Accountability Thread

[Unknown Primate]

With his long legs, it only takes Buddy about 5 or 6 strides!

[Sean]

GO FOR IT, SEAN!

Thanks, Mark.  We're all battling it, I guess.  Back when I was playing sports, things just took care of themselves.  You played, scrimmaged, practiced and hit the weights.  My weight when I was an athlete in college was about 218.  After school and sports, I got up to 245 in my mid-20s.  My buddy who was also my chiropractor told me I needed to drop 30 lbs as my back was giving me trouble.  At age 26, I did that no problem.  Now, in my 40s it's different.  I used to be able to change what I normally did for a while and lose the weight.  But my lifestyle was still maintaining the habits that made me gain the weight in the 1st place-------and I always went back to that after my 'vacation from it'.

I understand now that I can't vacation anymore.  I must 'LIVE' there now, full time.  I broke my body.  I developed Type II Diabetes-------which was completely avoidable.  Now, it's irreversible.  It's tragic, really, what I did to myself and what I am potentially doing to my future with my girls.  I have been living with a diabetes diagnosis for about 2 1/2 years now.  Initially, I was on insulin.  I have gotten off that and moved to 2 oral medications for diabetes plus 1 for high BP.  Even on the BP med, my BP was 135/95 initially----but today it was 126/80.  I feel if I lose more weight, I can get rid of that med. My HbA1c was in the '6s' (not bad for a diabetic), but tested more recently at 5.7------which is outstanding and almost too low to be safe if I was older.  So now, starting tonight, I stop taking 1 of my diabetes meds. I will get blood drawn in 3 more months to see if I can keep it off my regimen.  I DO finger stick every day, multiple times-------so I'll get an indication of whether I have a shot at flushing that med before the blood test in 3 months.

I will be 45 in May and I have never worn glasses or contacts.  The last time I saw an optometrist was when I took my wife and for s#its and giggles, they tested my eyesight.  I have 20/15 vision.  I don't want to mess that up.  I've been blessed with what I consider a great life and 2nd chances.  I'm going to stop pushing that envelope before my luck runs out and there's nowhere to run to.  I'm making a conscious decision to do things right------before I'm back in the hospital.

I'm going to make the 'training periods' I used to fix what my REAL lifestyle was doing to me-------my new REAL lifestyle.  Wish me luck.

[Sean]

I'm still plugging away, though the Holidays haven't helped LOL!! Keep hovering between 20 and 25 pounds lost, and have plateaued. Doing some tweaking now that the new year is here to see if I can break through it. I AIN'T QUIT YET DAMMIT!! 

My plan is to change how I live.  I don't want to view it as arduous and something I do so that I can go back and do unhealthy things and wreck myself again.  I intend to make my REGULAR routine a healthy one... so that things will take care of themselves if I just do my thing, which I want to become NATURAL for me.  Maybe it's part mindset/ part self-induced Jedi Mind Trick----------but I don't want to view the word 'diet' as a temporary thing I loathe because I want to get back to unhealthy ways as soon as I drop the weight.  I want the word 'diet' to mean 'what I normally, happily eat'.  I want the exercise and good eating habits to be part of my new 'normal' routine in a way that showering and brushing my teeth are.  Good luck, Gary.  Sounds like you are getting results.

[Unknown Primate]

I think the word "diet" actually means something like way of life or something - I never cease to be inspired, and you, Sean, have inspired me - with your attitude, YOU'RE IN!

[Sean]

I think the word "diet" actually means something like way of life or something - I never cease to be inspired, and you, Sean, have inspired me - with your attitude, YOU'RE IN!

Thanks, Mark.  And you're right about 'diet' as far as at least 2 versions of it's definition go:


di·et1    /ˈdaɪɪt/  Show Spelled [dahy-it]  Show IPA noun, verb, -et·ed, -et·ing,  adjective
noun
1. food and drink considered in terms of its qualities, composition, and its effects on health: Milk is a wholesome article of diet.
2. a particular selection of food, especially as designed or prescribed to improve a person's physical condition or to prevent or treat a disease: a diet low in sugar.
3. such a selection or a limitation on the amount a person eats for reducing weight: No pie for me, I'm on a diet.
4. the foods eaten, as by a particular person or group: The native diet consists of fish and fruit.
5. food or feed habitually eaten or provided: The rabbits were fed a diet of carrots and lettuce.

I want 'diet' to mean # 4 for me... NOT # 3.  I will not be ON a diet.  I will HAVE a diet.

[Unknown Primate]

Exactly, brotha!

[Moonshadow]

Thanks, Mark.  We're all battling it, I guess.  Back when I was playing sports, things just took care of themselves.  You played, scrimmaged, practiced and hit the weights.  My weight when I was an athlete in college was about 218.  After school and sports, I got up to 245 in my mid-20s.  My buddy who was also my chiropractor told me I needed to drop 30 lbs as my back was giving me trouble.  At age 26, I did that no problem.  Now, in my 40s it's different.  I used to be able to change what I normally did for a while and lose the weight.  But my lifestyle was still maintaining the habits that made me gain the weight in the 1st place-------and I always went back to that after my 'vacation from it'.

I understand now that I can't vacation anymore.  I must 'LIVE' there now, full time.  I broke my body.  I developed Type II Diabetes-------which was completely avoidable.  Now, it's irreversible.  It's tragic, really, what I did to myself and what I am potentially doing to my future with my girls.  I have been living with a diabetes diagnosis for about 2 1/2 years now.  Initially, I was on insulin.  I have gotten off that and moved to 2 oral medications for diabetes plus 1 for high BP.  Even on the BP med, my BP was 135/95 initially----but today it was 126/80.  I feel if I lose more weight, I can get rid of that med. My HbA1c was in the '6s' (not bad for a diabetic), but tested more recently at 5.7------which is outstanding and almost too low to be safe if I was older.  So now, starting tonight, I stop taking 1 of my diabetes meds. I will get blood drawn in 3 more months to see if I can keep it off my regimen.  I DO finger stick every day, multiple times-------so I'll get an indication of whether I have a shot at flushing that med before the blood test in 3 months.

I will be 45 in May and I have never worn glasses or contacts.  The last time I saw an optometrist was when I took my wife and for s#its and giggles, they tested my eyesight.  I have 20/15 vision.  I don't want to mess that up.  I've been blessed with what I consider a great life and 2nd chances.  I'm going to stop pushing that envelope before my luck runs out and there's nowhere to run to.  I'm making a conscious decision to do things right------before I'm back in the hospital.

I'm going to make the 'training periods' I used to fix what my REAL lifestyle was doing to me-------my new REAL lifestyle.  Wish me luck.

Sean - really well put and I have tremendous respect for you for thinking about how your health will affect those you love. I have a friend who is like a brother to me who I wish would do that. A big guy (6'5") with hands the size of catcher's mitts, he has always been big but now in his early forties he is over 400 pounds. He has high blood pressure and diabetes, and over Christmas got very sick with an infection -due to his high blood sugar -and was bed-ridden for a week. His brother, who is also obese and has diabetes, just had a staph infection in his hand and had skin removed from his hand. So all this is happening to him, and he says he's finally going to do something about his health - but he's still eating poorly and I don't think there's been any exercise. I'm dreading the day I get a call from his family, saying he's in the hospital -or worse.

I wish you all the luck in the world with making the changes you need to. It sounds like you are determined and you certainly have a reason to be motivated!

[Sean]

Sean - really well put and I have tremendous respect for you for thinking about how your health will affect those you love. I have a friend who is like a brother to me who I wish would do that. A big guy (6'5") with hands the size of catcher's mitts, he has always been big but now in his early forties he is over 400 pounds. He has high blood pressure and diabetes, and over Christmas got very sick with an infection -due to his high blood sugar -and was bed-ridden for a week. His brother, who is also obese and has diabetes, just had a staph infection in his hand and had skin removed from his hand. So all this is happening to him, and he says he's finally going to do something about his health - but he's still eating poorly and I don't think there's been any exercise. I'm dreading the day I get a call from his family, saying he's in the hospital -or worse.

I wish you all the luck in the world with making the changes you need to. It sounds like you are determined and you certainly have a reason to be motivated!

I don't know how to explain it other than 'something finally went off inside me and clicked'... It's not that I didn't know the facts or what exercising or healthy eating habits can do for me------I just didn't have the WILL.  Nothing cataclysmic happened to me last week to make this change in mind set.   Something just clicked.  I went through a surgery to remove an abcess years ago-----that was how I was diagnosed with DMII.  My blood sugar was 339 and I had an infection my body couldn't fight without surgery and 4 weeks of IV antibiotics.

Does your friend have any experience with losing weight or being in shape?  Did he play sports and learn 1st hand the benefits of exercise and heathy eating habits?  If so, hopefully it will click in him, too.  If he does not----it could be a tough thing to get him to appreciate or believe he is capable of doing.

The healthiest aspect of this most recent epiphany of mine is that NO ONE has been bothering me about it.  It's all from ME.  Most people won't get bullied or scared into doing something longterm that hasn't registered with then yet, internally.

I believe your friend needs a lifestyle change.  I wish I could tell you HOW to ignite that.  I didn't embrace it myself until just last week.  Good luck with all of it and thanks.

[Moonshadow]

I don't know how to explain it other than 'something finally went off inside me and clicked'... It's not that I didn't know the facts or what exercising or healthy eating habits can do for me------I just didn't have the WILL.  Nothing cataclysmic happened to me last week to make this change in mind set.   Something just clicked.  I went through a surgery to remove an abcess years ago-----that was how I was diagnosed with DMII.  My blood sugar was 339 and I had an infection my body couldn't fight without surgery and 4 weeks of IV antibiotics.

Does your friend have any experience with losing weight or being in shape?  Did he play sports and learn 1st hand the benefits of exercise and heathy eating habits?  If so, hopefully it will click in him, too.  If he does not----it could be a tough thing to get him to appreciate or believe he is capable of doing.

The healthiest aspect of this most recent epiphany of mine is that NO ONE has been bothering me about it.  It's all from ME.  Most people won't get bullied or scared into doing something longterm that hasn't registered with then yet, internally.

I believe your friend needs a lifestyle change.  I wish I could tell you HOW to ignite that.  I didn't embrace it myself until just last week.  Good luck with all of it and thanks.

Thanks Sean. Believe me, I wish I knew how to get my friend to make a change. But I've come to realize he has to be the one who wants it badly enough to do it. There have been so many little incidents that I had hoped would motivate him, especially this recent infection. Unfortunately his family is all overweight, all diabetic, and I think on some level he may just think "That's the way it is." But that's really just an excuse so he doesn't have to change his behavior. I love him but I hate that he won't take care of himself.

Karen

[charp13]

Way to go Scatter!  You have really made some positive changes! I'm proud of you 
Sean, I had no idea that you are a diabetic. My mom had diabetes and we all felt so much empathy for her, when we were kids. She had a rough time back in the 70s when she was diagnosed. My mom passed away in her 40s, from a different health problem, and she was always a small lady- 5'1" 80-100 lbs. Of course I'm an ox compared to her, but thankfully I have only had problems that were due to wear and tear on the old spine. 
I hope you get to a point where you can live without some of your medicine, Sean. You are still a young fella and you are REALLY young at heart!   
Whatever happens, you are an upbeat and sweet guy- and you have so much fun with your little ones tooling around Disney, that you should be able to take a little time for yourself. It's hard to pick up the "right" food all the time! I am the worst! I eat like I'm 20, and my pants are leaving imprints (TMI) around my gut lately. I think it's because I had 2 major surgeries in 2 years and they were both unrelated, and they affected my treadmill time. In 2010, I was in spinal rehab, and I was doing great....and then I got scared to do anything on my own.  But now I am losing my precious stamina, and that cannot be tolerated- by me! So I am back with ya' on the accountability wagon! 

[Unknown Primate]

You all kick ass, in my book!

Check this out - I was at cardio rehab yesterday.  When I got there, my blood pressure was 120/70, which thrilled me!  During my peak exercise (about 20 minutes later) as I was still pumping away on the Nu-Step machine, they checked my BP, and it was STILL 120/70!  That was weird, because it's supposed to go up a little.  I cranked it up, thinking I wasn't working hard enough.  After my 45 minutes was up, they checked it again - and it was STILL 120/70!  It concerned me, but the trainers were like, "that's great!".  Don't know what I did, but seeing as how only 25% of my heart works properly, it sorta flabbergasted me.  Maybe it was the ICD getting me those results, I dunno?  Today, I'm worn out.

[charp13]

UP- You are a real inspiration!    I am so happy to hear your awesome news!! Yes you will be tired, but as long as you take it slow and keep up the positive thinking...you will be a stronger super- human! It really amazes me how far you've come in a few months! A lesser primate would never have made such great strides 

[Illoman]

That's AWESOME, UP!!!! I'm still rooting for you, big guy!!! Keep going!!!

[Unknown Primate]

Thanks, Char & Mike!

[Scatter]

Big thumbs up for my favorite gorilla!! Way to go Mark!!