Saturday, April 24, 2010

Weighty issues

I was very skinny when I was young. Between May when I graduated from ninth grade and September when I entered 10th, I grew 5 full inches in height -- from 5-7 to 6-0. Yet I didn't gain a pound of weight. At that point, I was 6-0 and weighed about 130 pounds. My pants were 27 waist, 34 inseam. I didn't surpass 150 pounds until my early 30s. And didn't surpass 170 until my early 40s.

I most certainly was one of those types who could eat anything and any amount at any time of day or night. The act of sucking on a straw caused me to lose weight as I drank a 1,000-calorie milkshake. My stomach was as big around as the straw.

However ...........................................................................................................

Metabolism finally caught up to me. Now I'm 190 and battling not to get bigger. My arms and legs are still relatively thin, but my stomach is no longer cooperating. Over the past 10 years ago, I finally have had to watch what I eat. And watch and watch.

And my pants are now 36 waist, 30 inseam. I understand the waist growing, but I don't quite get the inseam shrinking.

Now, 6-0 and 190 doesn't exactly make me a porker. But guys like me who gain weight only in their stomachs also end up gaining things like cholesterol and blood pressure and blood sugar.

So, we exercise. And we don't eat after dinner. And, my gawd, we don't get within a mile of a milkshake.

2 comments:

Alex Humphrey said...

At 23, I am starting to see the beginning phases of this horrible truth. Oh how I shall miss those wonderful milkshakes as I slowly change my diet from a fried grease fest to one that involves things like "vegetables" and the ever allusive "fruits."

And soy. Whoever said soy is the same as meat was wrong. very wrong. haha

Jim Melvin said...

Milkshakes, yes. A thousand calories a piece. Mang.

So however is awesome! Try the fake chicken in a stir fry!

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About Me

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Clemson, SC, United States
I was born in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., but grew up in St. Petersburg, Fla. I graduated from the University of South Florida (Tampa) in 1979 with a B.A. in Journalism. I now live in South Carolina near the Blue Ridge Mountains, a pleasant setting for writing, to say the least. I was an award-winning journalist at the St. Petersburg Times for twenty-five years and I currently work at the Charlotte Observer. I am married with five daughters.

The author

The author
Jim Melvin, a veteran journalist, debuts as novelist.