Yearofhealth2023's Journal, 12 June 2023

Wow! This question…there may not have been one moment, but maybe a series of traumatic, personal losses and the threat of becoming diabetic. Last year was a very hard year. I watched my brother grieve the death of my 28 year old niece, I watched my father battle cancer, one of my nieces had a stillborn delivery full term, my 14 year old Labrador died in my arms, and my beloved baby sister passed away due to alcohol abuse. Routine lab work revealed that I was pre diabetic, my cholesterol was high and my thyroid was on overload, and as I watched so much pain and loss in 2022, I became ultra motivated to do better, mentally, emotionally, spiritually and physically.  

The starting moment for me was when I stepped on that scale 289 heading to 300 lbs and I said to myself it's time and i have been working on myself every since and I can truly say I love what I see, but it's not over yet the best is yet to come. 

Going to my doctor for another issue altogether and find out that my blood pressure was sky high. Put on BP meds which work, but I don't want to be on them at all. Only way to get that wish is to lose the weight.  

Very simply, I had ballooned to 300 pounds, and was having issues climbing a couple of flights of steps. My waist had increased to 50 inches, and it was just time to get back to a normal weight. That was in November 2018. I increased my exercise to more than double the time I was exercising, and I started eating properly. Over the process of 2 years, 129 pounds were dropped to the point that my said I was "too skinny". So, I did gain about 30 pounds due to several factors. Ideally, I would like to weigh between 180 & 185 pounds, and am now at about 210 pounds. That would satisfy me, and my wife would like it, though she says my current weight is good.