None of my business

Madaly320
Madaly320 Posts: 112 Member
in Motivation and Support
I know a lot of things are not my business, other people's fitness and weight loss being one of them.

But there is this woman in my town who takes a super long walk every single day, rain, shine, freezing or sweltering out. I have seen her out walking for the last 8 years. This woman, however, is just about the same size as she was 8 years ago. Not morbidly obese, but plump, like me.

There are a ton of reasons this could be. She could be eating more than she is putting out, she could not be strengh/weight training. Could be a hormonal thing, a medical condition, any number of reasons. I get that.

But there is a part of me that looks at her and thinks...this woman has been walking for miles and miles every single day and is just as big as she was 8 years ago...so what hope do I have when I work out 3-4 days a week for about an hour each time?

It is none of my business what she does. I know that, but I can't shake it sometimes.

Replies

  • carijok
    carijok Posts: 32
    I can kind of relate to her... I spent ten years going on and off hardcore exercise, been overweight the whole time. It really is 70% diet. You can do all the exercise you want but if you're eating too many calories and junk food you will not lose. Maybe she is happy where she is at, maintaining. Maybe she's not walking to lose weight. Maybe she goes home and has a joint and eats everything in the house.....
  • nashsheri33
    nashsheri33 Posts: 225 Member
    walk with her, explain yourself, and ask her. maybe she has a thyroid problem, or she takes steroids, and if it's something like that, maybe if she didn't do the walking, she would weigh 600 pounds.
  • omgwtfddr
    omgwtfddr Posts: 10
    Weight isn't a disease! Barring medical circumstances, the lbs can be dropped, you just need to stick with the right program. Your fear is completely valid, but when you have that fear remember that being the person who doesn't lose the weight they want to is a choice you make, not an affliction.

    I know your fear won't go away with anything I say, but courage isn't being unafraid, it's acting in spite of fear.

    All the best,

    Scott
  • Madaly320
    Madaly320 Posts: 112 Member
    You are right. And I know this. I am in the beginning of losing weight and sometimes I think like this as a way to talk myself out of losing weight. I am at battle with myself. Talking here makes such a difference though.
  • likitisplit
    likitisplit Posts: 9,420 Member
    3-4 days a week for an hour each time is an awesome workout and you should be seeing results after a month or so. How long have you been doing it?
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
    If you live in my aunt's town, she is in her seventies and eats whatever she wants, as long as it doesn't affect her IBS or Crohn' or whatever she has going on in her gut.
  • jess6741
    jess6741 Posts: 107 Member
    You can't out exercise a bad diet. At my heaviest I was working out 5 days a week but I was eating junk. It's when I started eating right that things started falling into place.
  • fresh_start59
    fresh_start59 Posts: 590 Member
    It could be that her motivation is not to lose weight or look good in a bikini or deadlift 100+ pounds. Perhaps her motivation is strictly her health. If she's older (or even if she's not) it's possible that she's had a heart attack and her motivation for walking is strictly light cardio to keep her heart in good shape. Or maybe she's doing it to help lower her blood pressure.
  • squeakyfish
    squeakyfish Posts: 109 Member
    I often walk for several hours. I might do 4-7 miles at a stretch, but I am still fat. It wasn't until almost 2 months ago when I started logging that I began to lose weight because of changes in my diet.

    I couldn't outwalk the number of calories I was taking in on a daily basis.
  • zumbaforever
    zumbaforever Posts: 7,012 Member
    We have a walker here in my neck of the woods. Skinny thing, walks like she knows where she is going and has to be there NOW! And she usually has small handweights just a moving. :) Might be something there.
  • KenosFeoh
    KenosFeoh Posts: 1,837 Member
    I used to walk my dogs for miles every day when they were young and needed it, otherwise they got destructive and tore things up. I didn't lose an ounce, but I wasn't dieting, either. I was just walking my dogs.

    Maybe the woman you see walking just enjoys a nice walk every day.
  • Rhonnie
    Rhonnie Posts: 506 Member
    I play soccer 5 days a week but I'm overweight. I don't play soccer to lose weight, I do it because it keeps me sane and I love it.

    Lots of people do different activities that would be considered exercise but don't do it to lose weight but because they like it or want the muscular/cardiovascular benefits.

    Bottom line is that for the most part exercise is not what is going to make you skinny, your diet it. Exercise is a tool in a persons quest to be more healthy.
  • Madaly320
    Madaly320 Posts: 112 Member
    3-4 days a week for an hour each time is an awesome workout and you should be seeing results after a month or so. How long have you been doing it?

    Since Jan 7. I was sick for over 2 weeks in Feb though. I have lost 4 lbs. Which is good. I am good with that. My belt is tightened an extra notch, so I know it is working, albeit slowly. lol
  • gabegrammy
    gabegrammy Posts: 147 Member
    let her do her thing, while you focus on doing the right thing, excerise and reduced calories is the right way. It took my at least 20 years to figure that out. Simply put, but I was hoping for a cure for a decease I didn't have. I was over weight and until I was willing to change myself, there was no cure. I say join her on her walks, maybe you can help each other out.
    Viki
  • Timshel_
    Timshel_ Posts: 22,834 Member
    Almost no one got overweight in a year, but everyone expects to fix it that quick. The point I think we all tend to overlook is we are changing our eating and lifestyle habits to more healthy and fit habits. That just takes time. Given the right balance of eating right and exercise you can achieve your goals. You can do it quickly if your body allows it or over time at a more comfortable pace your body likes.

    Whatever works for you.

    That lady walking miles every day is more than just the exercise of the day, it is part of her. She probably loves it.
  • deanadimples
    deanadimples Posts: 419 Member
    I kind of get what you're saying. I've worked with a lady for 12 years. Every day she eats lunch with her mom and they go to Curves after work. She "works out" in jeans and a hoodie. She has never changed her body composition. There are times when I want to shake her and say "wake up" or "try this"...but in the end I figure it's her choice what she does with her time. I worry about making my time count and I'm seeing results and that's what matters to me. She has seen the results I've gotten and I figure if she wants to know how I'm doing it, she will ask what worked for me.

    I don't let it affect my motivation. I work out for 30 mins a day on average and see great results because I make every one of those minutes count. I'm sweating on the days I run and I'm lifting as heavy as I can when I'm lifting. The lady in your town has probably spent so many years doing the same thing her body never thinks anything of it. It's not even a challenge to her body any more. As long as you are challenging yours as it gains endurance and strength you will see results. Forget about her and the results she's not getting. You can't do the exact same thing every day for years and expect your body to become transformed. It was created to adapt to what we give it.
  • Annieapple12
    Annieapple12 Posts: 122 Member
    Maybe she just likes walking and is happy with her weight. Not everyone exercises purely for weight loss.
  • mandipandi75
    mandipandi75 Posts: 6,035 Member
    You can do any kind of exercise religiously (walking doesn't even burn much) but if there isn't a calorie deficit, there will be no losses. It's that simple. Don't let that discourage you from your goal. Being that you are here is a great start. No excuses! Good luck!
  • tpt1950
    tpt1950 Posts: 292 Member
    Maybe she just likes to walk and hasn't considered doing it at all to lose weight. You can't compare anyone else's progress, or lack thereof, to yours or to what your goals may be. Just because she has been walking for 8 years doesn't mean she is doing it as part of a plan to get fit - maybe she goes out every single day to breathe fresh air into her lungs or maybe she is bored in the house and likes to go outside to hear the birds sing or watch the squirrels play.
  • moustache_flavored_lube
    moustache_flavored_lube Posts: 849 Member
    could be a lot of things. You have no insight ( and I am betting she doesn't either) into what her daily calorie intake / expenditure looks like.

    Bottom line is we don't all get a fair shake when it comes to body composition / weight management. Life isn't fair. If you are genetically predispositioned to gain fat, it doesn't mean you are doomed to be a fat person. It just means you are going to have to put in effort, and diligence for the rest of your life to ensure you maintain a healthy body composition.

    ETA
    If you want it, and you work for it consistently over the long term. It will happen promise
  • amberlykay1014
    amberlykay1014 Posts: 608 Member
    Maybe she just likes walking and it's part of her routine. Not everyone thinks of walking as something fitness related.
  • tenintwenty
    tenintwenty Posts: 92
    She probably just walks enough to maintain weight because she offsets it be eating like 200 more calories per day. You don't know that she's even doing it to lose weight. Maybe she just enjoys walking.
  • moustache_flavored_lube
    moustache_flavored_lube Posts: 849 Member
    Also IMHO if you aren't gaining weight you are winning so if she has maintained her weight for 8 years she is doing better than many
  • Madaly320
    Madaly320 Posts: 112 Member
    Thanks everyone, it really helps. I guess I just need that constant reminder that I can do this. :)
  • sjacks14
    sjacks14 Posts: 68 Member
    Last year I was walking every workday with my coworker. We were climbing a big hill and doing a 1hr route at a fast pace. We probably were walking 3-4miles a day. I lost 6 lbs and that was it. I went from 172 to 166. We fell off track last May. When I went to the doctor this January I was still 166. That's when I signed up for MFP and started logging my food. That's when I discovered that although I don't eat "bad". I was eating way too much to lose. That's probably why I maintained the 166 for over 7mos with no effort but to lose I had to make a change to my diet.

Categories