Wednesday, November 22, 2017

Pre-Thanksgiving

It's the day before Thanksgiving.  I'm really excited but really worried.  There will be so much temptation.  There has been temptation already today!  A colleague brought in donuts.  Evil!  I am staying away from them - I really don't have a sweet tooth these days, but I don't want to start down a slippery slope.

At lunch we are going to one of those movie theaters that provides full service - meals brought to your seat.  I am hoping to make it through with a Cobb salad.  It should provide enough protein in the chicken and bacon and good fats with the avocado to make it through the rest of the day.

Then there's Thanksgiving.  I am prepared for this!  The smoker is working overtime.  Today I am smoking a pork butt tonight, then tomorrow a beef brisket and, of course, a turkey.  We will have lots of protein for me to munch on, so I stay away from the carbs and sweets.

I don't know what my unofficial weight is now, but I weigh in officially again on Monday evening.  I am hoping for significant progress.

I'm starting to worry now about excess skin.  I wonder if there is anything other than lots of water that I can do to manage this, before I save up for the skin removal?

Tuesday, November 21, 2017

Trying again

Well, life happened.  I was training hard, and had been in a triathlon, and was preparing for more, then it happened.  I fell and broke my ankle, without knowing it - I thought it was a bad sprain.  Then I fell again and went to an orthopedist - where they told me it had been broken, and then re-broken.

My training ended - no more triathlons, but the eating regimen remained.  I continued to eat like I had when I was training, and I packed on the points.

You don't notice the weight going on...it comes in spurts - 5 lbs...then 10, then  you hit a plateau and you think "Ok I guess my body won't go over this."  But then it happens - you cross that threshold and you move to the next level.  You raise the bar.  Again, and again.  Each time you get a little heavier, it's that much harder to exercise, and you just want to sit on the couch.

At 343 lbs (After being at a tri-training weight of 250), I was walking up a hill to see my son at college.  When I got to the top of the hill, I couldn't catch my breath.  I started to feel lightheaded, and I thought - this is it, this is the day that I die, right here in public, in front of my wife and kids.  It was frightening, and eye-opening.  I had to do something to change this.

When I got home, I started a medically-managed weight loss program, called Medi Weight Loss.  It's a franchise, but the patients see a nurse practitioner, and have weekly check-ins where they go over your food and exercise diary, and they take vitals.  Every 10 weeks there is a full diagnostic with blood work and an EKG.

Finally, I can see a path to healthy living.  I have lost 26 lbs, and am on my way to my goal of 25 lbs under my triathlon weight.  It's a lofty goal I know, but I'll check in here to remind myself that it's worth it!