The first time I realized that not only was I “exiting my youth” but also putting on more weight than was ideal (or anywhere near to it) was in my mid-20’s. I was playing basketball with some other guys at our church. On two separate occasions, I tried driving to the basket. As I was driving down the lane, my legs just gave out and I went into a kind of dive. Both times I was able to pass the ball to a teammate as I was going down, so they were seen as great plays. I was the one who was left bewildered at my legs unwillingness to work in the way I was accustomed to. Incidentally, that was when I decided to predominantly become a three-point shooter.
I didn’t think to write again so soon, but this morning was my first “outing” of the new attempt and I felt to memorialize it.
As I thought about what I expected my difficulties would be, I thought back to when I last started walking. In general, that included shin splints and occasional leg chafing (ain’t got no thigh gap, so lots of friction!). I also expected to be able to bust out a decent distance, because before I was able to walk 3, 4, or 6 miles with relative ease. For someone who used to be a math teacher, you would think I could better calculate what additional weight would mean towards my capabilities.
The first mile was a pain. Holy cow does the extra weight make it extremely UNCOMFORTABLE! Now mind you, I had prepared farely well. My pain expectations never came to bear because of proper preparation. But apparently at my current fitness level, my back feels like it is crushing down if I walk for any amount of prolonged time. And then the blister started to form on the blade of my right foot. I never had a single blister while walking before, and I had worse shoes back then!
So what do I take from this? Of course there’s going to be adversity, weight loss isn’t easy. I was a little short-sighted to think that I would be able to pick up close to where I left off considering that I weigh a decent amount more now than when I first started 4 years ago. My fault. I think my body is letting me feel its disapproval for how I’ve continued to treat it the past 4 years. Once I got home, I took a shower and then laid down to rest. When I got back up, my left ankle hurt which had not been the case while walking. Felt like my body was saying “I can find lots of places for you to hurt!”
My expectations have changed. I, as any rational person would know, am going to need to build back up. I can’t start with similar distances every day. My body won’t have it. I’m going to have to add in more recovery days initially until I start relieving my body of some of this excess weight. The last thing I want to do is cause myself a serious injury which will derail my new efforts.
I didn’t get to a full 2 miles this morning, only completing 1.86 miles in 38 minutes. But I was able to do more than I have done in a long time and more importantly, I was able to keep my motivation to continue. So the pain hurts a little less.
Wonderful to know I’m not alone in my struggles. I prayed to know what to do for the pain in my legs and feet; I knew I could do more if I didn’t have so much pain. I was impressed to study the word of wisdom. This took me on a 2+ hour hunt for understanding. Just as I was about to quit (because making big habit changes is hard and uncomfortable) I realized this was the answer to my prayer. In my study I found a quote that said the word of wisdom “elevates care for the body to a matter of religious principle”. That was it for me… I haven’t looked back or even had trouble caring for my body in this manner. I pray for your success on your journey… God speed!