What to tell my doctor.

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  • wewon
    wewon Posts: 838 Member
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    It can be intimidating to argue with a doctor, so just tell them what you have done and instead of letting the final tale being told by weight alone, tell them about other changes such as the changes in your waist size and have them check your body fat percentage.
  • mermx
    mermx Posts: 976
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    Okay MFP's I need advice. 3 months ago I went through a series of blood tests to determine if I was diabetic etc. The tests came back pre-diabetic. At that point the endocronlogist told me based on my weight that I was obese (bmi). I am a 47 year old African American woman. I am 5'3 and at the time weight around 175.. She told me that she wanted me to lose weight using the scarsdale diet... I told her no. While i needed to lose weight I was no where near obese and her charts were flawed.


    At 5`3" and 175lbs then I am sorry it is obese. I know because I am 5`4" and was 180lbs when I started and I was obese.

    On the up side good for you for starting to make a change. As this means you have accepted the fact that your weight is not good for your height or health. Whether you think you are obese or overweight, you have had a wake up call with the blood tests.

    Tell your Dr that you wish to carry on with your own weigh loss plan. Just because they recommend you follow their plan does not mean you have to do it their way.

    But most importantly keep up with what you are doing and get out of the pre diabetic stage that you are in and prove to yourself how important you are to you!
  • Akimajuktuq
    Akimajuktuq Posts: 3,037 Member
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    Your doctor is correct about you falling under obese, but they have a pretty low criteria for obese. They will usually give your "ideal" weight as something crazy. For me, they would say 125, which is too small for me. Also, doctors do not generally know much about nutrition, and will base their advice on what I consider incorrect info. One of the best doctors that I had admitted that I shouldn't ask him about what to eat because he only had one course in nutrition while studying to become a doctor, but he still prescribed me some medication that was supposed to send fat through the body undigested; I was still in my 20s and thought it was worth any risk to lose weight. lol It's hard to believe that doctors don't learn much about nutrition, and few will be honest about their lack of knowledge, when what we eat largely determines our health!

    About BMI, here on MFP, they have my low range at 114 pounds. I am 5'6" with a medium build and tend to be a bit more muscular than average. If I were 114, I should be in the hospital! I was about 140 at age 14 with a waist of 28, and I was slim. So now that I'm old, had a child, etc, I'm good at anything under 180 but would be best at about 150. Some doctors would still call me obese at 160, NOT. I don't talk to doctors about nutrition, and just avoid them in general.
  • ChgingMe
    ChgingMe Posts: 539 Member
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    I am going to change my profile pic so you can see what i looked like at 175. I would classify myself as overweight with most of it being around my middle. Middle age spread I guess. Since this pic has been taken ive lost an inch and a half in my waist. The irony of it all is that my original blood work came back-- in her words-- impressive. Cholesteral and all that junk was text book as she called it. The only snafu was my gluecose which is pre-diabetic at 6.1 I think it was. so give me a sec to change my profile pic so you all can see me.
  • tcunbeliever
    tcunbeliever Posts: 8,219 Member
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    Ask your doctor to track your body fat percent in addition to your weight. Any medical profession should be ok with using that as a standard of measurement, and it will take into account all your hard work.
  • VogtAndrea
    VogtAndrea Posts: 236
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    Do yourself a favour and click on reports. Build every set of reports over a 30 day period that it will give you and print each one out. Take them with you when you go to the doctor next including a printout of your goals and maybe even a sample of most days' food diarly.
    The consternation in her eyes from knowing you expect her to actually read the reports alone might make you smile later.
    If she won't, she's not a good fit for you. If she does and still pushes fad diets at you, you might want to consider seeing a dietician and asking her for a referral, along with her suggestions in writing.
  • sacorner
    sacorner Posts: 45 Member
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    Personally I would ask my doctor to redo the blood work. Making a judgement about your overall health can not be made using one single number. It is very likely with the changes you have made to become healthier that those numbers will have changed much more significantly then the scale.

    Good luck!
  • kiminikimkim
    kiminikimkim Posts: 746 Member
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    If you are comfortable losing 1.5lbs every month, then keep it up.

    If you want to see a 1lbs loss every week, you will need to adjust your calorie intake. "Burned exercise" calories aren't every accurate. I find them to be over-estimated. They may be hindering progress.
  • thedancingleper
    thedancingleper Posts: 158 Member
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    The fact your doctor shot you down in a really rude way would send me to another doctor pretty much immediately. I mean even if you were wrong, that sort of response seems out of line. Maybe I'm just overly sensitive though.
  • allnewellie
    allnewellie Posts: 156
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    Muscle DOES NOT weigh more than fat! 1 lb of muscle = 1 lb of fat.

    That aside, your A1C will tell the truth. Also ask for a full CBC and tri-panel. Those numbers should blow that doctor away. If they don't, find a Dr. that is more involved with sports medicine-minded people. That Dr. will be able to appreciate your new lifestyle, and find ways to encourage you on the path you've chosen.

    Well done!
  • supplemama
    supplemama Posts: 1,956 Member
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    The doctor was rude but your tests did come back that you are per-diabetic. Doesn't that scare you into wanting to lose weight? Diabetes is a nasty, nasty disease that greatly affects your health and quality of life. It's possible that your doctor had your best interests at heart. Rather than arguing with her about if you're obese or not, maybe ask her what would be a good weight that's likely to take you out of being in a pre-diabetic state.

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