Had a follow-up visit with my doctor last night. After five years of being on blood pressure medication (lisinopril, for those that are curious), I have managed to lose enough weight and exercise enough to be taken off the meds.
It's a nice reward for the past year and a half of sacrifice.
In January of last year, I decided that it was time to lose weight. I had spent about two years slowly changing my diet to incorporate healthier foods, better snack alternatives, and overall less junk food. And last January it was time to pull it all together into a weight loss program. My intent/goal was "a pound a week" - 4-5 pounds a month, certainly not a herculean task by any measure.
Except, of course, that I was 85 - 90 pounds overweight. Yes, this was to be a "long haul" diet. Speaking of the word "diet", I deliberately avoided "going on a diet" a la Weight Watchers, Atkins, South Beach, etc. There's certainly nothing wrong with these systems, mind you; they're just not for me. I've gone on (and off) diets pretty much my entire life - I was a "husky" kid (GOD did I hate that fucking euphemism), a chubby teen, and a heavy adult.
It started off slowly - old habits die hard and all - and the first three months I missed my goal, only losing 10 pounds over those three months. As I got more serious about losing weight, and made more sacrifices, the weight started coming off more easily. I found myself, at the end of last year, having lost about 70 pounds. I went from a size 44 waist and XXL shirts to (currently) a size 34 waist and L shirts (with undershirts and some brands of T-shirts actually MEDIUMS). This is all new, uncharted territory for me - I cannot recall ever wearing less than a size 36 waist pant and XL shirts.
Any idea how expensive it gets replacing an entire wardrobe??? Any idea how little you care when you're sizing DOWN rather than UP for the first time in your adult life?
Additionally, I started this year with the goal of exercising regularly. I started off slowly, walking a mile or so a couple of times a week, and doing sit-ups and light weight training at night. This has turned into daily 45+ minutes in the "family gym" (dad "got religion" after his heart attack and spent a small fortune on gym-quality exercise equipment).
Anyhoo... Medically... My blood pressure started creeping up right around the time I turned 30. It was borderline high, and with a family history of heart attacks/cardiac issues, my doctor prescribed medication to keep my blood pressure in check. I've been on lisinopril for over five years now, and going for quarterly visits to check my blood pressure. At the start of this year, as I weighed in at > 70 pounds less than the year before (and with the exercise), my blood pressure was starting to come down. Medication was cut in half, with a follow-up visit the following month. Last month's visit saw the medication cut in half again.
And yesterday, at the latest visit, I am off the meds. (No comments from the peanut gallery about being off my meds...)
So, yeah, I'm pretty freakin' psyched...
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11 comments:
Congratulations, friend.
In that same vein, I've started taking advantage of the free treadmill we got from my parents.
Two miles a day seems pretty doable.
The mountain bike's getting a tune-up this week too.
Congrats
congrats! as to "Your mileage may vary, void where prohibited by law, do not remove tags." I'm afraid that's being duscussed on DBD today.
hoho,
C
Congrats man.
This from another behind the wire in MA.
Congratulations! In Summer the board-shorts will drape better when hanging not from The Big Innertube!!
:-) Especial congratulations on losing the blood-pressure meds. I had my own fright from over-tanking on Gatorade which caused a high blood-sugar count - did NOT want to go there with the Type II Diabetes crowd.
Okay, I think it's time for a "before/after" picture collage. Side-by-side should be amazing.
And, btw, I know about the wardrobe replacement costs....I'm in the opposite direction, always being the skinny guy w/a gut who has now packed on a lot of upper-body mass & now my quads have pushed through the 36s (okay, my waist plays a bit of a role, but not much) and virtually all of my XL shirts are as tight as a Pamela Anderson bikini top.
My wife says you look much hotter now, so I had to turn off the computer.
Great job.
I am in the process of losing weight myself.
Down 66 pounds so far from November.
I have another 30 pounds to my first goal.
BTW I am blogrolling you.
Keep up the good work.
Just get a TON of IWB Holsters and prop up your old pants by wedging guns in them.
Congrats indeed!
Bruce, that's good to hear (although, for the folks that might not know Bruce, he's one of the LAST people that needs to exercise, skinny little git that he is...) :)
Thanks bram!
Chris Muir, the master responsible for Day by Day, visiting my humble blog. I think I may faint! (and thanks).
Rick, whereabouts in MA? We setup a Northeast blogmeet in 2005, and really should have tried last year. I'd like to try again this year. Shoot me an e-mail if interested.
dirtcrashr, I am quite excited by the new med-free lifestyle, if for no other reason than I'm a cheap bastard and can save more $$$ to put towards feeding my gun habit... ;)
And *blush*, although I have a hard time thinking of myself as anything other than the doughy fat bastard I spent most of my adult life as... I still see the 275 pound me in the mirror most times...
Ricky, as you well know, the before and after post is up...
roninaz, 66 pounds is INCREDIBLE! Congratulations to you! You've been added, BTW
weer'd beard, I hear you. I've been saving a couple pairs of the "last size" pants each time I've gone down a size (all other pants at the larger size go straight into a bag to go to the Salvation Army). Right now I'm using a size 36 waist pants as my CCW clothes - and those are starting to get too loose!
Good work, Jay!
I bet it was difficult, but everything worth doing entails some sacrifices.
James
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