Why: Act II

Earlier in the history of this blog, I created a post called "Why?". If you haven't read "Why" Act I, take a minute and enjoy me skirting the real question of "why"?

So, I have decided (after some wonderful feedback from dear friends) that I will address why things clicked for me this time. Intermission is over. Why: Act II begins now! I do love a musical. Act II normally starts with a bang. No bang here, thankfully, or it would have been a real tearjerker for my family.

"Why" isn't always a straight forward or easily answered question. Oftentimes it involves looking deep within one's psyche to understand the real reasons why, but fortunately for me, I don't have to dig very far at all to address the question of "why". I can pinpoint an exact conversation that triggered me to begin my journey, although I can't pinpoint the exact date. What? Who do you think I am, the Rainman? That's a different play people.

The conversation was with one of the smartest people I know, one of my dear friends, Eddie. He also happens to be an incredibly gifted healthcare professional. During one of our many conversations, Eddie casually told me...
HANG ON! Time for a voiceover: Have I mentioned that I was diagnosed with Diabetes in 2005? Well, if not, it's true, I was diagnosed with Diabetes in 2005.
Now back to our regularly scheduled blog:

Eddie casually told me that a diabetic person has a cycle:

• 5 years of diet and exercise to control
• 5 years of oral medication to control
• 5 years of insulin to control
• ................................................. (flatline baby)

Then, in March of last year (2012), I went to an Endocrinologist for the first time. The second he saw me and saw my blood sugar readings, he said, "I will need you to begin insulin, increase your oral medications and add an injectable that's not insulin but will help with blood glucose control". It clicked. Eddie had said that I had 5 years...and then what? Even though it wasn't The Lion King, Elton composed a song for this play, "Sad Songs (Say So Much)".
What the hell was I doing to my body?

Book of Leslie anyone? 

What the HELL was I doing to my body? Over the course of the next month, I figured out exactly what I wanted to do and what exactly I had been doing wrong. I began eating like someone with raging diabetes. My blood sugars went from an average of 250 at night and 200 fasting in the mornings to an average of 80 by July 2012. It clicked. This was the answer. For me it became more about keeping those numbers down in the 80's/90's than it did about losing weight. The weight just came off naturally.  So, now you're asking yourself, did the insulin help? Did the additional medications help? No. They didn't. Until I started eating correctly, NOTHING was helping.

How many times in our lives can we actually pinpoint a conversation that changed our lives? I am lucky. I have incredible friends, family, and support. Many of my friends have changed my life, but Eddie changed my life.

Thank you, Eddie. Curtains please. 

<Next up...stay tuned for one of my favorite recipes! Nuts and bolts people...I'm going to show you how to do it for real!>

a moment to refocusonlife

Good Monday Morning!

Don’t be afraid to try new things. Sometimes it may even take more than once of trying new things to really appreciate them! For instance, about 2 months ago, I bought some brussel sprouts in the freezer section of the grocery store and steamed them for dinner one night. I made every member of my family try them. Every person (and animal) in the house hated the sprouts. I ate them because I wanted to be the bigger man, but let’s say I wasn’t thrilled with them either (shhhh…don’t tell my family).

It's what's for dinner! 

A couple of weeks ago, I went out to dinner and had a dish that had roasted brussel sprouts. I found a new appreciation for the sprouts. They were amazingly delicious. So, I bought some for home and tried sautéing them! Voila! I love them and everyone else is tolerating them!

Maybe you will hate something. Maybe you will not. But until you try it multiple times, you shouldn’t give up! Now, I’ve just got to adopt that attitude with the exercise regime!

Have a great week everyone! 

The Impossible

Few things in life are impossible. I've gone thru many things that felt impossible at the time, but I look back now and wonder, "Why did I think that was going to be so hard?" You are correct, just the other week I was saying, "nothing worth fighting for is ever easy" but just stick with me, ok? 

There are things in life that seem impossible. Things that surround us that are unbelievably challenging, but even if it is worth fighting for, it's rarely impossible. When I was 258 pounds, looking at the road that lie ahead was like walking from the lowest point in Louisiana to the highest point on Mt. Everest in the middle of a Tsunami. 

Even though the odds are impossibly stacked against anyone losing weight or achieving any goal, they are not impossible. While you have to work hard, it's just that...hard work...not impossible work.

The Future Me!

Earlier this year, we went to the movies as a family to see The Impossible. Once you see the movie, you'll truly understand impossible odds. A family swept away by the Tsunami, separated while on vacation by rapidly rising water washing away everything the day after Christmas in a densely populated area. How could they possibly survive? If they survived, how could they have possibly been reunited? Now that seems impossible. 

I'll never forget showing Mark a photo of a shirtless, guy with a perfect 8 pack and saying, "I want to look like this". Mark simply responded, "and you can!" So, when I compare my goal of losing weight and having muscles doesn't seem so impossible when stacked next to the incredible odds of surviving one of the worst natural disasters ever, right?

My point here is perspective. If we strive to keep things in perspective, even the biggest pills are easier to swallow. I'm still working on the muscles. Stay tuned...

***PS--Mark says that he's sick of reading the same thing written in a different manner. So, hopefully the next blog entry will go in a different direction...................

a moment to refocusonlife

Happy Monday!

Last night I was reading a magazine and I came across an advertisement (of all things) that had a great quote. It said “All you need is all you’ve got; your wits and the clothes on your back, you epitaph is yours to earn; your legacy is yours to make.” I thought that was pretty profound to have come from an advertisement for jeans. Regardless of where it came from, take a minute and reflect on that quote.

Truly, we are equipped with everything we need to be successful. Everything we need to be spiritual. Everything we need to be the best that we can be every single day. I’m going to reflect on this quote often to give me the inspiration I need to continue my daily journey that sometimes feels like it’s more than I can handle.

Have a great week! 

Hitting the Mark

Inspiration has come to me in many shapes, sizes, and forms. One huge source of inspiration for me has come from Chris Powell. If you aren't familiar with Chris Powell, he is the celebrity personal trainer that specializes in transformations on ABC's Extreme Makeover: Weightloss. The show actually inspired me to begin my own personal transformation.

In one particular episode, Chris told one of his transformations to "get comfortable with being uncomfortable". How profound is that statement? Was it necessary for me to be uncomfortable all the time? Was I going to be miserable if I embarked on this journey?

Turns out that the answer is resoundingly, "yes"! Transforming my food choices, lowering my calories, and avoiding fast food shocked my body. Changing from white pasta and bread to whole wheat pasta and whole wheat bread made my tongue shout things like, "what the hell are you doing?" and "blech...that is nasty!" Almost daily I had growls coming from my stomach that could rival that of Mufasa.

Over the past few weeks, I have replaced the Mufasa stomach growls with the intentional Lion's breath growls of Yoga. I'm lucky in the fact that I have reached my goal weight without a routine exercise program. Most cannot. The time has come for me to exercise as well. I still remember the New Year's Resolution I made while in New York City on January 1, 2013. I do, really! And, I haven't forgotten! I want muscles.

Three weeks ago, I started going to a yoga class once per week. I figured, based on a typical yoga class demographic, that I could easily take on yoga. Boy did I miss the mark. Yoga kicks my ass. Some of the poses are so difficult that I can't get my body contorted into position. If I do get into position, my muscles are so weak that I have trouble holding the position. With the weak muscles in mind, Mark and I decided to hire a personal trainer for a couple of home workout sessions using our small set of handheld weights.

30 minutes later, Mark and I were slobberingly whipped, our bodies like limp noodles. We don't allow limp anything in our home, let alone our own limp noodle muscles. That was Sunday. By Tuesday, those limp noodle muscles were scrambling for cover. They, too, wanted to know "what in the hell do you think you're doing?" But, Chris said, "get comfortable with being uncomfortable", right?

All along, I've been missing the mark. I was wrong about my eating choices. I was living with the wrong concept of "the easier, the better". Now, I see that hitting the mark means that "pain is weakness leaving the body". We truly do need to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. I have. I think.

Smile boy! Geez

But now it's time to start hitting the Mark. Mark has been stuck for some time. He's discouraged. He doesn't understand how I've surpassed him when his highest weight was 42 pounds less than my highest weight. Mark has not subscribed to my theories yet. He does not believe that he has to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. The other day, he complained about his sore muscles on a Facebook post. Many came to his rescue telling him not to hurt himself with overdoing his workout. One word: trust.

Trust that I have Mark's best interest in mind. His pain is my pain, physically, emotionally, and deep down to the core of our heart and soul. Trust that we hired a trainer that does not want to see us hurt. Trust that 30 minutes is just about the right amount of time to keep us from missing the mark, but WILL keep hitting the Mark.

a moment to refocusonlife

Happy Monday!

Easy does it! Easy as pie! Easy come, easy go! Easy cheesy!

We've all heard these sayings at one time or another. But possibly, the most important saying would be… "nothing worth fighting for is ever easy."

Unfortunately, it's true. Once we stop looking for the easy way out and start focusing on real results, true change can happen.

I, for one, am proud of the hard work that has been with me every second of every day during my own transformation!

Easy should not be a factor In making healthier lifestyle choices because truly, easy doesn't do it!

a moment to refocusonlife

Good Monday morning!

“Your life doesn't get better by chance, it gets better by change.” ~~Jim Rohn 

Sometimes on Monday mornings I just need to refocus on the plan. I have to make sure that all is balanced and know that life truly does NOT get better by chance…we actually have to make it better. Hopefully, 10 years down the road, I’ll be able to look back on 2012 as the year that I changed for the better. Keep focusing on the goal. When you reach it, maybe you should set the bar a bit higher? Maybe you should add a new goal? Whatever you decide, just remember that it happens because you decided on change! 

To Pole or Not to Pole?

Losing 80 pounds has many benefits. Better health, better looks, compliments from the people that knew the old me, feeling better...the list could go on and on. But one benefit that I hadn't expected was something I've been working on for a LONG time. More confidence.

What on earth was a thinking?

All my life, I've struggled with low self-esteem. Since meeting Mark, I've definitely learned that my shell, although it seemed comfortable, wasn't quite as comfortable as I had originally thought. In fact, even before my weightloss journey, I had started poking my head out to check the temperature. Since losing a tremendous amount of weight, let me just tell you that the water's fine...come on in!

Once in a while, like an ancient turtle, I still yank my head, legs, and arms back into the shell, but by and large, I'm living out, loud, and proud. I've done things I would have never imagined myself doing. I even find myself talking to strangers at the grocery store (remember "Call Me Maybe?" from last week?)

I've caught myself adding more and more things to my bucket list that I would have never considered in the past. I'm not as afraid to do things. Hell, you  might even catching me dancing--and trust me when I say that this white man CANNOT dance.

That leaves me with one question, to pole or not to pole? I think yes!