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!!!