Weight Loss Part 2: Electric Boogaloo

Almost six years ago now my life changed. While working, a coworker and I were held up at gunpoint. That sent me to my doctor who sent me to a psychiatrist to work on fixing my head. I decied there and then that if I was going to fix my head, I'd fix the train wreck that was my body at the time too. With my doctor's help and testing, I found that although I was 398lbs, I was lucky that aside high blood pressure, I had no other issues. My cholesterol was fine, my blood work was fine, my lungs were fine, my liver, kidneys and other assorted good and plenty was fine. I was a candidate to be pre diabetic but like my weight, we could get that under control with a change in diet and starting to exercise. 

So I started.

I changed up my eating habits completely and knuckled down to going to workout after every shift at work. I worked in a hotel and had access to the fitness room on site, so I could use the treadmill whenever I wanted. with a lot of hard work and a lot of personal ass kicking, I got myself into gear and over the course of a year and a half, I lost close to 100lbs. I felt great, I was moving better than ever before, I lost almost 10 inches off my waist. Not only did I lose the weight, but I kept it off, I maintained my new eating habits and I looked forward to working out. Going for long walks lead to going at a jog, lead to running. Slowly but still a run. A 300lb man can only run so fast after all. 2019 I ran 7.5 miles of the Tely 10 Mile Road Race.

Though I didn't finish, it was 7.5 miles further than I thought I'd have made it. I promised myself that I would be back and I would finish, 3.5 miles to go. That became my new mantra. 

Then in March 2020, the world ground to a halt, and me with it. I was laid off work for 6 months. In that time, I started in isolation because I had been exposed to the virus, then the lockdowns came and there was nowhere to go and nothing to do anyway. Then delivery opened up for everything, from groceries to take out. Suddenly it became just as easy to get my choice of grease delivered to the door as it was to make a home cooked meal. In that time as well I stopped working out, in fact I stopped moving much at all. I would routinely walk the same path from my bed to my couch and back, with stops to the bathroom and to my door to collect the next delivery.

Inaction leads to stagnation and led me to a lazy, sedentary lifestyle. if you want to call it a lifestyle. Weight started to pack back on. Even when I returned to work, I wasn't interested in moving or working out anymore. I just wanted to sit and stay a potato. Then my duties changed and I was running around a 5 floor building nightly doing some light cleaning, back and forth the floors repeatedly. Every night. I started to feel better, I even thought of going back on the treadmill. But it only stayed a thought. Then my duties changed back and I wasn't required to do the same workload, so back to stagnation I went. For the rest of 2021 I did nothing and I kept eating. Delivery was still convenient, too convenient at this point.

My doctor was still monitoring my blood pressure every three months and I was still medicated for it, but other than that I wasn't doing anything about my health. There is no excuse for it, lazy is easy, staying in shape is hard. I chose easy. It's now bitten me in the ass. May 28th, I went for blood work that my doctor had ordered.  April 8th I decided to weigh myself for the first time in a couple of years and I was 399lbs. Back to square one and a pound heavier than the last time I started this journey. Then my doctor called and said that she wanted to see me in person on April 19th instead of having a phone consult. 

The results of that, and everything since are taken from Facebook posts about my health. I am very open and honest when talking about my health and my successes as well as my struggles. This blog will be resurrected and I'll be updating it with my progress as I go. So welcome to my weight loss journey part two.

April 19th

First Doctor's appointment/checkup done.

I had bloodwork done, I get it done yearly. After I got it done, my Doctor's office called and asked me to come in, instead of having a phone appointment. 

Not gonna lie, that spiked my anxiety and the waiting sucked. My mind ran through every scenario from high cholesterol to early markers for prostate cancer like Dad had.

While the diagnosis isn't good, it's not as bad as my runaway imagination was trying to tell me.

Because of the weight gain, because of letting my health deteriorate, I now have Type II Diabetes. 

I'll be doing an education course through Eastern Health to lean how to deal with it, I'll be getting a glucometer and other supplies and I'll be meeting with a dietitian. Exercise and weight loss can and will help control things. 

Right now I don't need insulin, but if I'd not decided to improve my health again, I could have been heading down a very dangerous road.

I also have low iron, which my doctor and I find strange, cause I'm all about red meat and chicken and protein. Heck I love blood pudding. So that's gonna be monitored as well. 

And finally, I have to get a study done for sleep apnea finally. My doctor said she thinks I have it based on my weight, I told her I know I've had it undiagnosed for years as people have told me I stop breathing when I sleep. 

Diabetes, low Iron, Sleep Apnea.

I will control and fix these things. I lost 100lbs once, I will do it and more again. 

April 21st

First workout done and I am a sweaty, out of shape bastard. I decided to warm up on the elliptical and after 5 minutes I was ready to quit. So I switched to the recumbent bicycle and after another 5 minutes was ready to die. But I got my ass up on the treadmill for a walk. 

After 5 minutes there, I felt like I was gonna puke and had no idea how to go on. Just in the nick of time, Bonnie Tyler sang through my headphones that she was holding out for a hero and that gave me the push I needed to go another 5 minutes.

Considering I haven't done a workout since before the world changed, a total 20 minute cardio workout isn't bad in my books. I have to start somewhere, might as well be here.

Tomorrow I aim for 25 minutes.

April 22nd

"Perhaps your hands would remember their old strength better if they grasped your sword." - Gandalf

There might be more truth to that than I gave Tolkien credit for. 

Second night workout, still 20 minutes because you're all right, I'm not pushing myself. But tonight was so much better than last night. 10 minutes on the elliptical and I was flying. 10 minutes on the treadmill and I didn't want to quit or puke.

I know it's a big change from night one to night two, but my body used to do this and it's starting to remember. It's waking up from a long slumber and it's going to get back into shape.

April 23rd

Day 3 done and another 20 minutes done. I'm not going crazy, I'm not racing anyone but myself. I did notice, like yesterday, that my body is remembering what it can do.

Day 1 the rpms on the elliptical were between 60-70 and that was a slog. Today the rpms were a consistent 100 and I could still sing along to the music in my headphones.

On the treadmill, I had to stop myself from running. I just wanted to maintain a good, fast walking pace but my legs kept trying to have other ideas.

My heart rate stayed a consistent 150bpm, which according to several websites is the target heart rate that I should be aiming for, so I'm not pushing things yet.

Body and brain need to get back in line before my cardio playlist goes back to Dance/Euro House/EDM.

April 24th

Day 4 finished. 

20 minutes up, 20 minutes down. It really is getting easier even if it is only my 4th day back using the elliptical and the treadmill. I'm going to be a while before I let myself start running, no matter if my legs want to ahead of the rest of me. One step at a time, one day at a time. For now though, I'm looking forward to two days of rest, because as we all know, the body does need recovery time.

Also, though I'm not focusing on my weight, I'm only weighing myself once a month so that I don't obsess over minor ups and downs that can and will happen along the way. This morning I did decide to check out the scale, since it was there and I wanted to know if I'm making any initial progress.

Well, I'm down 5 lbs in the last 12 days. It's not a lot, but it is a start. I've cut out snacks and what little soda I was drinking, and I've had 3 meals a day, every day, along with the last 4 days of cardio. Part of my blood pressure control is a water pill, so no I'm not retaining water to lose any water weight. This is actual weight loss. 

Now to stay away from the scales until May 8th.