Meet My New Friend

This is Ken.  We've been spending time together.  I'm crazy about him!  And he's so good for me!

Twelve and a half weeks ago I visited my nurse practitioner who said, "It's time."  Actually, it was way past time.  My weight was up.  So were my cholesterol and my blood sugar.  Even my famous low blood pressure had begun to creep up.  The only thing that was "down" was my bone density.  And that wasn't good.

The antidote to all of these things, of course, is the dreaded diet and exercise combo.

So I grit (gritted?) my teeth, bit the bullet (a fat-free bullet), and joined Weight Watchers.  I was fortunate that my first meeting was with a leader that I liked.  Her story is that she lost 70 pounds and it took her three years.  Probably not typical.  But certainly believable.  And admirable.  Beyond Irene, there's the group.  I tell you, there is a real feeling in this group.  The members really do care about each other and the support is superb.  There's no one trying to dominate. People give serious thought to each others' dilemmas and remember to check the next week.

I've attended twelve weekly meetings so far, and have lost 14.8 pounds.  Not a record-setting loss, but a loss I'm feeling good about.  It isn't just about the scale, either.  I've found it easier to go up stairs.  Today I'm wearing a pair of pants that hadn't fit in quite a while.  My nurse practitioner visit last week showed the blood pressure down a little and follow-up blood studies are scheduled for early July.

This is going to have to be a part of my life for ever, though I hope it doesn't take three years to meet my goal.  So I thought it was time I wrote a little bit about it.  I imagine that some of my readers know what I'm talking about.  This blog isn't going to morph from quilting and thinking to dieting in its main content, though I believe there will be posts on this topic from time to time.

I've not told very many people about this yet.  I guess I've been afraid of failure and humiliation over that failure.  But after last night's meeting, I had the strong feeling that it was time to go public.  Comments on the blog are welcome, as always.  But if you're someone I know IRL, please don't mention it.  I don't know why (and at this point don't care why), but it's not something I can talk about unless I bring it up. 

And now I've got to go.  'Cause I've got a date with Ken.

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