me, my doctors, & the scale.

When we lose twenty pounds... we may be losing the twenty best pounds we have! We may be losing the pounds that contain our genius, our humanity, our love and honesty.
~Woody Allen


For much of my life I've been told by one doctor or another that I am in some way, shape, or form unhealthy and I'm at risk for one thing or another.

It's been about nine years since that's has all began, and the doctors are still wrong.

Their biggest complaint is that they believe me to be overweight and by societal standards and the number that's on the scale technically they are right. However, at the same time they could not be further from the truth.

and this is why...

Health care is extremely impersonal. Therefore, it's hard for me to buy that every female who stands at 5'7'' should weigh no more than 140 lbs. The issue is this, I feel as though no one takes into account the lifestyle of a young adult. Important factors are often ignored such as physical activity, medical history, age etc. It's often a height to weight ratio, which in my opinion is silly and useless.

We all know that muscle weighs more than fat, and as many times that I have gone to the doctors they've never measured my muscle composition.

All I'm saying is that health is so much more than the number on the scale, and it's truly a shame that we as a society put so much emphasis on that number. And I find that the emphasis gets put on at the worst of times, like during our teenage years when we're all already so insecure.

Now, let's get just one thing straight. By no means am I condoning over eating, not exercising or anything of that nature. I'm just saying there are many factors that doctors should take into consideration before they deem a young man or woman overweight which in turn can foster for that child a long road of self esteem issues.

I guess you could say I'm on the luckier side. Sure I've had my rough patches of self esteem and what not, but who hasn't? You see, I always knew that I was and still am a healthy individual. I also realize that, probably for the rest of my life my doctors will tell me I'm overweight, but these doctors don't ask me what I do in my spare time. Up until college I was a year round athlete, and now in college the gym is basically my home. The way that my body is, I realize I will never be at the recommended weight that I should be at. But that certainly doesn't mean that I or I'm sure dozens of other young adults unhealthy.