30, Heart Attack, Diabetic, Reality Check

Boom_Balatty
Boom_Balatty Posts: 8 Member
in Introduce Yourself
Hello, the collective of individuals comprising MFP.

The post title sums up my purpose here nicely.

I used to make really poor choices revolving around my food choices and lack of physical activity. I used to eat emotionally, have always had an unnatural attraction to anything resembling a cheeseburger; and for as long as I can recall - I've had a strong preference for hobbies & pursuits of leisure.

This ultimately, led me to become 360lbs. Given that I'm 6'4, I carry it well, but not well enough to prevent becoming diabetic or nearly dying of a heart attack 10 days hence. Suffice to say, it's been long time to commit to a lifestyle change.

I joined MFP several months ago, in some halfhearted gesture of intent, and then promptly abandoned it for nearest fast food drive-thru.

That is no longer the case. I'm posting daily, building a support network and meeting my goals. What good is a cheeseburger if you're not alive to enjoy it? They're certainly not as satisfying as being able to spend more time with my wife. Besides, I feel like I've already met my lifetime cheeseburger consumption goal, and it's time to start working on the discrepancy in the leafy greens department.

I'm posting here, because I realize it's hard to fight millions of years of evolutionary conditioning without a support network.

I'm looking for people with public diaries, of any age or gender; who are serious about getting serious. Also, people with public diaries, that are struggling and feel like they need someone to hit up, or are seeking a little inspiration along the journey to whatever their vision of healthy feels like.

So yeah, basically, if you're active, into meeting your goals, and transparent and honest with your logging, I totally think we should be playing on the same team. Be prepared to be mutually beneficial.

To our mutual longevity,
Will

Replies

  • GlucernaBrand
    GlucernaBrand Posts: 486
    Thanks for introducing yourself Will, and sharing your story. I give you a lot of credit for your honesty and it sounds like you're making a really good start at controlling diabetes and improving your health. ~Lynn /Glucerna
  • lmhbuss
    lmhbuss Posts: 282 Member
    My diary is an open and honest book. You'll see the good, bad and ugly. Feel free to friend me!
  • mckat08
    mckat08 Posts: 79 Member
    Nice to meet you. Recently had my own health scare which has made me take a second look at the choices I make. I am new to MFP, but please feel free to add me as a friend. :happy:
  • Megan101792
    Megan101792 Posts: 3,194 Member
    Feel free to add me as a friend
  • struggletodiet
    struggletodiet Posts: 149 Member
    I am diabetic also, and went though a rough patch back when I found out but now i have made the change. change is not easy and there will be hard time ahead but keep your focus and determination and you will achieve it, feel free to add me
  • LouiseChe
    LouiseChe Posts: 24 Member
    My diary is open to my friends. Feel free to add me and all the best to you!
  • karenrich77
    karenrich77 Posts: 292 Member
    Hmmmm I don't have an open diary for private reasons but that does not mean I do not log every morsal that goes into my mouth.

    Wouldn't have lost 7.3kg in 6 weeks if I didn't.

    Shame, we are on a similar journey. Would have liked to be friends.... oh well :)
  • butlersoft
    butlersoft Posts: 219 Member
    Feel free to add me - my diary is open and I'm currently on a renewed journey with a fifty something day streak on here....

    42 yrs old, 6 ft and currently 250lbs. I was 288lbs at the beginning of January so it's going well so far.

    At my heaviest in 2008, I was 312lbs and managed to lose 102lbs of it through 2009/10 before putting most of it back thinking it was "job done".

    It comes off the same way as it comes on - a pound at a time - though one of those directions is considerably easier.

    Happy to lend support / motivation.....
  • bekim123
    bekim123 Posts: 391 Member
    I know exactly where you're coming from. I too enjoy foods that aren't good for me. I was diagnosed with type 2 Diabetes a couple of years ago, that scared me into being good for a while, lost some weight, but eventually returned to my old habits and put the weight back on. About a month ago, after a Sunday of eating very bad foods, I didn't feel good. I took my blood sugar and it had spiked higher than I've ever read (392). Between that event, and the prospect of having to start buying the next larger size pants soon, I decided to stop killing myself. I "dusted off" my MFP and started getting serious about trying to make a lifestyle change that I hope helps me turn back from the path I was on. I'm happy to say my morning blood sugar readings are steadily going down and my clothes are starting to fit better. I'm setting mental milestones to chop my considerable ways-to-go into more manageable bites. My first mental goal was to get out of the 220's. I'm now about two pounds away from my next goal, which is 215...then the next one will be getting under 210 (and so on). I still long for the foods I want to eat, and on occasion will have a cheeseburger or such, but they are now rare "treats" to take away the craving, no longer my everyday food. I find that reading the community blogs, and the success stories of others, helps my motivation. Good luck on your journey, knowing that you are not alone.
  • jeansnpearls84
    jeansnpearls84 Posts: 40
    I'm pretty much an open book, as is my food diary. Friend request sent!
  • Boom_Balatty
    Boom_Balatty Posts: 8 Member
    Thanks for all the friendly feedback, all.


    While my recent health scare was dire, I don't think I'm in need of intensive food addiction therapy. I'm a pretty self aware fellow, and have long since known how/what I SHOULD be eating. What I was eating (for a variety of really lame excuses, in the face of oblivion itself) was a different matter all together.

    I hate hospitals. They're crawling in MRSA (at least in the US), smell of death and disinfectant, and I often find myself talked down to by people working in them (as fat is viewed as a choice and we've already discussed my prior poor decisions, RE: Cheeseburgers). The combination of these factors, along with the look of grief and terror on my wife's face as they wheeled me into the Cardiac Stent Lab were/are all the incentive I needed/need to really get my **** together.

    I think all of you are awesome for getting real about the difficulties that lie ahead. I'm sorry that I'm limiting myself to people who have public/open to friend diaries, but I feel that absolute transparency is an important aspect of a support network.

    How am I supposed to find inspiration from you if I can't see how inspired you've been? How am I supposed to 'tsk tsk' and offer you a helping hand/shoulder to cry on to get you off a three day pizza bender, if it's locked away behind an electronic wall? How am I supposed to come up with a way to make Kale edible, without seeing how you're all managing it? Don't even hit me with how delicious Kale is, it's just not food, in so far as I can tell.

    At the end of the day, I feel like we're all here for different reasons. Some of us feel unhealthy. Some of us are tired of the stigma surrounding adipose in our society. Some of us have shame/body image issues. Some of us just don't want to feel like fighting alone anymore.

    Despite what separates us in motivation; we should be able to take shelter in the unifying nature of our goals, and a burgeoning sense of community.

    I'm of Nordic and German ancestry, it was traditional in times of warfare for my respective peoples to turtle up, in a pack formation, forming a 'shield wall' to protect against the onslaught of their foes. I'm proud to hold my shield aloft, alongside yours, and hope that unified, we can prevent as many blows as possible from chipping away at our resolve.

    Let's weather the storm together. Let's take pride in the accomplishments of our fellows (in addition to our own) and help to pick each other up, should we find a comrade in arms stumbling along their way.

    I'm committed to being committed. Help me stay that way, and I'll do no less for you.

    Thanks again for all of your kind sentiments, I'm eager to continue onward, along the path to success.

    ~W
  • Linda_9518
    Linda_9518 Posts: 11 Member
    Will, congrats on beginning the journey that all of us are on!

    My diary is opened to my friends, I log everything, every single day, good, bad or indifferent. My food, my cardio, any exercise, it's all there.

    Also, look into something that has helped me tremendously, Fitbit! It's like my little motivating bugger that's with me all day and night and makes me move! ;-)

    Invite coming your way.

    Linda
  • McKenzieLeigh
    McKenzieLeigh Posts: 113 Member
    I admire you already ;) You are well spoken, honest and insightful! Good for you for jumping in with both feet! My diary is open and I always welcome compliments and criticisms! Good luck to you!
  • rompydompy
    rompydompy Posts: 54 Member
    What McKenzie said! I don't know you at all, just signed up on here and "met" you two days ago, but I already feel like I do know you...and I would totally wanna hang out with you :) Keep it up, we have loved ones that need us around!
  • StarFall90
    StarFall90 Posts: 133 Member
    Hi and welcome. I am 24 and I started the beginning of last month at 364 pounds. 5 foot 8. I weighed in today at 336. My diary is open and honest. I eat a lot of the same food throughout the weekday though I normally cook a real dinner weekends. Feel free to add me. =D
  • Boom_Balatty
    Boom_Balatty Posts: 8 Member
    I'm really heartened by the positive support just a single post has garnered.

    Looking over your diaries has been inspirational and informative. I'm ticked that some of you meet you goals with salads, and others manage to do so with fast food.

    I can think of one gentleman in particular that seems to consist solely off of sausages, yet meets his daily goals and is losing weight.

    I've lost 11lbs for far (4.9 kilos, for my new friends across the pond), most of which is water weight I'm sure, but all of which feels like the first steps on a road to victory; fueled my both my resolve and your inspirational companionship.

    There is always more room on my friends list, and I feel myself feeding off of every post where 'so and so finished their log and was under their goal', like some sort of skinny thoughts eating vampire.

    You guys don't get enough credit for what you're accomplishing. Every. Single. Day.

    I feel like a 'like' or a comment is underwhelming in the face of so many of your successes, day in and day out.

    That isn't to say that I'm only looking for folks with superhuman willpower, either. I'm also interested in being inspirational to others as well. If you find yourself in need of a fellow who is about being about it - shoot me a friend request.

    The open diary is my only stipulation, as again, transparency is integral to a genuine support structure.

    If you find yourself shamed enough of your eating habits to hide them or not log them, that should be motivation enough to open the diary up and start logging. Shame for the sake of shame is simply wasteful and self-defeatist. If you feel like you must experience the emotion, then at least channel it into fuel to spur healthy action.

    I'm not saying that anyone should be feeling ashamed.

    Just that on the off chance that shame is what is keeping your diary closed and as a result being a factor in what is keeping us from being buddies, then it's mighty silly/pointless.

    Keep the friend requests coming, and let's keep celebrating our victories together!
  • janetay01
    janetay01 Posts: 1,299 Member
    Will,

    I rise to your 'kale' challenge!! Cook up an onion and some garlic in a little olive oil, add potatoes and fry for a moment or two before adding a litre of chicken stock. Bubble gently for 20 minutes and in the meantime, fry up some chopped chorizo sausage in a separate pan. Add to the soup pan after the 20 minutes is up and throw in a couple of handfuls of roughly shreded kale. Cook for a couple of minutes to wilt it down a little and serve with a good quality crusty roll. The kale soaks up all the juices of the stock and the chorizo - very tasty. And a sensible portion will only set you back a couple of hundred calories + the roll. Simple hearty soup - worth a try!

    Good luck with the 'new you' - have sent you a friend request.

    Jane
  • nancybuss
    nancybuss Posts: 1,461 Member
    love your post and the new you! Sending a friend request

    open diary

    i sometimes don't log from the 'oh what did I have'... or I'm too tired to figure out what that amount was
    otherwise, its there!
  • MysteriousMerlin
    MysteriousMerlin Posts: 2,270 Member
    Type 2 here too (diagnosed 6 years ago), and your story is exactly what I'm terrified of. Thank you for being brave and posting your history.
  • CrisEBTrue
    CrisEBTrue Posts: 453 Member
    I'm a type2 diabetic who is addicted to carbohydrates and denial; not necessarily in that order.

    I would be more than happy to add you as a friend.

    However:

    a) I'm a 63 year old woman
    b) at 5'4" I'm a whole 12 inches shorter than you.

    For the first 2 reasons, I feel that what I eat and how it affects me and my weight loss would be TOTALLY different
    than how what you eat affects you. Also my food diary is private.

    (I can empathize, however with your love of cheeseburgers and fries. I've pretty much eliminated those and the
    chocolate milkshake which compliments these killers so well..)

    So. If you're interested in support from somebody old enough to be your mother, who can shake a finger at you if needed,
    encourage you consistently and give you a reason to not still to be struggling with weight when you're my age... add me as a friend.

    Either way, Courage to you, and best wishes!

    :flowerforyou:
  • CrusherKun
    CrusherKun Posts: 353 Member
    With the exception of the Heart Attack, your story is mine. Tall man, early 30's and a lot to live for with my 2 young kids and patient wife at home. Diagnosed as a Diabetic 5 months ago today (10.21.13) - Since its been an incredible journey with ups and downs, but as it was such a huge kick in the teeth, I am making it work!

    This morning I finally broke the 60 lbs lost mark and am only 5.5 lbs from officially being below 300 lbs in 10 years. I will make it a reality soon enough since I have a goal of being below 300 by the time my HS Alumni tourney comes along on 3/29/14!!!

    Thanks for the intro and I welcome your friendship anytime - my brother from another mother!

    CK
  • sue_stef
    sue_stef Posts: 194 Member
    I'm 43 a mom of 5 boys
    I'm short white American female of Irish/random European descent
    I'm Diabetic (diet controlled because I took control)
    I'm prone to high blood pressure(again I took control)
    I do not have time to BS around
    I'm supportive but if you need a kick in the tush I'm just the girl to give it to you
    and good
    I'm blunt
    and I'm a great cook
    I was diagnosed diabetic in Dec 2013 the doc gave me 2 months to get my *kitten* together or I would have to go on meds
    so I did it
    after 2 months of changing how I eat and move I changed all my numbers

    it can be done
    you can fix this take control of it and with your doctors help and support and your own hard work you can fix yourself

    do not expect it to be easy
    do not expect to go from doing nothing to being a jock
    you will have to go slowly
    the biggest thing you will change is how you eat
    you can indeed find food you love
    just as much as cheese burgers
    (trust me I know because my food love is broasted chicken and chocolate guess what I can't eat?)
    but I have found foods I love that are good for me
    you can do this
  • ittybittybadonkadonk
    ittybittybadonkadonk Posts: 11,634 Member
    Hi Will....Welcome aboard ....I lost 78lbs back in 09/2010 but I let tragic things and life suck me in and gained it back plus some .,..I am more determined this time to get the weight off and keep it off for good ....My diary is open and feel free to add me ....best of luck to you in your new healthy lifestyle :smile:

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