Weight Gain & Loss
Growing up in Southern California in the eighties was a pretty cool time. I was athletic, played football, baseball, and spent more time at the beach than I should have. A lot of what you take with you into adulthood is in some way developed by that time in your life. The pattern in my head said I was "athletic" and as I saw years turn into decades I still felt like that athletic kid.
That is why it came as such a shock to me when I saw the photo that changed my life. Not that I did not know I had put on some weight. I just thought that sucking it in when someone took my picture made it look better. It did not. And it wasn't just the weight that bothered me. Moving hurt, that is actually getting out of bed in the morning.
2014 Jupiter Florida
I remember vividly cleaning the shower and using the squeegee that my wife said I have to use on the glass. I could barely kneel down halfway without passing out and having to stop for a breath. I thought to myself surely this isn't what the rest of my life looks and feels like is it?
Shortly thereafter a friend of mine Roger, who was in his eighties at that time, told me that at about forty years old your body is pretty much going to look like it does the rest of your life. I loved talking to Roger, but I never wanted him to be more wrong in my life.
We left together that day to go to a Spring Training game in Jupiter, Florida, Go Cardinals, when their not playing the Los Angeles Dodgers. That is where "the picture" was taken. There I was walking around Roger Dean Stadium in all my glory not knowing my wife had her camera trained on me. When I saw it I was mortified.
I did not really process in my mind how much weight I had put on. I knew it in one sense, as I stopped getting on the scale when three-hundred-plus pounds started flashing on the dial. But I did not really process what the weight was doing to my health. That was, and is the key here.
1. My Medical Issues Were Tied To Directly To My Diet?
I had a multitude of medical issues I was dealing with at the time. At one point I think I listed twenty different symptoms that needed medical intervention of some sort. The most noteworthy of them were:
- Arthritis
- Inflammation
- Gout
- High-Blood Pressure
- High Cholesterol
My hands and fingers hurt when I shook someones hand. I always had a strong grip when I shook hands and it killed me that I might not use a firm grip out of fear of the pain that it would cause. The inflammation in my body caused me to spend way more time that I care to discuss in the bathroom.
If you have ever had gout, it can feel like your toes are going to literally explode out of their joints. You can't cut the pain with any kind of pain relievers and the only thing that ever relieved the pain was actually eating fresh cherries believe it or not. I was also taking all the meds that a lot of people take in this "modern" day and age. I was on Lipitor for Cholesterol and Beta Blockers for high blood pressure.
2. I Could Not Outwork My Diet In The Gym
This might sound contra-indicative coming from someone who runs a fitness and therapy equipment company, but hear me out. What you put in your mouth has a direct affect on your fitness.
I was in total denial about how much sugar I was putting in my body. I was eating a lot of fast food, and drinking a copious amount of sugary soda. I used to say that I barely drank soft drinks, but every day at lunch I would order the thirty-two ounce extra large, and refill it once or twice.
Processed food was my staple. While I loved to cook, it became easier to grab a box of something and take the easy way out rather than plan a meal with fresh ingredients. And don't even think that having a meal without potatoes or some super heavy starch wasn't part of the menu.
3. I Stayed Out of The Middle Of The Store
When I really started seeing a difference in my health, I circled the supermarket. Meaning, I went to the meat department, dairy, and produce like vegetables and fruit, and a sprinkling of nuts and seeds. Going down the aisles and picking anything up in a box or a bottle was probably not helping me get fit, or get healthier.
I started drinking a ton of water and an occasional unsweet iced tea. I drink my coffee black, and yes some say caffeine needs to go, but you don't want to see me without my caffeine. If I drink alcohol it is always in moderation. I do still grab an occasional ice cream sundae, I'm not crazy, and my grandkids really enjoy it so I must suffer for the cause.
4. I Consulted My Doctor Along The Way
My doctor had been telling me to diet and exercise for years. When I finally did it he was a bit surprised that someone had listened to him. He worked with me until I no longer needed medications like statins and beta blockers.
5. I Found a Fitness Regimen That I Loved
As I mentioned at the top of this article, I thought of myself as an athlete. I wanted to feel all the things that I used to feel when I caught a football near the end-zone, or hit a long ball over center field. I found that in CrossFit. At fifty-years-old I was moving, doing hard things, and putting in the work that I remembered from two-a-days, or training with baseball.
If there was a skill I could not master, and to be honest there still are many, we could scale the movement to achieve the same stimulus. All that to say, find something you love, and keep doing it.
Conclusion
Today, I do not look like a Greek God. I originally lost seventy-five pounds, and I probably put back twenty-five of what I lost. My weight is not the point, but my medical issues, they are the key. I was able to completely stop taking med's about eighteen months after I started eating better and training again.
I don't take anything but an occasional pain reliever and I am looking forward to turning sixty at the end of this year, healthier, and happier than I have been in a while.