Anyone who has followed me for a while knows B has elbow dysplasia. We went through quite a process to figure out what was wrong with him. Anyway, the dysplasia causes him to limp. Last time we were at the vet, I talked to her about how much B should walk. She said I should still walk him moderately, for his health, even if he does limp a little. Kind of like people…we need to exercise even when it hurts a bit. We don't go on 2-hour power walks like we used to but I try to walk him for at least 30 minutes on Friday and Saturday. I also give him an anti-inflammatory an hour before we go.
Another thing I try to avoid for him is walking on pavement. So I usually drive us to one of several nearby parks, so that we can walk on soft trails. But the park we went to this morning, we had to walk about a block on the sidewalk to get from our car to the park. Of course, when we first started, B was very excited and nothing could slow him down at that point. When we got to the park, he did pretty well, although he did start to limp and lag behind after about 20 minutes. When we finally left the park and headed back to the car, I didn't want him to walk on the pavement, so I picked him up and carried him.
Boy, he was heavy! He's a small dog and only weighs about 17 pounds. But carrying 17 extra pounds for a block was hard, and it got me to thinking…
17 pounds is exactly the amount of weight I've lost in the past 14 months! (since December 17, 2008)
No wonder I feel so much better in so many ways than I did last year. 17 fewer pounds makes it a lot easier to run on the treadmill and to exercise in general; 17 fewer pounds means I don't feel as self-conscious about wearing my uniform; 17 fewer pounds means my husband calls me "skinny butt."
My 57th birthday is Tuesday, and I really had in my mind that I wanted to be at my new goal weight (163) by then. I'm so close…but if it takes me another 8 months to lose the last 5 pounds, so be it. I'll just keep doing it slowly and steadily. That seems to be the best way.
Slow and steady!
ReplyDeleteYep, carrying around that extra stuff is a chore!
That picture is classic -
I love it and want to have it framed and put up in my house!
When I lost my first bit of weight, I remember looking at a bag of horse feed and relating my loss to that bag of feed and thinking that I'd been carrying that around with me every step of the way.
ReplyDeleteGood job!
That reminded me of my Daisy. She was old, 13, and I would walk every day. One day when we were at the turn around point to come back home, about one mile from home, she sat down and wouldn't get back up. I had to carry her home. she weight 12 pounds. I weighed 240. I thought I was going to die carrying that little 12-pound dog one mile.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like B is doing okay and it's something he's learned to live with. He's so cute, every time I see his picture I smile.
Wow, almost 57? I'm almost 55 (August). Funny how fast time flies isn't it? You're at a healthy weight and are active so probably your real age is around 35 or so. :)
hugs to B and you. thanks for the update.
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday and hugs from me. And I agree, slow and steady is the way to go.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could meet B. I think my little Indiana would have fun going for walks with you. Indiana often refuses to walk mid-walk in the summer when it's too hot for him. I carried him home once. He also is 17 pounds and I was SHOCKED how much my lower stomach hurt by the time we got back. So I have a perfect reference for your story and I know exactly how you must feel having lost so much weight (not cause I've done it myself yet!). So you deserve double congrats. And you're right - all that matters is that you're moving forward. This is a marathon, not a sprint.
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