The Doctor's Note.

posted by voh 20:08, 15 June, 08

About 8 months ago, I felt I needed to do something about my physical condition. I wanted to lose weight and train my joints - my knees in specific. Two of my friends had also been considering getting a subscription to a gym, and we decided to do it together. We went into it enthusiastically and planning to do some good, hard work there and get ourselves back into shape. It started off fairly well, but not long after my resolve waned and not long after disappeared.

The first reason was a trained who was supposed to guide me - hold my hand through some initial tests to see where my points of attention were. It started off well enough, with a confirmation that my physical shape was ballooning out of realistic proportions and that something had to be done. I've been gaining weight consistently since I was around 20, and it got to the point where I just got entirely fed up with it, and my own inactivity in specific.

Halfway through that session, my trainer seemed to lose interest and instead of coaching me, he started spending his time chatting up a female gym patron. I had to excuse myself for interrupting his mating ritual for coaching, and the second time I intended to do so, he was nowhere to be found. Asking at the desk, it seemed he had left early, with the girl he was wooing. I got angry. I got very angry, actually, and I demanded another trainer was appointed to me so I could get the service I was paying for.

After about 15 minutes, another trainer appeared, who had been pulled out of a meeting, hence the svelte suit he was wearing, apologising profusely for the behaviour of his colleague. However friendly he was, and helpful, the damage had already been done. Though the damage wasn't going to show itself for a good 2 months, it turned out to be significant enough.

Because two weeks later, after one additional gym session, I got a bit of bad luck as far as health goes. First I got the flu link along with pericoronitis and strep throat link and of course, one shouldn't forget the fact that the surgeon only put in one stitch for the removed wisdom tooth while in the end it became obvious more were needed link .

This whole deal lasted around 1,5 - 2 months. 3-4 weeks before I'd gotten over my hatred for doctors (due to the realization it wasn't getting better but worse), then another 3-4 weeks of getting better after the antibiotics and surgery.

During this time I was almost unable to eat, and lost 16 kilos. The problem is, a lot of that was muscle mass, and technically I was simply malnourished. So after this whole deal was over, I hadn't been to the gym in two months. It took another good month before I was back to my original weight again and I started feeling less weak and malnourished.

After all this was over, I found out people working at the gym had given out personal information about my attendance to people I know, and this infuriated me even more. I was done with this gym, but the stranglehold contract I had willingly signed was hanging over my head.

16 months worth of subscription lay ahead. 60 euro a month, that's 960 euro worth of hating them left.

In the meantime, I've had some stressful dealings with life, and I've gained a bit of extra weight, and I'm not glad about that. So I had two options - sport more, thereby using the gym subscription, or resolve the stress, get a 'get out of gym free' card and live a better life.

To get a 'get out of gym free' card, I needed to either move to a location where the nearest gym from that franchise is more than 15 kilometers away, or get a doctor's note saying my health doesn't allow me to sport.

So off to the doctor I went. And while I was there, I also wanted to talk to him about a little problem I'd been having since just before I lost my job in February - every time I eat meat or drink alcohol, together or apart, I get sick a couple of hours after and I get, well, let's just say I have to spend quite a bit of time in the little vohs room.

In addition to writing a note to be released from sporty badness, he suggested I stop eating meat and drinking alcohol for a few weeks to see if it helps, if the problem goes away.

Now, I don't eat a lot of meat. I'll eat a warm dish with meat twice or thrice a week, and perhaps drink alcohol once or twice a week. So in all honesty, the switch won't make for a very big difference. In addition to meat and alcohol, I'm cutting my intake of caffeine back to about half of what I used to, hoping that that will make a difference as well.

So.

I'm a vegetarian :o

At least for the coming 3 weeks. I've got 3 days under my belt so far, and I'm already feeling an amazing lot better. I'm feeling fitter, less tired and generally a lot healthier.

The reason I'm posting this here is manyfold - on one hand I felt it might be interesting to some, on the other I wanted to explain why I'm not eating meat or drinking, as I've been getting some weird questions about it. On the third hand I'm hoping to pre-empt people going "Oh shit, you're not going to be a veggie nazi are you?" by saying NO. I will not become a veggie nazi - eating meat is perfectly okay, I'm not not eating meat from a point of view opposing using animals for food (the rotten bastards'd do it if they could, and they do try - just go into the African backlands unarmed - see how long you live) but only because it seems to be better for my health at the moment. There's a good chance that by the time my stressful period ends, I'll be eating cow again, but time will have to tell.

On the fourth hand, and this is actually quite an important one, I need some support in this. I've been a very resolute meat eater my entire life - I've never said no to a good steak or well-prepared piece of chicken. I'm also not opposed to drinking, sometimes to a stupor. But now I can't - or at least, shouldn't - and I really don't need to feel like I have to defend the situation as much as I've had to do already.

I'm not asking for much - all I'm asking for is a bit of support, since I fear it's not going to be easy in about a week's time, when it's not just a few days without.

Also, I had a Subway sandwich today, with a veggie patty. Fuck, these places have no idea about taste. Vegetarians don't eat meat - sure - but that doesn't mean they can't taste that the 'meat replacement' tastes like cardboard.

I'm now going to drink Rooibos with pepper and ginger to wash the taste away. Never going to get a veggie Sub ever again.

Ugh.

8 comments

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Zachary Lewis (mail/url) @ 16/06/2008 - 01:12

Big life changes start with little steps. I'm really glad you're feeling better now and shitting less! Keep up the good work, and we'll get some tofurkey later. :)

anti (mail/url) @ 16/06/2008 - 13:38

I'm sorry to say it, but by the time the 3 weeks are over, you'll still be defending it, simply because people can't handle when people they know act different from before, or different from themselves.

Anyway, if you turn it into a habit later on, the people who know you will get used to it after a longer period, and stop commenting on it.

And I bet it's mostly about malnutrition (a very common thing, really), so getting a more balanced diet will probably do wonders. and it doesn't necessarily have to include meat, even after the three weeks. fish is supposed to be healthy, though, so you could try that.

Whatever makes you feel healthy again. And if the people you know can't handle it, screw 'em :)

JLT* (mail/url) @ 16/06/2008 - 13:51

Hey I'm not a vegitarian but I particularly liked the veggie thing :)

its great with loads of peppers, olives, cheese and pickles :D

voh (mail/url) @ 16/06/2008 - 16:29

Zach: I'll keep you to that promise!

Anti: Only time will tell. Good thing that this is a doctor's order, not a choice made on principle. That makes it a lot easier to explain, and for them to 'get' :)

JLT*: It wasn't as bad as I feared it would be - it looked like cardboard with corn and other stuff pressed into it. It only tasted a little like cardboard ;) Additionally, for something that's supposed to be all-veggie and natural and shit, it looks very unnatural :P

phib (mail/url) @ 17/06/2008 - 16:46

So do you expect to get back into shape without sport then? Just by relieving the stress?

devil's advocate has spoken.

voh (mail/url) @ 17/06/2008 - 20:20

Oh, no, that's not the case, I'm going to start running with friends soon, but I just don't want to pay for a gym I'm hardly using and won't be using because everyone who works there was hit by the asshole stick.

I'll be getting excercise, don't you worry yourself, and I'll improve my diet (well, I already have, now I just need to keep it up), both will work towards a better constitution.

Don't assume, my dear German ;)

phib (mail/url) @ 18/06/2008 - 11:27

The asshole stick.. is that similar to that broomstick you tried to poke me with when I visited you years ago..? Cause I think you managed to hit me. :P

nar (mail/url) @ 18/06/2008 - 11:33

there ain't nothing wrong with subscribing to a particular dietary philosophy for ligit health reasons :)

there also ain't nothing wrong with being a veggie, provided you take the time to consume a balanced, nutritious (vegetarian) diet.

there's a whole lot wrong with preachy veggies bitching to us omnivores about why we shouldn't eat meat and why it's better not to and you don't need meat blah blah blah blah.

hope the diet works out man! keep it up!

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