay attention. In physics, 'work' has a specific meaning. It means force acting on something to make it move. If it moves, work has been done. And force is mass times acceleration. So if you're strong enough to lift a barbell weighing fifty pounds to your hips, a distance of (let's say) three feet, you've done some work. If you can lift a hundred and fifty pound barbell that distance, you've done three times as much work (because there's three times as much mass and the distance is the same). So the stronger you are the more work you can do, and the more energy you can expend, and the quicker you can lose weight. Getting stronger also means gaining muscle, which has a higher resting metabolic rate than other tissues. And obese people face a bad weight to strength ratio. Get stronger and you'll be able to do more intense cardio workouts, melting the fat off. Ladies, don't fear: even very strong women rarely appear 'manly' unless they use steroids, they just look like fit women!
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