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| It is possible to be overweight and active
by katrinasq at 3/14/2009 11:18:51 AM
There was a post in the forums today questioning the ability of overweight people to be active. Below is my response to that.
OK, another post generalizing a group of people, great. And I know the OP is one of those that I have seen slam a woman for starting a post about all men do this, or a man asking why do women do that.
I have been a plus size gal for more years than I would care to admit. I have changed to a more healthy lifestyle, bought (and actually use) an elliptical trainer and an ab lounge, and have a gym membership that I enjoy using. Yes, I said and mean "enjoy".
However, even before this, I waited tables in an Outback and a Ruby Tuesday for 13 years that were located in a busy tourist area and the only retail hub within 90 miles in Western NY state and was in pretty good shape despite being 80 pounds overweight. I usually worked 6 nights a week, and averaged 3 miles walking every Saturday night, plus the other 5 days, most of which was carrying 30-40 pound trays full of food and dishes. Even at 240 pounds, I swam about a mile 3 or 4 days a week at the gym, and did 2 sets on the weight machines first before going to work. (I actually did 2 sets of 20 reps each at 300 pounds and up on the leg press, among other things.) Watkins Glen State Park, near my former home in NY, has a 3 mile long gorge trail that has over 1500 stone steps along the gorge in addition to the trails, and that's not including the hike to get to it. It was so beautiful that every step was way worth it. I grew up on Seneca Lake just north of there, and our cottage was literally at the bottom of the cliff along the lake, and we parked on top. We packed and hauled coolers, baskets, and duffel bags up and down a very steep path and 144 steps every weekend, then swam, fished, and water skiied all weekend in between. Shale,leaves, and dirt fell off the cliff behind the cottage and boat house that I dug out by hand (by myself the last several years we were there) with a shovel and wheelbarrel every spring, using the fill to fill holes by the wall separating the lake from the cottage and where the high spring lake waters had eroded the shoreline, especially at the end of the dock, which was literally hanging in the air some years. We also had to maintain the road and path down to the beach, as well as the path along the beach. Lake living is not all fun and relaxation, but I wouldn't trade any of that for the world. Our house was on a big hill, (we used to sled ride down that all winter and ice skate on the pond at the bottom) so that involved a lot of mowing and maintenence, too. We had a pool on a flat in the middle of the hill, and there was a lot of landscaping involved above and in the pool area to maintain, and it was just my mom (who ran the family business after my dad died), younger sister (who was very little help) and I. When I was married, my ex and I had a house that was a work in progress most of the time, and I did all the cleaning, laundry, etc as well as all the yard work BY HAND and landscaping with 2 little ones, working 6 nights a week, and going to the gym. (If he mowed the lawn 10 times in the 11 years we were there, I would be surprised, and he hardly ever remembered to even take the trash out.) I did well over half of the construction projects we did, including chipping up rotted particle board sub floors in the bathroom and kitchen when we remodeled those with a hammer and pry bar.
I have my own house now, and the only things I have hired done were the installation of the new kitchen floor and repair to the HVAC system and appliances. I do my own landscaping and yard work, I painted 1900 square feet, including about half of the cielings, installed medicine cabintes and remodeled my kitchen (mostly) all by my lonesome. (My ex did help with the counters, sink, and plumbing in the kitchen.) I installed an exterior door unit last Sunday, and will replace a window when it gets warm again, hopefully next weekend. I also plan to replace my interior doors in the next few months, depending on finances. I will spread a load of fill dirt and topsoil this spring, though the kids will help with that some. All this is in addition to working 40 hours a week in a bank and 3 nights waiting tables. I get a lot of pleasure from seeing the results of my hard work.
Personally, with my occasional back issues, I have no interest in tent style camping. I also have a healthy "critter" fear, and am terrified of snakes of ANY size, so I have no desire to sleep on or near the ground. In a camper with a comfy bed? Sure. Can I hike? You betcha, though, again with the back flaring up occasionally, probably not with a huge backpack, though meduim sized would probably be ok. Can I rock climb? Not even when I was thin and swam varsity in high school, so a "hell, no" on that. Fishing? My dad was a tournament bass fisheman, so I can fish pretty well, but since he died when I was 10, it's just not my thing anymore. I do fish occasionally, but with my snake fear, it needs to be in a boat rather than on the shore or river. It's not as strenuous as fly fishing, but I can definitely do it, so if I met a guy that wanted to fish with me, sure, I could do it. I can't kill or clean the fish anymore, and don't really care for eating it with all the bones and such anyway, so I throw mine back.
So for some of us overweight people, liking the outdoors and being active is not a lie or a facade. Get to know some of us, and you will find that out first hand.
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