January 11, 2014
Days Eleven (and Twelve!) of "The
Great 365 Day Purge of 2014."
And speaking of growing...
I went in for my physical the other
day. Had that horrible stepping-on-the-scale moment (after slipping
out of my boots, of course). Height. Blood pressure. The whole bit.
The doctor told me my blood pressure
was good. I thought it seemed high. She told me the standards had
changed. What was once considered pre-hypertension was now within the
acceptable range. My weight, too, is now acceptable: Apparently I'm
just a smidge overweight, despite the fact that my BMI puts my body
fat at twenty-five percent. As we've grown as a nation, the doctor
informed me, the standards have expanded to accommodate us.
This reminds me of the day my teacher
explained the changes to the grading system to my third grade class.
Whereas before, a student needed a ninety-six to quality for an A,
now, the only requirement was a ninety. Suddenly many more people
became A students. And while I'm certain I benefitted tremendously
from this deflation of standards (especially in chemistry, geometry
and physics), the change felt a little like a cheat to me.
And so, today, I give up on the idea of
accepting my weight as "within range". Today, I give up my
comfortably uncomfortable BMI. And to get there, I'm giving up sugar
as well. All sugar. My homemade jelly. My zucchini bread. Boxed
cereal and many breads. Candy bars. Leftover Christmas cookies and
the hand-dipped candies my family and I make every year.
If my sister can give up cigarettes, I
suppose I can give up sugar.
It's going to get ugly around here.
You may want to stay away for a bit.
But if you do see me on the street,
looking a bit wide-eyed and snarly, try to understand: It will pass.
Soon, I hope.
Soon.
Kelly Garriott Waite on Google+
Labels: Consumption, essay, Great 365 Day Purge, Waste