Think You're Too Heavy to Exercise? - Part 3

Great article, it puts words to frrlings I have just discovered. I am in the gym now just starting to do 10 minute bike and 10 minute treadmill at a snail pace but I feel great after I do it!!! Getting a little sore after workouts but once soreness goes away I feel lighter on my feet. Don't know if that is possible after 3 days or not but hey I will take the mood uplift in my spirit.
Marcia















11 - 2/2/2013 4:16:26 AM

All of the information you provided was very logical and thought-provoking
. Being practical is a necessity but emotions like fear, insecurity, feeling unworthy, etc. oftentimes can consume us and, I don't know about anyone else, but it is during those times when I find myself acting on auto-pilot and, before I know it, a bag a chips is "missing." The suggestions you gave for recording the whats and whys of something that is happening before, during, and after were very insightful and I definitely plan to try them. Thank you! - 9/19/2012 1:22:06 PM

This is the best article ever. I struggle daily. I exercise to lose weight. I eat right to lose weight. I sometimes get very frustrated with my inability to meet all of my exercise goals. I always wonder, if I am the only one who feels this way. I am not sad enough to shed tears but instead I experience a ridiculous amount of frustration and i don't always know what to do with that energy so I exercise more. To date I have lost 19 lbs but it have 140 more lbs to go and I am wondering if I will make it. This article was the motivation that I truly needed. - 5/8/2012 12:30:56 PM

I really needed to read this today. I'm tired of being obese, I'm tired of always being tired. it's good to hear that only being able to do 5 minutes on the treadmill is okay.

I think what I really needed to hear though was that today it's going to be hard, and tomorrow is going to be hard too, and so is the next day. I've had those spark days - where I've walked around the block, or did a few minutes on the treadmill, or followed along to a exercise video - sat down and thought woah I feel good. Then I don't do it again for 3 months. I guess I thought some magic brain cell would click on and I would
suddenly want to do exercise - yeah not so much. - 5/1/2012 8:56:47 AM

Good Morning Dean~

I've returned to your article series many times but for some reason today, it clicked. The information fell into place and I have a calm understanding of where I'm at and where I'm going. Thank you so very much. - 4/7/2012 9:30:06 AM

Thanks Dean for helping to realize I'm not alone. Now I don't feel so lazy because I'm having to start with chair exercises. - 3/16/2012 4:17:28 AM

Dean, thanks! I have been asked to give a talk at a new Weight Watchers Store in a Success Live. Much of what you say so closely hits the mark of what I will be saying. It was great to read it.

For me the key to getting myself healthy was just getting into a move-groove. It was all one big ball. The more I moved the more I lost weight the more I moved ... I now cannot sit still to watch a two hour movie on television. Back in the day, I was able to plant myself, grow roots and watch all. day. long. SOmetimes, if the story is interesting, I will continue to watch for the whole two hours, but I am up out of my chair, moving around the room, on the floor playing with my dog (just imagine THAT!), walking in place, stretching, exercising, MOVING.

Somewhere, the lifestyle kicked in. I went to my doctor because among other things I wanted to talk to him about my weight program. When I started marathon training (!) I quickly gained 10 pounds. He is an athlete so he of all people would be the guy to talk to, even as not-a-doctor but as a fellow athlete. One thing I need was to get my WW max weight raised. I told him I didn't like going from a 24 to a 26 BMI. "Don't worry. That number is for the old you. The baseline inactive person needs the 25 to be his upper limit. If you are as active as you are, one point will not be a problem."

Then he spoke the key line. "It's not as much about the number on the scale for you anymore as it is about being up and active. Out of the chair. Away from the TV. Out on your bike, in the pool, running around town in your little Maryland flag short. Yeah, I see you and I am proud of you. You came in here with sky high cholesterol, bad blood pressure, certain you were dying. Now I use your case to encourage people to do what they need to do to get active and healthy."

Wow! When even my athlete-doctor can use me for inspiration, I am humbled and proud all at once. - 12/9/2011 8:54:09 AM

This article is a gift! It is just what we need when everything seems to be overwhelming. Thanks for this article! - 7/30/2011 1:07:42 PM

Thanks so much for these articles. Although many have expressed their thanks, I am very, very thankful because I have never been in the condition I am today. Looking forward to really devouring these more thoroughly. - 7/6/2011 2:23:10 PM

Thanks for these articles! In the past, I have occasionally felt like it was too late for me. I know that's not true, but I has taken strength and courage for me to realize it and take action.

I will be heading to the gym at lunch time for the first time since I signed up for a membership two weeks ago. I can do this! - 6/20/2011 10:24:45 AM

Thank you for this article. Affirmation of so many things I have heard for years and have ignored for the last 6 or 7. Just take baby steps, and eventually you will be walking and running. The journey starts...........
.. - 6/16/2011 7:43:29 AM

These articles are very good. I'm just a touch over 300 pounds right now, but just completed running my first marathon. Size/weight doesn't determine anything; it's how bad do you want it and how hard are you willing to work towards it. - 6/3/2011 5:29:21 AM

Thank you for this series of articles. I still have quite a bit of weight to lose, and continually put off the Gym & Pool despite the fact that I have experienced and know how good I feel when I do it and how effective it is. You said something in Part I that really resonated with me - "....Trying to get myself off my 370-pound backside and into motion brought me face-to-face with all the parts of myself that had helped me get into the mess I was in: the part that had become an expert in excuse-making, procrastination, and rationalization; the part that relied on food and eating to manage feelings; the part that was afraid of what other people might think about me; the part of me that didn’t think I had what it took to lose weight (or do much of anything else); the part of me that was terrified of what might happen if I actually succeeded and no longer had my physical limitations to use as an excuse for avoiding intimate relationships, challenging work, and other anxiety-provoking situations..."

I started my journey at over 500 lbs, and have kept off over 200 with a gastric bypass and initially I was in the Gym daily and had a blast and felt fabulous, somehow though, I have completely lost the motivation and at 330+/- I pretty much hate myself. That wasn't what I bargained for.

Your articles have really stirred something in me that got me off my behind 15 yrs ago, and helped me get the first 200+ off .... I now pray, that the2 minutes on the Elliptical that make me feel like I'm going to collapse and 20 minutes on the stationary bike and pool will start the momentum again to get the last 150 lbs off once and for all!

Thanks again!
Sherrie
- 3/24/2011 4:05:06 PM

Thank you so much, these articles really helped me. I have a lot of weight to loose - 100lbs plus. I realize that I am not alone with this struggle, it is possilbe to change one day at a time. - 12/13/2010 2:45:27 AM

Great articles. Some much applied to me.
How do I get a process buddy? Had a buddy at WW, but she quit and left me hanging. - 12/9/2010 2:31:32 PM