My cousin and me

I was emailing with my cousin yesterday about and one of the topics we discussed was our frustration with losing weight. I realize that both of us have battled weight all our lives. My younger cousin is also very heavy. My aunt is heavy. My grandmother was heavy.

Are we doomed here?

Sadly, my cousins and I seem to be even heavier than the older women were. Activity has everything to do with that, doesn't it? We have so many more conveniences now than the previous generations did. My grandmother loved to garden. She walked a lot. She was heavy, yes, but I bet she was healthy-heavy.

My cousin has always been heavier than me and -- this is mean to say -- I took some comfort in that. Well, at least I'm not as fat as she is, I'd think when people teased me or nagged me about my weight. When I was 17, I joined Weight Watchers and lost 50 pounds. I felt so much better and looked better and ...I felt smug. See, I'm not fat anymore.

My cousin has tried all the programs too with no measure of success. When our grandmother died, we moved into her house and shared it until it was sold. My cousin made several attempts to diet but would always fall back. We'd go shopping and she'd pick up something she shouldn't have. I'd say, "I thought you were trying to lose weight?" and she'd get so angry with me. Fine, I'd say, do what you want. See...I'm not fat anymore.

But now I am fat again, heavier than I have ever been in my life. I could kick myself for being smug and complacent and taking my health for granted so many years.

My cousin had a heart attack a few years ago. Then she started having trouble with her knee. She can no longer walk without a cane. She needs surgery but the doctor refuses until she loses all her weight. Well...but in the meantime she is in a great deal of pain. The doctor suggested a bypass which scared her. She went on the Atkins program and lost 85 pounds. It wasn't enough to satisfy the surgeon.

My cousin has hit a plateau and has become severely discouraged. She's seeing a nutritionist and exercising in the water but the weight is no longer coming off. She wrote me that she probably has to see an endocrinologist to find out why she's not losing weight.

Boy, do I hear her. I understand about being in so much pain exercise is next to impossible. I understand how much being overweight affects your health. I understand how frustrating and discouraging it is to lose -- especially after having been so successful before. Like I said, I could kick myself. I have nothing to feel smug about now.

Do I want to just say, oh, well, this is just genetics and we're screwed? NO. Even if genetics has everything to do with it, I can still fight back. I'm losing weight ... too slowly for what I want but I'm going in the right direction. The point is not to gain anymore.

And keep trying to exercise.

I found this joke in my email and it's about exercise:

HOW TO GET IN SHAPE

Just came across this exercise suggested for building muscle strength in the
arms and shoulders. It seems so easy, I thought I'd pass it on to some of my
friends. The article suggested doing it three days a week.

Begin by standing on a comfortable surface, where you have plenty of room at
each side. With a 5-lb. potato sack in each hand, extend your arms straight
out from your sides, and hold them there as long as you can. Try to reach a
full minute, then relax.

Each day, you'll find that you can hold this position for just a bit longer.
After a couple of weeks, move up to 10-lb. potato sacks, then 50-lb. potato
sacks, and eventually try to lift a 100-lb. potato sack in each hand and
hold your arms out straight for more than a full minute.

After you feel confident at that level, put a potato in each of the sacks.