One of the things I’ve noticed over the years is what weight does to your body. There are the obvious things that everyone can see. Weight makes your skin stretch and can make your limbs look like they were stung by bees from knee to ankle or elbow to wrist. Weight can give you the dreaded “cankles” named so because you lose the definition between the calfs and the ankles. Weight can make your face look swollen or like you have jello beneath your skin. Weight can throw your body out of proportion. If your weight delivers you into the arms of diabetes it can make your body look like a peach on toothpick legs.
In my case the outward evidence of my weight has been fairly proportioned. Every part of my body has gained weight. My arms are as big as you’d expect them to be. The only thing about my body that seems to be different than most heavy women is that I still have a waist. It’s consistently been smaller than my ribcage and hip measurements. Earlier this year I started to notice that my waist was increasing more than it ever had before. I was losing the one attribute that I admired in my weight gain. I still had “shape”. I think one of the reasons I was so keen to get back on the diet path is because I want to keep my waist. It’s my defining feminine feature that I’ve always had some pride for. If my waist becomes the same size as my ribcage or hips I would be devastated.
Inwardly, weight does far more damage to your body than what shows externally. Extra weight on your limbs can cause injury to your joints. Our bodies are made for the parts of our limbs above and below our joints to be similar in size. Strong bicep and forearms, calfs and thighs, etc. When you gain weight the size of those areas significantly increases. There’s a natural give in your joint when you bring your forearm up to your bicep just as in kneeling so your thigh meets your calf. But when you’re heavy attempting to kneel can be a problem.
I remember when I was in highschool I wanted to sit next to a friend of mine but there was only enough room if I knelt down. I did so and the people around me heard the same terrible pop I did. When the bell rang and everyone got up to go to class I couldn’t. I had popped my knee out of joint. It seemed like it took a very long time for me to get out of my kneeling position to be sitting flat on my backside with my legs out in front of me. Getting into that position hurt terribly. I could see where my knee was out of joint and I had to reach down and maneuver my leg and knee until I could feel it pop back in. The pain of the joint fitting back together again was NOT fun, but after it was back in the pain almost went away. The knee was sore for a long time after that but I never told my mom or asked to see the nurse. I was embarrassed. My weight had popped my knee out and I didn’t want anyone to know.
That kind of internal damage is just one example. When you gain weight the fat cells start to latch on to your organs and when that happens I believe the fat cells start to strangle the organs which is why I think they have to work so much harder to do the functions they were made to do. The fat in our bodies starts looking for new places to hang out and become the sugar in our blood stream. Diabetes kicks in and you know your body is now fighting to survive.
We can be so hard on our bodies and the reason why still hasn’t been figured out.
But I want to let my body know that I’m rooting for it. I know that if I snip my ego and the ID in the butt I will be able to overcome the things that have kept me sabotaging my body instead of letting it thrive. My body never asked for the abuse of my weight and I think it’s about time my body got what it deserved. A break.
So here’s to you body. I hope you kick a little ass and tell me where to shove my excuses.
Pounds lost: 11.2 (377.8)
Daily insight: If you need to set the alarm to stick to your diet, learn to carry one with you.
Ounces of water consumed: 60
Steps in the right direction: 29
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