3 % Other
So I had to get up today at the crack of 8:45 am to go have some blood drawn and some tests done. The parents decided that for Christmas they would pay for me to see a doctor[TM] as I haven't seen one officially since I was last insured oh about even years ago. Some people might not think this is a good present [TM] but like Yossarian of Catch 22 fame I want to live for ever or die trying. Regular visits to the doctor are a good thing.
Some foolish insured people refuse to see a doctor. They want to tough every little thing out and don't want to bother the doctor. Sometimes they don't want to spend the $ 20.00 co pay. That Co pay is a bargain! People should see what it costs for health care without insurance. So when the Doctor suggested told the folks to send me to this place to get my labs drawn for $40 we danced the dipsy doodle. These labs normally cost hundred of dollars.
Now if your thing is you don't want to bother the doctor or think you can tough things out then yas just haven't seen enough television. Even this most uninformed person ought to know that early detection is the key to surviving most life threatening illnesses. So if when I see the doctor next month, he ask for me to bend over so he can check out the old prostate I'll say, "Be Gentle." Not that I want the man to do anything like that but there is nothing more reassuring than when a doctor says, "your fine."
Anyway after the woman in the lab coat drew blood today she started entering my information in a little suit case machine and took some magic wand like device and pressed it against my arm. Presto! We know that 36 % of my body weight is fat. Not only do we know that but we have a huge four page print out of information about my basil metabolic rate and calorie consumption needs. It also tells me I'm like 61 % lean though I may be remembering that wrong as 36 + 61 = 97 leaving a strange 3 percent un accounted for. Maybe I'm 3 % other. I doubt it.
So they tell me my ideal weight is 202 pounds. I don't ever remember a time I was that thin. It says with moderate exercise and a 256 calorie reduction I can achieve that weight in 74 weeks. I'll wait to see what the doctor says.
The shocker was that people with my percentage of body fat have only a 77% chance of living to out their life expectancy. I really don't like that number. That is one of those numbers that keeps you awake at night wondering about the afterlife and how close you are to it.
So in summary: I'm 3 % other. Body fat technology seems like magic. Under the doctor's supervision I'll see how close I can come to the 74 week plan.
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Some foolish insured people refuse to see a doctor. They want to tough every little thing out and don't want to bother the doctor. Sometimes they don't want to spend the $ 20.00 co pay. That Co pay is a bargain! People should see what it costs for health care without insurance. So when the Doctor suggested told the folks to send me to this place to get my labs drawn for $40 we danced the dipsy doodle. These labs normally cost hundred of dollars.
Now if your thing is you don't want to bother the doctor or think you can tough things out then yas just haven't seen enough television. Even this most uninformed person ought to know that early detection is the key to surviving most life threatening illnesses. So if when I see the doctor next month, he ask for me to bend over so he can check out the old prostate I'll say, "Be Gentle." Not that I want the man to do anything like that but there is nothing more reassuring than when a doctor says, "your fine."
Anyway after the woman in the lab coat drew blood today she started entering my information in a little suit case machine and took some magic wand like device and pressed it against my arm. Presto! We know that 36 % of my body weight is fat. Not only do we know that but we have a huge four page print out of information about my basil metabolic rate and calorie consumption needs. It also tells me I'm like 61 % lean though I may be remembering that wrong as 36 + 61 = 97 leaving a strange 3 percent un accounted for. Maybe I'm 3 % other. I doubt it.
So they tell me my ideal weight is 202 pounds. I don't ever remember a time I was that thin. It says with moderate exercise and a 256 calorie reduction I can achieve that weight in 74 weeks. I'll wait to see what the doctor says.
The shocker was that people with my percentage of body fat have only a 77% chance of living to out their life expectancy. I really don't like that number. That is one of those numbers that keeps you awake at night wondering about the afterlife and how close you are to it.
So in summary: I'm 3 % other. Body fat technology seems like magic. Under the doctor's supervision I'll see how close I can come to the 74 week plan.
More Laters
posted by Rich Rosenthal II at 1:39 AM
3 Comments:
I've been dieting this year, and now to a more "normal" weight for my height according to the BMi stuff. Diabetes and cancer run in my family, so the better my weight, the better off I am from getting cancer and such.
Hope you had a good birthday!
How weird to have your essence reduced to percentages and probabilities. I know a lady whose job it is to tell the insurance companies what kind of risk a person is depending on their lifestyle. She can ask you like 6 questions and tell you how long you'll live, barring accidents. I try to avoid her at parties.
Anyway, glad you got around to that physical. I guess I've been shirking my annual lately.
Happy holidays then, may good health be the result of your present!
Kim C.
Your parents are wise indeed. I forgot how lucky we have it here in the Great White North. In exchange for tax rates that would make your nose bleed, we don't have to worry about paying for every Doc's visit or test. The list of covered services is gradually shrinking, but it's still less of a fiscal drain than it is elsewhere in the world.
At least now you have a direction and a plan. I'm sure you'll beat that 74-week figure, and then some. If I lived closer, I'd offer to head out on bike rides with you. Between that and walking everywhere, that's how I've managed to keep the spare tire from growing around my midsection.
Aside from fire, few things scare me more than losing my health. Thanks for reminding us all how important it is.
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