Good-bye Diets, Hello Food

So I went for a checkup with my doctor today. He likes to “review your case” after you start any new medicine. I have no problem with that. It actually seems pretty smart to me. What I had a problem with was the fact that I knew he was going to discuss THE issue with me. You know the one you dread at every office visit….. weight.

I’m lucky because I have a really great doctor. He is not condescending or rude about it. He is just honestly concerned about his patients’ health. For me, this makes it even worse. If he was all rude about it then I could just ignore it and write it off as him being an asshole, but since he is nice and concerned it makes it harder for me to ignore.

And…. I was right. After he addressed all the other issues he asked me what I wanted to do about my weight. I explained that I can’t do the appetite suppressants anymore. They make my blood pressure go up, my heart race and make it impossible for me to sleep. I also explained that I know HOW to lose weight. I’ve been “losing” weight for the last 20 years. My problem is that I don’t know how to make myself do what I need to do to lose the weight.

We talked about this awhile and he “diagnosed” me with a mental block (his words). Then he told me something that I was shocked to hear from a doctor. He told me that he doesn’t want me to worry about food anymore. He said, “stop dieting and eat what you want.” Huh???? Seriously? Yes. He was very serious.

He explained that current studies show if you are a five count over normal for your BMI that your life span is reduced by three years, and if you are a 10 count over that it is reduced by 10 years. BUT he said that studies also show if you are “fit” that you have an expanded life span even if you are overweight.

Because of this he wants me to concentrate on exercise, which is backwards of what I normally do. Usually when I start on my “weight loss plan”, I start trying to change my eating habits and then I start exercising. Well obviously this has not worked for me. So now he wants me to do it the other way. His belief is that being physically fit is more important at this point than eating healthy or “dieting”.

This was such a relief for me. I immediately felt a weight lift off of my shoulders. It was like one of the major things that has consumed me for the last 20 years was gone. Don’t worry about it. Just do this other thing.

He feels that if I start exercising the healthy eating habits will naturally follow as I start to feel better. I’m hoping that he is right. But either way, I feel more positive than I have in a long, long time.