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Peter
Founder, caloriesperhour.com
| Joined: | 24 May 2005 |
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| Posts: | 4178 |
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Posted: 30 September 2007 11:33 pm |
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One day back in the '50s, when my mother was pregnant with my little brother, my older brother and I were being... well, boys. A pain.
We were just entering a supermarket when we were acting up and she got an idea to help us appreciate how difficult it was for her to be pregnant. She handed us each a five pound bag of sugar and made us carry it around while she shopped.
What a lesson! A half century later, and I never forgot it. But for the past 30 years I have been sharing this story for a different purpose.
We have so many reasons to want to be slim that we don't often think about the fact that it's simply a burden on our bodies. It drains our energy and is hard on our joints (read: knees).
My challenge for you is to hold a 10 pound bag of sugar in each arm and walk around the supermarket until you feel the effect of the additional weight. I just did this with 10 lb dumbbells at the gym and felt it all through my legs and knees.
You can use anything you like -- a gallon of milk is about 8 lbs -- but it should be a significant amount of weight so that it makes a lasting impression. If you are very obese, you might want to use even more weight to better reflect what you are carrying around.
The point isn't to make you feel worse for carrying around extra weight, but to help you see how much better it will be when you lose the weight.
Please do this. You'll never forget what you learn!
Peter
P.S.
Walk through the supermarket as if you are going somewhere, and no one will think a thing about it!
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seminakedcats
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 1 October 2007 05:11 am |
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YES!
Years ago a lady in Weightwatchers told that story of walking around with a 20 or 30 lb turkey! Holy cow! That is a quick and dirty way to figure out how much you've lost and were carrying, and how hard it is on the body!
I just jumped around the apartment and ran in circles (small apt) for 30 minutes and I realized quickly that it's a lot harder on my knees and hips than it should be, but now after (drumroll please...32 days without smoking!) is was a lot easier to stay moving for the whole 30 minutes without getting out of breath or giving up!! Yay!
Maybe I should have grabbed a turkey! Okay, no turkey in the house, but many pounds of soy products that I suppose I could put in a bag!
Very cool idea Peter!
Kit
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Ohm
Senior Member
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Posted: 1 October 2007 05:08 pm |
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| I haven't got a free hand to carry bags of sugar, gallons of milk or sacks of spuds around the supermarket, but I did nip in to get some milk the other day, and because I only wanted one thing I didn't take a trolley. I usually put the teeny tiny terrorist (aged 14 months) in the trolley seat, but this time, in the absence of a trolley I carried him on my hip. Boy, is that kid heavy - 30 lb. But I used to carry tht around with me everywhere without thinking. I've lost a complete Domminick and then some!
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seminakedcats
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 1 October 2007 10:54 pm |
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Rock on! I'm trying to lose a complete Domminick too! 7 lbs to go for that goal. By the time T3 is 40 lbs, hopefully I'll be right there with him!
:o)
Kit
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Paint-Mom
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 4 October 2007 09:16 pm |
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 I've been carrying the G-baby boy around - he is 18# about now! and getting heavier - and this is the first G-Baby! I will be in better shape for those to come later!
Also, all the heavy backpacks the kids carry - have you tried lifting those!! Yikes!! Enough to give you a hernia.
 Grand-Mom
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Peter
Founder, caloriesperhour.com
| Joined: | 24 May 2005 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 4178 |
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Posted: 4 October 2007 09:38 pm |
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So far well over 100 people have read this challenge, but only a couple have indicated they have tried it.
We all pick up and even carry heavy stuff around. But if you'll purposely do it -- at the market or gym or home with 10 pounds in each hand for at least a few minutes -- it will make a lasting impression.
Peter
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CodeMonkey
New Member
| Joined: | 6 August 2007 |
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| Posts: | 350 |
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Posted: 4 October 2007 09:47 pm |
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You need a "Not yet, but I plan on it" selection. 
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Sassykat
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 20 November 2007 04:22 pm |
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Ok Peter. Yesterday my turkey about killed me.
I had to lug it around of course. And lugging it into the house was not fun either. We don't have a garage and so all in all I did walk around with it a bit. It only weighed 12.5 lbs. I got the smallest one I could find just because I don't plan on having a bunch of people over for Thanks Giving and I didn't want to hassel with a bigger bird. After lugging it around I decided it would be a good comparison for your study. Roughly I am two of these turkeys overweight. Give or take a couple pounds. That is what I need to focus on when I think about losing weight.
I get so many people telling me that I don't need to lose weight and since they are all bigger than me...I tend to believe them. But it is after all my body. And 15 years ago I weighed around this much and I remember thinking that I was fat. Much of the population was skinnier back then. Most everyone is carrying around extra pounds these days. And because of that, it is helping me to live in denial. But that turkey was so heavy that I was thinking mean thoughts towards it when I was carrying it and two gallons of milk into the house. I couldn't imagine carrying it down the road for a two mile walk! My poor body!
Here's another way for me to think about it...Visually I am two of those turkeys overweight. Somehow I am carrying the mass of two young turkeys on my bod.
Makes me a feel a bit more like a  .
Just wanted to give my 2 cents.
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Peter
Founder, caloriesperhour.com
| Joined: | 24 May 2005 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 4178 |
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Posted: 20 November 2007 04:39 pm |
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That's really funny... two turkeys overweight! It does help you see how much of a burden it places on you.
Thanks for the post. I was very disappointed this topic didn't get more interest. I really believe my little game is a meaningful way to see what we are doing to ourselves carrying around all this extra weight... and I don't mean Thanksgiving turkeys!
Peter
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asuwish
New Member
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Posted: 4 January 2008 12:52 am |
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I like to look at the one-pound packages of butter at the grocery store and think about how many pounds of fat I have worked off and how many I have left to go. Hmmmmm...butter. Next time I go I think I will load up a couple of shopping baskets and walk around the store with all that butter just as a reminder not to gain it back (20 pounds). I will probably get some funny looks - especially while restacking!
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careyberry
New Member
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Posted: 4 January 2008 01:58 pm |
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WOW! I did this just this morning, I have a 23 lb turkey in the freezer and is it heavy! I just about have two of these to lose! what an eye opener, thanks.
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Peter
Founder, caloriesperhour.com
| Joined: | 24 May 2005 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 4178 |
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Posted: 4 January 2008 07:33 pm |
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careyberry, I'm glad you actually tried it! Makes quite an impression.
asuwish, I saw a woman stocking shelves in the supermarket this morning and thought of you. Of course she worked there, but I still thought of your post! 
Peter
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Need2lose
New Member
| Joined: | 29 December 2007 |
| Location: | Alabama USA |
| Posts: | 97 |
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Posted: 6 January 2008 03:37 pm |
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Well, I was just thinking about something I hate to carry...MILK!!! I don't know why but I hate to carry a gallon of milk...I think it is about 6lbs??? If so, I've got 4 and a half gallons to lose!!! Gosh, I can believe I'm carrying around that kind of weight!!! I need to lose some gallons! lol Thanks Peter for pointing this out to us!!! MUAH!!!!!
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soontobeme
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 9 January 2008 03:20 am |
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Well, I have carried 2 gallons of milk up stairs and as you said that is about 12lbs for the two.............oh my I need to loose 10 gallons of milk........I hate to carry around milk it feels like it weighs a ton by the time I get it upstairs.............just think what I feel like just taking myself upstairs weighing that much........This is a wake up call.
Thanks Peter.
Judy 
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JayzMomma
New Member
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Posted: 9 January 2008 02:35 pm |
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This is a great idea! I did this after I read it. I have 2 turkeys in the Freezer, my kids were looking at me all weird while they were getting ready for school this morning. I does show me that I don't want to GAIN anymore weight and that things would be easier for me if I lost the weight!
Thanks a ton
Katie
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Beth
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 15 January 2008 12:44 am |
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| Peter, I have carried 5 lbs of sugar and it is HEAVY! What's finally motivating me to lose is my poor back (and legs.) My mother has reminded me of how when I was down about 55 lbs. I didn't complain about my legs aching. Until I read your post, I didn't quite grasp the enormous strain extra weight puts on the knees. I mean I knew it, but I couldn't quite relate to it in 5 lb increments. At 80 lbs over weight, it's a miracle I can even walk. No wonder my legs crawl at night! Thanks so much for hitting me in the head with this. Great motivator!
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Peter
Founder, caloriesperhour.com
| Joined: | 24 May 2005 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 4178 |
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Posted: 15 January 2008 02:32 am |
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My post sat for so long... I'm so glad people are starting to "accept the challenge"!
Peter
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soontobeme
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 15 January 2008 03:05 am |
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Peter wrote: My post sat for so long... I'm so glad people are starting to "accept the challenge"!
Peter
Sometimes we are just a little slow to respond.........
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NevD
New Member
| Joined: | 26 October 2005 |
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| Posts: | 1536 |
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Posted: 15 January 2008 12:20 pm |
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What a lesson! A half century later, and I never forgot it.
I think you can put down that sugar bag now, Peter...
It's a good idea, and one that I've seen promoted before (although not before Peter's mom thought it up, I'll admit).
I think it works because it allows you to feel instantly the difference that losing 20 pounds (or however much) would make.
When I played competitive sports, I sometimes trained by sprinting uphill or by dragging a weight behind me as I went. It meant that ordinary sprinting felt so much easier! Similar concept for a different reason?
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HeartOfAChampion
New Member
| Joined: | 15 January 2008 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 29 |
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Posted: 15 January 2008 08:36 pm |
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Sassykat wrote: Ok Peter. Yesterday my turkey about killed me.
I had to lug it around of course. And lugging it into the house was not fun either. We don't have a garage and so all in all I did walk around with it a bit. It only weighed 12.5 lbs. I got the smallest one I could find just because I don't plan on having a bunch of people over for Thanks Giving and I didn't want to hassel with a bigger bird. After lugging it around I decided it would be a good comparison for your study. Roughly I am two of these turkeys overweight. Give or take a couple pounds. That is what I need to focus on when I think about losing weight.
I get so many people telling me that I don't need to lose weight and since they are all bigger than me...I tend to believe them. But it is after all my body. And 15 years ago I weighed around this much and I remember thinking that I was fat. Much of the population was skinnier back then. Most everyone is carrying around extra pounds these days. And because of that, it is helping me to live in denial. But that turkey was so heavy that I was thinking mean thoughts towards it when I was carrying it and two gallons of milk into the house. I couldn't imagine carrying it down the road for a two mile walk! My poor body!
Here's another way for me to think about it...Visually I am two of those turkeys overweight. Somehow I am carrying the mass of two young turkeys on my bod.
Makes me a feel a bit more like a .
Just wanted to give my 2 cents.
LoL That really gave me some insight... I, somehow, am carrying the mass of 5 young turkeys on my body as I am 67 lbs overweight. Gah, that really makes me want to kick my own booty!
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Beth
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 15 January 2008 10:07 pm |
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| Now, Now...It won't be too much longer that we'll have much boody to kick!
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trimB
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 15 January 2008 11:21 pm |
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| I haven't done the exact challenge... but I have thought about it MANY times carrying my 15# little one up the two flights of stairs to my apartment. I'm ALWAYS breathing hard by the time I get to the top! Even that relatively small amount makes a big difference!
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Lucky Me
Senior Member
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Posted: 17 January 2008 04:57 am |
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Nevd wrote:
When I played competitive sports, I sometimes trained by sprinting uphill or by dragging a weight behind me as I went. It meant that ordinary sprinting felt so much easier! Similar concept for a different reason?
This works! At the gym, I swing an 8-lb. weight in the same trajectory as my tennis racquet, alternating between forehands and backhands. Back on the court, my racquet feels really light, and for a few minutes at least, I think I'm a pro! One tip: I'm very careful doing this at the gym. If I sent the weight crashing into the mirror, I suspect I'd be very unpopular.
PS - How do you get those boxes around the pasted material? What didn't I read, Peter?
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Eatgreat
New Member
| Joined: | 9 January 2008 |
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| Posts: | 2 |
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Posted: 18 January 2008 04:09 am |
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| Yes the awareness of the extra weight we seem to get used to carrrying around came to me when I carried 50 and 80 lb salt bags for water softeners daily. Others were carrying this weight around without the ability to get rid of the extra weight or rest. I've gained 15 lbs since then and I am very ready to get rid of the extra weight; I'm carrying around the weight of that turkey all the time! Enjoyed this life changing challenge.
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Beth
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 18 January 2008 12:37 pm |
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| Oh my gosh! This one really hit home. We converted our pool to salt water and we have to drag 40 lb bags of water softener (salt) up to the pool to keep things running smoothly. It is all I can do now to pick up one of those bags. I just realized I am carrying almost 2 of those bags on my poor body in excess lbs. No wonder my back and knees drive me crazy. No wonder I have sleep apnea. Imagine laying down to sleep on your back with two of those bags stretched out on top of you. Well, that is a reality for me. Thanks for that post! That realization will motivate me today to stay with the program! Not only am I sleeping with almost 80 extra lbs, every step I take is like carrying two of those awful salt bags!
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Peter
Founder, caloriesperhour.com
| Joined: | 24 May 2005 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 4178 |
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Posted: 18 January 2008 05:38 pm |
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Great post Beth! Thanks for sharing.
Peter
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NevD
New Member
| Joined: | 26 October 2005 |
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| Posts: | 1536 |
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Posted: 20 January 2008 06:12 pm |
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PS - How do you get those boxes around the pasted material? What didn't I read, Peter?
After you've pasted, select the quotation again, then click on the (  ) button above the message area.
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Lucky Me
Senior Member
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Posted: 21 January 2008 03:35 am |
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| Thanks, nevd; it works!
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Imaw89
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 28 January 2008 02:17 pm |
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I was walking around Petsmart the other day carrying a 50 pound bag of cat litter on my shoulder and that actually came to mind. "Wow 50 pounds after a 10-15 minutes really starts to get to you, and imagine if I lost 50 pounds how much better I would truelly feel". This small lession will go a long way in life. Some day when I have children and they are nagging on my leg i'll make them walk around with sugar bags too. I can see it now, i'll be sure to think of this site and peter when I do it lmao
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GolfBrew
New Member
| Joined: | 17 January 2008 |
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| Posts: | 151 |
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Posted: 31 January 2008 08:01 pm |
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What product has roughly the same density of fat? Butter? Knowing that would be a helpful tool as you could more easily visualize the volume you lost as well as the weight!
Edit: Nevermind, found my own answer, butter and fat have very similar densities (.911 g/mL and .9 g/mL respectively)
Last edited on 31 January 2008 08:14 pm by GolfBrew
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Beth
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 12 March 2008 04:12 am |
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| Just wanted to bump this. The Sugar Challenge is one of the most important motivators for me. I need to review this section often and think about my 40# salt bags that I'm losing! It's a miracle!
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Theresa
Senior Member
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Posted: 12 March 2008 07:55 am |
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I was just looking at my 1kg tub of margarine and realised I have lost 7 of those in fat so far and I still need to lose plus minus 25 more. Just holding 7 of those is heavy enough and it's amazing that my poor feet actually aren't messed up yet.
It's actually quite gross when you actually look at the butter and margarine and realise that, that is the amount of fat on your body that you are lugging around for absolutely no good reason.
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BlackDiamond
New Member
| Joined: | 7 October 2007 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 204 |
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Posted: 11 April 2008 10:06 pm |
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| I did accept this challenge. Kim and i were at the store yesterday but instead of sugar i carryed around 2 10lb dumbells. haha boy did i look funny carryin those while she was pushing the cart. But after like 5 minutes of carrying them around i started to feel it. hahah. It was a good idea. i think i might try it more often. Then i wont actually have to buy um...
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Peter
Founder, caloriesperhour.com
| Joined: | 24 May 2005 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 4178 |
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Posted: 13 April 2008 04:45 am |
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Makes me so happy when someone actually takes the challenge.
Thanks!
Peter
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ribble
Senior Member
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Posted: 14 April 2008 04:50 am |
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Just read this thread and thanks for reminding me about this sort of thing. I've done something similar in that several years ago I wore some of those wrist and ankle weights for a day. OK it was probably only 3-4lbs but even after a few hours I knew I was wearing them. Just walking up stairs or picking up things started to feel an effort. At the end of the day I was so glad to get rid of them. The reason I did it was for a charity sponsorship but its a lesson well worth learning.
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smidge
New Member
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Posted: 29 July 2008 05:49 am |
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i have a bull terrier, a notoriously stubborn breed dog. the little lady gets tired easily because she is still a puppy. on especially long walks she just lays down on the sidewalk and refuses to walk anymore. so i end up scooping her up and carrying her back home.
to #%@&! with 10 pounds of sugar. try a 35 pound puppy! the last time i had to carry her for the rest of the walk i distinctly remembered thinking "oh my god this is what my knees would feel like if i gained 35 pounds"
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Wheo
New Member
| Joined: | 18 August 2008 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 17 |
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Posted: 11 September 2008 02:08 pm |
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This is an amazing idea. Now I'm totally going to do this the next chance I get! ^_^ It sounds kind of painful, but I'm looking foward to it, regardless.
Eh...fifteen pounds to lose for now....
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OnceUpon-A-ThinGirl
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 19 October 2008 02:57 pm |
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| I don't know if this counts, but since I did set out to lose a hundred pounds, I did just pick up a hundred pound sack of concrete the other day. I moved that sucker a whole 20 feet and boy was that a job. I'm halfway to my goal and I can't wait to feel that much lighter!
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Dara
New Member
| Joined: | 15 October 2008 |
| Location: | New York USA |
| Posts: | 25 |
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Posted: 20 October 2008 01:15 am |
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I carry my two clingy sons around the house (I hate it when they get in that mood at the same time). Ethan is 30lbs and Micah is 15. It's a lot of work to carry them around! I never thought about them being my extra weight. I've lost an Ethan so far, 2 Micah's to go (some days I wish that were true  ).
Excellent way to think of it.
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Straylight
New Member
| Joined: | 25 September 2008 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 867 |
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Posted: 20 October 2008 03:08 pm |
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I was talking to my mom last night about my brother when he was a baby, and my brother and I were both adopted, so my Mom went from, you know, having no child to having a child all in one day, and with no warning really. Social services just calls you and tells you to come and pick up your kid and there you go!
But anyway, my brother was a big baby, and he came to our family when he was 4 months old and at this time, he weighed 17 pounds. My Mom was saying it was really difficult to get used to a 17-pounder all of a sudden, because you know, USUALLY when people have their own babies, you get a newborn and it weighs, what, anywhere from 8 to 10 pounds, you carry that around and get used to that and as the baby grows you gradually get used to it, but my mom went from carrying nothing to carrying 17 pounds around everywhere!
She said her arms were so tired and so sore the first week of having my brother. She was like man! And it's really funny because she said she never really had biceps before she had my brother. I was a premature baby, and I was tiny when she got me (I was like 2.5 pounds when I was born, and my Mom got me four months later, and I don't know how much I weighed, but my Dad took a picture of me laid on the floor next to a regular size pen, and the pen looks HUGE like some weird Alice in Wonderland pen, so I think i was still really small when my parents got me. ) But anyway--my Mom still to this day, like 27 years later, has really defined biceps, and she doesn't lift weights or anything. She says those were the biceps my brother gave her from being such a huge baby.
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