Heavier and Taller

Yearly physicals make sense.  Some of the most helpful tests are a surprise to many people. Height, weight and blood pressure are great and simple ways to check your health.

This morning I had my surprise.   This morning I am a ¼ inch taller than I thought.  Weird, but that is ok.  It is probably just a difference in how I was measured, or maybe it is just related to it being early in the day.   Early in the morning you can be taller than later in the day.  The discs and tendons in your body are not quite as smashed from gravity in the morning, unlike how they will be later in the day.  If I had been shorter than normal I’d know my bones were getting fragile and at risk to break.  That would mean having to start a bone strengthening pill.

The next surprise came when I stepped on the scale. DARN!!! This gal is truly heavier by 5 pounds than one month ago.  Honestly my clothes are a too big compared to two months ago.  The belt I wear has no more holes, it can’t be made smaller.   What is going on?  Well I’ve been riding my bike a lot.  My son’s eighth grade classmates are training for the Multiple Sclerosis charity bike ride the “MS 150”, I’m helping them train.  Our team name is the “Road Scholars”. The goal is to do 150 miles over two days.   After each ride I have been eating ice cream.  It is one of the reasons I like to ride a bike.  After 20 miles on the road I feel like I can eat my chocolate chunk ice cream and enjoy it.  After 40 miles I eat anything I want. So I’ve put on fat and muscle.  Even the Tour de France bike riders have to watch what they eat.  An extra 5 pounds is a lot more work to move around on the bike.  So my plan is to have ice cream only two times a week, eat fruit instead and keep riding.  I’ll drop the five pounds in about two weeks.

The next test is blood pressure.  It is just a bit too high at 130/80.  It is just another reason to lose those five pounds.  When my weight drops my blood pressure drops. 

Get your numbers checked.