While spending time with my siblings at my niece’s wedding in hot and torrid Arizona, I jokingly mused about my feeling of utter and total oneness with those poor souls who are the focus and subject of the show, “My 600 Pound Life”. Nearing 60 years of age, I am experiencing the dreaded “slowing down of the metabolism” that I could just as well call “too lazy to bend over and pick up the TV remote”… You see, though it may have seemed easier in my youth to drop 10 pounds in a minute by doing a few quick crunches or altering my diet for a few days like no sugar in my tea, the fact remains that my level of activity on any given day in my late 50’s has probably diminished by about 40% compared to my 30’s and even 40’s. Dropping 10-15 pounds at this point seems just as hopeless and unattainable to me from a psychological standpoint as the 300 pounds the folks on the TV show need to lose to save their lives… Denying yourself, cutting things you love out of your diet, butter-less popcorn, no fried foods, or even more horrendous, no sweets, not eating when you’re feeling sad or not snacking when you’re not hungry – I go back to my original assertion – I totally understand the “600 pound” feelings of despair and hopelessness. Though I am possibly being a bit tongue in cheek about this topic and certainly not intending to offend anyone nor trivialize the pervasive issue of obesity in our country, I stand on my assertion that I get it. Or maybe I should just take my brother Rene’s advice when he said maybe I should stop worrying about the 10-15 pounds I would like to lose (so I can feel better about myself) and accept the gut and the fact I will probably never again have a close relationship with a six pack (unless it’s in the form of a really tasty Mexican beer), embrace my ever-widening waistband, fall on my sword and then buy the next size up anyway. It’s all relative until you want to put on some skinny jeans and realize, “That’s not a good look for you!” There’s always going to be someone slimmer than you and someone heavier. Some days it’s about self acceptance and other days it’s about ego. I guess there is a certain level of joy I should have just being here. So I’ll stick with the joy.