My Sugar Free Journey: Part One
It Started at The Beginning
I have been fat for as long as I can remember. I was a fat kid, fat in Jr High, fat in High School, fat in my Wedding pics, and only got fatter as the years went on. I knew I was big but didn’t really have a sense of HOW big I was getting or what it was doing to my health. How much not being Sugar Free was damaging my health.
I mean I knew I was never going to run a marathon but I was fine with that because who in their right mind wants to run a marathon?
No Self-Evaluation Skills At All
I know at this point the best thing to do is to put up an old picture of when I was at my biggest but I can’t bring myself to do it…not yet at least. UPDATE: You can see a pic of me at the top of the 28 Day Challenge group.
One of the reasons I didn’t have a grasp of how big I had gotten was that we didn’t own a scale that would go up high enough to weigh me. It stopped at 250 and I figured I was maybe 20 pounds or so over that. I was a smidge off.
The Weigh-In
Somehow or another I got a membership in to a 24 Hour fitness and was able to use their scales and BOY was I shocked to see my weight. I was tipping the scales at a whopping 400 pounds.
Then I decided to go to the doctor (something I NEVER do) to see how bad things had gotten. I got as far into the physical as checking my blood pressure before it was clear I had an issue.
I Envisioned Pricking My Finger and Being Able to Shoot Blood for 20 Yards
(side not: this has all changed since going sugar free) I don’t remember the second number of the BP because I was so focused on the first. I knew healthy BP was like 120/80 or something so expected to be like 160/something. I wasn’t even close. It was 220+ over something.
The nurse checked it twice because she was sure the machine had malfunctioned, then asked me if I was having chest pains. Then she said she was calling an ambulance to take me to the hospital.
I said “Nope, I’m self-employed and have the world’s crappiest insurance, I can’t afford that.” So I got a stern talking to by the doc, some blood pressure medicine and was out the door.
And So It Began
But at least now I was motivated…kinda. I spent the next few years trying different diets and different exercise programs. I managed to lose some but it was a mostly horrible period in my life. I needed to go Sugar Free.
Next time: We look at the diets I tried and why they failed.
I have just taken over my disabled mother and disabled aunts health care. Both are diabetic with a host of other problems. Totally revamping their eating habits, exercise (which was none existent) and life styles. Did I mention I am also over weight and in tachycardia? Been reading over your website and have really learned a lot. Thank you!
That’s great! My wife’s T2D disappeared in about 6 months. Let me know if I can do anything to help!