A Weighty Matter

In January at my routine 6 month doctor's appointment all my numbers were great!  My blood pressure and cholesterol were down, my “good” cholesterol was up, my triglycerides were enviably low and…I had gained 7 pounds.

I long ago resigned myself to the fact that I was going to weigh more than those ridiculous height and weight charts suggest that I should. Honestly, if I was down to skin and bones, the weight of my bones alone would still put me well into the overweight range. I also came to the conclusion that my weight had little to do with my overall health. 

It never came easily, but in the past I could and did lose weight when I made an effort to do so. Once when I had lost weight between 6 month visits, my family doctor at the time said, “I see you lost some weight, which means either you are making an effort, or you're terminally ill.”  I’d like to say he was joking but he wasn't given to fits of whimsy.

Everything became more complicated in 2013 after I was diagnosed with IBS and acid reflux.  I am not sure why but people don't like to talk about IBS, which stands for Irritable Bowel Syndrome and causes symptoms like bloating, constipation and/or diarrhea, triggered by certain foods and stress.  It took six months of every imaginable medical test to get a diagnosis while enduring a living hell of bloating that made my abdomen feel like a balloon about to burst just about any time I ate.  It took another year of experimenting to figure out my “trigger” foods (which are different for everyone) that brought on symptoms.

My (identified) trigger foods for IBS are salads, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, brussel sprouts, artificial sweeteners, carbonated beverages, dairy products, processed foods (especially meat), very rich food, very fatty food, and eating a large quantity of food in one sitting. 

To keep my acid reflux under control I need to avoid tomatoes, citrus fruit and things like peppermint. I should restrict salty foods for my high blood pressure, and carbohydrates in general (sugar, bread, pasta and fruit) to keep my borderline sugar numbers, well, borderline.

What's left you ask?  Good question. Basically I can eat all the boneless chicken breast and grilled shrimp that I want.

While this was all happening I was concerned with eating what I could without feeling violently ill. Weight was the last thing on my mind, although it is remarkable that I could gain weight on a steady diet of probiotics, shrimp and chicken. When things were under control I went to a nutritionist, followed her instructions exactly and continued to gain weight. She gave up on me after six visits.

Even though my health was generally very good and my IBS was somewhat managed, the fact that I continued to gain weight despite a generally healthy diet gave me pause.  I also have two arthritic knees and the extra weight did not help that condition.  I couldn't just keep gaining weight indefinitely.

So I re-joined the fitness club I used to frequent and started going there most mornings before work.  I do a combination of upper and lower body strength training exercises and walk a 15 to 19 minute mile up to four times a week. I continued to eat the way the nutritionist had taught me. For good measure, I stopped eating all the goodies that people bring into work.

I still did not lose weight until one Monday six weeks after I began back to the gym, when I got on the scale and saw a ONE pound weight loss!  I set out to the gym with renewed enthusiasm and resolve and what do I find when I get there?  A big huge sheet cake already cut and plated sitting in the lobby to celebrate the club's 26th anniversary.  Saboteurs, I thought!  I did not eat the cake.

However I thought this was funny so I shared the incident on Facebook.  Ah, the response I received from my sweet Friends! Words of encouragement and words of praise and wonderful  suppositions that I was just replacing fat with muscle came pouring in. 

But they need not have fretted.  A few days later I was babysitting my infant grandson whose arrival has brightened the world of our entire family beyond all measure. I was holding him while sitting on a low couch and when I stood up I could do so without using my hands to brace myself – my arms remained tightly around him.

That's why I'm going to the gym my Friends.  To have arms and legs and a heart strong enough to hold that precious little guy close and tight.  That's what matters.

That said, I was still pretty happy when I went back to the doctor's yesterday and found that I had lost those 7 pounds I gained the last time I was there!