Well, I just got a reality check I was in desperate need of! I went to mow my lawn in the midday sun.

Four years ago this task took me about an hour and a half with a push mower, and I might stop half-way through to grab a quick drink of water before I powered through the rest of it. It wasn't my favorite chore to do, but I really didn't mind it. It wasn't physically challenging and I love the smell of fresh cut grass and I like being outdoors and I always got a little boost from knowing how nice my yard looked. Beats vacuuming, as far as I was concerned!

Fastforward to today...I was in ****. My lungs burned, I was having a hard time breathing, my heart was pounding out of my chest, my feet were in a ton of pain, and my arms felt like they couldn't push any more. I had to stop after 15 minutes.

I had been feeling pretty good the past couple of days. Even with just losing 16 pounds, I was moving easier. So, this is kind of a mixed bag for me...on the one hand I'm mad for allowing myself to get to this point and for not being able to even mow my lawn without my weight getting in the way. But, on the other hand, I think it's good to have that reality hit me so that I don't get complacent and just be satisfied with losing pounds/inches. (Not that I'm making any judgment on those that are, it's just that for me this journey is about overall health and I want to run, jump, and play as badly as I want to get into a hot LBD!)

I'm going to wait out the sun and get my butt back out there. I'm determined to finish it today...even if I have to take breaks every 15 minutes.

What do you guys think? Do moments like this spur you on? I'd love to hear from people who might have been in the same situation and are now kickin' butt at 5ks or bike races, or in their backyards!

I bought a treadmill a while back on craigslist for $100. It's a good treadmill.

The FIRST day I was done after like 4 minutes at a pace of 2.5! I couldn't believe how out of shape I was! It was SAD...

Now I can RUN on my treadmill at a pace of 4.5 for a good amount of time, I can stay on for at least 45 minutes, and I definitely notice a huge difference. I actually LIKE to run- sure I'm not a speed demon but I was always the girl in high school who ran the 15 minute miles, it's nice to know that with my hard work and patience (and being careful to not overdo it) I am able to run. I'm actually considering signing up for a 5k at the end of the year

About a year ago, my mom was visiting and we took a short walk to the end of my cul de sac with my little one in the stroller. It's a fairly steep downhill less than a quarter mile and then back up the hill. My mom is in her mid seventies and had a heart attack in her early sixties, although she is doing well now.

I had to stop several times on the way up the hill to pant. My mom was not panting and had no trouble walking up the hill. MAJOR REALITY CHECK.

Other things that used to tire me: spending too long at the mall, standing for long periods of time at work, walking up two flights of stairs. There were even times when my legs used to hurt after a trip around the grocery store. Now I can't imagine getting tired from something like that.

Now I run for forty minutes at a time. The difference is amazing.

Thanks, beerab & ubergirl! It's great to know that turning it around is completely possible. I just have to keep thinking of stories like yours when I'm pushing through a workout. I think I can...I think I can...

The first time I got on my elliptical trainer I made it three minutes and thought I was having a heart attack.

One day three years ago I got dizzy carrying my laptop bag up the stairs to my office, got to the top and my heart was racing, thought I was dying.

I collapsed into a heap the first time I tried to do a pushup - on the way down. Didn't even get a chance to try to come back up.

Now, I can carry my laptop bag anywhere I need, can do 65 minutes on my elliptical, can do 100 pushups (with a few breaks here and there) and ran a half marathon last month.

The bad moments totally spurred me on.

You can absolutely improve your fitness level. Don't let that yard beat you.

But, if you live near me wait until later because the smog is terrible out there today.

I've been on disability for five years now, and at my worst, could barely raise my arms to wash my hair (I used a shampoo and conditioner - one rinse only, no repeat). I needed a chair in the shower.

Bit by bit, I'm gaining strength. I've gained more in strength and stamina than I've lost in weight. I still think of it as "only 80 lbs" (because I still have more than 150 to go). But when I think of what I can do now, that I couldn't do when I started, I feel really lucky.

Last Saturday I went geocaching with my husband and a friend. Both sites were in the woods and I took my cane along for balance (using it as a walking stick more than a cane). I got a lot further than I expected, and it was awesome to feel myself getting sore before I ran out of breath.

I had asthma, COPD and autoimmune disease wracking my lungs, and often I could barely breath. Since I've been off NSAIDs (which were causing most of my lung issues), my lungs have been healing. It's even possible that the scar tissue I developed from the autoimmune disease may heal (doctors aren't promising anything, but are hopeful).

My lung capacity is much improved. In the past, I couldn't do much because I'd run out of breath almost immediately. I never got to the point of muscle soreness, because I ran out of breath long before I worked my muscles hard enough to GET sore.

It's thrilling to see progress. I think it's one of the reason's I've been happy with slow weight loss - because the progress I've been making in terms of being able to participate in life have been so dramatic. When I started this, I was sleeping (unconscious, sleeping - not lying in bed awake) up to 20 hours per day. (I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, sleep apnea, and an autoimmune disease attacking connective tissue most notably in my lungs, sinuses, and joints).

I'm now in at least partial remission from the AI disease. My apnea has disappeared, and I've got my fibro in a manageable state, and my sleep patterns are becoming more normal.

The health decline came on so gradually that I barely noticed it (until it cascaded and I fell apart relatively quickly). The health improvements though have been dramatic.

Viviane - Yep been there. Things like doing the dishes or taking a shower at 300lbs could be exhausting. I once walked to the local supermarket 1 mile away and and was an good day of exercise for me.

Now a few years latter I can run for 2 hours... I can bike for 4 hours... I'm training for Ironman! It's insane. Who IS this person? I love it.

Put lots of work into it and it's going to be nice to look back how far you've come.

I know exactly what you're saying! It's shocking how taxing simple things like that are when you're dragging around 160 excess pounds!! It makes me feel a little defeated sometimes. And, it's hard to see from my vantage point how I'll ever get to be able to super active when doing dishes wears me out! I want to be active, I've always been into physical stuff (when I was thinner). It's just so hard to get started on working out when household chores are almost more than I can handle. But, I'm going to keep trying and doing and hope that as the weeks go by, it'll get easier and easier and I'll be able to do more and more.

You're training for the Ironman???!!! If that doesn't give me the inspiration I need, nothing will! Thanks so much for your post

Congratulations on losing so much (and gaining even more)! I'd love to hear how you lost the weight, how long it took, etc. if you're up for it...our stats are pretty similar.

Honestly I've lost it just pretty much calorie counting and lots of exercise. You know the whole aiming for a deficit thing. (1000/day deficit per day = 2 lbs) Writing it all down is a pain, but it really helps keep you on track.

It's not been a straight pathway for me. Basically I lost down to 186 in 15 months and gained 50some back... and it's taken since last summer to lose that and just a little bit more. It's coming off fairly slowly now but to be honest I haven't been great with tracking lately so it's not mystery why things have been slow.

Getting really involved in an activity I learned to enjoy helped keep me active. For me signing up for Triathlons and learning to run were good motivators. Fear based ones, but hey it worked! I learned to love it too!

Don't be too hard on yourself. Household chores ARE good exercise. Keep moving as much as you can throughout they day it all adds up. Purposeful exercise is important too, and I do recommend doing that as well but hey if 15minutes is all you can handle on top of everything else. Cool start there you know? As you lose and get more fit you'll be able to increase the time... intensity... etc.

Looks like you're off to a great start already!