How I Changed My Life to Change My Life

mstarks01

Hello friends,

I thought that posting about my journey so far might be helpful to others, so here goes...

About a year ago I knew things had to change. I was working at a stressful job, commuting two hours a day and really feeling the effects of depression & anxiety--something I have struggled with for a long time. To top it off, I rarely got a good night's sleep and was eating too much. I knew that several things about my life had to change or I would eventually end up as a statistic.

I started by getting an evaluation from a sleep clinic. The reasoning was that sleep is so foundational to everything else that it was the best place to start. The evaluation revealed that I had a form of apopnea (where you stop breathing several times an hour), several nutritional deficiencies, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

I educated myself as much as I could about sleep and the nutritional deficiencies and, to make a long story shorter, solved the issue with a combination of a dental appliance, melatonin, vitamin D, zinc, magnesium and a few other nutrients.

After getting that problem nailed down, I knew I had to treat the depression & anxiety. Through CBT and getting on the proper medication, I was better able to deal with the day-to-day. I now had the mental facilities and practices in place to deal with the last remaining obstacle: my job.

The commute was the main obstacle. There was no way I could engage in a proper exercise routine when I was getting home after dinner every night, exhausted and just ready for dinner and bed. So I decided to change my job. I set my search parameters to a maximum of a 20 minute commute each way. I turned down good opportunities that would have kept or extended my commute. And then bam! I landed a work-from-home gig!

Now, having the time to start a routine, I went back to the gym. Things were going fine and then I decide to enlist the help of a trainer. She put me on a program much different than I would have prescribed for myself--focusing on core strength, flexibility, cardio and endurance. It's not what I wanted, but what I needed.

Today, I simply focus on healthy social activities, not missing my workouts and dialing in my macros. I'm starting to see results, which is very encouraging. The waist is down 1" and the veins are starting to come back in my arms. Maybe, just maybe, this old guy is not done yet!

I've shared quite a few personal details here in the hopes that it helps someone else. We need to get past the stigmas of mental health because it's something so many people deal with. We need to recognize that modern life is full of challenges and sometimes, you need to change before you can change. What can you change today?

Yours in health,
Michael

RunsWithBees

Very inspiring! Congrats!

88olds

Thank you for the post. I also trace the roots of my weight loss journey, down 100+lbs, back to getting some real sleep. CPAP saved my life.