Make It An Even 40

Nothing serious here this post. I just wanted to report on my quest to be a healthier, happier Stephen. I am down 40 pounds from the first of 2010. The interesting thing at this point is, I am not trying to lose weight so much as to eat less irresponsibly. To be honest, I miss the carbs. I love the crunch of crackers, the taste of bread, the sweet of sugar and the smoky goodness of chocolate. However I like feeling better, fitting into my clothes, not being out of breath just bending over and tying my shoes, not falling asleep in the afternoons at my desk and not having acid reflux after I eat better than the carbs. So, I just have to remind myself of these things. I had my blood pressure taken this past Wednesday in the doctor's office: 110/64, one of my best ever. My cholesterol numbers are nearly where they need to be, my A1c blood sugar level is just .1 over "normal" and I am still not taking any medications of any kind. I want to keep it that way.

At the doctor's office the doctor said that they see someone lose weight and change their diet so rarely it almost never happens. He held up my screening form and noted all the "no's" that were checked for symptoms and medications and said it was very rare to see such a sheet. I share this to say that all of that was on the brink of going away and I would have become just another health statistic adding to the slide of the decline of health in America. Makes me shudder to think I felt I couldn't do anything about it. I can and I am. God help me discipline myself to stay as healthy as I am able to be for as long as I am able to be so I won't have to ask you to do for me what I should have done for myself.

Ideally, I wouldn't mind losing another 10 pounds, I might really fit into a 34" waist instead of it being marginal at this point. More importantly, I think my numbers would improve to the point I would not be considered at risk for diabetes or high cholesterol.

Just in case you are wondering what system I am using, I am using The South Beach Diet as a guideline. It is no longer my diet, it is just the way I eat now. I don't diet any more, as that implies I will go back to eating irresponsibly again in the future once I lose some weight. Not going to do that. This is just the way we eat now and frankly I like it. Hope I can inspire anyone else out there to find out what they need to do to feel better. I do believe each body has it's own unique needs and the South Beach approach may not work for everyone, but find out what does and stay with it. It's worth it.