Falling into Fat

I feel like that is what I have done in the past five years. If I look at the brutal truth, and do the brutal math, in under five years I gained 128 pounds. (That's a whole person.) Of course I knew it was happening. All the zippers and buttons in my closet were telling me it was happening. But, the question that has no answer is, "why did I let it happen?" Why didn't I go see a doctor? Why didn't I do anything?

Well, five weeks ago, I did go to a doctor. She made a comment about "do you realize in the past two years you've gained 43 pounds?" My quick retort was, "well, actually, do you realize in the past 4 1/2 years I've gained 128 pounds?" She blinked hard. (I think it's a safe bet she isn't very good at playing poker.)

I left her office with an order for blood work (in addition to my 50th birthday present -- yep, you guessed it. The procedure affectionately known as the Roto-Rooter exam at our house. But hey, at least I don't feel guilty when I pass those huge COLONOSCOPY billboards anymore). I'm embarrassed to say I delayed another week before going to the lab to get the bloodwork done. But I finally did -- shout out to Orem Community Hospital's lab techs!!! Two days later, my doctor called in a prescription for thyroid medication. Whaddaya know!! My thyroid had gone AWOL. (Of course, I don't lay all the blame on a renegade thyroid. The heavier I got, the less comfortable I was moving around, so exercise and activity went out the window. My eating habits also turned more towards comfort food than energy food.)

Thanks to the My Health link at Intermountain.net, I've checked the results of my lab work and started educating myself on what all the numbers mean. I also, off the cuff, mentioned to my mom that I was now taking thyroid meds. She said, 'oh, yeah, your dad's thyroid shut down on him in his forties and he took thyroid meds the rest of his life. Don't you remember when he got so heavy when you were in high school?' Come to think of it... yes, I remember. The next thing she said was, 'call your sister. Find out which thyroid medicine she's taking. She's been on it for a few years now.' Conclusion? The gene pool I swim in has thyroid issues in the water.

My dad took up jogging once his thyroid fizzled out. To get the weight back off, he would drop us off at early-morning seminary and run laps at the high school track. My sister also took up running. I've taken a different tactic. In addition to popping my daily thyroid pill, I'm doing the 100-day Heart Challenge... and fully expect my new trainer to kick my obese derriere all over the Wellness Center two days a week for the next 14 weeks. It isn't going to be pretty. Can't say I'm looking forward to it. But I can say I'm committed to it.