A different spin on it all

[returner]

Hi all,

I've come back to this board with a different name, because I closed my previous identity due to no longer being able to access this site at work.

However, since my weight loss journey, I've had other things to deal with, one of them being a diagnosis of prostate cancer and having my prostate removed. However, one aspect of that ongoing episode is worthy of comment on this board.

I'll admit I had drifted up a bit in weight since my weight loss of just over 4 stone in six months - not by huge amounts though and I was nowhere near where I was a couple of years ago.

My consultant / surgeon told me he wanted me to lose a couple of kilos prior to the op.

And here's the point. Because I had taken control of my body weight, my eating habits and portions and because I had ditched the bad eating habits, losing that couple of kilos was an absolute doddle. In fact, I lost more than he wanted me to, without any great effort or angst at all.

I would strongly recommend people of a certain age - whatever that might be - to consider that as they get older, the need to have a (more) appropriate body weight and to be more active and fit might have very significant life pay-offs, other than just looking good or fitting into size whatever jeans.

Thank God the prostate problem didn't arrive a couple of years earlier, because it would have been a good six month trawl and a lot of hard work for me to get to operable weight if it had. And my guess is that with the worry of the cancer and the approaching surgery, I'd have found it really hard to focus on the weight reduction.

All that I'm saying is that here's one benefit to taking control of your body weight that you don't often hear mentioned.

You just never know when you might need to be at an appropriate body weight for unexpected reasons.

[gilly57]

Blimey. You're a tough cookie. Glad that you are cancer-free and enjoying your time. Your advice is unusual and very poignant. The old adage is true about having good health is everything. I watched a programme last night about plus size wedding dresses and was overwhelmed at how human beings can get themselves into such poor shape. People offer so many reasons to eat themselves into obesity. And let's face it, that's what it is 99 times out of 100. No excuses. Eating. Hope for you that you stay healthy and well done on the weight loss.

[returner in reply to gilly57]

Hi gilly57,

Actually, I've yet to find out if I'm cancer free, insofar as I haven't yet been told the pathology of the removed prostate.

And really I'm not a tough cookie at all. I just rather had to do what had to be done.

But I guess really what I'm saying is that taking control of your body weight is more like subscribing to a lifestyle than doing an event. It's about making changes for good for the rest of your life.

It's not really just about getting to your target weight - however good that is. (And I do know how very good it was to shed all my previous extra weight).

And losing the weight and learning how to take control of your body weight may well see you in good stead in more ways than you expected.