Those Who Can't Exercise

[Scardoc]

The thread about the BBC2 new series The Men Who Made Us Fat triggered these thoughts, but I decided to post them here 'cos I didn't want to send the discussion off on a tangent.

Noblehead posted:

. . . eating fast food and sitting about on our backsides makes us fat

I'm not sure the quote is exact but something along those lines.

Now I'm not offended and haven't taken it personally, so I'm not criticising you directly, Noblehead. You were talking about what the programme's message might be. But it saddened me rather, as it does reflect an underlying attitude - probably an unconscious attitude - that by implication, those of us who don't exercise - choose not to.

Viv,

The majority of my longer, ranty posts will at some point show me for what I am - a staunch advocator of exercise. However, I do try and always get in that for me, the emphasis is on leading an active lifestyle from an early age as prevention. There are too many overweight children around and I think it's a terrible shame because they learn from their parent's attitude towards eating and exercise. Once an adult, the choice is yours but in this day and age, knowing all we do, people still wait until they are in poor shape to decide it's worth doing something about.

I don't think anyone would be insensitive enough to direct such comments at people who genuinely can't do anything. If I do forget about people in your situation it's normally because my focus is on what I perceive to be the majority who choose not to. I'll also quickly add that no, not children are fat through not exercising and not all parents are to blame!

[GraceK]

Viv - I read your post and could have sworn I'd written it myself! You're not alone in being willing but unable to exercise much nor in your frustration at the assumption that those of us who can't exercise, choose not to. Like yourself I was once an avid walker, I also cycled to work and to the shops every day, I went to evening keep fit classes and I also did a lot of toing and froing to my parents house and in effect, had two homes to run by the time I was 30 because they were in ill health.

Sometimes we women are our own worst enemies because we don't know when to stop and rest or perhaps we just don't get the chance to notice when we need a rest ourselves. All I know is, once the menopause hit me out of the blue at 39, every muscle and bone in my body suddenly said "Hello!" to me with a vengeance and I was aware of every single one of them whereas before, they were just the things that were holding me up and keeping everything in place. Every day I thought, "It'll get better soon." but it didn't and there were months when I thought I had glass in the soles of my feet they were so painful. When we lose one hormone it affects the production of all the others and insulin is a hormone.

I have a friend who was going through the same thing at the same time and we used to laugh at each other as we grew fatter and achier and rocked back and forth trying to get up out of our chairs before hobbling to the kitchen to put the kettle on. If we hadn't laughed we'd have cried a lot of the time. Now we're both grey and can remember the days when we climbed ladders and painted and decorated our own homes after doing a full days work and then cooking a meal for the family and went line dancing afterwards! So I think it's definitely safe to say, we're not fat because of laziness, and we don't avoid exercise out of laziness either. Maybe we should get T-shirts printed with the slogan "I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE THINKING AND YOU'RE WRONG!"

[viviennem]

Love the T-shirt idea, Grace!

Maybe it's time for "Hell's Grannies" to rise up? (Monty Python - remember?)

Viv

[sue32]

I agree totally. I have a number of medical problems which mean I am unable to exercise. I am classed a physically disabled and it really annoys me when people tell me I should walk more. Don't you think I would if I could?? I don't choose to be the way I am. I too have to use a trolley to go to the supermarket, even if I just need 1 or 2 items, I have to park as close to the doors as I can, not always possible, so I have to go back home again and try later. My pain consultant told me that if I begin to feel pain when I'm walking I MUST stop as my body is telling me I'm doing damage. My spine is totalled, and my fibromyalgia causes me agonising pain. What am I to do???

[viviennem]

I feel for you, Sue! My spinal doc says I can only use the exercise bike in the gym - no weights, no treadmill, no trying to walk too far - but at least I got a diagnosis, which is lumbar spinal stenosis. Somehow it feels much better to know what the problem is!

Which statin are you on? I came off SImvastatin after I discovered it could cause muscle and joint pain, and am definitely better for it - worth discussing with your GP. I won't take statins now. Also, because my pain is caused by spinal arthritis pinching the nerves, I take a low dose of opiod (Nortryptilene) at night, which makes things much better. Sometimes (like today) I still feel it, but not as crippling as it once was.

Hnag on in there! Make a nuisance of yourself until they find something that can help you a bit. I'm a great believer in bursting into tears over my GP - gets results every time!

Viv

[CathyN]

I am a Yoga teacher - and one of my weekly classes is a gentle class for those who find exercise a challenge. I have people with chronic fatigue syndrome, breast cancer, people with hip replacements, knee replacements, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis - plus the usual wear and tear that we all experience as we age.

Yoga not only keeps up your muscle tone and maintains your flexibility, it can improve your circulation too - it is a great stress reliever, helps you breathe better and helps you to deeply relax ( very important when dealing with debilitating illness ).

So, if there's a gentle yoga class near you, it might be worth a try!

[Dadio]

I was diagnosed with Type2 roughly five years ago and at the time trained daily for a couple of hours Sparring,cycling,rowing as well as working on a Rig with lots of stairs. But three years ago I felt tremendous pain in my back which turned out to be Bulging discs caused through Disintergrating disc disease. Three years on its stopped me training as I'm in constant pain on Butrans 20 patches have restricted movement and now has moved to several of my discs. Because of this my diabetes seems to be getting harder to control constantly up high readings. I struggle to walk distance with the pain in my feet and legs and now I have just learnt that the NHS will not sort my back out until I see a neurologist about any nerve damage which won't be until Mid December. This a bit of a rant as because of this I can't get my offshore medical and am off work unable to get benefits and struggling. Oh well hope everyone else is doing better than me avoir.

[anna29]

Hi All...
Just an extra thought for you all on this topic.
I am unable to do excersise on my feet due to neuropathy , arthritis , pes cavus and talipes feet.
Whatever I do MUST be low impact !! or I am 'off' my feet for days with the pain...
I attend a lovely chair based gentle excersise class at my local church hall weekly.
We do stretch , balance and dexterity excersise to keep our joints supple improve our posture
and help keep us supple plus balance skills too.
ALL of this is done chair based, we are a mixed bunch too with varying disabilities and post serious
accident persons too.
We all go at our own pace and level , sit out if anything 'hurts a joint' etc...
No one tuts or judges us either which is wonderful
It is socialable too for us all finishing off with a quiz and brew and chat with each other.
Oh and we do have one lady in a wheelchair too that 'is' able to join in successfully with all the
gentle excersise's .
Hope this helps ?
Anna.