Joining a gym on January 3rd. So cliche', right? YES! I was almost embarrassed to go gym shopping, but I happened to have the day off, so I used it. I knew that it had to be convenient and easy access or I wouldn't use it.
As former residents of Nampa, we were so spoiled having the wonderful Nampa Recreation Center. If there is one thing that local government can do for it's citizens, it's to provide them with a gathering place such as this for better health and keeping families active together.
Upon moving to Utah county, one of the first things we did was go to the American Fork Rec Center and purchase a family membership. While it was a nice rec center, it had nothing on the Nampa rec center. Being an avid walker, I had to walk 14-15 times around the track to reach a mile. Well, you aren't going to do that very many times if you get dizzy, and that's what was happening! In the one year that Jon and I were members at the AF rec center, I went 5 times and Jon went 0 times. I'm just glad that Connor used it and eventually got a job there as a life guard. And, the lazy person that I am, I felt that this rec center was too far out of my way and so I didn't go very often.
Next step was the major purchase of my beloved treadmill. Living up on the mountain like we do, sometimes winter's can be pretty harsh. Even my poor dog doesn't get walked if there is snow on the ground. So for the next two years I used my treadmill quite a bit in the winter.
Then comes the annual check up. I go in, get my blood work done, I get weighed, they test my heart rate, and I fail everything. My A1C and triglycerides are way too high and I get sent home with a blood sugar test kit. The doc gives me 6 months to bring everything down on my own before he reports it to the insurance company. The last thing I want to be right now is high risk, especially in an area that I should be able to have control of. So, I go home, I somewhat change my diet, and I kick up the exercise. 6 months later, I am down 9 pounds (not very much), but my numbers were down enough that he said I was out of the woods and to keep continuing what I was doing. I didn't. I took that as permission to cheat; daily. Finally, in October of 2010, the doc said he was going to put me on medication if I didn't change my lifestyle. Hence, January 3rd, I am gym shopping. Why did I wait that long to get proactive? I was busy blubbering and feeling sorry for myself; oh, and we were in Europe for 2 weeks. However, during this time I was doing yoga 3-4 times a week in my home and daily walks with the dog, which really wasn't enough.
Side note here: while I totally believe in doctors and all the good they can do for us, I am a firm believer in getting a diagnosis and then taking action into my own hands - most of the time. Whenever a doc implies medication is in my future, I do everything in my power to keep from having to take it, without risk to my health. That's why my primary doc is a naturopath first, a medical doc second.
So begins my journey to getting control of my health. January 3, 2011, the day i join a gym. For the first several months I was so consistent in coming, that the gym management even commented that for a New Years resolution membership, I was only one of 3 people that were still consistently coming to work out. I was constantly getting encouragement from management and other members for my hard work. It was a big part in what kept me going, even through the summer and warm weather. Then in April, I signed on with a trainer named John, who really pushed me to my limits and way outside of my comfort zone. I worked with him twice a week for 2 months and in that time I lost 6 pounds, which to me was very discouraging. But he kept telling me that I wasn't eating enough protein. "You've gotta eat more protein!"
I'm not a huge meat eater, but not a vegetarian. I don't like chicken, turkey or hamburger. But I DO love steak, roast, salmon and halibut. I instantly became a high maintenance foodie, and in this area, Jon didn't complain! So, from May to July I lost another 20 pounds by adding more protein and eating more vegetables for a total of 26 pounds lost.
And then, my Dad passed away.
For 4.5 months I had been living a pretty sugar free lifestyle with very few simple carbs. I come from a big family. We are a family of comfort food eaters. Going home to be with my family during this time, and all the wonderful meals that were prepared for us by some amazing people, I threw caution to the wind and no longer cared about my own dietary needs. Immediately following my Dad's funeral we left for my family reunion, which dietary-wise, was no better. Instead of going armed with my own foods, I ate what everyone prepared. If you've never had my brother's dutch oven German chocolate cake, it's enough to stop a war long enough to eat it. I chose not to get up and have a piece, because I new if I sat long enough it would be gone, and then my decision would be made for me. But then some idiot, (said lovingly) put the lid down on the table I was sitting at, with all this yummy frosting and cake remnants stuck to the lid, and low and behold, I had a fork. I sat there and scraped at that lid until it was clean.
Despite the fail on my eating habits during that time, upon my return home from a funeral and a reunion, I was amazingly still down 26 pounds, and the blood work I had done would show that I was doing everything right. At my next appointment, my doc told me I was officially off the type 2 watch list and to keep up the good work. This time I went home and kicked everything into high gear.
A few months earlier we had purchased a Blendtec blender which has completely changed my eating habits. Because of this one purchase, I have increased my vegetable and protein intake by about 3 times. All good things. I learned the importance of drinking protein shakes after working out, and then a few times a week I make myself a green smoothie for breakfast.
My workout level has increased. I do a HIIT training about 2 times a week; started training for a run, (went from being able to run for only 1.5 minutes to now 20 minutes, and still climbing)circuit training 2-3 times a week. And last month I completed a barre class that I really think was harder than any of my training sessions.
There are only two areas that I can think of, that I could improve upon in my dietary corner: eat more protein and cut out soda.
So, yesterday, I had my follow up appointment with my doc; new blood work results to be discussed. I was so excited for this appointment because I had made so many improvements I was sure they would show through my blood. Wrong.
While my blood pressure and cholesterol are good, my A1C and triglycerides had shot up quite a bit. All the things that are controlled by lifestyle. I thought I had made some pretty significant changes to my lifestyle that have now become habits. How could this happen?
My hope going into this appointment was that I would be taken off of medication, and instead, he is upping the dosage of one and adding another. I was so upset getting this news that I cried on the drive home while having my own little pity party. I didn't know what else I could do. Here I was, hoping that I had worked hard enough to get off pills, to find out that I was just put on more.
After the storm settled, I decided to hit the gym, burned 300 calories doing some intervals, spent some time in the weight room and went home and fixed myself a protein packed green smoothie.
This morning I went and had a metabolic test, found out that in order to lose a pound a week, I need to consume a maximum of 1500 calories. I also learned that I'm not eating ENOUGH carbs. Go figure.
My proactive decision? I rejoined SparkPeople to help me with my eating, and I will continue to work out as I have been doing while mixing things up here and there.
To my female friends and family members, if you are under forty and out of shape or in less than good health do something about it now. Don't wait until you are my age as achievements come so much harder after 50. So much harder.
Take a lesson from me. Take care of yourself when you are young. And if you feel guilty for taking the time away from your family while you go exercise, you are doing yourself and your children a HUGE disservice. They need to see that your health is important to you. Your children learn their healthy habits from you. And on the plus side, unless you get run over by a deer while out on your morning run, you will be around to enjoy your family for a much longer time.
