It's Time to Turn It Around

What a year this has been. On September 13, I turned 50. It was a lousy day. I was barely able to get out of bed because I was sick with the West Nile Virus. And it has only gone downhill from there. I don't feel 50. I feel 80.

The year started with lots of physical promise. I finished the "Bataan Memorial Death March Marathon" in late March. It is a 26.2 mile race through the desert and over a mountain at the White Sands Missile Test Range north of El Paso, TX. It was brutal, but inspirational.


Then, everything started going downhill. Soon after the marathon, I began to get cluster migraine headaches on an almost daily basis. I finally went to the doctor, who put me on something called Topamax – also known as the Devil Drug. After a couple of weeks of this drug, I started having dizzy spells, losing my balance and falling over. I felt horrible all the time. The doctor sent me to have my head examined (really, not metaphorically) – and after 6000 bucks worth of tests, they couldn’t find anything wrong. Finally, she suggested I go off my Topamax. Within 36 hours, I felt fine. Fortunately, I have only had a couple of minor clusters since the first of June.

But then, sometime in the summer, I guess I got bit by a critter who carried the West Nile Virus (or one of its near cousins). I was very sick for several weeks, and I still haven’t got my energy back in the month and a half since I got well.

Three weeks ago tomorrow, I woke up and got out of bed. I followed my normal routine, and suddenly my back began to hurt. By Wednesday, I couldn’t stand up straight and was in horrible pain. I have had bouts of this in the past, but never one that lasted 3 weeks.

So, why all the whining? Simple. I am 50, going on 80. And it all comes down to one root cause. I am a fat pig. I am around 6’4” and weigh somewhere between 310 and 320 pounds.

And the fact is, if I don’t do something about the weight, I am going to have a constant battle with asthma, with back problems, sickness – everything. The fact is, if I don’t do something soon, I won’t be around to worry about it. I am a 50 year old with a high stress job and I am morbidly obese. I am a heart attack waiting to happen.

So, I am going to lose over 100 pounds. I am going to blog about my weight loss, and will add pictures.

I am going to try to avoid gimmicks like the Atkins diet (though I may use it for a month or so in the winter here in Iowa, when exercise becomes a little more important). I am going to try to develop physical discipline to eat a little less and exercise 3 or 4 times a week for at least 45 minutes or an hour.

I have come to realize that this is really a spiritual battle. It is not my thyroid or hormones that is the problem. It is my lack of self-control and discipline. So, it has to stop now. I have to get it together now, or it will never happen.

I appreciate your prayers and your comments.

By the way, I walked and ran a little more than 2 miles tonight (37 degrees with 30 mile an hour winds – brisk!), so I am getting off my fat backside and going for it.

With hope, anticipation and trepidation,

Dave