Diet & Wisdom Appetizers

There’s no such thing as being too thin or too rich!”

I’m not sure who said this, but most likely it was one of those those rich, skinny girls from Sex and the City. I really have never had an issue with either one of these things over the course of my life so I wouldn’t know firsthand. Somehow I can’t imagine that I’d mind being thinner or having more money, but those are two separate fantasies to be sure.

Of the two though, I can speak to the too thin issue as I watched my mother struggle with hyper thyroid problems. I, on the other hand battle hypo thyroid issues. For those of you who don’t know the difference: hypo thyroid is your metabolism is in a coma and when it does work it’s like sludge through a pipe on a cold winter’s day; hyper thyroid is like the Energizer bunny on crack.

My 5’4” mother couldn’t gain weight no matter what she ate. She never topped the scale higher than 135 pounds throughout her whole life. (At that weight she thought she was a cow.) The last few years of her life she averaged about 110 pounds and hugging her was like hugging a bag of bones. You literally could feel every vertebrae in her spine.

My daughter has a co-worker struggling with the same over active thyroid problems. This woman weighs 107 pounds and despite her record breaking eating binges, she cannot gain weight.

While those of us carrying too much weight wish we could trade places with these people, not being able to gain weight is every bit as serious a health risk as obesity. Just hearing about the things this little tiny woman eats hoping to gain weight makes me cringe, as she’s filling up on giant burritos, onion rings and French fries. Overeating fried foods in order to gain weight is extremely unhealthy. Simply because someone is very thin is no guarantee that they are healthy.

Regardless of the fact someone may be underweight, filling their bodies with high fat, fried foods can still damage and clog arteries and cause blood pressure issues, not to mention putting them at risk for heart disease or strokes.

Clearly there must be balance whether we’re too heavy or too thin. Yeah, I’m not going to lie to you; if I could bribe my thyroid into being hyper for a day or two, I’d probably jump at the chance. (No, probably more like a few weeks.) Realistically, I’d rather my thyroid functioned normally without the help of medication. In a perfect world, we’d all have properly working metabolisms putting us all on the same playing field, but as most of us know, life is rarely perfect or fair.

If you’re not sure what your thyroid is doing, a simple blood test can give you a better idea. Malfunctioning thyroid problems are responsible for a host of problems in our bodies. If you’re past due for a check-up or physical, make an appointment soon. You can’t fight the battle if you don’t even know there’s a war going on. Be informed and take control over your own health before it’s too late!

The greatest wealth is health. ~Virgil

19 And it is a good thing to receive wealth from God and the good health to enjoy it. To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life—this is indeed a gift from God. Ecclesiastes 5:19 (NLT)

PRAYER FOR TODAY: Lord, I thank you for preventative medicine that allows us to track health issues and deal with them as they arise. Help to make me a good steward of this body you have entrusted me with. Help me to always do my best to care for it and be a living example of the grace of God in my life. I ask all these things in your name, Lord Jesus. Amen.