It's been a while.
Those who know me, including the approximately three of you that read "My Body, My Identity," know that I've got different concerns these days -- concerns that are related only tangentially to body weight, body identity, fitness and lifestyle.
I have cancer -- diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, diagnosed March 8. My focus now is on killing those malignant cells before they eat me alive, and with a chemotherapy regimen, administered at the UW's Carbone Cancer Center, the chances of that happening are very, very good. With two of my six chemo treatments completed (I get treated every three weeks), I have good days and bad days -- mostly good, but I'm sitting out a bad day today.
With cancer and chemo, my weight has become less of a priority. But concern has not entirely abated about maintaining the 135-pound weight loss I worked so hard to attain over the last two years. The diet that my oncologist recommended is pretty close to what I already eat, although I've been told to stay away from raw fruits and vegetables to lessen the likelihood of my immune-compromised body catching an infection I can't fight off -- so, no salads. And no swimming either -- or for that matter, baths. Standing water, even chlorinated, is a breeding ground for infection. But when I asked whether I can work out at the gym, the oncologist seemed surprised by the question. "If you feel like it," he said. Sometimes I do.
My weight, as of this morning, is up a little from the number that I'd set as a goal, but it's within the range I want to maintain -- despite all the crackers I'm eating to ward off nausea. I still keep an eye on calories, but at the same time, if I need comfort food or a treat, I'll have it.
All this is by way of addressing the above cartoon, which showed up on my Facebook feed, and which prompted me to revive "My Body, My Identity."
I have attained weight loss by lifestyle change, and not by "toxic pills and surgery." When people ask what I did (and they often do), I explain it this way: "I stopped eating food that wasn't fuel." But I also kept a watch on calorie intake, and rediscovered the physical and spiritual benefits of being active -- at first in the water, and later in the gym.
But there's a reason why people line up for "toxic pills and surgery," and that reason has to do with doctors' and insurance companies' obsession with the almighty BMI Index.
If your goal is to move your BMI from the red zone to the green zone, then "lifestyle change" may or may not accomplish that. Not everybody loses weight with diet and exercise. People may be physically and psychologically unable to maintain a reduced-calorie diet; a workout regimen aimed at weight reduction may not be right for their bodies, or it might result in trading "fat" weight for "muscle" weight, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.
And even if "lifestyle change" results in reduction, as it did for me, you don't get six-pack abs and thighs that could crack walnuts from diet and exercise alone -- despite what the infomercials and gym owners tell you. If you drop fat, the skin remains, unless it's surgically removed or re-sculpted.
"Lifestyle change" will almost certainly make a person healthier. But "health" isn't measured just by the numbers on a scale or a BMI index -- but those numbers are what the medical establishment, and the insurance companies that dictate how they work, look at.
BMI indices and actuarial tables don't respond to the reality that what's right -- in terms of body weight and activity level -- is what's right for YOU. And any number of factors can complicate the answer to the question of "What, exactly, is right for you?" Factors like age. And injuries. And heredity. And cancer.
BTW, I'm writing about my cancer journey on caringbridge.org. My blog there is titled "Lyn's Lymphoma Journey." Please visit.
And for "My Body, My Identity" readers: Welcome back.
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