Progress

Well, I had visible results today from my yoga and stretchy exercise bands. The last time DH and I went to the VA and had to walk from the lab to the cafeteria (about 2 blocks), I had to stop 3 times to give my back a break. Today, I walked the whole way without stopping, and I wasn't in severe pain by the time we got there. I know this may not seem like a big accomplishment to some, but for me, it's a measurable improvement. Now, I knew I had improved some because when my son came up on Saturday to put in an outdoor plug-in for our vehicles, I was actually able to walk through Menard's the whole time we were getting the wire and other supplies he needed. That was about 15 minutes worth of walking. Granted, I was using a shopping cart for support part of that time, but I actually walked the whole time. That is just so amazing to me, and makes me more determined to keep up with my routine, and gradually increase it. Since winter is coming up, I'm looking for a used exercise bike so maybe by spring, I'll be ready to ride the bike that's out in the shed (I used to ride a bike all over Spokane when I lived out there from 1972 to 1976, and where I live now, there are actually bike trails, and they go right past our house, YAY!).
And this is all from exercise I'm doing sitting in my chair and on the floor (thank the powers that be that I'm at home, it's not pretty watching me get up off the floor, but at least I can get up off the floor). What I like about this, is that I figured it out with the help I got reading the FA blogs and researching when I found an idea I thought might work. Now, I'm not a doctor, or a nurse, and the only college education I have is in data entry (and that was back in the 80's, how far we've come since then!). So if I can figure this out, why the hell can't doctors and nurse practitioners and other medical personnel come up with similar solutions for fat people? It's not rocket science, and anything that gets you moving and improves your strength has to be worth trying. The yoga dvd cost me less than $20 on amazon, and the exercise bands were less than $20 at Wally World. So for about $40, I'm improving my mobility, which is what that $15,000 WLS was supposed to do, didn't, and in fact, made worse (I'm guessing on what it cost, I don't have a clue since Medicaid paid for it). But then, no one made a huge profit off anything but the WLS, so why am I not surprised that nothing else was suggested?