I think it will get better as you progress. There will still be those achy days too,but overall I have noticed that I have far fewer of them. It's the routine, moving and light exercise for which you sometimes have to push yourself alittle to get to. I do think if you hang in there and fight through the initial part, you'll look back and marvel at how much less you stiffness and aches you are experiencing. My knees and ankles bother me alot less often without the almost 80lbaThis is a hurdle you can get over. Trust me.
Yes, for me it was a major life changing event. At 333 pounds I could barely move. Just rolling over in bed was a challenge. A flight of stairs or shopping at a mall or "super-store" was torture. I was to a point of barely moving.
By the grace of God, I barely sit down now!!! I actually sit less now, than I moved before. . I just had my 47th birthday and someone asked me if I felt old...all I could do was giggle. I feel YOUNGER now than I did at 27. No joke, it's awesome and amazing!
I haven't lost that much yet even though I've been exercising at the Y four days a week for the last two years but can I just say to you that you should do as much as you can before you lose weight? Yes I am sore, my knees and back hurt from Zumba and sometimes the weights, but I don't care, it is all making me fitter. Once I get rid of the weight I assume all the muscles I've been building will be a lot more apparent, although of course I can see the ones in my legs and arms now, and many things are a lot easier, especially hoisting myself out of the tub, or carrying many bags.
Lori Bell, every time I see your picture, I smile because you look so happy! In my imagination, I think you are in a NY Taxi going to some sophisticated job in the fashion industry.
The rest of you, read Lori Bell's symptoms before she lost weight. Pretty bad, right? Well, take heed now because I had the very same symptoms. The difference being that although I have much less weight to loose, I am almost 70 years old. It doesn't get better if you put it off. Follow her example.
My good news is that I have been eating better and working my way up to walking two miles a few times a week. I feel much better after only 6 or so weeks. And yes, I have some pain. Yesterday, I got my shoes on etc to walk, and I just couldn't do it for soreness, but I did it today!
Sara, thanks so much for asking this, I wanted to know myself but was afraid of the answer. I've told my familr repeatedly thid last 5 wks on plan that I am going to be so pi**#d off if I loose 100+ pds and still can't walk. The answers have been very encouraging.
I used to weigh 360 and managed to fool myself into thinking that I could get around ok. I couldn't though. I had trouble standing any longer than five minutes at a time, got winded from half a flight of stairs, summer just about killed me from the heat alone, and I once felt myself passing out as I was driving (I had to pull over!).
I'm only about halfway to goal but I can lap around the mall several times without issue, can climb the stairs with ease, can handle 110+ degree heat (I live in the desert), and have a much easier time even getting daily chores done. I'm feeling pretty good and can only imagine how things will get better! Even the last 20 pounds lost has made an enormous difference, and I still have a long ways to go.
I hadn't thought of it for awhile, but at my highest weight I used to have to sit down in front of the refrigerator to put away the groceries after a long shopping trip because I didn't have the energy to stand there and do it. I hurt all the time and basic tasks were difficult. I am still pretty overweight by most standards, but I am in such a different place. I don't hurt most of the time unless I really push myself and I can keep up in an hour long Zumba and belly dance classes. Even small amounts of weight can make a big difference in how you feel. Just pick up something that weighs five pounds and walk around with it for awhile. You can really feel it. You don't have to wait for huge losses to really feel different, which is pretty exciting. At the same time, I am excited to keep losing to keep feeling better and better.
I remember coming in from doing some yard work a year ago and crying at my kitchen sink as I washed my hands because I felt like s**t - my legs hurt, my back hurt, I could barely stand up. I've always been fairly active (exercise, gardening, walking) but years of being heavy were taking their toll.
Losing weight has made a HUGE difference. You will definitely see positive results!
Yes, to an amazing degree. I didn't realize how much of my body aches and energy level was related to the weight and not my age until after 20 years of carrying around an extra 100 lbs, losing it. I am fitter and feel better than I could have imagined. In fact it seems odd when friends complain of aches and pains of aging now, as I feel better every year.
Lots of things became much easier for me after I lost the weight. Things like being able to take a shower, clip my toenails or vacuum my apartment. Also, being able to stand at the sink to wash dishes no longer makes my back or legs ache.
I really love being able to go up a flight of stairs without having to hold the handrail and haul myself up. Same with getting out of my car. I no longer have to hold onto the door frame and pull myself out of there!
I've been reading all the posts and I want to say that we have really done an amazing job of improving our health. One thing that came to me after I wrote my original post is this. After i had lost about 30 pounds, I was visiting my daughter and we went to and outlet mall and spent most of the day walking around. That isn't anything new - we did that all the time and I never had trouble - like I said in my first post - I always thought of myself as being pretty fit. On the ride home, DD said, "It's not just your weight that changed. I didn't have to slow my pace today so you could keep up with me." While I was not aware of it, my daughter apparently had to slow down her normal walking pace when we were together to match my slower pace. Not any more! Just a small NSV, but an improvement just the same.
I still have quite a lot to lose but what I've lost so far has made an immense difference in my mobility and pain levels. I have really bad feet and ankles. I also have osteo arthritis in my right knee. My right shoulder is a right mess. At my heaviest, I couldn't stand for longer than 5 minutes without pain. I couldn't walk normally and certainly not for far or for very long. Sometimes in bed, I felt like I was suffocating in my own fat.
Now, I have a lot more stamina, more mobility and a whole lot less pain. Doing dishes is no problem and I've started doing other household chores. From time to time, I go for a half-mile walk in my neighborhood; something I couldn't do at all 6 months ago when I started this effort. Do I still have issues? Sure I do but everything is so much better it's startling.
Last edited by Garnet2727; 07-29-2012 at 09:31 PM.
I am 60 years old, My legs used to swell after 3 hours of car journey. Now, I do exercise almost 4 days a week. Do Zumba once or twice. When I started, I could not do elliptical for 3 minutes. Now I can do it for 30 minutes with resistance level 5. Do weights 2 times a day.
By the way, if any of you have high blood pressure, try deep breathing. It does bring the BP down, is my personal experience.
At 60, I feel better than 50 years of age. My stamina has increased, my aches and pains reduced.
Give yourself an year. One day at a time, if you stuck to your goal for a day, cross the day from your calendar. After you cross 365 days, you will be happier person.
P
I hope I never forget the struggles I had at 350 lbs. I can remember climbing a ladder to do yardwork and housework, sweating like a dog and thinking, "This is just about impossible! How am I doing this? It's so painful and so uncomfortable - not to mention dangerous!" But, I had to do it. I had no one to help me.
My feet swelled so badly that I couldn't tie my shoes, and I just barely moved around my office and work environment .I bought a pedometer, and at that time, on some of my "normal days" I took 700 steps - Home to car to office to car to home. (I'm not proud of that)
My floor was always littered with items I hadn't the energy to bend over and pick up. (that's one thing that amazes me now -- I drop it; I pick it up!)
I have to say that, at that weight, I probably noticed a difference after losing about 50 lbs. It kind of snuck up on me. Be aware, and as you lose, you'll notice little things that are easier on your body.
It's great to realize that you can step up on a chair to change a light bulb, or get up from sitting/kneeling on the floor - and a big thrill to realize you can take a tub bath now because you can actually get yourself out of there!
. I just had my 47th birthday and someone asked me if I felt old...all I could do was giggle. I feel YOUNGER now than I did at 27. No joke, it's awesome and amazing!
