Less of Me

One of my favorite memes on social media goes something like this:

My body is a temple…

ancient and crumbling…

probably haunted.

I laugh, but it’s true. My body does seem to be crumbling. And if I’m going to live in this body for another 30 years, I’ve got some renovation work to do.

As I said about my inspiration to go gray, all the beautiful gray-haired ladies in those online pictures I studied were slender and fit.

And I am…not.

My goal is to look healthy and vital, not just old and gray. Pairing the silver locks with a vigorous body makes a pleasing contrast. That’s what I’m going for. So in addition to the transition to gray hair, I’ve started on a diet that will help me lose one hundred pounds.

My quest is to redefine the concept of beauty in the third act of life.I’m not saying that anyone who is comfortable with their weight needs to change. It’s better to be happy than always striving to meet some external goal of health or beauty, shooting for some number on some chart that somebody you never met decided was the right number for you. You do you. If you’re happy with your looks — or if trying to meet someone else’s standards feels impossible — then don’t change yourself. You are enough.

Never been skinny before

Being “skinny” has never been a goal for me, thanks to my mother. Forceful and opinionated, she didn’t agree with the notion that women were put on Earth to please or appease men. So I was never taught to believe that I had to be slender to be attractive.  I love to cook, and love to eat too.

However, a late-in-life pregnancy, followed by no regular exercise and unrestricted eating, eventually took its toll. At 60, I’m diabetic, with high cholesterol, high triglycerides, high blood pressure, and sleep apnea. Not only that, but I had a mild heart attack in 2011. All my doctors agreed that losing weight would improve my health.

Choosing a diet

I investigated a lot of ways to diet, and on April 1, 2019 I chose to enroll in the Central Ohio Nutrition Center for their doctor-supervised, low-calorie diet program of nutritional shakes. Every week I weigh in, have my vitals checked (blood draws every other week), meet with the dietician, and then with the doctor.