I was reading the What do you feel when a member needs to lose 'just 10 lbs' thread and came across this portion of Betsy's (puddypark's) post.

Rather than hijack that conversation, I thought I'd start a new one.

Like Betsy, I've always been overweight. I was in middle school the last time I was this 'slender'. A whole new world of possibilities has opened up for me as I've lost weight, but there are some things I'm still too large to do.

For example, I am too heavy to ride a horse. Well ... maybe a Clydesdale but I'm skirting Animal Cruelty laws even then. If I'm going to ask another living being to haul me around for pleasure, the least I can do is weigh less than 200 pounds.

So ... what will you try when size is no longer a barrier?

By the way, I am not asking what we are too oppressed to do. No one is ever too fat to be seen in public wearing shorts ... that's just prejudice or aesthetics. I am refering to things like amusement park rides where you literally need to be a certain size to fit.

I had to wait to climb the sand dunes until I got under 250 as my knees couldn't take it before then.

I haven't been able to backpack the distance that I want to. I like to do a couple of the longer trails. I can do shorter ones, but I want to do some of the east and west coast mountain trails.

I would like to try rollerblading again. I did it once before but think the problem was that I was a little too heavy for the wheels.

Playing on a teeter totter has been out of the question for years. But now, with a 160 lb husband, we're going to get a teeter totter.

Our pal down the road owns a scrap yard and he just happens to have one salvaged from an old grade school. We're going to trade a pile of scrap metal for it. We've already tried it out, and for the first time in my life I'm the person up in the air.

As a kid I was always the tallest one in my class, so even at a normal weight I was still the one stuck on the ground side of a non-moving teeter totter. This is a real first for me.

Lynda

Ride rides was my first answer....a couple others right there are fit in regular movie theater seats....sit in the arena seating for hockey games.

I have this posted on my fridge, my wall, and as my background on the computer. This story inspired me to do the things I'd been waiting to do. No longer do I avoid something because I "might" be too fat, if there isn't a weight restriction and I want to do it, I do it. Now the stuff that I'm waiting till I'm under the weight is carnival rides, horseback riding, and the scale at the gym!
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A Story To Live By

My brother-in-law opened the bottom drawer of my bureau and lifted out a tissue-wrapped package. "This," he said, "is not a slip. This is lingerie." He discarded the tissue and handed me the slip. It was exquisite; silk, handmade and trimmed with a cobweb of lace. The price tag with an astronomical figure on it was still attached. "Jan bought this the first time we went to New York, at least 8 or 9 years ago. She never wore it. She was saving it for a special occasion. Well, I guess this is the occasion." He took the slip from me and put it on the bed with the other clothes we were taking to the mortician. His hands lingered on the soft material for a moment, then he slammed the drawer shut and turned to me. "Don't ever save anything for a special occasion. Every day you're alive is a special occasion."

I remembered those words through the funeral and the days that followed when I helped him and my niece attend to all the sad chores that follow an unexpected death. I thought about them on the plane returning to California from the Midwestern town where my sister's family lives. I thought about all the things that she hadn't seen or heard or done. I thought about the things that she had done without realizing that they were special. I'm still thinking about his words, and they've changed my life. I'm reading more and dusting less. I'm sitting on the deck and admiring the view without fussing about the weeds in the garden. I'm spending more time with my family and friends and less time in committee meetings. Whenever possible, life should be a pattern of experience to savor, not endure. I'm trying to recognize these moments now and cherish them.

I'm not "saving" anything; we use our good china and crystal for every special event-such as losing a pound, getting the sink unstopped, the first camellia blossom.

I wear my good blazer to the market if I feel like it. My theory is if I look prosperous, I can shell out $28.49 for one small bag of groceries without wincing. I'm not saving my good perfume for special parties; clerks in hardware stores and tellers in banks have noses that function as well as my party-going friends'.

"Someday" and "one of these days" are losing their grip on my vocabulary. If it's worth seeing or hearing or doing, I want to see and hear and do it now. I'm not sure what my sister would have done had she known that she wouldn't be here for the tomorrow we all take for granted. I think she would have called family members and a few close friends. She might have called a few former friends to apologize and mend fences for past squabbles. I like to think she would have gone out for a Chinese dinner, her favorite food. I'm guessing-I'll never know.

It's those little things left undone that would make me angry if I knew that my hours were limited. Angry because I put off seeing good Friends whom I was going to get in touch with-someday. Angry because I hadn't written certain letters that I intended to write-one of these days. Angry and sorry that I didn't tell my husband and daughter often enough how much I truly love them. I'm trying very hard not to put off, hold back, or save anything that would add laughter and luster to our lives.

And every morning when I open my eyes, I tell myself that it is special.

Every day, every minute, every breath truly is...a gift from God.


"You've got to dance like nobody's watching, and love like it's never going to hurt."

"People say true friends must always hold hands, but true friends don't need to hold hands because they know the other hand will always be there." -unknown

"Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind.
'Pooh!' he whispered.
'Yes, Piglet?' 'Nothing,' said Piglet, taking Pooh's paw.
'I just wanted to be sure of you.'"

I am only 5'4, and weigh 220. Just in the last year, things that I used to be able to do with ease, like walking long distances, is really painful! My lower legs are always puffy, my lower back always hurts too. I have such a big belly, that I can't cross my legs, because my tummy gets in the way! I can't shop for regular size clothes either.

I don't look as large as I am, but I feel even bigger. I am afraid to start dating again, out of fear that men will be repulsed by me.

Oh well, all of this is going to change soon! In six months, I will be able to walk with ease, buy size 14 clothes instead of 18 and up, cross my legs, not hurt anymore, and hold my head up high when a cute guy walks by!

I'm too large to wear nice fitting clothes. Most large clothes are cut to cover everything and arn't that fashionable. And even though a 22 jacket and pants fit and look nice it's not the same as wearing a 12 jacket and pants. I guess I just want to tuck my shirt into my pants again!

Me too! Don't you hate it when you get a pair of pants that barely fit? I have a big gut, but small hips. The jeans that I have, are baggy in the butt, and they alwaysl look like I have pooped in my pants.

The one thing that I would like to do with ease is go through a turnstyle type gate front ways. It sounds like such a little thing but it is very embarrassing to go through sideways. And why is it they are always so narrow with so many people in this country overweight? I am baffled.

Ya know, i forgot about the turnstiles. I remember everytime I go to DC.

And meow, I am the opposite, When my pants fit my hips they are baggy in the waist.

I have always struggled with my weight. At age 13, about 220lbs, I got on a ride at an amusement park, and I could not fit. If this would have happened now, it would be embarrassing, but back then it was devastating. There I am with all my friends, and I have to get off the ride, because I could not fit. I laughed it off, instead of crying, because when you have been overweight you whole life you learn to laugh at a lot of things that make you want to cry. I love to ride roller coasters, and just about every other ride you can think of, but since that day, have avoided amusment parks like the plague. My DH, and family think I hate roller coasters, and rides because when we go I have to have to have an excuse to not get on. All of them being thin people they belive me because I am sure it never occured to them I just won't get on becaue I am afraid I cannot fit. I WILL ride ALL the rides I want to at the Amusment park, when I get this weight off. I have been waiting a Long time.
I also look forward to a time when I am not exhausted after doing activities with my family, like hiking a trail at a state park, or running up the beach. Vacation almost kills me because of all the walking and activities we do. I want to enjoy these times, not hae sore feet, and leg cramps, not to mention being completly out of breath.
Oh, and I would love to be able to dance without all my rolls giggling all over.
And cross my legs...
Lots to look forward to!!

How rude and filthy am I... but..

69

Would be like a horrible teeter totter event if we tried it now.

I can imagine that sex in general isn't much fun in the triple digits!

We do have a lot to look forward to!

Improving our health is often the 'stick' that drives us towards losing weight. This stuff, however, is like the 'carrot' ... and maybe even more powerful because the results are tangible.

MsCarrieM ~ thank you for sharing "A Story To Live By". It's a great reminder to do the things we are able to do right now.


madameruby ~ I could really relate to this. There are too many times growing up I laughed when I wanted to cry. Too many family and friends without a weight problem that didn't have a clue. One benefit of the Obesity Epidemic is at least more people 'get it'. I hope you'll be screaming with joy on a roller coaster soon!


Meow ~ If you don't try, you'll never know!

Lynda ~ love your teeter totter story!