So I know it’s probably not a popular thing to talk about in mixed company (is that phrase still a thing? It feels like it shouldn’t be…), but chafing does happen to us big people when we start exercising regularly.
If it hasn’t happened to you, consider yourself lucky.
For those that don’t know what chafing is, it is what happens when two pieces of skin rub up against each other again and again with no type of lubrication. It normally happens in the thigh and arm areas. It happens more often on larger people because those areas have more skin as they are bigger than “normal” and tend to be in closer proximity to the other body part because of that.
As I sit here with Neosporin marinating in my armpits I am reminded of the first time it happened to me, when I started training for my first half marathon. I was considerably smaller than I am now but still quite overweight. I was very happy with the way my training was progressing when after a few weeks I was struck my an odd soreness in my armpit area on both sides.
I checked it out in the mirror and there was some slight pinkness in the crease of my pits and I thought: “Huh…that’s weird. Did I shave wrong or something?”
The next day it was worse, and the day after that it was even more worse until it was unbearable and I had to look it up on the googlewebs. I was having major chafing in my underarms and it was NOT going to go away until I took care of it.
I remember buying some anti friction balm and taking a few days off of running and I don’t remember it being much of an issue after that. I feel like it was, but I don’t remember it.
Fast forward to last night after my work out: I’ve only been doing the Walk Away The Pounds videos, but I’ve been doing them every day and quite aggressively. I discovered that if I did the arm movements with every single move from start to finish, I burned a heck of a lot more calories…so I have been.
Last night after my shower and right before bed, I discovered that slightly irritated feeling again in my armpits. I checked it out in the mirror and found the slight pinkness that I remembered from last time.
Thinking I could nip this in the bud, I decided to forgo deodorant and instead pack my pits with Gold bond powder – the green kind. It stung like wildfire when I put it on and I just assumed that meant it was working and went to bed.
Heh. This morning I awoke to angry red welts under each arm and it did NOT feel good. I’m guessing that powder wasn’t the best move I could have made and I regret it now.
So after suffering all day at work today, I came home and reluctantly skipped my workout. I’m NOT happy about this as I have been really loving all the benefits of the workouts lately and I feel like I was finally getting in my workout groove, but I CANNOT ignore these angry weals in my armholes.
*graphic images of overweight armpits (that have some stubble) below*
🤣😂
I’m not pleased at all with not being able to work out tonight. Mostly because I have counted on those extra 300 calories a day to let me have a couple extra snacks a night, but also because I have loved the mood regulating qualities the exercise brings me. I’ve been off anti-depressants for over a year and it has been a REALLY BIG STRUGGLE getting off them. I won’t get into that here, but having daily workouts has made me feel normal again and I missed that tonight a lot.
Thankfully, I have not experienced any of the other nasty chafing us biggies can get from regular exercise (*knocks wood*). Have you guys experienced this? Please comment and share your stories, I would love to know how you handled it!
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