LIVING THE LIFESTYLE FRIDAY 05/19/2017
TimDumez
Posts: 1,161 Member
Everyone says it, but just how do you do it? How do you take the guidelines of the WW program and turn them into a lifestyle you can live every day...from now on? That is what we are here to explore. Each weekday, a new topic is offered up for discussion. Newbie? Join in! Veteran? Join in! Your thoughts may be just what someone else needs to hear.
Monday - Jimb376mfp (Jim) & 88olds (George)
Tuesday - Podkey (Biker Bob)
Wednesday - GadgetgirlIL (Regina)
Thursday - misterhub (Greg)
Friday - TimDumez (Tim)
Today's topic: Freedom
Many of us, most probably, who were/are obese carry much more around with us day to day than just our physical weight. These burdens can be things such as guilt, shame, embarrassment, poor physical health, poor emotional health, having to sit at restaurant tables rather than booths, having to use seat-belt extenders on airplanes, etc., etc., etc.. I'm sure you guys will come up with a bunch that I have not listed.....
In what ways has WL and a smaller body freed you from the "weight" of some of the burdens that you used to carry?
Monday - Jimb376mfp (Jim) & 88olds (George)
Tuesday - Podkey (Biker Bob)
Wednesday - GadgetgirlIL (Regina)
Thursday - misterhub (Greg)
Friday - TimDumez (Tim)
Today's topic: Freedom
Many of us, most probably, who were/are obese carry much more around with us day to day than just our physical weight. These burdens can be things such as guilt, shame, embarrassment, poor physical health, poor emotional health, having to sit at restaurant tables rather than booths, having to use seat-belt extenders on airplanes, etc., etc., etc.. I'm sure you guys will come up with a bunch that I have not listed.....
In what ways has WL and a smaller body freed you from the "weight" of some of the burdens that you used to carry?
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Replies
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I've been morbidly obese on and off, mostly on, for all of my adult life. This has caused many physical health problems such as, severe edema of my lower extremities leading to cellulitis on many occasions, 4 of which resulted in hospital stays of up to 5 days for each incident. I had congestive heart failure in 2003 for which I am still taking 4 heart meds. I have sleep apnea, Diabetes Type II, and yet other health problems. I pay waaaaay too much for clothes. Due to the size of my belly I have always had to have the seat all of the way back in any vehicle I'm driving.
With this present, hopefully forever, round of WL I'm beginning to be relieved of some of the "weight", both literally and figuratively, that I've caused myself to be carrying around for so many years. My health is beginning to improve. I posted a medical NSV earlier today. I'm able to wear seat-belts in some airplanes without asking for an extender. I can fit in many restaurant booths now, hardly any before. I'm sleeping better, exercising much more, and breathing way better. I'm still paying too much for clothes, however somewhat less than I was paying before. The guilt, the shame, and the embarrassment are being replaced by confidence and a sense of well-being which I've never had before.
Do I still have many goals to accomplish? Of course. But where I once felt utterly defeated and completely devastated by my condition, I now realize that the outcome is within my control. As I commit to and do what needs to be done to reach those goals yet to accomplish, there will be more rewards , and yes, more freedom!!!!!1 -
While I can't say I've ever had any restrictions due to my weight, I have noticed that I am now able to shop at certain stores that never catered to my body shape. At my heaviest I wasn't able to find clothing that fit well at stores like H&M, Banana Republic, American Eagle, Hollister, etc. I always needed XL shirts (I'm only 5'4"), so they usually hung down to my knees!! Now that I can fit into a L (or sometimes M, depending on the store...), they aren't nearly as long. It may sound silly to others with serious weight and health problems, but I've definitely enjoyed the freedom that comes with being able to purchase clothing from retailers whose clothing fits my height rather than my girth.0
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One of my best weight related observations- as I got bigger, my life got smaller.
I slept tethered to a CPAP machine. Back pain hindered my mobility. I hid from family and friends due to embarrassment. I avoided any kind of gathering that would require physical activity.
Most of my socializing and "fun" was wining and dining. I was good at that.
I even avoided WL because I thought it would be the death of fun.
I still recall the shock when I realized that WL was really liberating.0 -
I got a lot less shy when I shed the weight. I used to have the "don't notice me" mentality-this paired with the bold print polyester stretch shirts I used to wear are an odd combo but it was how my brain worked.
Now I feel a lot less out of place and more comfortable melding into different social environments. This could also be a factor of age and experience, but it correlated with when I lost the weight.
I've also found it easier to make new friends because I'm involved in a lot more activities in the community because I am so active. Team sports make meeting new adult friends much easier!0 -
Oh, I so remember a flight in Alaska where I was wedged into the airplane seat and miserable the entire time. I was pushing 300 pounds on that trip. I wasn't able to fully enjoy all the activities on the cruise (very small boat - just 10 cabins) due to my weight as well as issues I was having with my knees due to the weight.
I give thanks every single time I have to climb up the stairs to the 3rd floor of my building on campus. That used to be a miserable trek. Now I don't think twice about it. I only use the elevator if I'm lugging in equipment.
And I don't worry any more about sitting down on a chair and having it collapse under me. Yes, that happened at one of my client's. I was mortified.
I also like that I don't have to worry that the clothes I pack the night before in my gym bag will fit the next morning when I get changed after my workout.
I'm so grateful for my freedom of movement!
Thanks for the great topic!0 -
Freedom: from the knee brace that has been propped in the corner of the bedroom for 7 years; from blood pressure meds; from being out of breath when I climb a flight of stairs.
Freedom to hike into the real back country the Hawaiian shirt and flip-flop crowd can't reach. Freedom to anticipate watching my young grand children grow up.0 -
I remember buckling the seat belt in my truck PERMENENTLY so it wouldn't beep. I sat atop my buckled seat belt for years! I wondered if they made seatbelt extenders for trucks!
Now I buckle up and go.0 -
I think freedom to be more in control physically. Freedom to believe I could run marathons, hike and do almost anything. Freedom to believe it doesn't have to be like this if I don't want it to be.0
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Not much left to say that I haven't been through with the post above. At 400 lbs I was pretty much a walking dead man. Got on a bi/pap and lost the 100 but that's still no where near enough. However a lot of the same things everyone else has experienced I have to except for some of the medical issues. I have afib because of the sleep apnea and the bp meds are pretty much down to nothing almost.
Just gotta keep working at it. Right now on the wrong track eating too much and gone a bit wild. Too much work not enough balance in my life right now.0 -
One of my best weight related observations- as I got bigger, my life got smaller.
Love this @88olds ! I know you've said it before but it's such a profound observation of how being fat can stifle life.
One of the first changes I realized was a sense of accomplishment / boost in self-confidence moving from 'thinking about losing' to actually having a plan and doing it. At that time, I may have only lost a couple/few pounds. Obviously, my change in perspective wasn't from losing weight but from (finally) committing to doing it. Again, I credit my doc with suggesting I just lose five pounds. That got me over the hump of thinking about it to doing it.
I too have shared several mentioned above but one other way weight loss has freed me from burdens is to realize that the lessons of persistence and breaking a big job into smaller tasks works pretty darn well on so many other things in life. Projects that seem insurmountable in their entirety can be done in incremental stages and actually get done instead of never started or barely scratching the surface.0 -
Thanks for all of the great responses to this thread!!!
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