Aren't I supposed to see a physician first?

Years and years ago (don't make me think about how many years ago it was), I asked my Dr. what he would recommend in dealing with my weight.

That was an exceptionally hard question to ask. And I know I'm not alone. I'm sure there are lots of folks who would rather talk about hemorrhoids, STDs or persistent halitosis than say to their Dr "I'm fat."

My Dr's response was not what I needed. He looked kind of awkward. He looked kind of sheepish. He fidgeted and said "um" and "uh" more often than normal. After his stammering, ya know what he said? It's really just about eating less calories than you burn. Yea Dr. I get that. I'm not a stupid person. We all KNOW that. It doesn't suddenly make it easy to do something about it. Then - he suggested that I do something active, like running. Here's where I realized that he was pretty much repeating a speech. I'd seen this doctor for years and he knew that I had arthritis which cropped up often in my knees and hips. You would never suggest running to me if you knew my medical history. I had to remind him. After reminding him of my medical history (Since I wasn't just asking his advice at a cocktail party - I was sitting in his office on an examination table.) he said that the best thing for me would be swimming. I should definitely start swimming. Rather than mention my lack of pool, and that 2 of the gyms I'd belonged to didn't include pools, I decided to push the uncomfortable discussion just a bit further to ask about specific diets to help get me started. He said that from what he'd read Weight Watchers was a great option.

Aren't you supposed to get better advice from your Dr. than from the Internet? That Dr. retired later that year and since then I've had 2 different doctors. My weight has continued to rise but I haven't bothered to mention it to either of them. They don't know me as well as he did, and I got a cereal box suggestion from him.

Right now here's what I know. More Vegetables. Less ice cream. More grilled meat. Less fried meat. More organic. Less processed. More portion control. Less super sizing. And the hardest one - More cooking at home. Less eating out.

I'm not good at this yet. I'm not even decent at it. I am one of 3 adults in my house right now and I have the least control over the kitchen. And the least skills in the kitchen. And I get home last. But I can't keep leaning on this truth as an crutch. It just means I'm going to need to work harder. That is a bit scary. But (deep breath) less scary than the prospects of what my ever expanding waistline will look like in another 5-10 years.

The research begins. Recipes. Diets. Food plans. I'm open for it all. I'll try anything that will get me healthy. Healthy or bust.