Some comments on “The Obesity Epidemic”

Okay, so I started my diet again. I went to the doctors last week after a 7-day migraine headache (not fun) and didn’t like the weight on the scale. Keep in mind, I have managed to maintain my weight (after losing 45 pounds) for two years. Apparently, this is no easy feat. However, I never lost the final weight, having tired of dieting. I am active, exercise intensely 3-5 times a week, and eat healthy. But I cannot lose weight, even when limiting my junk food/dessert to only once per week. Which kind of sucks. So now I’m dieting. And I’ve noticed a few things.
1. I did an on-line BMI calculator. I am short. Even though I lost 45 pounds previously and if I had to stay this weight for the rest of my life I think I could live with it, I am still considered “morbidly obese.” So I entered my goal weight. I only managed to get down to “obese.” I took off 10 more pounds. Still “severely overweight.” Another 10 pounds. Now just “slightly overweight.” Another 10 pounds. Now I was “on target.” So I am 50 pounds overweight? I have never in my life been that weight. And I have been this height since 5th grade. Even then I weighed more than my ‘target’ weight. Sheesh. Apparently I’ve been an obese person pretty much my whole life. It’s amazing I’ve made it this far. I wonder what it would have said if I had put in my original weight. “Warning: you are an obese elephant who may keel over at any time. Seek immediate medical attention!”
2. Supermarkets suck. I went to the grocery store to buy supplies for this week’s diet. All the checkout lines are full of candy and chocolate. And now that I’m dieting, I’m hungry ALL the time. So I am tempted the entire half hour that I have to wait to put my groceries on the belt to pay. And it’s only 50 cents. And 150 calories. And 8 grams of fat. And I’m soooo hungry….
3. I have several common medical conditions. Most people don’t have quite as many of them as I have, but still. And almost all of them require medication. I have tried to handle my medical conditions ‘naturally’ and it doesn’t work. Of the eight medications that I take on a regular basis, seven of them have “weight gain” as a side effect. Guess what, my body takes that as a personal reason to keep me chubby. Seriously. I had one medication (that I am no longer on thank goodness) in which I gained 15 pounds in 1 month, while increasing my exercise to over 1 hour (of intense exercise) five times a week. It is the only time I’ve actually been able to convince a doctor that I needed to change medications. Of course, it took me years to get rid of the 15 pounds. How much other weight is from medication (a pound here, a pound there, two pounds for this one, three for another) I don’t know. But I stopped taking one medication last week due to side effects, and lost two pounds in one week. Before I even started dieting. Nothing else changed. What does that tell you?
Well, good luck to me.