4.30
April 30, 2008 2:14 pm WeightNo exercise this morning. Probably no exercise tonight. Not sure about tomorrow.
The whole thing has been getting very frustrating and hard to do lately. I haven’t made any progress since I finished the Couch to 5K program. I can run for about 25-30 minutes depending on the day. It’s about 1.86 miles. I can’t run faster or longer without getting shin pain or intense chest pain. It’s not the best feeling either way. Bike riding is alright though my distance there isn’t much better.
All together I feel like I’ve hit the end of my ability with running since I haven’t found much reference online for the large guy who’s trying to run. Most of the people I know that run are fairly athletic (or small enough already) and their advice doesn’t apply very well (trying to do faster intervals with slower running left me standing on the side of the road wheezing and dizzy). I’m frustrated, the same weight I was a month ago and unable to do anything more than I was doing then.
Oh, and my Dr. appointments about my weight loss aren’t covered by my insurance I found out after the 2nd visit. They only pay for obesity when you’re getting a gastric bypass. Other than that… the recommendation seems to be to just get bigger until they can cut some of it out or I’m on my own.
Weight - 295.4
May 1st, 2008 at 4:31 pm
I feel your pain on the whole plateau thing. That’s where my swimming is now. Lap after lap after frikkin’ lap, and the improvement is only in tiny increments. And I’ve got a damnable 1000m swim in four weeks. Plateaus are always frustrating. I hit lots in my weight loss, too. Months-long, sometimes. But eventually they break and there’s this surge of progress. Not sure why, but that’s how it happened.
Keep looking around for something active you like to do. Cycling is a great activity now that the weather’s warming up. If you can only do a few miles to start, do that. It’s low-impact and easy on your body if your bike is fitted properly. Likewise, though I’m loathe to recommend it, swimming is also good exercise that’s low impact. I keep hoping I’ll learn to do it efficiently.
No mater what it is, though, the important thing is to do SOMETHING active. Even brisk walking is better than nothing. Sustained weight loss and fitness take a long time if you’re starting from scratch. It’s hard. Very hard. But you’ve got to do it for yourself. It’s like running is for me sometimes… some days my only thought is to just make it to the next street sign without dying. And then the next street sign. Then that mailbox. Etc. Till I’ve made it all the way (at which point I can feel proud of myself while I puke
Seriously, though, it’s a mental challenge even more than a physical one. It’s one tough day after another, till eventually it’s a little easier. It’s slow, but it’s achievable. As the inspirational tag on my RoadID says, “Success is a choice.”
May 2nd, 2008 at 9:10 am
I agree with all of what David said there and like to add that unless you have a good reason NOT to go do some exercise, just do it. Last night I looked for any excuse I could not to work out. I thought about my dentist appt, being sleepy, doing laundry, and actively searching for other ones. Yet I looked at these and all of them were kinda silly reasons not to work out so I went and had a good time swimming. (Which despite what David says it is the best portion of the Triathlon and can be very calming once you get to a certain point - which even took me a few months to get to.) Of course on the other hand, if you have to make really silly excuses to get yourself to go to the gym - that is perfectly acceptable. For a while when I started (only about a year ago) I’d not want to go but then I’d make up a reason to go like “My flatmate will be home so I might as well go to the gym.” The logic really doesn’t follow but it didn’t matter, it was enough to push me to go. Another common excuse to go was (and still is) “Well, I packed my stuff this morning and brought it with me, so it would be a waste not to use it.”
I know you can do this!
May 2nd, 2008 at 9:27 am
Nicki said:
> I went and had a good time swimming. (Which despite what
> David says it is the best portion of the Triathlon and
> can be very calming once you get to a certain point
This is true. That certain point would be that moment right before you actually drown that I’ve heard is very calm and serene. My goal is to not actually confirm that that’s true.