My parents died when I was in my early twenties. Both died under hospice care and I helped take care of them so they could die at home. Thanks to those experiences, I quickly became a huge believer in hospice and later volunteered at a hospice house. To become a hospice volunteer, you have to go through several weeks of training. One of the things I learned is that the patients and families who see death -- even premature death -- as a natural thing do much better than those who cling to a sense of death as "unfair."
The other day I was thinking that there's a parallel here to weigh management. Yeah, I know. Sounds weird. But through my twenties and thirties, I felt like most of the world could eat what they want but my body unfairly gained weight too easily. I had proof, as a matter of fact. My brother -- the person who dipped out of the same gene pool and had the same upbringing I did -- can eat Pop-Tarts and whole packages of Oreos yet has always been quite thin. Then one day my brother casually mentioned he was off sugar. "Whenever my pants get tight, I just go without sugar for a while." And I realized I sort of forgot about the fact that he does Tae Kwon Do several times a week to work up a good sweat. Not long after that, a friend who was always thin shared that in order to maintain a healthy weight she eats carefully all week and then allows herself an indulgent yet not over-the-top meal once or twice on the weekend. Huh.
Sure there are those folks (especially south of age 30) who truly can eat whatever they want. Some people are born super smart or drop-dead gorgeous too. For the most part, though, thin people stay thin through their choices and their behavior -- not just their genes. And while we're looking at genes, it is a huge advantage that I don't lose weight too quickly. I know if I get sick, my body will protect me.
And in other happy news... I lost 9 pounds in April and am still chugging along heading into the second week of May.
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