fatness

I once heard a question asked.... "Did you ever notice all of the people you see out exercising are the ones who don't look like they need to be exercising?" I think the point is clear.

Please squinty, don't quit (or worse, not even try) swimming! I'm struggling with weight issues myself. I was once a competitive swimmer and in (okay) but not great shape for that length of time. When I quit due to burnout I gained weight and lost self confidence. I'm now joining my University swim team in an effort to get back to and surpass my old competitive swimmer self. Believe me, it's going to be hard everyday getting into a suit and going out there to swim. I'm swimming with lots of girls who are in so much better shape because they've been consistantly swimming...but I'm going to keep going anyway as long as they let me! So, keep going to your pool and keep getting in the water. Then, before you know it, you'll be one of the fit ones who gets to help newcomers get over their fears and get into the water too!

I agree with all the posters so far. I've lost alot of weight and I have some saggy bits. You have to just do your own thing. There seems to be a perception out there that if you're fat, you shouldn't be seen in public trying to exercise. This is JUST WRONG! Before I started swimming, I would walk to get some aerobic exercise. One day while I was walking on the sidewalk, someone in a car threw an empty bag of fast food at me and yelled out "Get off the street, fatso". It was a little startling when it happened. However, on some level it just ticked me off. And I didn't stop. It spurred me on to walk even more. My feeling was: Screw Them! The sidewalk is for everybody. I'll walk where I want, when I want. So keep up the good work, squinty! Set your sights on your goals and don't let anyone distract you from them!

This makes me feel a little self concious especially since i'm starting Club swwimming for the first time. I was there only a few months ago. When I started again I weighed 230 at 6'2". I felt completely intimidated going to a well known club and starting up with the masters team. And it didn't help when my wife said, "you can't be seen in that! :eek:" seeing me in my speedo before the first practice. My confidence was shaken, but I still went and just focused on the workouts, not my appearance, and the weight has been taking care of itself. This morning I stepped on the scale and weigh a fairly fit 203! Kevin

Did you know that when you gain more than 20-30 pounds, you actually gain more fat cells, the existing ones don't just fill up more. But when you lose weight, those new fat cells are still there, they don't go away. So losing weight is not as easy as gaining weight, and for women, I think it is much harder than it is for men. Those fat cells are just waiting to be refilled. I am not saying that the obese people of the world should not lose weight, they should especially for their health. I am just saying the rest of us who are more normal weight should not treat them like they are a plague. Just have some compassion, losing weight is hard, keeping it off is harder. I talk regularly on the Weight Watchers boards. One woman has lost over 100 pounds, would like to lose 20 more, and she goes on plateaus for 6 months at a time where her body just won't budge even though she is doing all the right things including consulting a nutrionist to help her through it. If she did not have the resolve that she has, it would have been easy for her to give up a long time ago. Especially when one of her plateaus was at 200 pounds. I work with a woman who is discouraged with her weight, but I don't think she mentally has gotten prepared to lose. She often gives in to poor choices in food, is easily swayed by the office sweets laying around. She just has not built up the resistance needed to change her eating habits. She has a lot of health issues and would probably be better off 100 pounds lighter, but mentally I don't think she is ready to take that journey. When I lost my weight, it took lots of energy and sticktoitofness. It still takes that to keep off weight, and aging only makes it worse. For whatever reason, some people don't have the confidence and support to lose weight. It is not an easy task.

Originally posted by AquaShrimp At a moderate pace, a swimmer can burn 60% fat and 40% glucose. You could put just about any numbers in your statement and have it be true. Varies widely over the population. At my resting metabolic rate test a few months ago i burned 60% glucose and 40% fat. I was just sitting there.

Originally posted by dorothyrde But treating them rudely is not going to help them overcome the problem. A little compassion goes a long way. If an obese person could snap their fingers and be thin, I am sure they would, it just is not that easy to lose weight, and then once lost keep it off. It is really, really, really hard. losing weight is as easy as gaining it. just like overweight individuals don't snap their fingers to get fat, they can't snap their fingers and be thin. for all the idiocy being hawked on tv, the sure fire way to lose weight, and to keep it off, is the eat right and exercise, consistently, over a period of time. unless you have a thyroid or other metabolic illness, which some people really do, there is no excuse for not being obese other than laziness. i've been close to 300lbs, i'm at 240 now (13% body fat), 6'3". for years i just didnt care what i ate or what i looked like, probably making up for the years as an age group/collegiate swimmer that I HAD to care. My blood pressure was through the roof and it was either make corrections to save my health or live on medication for the rest of my life. the choice was easy.

I just want to let you know that no matter how overweight you are, I believe you can always still lose it and get back into the kind of shape you want.....I have mentioned here several times before that I can personally vouch for this b/c about 18 months ago when I started back into swimming again (after an 18 year break), I was up to 275 pounds and feeling horrible.....By SCY Nationals last May I was already down to 185 pounds.....So far I have simply been maintaining that weight......I think this is the ideal weight for me....It is still about 10 pounds over what I weighed in college....but none-the-less, I feel really comfortable now at that weight. As long as you workout consistently and eat a healthy balanced diet, I think you will be suprised at how fast the weight will come off. Good Luck and don't give up! Newmastersswimmer

When I go to Mexico (ah ha leave Nov 7th to April 6th) I swim, I bike, I walk, I rest a lot, I lose weight, I drink beer, Magaritas, Wine, I eat lots of beef, chicken, pork, rice, fish, especially shrimp and tacos. I think this is the way to lose fat, but if I don't lose weight I don't care.

Originally posted by aquageek There are a lot of tempting tasty treats all around us. For instance, I have it on good authority that some on this forum, who shall remain nameless, have a certain love for fried twinkies. We shouldn't hold this against gull80, he can't help himself. However, just because there are temptations doesn't mean you have to give in. I believe getting morbidly obese is a full time job whereas doing a marginal amount of fitness activity requires much less action. I have never had a fried twinkie....that just sounds gross. :eek: Once an overweight person shifts into that obese column, moving is more painful and a lot more tough. Yes, it is what they need to do, and on the WW boards, when people ask how to get into the habit of exercising, I always say start with 20 minutes a day, and as your body adjusts and gets used to that start. But it is getting started that is so very hard for people. Nope, no one force feeds people, although I have had friends and family members tell me I am skinny now, why don't I just have...... and someone who is not strong enough would give in, heck I give in at times. And losing the weight is not as easy as gaining the weight, you can think it is, but it just plain is not. There is a lot more to being obese than just an eating problem, just as there is a lot more to anoerexia than an eating problem. Here is a website to read: www.fatmanwalking.com