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We are all susceptible to getting COVID-19, but some of us are more vulnerable than others. Here’s the list from the CDC (Center for Disease Control). Based upon available information to date, those at high-risk for severe illness from COVID-19 include:

• People 65 years and older
• People who live in a nursing home or long-term care facility
• People with chronic lung disease or moderate to severe asthma
• People who have serious heart conditions
• People who are immunocompromised (many conditions can cause a person to be immunocompromised, including cancer treatment, smoking, bone marrow or organ transplantation, immune deficiencies, poorly controlled HIV or AIDS, and prolonged use of corticosteroids and other immune weakening medications)
• People with severe obesity (Body Mass Index [BMI] of 40 or higher)
• People with diabetes
• People with chronic kidney disease undergoing dialysis
• People with liver disease

As you read the list do you or any of your loved ones come to mind? These are what are called underlying conditions. These are things that increase the chance that you might not live through a case of COVID-19.

I was lucky, I lived through my battle with COVID-19. Maybe my case was not all that severe. That might be true. I do know I coughed so hard that I almost fell off the couch I was laying on at the time. I just could not quit coughing to the point I’d start choking and gasping for air. My nephew, a United Airlines pilot, had COVID-19 and coughed so hard he bulged a disc in his back. This disease is no joke. It’s not just a flu.

So how many of the conditions on the list apply to you? That’s what we all have to think about. I look at that list and see nothing that applies to me. 10 years ago that would not have been the case. I had a BMI over 40 (Quickly calculate your BMI here.). I was on blood pressure meds, too. That can’t help (although, I don’t see it on the list).

Some of the things on this list are conditions that you can’t do anything to avoid. Others are preventable. Some, like obesity, are reversible. If you are suffering from obesity, it is in your best interest to get down to a healthy weight and stay there. Knowing what we do about COVID-19, losing weight and getting healthier might just save your life.

We’re not talking about becoming model-thin, but getting to a weight where you’re no longer high risk. I’m the first person to admit I still have weight to lose. But getting off 70 pounds with Plan Z got me in a position where I am a lot healthier and I don’t take any meds. I thank my lucky stars I got health back. I eat better now. I used to eat very little and I still gained weight. I’d max out at just 750 calories a day. Doctors thought it was crazy that I was gaining weight. But I figured it out. All I was eating was carbs. I was counting calories instead of grams of carbs. I had it all wrong.

Now, I eat three meals a day. I probably consume over 2000 calories a day but I don’t eat a lot of carbs. I eat mostly protein, healthy fats and vegetables. Do I ever eat a potato? Sure. I’m not that militant about what I eat. I eat an occasional piece of bread. I don’t think I could eat a whole cupcake at this point though. The sugar makes me too dizzy.

I saw a meme the other day that went like this:

At first, that’s funny. It’s clever. But it’s not funny at all.

What action will you decide to take?