Ugh, I just want this journey to be over already

augustremulous
augustremulous Posts: 378 Member
in Motivation and Support
It's such a sunny day and there are so many things I want to do, but I just don't possess the physical fitness to do these things.

When I started this journey in March I scheduled a weeklong solo camping/hiking trip in the summer as reward for my efforts. I bought a tent and outdoorsy equipment, and even pre rented a car. My plan was to take my dog down to Big South Fork and rent a horse and just chill out. I know I can still do some version of this, but to be honest I still huff and puff up the stairs to my fourth floor walk up and I can't imagine hiking uphill all day with my dog.

I know the journey is long and slow but I'm getting discouraged. My goal is to lose 75 pounds. I didn't expect to get anywhere close to that of course, but I did expect to feel much healthier and stronger than I do now.

Replies

  • capaul42
    capaul42 Posts: 1,390 Member
    You'll get there. Don't let your mind convince you otherwise. I know it took years for me to get this out of shape and that I won't get where I want to be in a few months. I remind myself of that everytime I feel down about my progress.
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    I am sure that everyone has heard, slow and steady wins the race? And the saying patience is your friend?

    You will definitely get there. I could barely walk around my block without gasping. Then I could barely walk the entire .98 mile stretch around my neighborhood. This was two years ago. I run now and I run a lot.

    I thought it would take forever and a day, but every time I went outside, I got better and better and better. I never imagined in my wildest thoughts that I would do what I do now.

    Your journey is just that! It is a life time life long journey. It takes time, diligence, patience and commitment. If you have all four of those things, nothing will stop you from success.
  • augustremulous
    augustremulous Posts: 378 Member
    @Kerryatoon Whoa, I didn't say I had expected to lose 75 pounds in two months. You read that completely wrong. I said that I expected to be feeling healthier and having more energy by now.

    Thank you all for all the encouraging words.


  • astrampe
    astrampe Posts: 2,169 Member
    How much are you eating? If you eat too little, you won't have any energy...What do you do for a workout? Again, eating too little might cause too little energy to do anything worthwhile.... Which will make you give up, and cause you to not be able to put the work in that is required to reach your fitness goals.....
  • dragon_girl26
    dragon_girl26 Posts: 2,187 Member
    OP, just curious...rather than focusing on the things you wish you could do..are there things you have noticed you can do now that you weren't able to do two months ago?
  • brb_2013
    brb_2013 Posts: 1,197 Member
    Well, if you're not where you want to be, what are you doing to get there? What sort of exercise are you doing to improve your fitness?

    I feel significantly stronger and healthier after just two months of dedication, and I only do about 2 hours of exercise a week. It's leaps and bounds more than I did before and I know by end of summer I could hike a mountain.
  • rankinsect
    rankinsect Posts: 2,238 Member
    brb_2013 wrote: »
    Well, if you're not where you want to be, what are you doing to get there? What sort of exercise are you doing to improve your fitness?

    I feel significantly stronger and healthier after just two months of dedication, and I only do about 2 hours of exercise a week. It's leaps and bounds more than I did before and I know by end of summer I could hike a mountain.

    I actually was going to post exactly the same two questions.

    Losing weight is great for your overall health, but all the weight loss in the world won't make you physically fit. There are plenty of skinny people who aren't very fit either. To an extent weight loss helps your relative fitness because you have to move less body weight around, but the main thing to build fitness is a training plan.

    If you want to get good at hiking, go hiking a lot. When you can't, do things that will help you when you do hike - for example, endurance cardio, or intervals if you want to be better able to handle things like tough climbs.

    I definitely noticed physical fitness gains within 2 months, but I also planned my workouts so that I would get those gains.
  • Jackie_Paper
    Jackie_Paper Posts: 183 Member
    :# unfortunately, it's never "over" even if you think it is...and if you start to act like it is you'll end up right back where you started, years later, and really mad at yourself. (i learnd the hard way. :c ) but keep up your work in the right direction!
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,179 Member
    Yep. I use a treadmill 5 days most weeks for 2.5 hours and I deliberately increase the speed of the program monthly just so that I can increase the challenge as the fitness presumably improves.
  • kjurassic
    kjurassic Posts: 571 Member
    It took me a year and a half to lose 95 lbs. Patience.....patience....patience.....
  • vingogly
    vingogly Posts: 1,785 Member
    March? That's only two months ago. I've been at this for a couple of years, and have lost almost 80 lbs so it *does* work. If you keep plugging away and forget about what the calendar says, a year from now you'll be amazed at how far you've gone!
  • bellabonbons
    bellabonbons Posts: 705 Member
    Not a short term diet. A lifelong lifestyle change.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    Sometimes we need to readjust our expectations to reality. I accomplished some goals much faster than I expected while others take longer. Thus is one reason I like to have multiple goals in weight liss, fitness, nutrition, etc. That way, I have success in several areas all the time, but not necessarily ALL areas.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,610 Member
    augustremulous wrote: »
    @Kerryatoon Whoa, I didn't say I had expected to lose 75 pounds in two months. You read that completely wrong. I said that I expected to be feeling healthier and having more energy by now.

    Thank you all for all the encouraging words.

    But it is only a couple months.

    I have lost 55 lbs and am pretty much finished, but it took me 4 months to lose the first 33 lbs and that whole 4 months before I started to feel more energetic.

    But meanwhile I gradually increased the number of flights of stairs I was climbing each day, the amount of walking I was doing, and the amount of cycling I was doing.

    You say you're still huffing and puffing up 4 flights of stairs ... well, start doing that twice a day. In another month or so, start doing that three times a day. In another month or so, start doing that four times a day.

    Find some local hikes and start doing them on weekends. You might start with some that are only 1 or 2 km and relatively flat, but after a few weeks take on something longer or more challenging.

    Just keep pushing.

    But you probably won't notice much of a difference for at least another couple or three months yet ... and then, all of a sudden one day you will.

  • EvgeniZyntx
    EvgeniZyntx Posts: 24,208 Member
    When the journey is over we are dead. Enjoy the journey.
  • augustremulous
    augustremulous Posts: 378 Member
    Thanks all for the encouraging words. I needed it.

    The stairs I climb each day is pretty varied. I live on a fourth floor walk up, and go up and down several times a day, often carrying stuff.

    I think what's really getting me down is that I'm socially isolating myself. I'm really afraid of social situations where I might be "exposed" for being in the terrible shape I'm in. I mean it's not surprising given my size, but it's super embarrassing to have a friend over and have her/him walk up my own stairs with me - the same stairs I climb multiple times a day - and I'm avoiding conversation or excusing myself to the bathroom or to get water because I don't want them to see me breathing hard.

    And it's not just the stairs. It's picnics, casual walks with friends, dancing, etc. I walk around feeling like I might be exposed. I'm afraid of being spontaneous.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,610 Member
    augustremulous wrote: »
    Thanks all for the encouraging words. I needed it.

    The stairs I climb each day is pretty varied. I live on a fourth floor walk up, and go up and down several times a day, often carrying stuff.

    I think what's really getting me down is that I'm socially isolating myself. I'm really afraid of social situations where I might be "exposed" for being in the terrible shape I'm in. I mean it's not surprising given my size, but it's super embarrassing to have a friend over and have her/him walk up my own stairs with me - the same stairs I climb multiple times a day - and I'm avoiding conversation or excusing myself to the bathroom or to get water because I don't want them to see me breathing hard.

    And it's not just the stairs. It's picnics, casual walks with friends, dancing, etc. I walk around feeling like I might be exposed. I'm afraid of being spontaneous.

    Just keep working at it.

    With regard to the stairs ...

    When I started climbing stairs, I could just barely manage the 5 flights to the floor where I worked and when I got there, I probably looked like I needed medical attention. I felt like I needed medical attention!! It was awful!

    However, I started doing those 5 flights 3 times a week ... then every day ... and after a few weeks I could make it up without too much gasping and wheezing. It had gone from so painful and horrible to something tolerable.

    Then I started doing it twice a day and that was so hard I had difficulty imagining doing more.

    But after a few weeks, I started doing it three times a day (15 flights a day). Again, really difficult for the first couple weeks.

    But then I discovered that a small group was climbing those stairs 5 times a day (25 flights a day) ... I could hardly imagine it, but I started doing 4 flights a day.

    About a year has passed and now I do 30-40 flights a day, and I can talk all the way through ... I'm not breathing that hard. :) In fact, I climb a full 11 flights in one go, and will even jog some of the flights now.

    It takes consistency and persistence.

  • jawillia
    jawillia Posts: 24 Member
    EvgeniZyntx wrote: »
    When the journey is over we are dead. Enjoy the journey.

    Yep! It's a lifelong journey. Even once you meet your goal, you still have to maintain, which takes equal parts work. I've done it before. I lost 60lbs and was 135 @ 5'7". I felt amazing, but now I'm at 211 after losing 15lbs. It's because I lost the weight so easily (very strict fad diet) which you cannot maintain and taught me nothing. This time I am looking at it as a lulifestyle change, learning how to cook healthy, finding healthy options even when out and also not restricting myself so that I binge. Good luck!!
  • bekim123
    bekim123 Posts: 391 Member
    Looking at your profile, it looks like you have about 75 pounds to go to reach your goal. At one pound per week (which I think is a reasonable goal) that's going to be 75 weeks, which is roughly 1.4 years. I'm figuring 1.4 years from now will be around October 2017. My point is, October 2017 is going to be there either way, you can start October 2017 at the weight you're at now (or more) assuming you give up, or you can be at your goal weight in October 2017. As others have said, it's a lifelong journey. Now...if I can follow my own advice I can do it too.

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