Healthy? Me? No way!! I weigh 240-some pounds (dropping though)! Take one look at me, I am not the vision of health. However, when a coworker had to come up with one word to describe me, his word was healthy.
The paranoid side of me immediately jumped to the negative. I’m healthy and robust… A healthy eater… Healthy sized… But in all honesty, I am pretty sure this coworker didn’t mean it that way. (This is obviously not the nasty coworker.) His comment really made me think about and evaluate where I am in this journey. Guess what, I am pretty healthy. My weight may not show it at the moment, but I’m pretty healthy.
So what makes me healthy? What made this coworker classify me as healthy? Even at an o see weight? I came up with a few thoughts.
- My water consumption. I always drink a fair amount at work. I drink multiple bottles of water. Most people sit with a soda on their desk. Of course some do sit with a bottle water at their desk but the water level never changes. OK, so that could be a reason why he called me healthy.
- My food. I don’t order out with everyone… I stick to fruits and vegetables. I don’t go down to the cafeteria every morning and get a muffin, waffle or other breakfast foods. If I need something… It’s usually a fruit or vegetable. OK… That’s a very healthy habit that would get me classified as a healthy person.
- I am not the only one that walks on their breaks and lunches. I am however probably one of the only few that do it consistently. I walk every day possible. I am also pretty sure that I am the only one on our team that keeps tennis shoes and socks in my drawer to make my lunchtime walk more pleasurable. Yeah, that’s pretty healthy.
- When asked what I do on any given weekend… I mention bike riding or hiking if that’s what I did. Most of my teammates mention shopping, movies, watching TV… OK I do those things also, but I usually get at least something active into my weekend.
- Throwing into the mix is the fact that I don’t call out sick all the time….I never have at this job. I don’t sneeze and cough and hack while at work… I don’t limp around or talk about my aches and pains. So at first glance it does appear that my body is in pretty decent shape also.
I am not discounting the fact that my weight is very unhealthy. But in the grand scheme of things…there are five healthy things versus one unhealthy trait, and not even a trait...more a a characteristic. I guess we can see which side the scales are tipped on. Definitely the healthy side wins out. Isn’t that crazy to think about?
I’ve called myself a fit fat person in the past. Even while overweight, I ran a lot of races. I even rode some bike events while overweight. I did Zumba classes…High intensity...multiple classes. I was overweight but I was pretty active. It’s the truth… You can be fit but still be fat. The fit though should eventually eradicate the fat.
So even though I am overweight… I guess I can call myself healthy. That is a totally new way of thinking for this 200+ pound girl.
And my quick update. I have ridden my bike EVERY DAY this week! My muscles (and butt) are getting used to the new bike and bike seat and I can feel a difference in my legs and how I feel...just from 5 days straight of riding.
My weight...
Last week: 242.4
This morning: 241.6
Loss this week: 0.8
Total loss: 78.4lbs
Loss since restart in June: 13 lbs
My weight was up for most of the week. I wasn’t happy...but I just kept following my plan. And it’s back down. The ‘range’ plan is working well for me. As long as I am within spitting distance from my low weight (3 pounds is what I’m aiming for) I am ok!
I am concerned about this weekend...we have a three day weekend..a bit of traveling...and a birthday celebration. So my eating may be out of whack!!! I should be active though!!!