I think my scale is broken

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

So, I know right away that the people who have real weight problems here are about to crucify me, because you’re going to think that I’m amazingly skinny and have some sort of image disorder or whatever, but the fact is, in the past two years or so I’ve gained what, on my frame, is a lot of weight. All right between my waist and my mid-thighs. I’m very slight of frame and used to have a racing metabolism, and I ate everything in sight and weighed about a hundred pounds. (It was really, really hard to find clothes that fit and flattered a woman with hips and a waist at 100 pounds. That is no longer my problem.)

So, anyway, that mid-20’s metabolism shift caught up with me, and I got a less active job, and I started to pack on those fat rolls. In a year, maybe a year and a half, I’d inched up out of the 2’s and into the 6’s. I’d thought I was holding steady at 130 - I mean, I’d given up on the gym but I’d also given up my Coke habit, I’d been riding my bike some but stopped because it got really hot, and anyway I tossed the scale in the closet a month ago when we got the cat and that bathroom was designated the cat’s safe room.

So I pulled it out last night (when I found that I had to wear a 1 (8-10) at Chico’s instead of a 0 (4-6), let alone that I shop at Chico’s these days and have given up on that “stylish librarian” thing in favor of a nice elastic waist) and it went right on up to 140. That’s ten pounds in a month. Eeeeek!

So I swore, I’d start running early this morning.

Well, it’s 11 now, too hot to start, and do you think I got up when that alarm rang? Do you?

2

Check if there is a gym near where you work and go during lunch time (double bonus.)

3

Well, I pay for a gym membership, but it isn’t near work. The actual getting up part, the showing up part, that’s what I can’t seem to do. When I do actually go to the gym I work hard, I just gotta show up. For a while there I had a trainer, but it got so easy to cancel - those Thursday mornings are the only ones I have off from work, and it would be so tempting to get other stuff done then.

4

I can identify. Prior to 2000 I had, for as long as I can remember, weighed 120lbs. At 5’5" that was perfectly acceptable. I was omnivorous, had a cast iron stomach and a marathon-winning metabolism.

Then my 30s were creeping up on me.

And so was my gut.

Now I’m 34 (35 in less than a month), and have watched as, in 7 years, I’ve gone from 120lbs to 170lbs, and almost all of it went straight to my gut.

I’ve started changing my eating habits, but have discovered that, disturbingly, I have a snacking habit. Only at work mind you – for some reason when I’m seated at my desk I feel a compulsion to snack on something. So I’m trying to cut that out. I’m also paying a lot of attention to nutrition labels on foodstuffs and trying to go the low cal route.

The fundamental problem with gaining weight though is that the more you pack on, the less you feel like being active to work them off. At 50lbs over my mid-20s weight, you can imagine that my desire to go out for a run is pretty damn low.

So, I’m planning on trying to consume fewer calories on any given day until such time as I’ve lost maybe 20lbs, at which point I hope to feel a little more active and then can become a little more active to assist in working off the remainder. That’s the plan at least. It ain’t easy doing the first part, 'cos … well, all the best food is horrifyingly fattening, so finding good, low-calorie alternatives is hard. I’ve found some good ones, but not enough to satisfy my desire for copious variety yet. But I’m still looking.

And I need to buy a scale. I’ve never owned one that wasn’t designed to assist in shipping packages. The scale will at least help me quantify any weight loss I may be experiencing, which will encourage me to continue with my efforts.

Good luck with yours – losing weight’s a serious bastage.

5

Of people I’ve known who went to the gym regularly, all of them did it during lunch or after work. If you’re the type who can get out there and do it first thing in the morning then sure, but otherwise better to schedule it to a different time rather than hope you’re going to wake up one day and find out you’ve metamorphosised into a morning-person.

6

Well, you can always come join the club

7

I never could stick with it in the afternoon, either, because I’m tired after work and everybody’s there in the afternoon. When I was in grad school, I really did work out a lot because my schedule wasn’t everybody else’s. I didn’t realize how lucky I had it.

I really wish there were some physical activity I could really enjoy, like a soccer league or something. My SO and I take ballroom dancing lessons, but that’s not really enough (and I can’t actually drag him dancing.)

8

My hometown has kickball leagues. Maybe something like that? Call your local parks and rec.

9

I’m the ultimate failure of mandantory physical education - the very idea of voluntarily participating in a sport fills me with a sick kind of dread. The boyfriend and his roomates have started playing laser tag in the park, and that was tons of fun - I went with them once and had a good time, although I was absolutely inept at it. Thing is, I kept forgetting to run and getting pinned down by fire behind trees, which doesn’t exactly make for a great cardio workout, you know. :slight_smile: They have costumes and all; I ought to do that more. I ought to walk my dog; it would be good for both of us. (That’s what the Dog Whisperer always says.) I actually eat fine - I mean, maybe once a month I’ll go nuts and take down half a pizza, but generally food isn’t the issue. It wouldn’t hurt me to stop grazing at work, but really I need to increase my activity level.

What I really need is a workout buddy. I used to have one, and it’s a lot easier to go if you know somebody’s about to show up at your door with their gym clothes on, ready to work out. Also, then you have somebody to go get Mexican with afterwards. Unfortunately, I no longer have a handy workout buddy. In the words of my mother, “you need more women friends. Men are never going to make you go running or to the gym.” Words of wisdom, I think.

10

I get a full-day work-out every day, with three small children. And I’m still a little fat. My mother, bless her, said that when she visited this year, I looked thinner than I did last year. (Um, yeah, because I was PREGNANT last year, but never mind that.)

I’ve been pregnant for the majority of the last two years. Now I weigh less than I did prior to the third baby, but my fat has rearranged itself into new and odd positions. It’s rather disturbing, when I look in the mirror. Not sure if it’s the pregnancies, or gravity, or age, or genetics, but it’s still rather annoying. And I seem to be the only one who notices.

11

Yep, I’ve been there (except that I’m a guy). It can be hard for people like us, as opposed to people who grow up borderline-obese, for the reason that you say–you get used to Hoovering everything in sight, your friends and parents encourage you to do it, and then all of a sudden one day you can’t do it any more.

It’s a tough transition, and it never gets easier. Stop snacking at work. Just stop. If you can’t, bring carrots or celery or something. Junk snacks are out. Don’t buy them, don’t eat them–even if the nice woman down the hall slaved all night over those brownies. Other people will eat them. Get used to the idea that you’re going to be a little bit hungry sometimes. Every pound that you don’t gain is one less that you’ll have to lose later on.

12

Well, I guess I’m a big fat loser. Went out running today - on that Cool Running Couch to 5k Plan, you know, the Everyone Can Do It plan, etc, etc, etc. Warm up walk for five minutes, then twenty of alternating 60 seconds of running with 90 of walking.

I only made it halfway.

In fact, I made it halfway only because I refused to quit in front of 1) lawnmower guy 1, 2) big guy walking tiny dog, 3) little girl walking huge dog, and 3) cell phone lady. When I couldn’t go on any longer, unfortunately I was in sight of lawnmower guy 2, who said “Not gonna quit, are ya?” I actually told him to go fuck himself, but between the gasping and the burning of the throat nothing intelligable came out. Which is good, becuase I don’t want to sit by myself at the next Womens Association dinner or whatever we’re calling it these days. (I think of it as the Ladies’ Auxiliary, myself.)

This really, really sucks, you know. I don’t know if I’ll ever make it off this couch. If I hadn’t thoughtfully poured a glass of water when I was leaving I might have just died right here. I may still.

13

I’m not surprised after that kind of punishment.

Ba-dump-bump!

I won’t even stand in mine any more because it’s one of those all-glass scales. I know it’s tempered glass, but just don’t want to risk it.

14

Keep going. I am a whole damn lot heavier than you and I still managed to make it through the everyone can do it thing and run 5ks. Trust me. You can do it.

It does in fact suck for a while. Running just seems like one of those things that ought to be possible and to find that you actually have to build up to even 20 minutes of running is a trifle humiliating. So what? It feels great when you finally get through the beginner stage.

So you quit halfway through your first time. No big deal! OK, you have a baseline. Just keep going. Walk more in between if you have to. That’s fine. Or go find another form of exercise you like better. But don’t give up just because your first attempt sucked!

15

:smiley: A well told tale! :slight_smile: Keep at it. Sending supporting thoughts your way.

16

Well, I tell you one thing - I’d run on broken legs while in sight of Lawnmower Guy 2. :wink:

They had one of those balance ball and stretchy band kits at Barnes and Noble on the bargain rack, so I picked that up - I guess I’ll have to try a bunch of things, because it seems like I really need something I can do 1) in or near my house, and 2) even when it’s really hot. I might have done better yesterday if it hadn’t been 11 already when I got started - the thing is, I’d rather run in the hot than in the cold because I can’t stand that runny nose thing. The thing is, it’s hard to motivate yourself and stay un-distracted at home. Maybe I could do the gym on my morning off, or the weekend, and get a schedule going for something at home the rest of the week.

Something’s just got to give. Shopping at Chico’s is just too seductive. Do you know how nice it was this morning to pick up a skirt and top I wore last week out of the crumped ball on the floor, shake them out, and slip into that elastic waist? Before you know it I’ll be an old lady at 26, and then what?

17

This is what I do–I go after work.

Personally, I just admit to myself that I’m pretty much never going to feel like I have enough energy to work out when I’m sitting at work…so I ignore how I feel and just make myself go directly from work to the gym, no excuses, just drive. It works surprisingly well.

18

The key is to take the idea of the Cto5K plan, even if you can’t follow it to the letter right now. I started it two weeks ago and I couldn’t run for a full 60 seconds. What I concentrated on was running (not FAST, just a nice slow-moderate jog) until I couldn’t, then walk. Lather rinse repeat. It didn’t matter if I didn’t even make it to 10 seconds* before having to stop. Don’t worry and just keep at it.

The first day I ran an average of 3 house lengths before having to walk. Today (day 1 of my third week), my first run segment was a full quarter mile and while the other segments were obviously shorter, they were still longer than the first segment I ran was. :slight_smile:

Go at your own pace and don’t obsess over “oh my God! I’m in my second week and the plan says I should run 90 seconds! But I still can’t run 90 seconds so that obviously means I’m a loser and can’t do anything!”.

Hell, my mom started running 3 years ago at age 47, after 3 decades of heavy smoking (she quit about 4 years before she started running). When she started, she couldn’t even run one house length. She just finished a 10 Mile Race this Saturday.
*although I could, I’m just sayin’.

19

I guess I’ll start with the “pre-plan” - I’ll work on the 60 running 90 walking until I can do it, and then try starting the real plan.

I tried running several years ago, when I was in the best shape of my life, and never could run a whole mile without walking. I couldn’t even come close. A side of a residential block was about it.