The "Aha!" moment...

In the summer of 2011, I was just cruising along...eating, drinking and being merry (not Mary...jolly, you know...anyway)...then at the end of the summer in September, I started finding that I was very thirsty. I didn't think too much of it until a month had gone by and I was still drinking huge amounts of water in the evenings...

So I looked it up on the NET and found that there are quite a few things that it could be, but the most likely culprit was Type II Diabetes...so I made an appointment to meet with the doctor to talk to her about the possibility...during our conversation I told her that I had looked on the net (don't tell your doctor this, they then assume you are a hypochondriac) and she told me that it wasn't too likely, since it normally doesn't happen that quickly...??

Anyway, she agreed to have me tested...we are now in mid October 2011...I went for a visit to my parent's house (Mom's birthday) and found out that everyone on my mother's side of the family has diabetes...my grandmother died from a diabetic induced heart attack...the things you learn if you ask the right questions...anyway, since I was there and mom had the test kit, we tested my blood...it came back with a blood sugar of 18mmol (normal range is 4-10mmol, depending on when and what you last ate)

At that point I was quite certain that I was diabetic, and that was a very high reading...although I had been drinking & eating a bunch of "Appies" as mom calls them...of course the doctor's blood test confirmed what I was already pretty sure of, so my next course of action was a total change on my attitude towards food and eating in general.

The doctor made me an appointment with a diabetic specialist who also advised me to see a dietitian...

I changed everything that very day...no more processed foods, no baked goods (okay a few, but I limited myself...it was Christmas season after all!!), more veggies & fruit...and the big one...PORTION CONTROL!!

By mid November 2011 I was already starting to lose weight quite regularily...I was down to 250lbs...and stayed that weight through the Christmas/New Year's season...



After the "Baking Season" treats were all out of the house (thank you kids!!) it was time to get more serious about this...so I started really watching my diet & logging everything I ate on an app for my phone...I also started bringing exercise back into my life...it had been a while since I had actually exercised and brought on a sweat...I really started to enjoy it, and look forward to my nightly rituals...

I lost another 10lbs by the end of January and was down to 240lbs...



I made some more adjustments to my rituals & kept adjusting my diet as well...lowering my caloric intake to match the rate of loss that I was after...I am currently down to 235lbs...



I am quite happy with the results so far, but I have plans to get much lower...my goals are to get my BMI from it's current level of 32.9 down to under 30 by the end of April, so that's 20lbs more by then...2lbs per week will get me there...my ultimate goal for this year is to be down to a BMI of 25 by my birthday at the end of August...so I have 55lbs to lose in the next 6 months...still fits into the 2lbs per week...which over the long haul will be difficult...but I'm committed, and if I don't make it by the date...I will be fine, I'll just keep going until I reach my goal...

2012 is my year of change...will it be yours?

Later.