Tag Archives: diet

Happy Birthday To Me!!

16 Friday Aug 2024

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I turned 61 years old yesterday, August 15th. Several years ago, I would have never guessed I’d live to this age. With all the health issues that I had plus being nearly 200 lbs overweight, I didn’t have a lot going for me health-wise. Now that I’ve lost nearly 150 lbs and increased my lifespan by several years, I hope.

I saw my surgeon last week and she’s impressed with the weight loss. She wants me to lose another thirty pounds and then we’ll start talking about maintaining the weight. I’ve slowed down on the weight loss, about a pound a week. I still weigh myself every day and sometimes it gets discouraging but I know I’m losing inches as well. My wife bought me a new belt. The old one wrapped around me about halfway. I’m going to keep it to remind myself never to turn back.

I saw my primary care doctor and we talked about my last labwork. My A1c went from 8.2 to 5.5. My Creatinine levels continue to drop, now at 1.52. I’m no longer in the danger zone of kidney failure. I’m still at stage 3a kidney failure but they’re no longer talking dialisys. All my cholesterol levels are good. There were more green on this last report than red. I haven’t seen these numbers in quite some time.

February 16th Update

16 Friday Feb 2024

Posted by in Cancer, Diabetic, Disability, Weight Loss

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Sporting a new cast, but the latest x-rays reveal my foot is in bad shape. The bones have become brittle and deteriorated, with multiple fractures and breaks. However, the good news is that they can save my foot, though it will take up to 18 months and require special shoes afterwards. I have to be really careful as to not damage my left foot as the bones have become brittle as well.

January 10th, 2024

10 Wednesday Jan 2024

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My wife and I attended the Bariatric Diatairy and Fitness class yesterday. Wow! Words can’t describe all the emotions that we went through. This surgery is more than I had anticipated. We were there for a total of 4.5 hours and they just touched the tip of the iceberg. I had no idea that this would be so entailed. If you were not scared before, you should be now!! I thought I had done some research but none of the research that I did prepared me for what I am to expect after surgery.

I know that they are not going to throw me to the wolves after surgery. There will be follow-ups. There will be more classes to attend. There are several social media outlets to help you through the tough times as well as other support groups available. I’m just in a state of shock right now. What’s going to be the toughest part is going in the hospital able to eat anything you want and coming out only to be able to drink your food for two weeks. It will be at least eight weeks before I’ll be able to even think about eating solid foods again.

Something else the teacher said. Some of the things that I love to eat before surgery I will not be able to tolerate afterwards. Then again, there will be some foods that I hate now, I will be able to fall in love with. My mindset about food will change she said. 

One thing I just don’t get and maybe once I have the surgery I’ll understand but why do people go through all that they have to go through just to ignore what the doctor says and go back to eating again and gaining everything that they had lost?

Today’s weigh-in: 279.2

Total loss: 1.6

This months goal 275

It’s been a minute

18 Sunday Jun 2023

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That’s my daughter’s favorite saying. When it’s been a while since she’s done something she’ll say “It’s been a minute.” Well, it’s been a minute since I’ve posted anything. I’ll try to keep it brief so as not to bore you.

Nothing has really changed except my weight. I have lost quite a few pounds, over twenty pounds since January. I woke up one morning and decided to take control of my eating habits. Actually, it was a New Year’s resolution that started it all. No more sweets, nothing white, and no fast food restaurants. Basically, a low-carb diet. Sure, I have my cheat days but I try really hard to stay on top of it. Weekends are my worst as far as trying to stay on it.

Taken in 2011 during a family Disney cruse.

Taken with my wife just after a kayak trip to the river just a few days ago.

As you can see, there’s just a little bit of difference in the weight. 340 lbs in 2011 and 265 lbs in 2023. Also, I’ve gone from a size 48 to a size 38 as of today.

That’s it for now. There’s a ton more that’s happened but I’ll save that for another day. I promise I’ll start posting more regularly.

Peace to you

Happy Mothers Day to All Mothers

10 Sunday May 2020

Posted by in Diabetic, diet, Gym, Photography, Twins, University of Alabama, Weight Loss

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I hope you got a chance to visit your mother today or at least made or received a phone call. I got to visit mine for a few minutes. We practiced social distancing while visiting her on our porch.  My mom is in her mid 80’s so she won’t be here with us too much longer so I want to spend as much time with her as possible, front porch or not.

My family spent the afternoon last Saturday taking pictures at the University of Alabama, where my two daughters graduated.  I’m so proud of both of them.  The one on the left will go into advertising while the other will be going into childhood education.

Off-topic…The person I’m seeing in the mirror in the mornings as I’m getting into the shower is beginning to disgust me once again. You and I both know what that means.  My gym will be opening soon and then there is that treadmill downstairs.  In the meantime. I’ll be watching what I eat and walking on the treadmill.  I’ll need all the encouragement I can get.  The goal…10 pounds in 10 weeks.

3/22/2020 Weekly Update

22 Sunday Mar 2020

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I’m a couple of days late.  I’m still quarantined and I’ve come down with not only the flu but a bad sinus infection, self-diagnosed of course.  There is no way I’m getting out of this house and getting tested.  I’ve been taking the Tamiflu as my wife’s doctor prescribed and I’m getting better every day.  My daughter, who has also been quarantined with us has not shown any symptoms as of yet.  My wife has nearly gotten rid of her aliments with the exception of her cough. That, I’m afraid, will stick around for a while.

I’ve slept more in the last week than I’ve slept in a month.  I’ll be watching something on the television and what seems like moments later, something else will be on.  I can’t stand going to sleep during the day and waking up.  I feel like crap afterward.

I’m down 6.2 pounds as of today. That’s a little over a pound from last week.  Not being able to go to the gym is going to be a drag if this quarantine lasts much longer. Around here the government has closed all nonessential business, gyms being one of them.  I really haven’t felt like getting on my treadmill lately but I know I’ll have to soon if I want to continue to lose weight.

I hope everyone stays safe and I hope no one gets this virus.

 

2/28/2020 Weekly Update

28 Friday Feb 2020

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As promised here is the latest on my new weight loss adventure.  I’ve been to the gym every day this week since Sunday with the exception of yesterday.  I had so many errands to do that I just didn’t have time to get to the gym. One of my errands was to go look at another treadmill.  The one I own will not work while I’m on it.  I had to make sure I find one that would carry my weight.  The one I found is rated up to 360 pounds. I checked it out and decided to get it but as luck would have it, it will not fit through the door to get into my workout room.  I’ve got to figure out how to disassemble it to get it in there.  Right now it’s in my garage and my wife isn’t too happy about it because she has to park outside in the cold.  I will be spending tomorrow removing my old treadmill and trying to get the other moved.

Last night after I ate supper, I tried out my new-to-me treadmill. It has speakers that I can plug my mp3 player into and of course, it has a multitude of workout options.  I spent thirty minutes on the treadmill and worked up quite a sweat.  Over 400 calories burned.  That may not be a lot for some but to me, that’s a lot.  The best thing is that when I woke up this morning I had lost 1.8 lbs.  I know that maybe water weight but that’s the first loss since I’ve been working out. I’m excited about it.

I met with a trainer two times this week.  I meet with him for thirty minutes then I hit the cycle for thirty and then the treadmill for thirty.  On the days that I don’t meet with the trainer, I just do an hour’s worth of either the cycle or the treadmill or a combination of both. Today after my hour and a half workout, I got on my treadmill and did thirty minutes after supper.  I know this may be a bit much but I’ve got a lot to lose.

There’s a young lady that is standing behind the desk as you come into the gym.  She’s the one that I spoke with when I signed up.  She looks to be about 24 years of age.  She showed me a picture of herself before she started working out and I couldn’t believe the transformation.  She asked me how old I thought she was, I told her about 24 to 25 years old.  She said that she was 42 years old.  You could have knocked me down with a feather.  Today I asked her just how long it took her to lose that much weight.  She said it only took her six months to lose it.  She said that I could be fit and trim in six months if I stuck with it.  We’ll see in six months.

Decisions?

22 Saturday Feb 2020

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I did not go to the gym today.  I could have and if the truth is known I guess I should have. Since I’ve joined the gym on the 14th of February, I have been four days out of the last eight. I’ve been told not to overdo it.  But what is overdoing it?  I only work with the trainer for thirty minutes and then I hop on either the cycle or the treadmill for another thirty. Friday, I had gotten there thirty minutes early so I hopped on the cycle before my thirty-minute session with the trainer, then another thirty minutes on the treadmill afterward. Tomorrow I plan on doing thirty minutes on both the treadmill and the cycle and maybe some weights in between.

What is your opinion? How long should a workout last?  As much money as I’m paying out I want to get my money’s worth.  Also, and I know this is a loaded question, what sort of diet, if any, should I be on to maximize not only my weight loss but to help with getting my body in shape.

Life Has its Ups and Downs.

09 Sunday Feb 2020

Posted by in diet, Disability, Family, Retirement, Weight Loss

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A shelf I built for the kitchen but ended up in the garage

Life has been so stressful lately and I guess I eat more when I’m stressed.  I thought when I retired my life would be less stressful but lately, it hasn’t been the case. I’ve tried to stay on my diet but that hasn’t worked out so well.  The good news is that I’m back on it and I’ve already lost six pounds.  I’ve set mini goals and I’m about four pounds before I reach my first ten-pound mini-goal.  My twin daughters will be graduating from college in May.  They want to go on a cruise in June so this has given me an incentive to lose about twenty pounds before the trip.  I really hope I can do it.

As I’ve stated last time I wrote, I had applied for Social Security disability.  I had my hearing and I got a favorable decision.  I’m still waiting on my backpay as well as my first check.  This whole process has me concerned somewhat.  I’m not surer If I can explain it or not but it makes me feel inferior or worthless.  I’ve worked all my life and over thirty-two years at my last job, not they’re telling me that I can’t work.  I feel like I can do something but I’ve got to be honest with myself, I do have trouble breathing when I do anything.  No one will hire me at my age with all the issues that I have.  So I guess I’ll just have to get over it.

The last two days have been dry and I’m glad it has because the few days before that it rained at least four inches in less than two days.  The next four days we’re supposed to get at between six and seven more inches.  There will be a lot of flooding and trees down.  Let’s hope that the severe weather that is projected for Wednesday is not too bad.

Tomorrow will be a hard day for me.  One of my friends worked for Kimberly Police department and was shot and killed the other day while on duty.  He will be buried tomorrow.  If you’re a praying person please pray for Nick O’Rear’s family.

Thought for Today

12 Thursday Dec 2019

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Cat’s do the strangest things sometimes.

Happy Holiday’s everyone!!  Or, as I like to say, Merry Christmas!!

The past few days have been pretty busy and according to my calendar, it’s only going to get worse.  When I worked, I always disliked the holidays because I never had enough time to do what I wanted to do. With my job being what it was, I always had to be there.  If there was a threat of snow, I had to make sure I brought clothes with me to stay however long I was needed.  I always felt that I couldn’t spend enough time with my family.  Now that I’m retired, it seems that it still holds true.  For now anyway.  Both my girls have come home for Christmas but one is leaving tomorrow to go to Texas with her boyfriend to spend some time with them over the holidays.  When she returns home she’ll spend a couple of days here then back off to college.

This year it’s going to be different for my wife’s side of the family.  She lost her mother a few months back and her good for nothing brother and his family are trying to steal the family’s inheritance.  We’ve had one court date but that got put on hold until further notice.  I never really liked that family anyway.

A quick note about my diet.  I’m back on it.  I’ve been on it for a couple of days now.  So far, so good.  If I can just get my wife on board.  I keep telling her not to fix me stuff that I can’t eat but she continues to do it.  She fixed french-fries tonight and I just left them there.  Of course, she got offended that I wouldn’t eat the food that she had prepared.  It’s a constant battle.

I went to Wal-Mart today and I saw what most everyone sees this time of the year.  A Salvation Army Bell Ringer.  This one was different. He played the trumpet and played Christmas music. What a wonderful experience.  He was drawing in the dough.  I could listen to him all day long.  I wished that all Bell Ringers had some sort of talent.  I’m sure their donations would double.