A bit of a provocative title, I know. But, it is the truth. This post stems from a situation I have faced in recent times, that I never thought I would.
For more than four years now, I have been very limited in the amount and types of exercise I could do. This is for a number of reasons, but particularly because I have arthritis throughout my body, but it particularly adversely affected my right knee. In the end after a long period of excruciating pain, I had to have a total knee replacement. So, for the period leading up to my operation and in my recovery period, I was limited in the amount and types of exercise I could do. Next came along significant constant pain in my legs, particularly my left leg which after tests was shown to be stemming from an issue with my back. The pain I described as ‘worse than childbirth’ and having had three children, I can honestly say that that was my experience. Significant and life impacting pain, without the joy of a baby at the end of it all! So, for my back too I had to have major surgery which has taken me over a year to recover from. I think perhaps I will always have some niggles in my back, but I have strategies to deal with it and still be able to mobilise and start to do more exercise.
So, as I said at the beginning of this post, I experienced something yesterday that I have faced for some months now. Because of my reduced capacity for exercise, I have put on a lot of weight. Also, because I had been so restricted and there wasn’t much my husband and I could do together, we tended to go to a cafe a lot! So, the combination of less exercise and frequent cafe visits has been the catalyst for my increased girth. I am now bigger than I have ever been in my life and I hate it.
Now to the reason my husband thought I shouldn’t (don’t like that word) make this post. We were at a local cafe in North Yorkshire and we were sitting out in the garden waiting for our food to be delivered to us. The weather started to look like it would rain and he suggested we move under cover. I looked over at the tables and chairs and said to him that I didn’t think any of the chairs would be big enough for me. I had sat on a bench seat up to this point. He went over and chose the biggest seat of the bunch – the seats all had arms on them – and indicated that I might like to try it. I did so and – as I feared – I could not fit. I had no option but to risk the weather and sit on my bench seat. Now, my husband thought this post would be about cafes having more awareness of larger people’s needs for seating without arms. Perhaps. That could be one take on it. However, not the take home message I was intending to give.
I have increasingly come to realise the practical impacts of my increased size on my life. The cafe seating was one of them. I have had seatbelts in planes marginal for fitting me and many other types of seating not up to the task of accommodating my increased posterior package! All of these experiences have hit home hard, that I need to seriously address my diet and exercise and commit to being healthier, not just because of my size and the chair issue, but for my general health and wellbeing. I am short of breath; I can’t bend over without wheezing and so many things in life are harder if you are on the larger side.
So, I have made a commitment to my husband and myself, that when I get back home and can have more control over my food intake and exercise, that I will get serious about weight loss. To assist with this, I am going to make an appointment with my doctor and see if there is any way he can help me with this. I do wonder perhaps, if there is a psychological element to the issue of my weight? Having had two parents with Parkinson’s I know that they became very gaunt and lost a ton of weight as they progressed. I have been wondering whether in some twisted way my brain is telling me ‘enjoy it while it lasts’ as I will ultimately lose weight because of my condition? Perhaps I might need some counselling?
I am laying this on the line to you all. It is not easy to admit how much my weight has increased and how it is affecting me. But, this blog is about my life, not just with Parkinson’s, but my life in its entirety. I have enough strikes against me with Parkinson’s, arthritis and a hernia, without adding such a weighty problem to the mix. Watch this space and hopefully once I return home, I can get back to a healthier mindset and lose the weight and be happier and healthier once more.
The solution is in my hands no other.
The negative impact my weight has on my health is not acceptable.
I will do whatever it takes to get healthier and lose weight for a brighter – and hopefully longer – future.
My journey with Parkinsons 