Hello, pals

padanfain

I arrived here by way of a small stroke on June 10th. Freaky kind of deal, and a most fitting wake up call on my nutritional choices. Right before that I'd lost 20 pounds coming out of my divorce, running more (motivated for some reason), and hadn't realized my blood pressure was much higher than normal. They think the hypertension/stress produced a tiny clot that reached my brain, cutting off oxygen to an area that affects speech, and motor skills. I was in and out of the ICU pretty quick — they acted fast and made my chances at a full recovery very favorable. Everything is great; I can't really tell I even had a stroke.

All of this was a huge eye opener to say the least. I took for granted my healthy-as-an-ox past, and forgot to pay attention to sodium levels, fat levels, and calorie consumption.

I can't run yet or do anything particularly strenuous yet, as per the doctor's orders. So far, myfitnesspal has tracked what I'm putting in my mouth as I recover for a bit longer. Down 6 pounds from just changing what I eat, and how much. Can't wait to incorporate cardio fitness/strength training back into my routine.

Thank you, myfitnesspal, for being an essential partner in my recovery and future nutritional plan.

p.s. Please feel free to add me as a friend.