So why now? I’m 32 years old. I’ve lived a good part of my life overweight, especially my adulthood. Since 18 I have been up and down the scale, but always heavier than I should have been. I probably hit my peak health since 18 years of age around age 22 years of age. I had moved out of home and was eating less and doing more. It was not uncommon for me to take a nice long walk for no real reason at all. But somewhere around 23, I got lazy and lonely. I moved out of the town I grew up in, to a place in the country, about 2 kilometres east of town. No excuse really why exercise virtually stopped. Pounds slowly crept back on.
I had decided to return to University in my 23rd year, and spent that whole year saving every extra dime and finally entering school in the fall of 2002. I became immersed in school and although doing very well academically (GPA of 4.17 when I was done), I suffered in terms of my health. I had ballooned to well over 400lbs, probably close to 450lbs, but I did not have a scale to measure that high. In 2005 after a weird flash in my vision and issues with seeing in my right eye, I was diagnosed with severe high blood pressure – measuring 235/130 – when normal pressure is 130/80. Hello wake up call. I was put on meds right away and after some trials, found one that worked. My blood pressure somewhat stabilized. I graduated from University in May 2006 a little worse for wear. I could have gone right to work, but my financial situation did not require it at that time, so I decided for my health, I would spend the summer taking care of me. I did and started to see progress. By the fall I started to read on my scale that went up to 405 lbs. I made a point of some sort of excercise everyday, at least an hour, and of course watching my food intake. I worked within walking distance of home, so started to walk to work, and used my stationary cycle, and walked everywhere I could. I got down to 380lbs. This sounds like a lot of weight still, and it is, but I was feeling better than ever and my blood pressure was doing well (although still on meds).
Feb of 2007 came around and I finally had a job where I could put my degree to work. I started a civil servant position, and kept my job as an overnight staff person 4 nights a week at a residential home for adults with disabilities. That was probably not a smooth move. By doing this I had saved enough money for the down payment of my very own house, it came at a cost. You guessed it, the burning the candle at both ends caused me to once again gain weight. I lost the ability to read on the scale, became depressed, and gained even more weight. Over the next three years I joined the gym near by and half heartedly tried to gain some fitness, but it was not going anywhere.
Something changed. Despite resigning myself to a life of loneliness and solitude, I decided to try a dating website one more time. This was December of 2009, and I had done the dating website several times and had no luck. I met some nice people, just know one for me. Then I met her, the lady who would be my wife only 21 short months from the first time we talked. She is a great girl who believes in me and wants to have a family with me, and she has been the driving force behind my next and last attempt at health. It means something to have someone tell you that they want to grow old with you and tell you they will help you meet that goal. We are very similar in many aspects and how we grew up. Some of the similarities are almost startling. She too has to watch her weight consistently and knows what it’s like to grow up “big” although she is no where a s big as me, and like I tell her all the time , she is perfect the way she is. She too wants to be healthy though and be around for our kids that we hopefully will be blessed with some day soon.
So here we are. It’s time to make a change. I am getting no younger and as you age weight loss seems to get tougher. My dad had a heart attack this spring at the age of 55 and he is not a very overweight person. I fear what may be in store for me at that age if I do not change. So change I have to. I have started.
The gym has begun to be a part of my life. Since last spring, we both have made progress there. I find some things like walking long distances getting much easier. I am feeling stronger due to the weight lifting. Excercise is almost a must in my daily routine now. So why am I writing this then? I have it right? Wrong. Depsite my great leaps at the gym, I continue to be very overweight. I have not changed my eating habits. It’s as simple as that. I love to cook, and as a consequence, love to eat. Well I have lots of changes to make in that department and today is the first day.
Calorie counting can be such a drag, but so necessary. I need to track my calories otherwise I eat with careless abandoned and that hasn’t gotten me anywhere useful. I have to be accountable for everything I put in my mouth. I am using an online program that I have used in the past, but not consistently. The site is http://www.my-calorie-counter.com/calorie_counter.asp
So here is the first part of my plan:
1.) Count Calories – 1600 calories a day to start. Anything less would be unhealthy
2.) Weigh in Weekly – First weigh in today was 445 lbs
3.) Visit the Doctor – I am meeting with the doctor tomorrow to see where I am at after the blood tests I took last week. I made a change of doctor who works in the city where I work and live. Up until now my Dr. lived in my small town I left 8 years ago – not very practical even though it was only an hours drive away. This will be much easier to be accountable to myself.
4.) Excercise-1 hour a day – 3 days at the gym ( 1/2 hr on the treadmill and ½ hr weight trng)
And of course 3 days at home ( ½ hour on the stationary bike and ½ hour stretching/abdominals)
So that sounds easy enough. I’ve said enough for today. I need to be focussed and by posting this blog, I am trying to be accountable for my actions. Hopefully this will be the tool I need to succeed.
Until next time.
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