Every weekday afternoon my mother-in-law tunes in to the "Dr. Oz Show," where she faithfully watches and notes the latest trends in personal health and wellness and adds to her daily pill regimen based on Dr. Oz' recommendations. (One day I watched her lay out her pills for the upcoming month and she explained the use of each one to me as she opened well over a dozen different bottles. About a third of them she was taking solely "because Dr. Oz said to." The man has some powerful sway).
At first I was mildly amused by Dr. Oz. I assumed that he, like most evening show hosts, was more entertainer and entrepreneur than doctor, and took little of what he said seriously. But lately I have started to pay more attention, mostly because I am in the worst shape of my life.
For the first time in my 22 years I have a belly that sticks out over my jeans, and I can no longer eat whatever I want without consequences. I've lost almost all the muscle tone that I built over years of ballet and yoga, and a year of living in the dorms at college has left me pale and pasty. I break out all of the time (I used to think that acne went away at the magical age of 18. But alas, it seems to only get worse from there) and a year of finally having my own transportation has also meant less walking and biking, resulting in a body that I do my best to cover up while everyone else is showing skin for summer. When I decided that I was ashamed of how I looked, my inner self started to go downhill too--decreasing my desire to go out in crowds, my confidence in myself, my ability to believe it when people say I'm beautiful, and even my comfort levels with my husband when we want to be intimate. I see girls with perfect bodies sizing me up at the supermarket and I want to disappear. I am not myself anymore.
Last week I watched a Dr. Oz in which he offered a simple "health quiz" with twenty questions designed to help the audience find where they stand as adults based on the most commonly agreed upon issues in health. I scored a miserable 7 out of 20, which irritated me to no end. As I watched Dr. Oz smile his winning smile and congratulate the members of the audience with high scores, I wanted to punch something. I'm in the prime of my life! I used to hike mountains and run the mile in under eight minutes! And now I'm scoring F's on some television character's quiz.
I've decided that it's time to make a change. Starting with the general stuff, and working my way up. Tim and I got some groceries, including fruit and cereal so that I'll stop skipping breakfast and have something healthy each morning. I'm not a big fan of pills, but I've started taking a multi-vitamin and a low-dose aspirin each day to help prevent blood clots (I've got a blood disorder). I've also set some simple goals: limit soda and caffeine intake (which any college student can tell you is difficult--it's been practically a staple in my diet for four years), don't snack after dinner, walk and exercise every day, drink more water, etc. Today I walked two laps around the Greenbelt at the river and forced myself to wear shorts, even though it made me cringe to see how white and shapeless my legs have become. By the end of the first lap I felt good, and by the second I was grinning ear to ear. I can do this. I can get my body back.
In reality I don't think Dr. Oz is a bad guy. He genuinely seems to care that people take charge of their health in responsible ways and even corrects himself when new research proves his past advice wrong. Am I going to watch his show religiously and create my own pill regimen? The odds are low. But for now I am grateful that his silly quiz gave me the motivation to finally stop doing nothing and start doing something for my health, both physical and mental, so that I can become confident in myself again and happy with where I'm at. Who knows--maybe the habits I start now will stick with me for life, and I'll end up being one of the fit grannies who can out-lap all the twenty-somethings of the future =)
