Chapter Seven
Todd dropped me off at the house and took off for the Ashford’s place. I unlocked the front door and set my bags down on the couch, along with my purse and went over to close the door. I picked up the bags and took them up to my room. I dumped everything out on my bed, the new clothes smell strong in my nose. I tried on my new gym clothes, and to my surprise, they fit well, and I actually looked okay in them. I folded them and set them aside. I opened the box that held my new shoes. They were a pretty shade of pink and white. They had a lot of padding, and they were my usual size, so I just took out the tissue paper they had used to stuff the toes. I turned them over and removed the price sticker from the bottom. They had been a bit expensive at $99, but I figured I would get good mileage out of them. I set them on the floor next to my bed and opened my new Bluetooth headphones. I paired them with my Android cell phone. They sounded great. Lots of bass, just how I liked it.
Next, I tried on the swimsuit. Despite the color, it fit well. I would have to shave my upper thighs. I usually only shaved my legs up to just above my knees for when I wore dresses or skirts. My legs didn’t look too heavy, my weight problem was more in my stomach, hips, and boobs. I took off the suit and folded it, placing on top of my gym clothes.
I dressed back in my pants and shirt. I opened the black gym bag and looked inside. It had a lot of room, plus a pocket for shampoo, deodorant, etc. It also had a waterproof attached bag to hold my wet swimsuit. I was proud of myself, taking these first steps towards improvement.
I called my primary care physician’s office to see if I could be seen either today or tomorrow. They had a cancellation and could see me at 2:30pm. I checked my phone for the time. It was 2:10pm now, I could make it if I didn’t mess around. I told the receptionist I would be there.
******
I arrived at the Dr’s office at 2:27pm. I wrote down my name on the sign-in sheet and took a seat in the corner of the waiting room. I picked up a magazine and started to skim through it, when the door opened and a medical assistant called my name.
“Amanda Wright?”
“That’s me,” I said, placing the magazine back on the table and walking towards her. I knew what was coming first, and I definitely wasn’t looking forward to that.
“Please step on the scale.”
I got on and watched the electronic display as it went between 282.4 to 284.1 pounds. It finally settled on 283.7. Well, at least I had lost a few ounces. I guess that was a start.
“Follow me, please.”
She lead me to a room and had me sit down on the table. I had to use the little metal step they had next to it.
“I’m going to take your vitals now,” she said. She took my blood pressure, which was actually at a good level. Then she put a blood oxygen reader on my right index finger. It showed my pulse too. My heart was beating a little fast, probably from nerves. She put this thing in my ear to measure my temperature, and then jotted everything down on an Ipad. I guessed everything was electronic these days.
“Dr. Sun will be with you shortly,” she said, walking to the door and closing it behind her.
I folded my hands over my stomach and took a deep breath. After waiting for about 10 minutes, there was a knock on the door, and the doctor entered the room.
“Amanda, it’s been a long time,” he said.
“Hi, Dr. Sun. Yeah, I know. I meant to come sooner, but you know how it is with work and everything.” I said.
“Yes, I’m sure,” he said, unconvinced. “So what brings you in today?”
“Well, I want to join a gym, and start making healthy choices in my life.”
“Really, Amanda. This is good news. I know I’ve talked to you about this before.”
“Yep, and now I’m ready to do it.” I said with a smile on my face. “I’m determined to do it, Dr. Sun.”
He gave me a full physical, an EKG, blood test, urine sample, and a few more things. So far, he seemed pleased with the results.
“If you’re going to start an exercise regimen, remember, you need to start off slowly and work your way up. Don’t go all gung-ho at once. It wouldn’t be good for you or your body."
I thanked him and left, feeling pretty darn good. I went home and fixed myself a salad for a late lunch. I had gotten some lite bleu cheese dressing and put a little on top of the salad and stirred it around a little. I ate while going through my phone, checking my email and social media sites. When I was done, I went to the junk drawer in the kitchen and pulled out the tape measure. I went upstairs to my room and got undressed. I wrote down the measurements of my chest, waist, hips, and thighs. I was ashamed of the numbers, but then thought that this all was temporary. I was going to lose weight if it was the last thing I did. I would have normal numbers at the end of this journey.
I decided that I would weigh and measure myself once a month. That way I wouldn’t be disappointed like I would be if I did it every day or every week, and seeing the results come in slowly. I knew that weight fluctuated all the time, so I would give myself a month in between checking.
Todd came home late that evening. I knew he was tired, but he stayed up to talk for a while. We talked about the work he had done today, and my doctor’s visit.
“Man, I want you to know how proud I am of you for doing this. But remember, take it slow, one step at a time. And I want you to know that no matter what, I love you.”