So after four hours at the hospital today, we are hopeful that the stones on the left side are broken and we are waiting for them to pass. The new hospital is really nice though! I was very impressed.
What bothered me a lot today though was the number of morbidly obese women who came through there. It just kind of breaks my heart. I've been one of them (tho not to the extent of most I saw today thankfully) and I just wish I had a way to help them. One woman, relatively young, maybe early twenties, sat next to my mother. Her skinny husband/boyfriend came in a bit later and sat across from her. While I was back with The Brit, the hubby-boyfriend was eating peanut butter cups and offered the wife-girlfriend a pack which she declined. I found it frustrating. Here is this young woman with food issues and skinny hubby is offering her crap. I once had a friend (have not seen her in several years for numerous reasons) and her husband wanted her big...and she was. Now she has everything from rheumatoid arthritis at 43 years old to fibromyalgia and diabetes. And her husband supports her size (which is fine in a way) and even encourages her to be larger. Like the fight to be healthy isn't hard enough? I know you can have any of those diseases without being of a larger stature but I do think that weight complicates things. I know weight is a battle and I am not judging by any means. I just feel for these people...I have been these people and according to the medical books, I am probably still these people. But I do know how much better I feel for exercise. I cannot advocate for exercise enough. Do I love going to the gym, working up a sweat, killing one or two hours of my day and then going home and having my knees, which I have abused for years, hurt like the dickens the rest of today? No, not so much. Do I love the way I feel on a daily basis because of exercise? You betcha. I love not feeling exhausted all day long or having to fight to get myself out of bed in the morning. I love having energy that lasts all day. I just wish I was in a position to help people make those first, painful steps. I say painful because at 315 pounds, it was painful. Working out was not comfortable in anyway (honestly, it still isn't nor should it be but it is different) but it is about doing what you can do in the moment. When I started moving after my surgery, it was halfway down a block and back. And when that got easy, it was another half block and I built on that until I felt competent enough to go to the gym. It is a process. I promise you that if you try to jump into exercise with both feet and go at it full force the first time, you are going to fail. You are going to hurt something or decide it is just too hard. You start where you are and build on that. One step at a time. Find one exercise you like. You like to dance, find a Zumba class. You like to walk then start doing it. Most group exercise classes, if the instructors are GOOD will show you different levels of the moves, from beginner to advanced...do not settle for an instructor who does not do that because it will leave you feeling incompetent and stupid. Do your homework, find what works for you. Do not be afraid to meet with an instructor ahead of time to discuss any concerns you may have. They draw a paycheck and you are part of their job. Take control of your situation and start where you are. We make time for everything and everyone else in our lives but ourselves when it come to taking care. Sure we make time to watch television or read a book but what about doing something for our physical health?
Isn't it time you made time?
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