So I am a healthy "obese" person.

Yep. That's right. Interesting huh?

So here's how it all came to be....
I had a bloodwork panel along with glucose/insulin test a week ago for PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) Initially the dr who ordered it called with the results that were in.
*a few hormones were low (to be expected)
*glucose was elevated on last hour
*everything else was normal
*waiting on one more hormone and insulin but nurse warned me that insulin may show resistance since glucose was elevated on last test.
*referred me to regular physician to go further into the glucose/insulin etc
*pcos was officially diagnosed but we are already doing all we can for treatment.

The nurse suggested that my regular doctor might send me to a nutritionist to learn how to eat healthy. I could have gone through the phone. Bless her heart she had no idea that I've been trying to adjust my nutrition for years to lose weight.

So I made the appointment and saw my regular doctor on Thursday. I was excited for the appointment but nervous too. I trust my doctor a lot and know that he won't do anything crazy and he is super thorough.

We started by reviewing the panels. Remainder of hormones came back normal and insulin was normal. That was a surprise.
Me to Dr: I had mixed emotions about the insulin because had I been resistant it would have given him something to fix that would help me.
Dr to me: Fix is a strong word and he wouldn't use it in that case because the resistance would always be there. So he said I should be very happy that I'm not insulin resistant.

So happy I am!

So then he told me something that still makes me smile. My cholesterol panel couldn't be more perfect than it is. It's never been "bad" but it has been middle to bad end of average. Now all numbers are on the fantastic end of average. His point: I may not be seeing the results I'm looking for with my healthy lifestyle but I am most definitely benefiting from the healthy choices.
(It's better than my brother's who is way more "in shape" weight wise than I am. He's running his second marathon of the month in a few weeks. Nothing against him. I wish his cholesterol to be awesome too. Just an example)

My next question: so what about that one elevated glucose level?

Dr: sometimes with PCOS you can not be insulin resistant but your body doesn't exactly process sugars as efficiently as we would like.

We discussed how a person with a great BMI can be very unhealthy and a person with a BMI over 30 can be extremely healthy. My BMI is currently 35. So....

Me: So you would consider me healthy except my weight

Dr: I would consider you very healthy no expect.

So he made my day. My doctor who is awesome and isn't only a general physician but also has a sports medicine office told me I was very healthy. That is encouraging. What I do has results!

All of this hasn't been for nothing. Basically at this point losing weight is still a great idea but it is not a health necessity. It can possibly reduce symptoms of the PCOS but that is the extent of it. (Of course weight loss would make me happy).

I told my doctor that when I go to yoga I always get mad because I'm more flexible than my fat allows me to be. Lol.

One thing we discussed is how my husband and I, like most people, have a set of puzzle pieces to fall in place before children. One of my pieces is to be at a healthy weight for a pregnancy.

dr: it's not a matter of getting to "healthy" weight. He says my weight is not in the way of a great pregnancy. He says that my healthy life style has me at a perfectly healthy place for children. That losing weight before hand would only improve how I feel in reference to how I look.

I still want to lose before kids but its nice to know that we're not actually held back by my health. That I'm actually in a good place. There are still other pieces out of place so those of you who know me don't get too excited here.

So next ... Me: so what now? How can I lose weight better?

We discussed my current nutrition and weight watchers. He likes weightwatchers. We discussed my current exercise habits. He likes what I'm doing but wants to make sure that Im really focusing on my heart rate in cardio workouts. I told him that I would love to run a 13.1 again but have decided to wait until I weigh less for the sake of my knees. So I'm sticking to 5Ks and training for the sprint triathlon in town in August. He was super excited for me to do the Tri. He thinks the swimming is awesome and biking can be as long as I adjust my bike correctly to avoid back strain.

He's been to see the Tri in town before and I asked if there are big people who do it too. He assured me that people of all shapes and sizes participate and I can totally do it. He thinks ill be fine to use my mountain bike for this distance. So that's good.

Me: Do you think I can be at my healthy weight in a year?

Dr. : yes

So the plan:

Cardio 240 min a week properly monitoring my target heart rate.

Any resistance or weights are on top of this. (I told him I do NOT want to become jiggly. Lol)

Stick to weight watchers

Go gluten free (this is something that my cardiologist had mentioned and I had read up on)

See him in 3 months to see how I'm doing. At that time if I have been dedicated to the above and still don't lose he will try me on metformin. He wants a medication to be last option. He said that even though I'm not insulin resistance the medication would help my body be more efficient in processing sugar but he thinks I'm going to succeed without it.

He then sent me to try out a new anti gravity treadmill in his building the next day just for fun in reference to me holding back on long distance running to save my joints. (Separate post coming)

So all in all I felt so good and encourage when I left his office.

I do want to clarify some things.

I'm NOT and he is NOT saying weight doesn't matter or being at a BMI of 35 is always ok. Every person is individual. In my case I'm very healthy at BMI 35 and 200 lbs but also have a healthy desire to lose weight to be even better and my doctor supports that.

I'm not talking about just kind of trying for two and a half years and just deciding I'm ok this way. I'm talking about being a 200 lb person who leads a healthy life on a regular basis. Who does the work to meet my goals (13.1, 5Ks, sticking to nutrition plans, regular exercise)

I'm also not claiming to be perfect. I have unhealthy snacks or meals sometimes. But I avoid unhealthy days.

I've always said that I'm glad my body tells me how I treat it. I would much rather be a healthy "obese" person than to be someone who has an awesome BMI and can fit in any clothes they want but also eats what they want and they are very unhealthy on the inside. The two (inside and outside) don't always match but it does go both ways.


So today is gluten free day number 1! Ill have lots to say about this soon.

So I'm excited to just keep on keepin on!