The Talk
Did your doctor ever give you The Talk? Although not quite as embarrassing as The Birds and The Bees Talk of puberty, it’s up there with top conversations I’d like to wipe from my memory. If you never received it, this is how it goes:
November 2011
Doctor: How is your nutrition?
Lisa: (Uh oh… ) Fine…well, um…maybe I should probably be eating, you know, a little bit better.
Doctor: Do you eat fruit?
Lisa: I eat apples with my kids. (Maybe I won’t fail this pop quiz after all!)
Doctor: Every day?
Lisa: Uh…no? Like maybe every other day?
Doctor: You should be eating fruit every day. And vegetables?
Lisa: (Oh God) Um…do potatoes count as a vegetable?
Doctor: They are carbohydrates. Any green vegetables?
Lisa: Sometimes I eat salad…
Doctor: Do you exercise?
Lisa: Well I can’t really make it to the gym, but I chase after my kids, you know, Rylee and the baby.
Doctor: How old is your baby now?
Lisa: Um…2 1/2? (I begin to flush red. Oh no. Here it comes.)
Doctor: Lisa, you’re overweight and it’s not from the baby anymore.
Lisa: I know.
Doctor: Have you tried a pedometer? It measures how many steps you take each day. You can wear it and aim for a higher number each day.
Oh God, I’m so out of shape he thinks all I can do is a pedometer? I thought those were only for obese people. Oh no, am I obese?
The Talk is such a humbling experience. But it can also be effective. The Talk combined with my upcoming class reunion, a fight I had with my husband and an overwhelming desire to get out of my funk led me to get personal training sessions and enter a bikini competition to hyper motivate me.
I just went back to the doctor yesterday. While it’s never fun going to the doctor’s office, this time I kind of looked forward to it. Because instead of The Talk from my doctor I got TO BRAG about losing all the weight.
If you are in the humbling position of receiving The Talk while in one of those awesome dressing gowns that don’t tie in the back, don’t just feel bad about it. Take action. Get healthy. And enjoy bragging the next time you visit your doctor.
Lisa
- @sheslosingitnet
- http://www.facebook.com/ShesLosingItnet
Sheslosingit.net (c) 2013 Lisa Traugott. All rights reserved. No portion of this blog, including any text, photographs, and artwork, may be reproduced or copied without written permission.
O M G. I wish more medicos would give people The Talk!
So many of them cop out. They never say a word. The most they’ll mutter is “you might do with losing a few” or similar, but that’s about it. And many of them are in poorer shape than most of their clients!
Keep your doc. He’s one of the good ones.
Yeah – he is a good doctor. It helped give me a reality check.
I went to the doctor 2 weeks ago due to an injury i got whilst training. He asked me why I was there, i responded with – I am fat, and am doing what i can to lose the weight.
He then said – no one has every been that blunt with me before….
Good for you for being honest AND taking charge of your health. Hope your injury gets better soon!
As bad as “the talk” from the doctor might be, I sincerely wish that my doctor had taken the time to have that kind of talk with me — i had to “wake up” all by myself!
Yeah, I didn’t get the TALK, but when my doctor’s office went implemented a new online program so patients can access their health records, there it was in big, bold letters (or maybe that was just in my head) OBESE!! WTH? She can’t tell me to my face, but she can post it on line?? Talk about a reality check! LOL! At least now when I go back I can report I’m under the 200 lb mark. 😉