• Priscilla Nason Shartle

hearthealthyboomer

~ Living healthy after age seventy.

hearthealthyboomer

Category Archives: Taking the first step to a healthy life

One Pound after Another

18 Wednesday Apr 2012

Posted by prisnasonshartle in Taking the first step to a healthy life

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Tags

commitments, goal weight, obesity, over-weight, weight loss, Weight Watchers

Last month I joined Weight Watchers to get back to my goal weight.  It has been much harder than I expected.  Not the program, the commitment to stay the course.  There are more days than I like to admit that I just give up.

Because I’m not heavy or even over-weight, I appear in good shape, but I’m not.  I am at the high end of my BMI and therefore very close to being over-weight.  And my body feels it; in my joints, my clothes, in my attitude.

My weight loss has been like a roller coaster going up and down the past five weeks.  The slightest thing can trigger a change; a trip to see the grandchildren, a birthday lunch out at a restaurant, and even the everyday schedules I maintain with my commitments to Girl Scouts, writing deadlines, housework, and taking care of my grandchildren.

The first week of meetings I had a woman actually confront me and say, “You don’t look like you need to lose weight.”  It was disconcerting to say the least, but I explained to her that my attending the meetings was to reach my goal weight and be healthy.  She looked at me with a blank stare.

As the weeks progressed I noticed a pattern at the meetings.  Everyone sits in the same place or close to it.  Some are friends, mother/daughter, and husband/wife.  Many are life-time members and I would venture a guess that of the average twenty-five who attend the meetings on a regular basis, 90% are technically obese and of these members, 75% are my age (62) or older.

I am amazed at their grit and determination to improve their health by committing to the program.  I am proud to sit in that room and listen to their stories, their trials, and tribulations.  They are not unlike me when you take the weight factor out of the problem.  Yet, it is clear, that I’m not one of them.  They don’t see me as a partner in this journey – at least not completely.

I noticed yesterday that no one sits on my row of chairs until the last minute.  I don’t think they are avoiding me on purpose, but it happens week after week.  I thought about sitting in another chair next week to see what happens, but what purpose would that serve?  This is not sixth grade and a popularity contest.  This is my life.

The leader asked me to share a story I told her before the meeting and I noticed the ice crack a little when a few people turned and smiled at me when I shared my story.  I don’t need the other’s approval.  All I need is my own.  I know that what I’m doing is a step in the right direction and I’m going to keep on keeping on, as the saying goes – one pound after another.

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Better Step That Up

18 Thursday Aug 2011

Posted by prisnasonshartle in Taking the first step to a healthy life

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Today I got an email from a friend who was emailing to apologize for leaving early from a meeting we both attended.  Her husband who was with her wasn’t feeling well.  And then she added:

“My cholesterol was always up around 200 and I was keeping it down using Red Yeast Rice.  But once I hit 60 even that was no good.  It got up to 300.  So I am on medication for it.  I need to lose 15 lbs.  And when I turned 65 then all of the sudden my glucose wants to go over 100.  So I take the fish oils and eat lots of fish.  My mother died when she was 68 and my dad lived to be almost 92.  So I want to keep active and healthy.  I have not been faithful to taking aspirin though.  So I better step that up.”

My friend is always the first one to arrive at a meeting and the last to leave.  She continuously thinks of other people first and herself second.  She takes care of her grandchild when needed and is a beautiful poet.  I asked for permission to quote her. 

Why is that when her life is so full that her heart is heavy with concern for her health? Why does that extra fifteen pounds make such a difference?  Well she is right that a woman’s total cholesterol should be under 200 and hers got up to 300 then there was a reason to be concerned and a need to get on medication to control the cholesterol levels.  But can an extra fifteen pounds impact one’s life?

According to the Mayo Clinic, obesity is defined as “having an excessive amount of body fat.  Obesity is more than just a cosmetic concern, though.  It increases your risk of diseases and health problems such as heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure.”  My friend does not look overweight to me, but if she has measured her BMI and feels she needs to lose fifteen pounds then more power to her.

The formula to determine if one is obese is based on one’s height and weight and is called the body mass index or BMI.   A BMI below 18.5 is considered underweight; 18.5 – 24.9 is normal; 25.0 – 29.9 is considered overweight; 30.0 and higher is obese; and finally 40.0 and higher extreme obesity.  I only know that when I brought my weight into the normal range, my joints quit hurting, my stamina increased, and other little aches and pains just disappeared.  To calculate your BMI click here.

And what about “an aspirin a day, keeps a heart attack away;” is that true or not?  Yes and no.  In all the research I’ve done, don’t start taking the aspirin without your doctor’s advice because abusing the aspirin could do more damage than using it to prevent a heart attack or stroke.  The Bayer Aspirin website even recommends talking to your doctor first.  But it is also a wonderful resource for aspirin therapy.  I take the Low-Dosage 81 mg every day, and I did not discuss it first with a doctor.  I don’t use aspirin for pain relief nor do I use acetaminophen (Tylenol).  I do use ibuprofens (Advil) when I need a pain-killer but only sparingly.  I am confident the low-dosage is not hurting me, but I do tell my doctor about it when asked and no one has said stop taking it.

What would I say to my friend if she were here with me now?  I would tell her – to look at herself in the mirror and see what a beautiful person she is; stop worrying and stressing over the little things for she has already taken the first step by acknowledging a need to make some changes.  I’d say keep smiling, keep writing that beautiful poetry, and keep on being the person she is – a wonderful wife, mother, grandmother, writer, and friend.  Everything else will fall into place.

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