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I've been reading through various threads in this Group for a number of weeks now, and while I have outed myself as an extremely obese person in other threads, I haven't taken the plunge and started posting here. Maybe it's because in my mind if I talk about it here, then there's at least some level of expectation that I will continue to shed pounds. I'm one of those people who have had huge pendulum swings throughout my life, so I know I can take the weight off, but somehow it always reappears and the bottom line is that I'm running out of time to get it right, and while I try to deny it, there's no hiding the fact that I'm pretty scared.
I am 36 and stand about 6'3" with a very large frame. I weighed in at 405 at the doctor's office yesterday after peaking at a lifetime high of either 434 or 437 (I'll have to ask my doctor to look back and confirm the exact number when I see him again) about 3 months ago. Yeah, that's pretty bad, but I spend a lot of time kicking myself about that because just a year ago I had made it down to 378 and was in the best overall condition I'd been in in a few years. I was able to drop every medication I was on except for a low-dose blood pressure medication and I was exercising at least four or five times a week. But, it always seems that just when I'm getting my weight under control, everything else in my life will come unglued and the resulting anxiety and depression will cause me to throw my progress to the wind. In this particular case, it was the culmination of the destruction of my credit and the loss of my car, plus the loss of my mother, a break-in in which we lost almost $5000 worth of stuff, plus a case of plantar fasciitis that made it nearly impossible for me to work more than 24 hours or so per week and killed my motivation to exercise (all in the span of less than a year). The option to continue eating sensibly and not call out for pizza and chicken fingers or binge on fast food was always there, but I think just about everyone knows how self-destructive we can be at times.
So, here I am with a little weight back off and a little bit less of a propensity to eat garbage, but I'm also coping with some very persistent problems that I've never had before. In order to cure my plantar fasciitis, I wore a cast on my left foot and ankle for six weeks. I had very limited mobility and my only time spent outside was when every other week I would walk over to the Hard Rock Hotel and cash a pair of paychecks from my job (consisting of a share of tip income only, that the employees allow each other in times of trouble; the company offers no sick pay in the form of wages). The combination of inactivity and massive doses of anti-inflammatory drugs (indomethacin and prednisone) caused my right leg to just balloon with retained water. This led to a cellulitis infection that then became a 4 inch plus diameter ulcer on my shin, which is still healing after nearly three months and which I've spent a good deal of money on things to help cure it. As an aside, everything any of you might have heard about compression stockings is absolutely true. They have to be the best thing since sliced bread for people with compromised leg circulation and I have found a place that sells nice ones for only $15 a pair if you buy them in sets of 4 pair. PM me if you are interested and I'll give you the URL. My cholesterol needs work as it is about 200 and my LDL is way too high, but my triglycerides are fine and my blood sugar is back down where it should be with medication after suddenly spiking almost into the 500's primarily because of the huge infection on my leg. My blood pressure was 124/85 only 5 minutes after riding my bike two miles in 95 degree heat to the doctor's office, which is one of the best readings I've had in years.
I am looking forward to the abatement of the horrible summer heat we've had in Vegas this year, where temperatures hovered near 120 for nearly two straight weeks in July. I own an entry-level Giant brand mountain bike with a 22" frame that is fixed up with nice new saddle bags and pedals, which has been good to me for almost 10 years now, and I plan to get a lot more use out of it than just riding to work and occasionally to the store or a restaurant, once it cools down. There is a wonderful salad bar called Souper Salad not too far from where I live, and I'm planning to make that my primary eating out place because for $6 and change for all the leafy green you can eat how can you go wrong? I believe that high protein diets are an absolute scourge, and what I try to follow is centered around starches (potatoes, brown rice, yams and other whole grains), with low fat intake and protein derived from plant sources. Anyone here ever hear of a Dr. John McDougall? He's been around since the early 80's and seems to know what he's talking about. I feel like a whole new person when I eat the way he advocates, which makes it all the more tragic that I would ever choose to stop doing that and go back to my old patterns just because of stress.
I have a long way to go to get this done, and I'm going to need a lot of motivation and support. In return, I will always do what I can to be here for all of you. I have pictures of myself in my Senior yearbook where I weighed about 235 at the age of 16. I barely even had a paunch at that point, so I believe that my ideal weight is somewhere in the range of 220 +/- 5. That's roughly 185 pounds that have to go. I will post some pictures of me with my bicycle (and if you're lucky, my cats) in the next few days. The time is now, people. Let's all get together and do this! And thanks to everyone who takes the time to read this long and wandering post. These things tend to happen when I have a hard time sleeping. :)
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