Just writing that title was enough to make me do a double-take. Is that me saying that? The woman who, not yet at 3-years after starting GLP-1s (Trulicity for a year and then-and-now Mounjaro), started out at 405 lbs. and who this morning weighs 127 lbs.?
Yes, it is!
I Walk, Because I Can
In my life of immobility, I could never imagine when I would enjoy movement. My entire life, except after the RNY Gastric Bypass for about a year, I have been slothfully immobile. When I tried to walk to lose weight, it was complete torture for me. I broke my feet three different times while walking, having to wear specially designed boots because regular ones would not fit.
My then-partner and I bought a dog to inspire me to walk. Again, it was so difficult, I would cry while walking our sweet dog Digit. I did keep trying though.
I was a swimmer my whole life (hence the skin cancer I am now dealing with), but swimming, unless you sweat while doing it, does not help with weight loss. It can help with firming up muscles, but not a lot unless you also do gym work. Elite swimming athletes train hard in the gym 3-5 days a week. Why shouldn’t we who are trying to get healthy and lose weight do the same?
Before I started walking on the treadmill in December, I was walking around the area where I live. But even before that, when I first got out of bed, I walked to the bathroom without my walker. Then to the kitchen. I kept moving my feet, going further. Down the stairs unaided. Slowly out to the mailbox, then to the end of the street, around the block, to the stoplight. Today, it isn’t unusual for me to walk between 5 and 7 miles a day.
I start walking around 4:30am and it takes a couple of hours. I love the silence of the morning, I get to watch the moon in all of her cycles.
I also watch the dawn as it turns to light.
I walk before the sun rises because I have to keep my skin away from the sun. I’ve prepared what to do when the days are longer, but that’s a different story for later.
Finding My Hills & Valleys
After learning to walk those miles, I visited my daughter Meghann in Texas and, when I walked in her neighborhood each morning, I walked up and down hills for the first time. It was hard, but I liked it. I bemoaned that Orlando had no hills and she said, “Yes they do. In the gym!” I’d only thought about strength training for my arms, legs, back and stomach at the gym, but never considered the treadmill.
So, back home, I hopped onto the treadmill and created hills and valleys with the incline mechanism of the treadmill. Gotta say, it was a confusing mash of technology on that thing, but I took my time, experimented with the buttons and levers, until I knew what each thing did. Then I began.
I do have earbuds to listen to music or a book, but as I walked up and down my “hills,” I stared at the numbers, watching how long I was on there, how far I’d gone, and all the other unknown numbers that flash and flick up in front of me. Of course there are banks of TVs to stare at, too, but those have only crap news on them and who wants to watch that nowadays? Not me!
I had to have a solution, so brought one of my sweat towels and tossed it over the numbers.
It helped for a couple of days, but I kept staring at the stupid TVs. I’d already learned I couldn’t listen to a book while at the gym because I could still hear their not-so-classic rock music. (I’m old!) Therefore, I turned to my beloved Queen and that turned out to be just the ticket. Not only did I listen to Queen, I set my phone up on the dashboard (is it called something else?) and watched Queen concerts and Queen videos. It was a fantastic diversion from all there was going on in the gym.
I’d had an inclination I wouldn’t pay attention to the time I was on the treadmill, not just by covering the time on the thing, but by singing (in my head… well, most of the time) to Queen. Turns out I was right! After sweating like crazy and getting all huffy-puffy, I slowed down, then cooled down. Once the machine stopped, I pulled the towel off and saw that I’d walked twice as long as I had ever walked before. This thrilled me!
Find Your Own Solution
If my solution doesn’t work for you, I encourage you to find your own. Whatever it takes to keep moving, keep walking, and getting fitter, discover your own path to motivation and endurance. I’ve found mine!