Surprise, Surprise! This is a post that isnt about sweet Lydon. He has been holding his own for the moment. Thank goodness because we've had plenty of other "stressors" to tend to over the last week or so. We are STILL working with doctors and insurance to get the new meds and treatments started. I will update when I have any new information but for now, here's whats been on my mind.
I’ve
been thinking the last several days about diet, wt. loss, etc. I’m
an average All American female with three kiddos. I’ve never been “obese” but I’ve always
struggled with my weight and been “thicker” than I should’ve been. It wasn’t until I was in my 30s and had my
middle child that I had more control of my weight and even still it’s been a
struggle. I, as many of you, have often
wondered why does it seem so difficult to eat right and exercise. This past week, my Dad who has for most of
his life been pretty fit and healthy was diagnosed with near complete heart
failure and ended up needing an emergency quadruple bypass surgery. So, this is the realization that I’ve come
to. For most of us, including myself, I think that our wt loss goals tend to stem from a pretty
simple and somewhat superficial viewpoint.
Most of us want to look good and feel good about ourselves, right? But
what if our goals grew from something deeper and more meaningful than
that? What if it was a life or death
matter? What if you were told that if
you didn’t lose 25, 50, or even 100 lbs. that your heart would fail and you
would imminently die? What if your ability to continue working and caring for
yourself or your young children depended upon that 25 lb weight loss? If that
was your reality don’t you think it would be easier for you to choose apples
with peanut butter and a glass of water for your afternoon snack over the large
fry and Dr. Pepper? The truth is that IS
reality for all of us. I’m nobody
special but I have been a nurse for over 15 years. I have a full understanding of the anatomy of
the heart and heart disease in general. This past week, all of that knowledge and
experience became something very real and very personal. My perspective has changed…. I’m not gonna
lie, I still want to look good in my clothes and feel good about myself but my goal is more about being “heart
healthy” and less about “losing weight”. It may not literally be a life or death issue at
this moment but for me, my long term health and quality of life has become the real “heart
of the matter" in my lifes journey of being the best happy and healthy Mom I can possibly be for my three beautiful babies!
