Step 1: I don't feel so good

This has nothing to do with the content of this post, really, but it includes the 

word "stairs" and is pretty funny. Actually, it seems like something I would do.

 

It's Christmas tradition in the Hoosier household that someone must get sick. For years my mom took the bullet (you really don't want to know details about the drive one year down to Florida . . . no, really, you don't) but Christmas 2009 it was my turn. It started out as a cold but by the day after Christmas my sore throat was miserable enough to force me to go to the walk-in clinic down the road from my sister's house. It was there that I stepped on a scale for the first time in forever. Yuck.

Let's back up a bit and say that I've always been overweight. My joke is that they last time I was "normal" weight was when I was born. I would also sometimes joke that I was normal weight - for a person who's 6'5". (You didn't laugh? I always thought those were clever.) Anyway, that fact that I was overweight was not a shocker. But what was so eye-opening, when I acknowledged it that day in the doc's office, was how physically bad I felt being so heavy.

You see, while living in China my level of physical activity was pretty dadgum active. A regular day would see me walk around campus 2+ miles to and from classes, walk a mile down to the grocery store, lug heavy bags back home (sometimes I took the bus to the store, but I hated the bus with a fiery passion so if the weather was nice, I walked), then carry all those bags up the 7 flights of stairs to my apartment. My last year in China I started to do some exercise videos in addition to all this. I lost some weight, but the real difference was that I felt strong, and more fit than I'd ever been in my life. I wasn't running marathons but my body was capable of doing what I asked it to do.

I returned home from China in August 2008, and by December 2009 my daily activity level was no more than the typical American's. Lord help me, I'd even started lapping parking lots to find a closer spot! Besides the weight gain of loss of exercise, there was also the weight gain of coming home to rich food, the constant availability of snacks, and humongous portions that seem to be the US's trademark.

So when I got on that scale in the walk-in clinic on December 26, 2009, I was shocked. Yeah, my clothes were tight, and sure, I huffed and puffed a lot. Come to think of it, my left knee - which has given me trouble for years, for some reason - was really achy all the time. Oh, yeah, it had been forever since I'd even taken a walk around the block. Yep, I was really tired all the time, and I was depending on regular infusions of caffeine and/or sugar to keep my energy up. Sure, all this was true, but . . . what was I supposed to do about it?

The answer, initially, was NOTHING. Remember, I don't make New Year's resolutions. :) And my mom had magic cookie bars to finish up. Priorities, people!

But by mid-January, I knew I had to do something. The next post will cover Step 2 - which might not be what you think it is. Stay tuned!