While waiting for patients to arrive late this afternoon, the other hygienists and I chatted about the usual things that girls chat about--losing weight, exercising (or lack of), and our BMI (Body Mass Index) scores. (We had to get away from talking about plaque and cavities for a minute!) One hygienist has lost 37 pounds and counting while exercising daily. Her BMI is telling her to lose a little bit more (she will and is continuously looking fabulous). Since I was curious and had a few minutes, I checked mine. Luckily, the calculator doesn't ask about activity level (just height and weight), so I am all good. Or "normal". Another hygienist, looking over my shoulder, asked me to put her height and weight into the blank spaces. She looks normal, but the BMI says otherwise--"overweight". She also exercises by attending Zumba classes and walking on the treadmill. But, like she said, "it's the beer". :)
The best thing I took from these few minutes of judging ourselves and seeing what a computer calculator tells us is the phrase spoken by the "overweight" hygienist that drinks beer. She said, "I am only quitting drinking when I quit working here". Gotta love it. I used to feel this same way. Burn out, tired and stressed. But even though there looks to be an end in sight for me, I will continue to toast all of my drinks to Panama and retirement.
IMO, the Balboa beer here is excellent. I've also had less trouble with my weight with all this fresh, healthy food.
ReplyDeletePeople here are conscious of health and exercise. They walk, they bike, and participate on other sports. But, they also seem more accepting of different sizes. It's very common to see tight clothes on bigger women, and the women in general are very curvy and beautiful. Maybe they are a little more sensible than we are about this subject?
But, I also see an abundance of America fast food moving in, and I don't think we are doing them any favors.