Sickness I Don't Feel

     As a few people that read here and are Facebook friends know I’ve had quite the health scare recently. An endocrinologist has said that I’m entering the last stage before becoming diabetic, something I do not wish to be. Last year during an annual exam all results were fantastic, even my HDL was so high it was virtually unheard of with men. This year was vastly different. My LDL was way up and while my HDL was still relatively high, it had vastly dropped. My already decent diet is no longer enough to control what is happening.

     A few people in my family have/had diabetes, there is a possibility that this may just be genetics and I’ll succumb to it anyway. At this point, my blood is becoming quite toxic. The pancreas is dumping insulin at a crazy rate trying to control the amount of glucose in my body. My only saving grace at this point is that my glucose levels are right where they need to be thanks to my overworking pancreas, sadly this is burning out my beta cells. Because of this the triglycerides are increasing in attempts to do something… anything to help. Basically it is just storing everything as fat which has caused a bit of rapid weight gain over the last few months and in turn a decrease in muscle mass.

     My doctor has given 6 months to get things under control before prescribing any medications. The first priority given is to lose weight (I’m not that heavy to begin with) but I need to lose at least 20 pounds and be tested again to check for progression. When all is done my weight should be 160 pounds or even a little less. My goal is to lose the full amount by the 6 month mark. Weight wise there will be nothing left to do allowing focus on other ideas and areas.

     The great part is that I now have a free one year membership to a local gym and also a personal trainer for the first 2 months. My wife brought home a Weight Watchers book that a co-worker gave her a while back (thanks Kellie, I know you’re reading. Tell Chris I said Hi and hope he’s doing well. :D ) So far it is a pain in the ass counting points, but I’ve managed to stay under the max by about 10 points, flex points will never be necessary at this rate.

     The only part that really hurts is being allowed only 1 beer a week since alcohol causes about a 14% increase in triglycerides alone. I can trade that in for 2 glasses of wine, though. I already miss a nice stout or porter.