(If you aren't overweight, some of the trials are activities that you probably do without noticing. I'm living a very different life from most of the rest of you because of my weight, and I thought you might be interested in hearing about it.)
Here are three small trials I've passed recently:
Trial By Couch (Sitting)
Getting up off the couch from a seated position has not been easy for me in the past. I couldn't just lean forward and stand up because my stomach limited my movement and I weighed too much to lift myself to a standing position from that low to the floor. I would have to lean over and put my hand on the nearest arm rest, then transfer as much weight as possible to that arm and use it to force myself up off the couch and over into a standing position.
In the past week or so, I've been able to get off the couch from a sitting position by just throwing my weight forward on to my legs and forcing myself up with my knees. It's not an instinctive thing. I have to make a special effort, and it doesn't always work, but it's doable. It's something new.
Trial By Rolling Over
You wouldn't think rolling over would be a hard thing to do, would you? But think about it a minute. If I'm lying in bed next to my wife and I want to turn over from my left side to my right, I can't just roll in one direction or another until I'm laying the right way: I'd bump into my wife in one direction and fall off the bed in the other. Rolling over isn't really rolling over, it's more like rotating about your longest axis while remaining in place.
To do this, you have to lift your body off the bed enough to reduce the friction so that your rotating body can turn without moving to the side. And when you weigh 400 pounds like I did, lifting your body that way isn't easy. I used to have to twist and rock and move my legs and arms just right to lift myself up with one leg and both arms and push my body around with the other leg. It required some thought and coordination.
No longer. I don't know when it happened, but at some point I started being able to roll over without having to make an effort. It may not seem like much to be able to roll over easily, but trust me, it's a real pain in the ass if you can't.
Trial By Long Ride
Whenever I'd ride for more than about an hour in the car, my legs would get stiff. Getting out of the car would be slow and painful. If I remembered it, I could make getting out of the car easier by tensing and relaxing my leg muscles for a couple of minutes before getting out of the car. I never really thought about why this happened.
I don't know when it happened, but I've realized recently that my legs no longer hurt after a long ride. I'm not sure how my weight contributes to this, but I'm assuming that it has something to do with losing weight. In any case, it sure feels good.
2 comments:
Some trials I have:
Legs falling asleep when sitting for prolonged periods of time.
not being able to fit into booths in restaurants
not being able to get on seat belts in some cars
I went to the clothing store, and I fit into a shirt TWO sizes smaller.
WOO HOOO.
The reason I asked the question.
I noticed my energy level going up. Of course this coincided with getting sleep apnia addressed as well.
I also noticed that when food appetite was under control, other appetites would increase. I wanted to shop more. I had increased sex drive. I wanted to be in the office longer because I had more energy. Have you had similar things happen?
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