Taking the bull by the horns

It absolutely amazes me how many people complain about how their knees or hips or feet hurt who are morbidly obese. It should come as no surprise that they are having these problems and when they go to their doctors about their complaints, I wonder if they are told that their problems will disappear if they lose weight. I rather doubt that doctors have the guts to look someone in the eyes and say to this kind of thing to them. So many of the people I know end up walking with canes or with braces or whatever and don't seem to do anything about their weight problems and they continue to complain about how much they hurt. What obviously needs to happen is that if they want to live life pain free, they need to grab the bull by the horns and do something to change that. Losing weight is never an easy proposition. You have to really want to do it. I've lost 20 pounds since I began to work out and it's tough to keep it off. I love food, I love to eat and I am in possession of a very healthy appetite. The foods I love the most are probably the worst for me. So I have to restrain myself from eating badly and instead make healthier choices. I've come to love some Middle Eastern/Mediterranean dishes like tabouleh and cous-cous and I'd like to learn how to prepare those dishes. Thanks to a little office party last week when co-workers brought in a lot of good food, I took some leftovers home and have spent the past few days eating good Mediterranean food for dinner. I made some lentil soup on Saturday night (no, not homemade, but good organic stuff bought at the store) and had that with pita bread for dinner. Then Sunday night, I had tabouleh and pita bread for dinner. Monday night I had my usual post-T'ai Chi Chinese meal and last night, I had cous-cous and pita bread for dinner. I found myself really enjoying this kind of eating and it feels good to eat well like that. I don't have to indulge in unhealthy eating habits to have a delicious meal. And that's what gets me about the way I see people eat these days - monster sized portions of really bad food. Combine that with our sedentary lifestyles, and is it any wonder that the US has the heaviest population in the world?

PEOPLE NEED TO WATCH THIS SHOW!

I religiously watch "The Biggest Loser" every Tuesday night on TV, not because I have ever battled a weight problem, but because there is motivation aplenty to be had from watching obese people become fit, strong and healthy people who can do amazing things. I figure, hey, if they can do it, so can I! Working out with a trainer can be grueling sometimes. Last night, my trainer Jason had us do strength training and it was mighty tough. I am shamefully weak in the upper body, but this is just the kind of kick-in-the-butt I need to get stronger. I tease Jason about being mean, and last night he was joking that, no, tonight's workout was easy because he's getting soft in his old age (Ha! 31 - old age indeed!). Well, maybe it was easy for him (he works out with us and he's got a great body, sculpted, muscular 160 pounds of very fit and strong trainer). But when you're going on 51 years old like I am, hey, this stuff can be really tough! Still, I need to do this. And so should others. Having a trainer keeps me focused, on track and motivated. I couldn't do this on my own and many others can't either. It takes a special person to take you on and whip you into shape and keep you wanting more. And a lot of this stuff is mental in nature. You have to fight your mind's impulses to give up when it gets hard and you have to stay focused and fight on. T'ai Chi has helped me in that aspect. Sure, there are times when some part of me really hurts (lately, the top of my left foot and my right Achilles tendon) and some of the lower body work we've done of late has really hurt like hell, but I bought a pair of fitness shoes with a rollbar to stabilize my feet's tendency to roll outward. I just hope that a lift can be built on the left one so that I can have a decent pair of shoes to go workout in. I'll take them in this afternoon to see if they can be modified and if so, I should have them back next week, at which time I can start breaking them in and seeing if they help my feet and ankles to hurt a little less. I hope so. That will make things considerably easier and a lot less painful for me. I hope. My old physical therapist from the early '90's. Thom Krupar, used to stress the importance of good shoes, especially for someone with my leg and feet issues. So we'll see if these new shoes work for me - if, that is, they can be modified.