Well it happened....

I work in the Library at the University I attend. The Library is 3 stories and all the books are on the 2nd and 3rd floor. Well today, a girl asked me if I could help her find a book and of course this book was on the 3rd floor so instead of taking the elevator we walked the 3 flights of stairs. I have NEVER had this happen to me before and today it was so EMBRASSINGby the time i got to the 3rd level i was so out of breath that i couldn't even ask the girl what the call number was, i had to walk away to keep from crying about being so embrassed because i couldn't breathe or ask her a question. I thought this will never happen to me, i will never be a person that can't climb a flight of stairs without being out breath.

I just don't understand how i let myself get to this point. I mean this should be a wake up call right??
Well, if this is a wake up call then if was a horrible one...it was just so mortifying i mean i felt like i could hear her saying "Damn you are FAT" "Cant even work up a flight of stairs" "Must be horrible" I mean she didn't say that but it was like i could hear it

Huff and Puff...yeah just what i want to think about...

If anyone has had a similar experience or could give some advice on how i should handle this i would like to hear it....

Thank you
Crystal

I'm sure she didn't think anything bad about you. If anything, she was likely concerned for you.

I know you are embarrassed, but there's a silver lining. You're here and it's fixable! And the best part is, you only have to lose a little and exercise more than you do now to start seeing a big improvement in how you take those stairs.

Here's a story that may make you feel better. Last summer I weighed about 15 pounds less than I am now (so still big!). I went on vacation with family to a beach house on a lake. The house we rented for the week had 120 STAIRS from the street to the house and then the house itself was three stories. The first time I climbed them I had to stop about 5 times to catch my breath and still thought I was going to pass out. We must have walked up and down those stairs 4-5 times a day. By the end of the week I could make it up all 120 steps without stopping and without gasping at the top.

Our bodies are amazing machines. And they change rapidly when treated well. So start taking the stairs to the third floor on your breaks and before you leave for the day. Try for 3 or 4 times a day. In NO TIME you'll be making the trek without having what happened to you today happen again. Not to mention your heart will thank you and you'll have great legs!

Well, I'm a similar height/weight to you, and it has definitely happened to me before with walking up flights of stairs. I always found it embarrassing before my classes; I would actually go into the bathroom, find a stall with a sink in it, and stand there and splash water in my face and wait until I caught my breath before going to my classes.

One time I recall, I walked to the pharmacy. No stairs, but it's all uphill, and I turn RED when overheated. So I am at the counter, bright red and huffing and puffing, and the cashier remarks about my "sunburn." I didn't have any sunburn, it's just that I was too out of shape to walk to the pharmacy without turning bright red and being out of breath. Argh.

As for handling, I think walking more is the best. I only walk in the early morning or evening when fewer people are out and it's cooler, but I definitely huff and puff less these days. This morning I walked to the grocery store (could've gotten a ride, but I wanted the exercise) and carried my groceries a few blocks up the steep hill where I live without feeling like I was going to die or anything when I got in the door.

Sure, losing weight probably helps too, having fewer pounds to carry around makes it easier to climb stairs, but I am inclined to say more walking will help that specific problem. Years ago I weighed more than I do now, but I walked everywhere and managed to be "fit and fat" instead of, well, unfit and fat like I am now. Increasing your stamina by doing things like walking also makes exercise in general easier, which makes it easier to lose weight.

I had a similar problem recently. I went to the local university library to find some books for a paper in my philosophy class. The philosophy department is on not the second, not the third, but the fourth floor. I walked up all four flights of stairs with my friend, and when I got up there I told him to hold on and walked straight to the bathroom to catch my breath. terribly embarrassing, really. I mean, no one should be so out of shape that they cannot walk up a few flights of stairs. Finally, I came back out, and ended up needing to go back down all those stairs to get a card to use the computers. We were about to walk up those stairs, again, when I looked to my right and wah lah! down the hall was an elevator. It was definitely a good wake up call on how completely out of shape I am.

I know that feeling of embarrassement. It's not that the other person is looking at you and laughing but that you are looking at yourself and not feeling like you're living up to your potential as a HUMAN!!! I usually go to the track for a brisk walk in the evenings in my neighborhood. It's pretty crowded but I like the diverse sense of community gathering for their health. Eventhough I've been working out for 6 six weeks I still feel like everyone is passing me by on the track. Other speed walkers, children, runners, but the worst is being passed by the elderly speed walkers. Yesterday was awful, this lady must have been in her 60's, overweight and still she left me in the dust while I was walking and huffing and puffing. Not a good feeling but I'm happy if it churned on her own motivation hehe.

Think of those stairs as your mountain to climb. Climb them everyday, starting once a day for a week and then twice a day the next week, until you're running up and down those stairs like nobody's business. The stairs are not your enemy, they have merely set forth a challenge for you -take it!

Hi Crystal.

First off - I have felt the exact same way many times, and it's a horrible feeling. But, the good news is you don't have to be this way!! The suggestion to walk up the stairs a few times a day is good advice.

I want to give you a more positive outlook, too. I started my journey 11 months ago right where you are. Out of shape. Unable to walk up even a single flight of stairs without being out of breath. Embarrassed and ashamed of myself for letting myself get this far. But, then I started eating better food and exercising a little (trust me, it was very little at first) and things started to change for me.

Last week, there was a rain storm where I live and I didn't have an umbrella with me. I had to run about 200 metres from the car to the building. I ran very fast (well, fast for me. I am not about to break any speed records! ) and was not even a little out of breath. Didn't have to stop or catch my breath. Small victory, but significant to me.

The best part? I didn't even stop to consider if I could run that far or keep up with my friends. I just ran, like everyone else.

Little by little, the efforts add up. I know you can do this! We'll be here to cheer you on!

A year from now you'll be glad you started today. Trust me.

Peace, Heather

I promise you that if you start exercising, and I mean cardio exercise, you will get the stamina you need to climb any flight of stairs. I used to be just like you and would huff and puff at the top of every flight of stairs. God forbid it was more than one flight of stairs!!

Once I started working out regularly, doing cardio for 30 to 60 minutes, my stamina improved rapidly and greatly. Over this last year, due to extenuating circumstances, I stopped working out in my usual regular fashion and started to notice with great dismay that the huffing and puffing had return. So, had a bunch of weight of course.

I'm back to working out for the last month and can already tell the difference. I feel so good and I know it is only going to get better. Give it a try!!

You know what though, you can build up so that walking those stairs won't be so tough. Perhaps set yourself a goal to walk to the third floor every day you work? then you can build up to doing it twice/day and what not.

The only words that come to mind is "Thank you"!!

I am going to take the advice and set a goal on the stairs and face this challenge before me.

I am a emotional person so when i read all these comments (at work) i was sitting here at my desk crying it just feels good to know that there are friends out there that care and want to help.

Thank you all,
Crystal
P.S. Going to put a ticker on my signature of my stair goal will keep it updated!

oh my gosh I was thinking about this today. I have to park in the gym parking lot at school and walk to the sequoya building for biology, which is really only a couple of hundred yards away or so. the trouble is, it's straight down a very steep hill. Going down is okay, though it's hard to fight against gravity and keep myself from tripping and falling or breaking into some kind of bizarre, flailing run.
But going back up? Oh man. Sometimes I have to drag myself along the banister beside the path. sometimes I have to stop once, sometimes twice.
When I get to the top I huff and puff more than after an hour at the gym! i have to look around to make sure no one is nearby so I can collapse against/into my car, wheezing and coughing and panting.
Today I tried to think of it as an exercise for my calves (which are gaining definition, I realized today!) and hopped up it on the balls of my feet. I was still winded at the top, but not quite as much, and I went straight into the gym to work out.
I take the hill every day, and it's probably a good idea for you to take the stairs every day. sounds like a great challenge. good luck.