5 Kilograms

I've always been tiny and likely always will be. Keeping weight on has always been a bit of a struggle for me but never as difficult as this past year. After my first round of chemo, which happened in November (2010), I actually got down to 77 lbs. Following this, my uncle challenged me to reach 100 lbs by Easter. He even gave me a plaque come Easter, declaring me "heavyweight" champion. Although I was a couple pounds shy when he gave it to me, I did reach the 100 lbs a couple weeks later.

Having surgery and being in the hospital for several weeks after, my weight had declined once again. At my last follow up appointment my oncologist asked me why I weighed so little. He even questioned me if I had been leaning on my crutches when I was weighed. I looked right at him and pointed out the fact that they had taken a pretty big bone out of me recently. I don't think he was expecting an answer from me so he was surprised. His face changed to a "damn, that's a good answer" kind of look. He got up immediately and walked the short distance to my surgeon's office a couple doors down. We could overhear him asking what everything had weighed that they had taken out. When he returned to my room he said that I was lucky, my surgeon had backed me up. At least 5 kg had been removed with all of the bone and muscle that was taken. That's 11 lbs. That's a pretty significant amount. Over 10% of my body weight.

Recently I started thinking, what else weighs 11 lbs? What can I compare it to? So I've compiled a list of other things that weigh 11 lbs.

• a turkey large enough to feed about 10 people
• 44 sticks of butter
• 5L of Pepsi
• a very large newborn (ouch)
• 44 cups of flour
• enough flour to make 70 dozen chocolate chip cookies, 840 individual cookies
• 1 tenth of an average 12 year old ... or me :(
• 22 large bricks of cheese or 528 individual cheese slices
• a medium 10 pin bowling ball
• The President's proposed budget (US 2006) which is a 2,400 page document
• and... it takes 11 lbs of force to strangle a human being (the things you learn when you google "11 lbs")

Turns out everything on the list just makes the 11 lbs seem like an even bigger deal / amount though. To me anyway.

I'd say it doesn't matter and I don't answer to anyone about my weight but that's not true. There are several people periodically checking or asking me what I weigh. I've decided and think it's only fair that 89 lbs be my new 100 lbs (100 - 11 = 89). It has taken a couple month since surgery but I am finally hovering around 90 lbs on a regular day to day basis. I know physio is definitely helping me put on some weight as I start to build more muscle. I'm still hoping to gain another 10+ lbs but that could take some time.