My wife says its sounds a little harsh. I contemplated renaming it, but decided to keep it because those words are the driving force behind this entire project. This past few year has been a time of recognizing mortality for the first time, really. It started with the passing of my Dad at the age of 59... Way too young! The typical heart disease, blood pressure, congestive heart failure that is becoming more and more prevalent in this country, stole his life. There are so many factors that play into this...we will save that for another post. Like I was saying, I have really started to come to face with my own mortality. As mentioned my father passed. A good friend went to bed after celebrating a birthday and never woke up. His heart exploded in his chest. No drugs, no alcohol, just stopped working, tried to revive itself and misfired. He left a wife and two kids. Another relative diagnosed with Dibetes type II, another diagnosed with Cancer, another with Irritable Bowel Syndrome, another with depression and anxiety.....the list goes on. I've been heavy for quite awhile, but until recently, the weight was my only symptom. Then, I started having sleeping problems. I regularly slept less than three hours a night. Then came prescription #1 for Ambien. My bloodwork was starting to show things changing too. Cholesterol was creeping up, hormone levels were sliding to places they weren't meant to be. Hormone changes led to depression and anxiety... pills #2 and #3...Wellbutrin and Xannax. More tests showed that my thyroid levels were way off too. Make that pill #4...Levothyroxine. And those are just prescription medications. I also frequently pop over the counter remedies that include Tylenol, ibuprofen, acid reducers for reflux, stool softeners and laxatives. I've also come to require multiple cups of coffee just to keep it going throughout the day. These all just snook up on me. Years of neglect and abuse to my own body has now brought it to a place of dependence just to perform. This is not okay for a man of 36. This cannot be kept up for an unlimited number of years. As I started to realize this, I found myself regularly saying to myself..."Change now or die! Change now or die, change now or die"
On the pages of this blog, I will describe my plan to take action and begin to regain control of my body, my mind and my spirit. I will also post abut the struggles and victories along the way. I hope you will follow along and send words of encouragement as I endeavour to completely change the way I look at the world and I look at myself.
Let me be the first to comment. I love you. I believe in you and will be with you fully on this journey!
ReplyDeleteYour story isn't much different than mine...except those were my doctor's words. You will do this Matt, because you have the "need to" and the "want to" combined. I started a journey too and my cholesterol when from 380 to 140 and my triglycerides went from 838 to 132. Plus the weight is coming off as well. I was on 8 different pills..now down to one because I no longer have a thyroid. So, I'll be praying for you and your journey. The weight is the hardest part for me...but it is coming off. I've got 30 more pounds to go...then I have the rest of my life to keep it off! You go! Good job with the blog.
ReplyDeleteThanks Lisa! Those numbers are amazing! If you haven't seen it yet, I would suggest watching the movie. Don't even commit to a fast, but watch the movie and see where you are. Thanks for you encouragement!
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