I am that guy

 Over the years, I have questioned many things that people have done or not done to make their situations worse. Over the last couple of weeks, I have seen people who have had to lose parts of their bodies because they didn't take care of their diabetes. I have seen people who have had cardiac issues because they didn't control their cholesterol. I have also seen what happens to people who haven't led the healthiest of lifestyles. 

Well, I am here to tell you that I have done all of the above, too. 

In 2010, I was doing well for myself. I was running all the time, I would do 5-6 miles several times a week, and once a week, I would do a long run from 11-13+ miles. I lost some weight, and I felt good about myself. I got hurt after running a simple 5k with my boys, which was essentially the end. I did buy a nice bike to ride longer distances with, but unfortunately, I just couldn't make that work for me the way I wanted it to. There was one exception: When I went overseas, I got down to 207, and I felt amazing. I kept my portion sizes in check and walked A LOT. However, once I came home to stay, I gained all the weight I had lost right back.   

With the demise of my running and several attempts at going to the gym, my weight has skyrocketed. I have been sitting in the 300-lb range since then. It was during a physical agility test where I had to have my vitals taken that I learned that my blood pressure was elevated. It wasn't, as I say, "Holy Crap High," but it was higher than what it should be. My doctor asked me what we were going to do about it. I told him, "You fix my foot, and we won't have to worry about it anymore." I started doing physical therapy, and that didn't get me back to running, so here we are. I was prescribed blood pressure meds, and I didn't take them for quite some time. After reading a bunch, and watching more patients go to the hospital for kidney issues, I started taking my meds.

Next, my cholesterol started to creep up. Again, my doctor brought it up, and I dismissed him for a little while, and then he put me on meds. Yeah, about that, I refused to take them for a while, and then after my dad's 5th heart attack, I decided that my plan probably wasn't the best one. I started taking the meds, and my cholesterol really didn't drop like I thought it should. I had a great idea, though. I went vegan the period of time between when my labs were taken. You'll never guess what happened. My cholesterol went higher. I went out that night and had wings!

Lastly, here lately my A1C has been getting higher. The new doctor I have been seeing told me I needed to get it lower. Now, you would think that after watching my dad have complications as a result of his diabetes, I would be on board with taking meds for that. Nope, I didn't want to have to take yet another pill. 

So, this week, after seeing the people I have and the complications I have seen, I thought to myself the same questions that I have asked of others, "Why did you let it get this bad? Why didn't you start taking care of yourself sooner?" I have started to take my meds, and I have made the decision to take better care of myself.  I challenge you all to do the same. I will also keep everyone updated on my progress.