Yes, I can put my hand between my spine and the wall when I’m standing with my back to the wall. Most people can do so, as we gave a natural curve in our spine. When the spine Goes off to the side, it’s scoliosis.
I’m about 130-135 and 5’5". It’s about 10 pounds more than I was at age 12 and about the same height. It seems to be the weight my body prefers. When I go below this weight, it’s usually the aftermath of being sick. I don’t like gaining much beyond where I am because then my clothes don’t fit right and I am not ready to replace everything.
I’d read carefully about anything you’re considering, including potential side effects. I’d ask the doc for more info on why he does NOT recommend what you were thinking about and if he recommends something else instead.
I tend to scar and keloid, so I shy away from elective procedures, tho I did let a dermatologist zap two age spots with her freezing gun while she was zapping H’s. She also removed a spot on his eyelid that had been annoying him.
oregon, after giving birth to giant babies (11, 10 and almost 9 lbs), I always said I’d give myself a tummy tuck for my 40th birthday, then my 50th…I always felt that I couldn’t miss that much work. I have saggy skin and abs that were split during the pregnancies. But now I pretty much think “what’s the use”? As long as I don’t want to be a geriatric bikini model, I guess I will just live with it. But I wish you well if you go for the lipo. Let us know how it goes!
@oregon101 - You are describing Lordosis - sway back correct? Being able to put your whole spine on a wall is NOT a goal. Everyone should have some natural curve.
What you want is the bones of your pelvis parallel to the floor when you are laying down. So you aren’t tilting your pelvis forward.
A good standing posture will have the ribs over the pelvis with the tail bone pointing to the floor. Not tucking the pelvis under or sticking the booty out.
If you have a pilates studio in your area -they could help you with your posture or even consider going to PT.
You could also google neutral back.
Being able to smoosh all your low back on the wall would make you have to tuck your pelvis under and is not a good posture.
I’ve seen a lot of models (and women in general due to this) exaggerate their lordosis to make their butts seem bigger or think that’s how their spine should naturally look. I think a lot of people could benefit from fixing anterior pelvic tilt and learning to properly engage their glutes during the day. A lot of people have messed up posture (myself included) due to sitting a lot and having inactive glutes/hamstrings.
@morrismm, alcohol metabolism interferes with fat metabolism. Throw out all the arguments about alcohol being empty calories, that it makes it more likely for us to cheat due to decreased inhibitions, that it is an appetite stimulant, etc., and you are still left with the fact that the body will attend to the alcohol and its byproducts at the expense of fat burning. It cannot do both at the same time. Over the years, this can cause a pound creep.
As a lover of wine, I say this with tremendous regret.
I have lost a lot of weight the last several months, and while I haven’t given up my wine, I’ve had to reduce it to only once or twice a week, and sometimes I’ll go a couple of weeks without it. I gave it up entirely for the first four weeks of my “lifestyle change.”
True, @veruca - good supportive flat shoes make a big difference. I think it’s pretty much impossible for your body to be correctly aligned in heels. Once my doctor forbade me to wear heels, my knee problem magically cleared up, which in turn removed one of my reasons for not exercising.
I lost about half a pounds yesterday. Back to the weight I started out when I first posted here before my sin.
I stopped drinking wine regularly, only on vacation and special holiday.
I too must NOT have a straight back and it must be inherited because one of my kid has it too.
In my family we call it the “[mother’s maiden name] bootie.” All the women have a pronounced curve (swayback); it made me look great from behind, even when I weighed 98 lbs. Of course, add a few decades and it doesn’t feel so great…a couple of years ago I had injections and PT to help alleviate the pain. The orthopedist said I have an extra vertebrae.
Edited to add: My yoga teacher is kind of fascinated by the issue…she is always thinking up modifications for me.
Liposuction always seemed like a terrific idea. So tempting, but when my boss got it she looked exactly the same afterwards as before. I’ve never been tempted since. Though I wish we could get rid of the loose tummy skin - I looked great after kid number one, but kid number two did me in.
Alcohol will definitely affect your metabolism. Also, alcohol lowers your will power, and a glass of wine turns into 2 glasses with a handful of dried figs and cheese cubes… Oops, I just ate 500 calories not counting the drinks! I think it helped tremendously that we cut alcohol out completely during the time when Mr. was getting his business degree, and then we added it back in small amounts limited to weekends only.
Everyone probably has their vice - what is your vice??? (wine? ice cream? bread?) How do you curb it? I think that could be helpful for people to hear.
You people were busy posting and “working” while I was gone this weekend - yeah!!!
I spend the weekend lounging on a beach but also with lots of beach walks, swimming and kayaking.
Fully agree with MOWC on the “gotta break a sweat to have effect” motto. I walk into the gym and see people walking very slow and reading a book on the treadmill. I run my 3 miles, do the rower, cool down and shower and dress - in an hour or so and leave still seeing them walking and not pink cheeked or sweating and still dressed in their heavy clothing. Not sure how effective this is unless your fitness level is quite low.
veruca, yes that is what I ws describing. Everyone should have some space from the lower back to the wall but mine is really too much. I will work on posture exercises.
I am going to see if I can get my weight to 133 where I am more comfortable and reevaluate. I would not have a procedure done until the rainy season here-late fall anyway. I am on the fence as there are so many other important things in life than an annoying tummy so will ponder what it means to me…
I agree with the drinking wine leading to more calories. And also breaking a sweat. I use a cardio belt on my elipticle and it does help.
H just got a Smartbit that he can use in the pool for feedback. It also reads heartrate.
Regarding what “counts”, we have a couple of different conversations going on here. The original post was about middle age weight gain, so I think the folks saying that shopping doesn’t count and you need to sweat are saying not to expect to lose weight by shopping or walking slowly. However, when it comes to general fitness vs. being sedentary, I think that all movement counts.
Step trackers are all the rage. I like the idea too! Just remember not all steps are equal. Steps walking the mall are not = to steps when walking a 15 minute mile in terms of fitness/calories burned/fitness benefit etc.
And, I’ll add…if you can find the time to walk the mall (especially for leisurely shopping) then you can find the time - at least on that day - to exercise more vigorously.
Studies have recently shown that sitting all day at work has some grim implications for health and longevity.
So it seems pretty intuitive to think that anything that gets you moving is a good thing, whether it’s walking in a mall or walking the dog, taking the stairs, etc.
As for weight loss, I get better results when I pair pretty vigorous daily exercise with specific diet changes. Diet alone only gets me so far, and exercise alone got me basically nowhere.
