Overall health
ChasesMumma927
Posts: 130 Member
So it finally happened :-/ I’m obese BMI is 36.8 if that helps. I recently haven’t been feeling good. Question is I don’t blame weight. I would like to hear from people that were overweight and lost did you actually feel better or different ? I just feel I will always feel tired dizzy when doing too much uncomfortable etc.
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Replies
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Ask your doctor about the dizziness. I don't know what "doing too much" might be for you, but I could do plenty before I left the obese BMI behind, without getting dizzy.3
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I honestly don’t think there’s any doubt that the closer you are to a healthy weight the better you feel!
My BMI has never been above 27 at my heaviest but getting it down into normal range just gives me energy and makes moving a positive pleasure. To utilise a cliche - I feel so much more comfortable in my own skin!
Of course, there are health conditions that are not improved by losing weight, but there are so many that are improved that to think otherwise sounds like denial to me!5 -
Most of the times I have been overweight, it has been caused by or exacerbated by an underlying medical condition, and when I treat whatever condition is causing the problem, I naturally lose weight and feel better at the same time.2
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BarbaraHelen2013 wrote: »I honestly don’t think there’s any doubt that the closer you are to a healthy weight the better you feel!
My BMI has never been above 27 at my heaviest but getting it down into normal range just gives me energy and makes moving a positive pleasure. To utilise a cliche - I feel so much more comfortable in my own skin!
Of course, there are health conditions that are not improved by losing weight, but there are so many that are improved that to think otherwise sounds like denial to me!
Well I do not feel like I’m in denial. I just cannot imagine when I hear people say they feel younger and have more energy, I just don’t buy that. I know being closer to our perfect weight means we are healthier. I just want to know if anyone felt the same and did lose the weight and magically felt healthier, Not prettier just less tired more energy etc. I don’t know maybe I’m not explaining it correctly.
As for dizziness I can do it all i keep up with my thin friends it’s just after I feel dizzy or lightheaded I guess is more like it. I am going to the doctor I have before they blamed my inner ear :-)0 -
I would go back to the doctor and get the dizziness taken care of. Until the doctors can PROVE that you have a reason to be dizzy all the time you shouldn't accept vague hand waving as an answer. YOU PAID MONEY FOR MORE THAN JUST GUESSING. Yes there is guessing involved, but the results of the best guess and treatment require follow up.
Sometimes there are LAYERS of reasons why something is happening and if you give up solving the problems and looking for answers, you're stuck leading a sub-optimal life.
I spent YEARS thinking I was an insomniac who would never get more than 4 hours of sleep a night. As it turns out, I have *multiple* conditions with insomnia as a symptom. Once I got treatment for *all* the things that made it hard for me to sleep, I started getting much better sleep. My ability to remember things and cope with life is SO much better on 6 hours of sleep than it ever was on 4 hours, and knowing what I need to do to get that sleep has made me 1000% healthier. And sleeping enough has made my weight much easier to maintain than when I was doing it by will power alone. I just have to treat TWO hormone deficiencies, and keep an eye on two different recurring vitamin deficiencies.
And you know what? When I sleep enough, I have more energy, and I don't spend all my time being depressed that I'm too tired to do anything, my stress hormones are decreased, and all my health markers are improved.
There is a direct correlation, and I am not fooling myself into thinking I feel better when I weigh less. Correlation is NOT causation. It's just not the weighing less that makes me feel better. It's the feeling better that helps me weigh less.4 -
You may not buy it, but I will be 55 this Sunday and was at BMI 37 last April. I have since dropped 83 lbs and exercise daily and my BMI is at 26 right now. I am 8 lbs away from NORMAL BMI of 24.9. I had the worse health then and had all the horrible symptoms..Was dizzy, out of breath, heart racing, exhausted, pre-diabetic, high blood pressure, high cholesterol..etc....Now I feel 20 plus years younger and all my labs did a 180. Do it for your health. No excuses. It's not magically going to get better doing nothing.11
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I consider myself to be in very good health despite being obese.
But even I have to admit that losing around 16 lbs (so far) and regular exercise has made me feel better. When I go to work, I have to climb quite a steep hill and I can already feel how much easier it has become! And during my workouts on the treadmill, I am able to increase the incline and speed more and more.6 -
I believe being a healthy BMI is by far the best thing I've ever done for myself. I was 34 BMI, now I'm 21. It made a huge difference in my health, my blood pressure, my sleep, my mental health, and my quality of life.
I hope you decide to take back your life. It's worth all the struggle to lose the weight.7 -
You being dizzy and having conditions that may not be related to your weight is one issue. But you've asked a second question and that one I am fully qualified to answer based on n = 1
You may choose to believe it, or not, but yes, most people will have more energy and will feel better too.
It doesn't take much of an experiment to comprehend either. Load yourself with a 10lb (no need to go higher) back pack and wear it all day. Now take it off. Are you not flying?
Now take 7 or 8 of them off! If nothing else your strength to weight ratio will shoot through the roof in the short term assuming you lose weight in a reasonable manner.8 -
ChasesMumma927 wrote: »Well I do not feel like I’m in denial. I just cannot imagine when I hear people say they feel younger and have more energy, I just don’t buy that. I know being closer to our perfect weight means we are healthier. I just want to know if anyone felt the same and did lose the weight and magically felt healthier, Not prettier just less tired more energy etc. I don’t know maybe I’m not explaining it correctly.
As for dizziness I can do it all i keep up with my thin friends it’s just after I feel dizzy or lightheaded I guess is more like it. I am going to the doctor I have before they blamed my inner ear :-)
Why would you even consider that being close to an ideal weight instead of being obese would NOT make one feel healthier? There's nothing 'magic' about it. Hauling pounds and pounds of excess weight around on a body that - let's face it - isn't designed to support those pounds is bound to be tiring.
You say in your original post that even if you do lose weight you feel you will always be tired and dizzy - well, you won't know unless you try..
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It is not magical and it can take time for the difference to first be felt. For me it took close to 2 months to feel better but it happened and continued to happen.
If you look through the over 28 thousand replies to this thread:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1275030/whats-your-most-recent-nsv/p1
you will see that better health is an extremely common result.
Obviously you can have a medical problem or medical problems that weight loss cannot fix. That does not mean the rewards of losing weight are not still worth it though. Your health can still be improved in other areas and you can reduce your risk of further problems. The other thing is that losing weight makes everyday things easier or at least it has for me. When things get easier it improves my mood and my patience.
My experience has been that weight loss has improved my health. My doctor is extremely happy.7 -
Me! I feel so much better. I have more energy. I don't like sitting around like I used to. I always want to be up and moving. ALL of my arthritis pain is gone. My husband and I do fun things together like hiking, instead of me saying I don't want to because I would get out of breath or simply couldn't keep up with him.
I seriously feel like I have my life back.
I've lost 50-some pounds (I'm not sure how much I've lost because I didn't have a scale in the beginning)6 -
ChasesMumma927 wrote: »BarbaraHelen2013 wrote: »I honestly don’t think there’s any doubt that the closer you are to a healthy weight the better you feel!
My BMI has never been above 27 at my heaviest but getting it down into normal range just gives me energy and makes moving a positive pleasure. To utilise a cliche - I feel so much more comfortable in my own skin!
Of course, there are health conditions that are not improved by losing weight, but there are so many that are improved that to think otherwise sounds like denial to me!
Well I do not feel like I’m in denial. I just cannot imagine when I hear people say they feel younger and have more energy, I just don’t buy that. I know being closer to our perfect weight means we are healthier. I just want to know if anyone felt the same and did lose the weight and magically felt healthier, Not prettier just less tired more energy etc. I don’t know maybe I’m not explaining it correctly.
As for dizziness I can do it all i keep up with my thin friends it’s just after I feel dizzy or lightheaded I guess is more like it. I am going to the doctor I have before they blamed my inner ear :-)
You don't magically feel healthier when you lose weight, you actually are healthier. I think you absolutely are in denial about the health differences between being obese, and being at a healthy weight.13 -
ChasesMumma927 wrote: »BarbaraHelen2013 wrote: »I honestly don’t think there’s any doubt that the closer you are to a healthy weight the better you feel!
My BMI has never been above 27 at my heaviest but getting it down into normal range just gives me energy and makes moving a positive pleasure. To utilise a cliche - I feel so much more comfortable in my own skin!
Of course, there are health conditions that are not improved by losing weight, but there are so many that are improved that to think otherwise sounds like denial to me!
Well I do not feel like I’m in denial. I just cannot imagine when I hear people say they feel younger and have more energy, I just don’t buy that. I know being closer to our perfect weight means we are healthier. I just want to know if anyone felt the same and did lose the weight and magically felt healthier, Not prettier just less tired more energy etc. I don’t know maybe I’m not explaining it correctly.
As for dizziness I can do it all i keep up with my thin friends it’s just after I feel dizzy or lightheaded I guess is more like it. I am going to the doctor I have before they blamed my inner ear :-)
You don't magically feel healthier when you lose weight, you actually are healthier. I think you absolutely are in denial about the health differences between being obese, and being at a healthy weight.
Agreed. Weight loss is so slow that we forget how we felt when we were bigger. I always remind myself that I would wake up in the morning in pain because of my weight - I would forget if I didn't consciously think of it.9 -
I was long-term obese - up to 385 lb at my heaviest. I didn't think it was affecting my health or how I felt.
I now have a BMI under 25, an insanely packed schedule, and yet I feel so much less tired and need so much less sleep.11 -
I see a little person in your picture. That stage of life has many wonderful things but it also tends to include being tired! Like others, I myself feel better at a healthy weight and would say I have more energy/find it easier to do things than when I was heavier. Keeping up with littles will be easier at healthier weight as well!
The dizziness thing may be completely separate. But it's unlikely to make you feel worse if you can lose some weight, as long as you do so in a healthy manner (which MFP can help you do!) I have dealt with dizziness that WAS inner ear, and was helped by seeing an ENT. So while that may or may not be the case with your situation, it is possible to have an inner ear issue cause dizziness.
Good luck! Start with an achievable goal and be patient with yourself, you are worth it
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If by "inner ear" and dizziness, you mean the doctors said you had BPPV (benign paroxysmal positional vertigo), then yes, that's very unpleasant (I've had it), and very common, and even thin people get it. There are physical therapy treatments for it that are frequently very effective, quickly: Some you can try yourself (check YouTube), though self-treatment has somewhat lower success.
I lost about 50 pounds from class I obese (BMI just over 30) to a healthy weight (BMI 22) about 5 years ago, and have stayed there since. I was already very active and - perhaps surprisingly - reasonably fit while obese.
Even so, I feel much better. My joints (osteoarthritis & torn meniscus) hurt much less and much less often. My flexibility and mobility have improved a good deal. Where I used to lumber up stairs, I now nearly scamper (even at age 64).
When I hand carry something even half the weight I lost, I marvel that I lugged so much excess around all day every day, and can't imagine how or why I did it. (And no, it's not that I'm weaker now; objectively, I'm not.)
The really surprising thing to me was how much my just general sense of well-being improved, in some ineffable but physical way. Maybe the elimination of systemic inflammation, I dunno?
Also, my formerly high blood pressure is now normal, my formerly high cholesterol/triglycerides are now normal, and I'm no longer being threatened that I need to take a statin (which I'd refused to do, even though it was recommended).
The surprising thing to me was how simple weight loss was, process-wise: Eat the right number of calories (of foods of your choice). It's neither difficult nor time-consuming to count calories using this app, after a couple of weeks getting the hang of it. It's not always easy, psychologically and logistically, but it's doable and so worthwhile. I wish I'd done it decades ago.
You can do it, too, if you want to.
Best wishes!7 -
to echo @ceiswyn I was at a BMI of 39, and have dropped 50 lbs so that I'm around 32 for BMI. I have felt better in a lot of ways, but in particular I've noticed that I feel less exhausted all the time. even on about 7 hours of sleep a night (which used to never feel like enough) I wake up feeling refreshed and clear headed.
as others have noted, your dizziness should probably be checked checked out, but dont dismiss the benefits of carrying less weight around with you out of hand.
sidenote, BMI > 30 is considered class 1 (low-risk) obese. over 35 is class 2 (moderate-risk) obese.8 -
I should add that the general good feeling you get from weight loss may be harder or even impossible to appreciate if you have chosen an unnecessarily harsh method to lose weight. I have made this mistake in the past. Now I am kinder to myself. I worry more about keeping a positive mental outlook than the speed of weight loss. An example is that with the holidays coming up I will eat more food so I do not feel deprived. I did the same thing last year and I made great progress.9
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I just want to know if anyone felt the same and did lose the weight and magically felt healthier,
I felt horrible when 150 lbs overweight. Losing the weight did not make me magically feel healthier. I felt a million times better and more energetic, but it was not magical. It was the benefit of A LOT of discipline and hard work and consistency. Some health problems can be solved by losing weight and others can be improved and/or your ability to deal with them is improved.10 -
To be fair, you’ll likely not get get a bunch of answers here saying “I was miserable and felt worse at a healthy weight”
I can give you my perspective...and I don’t know or really care if the results are from lost weight or increased activity/exercise.
Yes I feel better. I’ve lost 30-ish pounds*.
Less headaches and back pain
Way more energy
Better quality sleep
Easier mobility
Can I prove that all these things are a result of weight loss? Nope, but there is a lot of correlation. I do know that things are a lot harder to do when I am wearing a heavy backpack. So that’s good enough for me to believe that I am in a better place at lower weight.
I’d suggest reading some of this thread. https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10087100/what-nobody-tells-you-about-losing-weight#latest I spent a little time in it, and was struck by the good, the bad, and everything in between that people have experienced.
The last bit of unsolicited advice I’ll offer is to ask yourself if you think you will feel better by losing weight. Because the outside influences aren’t going to get you through the hard work.
* I didn’t weigh myself when I started exercising regularly and lost some weight before I stepped on the scale.
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I just want to know if anyone felt the same and did lose the weight and magically felt healthier,
I felt horrible when 150 lbs overweight. Losing the weight did not make me magically feel healthier. I felt a million times better and more energetic, but it was not magical. It was the benefit of A LOT of discipline and hard work and consistency. Some health problems can be solved by losing weight and others can be improved and/or your ability to deal with them is improved.
The fact that someone disagreed with your personal experience just shows how delusional that person is. Personally, I think your story is inspiring. There are dozens of health markers that can dramatically improve with weight loss, and of course that is going to make a person feel physically better as well. I also agree that hard work and discipline do not equal magic.3 -
ChasesMumma927 wrote: »BarbaraHelen2013 wrote: »I honestly don’t think there’s any doubt that the closer you are to a healthy weight the better you feel!
My BMI has never been above 27 at my heaviest but getting it down into normal range just gives me energy and makes moving a positive pleasure. To utilise a cliche - I feel so much more comfortable in my own skin!
Of course, there are health conditions that are not improved by losing weight, but there are so many that are improved that to think otherwise sounds like denial to me!
Well I do not feel like I’m in denial. I just cannot imagine when I hear people say they feel younger and have more energy, I just don’t buy that. I know being closer to our perfect weight means we are healthier. I just want to know if anyone felt the same and did lose the weight and magically felt healthier, Not prettier just less tired more energy etc. I don’t know maybe I’m not explaining it correctly.
As for dizziness I can do it all i keep up with my thin friends it’s just after I feel dizzy or lightheaded I guess is more like it. I am going to the doctor I have before they blamed my inner ear :-)
Fill a backpack with 20 pounds or so of stuff and wear it from the time you get up until the time you go to bed for a day. Note how you feel compared to the day before when you didn't have the backpack on.
Bet you felt better without the extra weight of the backpack.5 -
Theoldguy1 wrote: »ChasesMumma927 wrote: »BarbaraHelen2013 wrote: »I honestly don’t think there’s any doubt that the closer you are to a healthy weight the better you feel!
My BMI has never been above 27 at my heaviest but getting it down into normal range just gives me energy and makes moving a positive pleasure. To utilise a cliche - I feel so much more comfortable in my own skin!
Of course, there are health conditions that are not improved by losing weight, but there are so many that are improved that to think otherwise sounds like denial to me!
Well I do not feel like I’m in denial. I just cannot imagine when I hear people say they feel younger and have more energy, I just don’t buy that. I know being closer to our perfect weight means we are healthier. I just want to know if anyone felt the same and did lose the weight and magically felt healthier, Not prettier just less tired more energy etc. I don’t know maybe I’m not explaining it correctly.
As for dizziness I can do it all i keep up with my thin friends it’s just after I feel dizzy or lightheaded I guess is more like it. I am going to the doctor I have before they blamed my inner ear :-)
Fill a backpack with 20 pounds or so of stuff and wear it from the time you get up until the time you go to bed for a day. Note how you feel compared to the day before when you didn't have the backpack on.
Bet you felt better without the extra weight of the backpack.
I couldn't even lift the amount I lost lol. The water jug at work is a five gallon, so it's about 40 pounds. I tried replacing the jug myself and failed miserably. I'm a wimp, lol. I've lost 60 so that's not even my whole weight.3 -
I was at a BMI of 32.9 at my heaviest. I was in complete denial and didn't think my situation was all that bad. I thought I felt fine at that time. It wasn't until someone told me that they didn't think I was truly happy with myself that kickstarted my health journey. They were right. I was pretending to be happy on the outside, but I wasn't happy with how I looked and felt at the time. And eating healthy and exercising isn't easy. If it was, then everyone would be a healthy weight! Being obese is exhausting. I didn't realize how difficult everything was for me at the time. Getting dizzy when standing up, huffing and puffing just walking up stairs... I was honestly didn't think that was an issue. I didn't feel I was fat until someone kindly pointed it out. When I first started exercising, I was embarrassed to even sweat because I didn't want people to think I was as out of shape as I was. I didn't want them to see me struggle and that riding a bike was something that was difficult to me. That was in April 2013.
Now, my BMI hovers around 21.5. I can't express how much my life has changed since losing the weight. Everything that I do now is simply easier. The mental health aspect of being at a healthy weight is far overlooked - I function better now in every capacity. My mind works faster now. I'm not sluggish. I have a new sense of confidence in myself. I hate to say it, but I do think you're a little in denial about your weight being an aspect of why you don't feel well. It seems like you don't want that to be the reason, because that means you might have to make a change and do something about it to feel better.
Change is scary. Making the effort to start exercising is exhausting. Knowing you have to limit your portions and make better food choices is upsetting. And it sucks at the beginning. But then, when you start to see the scale work in your favor, you smile. You find recipes that are nutritious and that taste delicious, and you smile more. You stop being exhausted all the time, and you find more joy in the things you can do. Life becomes easier when you're not seriously obese. You develop a new sense of confidence because you FEEL better about yourself. So, as many people on this thread have/will point out, maybe start to make a few changes in diet/exercise and see how that impacts your physical health. It definitely won't hurt or make it worse, and you might be surprised in the change!3 -
Dizziness -> doctor.
Aside from that ...
Of course you will feel better as you lose weight!! Maybe not immediately and maybe not all at once or in all ways, but yeah you will feel better.
I started dieting with a BMI of 47 and felt terrible, with a resting pulse rate of 94 that would rocket up to 120 if I had to exert myself at all, like going up one flight of stairs. When I started exercising at first, I was doing 5-6 minutes on an exercise bike and that hurt and tired me out for the day.
Six months of diet and daily exercise later, my BMI is 37 and my resting pulse is usually around 66 depending on time of day. Nowadays I usually do 45 minutes of bike, but often an hour because I just feel like it. I feel like a new person -- and yet I am still officially obese, I can't imagine what it'll feel like when I get to the end of the rainbow at 29.9 BMI lol
I really can't think of anything as transformative - physically or mentally/emotionally - as losing a lot of weight and getting in good physical shape. Maybe there's something out there, winning a lottery or becoming famous or something, but to me losing weight has been a paradigm shift in how I feel, on different levels, but especially in terms of energy and physical well being.6 -
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ChasesMumma927 wrote: »BarbaraHelen2013 wrote: »I honestly don’t think there’s any doubt that the closer you are to a healthy weight the better you feel!
My BMI has never been above 27 at my heaviest but getting it down into normal range just gives me energy and makes moving a positive pleasure. To utilise a cliche - I feel so much more comfortable in my own skin!
Of course, there are health conditions that are not improved by losing weight, but there are so many that are improved that to think otherwise sounds like denial to me!
Well I do not feel like I’m in denial. I just cannot imagine when I hear people say they feel younger and have more energy, I just don’t buy that. I know being closer to our perfect weight means we are healthier. I just want to know if anyone felt the same and did lose the weight and magically felt healthier, Not prettier just less tired more energy etc. I don’t know maybe I’m not explaining it correctly.
As for dizziness I can do it all i keep up with my thin friends it’s just after I feel dizzy or lightheaded I guess is more like it. I am going to the doctor I have before they blamed my inner ear :-)
Well, I didn't feel exactly the same as you, as I didn't have this strong feeling that I would always feel bad no matter how much weight I lost. I was at roughly the same BMI as you when I started on MFP, with health markers (BP, blood sugar, cholesterol) getting precariously close to the point where I would need to take a variety of medications. But I didn't think I felt bad. It was a gradual thing getting there, so changes weren't that noticeable, and the ones I did notice I chalked up to the fact that I was in my 50s. So when I started losing the weight, and did have more energy, and found all kinds of little things (from bending at the waist past the smaller rolls of fat to tie my shoes, to squatting down to pick something up off the floor and standing back up without needing to hold onto anything for leverage or balance), I was surprised. It wasn't age. It was carrying around all those extra pounds.6 -
lynn_glenmont wrote: »ChasesMumma927 wrote: »BarbaraHelen2013 wrote: »I honestly don’t think there’s any doubt that the closer you are to a healthy weight the better you feel!
My BMI has never been above 27 at my heaviest but getting it down into normal range just gives me energy and makes moving a positive pleasure. To utilise a cliche - I feel so much more comfortable in my own skin!
Of course, there are health conditions that are not improved by losing weight, but there are so many that are improved that to think otherwise sounds like denial to me!
Well I do not feel like I’m in denial. I just cannot imagine when I hear people say they feel younger and have more energy, I just don’t buy that. I know being closer to our perfect weight means we are healthier. I just want to know if anyone felt the same and did lose the weight and magically felt healthier, Not prettier just less tired more energy etc. I don’t know maybe I’m not explaining it correctly.
As for dizziness I can do it all i keep up with my thin friends it’s just after I feel dizzy or lightheaded I guess is more like it. I am going to the doctor I have before they blamed my inner ear :-)
Well, I didn't feel exactly the same as you, as I didn't have this strong feeling that I would always feel bad no matter how much weight I lost. I was at roughly the same BMI as you when I started on MFP, with health markers (BP, blood sugar, cholesterol) getting precariously close to the point where I would need to take a variety of medications. But I didn't think I felt bad. It was a gradual thing getting there, so changes weren't that noticeable, and the ones I did notice I chalked up to the fact that I was in my 50s. So when I started losing the weight, and did have more energy, and found all kinds of little things (from bending at the waist past the smaller rolls of fat to tie my shoes, to squatting down to pick something up off the floor and standing back up without needing to hold onto anything for leverage or balance), I was surprised. It wasn't age. It was carrying around all those extra pounds.
^^ That, basically. Except, even though it seems a little odd now, when I was obese I actually thought I felt good. I was pretty fit (in objective terms), competing as an on-water rower, could out-work many of my lighter (mostly still overweight, inactive) similar-age and sometimes younger friends. Only when I lost weight did I understand viscerally how much better I could feel, physically and psychologically, and how much I was subconsciously limiting what I did based on my size, energy level, etc.RelCanonical wrote: »Theoldguy1 wrote: »ChasesMumma927 wrote: »BarbaraHelen2013 wrote: »I honestly don’t think there’s any doubt that the closer you are to a healthy weight the better you feel!
My BMI has never been above 27 at my heaviest but getting it down into normal range just gives me energy and makes moving a positive pleasure. To utilise a cliche - I feel so much more comfortable in my own skin!
Of course, there are health conditions that are not improved by losing weight, but there are so many that are improved that to think otherwise sounds like denial to me!
Well I do not feel like I’m in denial. I just cannot imagine when I hear people say they feel younger and have more energy, I just don’t buy that. I know being closer to our perfect weight means we are healthier. I just want to know if anyone felt the same and did lose the weight and magically felt healthier, Not prettier just less tired more energy etc. I don’t know maybe I’m not explaining it correctly.
As for dizziness I can do it all i keep up with my thin friends it’s just after I feel dizzy or lightheaded I guess is more like it. I am going to the doctor I have before they blamed my inner ear :-)
Fill a backpack with 20 pounds or so of stuff and wear it from the time you get up until the time you go to bed for a day. Note how you feel compared to the day before when you didn't have the backpack on.
Bet you felt better without the extra weight of the backpack.
I couldn't even lift the amount I lost lol. The water jug at work is a five gallon, so it's about 40 pounds. I tried replacing the jug myself and failed miserably. I'm a wimp, lol. I've lost 60 so that's not even my whole weight.
Oh, man: Now that you mention that, I can, and have. Once in a while, a friend of mine buys 50lb bags of birdseed, and at times (like when recuperating from surgery), she can't carry them herself. I can put a 50-pound bag of seed on my shoulder, holding the base in my arms, so the weight mostly goes down through my legs/feet somewhat similarly to how bodyweight would, and carry it out to her backyard (100 feet, or so, maybe, including a couple/three steps?).
Wow: How in the heck did I do that all the time??!?
OP, maybe not denial, but Lynn has a point. It comes on so gradually, we just don't realize.4 -
lynn_glenmont wrote: »ChasesMumma927 wrote: »BarbaraHelen2013 wrote: »I honestly don’t think there’s any doubt that the closer you are to a healthy weight the better you feel!
My BMI has never been above 27 at my heaviest but getting it down into normal range just gives me energy and makes moving a positive pleasure. To utilise a cliche - I feel so much more comfortable in my own skin!
Of course, there are health conditions that are not improved by losing weight, but there are so many that are improved that to think otherwise sounds like denial to me!
Well I do not feel like I’m in denial. I just cannot imagine when I hear people say they feel younger and have more energy, I just don’t buy that. I know being closer to our perfect weight means we are healthier. I just want to know if anyone felt the same and did lose the weight and magically felt healthier, Not prettier just less tired more energy etc. I don’t know maybe I’m not explaining it correctly.
As for dizziness I can do it all i keep up with my thin friends it’s just after I feel dizzy or lightheaded I guess is more like it. I am going to the doctor I have before they blamed my inner ear :-)
Well, I didn't feel exactly the same as you, as I didn't have this strong feeling that I would always feel bad no matter how much weight I lost. I was at roughly the same BMI as you when I started on MFP, with health markers (BP, blood sugar, cholesterol) getting precariously close to the point where I would need to take a variety of medications. But I didn't think I felt bad. It was a gradual thing getting there, so changes weren't that noticeable, and the ones I did notice I chalked up to the fact that I was in my 50s. So when I started losing the weight, and did have more energy, and found all kinds of little things (from bending at the waist past the smaller rolls of fat to tie my shoes, to squatting down to pick something up off the floor and standing back up without needing to hold onto anything for leverage or balance), I was surprised. It wasn't age. It was carrying around all those extra pounds.
^^ That, basically. Except, even though it seems a little odd now, when I was obese I actually thought I felt good. I was pretty fit (in objective terms), competing as an on-water rower, could out-work many of my lighter (mostly still overweight, inactive) similar-age and sometimes younger friends. Only when I lost weight did I understand viscerally how much better I could feel, physically and psychologically, and how much I was subconsciously limiting what I did based on my size, energy level, etc.RelCanonical wrote: »Theoldguy1 wrote: »ChasesMumma927 wrote: »BarbaraHelen2013 wrote: »I honestly don’t think there’s any doubt that the closer you are to a healthy weight the better you feel!
My BMI has never been above 27 at my heaviest but getting it down into normal range just gives me energy and makes moving a positive pleasure. To utilise a cliche - I feel so much more comfortable in my own skin!
Of course, there are health conditions that are not improved by losing weight, but there are so many that are improved that to think otherwise sounds like denial to me!
Well I do not feel like I’m in denial. I just cannot imagine when I hear people say they feel younger and have more energy, I just don’t buy that. I know being closer to our perfect weight means we are healthier. I just want to know if anyone felt the same and did lose the weight and magically felt healthier, Not prettier just less tired more energy etc. I don’t know maybe I’m not explaining it correctly.
As for dizziness I can do it all i keep up with my thin friends it’s just after I feel dizzy or lightheaded I guess is more like it. I am going to the doctor I have before they blamed my inner ear :-)
Fill a backpack with 20 pounds or so of stuff and wear it from the time you get up until the time you go to bed for a day. Note how you feel compared to the day before when you didn't have the backpack on.
Bet you felt better without the extra weight of the backpack.
I couldn't even lift the amount I lost lol. The water jug at work is a five gallon, so it's about 40 pounds. I tried replacing the jug myself and failed miserably. I'm a wimp, lol. I've lost 60 so that's not even my whole weight.
Oh, man: Now that you mention that, I can, and have. Once in a while, a friend of mine buys 50lb bags of birdseed, and at times (like when recuperating from surgery), she can't carry them herself. I can put a 50-pound bag of seed on my shoulder, holding the base in my arms, so the weight mostly goes down through my legs/feet somewhat similarly to how bodyweight would, and carry it out to her backyard (100 feet, or so, maybe, including a couple/three steps?).
Wow: How in the heck did I do that all the time??!?
OP, maybe not denial, but Lynn has a point. It comes on so gradually, we just don't realize.
bolded = That's pretty much what I meant when I said I didn't think I felt bad. I wasn't as much of an athlete as you, but I still took long walks, occasionally jogged, eschewed elevators for stairs for two or three flights, could do "real" pushups and enough sit-ups in a minute to put me in the top 10% or so for my age group. I thought I mostly felt good and, other than weight, was more "fit" than the average woman my age. But I did know that not everything was as easy as it was when I was 20.
And like you say, when I lost the weight, I realized how much better I could feel. physically and psychologically.2
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