What we chose to hear - Part 3

~ Sorry I have taken so long to get to this, but here it is ~

So where were we? We discussed Husbands visit with the doctor, and how we each heard different things. Next up, I promised, would be a recount of my conversation with the doc. So I will do my best to give a neutral account and keep my thoughts to myself - which seems only fair, since that's how I presented Husband's story.

But - here are my concerns:
- I gained weight in my late 20's/early 30's...One of those situations where it just sneaked up on me. I don't know how you can not notice, but obviously I didn't. I started trying to lose, I exercised off & on for quite a long time, but since around Nov 2002, I've been pretty regular. I have gradually worked at my diet, trying to reduce calories and eat nutritious food. It seemed the most I ever managed to do was keep from gaining more. Up until the past couple of years, where it seems like I keep gaining. A little at a time, but there it is. Lately it seems I am putting weight on in my abdominal area, where before I've always carried it pretty evenly. I'm frustrated. I keep growing out of my clothes. I don't know whether to blame myself - that I'm still doing it all wrong, or if it's just that I'm getting older, or if it's something else. So, on to what the doctor had to say...

First off, the results of my blood work. Overall, everything was fine, but my cholesterol is a little high. Nothing to be overly concerned about, just that it is a little high for my age and I should be aware. "You should maybe try to be a bit more active," he said.

I confess, I kind of laughed. I couldn't help myself.

I then responded that I do work out (granted, these past 3 months have not been exemplary, but normally I am a pretty regular exerciser), but high cholesterol does run in my family. And he agreed that it can be a hereditary thing.

Then he asked: Did I have any health concerns?

So I launched into my weight-loss woes: I have been trying to lose weight. I work out regularly and I try to eat healthy and watch my calories, though I admit to not being perfect. But I can't seem to lose, and it actually seems like I am gaining weight. I did not really going into as much detail as I did above - and maybe I should have, but I had been arguing with myself over whether to bring it up at all so at least I managed to say that much.

I was sure I sounded like a bit of a nut, but he listened. Then he did the same thing the last doc had done - consulted the file to see what weight the receptionist had written down; pulled out a height/weight chart to see what I should weigh.

Summarizing what he said:
- my perfect weight is 130 lbs
- yes, I am overweight but not by that much
- because I am not that far off from where I should be, losing weight is going to be difficult.
- keep doing what I am doing in terms of trying to lose weight (eat healthy, exercise) but don't panic if I can't lose
- the charts are a guideline, but they don't fit everyone. Some people you might look at and say yes, they are overweight and need to lose some fat. Other people have more muscle, heavier bone structure, etc, so they might weigh more but still be healthy.
- he also went into some explanations of weight loss in term of water loss/fat loss/muscle loss, which is stuff I knew, but I appreciated.

Which was an interesting contrast to what the other doctor said:
- you are overweight according to the chart.
- you should weigh 122-125 lbs.
- lose the weight.
- exercise and don't eat junk food (after I had just finished explaining that I work out regularly and try to eat healthy).

So that was pretty much it. Audience participation time again people. What's the message? What should I be hearing?