It’s been quite a while since I’ve put virtual pen to paper in longfom about my health journey.
I’ve heard about the Covid-15, namely the 15 pounds you’ll gain as a result of being sheltered in place during Coronavirus. Me? I’m down weight since early February, which is the last time I was out of the area.
That means, from my high of over 330 pounds (150kg), I am now down almost 140 pounds (63.5kg) I presume my A1C is still out of the diabetic range but my new doctor won’t see me until June because of the local restrictions in place because of Covid-19.
According to the BMI charts, and depending on when I weigh myself, I am either at the top end of the overweight category or at the low end of the obese category, Considering I’ve been (morbidly) obese since high school, this is quite an accomplishment!
Part of the recent weight loss I attribute to the fact just about the only way I can get out of the house on a daily basis right now, thanks to the shelter in place orders, is go for a jog. Sometimes twice a day. This resulted in over 280 miles on my shoes in April alone and, as I write this, more than 1100 miles jogged in 2020.
I wouldn’t be able to do this if I ate poorly. In fact, on the days I do eat poorly, I can usually feel it in my joints the next time I jog. Inflammation is real, yo!
So what do I eat? No sugars, no grains, no seed/vegetable oils. Meat and occasional veggies. Coffee with heavy cream. Lots of eggs. I cook with butter and/or animal fats. It doesn’t work for everyone, but it works well for me!
And really, I didn’t start jogging until early last year when we got a treadmill and I had lost 100 pounds. I started out slowly, working my way up to the point where I could jog while keeping my heart in Zone 2 (180 beats per minute – age + 5). When I started getting more serious, I got an Apple Watch.
Today, I’m able to go farther and longer while staying in Zone 2 the majority of the time. I also make sure I get adequate rest (sleep in particular), which is also important.
But really, I don’t want Type 2 Diabetes to come back. Or Sleep Apnea. I also want to keep Hypertension at bay as the doctors discovered I had an aneurysm when I went in for a calcium scan a year ago.
I like being able to buy normal clothes in normal stores. I never thought in my life I’d be wearing medium anything, and yet medium shorts fit me pretty good now. For shirts, I still need to lose a little more belly fat, but even larges are starting to fit well. Not bad for someone who needed 4XL or 5XL shirts a few years ago.
I still have some weight to lose. My previous doctor suggested 175 pounds as a target, but I think I’m going to aim for 165 now. I’m not in a hurry to do so, and I know weight loss gets harder as you get closer to a normal weight, but I would love to be able to say “I am literally half the man I used to be” and not be lying.
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