The Wednesday Wellness threads are meant to encourage users to ask for and provide advice and motivation to improve their lives. It isn't intended as a 'containment thread' and any content which could go here could instead be posted in its own thread. You could post:
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Update on my fat wife.
Thank you for the responses and thoughtful discussion, and special thanks to our ladies who participated. I am mulling over what dietary changes I might pursue; it’s just I know nothing of nutrition.
I did 7 pull-ups yesterday. When I started I was able to do 3 with enormous effort, and the most I had ever done before that (in high school) was 4. So I’m excited about that.
My wife commented on my body for the first time last Friday, and again last night, each time concerning my chest right after doing some exercises, when I had what I think the initiated call a “pump.” What interests me though is these new muscles that are cropping up from the side of my ribcage a few inches below my armpit. I knew there were muscles there but only in a theoretical sense. As far as I’m concerned they just sprouted up from the bones.
As for her, she joined me on one of my runs on Monday, and it was her idea! She expressed interest in running more with me, but not on my schedule. She also got a little interested in my pull-up tower, and I told her about negative pull-ups. I caught her doing some (and crunches) one night, but she hasn’t systematized anything.
Female here, with one point that's missing from the previous thread: you don't mention how old your wife is, but if she's anywhere in the mid 30s- mid 40s range, then normal perimenopausal hormone shifts will absolutely cause a natural change in body composition and fat distribution, particularly increasing visceral fat in a way that gives that "pregnant" look, without any changes in diet or exercise. Stress and sleeplessness make this fat-deposition pattern worse (so if you see things that could reduce her stress levels, that might be a good approach), but I'm not aware of anything that can fully reverse it. Just go to the mall and glance around and see how many 50-year-old women you can find who still have a 25-year-old's waist shape, regardless of overall fitness or weight: it's a vanishingly small proportion.
Thank you for your reply!
I wasn’t aware of this, and you make a good point that I should keep in mind. I was instead prepared to blame it all on American culture and obesity patterns.
But no, she’s in her late 20s and has only suffered the post-teen slowdown so far—and also as a teen her belly wasn’t flat, which I found cute at the time because the fat was staying near her belly button, and not creeping below.
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