The Doctor Said . . .

I had my biannual checkup today. Fortunately the part I hate the most happened first: stepping on the scale. Then the nurse checked my blood pressure and it was pretty high for me, but everything else, like pulse, temperature, etc., were fine. So she left me to wait for my doctor.

Let me just say this: I love my doctor. He's such a nice guy. My husband and I both see him as do my parents, and of course the rest of his patients, whom I do not know. My appointments are more like visiting a friend than seeing my physician. I suppose that is due in part to the fact that I'm not a male and I have no prostate for him to check. Every time I go in, we spend as much time laughing as we do talking.

So today, one of the first things he said to me was, "What's up with your blood pressure?" Of course I said I didn't know, and he assured me he would check it again. When he pulled the cuff out I asked him if it was the regular cuff or the "fat" cuff, which he used as an open door. "So what are we going to do about the weight?"

We have had dozens of conversations about my desire to lose weight and my inability to do it thus far. He asked if I wanted to consider bariatric surgery, and I said no. I'm just not comfortable with that option for me. He said, "What about hypnotism?" And again I told him it just wasn't something I wanted to explore. "Weight Watchers?" I told him I'd had some success on the program, but really didn't want to put any additional demands on my finances at present. "Well, what then? What about walking 30 minutes a day?" When I asked if that is what he recommends, he said, "No. I'd prefer 60 minutes, but I'll take 30." This man was looking for a commitment from me. A promise I would make to him for my own benefit. So I said I would do my best to walk 30 minutes a day.

"Good! And I want to see you back in 4 months." I asked if that was due to the elevated blood pressure, which wasn't elevated when he rechecked it, or the reason he asked me to walk 30 minutes a day. He said, "Both." So he threw down a challenge and I reluctantly accepted it.

I wonder just what I could accomplish if I really worked at taking care of myself for 4 months. I'd love nothing more than to have a dramatic loss when I see him next, as much to please myself as to show him that I kept my word and made the effort. It's more than a little frightening to get my hopes up that I can really do this. That losing weight and changing my life might actually be possible. I'm going to have to let myself hope again, because without hope, it will be impossible. Needless to say, I will write about my progress and pitfalls (preferably more of the former than the latter).

And I can start with this: tonight I walked for 25 minutes with my husband, followed by enough chores requiring movement to account for today's 30. Incidentally, everything else in my check up was terrific.