[lilybelle]

Exactly Misti, the price I have paid has been totally worth the results.

[penpal]

For me, it wasn't so much laziness (although I've always hated exercise) but I had 'given up' trying to lose weight after many failed diets over a period of 30 years. At the point where I 'gave up' I weighed 204 lbs. and had been at that weight for about 15 years. I truly thought it was impossible for me to lose weight, but I would 'settle' for staying at 204. Then menopause hit like a ton of bricks and I rapidly gained another 21lbs.!

I had fibromyalgia and severe arthritis, so I used the pain as an excuse not to exercise because it really did hurt to move. I had a very rude awakening with a bout of cancer and realized it was now or never to get healthy or end up wheelchair bound (or worse). I was on the verge of getting a disabled permit because of not being able to walk from my car to the store without being in extreme pain, when I decided I would give it one last shot and joined my local Curves gym. I also adoped a healthy way of eating instead of my usual 'crash' diets - allowing myself a generous 1600-1700 calories per day.

That was 2-1/2 years ago and I've worked out 3x a week with just a few missed days for colds, etc. I can say I'm a different person now. I have a very active life (I just dug out 3 large new flower beds on our 3 acre property in the last couple of weeks and lugged great big sacks of bark dust around). I've lost 38 lbs. (very slowly). I still have some pain, but not anything like it was before and I don't take any pain meds.

So I recommend anyone who has 'given up' or considers themselves 'lazy' - don't ever give up! The next time you try to lose weight just may be the time for you to change your life around!

[Misti in Seattle]

Penny... I can relate! Two years ago I had a thyroid tumor and surgery (turned out to be benign, praise God) but still totally messed up my system and I had gained tons of weight. After the surgery still kept gaining; also had plantar fasciatis and bone spurs, and have one knee which does not bend properly. Because of my weight it was painful to even walk around... severe back, neck and shoulder pain, etc. I ended up not going places just because I was so miserable and fat.

I began realizing that if I didn't change my lifestyle and get things under control I was going to end up being disabled... bad enough but even worse because I am single and there's certainly no one to take care of me. And just because I was so fat and out of shape. I was almost 59 at the time and realizing this will get WORSE as I get older and if I don't do it NOW I may not have another chance.

Congratulations! You've done great and your story is an encouragement. And I will reinforce what you have said to others... don't give up! A lot of us have been there but you CAN do this! It is happening for me... sometimes it is hard to believe even... and it can happen for you too!!!

[HarpoChicoGroucho]

I think I'm still lazy, even though not as lazy. I mean I was uber lazy: if something fell on the floor, would I bend down and pick it up? No way!! Kick it away from me? YES! But I don't do that now (most of the time), but like some of the other girls mentioned, I really have to force my exercise. I believe I only logged a few days of exercise so far this month (gee, and I wonder why I'm plateauing?) I've been really lazy for the past couple of months. But I think it's the little things that improve as we lose weight and get fit. For example, I keep my house a lot cleaner (although I do have a sink full of dirty dishes) and I'm up and down the stairs all of the time. I'm not so lazy anymore in those respects.

I would say my general state of laziness has significantly improved. I don't lie in bed to watch tv, I sit up in bed to watch tv now I would still consider myself a pretty lazy person, and I do like the feeling of exercising, it's just a matter of doing it.

It's been over a year into my lifestyle change, and I still have to fight my lazy tendencies. It's funny, because I pictured myself when I began my journey to be this little fitness buff who LOVED exercise and was annoyingly energetic. WRONG! Anyone believe laziness is genetic? I think I inherited it from my mom because the only exercise she gets is when she walks from her couch to her computer. And how many calories does being nosy actually burn? And my sisters are lazy too. We're not in denial about it either. We know we're lazy.

Okay, now I'll give you some advice after trying to make you laugh. I think you should start with some small improvements (I'm not going to tell you to manually change tv channels ~ who really does that?!). But maybe you can try to walk around your place more (and during commercials). And you said chips and such are easier to grab? Well, make them more difficult to grab. Do you have a basement or attic? Well, put them somewhere difficult to get to. I always thought that if I lived around mountains, I would hide my chocolate up one of them, so I'd have to hike to have my Hershey. I was around your weight when I started my journey so I know how hard it is to begin to exercise. I started with only 15 minutes a day because it's all I could do. But I made the decision to do it, and I did. There wasn't any compromise. You can't give yourself options when you are first beginning. You have to be consistent and got to form new habits so the old ones diminish.

[dragonwoman64]

Originally Posted by HarpoChicoGroucho

I always thought that if I lived around mountains, I would hide my chocolate up one of them, so I'd have to hike to have my Hershey.

heh heh, I'd get one hike out of that, the hike to get the chocolate up the mountain. In fact it would probably be gone before I even hit the peak.

[penpal]

Originally Posted by Misti in Seattle

Congratulations! You've done great and your story is an encouragement. And I will reinforce what you have said to others... don't give up! A lot of us have been there but you CAN do this! It is happening for me... sometimes it is hard to believe even... and it can happen for you too!!!

Congratulations to you too for overcoming lots of obstacles. I'm glad your thyroid tumor was benign, but as you say, there were side effects from the surgery. I'm also on thyroid meds and wonder if that is part of the reason why I'm losing so slowly. I sympathize with you on the bone spurs (I have them in both ankles). One hidden blessing on having these physical problems is that I may not have had the incentive to lose the weight if I had been otherwise healthy.

There comes a point in life when we say 'it's now or never'. I regret the years I spent being miserable and hopeless about my weight, but there's no point on dwelling on that - it's water under the bridge, as they say. Now I at least have hope that the rest of my years will be more comfortable and I'll be healthier and more active. Funny how our priorities change as we get older. When I was younger I always wanted to lose weight to be more attractive, now that's way down on the list (but it's a nice side-effect )
Btw, you have a healthy glow in your photo and look a lot younger than your age!

[penpal]

Another thought about 'laziness' - I think that taking the path of least resistance (a.k.a. laziness) is a natural part of our makeup so that we do not expend energy unnecessarily in order to survive. I see this 'laziness' in my kitties, who sleep 20 hours a day so that they can preserve their energy for the "hunt" to their food bowl! Some behaviors are just instinctive.

We have to actively fight against our natural instincts to be 'lazy' in order to be healthy in the modern-day world of easy transportation, overly plentiful food and media brainwashing that promotes sitting around watching TV and eating junk.