portly
August 14, 2008 9:27 pm UncategorizedI have a love/hate relationship with my weight. It’s been this way ever since an ex-boyfriend informed me I was “letting myself go” five years and probably 30 pounds ago. Every now and then I get a bee in my bonnet about my jiggly bits and stomp around for a while vowing never to eat chocolate again, but everyone can rest assured that it’s a lot of sound and fury signifying absolutely nothing because I always come crawling back to Ben & Jerry.
The latest episode was quite recent, after I was informed by my insurance agent that my life insurance premiums would be $6 higher than anticipated because there was something in my bloodwork that State Farm didn’t like. According to my agent, this is no big deal — practically no one gets the lowest rate — but it spawned a mini-panic. I haven’t gotten the lab results back yet, so I’m left to wonder what exactly is not-so-great about my health … and naturally I came to the conclusion that I must be too big to be healthy. It didn’t help that I looked up my Body Mass Index and it told me I’m a few cheesecakes away from obesity (what?), so I retreated into my cave of bodily loathing and started poking at my rolls in the mirror.
That night at O’Charley’s, I ordered the salmon and steamed broccoli. I was not happy about this, but I felt as though I needed to start caring about my size and shape. I eyed the other patrons, gauging the size of my backside versus theirs and what was on my plate versus what was on theirs. The flab funk lasted until lunch the next day, when I sat down with a friend over beer and nachos (much better) and discussed the fact that overweight people can be healthy just as skinny people can be unhealthy. It’s all about balance, about ignoring the “ideal weight,” and — for me, anyway — about indulging within reason, because a salmon-eating DailyNewsie is not a happy DailyNewsie.
So I weigh more than I should. I’ve been lucky in that I’ve at least gained weight proportionally. I know in the back of my mind that I don’t look bad, and I’m careful about portion sizes and sodium content in what I eat, but every now and then I convince myself I need to diet and exercise. I’m not one of those people who is motivated by weight loss, though — I like food and the couch too much, and laziness always wins over loss of poundage. I have the utmost respect for those who can do it, but at the same time I realize that I can’t be too mad at my rolls if I’m the one who is unwilling to do anything about it.
I think I need a hobby, one that’s good for me but doesn’t feel like exercise. What do y’all do to stay active?
courtney :
Date: August 15, 2008 @ 1:24 pm
I recommend Pilates. You can buy DVDs to do at home. Basically you engage certain muscles and put them through a range of motion (as opposed to engaging them in spurts over and over) and you see FAST results. Stretching also makes you feel really good. Give it a shot!
mickey :
Date: August 15, 2008 @ 1:34 pm
I happen to know that you live in a hotbed of disc golf. I actually miss that about that place. I pretty much played frisbee golf there instead of working. Some of those courses are beautiful, too.
And not to sound discouraging, but the last time I was at O’Charley’s I got some sort of grilled fish and it was covered in butter or some sort of heavy sauce. It sounded healthy but it sure didn’t feel like it. I think the air in that place is caloric, too.
Geralyn :
Date: August 15, 2008 @ 11:58 pm
Wii Fit…
OMG, I love it.
And a nice walk in the AM…did you get my TXT msg?
Stacie :
Date: August 18, 2008 @ 9:14 am
We have been trying to walk for about 45 minutes nightly. It’s good for the dog and for us. Although I was trying to jog, I have come to the conclusion that I can’t jog long enough to make the health/pain of knees and hips equation worth it. Sigh.
Once school starts up I’ll have health center access again and I’d really like to swim.
That’s GOOD for my knees.