"How much longer do you plan on living in this condition?" That's the question that kept repeating in my head when I left my doctor's office in November of 2011. I went in for a routine well-woman exam and came out in tears, on blood pressure medication and the sting from the sudden slap from reality that I needed to do something different! I was feeling perfectly fine and simply was going to a new doctor and needed to get my yearly physical. Bottom line, my blood pressure was at "stroke level." A normal BP reading is 120/80. Mine was 190/105! My new doctor was about to admit me to the hospital right then and there. Basically, I was a walking stroke victim waiting to happen. (Plus, I have strokes, heart attacks and high BP in my family history!) To make matters worse, I had NO symptoms. She kept asking me questions like: "Have you been having headaches? Blurry vision? Dizziness? Feeling numb?, etc." My answers were all "No." My BP was taken a few times throughout the visit. Then they even changed the size of the cuff they put around my arm. I thank God for my doctor because she literally saved my life! She took the time to sit me down and talk to me about my life, my habits, my support system, my outlook, and even discussed how I felt about my own weight (which was over 300 lbs at my highest). She finished our frank conversation by telling me she did NOT want me to go on any crazy diets or try to starve myself or even try any quick weight loss gimmicks that many of my family or friends have done.
This statement is what changed my life: "I want you to go home, look at yourself in the mirror, think about your family's health history, know that you are now diagnosed as hypertensive and this excess weight is not doing you any good; therefore, think about some LIFE-LONG CHANGES you can make to make yourself be healthier, look and feel better."
She also said that once I start doing those things and getting results, it will also improve my mental health because I'll be proud of what I've accomplished and know that I can maintain because I didn't do any quick fixes but purposefully have made decisions that I'll stick with for the rest of my life.
That was over 100 pounds ago.
This is my very 1st blog and my first posting ever. So please be patient with me. I'll tell you about my journey to this new "healthier lifestyle" and will be sharing about the many different aspects of health. Yes, I'll share how I lost the weight; basically it was a lot of hard work. The more important aspect is the slow adoption of a healthier lifestyle. Those two words can encompass so many varied aspects of our life ... physical, emotional, spiritual, relationships, and on and on. But this is not a blog about how to lose 20 pounds in a week to go to that family reunion and look good. It's about how to feel good and be a healthier, more well-rounded person in general. (Trust me, I have plenty of friends who I call "skinny mini" and they still are not healthy.)
I think this healthier lifestyle journey will be fun. It was hard for me at first, and still is every once in a while. But I must admit that it has been worth all the hard work.
I hope you come back and share with me very soon ... as we take a few steps ... together.
~Ladybug
Below is my transition from one birthday to the next. Even though there's an apparent difference in the way I look...I'm most excited in the fact that I FEEL so much better and I'm medication FREE!
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