40 Is A Wake Up Call

One could argue that your mortality is certainly the contributing factor to one’s health and wellbeing downfall. I like to think that it’s all emotional which makes you ultra sensitive about the changes happening to your body. Before 40, you certainly have the same complaints but for me I just ignored it and just focused on enjoying 40. When I lost site of was the end game and just living for the moment. My birthday party was all about the day and one could say it was selfish celebration. In the end, the celebration was about bringing family and friends together and give them a one of kind experience. After it was all done, the dust had settled and the photos were downloaded off of cameras. All that was left are the memories.

Do I regret having the party, not at all. I wouldn’t give up that night for anything, except for family. What was left is just the reality of the future. I lived my year of being 40 in the fast one, one would say. Health was not on my docket the first first 10 months of that year. Around month 9 I started getting sick, which to be honest was par for the course. Yes parents get sick more often when their kids start preschool but I was getting sick way to often. Looking back, the doctors are right, my weight was to blame. Last October, my health problems were getting worse, chest discomfort, bloated bowels and breathing problems. I finally went in the doctor and turn out it had been almost 3 years since my last physically. Having the twins really put it all on the back burner. That first doctor visit was a completely slap in the face. I had done some lab draws the week before and the results were the worse you could expect. My glucose was over 300 (I ate dessert the night before after 9pm), my weight was alarming and my cholesterol was out of control. 

The bell that rang the loudest was my triglycerides were through the roof. My number was around 3000 to which the doctor replied, “You should be in a hospital bed with pancreatitisand with an IV in your arm or dead!”. That was it, I was done LIVING for me and fun! What hit me right away was the kids and how I need to get healthy to see them marry and have kids, plus it would be nice to see all my grandkids graduate high school. I know that last one is asking a lot of a lifetime.

So I was on a mission, with a new medication to help me go from being pre-diabetic to not being diabetic. Back in the pool I went and pounding the pavement to shave off the pounds. The day of my birthday cabaret, I checked my weight and it was 330 pounds. I was working on diet and managed to get my weight down under 300 at the start of my new chapter to get healthy. After 4 months of working on that weight, I am happy to report I am down to 275 pounds. My doctor was shocked and happy but immediately said “we are almost there”. I met his goal shaving off 30 pound in 3 months but now he would like me to be under 260 before the end of the year. I’ve ramped up my workouts. The great news was that all of my numbers dropped almost 50% in 3 months and the doctor was extremely happy. 

Where does it go from here? Keep on trucking to healthy and the next chapter is all about portion control in my diet and work on building my workouts. Check back later this year for a further update.