I'm getting fat

I've been ducking my doctor. The last time I saw him, he told me I needed to lose 15-20 lb. at a minimum. I can tell from the pull of my clothes around my waist that I'm heavier now than I've ever been in my life. But when my blood pressure medication ran out of refills, I had no choice but to make an appointment.

The doc weighed me himself (his nurses didn't look like they were that busy). He told me (in a nice way, of course) that I'm too fat (he used the word, "overweight") and that from there it's only a hop, skip, and a jump to being obese (scary word).

So this little chubby is getting on the floor, touching knee to opposite elbow and lowering raised legs slow enough to feel the pull on my stomach muscles. I will also be eating more sensibly. Cereal and an English muffin for breakfast (at least most days,) salads for lunch (thank God for the salad bar at work), and a tiny piece of meat and plenty of vegetables for dinner. And I'll be taking the stairs . . . in the morning, at 5:00, at lunch, and a time or two up and down those three flights when I've been sitting on my butt for too long.

Gotta go exercise.

7 comments:

Gwyneth Bolton said...

That scale at the doctor's office. Hate it! Good luck with the excercise and eating right.

Gwyneth

DonnaD said...

My doctor has said the same thing. My complaint with him is always no matter what I come in for, it always has something to do with my weight - even if I'm coming in for a horrific sore throat.

If he's so concerned about my weight, I wish I could get him to help me figure out how to lose it.

Okay, it's not his fault. He's just annoying.

bettye griffin said...

Gwyneth,
I keep telling them I weight 120 lb., but they insist on weighing me anyway.

Donna,
I think spelled-out diets are reserved for those patients who have crossed the line from overweight to obese to what they call, "morbidly obese." The rest of us chubbos and chubbettes are supposed to do it with diet and exercise.

I'm enjoying a cup of vanilla custard frozen yogurt topped with multicolor sprinkles and nuts as I type this . . . . but at least I've been up and down the stairs three times already and it's only 12:30.

PatriciaW said...

Bettye, you can do this! I hate those doctor scales too (Isn't it strange that they ALWAYS weigh you in at a higher number than your scale at home, no matter what time of day you have your appointment?!) The doctor telling me that I was borderline diabetic is what got me going.

You've heard me talk about my weight struggles a bit on my blog. Find an eating plan that works for you. (A good way to test one or two is to check the book out of the library and commit fully to the diet for two weeks, meaning you shop according to its recommendations, eat only according to its plan, and see how you do (look/feel).

Then, as you're already doing, get moving! Stairs do wonders, as does any kind of aerobic activity for 30 minutes a day. At our age, exercises specifically to build muscle and jumpstart our older, sluggish metabolisms.

Be as kind to yourself as you are in your writing. It's okay to take a day off now and then, but not too many in a row. And every day is a new day.

bettye griffin said...

Patricia,
Not only do I have the weight thing to deal with, but the age thing as well. I had to step aside on the stairs twice yesterday to let others pass me because they could clearly move faster than me and I didn't want to hold them up. By the third stair trip, I realized how hard stair climbing (and even descending) is on these old knees of mine.

Thanks for your encouraging words. I guess I'll set a goal, like I do with my writing, one that's realistic and doable.

I'd like to be 10 lb. lighter by Christmas.

PatriciaW said...

You and your weight loss were on my mind this morning. That's usually time to say a special prayer for the person in my thoughts.

Ten lbs by Christmas is doable. Think of it as an average of 1.25 lbs per week. Not much, huh?!

bettye griffin said...

One and a quarter pounds per week. I can do that!!!

Thanks!