The Weight

It is a bit amazing what you can do when you put your mind to it. After my health scare in September, I knew that it was very important for me to radically change my eating and (lack of) exercise habits. I guess the fear of dying is quite a motivator!

What I did:
* Virtually eliminated red meat from my diet
* Switched to low sodium foods and tried to minimize salt in my diet
* Increased consumption of raw vegetables and fruit and cut out most high fat/high sodium junk food
* Ate low fat alternatives whenever possible
* Stopped patronizing most fast food joints. I'll still occasionally get stuff for my kids, but I have mostly stuck with Subway (and it's relatively healthy alternatives) when I need a fix
* Participated in a cardiac rehab program for seven weeks
* Continued to walk and utilize fitness centers after the rehab was completed

The results are, for me, just short of amazing. I feel great. I did not realize how sluggish I had been feeling prior to the mild heart attack. The weight loss has been outstanding. I had a lofty goal that I set for myself for Christmas and I will come pretty close to reaching it. I have now lost 27 pounds from the highest weight I had reached right before the attack. The other day I looked at myself naked in a mirror (calm down, Josie --  no pictures!) and started yelling out "My butt! My butt! Someone stole most of my butt!" None of my pants fit me anymore, but others who have lost a bunch of weight have told me what a great problem it is to have to buy new clothes. Heck, even some jeans I bought a month ago so that I would have something to wear at the WPBT weekend seem too big now.

I grew up a skinny kid in a family of thin people, but put on weight for the first time during the college years. I took it off at the end of my senior year in college and through graduate school. My early years as a professional were filled with athletic activities, so I was in great shape until about the time that we started having kids. Work, kids, and other stresses seemed to conspire to slowly add on weight over the years, and my lifestyle changed from active to more sedentary. Cable internet and online poker sure did not help.

So ... at least for now, I am back on the right track. I went at this the only way I knew how -- full force. I have slacked off a tad now -- more toward "reasonable" behavior -- in the hopes that I can continue many of these healthy lifestyle choices for years to come.

I wrote this post today not to solicit a bunch of "atta boy" comments, but to hopefully encourage anyone else who might be reading this post and heading down the same bad path that I traveled to think about making changes before they end up being like me -- a doofus who had a heart attack because he thought it wouldn't happen to him.

Today's task: head out to Kohl's to buy some new jeans! Although I hate shopping for clothes, this might be kind of fun today.