Anyone very overweight doing STS

[rhbrand]

I'm easily 40lbs and in reality more like 50lbs overweight. I did a couple weeks of STS back in Feb, then life and illness took me out of the rotation.

I'm thinking of restarting STS and was just wondering if anyone else is very overweight was doing it, and what kind of results you were getting.

Thanks in advance!

 

[dorothyrd]

I am not overweight now, but 10 years ago I was 40 pounds overweight. I found weight lifting one of the easier and more gratifying forms of exercise. Since I have fought the battle of bulge all my life, when I started weight lifting it was with this thought: I would rather be big and solid, than big and have it flapping in the wind.

Now at age 47, I am much more solid than a lot of women my age, but at this age, solid is good. This is when we turn soft, our triceps flat around, our thighs jiggle, 27 years of weight lifting are paying off!

Don't be afraid to do it.

 

[carres1973]

I'm easily 40lbs and in reality more like 50lbs overweight. I did a couple weeks of STS back in Feb, then life and illness took me out of the rotation.

I'm thinking of restarting STS and was just wondering if anyone else is very overweight was doing it, and what kind of results you were getting.

Thanks in advance!

I am in the same boat as you with being overweight. I am doing STS along with Cathe and the group so have just completed Meso 1. I am really liking it. I lost a few pounds...and that is with my diet still not that great. My goal is to start Meso 2 with a cleaner diet so that the results can be seen eventually! Right now they are hiding under layers of "padding".

Carrie

 

[petramom]

I am about 30 pounds overweight, but I've lost about 80 lbs. About 40 of those pounds I've lost doing just weight training (I blew out my knees doing cardio work so had to stick with weights). I've found that losing weight, for me, is about what I'm eating. I think exercise plays a huge part in motivating myself, as it helps to have a more holistic lifestyle change vs. just a diet and because the exercise just makes me feel better and so it's easier to resist using food for comfort. But in terms of the actual physiology, my experience was that the kind of exercise I did didn't make a significant difference in how much weight I lost.

I'm on Meso 2 of STS and like it very much. I think weight training can be easier to accomplish than cardio when you're overweight.

 

[ImFiddY]

I am at least 40# overweight, almost 50, and have a bad knee and arthritis. I'm on week 2 of STS. The upper body is no problem except for the push up's. The lower body I can only do maybe 1/2 of it. But I think it will work for me.
I doubt I will ever get to the weights they lift if I do Meso 3, but even if I just do Meso 1 & 2 over and over I will see results.

 

[babindy]

Hand Raised

Yup me too. I've been overweight almost all of my life. That said, I've been doing Cathe for years (my favorites are KPC and the Pyramid set). And other workouts for years before that. I even lifted very heavy for awhile in the 80's. (Yes I'm over 50). So even being quite overweight (I'd like to lose another 40 pounds at least) I think you can still strive to be the best you can be.

I've also done every 'diet' known to exist before adopting the WOE/WOL (way of eating/way of life) philosophy a few years ago. Currently I'm a mostly-raw vegan. (Since Sept 08). I upped to probably >90% raw a few months ago (my biggest cheat is cooked sweet potatoes - LOVE THEM!) and cut the grains. Then added STS a month ago. I'm about to start Hypertrophy on Friday.

And just so it can't be too easy I have issues like lower body weakness (that can snap into an injury if you look at it), recurrent plantar fascitis and neuropathy.

But given all of that - I LOVE Cathe. Don't be afraid to TRY. But don't be afraid to MODIFY. I am the modification QUEEN.

Examples
- I can't do a 'real' push up to save my life. I do her modifications including table top. I've also been known to do wall pushups (my son just )
- chin ups and pull ups. I do either assisted (with a chair under my doorway bar) or with double/triple bands wrapped around the doorway bar
- deadlifts. Due to my back problems I don't do heavy. I either do lighter ones or use the ball options. Other modifications for other lower body work due to the same issue. I also don't have a rack.
- plyo. My body can't take the impact. So I modify those as well.

There are probably a lot more, but you get the idea. And it's almost second nature to me now. Don't be intimidated by what they lift in the video. Just push for your personal best. And then push it some more.

Results? I avoid the scale like the plague. I use how I feel and how my clothes fit as my guide. Since upping my 'clean' quotient in my diet and starting STS my clothes are looser and I feel 'tighter'

Bottom line - JUST DO IT

 

[SassyLady7]

I have 40-50lbs to lose as well. My weight has yo-yo'd since I was a teenager. I have lost weight successfully in the past, but as I am challenged with the tendency to eat emotionally, it creeps back whenever I go through a stressful time.
That said, I lost 30 lbs in 2007; & have maintained about 22lbs of that weight loss. That's mainly due to exercising regularly. Exercise helps me de-stress as well as keeps the extra poundage off. But as I said, I still would like to lose 40-50lbs more & just need to get disciplined with the eating.

Week 1 of Meso 1, I ate clean, did WW strictly and I lost 2 lbs that week. Then, I had a lot of stress on my job the following 3 wks & ate sweets like crazy! So, didn't lose any more weight. But I can feel that my body has firmed up a great deal (underneath some layers of "padding" ). I also feel that my metabolism has revved up--my appetite increased some after beginning STS (at least I hope that's the reason for the increased munchies!). And I can tell I have made some strength gains: some exercises that were difficult for me to do at the beginning of Meso 1, I was able to perform by week 4.

I'm in the rest week now & I took some time off work to rest mentally. Also, I cut out all sweets as of Sunday & plan to maintain that for the rest of STS. I'm pretty sure that if I eat clean, the scale will move more favorably (but I'm also monitoring by taking my measurements once a week). In the past, the combo of clean eating + cardio 3-5 days/wk + weight work 3 days/wk is what worked for me.

I agree though with not being too focused on the results. I get an accomplishment boost just from managing to get through each workout. I think exercising has soon many benefits to our emotional, mental, & physically health & it's good to focus on those things as well.