So yesterday I had to go to the dr’s for an annoying cough- contrary to my mother’s belief, I am not actually dying, it’s just a cold. Anyway, we started chatting about exercise because I mentioned it gets worse with physical activity and he said that he has to tell so many people to exercise that it is just a waste of time. He gets frustrated about how few people that go through his practice actually exercise, or are even willing to try.
He’s a great doctor, and what I love most is that he doesn’t seem to be too concerned about my weight. For my height, I am overweight, but he doesn’t say anything about it because he knows that I run 3-4 times a week. He said his main concern is that people exercise because that is what keeps everything in working order.
So as we were chatting, I asked him if he had ever watched the biggest loser. He said he had and then said what I thought was so wise: “I think of weight management as a lifelong chronic issue that constantly needs to be kept in check with exercise. People with high blood pressure would never expect to take a medication once and be cured, so why should anyone think that there is a quick cure-all for weight control?”
I think it’s so true and wise because I think we feel like we should be able to just diet, lose weight, and never worry about it again. I think that it’s important to come to terms with the fact that MOST people do in fact have to manage their weight in some way. There are very few people who are naturally thin, and even if they are, that doesn’t mean they are healthy. In my last post, I wrote about how I’ve fallen off the wagon and intend to do better. Seeing my doctor makes me realize that it is normal that this is all cyclical, and that we do better managing sometimes than we do at others. I will NEVER be able to eat whatever I want, not exercise, and not gain weight. But, I guess I’m not supposed to- that’s normal. And for feeling so abnormal for so long, normal is a very good thing.
