A Weighty Matter

What a week it has been. There's been a lot of stuff going on in the background, that I might post a little about now and then.

Back before Christmas I had a comprehensive physical, my first in many, many years. They did the kind of bloodwork they do for those of us who are no longer in the first flush of youth.

Isn't that an elegant way of not saying mid____ ag__?

Some of what the nice Doctor told me came as no surprise. When you tell a fat person they are overweight, it is not like you are telling them something they don't know. "Wait...you mean this huge butt and the rolls of fat around my waist mean I'm actually....fat? Good Lord, I'm shocked...I don't really know what to say!" They know. They may care, they may not care, but they know.

The NEW bad news I got was that my cholesterol is high (high enough that she mentioned medication), and my blood sugar is a bit above where they like to see it. Not diabetic high, not even officially pre-diabetic  high. Just...that wee bit high, that coupled with my weight and general level of fitness (low) means that if nothing is done about it, I could develop type-2 diabetes.

So I sat there feeling fat, frumpy, and out of sorts, but also sure that before I started cholesterol medication and developed diabetes, I wanted to try to see what losing some weight would do. Doctor Feelgood said that was fine and wrote me a Rx to see a Nutritionist. I saw her yesterday.

It was both disheartening and encouraging. She was pretty funny and had a good sense of humor. When we weighed me on her Super Fancy Scientific Scale, she determined that I am carrying around about 56 pounds of what she called "Suitcase Fat."

I am carrying around 56 lbs. of this!

One of the reasons I am sharing this is that I have committed to eating a little more sanely, and to getting a bit more exercise. I'm not ashamed of where I am, but want to do better. Sharing this with my friends and enlisting their support can only help me.

I've started the 100 day challenge, in which I promised myself I would do some exercise (walking, swimming, yoga, dancing, whatever) every day for the first 100 days of the year. That may help me establish some good exercise habits. This week I attended a yoga class, and this morning I got up early and went swimming before work. It's a pain in my butt getting up early and over to the pool, but once I was in the water I enjoyed it, and afterwards I basked in the glow of the accomplishment.

If you read this and you know me in real life, encouragement would be nice. No nagging, I am an adult and don't need anyone tsk-tsking if they see me eating too much. Friendly encouragement (and invitations to walk or exercise) is always welcome.

What I'd like to do is get to the point where I don't get winded walking up stairs, where my blood numbers don't send my Doctor running for the prescription pad for Lipitor and Insulin, and where I feel more energetic. I can do this. I ate my way up to this weight, now I have to eat and exercise my way into a better place.



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