24-Hour Fast
A couple of months ago, I thought about a medical checkup. I don’t know why I thought of this, but it did seem like I hadn’t had one for some time. I called my doctor’s office to see if it was time for one. I was more than two years overdue for a checkup. The receptionist set up an appointment for me. She also told me that I needed to have a 24-hour fast before the appointment. This was required for the blood tests afterward, not for the checkup itself. I agreed to everything. My appointment was for 10:30 on a Tuesday morning.
On the Monday, I had my usual breakfast. That was my last meal for that day. I could drink water, but not eat any food until lunch time on Tuesday. I decided right then what I was going to have for lunch on Tuesday. I was looking forward to it already. I went grocery shopping in the morning. I could look at all that food, but not eat any of it. Lunch on Monday was out. So was supper. Usually I did exercise, by shoveling snow or walking, along with pushups and situps, but I decided that without food I should conserve my energy. Time passed slowly without eating and without exercise. Finally it was bedtime. My checkup was tomorrow, with lunch right afterwards.
I was up early on Tuesday morning, as I usually am. No breakfast this time, though. I usually drank tea and coffee after breakfast while reading news sites on my computer. Not today, though. I drank some water and read the news. I had a slight headache, likely because of caffeine withdrawal. Time went by very slowly. I cleared some snow from my driveway, but just enough so I could get my car out. I was conserving my energy, after all. I decided to weigh myself. I hadn’t done that for some time. In case my doctor asks me, I thought I should check. I was surprised to see that my weight was lower than I expected. That’s curious. Maybe it’s the fast.
Finally it was time. I drove to my doctor’s office. It was cold. The streets were slippery and rutted. I drove carefully. Even then, I was a few minutes early. I sat in the doctor’s waiting room. Then I sat in his examining room. What was I going to say to him? My thoughts kept returning to lunch. Finally my doctor appeared. We had a discussion about my state of health. He did the usual tests on my heart and lungs. All he said was “hmm”. When he took my blood pressure, I said “it’s always been normal”. He said “that’s because you’re slim”. I suppose it was still normal. Then I had an EKG and another discussion with my doctor. No surprises and no bad news anyway. I suppose that’s good news. Then he sent me off for my blood tests. The checkup was finally over. My fast was finally over too. Lunch!
I had exactly what I had wanted for lunch: tea with three pancakes and ham at a nearby restaurant. Every bit of it tasted delicious. I walked out of there feeling quite satisfied. When I got home I added a cup of coffee and a cookie. They were delicious too. It felt so good to be back on my normal eating regime again. I remembered the surprise when I weighed myself. I should even be able to eat a little more. Not too much more, though. I don’t want my waistline to expand any further. I’d better check my weight more frequently. All in all, this worked out pretty well.