Monday, January 17, 2011

the beginning

Here I sit 15 months after having congestive heart failure. Another  new year staring me in the face with the same resolution as the last 10 years. Get off my ass and lose some weight. I now sit at 345 pounds and can’t even walk to the end of the driveway without losing my breath .I feel like a sloth, I can’t move and sometimes don’t  even want to move.
  I started having trouble breathing in July of 2009 and wasn’t sure what was going on so ,like millions of Americans with no health insurance ,I went to an urgent care type facility. The doctor diagnosed me with asthma and gave me an inhaler. It became apparent to me that ,I was facing a bigger issue than asthma .I let it go for weeks before two sleepless nights finally sent me to the emergency room. I got to tell you ,it’s a scary feeling to not be able to breath bad enough that you can’t fall asleep. The Munson Medical Center in Traverse City, Michigan did an excellent job of taking care of me.
  I don’t know, there is a bunch of theories of what caused the CHF. Sleep apnea is one, bacterial infection was another, high blood pressure…I mean, on and on. It was all pointing to one thing, the fact I  am grossly overweight and in tremendously horrible cardio shape. I know one thing, if I had a dollar every time somebody at the hospital told me that I was too young to have CHF I would have a new Chevy truck outside right now.  I  take 9 pills a day between the heart , blood pressure ,cholesterol and diuretic to keep the fluid flowing through my lungs. I hate taking pills.
  I came out of the hospital with great intentions to change my ways and save my own life. The doctor told me I could fix my CHF by living a healthy lifestyle. I did great the first few weeks. Ate right, went for walks with my girlfriend and the dog. I don’t know what happened, before I knew it, I was back to stuffing my face and sitting on the couch all day not doing a damn thing. So, now fatter than ever I  sit in my room laying in bed at night thinking how I am killing myself and not doing anything to stop it.
  I’m 37 years old and don’t want to die as a young man. I feel I have many more adventures to be part of. I  love traveling this great country and  taking in as much as I can. 2011 has to be my year or I may not live to see many more. I need to harness all of my energy and get cracking. The fat will not come off by itself. At this point, it’s a matter of life and death.
  I’m currently in northern California and there is a few gyms close by. So the search begins. I don’t really want to go to a gym that has a bunch of meatheads in it. you know the type, can’t walk by a mirror without looking at themselves. LOL. After checking out my options I chose to go with Healthsport here, in Eureka. A brand new facility  that has great cardio equipment and even a pool.
  O.k., here’s the plan, start slow and work my way up. My heart gives me weird feelings sometimes so, I need to be careful doing this. There is an X factor in this whole thing. I do smoke but, not cigarettes. Smoking anything is a bad idea while in recovery mode of CHF. My diet will consist of  no fried foods, no fast food, no soda. Increase intake of vegetables and fruits, I just need to start eating heart smart. I won’t be able to cut out ice cream in my diet…just not going to do it. So,  I plan on starting with 40 minutes of cardio a day. 20 minutes on the treadmill walking and 20 minutes on the elliptical. I don’t plan on lifting weights for the first couple weeks. My cardio health is horrible and I need to start there.
  So, here goes, please keep up with my journey and follow my progress. The journey of life is to live it!

1 comment:

  1. Butch~ I know how hard it can be to make good choices about your health. It's a big job taking care of oneself, sometimes I just want to pay somebody to do it for me! But I cant afford it! Anyway... I wish you the best of luck. Stay focused on one day at a time. I think that could help. Try to remember to eat when you are hungry. Not emotional or pie eyed. Be kind to yourself. Love & light~

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