It’s been three weeks since I last updated my progress, and sadly that’s time that’s mostly stood still. I decided to drop the weigh-ins to monthly, so today has come as a little bit of a shock – although I’ve lost 5½ combined centimetres (bust, waist, hips and arms but nothing from my thighs), which I know is a better indicator, my weight has gone up by 600g. On its own 600g isn’t that significant, except that in a month I’d hope to lose at least 2k.
I modified my Lite’n’Easy program a little, dropping down to 5 days from 7, and occasionally picking the 1500-calorie menu, to allow for meals out. I have, for the most part, followed an 1800-calorie/day diet, which I’m tracking on Calorie King. I’m finding that useful in a couple of ways – I actually know how much I’m eating, and it ensures I don’t have little lapses in memory. I’ve also found that I generally make better choices when I go out, because I have to guess what the composition of everything is if it isn’t in the (extensive) CK database.
I certainly haven’t been a model of restraint, though – earlier this week I decided to have one chocolate royal and before I knew it I’d eaten a whole packet. I don’t even like chocolate royals that much. With no small amount of trepidation I entered the biscuits into CK and discovered I’d eaten 852 calories, including 32.2 grams of fat. So I modified my intake for the rest of the day and still came in just under 1800.
That 1800 count (or, to be precise, 1820, which is Calorie King’s estimate) is based on regular physical activity. Since November I’ve fallen right out of the habit of regular exercise, and so far this year, with sporadic exceptions, I’ve done nothing much more energetic that a brisk ten minute walk. I don’t even know why – it’s been hot, but only the past few days. It’s certainly a lot easier to drop out of the exercise habit than it is to restart it. I’m not sure if it’s the decrease in exercise or because I also stopped taking iron supplements, but I’m also feeling a little breathless on relatively minimal exertion.
So I’ve made a long overdue medical appointment for a general check up. I haven’t had one in five years, and I’ve just discovered it’s been far longer than I thought since my last gynae exam. This is for a couple of reasons – apart from the occasional cold, and migraines a couple of times a year, my health is pretty good and I’ve only gone to a nearby clinic for acute issues and medical certificates. More significantly, my wonderful former GP (Frank Demaio) moved to way the other site of the city, and the idea of finding a new, non-judgmental doctor is confronting.
Unlike many fat women, I haven’t even had an really horrible medical experiences, though my pre-Frank GP was a horrible woman who insisted on weighing me on every visit, regardless of what I saw her for – migraines, for example, are not a weight-related condition. Even though I’m better informed than the average consumer, I don’t want to hear that my health issues, few though they are, would be better if I’d just lose weight, like that’s such an easy thing and like I’d never thought of that before. There’s also the potential to attribute everything to weight, and while I agree that there are certainly causal connections between being fat and some conditions, some doctors have a tendency to attribute to weight any and all ailments a fat person experiences.
I realise, writing this, that I’m already filling with anticipatory anger, and that’s not helpful. So I’ve made an appointment first thing Monday morning – I want a Pap smear, breast exam and a general check up, including blood work, so I’ll fast before I go and have it done at the same time.
My last fasting glucose was 4.3mmol/L, total cholesterol 4.9, HDL 1.79, LDL 2.8, ratio 1.6, and cholesterol/HDLC 2.7. In other words, everything was fine, but that was a long time ago and things change. My normal blood pressure is a respectable 110/70, my resting pulse is 74, and because I’m somewhat hypochondriacal, I check my urine and blood glucose once a month, with no issues so far.
I also re-assessed my Real Age, being honest about my exercise instead of putting in my aspirational exercise, and my body is a year and a month older than my chronological age – 42.7 vs 41.6. The test has been revised in light of new long-term research findings and is apparently more accurate. Real Age have an eight week program designed to drop up to ten years from my age, and it looks achievable, though some of the diet elements are going to be difficult because I’m not planning on dropping Lite’n’Easy any time soon.
Each week has a couple of general directions and a few extras for over achievers – week one is to walk for thirty minutes every day, eat nine handfuls of fruit and vegetables each day, and sign up for tips from the website - I'm already doing the last two, so it's just the walking for now. The additional recommendations are to drink water and tea, use walking to reduce cravings, and to check your vital statistics (particularly waist circumference). I’ve started today, beginning with a walk to the further away supermarket (fifteen minutes each way and that’s my walking done). I’m back on days from this week, and I think that will also help on the exercise front. - Alex
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