I wonder if any of you can relate to being the only overweight member of their families. My husband is ex military and has always been very fit...6'1, 175 lbs. My son is like his father, lean and muscular. My mother and sister are both tall and slender. This really bothers me at times because I feel they can't sympathize to my struggles. My husband tells me that I should eat whatever I want and just "EXERCISE" more! I am doing the best that I can, 20 minutes of walking on an incline at 2.5 mph daily. He tells me I should be running and lifting weights. The only problem I have with running is that I can't do it for a very long. I tell him, "You try running carrying the weight that I am!" I know as I lose weight my body image will improve and perhaps their opinions of me will change as they see me shrinking. Does anyone have any advice as to an ideal exercise routine starting out?

Welcome to the forum first off,

I can't really sympathize to your situation of the being the only overweight person. But I understand being overweight, non the less. For a majority of overweight people, their weight gain is out of their hands. There are so many medical factors that could be the cause, underactive thyroid, slow metabolism, intollerance to insulin, etc. A lot of people that have been thin all their life are ignorant to those conditions and feel that being fat is a personal decision, when its not. You may feel alone in your family but you are not alone here at the lowcarber forum

I'm glad that you want to exercise. Start off slowly. You have the right idea. No need to come out of the gate running right away. You can work up to that if that's your goal. Add 5 minutes to your walking time every week until you can do an hour and go faster than 2.5mph. From someone that hates working out, trust me, it gets easier.

We will be here for you. I"m glad you decided to make a change in your lifestyle.

I can totally sympathize with you. I come from a family where my mom is thin and eats whatever she wants, my dad is also normal weight (but has diabetes in spite of that), and my brother is an elite level track cyclist! So they cannot seem to understand why I am not slender right now. My mom is going to be 57 this year and even made it through menopause and 2 kids without dieting or more exercise to maintain.

So, they think I must be doing something "wrong" to not be slender anymore. Although my DH is overweight now, he is not compassionate and totally does not seem to care about his weight, but he gives me these little digs about exercising more and about my diet. It's maddening!

But the good news is that we are going to stick with low-carbing and pretty soon we'll be among the slender in our families again! I second the recommendation to up your exercise a little at a time. My feet still hurt sometimes if I walk too far while carrying this excess poundage. I started 2 yrs ago only walking 1/2 mile and now I can walk for 6 or 7 around town if I want. I do all my local errands on foot. I needed another exercise as well, so last summer I started cycling and I love that!

Good Luck to you

i cannot sympathize, because now im the only skinny one! [in my immediate family, except my grandma] so i now i get to help push them along and give them advice and such. but now im skinny like my cousins [and aunts and uncles that watch what they eat]!! woot woot!


running will come with time.. diet more and gradually up the walking pace. also, change your workout routine around because if your body gets used to it, you wont lose as many calories. you should always try to "shock" your body with a work out.

also, weights WILL help. start out light and do maybe 3 sets of 8 reps. noting too hard. they will hurt, but it will feel sooooo good. dont work out the same muscle group 2 days in a row [i dont follow this rule] try upperbody one day and lowerbody the next. the muscles need to recover or they will just continue to break down. and the ++ about lifting weights: the more lean muscle mass you have, the more calories you burn a day doing NOTHING!!! so give those weights a try!

I also have this problem....I always get the lecture...if you weren't so lazy and would just do something!! it drove me nuts as I was doing something...gettng fatter every time I tried!!

I reccomend starting out walking...its the easiest and gives you most benifit...then start with some easy weight lifting!! take it at your own pace, don't over do it...slowly you will feel like you can do more and you will!! good luck~

My entire family is very thin. My DH weighs only 145, my 16 year old only weighs 108 and my other kids are just as thin. My husband just assumed I got lazy. When I was married to my first husband he was always telling me I was working out wrong, when I would do something he would tell me that is not the way they do it in the army. I stopped working out in front of people. That way they don't bother me. Just start working out slowly and gradually add time to it. Once you start and see your progress it will become addictive. Keep a workout journal of your times and progress. Good luck!

you can stay LC and try this!
http://walking.about.com/cs/howtolo...lkoffweight.htm