I’ve Got My Health

Health-wise, today is a pretty fantastic day!  Had my annual checkup this morning.  My blood pressure was an astounding 122 over 80.  I say astounding for those who don’t recall last summer, I was in the hospital for what turned out to be severe stage 3 of hypertension.

My good friend Patrick P took me to the hospital where I was quickly admitted after being triaged.  What I thought was a major asthma attack turned out to me being diagnosed with the beginning stages of heart disease.   A blood pressure level of 198 over 93 proved that.  I had been misdiagnosed a few years earlier with asthma.

Last November, I saw a new doctor and a nutritionist.  And together, we’ve worked a path towards a healthier life.  No fads.  No diets.  But a change in lifestyle.

I’m not going to tell you that I have been 100 percent committed to this change.  Nor will I say that I have not cheated or followed every restriction.  But I am eating much healthier.  I’ve cut down on my drinking (very hard).  And as evident from my runkeeper.com posts, I get my exercise by walking all the time.

With tonight’s walk to and from the RNC headquarters for a holiday party, I hit an amazing milestone.  I recorded my first walk on November 25, 2011.  That was for 3.31 miles.  With tonight’s 4.35 walk, I have officially walked 501 miles in 54 weeks!  Cue up that contagious song from Benny and Joon by the Proclaimers.  I’m down 43 pounds, my BMI has dropped by over 4 points, and my blood pressure is perfect.  I still smoke too many cigars, but that’s not gonna change anytime soon.

But as I conclude the year, I revel in the knowledge that I’m much healthier than when I started.

Weight Loss and a New Year

It’s a brand new year, and people are quick to make new year’s resolutions.  As my friend Duane says, if you want to change something about yourself, why wait to a specific date to start.  And he’s absolutely right!

Back in November, I started seeing a nutritionist.  Because of a hospital stay last summer, and problems with high blood pressure (which runs in the family), I was concerned about my weight.  I’m a big buy.  I’ve always been a big guy.  That’s not going to change.  But I can still try to lose some weight.

So the doc talked to me not about diets, but healthier choices — 2% milk instead of whole, multi-grain bread instead of white, more fruits, etc.  Then he talked to me about exercise.  He wanted me to walk an average of one hour a day.  That’s about 3 miles.

So instead of waiting for the new year to resolve to eat better and lose weight, I started then, November 1, 2011.  Doc set a maximum of 3000 calories a day for me to eat, in addition to walking an hour each day.  A month later, he reduced my caloric intake to 2500 per day.  I saw him again last Wednesday, the week between Christmas and New Year’s.  He was very pleased with my progress.

Since I started seeing him two months ago, I have lost over 16 pounds!  I was shocked, not that I was able to do it, but that it was done over Thanksgiving and Christmas.  So now for the first time in many years, I am under 300 pounds.  I’ve set a goal of 270 by Memorial Day.  Once I hit that, I will set another goal for my birthday in September.

To help me monitor and track my progress, I have found two great iPhone apps!  LoseIt allows me to not only track my caloric intake, but also breaks down the nutritional value of the food I eat.  It has a scanner which allows me to scan the bar code of foods I buy from the grocery store.  It also has an expansive list of restaurants and their menus with nutritional information.

The other app I am using is RunKeeper.  It tracks my walking.  It also maintains information about the route I walked, my speed, and elevation.  It also allows you to choose a playlist from your iPhone.  So as I begin my walk, with the touch of one button, it starts tracking me with GPS and begins my music.

So now I am off to do my first walk of the new year.  Fun times!