For anyone who doesn’t know, I am the editor of a small daily newspaper. I’ve been a newsman for more than 20 years.
Today has been the kind of morning old news guys love. The local police at 3:30 this morning arrested a local guy and charged him with first-degree murder. My newsroom knew something was going Monday, but we weren’t able to confirm it until 6:37 a.m. today. We posted breaking news on our Web site this morning and have already updated the story four or five times. It made for lots of excitement to go with all of the things we normally do each morning to put out an afternoon newspaper.
There was one difference today. In the middle of the excitement, we had to take a health screen as part of a switch our parent company is making to a new health-insurance provider. My numbers, of course, were not good and it’s hard to not be depressed.
Somehow, I weighed 14 pounds more than I supposedly weighed last week when I began a weight-loss contest at the Muscatine Community Y. I hope this is just a difference between scales, times of day and the clothes I had on today. I don’t know how I could have gained 14 POUNDS.
All you have to do is look at me to know my body-fat percentage is freakishly high and my body-mass index is also in the range of your typical contestant on “The Biggest Loser.”
My blood sugar was solidly in the ideal range, which is good. At least I have not yet become diabetic.
My total cholesterol is als in the ideal range, but my “good” cholesterol is too low. My blood pressure was also a bit high, but not in the hypertension range. I’m hoping the excitement of the morning contributed to the somewhat elevated number. The pot of coffee I sucked down this morning probably didn’t help.
I just HAVE to stick to a sensible eating plan and get plenty of exercise. I’m getting better at the former and doing OK on the latter, having exercised for 13 hours so far this month. And much of it was the dripping-wet-with-sweat-when-done-type of cardio exercise.
Eating right will be a challenge Wednesday — we’re having a potluck lunch at work.
… 14 pounds heavier. It’s enough to make me go looking for a pizza. But I’m not gonna do it.
Brome Hill 
I wish there could be a class or something strictly for those of us who need to lose more than 5lbs. The Y seems to be pretty much all serious fitness addicts and those of us who aren’t, feel definitely out of place.
I know it would most likely be considered discrimination, but wouldn’t it be nice if there could be an hour set aside every day just for those who need to lose 50+lbs? Think how we could encourage each other and we wouldn’t be embarrassed because we’d all be in the same shape.
Muscatineresident, thank you for the comment. I hope you’ll come back and comment again.
For what it’s worth, I think you’re wrong about the Y. Yes, there are some serious fitness addicts there — like my friend Danelle, who is apt to see this. But I am definitely in the category of people who could lose 50 or more pounds. And when I go to the Y, I look around and see other people who are maybe even heavier than I am. The Y does have a beginner’s exercise class, Ready to be Fit, that is for people who might not feel comfortable working out with people like Danelle.
Really? I admit I’ve only been there twice…once to look around and then once with a friend and I honestly didn’t see anybody who was probably above a size 8! Everybody in their skinny work-out clothes and maybe I’m just too self-conscious, but I felt like I was being looked at and judged and being tried for being in the state I’m in. I keep telling myself that people go on national TV who weigh nearly 500lbs…I need to lose 40-50lbs and I’m so embarrassed about it I can’t get myself to go to the Y. Maybe I just went at the wrong time. 🙂
I was thinking about you tonight. They have what they call a Hydrobics class at 5:20 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the main pool. This is usually a class of about 10 or so women. I am only guy in the class. Most of the women are, I’m guessing here, 50 and up. And they come in all sizes and shapes. Most of them are not the fit people you’ve seen during your times at the Y.
You do not have to be able to swim to do this class. I am a non-swimmer. In fact, it took me a while to work up the courage just to try this class because of my irrational fear of the water. But it is a great workout. It doesn’t really feel like you’re exercising until you’re done. But I am always a little sore afterwards. And when I wear my heart-rate monitor, I burn more calories in an hour in the pool than I do during an hour of biking.