New here again!

[Tantrix]

Hi everyone! I originally joined here 7 years ago but never continued to my weight loss goal. I am wanting to try again now. Back in 2010 I was around 200 lbs and today I am 210 lbs. I am 5' 5.5' tall I will give you all my health rundown and situation and I welcome your feedback and suggestions in order to meet my goal of between 140-160 lbs.

• I am a 52 year old man.
• I have COPD (emphysema) and a lung capacity that is about 30% of what it should be
• My COPD is well controlled generally
• I have dislocated my left shoulder over 20 times and have had 3 surgeries on it. After my last surgery my surgeon told me that my shoulder was like hamburger so future surgeries would likely be useless. I cannot lift anything more than about 20lbs over shoulder height in fear of doing more damage to the shoulder (no weight training or pushups)
• I suffer from daily IBS-D and it is hard to control. I must plan in advance to do traveling or participate in outdoor activities as a result of "needing a washroom" within a minute or two away at all times.
• I am on a disability pension thus have a limited income
• I suffer from insomnia a few days per week and have gone up to 3 days without sleep.
• I do not have sleep-apnea (I have had sleep studies twice in 6 years).
• On a positive note I quit smoking after more than 30 years 6 years ago.
• I am many decades clean from drug use (aside from occasional weed use to help with insomnia).

Ok now that I have opened my life up to you all I would love some constructive feedback and ideas on how to start the road to weight loss. Some of my biggest issues are that it appears to be more expensive to eat healthy than not.

Thank you all for your input.

 

[Omega]

Firstly - well done for successfully quitting smoking and controlling your drug usage.

I am sorry about your health issues - I can see how your exercise options are limited...
Bearing in mind your financial and exercise restrictions - maybe walking close to home would be an exercise option for you. There would be no gym membership required... While it is pleasanter if you can walk further afield and see some pretty surroundings - walking around the block would give you decent proximity to a toilet and allow you to get some steps in.
Alternatively - maybe you could afford a second hand treadmill or exercise bike. So many people buy these things in the eagerness of a new year resolution only to watch them gathering dust and cluttering their house while they go unused.

I recognise that you have breathing problems - but these things can be set at a low speed - and any steps done is better than none... I am certainly not suggesting that you go speed walking or jogging - but any walking is certainly better than no walking...

I think that controlling your nutrition is going to play a big part in getting you there.
I am setting up some challenges that will remind us about controlling our basic nutrition and you may want to join in.
I will be setting up more challenges linked to other aspects of nutrition over the next few weeks so it should build into a course covering many aspects of eating healthily with an aim towards healthy weight loss.

 

[Tantrix]

Firstly - well done for successfully quitting smoking and controlling your drug usage.

I am sorry about your health issues - I can see how your exercise options are limited...
Bearing in mind your financial and exercise restrictions - maybe walking close to home would be an exercise option for you. There would be no gym membership required... While it is pleasanter if you can walk further afield and see some pretty surroundings - walking around the block would give you decent proximity to a toilet and allow you to get some steps in.
Alternatively - maybe you could afford a second hand treadmill or exercise bike. So many people buy these things in the eagerness of a new year resolution only to watch them gathering dust and cluttering their house while they go unused.

I recognise that you have breathing problems - but these things can be set at a low speed - and any steps done is better than none... I am certainly not suggesting that you go speed walking or jogging - but any walking is certainly better than no walking...

I think that controlling your nutrition is going to play a big part in getting you there.
I am setting up some challenges that will remind us about controlling our basic nutrition and you may want to join in.
I will be setting up more challenges linked to other aspects of nutrition over the next few weeks so it should build into a course covering many aspects of eating healthily with an aim towards healthy weight loss.

Thank you for your reply. I am fortunate to be living in a high rise apartment building (11 floors) and will be starting to stair climb in the near future. Even though my breathing issues do "lower the bar" for me I try to not allow it to limit me. I am still able to do much of what everyone else can do...it just can take me a bit longer and may require more breaks than others. I have never allowed my situation to limit me and I never use it as an excuse to not do something. I simply know my limitations and respect them.

I can also tell you that whenever possible, I do walk where I need to go unless weather of general health situations limit me or the distance is too long.

I am using a few phone apps to monitor my walking and calorie intake etc. I think I'm on a good path and time will tell...

 

[Omega]

I swear by wearing a pedometer every day and counting every step of the day. It really does help people to challenge themselves to do more... So many experts have said that everyone would benefit from walking 10,000 steps of the day. Speed really does not matter - it is getting those steps done that has the biggest impact.