Truly an Inspiration

“I’ve lost 50 lbs since August!”
“That’s amazing,” PP murmurs, truly astonished. This is like what? Almost half her body weight!
Less 50 lb Woman exhales deeply in the hot tub as her friend, who’d been talking about her Hip Replacement up till this announcement, sat across the tub, shaking her head. “You are truly an Inspiration!”
“Yeah, well, I blew it the other day. My friend and I were driving through Vacaville to see a client and she wanted to stop at a what’s it called? Oh yeah… Foster’s Freeze…. that’s what it’s called.”
”Yum. Ice cream!” PP sighs happily, envisioning those swirled chocolate and vanilla soft cones.
“Yeah, well, if I had just had one of those, I mighta been better off, but no, I had to go for the fried chicken nuggets. I only had 3 or 4 and they were pretty small, but still…..I definitely fell off the wagon on that one.”
“Hell, you’ve been so good for so long,” Hip Replacement Woman encourages, shaking her head. “You deserve a break once in awhile.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right. It’s just that once I start….”
“I hear you!”
“How did you lose 50 lbs so quickly?” PP asks, remembering she’d seen Inspiration Woman upstairs in the weight room earlier, looking haggard and glassy-eyed as she rested between sets of some stupid weight machine.
“Thousand calories a day. No more than 30 grams of fat. 50 grams of carbohydrates.” PP could have this measurement wrong. She’s so absorbed in the dearth of calories allotment.


“Wow! 1000 calories!” PP exclaims. Hell, no wonder she was tired up at the weight machines. What women won’t do to lose weight. Thou IW admittedly looked like she’d packed it on in the past. PP had noticed the folding layers hanging limply along her hips, waist, and arms when she’d gotten into the tub. Now with the dramatic 50 lb weight loss story, the loosey brown folds of skin were explained. PP had to admit, too, that she was inspiring! Imagine the amount of determination it must take to stick to 1000 calories a day. PP frankly couldn't imagine. She was always so in awe of these women here at the Y who'd turned their life around like this.

Extremes always impressed her!



“You are an Inspiration!” HRW exclaims again. “I have put on the pounds, too, since I can’t dance anymore. What with my hip issues.”
“Everyone I know,” IW nods her head, “swears by the surgery. My mama got a hip replacement when she was 83 years old and she’s going strong today.”
“Another Inspiration!” PP grins.
“That’s right,” IW eyes PP a little more warmly. Not quite welcoming her into their complaining about their bodies club.
“Yeah, well, I dunno,” HRW shakes her head. “I gotta find out more about it. I just know that it’s hard to do anything anymore.”
“What about swimming?” PP asks, knowing that swimming is the answer to all that ails anyone.
“Yeah, swimming is good for you!” IW nods seriously.
“I know. Swimming is good. I try. But I’m not really much of a swimmer.”
“It’s just good to be in the water, though, isn’t it?” PP asks.
“Oh, yeah. The water does wonders.”
PP nods, happy that her Pool Bliss theory once again pans out. She sees all types in the YMCA pool. From scrawny Asian kids to pudding-type middle aged White Women, to well-built African American dudes. Some can swim. Some can’t. It doesn’t matter. The water is healing and restorative.
“I just hafta get back on the wagon,” IW sighs deeply. “Get back to eating right.”
”What do you eat?” HRW asks.
“Mostly vegetables, fruit….”
“Isn’t fruit high in carbohydrates?”
“Yeah, some of it is. You’re right. But berries, raspberries, blueberries, they’re fine.”



“And high in antioxidants!” PP pipes in. She’s seen the posters at Kaiser.
“That’s right!” IW nods, serious now. “Broccoli. Cauliflower.”
“I love Broccoli!” PP beams. Really she does. Could live on broccoli and ice cream and swimming. That’s all she’d need. Oh and maybe coffee. “Come to think of it, you are making me hungry! I need to get going and find some food.”
“Well, look at you,” HRW shakes her head as they both watch PP climb outta the tub.
PP would’ve blushed if she’d been 16 still. This had been such a source of embarrassment way back then. Thought that she’d never grow out of it. But she had. Like most things. Now she just smiles, charmingly. Or at least trying for a bit of humble humility. After all, she was so damn skinny in these women’s eyes.




“It’s all the broccoli!” PP giggles.
“And swimming!” HRW nods emphatically.
“Yup. The swimming doesn’t hurt. See you both next time. In the pool, I hope.”
“You’ll see me. I want to do that water aerobic class. Do you know when they have that?” IW asks.
PP didn’t. She’d never taken one of the water classes, but of course, she had the pool schedule. Gave it to IW, with plenty of encouragement about being active in the water.

Then off she went, really famished, for her broccoli and ice cream midnight snack. Now if only there was a Foster’s Freeze on the way home!