#41 - The simple act of getting dressed is a chore!

It's so sad that, as a fat person, getting dressed has become a difficult task. Even the simple task of putting on shoes and socks is difficult. To put on shoes and socks easily, you need to be able to cross your legs - which I cannot do very easily. Alternatively you can bend down while sitting to put on your shoes, but what if your belly gets in the way and you can't bend over very far? Well, it makes putting on shoes and socks a bitch! I even prefer wearing slip-on shoes, because they're easier to deal with. How sad! This is something I'm SURE thinner people have no thoughts about. I know when I was skinny, I never thought about the hardships of putting on my clothes. How dumb! I hate being fat! I was just getting dressed, went to put on my pants, and almost fell over. It's tough to lift my leg while balancing on one foot and trying to slip of pair of pants on. How stupid. I have horror stories about falling while putting on clothes, but not about myself. I used to work the night shift in an Emergency Room about eight years ago. I was a medical secretary while going to college. Anyway, one night a large woman (maybe 300 pounds or so) came into the ER with a compound leg fracture (you know, the kind where the bone has broken through the skin - eewww). I was interviewing the woman for address and contact information as she was being treated. The doctor asked her how she fell and broke her leg. She was clearly very embarrassed, but told her tale anyway. Apparently, she lived alone and was getting dressed after a shower. She went to slip on her jeans when she fell over. I guess the weight of her body on her one leg was enough to break the bone in half - ouch. At the time I was working in the ER, I too was pretty heavy - about 260. Ever since that day, every time I go to put on pants while precariously balancing on one foot, I think of that woman with the compound fracture. I totally fear this could happen to me someday. I guess there's another reason to lose weight, not only to make getting dressed easier, but to prevent painful and costly broken bones!

So I've made it into the New Year relatively unscathed. Sure, I put on a little holiday poundage, but I kept it to a minimum - I only gained 3 pounds. It's that time of year again where everyone is making New Year's resolutions. I kind of hate that tradition. Why is it that we only care about making changes this one time of the year? I've been working at losing weight for years and my resolutions remain throughout the year. OK, maybe I get refocused this time of year, but I try to stick to it all year long. If I MUST make a New Year's resolution, it's not to lose a certain amount of weight, it's not to work out 5 days a week, it's not even to eat less chocolate. No, this year my resolutions are more broad: love myself, watch my portions and move. These seem like simple rules to follow, no impossible to attain fitness or weight loss goals. These seem like resolutions that will last all year long, in fact they're pretty much my resolutions from the whole past year. So I guess I'll leave it at that and wish everyone a Happy New Year! Good luck with your weight loss!