Health-Wise Wednesdays

Topic: Medical update

Today when I weighed myself, I breathed a little sigh of relief. I weighed in at 134.2 lbs, 0.8 lbs less than last week. The sigh of relief wasn't because I'd lost weight, it was because I'd gained some back.

I had a sinus infection last week, for which my doctor prescribed antibiotics. She wisely told me to have a yogurt with my medicine to help my stomach, since Augmentin is such a strong medication and tends to irritate the stomach. I had no stomach issues the entire week. However, I also had no appetite. I was having no snacks other than the yogurts, and was barely finishing my meals. This may sound like a good thing when dieting, but actually, it isn't.

I'd reached my goal weight of 135 lbs. last week. I like the way I look at 135; not overweight, but also not too thin. Contrary to what our culture teaches, being too thin isn't attractive. Losing too much weight is as unhealthy as gaining too much - in some cases even more so, since fat isn't the only thing lost when we don't get enough nutrition. Iron levels go down, vitamin deficiencies cause all kinds of problems, and energy levels disappear. So imagine my concern when, half way through the week, I found myself weighing 133.9 lbs! I was losing too much weight because the antibiotic was eliminating my appetite. I had to do something fast.

First off, I made sure I ate all my meals. It was especially hard in the mornings, since I'd have my medicine with yogurt, then breakfast. But I knew it was important to eat. Next, I kept my physical levels lower. Thankfully we had rain everyday so I couldn't go walking, though I had so many errands I felt like I was always on the run. I made sure I rested, since the body needs rest to recuperate and I needed to exercise less so as not to burn too many calories.

In the end, I still lost some weight but not as much as I would have had I not been monitoring myself. It's important to listen to our bodies and respond to our needs. Knowing what is right for your body is necessary to stay healthy. After all, that's what it's really about. It isn't about looks or the numbers on the scale. It's about being the healthiest we can be.