THE VERY LAST STRAW!

No -- not my dad. We had breakfast with him yesterday and he actually agreed to give up two of his four cats so that his current house doesn't get as disgusting as his old house did.

No, the last straw is that I have gained so much weight I can't get my wedding ring on or off without a struggle. I weighed 172 this morning. I'm kind of appalled - 10 lbs below my highest weight ever (well, not counting the 199 I weighed when pregnant with R). I have to lose weight. Well, no I don't HAVE to. I could get my ring made larger, buy larger clothing, and go on medication for my cholesterol. That option isn't too appealing.

I found out recently that my cholesterol is high for the third year in a row. My good cholesterol is great, but my bad cholesterol is a bit high and my overall number is something like 271. I was told to "eat a lower fat diet and exercise" and come back in a few months to have the test redone. Eeek. The implication was that if my level doesn't fall I will be put on medication. I do not want that. I have spent the time since hearing the bad news waffling between thinking "Hey, dad is on meds for his cholesterol and he eats whatever the heck he wants!" and "OMG! I'm too young to be on daily medication!"

The truth is that if I want to attempt to control my cholesterol through diet and exercise, I will have to change the way I eat -- forever. I can't really be a "normal eater" and eat whatever I feel like whenever I feel like it. I will have to seriously limit my saturated fat intake and make things like french fries, hamburgers, and desserts a treat. I haven't been able to do that for the past two years, but with medication looming in my future perhaps I can do it now. I would like to lose weight for other reasons too -- my knees and back were so sore after helping dad move and my knees are hurting more often these days. I'm also having frequent problems with foot pain. My doctor thinks it's because my feet tend to roll in when I walk, but they've done that since I was a kid, and I only started having problems in the past year or so. I can't help but think it is weight-related.

So, there you go -- the many reasons I should lose weight. Now, the question is how to do it in a healthy way without turning into Susie Obsessed. I've been trying to lose weight for the past 18 months or more and have only succeeded in gaining 20 lbs. Sigh.