Thursday 30 September 2010

Weight on my mind....

You all know by now that I am a whining whinger! I also hope by now you realise when I'm serious and when I'm trying to be more light-hearted...... so here goes......

Weight gain is an issue for this alpha male as much as it is for the ladies out there...... it really gets on my tits!...... yes, before you ask, I do have rather a nice pair...... if a little hairy...... oh come on! Laugh with me!

To recap...... I am a big boy! 6 feet, 3 inches tall. A 52 inch chest and a 40 inch waist! And I weigh 280+ pounds. I do not know exactly how much I weigh because I have no scales.

Even if Hypothyroidism had not gatecrashed my life I would still be a big boy...... I am of a large build with a barrel chest (thanks Dad!). My dream tale of the tape would be a 46 inch chest with a 36 inch waist and tipping the scales at 210 pounds...... I did say "my dream"!

Getting clothes that fit me...... difficult! Getting clothes that I like that fit me...... damn near impossible!

Now the real reason for this information...... the sizing of clothes!!!!

Is it really too much to expect in the 21st century for clothes manufacturers to work together so that a 2xl is a 2xl and a 3xl is a 3xl and a size 10 shoe is a size 10 shoe!...... Come on!!!!

I feel like Jim Carrey's character in Dumb&Dumber "whoo hoo! We landed on the moon!"

Seriously! We have put man on the moon!!!!

I can pick up a 'phone here in England, hit some numbers on the keypad, and I get to speak to my friends in Australia!!!! Even better...... using Skype I get to have a video call with them...... in real time!!!! If I think about it too much it blows my mind!!!!

It is not rocket science, or brain surgery for that matter...... add your own metaphor here......

I do not give a shit if it would mean I was sized as 5xl so long as clothes that I bought labelled as a 5xl were a 5xl!...... or am I crazy?...... hang on, don't answer that!...... but you get me, right?

The European Parliament spend millions of pounds worrying about things like the shape of cucumbers, funny shaped carrots...... I could go on...... implying that we the consumers are idiots!!!!

"They" do not fool me!!!!

Am I missing something so blatantly obvious that it will take my breath away if it was explained to me? Or, as I suspect, are the people who decide these things at clothing manufacturers a bunch of idiots?

Why do "they" have to make life so difficult? It is perhaps only a small thing...... but surely in the 21st century it is possible to regulate clothes sizing...... "they" keep telling us that the world is a smaller place.

You would think "they" wanted the consumers to be happy to maximise profits......

Will "they" listen? They haven't so far so it is not likely is it?

Aaaarrrrgggghhhh!!!!

Hands up if you want to come and live in my Utopia?...... a place where people listen to you...... and everything makes sense...... to me at least!

Moving on, an observation I have made during my treatment for Hypothyroidism...... two statements, both true, but opposites......

  • When I am under-treated (Hypo) or was undiagnosed I put on weight. This is because my body's functions have slowed down, I have no energy for life let alone exercise. I seem to go into "starvation" mode and store fat!
  • When I have been over-medicated (Hyper) I put on weight. This is because my body's functions are all fired up, including my appetite, but I am such a nervous wreck I can not leave the house. I am always hungry and become gluttonous!

Just another of the ironies of living with Hypothyroidism...... this is known as Morton's fork (check it out on Wikipedia!)...... the joke wears thin at times...... so much so there is even irony in that statement!

I am going to mention something that many of us with Hypothyroidism feel......

  • I eat a fairly healthy diet. Also......
  • I drink at least two litres of water every day, plus tea and 1 or 2 cans of Diet Coke/Pepsi.
  • I try to control my caffeine intake and limit it in the evening.
  • I try to limit processed sugars. Excessive processed sugars equal fat!
  • I try to limit "bad" fats.
  • I try to eat good fats regularly.
  • I try to eat 5 portions of fruit/vegetables each day. I love veg!
  • I take a supplement containing Omega-3 fish oil plus vitamins D and E.
  • I snack on walnuts and almonds most days.
  • I have a sweet tooth and my weakness is chocolate! I have a small amount most days.

If you knew nothing about Hypothyroidism and read this you would expect to see someone of a healthy weight, would you not?

Hence the ridicule we suffer! Health professionals and even family and friends roll their eyes...... or do I imagine this?

It is not enough to feel like shit...... I have to look like shit as well! I find it incredulous that anyone would think I would choose to live this way! I don't like using the word hate...... but here goes...... I hate being fat!!!!

On a positive note...... if (when!) I ever get my treatment right I will be ahead of the game. I have been eating what I consider to be a fairly healthy diet for years, I do not drink any alcohol and I have stopped smoking.

All I ask for now is refreshing sleep and a body that can tolerate exercise......

...... I can live with the extremist personality...... never forget the extremist personality...... it is always there on my shoulder......

I'm off to McDonald's......

2 comments:

  1. man! i am scared now ...i am hyper and i am going to remove my thyroid next month ...i am already gaining weight as hyper cause my appetite is crazy but i was hoping after the surgery that i would lose weight ...doesn't sound like i am gonna ha? =S ....i know exactly how it feels though ...it's so frustrating to do everything right go through hell and dont get anywhere... life ain't fair ...SIGH ...I'm off to macdonald's too :D :D

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  2. Robert, do you know that walnuts are goitrogens ? Perhaps you should cut them out. Also, what do you call 'good' fat and 'bad' fat ? I hope you don't call animal fats 'bad', because they are really 'good'! lol You need them.

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Thank you, Robert.