I was, essentially, mandated by my physician to do two things: (1) consume food more wisely, and (2) get my butt off the couch and into the gym. Not exactly her words, but the message was loud and clear. To paraphrase Andy Dufresne from The Shawshank Redemption, I was left with two choices: get busy living, or get busy dying.
And I'm not quite ready to do the latter.
So with the combination of research off the Internet, consultation with good friends like Tim Olson, Angela Fetzko and Chris Grindrod, and downloading a free app for my iPhone called MyFitnessPal (by which to track my daily food intake and calorie burning), I began my quest to drop some 75 pounds and lower my Glucose, Cholesterol, Triglycerides, and Hemoglobin A1c. Our plan - that is, the plan set forth by my physician - was to stay away from any sort of medication for the time being; to focus on better eating and a pattern of cardio and exercise. Some of the primary things I've done since that date include (but are not limited to):
- The complete avoidance of anything considered "fast food." The closest I've come to violating this was in August when returning from a debate coaches meeting in Orlando with several fellow coaches; we stopped on Florida's Turnpike for a lunch break, and I went with a fairly healthy (well, fairly healthy for Florida's Turnpike) grilled chicken salad option from the Chicken Kitchen. Absent from my life the past few months: the BK Lounge, Micky D's, the Little Red Haired Girl, and every other drive-fhrough icon one can present.- The severe reduction in starches and sugars. When purchasing 93% lean ground beef from Publix (the better for making burgers on the Hamilton Beach kitchen counter grill), I don't buy the buns. Nary a bagel can be found in Casa del Gaba. I've purchased healthy Publix stoneground whole wheat bread for those occasional sandwiches (the better to have some carbs in the diet), but for the most part, bread is not a part of my life. And speaking of the HB grill ...
- Lots more grilled chicken. The counter grill has been literally worked to death (although rumors of that death have been greatly exaggerated). A regular staple has been grilled boneless, skinless chicken breasts with a side of steamed veggies; it's fairly quick to put together (less than 20 minutes), and tastes pretty good with some Mrs. Dash seasoning to boot.
- Lots more salads. This applies both at home and on the road; when at my favorite watering hole, Duffy's Bar & Grill, I've consistently gone with the Chop Chop Drafthouse Salad (sans bacon) with balsamic vinaigrette dressing. When in Baltimore, I went for a grilled chicken salad at P.F. Chang's. I enjoyed several such dishes in Gainesville this past weekend. In short, when out and about, I'm making wise decisions about what to eat.
- Working out. And by "working out" I mean "getting to Planet Fitness a few times a week and doing 30-45 minutes of cardo." I don't go as often as I should ... but I do go more often than I used to.
- MyFitnessPal. I've religiously entered meals, snacks and the sort into the iPhone app (which synchronizes with its web presence), so I can fairly accurately track how many calories I've had per meal and day, how much sugar I've consumed, carbs, protein, the works. I'm sure it's not 100 percent accurate (some of the meals I need to estimate statistics), but I'm equally sure it's pretty darn close. More important, I'm focused on what and how much I eat regularly now, which is truly the bigger picture. Additionally, the most difficult thing about this is, being single, I don't have someone around to push me daily. However, through using MyFitnessPal and posting daily updates about achieving being under my daily calorie goal (2,100) on Twitter and Facebook, and receiving supportive comments and encouragement from family and friends via those social networking sites, I am given a stronger focus and ability to stay on track.
So, what's all this mean? On Monday morning, I went in to have blood drawn, for the "three months later" review. This morning, my physician's office called with the results. Here they are, 100 days later:
Glucose: down from 119 to 108; this is still high (I'm aiming for 65-99).
Total cholesterol: down from 224 to 151; this is within range (100-199).
Triglycerides: down from 240 to 122; this is within range (0-149).
HDL cholesterol: down from 52 to 39; this is within range (albeit barely; I need to be at or above 39).
LDL cholesterol: down from 124 to 88; this is within range (0-99).
Hemoglobin A1c: down from 7.2 to 6.6; this is still a bit high (diabetes is anything over 6.4; I'm aiming for 4.8-5.6).
Vitamin D: up from 12.3 to 55.5; this is within range (I needed to get in the 32-100 range).
Weight: down from 275 to 233; aiming for 200. (OK, that wasn't part of the blood work, but I tossed it in for good measure.)
So, where do I go from here? Well, I haven't achieved my two primary goals yet: no longer being diabetic, and hitting the 200-pound mark. I will be going in for followup blood work in February (another three months), and believe I can reach the weight goal by Memorial Day weekend 2012. Meanwhile, I continue doing what I've been doing; just because I've had some success doesn't mean I can lay off now. I can't fall off the wagon; I want to continue being busy living.
