So last night I did my two-month weigh-in and measure at the gym. I've lost ten inches from various parts of my body; two inches off my boobs, waist, butt, etc. Yay. Very nice. And my body-fat percentage has dropped. But get this. I HAVE GAINED A POUND. The woman who owns and runs the place was doing my weigh-in and agreed that yes, that was strange. (I'm on a 1500 calorie a day diet.) She was very nice and printed out a list of all the times I've been to the gym, and my weight and measurement at my weigh-ins.
Because I had a doctor's appointment this morning.
They sent me to a PA (physician's assistant) instead of a doctor, because they thought I was just there for a perscription refill. Which is why I'm usually there, and the guy was competent and concerned, so it works for me. (I'll ask for him when I go back for more refills- he's got a clue.) Once I explained my weight-gain concerns with him, he ALSO agreed it was weird, and sent me off to the lab for blood tests (mostly thyroid) and told me to schedule a gallbladder ultra-sound. As is normal in these situations, we start by ruling out the simple stuff (or finding out it's the problem) before moving on to the more complicated or weird stuff. He offered to grab a doctor for me to talk to, but really at this stage it's standard procedure and I liked him, so I told him not to bother. (However, depending on how things go, I will be demanding an edocrinologist. If I need one.) He also offered to send me a nutritionist, but after talking to me about my eating habits, he agreed there probably wasn't much a nutritionist could do for me. (All those classes in agriculture and botany actually cover nutrition, too - just from a different angle.)
Then, he very politely said "Uh... how often are you taking these Lortabs?" because I have doubled the amount I take - I used to go four months between refills and now it's two. It wasn't a "Do you need detox?" tone, he just wanted to know what was going on medically, and also because any responsible medical person SHOULD know why someone's taking narcotics, and how often. When I explained about the gym, he immediately understood and that was the end of it. No justifications, no arguments about how I'm in pain. Just "I've been taking them a lot more because I'm working out." and he replied, "Oh, of course."
I'm mildly weirded out by going to someone a generation younger than I am for medical care. He's competent, he's nice, he's caring, he's got his act together, and he looks like he's not old enough to vote. Much like my OB/GYN whom I reallly like. But it weirds me out.
I think, against the odds, I've landed another decent medical person to deal with. This is now four in a row, that the military has assigned me, who turned out to be competent, caring people. I shudder to think what the future will bring. My next assigned medical care provider will turn out to be Dolores Umbridge incarnate. (That's a Harry Potter refrence for you non-fans. REALLY nasty woman.)
It still took me forty minutes to get the damn narcotics out of the pharmacy. Those assholes.
But here's a picture of the husbeast and The Baby to brighten your day. (At least, it brightens mine.)
10 comments:
I'm a lurker here but had to jump in. Muscle (from working out) is smaller and heavier than fat (sorry for that word) . . . so you can lose inches and not weight. But it's all good.
I was going to suggest, too, that you've probably gained some muscle from all that working out. I seem to remember that muscle weighs three(!) times more than fat...but maybe I'm crazy. I would have thought that they would know that at the gym though.
I'm surprised, too, that the trainer nor PA mentioned that muscle is denser than fat. Since your body fat % has changed, it makes sense you've got lots more muscle.
I too, am a lurker who was going to point out that muscle is denser than fat. Generally, it's hard to gain muscle tone and lose weight at the same time, so some personal trainers recommend 6 month cycles - 6 months of low-calorie diet and aerobic exercise with low amounts of weight training, followed by 6 months of higher-calorie diet and lots of heavy weight training. Of course, this is something that a professional trainer should reccommend, not some kook off the internet.
Ok now we all sound like broken records.. but I have to agree with everyone else. It is VERY common to gain weight when you start exercising, especially if your exercise routine include weights.
Some gyms now advocate not weighing yourself at all only to use inches as a guide, because it makes people discouraged.
Lurker #3 chiming in with the "muscle weighs more than fat" refrain...also wanted to admire the lace edging on the pinwheel..and the pic of the Husbeast and Child...
Isn't it obvious? Like everyone else said - muscle weighs more than fat. That's why they say not to take your weight too seriously - just your measurements and how your clothes fit.
that is SUCH a great photo. She's so obviously a fan of her daddy.
The weight will start burning off soon, honest!! And I once worked for the male version of Delores Umbridge... when he quit, there was a beginning-of-summer party that featured paint balls and blown up year-book pictures...
I was taught in nursing school that unless you're in Africa, if you hear hoofbeats, think horses not zebras. You're eating well, you've lost inches so clearly have gained muscle - definitely no zebras here. :)
I go to Duke University Medical Center for my care. They alllll are toooo young! Had a major surgery in 1993 and my father asked on of my surgeons (way cute, blond, tiny thing that smelled good and wore short skirts) if she was old enough to know what she was doing!!!
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