Yesterday I went to the doctor. Karin and I are going to Southeast Asia for a month and I need anti-malarial meds. So, naturally, they weighed me at the doctor's office. I weighed 150 pounds. Sad? Yes. Shocking? Well, no; I have a scale at home.
When the physician's assistant went over my vitals and my chart, she said, "Well, your weight has not changed at all since you were here last year! It's exactly the same." (The last time I was there was last February, to get the stitches removed from my upper lip.) But she said it like it was a good thing. After all, I am 35; that age when one's metabolism slows down and women naturally lose muscle and gain fat if they are not careful. And 150 pounds, at my height (5 ft. 8 in.) is actually a perfectly healthy weight. So to someone who doesn't know me and sees me once a year, I am sure I seem healthy and consistent and should be downright proud to maintain the exact same weight year after year.
But the fact is that a few months ago I was in the best shape of my life! I was 139 pounds of mostly muscle; just a few short months ago! But they don't know that! They see me at 150 in February of 2013. And 150 in January of 2014. And they see someone who is pretty healthy and, clearly, very consistent! But in between those two weigh-ins, I DID AN IRONMAN!
But as far as my medical records and my pants are concerned, it's as if it never happened.
When the physician's assistant went over my vitals and my chart, she said, "Well, your weight has not changed at all since you were here last year! It's exactly the same." (The last time I was there was last February, to get the stitches removed from my upper lip.) But she said it like it was a good thing. After all, I am 35; that age when one's metabolism slows down and women naturally lose muscle and gain fat if they are not careful. And 150 pounds, at my height (5 ft. 8 in.) is actually a perfectly healthy weight. So to someone who doesn't know me and sees me once a year, I am sure I seem healthy and consistent and should be downright proud to maintain the exact same weight year after year.
But the fact is that a few months ago I was in the best shape of my life! I was 139 pounds of mostly muscle; just a few short months ago! But they don't know that! They see me at 150 in February of 2013. And 150 in January of 2014. And they see someone who is pretty healthy and, clearly, very consistent! But in between those two weigh-ins, I DID AN IRONMAN!
But as far as my medical records and my pants are concerned, it's as if it never happened.
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