Majority--or Minority?

Though I've been overweight most of my life, I've never considered myself part of a minority. Sure, some of my friends and family members were slim and svelte, or even athletic, but it seemed that just as many fought the battle of the bulge just like me.

For probably the 100th time in my life, I've been trying to get myself psyched up to lose weight over the past few weeks. I hate how I feel carrying around all this extra weight--and the heat of the summer just accentuates the problem.

But today, I read something that gave me halt and made me think all over again, "What's the use?".

According to the results of a new study released last Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, America has continued its trend of growing fatter and fatter over the last two years. But here's the kicker that put me in the minority: it seems my home state of Colorado is the least obese state in the good old U.S. of A., with less than 20 percent of Coloradoans being obese.

I guess that means that all my co-workers who take off to the mountains to hike every Friday have the right idea. And all those vegans who nibble on rabbit food every day at lunch and drink soy milk every morning at breakfast really know what they're doing.

Problem is, I hate that healthy stuff! I want to get healthy, but at what cost? If it can be done simply through portion control and walking up the four flights of stairs every day to my lonely little cube, well, OK, I can do that. I can even use my 30 minute lunch time to force myself down to our building's gym to walk a mile on the treadmill.

But walk a "niner" like the rest of those crazy health nuts that live in my state? No way! I'd make it 50 steps going up an incline like that and keel over with an asthma attack. Quick! Someone pass the inhaler!!

I've never been a member of a minority before--at least, not that I know of. But in this case, I feel more at home with residents of the other 49 states who've grown up to 2 percent fatter in the last 2 years. Call me crazy but I'd rather be a phattypants than a member of the nutty majority!