Ellen Parker was worried about her health. She could not walk very quickly and it was difficult for her to climb stairs. She was soon out of breath. "I suppose I had better go to the doctor," she thought. She went to the doctor and told him her problem. "I'm not at all surprised, "he said. "It's clear what your problem is." He examined her and then gave her some advice. "If you don't do what I say, Mrs. Parker," he said, "you will have a heart attack. It could kill you." Ellen was very worried as she left the doctor's. She knew that she had to take his advice but that it would not be easy and it would take time. The next day she went shopping. The first shop she went into was a butcher's shop . "I'd like ten pounds of steak , please," she said. "Certainly, madam," the butcher replied and went into the cold room and found a large piece of steak. He brought the huge piece of meat back into the shop and placed it on the scale  . "That's just under ten pounds," he said. "That's big enough," Mrs. Parker said. The butcher worked out the price. "At $4. 99 a pound that will$49. 50, please. Would you like me to cut it up into smaller pieces for you?" "Oh, I don't want to buy the meat," Mrs. Parker said. "If you don't want to buy it," the butcher replied angrily, "why did you ask me to get it for you?" "My doctor told me that I am overweight and have to lose ten pounds. I wanted to see what ten pounds of flesh looked like." What was Ellen Parker's real problem?
She ate too much steak. She weighed too much. The doctor did not know. She could not walk very quickly.