If the doctor would just ask this simple question, so much could be revealed. Quite possibly the answer could offer more information than blood pressure, temperature or (gasp!) body weight.
In our crazy busy world, this question just makes sense; a simple inquiry yet the underlying issue revealed is so prevalent that we might even be able to label it an epidemic. We should be addressing our fatigue problem, not our fat problem. Instead of obsessing over our weight, we should be focusing on our energy instead.
What kind of difference do you believe it could make if your doctor asked you “how much energy do you feel you have”? Imagine that instead of stepping on the scale, your first data point recorded in your chart addressed your energy level? One easy question that opens up a real dialogue about what is happening in your life and the impact you FEEL it has.
I have created just such a tool that I believe would achieve the purpose of documenting personal levels of energy. It is a simple scale that asks you to rate from 0-10 how much energy you feel you have to go about your day to day activities. Since this scale provides a numeric expression of your own vim, vigor and vitality, I call it VIMDEX.
Now I ask you… if you are a health care provider, would you be willing to ask this simple question in order to open a discussion about what might be the cause of your patient’s fatigue? Do you feel it could be beneficial to address the fatigue instead of their fat?
If you feel less than energetic as you go through your day, do you have any idea why? The solution to your fatigue may be just as complex as the reason it exists, but you have to ask the questions before you find the answers.
What lies behind your fatigue?
Not enough sleep? Too many people depending on you? Impossible deadlines? Worried about …???
The list goes on and on.
And how do you get your energy back? Learn where the leaks are and how to prevent them. Learn where you give your energy away and how to regain control of where you choose to invest your energy.
The solution is not simple or easy. And there is no one size fits all.
However, your abililty to control where your energy goes and how to get is back is far more valuable to you and your health than knowing how to control your weight. A New BMI recognizes that energy management has a greater influence over positive health outcomes.
Learn valuable energy management skills at A New BMI Workshop and Retreat: Eat, Play, Move. November 21-22 at New Hope Camp and Conference Center, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. More good stuff at anewbmi.com.
