Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Shamed into a 'lifestyle change'

It appears I may have some galbladder issues.

Saw a doctor last week as I'd been feeling some tenderness on the right-hand side of my rib cage. Additionally, I'm feeling organs (or something) moving around in there. It's odd. Don't ask me to articulate it further, because I can't.

When I mentioned the issue, the first question the doctor asked was about my fatty food intake. Tail between my legs, I replied with someting like, "That could very well be part of the issue". Then mumbled through my April + May + June = Stress! speech.

Fast-foward a few days, a signifigant amount of tax-payer dollars already used up on blood tests, and I'm just about to use more for an ultrasound. Hop onto the table and the technician asks me what the issue is. Mentioned galbladder. Her first (judgy) question, "Could this be due to a high intake of fatty food?"

My 'inner-voice' reply: YES, I'M A CLEARLY A FAT PIG WITH NO WILL POWER AND AM SLOWLY EATING MYSELF TO DEATH.

My actual reply: That could very well be part of the issue. *mumble mumble* Stress... *mumble mumble* April, May, June.... *mumble* *sigh*

I get it, I'm the master of my own fate. I've made my saturated-fat bed and now I have to lie in it.

I walked out of there feeling nothing but shame and embarassment. (And truly wasteful for spending tax-payer dollars for something that could've, maybe, been avoided.) It's bad enough that I feel guilt with every bite of food I eat, but now my health is affected by it (I know, I know... duh).

What's going to be more embarassing is when I tell the doctor that, right now, it would be easier for me if he just opened me up and took out the offending organ vs. trying to make a lifestyle change.

Could I be shamed into making a lifestyle change? No doubt I need it. Perhaps this is catalyst. I should have the results in a week or so.


* For those in the know, a 'lifestyle change' is how Weight Watcher's refers to their eating plan. Who are we kidding... restricting calories to lose weight is the truest definition of 'diet'.

1 comment:

  1. Hey Tracy! It's no secret that stress affects our health, whether it's getting less sleep, an aching back, or...gaining weight. You shouldn't feel shamed or embarrassed about that—it's simply a fact of life.

    If you want to become healthier, you have to attack the root cause: the stress, and how you handle it when it comes into your life.

    The real key to weight loss isn't just about what we eat or what exercise we do—it's also about why we do or don't do the things we know we should do to become better. It's easy for us to get caught in bad habits like eating because we're stressed out or having a bad day. It's easy to say that we can skip the run today because we're bored of running the same route for ten days. It's a way of filling our different human needs.

    I'd encourage you to take a look at this video of Beverly, who lost 230 lbs. without any surgery or weight loss "magic bullets" aside from diet and exercise: http://bit.ly/RVsSYU In it, our different human needs are explained along with ways to become healthier. It's not that long, and you might find it to be pretty interesting.

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