I've been doing a lot of yard work this year, and over the summer I intentionally killed about 1/2 acre of (weeds) in the far back yard to continue the lawn. It's way out there, so it was mostly weeds and stuff. Anyway, I got to the point that I needed to spread my grass seed and I had several 20 pound bags of seed I needed to haul back there. No problem, I'll carry them. I put a bag under each arm, (40 pounds total) and started walking. OMGosh, about half way there I thought I was going to die. That extra 40 pounds was HEAVY. I started doing a little quick calculation and realized I had lost 9...NINE bags of grass seed. It was no wonder I could barely make it up the stairs, or breath.
If anyone is feeling they need a little motivation, strap yourself with the weight you lost and take a long walk. It is a real eye opener.
Oh don't I know it. One of my hounds weighs exactly 50 lbs, and she hurt her back a few days ago. I've been having to carry her, slung over my shoulder, up and down the stairs 3-4 times a day so she can go potty outside. OMG! I have lost 2 1/2 basset hounds from my person! How the HECK did I EVER go UP a flight of stairs before?!?! Well, I remember how: slowly, holding onto the rail, dragging myself up, ankles screaming, knees wailing, sweating. That's how.
It might sound a little crazy, but I've never even thought of that. It's an interesting thing, our bodies, the way that they work no matter what we put them through... And to think of how hard we make our bodies work when we hang onto all this extra weight. It's a little saddening... Anyhow, I am seriously going to try this tonight. I haven't lost nearly as much as you have, but maybe it can be another one of my motivators to remind me to keep going.
ADD: dchound - you are an inspiration! You've been working so hard for just over a year and you're still at it! Congrats on your weight loss so far!!!
If anyone is feeling they need a little motivation, strap yourself with the weight you lost and take a long walk. It is a real eye opener.
Oh no thank you. I think I'll pass. There is no way I could move with that much added weight on me. Okay. There you have it. That's why I barely moved. That's why I had zero energy. That's why walking a block was torture. That's why I was barely functioning. That's why.....
And to think, with all those extra pounds, my poor heart remained the same size. It's really not fair what I put my heart through. All that extra work I placed upon it. And somehow, with G-d's help it held up.
If anyone is feeling they need a little motivation, strap yourself with the weight you lost and take a long walk. It is a real eye opener.
This is the advice that I give newbies who complain or feel sad that they have "only" lost 10 pounds. Ten pounds is a LOT if you have to pick up a ten pound sack of potatoes and carry it around the store.
Last week, I bought a case of Talking Rain water at Costco. It had 30- 16 oz bottles in it and I could barely get it into the house. So....with packaging, it was probably a little over 30 pounds, and I could barely get it from the car, up the back steps, and into the house. And I have lost 1.5 cases of Talking Rain water. I had it strapped to my tummy....my butt....my legs....my chest. Like you say, no wonder I felt so out-of-breath going up stairs.
45 pounds is a modest amount of weight, comparitively speaking. But losing it has made a world of difference. I hope that lurkers reading this will understand that you don't have to face losing ALL your weight at once. Even losing part of it will make a huge difference in your life, and then you can work on the rest of it if you choose.
It's amazing to me when on TBL they make the contestants carry the weight they lost. It's hard to realize sometimes just what we are carrying around with us!
Now you can come help me reclaim some woods at our new house. I don't have the foggiest idea of how to do it, but I want more yard (3 cleared acres isn't enought to make me happy.. we sit on 4 cleared now and I would love more at the new house that has a total of 9.5 acres).
thank heavens i opened this thread today! i was feeling really bummed that the weight was coming off so slowly but you girls made me realise every pound lost is having a profound effect on my health.
I was thinking about this thread a little earlier when I picked up a 50lb bag of dog food...wow don't even ask me to pick up 135lbs lol I don't know how my body did it but I think it's much happier now not to work double time anymore
Great thread!! what an eye opener! I was keeping my 11 month old granddaughter the other day and had been carrying her around most of the day. I was exhausted by evening and she is only 20lbs.