goldfinch
04-10-2012, 04:02 PM
I am a 57 year old woman who spent her life behind a desk and on her couch. I never exercised and at best I would take the dog for a stroll and walk to work once in a while. I retired at age 50 with plans to travel and have adventures with my spouse, who was already retired. Instead, I spent my time on the couch, reading novels, watching tv and making necklaces, and cruising the internet. I was obese, had high blood pressure, high cholesterol, restless legs that kept me awake at night, anxiety and depression and to top it off, sleep apnea.
My family was struggling. Home life was not good. A grand niece died. A niece died.
Life was not good.
But one thing was good. Every year I would go on a two week birding adventure with a sister. I would look forward to those trips and started to extend them beyond the time my sister could travel with me . It was time away from home when home was chaos and responsibility.
In the fall of 2010 my doctor noted that I had gained a couple more pounds and simply said that was common to gain that much weight a year. Prescriptions were renewed and I was sent home. I laid on my side that night and felt the weight of myself. I couldn't breathe without a CPAP. I had to have a pill organizer for all my pills. My mother had died of a heart attack at age 39. My father died of heart failure at age 63. I was on my way to dead. I was 4'11" tall and about 160 pounds. Obese. I got out of breath walking one flight of stairs. I couldn't walk any distance because of back pain.
A rare picture of me at my heaviest:
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-wI2fVfRHSBY/T4NmXez0zjI/AAAAAAAAcYM/U6Ry8apL2dw/s640/887.JPG
And a bit lighter, a couple of years before, in my typical position of holding my sore back:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-MVmCWN2Fcvo/T4OQaOybggI/AAAAAAAAclc/XQSHDOOK_o4/s640/bigbend%2520April%252006%2520153.jpg
In December of 2010 I left to go south for the winter by myself, leaving my spouse behind. New place, opportunity for new habits to form. I radically changed my diet to a low carb diet of delightful foods. I counted calories, limiting myself to 1200 a day. I'd go out birding in the morning, every day. I pulled out my little used comfort bike and bike around the state park loop, all of about 4 miles, taking all morning to do the loop. Sometimes I would abandon the bike and walk. I was out. I was distracted.
I lost weight.
I returned home in the spring and stepped on a scale. Down to 144 pounds! Still significantly overweight but feeling better. Still not fit, but much more able to get around. I decided I wanted to bike more. Me, on the comfort bike at around 140 pounds:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-PwoTLHFtTzs/T4Ni-I9SWCI/AAAAAAAAcXE/0cFFe_27L4g/s512/halffatmeonbike.jpg
I struggled on that bike. I was never comfortable no matter what adjustments I made. I googled about and found Bikeforums and got advice to keep riding and do x, y and z to the bike. X, y and z didn't work. But I kept riding. Finally I decided to buy a new bike. By this time I had found TE forums as well as the Clydesdale/Athena section of Bike Forums. I learned about fit and figured out that my bike just didn't fit me right. I bought an extra small hybrid Cannondale Quick. I got a fitting on the advice and recommendation of this forum. And biking started to become a joy instead of a grim job on the road to fitness.
Thank you.
I religiously recorded my calories and thanks to Possegal's weight loss challenges I watched my weight go down from obese to "merely overweight." And then from overweight to normal. I worked on my core fitness to overcome issues presented by lack of any muscle tone and arthritis in my neck. Once I had more core strength my bike mileage increased greatly. I rode a 50 mile charity event in September. I decided I wanted and deserved a road bike and with the help and advice of this forum I bought my Madone.
I went south for the winter and continued to ride. Last year I put on 1500 miles on my bike, starting from nowhere. This year I already have put on 1300 miles. Today I now weigh 103 pounds. For the rest of my life I will have to be "agile, mobile and hostile" to keep off that weight. I can live with that. This year has brought me much joy which has long been absent in my life. I do not want to lose that joy. All is not perfect. I still have sleep apnea. I guess I am a lifer for the CPAP as some are. I still have high cholesterol. My BP is still high but now well controlled. My resting heart rate is no longer 72 but is 45. I can run up the stairs. My back rarely hurts. I am slow on my bike but I think that I could ride all day. On my 57th birthday I rode 57 miles.
I have been a member of this forum for a year now and have learned so much and am still learning. Learning is not just for the young! I want to give a special thanks to all the women who have sold to me and given to me bike clothing as I have lost weight over this past year!
For those of you who might visit here and feel like you can not be athletic and feel fat and unhealthy I share my story in the hope that you can find some inspiration.
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-nwEoW3qi1q4/T4SuldpHiYI/AAAAAAAAcos/E7xqFyqGoa0/s512/IMG_0019.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6jVSLSg7Ics/T4ORzaRykoI/AAAAAAAAcmI/IqY2CALqMJw/s720/cannondale.JPG
My family was struggling. Home life was not good. A grand niece died. A niece died.
Life was not good.
But one thing was good. Every year I would go on a two week birding adventure with a sister. I would look forward to those trips and started to extend them beyond the time my sister could travel with me . It was time away from home when home was chaos and responsibility.
In the fall of 2010 my doctor noted that I had gained a couple more pounds and simply said that was common to gain that much weight a year. Prescriptions were renewed and I was sent home. I laid on my side that night and felt the weight of myself. I couldn't breathe without a CPAP. I had to have a pill organizer for all my pills. My mother had died of a heart attack at age 39. My father died of heart failure at age 63. I was on my way to dead. I was 4'11" tall and about 160 pounds. Obese. I got out of breath walking one flight of stairs. I couldn't walk any distance because of back pain.
A rare picture of me at my heaviest:
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-wI2fVfRHSBY/T4NmXez0zjI/AAAAAAAAcYM/U6Ry8apL2dw/s640/887.JPG
And a bit lighter, a couple of years before, in my typical position of holding my sore back:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-MVmCWN2Fcvo/T4OQaOybggI/AAAAAAAAclc/XQSHDOOK_o4/s640/bigbend%2520April%252006%2520153.jpg
In December of 2010 I left to go south for the winter by myself, leaving my spouse behind. New place, opportunity for new habits to form. I radically changed my diet to a low carb diet of delightful foods. I counted calories, limiting myself to 1200 a day. I'd go out birding in the morning, every day. I pulled out my little used comfort bike and bike around the state park loop, all of about 4 miles, taking all morning to do the loop. Sometimes I would abandon the bike and walk. I was out. I was distracted.
I lost weight.
I returned home in the spring and stepped on a scale. Down to 144 pounds! Still significantly overweight but feeling better. Still not fit, but much more able to get around. I decided I wanted to bike more. Me, on the comfort bike at around 140 pounds:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-PwoTLHFtTzs/T4Ni-I9SWCI/AAAAAAAAcXE/0cFFe_27L4g/s512/halffatmeonbike.jpg
I struggled on that bike. I was never comfortable no matter what adjustments I made. I googled about and found Bikeforums and got advice to keep riding and do x, y and z to the bike. X, y and z didn't work. But I kept riding. Finally I decided to buy a new bike. By this time I had found TE forums as well as the Clydesdale/Athena section of Bike Forums. I learned about fit and figured out that my bike just didn't fit me right. I bought an extra small hybrid Cannondale Quick. I got a fitting on the advice and recommendation of this forum. And biking started to become a joy instead of a grim job on the road to fitness.
Thank you.
I religiously recorded my calories and thanks to Possegal's weight loss challenges I watched my weight go down from obese to "merely overweight." And then from overweight to normal. I worked on my core fitness to overcome issues presented by lack of any muscle tone and arthritis in my neck. Once I had more core strength my bike mileage increased greatly. I rode a 50 mile charity event in September. I decided I wanted and deserved a road bike and with the help and advice of this forum I bought my Madone.
I went south for the winter and continued to ride. Last year I put on 1500 miles on my bike, starting from nowhere. This year I already have put on 1300 miles. Today I now weigh 103 pounds. For the rest of my life I will have to be "agile, mobile and hostile" to keep off that weight. I can live with that. This year has brought me much joy which has long been absent in my life. I do not want to lose that joy. All is not perfect. I still have sleep apnea. I guess I am a lifer for the CPAP as some are. I still have high cholesterol. My BP is still high but now well controlled. My resting heart rate is no longer 72 but is 45. I can run up the stairs. My back rarely hurts. I am slow on my bike but I think that I could ride all day. On my 57th birthday I rode 57 miles.
I have been a member of this forum for a year now and have learned so much and am still learning. Learning is not just for the young! I want to give a special thanks to all the women who have sold to me and given to me bike clothing as I have lost weight over this past year!
For those of you who might visit here and feel like you can not be athletic and feel fat and unhealthy I share my story in the hope that you can find some inspiration.
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-nwEoW3qi1q4/T4SuldpHiYI/AAAAAAAAcos/E7xqFyqGoa0/s512/IMG_0019.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6jVSLSg7Ics/T4ORzaRykoI/AAAAAAAAcmI/IqY2CALqMJw/s720/cannondale.JPG