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At the pinnacle of my obese state, I weighed in at 242
lbs. Not exactly slim given my height of 5’-9”. I had high blood
pressure, high blood sugar levels and high cholesterol readings. A two
block brisk walk would bring about heavy perspiration and excessive
huffing/puffing. My doctor informed me that I was pre-diabetic and had
metabolic syndrome. And worst yet, I ended up admitting myself into the
emergency ward with what my family doctor believed at the time was a
heart attack. Thankfully, the blood tests, ECG’s, treadmill stress test
etc. proved otherwise. Since he was unable to find any markers
associated with a heart attack, the cardiologist deduced that the severe
chest pain I had experienced was likely caused by indigestion of
something that I shouldn’t have eaten or shouldn’t have eaten too much
of. In any event, the trip to the hospital served as my wakeup call. At
age 49, I had arrived at a fork in the road so to speak. Did I want to
continue my sedentary lifestyle complemented by pathetic eating habits
and head towards an early grave? Or did I want to smarten up by turning
my life around and be in a position to look forward to spending time
with my future grandchildren. I opted for the latter.
Since June of 2006, I am happy to report that I have lost 56 lbs. How
did I do it? Eating sensibly (as I prefer not to use the 4 letter word
DIET) and lots of exercise. The concept of course is quite simple. What
is difficult is the amount of determination and will power that is
required to stick with the program. One thing that I learnt a long time
ago, when it comes to weight loss there are simply no quick fixes. To
me, this meant lots and lots of healthy foods. Cut back big time on the
red meats, pastas/rice, desserts and in general items loaded with
saturated and especially trans fats. Ample servings of fruits and
vegetables. Eight glasses of water every day. Eat a sensible breakfast
every morning (Not bacon, eggs or pancakes slobbered with syrup/butter).
Instead of having the King Kong size burger with supersized fries at
lunch, I would order an Oriental Chicken Salad with Grilled Chicken
together with a supersized Diet soft drink. I also had to conquer some
demons. Namely what I refer to as my DANGER/COMFORT foods such as peanut
butter and packaged instant noodles. In the past, I could literally
polish off half a jar of peanut butter or consume six packages of cooked
noodles at one sitting. I’ve managed to overcome my urges for these
DANGER foods. In terms of exercise, my regime consisted of a minimum of
90 minutes of Tai Bo mixed in with some elliptical trainer stints. The
exercise routine was repeated at least five times a week. In early
January of this year, I signed up for a Learn to Run clinic. Thirteen
weeks later, I completed my first ever 10K run. At my last checkup, I
was advised that I was no longer pre-diabetic. My blood pressure,
cholesterol levels, blood sugar levels etc. were normal. My typically
resting heart rate is now around 65 beats per minute – a far cry from 85
beats per minute not that long ago. Although I recently turned 50, I
have never felt better. I feel (and sometimes act) like I am 20 years
younger. In fact, I have signed up for 4 more 10K runs. I also possess
every confidence that I will reach my ultimate goals of losing another
26 lbs (to get down to 160 lbs.) AND to run in a marathon within two
years’ time.
If I can do this – so can anyone else!
Phil L. - Vancouver, B.C. Canada
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