6 month MFP Anniversary

First of all, I am going to apologize ahead of time. There are no photos (sorry). I am one of those who has always been ashamed to be fat so I avoid photos as much as possible and hide in the background of the ones I can't avoid. There might be one or two from last summer that my SIL has, but she hasn't had the time to look for it.

On to the good news. December 31, 2013 will be a day etched in my memory for a long time. Since the spring of 2013 I had gradually grown weaker and would get out of breath quickly. First I had a hard time hauling things up the stairs (I live on the second floor and park underground). Then I began having trouble doing simple tasks like grocery shopping and my feet and legs started swelling. I had cankles! I NEVER have cankles. Anyway, by Christmas it was so bad that my family really encouraged me to see a doctor and my brother and SIL (who live near me) even researched out a free clinic I could go to (no insurance and unemployed). I finally went on December 30 and they checked me out and took a bunch of blood plus scheduled a chest x-ray and echocardiogram. I weighed in at 311 lb! This was in the evening. When I got home, I accidentally left my phone in the car and didn't have the energy to go down and get it. Next morning someone buzzed my door. I let the person in and looked down the hall to see who it was and it was THE POLICE! It turns out that my hemoglobin was dangerously low and my ferritin was almost non-existent so the clinic tried to get hold of me and when they couldn't, they called the cops to do a wellness check. The nice officer wouldn't leave until she new I was on my way to the hospital ER so I got dressed and she took me.

I spent four days in the hospital. Had 4 units of blood, 1 unit of IV iron, an upper GI scope and a colonoscopy, and numerous blood tests to see what was causing the problem. In the end, I was diagnosed with gastric erosion causing small bleeds and Type 2 diabetes with an A1C of 7.2. My heart was pronounced very healthy and strong and my lungs, liver, and kidneys are good. The edema was caused by the anemia with a little help from the diabetes.

Sorry about the long history but I really wanted a set up to contrast with today. I started out by eating actual meals of real food again (before, it was a lot of eggs and cheese sandwiches because I could only get around the gas station convenience store plus what I could order in). By the end of January, I had lost 20 lb (most of it was the edema with some fat) and I was on my way. I received more specific diet instructions from my doctor as to how to manage the diabetes and on Feb 14, 2014 I joined MFP in order to track what I was eating, especially calories and carbs. Little did I realize how much a part of my life it would become! I have made friends here. I have learned so much. I have gotten into debates. I have been flamed. I have been complimented. Ultimately, I have lost an additional 35 lb. since joining. My goal is 1 lb a week and I have been averaging about 1.3.

I now go to a water aerobics class 3 times a week. I go to the "Y" and work out on the resistance machines 3 times a week, and on Sunday I rest. I got a Fitbit in Feb. and started trying to get 2000 steps (and not always making it). I am now up to 5000 as my goal and usually get somewhere in the 7000 range.

I still have 90 lb. to go to my ultimate goal (55 to my first big goal: Onederland) but I am seeing shades of the person I want to be. I can do almost every errand I need to (carrying heavy things down the steps is still hard because of a bad knee). I can go grocery shopping and not worry about how I am going to finish it without passing out in the store. I can haul 40 lb bags of kitty litter upstairs without a problem. My clothes are fitting better and I am wearing things in my closet that I haven't touched for years. I lift my leg up to scratch the shin and I actually SEE my quads! My A1C is down to 5.6 and I may be off the medication next time I see the doctor. The better food, iron pill, and prescription prilosec have halted the bleeding so my hemoglobin is up in the normal range consistently (as soon as my ferritin goes up a little more I can stop the iron pill). I don't have cankles and only get a small amount of swelling when it is really hot and humid out.

6 months of progress and I expect that there will be many, many more. Thank you MFP and the members for helping.