WOW!!! All I can say is WOW!!!

Well my 100-Day Heart Challenge is now in the history books.  I can not be happier with the results!!!  I ended up sharing the 1st place honors with Cathi Penrod.  I can not believe that I had improvements to land me in this position.  Here is a wrap up of how the numbers improved:

• Total Cholesterol was 187 now 121.  Folks I have never seen my total cholesterol this low!!!
• HDL was 36 now 39.  I wish this was higher, but at least it has improved.
• LDL was ??? (they could not get a reading at the beginning) now 48
• Triglycerides was 560 now 165.  I am thrilled with this result, even though Cathi had better improvement.
• Chol/HDL was 5.2 now 3.1.  This is good news!!
• Glucose was 288 now 121.  Mine was the best improvement in Glucose of the bunch.
• Blood Pressure was 130/88 now 116/70.  Mine was the best improvement of the bunch.
• Resting Pulse was 70 now 54.  Another "WOW" for me!!
• % of Body Fat was 23.3% now 19.  Close to getting into the acceptable range!!!
• Waist Circumference was 46 now 38, a loss of 8 inches!!!  Can you say baggy pants?
• Weight was 218 now 189.5  

What a ride this has been!!! I am so blessed to have had this experience.  I hope that I can continue to improve on these numbers so that I can add a few more years to my life.  Life is too fun and too good and to satisfying to cut it short.

To all of my fellow Heart Challengers, thanks for taking this ride too.  I have loved sharing this experience with you.

To JD, thanks for being there for me in helping me to make life changes.

To Traci, Maria, Janet, Dr Carter, and anyone else who is responsible for this program that I don't know, you have my never ending gratitude for creating this program and allowing me to participate.  You have indeed made a difference in my life!!

September 24, 2011 - A Very Nice Day

Today will go down in the History of James A Tanner as one of those all time great days.  Here is the low down:

1. Started the day by doing the End of Heart Challenge 2 mile "fun" run.  Sorry I wouldn't call it fun, but I would call it personally satisfying.  I did complete the 2 mile course with out stopping to walk.  It took me 23 minutes and 49 seconds to complete the two miles so you can tell that am not a fast runner.  No surprise there I have never been one to run/jog, or what ever you want to call it.  I must state that it was probably the most physically demanding thing I have ever done outside of the Y Mountain Hike a couple of weeks ago.  It was great to do the race with my fellow Heart Challengers.  What a great group of people!!  Each one has inspired me in some way.  I am happy that each has found some measure of success with the challenge.  My never ending thanks and appreciation to JD, my personal trainer for the weeks of help and encouragement and especially today as he ran along side of me for a good portion of the 2 mile run giving me words of encouragement and praise.  My thanks also to JD's wife Summer for sacrificing some of their personal time so that JD could teach me how to better take care of my old body.
2. Today just happens to be my30th wedding anniversary.  The entire day has been spent with my wife.  She was at the fun run to support me and give me the much needed hug at the finish line.  After the race we spent a little time recuperating and cleaning up and then off to the temple.  We thought it would be a nice way to spend some time in service at the Temple.
3. Next up we headed off to Park City.  Enjoyed a wonderful dinner at the Prime Steak House on Main Street.  The food was great and the reminiscing over the past 30 years with my wife was priceless.  Finished up the day with a nice stint in the hot tub at the condo we have rented.  That soak sure felt good on my sore and aching body.

At this point I can not share the results of the 100-Day Heart Challenge.  The powers that be would not allow us to know the numbers, not even our official finishing weight.  They will give us that news Tuesday night at a celebration dinner.  Regardless of how it turns out I count my self lucky and fortunate to have had this experience.  I can't say  it has been fun, but I can say it has been as personally satisfying as anything I have been involved with in my 52 years of time spent on this earth of ours. 

Almost Done

Well the 100 - Day Heart Challenge is just about over.  On Friday we weigh out, get measured, and have the blood tested.  On Saturday we (the 100-Day Challenge contestants) get to have the fun of doing a two mile run.  Are you kidding me?  Even when I was in high school and college I never ran 2 miles at one time.  The most I ran was 1 1/2 miles in the Fitness For Life that BYU required.  Do they still require that class?

At any rate I thought I would provide a few thoughts that have coursed through my brain molecules over the past few days.  I apologize now for the length of this entry in my blog.

1. Entering the Heart Challenge was exactly the right thing for me to do at this time in my life.  It was through the initial blood tests that my diabetes was discovered.  I am grateful that this disease was discovered sooner rather than later.  Having this challenge with all its supports and helps has been a wonderful gift in getting me a strong foundation for living with diabetes for the rest of my life.
2. I set a goal of 25 pounds of weight loss during the challenge.  As of last Saturday I have lost 27.  Goal accomplished.  New goal reset to another 25 pounds lost by New Years Day.  I know this will be a real stretch especially with the holiday season leading up to my target date.  But go big, or go home, right?  To say I am thrilled with the 27 pounds lost would be a huge understatement.  I have never lost this much weight in my life.  If I can drop 50 pounds .... FANTASTIC!  That would be way cool.
3. I do worry about being able to keep up with the good eating habits and physical exercise.  It is so easy to back slide.  I would like to work myself up to being able to run an 5k race with my son Joshua before he moves out of state to work on his doctorate's degree next year.  If I can do 2 miles on Saturday I should be able to add one more mile to it by springtime.
4. Things that have brought me satisfaction during this challenge?  Baggy clothes that were once tight.  Belts that are on their last hole.  Climbing to my seat at the BYU football games without getting winded.  Having people notice that I have lost weight and comment on the baggy clothes.  
5. The biggest satisfaction to me?  Being able to play racquet ball with my son Joshua.  Before the challenge there would have been no way I could have played racquet ball.  Now I can do it and find that I love it.  I love it for the workout it gives my body.  But mostly I love it for the time I get to spend with my friend/son.  One on one time, you can't place a value on that.  I hope that we can do it many more times before he moves away.  It makes me wish that I could have done something like that with my own father.  Unfortunately he was diagnosed with cancer when I was 12 years old.  While he lived another 20 years after that, his health did not allow him to do that kind of physical activity.

Well that's it for now.  We will find out the results next Tuesday.  I'll report back to you on how everything ended.  Thanks to each of you for your kind words of support and encouragement!!!

I could use a new wardrobe.

I only have one pair of pants that fit me anymore.  All of the others are sagging so badly that they are bunching up horribly under the cinching of my belt.  And speaking of belts I'm down to the last notch on my best belt and it is starting to feel a little loose.  The one pair of pants that actually fit is a pair of white pants I used to wear at the temple.  I last wore these pants when my daughter Jamie went to the temple for her first time nearly 3 years ago.  At that time I had to suck in my gut as far as I possibly could, while jumping in the air in order to get the pants buttoned up.  Man it was a bad scene.  It took a good 3-5 minutes and multiple tries to get those pants on.  Just on a whim yesterday I decided to try them on again.  It was a nice fit.

I'm not ready to run out and do some shopping yet.  I think I need to wait a few more months for some more weight to find its way off my bod before venturing out for new clothes.  Well, truth be known, it will most likely be my wife who will go buy my new clothes.  She does it all the time for me.  She is the perfect mate for me.  Spoils me and takes better care of me than I deserve.

Something new again and football season challenges.

Today has been a pretty great day.  For the second Saturday in a row I did something I have not done before in my life.  This week's new item:  Racquet Ball.  My son Joshua introduced me to racquet ball this morning.  I found that I liked it a lot.  It gives me a nice cardiovascular work out as well as some thigh and hip work as well.  I was surprised how sore my hips got.  We played for about an hour and a half.  Almost 12 hours have passed since playing and I am experiencing a pretty sore right shoulder.  I know you can get tennis elbow, so can you get racquet ball shoulder?  I enjoyed this experience so much that I am looking forward to doing it on what I hope will be a regular basis.  Its nice to have a son so close by who is so supportive of me and what I am doing with these changes in my life.  He is patient in teaching me new things and his companionship means the world to me.

Now to explain the football season challenges.  It has become a tradition at our house to have a game day gathering.  If BYU plays at home we have a pregame meal at our house and then car pool to the game.  If the game is an away game then we have a house full of family to watch the game with us.  Naturally there is lots of food to enjoy.  Today we enjoyed the company of Stuart & Christina Heimdal and family, Julie, minus Darren, Wright and family, and Joshua & Sherry and family.  It was a great time and lots of great food.  It was a challenge for me to keep away from the foods that were not in my best interests to consume.  I did enjoy some fresh veggies and pretzels for a snack.  I had three bites of some banana bread and had a couple of the coconut M&M's.  All in all I think I did well in keeping to my eating plan.  There are 11 more games to go this season.  I am sure each one will present its temptations.

As of today I am down 24 pounds.  Only one more pound before I reach the goal I set for weight loss at the beginning of this 100 day challenge.  This is great in my estimation.  I have never lost this much weight before in my life.  Once I reach the 25 pounds lost goal, my intent is to move on to another 25 pound goal.  I would be thrilled if I could be down another 25 pounds by the New Year's.  I am certain that loosing another 25 pounds in that time will be a big challenge especially when you consider that I will not have the helps and supports of the 100 day challenge to keep me moving in that direction.  But what they hay, you've got to aim high.

Short trip to St George

The family just got back from a short trip to St. George.  It was I believe a fairly successful trip.  Here are a few details:

1. We rented a condo.  This enabled us to prepare our own meals helping to ensure that I was eating according to my meal plan.  The condo helps feel like you are at home and helps save a few $$ on meals.  You do spend more for lodging so overall it pretty much comes out in the wash.  We did eat one dinner out.  Went to an interesting steak house called Anasazi.  Steaks cooked on a rock.  Now there is a novelty.  We passed on the fondue appetizers.  Plenty tempting, but knew I did not want all the fat in the cheese.  Had a very nice steak, grilled veggies, crisp green salad with raspberry vinaigrette (on the side).  Dessert proved a bit hard to resist.  I did resist the chocolate fondue but instead shared a Creme' Bruele.  I have a hard time passing up Creme Bruele.
2. No problem keeping up the exercise.  The Condo complex had an exercise room at no additional cost that to say it was complete would be an underestimation.  Life Cycles, treadmills, all sorts of weight machines and free weights.   It had everything that I have been used to using in the Wellness Center at Utah Valley Regional.  I got in a full work out for the two days we were there.
3. Took the family to see Disney's The Little Mermaid at the Tuacahn Theater.  We had front row seats which came in handy as we occasionally hot a little hit of mist or water splashes from the stage.  This helped keep us cool on a hot summer's night.  The play was top notch.  The talent level of the cast was fantastic, the set designs were amazing and the special effects were great.  The show runs Monday, Wednesday, and Friday nights through October 21st.  Our family highly recommends seeing this production.  Our kids loved it and as adults we felt that they found a way to make us feel like we were a part of the action and not just watching something on a stage.

Life keeps moving on.  So far in the challenge 23 pounds have melted away, 7 inches have been lost from the waist, blood pressure and blood sugar levels are so good that I seem to not even worry about them any more.  Good stuff.  It is certainly worth the efforts.

Sweet sucess with the help of friends

This morning I did something I have never done before in my life.  I climbed Y mountain.  I have lived in Utah Valley for 36 of my 52 years of life.  Yet I had never attempted to climb to the Y.  For those who are unfamiliar with Y mountain, here is a photo. 

After the past two months of good physical exercise I thought I was ready to take on this new challenge.  My physical routine includes treadmill, biking, and elliptical.  These work the legs and give good cardiovascular exercise.  It did not take long to for me to realize that I was not really ready for such a hike.  The trail to the Y is 1.2 miles long and has a series of 10 cutbacks.  By the time we hit cut back one, my legs were well beyond feeling the burn.  My heart was pumping, pumping, and pumping.  Sweat was dropping like rain.  At that early stage I wondered if I could really make it to the Y.  It was great to have the support of my two sons, Joshua, and Chris and my daugter-in-law Sherry.  Had I been on my own, I may have given up at about the halfway mark saying that I just wasn't ready for this hike.  Chris would periodically say "Come on dad, you can do it".  Sherry keep me in conversations that allowed my mind to think of other things beside my aching legs.  When the going got rough, the trail steep and it took every ounce of energy I had to take just one more step, Joshua would put a hand on my shoulder and give a gentle push.  That little push certainly lightened my burden and made my steps so much easier.  My thanks to Josh, Sherry and Chris for being there with me.  I could not and would not have done it without you.

Sherry, Joshua, and me at the Y.  Picture taken by Chris

Joshua, me & Chris at the Y.  Picture taken by Sherry

On the way down, as we got close to the end of the trail, we saw three athletic type young men sprinting up the trail.  Man, oh man.  How can they do that?  It took everything I had to make it and I was simply walking.  My body feels plenty sore ... just enough to appreciate the exertion that it went through and the fact that I did accomplish this goal.

Wow, am I surprised!!!

My work day yesterday was extra long and physically taxing.  When I arrived home after 10:30 pm, I could hardly walk.  My dogs (feet) were barking with pain.  My legs were stiff and sore.  My back ached.  Simply put, I was exhausted.  It would be an understatement to say I was suffering.  I woke up at 3:30 am hurting so much that I couldn't sleep.  The last thing I wanted to do was go do an hours workout with JD at 6:30 am.  Frankly I didn't think by body could take the hour long workout. 

I mustered up all the inner motivation I could find and got myself dressed and drove the 20 minutes to the Wellness Center, thinking all the way that I would probably not last for the entire time.  Well surprise of surprises I did last the whole hour.  And the biggest surprise of all .... I no longer feel the aches and pains from my work day of yesterday.  I am not stiff and sore.  My dogs have mellowed right out.  My back has just a minor soreness, which seems to be par for the course recently.

I would never have attempted to do a workout feeling the way I did had it not been for JD.  Knowing he would be there waiting for me, I just couldn't stand him up.  Lesson learned from this, for future times this happens ..... if the body aches, go ahead and proceed with a workout because I will feel better physically afterwards.

Indulging

Yesterday was one wild and crazy day.  Physically demanding and emotionally draining.  My eating was challenging.  Challenging in the sense of finding time, or taking time to eat.  I got in a quick breakfast, a bowl of cereal & milk and a granola bar.  Lunch I sneaked in a half a ham sandwich and a banana.  Dinner is a whole other story.  I did not stop moving at work from 4:30 pm until 10:00 pm.  No way I was going to be able to find time to eat a meal, let alone one that would be healthy.  So my dinner consisted of Sub Zero Ice Cream.  We invited Sub Zero to provide their products for the Girl's Night Out event at the American Fork Hospital.  I was hot, tired, sweaty and hungry.  It was a real treat to have ice cream once again.  But as my Father-in-Law says "You have to pay for your thrills".  Right now it is 4:45 am and I am paying for the thrill of eating ice cream by sitting in front of my computer with a stomach that is empty and deprived and a body that is shaky, in needs of nourishment.  It is too early for me to eat.  One thing I have learned is how to spread out, or time my meals and snacks.  I don't want to throw this off so I will just wait for for another hour to get a little something to eat.

So was it worth it?  Yep!  But it will probably be a long time before I do that sort of thing again.

A shout out to the foreign blog readers

I have blog stats that are available to me.  One of those stats shows is a list of countries that readers of the blog are from.  I find it interesting that there are readers from Denmark, United Kingdom, and Germany.  This just blows my mind ... someone from another country reading my little old blog.  If you are one of these blog readers that live outside the USA I say ... Welcome my friend!  Thank you for your interest.  Knowing that you are there serves as an inspiration to me.  Please leave a comment letting me know how you found my blog and a bit about who you are and where you are from.

Occupational Hazzards

For those who don't know I am the Food & Nutrition Manager at the American Fork Hospital.  I jokingly refer to myself as the Food Dude.  I am around food constantly at work.  It has been challenging to keep my eating at work in check and I feel that I have done quite well each and every day.  That was until Tuesday of this week.

I am on the Food Products Committee for Intermountain Health Care.  We meet once a quarter.  During that meeting we evaluate new products, or products that we may want to change due to pricing, quality, availability, etc.  Evaluating means tasting.  Tuesday's meeting we tasted Chicken Breasts, Chicken Nuggets, Chicken Tenders & Chicken Wings.  Chicken is good right?  Well Chicken Nuggets & Chicken Tenders are fried.  Chicken Wings have skin on.  I could have done better.  Where I was in a group of people I didn't want to do the Joe Slanic method which is to chew until you get your satisfaction and then spit it back out.  That just wouldn't be the professional thing to do in  this setting.  But I could have had just one small bite of each item.   But no ... I had to do what I was taught .... eat everything on my plate.  And then I must admit I went back for more Chicken Wings.  I wanted to make sure that they were as good the second time around as the first time around.  During the sampling I ate enough to totally blow through all of my protien for the day.  I'm sure my fat allowance was overspent.  Not as bad as our Nations' Debt, but on the same road.  My biggest failure of the day however was the Oreo Brownie.  I could have had just one bite, or maybe even two bites, just to feel like I wasn't totally depriving myself.  But by this time of the day I was already feeling like I had failed at my eating plan, so what difference could it possibly make.  I ended up eating 3/4 of brownie.  I know at least I did not eat the whole thing .... but I did eat way more than necessary.

Yesterday I found myself having the hardest time controlling my food cravings at work.  It took more effort to eat well than I have experienced to date.  Could this have come from my indulgence of the previous day?  I hope I can get back to where I had been ... and that is able to look at the food and say, that looks good, but not have the overwhelming urge to fulfill my duties in quality control by tasting everything to ensure that the food we serve is up to standard.

Changing it up

I can't believe I did it, but I truly did.  During my 30 minutes on the treadmill yesterday, I ran for 11 of those minutes.  I have never liked to run or jog, just for the sake of doing so.  I never found any thrill in it.  But yesterday I did it for 1/3 of my time and didn't mind it.  Why did I do it?  Just thought I'd change it up a bit.  Could this be a sign of the changing times in my life?

Half Way Report

Well the challenge is now half over and I can honestly say it has been a blessing in my life.  Life changes that are for the good have brought about results that I can only be thrilled to have achieved.

• Weight lost - 20 pounds (only 5 more pounds to reach the goal I set for weight loss in the 100-Day challenge ... looks like I'll have to reset that goal, darn it 
• Inches lost in waist - 7
• On a current string of 15 consecutive days of having a blood pressure less than 120/80
• Extra energy
• Added endurance

What's not to like about this.  It has not been easy by any stretch of the imagination.  It has been work, but I sure love the payoffs from that hard work.

Once again my sincere thanks to all who are following my progress and giving me encouragement.  You are a big part of the motivation that keeps me moving forward.

Veggie Straws

I found something that I have enjoyed that I thought I would share, especially with my fellow heart challengers.  It is Veggie Straws.  I bought them at Costco.  I would imagine that they are probably availabale in gocery stores too ... I just haven't looked for them yet.  These Veggie Straws are a nice crisp salty snack.  They are made with potato flour and potato starch along  with veggie flavorings.  Each package counts as one carb serving and one fat serving.  They remind me of Pringle Chips to a certain extent.  It is nice to have a salty snack that can be fit in with the eating plan.  Each package (serving size) is a nice amount to eat, but then these straws are mostly air so you get a little optical illusion.  Anyway I like them.

Week 7 wrap-up .... 198 pounds!!!!!!!!!!

It happened!  It really happened!!!  My weight has dipped under 200 pounds.  This morning the scales stopped at 198.  I didn't realize how emotional this milestone would be.  My daughter Jamie gave me a two thumbs up when she found out.  My wife was truly excited.  I likened her excitement to the excitement I feel when BYU takes it to the Utah Utes.  What a rush!  What a  trill!!!  I have now lost a total of 16 pounds so far in this heart challenge.

All seven days my blood pressure measured below 120/80.  Two days of the seven my blood sugar registered below 100.  Life is good.  I am so blessed to have this opportunity to learn, grow and progress.  I am so blessed to have such a good friends and family who support and cheer me on.  The love and support mean way more that I can express!!!

Row, row, row, your boat

This morning during my workout session, JD put me through some torture.  He put me on this rowing machine and kicked it up to notches unknown to my body.  I don’t know if it has a proper term like elliptical.  All I know is that it is supposed to simulate rowing a boat.   JD has had me use this machine before, but not to the level of today.  I felt the burn in many places in my body.  My arms, my shoulders, my abdomen, and my heart were all shouting “let me go”.  Sweat was dripping down my face like never before.  I keep a towel around my neck when I work out.  It comes in handy for wiping the beads, or should I say drops of sweat from my face.  Well when doing the rowing I just can not take and hand off the machine to grab the towel.  So my face was pouring in typical monsoon style.  By the time I finally rowed the boat to shore my towel had fallen to the floor.  I was too beat to bend over to pick the towel up so that I could wipe the rain forest from my face.   After about a minute of catching my breath I finally had the strength to reach down and get it.  At one point during the rowing JD asked “on a scale of 1 – 10, where are you?”.  My reply was 11.  I think 11 was being conservative.  Now that I have had time to contemplate it I think it was more of a 15.  It is now 6 hours later and I am still sore.

Perhaps, just perhaps, I have been successful in breaking my addiction of stepping on the scales.  Today at about noon I thought for the first time this entire week “I wonder how much I will weigh in the morning”.  I have not thought about it at all and now the anticipation has me giddy.  Will I be under 200?  Stay tuned. 

Fats

I seem to have adjusted well  to 255 gms of carbs and 9 oz of protein per day that is in my eating plan.  My biggest eating challenge is keeping the fats down.  My eating plan calls for 5 servings of fat per day (25 gms).  I do drink skim milk.  My yogurt is the non-fat variety.  If I use mayo I only use lite mayo and it is used sparingly.  Sour cream, yep fat free.  The other day I had a baked potato and only used a small amount of fat free sour cream and no butter or margarine.

What is killing me is my love of beef.  I find it easy to justify eating beef.  After all my beef consumption is way down from where it had been.  At the beginning of the challenge my total cholesterol was 187.  Thus it is very easy for my mind to say, its okay have a steak or some prime rib.  Yesterday I could not pass up the smoked beef brisket that presented itself to me.  Last week I had a craving for a hamburger.  After a couple of days fighting the craving I decided to have one.  So I stopped at the store and purchased some ground turkey patties.  I  thought this could satisfy my craving.  I cooked up the 4 oz pattie and found that it was satisfying.  Then I happened to look under the package at the Nutrition Facts label.  Each 4 oz pattie had 17 gms of fat, the equivalent of 3 of my daily servings of fat.  What???  I should have just had the beef!!!

Lesson learned, always look at the nutrition facts first.  You can not assume  that just because it is turkey that it is non-fat or low fat.  I won't be making that mistake again.

Week 6 review – Not a bad week if you ask me.

The 100-Day heart challenge is now over 1/3 done.  Thirty-nine days down, sixty-one more to go.  Here is a wrap up of week 6:

1)      Two pounds lost this week, bringing the total weight lost during the challenge to 13 pounds.  An average of 2 pounds lost per week.  I’m happy with that.  I am just a hair away from dropping under the 200 mark.  It is so close I can smell it.

2)      Four of the seven days in the week saw my blood pressure below the 120/80 mark.  The three days that were higher had the top number recorded at 124, 124, and 129.  Not one single day did the bottom number exceed 80.  I’m okay with those results.

3)      For the first time since day one of the challenge I had my waist measured.  Five, yes five, inches have melted away in these 39 days.  I could not believe it.  I imagine my grin went from ear to ear.  Ask my wife, she can attest as to how happy I was.  She was the one who measured me.

4)      There were a couple of disappointments during this week.  First I missed exercising two days.  Work has been a beast for me this week.  I ended up working lots of hours.  The two days I did not exercise I left the house at 5:30 in the morning and did not return until after 7:30 in the evening.   By the time I got some dinner it was too late to get in a work out.  I do wonder if I could have dipped below 200 pounds had I not missed those two days.  Second I missed our weekly Nutrition Class.  It was held on one of the days where I had to be at work at 6:00 am.  I was looking forward to this one as we were going to be sharing menu ideas and recipes that work within our diet plans.  Oh well.

I did survive the entire week without getting on the scales until this morning.  The suspense was killing me, but it was certainly worth the wait.  The icing on the cake was five inches lost in the waist.  That was sweet, sweet, sweet!

Small Things

So many small things that will hopefully add up to larger things.

1)      Better balance.  I find that I don’t wobble like I used to, standing on one foot while putting my pants on.

2)      It is slightly easier to bend over when my shoes need to be tied.

3)      The ring on my right hand is getting so loose that it slides off when I wave my hand.  The ring on my left hand however doesn’t seem to be any looser.  Go figure.

4)      Pants that used to be snug are now just right.  Pants that were just right are now loose.  Thank heavens for a belt, otherwise those pants may end up around my ankles with the weight of my keys and wallet.

5)      My belt is getting looser.  I have already tightened it one spot and that is now too loose.  Two spots is just a wee bit tight, so I guess I’m somewhere around a 1 ½ belt loop smaller.

6)      My double chin is now a chin and a half.  My man boobs on the other hand are still hanging on.

7)      I take the stairs with more speed and I find that I’m not gasping for air.

8)      Improved blood pressure is a very good thing.

9)      Rarely do I have to get up and pee in the middle of the night any more.  It used to be a nightly ritual for me never realizing that it was a symptom high blood sugar.

10)    I have had two people who know me, but do not know about the 100-Day Heart Challenge, say “hey, you are losing weight”.  Man that feels good.

I am sure there are other small things that I have yet to recognize.  I am grateful for the small things.

Patience. I must find patience.

Saturday was the last time I stepped on the scales to weigh myself.  It is driving me crazy.  I want to know ... am I up or down?  How up or down am I?  I did not realize how obsessed I was with the obsession of weighing every morning.  I must resist.  I must learn to practice patience.  But the suspense may just kill me

Warning ... my actual weight may be vary from what is shown ...  Truth be known, this is how much I weighed when I got married, a mere 30 years ago.  And one last thought for today .... can someone be obsessed about not being obsessed?  Inquiring minds want to know!

Week 5 review

I have enjoyed doing a weekly review but I am changing the timing of the end of the week.  I had been using Monday as the end of the week for these reviews for this blog.  It made sense as the 100-Day Challenge began on a Tuesday.  However we report some of our results to Traci Heiner weekly and her week ends on Saturday.  This change is mostly due to my decision to take some advice from one of my long time friends, Karen Heard, and only weigh once per week.  My report to Traci includes my weight at the end of the week, hence my change to a Saturday blog reporting as well.  So now for the wrap up of week 5:

1. Lost 1 pound this week.  That feels a bit better.  After no weight loss two weeks ago and gaining 2 pounds last week,  this simple 1 pound was a breath of fresh air.  I am feeling stronger.  I can feel muscle so I do believe some of the weight gain/no loss can be contributed to gaining muscle.  Gaining muscle is a good thing!
2. I am currently on a string of 8 consecutive days of blood pressure readings under 120/80.  In my opinion, this is truly the greatest accomplishment thus far.
3. This week I spent 7 1/2 hours in a diabetes education class that was taught over three nights.  It was very worthwhile.  I now better understand the blood sugar readings.  I understand how the blood sugar levels constantly change through out the day.  I better understand the importance of the consistent carbohydrate diet and how beneficial it is to have three snacks throughout the day, especially at bed time.
4. Eating.  I call it eating, not dieting.  I simply dislike dieting.  After all the first three letters if dieting is die.  Having the snacks has been a nice surprise to me.  I have found that I am not getting as hungry before a meal by having a snack in between.  When eating a meal, I am being satisfied.  Three servings of carbohydrates during a meal are sufficient for me.  My wife and I stumbled on a 9-grain bread that we can purchase with our Bountiful Basket.  This bread is tasty and the best part is that it contains only 10 gms of carbs per slice.  This means I can have a sandwich, with two pieces of bread and it will only cost me 1 carb serving.  
5. The education this week was exceptional.  I now better understand how to work around the "eating budget" that has been given me.  I love ice cream.  Well I had me some Butter Pecan ice cream yesterday afternoon for my snack.  It was a one cup serving that cost me 2 servings of carbs and 1 serving of fat.  It sure tasted good and helped me feel normal again.  By careful reading labels I was able to find a flavor of ice cream that I love that worked with what I was willing to spend from my eating budget.  Thursday's Nutrition Class were we discussed the book Intutive eating I found that I am a bit obsessive in a couple of different things.  One was stepping on the scales every day.  Karen told me a couple of weeks ago to only weigh once per week, but I determined that I needed my instant gratification.  I need to know now!!!  Well when I saw the practice of daily weighing listed as an obsession I decided it is the time to heed the advice of a trusted friend.
6. The exercise is going well.  JD keeps pushing me to new levels.  Higher levels of difficulty, more reps in weights, new exercises, longer workouts.  I can't believe that I am saying this, but I really do like the way I feel after the work outs.  Of course that doesn't mean that I love working out.  I'm not to that point, yet.

Over all it has been a good week, physically and emotionally.  I am beginning to feel like I am in control.

Education overload

This week has an education overload for me.  I have attended two diabetes education sessions lasting 2 1/2 hours each and our weekly nutrition class lasting 1 hour.  Tonight I have the third and final diabetes class.  My wife has been attending the diabetes classes with me.  It has been wonderful to have her support and to have another set of ears and another mind to catch more nuggets of goodness.  So much good information in such a short period of  time.  I hope to be able to digest all of it.  There has been some real good stuff. 

I now have a better understanding of what is happening in my body in regards to insulin and glucose.  I better understand the need for carbs and why as a diabetic you just can't save them up for one good blast at the end of the day.  I have learned that snacking can be a good thing, when done appropriately. 

This morning's nutrition class brought new thoughts on attitude towards dieting and how to listen to your body in regards to its nutritional needs.  The reference for today's lesson was from a book titled "Intuitive Eating".  I was impressed enough that this may be one of the books that I will purchase to help me along my journey.

Tonight's diabetes class will focus on exercise.  Will I learn that I can actually love (or at least tollerate) that dirty word?

Week 4 review

The 100-Day Heart Challenge has just concluded its 4th week.  Here are the results as I see them:

1. Weight lost since beginning challenge: 10 pounds.  This means that in the past week I gained two pounds.  I had hoped that I would have been under 200 pounds by the time of this writing.  Obviously that did not happen.  I am a bit frustrated because I am faithfully exercising and I am keeping up with my diet changes.  That lousy weight loss wall is higher than I would like.
2. Blood sugar is showing signs of improvement.  It is creeping lower.
3. Blood pressure:  This past week this has been the one thing that has made me feel like this is all worthwhile.  My blood pressure was under 120/80 four of the seven days in the week.  The lowest reading was 99/62.  The three days that were over 120/80 were just slightly elevated (112/87).  Each of the past four day's readings have been under.

The improvements in blood pressure has made it easier to swallow the fact that the weight loss over the last two weeks has been stagnant.  But emotionally I need to see some progress once again in weight loss.  This positive mental attitude will expire unless it is re-freshened with visible results.

Diabetes & kidneys

I had a visit with my doctor on Friday.  It was a follow up after having been diagnosed with diabetes three weeks ago.  Among other things we talked about kidney disease.  The two leading contributors to kidney disease are diabetes and high blood pressure.  As a precautionary measure he has given me a prescription for a medication that is generally given to diabetics to help ward off kidney problems.

This came as bit of a shock.  I already knew that those who suffer from kidney failure are generally diabetic, but I had not viewed this as a problem that I might experience.  Given my vocation in life, I know a bit about a renal diet which those with kidney problems must follow.  It is a very restrictive diet.  Way more restrictive than a diabetic diet.  This is not exactly something that I want to experience.

Since then I have reflected on the life one of my aunts, Velma Gill Stokes, pictured above.  Velma was one of the world's great sweethearts.  Kind, loving, dedicated, and caring.  Velma passed away nearly two years ago at the age of 87.  Velma had diabetes and suffered from kidney failure.  She had to undergo dialysis treatments for the last years of her life.  She did not let this slow her down.  At her funeral her bishop remarked how Velma would go for dialysis in the morning and would be in the temple in the afternoon.  If I end up facing  the same type of challenge, I think I would be thrilled to live 87 years and serve in the temple all while living with these challenges.  Velma Stokes, a modern day pioneer, who blazed the path that I (and others) may have a clearer road to travel.

Hope this isn't too personal, but I can't resist

I appologize in advance if this is TMI for some ...


I have heard lots of women comment that the first thing they notice getting smaller when they loose weight is in their bust size.  Well I'm sorry to say that I'm not seeing any decrease in the size of my man boobs.  I would love to see them melt away.

The three week mark

Three weeks have now elapsed since beginning this 100-Day Heart Challenge.  A few thoughts (ramblings) concerning the events of these 21 days:

1. I never dreamed that writing a blog could be therapeutic, but it has been for me.  Gives me a little time for reflection and introspection. 
2. This past 3 weeks has been an emotional ride for me.  The emotions came quickly to the surface right from the start on day one.  It was difficult to break the news to my sweetheart that my blood sugar was so high that I was very likely diabetic.  It was, and still is, hard to hold back the tears when I think of it.
3. Just knowing  that people are reading my blog is humbling.  Then when I add in all of the comments that people have made to me either in person or postings on Face Book, I become emotional once again.  It is a privilege to have such wonderful friends and family members cheering me on and giving advice.  It becomes it easier to keep on keeping on during workouts when the muscles get tight and the heart is pumping, or when bad food choices are is in front of me knowing that there is a group of admired associates who want me to succeed.  My personal thank you to this cheering section!!!  You are making a difference in my life!!!
4. I have been blessed.  I have not had the feelings of "wanting to eat the table".  This is what we call it at my house when you are so hungry that you could eat a horse, or in the case the table.  The pangs of hunger have been at bay.  I have not really had a hard time resisting those tempting foods either.  The real test came on July 4th when Fat Boy Ice Cream Sandwiches were available.  I was introduced to Fat Boys some 25 years ago and was instantly hooked.  I was offered "one bite" but it was easy to say no.  Deep down I was afraid that it would become like potato chips.  One bite just won't do.  

So after 3 weeks I have lost 11 pounds.  The blood sugar levels continues to improve, but still room for improvement.  The blood pressure is showing more days of low and less days of high readings.

My hope is that I will be able to announce in the 4 week report next week that my weight is under less than 200 pounds.  It will be a glorious day when I can say I weigh less than 200 pounds.

Tough weekend

This weekend has been a bit of a challenge for me.  It took everything I had to get me to the Wellness Center on Saturday.  I was just plain tired, physically and emotionally.  I've been a bit down because I have hit a weight loss wall.  Anyone who has ever dieted and hit the wall understands very well how hard it is to keep motivated when you seemingly don't see any progress being made in weight loss but you are sacrificing so much.  It really does test one's resolve.  I did muster up enough gumption to get to the Wellness Center.  While driving there I got my burst of energy and happiness that I did not give into the temptation of letting this pass, just this once.  I had a nice work out on my own.  I am seeing progress in how my endurance is improving and feeling like I am gaining some strength.

Now for the food challenges .... oh my temptations abound.  Dinner out on Friday.  I love a little restaurant in Payson called Dalton's.  Deep fried pickles, onion rings, coconut shrimp, fresh baked breads, and wonderful huge desserts.  Well I caved in - somewhat.  I ate one half of a roll, I fit it in carb wise.  I passed on the wonderful onion rings but I had one bite of a deep fried pickle.  I pretty well succeeded in that eating out venture.

Saturday night dinner at the Wright house.  The Wrights just built a fire pit and they wanted to test it out.  Roasting hot dogs, potato salad, and smore's was what was on the menu.  Knowing the menu in advance, I went prepared with a turkey tender that we wrapped in foil and threw in the fire.  Took along some tortillas and the other makings for turkey tacos.  I over cooked the turkey a bit but the tacos were fine.  What I wanted was one of those giant Polish Sausages.  I have been hooked on those things since my mission days in Chicago some 30 + years ago.  I did have a bit of potato salad.  I'm also a potato salad junkie.  Portion size was the key.  I sure wanted more though.

Monday is a family bbq at the in-laws.  I am sure it will be another struggle to keep my eating in line with my diet plan.  When ever the family gets together there is always a ton of great food.  I have really been pleased up to this point of how well I have been able to keep my food choices and portion sizes in line, but like a true addiction, the food calls my name and it takes more will power than I thought I had to turn a deaf ear to its beckoning.

Did I jinx myself???

In my last blog that I wrote on Tuesday I talked about how I knew that at some point I would be hitting the weight loss wall.  That wall that stops you from losing weight for a while before allowing you to move on.  Well I think I may have jinxed myself by writing that.  The past 4 mornings I have weighed in at 204 pounds.  Here's hoping that this is a short wall that will be easy for my body to jump over!

Two week report

Two weeks have now passed since the beginning of the 100-Day Heart Challenge so I thought I would give a little report.
1) Weight: lost 10 pounds.  Love it.  Never lost this much weight at one time in my life!!!
2) Blood pressure: Finally coming down some.  Still some room for improvement.  Hovering around 125/85.
3) Blood Sugar: On first day of challenge was 288.  Today 153.  Looking better, but room for improvement.
4) Inches lost around waist:  Don't know.  I don't want to measure quite yet, but yesterday I had to tighten my belt one notch from where it had been.  I take that as a good sign.

So two weeks in and I am stoked at the results.  I am waiting for the weight loss wall to hit.  We all know at some point the weight stops coming off and your body tests your determination to press on before it will give in and let you loose more.  I have set a goal to drop 25 pounds during the challenge.  While I am thrilled that I am almost halfway to that goal, I realize that tough days are ahead.

I am so glad and thankful to have the opportunity to participate in this challenge.  It has been a great blessing in my life.

Sunday Dinner

All through my life I have had a big Sunday dinner.  Meat and potatoes are the base of those dinners.  Yesterday I ate light through the day so I could enjoy my "big" Sunday dinner.  I put 6 oz of lean top round roast beef on my plate, 2 cups of mashed potatoes, 1 cup of baby carrots, and 1 1/2 cups of watermelon.  All that fit into my food plan due to what little I had eaten through the day.  As soon as I picked up my fork and knife I thought "I'm not going to be able to eat all of this".  Two weeks ago I would have had no problem polishing that amount of food off.  I ended up leaving one half of the potatoes, one half of the carrots, and about one quarter of the watermelon on my plate.  I guess my stomach is shrinking.  It is becoming easier to eat less because I require less food to feel full.  In the words of Martha Stewart "Its a good thing".

Half Marathon - 5k race thoughts

This morning the American Fork Hospital sponsored a Half Marathon & 5k race.  Over 1,300 runners participated in the race that benefits the Huntsman Cancer Center at the hospital.  This was my first experience attending such an event.  I was there with my employees to provide French Toast, fruit, yogurt, and various beverages to the runners.  It was quite the experience to say the least.  It was touching listening to KSL's Nightside Project Host Alex Kirry announce the finishers and gave a little information on some of them.  I was surprised at the number of runners who were either cancer survivors, or had close family members who were either cancer survivors or who had succumbed to this disease.  My own father was diagnosed with cancer in 1971.  He passed away on July 9, 1991.  I was fortunate to have another 20 years with my hero.

So, to cut to the chase .... today I got thinking, perhaps I should make it a goal to get myself into shape where I could run a 5k.  This would be a major effort on my part.  I have always disliked running distances.  One mile runs in High School were murder as far as I was concerned.  As I have been taking on many changes in my life, perhaps this could be one more to add to my list.  Why not do a 5k run that would benefit one of these:
1) Cancer - in memory of my father
2) Heart Disease - in memory of my mother, grandfather and of course for me.
3) Diabetes - in memory of my mother, grandfather, grandmother, and of course me.
4) Fragile X Syndrome - for my children.  I don't know if they do one for Fragile X.

At the age of 52, do I really want to take on this type of challenge?    I guess time will tell.

Tried to reward my self, but was left wanting ....

Cafe' Rio opened a new eating establishment in Spanish Fork recently.  I had been wanting to try their Fire Smoked Steak Quesadilla.  I thought I would treat myself to one.  After all I have been good with my food consumption and the weight is coming off.  At yesterday's nutrition class I found out that I should limit myself to 225 gms of carbs per day, 9 oz of protein, and 5 fat servings. Pretty much right where I have been.  My wife looked up Cafe' Rio online and found out the protein, fat, and carbs in one of their Steak Quesadillas.  It would put me just a tad over in fat and protein for the day, but alas, it is a reward and I deserve it.

So I stop by that particular eatery.  I pass on the guacamole, yes I wanted it, but I knew better.  Then I started eating that thing.  Mmmm, love the crisp tortilla.  Cheese, good stuff.  Then the meat .... swimming in grease and it left an artificial flavor in my mouth.  I found myself not liking what I was eating.  Rarely has that ever happened in my life.  I ended up eating a little better than 1/2 of the quesadilla and called it quits.  I didn't go over in my protein or fat after all.  Best of all, stepped on the scales this morning to see a 2 pound drop.  I'll take that!!!

I met with JD, my personal trainer this morning at the Wellness Center.  Many of my fellow challenge mates were there working out too.  Good to see us all huffing and puffing and sweating up a storm.  Hope everyone is doing well!

Happy Day!!!

Stepped on the scales this morning to see 209, loss of 5 pound in one week!.  I don't remember the last time I was under 210 pounds.  I am one happy camper!  Just wished my blood sugar and blood pressure would cooperate.  Those two just seem to want to stay a tad high.

Feeling good about the exercise.  Met JD, my personal trainer, last night.  Had a nice work out.  I left it thinking that I could have given more in the work out.  But then during the middle of the night, when I rolled over, I felt the soreness.  Perhaps I gave enough for one day.

Still struggle every day to pass by the desserts at work.  Its tough when my office sits 10 feet away from out bakery.  Success is evident when I passed up a Chocolate Chip Cookie Sandwich.  It was loaded with cream cheese filling.  As far as I am concerned cream cheese is one of the best things ever invented.  Passing it up was a huge accomplishment for me.

Live to eat or eat to live?

All my life I have loved to eat.  Food has been one of my great pleasures in life.  I guess that's why food ended up being my profession.  It is interesting to see how this last week has changed my perception on food.  I now see how important it is to eat to live.  I have given way more thought into what I am going to eat and even do some evaluation after the meal.  Did I enjoy that?  Did I have enough?  What could I do differently. 

I have found a new appreciation for fresh fruit.  I have eaten more fresh fruit in this past week than I typically do over three months.  And you know what?  I have enjoyed it.  (And yes, I know that I have to control the size and amount of fruit due to the diabetes.)  We do live in a great day!  I mean seriously eating a good crisp apple in the middle of June?  When I was a kid if you ate a fresh apple in June it was more like applesauce surrounded by a peel. 

So far so good.  Life is good!  Wishing each of you the best!

Thoughts on heredity

This is a picture of my mother and father taken in 1981.  Mom was 51 years old (one year younger than I am now) when the photo was taken.  The events of this week has brought to the forefront of my mind that I am my mother's son.

Evidence: At the age of 48 she suffered her first heart attack; I suffered one at the age of 46.  At the age of 52 both of us were diagnosed with diabetes.

Now this is where I want the similarities to end.  Mom died at the age of 53 from complications following heart surgery.  Me?  I want to live all the way into my 80's, working at the temple up to the end.  I see so many good folks there every week that look great and are over 80.  That's what I want.

So how much of my health challenges are due to the genes I inherited from mom?  I don't think I will ever know exactly.  I'm sure it has played a large part.  But another part just as big, if not bigger, is the lifestyle I have had over the years.  My main exercise came in repetitious lifting of the fork from plate to mouth.  It sure is tasty exercise, but it has not served me well.

If you who are reading this have family histories of heart disease, high blood pressure, or diabetes make sure that you take steps to help avoid these problems.  You can't do anything about what is in your genes, but you can do something about your eating and physical activity habits that can make the difference. 

Some good news and some not so good news.

Should I start with the good news or the not so good news first??? 

Let’s get the worst out of the way.  I visited with my primary care physician, Dr. Gordon Harkness, today.  He had the test results from the blood extracted from my veins on Wednesday.  The news is Type 2 Diabetes.  Can’t say I was surprised.  He gave me all sorts of good information.  Next steps: some oral medication to help my body handle the sugar, visit an ophthalmologist, take some diabetes nutrition classes, eat right, and exercise.  Not overwhelming, but challenging I must say.

The good news is two fold.  First: my blood pressure was 118/84.  I can’t remember the last time I saw my blood pressure that low.  Second: I have lost 3 pounds since Tuesday’s weigh in!  I was thrilled to say the least when I stepped on the scales this morning and saw that kind of drop.

Tomorrow begins a new day for me.  I will meet with my personal trainer for the first time.  I have never been one for intense exercise.  This could be an interesting development.  Wonder if I will sleep much tonight.

BTW anyone looking for a good primary care physician?  I can whole heartedly recommend Dr. Harkness.  He is one of the best I have had over the years!

Rude Awakenings

I have known for some time that I had not been as good as should be with my dietary habits and my physical activity.  After suffering a mild heart attack in 2005 I changed the way I ate.  I got my self off the sofa.  My weight dropped to 202 pounds.  Then slowly I reverted back to my old ways of eating and exercise, which was over eating and not exercising. 

For the past several months I have been telling myself that I need to do something.  I saw my weight hit 219 pounds, the highest amount that my eyes have witnessed while I stood on the scales.  In May I saw in Intermountain Stories an article about the 100-Day Heart Challenge.  It sounded like something I needed.  So I applied for the challenge.  I was thrilled when Janet Frank called me to tell me I had been selected.  My thoughts were "I now have something to give me structure and guidance.  It will be great."

THEN ... I walked into Day One - Official Weigh-in.  The weighing in was not my rude awakening, after all I weighed in at 218 pounds, 1 pound less than  the most I have ever weighed.  My rude awakenings came with the blood tests.  My Triglycerides were 560.  I knew they had been high for a few years, but no where near this high.  That reading was rude enough, but the rudest (IMO) was the blood sugar at 288 (over 200 is considered Diabetes).  Ouch!  That one hurt.  My blood sugar has been fine in the past and now I am possibly a diabetic?  Tell me it ain't so!!!  After our introduction meeting I called my wife Lee to tell her about the morning.  I could not tell her about the blood test results with out choking up.  Feelings of disappointment and letting her, my kids, and my granddaughters down ran rampant through my mind.  Rest assured though, no, I repeat, no feelings of despair are here!!!

I will be stopping at my doctor's office this morning for another blood test and I have an appointment with him on Friday.  Here's hoping that yesterday's blood test was just a fluke and that it is not as bad as it seems.  Regardless this episode has put some good old fashioned fear into me!  I need to make some big changes and do it now!!!