Ruminations on Morbid Obesity and Me
I’m five feet tall, my BMI is close to 40, and I weigh 215 pounds. That’s about 100 pounds more than I ought to weigh, putting me in the “morbidly obese” category. Am I working on that little problem? Of course! On August 1, my BMI was over 40, and I weighed 225! I’m back on my low-carb diet and hope to lose a lot of this weight by Christmastide. I’m exercising at least twice a week, and I’m about to bump it up to a daily routine. (My life is highly scheduled, and adding one thing means subtracting other things, so it’s a serious exercise in logistics to make major life changes!)
But! I can fit through the substandard 30″ doorways of my home with no trouble — without even turning sideways! Once I locked myself out of the house and had to climb through a window in the back — the opening was 27 inches. I fit comfortably in theatre seats. Airplane seats were too small even when I weighed a mere 100 pounds, so I don’t count those — I think the airlines are just insane. And I walk a lot. Park at the back of my company’s parking lot, park at the far end of the church parking lot, don’t park near the door at stores unless I have the kids along, and so on.
Most people who look at me don’t realize just how dangerously overweight I am. My boss, who sees me every day, told me I should get a second opinion about my doctor’s recommendation to lose 100 pounds. He looked quite disbelieving when I told him that I didn’t need a second opinion, since my home scale, my chiropractor’s scale, and my doctor’s scale all give me the same reading when I weigh in. They all say 215. A month ago, they all read 225.
My boss is a fitness freak who jogs every day and never eats sweets. I think he’s great, but it’s clear that he doesn’t see me. And neither do lots of other folks, apparently. I get so many comments on how I “don’t look that heavy.” Even my doctors. I’ve had several doctors react with astonishment, and even insist on re-weighing me themselves, when they saw the weight that their nurse had written on my chart.
My biggest problem is clothes. It’s hell and a half to try to find fashionable, attractive clothes in size 20 women’s petite that don’t cost half a year’s pay. And yes, I do wear petite sizes. It’s a matter of proportion.