Well the food party is over and now it is time to get down to business. The final supper was a grand event and I enjoyed it immensely. I had a very nice salad with basalmic vinegarette dressing, a side helping of a very nice spaghetti, with a main course of a perfectly prepared and very delicious T-bone steak. Topped that off with a very good cheesecake for dessert and it made for a very good send off of 55 years of a very long love affair with food. It was a bit emotional at times. I really wanted to sit in my car after the meal and have a good cry but with the help of a nice chat with my wife, I said farewell and drove back to my hotel.
So this morning I am sitting here drinking a decaf coffee which actually isn't as bad as I thought it was going to be and writing in my blog wondering what today is going to bring. This is the day I have dreaded most. Giving up the heavy indulgences in food and caffeine. This is going to be tough but I will make it through it because I have a very loving wife that is backing me all the way and anytime I need to, I can call her and cry on her shoulder. :)
I have a very busy day planned going to the Hamvention in Dayton, OH and seeing all the vendors, flea marketers, and seminars that I can take in today. My brother is joining me after work this evening and we will have a good time visiting, laughing, and carrying on. I solved the hotel crisis problem and was able to get a room with my Choice privileges points right in Dayton and that is a relief. I won't have to drive 45 to 50 miles each way to get back and forth to the Hamvention. Oh, and by the way, those of you that don't know what a hamvention is, it's a convention of ham radio operators and this one is the granddaddy of them all. It is a blast and it is huge.
So off I go to start my first day on my totally liquid diet, with no caffeine, pop, or alcohol. I can already feel the dt's sitting in.(just kidding) It will be an interesting day though. I will let you know how well I make it through it tomorrow. For now, have a great day and talk to you all soon. George
Friday, May 18, 2012
Thursday, May 17, 2012
The Final Day of Eating LARGE!
I had this big day of final eating planned, a special breakfast I love so much at the truckstop in Cameron followed by Pizza Hut buffet for lunch and a trip to Em Chama's, a Brazilian Churrascaria in St. Joseph to pig out on my favorite open pit meats but alas it is not to be. I am sitting in a hotel room somewhere north of Dayton, OH getting ready to hit the road for a one to two day service visit in Gypsum, OH and then back to Dayton to attend the Dayton Hamfest which is a yearly event they hold for ham radio operators from around the world. It is a fun event and I think my brother is going to join me there so we can spend a couple of days kicking around and enjoying each others company. He is a reader of my blog, so hi Ken.
So the big day has arrived, my well laid plans have gone astray, and I am thinking about how I will handle my last day of eating large. I know I want to have a nice breakfast along the way this morning, but I think I am just going to treat it like any other day and eat a couple of decent meals for lunch and dinner and call it quits. The hotel here gave me a bag of microwave popcorn that I did not use last night, so maybe I finish up the day with the season finale of Grey's Anatomy and a bag of popcorn and my favorite soda beverage which I will not be able to enjoy again for a very long time.
The nervous anticipation of tomorrow, the next two weeks, and the day of surgery have crescendod up to a somewhat record high for me. I usually don't worry much about what things are going to be, I try to be more relaxed about things most of the time. This is something new to me. I actually have butterflies as if I am going to appear on stage in front of a very large crowd and give an hour speech that I have not had time to prepare for or am standing over a winning put to take the victory at a major golf tournament. I have not felt this level of excitement and nervousness in a very long time. Today will be very long.
When tomorrow comes and I start on the new diet as a pathway to a new George, I will look back on 55 plus years of eating large and fondly remember the times I enjoyed with one of my best friends in life, food. I will however, remember those times, not with regret, but with joy in knowing that the future holds a healthier, happier, thinner me. I know all this hard work will pay off and I will be able to look back and say "how did I ever get into that condition and please do not allow it to happen again". So tomorrow the journey officially begins. Thanks for joining me on this voyage and if my posts for the next couple of weeks seem a little grumpy please forgive me and remember it's the lack of caffeine, soda, alcohol, and solid food that will be behind it. I remember another time I went through something similar, the time I went cold turkey on the smoking which led to my eventual diabetes and this entire last ten years of struggling with weight, food abuse, and diabetes. So good bye to all of that and hello to a new me. No matter how grumpy or irritable I get, I am going to be healthier and happier for it. Wish me well and hope for the best. George
So the big day has arrived, my well laid plans have gone astray, and I am thinking about how I will handle my last day of eating large. I know I want to have a nice breakfast along the way this morning, but I think I am just going to treat it like any other day and eat a couple of decent meals for lunch and dinner and call it quits. The hotel here gave me a bag of microwave popcorn that I did not use last night, so maybe I finish up the day with the season finale of Grey's Anatomy and a bag of popcorn and my favorite soda beverage which I will not be able to enjoy again for a very long time.
The nervous anticipation of tomorrow, the next two weeks, and the day of surgery have crescendod up to a somewhat record high for me. I usually don't worry much about what things are going to be, I try to be more relaxed about things most of the time. This is something new to me. I actually have butterflies as if I am going to appear on stage in front of a very large crowd and give an hour speech that I have not had time to prepare for or am standing over a winning put to take the victory at a major golf tournament. I have not felt this level of excitement and nervousness in a very long time. Today will be very long.
When tomorrow comes and I start on the new diet as a pathway to a new George, I will look back on 55 plus years of eating large and fondly remember the times I enjoyed with one of my best friends in life, food. I will however, remember those times, not with regret, but with joy in knowing that the future holds a healthier, happier, thinner me. I know all this hard work will pay off and I will be able to look back and say "how did I ever get into that condition and please do not allow it to happen again". So tomorrow the journey officially begins. Thanks for joining me on this voyage and if my posts for the next couple of weeks seem a little grumpy please forgive me and remember it's the lack of caffeine, soda, alcohol, and solid food that will be behind it. I remember another time I went through something similar, the time I went cold turkey on the smoking which led to my eventual diabetes and this entire last ten years of struggling with weight, food abuse, and diabetes. So good bye to all of that and hello to a new me. No matter how grumpy or irritable I get, I am going to be healthier and happier for it. Wish me well and hope for the best. George
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Food's Final Week
Well, not exactly, but for many foods it is my final week. I start the big pre-op diet on Friday and will not return to eating any kind of solid food for at least a month. So what is newsworthy about that. I have talked about that before. What's newsworthy is the fact that as I sit here in my hotel room in Atlanta, GA I am thinking back over the weekend at my Mom and Dad's and the good food I ate from Mom's kitchen. I am also thinking about a little something else. A littler George.
While I was there I helped my dad put up a digital antenna for their TV service. The original one was not working well and they bought a new bigger antenna and rotor to try and pick up the area stations better. I had to work my into the crawlspace under their house to feed a cable thru for the rotor and while I was struggling with getting in their, and panicking a little about being able to get back out, I got to thinking how much easier something like this will be after I lose about 100lbs. That night I pretty much tossed and turned all night for two reasons, sore from the days activities and second my mind was alive with wild imaginings of the things I will be able to do that I have not been able too or have been very uncomfortable to do for a very long time. Of course, I have already told how much I want to get back on my bicycle and start riding again, but I also was thinking about things like how much nicer it will be when I have to fly somewhere on the plane to be able to sit in the cramped up seats that won't be so cramped up anymore or going to the races at the Kansas Speedway without having to pry myself down into the seats.
This got me thinking about how uncomfortable and miserable a lot of things are for the people that are even bigger than I am. I am 100lbs overweight. What do the people do that are 200, 300, or more pounds overweight. I cannot imagine how miserable a lot of things are for them. I also cannot imagine how they must feel when they are ridiculed and made fun of. I see these people in a whole different light now. I just would love to be in a position to be able to help every one of them. But first, I have to get myself thru this week and it is dragging along. I hate to imagine what the next 2 weeks are going to be like. They are going to seem like forever. I will sip on some coffee with caffeine in it and wait to see what happens come Friday. I have not yet given in to dreading it totally but giving up food, carbonated beverages, alchohol, and caffeine all at once makes me now understand why my wife thought it would be a great idea for me to be out on the road during the diet. She told me it would be easier on me not having to be at home missing the food and being tortured by them eating and having food all around me all the time. But now I see that she is actually fearful for her life knowing what a bear I will be for the first few days after going off 4 of the main staples of my everyday being. Smarter that I ever thought her to be. You see, after 30 years together, she knows me well. So for her welfare and my sanity, I am working through the entire first week and part of the second week of the diet. I think that is best, don't you?
While I was there I helped my dad put up a digital antenna for their TV service. The original one was not working well and they bought a new bigger antenna and rotor to try and pick up the area stations better. I had to work my into the crawlspace under their house to feed a cable thru for the rotor and while I was struggling with getting in their, and panicking a little about being able to get back out, I got to thinking how much easier something like this will be after I lose about 100lbs. That night I pretty much tossed and turned all night for two reasons, sore from the days activities and second my mind was alive with wild imaginings of the things I will be able to do that I have not been able too or have been very uncomfortable to do for a very long time. Of course, I have already told how much I want to get back on my bicycle and start riding again, but I also was thinking about things like how much nicer it will be when I have to fly somewhere on the plane to be able to sit in the cramped up seats that won't be so cramped up anymore or going to the races at the Kansas Speedway without having to pry myself down into the seats.
This got me thinking about how uncomfortable and miserable a lot of things are for the people that are even bigger than I am. I am 100lbs overweight. What do the people do that are 200, 300, or more pounds overweight. I cannot imagine how miserable a lot of things are for them. I also cannot imagine how they must feel when they are ridiculed and made fun of. I see these people in a whole different light now. I just would love to be in a position to be able to help every one of them. But first, I have to get myself thru this week and it is dragging along. I hate to imagine what the next 2 weeks are going to be like. They are going to seem like forever. I will sip on some coffee with caffeine in it and wait to see what happens come Friday. I have not yet given in to dreading it totally but giving up food, carbonated beverages, alchohol, and caffeine all at once makes me now understand why my wife thought it would be a great idea for me to be out on the road during the diet. She told me it would be easier on me not having to be at home missing the food and being tortured by them eating and having food all around me all the time. But now I see that she is actually fearful for her life knowing what a bear I will be for the first few days after going off 4 of the main staples of my everyday being. Smarter that I ever thought her to be. You see, after 30 years together, she knows me well. So for her welfare and my sanity, I am working through the entire first week and part of the second week of the diet. I think that is best, don't you?
Friday, May 11, 2012
The Countdown to Liquids Begins
Well for those that are following where I am and what I am doing, I am in North Carolina, it is Friday night one week before the big diet begins, and I am at my Mom and Dad's for the weekend. Seven days from now I begin the two weeks of liquid diet before my surgery and this is countdown week. It will be a long week. I plan to take it easy on the eating yet I plan to enjoy many of the foods that I will no longer be able to enjoy or will not be able to enjoy for a very long time. I think missing the food will be a problem even though people tell me it really won't be, but I do believe very firmly that I will be able to handle it. I will admit I have awaken a couple of times during the night worrying about how I will handle it. Of course, once the surgery is done, I will definetly have to be able to control what I eat and how much I eat or the dreaded dumping syndrome will kick in and from what I have learned, it does a very proficient job teaching the meaning of watching what you eat.
I have a very busy schedule over the next couple of weeks and Melody and I both agree that keeping very busy will help keep my mind off the food and help me in my endeavours to succede. It looks like I will be working up to a day or so before my surgery. I don't even think I will get home until a couple of days beforehand. This is good on several accounts. One, I won't be home and constantly tempted to snack on food in the house. Out on the road, I have to go get food and that will make it easier to keep from being tempted to cheat. Two, it will help the financial situation to make sure I have enough income built up to carry me thru two or three weeks of not working. I really would like to stay home three weeks after the surgery, but the Doctor says I can go back to work after two weeks as long as I have mended well and am having good success with the post surgery processes. I think having the extra time to heal, with what my work life is like, would be a very good thing indeed.
So what do I anticipate through this upcoming week. A lot of worry, a lot of anticipation, a lot of anxiety, a lot of trying different foods, and a lot of mental preparation for the following two weeks. I am also going to start to wean myself off of caffeine and carbonated drinks which I will no longer be able to have. I need to check into when I need to switch to the new vitamin regimin. The one I have been on for several years will need to be changed but that will be no problem as I am very good about taking my daily supplements now. So many exciting things coming up and yet worrisome things too. I know I must maintain this diet for my surgery to be a success. I know I must excersize more and drink lots of clear liquids. Stopping the caffeine will be a pain in the head and in the rear but it is something that must be done. I really like my caffiene and it will be missed. Thank goodness for 5 Hour Energy drinks.
I had planned a big day of final eating with Melody but now I will not be home in time to do that so I guess I will find the best food I can eat wherever I am for my final "normal" meal. Of course those so-called normal meals are what pretty much got me into the shape I am in today. I am thankful that a procedure has been found that has such good results combating Type II diabetes. I wish everyone that needed this surgery could get it but that is another story altogether. It does break my heart though when I see good hard working family men and women that cannot get the surgery they need to save their lives because of red tape and no coverages by insurance companies. But alas, I digress and should stay on the topic and leave that can of worms for a longer more detailed post here on my blog. I do appreciate all of you that come and read my blog and wish me well. I thank you all and also hope that any of you that are contemplating this action will benefit from the thoughts I lay down on these pages. Take care for now. More to come.
George
I have a very busy schedule over the next couple of weeks and Melody and I both agree that keeping very busy will help keep my mind off the food and help me in my endeavours to succede. It looks like I will be working up to a day or so before my surgery. I don't even think I will get home until a couple of days beforehand. This is good on several accounts. One, I won't be home and constantly tempted to snack on food in the house. Out on the road, I have to go get food and that will make it easier to keep from being tempted to cheat. Two, it will help the financial situation to make sure I have enough income built up to carry me thru two or three weeks of not working. I really would like to stay home three weeks after the surgery, but the Doctor says I can go back to work after two weeks as long as I have mended well and am having good success with the post surgery processes. I think having the extra time to heal, with what my work life is like, would be a very good thing indeed.
So what do I anticipate through this upcoming week. A lot of worry, a lot of anticipation, a lot of anxiety, a lot of trying different foods, and a lot of mental preparation for the following two weeks. I am also going to start to wean myself off of caffeine and carbonated drinks which I will no longer be able to have. I need to check into when I need to switch to the new vitamin regimin. The one I have been on for several years will need to be changed but that will be no problem as I am very good about taking my daily supplements now. So many exciting things coming up and yet worrisome things too. I know I must maintain this diet for my surgery to be a success. I know I must excersize more and drink lots of clear liquids. Stopping the caffeine will be a pain in the head and in the rear but it is something that must be done. I really like my caffiene and it will be missed. Thank goodness for 5 Hour Energy drinks.
I had planned a big day of final eating with Melody but now I will not be home in time to do that so I guess I will find the best food I can eat wherever I am for my final "normal" meal. Of course those so-called normal meals are what pretty much got me into the shape I am in today. I am thankful that a procedure has been found that has such good results combating Type II diabetes. I wish everyone that needed this surgery could get it but that is another story altogether. It does break my heart though when I see good hard working family men and women that cannot get the surgery they need to save their lives because of red tape and no coverages by insurance companies. But alas, I digress and should stay on the topic and leave that can of worms for a longer more detailed post here on my blog. I do appreciate all of you that come and read my blog and wish me well. I thank you all and also hope that any of you that are contemplating this action will benefit from the thoughts I lay down on these pages. Take care for now. More to come.
George
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Mama's Home Cookin'
Many things in life are meant to bring one a lot of joy. Nothing more than a home cooked meal that has been prepared with a hard work and love poured in. Having been an on the road service technician for over 30 years has given me a perspective on just how true the above statement is. I have eaten foods from dozens of cultures and countries over the years and it's just nothing like coming home to a good ol fashioned home cooked meal. Between my wife and my mother I have enjoyed some of the finest meals a man could ever be blessed with. And it isn't the ingredients, recipes, or process for cooking they use. It's the love they pour into each meal they work so hard to prepare. I have enjoyed meals in some of the finest restaurants in the world and they have been great meals don't get me wrong. But it's just the fact that it's at home and it's being enjoyed with family that makes those other meals secondary in comparison.
I have pondered and worried over whether I am going to miss all the foods that I will not be able to enjoy anymore. It has been a constant little nagging thought in the back of mind. Will I miss? and the list goes on and on. I think I will miss it but can I live without? I believe I can. Others do it everyday and I have met some very helpful people along the way that have reassured me that it is something that you handle and get over. I am looking forward to that time when I can look back, hopefully over a much leaner shoulder, and say "I have put that in my past and I am much healthier for it."
So for now, I am enjoying my last full size meals and trying to enjoy a variety of the foods I will no longer enjoy in the future. I am not going hog wild on the eating but am giving some of my favorites one last ride. It's funny, they use the tell us not to be doing a "restaurant victory tour" before our surgeries because we have to do a two week liquid diet to prepare for the procedure. They don't say anything about the two weeks before the two weeks. That's when my victory tour is on full swing. Like I have mentioned before, I am dreadful of the two week liquid diet procedure but I am very determined to make it happen an make it happen successfully. My new life begins shortly after that and I am going to love it, but for now, I am counting down the meals to that final day and am enjoying the ride with a few delightful dishes and favorite treats along the way.
I have pondered and worried over whether I am going to miss all the foods that I will not be able to enjoy anymore. It has been a constant little nagging thought in the back of mind. Will I miss? and the list goes on and on. I think I will miss it but can I live without? I believe I can. Others do it everyday and I have met some very helpful people along the way that have reassured me that it is something that you handle and get over. I am looking forward to that time when I can look back, hopefully over a much leaner shoulder, and say "I have put that in my past and I am much healthier for it."
So for now, I am enjoying my last full size meals and trying to enjoy a variety of the foods I will no longer enjoy in the future. I am not going hog wild on the eating but am giving some of my favorites one last ride. It's funny, they use the tell us not to be doing a "restaurant victory tour" before our surgeries because we have to do a two week liquid diet to prepare for the procedure. They don't say anything about the two weeks before the two weeks. That's when my victory tour is on full swing. Like I have mentioned before, I am dreadful of the two week liquid diet procedure but I am very determined to make it happen an make it happen successfully. My new life begins shortly after that and I am going to love it, but for now, I am counting down the meals to that final day and am enjoying the ride with a few delightful dishes and favorite treats along the way.
Friday, May 4, 2012
My Wife Won't Let Me Have A Bell
Melody and I were talking earlier today and I was telling her that she needed to go to the doctor and have a tick bite looked at just to make sure it didn't progress into anything really bad. I jokingly told her, we wouldn't want her to develop a problem that would keep her from taking care of me after my surgery. Face it folks, when it comes to pain, I am a bit of a wuss. PAIN, oh my goodness, there is pain involved in this process. Okay, that's a deal breaker, bring the forms, where do I unsign? I know, there is going to be some pain involved. They haven't quite perfected painless surgery yet. When I was recovering from my motorcycle accident someone gave me a little bell that I could ring to call Melody whenever I needed something. It was more of a joke than anything as it would get her kind of wound up whenever I would use it too much. I told her that I would need my little bell and she told me exactly what I could do with the little bell and besides, she claims she had gotten rid of it, joke or no joke. I told her that I knew where our cowbell is that I had bought her to use at football games until they banned them for being a nuisance. Go figure.
So I have been thinking about what is expected of me before and after the surgery. Things that I need to do to make this a successful procedure. It will take a lot of effort on my part and a lot of other people in my life as well. I am very determined to give 100% of myself to following the steps necessary for this to work. The 2 week all liquid diet is going to be very tough and I am feeling more than just a little anxiety as that date approaches. It is the biggest area of concern I have going into this procedure because if I fail to follow this diet properly the surgery cannot happen. It seems there is this big blob in the way called a liver and if I don't follow the diet properly, they won't be able to do the surgery using the laproscopic procedure that makes this operation a success. May 18th is coming and I am excited and nervous and somewhat scared to death.
After the surgery they stress the importance of getting up and moving around as soon as I can deal with the pain enough to be able to get up and about. Oh good grief, here we go with that PAIN thing again. Ever get one of those little shivers that starts at the base of the tailbone and reverberates up the spine, across the shoulders, and down both sides to the bottom of your feet? Well every time that thought comes up so does that little shiver. Getting up and moving around is important and I know I will be able to handle that part of it. If a little pain needs to be endured I will get thru it and getting up and doing for myself is probably the wiser thing to do instead of using a little bell to drive my wife nuts with. It's just so much fun to drive her nuts with that bell and listen to her carry on about it. But I will behave myself, do what my doctor and other health professionals tell me and man up to the situation. Besides, I really am not that big of a wuss despite how much my lovely wife says otherwise. Catch ya later.
So I have been thinking about what is expected of me before and after the surgery. Things that I need to do to make this a successful procedure. It will take a lot of effort on my part and a lot of other people in my life as well. I am very determined to give 100% of myself to following the steps necessary for this to work. The 2 week all liquid diet is going to be very tough and I am feeling more than just a little anxiety as that date approaches. It is the biggest area of concern I have going into this procedure because if I fail to follow this diet properly the surgery cannot happen. It seems there is this big blob in the way called a liver and if I don't follow the diet properly, they won't be able to do the surgery using the laproscopic procedure that makes this operation a success. May 18th is coming and I am excited and nervous and somewhat scared to death.
After the surgery they stress the importance of getting up and moving around as soon as I can deal with the pain enough to be able to get up and about. Oh good grief, here we go with that PAIN thing again. Ever get one of those little shivers that starts at the base of the tailbone and reverberates up the spine, across the shoulders, and down both sides to the bottom of your feet? Well every time that thought comes up so does that little shiver. Getting up and moving around is important and I know I will be able to handle that part of it. If a little pain needs to be endured I will get thru it and getting up and doing for myself is probably the wiser thing to do instead of using a little bell to drive my wife nuts with. It's just so much fun to drive her nuts with that bell and listen to her carry on about it. But I will behave myself, do what my doctor and other health professionals tell me and man up to the situation. Besides, I really am not that big of a wuss despite how much my lovely wife says otherwise. Catch ya later.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Morbid Obesity!!! ME???
When I was first told I was morbidly obese, I felt like someone had just dropped a few tons of bricks on me and I was forever doomed as a human on this earth. No way am I morbidly obese. Morbidly obese people are the ones you read about in the tabloids that are living in their cars because they can't get out or require a front end loader to get them out of their house and into an ambulance. Well guess what, I am morbidly obese. I get told a lot, you aren't that big to require gastric bypass. That is for extremely large people that are 100 lbs or more overweight. Well guess what, I am 100lbs overweight. Most people that know me do not realize that fact. I carry most of my weight in my abdominal region and with some loose fitting clothing I cover it up pretty well. It doesn't hurt either that I am 6'3" tall and carry my extra weight without looking like I am carrying that extra weight. But, according to the weight charts, I should weigh 195. I currently weigh around 285, but when I started this whole process, I weighed 295.
I have found out though that morbid obesity is not a determination of how I look, although, I am not that happy with how I look. It has more to do with a combination of how a person looks combined with the health risk factors that come with carrying way too much weight. My adventure with severe weight gain began back in 2002 when I quit smoking. I was so intent on staying away from all forms of tobacco that I really did not pay any attention at all to what my weight was doing. I replaced smoking with eating and didn't even give a thought to the circumstances of what I was doing. I was just intent on quitting and thought that was the answer to being healthy. That was in December of 2002 and by April of 2003, I had gained a whopping 55lbs. Melody and I went out to a nice dinner at the now defunct Stevenson's Apple Orchard in Kansas City where one of there well known features was the keg of fresh made apple cider from their orchards and you could help yourself to it while you waited to be seated. I drank 3 or 4 cups of the cider and by the time they brought us our meal I was very sick. I could not even touch my food. The next day I was headed out to Chicago for a service call and I still felt terrible. I had a glucometer from past experiences with my blood sugar taking an occasional dive and so I check my blood and almost went into shock by the reading. Somewhere around 395. I was like yeah right, no way that can be accurate so I stopped on my way to Chicago and bought a new meter. Same thing. So I laid off food and sweets for a couple of days and still had very high readings. I called my doctor and told him what my readings were. He called in a prescription for me for Metformin and within a couple of days, my readings came back down to near normal. A follow-up visit the next week confirmed, I have Type II Diabetes. What a blow. This can't happen to me. I am active, seem healthy, quit smoking for 5 months, how could this happen? Well, several books later and quite a bit of online research and I found out how it happened. I was eating way too much and mostly all the wrong things. My weight gain was out of control and I was literally in the early stages of eating myself to death.
Wake-up call. I started excersizing more, eating better, started dieting and was able to lose 50lbs with the help of a popular weight lose program and was able to manage my diabetes pretty well. I actually got to a point where I did not need any medications and was controlling it strictly by diet and excersize. I was riding my bicycle a lot and was trimming down nicely. Then a bit of laziness started to set in and I wasn't riding the way I was and started to slip on my diet and slowly started to regain the weight. Then the unthinkable happened. I was in a motorcycle wreck and while nothing got broke but my bike, I was beat up pretty bad and could not excersize for almost a year. I gained back the 50 I had lost plus added another 40 to boot. Blood sugar went back out of control, high blood pressure started to creap into the picture, I was becoming a wreck after the wreck and finally I had to start insulin injections to try and keep my blood sugar levels under control. That worked for awhile and then even the injections of insulin 4 to 6 times a day aren't keeping my blood sugar under control. I still have average readings around 250. And that is what brings me to where I am today. Getting ready to have gastric bypass to give me a tool to help me get back to being a me that I can be happy with, a healthier person who can do more and live more without the everyday burden of obesity, diabetes, joint pain, arthritis, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, and just plain old feeling like crap a lot of the time.
So why am I sharing this experience here? I hope that someone comes along and reads this and realizes that they are in the same boat as I am or very nearly there and can start taking charge of their situation and do the things they need to do to get back to a healthier lifestyle where food and diabetes and all the other fun things associated with it aren't destroying their lives. It seems like a weekly or even sometimes daily experience of hearing of someone dying from the effects of morbid obesity. If you are out there and thinking okay, so I have put on a few pounds, but I am not obese, perhaps you might want to take a closer examination of the facts. Especially you guys. It was really hard for me to finally admit that I am morbidly obese. It's like the joke says "What's the difference between a 50 year old man and 50 year old woman? A 50 year old man can walk down the street with a bald head and beer gut and still think "this looks good".. Men like me just don't pay the kind of attention to what is going on with their body, like most women do. Not to say that all men are that way, just the ones that have more going on in their lives than paying attention to a little weight gain, or a few extra trips to the restroom, or a few extra glasses of tea or water with a meal because you just seem a little more thirsty. Pay attention to these things guys and gals. They mean something. Don't do like I did for so long and just chaulk it up to getting older. If you are going thru some of these things, get to your doctor and have a checkup. Be aware out there and all my best wishes to my friends and loved ones that are following me along and wishing me well. I love you all.
I have found out though that morbid obesity is not a determination of how I look, although, I am not that happy with how I look. It has more to do with a combination of how a person looks combined with the health risk factors that come with carrying way too much weight. My adventure with severe weight gain began back in 2002 when I quit smoking. I was so intent on staying away from all forms of tobacco that I really did not pay any attention at all to what my weight was doing. I replaced smoking with eating and didn't even give a thought to the circumstances of what I was doing. I was just intent on quitting and thought that was the answer to being healthy. That was in December of 2002 and by April of 2003, I had gained a whopping 55lbs. Melody and I went out to a nice dinner at the now defunct Stevenson's Apple Orchard in Kansas City where one of there well known features was the keg of fresh made apple cider from their orchards and you could help yourself to it while you waited to be seated. I drank 3 or 4 cups of the cider and by the time they brought us our meal I was very sick. I could not even touch my food. The next day I was headed out to Chicago for a service call and I still felt terrible. I had a glucometer from past experiences with my blood sugar taking an occasional dive and so I check my blood and almost went into shock by the reading. Somewhere around 395. I was like yeah right, no way that can be accurate so I stopped on my way to Chicago and bought a new meter. Same thing. So I laid off food and sweets for a couple of days and still had very high readings. I called my doctor and told him what my readings were. He called in a prescription for me for Metformin and within a couple of days, my readings came back down to near normal. A follow-up visit the next week confirmed, I have Type II Diabetes. What a blow. This can't happen to me. I am active, seem healthy, quit smoking for 5 months, how could this happen? Well, several books later and quite a bit of online research and I found out how it happened. I was eating way too much and mostly all the wrong things. My weight gain was out of control and I was literally in the early stages of eating myself to death.
Wake-up call. I started excersizing more, eating better, started dieting and was able to lose 50lbs with the help of a popular weight lose program and was able to manage my diabetes pretty well. I actually got to a point where I did not need any medications and was controlling it strictly by diet and excersize. I was riding my bicycle a lot and was trimming down nicely. Then a bit of laziness started to set in and I wasn't riding the way I was and started to slip on my diet and slowly started to regain the weight. Then the unthinkable happened. I was in a motorcycle wreck and while nothing got broke but my bike, I was beat up pretty bad and could not excersize for almost a year. I gained back the 50 I had lost plus added another 40 to boot. Blood sugar went back out of control, high blood pressure started to creap into the picture, I was becoming a wreck after the wreck and finally I had to start insulin injections to try and keep my blood sugar levels under control. That worked for awhile and then even the injections of insulin 4 to 6 times a day aren't keeping my blood sugar under control. I still have average readings around 250. And that is what brings me to where I am today. Getting ready to have gastric bypass to give me a tool to help me get back to being a me that I can be happy with, a healthier person who can do more and live more without the everyday burden of obesity, diabetes, joint pain, arthritis, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, and just plain old feeling like crap a lot of the time.
So why am I sharing this experience here? I hope that someone comes along and reads this and realizes that they are in the same boat as I am or very nearly there and can start taking charge of their situation and do the things they need to do to get back to a healthier lifestyle where food and diabetes and all the other fun things associated with it aren't destroying their lives. It seems like a weekly or even sometimes daily experience of hearing of someone dying from the effects of morbid obesity. If you are out there and thinking okay, so I have put on a few pounds, but I am not obese, perhaps you might want to take a closer examination of the facts. Especially you guys. It was really hard for me to finally admit that I am morbidly obese. It's like the joke says "What's the difference between a 50 year old man and 50 year old woman? A 50 year old man can walk down the street with a bald head and beer gut and still think "this looks good".. Men like me just don't pay the kind of attention to what is going on with their body, like most women do. Not to say that all men are that way, just the ones that have more going on in their lives than paying attention to a little weight gain, or a few extra trips to the restroom, or a few extra glasses of tea or water with a meal because you just seem a little more thirsty. Pay attention to these things guys and gals. They mean something. Don't do like I did for so long and just chaulk it up to getting older. If you are going thru some of these things, get to your doctor and have a checkup. Be aware out there and all my best wishes to my friends and loved ones that are following me along and wishing me well. I love you all.
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