The last time I started on a fitness kick was in 2010. I was unemployed and started going to the gym every day. I decided that it might be easier to get a job if I lost some weight. Plus, I really didn’t have much else going on. It ended when I started working at a full time contract position. In those 10 weeks I lost 19 pounds.
Before that seems like another lifetime. In college I took weight training classes. Later I trained vigorously for motorcycle off-road endurance racing. During that time I had a personal trainer for about a year and a half. A series of injuries and health problems got in the way and I let myself go.
This time the stakes are a lot higher. About a year and a half ago I was hospitalized for severe pain and ended up having my gallbladder removed. At that time I was also diagnosed with severely high blood pressure (I think it was 237/115) and Type 2 Diabetes. I half-heartedly tried to alter my diet and monitor my blood sugar level, for a while. But then I decided to just let the drugs handle the problem for me. After a couple checkups that were OK-ish, I skipped my next year’s worth of doctor appointments.
Well things got worse. My blood pressure improved, but was still a tad on the high side. I ended up with severe swelling and pain in my foot/ankle and pain in my thigh. My back pain became unbearable. I had all sorts of nausea and digestive problems. I regularly suffered from chest pain. My kidneys were acting up again and I had trouble urinating. I was also cranky and pissed off all of the time. The wife finally insisted that I go see the doc. I made a laundry list of all my “ailments,” went and got my lab tests taken care of, and scheduled my doctor appointment.
The blood test confirmed that I wasn’t properly handling the diabetes, my liver values were off, and I had blood in my urine. After going through my whole list of complaints the doc said that most of it could be related to the diabetes and recommended that we focus on that for the next two months and then check in and see where I was. He put me on a meat/nuts/fruit diet and told me to hit the gym once my back and ankle could handle it.
So that’s where I’m starting, weighing 265 lbs. and a stomach that is about 54 inches around. With this blog I will be tracking my progress as I attempt to get my health issues under control and provide my family and me with a higher quality of life. Hopefully by putting it all out there it will motivate me to hold myself accountable, blow off the usual excuses, and make some real progress.
I'm on a lifelong quest to find the perfect balance between strawberry smoothies and pizza slices. A self-proclaimed gym enthusiast who believes rest days are just as crucial as leg days—especially if they involve NASCAR racing. I lift weights, but only so I can justify my love for chocolate cake. When I'm not at the gym, you’ll find me riding dirt bikes or capturing the thrill of motorsport through my camera lens. Join me as I navigate the highs and lows of fitness, where progress is measured in reps, and cheat meals are a form of self-care.
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