How Being Overweight Can Make You Fatigued and Inactive
Will_Thrust_For_Candy
Posts: 6,109 Member
This was linked on Bret Contreras' page and I thought I would share. It's a fantastic read.
http://bretcontreras.com/how-being-overweight-can-make-you-fatigued-and-inactive/
http://bretcontreras.com/how-being-overweight-can-make-you-fatigued-and-inactive/
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great read, thank you0
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Good topic to talk about. I always wondered why most women suffer from knee pain and it turns out that being overweight kills your knees!0
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Bump0
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Good topic to talk about. I always wondered why most women suffer from knee pain and it turns out that being overweight kills your knees!
Ummmm many overweight men have bad knees too :ohwell:0 -
Good topic to talk about. I always wondered why most women suffer from knee pain and it turns out that being overweight kills your knees!
Ummmm many overweight men have bad knees too :ohwell:
Ops my bad!! Its just that I hear more woman with this type of problems than man!
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I'm bumping my own thread because I think it's a good article
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Nope .. I have trouble with my knees and I started my diet at 338 lb's. So yeah I can attest. Just being overweight puts so MUCH strain. And honestly for really fat people this is no surprise. When you have that much fat it is like a prison. It is dead weight which makes any exercise where you have to support a fair bit of your body weight many times harder. And makes some key full body exercises downright impossible. For example.
Goal #1 Attained at 305 lbs : Ability to do a body weight squat.
300 lbs ; Ability to do a weighted Squat
Goal #2 Attained at 290 lbs ; Ability to do a 30 second Plank
; Ability to do an elevated push up.
Goal #3 Close to Attaining : Ability to do a horizontal push up.
Goal #4 Lord knows when : Ability to do a pull up.
These are key body strengthening exercises that most people who are at least moderate weight can do with a little work. For me they are milestones to achieve. And don't think my knees give me an easy time with squats. I still have to be careful. Also very fat peoples metabolisms are frankly borked. Breaking my addiction to sugar was one of the hardest things i ever had to do. Smoking didn't even come close.
So I won't lie to you it's gonna be hard. But trust me the lighter you get the easier it gets. Your first few weeks will be the worst. But focus on improving your physical endurance so you can handle longer workouts. Don't go over 2 hour sessions though. You may find at first that caffeine pills help you get through at least decent workouts.0 -
Because we have wider hips, our femurs attach to our knees at a different angle than men's femurs do. So we're more prone to knee injuries than men are. Similarly, a woman who is overweight to the same degree a man is more likely to have knee pain than the (equivalently overweight) man is.0
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Wow I'm kinda glad to be a man then this crap is bad enough as it is.0
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Wow I'm kinda glad to be a man then this crap is bad enough as it is.
It's hard, but you're doing it. You should be proud.0 -
I know a big factor for me gaining as much weight as I did was a burst of weight gain I had just before puberty. While I was just *barely* actually overweight for my age/height, it was enough that I was mocked and demeaned constantly for being "fat," including by gym teachers at school. Any kind of physical activity was painful for me--not physically, but mentally and emotionally. I learned to really loathe any kind of activity where I had to be with other people, because they treated me so badly.
And even now, I hear from a lot of adults, and especially adult women, that they don't want to be "the fat one" at the gym, in a yoga class, or out jogging. I go for walks around town. I dress okay, my clothes fit, I walk briskly, and I'm an adult woman--and children, teenagers, and adults alike give me dirty looks and even laugh at me for working up a sweat. While it's not that often that it happens--most people are friendly and just smile or wave if they're neighbors--it's something I took a very long time to learn to deal with.
Sure, I also get shin splints on longer walks/jogs, and that contributes to some inactivity--but for me and I'm sure a lot of other people, social factors are huge as well.0 -
Tagging0
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In many ways being severely overweight is a disability. Normal activities can become very exhausting/difficult to accomplish, places sometimes can't fit you because you are too big, you feel ostracized from the world and you develop pain in sometimes several places in the body.
While losing weight certainly is possible and thus it isn't a permanent disability, it can become very easy to continue to gain weight and also very hard to lose it too.
It is hard for people who have never been obese to understand how much of a negative feedback cycle obese people can get in to. None of these are excuses for getting obese or staying that way, but if more people understood the challenges then they may be more sympathetic to those they see every day.0 -
I suffer from knee pain, ankle pain, back pain, muscle aches and fatigue. I put ALL of it down to being obese. The knee and ankle because of the pressure on them, the back pain because I get in my own way when I sleep and wake up sore because my back has been on a bad angle because I might as well be lying on extra pillows when I lie on my stomach, muscle aches because I'm obese and unfit and anything more than just moving around is a strain, and fatigue because well - I'm carrying around pretty much a whole extra adult.
It's been my biggest wake up. I've not been able to stick to weight loss before because wanting to be more attractive (in my own eyes), fit nice clothes etc hasn't been enough motivation, but damn I'm sick of being sore and slow and tired!0 -
Wow I'm kinda glad to be a man then this crap is bad enough as it is.
It's hard, but you're doing it. You should be proud.
Thankyou
And honestly I wish I had done it sooner. I have so much sympathy for people who get as fat as me and think "I will never be thin". It's like being in a tarpit. Though honestly I think my ability to escape it was due to some great friends. Who pressured me without being rude or nasty to do something about my health. And who helped me to get started. I am now losing 2-3lb most weeks and have busted through 2 plateau's with their help. Hmm I sort of believe that perhaps there should be a guide out there for those with massive amounts of weight to lose. I had a lot of trouble finding information that was relevant to me. Perhaps I will write one when I hit my goal
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Good topic to talk about. I always wondered why most women suffer from knee pain and it turns out that being overweight kills your knees!
The reason knee pain is more of an issue for women than men is less to do with weight than how we're built. Our pelvises are generally broader (to accommodate child-bearing) which puts the femur at a greater angle between the hip and the top of the tibia. This puts greater lateral stress on the knee joint, which makes it more likely to cause patellar tracking issues... which is more likely to wear down cartilage irregularly... which is what causes the pain.
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Good topic to talk about. I always wondered why most women suffer from knee pain and it turns out that being overweight kills your knees!
The reason knee pain is more of an issue for women than men is less to do with weight than how we're built. Our pelvises are generally broader (to accommodate child-bearing) which puts the femur at a greater angle between the hip and the top of the tibia. This puts greater lateral stress on the knee joint, which makes it more likely to cause patellar tracking issues... which is more likely to wear down cartilage irregularly... which is what causes the pain.
Thanks for posting this, I wasn't aware of this and it explains some of the issues I've seen in various threads.0 -
Being overweight puts a tremendous amount of stress on the knees as well as other joints and organs.0
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It is hard for people who have never been obese to understand how much of a negative feedback cycle obese people can get in to. None of these are excuses for getting obese or staying that way, but if more people understood the challenges then they may be more sympathetic to those they see every day.
I've been obese. I'm not sure why I am supposed to feel any particular sympathy for obese people and the challenges they face. I don't understand why their struggle to lose weight is any more important or noteworthy than anyone else's. The fact that we're expected to treat them differently is part of the problem.
I'm not anywhere near as proud of my weight loss as I am of my ability to squat nearly twice my body weight. Both required a lot of hard work and dedication. But the former is something I should never have had to do.0 -
It is hard for people who have never been obese to understand how much of a negative feedback cycle obese people can get in to. None of these are excuses for getting obese or staying that way, but if more people understood the challenges then they may be more sympathetic to those they see every day.
I've been obese. I'm not sure why I am supposed to feel any particular sympathy for obese people and the challenges they face. I don't understand why their struggle to lose weight is any more important or noteworthy than anyone else's. The fact that we're expected to treat them differently is part of the problem.
I'm not anywhere near as proud of my weight loss as I am of my ability to squat nearly twice my body weight. Both required a lot of hard work and dedication. But the former is something I should never have had to do.
Congratulations on your incredible weight loss. :flowerforyou:
I think it's more that we should feel empathy as opposed to sympathy. Sure, obese people got that way through their own doing, and that's on them (and their upbringing in my opinion). But once they're there, it is a practically Herculean task to turn it around. As you must be aware, it's not like dropping 30 pounds (my situation) is anything near as difficult as dropping over 100 pounds (your situation). I don't think obese people should be treated "differently" per se. Rather, acknowledge the physical and emotional challenges they have to overcome are compounded three, four, and five-fold when compared with ours. And give them credit when they do it.0 -
Good discussion here!
And I wasn't debating that women have different builds, I was simply pointing out that obesity can contribute to knee issues in both sexes....more common in women? Perhaps. But it still happens to men.
I would also like to add that I don't know that it's a "practically Hurculean task" for someone to begin to get healthy. It takes making a decision and sticking with it and in terms of activity, well to get started it's not even necessary. We know that changing diet is the key component to weight loss. The hardest part is the mental/psychological part.0 -
I would also like to add that I don't know that it's a "practically Hurculean task" for someone to begin to get healthy. It takes making a decision and sticking with it and in terms of activity, well to get started it's not even necessary. We know that changing diet is the key component to weight loss. The hardest part is the mental/psychological part.
I guess the mental/psychological part is the thing I imagine is Herculean. To be so far from a goal, and have to work for so long to get there, can be daunting. I agree with you that beginning the journey requires the same steps regardless of the amount of weight you need to lose. I just think making the decision to begin the journey, and having the faith in the science of weight loss to continue the journey in the face of the inevitable stumbles, is a lot harder for severely obese folks given they'll have to work for a very long time to achieve their desired result.0 -
Well one thing people often don't consider is that people have many reasons for being obese. Sure some people are just greedy. But for many it is the result of depression. People respond to stress differently and some throw food down their mouths like garbage chutes because it really is the only thing in life that brings them any sort of joy. For people like us it's like a drug addiction. And I wasn't even able to approach weight loss until I solved the underlying mental problems that brought me to this state. Coupled with fact that society ostracizes you even more for being obese it can be a vicious cycle of self loathing that leads to binging that leads to even more self loathing. I'm not saying that every case of obesity is like this. But please don't delude yourself into thinking that your experience covers everyone. Or that just because something is someones "fault" they don't need help and encouragement to do something that has now become extremely difficult.0
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I would also like to add that I don't know that it's a "practically Hurculean task" for someone to begin to get healthy. It takes making a decision and sticking with it and in terms of activity, well to get started it's not even necessary. We know that changing diet is the key component to weight loss. The hardest part is the mental/psychological part.
I guess the mental/psychological part is the thing I imagine is Herculean. To be so far from a goal, and have to work for so long to get there, can be daunting. I agree with you that beginning the journey requires the same steps regardless of the amount of weight you need to lose. I just think making the decision to begin the journey, and having the faith in the science of weight loss to continue the journey in the face of the inevitable stumbles, is a lot harder for severely obese folks given they'll have to work for a very long time to achieve their desired result.
Then don't attempt to take on too much too soon. Break down your big goal into a bunch of smaller ones like 2 or 5 lbs at a time. Baby steps!0 -
I would also like to add that I don't know that it's a "practically Hurculean task" for someone to begin to get healthy. It takes making a decision and sticking with it and in terms of activity, well to get started it's not even necessary. We know that changing diet is the key component to weight loss. The hardest part is the mental/psychological part.
I guess the mental/psychological part is the thing I imagine is Herculean. To be so far from a goal, and have to work for so long to get there, can be daunting. I agree with you that beginning the journey requires the same steps regardless of the amount of weight you need to lose. I just think making the decision to begin the journey, and having the faith in the science of weight loss to continue the journey in the face of the inevitable stumbles, is a lot harder for severely obese folks given they'll have to work for a very long time to achieve their desired result.
Then don't attempt to take on too much too soon. Break down your big goal into a bunch of smaller ones like 2 or 5 lbs at a time. Baby steps!
Hi, thanks for this but I'm actually not very big, nor have I ever been. I just feel empathy for those who are. 0 -
Loved the article. What I didn't see mentioned is other issues associated with gaining weight and exercising... Do any of you experts have anything you are willing to share.
I started running last month and I've been having pain in my heel and I've changed shoes, bought inserts etc...
Not trying to highjack the thread, just thought I'd inquire. :blushing:0 -
I meant big in terms of the overall goal. LOL!
Many years ago when I started the thought of getting to my goal weight depressed me. So many times, I said fluck it and gave up, especially when the scale didn't go down every week. Now, I know better.
I see you only have 12lbs to go. Lucky devil!
Just kidding!0 -
In to read for later!0
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BUMP0
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Good topic to talk about. I always wondered why most women suffer from knee pain and it turns out that being overweight kills your knees!
The reason knee pain is more of an issue for women than men is less to do with weight than how we're built. Our pelvises are generally broader (to accommodate child-bearing) which puts the femur at a greater angle between the hip and the top of the tibia. This puts greater lateral stress on the knee joint, which makes it more likely to cause patellar tracking issues... which is more likely to wear down cartilage irregularly... which is what causes the pain.
I was born with an issue in my feet that needed to be corrected and developed patella femoral syndrome 22 years ago when I was 14. It was due to my growth and because I was an intensive dancer (athlete). My knees were also injured in two bad car accidents during that time. Never been overweight. Always a bmi of 18 to 18.5 (except briefly when pregnant twice). This info is also helpful.0
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